Past Pupils

Michael Hatch (1964)

About a year ago I bumped into the website Friends Reunited, that led to the TGS site which I must admit I have read from top to bottom, over the past year. Mind you it took me a year to get around to doing something about it. Which somewhat reflects my acedemic achievements when I attended the school, so very long ago.

I came to the school in 1959 and left somewhat ignominiously in the fall 1964 after a half hearted attempt to continue into the (lower) 6th form while repeating a slew of subjects. My "O" levels were a sad little collection of Art, Woodworking, Geography and something else I have forgotten. It's a good thing I don't have to go out into the world of today with that lot.

But it may be worth a giggle to remember a little of what the school was like for the not so bright (34th out of 34 I seem to recall, most terms) or the bone lazy. Not surprisingly I prefer to think of myself as lazy. Dear old Tunley probably got nearer to the truth when he wrote, in my report book, a one word critique of my efforts at French... "Disgusting!"

Of the teachers I remember, Witt, the Head was a vague shadow who made jokes in Latin and as I failed that, I usually missed the joke. Obviously Topham is right up there, although I think I was actually only caned once.

Bockers tried so hard to teach me English, or at the least, how to write it...Where, were, we're, wack! Poor sod had to put up with me in the ATC as well, including rushing about in his car for some cross country thing or other.

Millard, Shakespeare, The Dirty Bits, loved him.

Ashby, well I have to admit I enjoyed the fairy tales he taught, although he did take them seriously. He managed to get the first five or six pages of the Bible fairly solidly into my brain, writing lines,"In the beginning.......".

Hunter, sorry, what bastards we were to him.

Beddall, chemistry, great fun, that may be my fourth "O" level, had a thing about socks, always telling me to "pull them up".

"Fred" Fear, please don't anyone else play Fur Elise. Dam, it was that or left hand boogie, at least I got the two house points.

Herbert, thank you thank you for Coastguards and Pirates. Enormous fun, always played at the end of a term or school year it had double significance.

Sayer, I told you there were no wooden engines! The rest

I'm sorry to say have slipped away.

Names I remember. I do recognise Jeffrey Herford, David Workman (lived near me, should have had a prize for the most aptly named), Nigel Love, Stephen Mayhew (I may owe you an appology) a Bennett or Baker or two.

Friends, John Crouch, tall, skinny, clever, athletic and made miniature golf clubs, hope you got a full sized set. Ed Morris (had a taller brother), very clever, I once copied his homework, which didn't fool anyone, not even me. A few I don't remember, at all, except for things that happened. Who broke his arm bicycling in Epping Forest, with me, was good at art. Who broke their leg in about 1962 playing school rugby, not against me. Who shot me in the head with a bb gun, claimed he was aiming at my leg, I have a white bit of hair there now, ta!

Who was the son of a boxer, I still remember the right hand, didn't even see the left, he bothered no one and no one bothered him. As for the bullies and thieves (hopefully I was neither) sorry can't think of a one now.

Clubs and sports. Lunchtime playground soccer, with a tennis ball, definitely not a star, but I've coached for fifteen years and I still think it's still the best way to learn the game. Bulldog, I would be a better player today, I weigh more. Can't forget the winter of 61-62 and a sheet of ice (lovingly cared for ) that came off the north(?) playing field down between the bike shed and ruined more than a few pairs of "winkle pickers".

There should have been a club for marble mazes in a desk! I was a member of the ATC, with memories of traipsing about the Moors. As well as tents, parachutes, Vulcan Bomber stations and a very rainy swim meet in Wales, with poor Bockers flogging about in a Morris Minor, I think they threw me out in the end.

The Chess Club, best said, I got two house points for competing.

Aero Modelling Club, sometimes what I made flew, usually something to do with glow plugs and a lot of string.

I did throw javelin at various sport meets and never did thank the master who had to drag around after us (geography I think), big deal about that was, those meets had girls.

Last but not least I held the school record for swimming the mile. Of course there would still have to be a school for that to have any currency.

Since leaving TGS, life has been (as the chinese curse goes) interesting.

Moved, reluctantly, to Canada in the mid sixties, returned briefly to high school, they didn't think much of my "O" levels either. Then wandered of and thumbed about Europe ( to start with, you had to get up very early to sell your blood in Spain) finally learned to speak something other than English. I returned to Canada after discovering I had caught a strange disease here, claustrophobia. Although I live in the center of Toronto (no rush hour at least) anywhere in London feels a lot tighter ( it smells a bit too).

In quick order, I married a flight attendant (so we get to travel a bit, Tokyo for the day!). We've been married now for nearly thirty five years, but I've only seen her for twenty. After going the business suit route for a while I went back to school, art School, where I had a bit of success and learned a lot I have never used. It was said then that art school only taught you how to buy art. But it has allowed me be unemployed since the seventies. Mostly I design stuff. These days it's strictly houses, sometimes restaurants, the odd disco, a few offices, and occasionally, a condo.

Since the advent of computers I have pretty much worked at home, got rid of the employees, office and socks.

In between flights we managed to produce 3 boys, which made her a hero.

The eldest is now 23 (he hangs out at www.mnsi.net/~fable) the 19 year old is on a gap year (or two) and the youngest is about to be 16, all of them doing way better than I ever did at school (they take after their mother, thank God, no Eric Ashby I haven't found him, yet.. ) and with my tutelage should be unemployed for most of their lives, wiv a little bit ....!

Only one soccer player left in the bunch, the rest are into Dragon Boats and Hockey, there they take after their mother, again.

So there you go. If anyone does remember me I'd be surprised, I have forgotten most of you I'm afraid, but then again, even then I could get away with the line "sorry sir, I forgot!", haven't changed a bit. If this rings a bell with anyone don't hesitate to drop a line, even if it's to tell me where to send the apology.