John Wilkin (SH 55-60)
writes about a meeting with John Anderson in Warsaw:

"My wife (Linda) and I enjoyed a ten day tour of Poland in May, which included three nights in Warsaw. As this is the home of John Anderson, the OSBC branch secretary for Eastern Europe, and as we were contemporaries at school in the late 50s, I suggested meeting for a drink. He and his wife Krystyna generously invited us to their home for an evening meal. This was particularly kind of them as it turned out that they had been in St Bees for Speech Day the previous day and were returning overnight!
John and I had not met since 1959 and I doubt we would have recognised each other in the street. However, a few irreverent references to former staff and pupils soon dispelled any fears that we might not be who we claimed to be. In particular, it was clear that we retained very good memories of key staff who had influenced us, such as "Piff" Williams (English), "Guff" Aston, (Maths), "Shuff" Hall (Physics), "Cyril" Wood (Chemistry) and many others. 




This nostalgic journey was helped by some old photos I took with me of a staff/pupil football match featuring the "Woodenhall Cancer Relief Fund Band" as interval entertainment (Messrs. Wood and Hall were both prolific smokers).
We had a delicious meal including the famous "pierogi" (stuffed dumplings) and we learned a lot about life in Poland. Linda and I thoroughly enjoyed our evening and hope to be able to return the hospitality when John and Krystyna visit the UK in due course."

 


The St. Beghian Society, St. Bees School, St. Bees, Cumbria, CA27 0DS

tel: 01946 828093         
email: osb@st-bees-school.co.uk     www.st-beghian-society.co.uk