22 November 2004

Jim's visit to the school November 2004

I visited the school with a view to take some photographs of the interior, especially the hall and some of the adjoining classrooms. Unfortunately I made no prior arrangements with the school and when I spoke to the very polite receptionist she told me after checking with her manager that the people that I needed to speak to were busy and that I should write in. Drat and double drat.
Anyway I took some photos of landmarks that we all know nearby and they are in an album which starts here.
regards,
 
jim    

Jim's visit to the school November 2004

I visited the school with a view to take some photographs of the interior, especially the hall and some of the adjoining classrooms. Unfortunately I made no prior arrangements with the school and when I spoke to the very polite receptionist she told me after checking with her manager that the people that I needed to speak to were busy and that I should write in. Drat and double drat.
Anyway I took some photos of landmarks that we all know nearby and they are in an album which starts here.
regards,
 
jim    

06 November 2004

Bill Palmer's memories

Bill is a new member and he sent me these memories, very evocative doncha think?
 
Thanks for the mail Jim,
 
I was there from 1953 until 1958, having been at Western primary school first. I was a "Day Boy".
 
Memories include
 
- the cross country runs we had - the pain and the pride... mainly the pain!
 
- the CCF, where after achieving Cert A, I joined the Navy section - figuring on an easy uniform. It wasn´t!  All those folds in the
  trousers had to be ironed from opposite sides. . Still we got to Lee on Solent (where I was later to ride many bicycle races)
  and had a ride in a Dragon Rapide. That was my first air experience sitting adjacent to the pilot and watched  fascinatedly as
  the Isle of Wight tilted when we banked.
 
- on the subject of aviation, which became my life later but wasn쨈t then - watching the "big boys" balancing the glider on its
  stand in the wind and as they were catapulted along the ground by a long bungy stretched by armies of lads. I believe
  someone got it airborne and deposited it in the school swimming bath, which I however did not see.
 
- prayers - and the way Doc Freeman pronounced "Artificer Apprentices" in a disdainful voice as though below his dignity.
 
- running the gauntlet of the Kelsoe boys as we bicycled through a hail of very hard snowballs on our indirect way home -
  indirect because we had to make a detour past the girls County High school to see who might be there...
 
- playing a borrowed banjo ukelele in Peter (Frank) Whitford´s skiffle group.  We practised many songs for said High School
  dance - then when we turned up, there was a professional band there - we were only required to entertain during the tea and
  buns break!  Frank, who was a great artist and cartoonist later wrote travel books and I heard him (in German) on a German
  talk radio show once. I believe he  became a professor of English at a Cambridge University.
 
- getting belted with a tennis shoe by some sadistic prefect on a Wednesday lunch time - probably learned his business at the
  hands of Eo Jones.
 
- watching the cricket match at the open day (which year?) when Archie Warr, who wore a leg brace, hit 4s and 6s all over the
  place off Chalky White and in so doing engendered a little of the tradition of the public school in me.
 
- being forced to eat school dinners completely by Hawkins. I used to hide big pieces of greasy meat in my handkerchief - till
  my mother noticed it and made sandwiches to take instead.
 
- actually learning something - mainly biology from Cox, German from Gladwell and Maths from White. Not much, it has to be
  said but the knowledge remains to this day.
 
- actually passing something - just the basic 6 O levels, which some years later enabled me to Join the RAF and fly.
 
Well, its a long time back and since then I had 5 disasterous years at the Castle,  8 years RAF, 25 Years Swissair, 2 years
flying for a Japanese airline and finally 3 years with easyJet. Now I am retired, so there ist just bicycle , guitar and some web surfing!
 
Good luck with the site.
 
Bill Palmer.
 
PS. How about a "Do you know where .... is now?"  page?

Bill Palmer's memories

Bill is a new member and he sent me these memories, very evocative doncha think?
 
Thanks for the mail Jim,
 
I was there from 1953 until 1958, having been at Western primary school first. I was a "Day Boy".
 
Memories include
 
- the cross country runs we had - the pain and the pride... mainly the pain!
 
- the CCF, where after achieving Cert A, I joined the Navy section - figuring on an easy uniform. It wasn´t!  All those folds in the
  trousers had to be ironed from opposite sides. . Still we got to Lee on Solent (where I was later to ride many bicycle races)
  and had a ride in a Dragon Rapide. That was my first air experience sitting adjacent to the pilot and watched  fascinatedly as
  the Isle of Wight tilted when we banked.
 
- on the subject of aviation, which became my life later but wasn쨈t then - watching the "big boys" balancing the glider on its
  stand in the wind and as they were catapulted along the ground by a long bungy stretched by armies of lads. I believe
  someone got it airborne and deposited it in the school swimming bath, which I however did not see.
 
- prayers - and the way Doc Freeman pronounced "Artificer Apprentices" in a disdainful voice as though below his dignity.
 
- running the gauntlet of the Kelsoe boys as we bicycled through a hail of very hard snowballs on our indirect way home -
  indirect because we had to make a detour past the girls County High school to see who might be there...
 
- playing a borrowed banjo ukelele in Peter (Frank) Whitford´s skiffle group.  We practised many songs for said High School
  dance - then when we turned up, there was a professional band there - we were only required to entertain during the tea and
  buns break!  Frank, who was a great artist and cartoonist later wrote travel books and I heard him (in German) on a German
  talk radio show once. I believe he  became a professor of English at a Cambridge University.
 
- getting belted with a tennis shoe by some sadistic prefect on a Wednesday lunch time - probably learned his business at the
  hands of Eo Jones.
 
- watching the cricket match at the open day (which year?) when Archie Warr, who wore a leg brace, hit 4s and 6s all over the
  place off Chalky White and in so doing engendered a little of the tradition of the public school in me.
 
- being forced to eat school dinners completely by Hawkins. I used to hide big pieces of greasy meat in my handkerchief - till
  my mother noticed it and made sandwiches to take instead.
 
- actually learning something - mainly biology from Cox, German from Gladwell and Maths from White. Not much, it has to be
  said but the knowledge remains to this day.
 
- actually passing something - just the basic 6 O levels, which some years later enabled me to Join the RAF and fly.
 
Well, its a long time back and since then I had 5 disasterous years at the Castle,  8 years RAF, 25 Years Swissair, 2 years
flying for a Japanese airline and finally 3 years with easyJet. Now I am retired, so there ist just bicycle , guitar and some web surfing!
 
Good luck with the site.
 
Bill Palmer.
 
PS. How about a "Do you know where .... is now?"  page?

23 October 2004

old stan

Hi Stan Brehaut,
                             Warwick Wride P.S.1949-1953 and late late of Southern T.V .Like to hear from you

old stan

Hi Stan Brehaut,
                             Warwick Wride P.S.1949-1953 and late late of Southern T.V .Like to hear from you

16 October 2004

HawkinsHarry Pics

Re the picture of Harry on the site. I believe I took this pic in class around1958. I remember hiding in the cupboards & creeping out to take some pics. I don't know what happened to the pics & who has them now, & if this was not taken by me, apolgies to the person who did take it. I was a boarder in School House at the time under John Shields.
 
Best regards
 
Peter Evans
(ventechagrionics)

HawkinsHarry Pics

Re the picture of Harry on the site. I believe I took this pic in class around1958. I remember hiding in the cupboards & creeping out to take some pics. I don't know what happened to the pics & who has them now, & if this was not taken by me, apolgies to the person who did take it. I was a boarder in School House at the time under John Shields.
 
Best regards
 
Peter Evans
(ventechagrionics)

23 September 2004

The silly season

Hi, everyone. Hope you're all well.
 
It really is quiet on the list, isn't it? I suddenly had the horrible thought that it might be that I've recently changed my email address, and perhaps I hadn't updated my MS profile, so perhaps I was missing notifications. Well, indeed I hadn't changed my profile - but now that I've visited the board I see I haven't missed a lot !
 
Not that I've contributed anything. To try and drum up some news, I entered 'Peter Symonds' into Google's news alert. Lots of results - but not much that would enthral this nostalgic list, I think.
 
'Penguin News' in the Falklands has news about PS students' AS and A-levels - you knew PSC has a link with the Falklands, didn't you? That's of huge interest to the young striplings, less so to the grumpy old men.
 
There are lots of news stories written by a bloke called Peter Symonds who contributes to 'World Socialist' and similar rags. There's also a story about a paedophile - but luckily, there's no connection with the school - it's just a paedophile called Peter being arrested by a policeman called Symonds.
 
So we'll have to make the news. But I haven't got anything to report - just the same old same old. Had a nice couple of weeks in Granada recently, though.
 
Best to everyone,
 
Chris

The silly season

Hi, everyone. Hope you're all well.
 
It really is quiet on the list, isn't it? I suddenly had the horrible thought that it might be that I've recently changed my email address, and perhaps I hadn't updated my MS profile, so perhaps I was missing notifications. Well, indeed I hadn't changed my profile - but now that I've visited the board I see I haven't missed a lot !
 
Not that I've contributed anything. To try and drum up some news, I entered 'Peter Symonds' into Google's news alert. Lots of results - but not much that would enthral this nostalgic list, I think.
 
'Penguin News' in the Falklands has news about PS students' AS and A-levels - you knew PSC has a link with the Falklands, didn't you? That's of huge interest to the young striplings, less so to the grumpy old men.
 
There are lots of news stories written by a bloke called Peter Symonds who contributes to 'World Socialist' and similar rags. There's also a story about a paedophile - but luckily, there's no connection with the school - it's just a paedophile called Peter being arrested by a policeman called Symonds.
 
So we'll have to make the news. But I haven't got anything to report - just the same old same old. Had a nice couple of weeks in Granada recently, though.
 
Best to everyone,
 
Chris

17 July 2004

mathematical pi

here is another half remembered nostalgia moment. They all seem half remembered these days!
About 1952, one of the masters started up a magazine if that isn't too grand a word which was meant to popularise mathematics. It was called Mathematical Pie, and had a little poetic jingle introducing it which started off something like "Is the fallacy true that one equals two" and went on in similar vein.
Does anyone remember it?
regards,
 
jim   

mathematical pi

here is another half remembered nostalgia moment. They all seem half remembered these days!
About 1952, one of the masters started up a magazine if that isn't too grand a word which was meant to popularise mathematics. It was called Mathematical Pie, and had a little poetic jingle introducing it which started off something like "Is the fallacy true that one equals two" and went on in similar vein.
Does anyone remember it?
regards,
 
jim   

08 July 2004

Winchester Hideaway

 
hellooo out there!

I'm searching for other places where people from winchester UK might be hanging out :o)
 
We've created an online forum for local winchester people, there's already quite a collection of photos - primarily from nights out, but there's some good surreal pictures of winchester too that you might be interested in.  They were taken one morning by one of our members :)

Feel free to join in!
 
 
Adam.

Winchester Hideaway

 
hellooo out there!

I'm searching for other places where people from winchester UK might be hanging out :o)
 
We've created an online forum for local winchester people, there's already quite a collection of photos - primarily from nights out, but there's some good surreal pictures of winchester too that you might be interested in.  They were taken one morning by one of our members :)

Feel free to join in!
 
 
Adam.

29 April 2004

Old Friends & Acquaintances remembered.

Am looking to re-establish contact with Jack Burrows or David Toms who were friends of mine at Peter
Symonds 1942-1948. They do not appear in the Old Symondian Register so any news will be welcome.
Understoodb that Jack moved from Chandlers Ford to Plymouth 1947/8. Dave's Dad was on the police
force in Winchester at the time of the Gay Gibson trial so is probably still in Winchester. My first job after
leaving PS was in the Treasurers Office on Winchester Corporation where Peter Bath and Jack Dineen worked - can anyone tell me if they are still with us .News of any of these people would be welcome.
Thank you.

Old Friends & Acquaintances remembered.

Am looking to re-establish contact with Jack Burrows or David Toms who were friends of mine at Peter
Symonds 1942-1948. They do not appear in the Old Symondian Register so any news will be welcome.
Understoodb that Jack moved from Chandlers Ford to Plymouth 1947/8. Dave's Dad was on the police
force in Winchester at the time of the Gay Gibson trial so is probably still in Winchester. My first job after
leaving PS was in the Treasurers Office on Winchester Corporation where Peter Bath and Jack Dineen worked - can anyone tell me if they are still with us .News of any of these people would be welcome.
Thank you.

11 April 2004

New Members

A big welcome to two more New Members ... Albion and Ian Baldwin ... I wonder if we can get to 150 before Jim gets back from Holiday ??? ...
Albion, I am not sure who you are, but 'Welcome' none the less ... Ian, I do know you and I trust all is well in the Land of the Big White Cloud and I am sure you will recognise a couple of other people from our era.
I trust Easter is being good for everybody... please take care.
 
Doug Clews in West Oz

New Members

A big welcome to two more New Members ... Albion and Ian Baldwin ... I wonder if we can get to 150 before Jim gets back from Holiday ??? ...
Albion, I am not sure who you are, but 'Welcome' none the less ... Ian, I do know you and I trust all is well in the Land of the Big White Cloud and I am sure you will recognise a couple of other people from our era.
I trust Easter is being good for everybody... please take care.
 
Doug Clews in West Oz

21 March 2004

Welcome !!!

I hope Jim is enjoying his Holiday and I am certain he would like me to extend a 'Welcome' to the 3 New Members who recently joined us, so come on in, AdvanceReger, Peter Evans and Ian Hale and enjoy the site !!!
 
Take care all !!!
 
Cheers from West Oz

Welcome !!!

I hope Jim is enjoying his Holiday and I am certain he would like me to extend a 'Welcome' to the 3 New Members who recently joined us, so come on in, AdvanceReger, Peter Evans and Ian Hale and enjoy the site !!!
 
Take care all !!!
 
Cheers from West Oz