On November 11, eleven Old Blues plus spouses (3), (grown) children (3), Peter Doyle’s fianceé Christy Nelson, and our newsletter designer and publisher Ann McDonald, had the privilege of meeting Treasurer David Farrington and his wife Shannon for lunch at the Menlo Country Club in Woodside, California. We thank the Doyle family for their continued hospitality. This is the second occasion a CH Treasurer, (the first being Susan Mitchell), has joined us. We hope to make it a tradition.

Lance Reynolds welcomed the guests noting that an outsider would have difficulty in finding the common bond between this group, apart from a preponderance of English accents. Our numbers included pilots, the Doyle family, deep sea divers, Connelley father and daughter, two pioneers of the electronic recording industry, Michael Felix at Ampex and David Robinson at Dolby, a physician, Dr Alice Godfrey, a former nursing supervisor at Stanford children’s hospital nurse now an actress, Rosh Wright, a full time human resource manager and mother of two very small children, Melissa Whichelow (one of the first girls at Horsham), a Microsoft business manager Stephen Coller who flew in from Seattle, a structural engineer who has spent most of his years working on rocket motors and spacecraft, Peter O’Driscoll, and even a New York lawyer Jim Bell who flew in that morning.

Melissa gave us Grace before meat, and Alice, Grace after. Michael Felix proposed the toast to our Founder, and David Robinson the Housey toast.

John Doyle introduced the Treasurer who told us of the financial and governance challenges he encountered on taking office, and the progress made against them. He described the new governing structure that will come into effect in 2007. In response to a question he closed by saying that the three things he would most like to see happen in the next ten years are an increase in the student body to 1000, the building of a Design and Technology center, and the adoption of innovative ways to provide education. This last could include sharing of specialist faculty with other local schools and universities, and internet learning.

Lance Reynolds

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