News From Near and Far
Congratulations
to Briggensians first team, who are pictured in
celebratory mood after winning the final of the
Ironstone Cup with a rather decisive
8-1 scoreline.You might want to look at this
picture frequently if depressed about the
performance of certain other teams. (sorry, not one of my
better headlines, and it gets worse...) Julie wrights - sorry,
writes - "I graduated from London University in 1997 with
a 2:1 in Management Studies. I now work in
Clerkenwell, London for pres.co (the UK's
number 1 electronic/digital media agency; globally
ranked 2nd (Creative Review)) as an
internet/interactive TV producer. My
projects to date include: I live in Battersea, London with 2 friends and
am really enjoying life. I am still in touch with
Yoen Van Velzen; Nolan Pawson;
Daniel Harvie; Rachel Lounds;
Claire Taylor; Mark Pearce and
Daniel Thomson. " It is great to hear from
you, Julie, and it's clearly a terrific job with a
prestigious company. I expect you are insanely busy
as those important deadlines loom. We all wish you
the best of luck and no doubt we'll be checking out
the Argos site when it goes live. Julie Wright's
e-mail address is here. Julie
Wright Have you seen the SJN Millennium Mosaics?
David is living in Newark, Delaware and playing
and coaching soccer for the South
Jersey Barons based in Ocean City, New Jersey.
He writes: "Just wanted to
drop a line in to anyone that knows me. I was at
SJN from 1981-86 and the Sixth Form from
1986-88. I now live in the land of opportunity. I am in
my seventh season playing football professionally,
but not in the MLS unfortunately, (sjbarons.com),
after a fantastic college career. I was only
supposed to come out here for 3 months!!! I also
manage a football shop which you can check out at
www.tsisoccer.com.
I coach five teams in my spare time for the
almighty dollar. I married my college sweetheart, Angie, and we
now have two brilliant little girls. Abbey is 20
months, and Natalie is 5 months. If any of the crew between
those years can drop me a line I would appreciate
it. I haven't heard from many people since I was at
the last Briggensian footy match in
1995." Adam Linsley - a musical careerAdam was at SJN from 1982, leaving in the same year as David Holmes. Adam is now a freelance trumpet player, whose work includes West End shows including Starlight Express, Cats and Guys and Dolls. He has played on 3 UK tours with Michael Ball including two live videos and a live album and with the Mike Westbrook Orchestra, Martine McCutchin, and on many recordings for film and TV soundtracks.Adam also has his own jazz quintet. Adam has a flat in south London but sometimes returns to his 'bolt hole' in Brigg. Thanks for getting in touch, Adam. Congratulations to Mike Spencer - M.A.Mike Spencer has recently been awarded an M.A. in History from the Open University, and congratulations are most definitely in order, as Mike gained a Distinction in his further degree. Mike has also been researching the pupil registers of Brigg Grammar School and its successor from the earliest days up to the present and has compiled a computer database which can be searched. We hope to be able to make this information available to interested parties very soon, thanks to Mike's generous assistance. David Yelland Speaks at Sixth Form Prize EveningSun Editor and Briggensian David Yelland was chief guest at the Brigg Sixth Prize Evening on 16th December 1999. David left Brigg Sixth in 1981. See the report on BSFC News Page. Neville Miller, Gloucester, OntarioNeville sends School and Briggensians best wishes for the new Millennium from Canada. He was at BGS from 1961 to 1968 and he would like to get in touch with anyone from his year. So if you are a contemporary of Neville, please send an e-mail, here is his address.
Hello from Bart van VelzenBart has sent his best wishes to anyone who remembers him. Many of us do remember Bart and his family. Bart probably remembers the bike he left outside school which someone else took a fancy to. Bart left about 10 years ago and is now living... not in Holland but in Surbiton. To contact Bart, go here. Nogsy CallingWe hope that got your attention. If you are a contemporary of Graham Hall you should have recognised the nickname. Graham must have left in the seventies, as he writes that he is "still in Lincolnshire Police after 21 years". Graham lives in Grantham and gets up to Brigg and says he'll pop into School one of these days. Please do, Graham, you might come in handy (just a joke... and of course you are very welcome). Graham's e-mail address is here. Another Photo Coup - Gerry and Ann Longden in their Bedroom
Maurice Tindall (BGS 1937- 42) - our new Senior SurferMaurice has e-mailed us from Glenside, South Australia with memories of his days at the Grammar School and best wishes to all old Briggensians and Briggensiennes. I believe he is now the senior member of the e-mail list by about eight years. We will be adding some of Maurice's comments to this page shortly, but in the meantime he would love to hear from contemporaries. He suggests a bottle launched at Cleethorpes... or possibly an e-mail to this address will reach him a little sooner. Michel Archer (BGS 1966-70)Michel was initially a day boy and then a boarder (you may be interested to see what's happened to the Boarding House now, Michel - pictures should be on the main school news pages quite soon) and he is now a teacher of Modern Foreign Languages in Sunderland. Michel would be glad to hear from any old mates and his e-mail address is here. Envoyez-lui du courrier électronique. Are You Ready For THIS?
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BUMPER HARVEST OF NEWS!
We're delighted! The summer has brought loads of news from Briggensians of all vintages, near and far. We are currently trying to make sure that it all gets passed on to the Committee members for further action. Here we go, then, with the summer's crop of news...
Hi
to Claire Darley in Canada - Our Youngest
Briggensian?
Claire (of last year's Year 9) and her family emigrated to Canada in July and she has sent us an e-mail. Claire was simply a star pupil (embarrassed, Claire?) and is sure to be a credit to her new school, so I have taken the liberty of promoting her to an Honorary Briggensian. SJN misses you, Claire! I will pass on your enquiry about Comenius to the staff concerned.
Congratulations
to Matthew Mosey and Claire Howitt!
(oh, and it's not just HK Airport, we're working on the Dome as well)
After graduation from Loughborough University in 1996, Matt (e-mail here) eventually moved into Urban Regeneration and is now living in Clapham and the Programme Manager at the Greenwich Development Agency. He writes: "The Dome is going to be the most successful 'white elephant' this country has ever seen. If you don't believe me, come and see for yourself."
Matt and Claire Howitt (another distinguished Briggensian) were married on 11th September 1999. BEST WISHES TO YOU BOTH FOR THE FUTURE! As Matt says: "Another success for Brigg Sixth Form!
Andy
and Kay Booth (nee Douce) in Westport, New Zealand send
their regards
Andy left in 1978 and after a degree in Town Planning has pursued a career in it, presently living with Kay and daughter Nicola in Westport, South Island, which he describes as a "rural but extremely beautiful part of the country". Kay was at the Girls' High School and manages the Maternity Unit in Westport. As they will soon be moving Andy asks people to contact them via his Hotmail account.
Lots
of news from Marc Ferraby in Pitman, New Jersey
Marc, who left SJN in 1988, also writes to join Briggensians. Thank you, Marc, for the very interesting news of your career, which we will be putting up here in more detail shortly. A brief summary: Marc is now a Systems Analyst who heads the IT Department at a private company which publishes medical journals in print across the world as well as on the Internet. Marc is married to an American girl and they have a young son Liam. Great to hear all the news; Marc's e-mail is here.
Louise
Robinson (BSFC 1984-86)
Louise was involved in the start of a now great tradition - she was part of the first TWAG week. Thanks for getting in touch - any memories of it you'd like to share, Louise? Louise's e-mail is here.
Howard
Lee in Perth, Western Australia
Howard was at BGS as a boarder from 1966 to 1971, when his family emigrated. Howard and his wife Janet sell and consult in new homes construction and finance. Howard would love to hear from other 'oldtimers'. Thanks for contacting us. Howard's e-mail address is here.
Paul
Carter in Coral Gables, Florida
Paul was a boarder at SJN from 1978-1982 and would like to join Briggensians. Paul is now the Latin America Sales Director of one of Britain's fastest growing companies, Regus PLC. He keeps in contact with a few close friends from Brigg but would be happy to find more. He recently met with Shaun Coulson in Fort Lauderdale while Shaun was on holiday there and they had a great day out sea fishing with Shaun's family. Paul's e-mail address is here.
Richard
Freeman (West Midlands)
From Sutton Coldfield, Richard writes "I have been a Trainee Solicitor for Martineau Johnson in Birmingham for a year now and will qualify next September". All the best, Richard, and stay in touch! To get in touch with Richard, go here.
Nick
Lonsdale in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, British Columbia -
updated again
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Nick Lonsdale FRICS was at BGS from 1954 to 1961
and lives on Vancouver Island, where he is not the only
Briggensian : others are David (Ian) Rose (Duncan,
BC), David Gilbey (Victoria BC), and Graham
Hunter (Victoria BC). Roger Stokes (now Winnipeg,
Manitoba) used to live there too and the five of them had a
reunion 20 years ago and then another at Nick's place in
March 1997. Nick sent the photo above. If you were at school
with Nick and/or live on Vancouver Island, his e-mail
address is here.
Faye
Curtis - working for one of the world's top
companies
Faye graduated from City University in London in 1997 and now works in the Personal Audio Product Marketing Department of Sony UK. Faye lives in Woking but she visits Brigg frequently and comments that the website is an excellent way to keep in touch. Thank you, Faye, for sending your news, and we wish you all the best in your career, which has clearly got off to a terrific start! Faye's e-mail address is here.
George
M Gunson and Derek Sumpter - looking for Old Briggensians in
the Guildford area
Derek Sumpter, George M Gunson and Peter Wade (see below) met up about four years ago and the first two still live in Guildford.
George was speaker at the Annual Dinner a couple of years ago (see 1997 Newsletter). After National Service and University, he spent the rest of his working life in Banking, specialising in Latin America. His distinguished career (our words, not his) has included the post of Managing Director of the EuroLatinamerican Bank and spells with the Banco Santander of Spain and the Banca Serfin of Mexico. Now retired, George nevertheless spends two or three months a year in Spain and Latin America. He writes: "There are many friends of the Sixth Form 1949-52 with whom contact was lost many years ago, but with whom it would be good to share life's experiences and memories. Perhaps e-mail is the answer." Contemporaries - find that answer here.
Derek, who began at BGS at the same time as George, recalls Headmaster J T Daughton, and wearing a mortarboard to the Sunday morning church parade. After a first job with the Lincolnshire Echo, Derek was a staff reporter with several newspapers including the News Chronicle and worked twice for PA-Reuters. Derek went on to become News Editor of the Sunday Telegraph in Fleet Street, holding this key position for twenty years! He has some kind words to say about the website (thank you!), sends his best wishes to everyone and comments: "I hope more Briggensians come in from the cold through cyberspace." Derek's e-mail address is here.
Peter
Wade (Derby)
Peter, who left BGS in 1953 has contacted us to tell us he is online, and has the honour of sharing veteran status on the e-mail list with Brian Hough. Sending his best wishes to John Hastings and all at school, he also comments: "Several of my Brigg contemporaries are hoping the Association is planning something special around the time of the Annual Dinner next year".
Robert
Watson, hardware dealer, receives a prize from Microsoft's
Bill Gates in Lisbon
All is not quite what it seems in this headline, read on...
Robert was a boarder, left in 1973, took a degree in Wood Science at Bangor, and worked in West Africa, Wales, Surrey and Worcestershire. He has now "retired" home to Sutton-on-Sea to run his own hardware business -"nuts and bolts, not silicon chips". His e-mail address is here.
He is also Chairman of Governors at his local primary school, and their website last year won one of the Road Ahead Prizes for innovative use of the Internet in education from Microsoft, which led to staff and Robert flying to Portugal to be presented with the prize by Bill Gates. (I hope Robert won't mind our little trick, as he made a similar quip in his e-mail...).
Jon
Taylor, former SJN Head Boy, wins Top Teaching Award
Congratulations to Jon Taylor, a former Head Boy at SJN, who has won a Dorling Kindersley Plato award for Best New Primary School Teacher and £3,500 for his school at the North of England 1999 Teaching Awards in Leeds!
Jon will now go forward to the national final in London in July, where the national winner will receive £20,000 for their school.
Jon, who is 27, teaches at St Oswald and St Anne's RC School, Hull, and gained his teaching degree at Humberside University. Jon also plays for the Briggensians Saturday football team, of which his mother Margaret is secretary.
Ron
Harsley, retired Master of Foxhounds, sailing off
Florida
We are delighted to have received another report from across the globe of Briggensian achievement, from Ron who left BGS in 1958. He is now retired in Florida, but prior to that he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of EFP Corporation in Indiana and was one of the developers of the "Lost Foam" casting system which was used by Ford and General Motors for engine components. While in the midwest, Ron was Master of Foxhounds for the Michiana Hunt. He now sails the barrier islands off Florida. Contemporaries - Ron's e-mail address is here.
Congratulations
to Dr Nathan Havercroft in Kansas
Nathan was one of the two people who first suggested this news page, so we are delighted to congratulate him on completing his PhD in Chemistry at the Kansas State University. Nathan will be taking a postdoctoral fellowship at Kansas (industrially funded by Luxfer Gas Cylinders) in June. His e-mail is in our list and his homepage is here.
Sally
Johnson (nee Braithwaite)
At last we've heard from another Briggensienne! Sally, daughter of human dynamo and ex-SJN teacher Mrs Pam Braithwaite, writes from Surrey:
"Since leaving in '85, I have had a career in retail management (Richards, Mark One) , moved south, married Mark, had a daughter, Kirsten aged 5 and a son, Caine aged 2. We recently bought an estate car which just finishes off our average family status! We're about 2 mins from Gatwick Airport. Life's great!"
Sally reports that her Mum and Dad are still living in Brigg and she visits them from time to time. Her mum is fine and working with young people fighting solvent abuse. Sally would like to hear from people from her era. Her e-mail address is here.
Mike
Cosser
Mike sent us news from his home in Coventry via his son's Internet connection. He comments "The reports on this page take my breath away... Nevertheless we can't all conquer the world, some of us have to stay here and take care of the desperate and deprived. How dare I talk about my family in that way!"
Talking of his family: Mike's wife Jenny is working full-time in an estate agents and is also a Deacon of the local Baptist Church. Son Alex is in the Sixth Form taking Maths, Biology and English. Daughter Emily is at Nottingham University studying Maths and got engaged in the past year.
Mike himself is still a Probation Officer and enjoys the work, especially the contact with the clients. Although injured at the moment, Mike has had a good winter running Cross Country. He produces the Godiva newsletter for his Club, who honoured him last year with an award for non-athletic achievement.
Mike enjoyed reading everyone's news, sends regards to all his contemporaries and hopes to hear more about them.
[The full text of Mike's letter has been passed to John Hastings, who can be contacted for Mike's address]
Mark
Sennitt
Having received a copy of the '99 Newsletter from dad (and Old Briggensian) John Sennitt, Mark, who left SJN in 1981, has sent us news. After working as an electronics engineer in the field of offshore telecommunications, Mark is currently working in Leeds as a Sales Engineer looking after the UK, Far East, South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, travelling extensively in the Far East and South East Asia as well as the UK. He hopes anyone who remembers him will get in contact. You can find his e-mail address here.
Alan
Jenkinson - a word from Oz
Alan send thanks for his '99 Newsletter and reports that he had a beer with Andy and Kay Booth the other week, who were visiting Sydney from New Zealand. Alan's e-mail address is here.
Read
the News from Andrew
Graeme (BGS, 1963-67)
If you read any of a large number of British papers and magazines, that is just what you are certain to have done over the years - read news from Andrew's specialist news agency GTI (German Trade Information). Andrew's agency supplies Reuter's and British newspapers with media and broadcasting news from Germany. How Andrew came to do this is a complex and interesting tale which probably requires a book to do justice to it, but here are a few "This is His Life"-style snapshots:
- Schooldays - Andrew admits that he was far from a model pupil. Subjects he liked were Physics, Music and German. He didn't misbehave in Maths either: "Adams would hit one if one did". Some of Andrew's lifelong interests were already apparent: "I remember running the Physics Club and the Tape Recording Club, as well as being a keen member of the debating society. I also wrote several articles in the School magazine, one of which was about broadcasting and the then controversial Offshore (Pirate) Radio Bill."
- Teenage Years - Andrew went to North Lindsey College and gained an ADB diploma, specialising in theatre sound and lighting systems. He was also one of the "Nice Time Nut Crackers", appearing three times on the Kenny Everett Granada TV show "Nice Time" playing tunes on his head...
- A Soldier's Life - Andrew joined the Parachute
Regiment , becoming a signaller and member of the Special
Patrol Unit (Charley Company).
"I was taking cover in a watery hole near some bushes close to the Divis Flats in Belfast as some sniper was shooting at us. The hole I had chosen had obviously also been chosen by the local dog population as a lavatory ... At that moment a little old lady in a floral dress came out with her head down, carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.
'There you go son," she said, "just leave it there when you've finished.'
The funny part was that breeding tells and I put my life at risk to be polite. I poured a cup of tea and ate a biscuit."
Then Andrew worked as a military advisor in various countries and in Israel met a German girl, whom he later followed back to Germany.
- Education, Education, Education - Andrew took an external BSc in Economics from the London School of Economics, paying his way by working as an English teacher and later as a truck driver ("less stress and more money!"). Still in Germany, he went on to qualify as an industrial buyer and "electro-mechanic".
- "Sound, Lights, Action!" - Andrew got into the recording business, soon had his own studio in a converted German farmhouse and also began to hire out mobile sound and lighting rigs, eventually going on the road with his wife and youngest child with the rigs. "Life was great and we toured Europe with all kinds of bands and other types of shows."
- Into Journalism - through a business friend Andrew began to write for a new magazine called Pro Sound News. "Soon I was writing for all kinds of media magazines and writing about the media in Broadcast Magazine, which led to work from The Guardian and The News of The World, as well as doing phone-in pieces for the BBC and The BBC World Service." Andrew went on to start up his own news agency, employing freelance journalists, which he continues to run.
- Author, Economist, Adviser - "I have published several papers on a subject that I have christened 'Virtual Economics' and which deals with the costs and calculations associated with goods that have no physical attributes. I also act as economic advisor to Italian broadcaster RAI and several broadcast equipment manufacturers and have published two books on media equipment economics and I am in the process of putting together a third. I have also written a book on the installation of water-submersible electric motors. All quite boring, but lucrative!"
- The Future - Digital Studio, Own Record Label - Andrew is now busy setting up a state-of-the-art digital audio studio, where he will record bands (some already signed) for his own label, as well as going out to record them elsewhere."Part of the concept is that we shall be able to take our equipment out to where the musician feels at home, be that at the concert or in his rehearsal room." Aspiring bands take note - they're still on the lookout for exciting new talent...
Many thanks to Andrew for getting in touch! We hope he won't mind our efforts at editing his anecdotes.
Other Briggensian readers - please send in your news, too! Not only is it interesting to other ex-Briggensians, but in our opinion it really opens the eyes of present-day pupils. We're in a very small town and hardly at the centre of things - but look what people can achieve in life. It's an important message.
One final point. Andrew remembers coming to Brigg from a more prestigious school in the south of England where he was given a very hard time for being a Scot. He comments: "Nothing like that ever happened to me at Brigg ... it was a much kinder place".
Where
are all the Briggensiennes? Rachel Gregory would like to
know...
Well, old boys is the accepted phrase, but does OLD GIRLS have quite the same ring? But what to say? Females is too cold and clinical, ladies (especially 'old ladies') charming but a bit old-fashioned...
Anyway we were very glad to receive an e-mail from Rachel Gregory who was at the Girls' High School from 1969 to 1976 and she asks:
"Why don't we hear more from old girls ??"
Rachel lives in Wokingham, Berks., though she has family contacts in Brigg and still visits from time to time. Rachel would be pleased to hear from any contemporaries, and you can reach her here.
And if you have an opinion on the terminology, for instance if you think 'Briggensiennes' ( a male suggestion) is just too ghastly for words, please send your opinion AND YOUR NEWS to this address...
Hong
Kong Airport - A Briggensian Achievement?!
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"Attached is a picture of the New Airport during construction, taken from a helicopter by myself. You can clearly see the Terminal Building in the centre foreground, which Neil and myself both worked on. You can also see the Second Runway on the RHS, which I was working on when we took this photo. The first and at the time of this photo, nearly completed runway, is clearly visible on the left." |
First Martin King, who left Brigg Sixth in 1989, got in touch. He is working for Hong Kong Airport Authority at the new Chek Lap Kok International Airport and would be pleased to hear from anyone else from years around his time at SJN. Find his e-mail address here.
Then we heard from Neil Robertson who left in 1991 and had met Martin by chance working in the same office! He writes: "I left SJN in 1991, I then went to North Lindsey College for 2 years and did a BTec National Diploma in Construction. From there I went to The Nottingham Trent University where I studied Civil Engineering (HND). I now work in Hong Kong as a Quantity Surveyor for Knowles Surveying Services but I have been seconded to Nippon Steel Corporation and I have working on their project on the Hong Kong New Airport for the last two years." His e-mail address is here.
And then Fraser Whytock saw the above news here on this page. He writes: "I introduced myself to Neil Robertson recently, after seeing his name on your web site. I was visiting one of our contracts, the Terminal Building at the New Airport, where Neil works for one of our sub-contractors. Small world isn't it?"
Fraser adds: "Am currently living and working in Hong Kong. I work for a major UK Construction Company and have worked on a number of large projects in the territory. I tracked down Vincent Coultan recently, I hadn't spoken to him for 18 years, he's been working all over the world working for various aid agencies, such as Oxfam and CARE. After a number of years "dodging bombs and bullets" he has returned to the UK. I'll be seeing him when I next get back to the UK. Nigel Allison is coming out to visit Babs and Myself in a few months, so I'll catch up on the local gossip then." Fraser's e-mail is here.
Fraser and Neil are planning a HK Briggensians reunion and he writes "If we can find one more "old boy" we can celebrate with a handfull, anybody visiting Hong Kong during or near Chinese New Year is more than welcome."
Paul
Cowling (1971-1978) sailing down Chichester way
From school Paul went to Southampton Uni, and is now a Product Manager for fibre optic multiplexers with Ericcson in Horsham. Interesting work, he comments, dealing with all corners of the world and working with staff from most of it too. Sailing and scuba diving take up a great deal of Paul's free time, and he lives a few hundred yards from Chichester harbour (lucky chap).
Good to hear from you, Paul. If you are one of Paul's contemporaries, why not drop him an e-mail...?
News
from Connecticut, USA: John J Walshaw (left 1991)
John reports that after working in Conn. during his degree course he went back there after graduating , "married a girl from Uraguay, bought a house, then a dog." After a few years in recruiting and head-hunting he gradually moved into computer systems development full-time and now works for a large insurance firm, managing Novell and Unix systems and doing database development. He writes that the extremes of climate make the English weather seem very tame (John - we're catching up - ed).
John would be interested to hear
from some of the other people in his year - his
e-mail address is here.
