Written by Administrator | 19 September 2011

A trio of Weber-Browns and their friend, Clive Seymour, visited the school at the beginning of September for a tour round and a visit to Cornwallis where they were all boarders between 1948 and 1960. 

Nick Weber-Brown (1948-1954), Chris Weber-Brown (1956-1960), Tim Weber-Brown (1953-1957) and Clive Seymour (1953-1957) spent the morning reminiscing about their school days and all commented on the luxuries of boarding today compared with their experiences of wooden floors, limited or no heating and very strict house masters!

Written by Administrator | 26 July 2010

Barrie Lathwell (’72) and currently living in Ireland, reports on an an enjoyable 2 week trip to England and Wales catching up with old friends.  He spent a couple of days with Julian (Jules) Skinner (Cornwallis '75) in Wales (see http://www.julesmedia.biz/ )and then headed down to Kent. Here he spent time with Andrew Cuthbert ('72)  in Tunbridge Wells where Paul Fitzpatrick ('70) dropped by for a few hours. Paul runs a motorbike shop in Tunbridge Wells and updated Barrie on his terrible accident 18 months ago when he sadly also lost his wife (http://www.mmcbikes.com/Accident.HTM ).
 
Next on the list was a visit to Robin Gibson ('72) at the BBC offices in Tunbridge Wells followed by  a couple of days in Benenden with Neil Thorpe ('74) and a catch up session with Frank Meakin ('70), Tim Spelling ('72), Phil Monk ('72) and Mark Pemberthy ('72) at the Lynxes vs. Scorpions match on the 11th July in Cranbrook.

A good trip and some excellent photos – click on the link.

 http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/barrieandheather/TripToEnglandAndWales2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCN6wqeW88sGplwE

 

Written by Administrator | 09 July 2010

I am delighted to be able to report that I, together with my wife Paula, my son Simon and 60 other wonderful people (consultants, doctors, nurses, people with diabetes, supporters and people who just care about this fast growing and awful condition) have successfully completed this beautiful but incredibly challenging 8 mile walk. It was brilliantly organised by my friends from the Diabetes UK Northern & Yorkshire Regional Office, Ann Rowe and Sarah Wood, with help from the Chairman of the Diabetes UK Hexham Voluntary Support Group, David Bumby, and many other willing supporters.

We took about four and a half hours to actually walk it, with a one hour picnic stop in the middle. The first 5 miles or so was extremely hard, with steep climbs and descents, which I have often described since as being similar to walking up about 100 tube station escalators! However, apart from a few minor diabetes scares, covered by frequent stops for blood glucose tests under the close eyes of the wonderful consultants, doctors and nurses who were walking with us, we all managed it comfortably, although I do not pretend that I was anything other than delighted to see and then reach the end of the walk at Housesteads Fort! To be honest, I could not have walked much further, and others who suffer from diabetes agreed, but it was a very satisfying experience.

However, the main purpose of this e-mail is to thank you most sincerely once again, from the bottom of my heart, for your most generous and welcome sponsorship. I have so many wonderful friends who have contributed, and I will always remember your most incredible support.

You will be delighted to know that my personal target which was set by Diabetes UK originally at £7,500, which I then increased rather foolishly to £15,000, has been substantially exceeded, and should, when all the promises have been collected, comfortably reach £17,000! This is amazing and I will never be able to thank you enough for your part in this. With the substantial sums collected by some of the other walkers, we should together have raised in excess of £22,000 for research into diabetes, which is fantastic and beyond our wildest dreams!

Once again, thank you so much!

 

 

Written by Administrator | 06 May 2010

Sussex astronaut and former Cranbrook School pupil Piers Sellers is scheduled to take part in another NASA space mission on May 14th.    This time he is taking with him into space an original watercolour painting of the school painted by Buxted artist Brenda Barratt.
Piers Sellers is Britain's most famous spaceman having undertaken two NASA space missions and spent over 13 days in space and space-walked six times.  On this mission  Piers is assigned to the crew of STS-132 which is targeted for launch on May 14th. This 11 day flight will deliver a Russian-built Mini Research Module to the International Space Station.
Cranbrook School Headteacher, Mrs Angela Daly, said “I was delighted when Piers suggested he took the painting with him into space and on his last trip he took a copy of the School’s Elizabethan charter”.    The painting will then be returned to Cranbrook School with the official NASA verification that it has travelled into space when Piers visits the School on 16th and 17th January next year.

Written by Administrator | 30 March 2010

Michael Duggan (R) is retired and now lives in Tralee, Co.Kerry, after fifty years in Redhill. After leaving School, he went into the merchant navy in 1942 with P&O as an engineer, and worked closely with the 14th Army in Burma. He tried unsuccessfully to enter the Royal Navy due to an injury to his eyes sustained at School while rugby tackling Mr Jaeger! After three years at Cambridge reading Mechanical Sciences, he joined Shell and spent the rest of his working life in marine research. His wife died in 1993, but he has a daughter, who lives near him in Ireland. He can be found at Wrens Old Cottage, Upper Teer, Brandon, Tralee, Co.Kerry, Ireland.

Written by Administrator | 30 March 2010

Melanie Eathorne (Pugh; W 1995) graduated from Brighton University in July 2001 and has since worked in the catering industry, rising to the position of Sous Chef before emigrating in 2006 to Queensland, Australia, with her husband Brian Eathorne. They were married in 2005.

Written by Administrator | 30 March 2010

Sally Newman (Pugh; W 1993) graduated with a 2:1 in Psychology from Reading University in 1996 and worked for a qualitative research company in London (CSR) before deciding to change direction in September 2003.  Following qualification as an interior designer, she moved to Poole to design kitchens. She married Andrew Newman in the Bahamas in November 2005 and has a son Jake, born in February 2007. The family have also just emigrated to Australia (Western Australia).