Fencing .. .. 127 Bristol Letter

aggressive!) talent. During the last fortnight of term a Junior St. Peter's team beat a team from the Mount School o-6 (despite being outnumbered in supporters). A rather hurried House match was won by Temple, while Chris Drury defeated all four Sixth Formers in a nerve-racking individual competition.

Finally, my best wishes for the future go to all school fencers, especially Martin Hall, who takes over from me as captain.

C.J.E.B.

BRISTOL LETTER

Mid-Nov. Week, 31st June, 1980.

After three years we've eventually produced the long-awaited Bristol letter!

No O.P. dinners have been held this year, but we think all are alive and well, except for Dave Young (Grove 71-76) whom no one has ever been too sure about. However, it is rumoured that he has graced the Polytechnic with his presence, and has shone as a co-editor of the Bristol Student newspaper and part-time underground musician. Having just graduated in Human Studies, we eagerly await news of his next move.

After extensive Antipodean travels Steven Bruce-Jones (Manor 71-76) has had a ruthlessly efficient three years in which he has presided over the renowned Geographical Society, appeared as a leading light in various operatic productions, and battled arduously on the rugby field for various reputable institutions. He leaves us this year to take up a trainee managerial post with Rio Tinto Zinc, having just survived a year of cohabitation with Graham Nicholson (School 71-76). The latter has captained the University squash team to unparalleled heights, but his talents are to be lost this year when he dons his 'wellies' to become a real-life civil engineer with Redpath Dorman Long Contracting.

He parts company with two other regular CAMRA connoisseurs in the squash club, John Lethem (Queen's 73-78), next year's captain and devotee of expensive restaurants, and James Larcombe (School 71-76), both of whom are budding quacks. James Larcombe, in his capacity as treasurer of the club, has unexplainedly managed to finance trips to Switzerland to the Open Squash Championships for certain O.P. members (with a little time off for a spot of skiing, of course!) Having almost caused a local bus strike as Athletic Union Transport Co-ordinator he has now resorted to shooting space invaders in the local hostelry.

Paul Atkinson (Temple 71-76), ex-cohabitor of the aforementioned Larcombe, rose to the heights of public life last year as editor of the University's Student Prospectus, but has now retired to the world of academic study from which he regularly emerges in the early hours of the morning. He graduates in English Literature this year and describes his future as "uncertain". His brother, Simon Atkinson (Temple 68-73) adds his own personal touch of maturity to our ranks. A respectable accountant, once a mainstay of the "Cambridge Letter", he is now more accustomed to being seen "after-hours".

Brian Kay (Dronfield 71-76) another student of English, part-time philosopher and collector of wayside "objets d'art", leaves us this year for a position with the "Yorkshire Evening Post" as a journalist.

Our other final year student is Paddy "Stirling Moss" Smith (Manor 72-77), renowned rally-driver and capable economist, who takes a sojourn in Australia next year.

Patrick Crowley (Dronfield 74-79), operatic superstar and political activist has already made his presence felt in his first year. When asked, he denied modelling himself on Gatiss (Trinity College, Cambridge 77-8o). 128

John Aldridge (Queen's 73-78) studies Civil Engineering here, and it has been rumoured that the now infamous Jeremy Storey (School 74-79) also frequents our "Hallowed Halls".

As always, we look forward to accepting many more Oxbridge rejects to swell our ranks in the coming year. Perhaps we might even manage an O.P. Dinner.

The Bristol Old Peterites.

CAMBRIDGE LETTER

May Week, 1980.

This year has been marked by rather fewer formal O.P. gatherings than of late : the now traditional Guy Fawkes Meeting was well attended, but two subsequent dinners were more sparsely attended — symptomatic, perhaps, of the inefficiency of the post-Harrison era.

Senior O.P. is still Richard Sharpe (Temple, 1967-72), now an M.A. and agony columnist of the popular journal "Eriu". He is secretary of the Trinity Lake Hunt — which, given that it takes place in the Lake District, would hardly seem to tax the brains of one currently preparing the Coles Notes on the palaeographical aspects of the Patrician documents of Armagh. Fellow Ph.D. student Richard Harland (Manor, 1968-73) is also completing his thesis this year, and is being exported to Seattle, USA, to undertake further research.

Of third-year men, Chris Hirst (Temple, 5971-6), after vane (sic.) attempts to achieve notoriety in York, has contented himself with carrying off the British Orienteering Championship and a Newnham girl, and is now returning to the army. Chris Harland (Manor, 1971-6) is also a national champion, this time in squash, in which he is captain of the blues team. His attempts to provide the Master of Clare with home-brew through a special tap in the ceiling of the latter's study were not well received, and his First in Part II Medicine was only grudgingly handed over.

Julian Turner (Queen's, 1971-6), in keeping with the image described in previous years' letters, has given up beer for cocktails. He finds straw beds more amenable than Magdalene sheets after an evening's entertaining, and amuses his guests by bricking up doors in the middle of the night — an attempt, perhaps, to put his extensive knowledge of engineering into practical effect. This knowledge has clearly not been evident to Tripos examiners, who have conscripted him into the Nines Club. Julian also rows for Magdalene I, and describes their performance as "unlucky".

Ahead of Chris Hirst in the race to the altar are Stuart Newstead (Queen's 1971-6) and Alan Heavens (Temple, 1972-7), who will be married this summer (though not to each other). Stuart is leaving behind his football, darts, cricket and hockey to make a quick escape to Yale to count his blessings on a statistics course; Alan, having taken a First in maths., is staying at Churchill to do a Ph.D.

The only Peterite in politics is Howard Gatiss (Queen's, 1971-6), who denies taking Trinity College out of NUS simply to write to The Times about it, as part of a publicity stint to gain election to the Cambridge Students' Union as Ayatollan Democratic candidate. Insufficient voters saw the light, however, and Howard is limping back to Apostleship, and hopes to be discovered as the Seventy-ninth Man in years to come. His attempts to spy out the secret life of Graham Pattie (Temple, 1971-6) have been unsuccessful: the latter is either keeping a low profile or is simply underwater.

Geoff Brown (Grove, 1972-7) has transferred his emotional life from May Balls to the Arts Theatre Roof Garden — more dare we not say. Duncan Fawthrop (ibid) denies having any romantic attachments and maintains that 129