Old Boys' Cross Country Event 2017

"The Six Knot Sign"

There has been some discussion about a possible Cross Country running  /jogging / walking event involving alumni of Boston Grammar School. Originally it was suggested it might happen in the summer of 2016 but due to lack of motivation / effort / commitment it did not happen. Discussion has recently restarted and there seems to be some enthusiasm to get something organised in 2017.

If you are interested in taking part in the event, please read the rest of this article, then fill in our simple questionnaire to register your interest.

"The Dip", now a model boat marina
and not navigable by runners

Here are some random thoughts that have been expressed:

• Base the course on the 1980s BGS senior cross country course, which was 3.5 miles, mainly on the drain and river banks, though it may be slightly shorter
• Hold the event on 25 March 2017, since this is also the date of the Old Bostonian Association Annual Dinner, and visitors to Boston could combine both events. The weather is likely to be cool, which some consider more appropriate for running
• Hold the event in the summer June / July 2017 since the weather will be warmer, and it gives longer for those taking part to prepare / train
• BGS old boy, Pete Rochford, is now in charge at The Napoleon pub ("The Nap") on Fishtoft Road. This could be a congregation point before the run, and Pete would be happy for those taking part to use the pub for food and drink afterwards 
• While it may be possible to arrange for marshalls to help the smooth running of the event, it must be stipulated that each person taking part is responsible for his or her own safety, e.g. crossing the road at Mount Bridge. The organisers and marshalls are not responsible for any loss or injury incurred (this will of course be officially stated at a later date)
• The organisers reserve the right to place a limit on the number of people taking part in the event in order to avoid issues of safety or public order (or perceived issues thereof)

Here is a first suggestion of a route. Sorry about the quality of the map. An improved map will be produced as things progress. The route shown, according to the route app I have on my phone (I walked the route in March 2016), is 3.10 miles.

The turning point at the south eastern tip of the route is marked by a bench, shown in this photograph.

A suggested route

The turning point

OBA Annual Dinner 2017

Guest speaker, Daryl Upsall FInstF

I am pleased to be able to announce details of the 2017 OBA Annual Dinner. It will be held at the Boston & County Club, and the guest speaker this year will be Daryl Upsall FInstF.

You can order your dinner tickets on-line using the form at the bottom of this post.

Soon after graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Social and Political Sciences, Daryl began his career working in the national and international charity sector since when he has spent some 34 years working with over 240 non-profits in some 66 countries.

He has worked with such figures as Neil Kinnock, Harold Pinter, Julie Christie and Elton John. He was kissed by General Manuel Noriega in the midst of the Nicaraguan Revolution; Harold Pinter asked him to read and comment on his latest play; he introduced Graham Greene to Peter Gabriel; he collected an award from George Michael at the MTV Awards. He says he has never had a dull moment professionally.

Since 2001 Daryl has lived in Madrid. He owns a number of consulting and recruitment agencies in Spain and elsewhere that work for the world’s largest international charities, Red Cross and UN agencies.

Daryl Upsall FInstF is one of the few Fellows of the UK Institute of Fundraising and the outgoing Vice-Chair of the Association of Fundraising Professionals based in Washington, DC. His proudest moment in fundraising was being personally thanked by Nelson Mandela for raising over US$2.5 million in 6 months for his election campaign...with a zero budget.

Andy Taylor - Obituary

Andrew James Taylor (BGS 1975-80)

Andy Taylor died on 27 October 2016, aged 53.

Andy was born on 2 September 1963. His father, Ralph was a paint sprayer and his mother, Martha was a hospital supervisor. His education started at Tower Road School before he moved on to Boston Grammar School.

He was a keen sportsman and a member of the sea cadets, where his interest in ships and engineering probably started.

After leaving BGS, Andy had a variety of jobs with local garages and other businesses. He even became a Master Butcher at the Co-Op.

Eventually he returned to engineering and travelled around the globe rebuilding and repairing ship engines. Simon Moore remembers him talking about rebuilding an oil tanker's engine in Ecuador - the piston was as large as a dustbin.

He then moved to Manchester and worked as a self-employed engineer on a large generation plant and often travelled to Ireland to repair generators.

The family decided to move to Spain soon after losing his mother to cancer and spent some time travelling before finally settling near Castell de Ferro where Andy raised goats and walked the mountains when he wasn't engineering.

In 2015 a fire broke out and Andy was referred to the local hospital with severe smoke inhalation. Unfortunately the X-Rays showed some dark areas on his lungs. Andy knew he had to return to the UK for treatment. In November 2015 Andy finally arrived back in Boston after a friend collected him and his belongings.

Andy sought work with his nephew, Simon Moore who has a haulage business, as a General Maintenance Engineer.

This helped Andy whilst undergoing investigations as to the cause of the shadows.

In early 2016 Andy was diagnosed with lung cancer. Treatment commenced during the summer. He was responding to Radiotherapy and chemotherapy and the future looked promising. However while the tumour in his chest had shrunk, the cancer had spread to most parts of his body.

The most serious cancer had reached his brain and a tumour had been growing which had already took a hold despite the treatment he had received. Andy bravely fought it over a period of approximately six weeks, finally losing the battle on 27 October 2016 aged 53.

Andy was an inspiration to many who he met. He had a free spirit and was a well educated individual. He had a keen interest in music, motorbikes, cooking, fishing, reading and writing. At the time of his death, he was writing a book, which the family hope to put together and publish. He was fascinated by how things worked and felt the need to research what interested him.

Andy wanted to be remembered by the bright colours he wore and the hats which he always wore. He said all I want to do is ensure I put a smile on people's faces and be remembered by being different.

Andy leaves two children from his first marriage: Adam and Natasha Taylor, and one child from his second: Andrew Austin. His sister, Rosalind Moore is a horse breeder and farmer in Boston.

This obituary was put together based on information provided by Simon Moore, who finished his tribute with the words: "God bless you Andy, we will remember you. X X X X".

Richard Mountain - Obituary

Richard Harry Mountain (ex-BGS, 1945-2016)

Richard Mountain died in September following a short illness. He grew up in Amber Hill and after attending Boston Grammar School all he wanted to was drive trucks. His funeral was at Brothertoft Church with burial at Amber Hill.

This tribute was paid to Richard on Facebook by "GEH Trucking" on 30 September 2016.

Sadly last week GEH lost the services of Uncle Richard after a short illness. Richard Mountain was recommended to us by another sadly departed ex GEH and JMI driver, Christian Underwood. When we needed someone to fly out and take a truck on to Portugal. Richard completed the job and as soon as a job came up he was the man to call. In the 10 years I have worked with Richard I can honestly say hand on heart we have never had a cross word and for me the only way I can describe him is irreplaceable. He worked for many high profile haulage companies in his native Lincolnshire area but most people will remember him for blazing the North African trail for John Mann. His laid-back attitude to any day-to-day situation is a lesson to us all; this is by no means detrimental to the man who worked daily to be the best of the best and to me there is no doubt he proved and achieved this on a daily basis until he was taken ill. Richard will sadly be missed by anyone that ever had the privilege to meet him as he always had a smile and a kind word. If there is life on the other side and God wanted a driver to do a job whose patience and ability will be tested every day he has taken the right man for the job – Richard Harry Mountain 1945-2016 (Uncle Richard).

Richard Laight - Obituary

Richard Laight (ex-BGS)

Richard Laight died on 2 September 2016, at home, in the company of his wife Lindy, and daughters Sami, 30, Vicki, 28, and Georgi, 25. He was 55.

The grandfather to three (with another on the way) had been terminally ill, having been diagnosed with lung cancer in October 2015.

He spent much of the year supporting two causes close to his heart – Macmillan Cancer Support and Blackfriars Theatre and Arts Centre – and his family say in that time about £15,000 was raised for the pair.

Speaking to The Standard, Lindy, 55, said: “I have been with him for 35 years and I can’t have wished for a better 35 years.”

She said the family have been left ‘absolutely devastated’ by their loss.

Vicki said: “He is going to leave a massive hole in a lot of people’s hearts.”

The family spoke of Richard’s courage following his diagnosis.

“He just took it on the chin and got on with it,” Vicki said. “His words were ‘we will fight this’. He did show the utmost courage and that’s why we are so proud of him.”

“He never moaned about anything,” said Sami. “He looked forward, he never looked back.”

Richard Laight (centre) in a BGS production
of Treasure Island c1975 with David Rodwell (right)

Richard was a director at Blackfriars and had been heavily involved in the Spain Lane venue for many years. He had also taken responsibility for Health and Safety in the theatre in the past few years. His knowledge of Blackfriars was extensive – he first performed in Blackfriars as a child, and had been an active member of BOS Musical Theatre Group for twenty years, taking both principal and chorus parts. He directed and produced several successful shows with them, including Annie, Oliver and Miracle on 34th Street. His production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way…” was nominated for a NODA Award. He also trod the boards with Playgoers, and was in the occasional “Blackfriars” production such as Corpus Castle. He made a very good Dame in Panto. In addition he was a skilled set builder, had extensive knowledge of sound and lighting, and was an efficient Stage Manager and backstage hand. In other words he had a passion for all aspects of theatre.

Following his death, Blackfriars chairman Stuart Bull said: “Richard was still a relatively young man who still had a lot to give, and Blackfriars Theatre and Arts Centre has lost a great friend.”

The family thanked the St Barnabas Hospice and Marie Curie charities for their support, as well as the vast number of people who have shared messages of sympathy with them.

They also wanted to send a message to people of Richard’s age to prompt them to consider cancer if they notice changes in their body to help with early diagnosis.

Based on an article in the Boston Standard

Boston Grammar School Head of Science to serve on national committee

Boston Grammar school's Head of Science, Emma Winter, has been awarded Chartered Science Teacher status in recognition of her commitment and contribution to Science education and has landed a key appointment to serve as a member of the Association for Science Education's 11-19 Committee.
Emma says ‘I am delighted to have been awarded CSciTeach, I have been a member of the ASE for a long time and have enjoyed the opportunities it allows to work collaboratively with others to develop as a teacher.’

The Committee advises and supports teachers in secondary schools on a large range of topics and is interested in all aspects of the science curriculum. Emma views being co-opted onto the national board for the subject as ‘an opportunity to give something back to science education and bring cutting edge science education developments to the students at BGS.’

Emma says ‘There is a huge demand for science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. I believe the skills the students develop to read things objectively and to make their own judgements based on the evidence available is important. At BGS we promote transferrable skills across subjects often with the science subjects being pivotal to this. The science community works best when it works together and it starts with science education.’

Article from Boston Grammar School website

Duncan Pitcher - RIP

Duncan Pitcher (BGS 1983-90)

Duncan Pitcher of Swineshead died on 10 July 2016 aged 44. Duncan had been suffering from a brain tumour for a number of years. During his illness he had moved back to live with his parents. He leaves parents David and Juliette, and brother Martin. His funeral took place at South Lincolnshire Crematorium.

Boston Grammar School old boy, Mark Capps said "Known him since we were born. Sad times".

Richard Budge - Obituary

Richard John Budge (BGS 1958-65)

19 April 1947 - 18 July 2016

Richard Budge died on Monday 18 July 2016, at the age of 69 after suffering from prostate cancer for nine years. He was nicknamed “King Coal” after successfully spear-heading the purchase of State-owned British Coal’s mining assets when the industry was privatised over 20 years ago, .

Richard, a generous supporter of the Old Bostonian Association, attended Boston Grammar school and went on to Manchester University to study Fine Arts. He left to join the Retford-based company AF Budge owned by his late brother Tony, which was involved in civil engineering projects, constructing major motorway interchanges and extracting coal from seams lying close to the surface.

Almost half a century later when privatisation of the coal mining industry was completed, Richard’s Doncaster-based RJB Mining company bought 17 of the 19 remaining deep mines.

The three English coalfield packages embracing 17 deep mines, 30 surface mines, over 400 million tonnes of reserves and nearly 50,000 acres of land, cost RJB Mining, of which Budge was Chief Executive, £815 million. £700 million was paid to the government on completion on December 30, 1994, and the remaining bank acquisition debt was paid off within two years.

In 1992, he bought the Opencast Coal and Plant Division from the family business. He bought a small deep mine in Northumberland, contracted for surface mine sites, and rescued three deep mines which British Coal had decided would play no part in the privatisation process. These “lease and licence” mines went on to produce almost 20 million tonnes of coal for power stations and industry before they closed.

RJB Mining was transformed from a relatively small company to the biggest independently owned coal production business in Europe.

Armed with contracts to supply power stations in the Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East at guaranteed prices for three years, Mr Budge launched a campaign, convincing employees that he was in it for the long-term. There was investment in both deep and surface mines, new machinery accessing millions of tonnes of reserves and a determination to maintain and improve health and safety standards.

Following a slump in energy prices in the late 90s as coal supply contracts were being renegotiated , Richard quit as the company’s Chief Executive in the summer of 2001.

He invested his energies and much of his personal wealth in securing a future for Hatfield, a colliery near Doncaster with substantial reserves and the potential to pioneer carbon capture technology seen as an environmental life-line for coal. He secured foreign investment, but little was forthcoming from the EU or the UK government which by then was promoting “renewable” energies as the way forward.

(Photo Brighouse Echo)

Richard served in both regional and national capacities as Chairman and President of the Coal Trade Benevolent Association He provided support and was Chairman of the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation and many organisations and activities popular in traditional mining communities. He was a trustee of the National Coal Mining Museum for England, the former Caphouse colliery at Wakefield, and for many years, was with Nottinghamshire Enterprises, a job creation agency helping regenerate one of the coalfields hit hard by pit closures.

He was the driving force behind the foundation of the Confederation of UK Coal Producers, a campaign group which for the first time gave independent producers a voice in the corridors of power. It had many successes but failed to secure government and EU investment in clean coal carbon capture and storage technology. The decision marked the end of the British coal industry, and the country’s last deep mine, once owned and developed by Richard’s RJB Mining, ceased production at the end of 2015. Richard had been declared bankrupt in 2013.

As a young man Richard's passion for motor racing was put into practice behind the wheel of several high-powered Chevron historic sports cars, winning races and championships and being crowned Thundersports Gold Cup winner at Oulton Park in 1983.

Richard, who treasured his privacy, leave his wife, Ros, their sons Grant and Kurt and their five grandchildren.

Based on an article from the Brighouse Echo

That's what the Bardney scene was all about...

This article from the Boston Standard of Friday 2 June 1972 may not be directly related to Boston Grammar School, nor is the school mentioned in it, but it is about the Bardney Pop Festival of that year, a festival founded by BGS old boy, Barry Spikings (BGS 1950-55) who went on to be a Hollywood Producer, winning the Best Film Oscar in 1978 for The Deer Hunter.

This clipping among others from the collection of Philip Johnston (BGS head 1970-78) can now be found in the Old Bostonian Association museum at the school.

There are a few short sections of the article missing, marked with [...].

I don't think the reviewer really appreciated the festival as much as we might hope and some of his comments will prove very controversial in hindsight, and maybe even were at the time.

The carnival is over. The Bardney pop circus has rolled up its canvas and left only the deep-rutted rubbish tip of Tupholme Manor estate and the memory of the half-hearted cheer when John Peel announced another festival to be held in August at or near the same site. It would have been nice to have been able to say things like "the world came to Bardney at the weekend" but only the odd corner turned up. About a quarter of the unofficial pre-festival crowd estimates actually came. But the general estimate of 50,000 was somewhere around the figure given by the organisers before the festival, and it was a manageable number. Friday's festivities were kicked off by Alexis Korner and his new band consituting [sic] ex-members of King Crimson. They played a solid opening set in high winds and showers. Instrumentally faultless, but not to everyone's liking, maybe because of the weather,  Real Blues  Doctor Ross, the one-man blues band, who mostly works on the assembly lines of General Motors these days, doing only the occasional tour, was the second of the four Friday acts. I missed most of his set while sheltering from the rain but he was well received by the plastic-sheeted audience, and [...] another set on Saturday and he really ripped it out for one of the best sets of the first two days.  Gallagher enjoys his work so much and he feeds his enthusiasm to the crowd. Saturday's bill had a lot of high spots to choose from. The rain came down again in the morning and Nazareth's "roadies" were screaming to the band not to touch their microphones which were "live". They had to back off for the last two numbers and turn them into instrumentals. Head, Hands and Feet, closely followed by Wishbone Ash, played magnificent sets in much drier weather which held out for the rest of the day. Both were much appreciated by a wind-dried crowd who needed something to get them over the rain and the insipid roxy music and locomotive GT.  Heavy Line-up The Strawbs, with a heavy line-up, gave a nice selection of sounds to a now de-plasticated audience who were just beginning to get into the right frame of mind to appreciate some music. Not that festival audiences are truly appreciative. They are mostly just good handclappers shouting for the quieter bands to get off stage. But when they're feeling warm and dry, anything goes.  Then we came to the crux of the day - Stone the Crows and The Faces. This was Stone the Crows first appearance since Les Harvey was electrocuted on stage in Swansea nearly a [...] Brewers Droop played some good-time funky music mixed with much bawdy humour. The music was happy and smiling but the humour degenerated in their last number. Spencer Davis made his first appearance in Britain for two years accompanied by the superb pedal steel guitarist, sneaky Pete Kleinow, formerly of the Flying Burrito Brothers. He was poorly received by a crowd knowing nothing more than heavy walls of sound, but we were treated to one of the nicer sets of the festival with a beautiful balance of country blues and country rock. Then we had some magic. The Incredible String Band started it. Robin Williamson's burring accent makes everyone feel relaxed and happy and their music adds to the sensation.  Lindisfarne followed and it seemed that the entire poulation of Newcastle was there to greet them. They played one of the most enjoyable sets of the weekend. The crowd went wild at the end and the ovation was deafening.  The Average White Band were not memorable, but The Persuasions, without instruments, sang some marvellous harmonies despite a temporary break in electonics during the first number.  Flying Circus Slade, for some peculiar reason, brought the house down with their harsh sound. They even got two encores, and brought an embarrassed Stanley Baker on stage to say a few [words.] Then we had a real treat. Three of the Monty Python's Flying Circus did a set and brought roars of "more" at the end of their jokes.  Last act of the day was the Beach Boys. They started badly with a lengthy tuning session but quickly had the audience on their feet with a mixture of their new, heavier style and the old surfing songs, plus some old time greats. The final day was mostly dry and the acts were mostly very good. I only heard the last bit of the last Jackson Heights number but John Peel said it was a grand set, so take it from him, Vinegar Joe was gutsy and rocked beautifully with Elkie Brooks ripping out the vocals. Atomic Rooster were horribly tedious, but The Sutherland Bothers and Genesis were excellent, though scarcely apprectated. The semi-classical Genesis were too much for a hard rock audience.  Funky Sound Don McLean was little short of brilliant and surprisingly his beautiful guitar playing and lyrics were well received. Status Quo were very loud and very ordinary.  Humble Pie really socked it to them and now that Clem Clempson has joined on guitar to team up with Marriott they are one of the best little funky bands around.  Sha-Na-Na did their usual thing - pure rock and roll and stage athletics and got the best reception of the festival, doing [...]. Joe Cocker climaxed the weekend, and played a two-hour set. He went down well, but there was something lacking. Perhaps it was that so many people were leaving, or perhaps it was that memories of his old numbers have yet to fade to leave room for the new ones to come in.  In any event, I left the arena after an hour and a half feeling very tired and not quite up to listening in depth. Mike Cartwright

1981-82 Boston Grammar School football reunion

This photograph shows the 1981-82 Boston Grammar School football team. If you are on the photograph or if you were involved with BGS football around that time you are invited to a reunion at the White Hart Hotel, Boston on 11 June 2016  starting at 6:30pm for 8:00pm.

The reunion is being organised by Kevin Reeson. If you would like to attend the reunion then please contact Kevin either directly or via the webmaster.

The people on the photograph are:

Back Row

Chris Peall, Nick Pogson, Mark Craven, Jim McCullough, Steve Shipp, Martin Brooks, Philip Bullen, Rod Dunn

Front Row

Doug Laver, Shaun Frestle, John Allen, Mick Lyon, Kevin Reeson, Mick Smith

You can also find this photograph and list of names on the Old Bostonian Association wiki.

David Hillman - RIP

David Hillman in 1962

David Hillman of Old Leake passed away recently following a long illness, aged 65 years.

A funeral service will take place at Boston Crematorium, Friday 29 April 2016 at 10:30am. Family flowers only. Donations to St Barnabas Hospice and Lincs Air Ambulance may be sent to FE Addlesee & Son Ltd, 44 Castle St, Boston, PE21 8PN.

Pete Milsom (BGS 1961-66), who was a school friend of David, said "I met up with him only last month and to me he seemed well despite recent health problems and I’m still shocked to hear the sad news. Dave as those who knew him will know, was an intelligent, thoughtful, gentle guy and a good friend.". Pete will represent the Old Bostonian Association at the funeral. I'm sure he would be pleased to be joined by other BGS alumni who knew David.

Boston Quiz League Success for BGS alumni

Thanks to Nick Charlton for this report on the Boston Quiz League results.

In Division 1 the winning team was from the Little Peacock, featuring Stephen Barker (former BGS student, second from left) and Richard Anderson (former BGS staff, third from left).

Knockout winners were White Hart A featuring (from left to right) Nick Charlton, Howard Charlton and Andy Boyer who are all former BGS students. The fourth team member was Neil Wilkinson.

Coming second in Division 1 was the same team from the White Hart.

The winning team in the sport and entertainment quiz was also a team from the White Hart, with Nick Charlton replaced by Mick MacShane, because Nick was the question setter for this competition.

Jack Harman - RIP

Jack Harman of Boston passed away peacefully at Pilgrim Hospital on 24th March 2016, aged 91 years. Jack was a student at Boston Grammar School in the 1930s.

The funeral service was held at Boston Crematorium on Monday 11 April.

I hope to be able to publish more information in due course.

Not the tuck shop

New Old Bostonian Store

The new place for the Old Bostonian Store is here. If you follow the store you will see posts from time-to-time which refer to products by old bostonians or of particular interest to old bostonians.

You can also find the store by clicking on the "Store" link, either on this blog or on the main Old Bostonian Association website.

Purchases you make from the store may result in a small amount being paid back to the the Old Bostonian Association which uses its funds principally to support Boston Grammar School and its students.

Why a new store?

For some time we have run an Amazon aStore. While our aStore is still available, Amazon has discontinued the aStore concept and no new products can be added to it.

The new store has the light-hearted title of Not The Tuck Shop: a reference to various incarnations of the break-time sweet shop at or near Boston Grammar School.

Many of the products will be made available to buy through Amazon links. If you click through to Amazon to buy the product, the OBA may receive a small return from your purchase just as it previously did when you purchased through the aStore. This new store is more flexible though in that we can celebrate and make available products which cannot be purchased through Amazon.

Can you sell my product?

If you have been involved in the creation of a product and you are an "old bostonian" then we may be able to add your product to the Old Bostonian Store. When considering whether to add a product to the store we may use the following criteria:

• You are an "old bostonian" in the widest sense; that is, you are a current or former student or staff member of Boston Grammar School: a selective secondary school in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, and not any other school of a similar name. In exceptional cases we may consider products not produced by an old bostonian, but the product would have to be of very special significance to old bostonians.
• Your product will probably, though not necessarily, be creative, e.g. book, film, music.
• Your product is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk or a scheme by which the Old Bostonian store can receive a return on sales made through the store can be set up. Even if no such scheme is possible, items of special interest to old bostonians may be included.

The aims of the store in order of importance are:

1. To present products to visiting old bostonians which will be of interest to them, either in their subject matter or in the knowledge that they are produced by a fellow old bostonian.
2. To promote the products of old bostonians to old bostonians and to other visitors to the store.
3. To produce a monetary return for the Old Bostonian Association.

There is no intention to turn the store into an advertising platform for general products and this will not be allowed to happen.

If you have a product you would like to be considered for inclusion in the store, please email webmaster@bostonian.org.uk with details.

Martin Brooks celebrating 50 years of Slade

BGS old boy, Martin Brooks remembers being taken as part of a group by teacher Richard Anderson to see Slade at Dunstable Civic Hall in October 1979 and again, after the band's success at Reading Festival, at West Runton Pavilion in October 1980.

Now Martin plays the guitar with Pouk Hill Prophetz, a rock group heavily influenced by glam rock legends Slade as well as bands such as The Sweet, T Rex and UFO. The band were asked to perform as Special Guests at S50 - the Slade 50th Anniversary Convention at the Slade Rooms in Walsall on Saturday 19th March.

Here's Martin's report of the event.

"We came, we saw, we sang a song about an 'oss!" Friday 18th March Back from work. Load the car - 3 guitars, 2 electric and the new Yamaha electro-acoustic and keyboards. Stage gear - M'Hat, M'Coat. Let's go! Check in at the hotel then off to the pub with Evil Ed and Maria, Nomis Simon Baurley and Liz, Martin Bundy and Sian Evans, Jan Visscher and Astrid Visscher and the four German guys including Uwe Friedrich and Rudolf Schubert. Chilled pre-gig drinks and much mutual love and reminiscing between me and Nomis. Saturday 19th March Into town for a walkabout and breakfast with Ed and Maria. Back to the hotel by midday where I am met by my fellow Pouk Hill Prophetz mate, the one and only Nigel Hart who has come up with Geoff, who is doubling up as photographer and roadie. A motley crew assembles in the bar including the legendary David Kemp, his son Jack, De Daley and Gwen Dale and Glenn. I am introduced to Richard Cox, the journalist who was involved with the "Slade Alive!" recordings and who had already posted comments about wanting to hear our band (our reputation precedes us...got to deliver!), James Hannington and Susan Wilson and her son from Scotland and the lady who used to work at the Astra Agency. Then Mark Smith rolls up with his mate. Some top boys (and girls) are here today. 2pm-ish and we decide to start making a move to the venue. 5 minutes' walk so we (I) decide not to get a taxi. Me and Rudolf with my guitars and keyboard and Nigel and Geoff carrying the monster strobe light for Trevor West's t-shirt! Haha! Kinda cool walking through Wolverhampton with our gear. Arrive at the Slade Rooms. Awesome. The place is already pretty full. Various old skool faces including the one and only Mr Mark Richards (what a guy!), Paul Lythe and my Canadian mate Andre St-Amand, Ken Campbell, Kenny Bell, Craigie Storey, Colin Launder, Dave Jewell, James Craig, John and Jane Sales and the promoter Andreas Andy Blodwyn. Eventually we locate our drummer, Mr West, accompanied by his own personal fan club of his wife, Denise West and his daughters Rebekah and Bethany. Everyone is telling us we are gonna be great and how much they are looking forward to hearing us play! Magic! No pressure there then! I find out that Paul Heywood is doing the sound for the afternoon, so I know we are in good hands. My old mate, the bard of Nottingham, Paul Cookson, is there and so I grab a copy of his latest book of poetry "Touched by the band of Nod" (go out and buy it, 'cos it's great!) and then decide to get a copy for my oldest girl, Louise, as well so she can read about her Dad's musical heroes! 4.00pm and we're on! One acoustic guitar, one voice, one drummer. An A minor chord and then as it changes to D minor and Nigel sings the first line of "Coz I Luv You" the place erupts! Brilliant! The crowd were totally behind us from the start and it was an absolute privilege to play for these guys! I had specifically wanted this set to have some obscure songs in for the real hard core fans, so we then launched into "Summer Song" from "Flame". Were the hard core fans there? You'd better believe it as they sang this little gem word perfect! "Far Far Away" followed before switching to keyboards for 5 songs - again a mixture of classics and obscure tunes. What better way to close the set than an acoustic version of "Cum On Feel The Noize"? Then again the crowd basically sang that for us! Thank you so much! We loved it! (The Montreal Expos' baseball cap was a tribute to my great Canadian buddy, Daniel Bloomfield, who unfortunately, could not join us on the day.) Pouk Hill Prophetz outside the Slade Rooms No rest for the wicked, and as Kenny Bell launches into a great solo set, we are required firstly outside for a photoshoot (how rock 'n' roll, does that sound?!) and then in the main hall for our soundcheck as Special Guests opening the evening for the brilliant Slade UK. Things sound great playing through the big PA. Huge respect to Andrew Gill for allowing me to use his setup and helping with the sound. Top man! A short break in the bar area and I am required to tune Paul Cookson's Superyob ukulele (yes! really! I want one!) as he finishes his poetry readings! ...with Bethany on tambourine 7.00pm. Showtime! We are changed and ready to go, but no crowd! The doors are still closed. Eventually the audience is let in. The rockin' DJ Claire Gibbons plays "Pouk Hill" and we take the stage to a thunderous reception. This has to be good! What a privilege to be here! Now, it's time to deliver. From the very first chord the crowd were with us, willing us to succeed. That meant so much. Two songs in and then we play our first Slade song "Darling Be Home Soon" - everyone knows every word and there is a feeling of great love in the air. A bit of T Rex and then it is time for Know Who You Are (video below on timeline). Trevor's daughter, Bethany joins us as a guest and so the Prophetz' version now has *tambourine by known member of the audience, as opposed to the original credit on "Slade Alive!" A little bit of ZZ Top and then it's time to play, in the words of Andy Blodwyn, "that song about an 'oss"! By now, our old mates, Daren Bishop and Tracey Palmer had arrived and we know that this song always brings tough guy Daren to tears! We had planned for Trevor's other daughter, Rebekah to come on stage and play Jim Lea's violin part with us. We introduced her by saying "We are passing the baton to the next generation" and the place went nuts! Pouk Hill Prophetz with Rebekah after her violin performance What a star! She was note perfect and the applause at the end was immense... I am told the full length version is going to be on YouTube soon. Check it out! It is great! You can tell from the reaction of me, Nigel and Trevor how we felt and how proud Trevor was of both his daughters on the night. Martin playing the Superyob guitar So, last song - we gotta close our set with something noisy and I have been given the opportunity of playing Michael's Superyob guitar. No way am I going to miss out on this! We close with "I'm A Rocker" which goes into "My Baby Left Me/ That's All Right Mama" and as we finish the reaction is amazing. We leave the stage with the crowd shouting for more! We came, we saw, we played a song about an 'oss! Slade UK took the stage at 8.00pm for two sets of blistering rock. If you have not seen 'em - go and see 'em! They are great and Nidge Hillam is absolutely amazing! How can someone sing like this?! Unless, of course, he is called Noddy Holder! 11.00pm curfew and back to the hotel with the gear - this time loaded into a taxi. There's a load of guys going to continue the rockin' at the pub until the early hours. We decide to have a cup of tea in Nigel's room! Eat your hearts out, Saxon! Sunday 20th March Everyone is up and knocking about in the reception area of the hotel by 10.00am. Various people start to make their way home, but eight of us are off into town for a visit to the Willard Wigan exhibition featuring the miniature Noddy Holder in a pin! Amazing artwork. Breakfast in what used to be Beatties and then off to Bilston to say adios to various amigos in The Trumpet. Got to be done! What a weekend! It was a pleasure to be invited to play at this event. This group has meant so much to me. I love their music and it has been a privilege not only to have learnt their songs over the years, but to be in a band with two guys who have the same love and passion for their music as I do! Noddy, Jim, Dave and Don (Hanne Svalgaard Lundby) - Thank you! Peace and Love, Martin x

Pouk Hill Prophetz
playing Slade's Coz I Luv You

Pouk Hill Prophetz with Rebekah on violin,
playing Slade's Dapple Rose

Old Bostonian Association Annual Dinner 2016 - Report

As expected, there were fewer attendees at this year's old Bostonian Association Annual Dinner than at last year's. It was still a very respectable attendance of over 70 people; about average for the last few years.

Because of the reduced numbers we returned from the BGS assembly hall of last year to the comfortable surroundings of the Boston and County Club, near to the main entrance of Boston's Central Park.

People started gathering in the bar at 6:30pm and after a while there was quite a crowd and the volume was increasing.

Three of the five members of 1967 school band,
Gotham City were together for the first time in 49 years:
David Wortley, Ty Dalby and Nick Flynn

Past OBA President, Tony Austin
and his wife, Jill

George Danby and his wife Pearl
with Ken Newham

Pat Everitt and David Wilson

While we were all in the bar, Peter Milsom produced a painting by former BGS staff member, Hubert "Tilly" Turpin (BGS 1927-1964), asking what the subject might be. I have since confirmed that it is Ely Cathedral.

Once the OBA President, Peter Sharman had worked out that the PA was indeed piped into the bar, he managed to call everyone through to the dining room at about 7:30pm for an excellent and well waited meal.

The top table, left to right: Thomas Vamplew (BGS student and quiz scorer), Smilte Matutionyte and Joe Dean (students and OBA museum curators), Peter Sharman (OBA President), Brig Bill Dunham CBE BSc (guest speaker), John McHenry (BGS head teacher), Harvey Potter (Head Boy), Damian Austen (Deputy Head Boy)

After dinner there was a short break before the speeches: time to mingle again.

Bill Stanwell and Stan Lawrence

Rod Dunn

David Wookey and Scott Palmer

Nigel Wainwright and Harvey Potter

Ken Newham and Pete Milsom

Pat Welberry and Gus Goor

Jim Ely and David May

After a brief introduction and loyal toast from OBA President, Peter Sharman, Richard Anderson took the microphone to introduce our guest speaker, Bill Dunham (BGS 1972-1979). Bill joined the Royal Marines in 1979 straight from BGS and had a long and varied career including command at every level up to Brigadier. His Career culminated in roles as Commandant of Commando Training Centre, as Chief of Staff of the NATO Training Mission in Kabul and finally Deputy Commandant General. He left the Corps on 31 March 2015 and now works as the Director of Strategy and Corporate Services at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Peter Sharman

Richard Anderson

Richard Anderson

Brig. Bill Dunham

Bill's speech was entertaining and thought provoking, relating with stories both serious and funny how his time at BGS and in Royal Marines training informed his later career, and indeed lessons real and tongue in cheek that we can all take from his experiences. He then went on to propose a toast to The School.

The response was provided by BGS head teacher, John McHenry, who acknowledged that the recent Ofsted report of the school indicated that continued improvement was necessary but balanced that with an explanation that while the inspectors had to show three years of improvement, they acknowledged the last two showed an "upward trajectory". On the specific point made about the behaviour of students, he made a good argument that the two incidents referred to in the report were not significant. He also noted that the school is an academy but that the current drive is for schools to be involved in multi-institution academies. This need not mean the school being swallowed up into a larger organisation but does mean it needs to select partner schools, and select them wisely.

Brig. Bill Dunham

Bill Dunham and John McHenry

John McHenry

The official business was brought to a close by the Head Boy, Harvey Potter, who spoke of his view that speaking at the OBA Annual Dinner was one of the highlights of his year in office. He also acknowledged the honour he felt in following his brother Ellis Potter into the role; Ellis gave the response to the toast to The School at the dinner in 2014.

Those who attended the dinner were as follows.

Ron Abbott	(73/98 Staff)
Richard Anderson	(71/14 Staff)
Toni Anne Pain	(Guest)
Damian Austen	Deputy Head Boy
Jill Austin	(Guest)
Tony Austin	(56/62)
Pauline Borrett	(Guest)
Robin Borrett	(92/94 Staff)
Mark Bruntlett	(78/85)
Marcus Cain	(81/89)
Colin Clark	(51/58)
Tyrone Dalby	(58/66)
George Danby	(59/64)
Pearl Danby	(Guest)
Jack Davy	(02/09)
Joe Dean	Student – OBA Museum
Bill Dunham	Guest Speaker (72/79)
Rod Dunn	(66/96 Staff)
Dan Elkington	(97/03)
Jim Ely	(59/64)
Pat Everitt	(74/81)
Ian Fisher	(83/89)
Nick Flynn	(60/66)
Jamie Forman	(78/84)
Gus Goor	(57/62)
Nick Hiom	(85/90)
Andrew Hladun	(74/80)
James Hopper	(83/91)
Robin Jackson	(59/65)
Luke Johnston	(02/09)
Philip Johnston	(70/77 Staff)
Andy Lawrence	(75/82)
Stan Lawrence	(45/50)
Mark Leggott	(75/81)
David Lenton	(62/68)
Mark Locking	((82/89)
Smilte Matutionyte	Student – OBA Museum
David May	(60/64)
John McHenry	Head Teacher
Simon Meeds	(76/84)
Stan Meeds	(38/43)
Pete Milsom	(61/66)
Sue Milsom	(Guest)
Darren Mitcham	(82/89)
Ben Mountain	(87/94)
Ken Newham	(41/46)
Sara Nicol	(Guest)
Trevor Page	(49/55)
Scott Palmer	(87/94)
Keith Phillips	(72/79)
Colin Pickwell	(60/65)
Harvey Potter	Head Boy
Reg Priestley	(45/46)
Peter Rawlings	(53/58)
Peter Sharman	OBA President (59/64)
Don Sharpe
Bill Stanwell	(43/47)
Bob Stanwell	(54/61)
Don Stimson	(51/56)
Judy Stimson	(Guest)
Thomas Vamplew	Student – OBA Quiz etc.
Nigel Wainwright	(77/14 Staff)
Pat Walters	(82/89)
Pat Welberry	(59/62)
Roger Welberry	(56/60)
Ken Whittle	(52/89 Staff)
Pat Whittle	(Guest)
David Wilson	(74/81)
Stephen Wood	(01/08)
Catharine Woodliffe	(Guest)
Stephen Woodliffe	(88/06 Staff)
David Wookey	(81/89)
David Wortley	(59/66)
Richard Wray	(56/61)
Tony Wright	(78/84)

Philip Johnston (BGS headmaster 1970-78) with Brig. Bill Dunham