Bit of background; where you live, your family, what you do for a living:

I live in Northamptonshire with my middle daughter and granddaughter; I have three daughters in total. My beloved wife died five years ago, suddenly. I was at the bar for 22 years and now sit as a Circuit Judge at Leicester. I know many of my teachers will be astonished to hear that!

Age:

I am 66 years of age.

When were you at Princethorpe - years from and to?

I was at Princethorpe from 1970 to 1977. 

What was the school like in your day?

Princethorpe then was an all-boys boarding school (the first girl came to the school in 1976, I think; she deserves all our admiration for her courage), with day boys and weekly boarders, some lay teachers but largely priests teaching us, and looking after us after school. Pre-computers and mobile phones, there was the odd TV in the common rooms. We were required to be in the Study Hall (today's Library) in the evenings, to turn out for rugby and basketball games, but we also enjoyed a remarkable amount of freedom. We called our parents once a week maximum, more typically once a month. In the early seventies, there were electricity and postal strikes, so the school was in utter darkness in the evenings and no letters for months. We were a slightly feral band of boys; I remember it as a very happy time.

How did Princethorpe affect the person you are today?

Then, as now, the school gave all of us something in addition to traditional classroom education. It's not easy to describe, but we all know it. The priests and lay teachers were good people; they taught us a sense of fair play in sports and life. There weren’t that many priests to supervise us in the evenings or weekends, and we developed a measure of resilience and resourcefulness, very useful in later life. Very much at the head of the school was Fr W. J. Clarkson, a charismatic individual known universally and affectionately as ‘The Boss’. If I have a sense of what is right, compassion for those less fortunate, a sense of duty, and loyalty to my friends, that was nurtured at Princethorpe.

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

I was full of the usual teenage insecurities. I would tell myself, firstly, that everyone feels the same, that while luck may play a part, your life is largely in your own hands - take control.

Who or what has been the greatest influence on your life?

Many people, but it is very easy to tell you that my wife has been far and away the greatest positive influence in my life.

What keeps you awake at night?

Apart from waiting for my granddaughter, who lives with me, to get in at night, I often feel overwhelmed by the ‘big issues’ facing the world today and have almost stopped watching the news.

What has been your proudest moment/greatest achievement so far?

My proudest moments: my wedding day and being called to the bar.

What’s your biggest indulgence?

Travelling First Class when I can.

If you had to have one last meal, what would it be?

Chips, egg and beans - what my mother made me on my first night home for school holidays.

What is your favourite TV Show and why?

Pride and Prejudice - just wonderful.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would it be and who would be with you?

I would be at home with my wife on an autumn evening; we'd go for a walk, call in at the pub and head home to watch Pride and Prejudice.

Lasting memories of Princethorpe:

So many memories of Princethorpe, so much freedom, so much fun, if not enough studying on my part. We were a very close year, still are, and my memories all involve that close band of boys and the staff we lived with and were taught by. Too many stories to tell here.

Are you in touch with any other Old Princethorpians, if so whom?

A close group of us have always remained in touch, been Best Men for each other, Godparents to children, etc: Robin Abeysinghe, Mike ‘Loughy’ Loughnane, Mike ‘Nags’ Nagaur, Paul ‘St’ St Aubyn, and our friends no longer with us but very sadly missed: Richard ‘JJ’ Jenner and Paddy Cox. This is to name but a few. A regular ‘Zoom’ group (Mike ‘Yank’ Halloran usually in the chair) of mostly our year with one or two either side of us, can see more than 20 people from round the world getting together; not bad for people who met over 55 years ago!

Nags deserves a particular mention; he knows almost everyone from our era, is remembered by everyone, and is the driver behind many of our get togethers. I also keep in touch with Victor and Jose Quintennal, our Mexican ‘wards’.  And some of our teachers, in particular Pat and Moira Weir - great friends and mentors who, together with Fr ‘TJ’ Boyle, Lou Skiffington and others of their era, were the reason I passed any exams at all.