News and Congratulations

We are delighted to have heard recently from…

From L-R: Chris Roythorne (54-64), Judy Roythorne, Gillian McKinlay, Mary Franks and Peter ‘Nod’ Dinely (58-64)

David McKinlay (56-64) who wrote: The 1964 Biology 6th had a 2nd reunion at Wood Hall, Cockermouth, 16-19 May. Wood Hall is a fabulous house in a Thomas Mawson garden owned by Doug Trotter’s son and available for hire. Doug Trotter (54-64), Chris Roythorne (54-64), Peter ‘Nod’ Dinely (58-64), Mike Rennie (54-64), David Franks (54-65) and David McKinlay and partners were able to meet. David Brown (57-65) and Ann Brown were abroad and David Tomlinson (54-64) and Betty Tomlinson were prevented from attending at the last minute by sickness. On the Saturday night we had a ’60s themed evening (see photo) won by Doug and Carol as Ozzie Osborne and Biba. We all still get on amazingly well and future events are proposed.

Michael Ord (66-76) writes: After 33 years working as a solicitor, mainly in Newcastle I left /retired from private practice in 2013 to take up a full time position as an employment judge in the East Anglia region, based in Huntingdon, but also sitting in Bedford, Bury St. Edmunds and Norwich, when required. Having lived and worked in the North East for pretty much all of my previous 55 years this is a rather exciting personal move. I took up my appointment in May 2013 and almost exactly a year later completed our house move (reverting to a bachelor life for 12 months was less attractive than it sounds).

Allison and I were married in 1983. Sons, Stephen Ord (95-02) and David Ord (94-04) are now respectively teaching in Newcastle and banking in Edinburgh, whilst daughter Josie is reading Geography at Edinburgh. I remain in close contact with a number of old school friends, in particular Michael Harle (66-76), Peter Milburn (69-76), Iain Herdman (66-76) and Nigel Paton (66-76) from my own year and Paul Gibson (67-77) and Ian Severs (67-77) from the year below. Paul, Ian and I had a ‘best men’ pact which saw us each do the honours for each other over the years, a plot hatched over a great deal of beer and a toss of the coin in a pub in Leeds in 1982.

I remain a loyal follower of NUFC despite the current shambles and a student (rather more studying than in the old days as some will recall) of the turf (currently taking a break from pouring money into a pit having previously had shares in some National Hunt horses with varying degrees of success). If timing permits I hope to make the next London dinner as it is now very much within striking distance, hopefully to meet up with friends old and new.

Alan Castree (53-61) writes: My wife Catherine and I have completed 51 happy years of marriage, have two lovely married daughters and two super grandsons. I was assistant chief constable in Greater Manchester, where I was also chairman of Sale Rugby Club, then commissioner of police in Gibraltar for five years. These were two very different locations and each had its own particular problems. Following that I was an overseas policing adviser to both the Foreign Office and the European Union for another five years.

On retirement, I enrolled at King’s College, London for three years and gained a degree in Theology. I indulge in a bit of scribbling and have the occasional success with publication, notably in natural history magazines, as well as assisting the British Trust for Ornithology. I added a qualification as a cricket umpire to my later sports involvements and umpired in the Surrey Premier League, maintaining my interest in rugby. I am now studying for a Master’s degree in the Psychology of Religion at Heythrop College, University of London.

Alan Castree (53-61)

Our congratulations go to…

Niall Flannery (99-09) who just missed out on a medal at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games when he competed in the Men’s 400m Hurdles final.

James Penn (99-09) who achieved a 1st Class Triple Honours in Modern Languages (French and Spanish) with International Relations from St Andrew’s University. He was also awarded a Dean’s Award for sustained academic excellence.

Ben Pearson-Stuttard (08-10) who also achieved a First Class degree in Medicine from St Andrew’s University. He now continues his degree in Medicine at Glasgow University.

Angus Walker (08-10) who gradated this year with a 1st in Psychology from Edinburgh University, also winning the British Psychology Society (BPS) undergraduate award for highest overall grade at his university.

Georgina Orife (née Cook) (02-04) and Ray Orife (99-03) who were married in August. We wish them all the very best for their future together.

Harry Goodwin (11-13) Politics undergraduate at Durham University, who has just been announced as the winner of the innovation category in the prestigious Jack Wills Young Brits competition, backed by i. Harry competed against more than 2,300 16-25 year old UK applicants in a competition in search of the brightest new talent in the arts, enterprise, endurance and innovation. Harry is the creator and editor of the website Omnipolitical (www.omnipolitical. com), using the internet and social media to engage young people in politics and debate. As winner of the innovation category, Harry’s achievements will earn him a cash reward of £5,000 and professional mentoring from one of the Judges, Olivia Solon, writer and editor specialising in technology, science, startups and digital culture.

Harry Goodwin (11-13) From L-R: ONA Netball team: Holly Clark (06-13), Alex Jordon (02-04), Hettie Williams (06-13), Kristen Hartley (06-13), Natalie Twaddle (07-09), Sally Squires (02-04), Amanda Williams (05-07)

Saturday 29 March 2014 saw the second annual ONA Netball match, which took place in the RGS Sports Hall – a vast improvement on the frozen, windswept hard play area of the previous year. Not only this, but there were several new faces to join the ONA team and most pleasing was the fact that they were all talented netballers in their own right.

It was clear from the beginning of the match that both teams were closely matched in terms of ability and by the end of the first quarter, the RGS 1st VII were winning by only a small margin at 6-5. Due to some excellent shooting skills from Holly Clark (06-13) (GA) and Natalie Twaddle (07-09) (GS) this quickly changed and by the end of the second quarter, the ONA team were leading with 7 goals to 6. Superb defending by Hettie Williams (06-13) (GD) maintained this lead at the end of the third quarter with 20 goals to 19 and the team were in high spirits. Overall the match was extremely close, and it must be noted that due to a shortage of players on the RGS 1st VII some of the current RGS Games staff were drafted in throughout the match thus compromising the fairness of the team selection!

All of the ONA players showed superb skill and determination to have our first victory and the team camaraderie was also excellent. It must also be noted that having played seven-minute quarters the year before due to inclement conditions, these quarters were all 15 minutes long and of an extremely high standard. Unfortunately, several goals from the RGS 1st VII in the closing minute of the game saw them win the game with a final score of 25-24. My thanks go out to everyone who gave up their Saturday morning to play for either team and to Miss Smith and Mrs Harvey at RGS for umpiring. Third time lucky for a victory next year…