| I am glad that there is still a brain out there that is still functioning. This is what I sought to evoke by starting the Newsletter. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Now for some clarification and development.
Part A.
I was not party to the amalgamation with the “girls”. Like Barry, I have nothing in common with Observatory Hill.
I do not know where the bland with the girls arose. I have two suspicions. One is that someone has had links with the girls that I did not have. The other is that it arose after discussions with the current school concerning the visit to the school on Friday. I suspect that the current administration imposed some sort of antimisogynist political correctness. My own response is that contemporary political correctness was not in operation in 1969 and is, therefore, inappropriate and, indeed, hypocritical.
Part B
It was not my intention to create the Newsletter as a document to be circulated as the entertainment for a Reunion. I wanted it as a means of articulating events, issues, and themes before the event; to collect material like that which Barry has written.
Part C
Many of the events that Barry describes I do not remember; but the purpose of the Newsletter was to get these on record in expectation that sharing beforehand might prompt memories and lead to further development of a theme.
Some of the events are funny. These become core nostalgia. Since members were in different classes, each might have a different collection of funny and bizarre events that others did not experience but with which they might identify – and enjoy.
Some events are serious, even bitter. These interest me, but I might be alone. In their raw form, some of these issues might not be suitable for being raised spontaneously at a dinner, but they might be rendered palatable if developed beforehand. Examples of issues include:
“was Steinmetz necessary?”. On the one hand, there must be many examples of seemingly offensive, humiliating, and bizarre events. On the other hand, I could argue that someone had to be evil one in order to balance the karma. Might this be the topic for a debate?
One thing that I can do, perhaps latter today, is put together a list of the teachers and a list of the classmates, in order to jog memories.
A feature that I was thinking of preparing was, indeed, a rogues gallery of the teachers and preparing for each a list of what members remember about them. In order to make this entertaining, I would use the Newsletter to ask for information, but I would collect that information in secret as it were, in order not to release the thunder prematurely.
Here are a couple of other thoughts.
I thought of creating a sociopolitical map of the “groups” that existed. A difficulty that I need to overcome is that groups differed and evolved over six years. Nevertheless, there were distinct groups, and there will be groups of which I was not aware. There was the Fazekas play soccer with a tennis ball group. There was the Lummow Yip ninja group that played butts beside the Woodwork Building. I have previously asked about the Verandah boys (although, gathering from the response, no-one knew who these were).
Having established the sociopolitical map, we could expand into variants and combinations of “most likely to become…” and “whatever happened to…”. Andrew Gwozdz still interests me. What happened to someone who used to walk around the playground musing that Heisenberg was wrong?
What ever happened to the guy who inherited the public address control room as his private office?
Part D
Well, I for one still remember what a valence is, and I can still do the contemporary HSC level I maths papers. But that is, of itself, perhaps a matter of concern.
Part E
A deep and meaningful question that I have tried to raise – and I seek to find if it is of interest to anyone else – is a comparison of how you felt then with how you feel now about what went on. For some matters I still have the same resentment, e.g. Mobbs putting a portrait of the Queen in each classroom; PE teachers. For others I have questions. I feel that having “Houses” was intrinsically pathetic, but I wonder if this was a necessary evil as a means of controlling some 600 feral children.
Greater participation and contribution would be welcome. Otherwise, there is a risk that I will have to get together with Barry alone, and do it our way.
Perhaps my list of who’s who will act as a catalyst. I will go through my records later today.
Nik
| ||||||||||||||||||
From: Barry Peak [mailto:b@peak.ws]
Sent: Sunday, 8 March 2009 12:16 AM
To: Jennifer; yindi1951@gmail.com
Cc: 'Murray Rodgers'; 'Nick Nedachin'; 'Alex Ostermayer'; 'Bruce Boes'; 'Don Ross'; 'Gary Gibbs'; 'Geoff Parkinson'; 'Greg Allen'; 'Larry Cambourn'; 'Martin Sima'; 'Peter Dunn'; 'Rod Horan'
Subject: Re: Fort2009: Planning Meeting @ Tue Mar 3 8pm - 9:30pm
'Ray Nik & John for getting this ball rolling.
Can't help thinking that the Saturday night is bound to be formal as there seem to be two groups with little in common sharing 2 streams of differing nostalgia.
Personally I would use this night to get pissed with old mates and I don't give a flying fuck what went on up at Observatory Hill, and I can't see the Old Girls being interested in the Taverners Hill trivia and minutiae that tickles me pink.
I've got a few suggestions about the Friday night though, if that's the boys' night.
- Stories. Nik's idea of a Newsletter is good in theory, but not many people are that interested in contributing....busy lives etc, JY started a wiki a couple of years ago but only 4 or 5 lads contributed. Also printed material is not going to enhance a dinner. How about we encourage everybody who wants to, to prepare a small vocal piece...interesting, funny, nostalgic, informative, whatever, no stress, about those six years. Maybe just about a best mate. Most people don't like addressing an audience, but if they can prepare it, and it's just short, we may get a decent response. I want to talk about the connection between Steinmetz' ritual humiliation and the suicide of James Cameron. I want to know more from Vic Matkevich about what really went on with Col Williams in woodwork class. I want to know whose bare bum was doing pushups in our year 6 maths room during one of the school dances. Did Robert McNamara really piss in the butter in the canteen? Who had sex with any of the teachers? Rod Horan must have goss from the mighty Ron about stuff that went on in the staff room. There were funny, terrific stories that came out in the flow of emails that followed our dinner a few years ago, I've lost them, does someone still have them? There are some great storytellers not included in this list of addressees who should be prevailed upon: Tony G, Martin K, Vic M, Alan B, others I'm sure.
- Prizes/Toasts. I'd like to present the exalted President of the Doctors Reform Group with a symbolic folio of bare-breasted female natives torn from the pages of National Geographic, to honour many years of silent worship in the library. I think I remember Tony Conomos climbing out a first floor window to surprise (scare?) a hapless teacher with an amazing, unexpected (and probably nonchalant) entrance. Guys with better memories can probably recall lots of noteworthy incidents. We could have an honour roll.
- What happened to? Nik asks about Alan Yip, there are others who disappeared. Andrew Gwozdz, Rodney Warren, Ray Crossley come to my mind. Is there any way of tracking them down? Do we have anyone in the police force among us?
- Subsequent exploits. I remember a lily-white stark naked Chris Kiely streaking through a very large and rather sombre wine dinner in the Hunter Valley one night. Everyone must have a story that a mate doesn't want told and this would be the perfect opportunity to tell it.
- Are there any records at the school that go back to the 60s? eg attendance records, copies of report cards, they could be hilarious. Are there even records of all our teachers names for instance to jog some memories and provide a lively quiz.
- At American reunions they bring out their "Most Likely to.." lists and compare the comments with how the students turned out. We don't have that, but maybe a group of us could compare then and now, or chart funny/interesting career paths of the guys we know well. Who would have picked Nik as a Park Ranger?
- Are there any of the exam papers available from 1969? What was the poem we all had to "interpret"? How many people can still do a basic differentiation? What's a valency? I think we'd be horrified at how badly we'd fare trying to do our Higher School Certificate today. Except maybe for "General Studies", what was that about?
Anyway, hope I can make it for our next meeting,
All the best,
Barry
From: Jennifer
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 7:28 AM
Subject: RE: Fort2009: Planning Meeting @ Tue Mar 3 8pm - 9:30pm
Notwithstanding the technical arrangements about venues, I am searching for ideas about what members might find attractive to enliven the second evening. That is why I started and circulated the Newsletter. However, that instrument has achieved no purchase.
I expect that levity and bravado will find their expression spontaneously and chaotically on the Friday night. It is the Saturday night that concerns me. I am seeking that this be not a dull or cliché event. That is why I was exploring and looking for themes with the Newsletter.
Without some decent themes, the risk is that the event will become some sort of routine ceremony.
My prediction is that the Friday will consume boisterous nostalgia and reunion; but that will use up the momentum, leaving little potential left over for Saturday.
I am prepared to construct something for the Saturday, but I do not want the content to end up monochromatically mine.
So, if anyone wants to develop something with me, get in contact. The terms of reference that I suggest are: let it be clever. I would like something more, and better than, “hail fine fellow well met”. I have some ideas of my own, but they might be too cynical.
Nik
No comments:
Post a Comment