56 minute read
Class Notes
Enjoy reading about all the varied and exciting things our ORs and former staff have been up to!
Sophie Alexander (Bristowe 2008)
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In 2015 I joined The Imaginarium based in London, founded and headed by Andy Serkis and Jonathan Cavendish and have worked on a variety of projects as their Production Coordinator. Predominantly I assist the Executive Producer and Head of Production, most recently on Breathe (Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy), The Ritual (Rafe Spall) and Death and Nightingales (Jamie Dornan, Matthew Rhys), a TV series for BBC2.
Having always been keen to pursue a career as a producer, I’ve produced Wale, a short film that won the Grand Jury Award at Dances with Films in LA, qualified for the Oscars and received nominations for various film festivals around the world. I have also been involved in Decline Of An Empire (Peter O’Toole, Edward Fox), Breaking The Bank (Kelsey Grammer, Tamsin Greig) and Fear Of Water (Lily Loveless, Alexander McQueen).
Deji Alli (Blathwayt 2006)
I was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2018 International Federation of American Football (IFAF) European Championship tournament hosted in Finland which started on 29th July 2018. The tournament featured Finland, Austria, France, Great Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
This is the eleventh time I have represented GB as one of the top five players in my position. I have had the opportunity to travel to several countries in Europe for the national team and local club and have achieved one European and five national championships. My next goal will be to qualify for the world championships in Australia featuring teams such as USA and Canada.
Marcus Baker (Mullens 1980)
Since my son Gus joined Reed’s in 2014, I have been able to really reconnect with the School, spending quite a few hours on the rugby touchline at 12 Acre (although it’s a little smaller than when I was last playing there!). Gus has one year to go before leaving; we will all miss the School and its amazing ethos. However, I have recently agreed to serve as a Governor, something which I was immensely proud to be asked to do.
I work in Insurance in the City, live in West London and have been very happily married for 21 years. I’m not in touch with many of the old boys apart from the odd lunch together, although I hope this will improve over the coming months.
Photo: Donna Baker, Gus Baker (Mullens 2019) & Marcus Baker (Mullens 1980)
Alan Barrett (Blathwayt 1961)
I have not contributed to The Reeder for more years than I can remember, so here goes…
I left Reed’s in 1961, as a Foundationer, having been idle academically and thus achieving A Level results that were not creditworthy, but I was possessed of sufficient intelligence to realise that if I wanted to achieve anything in life, I needed to buckle down. I undertook five years articles to become an accountant, passed the appropriate exams and became endowed with the letters ACA. For the rest of my career I worked in the City and became a partner firstly in Deloitte, then Price Waterhouse and finally PwC. For the last 25 years of that time I was involved in corporate recovery work with businesses that were ‘bust’ or nearly bust. It was fascinating if at times a little hairy: dealing with the IRA and having training to look for bombs under one’s car because of some Middle East experience were worrisome, but mostly it was enjoyable particularly when something worked out well and a business was saved.
I married Veronica and we are still together today, living just south of Guildford. We have four children and seven grandchildren under the age of six; it is the family that I never had as an only child of a mother widowed when I was just four years old.
I think that it is sad that so few early 1960s leavers have maintained their links with the ORs. I do wonder how others of my year have fared in life – perhaps this short piece (and that in the Recollections & Reflections section) will encourage them to briefly share their life story.
As for me, I retired from the City in 2000 and since then we have travelled extensively to pursue our mutual interest in photography. I have a website (alanbarrettimages.com) which is my ego trip in advancing years. Do not try to contact me from the links page – it is an old email address and I don’t know how to change it! The current one is ajbarrett56@yahoo.co.uk.
David Bateson (Mullens 1977)
I am enjoying retirement after 33 years teaching at QEH, Bristol, where I was Deputy Head for ten years. I took numerous school trips abroad, including Russia, the USA, countless First World War Battlefields trips, politics conferences in Paris, and European Youth Parliament conferences in Finland and Latvia.
History remains a passion, thanks to the influence of Richard Warnock all those years ago. I married a fellow UCL historian (David Campbell (Mullens 1975) was my best man) and my now wife of 30 years
retired as a Head Teacher here in Bristol at the same time as me. Our daughter has just completed her PhD in Edinburgh on a topic connected to the American Civil War, so ‘the Richard Warnock influence’ extended to her as well! We are now thoroughly enjoying the absence of education pressures and not having to get up early each morning. Travel is our major activity, with long trips to Australasia and the battlefields of Virginia. More journeys are planned for the near future.
I have fond memories of rivalries with Capel House in particular, especially on the sports field. In a recent email communication with Richard Warnock, he remembered me man-marking a boy in a hockey match; I never got used to that most dangerous of sports! Rugby remains a passion and I am a member of the Ospreys Exiles and attend as many internationals in Cardiff as possible. From School I remember how easy it was getting onto the terrace at Twickenham for internationals without tickets. I also have a recollection that the nurse was highly suspicious of anyone claiming an injury on the eve of an England match. What makes me smile the most is Dick Wilson’s impressions of Arthur, the driving instructor!
thereeder@reeds.surrey.sch.uk
Julian Boyden (Mullens 1962)
I graduated from Reed’s with eight O Levels and three A Levels, due much to R.Q. Drayson, to whom I pay tribute to in the Recollections & Reflections section. This sets the context for what happened to me next…
In 1967, I fell in love and proposed to my beloved. I was turned down but given a chance of reprieve if I pulled myself together, started working hard and got a proper job. Harsh terms! In 1968 we were married. In 1969 I passed my Chemistry degree and was a prize-winning industrial chemist, with three publications within a year. At 26, I was promoted to a position as works chemist, a post normally held by people in their early 40s, and obtained a patent to redesign the main plants reactor. By 1974, I had passed my examinations to be a qualified Certified and Chartered Accountant and obtained a Diploma in Management Studies, then I went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completing a two year Masters of Management Science degree in fifteen months. At 31, I was a financial analyst and by the age of 33 I was President and CEO of Josen Chemical Company in Malaysia. Working in the UK/Europe and Singapore I went on to become Chairman and CEO of an American multinational flavour, fragrance and chemical company quoted on the New York Stock Exchange. I also, I hope, became a model citizen and obtained an MA in History at the University of Central Florida at the age of 68. (Thank you to outstanding Reed’s teacher “Piggy” Prior for my love of history.)
At every academic achievement and employment success I could wryly see RQD smiling as I became the man he intended me to be. None of the achievement, including most importantly a beautiful wife of 50 years, two wonderful and successful children and two robust grandchildren, would have been possible without the education and moral guidance I received from Reed’s.
Thank you Reed’s and, through a somewhat bitten tongue, thank you RQD.
Ian Chate (Bristowe 1962)
I left Reed’s to take my A Levels at The English School in The Hague, my parents having been posted to Holland after 16 years with Shell in Venezuela. From there I went on to Bristol University to read Law and then spent most of my career as a corporate lawyer in the international oil industry travelling all over the world.
A few years ago I had the opportunity to take early retirement and entered a fascinating period working in Executive Search in Mayfair. My business partner was Stewart Wilson who had been captain of Scotland in the latter half of the 1960s, captain of Oxford University and the Barbarians, as well as being a British Lion on the 1966 tour of Australia. Stewart had previously spent 10 years in Paris and every time Scotland were playing France we would take a group of 40 over there for the match. Whenever we did this Scotland lost!
This had some relevance more recently during the 2015 World Cup. I had volunteered to be a Twickenham Stadium tour guide and, as part of our training, we were shown the England Rugby International Club (ERIC) room. This was only open to those who had been capped for England. The memorabilia included a glass cabinet containing a jersey from each of the home nations. When I looked more closely at the label beside the Scottish jersey, I saw that it had belonged to one Stewart Wilson. When I told him this the following day, Stewart had no idea it was there because being a Scottish international he was not allowed in to ERIC! He thought it must have come from a Scotland/England game at Twickenham because in those days it was customary to swap jerseys with your opposite number at the end of a match.
Zain Chaudhry (Blathwayt 2013)
The years have passed and things have progressed. After graduating, I joined Specsavers and was promoted to Dispensing Consultant and am currently training for my Fellow of British Dispensing Opticians qualification. I have also ventured into a business with a directorship at OneTech Gadgets, an IT, mobile, tablet and PC technology repairs and support outlet based in Carshalton, Surrey.
Reed’s provided me with a solid foundation for my future and I look forward to achieving more. I am delighted to say that I got engaged and am planning to get married in 2019.
Leo Coates (Bristowe 2005)
A busy 2018! I will be getting married in October with quite a few ORs invited and the honeymoon to Bora Bora has been booked! I moved out of Surrey/London in November 2017 and am currently working as Head of Operations for CH&CO, a catering services company with a Royal Warrant to Her Majesty The Queen!
Bill Collins (Bristowe 1948)
I took the opportunity to revisit The Jarrett Indoor Cricket Centre at Reed’s on Reunion Day this year and am really impressed by the high standard of its design and technical features. It has a great deal to offer for the development of young cricketers.
All of this made me recall the time the School was evacuated to Totnes where there was very little organised cricket and no coaching. That all changed when we moved into Cobham in 1945 when our first coaching sessions were introduced by Mr Philip Scott and organised matches were arranged. It was during this time that my enthusiasm for the game took off and it became my favourite sport, allowing me to play club cricket in the UK and all over the world, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon.
Those early coaching sessions and matches, although limited by comparison with what is on offer today, stood me in good stead so that, over many years, I have not only enjoyed my involvement in the game but have experienced a great variety of social contacts and environments. It is wonderful to see young ORs playing in County cricket and, hopefully, England soon.
James Cowden (Mullens 2006)
I have been living in the Netherlands since April 2017 having moved across Europe for the last few years with my previous employer, Accenture. I recently made the decision to change my vocation and make the shift into the tech industry focusing on the future of not only business, but changing things for the better. I knew that Amsterdam was a haven for start-ups and future-thinking companies so I started to look for new positions here. As of June
this year, I am delighted to be working at Uber as a Senior Recruiter and fully settled in the city which is a dream come true. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to feel like I am making a difference and being part of the new directions and initiatives that Uber is working on.
Toby Dabell (Capel 2016)
We were delighted to hear that our former Captain of Rugby had been selected for the U20 England Counties Rugby squad. James Davey (Bristowe 1996) I founded Precision Golf in 2004 which is now Europe’s leading golf custom-fit, club-build and performance studio. In the early days, the company was just fitting and building bespoke golf equipment, but the range of services has now extended to advanced coaching and biomechanics analysis, led by fellow OR and Grafton Morrish partner, Stuart Robinson (Capel 2002), consulting at our West Byfleet studio. My team and I have over 10,000 golfers from European Tour Players to juniors just starting the game, and have also helped many ORs and Reed’s Golf Academy players too. My wife, Kate, and I were blessed with an early Christmas present last year, Annabelle Victoria Davey born on 9th December 2017. Annabelle was baptised in
the Reed’s School Chapel in the summer by Chaplain, Reverend Andrew Winter, just like her big brother George in April 2017.
Jamie Delgado (Capel 1993) & Tim Henman (Blathwayt 1991)
It was wonderful to see two former Reed’s tennis scholars having a knockabout on clay at Wimbledon just before the
championships started.
Trevor Devon (Gush) (Blathwayt 1962)
Although only at Reed’s for Sixth Form, I have come to recognise what a special opportunity I had been given by Surrey County Council and the Foundation in placing me there. Having returned after 56 years for the opening of the new Jarrett Cricket Centre in January, I subsequently met up with others from my era at a lunch hosted by Sharmaine and the Headmaster who gave a pleasantly reassuring talk about the progress of the School and its continued devotion to the Foundation’s philosophy so special to Reed’s. I now plan to keep more in touch from my home base in East Sussex where I have retired these past 18 years.
From some modest success with my A Levels at Reed’s, I gained a place at the University of Sussex to read chemistry in the newly-formed School of Molecular
Sciences. This was delayed to spend a year with Voluntary Services Overseas as a science teacher in a Presbyterian secondary college in Calabar, Eastern Nigeria; a great gap-year experience for me! At Sussex I was lucky enough to acquire a first-class honours degree in chemistry and then undertake a D.Phil in research of naturally occurring compounds. A one-year research posting to Yale University introduced me to my future employer, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. I joined the Research Division in Connecticut in 1970, transferred to the Research Centre in Kent in 1972 and worked there until retirement at the end of 2000 after 30 years. In my career at Pfizer I never actually practiced chemistry, but worked in areas like patents, information science, computer systems, ultimately to become Director of Research IT.
I now live with my wife Fiona and her two horses in rural East Sussex where I pursue my hobby of mineral collecting, travelling to exotic locations, from Canada to India, banging rocks in quarries in the search for crystals for my “museum” of 900 specimens at home.
Jack Draper (Bristowe 2016)
More OR tennis success with Jack qualifying for both the Boys’ Singles in the US Open in the Spring and, in September, reaching the final of Junior Wimbledon, the first British player to do so since 2011.
Jack went on to win his first Futures title making him the only 16-year-old in the top 1,000 of the men’s rankings. In September, he was also nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year.
Chris Eaton (Bristowe 2004)
Not one to brag about his achievements, Mike, Chris’s dad sent us this photo of his son with the US President! The visit to the Oval Office in the White House came about after a father at the college where Chris is Tennis Director (Wake Forest University in North Carolina) and who works for Trump, arranged for a team ‘outing’ as a well done for having the most successful tennis season ever. On the desk are all the trophies that Wake Forest actually won!
Ben Elkin (Blathwayt 2017)
Since leaving Reed’s, I have finished my first year of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University. My partner, Francis Brailsford, who I met through the RSCM Millennium Youth Choir, and I decided to buy a flat in Greenock (just west of Glasgow).
Once we had finished settling in, we took a trip to the Great Cambrae Island on the west coast of Scotland where Francis and I became engaged on the 5th July; we’ve chosen to wait a few years to get married.
In the meantime, we will continue to live together in Greenock. I look forward to continuing my studies at Caledonian University next year while working part time at my new job as a Security Agent with SecuriGroup and Francis is hoping to enrol at the Royal Scottish Conservatoire.
Gabriel Gordon (Blathwayt 2013)
Congratulations to Gabriel who successfully completed his apprenticeship with the Worshipful Company of Security Professionals, and received his Freedom of the City of London by Servitude Certificate at the Guildhall in July.
John Hansell (Capel 1963)
I left Reed’s in 1965 and undertook a Law degree at LSE. I qualified as a solicitor and worked in Guildford for a few years before marrying and moving to Dartmouth in Devon where I established my own practice until I retired about 12 years ago. I have a son, Richard, and a daughter, Louise, who both have families and live in the West Country.
I really enjoyed my time as a solicitor and came to specialise in criminal defence work. Sadly my marriage came to an end in 2009 but I was then fortunate enough to meet Janice and we married in March this year. We have been to a couple of OR reunions and renewed some old acquaintances, but I would be delighted to hear from any of my contemporaries who are still in contact.
Tom Hardy CBE (Capel 1992)
Many congratulations to Tom who was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for services to film, television and the arts in June.
Michael Harrison (Mullens 1980)
I am now managing the redevelopment and opening of CuveeVlll, a double venue in Esher encompassing a wine bar and worldwide tapas restaurant as well as a lounge and cocktail bar. With a fair wind, this will open at the beginning of November 2018. There will be facilities for all kinds of special events and celebrations, from small to large parties, and we are hoping to have meeting facilities for week-day use. I do hope to see many ORs there.
Chris Hawkins (Blathwayt 1962)
I thought that having retired as OR President, I had finished producing copy for The Reeder, but Sharmaine says otherwise and I suspect many others of you have had the same exhortation.
So, I have to say that life in retirement is good. We have two delightful grandchildren, aged one and three, who live reasonably close and we jump at any excuse to visit them. Currently choral music involves a fair amount of time; amazing really as I am a poor singer, but I have also taken on the post of librarian at our local choir.
A group of early 1960s leavers meet half yearly for lunch in Oxshott and earlier this year 12 of us were also welcomed through the School gates for a lunch. We would dearly love to increase the numbers so if you are interested please contact me on chris.hawkins3@sky.com or via Sharmaine in the Development Office.
Nick Hawkins (Blathwayt 1965)
I blame my brother, Chris. I tend to look forward rather than back; however, when he was President of the ORs, he gathered a few people who were at Reed’s in the 1960s to occasionally meet up. In March an informal lunch was organised by Sharmaine and, aware that the catering is somewhat better than it was in the 1960s, I joined in....
It was a very pleasurable experience; the food was good, the conversation interesting and not all about what people have been doing with their lives. Mine is fairly mundane: university followed by a short stint as a BBC engineer, then a career in the computing side of BT. Following early retirement I have been working in the local voluntary sector. I should add that I have been married for many years with two children and four grandchildren. We have lived in Cardiff for over 40 years, which is one reason for not making regular trips back to the school.
If it is a while since you visited the School, you will be amazed. Everything is first class. Am I a convert? Well, I do recommend anyone who hasn’t done so to go back – either on ORs day or at any time (by arrangement). You will be greatly welcomed by Sharmaine, you may meet the Headmaster and you will end up with a sense of pride about what has become of the School you attended. Yes, do go back and I might even meet you there at some time.
Andrew Hine (Blathwayt 1999)
Together with my life-partner and CTO, Dee Kulkarni, I founded the blockchain powered tech start-up, Reputationaire, which has been awarded £90,000 from IBM as well as an Australian Research & Development Grant. The platform helps people (eg we are working with a refugee recruitment agency) to improve their life situations by instantly proving they are trustworthy. We do this by enabling them to share their existing ratings and reviews from websites they already use (eg Airbnb ratings prove you make a trustworthy tenant and can help secure a rental or tech reviews on Github, LinkedIn and Stackoverflow can help secure an IT job). We have released a two-minute explainer video and would be happy to hear from any organisations that might be interested in our product: https://link.reputationaire. com/reeds
John Hughes-Wilson (Mullens 1962)
I am still living in Turkish North Cyprus and still churning out books. My latest, published to much publicity in June this year, is ‘The Kaiser’s Dawn,’ a ‘faction’ thriller based on a true event, likened by one reviewer as “a real le Carré”. For a hundred years the British government has kept silent about a secret attempt to assassinate the Kaiser on 2nd June 1918; the plot failed but raised some intriguing questions. The book explores who gave that order.
With three new books out this year and two new knees, courtesy of King Edward VII, I think that retirement is a job for a much younger man. I was interviewed recently on US radio and was delighted to say: “I owe a great deal to my time at School, at Reed’s. For a fatherless boy it offered stability and my interest in history stems from some excellent teachers at Reed’s and later at Sandhurst”.
I am happily living in Surrey with my husband, Richard, and our two little boys. My career to date includes a year of being an air hostess on long haul for British Airways, working as a PA for Christie’s Auction House and as an Executive Assistant for Coca Cola. Currently, I am taking time off work to be with my family, but will return in the future.
Will Isaacs (Bristowe 2012)
After graduating with a business degree from the University of Birmingham in the summer of 2016, I tried my hand at working in the insurance industry for a top syndicate of Lloyds and took full advantage of City life. However, I realised this was not for me and have since chosen to pursue a new career path, starting my own business with two fellow Old Reedonians, Zack Goodall (Blathwayt 2010) and Will Burchill (Mullens 2012).
This summer we launched our selfconverted retro horsebox bar The Drunken Jockeys. Now open for business in and around Surrey and South London, The Drunken Jockeys is the perfect way to enhance your summer soirees with a fun and alternative drinks experience. We provide an array of quality cocktails to cater to for every need, promise excellent service, and guarantee to make your event as memorable as possible.
In other recent news, Zack and I have just returned from cycling over 2000km in three weeks in aid of the Royal Marsden. Our trip started in Ewell and finished in a hill town close to the monastery of Monte Cassino, Italy, and we raised over £3000 in memory of Zack’s grandfather. Our challenge consisted of cycling unaccompanied across Europe, carrying everything we needed on the back of our bikes. It was an incredible experience and most definitely worth the adventure. I’m just not too sure we will be doing it again anytime soon!
Richard Johnson (Mullens 1975)
I never enjoyed sports at Reed’s. It would not be unreasonable to say that every clarinet, viola and piano lesson was just a way of escaping rugby and cricket. I did, however, find no way of avoiding running; I do not remember being good or bad at it, but it did seem to be over in a fraction of the time a cricket game took to play, or indeed have the rules explained. However, to me, marathons are just an unpleasant form of internal argument, where one part of your brain continually argues with another as to whether you should stop. Hence, it was a fantastic challenge to get a charity place to run the London Marathon, supporting the Reed’s School Foundation. Nothing really prepares one for the evaporation of all energy and onset of rigor mortis that occurs six miles before the end, but it was amazing crossing the finishing line, raising £1175 for my school and showing that one is never too late to get into sports! At my late father’s funeral, one of his friends offered me some advice about choosing hobbies in the twilight of my life. He said: ‘Remember how you used to choose a hobby? You found something you could not do and wanted to enjoy being able to improve? Well, now you need to do the reverse – choose something you can do and be prepared to enjoy deteriorating in your competence”. That’s maybe why I have now taken on the chairmanship of my local running club, will be running the challenging Basingstoke half marathon and signed up as one of a six-member team running the South Downs 100 miles relay in January!
Kuda Kamwaza (Bristowe 2015)
Congratulations to Kuda who was appointed Chair of Loughborough Womens’ Hockey Club earlier this year.
Sir Simon Keenlyside CBE (Capel 1978)
We are delighted to report that there has been yet more recognition for our incredibly talented Old Reedonian in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List this year, as he was made a Knight Bachelor. This is how Simon was described in the official notification - a fitting description of an artist held in such high esteem: “Simon John Keenlyside is an internationally acclaimed baritone and the recipient of many awards for outstanding achievement. He performs in the world’s major opera houses and concert halls with the leading conductors of the day. A renowned recitalist and prolific recording artist, he is a prominent exponent of Lied. A keen supporter of the next generation of singers, both at home and abroad, he has a particularly close association with the Royal Academy and Royal College of Music.”
Jack Kenningham (Bristowe 2018)
Great to see Jack making his debut for both the Harlequins 7s and 1st XV squad this season.
Oliver & Alex Kent-Braham (Mullens 2010)
Many congratulations to Oliver and Alex for securing US $1.2 million from Passion Capital and Investec Bank for their new
‘insurtech’ start-up, Marshmallow.
Andrew Klimcke (Mullens 1996)
Together with fellow ORs, Matt Yates (Capel 1996) and Nick Slaymaker, (Mullens 1996), who all turned 40 this year, we decided to take on the challenge of a Tough Mudder in May. Some of us trained hard, some just turned up, but we all made it up hill, down dale and through the mud! All good (not so) clean fun. We hope to be going for 10 miles in September!
Barbara la Gro-Duforne (Mullens 2004)
How time has flown by. It’s been almost 14 years since leaving Reed’s and I still have fond memories of my six years there. After leaving Reed’s, life after Cobham has taken me to Leiden, The Hague and now Nuenen. It has gone from me playing in and captaining all-boys’ hockey teams at School to us having two girls of our own. The youngest, Liselotte, was born this April and Josephine is two and a half years young. Josephine is very talkative, a loving and helpful big sister and she loves the outdoors. Liselotte is already rolling around and getting to know her own voice.
We currently live in the town of artist Vincent van Gogh, Nuenen, in the south of The Netherlands. Nuenen is close to Eindhoven where my doctor husband, Laurens, is doing his Radiology degree and I am still working at Capgemini Consulting. I am looking forward to showing the girls Reed’s soon!
thereeder@reeds.surrey.sch.uk
Philip Lafferty-Holt (Mullens 1999)
I am enjoying life down in Salcombe, Devon where my wife and I own a boathire business, Whitestrand Boat Hire, operating from spring to autumn, allowing us the winter months free to explore the world. Last winter, we spent over two months touring round New Zealand and this winter we are expecting our second child which scuppers our travel plans! I am chairman of Salcombe Tennis Club and, although not in the same league as Reed’s, it is good to play regularly. I am also proud to have been recently elected Deputy Mayor of Salcombe. If any old Reedonians are in the area, do pop into the shop and say hi!
Chris MacDonald (Mullens 2011)
We are delighted that our list of Old Reedonian authors is continuing to grow as Chris’s first book was published earlier this year. Dedicated to his father, Halfway House tells the story of three friends who have to get to grips with university life being over, summer having come and gone, leaving home to the big city lights and starting a career...a journey that will ring true to many of our alumni.
Morgan Males (Blathwayt 2018)
Great to see Morgan captaining the U18 England Hockey team at the European Hockey Championships in Santander, Spain, and really making his mark, just like he did as Captain of Hockey here.
THE MCMANUS FAMILY
Stephen McManus (Capel 1974)
I left Reed’s after my O Levels and went to hotel school in Westminster. There I gained both an OND and HCIMA final qualification having carried out a period of industrial release training with Cunard. I then joined Trusthouse Forte’s flagship, the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane, where I rose to be Banqueting Director before my promotion to the iconic Café Royal in Regent Street.
From there, I was promoted to take over as Managing Director of Forte’s outside catering and event business, Ring and Brymer. We joined one of the fellow Forte divisions, Gardner Merchant, and successfully managed an MBO, selling to the French company Sodexo where I became Managing Director of the combined leisure, events and sports division. During this time, I was responsible for, amongst other things, the catering operation at the 2000 Olympics, 2003 Rugby World Cup, both in Australia, as
well as the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
I left to set up my own consultancy and events business in 2004 and since that time have run many events, conferences and concerts for clients.
Now living in Bournemouth, I carry out consultancy projects for the hospitality sector as well as travelling and, with a forthcoming wedding in December this year, am keeping very active. At our wedding, the Reed’s connection will still be alive as we have Jeremy Sharples (Bristowe 1989) and Tenors Unlimited performing on the day.
Charles McManus (Capel 1980)
After leaving Reed’s, Charles studied at University in London for his accountancy exams which he passed with distinction.
After a period of high-level positions over many years with Hambros Bank and Royal Bank of Canada, he held a number of other roles in the financial services sector. He was then recruited by RBS whilst in the middle of their troubles to head up and sort out their Irish operation. Currently, Charles heads up a new bank in the city, driven by the latest technology to provide a new cutting edge service to the finance sector.
Charles lives in the Surrey Hills with his wife, horses, chickens and dog. He has two daughters and two grandchildren.
James McManus (Capel 2005)
James left Reed’s and took a gap year with a stint in Australia both in Sydney and on the Great Barrier Reef where he passed his scuba diving instructors’ qualification. On his return, he went to Oxford Brookes where he gained a degree in Business Studies. He then joined Michael Page, the worldwide executive search and headhunting company, where he remained for six years. Following a stint in recruitment for a large mobile phone company, he now works in Guildford running recruitment for a large multinational insurance brand.
Robert McManus (Capel 2009)
Like his brother, Robert took a gap year after Reed’s and before going to university. During this time, Robert engaged in his passion for water skiing, teaching and performing in the USA in the disciplines of slalom, trick and jumping, all on a mono ski!
On his return, Robert went to Cardiff University to study Journalism where he gained his degree. He then went to work for an oil industry publication and now heads up their sales and B2B events team, travelling the world creating large industry events bringing together like-minded people from the petro-chemical industry.
Robert has just returned from a summer sabbatical travelling across Europe, ending up in Greece where he once again taught water-skiing.
Robert lives and works in London.
Harvey McMillan (Capel 2014) & Clive Pearse (Blathwayt 1980)
I graduated from the University of Leeds this summer with a degree in Broadcast Journalism. During my time there, I had some fantastic opportunities presenting for local television and was thrilled to win the National Student Television Award for Best Sport Producer in the UK. I am now pursuing a career in the sports production and broadcasting industry. A lot of what I achieved at university is due to the fantastic OR network and Sharmaine’s help. It put me in touch with some brilliant contacts, from Arsenal Stadium announcer, Nigel Mitchell (Mullens 1997), to my current mentor, Clive Pearse (Blathwayt 1980). Advice from my contacts has been vital for pushing me towards opportunities at university, and my correspondence with Clive has been invaluable.
A number of years ago, Clive had similarly reached out to help get a start in the industry, writing to Esther Rantzen, asking to attend her show ‘That’s Life’, while he was still at Reed’s. Following many visits, Clive struck up a close relationship with Esther and even attended her wedding! After several years of presenting for NBC Europe and Europe’s first live call-in show, ‘On the Air’, Clive emigrated to the US,
Clive Pearse (Blathwayt 1980) centre
where he has been a citizen since 2002. Clive became the face of the country’s biggest home-improvement channel, HGTV, and has provided voice work for film and television, including the first Shrek film.
I’ve found the OR Network to be a fantastic tool for anyone looking for opportunities close to home. Sharing the status of being an ‘Old Reedonian’ is a wonderful thing and I urge any other successful ORs to reach out to the talented crop of individuals that leave the School every year.
Rick Mecklenburgh (Blathwayt 1957)
On page 18 of the 2013 Reeder, there is a tale of how I met up with a fellow OR at a cricket match in Hobart, Tasmania, at least 40 years after we had both said farewell to Reed’s. That OR was Trevor Wellby (Blathwayt 1971). The chance discovery of us both being members of Cricket Australia - and for years having met at the Bellerive Oval not knowing that we both attended the same school some 13,000 plus miles away - was an amazing experience. To discover we were both in the same House was even more mindblowing, and the similarity of our experiences and our recollections continues to amaze. The tales may be “improving” with the passage of time - but that doesn’t matter!
Moving on to 2018, I have no real wish to discuss Australian cricket or cricketers, but I will report that on 14th January this year, yet another Blathwayt old boy turned up at the Bellerive Oval, whilst on holiday from the UK to visit his brother. In truth, the third member was Trevor’s brother David Wellby (Blathwayt 1970), and the meeting was not such a surprise, but the thought of three Old Reedonians being in the members’ lounge of the Bellerive Oval in Hobart was something to think about.
Despite my cowardice about further discussion, I will point out that an Australian team won the game on that day!
I’ll take this opportunity to wish all of you all the best, particularly those of you from the 1952-57 era, when everyone of us knew everyone of us, or at least who everyone was.
Photo: (l-r) David Wellby,Trevor Wellby & Rick Mecklenburgh
James Melville (Bristowe 2018)
It is really great to see James’s acting career going from strength to strength. At the end of last year he starred in Seawolf, a short independent film about wild youth, rave culture, sexual discovery and brotherhood.
In January 2019 we’ll see James on the big screen again in The Favourite, an historical epic alongside Olivia Coleman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz.
Roger Mew (Bristowe 1959)
Like many other ORs, I was a pupil at Royal Wanstead School (RWS) before joining Reed’s. When RWS was closed in 1971, the building became Snaresbrook Crown Court where reunions are held and the school archive is housed.
To celebrate the school’s 175th anniversary, a reunion was planned for June 2018. As part of the preparations, I visited the archive with other members of the Friends of RWS Committee (FoRWS). To our horror all the memorabilia had disappeared and the building was full of Court furniture. Tragically the entire archive had been put into skips and sent to untraceable landfill.
The memorabilia included photos of notable events such as the 1843 opening by King Leopold and other famous visitors: Queen Mary, Field Marshall Montgomery and Winston Churchill. There were letters, articles of clothing, school magazines, programmes, books, cassettes, a copy of the architect’s original construction plans, original hand-written index cards with pupil information, vinyl recordings of the school choir and other historic paperwork.
FoRWS worked hard to gather material from ex pupils and, at the reunion, attended by over 220 people, a splendid display was on hand and the day was successful despite the tragedy. The Court was most embarrassed and discussions continue about recompense.
James Morrison (Mullens 2003)
Absolutely delighted for OR professional golfer, James, who not only finished tied 23rd in the Italian Open Rolex Series event on the European Tour, also qualified for the US Open! Even with all his tour success, he still found time to come and help our golf scholars at School though!
Andrew Miller (Blathwayt 2009)
We’re incredibly proud of Andrew, former School Captain, who was awarded a commendation by his regiment for services as an “exemplary officer”.
In the citation it mentions Andrew’s “unrelenting dedication to the soldiers of his battalion” and that “throughout his time in the Army he has been a textbook example of a Junior Officer”.
The award was given the royal seal of approval as it was presented by Prince Harry.
thereeder@reeds.surrey.sch.uk
Andrew Mules (Bristowe 1975)
To be honest, leaving Reed’s back in the seventies was one of the happiest days of my life. Not because I was unhappy at school but because a new stage of my life was about to start. I went on to agricultural college, during which time I met a rather attractive girl from the then Rhodesia who asked if I would be interested in going out to Africa, to help run her family farm. ‘Not bloody likely,’ I said, ‘there’s a war going on.’
Needless to say, I did go and eventually married this young girl but, alas, the farm did not come with her. For the next 27 years, my wife and I worked on various large-scale farming operations in what is now Zimbabwe, ending up leasing a tobacco farm right next door to where we started. However, the Mugabe government saw us evicted from our farm, after which I succeeded in running a small horticultural seed company in Harare for a few more years. As the situation in the country continued to deteriorate, the company offered me a transfer to Kenya to help run their subsidiary there which I jumped at. Once in Kenya, I wanted to try and get back onto a farm again. Eventually, after a brief sojourn to Sudan, I was offered a job back in Kenya as a project manager, opening up a large scale flower and veg farm out of the African bush. This is where we have been for the last eight years and it has been one of the most satisfying times of my life helping create an intensive horticultural operation, where we grow, pack and sell vegetables and flowers to the various UK supermarkets and elsewhere.
Wherever my fellow classmates may have ended up, I wish them all well and perhaps one day we will meet up somewhere and reminisce about old times. Take care all of you.
Sean Murray (Capel 1963)
I left Reed’s in July 1963 at the age of 17 years, two months. The Headmaster, R.Q. Drayson, told me I had outgrown the School which struck me as ironic given my relative youth. Anyway I had a place at Manchester University where I had a happy four years, graduating in 1966 with a BA Hons in Modern Languages and then, in 1967, with a post-graduate degree in Business Studies . It was at Manchester University that I met Jill. We got married in 1968 and celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on 27th April this year. Happy days from the time I left Reed’s and, of course, some happy years there too especially in the 5th and 6th Forms.
Claire Pollington (née Chislett) (Blathwayt 1978)
I spent an incredible two years at Reed’s between 1976 and 1978 as the only girl. This was due to the fact that no-one was staying on into Sixth Form at my girls’ school. In a panic, I spoke to my brother, Peter, who told me that his school was going to start taking girls at 16. I applied, was accepted and arrived in the September to discover that I was the only girl who had applied. I was supposed to be a boarder but, obviously, this was not possible so I stayed in Oxshott with a family that my parents knew, as they lived abroad.
I left Reed’s in 1978 and lived in a bedsit in Kingston for a few months but was very lonely so I moved to Bognor Regis where Simon Keenlyside (Capel 1978) (and now Sir) and Robert Knapman (Mullens 1978) lived. They both helped to get me settled and in 1980 I met the man who I would eventually marry.
We have now been married for 36 years and have a 32-year-old son who lives around the corner and a 30-year-old
daughter who lives near London; both are married.
I remember my time at Reed’s with great fondness. The guys in my year were all very good to me and my brother was there for my first year. I still have the School photo from my time there; I am only 5 foot tall so am right on the end with the younger boys, but at least I have something to show people when they don’t believe that I was the only girl at an all boys school!
Dorothy Roberts (née Griffiths) (Dogmersfield 1949)
I left Reed’s in 1949. I enjoyed the Reunion this year and last, where I was very pleased to meet up with Julia Pink (née Taylor) and Jeanne Humphrey (née Collinson). I am hoping that next year Janet Stringer (née Lindsay) will be able to join us. I keep in regular contact with Rosemary Thorpe (née Hardy).
I live in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and my eldest daughter and grandson live nearby. My other daughter lives in New Zealand with her husband and three children – a little further away! It is a beautiful country and the people are very friendly; I have visited a number of times, but it is a very long journey!
I now play outdoor bowls and in the winter short mat bowls. One of our bowlers came up to me the other day and said, ‘I have just picked up a leaflet on walking netball, do you fancy it?’!
James Roriston (Capel 2015)
For the past five years I’ve been working in the south of India at The International School Bangalore as Head of Music and eventually Co-Ordinator of Boarding Administration. The last part sounds quite dull but, on the ground, it was about re-organisation, delivering positive change for our pupils to try and improve life beyond the nine to five. Most of my pupils and colleagues were from South Asia, although there were a significant minority from Europe and South East Asia too. I loved that aspect. There’s nothing quite like total cultural immersion and you learn so much about yourself, as much as what you learn about others. India is everything you read about: a country of immense culture, colour, vibrancy, and contrast. It’s as tragic as it is magical.
Being in a bilingual school in Sweden for two years prior to going India was great preparation despite the stark difference. South Asia truly is a very welcoming culture and I made so many good friends in my time out there.
I’d recommend to anyone spending some time abroad, working with foreign nationals and getting immersed. I’ve come back to the UK and am freelancing in various roles, including some work in broadcast and print journalism which is something I’ve always been interested in. It’s been a process of readjustment to what has changed as well as reacquainting with the familiar. Here’s a photo with some of my work colleagues who had me in stitches most days....
I am now a make-up designer and artist, having realised my passion for the arts over my work in the city. Since establishing myself within the industry just six years ago, I have been fortunate to be able to work in the TV and film industry building up an excellent portfolio, including Fear of Water, collaborating with fellow OR Sophie Alexander (Bristowe 2008), celebrity charity events for Stand up to Cancer, Comic and Sport Relief amongst others, and making my cinematic debuts with White Island and the third instalment of Noel Clarke’s trilogy, Brotherhood.
Phil Salt (Mullens 2015)
Congratulations to Phil for signing a new two-year contract with Sussex CCC and having an amazing season.
Mark Smallwood (Blathwayt 1985)
I was always fascinated by military aviation, particularly to do with World War One and this was further reinforced by my most inspirational teacher at Reed’s, John Wright. (I remember his models of a de Havilland Mosquito and Hawker Siddeley Harrier with affection.)
My life has taken many turns since I left in 1985 and I almost forgot about this passion completely. However, the untimely death of a good friend in December 2015 was a stark reminder that waiting until everything is ‘just right’ is a deeply flawed strategy! With that in mind, in early 2016, I decided to realise my dream of building a full-scale, reproduction WW1 fighter aircraft. The decision was the easy part! After many 100s of hours of research, at numerous aviation archives, I have now received approval to begin the build by the relevant authorities. I have been lucky enough to be welcomed by the vintage airlift restoration community and to receive excellent instruction in the key skills I require to build a world-class aircraft. The aircraft is a Sopwith Snipe 7.F.2. and is being constructed using original materials and methodology. The airframe is a factory designed two-seater which will make it the only one of its kind in the world. It will be powered by a fully certified replica Bentley B.R.2. Rotary engine and I am aiming to have it ready to fly at the Bournemouth Air Festival in August 2021. I am currently pulling together a blog and will pass on its details in due course. In the meantime, I must also thank my family for their forbearance, and Bob Ballard, my Design and Technology teacher at Reed’s for his patience and kind instruction all those years ago.
Tim Smith (Mullens 1979)
For me, 2017 proved to be a memorable year. After 10 years as CEO of a national business, I led the sale of the company in November and a successful exit for me. At 56 I was able to retire and now spend time with my wife and three children. Sadly my mother died aged 92 on the morning of the sale; bitter sweet.
At the St Paul’s service a few years ago for the School’s Bicentenary celebrations, Richard Warnock said that he understood I had ‘made something of myself’. That meant a lot to me.
As a Foundationer I understand the huge help that Reed’s gave me. My brother and I got our places with the help of a former Reed’s Housemaster and Head of Chemistry called Brian Able. A galvanising personality who, as Headmaster of my prep school put me on the right track. The more I reflect on my time at Reed’s, which in all honesty wasn’t a period of great happiness for me at the time, the more I appreciate what the School gave me. Sincere thanks to all involved.
I will (finally) be publishing my first book Malaysia’s Canvas in November this year. There is a brief mention of Reed’s (not in name) in a short but hilarious anecdote that I remember from my time there. It also includes a mention of some of the more famous alumni. Malaysia’s Canvas is a non-fiction novel that tells the story of a group of artists and creatives who transformed the heritage city of George Town, Penang, Malaysia, into Southeast Asia’s newest art hub. Having personally known the artists and creatives in George Town at one time or another, I have structured the book so that they tell the story, retelling their experiences with their own words, and to the best of my ability intertwining their perspectives with Malaysia’s exciting history during that time. I would like to thank my English teachers at the time, especially Will Gatti. However, Ian Clapp (Sixth Form Housemaster), Matt Close (Geography at the time), Adam Waller (History and Capel) and Mark Vernon (Head of Capel) all instilled a sense of possibility in me. I can only apologise to the sports department, Clapp (again, to some extent) and Alex Balls, who may have imagined I would continue with rugby or athletics in some way, rather than sitting down for the rest of my life.
The army didn’t work out, but the Combined Cadet Force still conjures some of the fondest memories of my educational life. (I suppose I have to doff my hat again to Mr Clapp, as he had a hand in that too.)
Peter Stradling (Mullens 1972)
I retired from teaching some time ago and now live in Devon. ORs with whom I am in contact are my brother-in-law Chris Tamlyn (Bristowe 1973) and my cousin Michael Landon (Mullens 1973). Also, I’m due to meet John Leach (Head of Music 1966-1971) when he visits Torquay in
James Springer (Capel 2005)
September 2018.
My interests include singing (with the Exeter Philharmonic Choir and the St Peter’s Singers of Exeter Cathedral), volunteering as a hospital car driver, and undertaking long-distance walking expeditions. The picture shows me walking along the Sussex coast last summer (2017) on my way to Poole in Dorset from where I had set off some years before to walk, in stages, the entire coastline of England and Wales. I was joined for parts of the trip by my wife Caroline and other parts by my brother Dave. It was an amazing journey of around 3,000 miles altogether which brought home to me what an incredibly beautiful, diverse and interesting landscape this country has. In my family I have two married daughters and two grandsons. Caroline and I will be celebrating our Ruby wedding anniversary next April by talking a cruise up the coast of Norway to the North Cape.
Ben Taylor (Bristowe 2010)
Congratulations to Ben for winning the Club Colombia Golf Championship this year, part of the Web.com Tour.
Bruce Taylor (Blathwayt 1966)
(As a precursor to this update, please read the article in the Recollections & Reflections section.)
After Reed’s, I studied Modern Languages at Southampton before spending a gap year teaching English and Literature at the University of Zaragoza. It was there I met my future wife, Carmen. After a year, I realised teaching wasn´t for me, went back to London and started a new job as a management trainee.
My employers, the British Tourist Authority, took me on a pan-European tour for 30 years as an overseas director. Finally, in 2000, I went freelance as a consultant and later a journalist, while Carmen went out to earn the serious money and I followed her to Bordeaux for five years of great food and wine.
We returned to Madrid which felt strangely familiar but was completely different from where I had started my career in the prehistoric 1970s. Like in so many places before, I had to begin all over again, but this time there was no ready-made corporate network. All my friends and
contacts from the old days were either long retired or no longer of this world…
So I went back to university, to the one where all my friends had studied: the famous Jesuit Universidad Pontificia de Comillas-ICAD’ in the centre of Madrid. I graduated (complete with supportive family in the photo) at the end of May from a five-year course in Humanities at the Senior University where I also ended up as president of the Student and Alumni Association because no Spaniard was mad enough to take on what is a demanding, almost full-time, voluntary job!
Josh Thompson (Blathwayt 1993)
Well, it has been 22 years since I left Reed’s so I thought it was about time I provided an update. Firstly, you may see my name has changed a little: I now go by Josh Thompson not Josh ThompsonJones, a double-barrelled name was not doing my street cred any good.
I have been living in Australia for the past 10 years, initially coming out with my girlfriend (Marie) for what we thought would be a two-year work stint. We stayed longer and now have a five-year-old daughter (Tilly Rose), a two-year-old son (Albie) and a sizeable mortgage in Sydney. For those who know Sydney, we’re in Rose Bay: Nick Gray, Steve Bartlett, Dan Murray and Andrew Harman are four Old Reedonians who have had the pleasure of one of my burnt barbeques.
We have not converted to the dark side just yet and still remain British citizens. However, the temptation is great and the likelihood high that by the end of 2018, we will have to support the Aussies, as we will be Aussie citizens. For the Australians I have befriended they prefer to describe myself and my stay with a five-letter acronym: FILTH = Failed In London, Trying Here.
For eight of the last 10 years, I have been working at a French company in Sydney: Lagardére Travel Retail. They are one of the biggest presences at airports around the world, retailing under three business divisions: travel essentials, food & beverage and duty free & luxury. I am head of marketing. The role allows me to travel a little across the Pacific, Asia, and to Europe very occasionally.
We have no plans to head back to the UK just yet as the lifestyle here is good. I have joined that popular breed of man, ‘The Mamil’. I am out on the bike most days, despite the roads and drivers on Sydney being less than friendly to cyclists.
If anyone wants to get in touch feel free to contact me on my work email josh. thompson@lsaspac.com - if sending anything rude better to do it via this one jt2012sydney@hotmail.com.
David Varley (Blathwayt 1969)
I continue to meet with Peter Verstage at the lunches he arranges every Friday and recently had the pleasure of watching the Red Arrows from his patio. I am sure the biting insects would have been far more annoying than they were had it not been for the magnificent spread (both solid and liquid) that he put on. On previous occasions I have been there as a skivvy, but this year, despite the automatic entry system seemingly having disbarred me, I made it on a leisure-only basis.
Other than that we rub along comfortably in the Isle of Man. I offer croquet to friends and can put on a reasonable spread of my own from time to time while I hone my skills to bore others on Synchronome timepieces and their imitators.
Peter Verstage (Capel 1965)
I am still living in the Isle of Man, where I see David Varley on a regular basis, but I seem to have been taken off his croquet team because I’m rubbish!
I continue with lots of kitesurfing, and was encouraged the other week to see a picture in The Times of an 80-year-old doing it. He is an ex-Olympic gymnast but all the same, I should have another eight or nine years of chasing the wind round the world before I die a happy man!
Theo Vukasinovic (Blathwayt 2014)
Congratulations to Theo on his signing to London Scottish RFC to play professional rugby.
thereeder@reeds.surrey.sch.uk
Ian Ward (Capel 1968)
I have just put the phone down from speaking with my good friend, Mike Jaggard, in Australia, and was shocked to hear that he is anticipating a four or five page feature on his life past and present Down Under!
Already the most written about and photographed Old Reedonian since The Reeder first hit the streets, the Mullens publicity-seeker now claims that Sharmaine travelled halfway across the world to interview him in the privacy of his own home. If true, I apologise to my former Capel House mates that it is now too late to issue an injunction! However, as a retired journalist who keeps his press hat handy, I discovered that Sharmaine has a daughter in Oz and was on a family visit when she arranged to meet up with Mike and Susie. I look forward to reading the piece but would remind Sharmaine that Spain, my happy home for the past 14 years, is a lot closer should she run out of interesting people to interview…!
Joking aside, I’m delighted that Mike and I have kept in touch for so many years (see photo of beers past). We have had some good laughs along the way and hope to meet up again later in the year to resume our Capel-Mullens rivalry! I was certainly happy to remind Mike that Sharmaine’s two sons are Capelites.
PS If there are any OR’s of my era living in Spain, please do get in touch.
Richard (Rick) Watson (Blathwayt 1975)
One of my favourite memories from Reed’s was learning to sail, a sport that became a lifelong passion. These days I enjoy sailing the coast of the US Pacific Northwest with my wife Chris, and two grown children, Ben and Heather. We also love exploring Idaho’s mountains on horseback, downhill skiing, scuba diving, and anything else described as adventure.
Adventure started for me the year after leaving Reed’s when I drove the length of Africa, with many associated exploits along the way, from climbing Mt Kilimanjaro to narrowly missing Idi Amin’s wrath following the raid on Entebbe. I graduated from UCNW, Bangor, with a degree in Marine Zoology, followed by a PhD in Raptor Ecology from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, with research into the decline of the Bateleur, Africa’s most colourful and unusual eagle.
I joined The Peregrine Fund in 1990, an Idaho-based non-profit organisation dedicated to raptor conservation worldwide. I was hired to find and conserve three of the world’s rarest and most endangered birds of prey in Madagascar. We then helped create the island’s largest rain-forest national park and pioneered community-based conservation in three critical habitat sites that have served as models for many others across Madagascar. I went on to start new projects in Kenya and Ethiopia, and others in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ivory Coast. In 1998 I was appointed the International Programs Director and began leading projects in Asia and Latin America, with notable team successes in solving the
Ian Ward and Mike Jaggard
cause behind the collapse of vulture populations in South Asia, restoring Harpy Eagles in Panama, and recovering the Ridgway’s Hawk in Dominican Republic. In 2007, I was appointed Vice President of The Peregrine Fund, and elected President and CEO in 2017. I now lead the implementation of our global strategic plan, Vision 2050 - to change the future. And the adventures continue!
David Wheaton (Mullens 1957)
I live in Alberta, Canada, and my sister, Ann Adam (was Beryl Wheaton) – resides in Ontario. A couple of years back I made a stupid decision, namely to run for local council, and I needed a picture for my application which my wife took (see photo). As I had not been inspired by the applications process and futile questioning, I was ecstatic when the returning officer called to say that I had not been elected!
