Old pauline news spring 2017

Old Pauline News

Spring/Summer 2017

T H E S T PA U L’ S S C H O O L A L U M N I M A G A Z I N E

Prof F Duncan Haldane Nobel Prize-winning Physicist

"The nice thing about theoretical physics is that once one understands something properly, it looks elegant and simple."

PLUS

Nicholas Parsons

Celebrating 50 Years of Just A Minute

California Dreaming

OPs living the dream on the West Coast of the USA

a i n r o la ifeaming

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Briefings

A round-up of Old Pauline news, including George Amponsah’s (left, 1982-87) BAFTA nomination for The Hard Stop and the release of Patrick Neate's (1984-89) film, City of Tiny Lights.

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Contents 2

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More than 80 OPs now live on the west coast of the United States. The OP News catches up with some who have settled there.

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OP Profiles

David Bailey

The ocean mist swirls over San Francisco

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A young John Thompson CBE (1941-46) meets Monty at Apposition 1946 before commencing on a long career in media.

Interview

Nobel Prize-winning physisist Prof Duncan Haldane (1965-69) discusses his work and answers some probing questions from the junior and senior schools.

Illustration Š Niklas Elmehed

Cover photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Henry (1998-2003) and Ben (2001-06) Lloyd-Hughes: Brothers on the Boards

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Et cetera

Nicholas Parsons CBE (1937-39) celebrates presenting the iconic BBC Radio 4 show Just A Minute for 50 years

Editorial Welcome to the Spring/ Summer edition of the Old Pauline News.

I'm delighted to feature an interview with Prof F Duncan Haldane (196569), the Nobel prizewinning physicist. His in-depth responses offer fascinating glimpses into the world of quantum mechanics and the unexpected behaviour of matter.

In sympathy with the idea that the Club should strive to forge closer links across the whole St Paul's community, it seemed a good idea to offer current boys, especially young scientists, an opportunity to ask Prof Haldane questions direct via the magazine. Lawrence Tray from the Upper 8th and Hari Collins from the Upper 3rd in the Junior School have both provoked some interesting replies.

A while ago I heard that a new OPC branch might be formed on the west coast of the USA. By way of encouragement, the Old Pauline News got in touch with several OPs living the dream in sunny California. In return we have been given some excellent eating out and travel tips!

You might notice a few design and section changes in this issue of the magazine. These are the first moves towards developing a new-look publication. 'Time stands‌' etc I wish you all a very enjoyable summer.

Simon Bishop (1962-65)

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From the High Master A report on Operation Winthorpe, plus an update on the School's development project.

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Old Pauline Club

Events, reunions, branch news

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Obituaries

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Old Pauline sports Reports on rugby, football, cricket and golf

Editor and designer Simon Bishop All correspondence to: The Editor c/o The Old Pauline Club, St Paul’s School, Lonsdale Road, London SW13 9JT Copy for the autumn/winter issue of the Old Pauline News, to be published in October 2017, should reach the Editor no later than 21 August 2017.

Contact: opcadmin@stpaulsschool.org.uk

Contact us Telephone: 020 8746 5390 Email: opcadmin@stpaulsschool.org.uk Web: opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk

Advertising in Old Pauline News

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Old Pauline archives Monty's Desert Island Discs from 1969

For our current rates please contact the Editor, Simon Bishop: opceditor@stpaulsschool.org.uk

@oldpaulines Old Pauline Club Old Pauline Network

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 1

Emails & Letters Please address all correspondence to the Editor, Old Pauline Club, St Paul's School, Lonsdale Road, London SW13 9JT, or by email to opceditor@stpaulsschool.org.uk Correspondence may on occasion be edited because of space limitations.

Thank you

May I use your columns to extend a belated but extremely sincere “thank you” to OPs who contributed to the gift I received at the Dinner last year. Together with what the Common Room gave me, it has been put to good use, as I have recently returned from a very exciting safari trip to Kenya with my camera, and I attach some photographic evidence of 'Big 5' meetings.

I have not, of course, severed all connections with the School, and look forward to keeping in touch through the OP community.

Peter King (1967-71)

Musical memories

I was interested to read Hugh MacBride’s memory of Ivor Davies in the last ‘My St Paul’s’, about the proposed performance of The Messiah which, literally, went up in the air. As Hugh says, there was a hymn practice every Friday morning and on one occasion Ivor leapt up on the table and shouted ‘I’m bursting with it, aren’t you?’ with which the whole school dissolved into laughter! I played clarinet in the school orchestra and we rehearsed every Friday evening. At 4.30, when everyone else was going home, we had tea in the tuck shop, paid for by Ivor; it was always bread and strawberry jam and a cup of tea.

Then we would rehearse from 5 to 7. My favourite time of the week! We learned three pieces every term (overture, concerto and symphony) with a concert at the end of term. I still think of those happy days whenever I hear one of those pieces.

I also remember professional concerts held in memory of the horn player Dennis Brain (1934-36), who was killed in a car accident in 1957 while returning from the Edinburgh Festival. The object was to raise money for a scholarship for promising Pauline musicians, and I wonder whether that scholarship still exists?

Philip Blow (1960-65)

A Return to the 153

On the question of bursaries, if I hadn’t been a Foundation Scholar from 1947-53, there is no way my parents could have sent me to St Paul's. I remember that John Colet wanted his 153 Scholars to become “Great Clerks”. I do not claim that I became a Great Clerk, but I did represent Britain as British Council representative in Chile and in Colombia (1986-1995),

Panthera pardus and (inset) panthera leo as photographed by PJK

and I was proud to do so.

Please do what you can to help bursaries reach 153, preferably more.

Bill Campbell (1947-1953)

Privilege and Plutocracy

It was interesting to read the letter by Robert Stanier as to the school’s declining proportion of scholarships.

Whatever the defences mounted by Mark Bailey, this does seem in keeping with the general tenor of the School as it now appears in the magazine, which to someone who left nearly 25 years ago is of the unrestrained privileges of the world plutocracy. When I was in the school 1st XV (1991), our pre-season training was in Bideford, Devon – not Japan and Hong Kong. In previous years I remember Argentina and Australia on the menu.

I doubt my parents could have afforded such trips – one of the points of Stanier’s original article. As with gated communities, parents who can afford such trips do not want to be surrounded by those less fortunate than they are. Hardly surprising then that there has been little real change in the number of scholarships offered by the School.

Without recognising such home truths, it’s hard to see any meaningful change coming to the School. This would require a real rethink of what a complete education should involve – thoughtless training in global consumption and pollution, or training in how to criticise and ameliorate the fragile world into which we are born.

The latter involves living with others and undestanding them, which is not something to which the world plutocracy appears to aspire.

Toby Green (1987-92)

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Life changing

I’m sure that my experiences at Colet Court and St Paul’s formed me in many ways, but among those that I most consciously learnt from was something we did after we were let out of being in the CCF. I don’t remember what it was called, but it involved going off to be useful, supposedly, in the local community. I was given the names and addresses of old people who I can only assume the local Social Services thought might need help or company.

After being turned away at the door by three people, I was finally welcomed by Tess Tucker, who was in her 60s, I think, and totally blind, having been attacked by burglars during the course of her duties as a warden in a block of flats. Her husband having died years before and her son having nothing to do with her, she lived alone with her dog in a damp tworoom basement on a national pension.

For a posh suburban schoolboy, this was a revelation.

She took me in - at first I’m sure she gave me more than I gave her - and we became friends, she visited my home, I took her shopping, and I passed her on to younger boys on the same scheme, who in their turn did the same. Nowadays I’d talk of her resilience, but her ability to cope with what was by any standard a miserable life and her generosity of spirit have been an inspiration, as well as a fond memory, ever since. I sincerely regret the selfish period of my life that kept me away so that I never knew her later fate.

Whatever that scheme was through which St Paul’s gave me the opportunity to know ‘Mrs Tucker’ was a life-changer for me.

Maurice Herson (1963-67)

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

My St Paul’s…

The section devoted to your personal experiences (good and bad!) at St Paul's. Send yours to opceditor@stpaulsschool.org.uk

Near misses

Some of us will remember the days when the Waterhouse building in Kensington started to have serious difficulties: I remember the morning when the brick balustrade round the clockface fell, perhaps 80 feet, onto the steps below, and my initial bewilderment at seeing the bits of brick scattered over the dented steps... followed by the appalling thought of what would have happened if this had taken place a few minutes later at the changeover between periods! At this time, around 1960, various other problems were starting to happen, including a whole length of plaster ceiling coming down in one of the upstairs corridors. This reminds me of a story told us by the then High Master, A N Gilkes (not usually given to humorous anecdotes) about an earlier event in which a rather weighty chaplain had disappeared up to his waist through a floor in one of the upstairs classrooms; in the room below, a large pair of clerical legs suddenly appeared through the ceiling, kicking helplessly. The event itself was before my time; perhaps other OPs may recall it?

Ian Davies (1957-62)

Fire on the farm!

During my days at Crowthorne in the last war, boys had to join either the Junior Training Corps (JTC), Air Training Corps (ATC) or work on the

A 'digging squad' on School farm duty

School farm. This was situated about three miles from Crowthorne and was under the supervision of Mr Lansdowne, the Biology master. I became tired of polishing the brass buttons on the JTC tunics and opted to work on the farm on Wednesday afternoons instead. If it was raining we didn’t have to go in which event we spent the afternoon playing Monopoly.

On one occasion when working on the farm very acrid smelling smoke came drifting across the field. I looked up and there on the other side of the field stood Mr Lansdowne seemingly on fire with smoke billowing from the right hip pocket of his sports jacket. He seemed unaware of this, so engrossed was he in what he was doing. I at once went across to tell him and, as if it was an every day occurrence, he banged the burning area with his hand to put the fire out. He had put his pipe, still alight, away in this pocket with the above consequences. I hope he still had some of his clothing coupons left!

Dr John Lunn (1943-48)

Mars Bar Scandal

My school friend Paul Braterman (1952-56) was, and still is a doughty fighter for the cause of justice and human rights. When we were about 14 years old, he, quivering with righteous indignation, told me about an outrageous incident in the school tuckshop, which was in the basement of the old school. He had gone, as was his custom, to buy a Mars bar, and put 3d on the counter (for my younger readers, there were 240 of these old pennies to the pound). The woman serving said: “Sorry sonny, the price has gone up to 4d ” “Why?” “They’re making them bigger.”

“Can you please put a 3d (three pence) bar and a 4d bar side by side on the counter,

so I can see whether the price increase is justified” “Be off with you, you cheeky little monkey!”

Paul was outraged that his reasonable request had met with such an unreasonable response. I’m afraid to say that my reaction was to burst into laughter.

Incidentally, Sainsbury's now charges 65p for a Mars bar. The £15 term’s fee my father paid for me (a scholar) would have bought 900 Mars bars at 4d. A term’s fee now for a scholar would buy 12,000 Mars bars, an indication of the inflation in school fees.

John Crooks (1952-57)

Scottish Internationals on Big side

I was sad to read an announcement in the Daily Telegraph of a Memorial Service for Frans ten Bos at Fettes College Chapel, Edinburgh on 14th September last year.

He is one of the big names I remember when watching the Five Nations rugby on a black and white TV in the 1960s with commentary by Bill McLaren and Peter West.

I recall the excitement to see skipper Mike Campbell-Lamerton and the Scottish boys practising on big side at St Paul’s, West Kensington, on a Friday afternoon before an international at Twickenham.

At that time Don Rutherford (Gloucester, England & Lions) taught at St Paul’s so he may well have arranged the training facilities for the visiting Scotland XV. ‘Eheu Fugaces, Postume, Postume, labuntur anni’. Horace (Odes 2:14).

John Dunkin (1964-69)

Organ angst

I used to play the organ for morning prayers when Ivor Davies, the Director of Music couldn’t be there. Davies was away on the last day of the school year in 1961, and he had asked me to play for prayers. This landed me innocently in the middle of a controversy. Alan Cooke, the Surmaster, who was a good organist, thought that as it was an important occasion he ought to be playing. Davies could not be contacted, so Cooke complained to the Highmaster, Anthony Gilkes. Gilkes was in an unusual position, adjudicating between the Surmaster and a boy, and I think he did well. In Solomon-like fashion, he decreed that Cooke should play for the hymn and that I should play the voluntaries. And that was what we did.

Robert Ascott (1956-61)

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 3

Briefings The ‘Milton Organ'

On David Starkey's BBC Two programme, Music & Monarchy, it was revealed that Oliver Cromwell enjoyed listening to organ music and that John Milton (1615-25) was reputed to play for him at Hampton Court Palace on what later came to be known as the 'Milton organ'.

The instrument was originally built for Magdelan College, Oxford in 1631 but was later sold to Tewkesbury Abbey in 1736, where it has since been rebuilt.

David Tarsh (left) and Andrew Lowenthal

Jesters’ Tournament Win

Congratulations to Andrew Lowenthal (1966-71) who won the Over 60s and David Tarsh (1974-80) who won the Over 55s in the Jesters’ Tournament (official British Amateur Squash Championship, running since 1922).

David Tarsh, who has captained the OP Squash team for most of the past 30 years said: “I owe my victory to Yawar Islam, who is a wonderful Squash coach. He is an inspirational professional at the Queen’s Club, where I play and he coaches at St Paul’s.

Under his guidance, the School won the Roehampton Public Schools Squash tournament for the first time ever.”

Still sexy

Rob Manzoli (1967-71) plays with Right Said Fred at the Cornbury Festival, in Oxfordshire, 7-9 July.

The band's debut single I’m Too Sexy was released in 1991. The single peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, the song topped the charts in six countries, including Australia, Ireland, and the United States. Right Said Fred followed up with a number one single on the UK Singles Chart with Deeply Dippy in April 1992.

In June 2014, the band appeared on

the first season of the American satirical news program Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and performed lyrics aimed against Syrian President Bashar alAssad.

City of Tiny Lights

Patrick Neate’s (1984-89) film ‘City of Tiny Lights’, adapted from his novel of the same name, was released in UK cinemas in early April. To find out where you can see it visit: cityoftinylights.com Patrick describes the film as “a nostalgic homage to the London he loved (teenage drinking, cricket, nonstop rain etc). The film stars Riz Ahmed, Billie Piper, Cush Jumbo, James Floyd and Roshan Seth. Total Film calls it ‘a rich, rewarding crime film’.

Young Blade

Guest Paul Astbury (left) with Tim Cunis, John Howard, Charles Madge and Nick Carr

reminiscences to make it a hugely enjoyable occasion.

In addition, the lunch was attended by two past Presidents of Middlesex County RFU, our own Charles Madge (195257) and, as a guest, Paul Astbury. Paul reminded the lunchers that MCRFU make ‘Valuing the Volunteer’ awards in recognition of 30 years of service to the game amongst its grass roots clubs, and that Nick Carr (1963-67) had been one of the very earliest recipients of the award in 2002/03, before presenting Tim Cunis (1955-60) and John Howard (1971-75) with similar shields. All three are past Chairmen of the OPFC, which is now in its 146th season, having been founded in 1871, the year before the Old Pauline Club in 1872.

Freddie Davidson (2011-16), at 18 years old, is the only undergraduate rowing for Cambridge at 2. This is all the more remarkable as both Oxford and Cambridge tend to pack their crews with overseas postgraduate oarsmen. The average age of the Oxford crew is 26 which includes a 30-year-old Dutchman and Cambridge has only two English oarsmen, with six coming from either the US, Canada or Australia.

Recognition for Colets

Power broker

Music by the Sea

Government ministers have tasked Sir Mark Walport (1966-70), the government’s Chief Scientific Adviser, with deciding whether the UK should establish a research centre for energy storage, batteries and new power grid technology.

‘Valuing the Volunteer’ 30-year Awards for three OPs On Saturday 4 March a Reunion Lunch for former rugby players was held by the OPFC at Thames Ditton. The 1st XVs win by 56-8, over Worth Old Boys RFC afterwards, added to the cheerful

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In the latest report from the Amateur Football Combination League, Colets comes first for hospitality and third overall for facilities, against 86 other grounds. Giordano Orsini, General Manager, says “Such recognition is a reward for the great work put into Colets by all our staff, but in particular the Grounds and Food and Beverage teams. We are all very proud to have achieved this.”

Cellist and Conductor Robert Max (198084) is playing in a performance of piano trios by Mozart and Dvorak and in the UK première of Timothy Baxter’s Fantasi, as part of the 2017 Frinton-onSea (Essex) Music Festival, held between 26-29 May, of which he is the Artistic Director.

Details: www. frintonfestival.com

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

Why Eighteen?

Guild of Mercers' Scholars

The Guild of Mercers’ Scholars is a voluntarily-run Guild in the City of London, made up from alumni and associates of the Mercers’ Company’s cluster of schools. One of its objectives is "to encourage former pupils of Mercers' Foundation and Associated schools and others to become Freemen and Liverymen."

On 12 January at Guildhall nine

‘A riot is the language of the unheard.’

Martin Luther King

George Amponsah’s (198287) (right) documentary The Hard Stop, about the aftermath of the killing of Mark Duggan by an armed police officer in 2011, was nominated for the BAFTA 2017 Awards for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

To make The Hard Stop, Amponsah won the trust and co-operation of Duggan’s family and two of his friends, Kurtis Henville and Marcus KnoxHooke – who explain the context of Duggan’s life and death in Tottenham, while the film follows their own stories in the aftermath of the riots.

people with Pauline connections attended the Chamberlain’s Court at Guildhall for Admission and Bindings Ceremonies.

USGA/Chris Keane

Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images

BAFTA Nomination

From the left: Tim Cunis (School Court Assistant for SPS); Deputy Chamberlain’s Clerk; Simon Rooms (Apprentice Master); James Curtis (Apprentice); Joshua Greensmith (Apprentice); Brian Green (Past Master & Apprentice Master); Mrs Hobday (SPGS); Robert Smith (OPC Deputy President & Freeman); Brenda Hobday (SPGS & Freeman); Patricia Taylor (SPGS & GMS Hon. Membership Clerk); Beadle.

Peter Lewis (1965-69) has been awarded the Herbert Warren Wind Book Award by the United States Golf Association for his book Why Are There Eighteen Holes? St Andrews and the Evolution of Golf Courses 1764-1890.

Peter’s book takes a look back through the 18th and 19th centuries to discover just why it was that 18 holes became the standard number on a course. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary sources, he reveals that early courses had varying numbers of holes and were judged by the quality of their turf, putting greens and hazards.

In addition, Peter documents the history of golf courses in Britain before 1890, exploring how the fledgling game became established – why St. Andrews came to be perceived as the ‘metropolis of golf’, and why the Royal and Ancient Golf Club emerged as a governing body of the game.

Established in 1987, the Herbert Warren Wind Book Award recognises and honours outstanding contributions to golf literature. Named after the acclaimed 20th century American golf writer, the award acknowledges and encourages outstanding research, writing and publishing about golf. Presented by the USGA Golf Museum, the Book Award is the top literary prize awarded by the United States Golf Association.

Peter was the Director of the British Golf Museum from 1988 to 2009, when he became The R&A’s Director of Film and then Director of Historical Research.

After retiring last year, he was given the title of Emeritus Historian of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. He has written or co-authored numerous books, including a three-volume history of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club. He has also been awarded the Murdoch Medal and President’s Medal by the British Golf Collectors’ Society for his contribution to the history and heritage of golf, and for outstanding writing for the Society’s magazine, Through the Green.

Peter Lewis with the Herbert Warren Wind Award

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Old Pauline profiles

Geared for start-ups Faraz Aghaei (2000-05) is a co-founder of The Clerkenwell Brothers, a creative production agency in EC1.

Faraz Aghaei (far right) with Nick Horowitz and Cass Horowitz

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aving studied Philosophy and Economics at the University of Bristol, Faraz had the choice of joining an HSBC graduate scheme or to work for a then unknown start-up popcorn brand, Propercorn, based in King’s Cross. He opted for NW1. Looking back, he says he was able to learn a lot very quickly, being part of such a small and talented team. As Propercorn Brand and Marketing Manager he helped to establish the business, but after two years thought it was time to move on. “I felt it was time to own my future”.

Faraz met Cass Horowitz, a journalist then working for ITV, and his brother Nick, a film director, at a University of Bristol reunion – “the only two people in the room who weren’t working in banking at the time.” They felt their skill sets complemented each other well enough to co-found The Clerkenwell Brothers agency, specifically to help start-up businesses.

Entering this arena, Faraz says they came up against some heavyweights. “It was quite scary, quite daunting. You did hear some horror stories. Some startups that opt go to big agencies could immediately be put on retainers of £1015K a month. By month four they would run out of money. For their outlay they might only have a single press ad response from the Evening Standard. They’d be left wondering, where did all that money go?”

In an earlier interview for The Drum Faraz said, “there wasn’t an agency that suited the needs of a start up. You have your PR agencies, your video production agencies and then your marketing agencies all pitching for work under different campaigns. What they don’t realise is that cash flow is usually the biggest concern for these new brands.” Faraz explains that, with some exceptions, the Clerkenwell Brothers tend not to have retainers with their clients, but like to work on a percentage revenue share basis, project-by-project. They link their pay to the results they get.

So far the trio have worked with clients such as the Wireless Power Consortium, the BBC, ITV and Red Bull. More recently they have been working with the hospitality recruitment app ‘Placed’ and the ice-cream mochi brand ‘Little Moons’,

Looking outside the clients’ immediate fields for inspiration. . . (one of) the Clerkenwell Brothers’ key ingredients amongst others. Clerkenwell have also been nominated as the agency of choice for the Equity crowdfunding site Seedrs, who have launched a new programme to help support businesses who are successfully funded through their platform, The Alumni Club.

Getting emotionally invested in the brands, wanting to see them flourish and looking outside the clients’ immediate fields for inspiration are the Clerkenwell

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Brothers’ key ingredients for their success so far.

At School, as well as being an accomplished footballer (well, goalkeeper), Faraz was also very active in the drama department, notably performing a very risqué scene in a production of Don Juan in front of his parents and the High Master! He now volunteers his time to develop the communications strategy for the organisation Act for Change, which promotes diversity in the arts regardless of race, gender, class, sexual orientation, age or disability, reflecting more closely the societies we live in. He says that as an Iranian-born Englishmen this is something he “massively believes in.” l

Contact: another@theclerkenwellbrothers.com www.act-for-change.com

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

To 'Hell' and beyond Nick Feneck (2002-07) ran the 257km Marathon des Sables across the Moroccan Saharan desert – the toughest race on Earth.

. . . to the absolute limits of my emotional, mental and physical being

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or those of us who like to set ourselves personal goals it is sometimes a good thing to set the bar high. But running this particular marathon, across the Moroccan Saharan sand in 40-50oC heat, would probably prove a task too tough for most of us. Sir Ralph Fiennes, who completed the race in 2015, was quoted as saying that the experience was ‘more hellish than Hell.’

After successfully surviving the run, Nick started work with the Swiss company Seedstars World, a global start-up competition. He is part of Seedstars Asian team travelling the region, setting up pitching events for early-stage start-ups.

The winner of each local event wins an all-expenses trip to Switzerland where they compete at a global ‘summit’, involving 65 different start-ups from across the world.

At the time of this interview, Nick was in Myanmar where he says entrepreneurship was in its infancy. “It’s a good time to be here because we think it is going to develop massively in the next few years.”

Nick studied Law at Bristol before leaving in 2012 to do a Masters at UCL in Legal and Political Theory, “tantamount to Philosophy”, which he found a more enriching experience. Yet to be completely convinced by his professional experiences, Nick looked to inject himself into something that would demand a more passionate personal response. For an experienced marathon runner, what better than entering the toughest race on Earth? “At just shy of four grand for the entrance fee and another £800-£1,000 for the kit, it’s a lot of money to lay out. It’s not something you can just back out of once you have signed up.”

Nick was running on behalf of the Hope for Children charity, but the marathon also supports a range of partners including Unicef, Oxfam and WaterAid. “I was blown away by how impressive the runners were. Some were raising tens of thousands of pounds.”

Having secured his new job with Seedstars, Nick started to increase his specific training for the MDS, about six weeks before the run in April.

Every day is a separate stage: Day One is 34km; Day Two, 42km; Day Three about 39km; a massive Day Four of 82km,

followed by a rest day; then another marathon followed by a final morning run of about 20km.

On the first day the runners are flung intentionally into 15-20km of big rolling sand dunes. “Not only is the sand deep, but it creates a sauna effect – insanely hot, plus other elements you’re not expecting – like a full-on sand storm on Day One! Because there is no cloud cover in the desert you also have to cope with a huge disparity between temperatures of up to 50 degrees by day to minus 10 or 15 degrees by night. Your body is always trying to regulate itself. The organisers provide water through the day, your tent at night and medical equipment if you need it, so it felt reasonably safe and that you weren’t going to die! I was lucky, I didn’t get blisters until the big 82km day.

After that I was hobbling for the rest of the time, but I did see people with horrific blisters having to pop pain killers every hour or so to cope.

“For the doublemarathon fourth day I started running at 9am and didn’t stop till 3am

the next day! By the end of it you are running through the dark. It was surreal listening to Pink Floyd under the desert night sky. Every step was difficult. By the last two kilometres I was a wreck. I was sleepwalking essentially, hallucinating. I was dehydrated and I had craving hunger pains. I couldn’t talk, I was just utterly exhausted. It pushed me to the absolute limits of my emotional, mental and physical being.”

Nick says he stayed with his race buddies throughout the experience.

“Without them I honestly think I would have just curled up and cried. Nobody tells you how psychologically intense it is.

Between 10 and 20 per cent of the 1,200 runners taking part dropped out, 50 on the first day alone.”

Undeterred by his daunting experience in the desert, Nick was looking ahead to other challenges, such as a five-day jungle run in the Amazon, or possibly future Iron Man events.

At School, he enjoyed playing football for the 1st XI and rugby for the Daily Mail competition, as well as representing the School in athletics and tennis. He still likes playing for the OP Club Football Club whenever he’s available. l

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 7

Old Pauline profiles

Dr Alan Channer is received by Tugen elders - Baringo County Kenya while making a film about land degradation and peace-building

Resolution Through Film Dr Alan Channer (1977-82) is the director of For the Love of Tomorrow (FLT) Films, specialising in making documentaries that explore faith-based approaches to reconciliation and peace-building, social renewal after war, economic development and environmental protection.

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ost notable of Alan’s documentaries for FLT has been The Imam and the Pastor (2006), which was launched at UN Headquarters, screened at the World Bank and in the House of Commons, broadcast on Al-Jazeera Arabic and from Sweden to Somalia. The film won first prize at the Africa World Documentary Film Festival and was part of the official selection at Cinema Verité in Paris. Its sequel, An African Answer, was described by Kofi Annan as “a very important film”.

Alan joined his father, David, Founder of FLT, in 1994, after working for six years as a research scientist, including two years of field work in China, Malawi, Tuvalu and Zimbabwe. His interest in the social and cultural aspects of life had, at that point, overtaken the desire as he puts

it, “to study disease ‘X’ on crop ‘Y’. ” Growing up in India, Alan says he was very aware of the context and influence of his early multi-faith surroundings. “I always wanted to do something useful in the developing world.” His intended route was though the study of agricultural biology, and Alan gained his PhD from the University of Reading with his thesis on natural methods of crop disease control and smallholder cultivation. He later completed a course in farming systems research in Holland. “That expanded my horizons into fundraising, bigger development issues, and how you connect science to socioeconomic issues – all pertinent to the work undertaken by FLT films.”

Alan’s first project with his father was to produce two short films, The Serene Smile and The Serene Life, about healing and reconciliation in post civil war Cambodia, for which Alan and his father were given an award from the Cambodian government and a commendation from King Norodom Sihanouk. Since his father died in 2006, Alan has continued to make films and has been invited to speak at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum and at the Centre for International Intervention at the University of Surrey.

Looking ahead, Alan is now focusing on the Sahel region of Africa, from Kenya

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through to northern Nigeria. The project is re-engaging Alan with his agricultural background, as many issues in the area involve the dwindling resources of pasture and water. He is currently seeking partners for his next series of films.

“The thing that convinced me to carry on with this work was the making of the film The Imam and the Pastor. That film, set in Nigeria, depicts the reconciliation and peace-making initiatives between Imam Muhammad Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye, previously leaders of opposing militias. The film shows that it is possible for the perpetrators of inter-religious violence to become instigators of peace.”

“I’m feeling drawn to the idea of countering the limited narrative about violent extremism – as if it’s only an ideological problem or that somehow religion is the root cause of the problem and needs to be ‘dealt with’. These approaches completely miss the human and social reasons why people are misusing religious traditions to do what they’re doing.”

Alan is based in France and travels frequently to Africa. He is married with two daughters, one of whom is passionately interested in photography. l Contact: alanchanner@btinternet.com www.loveoftomorrow.org

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

One of Beaverbrook’s ‘Bright Young Men’ This year, John Thompson CBE (1941-46) was one of the more senior OPs present at the Reception Dinner at Mercers’ Hall, following the Feast Service at St Paul’s Cathedral.

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n a career that has spanned five decades, John has been a successful editor, publisher and director as well as adviser to government and academia.

He describes himself as having been “one of the so-called ‘bright young men’ working under the ‘wicked, but great’ Lord Beaverbrook at the Daily Express in the late 1950s.”

John has vivid memories from his wartime school days at Crowthorne. In particular, “the extraordinary sight of us all cycling off early every morning, whatever the weather, from the boarding houses to Downshire House, where all the teaching went on.”

John’s House Master in Crowthorne had been Mr A B Cook, who later became Surmaster at St Paul’s. “But the teacher for whom I have nostalgic memories was a remarkable character called Eynon Smith. He really got everyone to think. Very sadly, on a weekend visit to London, he was killed by a bomb at Paddington station.” John retains a high regard for Walter Oakeshott, the High Master who successfully transferred the School to Easthamstead during the war, Captain of School John Thompson (right) and re-established it back to with Field Marshall West Kensington afterwards.

Montgomery at the “He was the sort of leader I 1946 Apposition like. He never really asserted himself, but no one was ever in any doubt about who was in charge.”

At college, one of my As Captain of School, John had occasion to meet Field Marshall fellow students was a Montgomery (1902-06) at the 1946 brigadeer Apposition. John was in the ATC, and says he was undeservedly given the rank of Corporal to reflect his position as eighteen-year-old schoolboy.”

Captain of School.

After university, John planned to join John later gained a degree in history the senior branch of the Diplomatic from Pembroke College, Oxford. “At that Corps, but because of his asthma, was time it was more unusual to be going forced to take a different career path. He direct to university. A lot of people there acted as an ‘office boy’ to the Chairman of had returned after service in the war. For Glaxo Laboratories for a few years before example, on my staircase at college, one working in advertising. John then began of my fellow students was a brigadier. a long career as a journalist, writing a One felt rather like a minority as an column from New York in the late 1950s.

John’s many media hats have included roles as newscaster/ reporter for ITN, Editor of Time and Tide, News Editor for the Observer, Editor of the Observer Colour magazine and Publisher and Editorial Director for British Printing Corporation.

John became Senior Adviser on Radio to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications.

He was made a Director of the Independent Broadcasting Authority with responsibility for setting up and establishing independent radio throughout the UK, for which he was awarded a CBE in 1980. He later became a member of an MoD study group on censorship.

Towards the end of his career, John took on new roles with industry and tertiary education. He was a judge for the 1987 Booker Prize, won by Penelope Lively for her novel Moon Tiger.

John and his wife Sally have two sons who both went to St Paul’s: Piers (1972-76) and Barnaby (1974-78); and a daughter Eliza, who went to St Paul’s Girls’ School.

Lord Justice Bean (1967-71) is John’s nephew by marriage. l

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 9

Drama Special: Brothers on the Boards

Finding the stamina…

The Old Pauline News managed to catch up with actor Ben LloydHughes (2001-06) while he was in LA for meetings. Like his brother Henry (1998-2003), Ben is an actor with an impressive pedigree on a decidedly upward trajectory.

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en first became known for playing the character Josh Stock in the British TV series Skins back in 2007, but has since gone on to star as Ed Miliband in Miliband of Brothers (2010) opposite his brother who played David, Bentley Drummle in Great Expectations (2012) and as Will in the Hollywood Franchise production of Divergent (2014).

More recently, Ben says that he is proud of his role in the film Breathe, directed

by Andrew Serkis and starring Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man) and Claire Foy (The Crown), which will be released this year. And in Hush, also to be released this year, he plays one of the two leads opposite Celia Imre.

On stage, Ben performed in Matthew Warchus’s first play as artistic director of the Old Vic Theatre, Future Conditional, about the education system, where he played an educational psychologist who had gone to St Paul’s School. Ben has also played opposite Jude Law in Henry V in the West End, and this summer will feature there in Kiss Me, the new twohander written by Richard Bean.

An acting career was probably in Ben’s blood somewhere. His and Henry’s maternal grandfather, Basil Appleby, had been a legendary figure in the film industry from the 1940s right up to the 1980s. As an actor Basil famously played Flight Lieutenant R C Hay in the iconic film The Dam Busters in 1954, before going on to become a casting director, producer and production manager, most notably for The Lion in Winter (1968). Ben landed his role with Skins right after leaving St Paul’s, thanks to a theatrical agent taking him on during his last year at School. He had come to the agent’s notice after nearly landing the part of Peter Pevensie for Narnia films, which had come to the School looking for possible candidates. “In my final year at School, I’d find myself running at the end of the day to get to auditions with casting directors, legging it in my school uniform, or from football practice with muddy knees and hands – quite stressful! With Skins, I had just done my Religious Studies A-Level

As Bentley Drummle in Great Expectations

In my final year at School…

I’d find myself running at the end of the day to get to auditions exam before running to the audition.”

It was a real rush, leaving St Paul’s and going straight into filming. That gave me the confidence that I could act professionally. I enjoyed the process; we had so much fun making it. When the programme went out and people responded to it, it felt really satisfying to be part of something that a lot of people were watching.”

Looking back to his time at St Paul’s, Ben credits Director of Drama Edward Williams, as being crucial to his connection with acting. “You need someone to believe in you, you can’t just act in your bedroom. Ed cast me in some wonderful roles such as Ralph in Lord of the Flies, and as Guy Bennett in Another Country. That was both inspirational and educational as a role. The feeling you get when people have connected with the story and the performance is something that stays with you. It’s entirely Ed’s fault I’m here now in rainy LA!” Ben also remembers taking part in Club drama at School. He won the Best Actor Award for his performance as Toad in Toad of Toad Hall, still his only acting award of which he is very proud, co-directed by Charlie Fink (1999-2004) (now of Noah

10 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

and the Whale), Chris Martin (1999-2004) (stand-up comedian) and Ben Reizenstein (1999-2004) (innovation strategist with Doblin and manager at Deloitte).

Ben turned down a place to read Philosophy and Theology at the University of Bristol to follow his passion for acting. But he was later offered a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he trained with Patsy Rodenburg, a leading Shakespeare voice coach, and Ken Rea, an inspirational life coach. Guildhall, he says, gave him a work ethic and a structure that helped him build self-confidence. Having an older brother already in the business was also undoubtedly helpful, comforting and inspirational at times.

Now with 10 years of acting experience behind him, Ben says he’d be happy to talk to any young OPs or current Paulines interested in acting. “It’s not easy being an actor. It can be a very brutal industry. It can be unstable and harsh, mentally. I was acting in War and Peace with Stephen Rea who said, “It’s just about stamina, still being in the fight.”

Keeping himself fit for the ‘fight’, Ben still enjoys playing football most Sundays in Haggerston, East London, along with James McKenzie (2001-06), for Calcio Athletico Dalston. Having grown up in West London, Ben remains a diehard QPR supporter.

With his partner, actress Emily Berrington, Ben is looking to create a website for actors.

They would like to develop something along the lines of Mumsnet, which operates as a supportive community to individuals with similar interests. “There is too much secrecy in the industry and too much fear.

People tend to see each other as rivals rather than potential collaborators, competitors rather than compatriots. I’d like our website to become a fantastic source and forum for actors to pass on information, experiences and advice. If there are any OPs, in any capacity, who can help us, we’d like to hear from them.” l Contact: ben@lloyd-hughes.co.uk

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

…getting 'back on the horse'

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Although I had left school two years earlier, I was still wearing a school uniform every day!

Later, Henry particularly enjoyed the 2011 production of Shirley, in which he played opposite recent Oscar nominee Ruth Negga, who played Bassey. “She gave a bravura performance – the sort that can charge you up.”

Looking ahead, Henry has plans for his own comedy-drama series for TV. He has already written pieces for the US comedy website 'Funny or Die', for which he has shot two comedy shorts.

Influenced by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Henry says he has always relished the idea of being a character actor, but says there is also something about Peter Sellers that chimes with his comedic leanings. “A sadness and a funniness – the sad clown, that’s what I really felt I could do well – it’s close to my own voice.”

Henry says he feels very lucky that his year group at school was harmonious. “There’s a big crossover of people still getting together

– 25 plus who I could still hang out with. I was best man last summer for Joe Murray (1998-2003) and in May a lot of us are going out to Italy for Oliver Davies’ (1998-2003) wedding. I really like the diversity between us – it’s good to have people who can keep your feet on planet Earth. I cannot think of one guy from my group who isn’t a thoroughly decent bloke.”

After St Paul’s, Henry briefly enjoyed a musical career, singing and writing for a band alongside Charlie Fink (1999-2004), now of Noah and the Whale, and Charles Costa (1998-2003), stage name King Charles, both of whom have gone on to make very successful careers in music. For recreation, Henry now enjoys organising and playing cricket for The Bloody Lads, a league team in North East London.

Henry relates that his mother, Lucy Appleby, recently directed the stage show Brexit, the Musical, in which James Sanderson (1997-2002) played Boris Johnson. He also mentions working with actor Blake Ritson (1991-96) on the Channel 4 production of Indian Summers and with Ally Gipps (1995-2000), Production and Development Executive at Warp Films.

Look out for Henry in two feature films that will be released this year: Damascene, and The Last Witness. He also plays the actor Edward Alleyn in the TV drama Will, about a young William Shakespeare and his world. l

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 11

Matt Brandon

enry says he is having to reconsider what is possible in a ‘post baby’ world – weighing up the demands of parenting with those in front of the camera. “You need to be strategic about things. You don’t sign any ‘infinite contract’ without serious consideration. It’s a bit of a dance. It’s always been a dance, but now there are a few more steps involved!”

Henry is now a highly experienced professional actor with many film, TV and theatre credits to his name including Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Inbetweeners, Anna Karenina, Miliband of Brothers, Madame Bovary and Indian Summers. At the time of this interview Henry had just been offered the lead role in the play Occupational Hazards, based on the memoir of Rory Stewart, which will run at the Hampstead Theatre throughout May. Reacting to the off-on nature of his work, Henry says, “Sometimes the route to getting to that top flight level can be so stressful, so helter-skelter. It feels like by the time I get there, I might be dead! The hardest bit is actually not the rejection, it’s the ‘getting back on the horse’.”

Looking back to his time at St Paul’s he says that having the chance to take GCSE Drama was incredibly important to him, chiefly, he says candidly, because “I wasn’t any good at anything else! If there had been an opportunity to take Drama at A level I would have loved to have done that. I received great encouragement from John Hudson, who directed me in Romeo and Juliet and Ed Williams who directed me in Coriolanus.

With the guidance I also had from my tutor, Judith McLaren, these three were the rotating figures in my school life. I feel very lucky to have come into contact with them.”

Henry was the only one of 160 boys in his year who didn’t even look at a UCAS form, such was his ‘foolhardy conviction’ about his future career as an actor. “I had a VHS tape that my mum had recorded of me as Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet in the old theatre at St Paul’s. When I was seventeen, I went round with this VHS and convinced the Curtis Brown agency I was worth taking a punt on. I had no idea how anything worked then. When I went to my first audition and didn’t get the

job, I assumed it was the end of the road! I thought I’d just have to do something else.

Plus it eventually took me about ten years to get to where I thought I’d get to in six months. I really thought there would be posters of me everywhere within weeks!

I was very impatient to crack on and make that happen. Going to an academic institution just wasn’t going to work for me.”

Within a few days of starting out on a world trip part-funded by gardening work, Henry found himself called back for his debut role in the TV series Murphy’s Law, in which he had to ‘kill’ a nun with a (rubber) brick. He then played Culpepper in the TV series The Rotters Club before landing the role of Roger Davies in the Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. “I had this weird first two years. Although I had left school two years earlier, I was still wearing As Ralph Whelan a school uniform in Indian Summers every day!”

Landmark/PR Photos

Actor Henry Lloyd-Hughes (19982003) has a new role. He and his partner have recently welcomed their first child, a daughter, Thea, into the world.

Old Pauline profiles

The Remaking of Lad Culture Will Hayward (1994-99) is CEO of the JOE Media Group, which has been looking to fill the void left by the collapse of ‘lad’ magazines.

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ho can now claim to be the ‘voice’ of young British men? Lad mags have long disappeared from the top one hundred newsstand titles. Only Men’s Health and GQ are still hanging on in there despite double-digit percentage drops year on year. The mouth-watering print circulations of Nuts and Loaded magazines, for example, each selling more than 300,000 in their heydays, are a thing of the past, as digital media has swept away most, if not all, before it.

Those readers haven’t of course ‘disappeared’. The race to fill the vacuum created by the demise of print magazines has been keenly fought online. UniLad, founded in 2010 and describing itself as a ‘social powerhouse’ and which now boasts 18 million fans on Facebook, is battling it out with The LadBible which has purportedly become the UK’s 12th most popular website.

Forging a way into this burgeoning mix of mass online male-centric content is the JOE Media Group, an advertising-funded media business that is home to JOE and SportsJOE. Will joined them as CEO last year, having cut his media teeth initially as a sales executive at the Economist, later working his way through the marketing and business development side of Dow Jones, to be appointed as Vice President (Europe) of Buzzfeed before becoming Chief Commercial Officer of Dazed Media.

Founded in 2015, JOE has taken a different editorial tack to UniLad and The LadBible. In an interview in The Guardian, Will said, “(At JOE) We are absolutely convinced that the assumptions that other titles make about young men are a little bit flawed. Young men today want better for themselves and for the world around them… they want to be better informed… attitudes towards women, homosexuality and mental health have all shifted very significantly.” The term ‘lad’, would now seem to hark back to connotations that have become outmoded.

Will describes Facebook as being the key platform for this new publishing wave.

Viewed video content has the potential to generate billions of hits, and that spells good business.

“People talk about disruption theory a lot, a specific way that smaller companies

Young men today want better for themselves and for the world around them can outcompete and eventually destroy their bigger rivals. Within media for example, we have newspapers and TV channels that have premium content driven by established journalists, with huge production budgets, who will provide high-quality investigative reporting. At the other end of the spectrum we have Buzzfeed for example, that a few years ago people would have dismissed for its low-grade content. But there we worked very hard, introducing news reporting, later investigative reporting and building the organisation from the ground up on Facebook, Twitter and other social distribution networks. We ended up being able to do what traditional media companies couldn’t do. We could react quicker than them, specifically aiming at Facebook and Twitter users as opposed to big media priorities, which are still to sell you print or take you to websites.”

“Facebook has been on a slow journey.

It started with pictures of friends and cats.

Now most news organisations find they get most of their traffic via the social media platform. What Facebook has been talking about a lot over the last few months is how it has now usurped television to become the most frequently visited ‘station’ for watching video-based programming. Over the next few years we’ll see more and more

12 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

media companies building programmes specifically for Facebook, not TV, for that reason. Will cites JOE’s Football Friday Live Show as a good example. We want to develop this side of the business – there’s a huge sports audience potential, and for other areas like computer games, and satire, maybe along similar lines to Private Eye or Saturday Night Live formats.

With Will at the helm, JOE has invested heavily in developing its own original video content, and the company now has its own studios. “There is a central production team in place, but what we’re trying to do is find people who understand what works on Facebook and what is likely to be shared on it, then encourage them to turn their ideas into video. We’re trying to hire diverse people who can experiment within the format. I met someone working in TV recently who is used to working to a £10,000 budget to create a 30-minute video, and will want a month, maybe two to produce it. By comparison, within a couple of months, at JOE, we will be making 20 pieces of video a week for a lot less.”

Will has three brothers who all went to St Paul’s: Tom Hayward (1986-91) who is a Finance Director for a stockbrokerage; Ben Hayward (1987-92), a Fund Manager in the City; and Ed Hayward (1990-95), who works on business development for an offshore law firm.

Having enjoyed Judo at School with Mr Sweeney, Will now practises Jujitsu every week. With a young family of two boys of two and a half, and nine-months old, life can be hectic. “But it’s wonderful isn’t it?” l For further Information: www.joe.co.uk

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

Songs from the Heart Since winning the 13-18-year-old category of the Song Academy Young Songwriter Competition back in 2013, Archie Faulks (2008-13) has steadily been building on his career as a singer songwriter. Archie’s debut recording Tenterhook, which included the single 'Stereo', created a stir on the internet in 2014. Since then he has been touring in the UK and Europe and working on a new album which he plans to release soon. Archie performed at the inaugural St Paul’s School Summer Festival last year.

What are your immediate plans?

I am currently finishing writing a record for a new project I am working on at studios in Edinburgh and in the Oxfordshire countyside.

Which musicians and writers have most influenced you and why?

Paul Simon, Robin and Barry Gibb (Bee Gees), Joni Mitchell – all brilliant songwriters with a unique yet familiar style. Numerous great albums and tunes; it’s the consistency of quality which I admire.

What instruments do you play?

I play a number of instruments not very well but I would say my main ones are guitar and clarinet.

Have you had formal tuition or are you self-taught?

I had clarinet lessons between 8-13 but am a self-taught guitarist, producer and writer.

Do you like to start with the words or the melody?

It really depends. Often the most powerful songs start with a lyrical idea with melodies around it; however, a powerful melody can also inspire a mood for lyrics to develop.

So both methods have their positives.

You won the Song Academy’s Young Songwriter Award in 2013. Which song won it for you, and did winning that award help to launch your career?

It was a song called ‘Blackfire’ which I wrote when I was 16. The prize was to record at Universal Music. Off the back of that my demos were heard by my eventual managers who gave me more of a platform to release my music.

Career high point so far?

Supporting Asgeir in Berlin on my 20th birthday playing to 1,000 silent Germans.

Do you come from a musical background, and have you always been a singer since you were young?

My dad was a songwriter who at 21 had a top 40 hit in Sweden with a song called ‘My Japanese Lady’. I have sung for as long as I can remember; there is a video of me singing ‘I do like to be beside the seaside’ dressed in a red pinstripe suit aged three which is a real favourite.

Has music always been your preferred career choice?

Yeah since I formed my first band aged 13 I knew it was for me.

What has been your route since leaving St Paul’s?

My management signed me while I was still at school so I immediately started recording EPs and played a lot of shows for two years around the UK and Europe.

I then decided to put that project on ice as the music I was creating was developing into something which I believed to be bigger and better. I wanted

to give myself the time and space to help that come into fruition. I am currently working with the intention of releasing a record within the next two years.

Did St Paul’s play any part in helping you to realise your musical abilities?

We practised in the music room and I sang in the competitions, but to be honest, I preferred doing things at my own speed.

There was a brilliant man called George Adie who asked me to join a jazz band and then helped me with some songwriting and chord development, so I suppose I owe a lot to him. He instilled into me from a young age the power of different harmonies.

What would your Desert Island discs be?

‘Here, there and everywhere’ – The Beatles ‘Lover you should have come over’ – Jeff Buckley ‘Lovins’ for fools’ – Sarah Siskind ‘All the things you are’ – Jerome Kern Oscar Hammerstein ‘Gimme shelter’ – Rolling Stones ‘Dido’s Lament’ – Purcell ‘The Letter’ – Al Green 'Solid Air' – John Martyn l Listen: https://soundcloud.com/tenterhookband

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 13

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a i n r o f la i eaming r

Mark Charkin (1984-89) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I had wanted to move to the West Coast and specifically San Francisco for a number of years (since around 2009). Although London and many other places have interesting emerging 'silicon valley' start-up style hubs, SF/ Silicon Valley is the epicenter with a 30-40 year head start and still very much the undisputed leader. Given my focus on digital/internet and the huge amount of global players with their HQ’s there (Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest, Apple etc etc) I wanted to spend time at the heart of this for the next stage of my career.

I moved out with King.com (now King Digital Entertainment, part of Activision) who created the hit mobile game Candy Crush Saga. I was their head of Business Development and Advertising and so went out to the US to set up their US operations and get us close to some of the large platforms (Facebook, Google, Apple, Amazon) and also the games ecosystem in the valley.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

I am now an Advisor / Consultant to a number of hyper growth start-up businesses.

My primary focus now is with Onfido – a UK grown start-up (founders are primarily Old Paulines actually!) that focuses on

Since the 1960s, sunny California has proved to be an irresistible destination for many from these chilly and damp isles.

The Old Pauline News managed to catch up with a handful of the 80-plus OPs currently based on the West Coast of America.

making ID verification and background checking more seamless and robust for the digital economy. I have been helping them scale up their US operations and also, with Business Development Snapchat, I have been helping them with strategy and execution for International business. This involves thinking about which markets to launch teams in, what these teams should look like and then helping them identify and onboard the best talent possible.

Jaunt VR – is an emerging leader in the field of cinematic VR. I am helping them primarily with onboarding brand partners to create branded VR content or sponsor content that we are producing.

I also do some small scale seed investing and act as a mentor, such as with the Mayor’s office and Seedcamp. http://gotogrow.london/mentors-andbusinesses/meet-the-mentors http://seedcamp.com What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

Hopefully without sounding shallow, the weather and the astounding natural beauty is hard to beat. The topography of the immediate Bay with the hills, ocean, beaches, redwoods etc is breathtaking. The fact that you can get to the wine country, the mountains for skiing, Yosemite etc all within a short drive is pretty special.

On a professional level, the pace of innovation and vibrancy is exhilarating. On one level it does feel like a modern day gold rush with everyman and his dog creating what they hope is the next multi-million dollar app. However the reality is that it’s so much broader than this and although many companies will fail and some valuations will

Venice Beach: a popular hangout for OPs

14 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

pop, there are just so many smart people drawn here who are building and working so many incredibly interesting challenges from everything from biotech, edtech, martech VR/AR, wearables, IOT, self-driving cars etc.

Do you have a favourite spot?

Lake Tahoe is magical (3-4 hours drive from San Francisco).

Where’s the best place to eat?

San Francisco is a foodie’s heaven. The quality of food, given that much is locally grown, is extremely high and poor quality restaurants generally don’t survive long. I’d be hard pressed to say a favourite, but two that have a special place for me are Hog Island in the ferry building and Sushi Ran (Sausalito).

Any downsides?

SF isn’t a large city and so the nightlife isn’t anywhere as varied or late night compared with a city like London, New York or LA. As a guy in his 40s with three kids this isn’t such a big deal, but perhaps if I was in my 20s then this would be more of a negative.

Like most popular hubs round the world, costs are very high. In particular rents are driving many further out to areas not seen as so desirable (but now are up and coming).

What do you miss about the UK? English humour and chocolate (anyone who has eaten Hershey’s will understand).

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Like anything in life, just go for it, all in.

As most people in SF/ Silicon Valley have

come from somewhere else and understand the highs/lows and challenges of start-ups, people are very welcoming. Don’t be afraid to reach out to anyone, be direct about what you want and always offer to see how you can help.

Standout memories of life at SPS? Yes lots, both good and not so good, but all blend together as a positive experience! I don’t know if the confidence to think I could do anything, came from my time there, but I’m sure it must have helped.

Matthew Conrad (1997-2002) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I went to do my Master’s at the University of Southern California at the prestigious Peter Stark Producing Program.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

I produce adverts (or commercials as they call them here). It involves an intricate knowledge of all stages of film production from writing, to production, to editing to project management.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

Super standard answer but the weather here is amazing. Plus, LA is the centre of the film and TV industry.

Do you have a favourite spot?

In the LA area, I love Malibu. I also love my local cinema.

Where’s the best place to eat?

Pinche’s Tacos. Best tacos in town.

Any downsides?

Everyone thinks you’re Australian. But seriously – I’ve travelled a lot but the biggest culture shock I have ever had is here in Los Angeles. You’re deceived by the common language but the value system is different here. As is the sense of humour.

What do you miss about the UK? My family and my friends. Also not having to get up at 6am to watch football.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Make sure you have your driver’s license!

Also – don’t be afraid to reach out to other Paulines... unless you’re going to use annoying phrases like “let me pick your brain.”

Standout memories of life at SPS? There are a couple of legendary teachers that stand out, but honestly, looking back on it, the entire SPS experience was incredible.

I didn’t necessarily enjoy every single day but on balance: the breadth of opportunities on offer, the standards you’re held to, the friends you make – you’re going to struggle to find a better place to prepare you for life. Honourable mentions also go to the turkey burgers and arctic roles from the fine culinary experts at Sodexo!

Saul Goldberg (2000-04) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

A 747 and a dream! Initially I went to Montreal to study History at McGill, and then spent my final undergraduate year at NYU. After that I was a wayward liberal arts graduate living in New York and struggling with questions of what to do with my life.

Law school beckoned, but after sitting the LSAT and applying to law schools in the US, I bought myself a year and flew out to LA with one suitcase and two people in Hollywood to call.

A few weeks later I got hired in the proverbial mailroom at the William Morris Endeavor talent agency in Beverly Hills. A very different kind of education from St. Paul’s! Eventually that led me to where I am now.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

My current title is Head of Unscripted Television at a production company called Covert, but we live in a time where distinctions between different kinds of media feel increasingly obsolete. Basically I follow my curiosity to find stories, people, ideas or things that seem intriguing, and figure out how to shape that intrigue into something that might look or sound like a compelling TV series that people will watch.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

The clichés are mostly true. The weather is ridiculously good. There’s great hiking, access to nature, mountains, sea, etc. What I love most is the sense of proximity to amazing landscape.

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Craig Hughes (1987-92) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I was born in San Francisco; I returned to California to go to Stanford after SPS.

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Do you have a favourite spot?

The King’s Head pub in Santa Monica is a favourite. I go there to watch most Chelsea games.

Where’s the best place to eat?

I never used to like sushi before moving out here, but there’s a restaurant called Sugarfish that serves the most consistently delicious sushi. Nobu is great too.

Any downsides?

I think Woody Allen said “culture in California is turning right on a red light”. He had a point. What you gain in nature, landscape and a healthy lifestyle you forego to some extent in culture and the arts.

What do you miss about the UK? Pubs. Football. Ribena. Sense of humour.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Assuming you’re a UK citizen like me, hire a good immigration lawyer. I have one to recommend. And don’t let anyone put you off with horror stories of how difficult it is to get a visa. It is not easy, but nothing worth doing is easy. One way to do it is to look at studying in the US initially, either as an undergraduate or for a Master’s program.

USC and UCLA are both great universities in Southern California. Berkeley is great, too.

Standout memories of life at SPS? I often tell people how great my school days were at St. Paul’s. It really is a unique institution. What I remember most fondly is the way in which pupils would all congregate in the Atrium towards the end of the lunch break to cram through homework. There was a wonderful sense of gumption about everyone. The school had a reputation as an “exam factory”, but my experience was nothing like that: we all had different interests and there was an incredibly diverse array of talents, but we were all good at doing the minimum to get the grades that we needed. Paulines had that skill down to a fine art. In its own way it prepared you very well for the real world.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

I’m a serial startup CTO in Silicon Valley.

I’ve started a half dozen to a dozen software companies over the last 20 years (depending on how you count); I’m currently working on an app to help screen for autism in young children (ages 18-60 months). I’m also on my local town council, currently serving as Vice-Mayor.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

The weather, the nature, the business climate, and the entrepreneurial energy.

Do you have a favourite spot?

The town I live in: Portola Valley, which is right in Silicon Valley, but feels like a small country town.

Where’s the best place to eat? iDumpling in Redwood City @ Broadway & El Camino.

Any downsides?

The lack of affordable housing is creating some very hard strains on the economy and concerns about the mid-to-long-term prospects for the area. It can be especially hard for young people to move here.

What do you miss about the UK? London is one of the easiest cities in the world to live in: the public transit, the public open spaces, the cultural institutions. The variety of vegetables, cheeses (adventurous grocery stores in California might sell *3* different kinds of potatoes).

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

California is only about 150 years old; Silicon Valley only about 50, and in its present state only about 25. Everything is changing here, every day, and individuals can still have a big impact on this developing society. This is one of the most dynamic places in the world and will likely remain so for the rest of our lifetimes (as long as President Trump doesn’t ruin everything). If you think the rules don’t make sense, and have a better way in your mind of doing things, it’s the perfect place to try those ideas out and see if you’re right.

Standout memories of life at SPS? Many, many. But perhaps the most interesting ones not really suitable for printing!

Laguna Beach, California

16 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

Patrick Marsden (1997-2002) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

A girl, then another girl (marrying the second one).

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

We are a branding agency that designs products for the travel and beauty industry.

We have about 90 people across the US and Australia. I run the travel side of the business.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

Santa Monica and Venice where I live and work are at the forefront of innovation and design. Very exciting places to be. One becomes accidentally healthy due to the outdoor lifestyle here. Can be an odd, vapid and fairly infantile place at first.

Do you have a favourite spot?

Sandstone Peak trail tucked away in the mountains. At the highest point you have a 270-degree view of the Pacific and the Santa Monica mountains. Watch out for rattlesnakes.

What’s the best place to eat?

Phillipe’s, Downtown LA. Any downsides?

Traffic can be horrendous but overall life at the beach is (unsurprisingly) very pleasant.

The key is not commuting very far.

What do you miss about the UK? Friends the most, followed closely by public transport.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Live close to where you work (Los Angeles specific). Otherwise definitely do it. Driving into Mexico is an adventure and great fun.

Within a six-hour drive of LA you have some of the most beautiful terrain on earth.

Surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon is possible (as some other OPs and I discovered a couple of years ago). It’s a wonderful part of the world.

Standout memories of life at SPS? Many, best left out of print. The greatest thing that SPS has given me (and my friends) is an unwavering confidence.

Cameron McLain (2001-06) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I initially went to the US to study at Princeton University for my undergraduate and then later moved to the West Coast to work at WME / IMG, a talent agency.

Patrick with his fiancée Molly

a i n r o la ifeaming

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

Currently completing my MBA at UCLA Anderson and will likely be working in Venture Capital when I graduate in a few months.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

Weather, the ability to surf and ski in the same day and the indomitable (delusional?) optimism of Angelenos.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Be prepared to work hard and leave your sense of entitlement at the door, then you will be rewarded.

What do you enjoy most about being on the West Coast?

Surfing, creative and driven people, big open spaces, and in the infamous words of the Beach Boys, California Girls.

Do you have a favourite spot?

Venice Beach. My wife and I have lived here for almost ten years. It’s one of the few walkable neighbourhoods in LA. We’re blocks from the beach where we can surf, play paddle tennis and buy absurdly overpriced coffee every morning. Plus, we’ve got a good crew of Paulines in the vicinity.

Standout memories of life at SPS? Sneaking across the Thames to the Girls’ School in a rowing eight. Taking a Birkbeck test that used my aptitudes, interests and abilities to determine a good career choice; I expressed my love of entertainment and was told ‘the computer has come back with banking or accounting for the best career choice for you, Gareth’.

What’s the best place to eat?

Cha Cha Chicken in Santa Monica, Dan Sung Sa in Koreatown and Rice Bar downtown.

Andrew Raiher (1990-95)

Do you have a favourite spot?

Venice Beach in Southern California and Big Sur in Northern California.

Where’s the best place to eat?

Gjelina.

Any downsides?

Being so far away from my family and the time difference.

What do you miss about the UK? The pubs, West End plays, rugby marathons on Sunday, the rain and irony.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Just do it. Try to move with a purpose (job, girl, degree) but if worse comes to worst just move and you can figure it out. It’s the land of the possible!

Standout memories of life at SPS? Beating the Wellington 1st XV on Big Side; dressing up as all kinds of women for club plays; Sutcliffe’s tutor set; the EPs.

Alex Plapinger (1998-2002) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I was born in New York and my family moved to London when I was 3 (my parents, both American, met in the UK while in college).

The original plan was to live in London for five years and then go back to America.

Somehow my family ended up staying for almost 25 years and I became the first to move back for college. I graduated from Amherst College in 2006 and moved out to Los Angeles immediately after to try and figure out a way to work in film.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

After ten years developing and producing film and television I launched a production company last fall that specialises in animated virtual reality content. I develop shows with feature and tv comedy writers and pair them with a network of animators to create immersive series that are being distributed on a variety of the newly emerging VR platforms. It basically requires making everything up on a daily basis because no one has any idea what kind of content actually works in this new medium.

Any downsides?

Spending half your life in your car, the drought and the occasional earthquake.

What do you miss about the UK? Theatre, The Tate Modern and good Indian food.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Join the club.

Standout memories of life at SPS? Friday lunch breaks spent watching movies at FilmSoc.

Gareth Provan (1973-75) What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

Ran away to Hollywood to follow my dreams after being in hospital for three months with meningo-encephalitis.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

Production Executive overseeing all alternative/reality/unscripted for NBC Network and Universal Television Alternative Studios. I’m responsible for the budgets of shows and making sure that the creative folks get what they need to make the programmes within the fiscal constraints.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

This is the entertainment capital still and the standard of living is extremely good.

Do you have a favourite spot?

Laying in bed with my children as they fall asleep.

What’s the best place to eat?

Eatalian Cafe, Gardena.

Any downsides?

No decent fish & chips!

What do you miss about the UK? Scotland, fresh air, great public transport and decent fish & chips!

What originally took you to the States, and in particular the West Coast?

I met a very successful film German film composer, Klaus Badelt, while recording orchestra for a project in Air Studios in London. He said ‘I want you on my team’ and that was that.

Can you describe your current position there and what that involves?

I’m now a self-employed composer working on a variety of Indie and other movies. I most recently landed a track in the recently highly decorated movie ‘Room’.

What do you most enjoy about being on the West Coast?

Everything, pretty much. The weather, the people, the sense of freedom and opportunity.

It really feels like anything is possible here.

Oh yes, and did I mention the weather?

Do you have a favourite spot?

So many. But Griffith Park Observatory, Santa Monica Beach and Paradise Cove in Malibu probably top the list.

Where’s the best place to eat?

Hmm no comment, don’t want to upset the Americans.

Any downsides?

Yes, the time change to the UK can be really tricky to negotiate if all your family is there, as mine is. Also, it’s quite an expensive place.

What do you miss about the UK? The rich history and culture, my family and my childhood friends.

Your advice to young OPs considering a life on the West Coast?

Try it out for a week here or there, maybe even a few months. See if it’s for you. It’s quite different.

Standout memories of life at SPS? So many. Steven Thompson’s harpsichord room, constantly disappointed physics teachers (mine only) and Goths vs Rowers in School House. Ask someone else about that! l Our thanks to all who contributed.

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 17

Interview

Prof F Duncan Haldane For his part in the discovery of exotic matter, Prof F Duncan Haldane (196569) was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics, work that had taken a long time to be published, "because it contradicted conventional wisdom at the time."

In this special extended interview he kindly agreed to answer questions from the OP News and from junior and senior pupils at the School.

Y

ou were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for theoretical discoveries of topological phase transitions and topological phases of matter. Can you give us a very broad picture of what that means and what some of its potential applications might be?

We have known the laws of quantum mechanics since about 1930, and all experimental tests have shown them to be correct, but they are somewhat mysterious.

Also, just because we know the fundamental laws does NOT mean that we understand everything that they permit to happen. My work, and that my co-laureates first (separately) exposed a number of quite unexpected and unanticipated behaviours of matter that we now understand to result from a ‘topological’ distinction between the states of matter that exhibit these behaviours and ‘regular or ordinary’ states that don’t.

This is essentially because topological states are characterized abstractly by whole numbers (integers) that cannot change continuously, so are stable against weak distortions up to some amount of violence needed to ‘break’ them.

The metaphor is the difference between shapes like a football and a sausage, which are shapes with no hole, and shapes like a doughnut or one-handled coffee cup, which have one hole. You cannot have 0.153 holes in something, just either 0 or 1 or 2 etc. The ball keeps having 0 holes until you hit it hard enough to punch one hole through it. This is topological stability.

My work exposed unexpected properties of certain kinds of matter that turned out to derive from the topology of ‘entanglement’ of their quantum states (like having one or more holes, in the analogy) while ‘boring’ regular matter had

‘trivial’ entanglement properties, which in the analogy would be like having no holes.

Entanglement is an essential feature of quantum mechanics that Einstein identified in 1935 and called ‘spooky action at a distance’. He thought it was so counter-intuitive and contrary to ‘common sense’ that he was sure that if experiments were made to test it, quantum mechanics, which he rejected, would be shown to be incorrect. When the experiments were done, long after Einstein’s death, they vindicated quantum mechanics. For a long time ‘Entanglement’ was an obscure property, and the subject of somewhat fruitless philosophical debates like ‘is quantum mechanics compatible with free will?’, etc.

(1965-69)

This Nobel prize honours the original work that first exposed what we now see as (separate) tips of the hidden iceberg of this new kind of topological (quantum) state of matter, that first came into view.

were theoretically predicted, and later experimentally found.

They also potentially could solve one of the principle roadblocks to developing quantum information processors: the fragility of quantum information against ‘decoherence’ or being lost through random couplings to the local environment of the quantum state in which it is encoded.

Hiding the information in ‘topologically protected’ states of topological matter is a very attractive proposal due to Alexei Kitaev in about 1999, which aroused wider interest in topological states.

Developments stemming from my initial work (which was confined to lines or sheets of atoms) unexpectedly (Kane and Mele, in 2005, Kane and Fu, and others, 2007) enlarged the set of possible topological states to three dimensional crystals, and lots of actual materials were found to have these unexpected properties. This has led to a huge growth of this field, with many new developments. Now, for example, Microsoft has announced an initiative to pump a lot of money into this to see if all the talk by physicists might lead to a practical device.

This Nobel prize honours the original work that first exposed what we now see as (separate) tips of the hidden iceberg of this new kind of topological (quantum) state of matter, that first came into view.

However, it turns out to be a central feature of ‘topological states of matter’, and the science of ‘quantum information theory’ recognized that entanglement was the ‘resource’ or ‘fuel’ that could drive future ‘quantum computers’. In recent years, ‘condensed matter physics’ (my field) has fruitfully absorbed ideas from quantum information theory, and ‘entanglement’ is now a central rather than peripheral idea. Both theoretical, experimental, and technological progress is being made, and (after years of studying quantum properties with equivalent of bashing things with a hammer) we are learning how to finely control quantum processes, and encode information in quantum states for processing.

The ‘topological states of matter’ can be viewed as ‘cool things that quantum mechanics can do’ that we had not imagined possible before they

John Kosterlitz and David Thouless were your fellow joint Nobel prize-winners.

Whose idea was it to work as a team, and what advantages were there in doing so?

This was not ‘team work’ as such. There were essentially two distinct pieces of work. ‘Topological phase transitions’, (Kosterlitz and Thouless 1975), solved a real puzzle at the time, which involved them acting as a team. This work involved ‘statistical mechanics’, not ‘quantum mechanics’ and I was not part of this.

The second work was on the quantum mechanics of ‘topological phases of matter’ (Thouless 1981, and Haldane 1981, 1988). My 1981 discoveries were not connected to the 1981 Thouless work, (though interestingly there is some connection to the 1975 work), but the 1988 work is connected to it. That latter work gradually matured in significance, but in 2005 some others built on it in a way that laid the basis for a huge number of

18 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

Princeton University, Office of Communications, Denise Applewhite

experimental and theoretical discoveries, and there has been an exponential growth of work in this. The connection between my apparently unrelated 1981 work and 1988 work was not apparent for a long time, but it is now clear that they are two distinct cases of what we now call ‘topological states of matter’, and a unified understanding has emerged.

It is fair to say that the way we think about quantum mechanics and ‘condensed matter’ (assemblies of atoms to form solids and liquids, usually held together by the quantum mechanics of moving electrons) has advanced a lot since those discoveries, partly as a result of them. Unified principles have emerged.

Did St Paul’s play a part in your decision to follow a career in science?

My parents were very ‘pro science’ so it interested me. I had some good and enthusiastic teachers at St Paul’s. Mr Williams [or ‘Little Will’, he was not very tall, (1969)], was a great Physics U8th teacher I remember, who got me excited about Physics. Earlier I was interested in Chemistry and Geology by inspiring teachers.

What characteristics would you say were essential to have for a successful career in science? And what advice would you give to your 18-year-old self?

Hard to say. You need luck to be ‘in the right place’ to get presented with good research directions, and tenacity to follow them. Find a mentor. Science is also a social activity, you usually need to make contacts and have discussions with other people working on your topic to help form your ideas, and alert you to new directions. Later, as a graduate student, go to lots of seminars even if you don’t understand them to get an idea of what problems are out there. Scientific research is a dream for many people, but it is also a training in critical thinking and numerical literacy that suits you for other careers. So follow your dream to see where it leads

you, but also be prepared to be realistic if it doesn’t take you to the right place by the time you are, say, thirty. I was fortunate to find problems in which I could ‘make my mark’, but many other really good people finally go off to start-ups, places like Google, finance industry, etc., usually with a sense of regret, because doing the science is often more satisfying than making lots more money!

What are the advantages of working in the United States?

It was not a deliberate choice. An attractive job offer came my way without me looking for it while I was a postdoc in France, before I looked for a permanent job. In the late 1970s/early 80s (‘Brain drain’ time) maybe the science jobs and funding climate in the UK was not so good, with an unfortunate government emphasis on ‘practical’ or ‘useful’ work, while in the US the science support was more enlightened about ‘curiosity-driven’ research. But now UK science has really recovered and exciting work is going on in both countries.

Will teaching remain an important part of your professional life?

I teach one course per semester (three class hours per week) which is standard in US Physics departments. I find that the

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 19

▲

Who have been your most important mentors or inspirational role models since leaving school and why?

My Ph.D superviser P W (Phil) Anderson, Nobel Prize 1977, then at Cambridge with a part-year appointment (he is American) and now my Emeritus colleague at Princeton. He had an inspiring and unconventional way of thinking about condensed matter (‘solid state’) physics that looked for broad principles rather than minutia and details in understanding matter. He made a whole series of important conceptual breakthroughs, and I am proud to follow in his footsteps.

Interview Prof F Duncan Haldane

(1965-69)

Illustration © Niklas Elmehed

The nice thing about theoretical physics is that once one understands something properly, it looks elegant and simple. act of thinking about material that is not directly related to my current research problem, and explaining it, often acts as a kind of ‘mental lubricant’ that unblocks some roadblocks in a problem. This is true even for introductory courses.

I would not want to be full time in a research institute with no teaching, but obviously would not want a too high teaching load that would take all the

research time away. Right now I have a happy compromise.

Since I also direct research (PhD) students, I am also teaching them outside formal courses. Yes, teaching is important, and I missed it when I left academia for a few years and was a ‘member of technical staff ’ at the famous, now essentially defunct, AT&T Bell Laboratories.

Questions put to Prof Haldane by pupils from St Paul's School From Lawrence Tray, U8th What is more important, the theory or the experimentation?

Usually it is experimentation. In the case of ‘topological states of matter’ the use of simple models led to very unexpected theoretical discoveries about what quantum mechanics permits, which had not even been dreamed about before. This was very controversial until experiments confirmed the surprising (to experts) predictions. The experiments were of course very important in confirming things, but in this case they were purely theoretical discoveries.

From Hari Collins of the Upper 3rd, Juniors: How do you think Britain’s leaving the EU will affect the funding of science in the UK? It’s happening so we must adapt. The ERC (European Research Council) has been an important source of funding and encouragement of great British science, and will be sorely missed, unless some way to stay in it is found (Israel and Switzerland are members and pay into it). Having an alternative funding agency in addition to EPSRC, the British one, has been very good, and it is sad if it just disappears.

It is not just the money, but also having different sources of funding with perhaps different objectives and philosophies to choose from.

To what extent do awards, such as the Nobel Prize, advance scientific endeavour?

No-one sets out to win such a prize, and

most Nobel prize work is for discoveries that were ‘unexpected’ in some sense, so serendipitous.

In my case, it was gratifying that the Nobel committee chose to honour original work that opened up this field. I suspect there will be future prizes for some of the others who built on this work and took it so much further in recent years: it has produced one surprise after another and been very fruitful.

The prizes are definitely sociologically important, and also celebrate and publicise important work to scientists in other fields.

It is really the science rather than the people that is being celebrated.

What do you think is the correct balance between the pursuit of truth without application and the research into knowledge for practical effect?

I strongly believe that so-called ‘curiosity-driven research’, where scientists themselves follow their own directions towards what they think are important problems, has paid off hugely with unexpected discoveries that often eventually lead to technological developments many years later. Most science is more routine predictable advancements, of course, the great discoveries cannot be predicted, so I think at least some portion (10-15%, maybe) of research budgets should just go to letting people do what other scientists in the field think is exciting, without trying to justify it for ‘practical reasons’. Gaining new knowledge about how the world really works is the ‘seed corn’ for new technologies in the future.

20 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

Can you tell us a little about what you are currently working on now?

‘Topology’ has been a key ingredient in the exciting new developments of ‘Topological states of quantum condensed matter’ (weird states of electrons inside crystals, or of ultra-cold gasses of ‘cold atoms trapped in ‘optical lattices’ formed by intersecting laser beams.)

Topology has had a fruitful interaction with geometry ever since the great mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss made what he thought was his most amazing discovery: that the surface area of a sphere (4 pi r^2) times its ‘Gaussian curvature’ (1/r^2) was a wholenumber (integer) multiple of 4 pi, and this formula was true even if the sphere was deformed to a rugby ball or even a banana, provided no ‘doughnut hole’ was made in it (the Gauss-Bonnet formula is 4 pi times (one minus the number of holes)). After lots of ‘counting of holes’ which classifies different kinds of exotic topological matter, I am returning to ‘quantum geometry’ of quantum mechanics to try to understand how to make these theoretically-possible exotic states of mater robustly stable.

So far we don’t have an understanding of what will stabilize them and I think (abstract) geometric principles related to the topology is a central part of this.

Some of these things would be very useful for ‘topologically-protected quantum computing’ if they can be produced in real condensed matter.

The nice thing about theoretical physics is that once one understands something properly, it looks elegant and simple. There is a quote from Feynman that says something like: “if you can’t explain the Pauli Exclusion Principle or the Spin-Statistics Theorem to your aunt*, you don’t properly understand it yourself ”. (*this seems like ‘sexist’ or ‘ageist’ thinking, but the quote is 50 years old…). This may be an exaggeration, but when one finds simple and elegant new principles in physics, they are usually correct, and that is what we strive for.

The breakthroughs in ‘topological physics’ are an example of this.

Is there life beyond the lab and the classroom?

I seem to be immersed in my Physics work, but like hiking in the mountains.

(Physicists seem to have arranged ‘workshops’ and ‘summer schools’ in nice places with mountains, New Jersey is flat). I am also a ‘news junkie’ and follow the current political events (with trepidation!), and sometimes get into cooking. l

Et cetera

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

'Just A Minute' turns 50 Nicholas Parsons CBE (1937-39) has been presenting the radio programme Just A Minute for nearly 50 years. The anniversary is in December this year.

It is an incredible story and a unique achievement, especially, as he describes here, how modestly the programme began and that the original pilot show was a near disaster.

Early days: Nicholas Parsons (right

forground) with Clement Freud (1938-40), Peter Jones, Derek Nimmo and Kenneth Williams.

I

n the beginning, there were the same four players in every show, and then, as the programme evolved and former players died off, there were those who appeared frequently and others just occasionally. They were, however, all performers, with rare exceptions, who had achieved distinction in show business.

Now the programme has become so successful, it is flattering to know how many distinguished actors are happy to appear in the show, especially when you realise how modest the fees are in radio. There is another reason: there is no preparation or rehearsal, which means a lot in a busy professional life. In fact, it

The pilot show was a near disaster and the BBC did not want it. is something of which we are particularly proud. It is a comedy show in which there is hardly any editing. We do not overdub and then keep the best. The Producer just trims down some of the gagging between rounds. This means we treat a recording as you would a live show, which is the way it was in the past before editing became possible. This sets the adrenalin pumping and I am sure adds a quality to the programme that might be lacking in a heavily edited show.

It was never intended that I should be the Chairman. In fact I did not want the job. It was 1967 and I had just won the Radio Personality Award for the satirical programme Listen To This Space, which I devised and in which I appeared. I wanted to get back to my comedy roots and took my friend Ian Messiter’s idea to the Head of the newly formed Radio 4 and a pilot show was commissioned. I was to be on the panel.

Jimmy Edwards was cast as the Chairman.

The Producer was a very talented young man called David Hatch who had just joined the BBC Production staff. He could never find a date on which Jimmy Edwards was free to record the pilot programme. I

do not think Jimmy really wanted to appear in the show, so in brought in the young comedian Kenneth desperation David approached me to be the Williams, who became a regular, along Chairman. I refused. I did not think I was with Derek Nimmo, Clement Freud and right for the job, which may sound strange Peter Jones. now, but the programme as conceived Slowly the programme has evolved with was very different from that into which it subtle changes that have been introduced has now evolved. David said, “I will do a from time to time to sharpen the pace deal with you. Be Chairman for the pilot and increase the humour. As the original and if we get a series you can go back on four players faded away, we discovered the panel”. On that basis I agreed. Derek others who were good at the game and Nimmo was engaged some became to join Beryl Reid, exceptional players Clement Freud and and frequently an American woman, asked back, like Paul Wilma Ewert who made Merton, who has up the team on the become almost a panel. regular and is very The pilot show was loyal to the show; a near disaster and there is also Gyles the BBC did not want Brandreth, Graham it. Ian Messiter had Norton, Jenny Éclair, complicated his clever Sheila Hancock, basic idea with rounds Julian Clary and in which you could not many other welluse plurals, another known names. in which you could If a show is going Nicholas back at SPS in not use the word “the”. to succeed and 2011 for 'An Evening with Repetition also seemed achieve longevity, Nicholas Parsons'. to be more concerned one can never rest with repeating the thought rather than on ones laurels or become complacent. the word. It is a fiendishly difficult game There is no truer saying than the old show to play but with these restrictions it all biz adage, “You are only as good as your fell apart. David Hatch, however, saw last show!” So with continually thinking the potential and pleaded for a series. In and assessing and analysing what we have, order to keep a clever young man on the we continue to entertain and make people staff, the BBC relented. David refined the laugh… and long may that continue! l rules, allowed players to repeat the subject, Nicholas Parsons CBE (1937-39) OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 21

From the High Master

Est. 1509

Operation Winthorpe Official St Paul's School statement

T

he police have now formally closed Operation Winthorpe, the investigation launched in April 2014 to explore allegations of historic abuse at the School. Any concerns expressed to the School by OPs will still be passed straight onto the police, and contact details for the national police network for investigating such allegations (Operation Winter Key) were shared with OPs in February.

BBC TV’s Crimewatch programme followed the final stages of the trial of

Patrick Marshall as part of a wider feature on how the police handle and research allegations of historic abuse.

The police asked the School to participate to illustrate how the archives of institutions can be used to corroborate events and details contained within the testimony of complainants. As a result, the School appeared in a feature focused on police investigations into historic abuse in the programme broadcast on 27 February. The High Master also made a brief live appearance.

ISI Inspection Between 7 and 10 March, St Paul’s was subject to a full ISI Inspection.

The new-style Inspections are unannounced, and we were not due one for a couple of years, but even so this visit was not unexpected. The findings are confidential until ISI officially sign them off, which is likely to be another week or so, at which point the full report will be available on the School’s website.

Redevelopment project

W

ork continues apace on Phase 1 of the new General Teaching Building and the contractors are on schedule to deliver the ground floor of the building (dining room, kitchen, medical facilities, maintenance department and staff changing rooms) in mid-August ready for the start of the new academic year. Progress has been so good that it is possible the rest of the building may also be ready for occupation in August rather than the scheduled late October. We will have confirmation in a couple of months, but are preparing to undertake much of the decant from the existing main teaching building at SPS over the summer

vacation anyway. The Governors have already committed to press ahead with the demolition of the rest of the existing SPS general teaching building, and the construction of phase 2 of the new GTB, immediately following the occupation of Phase 1.

The new building features a superb Library split across two floors overlooking the Thames. For over a century the senior school library has been called The Walker Library after the great late-nineteenth-century High Master, because a memorial fund was created to provide a second library in his name at West Kensington. The name continued when another library was built

here in Barnes in 1968, even though the Walker Memorial Fund had already been expended. Two libraries for the price of one. The new Library in the new General Teaching Building will be known as The Kayton Library after Desmond Kayton (1939-40), an Old Pauline who left school at the outbreak of World War II to serve in the Fleet Air Arm and later became an entrepreneur and stalwart of the Old Pauline Golf Club. He died in 2014 and bequeathed a legacy in excess of £10m to the School. Within the Kayton Library is a new rare books room, named after Brian Schofield (1944-48) who also left a handsome legacy.

Professor Mark Bailey, High Master

CGI impression of the new Kayton Library

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 23

Old Pauline Club Message from the President

I

have enjoyed my three years as President and previously as President Elect and am pleased to report that the Club is going from strength to strength in supporting the School and working well with the Governors and the Mercers. I must in turn thank the High Master and the School for providing a service of support for the Old Pauline Club.

At Thames Ditton the extended Club House is looking very good and the new houses surrounding the playing fields are now largely complete and well

let providing income for the Club.

During the last two years we have held very successful Annual Feasts at The Cathedral and Mercers' Hall where we have had large attendances of Old Paulines, Upper Eighth formers and their parents, the Choir (both St Paul's Juniors and Seniors), a few Governors and some of the teaching staff. We have organised many professional discussion evenings for the boys with old boys and some parents.

Additionally we have held a number of reunions for year groups, which have proved to be very popular as well as the Earliest Vintage Luncheon!

I would like to the thank those who have attended the Main and the

Executive Committees for their help and particularly Ceri Jones and Andrea Hudson for their unstinting support.

I am delighted to be handing over to Rob Smith (1981-86) who still has boys at the School which I believe is a very good sign for a healthy Old Boys Club. I wish him success.

Finally, I would like to welcome to the Old Pauline Club this year's leavers as well as all those at or leaving university and those already pursuing their careers. Please do make contact or come and join us at this year's Annual Dinner at the House of Lords!

I look forward to seeing you sometime in the future.

Sir Nigel Thompson KCMG CBE

Events 2016/17 Cambridge Dinner 28 October 2016

The success of the Cambridge Dinner at Emmanuel continued this year with another packed event. James King and Aurelien Gueroult (both 2008-13) welcomed guests, including Richard Girvan, Surmaster at St Paul's. A Cambridge graduate himself, Richard gave an entertaining after dinner speech.

As in previous years, this event continues to be a highlight of the calendar.

Oxford Dinner

4 November 2016

This year’s Oxford Dinner was moved from Oriel College to the more informal setting of St Aldates Tavern, where those studying at the university gathered for informal drinks and food.

Medical Dinner

23 November 2016

The year’s Medical Dinner proved an extraordinary success with a panel at various stages of their medical careers.

Huge thanks goes to the panellists who shared their knowledge, expertise and stories with the packed and attentive audience. The speakers included university student Haaris Rahim (200914), Dr Conrad von Stempel (200005), Interventional Radiology Registrar at University College London Hospital, Dr Andrew Elder (1983-88), Partner

at Albion Ventures LLP and Dr Paras Jethwa (1982-86), Consultant General and Laparoscopic Surgeon. The evening was chaired by Sam Roberts (1977-82), Biology teacher and Universities Advisor for Medicine at St Paul’s.

Supper Evening

9 December 2016 The Club’s traditional Christmas Dinner returned to Colets in December, having been held at the School in 2015 due to building work. Guests had the opportunity to see the new developments at the Club, as well as hear from the after dinner speaker Nick Carr (1963-67), who provided an update on Colets.

This family event drew in the crowds again, with the event selling out this year.

24 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

A packed Monty Room for the panel discussion before the Medical Dinner

Pauline Perspectives 1 March 2017

A capacity audience in the Wathen Hall were treated to an indepth debate: 'Is Social Media Ruining Democracy?'. Speaking in support of the motion were pupil Pravin Steele, Gideon Rachman (1976-80), Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator of the the Financial Times and Richard Thompson OBE (1973-77), Director of ARL Partners, formerly serving with the Foreign Office and the Police. Speaking against were Pauline parent Alec Russell, Editor of FT Weekend. Nick Hopkins (1981-85), Head of

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

For some Paulines, the Feast Reception was a first opportunity to experience the connections between the Mercers, the School and the Old Pauline Club

OP Club President Sir Nigel Thompson speaking at the 357th Feast Service Reception

Sir Alexander Graham GBE JP DCL with Mrs Helen Carr and John Beastall CB

Feast Service and Reception 30 January 2017

There was a capacity attendance at this year’s Feast Service held at St Paul’s Cathedral on 30 January at which the choirs of St Paul’s School sang. Almost 200, including Old Paulines and their guests, Governors, parents and current Paulines, later enjoyed a delicious buffet dinner at Investigations at the Guardian and pupil Karthik Ramesh. A Q&A afterwards was moderated by Professor Mark Bailey, High Master.

The event was organised by Pauline parent, Carrie Boericke, with other members of the SPS Parents' Group, the School and the Old Pauline Club.

Arguments ranged from how the superrich can use their capital to influence election results via Facebook, to how social media has given minority groups a voice.

A majority showing of red 'no' cards at the end of the debate (inset) handed victory to Karthik's team.

Mercers’ Hall in Ironmonger Lane.

Before the meal, Johnny Robertson, Chairman of Governors, invited applause for Sir Nigel Thompson, President of the Old Pauline Club, for the excellent service he has given the Club since taking office.

Sir Nigel then gave a short speech in which he reminded us that this was the 357th Feast Service since the first took place in 1660. He then thanked all Old Paulines

L to R: Karthik Ramesh, Prof Mark Bailey, Pravin Steele, Gideon Rachman, Alec Russell, Richard Thompson OBE and Nick Hopkins

who had generously donated towards the acquisition of three signed, first edition Peter Shaffer (1942-44) plays, which were presented to the School Library. The High Master then thanked the Mercers, the single Trustee and freeholder for the School, and described the Feast event as being a celebration of the relationship between the School, the City of London and the Mercers’ Company.

Old Pauline Club

Reunions

The McGuinness Era: School House 1962-78

From L to R: Tim Cunis, Michael Nathan, Paul Ganjou, Clifford Shanbury, Christine McGuinness, Margaret Hewinson, Mike Malley, Rory Kelsey, Roger Croft, Richard Hardy, Ian Milburn, Peter Graham, Paul Moir, Paul McGuiness.

The original High Master’s House in the Hammersmith Road was converted to School House Boarding House where Phil McGuinness was the very successful and popular House Master between 1962 and 1978. In 2015, Paul Ganjou (1960-65) noticed that the building – the only remaining part of the original Hammersmith Road site – had been converted into a smart, boutique hotel: The St Paul’s Hotel.

He arranged for a group of 'SHOB's (School House Old Boys) to meet there for a reunion lunch, which was so successful that it was repeated again in September 2016 and a very enjoyable time was had by all!

10 SHOBs attended and were joined by Tim Cunis (1955-60) and three very special guests: Christine McGuinness, (Phil’s wife and the House Mistress) and her two children, Margaret and Paul (1978-83), who were both born in the building.

The event is planned again in the autumn this year and any interested SHOBs should contact Michael Nathan for details: mjnathan@btopenworld.com

Branch events Sydney Freddie Blencke (1986-91) hosted an Old Pauline and Paulina dinner on 8 December at The Royal Prince Edwards Yacht Club, Sydney. A very enjoyable evening was had by all. Many different topics were discussed but a particular highlight was hearing about Dick Willis’ (1955-56) experience of the London smog in the 1950s.

Sydney New York

New York

Seventeen Old Paulines, Paulinas and guests attended the New York drinks evening on Wednesday 1 February, hosted by Jamie Morris (1959-63) and his wife Betsy. With an array of appetizers provided by the hosts and drinks brought by the attendees, it was a most enjoyable evening!

Athens

The visit of Paul Heaton (1970-75) from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and his sons Gordon (2006-11) from Tokyo and Angus (200813) from New York, seemed a more than reasonable excuse to gather a few of the resident Athenian Old Paulines together for a glass of wine and a bite to eat.

The message was sent out and we duly gathered on the evening of Monday 19

26 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

Year-Group reunions

10, 20, 25 and 40-year reunions are all taking place this year. Please refer to the OPClub website for more details.

Old Pauline Club Committee List 2016/17 President Sir Nigel Thompson KCMG CBE Deputy President R J Smith Past Presidents D J Cakebread, B D Moss, C D L Hogbin, C J W Madge, F W Neate, Sir Alexander Graham GBE DCL, R C Cunis, Professor the Rt Hon Lord McColl of Dulwich, The Rt Hon the Lord Baker of Dorking CH, N J Carr, J M Dennis, J H M East

The basketball team from 1977

1st V Squash team 2007

December in the traditional Monastiraki/ Plaka area at the highly recommended 'Vintage Wine Bar and Bistro'. Amongst those present were contemporaries of Paul, Antony Palios (1970-74) and Andreas Zombanakis (1971-76) whose son Minos is also an OP and a contemporary of Angus!

New attendees for Athens gatherings included Christos Ioannou (1992-97) and Alexander Tsavliris (2000-05) and we were also very pleased to welcome Old Paulina Maria-Thalia Carras (1989-94). Making up the group were John Beloussis (1967-71), Dimitri Tsalas (1973-78), Manes Pangalos (1980-85) and Menelaos Pangalos (1979-84).

Wessex

The Wessex Branch luncheon was held at the Coppleridge Inn, Motcombe, Dorset on Saturday 25 March. It was attended by 25 OPs, Paulinas and partners.

Vice Presidents P R A Baker, R S Baldock, J S Beastall CB, S C H Bishop, J R Blair CBE, Sir David Brewer CMG, CVO, N E Britnor, N St J Brooks, R D Burton, W M A Carroll, Professor P A Cartledge, M A Colato, R K Compton, T J D Cunis, S J Dennis MBE, L M Dorfman CBE, C R Dring, C G Duckworth, A R Duncan, J A H Ellis, R A Engel, D H P Etherton, The Rt Hon Sir Terence Etherton, T J R Goode, D J Gordon-Smith, Lt Gen Sir Peter Graham KCB CBE, S R Harding, R J G Holman, J A Howard, B M Jones, S D Kerrigan, P J King, T G Knight, P A Leppard, B Lowe, J W S Lyons, Professor C P Mayer, R R G McIntosh, A R M McLean, I C McNicol, A K Nigam, The Rt Hon George Osborne MP, T B Peters, D M Porteus, The Rt Hon the Lord Razzall CBE, The Rt Hon the Lord Renwick of Clifton KCMG, B M Roberts, J E Rolfe, Sir David Rowland, M K Seigel, J C F Simpson, R J Smith, D R Snow, S S Strauss, A G Summers, R Summers, J L Thorn, R Ticciati, Admiral Sir John Treacher KCB, Sir Mark Walport FRS, Professor the Lord Winston of Hammersmith

Executive Committee Sir Nigel Thompson Chairman A C Day Hon Secretary N St J Brooks Hon Treasurer S C H Bishop Editor, OP News R D Burton Secretary for Affiliated Clubs & Associations N J Carr TDSSC Ltd Representative J H M East J A Howard Liaison Committee Chairman B M Jones P J King Membership Secretary S L Rooms Events Co-ordinator Thames Ditton Committee J S Beastall CB, C G Duckworth, C D L Hogbin, T G Knight President, Hon Secretary, Hon Treasurer (ex officio) Liaison Committee J A Howard Chairman, T B Bain, I M Benjamin, N J Carr, R J G Holman, B D Moss Ground Committee J M Dennis Chairman, R K Compton, G Godfrey (Groundsman), M P Kiernan, I C McNicol, D Richard, J Sherjan

Honorary Secretary A C Day

Accountants Kreston Reeves LLP

Honorary Treasurer N St J Brooks FCA

Trustees C D L Hogbin Chairman, J S Beastall CB, C R Dring

Main Committee composed of all the above and P R A Baker OP Lodge B C M Dover Rugby Football Club S C H Bishop Editor, OP News T J D Cunis (Archivist & AROPS representative)

Coming Soon. . .…

St Paul’s Connect Look out for the launch of our new networking platform, St Paul’s Connect.

St Paul’s Connect is a service designed to connect, support and empower all members of our community. It will allow members to: l Build their peer-to-peer professional

networks. l Request or volunteer for mentoring

opportunities. l Search our community by company or Left to right: Margaret Porteus (Secretary), Sir Nigel Thompson (President OPC), Lady (Nicky) Thompson, Eleanor Light (née Brewis) guest speaker.

N P Troen Association Football Club J P King Colet Boat Club P J King Fives (OPRFC) & Membership Secretary N H Norgren Elected T B Peters Cricket Club S L Rooms Events Co-ordinator R J Smith Golfing Society D C Tristao Tennis Club J Withers Green Elected

industry. l Post or browse a St Paul’s Community

job board.

Alumni and Development Office Andrea Hudson (Development Manager), Ceri Jones (Events & OPC Manager), Viera Ghods, (Events and Alumni Administrator)

When signing up to St Paul’s Connect, you can use your LinkedIn profile so your business details will change as you make moves throughout your career and it will keep you connected to the community.

This exciting launch will help us build a more connected and active community across our OP, parent, former parent and pupil networks and we can’t wait to share it with you.

Information regarding the launch of this platform will be sent to you by email later this year. To ensure you are the first to hear about it, make sure your contact details are up to date on the opclub website.

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 27

Obituaries Name

(at SPS)

John C D Alexander Michael F Andrews The Rev David R (Roly) Bain Rex Brown OBE Ian D Collin John C Coode Barry S Dare John R Davy Jon E Dixon CMG John H C Dolby Gustave (Gus) O Ehrman Donald T Fabian Andrew P (Paul) Fabian Jeremy J Forty Neil M Goodman Anthony M Graham Sir Anthony Grant Philip A Green Edward E (Ellice) Henderson David C Hitchins Brian L Jankel Sir Antony R Jay CVO Very Rev Robert (Bob) M C Jeffery Michael C H King David S Mahany John A Menon Clive A Murray Peter M Norman Roger H Partridge Klaus F Roth John W Runacres John D Sanders Kenneth (Ken) L Somper Hugh S Spensley RD David Sylvester Nigel B (Brian) W Widlake

1946-51 1951-54 1967-71 1945-49 1939-43 1939-41 1949-54 1952-57 1941-47 1941-46 1936-41 1945-50 1943-48 1947-51 1946-51 1952-56 1938-43 1933-37 1945-49 1988-93 1954-58 1941-48 1948-53 1953-58 1951-56 1940-43 1952-57 1941-44 1972-76 1939-43 1941-46 1938-43 1938-40 1937-40 1957-62 1945-49

1932-2017 1938-2016 1954-2016 1931-2017 1924-2016 1925-2016 1936-2016 1938-2016 1928-2016 1928-2015 1922-2016 1932-2016 1930-2017 1932-2016 1934-2017 1939-2017 1925-2016 1920-2016 1932-2016 1974-2017 1942-2016 1930-2016 1935-2016 1940-TBC 1938-2015 1926-2016 1939-2016 1928-2016 1959-2015 1925-2015 1928-2017 1925-2016 1925-2016 1924-2016 1944-2016 1931-2017

Viera Ghods Editorial facilitator VG@stpaulsschool.org.uk l Because of space constraints in the

magazine, obituaries are abridged for print publication. More comprehensive versions, if available, will be placed on the Old Pauline Club website at: opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk/pages/ obituaries * Indicates obituaries also appeared in the national broadsheet newspapers. ** Indicates longer obituaries also

appearing on the OPC website: opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk/pages/ obituaries

28 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

The Rev David R (Roly) Bain (1967-71)*** When my brother Roly gave up his Anglican parish ministry at the age of 31 to become a clown, nobody could have guessed that his untimely obituary would run at length in every national newspaper, but such was the impact his unique clown-priest ministry was to have.

It was at St Paul’s that the 15-year-old Roly had the defining experience of his life, when a football tour was cancelled and he decided to accompany his triplet brother Toby to a Christian Union house party instead. It was, he recalled in his book Playing the Fool, ‘both fun and holy and thus profound’.

The same could be said for his ministry, which he saw as in a tradition dating back to the medieval feast of fools. Roly used the props, language and trained showmanship of clowning in the service of a Christian message, travelling 30,000 miles a year, reaching as far as the US and Australia.

He was hosted by churches of many denominations, and also by schools, hospitals, and prisons across the UK, touching people whom churches could not reach. He revelled in debunking stuffed-shirt religion, claiming that he had “custard-pied ten bishops - and most were grateful”.

After studying theology at Bristol University and Cuddesdon, Roly was succentor at Southwark Cathedral where in 1984 he married Jane (they separated in 2008). He had been vicar at Tooting for six years when he took the momentous decision to train as a clown in Bristol, where he helped to found Holy Fools, a group of like-minded performers.

Roly latterly took over many duties in his parish of Olveston, where for 10 years until 2015 he tirelessly visited our mother in a local care home. His triplet sister Jennie died in 2012. He is survived by sons Jack and Sam, and Old Pauline brothers Toby, Simon and half-brother Ben. A memorial service was held at Southwark Cathedral on All Fools Day, Simon Bain, brother April 1.

Ian D Collin (1939-43)** Ian was born in New Malden, Surrey. His family later moved to Hampton Hill and Ian attended the Mall School, Twickenham, where he became Head Boy. He won a scholarship to St Paul’s and was appointed School Captain in 1943.

Ian joined the ATC, also serving in the school Home Guard platoon. He volunteered for RAF service in 1943, but his call-up was suspended while he completed his final year at school. A history student, he won an ‘Exhibition’ to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.

His RAF service commenced with pilot training in Florida in 1944. On gaining his wings he returned to England, and was seconded to the Army Glider Pilot Regiment serving as Flight Sergeant until hostilities ended.

Ian enjoyed cricket, boxing, squash and tennis, twice representing Cambridge University at boxing. In 1947, he joined the University Air Squadron, an RAF Volunteer Reserve Commission which he maintained until the end of 1950. He met his future wife, Elsie, at university.

In 1949, Ian joined Henry Hope & Sons, window makers of Smethwick, as a management graduate trainee. He was sent to Pakistan as their representative where he travelled widely. His fiancée joined him in Karachi, and they married in October 1951. They had a daughter in 1953. Ian’s work also took him to India, where he worked as an export representative.

In 1960, Ian was made departmental manager at Hope’s head office. Ian finally transferred to Crittall Windows Ltd, based in Braintree, as marketing services manager, travelling widely in Britain, Europe and the USA. He became President of the Steel Window Association, and Chairman of Committees for the Aluminium Window Association. In 1977 he co-wrote a book Window Selection.

On his 65th birthday, Ian retired to enjoy his hobbies of gardening, golf, swimming and researching his family tree.

His daughter, son-in-law and their two children lived nearby. Gill Kerry, daughter

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Barry S Dare (1949-54)

Jon E Dixon CMG (1941-47)** Gustave (Gus) O Ehrman

Barry died two weeks short of his 80th birthday. He was one for four Dares to have attended St Paul’s.

A member of F Club, Barry distinguished himself on the sports field playing for the 1st XI for three years as an off-spinner and powerful middle order batsman. He also played rugby and boxed for the School.

He went on to gain an honours degree at University College London.

Barry was for a time on the staff of Middlesex County Cricket Club and played competitive cricket for Teddington CC. His lasting memorial is the FAS Ramblers Cricket Club, which he founded in order to enable fathers to play cricket with their sons at his house in the Cotswolds, which he lovingly restored over fifty years with his wife, Wendy. A number of Paulines and, later, Old Paulines, were involved in this tour, and Barry’s sons, Cliff and Joss (both OPs) and their children, carry on the tradition to this day.

Barry was prominent in local politics, and was, until recently, Leader of Gloucestershire County Council. He had many business interests including the post of Chief Executive of Unwin’s Seeds Ltd and of Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.

Born in 1928 to Edmund Joseph Claude and Gwendoline Alice (née Huswick), Jon was educated at a dozen schools around the country while his father worked on radar installations in the build-up to WW2. He won scholarships to St Paul’s and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read Physiology, graduating in 1952 with a double first. His military service imbued him with a love of Welsh mountains, particularly Cadair Idris.

Jon had a distinguished career in the Ministry of Agriculture, rising to UnderSecretary in 1971, followed by three years in Brussels (1972-1975) as Minister, Agriculture in the UK’s Delegation to the EEC. He took early retirement in 1986 and launched a second career as editor of JOED Music, editing and publishing a wide range of Renaissance polyphonic choral music.

An accomplished carpenter, artist and builder of harpsichords, Jon, who had no formal musical training early in life, composed a wide variety of music initially in the style of Bach, and later some occasional pieces for four voices.

By the early 70s, he was attracted to the Early Music movement, but he also studied composition at evening classes, under Anthony Milner at the City Lit. The encouragement to be less derivative resulted in the fresh and entertaining settings of Edward Lear’s Nonsense Songs.

Deeply felt, personally dedicated music was still written in the polyphonic style, notably the Requiem for his daughter, Charlotte, who died in 1978.

The 80s and 90s were very productive.

On a visit to Leuven, he encountered the Cappella Cociniti. His admiration for their singing led to his original Leuven Carols and the Flemish Magnificat.

He established a local group of singers, Cantores Fagini, for whom he wrote a variety of occasional pieces. Latin texts were his chief inspiration, including the memorable Tota Pulchra Es, dedicated to his wife Elizabeth, whom he married in 1953. Jon died peacefully on 3 June 2016.

He is survived by his wife, two sons and one daughter, three granddaughters and Mrs Elizabeth Dixon two grandsons.

Cliff Dare, son

Clive A Murray (1952-57) Clive Murray passed away on 4 September 2016 after a short illness.

After leaving St Paul’s, he qualified as a Scottish Chartered Accountant and was sent by Peat Marwick to work in the Bahamas becoming the financial consultant to the Canadian founder of Lyford Cay, E P Taylor.

Clive then joined the US Global management consultancy company, Hay Group, as their Chief Financial Director, later moving to Brussels in 1975 as a Partner, forming their Belgian office. At the end of his career, he joined another Management Consultant firm InterExec until his retirement.

His interests were golf, cricket, and rugby.

He was an active member of Moor Park Golf Club and Sunningdale Golf Club.

He leaves a wife, Jennifer, and two children, Mrs Jennifer Murray Tatyana and Carter.

(1936-41)

Gustave Ehrman, 93, of Amelia Island, Florida, passed away peacefully on 17 September 2016 at the Community Hospice in Fernandina, Florida. He was born on 25 October 1922 in Leipzig, the son of the late Robert and Gertrude Ehrmann. In 1932, the family moved to London, and Gus attended St Paul’s.

During World War II, Gus joined the RAF as a fighter pilot. He was honourably discharged in 1946.

In 1950, he married Nancy Noble of Fall River, Massachusetts. They moved to Connecticut, where he pursued an automotive career which subsequently took them to California and ultimately back to Connecticut.

Throughout Gus’s career, he was instrumental in the importing of British Automobiles to the USA. In 1978, he retired as a senior executive of British Leyland Motors. He and his wife moved to Marco Island in 1979 and lived there until making their home on Amelia Island in 2000.

During retirement, Gus was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil Air Patrol, flying out of both Marco Island and Fernandina, Florida.

He loved all types of motor sports and raced sports cars. In 1954, he won the prestigious Miles Collier Memorial Race in Watkins Glen, NY. He holds one of the land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. He also enjoyed skiing, tennis and golf.

Gus was predeceased by his beloved sister, Ruth Elliott. He leaves behind his wife of 66 years, Nancy Ehrman, brother Ralph Ehrmann, of London, England, two sons and daughters-in law, Bob and Julie Ehrman of Irvine, California, and Geoffrey and Mimi Ehrman, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, four grandchildren and two great granddaughters.

Geoff Ehrman, son

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 29

Obituaries A P (Paul) Fabian (1943-48) Donald T Fabian (1945-50) Neil M Goodman (1946-51) Andrew Paul Fabian (known as Paul) was born in Mitcham, Surrey, to Andrew Taggart Fabian (Headmaster) and Edith Whorwell.

He had one younger brother, Donald, also an Old Pauline, who died in 2016 (see adjoining obituary). He was nephew to worldfamous detective Robert Fabian (Fabian of the Yard). Paul was a kind gentleman, a generous host and raconteur with a great sense of humour.

Evacuated in WW2 to Reading School, Paul gained a scholarship in 1943 to St Paul’s, where he excelled in languages and classics and became President of the Union.

In 1948, he obtained a scholarship to read Greats at Wadham College, Oxford.

After graduating in 1952, he did National Service with the Royal Engineers in Singapore. In 1954 he joined the Colonial Service and was posted to Tanganyika, marrying Elizabeth Chapman there in 1957. He transferred to Burundi in 1960.

He was sent to the Congo to rescue some foreigners who were being menaced by rebel forces. He built up a rapport with the rebel leader over a sixty-hour negotiation, and managed to get the party of refugees away to the relative safety of Burundi.

He transferred to the Foreign Office in 1964 with postings to Zambia, Turkey, India and Pakistan, as well as the UK. When he was in Islamabad in 1979, he was Duty Officer when the neighbouring US Embassy was attacked by armed demonstrators. US officials later praised him for his foresight in encouraging them to take appropriate precautions that undoubtedly saved lives.

He married Eryll Dickinson in 1983.

His final Foreign Office posting was as High Commissioner to Tonga. After retiring he became Chief Secretary in the Turks & Caicos Islands in 1990-91.

Paul enjoyed amateur dramatics, reading poetry, painting and bird spotting. He was also Captain of the Kent Chess Team. When he fully retired he lived in Tunbridge Wells and the Dordogne. He is survived by his wife, Eryll, three children from his first marriage and seven grandchildren.

Andrew Fabian, son

Donald Fabian was born in London on 26 August 1932, son of Andrew Taggart Fabian (headmaster) and Edith Whorwell. His older brother, Paul, also an Old Pauline, died in early 2017. He was nephew of detective Robert Fabian (Fabian of the Yard). He lived in Mitcham until a bomb destroyed their home. He attended Reading School before winning a Foundation Scholarship to St Paul’s.

With poor eyesight, he took up fencing, in which he excelled.

After National Service (Royal Engineers) he won a major open scholarship to Trinity College, Cambridge and took a degree in pure and applied mathematics. He later qualified as an actuary. He continued fencing at Cambridge, representing England in the under-21 world championship in Paris in 1953. He captained the Cambridge fencing team in 1954 and won a half blue three years in a row.

In 1957 he moved to South Africa, marrying his first wife, Zillah. He became a partner in a firm of consulting actuaries in Johannesburg obtaining his Fellowship in 1962, and was President in 1988 of the Actuarial Society of South Africa.

Donald loved hiking and the outdoors.

He was also a keen birdwatcher. He was Chairman of the South African Ornithological Society from 1976 to 1980. He retired from full-time practice in 1995, moving to Cape Town in 1999.

In the early 1990s, he commissioned the construction of a 36ft yacht and sailed this from Cape Town across the Atlantic to the Caribbean Islands.

In early 2015 he was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder, and given six months to live, though with his admirable will-power, he lived for a further 18 months. During his illness, he threw himself into the fulfilment of a multi-year project – recording the Fabian family history from the 15th century.

He is survived by Anita, whom he married in 1969, three children, five grandchildren and one great Andrew Fabian, nephew grandchild.

30 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

From prep school in Epsom, Neil came to St. Paul’s in 1946, following in the steps of his father, an Old Pauline, and his two aunts, who were both Paulinas. He was a boarder at High House and had a very successful time at School, leaving in 1951 as a School and House Prefect, a member of the 1st VIII Boxing and 2nd VIII Swimming, an H Club Committee Member, and an Under Officer in the CCF. In 1951, Neil became articled to Stuart Morton (OP) as a Chartered Accountant, and in due course spent three happy years in South Africa, returning in 1961 to get married. After a spell with a stockbroker, he returned to accounting, taking an interesting and unusual role looking after the interests of a Saudi Prince, again involving much travelling.

His first marriage failed, though producing three children, Sharon, Martin and Richard. However he met an old friend, Brenda, and they were married in 2003. They all survive him.

In later life, Neil became active in local community affairs, and he died peacefully on 5 February 2017.

David Kemp (1946-51)

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Anthony M Graham (1952-56) Anthony Graham was born in London on 18 April 1939.

Following the outbreak of the Second World War in September of that year, he and his mother were evacuated to Rhyl in Wales for the duration of the war. After returning to London, Anthony was educated at Colet Court and moved on to St Paul’s in 1952.

While at St Paul’s Anthony was, on occasion, confused with another A M Graham (later to become Lord Mayor of London), who was an exact contemporary.

This confusion led to his being recommended for an army commission when he left school in 1956. Instead, he opted to train as an accountant and spent the next five years articled to a small firm of chartered accountants in the City of London.

After qualifying as a chartered accountant in 1961, he worked for a short time for Cooper Brothers before joining his father in the family grocery business.

He remained working there until 1981 when the business was wound down.

Thereafter he worked as an accountant for various clients.

Chess and travelling were his principal recreational interests.

He was twice married and leaves two daughters by his first wife and four grandchildren. He died on 20 February 2017 and will be much missed by his family and friends.

Peter Graham (1960-63), brother

E E (Ellice) Henderson (1945-49)**

Sir Antony R Jay CVO (1941-48)*

Ellice was born on 12 May 1932.

He enjoyed a happy, free and unusual childhood in Baghdad where his father was Professor of Anatomy at the Royal School of Medicine.

An only child, Ellice mingled mainly with adults but also with the servants and local Iraqi children, learning Arabic. He enjoyed extended stays with his parents in other parts of the Middle East. Such happy memories abruptly changed with a return to the UK at the outbreak of war in 1939.

At seven and a half years of age, formal schooling came as a surprise and he had frequent school changes before settling into Glasgow Academy and later St Paul’s.

Ellice wanted to become an RAF pilot, but as that was frowned upon he trained in medicine like his father. Amateur radio and electronics would also remain a fascination throughout his life.

Once fully registered as a doctor, Ellice embarked on a career in Public Health, studying by day and working at night in an Emergency Call Service covering Greater London. With his DPH (Diploma in Public Health), Ellice worked successively in Local Government, principally in Hertfordshire and in Bedfordshire where he became Deputy, County MoH, latterly acting County MoH. In Birmingham Ellice worked with the Regional Hospital Board system before he was appointed as the first and only Area Medical Officer on the Isle of Wight.

Aged 54, Ellice ‘retired’, but was immediately appointed Medical Officer to Camphill Prison after he was approached by the Principal Medical Officer of the Prison Services. He also covered as Locum Consultant in Occupational Health at St Mary’s. He enjoyed other fringe tasks such as assisting the Island Fire Services.

To complement his many interests Ellice took up bowls. His other hobbies included working with computers and electronic radio ham equipment; model-making; Bridge and perusing news on the internet.

Ellice married Sue whom he loved dearly. They had five children between them and nine grandchildren.

Sir Antony Rupert Jay, who died aged 86, was one of the two authors behind the influential 1980s BBC government satire Yes Minister and its successor Yes, Prime Minister. The series was as popular with politicians, including Margaret Thatcher, as it was with the general public. The programme was sold to 84 countries – and found new outlets through spin-off books and a successful West End adaptation.

Jay had been inspired from his much earlier experience as a young TV producer on the ground-breaking BBC nightly news programme Tonight, in the late 50s and early 60s, where live broadcasts were among the first to interview politicians vigorously, and the news was sometimes reported irreverently.

Born in London, Antony was the son of Ernest Jay, a character actor who appeared in a number of British films in the 30s and 40s, and his wife, Catherine Hay, who was also an actor. He was educated as a scholar at St Paul’s and studied Classics and Comparative Philology at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

After national service as a second lieutenant in the Royal Signals, in 1955 Anthony joined the BBC. Jay became the editor of Tonight (1962-63), finally leaving BBC TV as Head of Talks Features (1963-64) to become a freelance writer and producer.

In 1972, Jay formed the company Video Arts with John Cleese. It was set up to make humorous training documentaries about business management. The company enjoyed great success, eventually being sold for £44m in 1989. In 1973 as his son moved from Colet Court to St Paul’s, he produced the film Four High Masters featuring the years of Oakeshott, James, Gilkes and Howarth.

Anthony was knighted in 1988, for his earlier work as a producer of the Queen’s Christmas broadcasts. He retired to Somerset.

In 1957 he married Jill Watkins. She survives him, along with their children, Mike (1973-77), Roni, Kate and David.

Ellice Henderson

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 31

Obituaries David S Mahany (1951-1956)

Peter M Norman (1941-44)

Klaus F Roth (1939-43)*

David was born in Walton-onThames, Surrey in 1938. He attended St Paul’s as a day boy and cycled to School almost every day.

He retained a long and proud affection for the School where he particularly enjoyed his time playing tennis and golf, and attending the annual School Reunion.

David became a solicitor the early 1960s and worked in London. In the early ’70s he had his own law firm in Horley, Surrey.

He kept his membership of the Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club until he retired, also playing golf for the OP Club for many years. David was involved in many charities locally through his love of golf.

He was made Chairman twice in his local Constitutional Club in Horley and later became a President.

He met his second wife, Martha, in 1989.

They moved to Horley and at the same time also bought a villa in Spain. His life was filled with both houses and gardens.

He also enjoyed travelling, with trips that included Australia, New Zealand, the Far East and India.

David died peacefully on 27 October 2015 after a long illness. His funeral was attended by a large number of family and friends.

David is lovingly remembered by his wife Martha, his three step children – Steven, Karen and Lisa and step granddaughters – Abigael, Molly and Bonnie. His was a life well lived and he was loved by all who knew him. An extremely kind, warm gentle man. He will be remembered for his wit, his wisdom and his integrity.

Peter was born in Hammersmith and in 1938, at 10 years old, he attended Colet Court and then St Paul’s having gained a scholarship.

During the war years, Peter’s schooling was disrupted as St Paul’s was evacuated to Crowthorne in Berkshire.

He swam, boxed and played 1st XI cricket for the School and gained his matriculation examinations.

Having left St Paul’s, Peter had several jobs before serving his National Service with the RAF, taking part in the Berlin Airlift as a Flight Mechanic.

Peter then trained as a physiotherapist, qualifying at Windsor Hospital before moving into the pharmaceutical industry promoting products to doctors and chemists. He was promoted to the rank of Sales Manager at Nicholas Laboratories and became involved with the Company’s Overseas Associates, resulting in world travel.

Peter married his first wife in 1951 and they had a family of four, one girl and three boys. His career progressed and he was appointed as Sales Manager at Mecanaids, a hospital equipment company in Gloucester. He was, for many years, a member of the Masonic Whittington Lodge in Gloucester becoming Worshipful Master.

On retirement Peter and his second wife, Margaret, moved to Budleigh Salterton where in addition to running a B&B he qualified as a chiropodist working locally.

Always keen on sport, he played a lot of tennis and hockey before moving on to golf and eventually bowls.

Peter loved all animals – from his first stray kitten, Beastie, that he kept when a teenager, to his last dog, his beloved yellow Labrador, Broadie.

Klaus Roth, who has died aged 90, was the first British winner of the Fields Medal, the mathematical equivalent of the Nobel Prize, whose discoveries in number theory led to him being considered one of the greatest mathematicians of the second half of the 20th century.

His best-known work was in the field of Diophantine approximation, a branch of pure mathematics that deals with the approximation of real numbers by rational numbers. He was only 30 when he made a significant contribution to the Thue-Siegel theorem by proving that any irrational algebraic number has an approximation exponent equal to two. In 1958 he was awarded the Fields Medal on the strength of this breakthrough.

Klaus Friedrich Roth was born to Jewish parents on 29 October 1925 in Breslau, Poland. Faced with increasing Nazi persecution, the family moved to England in 1933. They settled in London and Roth enrolled at St Paul’s before reading Mathematics at Peterhouse, Cambridge.

Roth later took a teaching position at Gordonstoun, before being accepted on to a Master’s course at University College, London. Having completed his Masters, he became a lecturer there in 1950. He met his wife, Melek Khairy, after she sat in the front row of his inaugural lecture. They married in 1955 and lived happily until her death in 2002. There were no children from his marriage.

In 1960 Roth was elected to the Royal Society and was promoted to professor the following year.

He took a year’s sabbatical at MIT in 1965, after which Imperial College persuaded him to join their Mathematics department, where he remained until his retirement in 1988. Best known for the work that won the Fields Medal, Roth was most proud of his contributions to geometric discrepancy theory, an area in which he was a founding father.

He was elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1993, Fellow of University College London in 1979, of Imperial College London in 1999, and an Honorary Fellow of Peterhouse in 1989.

Mrs Martha Mahany

Mrs Margaret Norman

32 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

John W Runacres (1941-46)** John D Sanders (1938-43)** A distinguished sportsman and businessman, John Runacres, who died aged 88, was also an outstanding supporter of the Old Pauline Club in his role as Vice President. One of the Crowthorne generation, he was a Foundation Scholar in 1941, rapidly making his mark both as a sportsman and a scholar. Captain of C Club at 15 (leading them to cricket and rugby shield success), he was Captain of Cricket as well as excelling at rugby and swimming, joining the Air Cadets and serving as School Prefect and Christian Union Secretary.

Following a chance meeting with the Surmaster, who pointed him towards sales and marketing with the Gillette company, John stayed with Gillette for 32 years, first in London and Belgium and then running operations in Sweden, Italy, France (achieving fluency in all three languages) and Canada.

He was eventually appointed to the UK Board, based in London. John later worked for a manufacturing start-up in Hong Kong, giving him a long-desired chance to travel and do business in the Far East. In 1987 he became Director at the Sheppard Trust, a charity providing sheltered accommodation in Notting Hill. He finally retired in 1991.

A competitive sportsman almost all his life, his cricket career stood out. He played for the OPs and Ealing, and batted and wicketkept for Middlesex CCC 2nd XI, becoming a played-in member of the MCC. He joined the elite club of played-in MCC members of 60 years standing, receiving a commemorative tie. He played ferocious squash until the age of 60, in one notable year winning the Swedish amateur championship. John later turned to golf. He served on the Committee of the Roehampton Club. As VP of the OP Club he played a significant role in the development and management of Colets and in fostering the Earliest Vintage lunches.

John and Coral married in 1953, living happily in East Sheen for 50 years. Their sons, Charles and Mark, both attended St Paul’s before going on to Cambridge. John’s retirement was enlivened by travel, golf and six grandchildren. He is warmly remembered as a man of great courtesy, outstanding organisational and sporting skills, and of devotion to his family and the School.

Charles and Mark Runacres, sons

Only son of Edith and Dudley Sanders, John was born in May 1925 at 53 Temple Sheen Road, East Sheen.

In 1943, John joined the Royal Navy straight after leaving school and became Midshipman John Sanders on HMS Palorius. On the 5-6 June 1944 John was on the Normandy approaches clearing mines ready for the D-Day landings at Sword Beach.

For his involvement during the D-Day landings, John was awarded the Chevalier Légion d’Honneur, at a ceremony in Chester in February last year.

In 1945, following the German surrender, John’s ship, now HMS Pickle, was directed to the war in the Far East, to Burma and Singapore. He celebrated his 21st Birthday while sailing through the Suez Canal. The ship steamed eastward, with war still raging in the Far East, stopping in Ceylon for supplies. While there, they heard of the Japanese surrender and the ship went on to Singapore.

When he returned to the UK in 1946, on demob leave he went to Blackpool to stay with his uncle, where he met Margaret Ainsworth. They were married in August 1948.

After the war, he went to college and qualified as a quantity surveyor, and moved north to the Wirral where he had a job with Mouchel.

In 1962, John joined Hibberts Builders, Liverpool, and became a Director.

Shortly afterwards he became the North West President of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

In the last couple years cancer and diabetes took control of his life and he died on Monday 10 October at the grand age of 91.

John was a local yachtsman and a keen rugby fan. His life support over the last few years was his beloved Daily Telegraph.

He is sadly missed by his wife, Margaret, having been married for 68 years, not to mention his children, Jen, Roger, Howard, and his grandchildren Abbie and Thomas, who have long admired his stalwart sense of duty and dedication to his family.

Roger Sanders, son

N B (Brian) W Widlake (1945-49)* Journalist, broadcaster and author Brian Widlake has died aged 85, after a long and distinguished career in television and radio. He will be remembered by many for copresenting The Money Programme in the 1970s with Valerie Singleton for the BBC, where he fronted hard-hitting documentaries including an investigation into bribery allegations against Shell.

In 1961, Brian worked as a reporter for ITN in apartheid South Africa. He pulled off the scoop of his career when he managed to interview Nelson Mandella, who was then on the run from the police.

He was himself arrested when attempting to film a black workers strike without an official permit.

Brian successfully tranferred to radio, where he co-presented The World At One. In 1985, Brian conducted the first interview by a foreign journalist with President Ronald Regan in the White House.

Brian was born in Fiji in 1931, where his father worked as a doctor. When he was six the family moved to London and Brian went to Colet Court before being evacuated to Much Hadham in Hertfordshire. After St Paul’s he went up to Clare College, Cambridge, graduating with a degree in English before embarking on National Service in the Army.

Brian later trained as a reporter on The Journal in Newcastle-upon-Tyne before joining The Financial Times and later The Observer.

Brian was the author of two books: In The City (1986) which explained money markets and the effects of the ‘Big Bang’; and Serious Fraud Office (1995), in which he examined high-profile cases of white-collar crime.

In 1989, Brian left the BBC to host the breakfast programme on LBC Crown FM, later transferring to the lunchtime show.

In 1992, he established his own media training company.

Brian’s first marriage, to Joy Harford, was dissolved. In 1989 he married Anne Nicholas, who survives him with her two sons and a daughter from an earlier marriage, and a son and a daughter from his first.

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 33

Sport OPFC

Ending on a huge high T he Club has had an undeniably tough season. But against considerable odds we have ended on a huge high with, as ever, a well stocked tour to Cornwall, but most importantly, one of the best attended End of Season Dinners for a number of years. The spirit in the Club is very strong but requires the continued commitment of all of the current players as well as an influx of recent Old Paulines to swell the ranks.

However, the remainder of this report should rightly be left to Rob Rayner, retiring 1st XV Captain, who guided the team to a truly fantastic end of season run:

1st XV 2016-17 Season report

This was a season book ended with defeats to Old Blues, but the difference in the two performances really demonstrated how far this team travelled over the course of the season. Barring a significant restructure of the Surrey Leagues, our finishing position of 8th in Surrey 2 should be enough to keep us safe and to allow us to build on the momentum we found in the last few games into the 2017-18 season. Given that on 4 February we sat rock bottom with just two wins to our name, this really was the 'great escape'.

From a purely personal point of view this was my last season as Captain and I really enjoyed being responsible for this side and watching how we developed over the season. For a long period in the season it felt like we were not getting our reward for

Tim Morris, player of the season

the effort going in from a coaching, training and general Club point of view. Crucially, as was the case last year, the spirit of the side was strong from the first minute to the last.

This spirit proved crucial as we picked up bonus points in games before Christmas in addition to our two wins, which made the difference at the end of the season.

In addition we welcomed a number of new players into the side, including a number of Old Paulines. This was pleasing as it is critical we continue to establish a new core of players for the 1st XV over the coming seasons. Stand out new performers were Matt Williams, Robert Wight, Lorcan Mulvey, Rahul Shorthouse and Dominic Burrows. We also had players who have

34 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

Consistency of players being available is still the most challenging barrier to results been at the Club for a number of years become 1s regulars, most notably Ronan O’Brien, Eoin Mullany, Ed Crowther, John McNally, Iain Stewart and Alex Renwick.

We also welcomed back some excellent players during the second half of the season thanks to a combination of return from injury and players coming back to the OPFC which made a huge difference in the final few games, namely: Toby Ejsmond-Frey,

opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk l 020 8746 5390

Robin Ejsmond-Frey, Will Gough, Alastair Shipman and Dan Adkins. I would also like to recognise the core of players that turned out week in week out through the season: Fred Engelbach (who also did sterling work given my absenteeism as ViceCaptain through the season), Stu Kerrigan, Tim Radcliffe, Binya Even, Ross Syder, Freddie McNicholas, John Barrett, David Richard and Ben Palairet.

For his efforts through the season, Tim Morris was deservedly awarded both the 1st XV tankard for player of the season and the 1st XV honour ties which is voted on by the players.

Having looked back on the season there were a number of things that I reflect on: In the end, the losing and 4-try bonus points we picked up in losses against the top teams like Cranleigh, Old Walcountians and Bec Old Boys made the difference when it came to the league (our impeccable admin and front row turn out also ensured no costly points deductions which was a theme across the Surrey leagues!)

We conceded far too many soft tries, especially early in the season where we had a couple of basketball-esque losses to Bec Old Boys (36-56) and Walcountians (2648). This will be a big focus area in preseason next year.

Consistency of players being available is still the most challenging barrier to results.

We only had 16 players who played in 50% or more of the games and our back line only really settled down in the second half of the season.

While the results took a long time to come, training this year was a high point compared to previous seasons. At the end of the season we eventually saw the impact of the work Shane had been doing with the core of people that attended regularly.

Unfortunately we also continued our trend of losing a number of close matches, with seven games lost by less than 15 points – something that we started to correct in the last few matches, especially during the magnificent last-minute victory against Economicals.

As always the team and I would like to take the opportunity to thank a number of people without whom playing rugby every Saturday just wouldn’t be possible: our coach Shane who always kept training inventive and enjoyable. His never-say-die attitude in terms of the relegation fight was also crucial to our survival; our osteopath, Emily, who continues to provide first class medical support to the team week in week out. Emily’s professionalism and decisive decision making in terms of injuries is very much appreciated by all the players; my fellow captains and committee members – this season the 1st

Tim Radcliffe on the rampage against Old Caterhamians.

"The spirit in the club is very strong"

XV has often decimated the other sides across the club given the overall shortage of players. Getting the sides out each week is an increasingly team effort and I have greatly appreciated all of my fellow captains support in ensuring we put up the most competitive 15 we can each week; my Vice-Captain Fred Engelbach who had to cover for my wedding and then latterly injury absence; our faithful band of supporters who followed us and kept the faith (just!) – the lads really do appreciate the support you give us home and away; the team at TD and especially Graham who does such an incredible job preparing the pitches week in week out.

As I write this, preparations for the tour are in their final stages. We will then turn our attention to next season. The group of players and the Committee remain incredibly committed to ensuring we

build on our survival this season. Thank you for your continued support of the Club and the 1st XV. Rob Rayner l We would love to hear from any potential players of any age or standard to play in the various teams throughout the Club. Please have a look at the new website www.opfc.org. uk, we welcome new players with a number of introductory benefits and are delighted that our facilities have just been rated The Best Hospitality by visiting teams (out of 86) and referees across the whole Old Boys’ Sports network in London.

We are waiving match fees for new players and would love to see people at pre season training on Clapham Common towards the end of the Summer, please get in touch with John.Barrett@macegroup.com (Club Captain) or Buster.Dover@MullenLoweLondon.com (Chairman).

Buster Dover, Chairman OPFC

OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 35

Sport OPAFC

25th Anniversary

OPAFC celebrates it’s 25th anniversary this year and as we enter the business end of the season, its been yet another highly enjoyable roller coaster of emotions!

The 1st XI are going to the wire in their attempt to remain in the rarified echelons of Senior 1, requiring a final game win and their nearest rival to lose for survival to be an option. Come what

. . . another highly enjoyable roller coaster of emotions! …… may, it’s been to the 1st XI’s huge credit that they have taken on and beaten some of the top teams in the Amateur Football Combination. Most notably, victories over Premier side UCL Academicals in the Cup and league leaders Park View spring to mind.

The 2nd and 3rd XIs have had a transitional season, as personnel moved

between squads. The 2s started slowly and finished strongly, residing in 3rd place as we go to press. The 3s had a good start, but had to accommodate a very fluid squad. They did very well to maintain their status in Division 2 South for next season.

The 4th XI continue to flourish and have a true six-pointer coming up to complete their season, travelling to Woking where the victor will find themselves in a strong position to secure promotion from Division 7 South.

The Club has arranged a summer season tour to Madrid, where the warm weather will help enormously with all round fitness conditioning for next season!

With OPAFC hosting it’s first ever Cup Final last weekend, we continue to encourage all recent leavers and returning graduates to come and experience the first-class facilities available at Colets! l For more details about the OPAFC please contact Nick Troen at nicholas.troen@gmail.com

OLD PAULINE GOLFING SOCIETY

A Heartening Halford Hewitt

I

n October 2016, we repeated our twonight stay, this time at Padbrook Park in Devon, which was greatly enjoyed by the members who played. This year, it will be held at The Wiltshire.

Eighteen members attended our half day winter meeting at West Hill in November.

Ian Starr had the best score with 35 points to win the Pat Humphreys Salver. Chris Vallender had the best gross score on the day to win the Downing Salver and Dick Vollmer won the Kayton Cup for the best score from a player 70 years old and over. The golf was followed by the usual excellent lunch!

Our AGM & Dinner were held at the Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club with 25 members present, with nine members sending in apologies. Ian Starr was elected as Captain for 2017 with Hugh Garnham as Vice-Captain. We were joined for dinner

by Graham Seel (Master i/c Golf), Leo Gros (SPS V-Capt golf) and Lucas Martin (SPS golf). Afterwards, the outgoing Captain, Toby Bain, gave an entertaining speech and presented Nick Downing with the Jubilee Salver for the best aggregate points score in our spring, summer and autumn meetings and also the Cunis Claret Jug for the best

L to R: Robbie Parker, Robbie Lyons, Charlie Prior, Max Rose, Robin Young, Max Grandison, Tito Bastianello, Hugh Roberts (Captain), Chris Cullen & Alex Bastianello.

aggregate points score in the spring and autumn meetings. The Bewshar Bowl for the knockout competition was won by Ian Starr.

In out friendly matches for the rest of 2016, we had wins against Old Amplefordians and Old Cholmeleians.

Our spring meeting this year will be played at Betchworth Park Golf Club near Dorking. Our summer meeting will be at Hayling, the autumn meeting and Captain’s Day will be played at Moor Park and our winter meeting will be at West Hill.

Together with our eleven matches, we again

36 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

have a very active year ahead of us!

In our first match of 2017, we lost to The School at Royal Mid Surrey Golf Club.

In the Halford Hewitt at The Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club at Deal, we played Merchant Taylors in the 1st round, beat Whitgift 3 – 2 in the 2nd, losing to Haileybury 11/2 - 31/2 in the 3rd round, a very good performance. The last time we got to the 3rd round was 2009 and before that it was 1989 when I was in the side!

Neil Fitch l Contact: n.fitch@ntlworld.com

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Sport OPCC 2017 Preview

Sharing a parallel universe

N

ew experiences await the Old Pauline Cricket Club this year as, after a disappointing 2016 for the 1s and an outstanding season for the 2s, both teams find themselves in the same parallel league: the Fuller’s Premier League. Both teams will look to call upon experienced Club members, as well as some very new arrivals from the past couple of seasons, to make this a successful season for the Club as a whole.

Plenty went right for the 1s last year, as they saw a changing of the captaincy for the first time in 11 years with Chris Berkett taking over. The attitude and effort of the team throughout the season was outstanding despite the match outcome, and we all took great pleasure in each other’s successes. This phenomenon was no greater the case than with Tom Rigby, who scored three consecutive centuries towards the end of the season, including a top score of 141, and was the League’s leading run scorer.

Very pleasing to see was a consistent group of Old Paulines making up the 11, which is something we aim to continue this season. Unfortunately though, Lady Luck did not shine down on us, as several

players, including skipper and vicecaptain/keeper missed varying chunks of the season through injury.

The 2s enjoyed an excellent season and thoroughly deserved their promotion. A mixture of experience and new additions to the Club spurred them on, with skipper James Grant compiling his best season with the bat including five 50+

Very pleasing to see was a consistent group of Old Paulines making up the 11 scores. Two Waughs, namely George and Barney, were omnipresent and George capped off a very successful first season for OPCC by successfully running for 2s captaincy in 2017, as James finally hung up his captaincy boots after an outstanding tenure as 2s skipper spanning 12 years.

Jamie Lyons continues to run an enjoyable and fun Sunday XI for those looking for some extra middle time or a

gentler run out. Jamie’s team also contests the annual ‘Kempton Cup’, a self-pouring teapot, against local rivals Kempton CC. Last year resulted in a win apiece for each Club, meaning that the trophy remained with its 2015 winners, Kempton.

With the season kicking off on 6 May, OPCC are playing a few pre-season warm-ups in the preceding weeks, including a game against the School on 15 April. We hoped to meet a few future members of OPCC at the game.

OPCC headquarters is based in Thames Ditton at Colet’s sports ground – a two minute walk from Thames Ditton Station which in turn is only 20 minutes from Clapham Junction. The Club boasts excellent facilities, including a bar, gym, swimming pool and squash courts, as well as the sports fields, providing several activities for friends and families alike.

This year will be the first full season with the excellent new Club house with its extended balcony to cheer on the local side and enjoy the afternoon.

If you would like to get involved at any level, be it cricketer or umpire, please contact Club Captain Chris Berkett on berkettc@gmail.com or via Facebook.

OLD PAULINE RUGBY FIVES

Impressive results

W

hen compared to the lofty heights of recent seasons’ successes, the last year has been a fairly modest one for the Old Pauline Rugby Fives Club, although by all accounts results were still impressive.

The year began with a dinner to celebrate the retirement of Peter King, who was Master-in-Charge of Fives at St Paul’s for 17 years. The OPRFC would like to thank Peter on behalf of everyone that he introduced to the game for his enormous contribution to the School and to the sport.

In the National Club Championship, an OP IV of Dan Tristao, Tom Dean, Julian Aquilina and James Tilston reached the final before falling short against holders the Wessex Club. However, in the other Club tournament, the Owers Cup, a combination of injury and poor form resulted in a surprise knock out in the group stages.

Old Paulines have continued to

dominate tournament fives this season.

Dan Tristao won his second National Singles Championship, as well as a plethora of other trophies, while Charlie Brooks won his fourth consecutive National Doubles title. Congratulations also go to Theo Parker and Oliver Arnold for their maiden Open tournament win at the Yorkshire Open and to Ed Kay, Ben Beltrami and Matt Shaw for their wins at the National U25s Championships and the British Universities Championships.

There were two internal tournaments held in the season. The Cunis Cup, a handicapped singles tournament, was won by Charlie Brooks, overcoming a heavily handicapped Dan Tristao. The President’s Cup doubles tournament was won by James Tilston and Jack Malde who overcame Jonny Baker and Henry Jefferies in the final.

Aside from competitive activity, it has been great to see an increased turnout

38 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

Charlie Brooks (right), and non-OP Will Ellison winning the National Doubles.

Dan Tristao wins the National Singles

this year at weekly training sessions, and we hope that this will continue to help the OPRFC achieve further successes next season.

Old Pauline Archives Harold Wilfrid Auerbach (1912-15)

Harold Auerbach was born in Ealing, London in 1897. He attended Durston House Preparatory School from 1905-1912 and attended St Paul’s from 1912-1915.

Already one year into the Great War, Harold was keen to join up and fight.

He immediately joined St Paul’s OTC, based at Camp Petersfield. He later joined the Royal Engineers on 18 October 1915 and was based at Roydon in 1916.

In May, 1917 Harold joined the Royal Flying Corp and was billeted and trained at Oxford. On 5 July 1917, Harold was appointed to a temporary commission as 2nd Lieutenant for duty with the Royal Flying Corp based at London Colney. He graduated and qualified as a RFC fighter pilot on 19 November 1917 and remained in the RFC until the end of the war in November 1918. Considering the life expectancy of a new WW1 pilot was three weeks, he did very well to survive through to the end of the war. Harold remained in the RAF (as it became known) until 1919.

From January to June 1920 Harold attended Slade School of Art. He left abruptly after his father told him that ‘Art was not a career for a gentleman’.

He subsequently bumped into an Old Pauline friend in Cheapside, London, whereupon Harold asked him what he was doing. He replied ‘I’m working for the Bank’. Harold then found himself doing a handwriting test at the Bank of England (a necessary test for all bank clerks in 1920!) and promptly entered the Bank of England at the age of 24 from 2 December 1921 to 30 September 1932.

Following the untimely death of his wife in October 1930 during childbirth – losing both his wife and son the same day – Harold drew strength from God. In 1932 he decided to train as a Catholic priest at Collegia Beda in Rome. He never completed his studies and after two years returned home in 1934. After WW2, Harold settled in Ealing again and married for the second time at Ealing Abbey in 1950 and had three children. Harold never flew again after being a fighter pilot in WW1. He passed away peacefully in 1975.

Patricia Aubrey, daughter

Desert Island Discs, 20 December 1969 Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (1902-06)

Roy Plomley’s 1,000th castaway guest on the famous radio programme 48 years ago was none other than our own ‘Monty’, who explained that he was then ‘in the evening of his life’ and had more time to enjoy listening to music. In the BBC recording he alludes to his sporting career being more successful than his academic endeavours at St Paul’s.

July 1946; Field Marshal Montgomery inspecting the School guard of honour with High Master Walter Oakeshott

His eight selected pieces were: 1. The Battle Hymn of the Republic, by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir 2. My Love Is Like A Red Red Rose, by Ian McKellar 3. You Are My Heart’s Delight, by Franz Lehár 4. Invitation to the Dance, by Carl maria von Weber 5. Sei Nicht Bos, by Carl Zellar 6. All Through the Night, by the Treorchy Male Voice Choir 7. Cockles and Mussles, by William Clauson 8. O, For the Wings of a Dove, by Felix Mendelssohn To listen: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p009y0ss OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017 39

Old Pauline Club Diary Dates opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk/pages/forthcoming_events

3 June 10 Year Reunion 9 June 25 Year Reunion 10 June 40 Year Reunion 24 June 20 Year Reunion 2 July Summer Festival 10 July Annual Dinner and AGM at the House of Lords Annual General Meeting notice We hereby notify members of the 2017 AGM which will take place at 6pm in the House of Lords, prior to the Annual Dinner. If you would like to attend the AGM, you will need to register through our online booking system or with the form that is included with this magazine.

Crossword (with a boatrace theme)

Clues

By Lorie Church (1992-97)

Lorie studied Classics at Exeter. He has had various articles and puzzles published in The Times and elsewhere. Contact: lorie@oath.com 1

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Across

7 BMW is an illegal delivery (6) 8 One rising from bed, it could be Jasmine (6) 9 Eggs left in test venue (4) 10 Song and drama get exposure on the radio (7) 12 Woman's ass entertaining old soaks (5) 13 Local Hairdresser receives Oscar (6) 17 Rachmaninoff's first? (6) 19 Marge or another girl (5) 21 One following acts begins to heckle in foreign language (7) 23 Nice with farewell to Charlie (4) 24 Half of maths class wasted on ancient harp (6) 25 Shunned cake oddly for ice cream (6)

Down

1 On sabbath, wine is given to rowers as school dinners (8) 2 Mixed-race individual admitted to casualty in copy-cat operation (8) 3 About 500 sheets of paper, off-white (5) 4 4x4 changes direction during jettison (7) 5 Christmas book with middle missing (4) 6 Challenge fed-up youth leader (4) 11 Topless Portuguese performance creates hullabaloo (3) 14 Lino cut with pita bread and butter for artist (3-5) 15 Avengers scattered by sarin (5-3) 16 Bent double? (7) 18 "Me" (myself) and I (3) 20 Shrewish usherette keeps order in theatre (5) 21 Pink is highly prized (4) 22 Wise guys see conjuror sawn in half (4)

Answers will be published in the eNews bulletin.

Old Pauline Merchandise To view the full range and to order and pay online, go to opclub.stpaulsschool.org.uk/ shop/merchandise or contact the Old Pauline Club: Telephone: 020 8746 5390 email: opcadmin @stpaulsschool.org.uk For blazers please contact Tim Cunis at timcunis@gmail.com

40 OLD PAULINE NEWS SPRING/SUMMER 2017

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