Page 102 - OO_2018

The situation for Oundelians in the North-West could be characterised by a missive I received from Peter Barnes (N 63). It read as follows: “I received the email seeking OO news for the next edition...but, alas, there is no particular news. I managed to meet up with John Smyth (Ldr 64) and Malcolm White (N 64) for an enjoyable lunch at Tredwells in London, after Michael Oakley’s (Lx 62) History VI reunion turned out to be a non-starter (regrettably)...I couldn’t get a refund on the train tickets! Last month I met up with John again. He used to be a local lad (we spent our formative years together, playing rugby etc), but his career took him south. Nevertheless, after managing the occasional irregular meeting, we are trying an annual dinner-and-golf with a little group of long-standing friends, which has so far proved very successful. Otherwise, nothing to report...though I did spend a night at the Haycock in Wansford whilst en route to Suffolk – a big mistake...never go back! An afterthought, as he will never send in any of his own news, my brother, Cyril Barnes (Ldr 53), is still alive and kicking (and as cantankerous as ever!).”
So – plus ça change! Well, not quite. My tactic of giving people a very short timescale to respond in, due entirely to my own dereliction of duty, did not really work, but there are a few nuggets of news to report on from Oundelians in the North-West.
I am indebted to Robin Holden (Lx 59) for a summary of what has been going on in the Holden family. Robin’s elder son, Richard Holden (Lx 85), manages the finances and administration of a leading firm of Manchester insurance brokers and is a key member of the ever-expanding Serpents Golf Society in Cheshire. A qualified chef and a BBQ fanatic, his family eat well! Robin’s younger son, Jonathan Holden (Lx 87), is Chief Operating Officer of the UK arm of international franchise Molly Maid, the professional house-cleaning service. He is another Serpent golfer and keen
North-West
By Peter Pentecost (St A 73)
BBQ man. Jonathan enjoys treading the boards in amateur dramatics, recently starring as the most malevolent Sheriff of Nottingham in a local Christmas pantomime production of Robin Hood. Robin himself spends much time playing senior golf, occasionally with Edward Hunt (S 58), and is Treasurer of Hale Golf Club seniors. Robin’s other current preoccupation is acting as Treasurer (again!) to Shakespeare North Trust, which is in the process of building a £25million Globe-style, theatre-in-the- round in Prescot, near Liverpool, and establishing the world’s first and only Shakespeare University, offering degrees in the Bard’s legendary world. Launch date is mid-2020. Robin and wife Sue enjoy travel, theatre and dog- walking.
Recently, I attended the retirement ball for Nick Copestick (Ldr 69) and his wife, Suzanne, as they retire from Edenhurst Preparatory School in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Edenhurst was started by Nick’s father, Bill, in 1961 in a large Victorian house of the same name. Nick has presided over a very successful school for nigh on 40 years, taking over from Bill in the late 1970s.
Edenhurst feeds local grammar schools at 11 and provides a number of boarding public schools, including Oundle, with well-prepared students, both at 11 and 13. The school has always produced well-mannered children and has a particularly strong culture in the arts, undertaking challenging plays and musicals, with frequent winners at the Newcastle Music Festival. Nick has also always been extremely keen to promote the school’s IT capability and has implemented numerous important initiatives to help prepare its pupils in a very rounded manner. His most recent development was the very successful creation of a pre-school nursery, providing education-based care throughout the year. Edenhurst was sold to the Bellevue group in 2011 and is now one of its leading schools in terms of Ofsted ratings, having achieved ‘outstanding’ last year. Nick will continue to work for the Bellevue group in a roving role to ensure that the quality of its educational offering is always of the highest standard. Suzanne retires from the school also and the pair of them are now contemplating a very different future, which will doubtless revolve around their children (five in total), music, golf, church and their dogs.... but definitely not Edenhurst!
I received a missive from Peter Sharratt (Sn 69), providing commentary on three Old Oundelians – his father, brother and himself. Peter’s father, Roger Sharratt (Sn 39), died in May aged 96 after outliving three wives and enjoying a varied life as an engineer and optician. Apparently, even as his memory dimmed, the arrival of the OO mag was a continuing pleasure for him. Peter’s brother, Tim Sharratt (Sn 67), built and managed power stations in New Zealand, South America and Australia, and is now happily retired in Oz, though he will be spending three months crewing on a friend’s catamaran in the Pacific in the near future. Peter is hoping to head down under next year to help him celebrate his 70th birthday. Peter
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