Bank Holiday 19th September 2022
The State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be held next Monday 19th September. As a mark of respect, and to offer our staff the opportunity to pay their respects, we will be closed that day.
We have remained open since the announcement of her death as we continue to support our customers throughout this period. Instead, Optima will be donating to two of Her Majesty’s favourite charities, Cancer Research and The British Red Cross.
If you have any support queries, please email our support team on support@optima-systems.co.uk, all emails and tickets will be picked up on our return to work on Tuesday 20th September.
A Personal Memory
Until a few years ago I had no close contact with the Royal Family; probably no closer than watching them on TV. On one occasion however I took my daughter to the Windsor horse show and after leaving her to watch a horse class went on a walkabout. I soon reached a forested area and, as I did, the Duke of Edinburgh drove his carriage at speed between two trees and right past me, no more than 20ft away. The skill he showed was quite remarkable.
I walked on and joined a group of others meandering along. I wasn’t paying much attention but simply watching the world go by. Our group came to a stop by a small river and on the opposite bank was a line of photographers pointing their cameras at us. As I started to pay attention to those around me, I realised that I was standing right behind and between Prince William and Prince Harry. Sadly, the photographers were not waiting to get a shot of me of course.
Leaving the group rather hurriedly I continued on only to see a Land Rover pulling up a short distance away. The lady driver got out, she was alone, adjusted her head scarf and headed down toward the group I had just left. This was the Queen, walking briskly and with a beaming smile she went past me and joined the others.
I was left rather dumbfounded; where else in the world could something like this have happened? For me it was an amazing and uplifting series of encounters. Did I ‘meet’ the Royal Family? well not exactly, but I did get to see them close up.
I rejoined my daughter who apologised for dragging me out to watch boring horses. I responded’ “not at all, it's been a brilliant day so far!”.
Managing Director
Paul is the founder and Managing Director of Optima Systems which he set up in 1990. His role today has changed considerably since those early days and now he spends much of his time on the road talking to new potential clients and spreading the word. Paul visits the USA on a regular basis as well as travelling around the UK particularly now that Optima has moved away from primarily financial software into the realms of clinical data and medical research. More about Paul.
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