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SALLY WERRY (1971-77) is another old scholar who made contact with us via the website and the Internet; she sent us an update on her CV: ‘When I left Ayton I trained as a dental technician, which led to my own business for a while in the eighties. Following a number of disasters (two floods from the premises above and economic circumstances) I sold the business and cleared off to New Zealand for just over a year. During my time in New Zealand I decided I should pursue what I had wanted to do when I left Ayton – teach. On my return I applied to Goldsmiths, London and got in, emerging three years later with a music degree. After one year’s PGCE (Secondary Ed) I started teaching. I spend most of my time now teaching the flute privately and peripatetically, as I have spent the last three years looking after my ten year old nephew. Hopefully I will be able to go back into fulltime teaching again in 2001. We had been looking for boarding schools for my nephew and visited Sibford School in Banbury. It had the same ‘feeling’ that Ayton had. (We have been lucky enough to get him in there.) It was while looking for Sibford School on the Internet that I discovered the AOSA again on the Quaker School site. I am single, sane and living in Guildford, I still live in the same house I bought in 1984.’ Sally would like to get in touch with LYNN TAIT, AMANDA STUART, LIZ WELLS, GILLIAN HINDSON, KAY WRIGHTSON, SALLY INMAN, STUART SEDDON, RICHARD BOWES, JILL STEPENSON, and RHIANNON HUGHES. Can anybody help her?
ANNE McKENZIE (WESCHENFELDER 1972-77) entered the London Marathon in April 2000 and finished in 4 hours 19 minutes. She raised £4,400 for the Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre in Middlesbrough.
AMANDA GIBBS (HENDERSON 1972-74) and her family moved to Bristol in August 1999. (A lovely city – I spent a year there in the late 1950s –Ed.) She wonders if there are any OS living in her area.
HUW JARVIS (1972-78) sent (via the Internet) this information about himself and his sisters: -‘Huw Jarvis is a lecturer at Salford University where he is the Admissions' Tutor and Course Co-ordinator of an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Huw spent the first ten years of his career teaching abroad (Sudan, Kuwait and Thailand) before settling in New Mills (just outside of Manchester) in 1993. Huw continues to travel with his work and is involved in education projects in China and Thailand. He married in 1989 and has two children, Matthew (aged 11) and Natasha (aged 7). Huw’s sisters CAROLE (1972-77) and KATHY (1976-77) are both well and living in London. Huw is interested in making contact with ex-classmates (and other old scholars of that era) and has put a posting on the Noticeboard of the AOSA website http://www.manannan.org.im/aosa/in_touch/index.html. Having not made one reunion in all those years, Huw promises to try to make the next one with Carole and Kathy and they all look forward to the possibility of meeting others from the same period.’
JONATHAN (1973-80) and DARLAS VICKERS (HUNTER 1975-80) now have more time to do their own thing during the day as their daughter Ruth (5) was due to join her brother Matthew (8) at school after Easter 2000. Karen Smith, the wife of Jonathan’s brother, MIKE (1976-81) gave birth to their first baby - Sarah - in February 2000.
ANGELA PORTER (SMITH 1974-81) wrote to her District Secretary ROBIN GREY with the following news: - ‘I am enjoying life as a working mother with Jack (3ish) and Harrison (15 months). I am working in Redhill for an American manufacturer of ticketing systems (we’re currently installing new ticket machines and gates all over the underground.) I have seen GAYE RICHARDSON (1974-81) a few times and JULIA CAMERON (DEANS 1974-79) but few others from the old days!’
ROBIN GREY (1975-81) sent in his own news along with the others from his ‘district’: ‘I continue to work as a counsellor in London and this year achieved my accreditation from the British Association of Counselling. Last year, my partner, Terry, and I had a commitment ceremony to recognise our relationship, which was attended by friends, and family. I am also in touch with CAROL WHITAKER (1971-78), PETER TOLLEY (1975-79) and ALISON BROWN (COWARD 1975-81.)’
JOHN READMAN (1973 94) sent news of 70s’ OS to WENDY SMITH (ARNOLD 1959-65) in March 2000. Some of it has metamorphosed during the past twelve months. NIGEL STOUT (1976-81) – a medic, moved with his wife Diane (a physiotherapist) and their young daughter, from Morpeth to live in Oz from where he has been in touch with Dick Dennis by e-mail. MIKE SMITH (1979-86) is working for Microsoft in Seattle, he is married to Nikki and their first child, Cloe Jennifer was born last July.
From Arthur Grainge in Area 13.
A bright note popped up in my e-mail one day with a 'FI' suffix to the address and it was from a hitherto unknown correspondent. It was from TAPANI RAUHA (1970-73) asking "do you have any addresses for people 1970-1973?” I thought, "Oh wonderful, I've always wanted to correspond with someone from Fiji, I might get an invitation,” one of my dream places where I could visit and have a bed. Tapani wrote back to say "sorry, FI is the suffix for Finland.” Bit disappointing really, I was looking forward to Fiji's warm beaches and wonderful choral singing rather than sauna baths, flogging with birch twigs followed by dips in icy water. I had enough of that at Ayton. Well anyway, I was able to send Tapani some back copies of the annual news and a copy of the latest directory so that he could look up any old friends and get directly in touch. Apparently it took only about 4 days for them to get there. Tapani, noticing that I had a musical bent replied, "By the way I am in music too, professionally. I was quite good in the academic subjects in school, so I thought I should get into something completely different to avoid boredom and getting into a rut. I also thought that it would be fun and interesting to develop myself in a field that I was lousy in, so I started in music and through perseverance I have been able to become a full time professional which I do enjoy. I enjoy the company of musicians and people interested in music. Also having had every difficulty in learning it myself, I find it easy to teach it since I can easily understand what both the problem and the cure is. I would love to hear from you about the Ottawa scene, and its studio musicians. I have some projects that need American skills.” (I have no idea what Tapani could do with my banjo skills! AG)
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