Issue No. 5 Autumn
1994
"THE
DORKINIAN” 
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Contents
Reflections ‑ from Andrew Glass (1933-40)
Letter ‑ from Kelvin Lee (1962-69) remembers
Response ‑ from Janet Roobol (Birkin 1956-63)
Memories ‑ from Geoff Manning (1948-55)
Problems in Dhaka ‑ Ron Thompson (1959-66)
Puzzle from Rob Worsfold (1962-69)
Ashcombe School Structure 1994-95
Dear 'Dorkinians',
With this edition of our newsletter we include a separate set
of papers relating to our "All Day AGM" on Saturday 15th October. We
have already received a good response to the provisional booking form issued
earlier this year ‑ names are listed with the programme and the copy
booking form enclosed ‑ and hope that if you were 'wavering' you will now
recognise that it should be a good day! You have the choice of 'lunch &
afternoon', the 'evening', or both. Dress for the evening will be informal ‑
as smart as you wish! (men wearing the new tie
advertised within would surely be smart!). This newsletter has been compiled
with much help from Maureen Farley, Sheila Sandford, and Lionel Rose, to all of
whom I am very grateful. Also I take this opportunity to thank Sheila, Lionel,
Cliff Weight, and Janet Hadgraft for their work in
packaging and issuing the previous newsletter. David Mountain September 1994
£25 BOOK
TOKEN PRIZE ‑ last chance to qualify for the draw due to take place
at the AGM. ‑ thanks to the enthusiasm and
generosity of Roderick McLeod. A further copy of the application form* was
enclosed, with a space for you to write your own name at the top and then
persuade all those potential members to join (subscriptions £5pa single, £8pa
for joint membership at the same address). * you will see that we have reused
the form for 1993‑94 without amendment, so please note that applicants
joining now will get membership from the date of joining until 30th November
1995
DIARY
1 THE "ALL DAY AGM" ‑ Saturday 15th October ‑
see separate set of papers.
2 CHRISTMAS CONCERT ‑ Monday 19th December in
School Hall at 7.30pm.
Members of the Association welcome ‑we hope to have our
own refreshment area to make it easier for members to recognise one another,
and the wearing of name badges (and the new tie, where appropriate) would be
very helpful.
LOGO
COMPETITION
The winning entry in our logo competition, which was submitted
by Lorna Butlin, a student at The Ashcombe, will be
on view at the AGM.
SPRING CONCERT ‑ Thursday April 28th In our last
newsletter we mentioned a 'Musical Evening' which was about to take place. In
fact it was the Spring Concert given by the School, and those of you who could
not be there missed a treat! Some of us in our school days might have sung an
oratorio under 'Doc' Morgan's direction, while others remember the senior
orchestral concerts of 'Doc' Morgan and his predecessor John Denton. In later
years the concerts were more varied, but this one had to be an
exception.
It was a
pleasant Spring evening and everyone gathered in the
Bradley School Hall, formerly the Lower School Hall, and originally the Mowbray Hall. The seating was semi‑circular in the body of the hall so that the performers could easily be seen as well as heard. What followed was a 'pot pourri' of melody which was played with confidence and charm.
The
programme began with the Senior Orchestra playing Schubert's Rosamunde Overture. This was followed by various soloists ‑ Faure 'Sicilienne'
on clarinet; a John Rutter vocal duet; a composition for cello and piano by
Bruch; some Beatle arrangements by the
vocal ensemble; a Beethoven sonata Opus 10 for piano; a vocal solo composed by
one of the students; Albinoni's Adagio for flute and
piano.
Then we were
all shaken out of our complacency when 15 year old Darby Todd gave us a rousing 5 minute performance on the drum kit! He had just won the U.K. Young Drummer of
the Year award.
Next came Mozart's Andante in C, K3 15 for flute; the recorder
group with a bassoon; a harp solo;
a flute solo by Charles Le Thiere, and finally to
send you on your way, the rousing music of ‘Neighbours'
and ‘Rock around the Clock', played by the Sinfonietta.
Everyone
then began to leave for coffee. Yes, this was only half time!
After we
were all suitably refreshed the remaining items were just as stimulating. A group performed 'Purple Haze' by Jimi Hendrix. Then followed Faure's Elegie for cello and piano; a beautiful male vocal solo from Chess; a bassoon solo by Hurlstone; Concerto in A minor by Boismortier for flute quintet; a saxophone
and piano duo; the Sinfonietta again with two popular items; Anna Hoyle, who is on our committee, and left school this summer, played ‘Morceau de Salon' on oboe by Kalliwoda; a saxophone and clarinet rendition of 'The Londonderry Air'; flute solos by Telemann and Couperin; a piano solo composed and performed by a student; Vivaldi's 'Summer' for violin and piano, and finally the first movement of Mozart's Symphony no. 40, by the Senior Orchestra.
The
performances revealed a vast and varied wealth of talent. The presentation was well rehearsed and smooth, and the evening came to an end all too soon.
This was the
last time that this hall would be used for a concert, as it is to be converted into a drama studio and practice room facilities. I have given you details so that you can see for yourselves the rich diversity of music and performance. Perhaps when they give their
concert next year in the new hall, the Dorkinians can be there in force to support and encourage these young people.
Maureen
Farley
STRAWBERRY
CREAM TEA ‑ Sunday June
12th
This event will almost certainly be repeated next year at 65
Broadhurst, Ashtead as it was thoroughly enjoyed by the 22 people who turned up
to meet some unexpected old friends, reminisce, and eat strawberries and cream
supplied (thanks to some hard work by Sheila Sandford, Janet Hadgraft, Valerie Mountain, and others) for a few more than
22! Nevertheless a profit of nearly £50 was made after taking account of the
raffle organised by Cliff Weight. The weather was ideal! During the afternoon a
card was circulated for those who wanted to send their good wishes to 'Doc'
Morgan, who wrote some 2 years ago that he had had several letters from past
students and staff following the Reunion. At that time he invited contact from
old friends, giving his address as 6 Nautical Court, Yanchep
Lagoon, Western Australia 603 5 (telephone (09) 561 1125).
FROM THE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Since my report for the Spring 1994
Newsletter, I have continued to spend many hours trying to unravel mysteries of
lost cheques, missing payments by Bankers* Order, and trying to sort out
queries ‑ all this in between trying to live a fairly normal life which
includes the odd family problem, working, and being quite heavily involved with
a couple of other outside interests! Hence my house and garden are suffering
from neglect! And there has certainly been little time for this
..!
Many problems have been caused by
those who have said they have paid by Banker's Order. This has given rise to
two types of problem. In the first type, names have not been easy to pick up on
Bank statements, especially in the case of ladies with fairly common surnames
who are perhaps signatories on husbands' cheques. This can lead to problems
when the husband’s initials are different from the wife's and, short of
guessing, I do not know whose subscription is being paid! With the second type
of problem, I assume that when members were invited to subscribe via Banker's
orders in summer 1993, some sent the Banker's Order to their Banks after
December 1st. Without any contrary instruction from the account holder, the Bank
will commence payments on 1st December 1994
instead of 1993! Thus we may be owed some subscriptions for 1993/94 of
which we are unaware! If you can offer any clues to some of the mysteries on my
files, I should be so grateful to hear from you.
I do hope this will all sort itself
out by 1st December 1994. With this Newsletter you will find a reminder about
your 1995 subscription and, where I know that you intend to pay by Bank Order, I
have indicated so. Any of you who would now like to pay by this method, please note that you should send the
banker's order to your bank by NOVEMBER 18th 1994.
So much for the moans! Numbers continue
to creep up and, as at 1st September 1994, I am pleased to report that we have
a membership of 314, made up of..
120 Renewals by those who joined in 1993 (including 3 staff)
representing an increase of 10 over the Spring figure
194 New members joining in 1994 (including 6 staff)
representing an increase of 20 over the Spring figure
If each one of us could enrol just
one new member for 1995, you don't need me to tell you that we could DOUBLE our
membership! So an application form for a friend is included with this
newsletter ‑ here's hoping!
A list of amendments and additions
to the April 1994 Membership List is enclosed with this Newsletter. Do please
continue to let me know of any inaccuracies or changes in your circumstances.
Finally I should like to thank those
who have taken the trouble to write about their lives in far flung places ‑
some of their efforts appear elsewhere in this edition of the Newsletter.
Further articles from others will be warmly welcomed! How about YOU?
Sheila Sandford 73, Copthorne Road, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 7EE
DID YOU KNOW ?
Alison Berry (nee Holland, 1955‑63)
is
Headteacher of Greenlands High School for Girls at
Blackpool
Graharn Broomfield (1956‑63)
has
his own Chartered Accountancy firm based in London
Elizabeth O'Kelly (1962‑67)
says that 20 years
ago she paid for Life Membership! Didn't anyone tell her
that the Old
Dorkinian Association was wound up in 1979 and the funds
distributed to charity? So..... communication problems are nothing new!!
ANY NEWS ?
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
A number of enquires have been received about former pupils
with whom others have lost touch ‑ can YOU help with any information? The
Membership Secretary would be glad to hear.
Michael Gardiner circa 1947‑54
Glenda Sizer left
1948
Shirley Smith circa 1947‑52
Frank Woodcock circa 1952‑59
John Lewer circa
1952‑59
Charles Harvey circa 1952‑59
Alan Fricker circa
1949‑54
Alan France circa
1947‑54
Gillian Barber circa 1947‑52
Is there anyone YOU would like news of? If so, please let the
Membership Secretary have details.
NEWS OF DORKINIANS
Mrs Marjorie
Bunce (nee Maidment
1930‑35) 11
“‑‑‑‑
I started at
the Girls High School in 1930. I suppose it was about 1931 when we went into the new
building in Ashcombe Road, and combined with the Boys High School to become
Dorking County School. Sadly I had to leave before my
education was complete owing to the sudden death of my father. However the
education I received was so excellent that I have been able to 'educate' myself
ever since: the wonderful grounding in English; the little bit of Latin and
French made it easy to learn Spanish, Italian, and French 'on my own'. I was
never much good at Maths, but what I did learn has enabled me to run my own
business and keep my head above water. Thank you for ever Mr Bradshaw, Mr
Newman, Miss Wilcox and Miss Allsworth. Are the last
three still with us? I don't know what happened to Wilkinson and Wootton, but poor dear Gerry Weston went missing in the
North Africa part of the war. I used to see him right up until he was posted
there after his hilarious descriptions of how he got out of Dunkirk. It must
have been awful really."
Does anyone know what happened to Wilkinson and Wootton?
Alan Fricker
(1949‑54) ‑
where are you?
Peter Stimpson (49‑54) would very much like to trace Alan, who lived in Dorking.
Peter thinks that Alan may be in Australia or New Zealand.
Anna Cooper (nee Wardle 1954‑60)
"When Arthur Webster marked the Grammar School's 60th
Anniversary in 1992, a number of
us, meeting for the first time for 32 years, found we were all aged 50. This
seemed like a good excuse to meet again and celebrate. We held a quinquagenarian evening at the pub in Friday Street a few
months later, and nearly 30 people, including some intrepid non‑Dorkinian
spouses, turned up for the occasion. The publican had such difficulty getting
people to leave at the end that it seemed worth holding another event, and the
2nd reunion dinner took place in Mickleham this Spring. This time the numbers were smaller. Some people
wrote with apologies; a few, mainly men, failed to reply, perhaps because
raking up the past involves pain as well as laughter. However, over 20 did come
along, and the evening acquired an easy dynamism of its own. To expand the
scope beyond simple reminiscences we had asked people to send in details of
their career pattern, family complications and eccentricities. This provided
plenty of entertainment and made for a relaxed and intimate atmosphere.
What strikes me about these events is the fact that most
people are just like they used to be, only more so. And thank goodness for
that. Mid‑life brings its own trials and tribulations, and it is very
therapeutic to find others are encountering similar things and to feel, in a
way, part of a large family. Our year had not been spared; 3 of our number are no
longer alive, one or two families have experienced tragedies, and some people
have been forced by recession into very early retirement. Perhaps this is
statistically typical. Have other years found similar patterns? One thing
common to all of us was that we were the archetypal "children of the
60s", and it seems to have left a distinct zest for living.
Another publican was kept up late. We will be doing it again.
Is there anyone else out there who took O‑levels in 1958 and will join
us next time?"
Hilary Eddy (nee Edwards 1959‑66)
Imagine, if you will, a beautiful wide meandering river flanked on
both sides with varied woodland. Just around the bend in the river one of the
banks rises steeply and
as you look up, you see a house with three large windows perched
on the hillside. The windows provide light for an artist's studio, while the
view provides peace and inspiration and the river below provides a scene of
serenity; all essential ingredients for an artist at work.
You may
recall a paragraph on Hilary in the last newsletter. Well, I visit Indiana each
year, and found that I was staying only 20 miles away, so I paid her a visit.
The time went all too quickly as we talked of everything and everyone. She had
just returned from Crawfordsville where she had had her own exhibition at a
gallery, and sold two
paintings on the
first day!
She showed
me the variety of wild flowers growing on the hillside and nearby there is some
original prairie with very old wild flowers. From her house you climb up more steep steps to reach the road which has a railroad running alongside.
Hilary was
obviously enjoying a blissful fife. When I asked her what did she miss from England
she answered "ajar of Marmite ‑ it is difficult to obtain, and
expensive" ‑ Never mind, Hilary, by the time you read this I will
have brought you a pot all the way from Surrey!
Maureen Farley.
Robert Good (1970‑77) " ‑‑‑‑
am I still singing? Yes is the answer; and enjoying it very much! I'm part of a
semi‑professional vocal harmony quartet called 'The Good Guys'! We sing
everything we can arrange for four men ‑‑‑ some strictly
barbershop arrangements, but many which fall outside those confines ‑‑‑
many songs from the shows, and the 1960s, as these seem to be the best audience
pleasers. We entered our first festival this year (Godalming)
and won(!) and have been invited to entertain at the
Havant music festival in June (1994, presumably ‑ editor). I've also
started a choir from local people who just like to sing for fun. We meet every
other week very informally ‑ numbers range from six people to about
thirty, and it's a fun evening, especially for those who like to sing but
rarely get the chance to. We spend most of the time learning the songs, but
occasionally get around to a bit of technique!".
Richard Good
(1969‑76)
Brother to Robert. Richard
is married to Jackie Dearmer
(1969‑76) who is a district nurse, and they have a daughter Merrilie who is 4 years old.
Susan Saville (1971‑78)
Susan is a presenter on Breakfast TV
Mary
Fairfield (1979‑80) ‑ English Staff
She still lives in Cranleigh with
her husband Derek and two daughters aged 13 and 10, and is
now teaching at Rodborough School, Milford.
April
1994
REFLECTIONS from Andrew Glass 1933‑40
Whenever I go along Ashcombe Road in
Dorking, I look over to what was Dorking County School, and have mainly happy
memories of my time there from 1933 to 1940, particularly of the 19th Dorking
Scout Troop under "Brutus" (Norman Bradshaw) the maths teacher, and
"Tommy" Thompson the chemistry teacher.
From September 1939 of course, there was
much disruption, of which the most welcome was the evacuation from Sydenham of a whole girls High School, who used our desks
for a half of each day. This invasion completed most boys education, fostered
by notes left in the desks after each occupancy !
It was also part of life's experience to see
the steam trains going by, carrying during one spell, the weary soldiers rescued
at Dunkerque.
My own entry into the Army came after
civilian service with the Scouts and a short period in the Home Guard at
Dorking, when I joined the Royal Corps of Signals in 1942. After two years
training, 1 was commissioned just in time to go to Normandy in June 1944 with
59th Infantry Division. They survived only three months there, and I then
joined a heavy gun group through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. The
European war over, I was then moved to 7th Armoured Division (the Desert Rats)
for training for Japan, but fortunately that war concluded too, and I was
demobbed in 1946.
There followed
5 years with Colgate Palmolive, where I area sales managed before marrying in
1953, and taking a retail business in Leatherhead. After 3 years there, my wife
Julie and I started a retail stationers shop in Reigate, which flourished
sufficiently for us to raise a family of three, and finally retire in 1985. We
now have two grandchildren and time to write such contributions as this.
A singing hobby that I started under our
music master at school (Dr William Cole, led me into the field of amateur operatics, where I have just completed a list of 88
productions in which I have played parts, so all in all I am well satisfied
with the education and leadership that I received at Dorking County.
Kelvin Lee (1962‑69)
Extracts from a letter which Kelvin sent to some of his
contemporaries in January 1994 - are there any more out there?
Dorking
County Grammar School 1962‑69
I know that
it was over two years ago that a Grammar School Reunion was first considered
and it did actually take place in April 1992 but I was wondering whether it is
worth making a bit of an effort to trace our friends who left DGS in 1969? To
think this Summer with be the 25th year since we sat
our 'A' levels! It was rather sad that only a few of
us actually attended the reunion plus a few more who
were contacted but could not attend. I know that we have all settled in
different parts of the country and some even further afield.
I heard that David Stables now lives in South Africa and Susan Salmon
("Fishy") lives in Canada. Sadly I learnt that Rob Bailey had been
killed in a flying accident some time ago ‑ even back in 1969 I knew he
had a passion for aircraft. A couple of us have joined the 'Dorkinian
Association' and at the end of this letter I have listed the names of those to
whom I have sent this letter. If you know the whereabouts of any others of our
'year group' maybe we could let each other know. Is there any interest in
trying to arrange a get together of our group? Ideally we ought to meet in
Dorking so if there is anyone still living in that area they could be a useful
coordinator. It doesn’t need to take place this year – the calendar for 1995
isn’t booked up yet – is it?
Attached are
(were) photocopies of the local and national newspaper reports following the
April 1992 reunion [not available here].
I had the
good fortune to attend another school reunion in September 1993 but this time it
was at St Paul’s Primary School in Dorking. Again I met Dr David Moore! and Valerie Stables – David’s younger sister.
Referring
back to the DGS reunion, it was quite a gathering of the Lee family as my uncle
came over from Los Angeles (he had been at DGS in the 1930s), my step-mother
was there at a similar time and she became an assistant school secretary there
during the early years of WW2 with Rosa Baigent and my cousins Wendy and David
Mills also served time at DGS. Wendy was a year ahead of us and David two years
below. Do you remember singing ‘Jerusalem’ and emphasising the last line of
verse one – “those dark satanic mills”?!!
My own mother
died in 1971; my
father remarried in 1976 and he still lives in the same house in Deepdene Avenue. I know that some of still have our ‘old
folks’ in Dorking.
Just a bit about myself for those who did not meet me at the reunion. I stayed in Dorking for five years
after leaving DGS and then in October 1974 went off to the University of Kent
at Canterbury to read for a Mathematics degree – but failed my part I exams.
In August
1975 I was married to Sue in St Martins Church, Dorking and we immediately settled
in Canterbury where I worked for the local authority for 12 years ‘pushing paper’
in the Treasurer’s Dept. By 1987 we had got fed up with the South East of
England and Local Government so ‘upped sticks’ and moved down to Somerset.
Within a couple of weeks I had set up in business running my own gardening
service and am now in my seventh year of being ‘self-employed’. It will never
make me a rich man but at least I am my own master and am content! Sue helps
the income by doing supply teaching, giving piano lessons at our home and doing
some gardening with me. We have two teenage daughters, Lizzie and Rosy, who
have helped us go prematurely grey!
Thanks Kelvin! We
do hope this and all the other contributions from members will provoke some
more for the next edition of the Newsletter! Perhaps a project for the winter
evenings to come? David Mountain or Sheila Sandford would be pleased to hear
from you by mid February.
April 1994
Janet (Birkin,
1956‑63) Roodbol's response to the Spring 1994 Newsletter!
Part I to be continued)
In imitation of Rob Worsfold, here followeth a thumb‑nail sketch:
Attended the secretarial
college of the Lycee Francais
de Londres (1963‑65)
Worked as a secretary on the
International Staff of NATO, Paris, 1965‑67, where I met my Dutch (!)
husband; moved to Rotterdam in 1967 when NATO moved to Brussels; married at
Ranmore Church in 1969 (Paul Hopper kindly agreed to "Ush"
at our wedding, and was a great help to my Dutch in‑laws); moved to the
village of Dinteloord (about 10 miles from the Dutch‑Belgian
border) in 1972; continued to work as an executive secretary until Andrew was
born in 1974, followed by Fay in 1976; studied (mainly at home) to be a
translator‑interpreter Dutch‑English (1980‑83); sporadic
translation work until 1991, from which time the volume has increased
considerably. Am still an avid reader, took up sailing when I met my husband
(who has salt water rather than blood in his veins), am active in the local WI
and am coordinator for the South‑West Netherlands Circle of the NGV
(Dutch Translators' Association).
Whoops ‑ I seem to have
a rather larger thumb‑nail than Rob ...
It's interesting that Rob's early
memories of school should include Barbara Wareham and Clive Parkinson. Barbara
and I first met in push‑chairs at the bottom of Chequer's Yard, both
under the age of 3, and with the exception of the first year at DCGS, when the
huge age‑difference of 21/2 months put her in lc and me in lb,
were in the same class all the way through Primary School and Grammar School.
We have kept in touch ever since, attended one another's weddings, and it was
thanks to Barbara that I heard about the reunion. Meetings have been few and
far between; prior to the reunion, the last time I had seen Barbara was when my
son was two years old and my daughter a large bulge! Yet the years just dropped
away and we carried on where we had left off. Clive, too, was at the reunion.
Memories are funny things ‑ the moment we saw one another, the identical
button was pushed in our mental computers, and we said in chorus "Do you
remember..?”
The occasion in question was a staff
versus prefects tennis match. I'm not sure which of us was the more useless tennis
player, though I think I had slightly the edge on Clive; so whom should we
draw to play against but Miss Secretan and Mr. Day,
the PE staff ... what makes it memorable is that we played so badly that they
simply couldn't return our serves and passes, so we ended up winning the match!
Clive and Barbara were also among a group of some ten or twelve of us that went
Carol‑singing, probably Christmas 1962. Among those upon whom we
inflicted our musical efforts was Mr. Spiring, the Chemistry master. He invited
us all to come back in half an hour or so, dashed off to the pub and got in
various supplies (how enlightened, all those years ago!); in the meantime his
wife got together some snacks, and we all poured into their house, sat wherever
we could, and had a really good time. Mr. Spiring actually possessed a tape recorder,
so we recorded various songs, such as Polly Wolly
Doodle, very slowly, then played them back at
Chipmunks speed; we ate, drank and were (probably very) merry. It was lovely to
see both Mr. and Mrs. Spiring again at the reunion.
In fact, it was quite remarkable how
many of the staff were still around ‑ Auntie Mac (those lovely renderings
of "1066 and all that"), Miss Barter, Mr. Dryer, Miss Coney (who,
together with Mr. Williams and later Mr. Wolff, is really responsible for my interest
in languages), Mr. Galbraith, Mr. Ashby, Mr. Bradshaw, Mr. Howard (to whom I
owe a deep and lasting gratitude for getting me through about 4 years of maths
in one year, enabling me to pass 'O' level maths), Miss Keene, Miss Keenor, Mrs. Redwood, Mr. Day and Miss Secretan;
and not forgetting Miss Baigent, with whom I had a really enjoyable chat, and
her one‑time assistant, Miss Rose.
August
1994
Geoff Manning (1948‑55)
has been inspired by the
interesting thumbnail sketches published in the Spring Newsletter and now
contributes his own.
I did my two year stint in the army
immediately after leaving school and went into the pensions
side of insurance when I came out. There I met and married Ellen and we have
four children and, now, seven grandchildren. I remained involved in athletics
and competed for Surrey, Southern Counties and AAAs
at 110 metres hurdles (120 yards in those non metric days!). In 1976 we went to
live in New Zealand for a year based in Christchurch but obviously returned ‑
whereupon I joined another insurance company. Since then I have been made
redundant twice and am currently temping with a company
and am running their pension scheme. I have met a few ODs over the years but basically
have not had
any contact until the Reunion.
June
1994
AN INSIGHT INTO COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS IN DHAKA
by Ronald of the Raj
Dear OD's
Ronald of the Raj
One evening about 18 months ago, I was
sitting watching my well‑worn video tape of 'The Best of the Magic
Roundabout', when the telephone rang.
"What are you doing tomorrow?" my
employer asked.
"Not much."
"Good, you're booked on the evening
flight to Tokyo for a one day briefing meeting, and the day after that to
Singapore and Dhaka for a 'kick‑off meeting for a project in
Bangladesh."
Which, briefly, is how
I became Project Technical Director for Sumitomo for this new Power Station
near Sylhet in North East Bangladesh. I spent about nine
months in Tokyo, setting up the commercial side of the contracts, and at the
same time, attempting to control and coordinate the overall design of the
project, and to get the best out of the multinational team based in Tokyo,
Bologna and Kansas City.
I've been in Bangladesh now for about 8
months, and as activities on site build up to fever pitch, to be ready for the
first major plant shipments which are due next week I've moved my main base
from Dhaka, to the site area.
The site itself is quite remote, right on
the edge of the flood plain of the Kushiara River,
and within half a mile of the major tea gardens which make this one of the most
beautiful parts of the country. I have rented a bungalow in the nearest Tea
Garden, which was built and managed by the British until a short time ago, and
there is still a great deal of evidence of the days of the Raj.
The garden of my bungalow is filled with roses, hydrangeas and michaelmas daisies, and from time
to time, I'm even addressed as *Sahib'.
The project itself is technically very
straightforward, but the same cannot be said of the logistics. Apart from the
cultural and language problems associated with a group whose membership
consists of Japanese, Italians, Americans, Singaporeans, Malaysians,
Indonesians, and an infinite number of Bangladeshis, we have to contend with
the difficulties arising from the remote location of the site in one of the
wettest areas in the world‑just 20 miles from Cherapunjee!
The journey to site from Dhaka takes about
six hours by road in the dry season, but the final off‑road ~on is
becoming increasingly difficult as the rains start and the mud gets deeper. It
in possible to fly
to Sylhet,
but flights are unreliable and liable to cancellation due to bad weather, bad
management bad luck, or just the will of Allah!
We have a telephone on site, but it only
works two or three times a day, and of course no fax
machine. The local postal service is a bit 'hit and, miss', and the only way I can
be sure of getting my Horse and Hound (as well as project documentation)
regularly and in reasonable time, is to have it Airmailed to Tokyo, couriered
to Dhaka, couriered to Sythet and hand delivered to
site by our Sylhet office manager – that part alone
involving a one hour journey by car, local dugout canoe, tempo (a sort of 12‑seat
bus built on a scooter chassis), and finally the main Over crossing in the
project launch.
All major plant is delivered by barge, and
abnormal weather this season first gave us floods in March, which caused quite
a few problems for the civil works, followed by a dry spell which resulted in
record low water levels, at the time when major shipments were due on site by
barge. It’s still fairly dry at the moment - just the occasional heavy showers,
but the monsoon, which was due to start on the 8th June
cannot be far away now.
On top of all this, the country is plagued
with Hartals (General Strikes) which help nobody, and
often lead to street fighting, both between the rival
factions, or between one or both of the factions and the police. Armed
highway robbery (dacoity) is common, and local
driving standards have to be experienced to be believed.
All in all, however, I'm having a fantastic
time here. The project is interesting to say the least and the opportunities
for travel, both local and in the neighbouring countries are limitless. I spend
my spare time walking in the Tea Gardens, through the tribal villages, where
people are extremely friendly, and take frequent week‑, or weekend trips
out of country. So far I've been to Thailand, Seoul (beautiful), New Delhi (
I was very happy to meet lots of old friends
at the reunion a couple of years ago. The whole experience was so unreal.
Within ten minutes of arriving, I was no longer a 45 year old, but I was 18
again‑and the most surprising thing was that when I looked at many of the
others there ‑ I saw 18 year olds! We were even reprimanded for consuming
alcohol on school premises‑just like old times!
If anyone is passing through this part of
the world, please drop in and see me, and I would love to hear from any one who
remembers me.
Best wishes to all,
Ron
Thompson (1959‑66)
Helena Packham 1982‑88
This last June, Helena
had another successful concert at St. Paul's Church, Dorking. When she was at
School she was a Junior Exhibitioner at the Royal College of Music for 4 years
before she went on to study music at Bristol University, taking both academic
and practical courses. Her dissertation subject was the string quartets of
Shostakovich, and she gave a piano recital and accompanied several musicians in
their Final recitals. She was also the soloist in the University Chamber Orchestra's
performance of Shostakovich's
Second Piano Concerto.
Helena belongs to the Dorking Chamber Orchestra where she
plays the violin, and with whom she has performed piano concertos. She has also
been learning the trumpet. She enjoys playing chamber music and accompanies
various local choirs and operatic and dramatic groups. In her spare time she works at the Surrey County Library Headquarters
and the Performing Arts Library in Dorking.
Maureen Farley
BIRTHS
Kim Crouch 1975‑82
To Kim and Shaun O'Connell ‑ a son Alex on 17th
June 1994, a brother for Shannon.
Susan Benoy 1975‑82
To Susan and James Cork ‑ a daughter Sophie on
24th June 1994.
Justin Crowe 1975‑82
A daughter Constance on 28th January 1994.
GOLDEN WEDDING
CELEBRATIONS
On 10th
August 1994 (two days early), Barbara
Stefani (nee Carder, 1931‑37) and her husband John celebrated their
Golden Wedding Anniversary, in the form of a Country Dance Party with a superb buffet. The dance music was supplied by their daughter,
Helen, on accordion and her husband, Roger, (also M.C.) on drums, accompanied
by the sound and lighting effects of a violent thunderstorm!
Everyone,
including most of the Senior Citizens, enjoyed the dancing so much that some
quieter activities had to be abandoned (more explanation? ‑
editor). Proposing a Toast for the 'Happy Couple', Roger had great
praise for his Mother‑in‑law. The party ended at 1 1.00pm, in happy
mood dampened slightly, by the need to find transport in the still severe
storm.
Frances Carder
OLD DORKINIAN FOOTBALL CLUB - Peter Mills, Hon. Secretary.
The ODs are
looking forward to the start of their 65th season when they will again be fielding
seven sides, six competing in the Old Boys' League and the seventh, a Veterans’
XI under the captaincy of Paul
Etheridge, competing in the Jack Perry Veterans' Cup Competition.
Last season the 5th XI were the Club's most successful side gaining promotion to Division 7
(South) under captain Mark Lawry, with the side's `Player of the Year’ award
going to Chris Reed, a member of the School staff.
The Reserve XI also had a successful season, just missing
promotion by a single point and reaching the final of the Dorking Charity Cup
for the second season in succession only to lose 2‑1 to Westcott after a
closely fought contest.
The Club's 'Young Player of the Year’ trophy was awarded to
Neil Brent of the School's VIth Form. Unfortunately
it seems unlikely that Neil will be able to turn out for us this season as he
expects to go to university. We wish him every success.
In the AFA Senior Cup the Senior XI have been drawn away to
London Welsh of the Southern Olympian League, while in the AFA Surrey Senior
Cup they are at home to Fulham Compton 0Bs who compete in the same league.. In
the London Old Boys Senior Cup the ODs have been drawn away Leyton County OBs.
The Club would welcome supporters to their main Saturday
fixtures at Pixham, shown below, and to enjoy the after match hospitality.
24 September 1st
v Old Wilsonians
12 November 4th v Old Tenisonians 5
01 October 1st v Cardinal Manning OB 19 November 1st v Old Meadonians
08 October 2nd v Old Greenfordians
2* 26 November 2nd v Old Reigatians 2
15 October 1st v Fulham Compton OB* * 03 December 1st v Old
Sedcopians
22
October 2nd
v Old Josephians 10 December 3rd v Old Paulians
29 October 7th v Old Paulians
2 17 December 1st
v
Old Addeyans
05 November 5th
v Chertsey OS 4 31 December 1st v Old Reigatians
*LOB Cup ** AFAS Cup
OLD DORKINIAN CRICKET CLUB - Dave Wilcockson, Hon. Secretary
Despite losing 4 games to the prolonged rain in May the Club
have had a successful season in 1994, winning 12 and losing only 4 of the 21
matches played to the end of July.
With the recent hot, dry conditions the batsmen have been
flourishing producing scores beyond 150 in 14 of the games, the highest being
213 at Forest Green and 209 at North Holmwood. Mike Haigh,
Barry Woods, Tim Hodgson, and Andrew Leopold have all batted well with the
highest scores being 94 by Barry Woods at North Holmwood and 81 by Tim Hodgson
at Laleham Village.
Martin Rae and Dave Wilcockson have again taken the
bulk of the wickets with the latter recently claiming his 2000th wicket for the
Club. Tony Granger performed the hat‑trick in the last game at
Meadowbank.
A new venture this season was a six‑a‑side
tournament held in July which was sponsored by Denbies, the local wine estate,
and organised by David Culton. Designed for the older
players, the tournament had a minimum age of 35 and a minimum team age of 250.
Old Tiffinians were the winners with the Old
Dorkinians in 6th place ‑ but with a team age of 320! Alan Fox showed
considerable stamina as he umpired for over 9 hours on one of the hottest days
of the summer. The prizes were presented by Club President Sandy Hughes.
Dave ‑
Congratulations on reaching the 2000 mark, further evidence of your great
contribution to the ODCC over a good many years as player and administrator. To
put it into perspective, readers might be interested to know that the next
highest total was achieved by Sandy Hughes with 1517, and then Gordon Palmer
with 1002.
PUZZLE
CORNER!
Rob
Worsfold, who submitted a 'thurnb‑nail
sketch’ for the last newsletter, has provided another interesting item for this
issue. For some odd reason he was looking at his old school reports and
identified 20 sets of initials of staff who were at the School while he was
there from 1962‑69. He has an answer sheet to await your challenge ‑
but no prize for getting 100% correct except the satisfaction of knowing that
the memory is functioning pretty well!
