Wednesday 13 January 2010
“My wife gave me strict orders not to go out. I went out, slipped on the ice almost on cue and cracked the top of my left femur,” he recounts.
He was fitted with a new hip on 23 December and spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day in hospital. “They got me up precariously a couple of hours after the operation and let me home on 27 December as soon as I could demonstrate that I could get up and down stairs without too much danger to the household. So here I am still housebound by the cold and learning to walk properly without a crutch. They say it'll take at least until the end of the month (when I have to see the surgeon again). Fortunately he assured me he had not given me any medicaments that might interfere with a reasonable intake of alcohol, so I am able to raise a glass of two and join in any New Year festivity. Happy New Year to all The Baron's readers.”
Elphick (Reuters 1955-1964) was in Moscow from 1958 to 1962 and after a short spell in London became correspondent, North Africa from 1963 to 1964. He worked for the BBC before joining the European Commission in 1977.
