A day to remember

My wife thought I was a little out of my mind, when I announced that I was making the 400 mile round trip from my home in Exeter, Devon to Hornsey for the reunion for us ‘comprehensive boys’. But it was definitely worth it, and I’m so very pleased I made the effort. I was alerted to the event by Andreas Christou, who deserves a special mention for all his hard work in helping to organise the event.

I joined Stationers’ at the start of the summer term in 1979 as a skinny first year. I’d moved from rural Suffolk just a few weeks previously, and it was a huge shock to be at such a large and culturally diverse school, but I loved it – indeed I enjoyed all my time at Stationers’. My first year form teacher was Mr Farrow, who, upon first entering the classroom, brought an old training shoe down upon the desk with such force, I’m sure the resulting ‘thwack’ could have been heard in the adjacent classrooms, uttering the words as he did so, ‘I don’t tolerate misbehaving or chatter in my class’ – so that was pretty clear! Other teachers who left a significant impression on me in those early years, were Fitch (obviously), Young, Zarb, Dungate, Prior, Khokar, Grant, Hubbard, Steel, Jahanns, Read, Quarshie, Evans, Rumney, the Courts, and of course the greatly missed Geriant Pritchard. I also recall the headmaster, Baynes, teaching us for one lesson a week for the first term of that first year.

Like many of my peers, my time at Stationers was relatively unremarkable. I wasn’t a trouble-maker, so largely avoided detentions (and the dreaded ’slipper’), I wasn’t a gifted athlete, so never made it into a school team, I was no thespian either so didn’t get involved in school plays, but I was musical and a member of the school choir. I have great memories of attending the Stationers’ Hall every year for the annual service in St Paul’s Cathedral, which was preceded with a slap-up sausage and mash lunch in the hall itself.

But back to the reunion. Given the number of boys who must have attended Stationers’ between the mid 1960’s and 1983, I thought it extremely unlikely that I’d meet anyone from my year group let alone my class, but I was wrong. There were in fact four of us from Farrow’s first year class. It was great to spend an afternoon reminiscing over a beer or two, swapping stories and reliving shared experiences. The aforementioned slipper; the school fights (with St David’s and St Katherine’s); the weekly trip to Winchmore Hill (everyone wanted to go on the mini-bus); the ice-cream van parked by the entrance on Mayfield Road that used to serve dodgy hotdogs; and the bakery that sold whole loaves of white bread (cut in half and slathered with margarine) – so many treasured memories – and as the beer flowed, the more we seemed to remember. Another special mention must go to Alan Dobbie who brought along his old school tie!

The personal highlight for me however was to meet some of my old teachers. Mr Leeming; Mr Fitch, as popular now as he ever was; Ms Jahanns who was so gracious and generous with her time; and Mr Young, who to my amazement, brought with him a clipping from the Hornsey Journal from 1983 showing a very youthful me, sounding the Last Post on the steps of the upper building the day it sadly closed. The importance and poignancy of that occasion so completely lost on my 15 year old self. What memories.

There was talk of getting as many from our year group together for the OSA annual dinner – let’s hope that comes to fruition. Still we are Stationers’ as far as we roam.