TEXACO'S Phil Thompson was taken completely by surprise recently at a dinner organised by the Lady Taverners Charity when, at the start of the evening, Jane Kemp - chairman of the Lady Taverners West Wales Region - announced that the dinner was actually a tribute and thank you to him! Indeed he had come along under the impression that there was to be a 'thank you' to someone else, and had even brought a small presentation for them! "We are so grateful to Phil and to Texaco, who have supported us as a charity for nine years, that we felt that we wanted to do something to show him our appreciation," said Jane. With a great deal of secrecy and the help of Phil's wife, Christine, people from other organisations in the Pembrokeshire community who had received help from Texaco were contacted, along with several talented young artists who were also beneficiaries of Texaco's generosity. Everyone was asked to keep very quiet as to the reason for the dinner and miraculously Phil did not find out! The result was an evening of entertainment from singers Laurie Williams and Katie Flood, and violinist Davinder Singh, all of whom had warm words of thanks for Phil and his help with their careers, as did two brilliant young dancers from the Hynes School of Irish Dancing. Many spoke expressing their thanks to Phil and Texaco, including representatives from Cancer Research, Cystic Fibrosis, The Princes Trust, Milford Music Festival, Pembrokeshire Counselling Services, PLANED and the Macmillan Cancer Relief. Finally, Jane Kemp thanked Phil for the support he had given to the Lady Taverners and asked future Lady Taverners Ginny Davies and Joanna Kemp to present him with a gift of a mounted barometer and clock. Phil responded by saying that he had been very moved by the evening and the people who were there, especially the young entertainers.
