OSA magazine Issue 90

More documents

Recommendations

Info

T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 9 0THE 6th REUNION OF THE ’53 JOINERSAttendees: Peter Critten, Wyndham Griffiths, Peter Knight, KeithMcKeown, Geoffrey Tapping, Roy Turner and David CoxApologies: Tony Farrington, Alan Green, Michael Hasler, DavidMetcalf, Bill Niehorster, Stephen Pierson, Peter Redman and AnthonyRichardsAnd then there were seven: a mixed, but happy bunch, camaraderiepersonified!We again chose as our meeting point probably the grandestWetherspoon Tavern in the City of London, The Crosse Keys inGracechurch Street. Kick off was scheduled for 1pm but Wyn,Roy and your correspondent could not wait until then toreminisce about our hitchhiking days of yore (some 60 years ago)and I had arranged without their knowledge for Wyn and Roy tomeet at noon at the barrier to the Northern Line at BankStation. I would pitch up a few minutes later to see the outcomefor myself. They had not seen each other for some 50 years and,on arrival, I gather that they waited separately at the barrier theone not entirely certain about the identity of the other just a fewmetres away. Furtive looks passed between them. Finally, thegiveaway was Wyn’s OS tie and it was this that proved thecatalyst for the completion of their reunion. Roy had come all theway from South Africa and Wyn straight from his vacation inNice to be with us on the day - “far as you roam” as Geraint wasaccustomed to remind us.Anyway, more about the mixed bunch. Perhaps I might leave itto our contemporaries to try to put a face to the identity of theattendees given the following pointers. We had an impresario, amountaineer, a multi-marathon runner, a late quantum physicsstudent, an intrepid hiker, a Spanofile and a surprising closet clubcricket watcher. Any answers by email to your correspondent.By way of background, The Crosse Keys premises are the formerheadquarters of the Hong Kong & Shanghai BankingCorporation. The grandiose building was designed by W.Campbell Jones and opened for business on 22 October 1913.The building takes its name from the inn that stood near this sitefrom the 1550s. The sign derives from the Keys of Heaven, heldby St Peter. Shakespeare’s troupe of actors, known as theChamberlain’s Men, were among those who performed plays inthe courtyard.The Crosse Keys was destroyed in the Great Fire, and itsreplacement burnt down in 1734, but was rebuilt. By the early19th century, the Crosse Keys had become a busy coaching inn,used by 40 or more coaches a day.Its website makes very illuminating reading for those with aninterest in the history of the City of London and even includesa framed illustration and text about the City Livery Companies.As one of the smaller livery companies, The WorshipfulCompany of Stationers and Newspaper Makers does not,however, have a mention per se in the accompanying narrative.Here is the link to the website.https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/pub-histories/england/london/thecrosse-keys-city-of-london14
T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o 9 0The Cross Keys is a splendid venue for a small group such asours. The fare is excellent. There is a very wide choice of real ales(more than 20) and meals with plenty of seating to take theweight off 77 year old pins.Needless to say, the conversation flowed as freely as the ale withan interesting interchange of life stories especially from thosewhose paths had not crossed for many a moon. It was not untilafter 6pm that the final four eventually went their separate ways.We shall aim for a reprise next year.Before I close may I extend the best wishes of the wholegathering to Michael for a speedy recovery from his operation.We hope to see you soon.David CoxCLASS OF '54The class of 1954 return to their new reunion venueThis was the twelfth reunion for those who joined school in1954 – after our inaugural fiftieth reunion in 2004 we met againin 2009 and have assembled on an annual basis since then.Following a long sequence at the Cheshire Cheese, we met forthe second time just outside the City of London boundary atThe Artillery Arms in Bunhill Row on Tuesday 1st October2019.We soon dispensed with medical updates and moved on to themore important issues of the day: how many would Spurs scoreagainst Bayern Munich that evening (two as it happened, butBayern scored seven), would Arsenal decide to have properdefenders again, and how Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is even makingMourinho’s performance at Man Utd look good. Tony Hemmingsis still an assistant referee (a linesman in old speak) and hadtrenchant views on how long it takes for VAR decisions to bemade. We speculated whether using artificial intelligence wasreally the way forward, giving 100% correct decisions in a fewseconds. Remember that you read about it first in the OldStationer!We were delighted to have Les Humphreys as a guest at ourreunion, visiting from his home in Canada. Not only is Les theolder brother of Ray, but he was also a good friend of my ownbrother John (sadly departed) and all three of us were in theschool swimming team in the late 1950s, when Stationers’School won the North Middlesex championship at Wood Greenswimming baths, and we were placed second to IsleworthGrammar in the County Finals at Marshall St baths. Les wasand still is a keen cyclist and arrived at the reunion lookingsuitably bronzed.Later discussions between a few of us who attended CampsbournePrimary School led to us trying to remember if there was analleyway between Baden Road or Linzee Road (where an earlygirlfriend lived) and Beechwood Road. Ken Saunders (who livedin Beechwood Road) assured us that there was, although it nowseems to have been fenced in. That will inhibit such primaryschool liaisons!Further discourse after the fourth pint led to a solution to theBrexit problem – although by now the recollection of ourdiscussions was more challenging, so unfortunately the detailshave been lost. However, we did manage to get on to otherimportant social and cultural changes in society, and we wonderedhow the OSA would cope if one of our members decided todeclare him/herself a transgender woman. Would the first lineof the School Song need to be rewritten?As always, Roger Engledow had done most of the organisationfor the reunion and, although there were a few apologies, we werepleased to hear that he had no reports of anyone from the 1954cohort departing this world since our last reunion. The 16 whoattended (left to right in the photo above) were: Roger Melling,Les Humphreys, Paul Edwards, Geoff Dawes, Ron Johnson, TonyHemmings, Mike Weatherley, Roger Engledow, Graham Ling, RayHumphreys, Ken Saunders, Doug Fussell, Bob Harris, RichardPhillippo, Tony Moffat, Alan Williams. Bob Townsend left before thephoto was taken.Apologies for absence were received from Martin Brown,Richard Mavro-Michaelis, Tony McKeer, Roy Stevenson andRichard Woods. We will return for our next reunion in 2020 onTuesday 6th October.Bob HarrisClass of '5515 of the 1955 intake met up at Le Colombier French restaurantin South Kensington for a splendid lunch of smoked salmon,roasted fillet of lamb and creme brulee. The restaurant has a topfloor function room which suited our needs perfectly. Mike15
Page 1 and 2: No 90 / January 2020The Old Station
Page 3 and 4: T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o
Page 13: T h e O l d S t a t i o n e r - N o
Page 47 and 48: OSa phOtOgRaphIc cOMpEtItIOn - “S

OSA magazine Issue 90

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?