Old Boys, Girls and Teachers Guestbook

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Welcome to the Guestbook
Feel free to add messages relating to the site and the school. The only rules are: real names only, no personal attacks and no unrelated messages (inappropriate messages may be edited/withdrawn without warning).

It would be appreciated if you gave an email address, where you now live and said when you were at the school, but you don't have to.

Plase note that if you click on an email address below you will need to replace ~DOT~ with . and ~AT~ with @ in your email program. The Guestbook presents these this way to avoid email address harvesters collecting your email addresses from the page. I know it's a pain, but it's very much better than the alternative.

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There are 500 messages in the guestbook
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Viewing messages 1 to 10

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hello Mike and the usual suspects,
Following my afternoon coffee outing this aft and its subsequent chagrination, I was having little zizz, when there “flashed upon that inward eye” the words ‘HMS Ruddigore’. Who can tell why? My memory told me it was performed in one late afternoon in my junior days in the school..
I looked through the website but could find no reference to it at all. I was sure I was in the chorus and it seemed like 2nd or 3rd year. So perhaps1948-49. Does anyone else remember it, or is it another eccentric aberration?
Mike, in your latest memo you mentioned the guestbook and having backup messages from 2007. I wonder if there is anyway you could let me have a copy of all of the records you have up to Monday, 4 August, 2014, a letter from Ed Forster. I have printed copies of all the letters since then and they are in my eldest daughter’s hands, to be included in our family history, which is now rounding up to about 400 pages. My 5 grandchildren have shown great interest in the existing pages and I would like to add the rest to our story. My descendants have all agreed that the letters show a different side of me that seems somewhat at odds with the Grumpy Grandpa they’ve grown to know and can sort of tolerate.
One more thing … further to the flooded airplane on the way to Moncton at Christmas, another mishap occurred on the way back to Toronto on New Year’s Day. As we arrived at Moncton Airport, we saw that our flight was delayed one hour for inclement weather. The sun was shining and the sky was blue ?!? Within 10 minutes we were in a violent snow and freezing rain storm. We were an hour late for boarding, then we had to wait another hour for moving to the de-icing area. After de-icing we had to wait in a staging area, because the flight before us had to return from planned take-off for more de-icing. An announcement was made that any passengers on the Toronto flight who would like to change flights should let the flight attendants know. Fortunately there were no takers. Then we had to go back to the de-icing area for another shot. By this time we had been on the plane for five hours!!! Then we taxied to the runway where we sat for another 20 minutes while a new passenger got on the flight by forklift. We found out she was an Air-Marshall … never heard of that before. Then we took off and we were plied with drinks, snacks, cookies and Christmas cake!! Other than that the flight was uneventful.
Cheers from a cool (-10C) North York, 20C colder than Neale’s balmy BC.
Alex

Mon 19-Jan-2026 01:56 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hello All,
I've just returned from an afternoon delight, (NOT that kind, Backhouse) but coffee out in the company of two of my daughters. I told them of our recent discussions about eccentricity and said that I had denied being an eccentric. They were both shocked and in unison said I was the most eccentric person they knew!!! I couldn't believe it ... that children of mine would think their old man was "unconventional and slightly strange" (Oxford Languages Dictionary) They went on to say that their older sister and her daughter think so too. They went on to give examples to prove their point. I must admit they provided quite a bit of convincing ammo., all starting with, "What about the time you ... etc." I must further admit that I am one of you guys.
Let eccentricity flourish!!! My new motto.
Regards,
Alex

Sun 18-Jan-2026 22:14 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Neale | neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Hi Alex,
I must apologize if I have offended you for indirectly including you in our "brotherhood" of eccentrics. And, take heart,I certainly don't consider you a dullard. Your contributions to the Guestbook over the years prove otherwise. May they continue,free of eccentricities, or as you please.

I must mention the weather before I leave. We have a balmy 10 degrees plus of glorious sunshine here in Victoria. Maybe I'll cut the grass this afternoon.
Cheers, Neale.

Sat 17-Jan-2026 22:59 - Victoria BC

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

That's quite true Neale, but it begs the question, "Can one eccentric recognize another, or simply see a dullard who doesn't think the same?"
I'm happy to say I don't think of myself as an eccentric, but my eldest granddaughter thinks I am. But what do kids know?
Cheers from a snow covered, sleety North York.
Alex

Fri 16-Jan-2026 22:41 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Neale | neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com

And yet,Alex, one might well argue that the "Bard" himself was whimsically eccentric. (OK, hardly rhetoric).

More cheers from the Colonies.

Fri 16-Jan-2026 00:11 - Victoria BC

Alex Patterson, VUA 1946 - 1951 | ad1935ap~AT~gmail~DOT~com

Neale et al,
I like to think of us as St. Crispin-like "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...", not eccentrics, but whimsical contributors to memories of happy days. We're lucky to find common ground in so many topics, a testament to the education we received at our school.
Cheers from the Colonies.
Alex

Thu 15-Jan-2026 01:08 - North York, Ontario, Canada

Neale Backhouse | neale1447~AT~gmail~DOT~com

I think, Bruce, we happen to be a bunch of eccentrics,who have coalesced around the Guestbook and made it our club, to the detriment of any other would be contributers. Yet it's not an exclusive club. New members are always welcome.

Mon 12-Jan-2026 19:04 - Victoria BC

Bruce Graham | bsgraham~AT~btinternet~DOT~com

Glad to see that Mike is still active and no doubt sorting out Rothbury.

It's interesting that the contributions to this excellent site have not gone much beyond the 1970's (and that might be generous). Is it a lack of curiosity about the past or a youthful focus of interest in the future?

Sun 4-Jan-2026 19:42 - ruskington lincolnshie

Mike | old~DOT~boys~AT~boyshighschool~DOT~co~DOT~uk

A very belated HAPPY CHRISTMAS to all - and a HAPPY NEW YEAR too.

Thanks for the comments (including Alex's flooded plane story!), and glad to see that the guestbook is still useful for some.

It has been going since at least 2002 although the earliest backup message I have is from 2007 (the 649th message).

Hoping to keep the site going for years to come, although updates are, sadly, few and far between.

Sat 3-Jan-2026 12:29 - Rothbury

Eric Moyse 1946 to 1952 (Boys)

HNY

Sat 3-Jan-2026 11:44

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