Page 112 - OO_2018

was also a highlight. Finally, Rod records that he still dons the whites in summer, but with rapidly decreasing effect!
Richard Keith (D 57) reports that his wife, Sian, continues to recover well from her stroke and has been aboard Grebe, their Hallberg Rassy yacht on the River Fal, after regaining her sea legs cruising back from Singapore on Queen Mary 2.
The final report came from Rab Peck
Jack Talbot (St A 98) has enjoyed a busy couple of years. Whilst still whizzing around the south-eastern courts, he still had time to marry Melanie Jory, a commercial lawyer, in July 2016, move to Wimbledon and then between them produce Annabel some 10 months ago. Meanwhile, his elder brother, Tom Talbot (St A 93), is back in Houston with Schlumberger, having run their drilling operations in Angola for a couple of years. This posting was both professionally challenging and domestically awful for his long-suffering wife, Holly, and their three children, the eldest of whom is already down for schools in the UK, but not Oundle I’m afraid, as it’s too far for visits by grandparents. Tom keeps himself horribly fit with ironman-type triathlons and by both playing and coaching the young at rugby. Talking of keeping fit, Henry Talbot (St A 91) has gone barmy on long-distance, cross-country running in Sydney - and I mean cross country, as he recently ran over 250km across Patagonia with his super new wife, Nikki. All this exercise makes their father, John Talbot (D 64), quite weary. However, all is not lost, as not having rowed for over 50 years, he finds himself back in a four, visiting various pubs around Chichester harbour. The boat is a Solent Galley, which can be best described as a four- man version of the ‘tubs’ we had at the School boathouses. Apart from that, he is still hacking out of the heather at Liphook and is the self-elected Itchenor guru on Brexit and media bias!
Chris Richards (St A 64) has now 112
(S 53), who continues to meet his old study-mate, Clive Boddington (S 53), twice a year in the Cumbrian lakes. Sadly, he reports the death earlier this year of his younger brother, Gavin Peck (S 62), who contributed to School life, both academically and in sport, and whom he claims was far and away the most intelligent of the three brothers!
I conclude this report by saying that I am rapidly adjusting to retired life and
The Weald
By Peter Owen (Lx 63)
retired to Surrey from running commercial construction groups in the North-West and being Chairman of the Wirral Conservative Constituency. He now lives in Surrey, where he is Chairman of The Three Villages supporting Michael Gove. He is also the consultant to the Chartered Institute of Building, responsible for the adjudication process for the Construction Manager of The Year Award, the premier award in Europe for construction.
James Chrismas (N 74) was forced to move from his Bosham home of 25 years to more appropriate accommodation due to health problems. Bearing in mind his love of the sea and sailing, he has moved to a lovely apartment overlooking the Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes. It’s a perfect
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finding, like many others, that it is actually rather busy! Amongst other things, I am enjoying more days at Lord’s, helping refurbish our local finger signposts and driving a recently- acquired 1974 MGB GT on sunny days. Finally, my thanks to all of you who contributed, thus ensuring the South- West report is amongst the best, and I look forward to meeting those I don’t already know at future events.
location to follow the racing and, to that end, he has purchased a powerful set of binoculars. Watch out – he can see people standing on their boats up the Hamble and can follow boats from Portsmouth to west of Beaulieu! For the social scene, he has reinstated his membership of the Royal Ocean Racing Club, which is next door.
Patrick Franklin (Sn 76) had a sense of incredulity that he found he was turning 60 in June. To mark it, his wife, Sue, and he decided to have a party on the move, walking 250 miles around the coastal paths of the Llŷn Peninsula and Anglesey in North Wales. Friends and family joined them for various days and evenings along the way, including brothers Bill Franklin (Sn 69) and Tim Franklin (Sn 73). He was glad to say the walk was completed on schedule and with their bodies reasonably intact! They enjoyed some amazing coastal scenery in almost entirely hot sunny weather and are also delighted to say they raised £10,400 for the British Council for the Prevention of Blindness, a niche charity funding research and training into blindness prevention. Part of the reason for supporting this charity was recollection of a Sixth Form lecture at Oundle. Somehow, and to its credit, the School had organised a talk by two blind boys roughly their age who spoke bravely and frankly about living with blindness. If any OOs of the roughly 75/76 vintage remember this talk and were similarly touched by their condition – or simply want to wish Patrick a happy 60th! – the Just Giving page is:
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THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2017 –2018