Page 75 - OO_2019

I am feeling disappointed that my second year as Corresponding Member for Birmingham and the West Midlands has seen a marked decline in responses. I hope that it was not something that I said or wrote that put people off replying this year, but more a reflection of the busy lives our OOs lead in the area. However, I am grateful for those who did reply and it is good to share their news.
Without a doubt, Richard Matthews (D 66) was the most adventurous of the OOs in my region this year, having rashly (in his opinion) supported the Lord Mayor of London’s Appeal by abseiling the 512ft down the Barclays Tower at Canary Wharf on 5th July. He raised an impressive £4,700 (or just over £9 per foot of descent). His reason for getting involved is that he is a Liveryman (of the Worshipful Company of Upholders) and a Freeman of the City of London, and this seemed an imaginative way of trying to raise quite a bit of cash for positive projects that are actively tackling urgent social problems in the capital.
He also reported that his daughter, Caroline Neyra (D 04) and her husband, Augustin, had a son, James Pierre Richard Neyra, on 12th November 2018.
Other births this year shared with me were to Naomi Wilson (D 06) and her husband, Freddie, who had a daughter (Roberta Chavasse) on 15th May 2019, and to Tom Blois- Brooke (Ldr 00) and his wife, Sarah, who had a second son, William Joshua, on 12th February 2019.
Peter Overstall (St A 62) reported on a fascinating Arctic cruise, where he encountered polar bears and whales. There was apparently an excellent team of lecturers led by historian Bob Burton (N 59), known on board as ‘bi-polar Bob’ on account of his unrivalled knowledge and experience of both ends of the Earth!
Roderick Boswell (N 54) now spends his summers near Bordeaux
By Jon Terry (G 93)
and his winters in Warwickshire. He had an exciting winter in 2018/19, having major alterations made to his French house whilst in Warwickshire. An English project manager based in France saved the day!
Nick Copestick (Ldr 69) retired from headship last summer and moved swiftly into self-employment as an education consultant. This gives him more time for family and to play golf, enjoying the presidency of OOGS. If any OO golfers are interested in joining the society, then Nick would welcome you getting in touch. There are many fixtures and
get-togethers up and down the country.
Jeremy Sampson (St A 80) continues to be busy on the concert platform, playing the violin, occasionally bumping into Tim Byram-Wigfield (St A 81) and enjoying post-concert conversations with Geoffrey Segrove (G 50). He can also be found playing at the RSC and taking the Wooden One-octave Organ For Young Technologists to St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey and St David’s Concert Hall in Cardiff when not fulfilling his role as Head of Strings at Warwick School, where Andrew Firth (Sn 83) is Chair of Governors. Earlier this year, he enjoyed catching up with Govan Bramley (N 80) at the weddings of two of his children.
Andrew Anderson (C 62) recently went back to Oundle for the memorial service for Ioan Thomas, who had inspired and encouraged so many of his contemporaries. He met up with John Williams (St A 62) and Helmut Cartwright (B 62) amongst many other OOs, and whilst there, dropped by at the Boat House at Tansor, where he noted the saplings planted by him, other scouts and
NEWS FROM HOME
Birmingham & West Midlands
Richard Matthews (D 66) (pictured left) with his ‘minder’ from the Mile End Climbing Wall,
the organisation which set up his abseil down the 156m Barclays Tower as part of The Lord Mayor's Appeal in July. Richard raised £4,700 for the Appeal. www
THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2018 –2019
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