They say ‘every day’s a school day’ – today was literally true! 🤔 Today, I took the rather long journey by car to my old school. Keeping me company, was Roger Hill, one-time Head Boy, and fellow committee colleague from a few years back. What made today different was that this was my first visit …
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Category:School
Pupils Reunited!
I hadn’t travelled to London for almost three years and then today, I was here in the capital again, in just two weeks! Recently, it was the rather excellent Doctor Who Experience with Jo; this time something much less timey-wimey – today, a small reunion of ex-school chums (Valerie, Hazel and Bob) and all official …
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Term Ending/Birthday Spending/D-Day Landing
Thursday – School Term EndingIt’s a Gambles-Get-Together! We travelled down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s on Thursday for lunch and then an overnight stay and then catching-up with Denis and Bev tomorrow. After a quick bite, we watched part of the 400th Anniversary celebration on DVD of Oliver’s school – Richard Hale – that took …
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End of Term – Oliver
We drove down to Roger, Jane and Oliver’s for Oliver’s end-of-term musical concert at his new school: Richard Hale. The past few days have been roasting – and today was no different with temperatures in the mid 30s. I feel like I’m getting old! ☹️ Oliver’s solo piece was entitled: ‘Nobody Knows’, and he certainly …
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Big Nose!
After yesterday’s trip into London for possibly my final informal School event as Chairman, it was a quick turn-around, and then off to Stratford-upon-Avon and Second Thoughts’ 7.30pm production of Cyrano De Bergerac. Unusually, it played at The Bear Pit, rather than the Civic Hall – but that didn’t diminish the attendance, as it was …
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Smart Nephews
Clearly when they were giving out the brain cells, I opted for the express queue, labelled ‘five or less’. Luckily our nephews demonstrated sound judgment, by taking advantage of a BOGOF, and doubled theirs! Seriously though, what a bright generation they’re becoming. Alfie James Palmer. Currently at City University, but lucky enough to have secured …
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The School Re-opens
In my capacity as Chairman of the ex-pupils association, ‘The Old Croydonians’, I was invited with many others, to see the official re-opening of the school, now reborn as: The Crescent Primary School. It was a well supported event, with the pupils singing their school song and the head-teacher recounting how the school reinvented itself. …
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The Parcel Yard
I took the early train down to London this morning in preparation for the twice-yearly meeting I chair for The Old Croydonians’ Association. We found a really good venue – The Parcel Yard just off the concourse at the recently refurbished Kings Cross station. As the name suggests, it’s the old parcel yard that’s now …
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Lunch with Roger H
I live such a exciting life, as I spend quite a few evenings impersonating taxi-drivers waiting outside Kettering Station. And now, life now has got much more interesting as I’ve started doing the same at PETERBOROUGH station. So, today, I could hardly contain myself when I drove to MARKET HARBOROIUGH Station!!! – is there …
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Me – as a piece of furniture!
As if writing the yearly school magazine and designing/maintaining the ex-pupil website wasn’t enough, the attendees at today’s AGM have voted me in as the new chairman of The Old Croydonians’ Association – ‘ The OCA’. So that’s THREE jobs now! On the plus-side, the role is a challenging and exciting one, and gives me …
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Update: The OCA web-site
I’ve added a section to the OCA web-site that allows visitors to download our oldest members’ recollections of their time at the School and their life in general. The recollections previously featured in The OCA magazine and were the result of one-to-one interviews. They can now all be seen in one place for easy access. …
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Out with the Chair…In with the Chair
I left frighteningly early this morning – 3.45am – to ensure a trouble-free journey to my old school. Luckily, it was one of the most trouble-free journey I’d ever had, resulting in me getting there at just after 6am! Time for a snooze in the car!!! The reason for the journey, was a full-committee meeting …
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Productive Meeting
I took the 9.57 train to London today to meet-up at St Pancras International with Peter and Isabel from The Old Croydonians’ Association. We met upstairs by the famous clock and the statue – ‘The Lovers’. For us to meet anywhere other than the school was a first for us, but the aim was …
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Annual Reunion
I drove down to the School today. An extra busy event as, I’m chairing the sub-committee for the Old Croydonians’ 2011 celebrations AND attending the reunion as well. It was a good ‘do’. It was a swelteringly hot day and the decision to change to a different room (that has air-conditioning) was a wise-one especially …
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Endless Journey!!
So, the theory was that because it’s half-term, there wouldn’t be so much traffic on the roads. Well, that was certainly true on the journey TO my School meeting today. 122 miles in two-and-a-bit hours. Not bad!!! Contrast that with the journey home. I left at 12.55 and got home at 4.35!!!! Arghh! Accidents everywhere …
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It’s London again
Another manic day! It began gently with Nick, my Accountant, arriving as planned just before 8am, to go through last year’s figures. We’re slightly down on turnover, but enjoyed a good jump in profits! With all that sorted, it was then off to London again! I’m not sure how I managed to schedule things that …
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OCA Committee Meeting
It’s that time again. I travelled down to the BRIT School today for our ‘Old Croydonians’ Committee meeting. As always, I left really early – around 4am, to ensure I had a smooth journey there. One of the benefits of leaving that early is that by the time I got to the Dartford Bridge, it …
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OCA: AGM
I drove down to the BRIT School today for The OCA‘s AGM. It was a good journey down and I was able to spend about an hour with Mum and then drive onto Peter J’s afterwards. The AGM went well, (apart from a very cold room and a PA system that made things worse!) – …
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Nicki visits
Nicki drove up to spend the day with us. It was good to see her and a great surprise to get a brilliant selection of individual cheeses (including my fave, chilli-cheese) as a birthday pressy. Yum-yum! First stop for the girls, the beauticians (not that they needed it) for a bit of pampering. Whilst they …
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OCA Committee Meeting
I drove to the BRIT School today for a full OCA Committee meeting. The normal crappy journey (left home 4.30am and got there just before 9am – it’s only 90ish miles!) We were under pressure from the start as they had a VIP visit scheduled for the morning (it turned out to be Ken Livingstone) …
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Peter J’s 80th Birthday
I took a drive to Peter’s – we’re going out to The Chateau in Coombe Lane to celebrate his 80th (from a few weeks ago). It was Wendy’s idea to do it, and Isabel, Margaret and Pauline (from The Old Croydonians) were there too. It’s the first time we’ve got together a group like this …
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More than a couple of mugs…
Karen popped round to talk-through the various Mug and other gift options for The Old Croydonians’ Association centenary event in 2011. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with …
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Travel to Mum’s/OCA Summer Reunion
We set off for Mum’s this morning after Ann signed-on. Wed had a really smooth journey down – just under two hours. It had been a hot week – in the thirties – but today, thankfully, started off much cooler. Mum fed and watered us and around three-ish I set off for the School, leaving …
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Sub-committee Meeting
I travelled down to the BRIT School today to chair our second meeting to plan for the OCA centenary in 2011. I felt it was a very productive meeting, but perhaps I need to allow more time for the fact that most of the group don’t really know each other and they may be holding …
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TV: The Bill
Nice to see my old school on the TV tonight. It was used as an integral part of a complex storyline involving drug-smoking-and-dealing; an arsonist; two scrapping pupils, (one of whom stabbed ‘Smiffy’); and a far-too-liberal head of year – a lot different to my days there when the most serious offence was jumping the …
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Busy…Busy…
I really must allow more time for actioning things after attending OCA committee meetings. I promised myself that I’d leave yesterday’s meeting with hardly anything to follow-up on – some chance! I was up at 5.15 this morning (and that’s crazy on a Saturday! – even for me!!). I worked on stuff like follow-up letters …
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OCA Committee Meeting
I travelled down to the BRIT School for an OCA committee meeting today. It’s over 100 miles, so I left early – really early (4.45am)in order to miss the traffic round the M25 and especially the south-side of the Dartford Bridge. The meeting was originally scheduled fro 13th February, but the snow and the general …
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AGM for the School
I travelled down to the School today for the AGM (and dropped in to see Mum on the way through). The School closed in July and we’re now in residence in the gym at the BRIT School next door. At least they had painted it since we had the Reunion there earlier this year – …
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OCA Magazine almost finished
I put the finishing touches to the School Magazine today, in preparation for meeting Prontaprint on Monday Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the …
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The Old Croydonians’ Association Annual Reunion
I drove to my old school today as it’s the annual reunion. On the way there, I popped in to see Mum. I couldn’t see Neil as he had just returned from working a night-shift. I also ran the first sub-committee meeting for the Centenary celebrations planned for November 2011. I got home around midnight …
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