G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 1 T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R O L D A B I N G D O N I A N S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 3 47 MARATHON MARVEL Henry Hart pictured winning The Abingdon Marathon, October 2022 ABINGDON AND THE FAB FOUR Connections with The Beatles FOCUS ON EUROPE Updates from members ELEGIAC REFLECTIONS A look at the life of Hugh Leach
Welcome... ne of the particular highlights of 2022 was the visit of Kim Darroch (1972). In an interview with Tom Swarbrick (2005), Kim gave a packed Amey Theatre an insight into his experiences in the Foreign Office, including his interactions with Donald Trump, the then President, during his spell as Ambassador to the United States. Earlier in the day, Kim had met with a small group of students to discuss global issues. It was a privilege to hear Kim’s reflections but I was also struck by the quality of questions that our students asked and by their level of engagement with current affairs. Younger generations are often derided for their lack of involvement in the wider world but these Abingdonians showed an impressive level of understanding and interest, which we see on a weekly basis in Other Half activities, such as the Debating Society, the Model United Nations and student publications, such as The Martlet, which won a national award as School Newspaper of the Year. This spirit of intellectual curiosity and enquiry is on daily display in lessons around the School and it helps make this school such a stimulating and exciting place in which to study and work. We want to make sure that an Abingdon education is available to as many families as possible, regardless of their financial circumstances, so I am enormously grateful to the many Old Abingdonians who have supported our bursary campaign Seven years to change a life which you can learn more about in this edition of the Griffen. 2022-23 will see some significant changes in Common Room. Michael Stinton is retiring at the end of the academic year as Director of Music after an extraordinary 35 years of music-making at Abingdon and we wish him well in his retirement. David Dawswell will also be standing down as Second Master, having given me and my predecessors as Head superb support. Happily, he will continue to teach Maths so his talents won’t be entirely lost to the School. Our connection with former students is one we value greatly and I hope you enjoy learning more about the School and fellow OAs in the following pages. year ago, we were anticipating the full relaxation of Covid restrictions and the chance to meet those friends and families we were not able to see during the pandemic. I am pleased to say that, through the indefatigable efforts of the OA Office, the Club has been able to offer a full series of social events in 2022. Highlights include the virtual Early Careers Masterclass with John Magdwick (1979), Tom Swarbrick (2005) ‘In Conversation with’ Kim Darroch (1972), a return to Waste Court pitch at the School for some of our OA rugby players, year group reunions and a regional reunion for OA students in the North East, attended by Mark Hindley, Deputy Head (Pastoral) and Ben Simmons, Head of Physics and Electronics. As all of us geared up to return to pre-pandemic life, the events in Ukraine in late February set the world on another course that none of us could have predicted. Today the world is even harder to fathom – probably more so for those in, or have recently left, education. This is where the strong sense of community and togetherness at the heart of the OA Club can help, by providing some form of continuity and stability in these times. The support towards the Club was exemplified by the appreciable response that was received in last year’s Chairman’s questionnaire and I thank everyone who took the time to respond. The questionnaire revealed continued support for the Club’s careers initiatives to date and we are keen to build on this success. In addition, we are looking at ways to establish a dedicated mentoring scheme for OAs – look out for more news on this soon. Any offers of assistance will be very well received. As your Chairman I am honoured to serve the OA community. I hope to meet many of you at Club and School events in the coming year. However, I realise that OAs are located far and wide around the globe so do feel free to contact me via the OA Office. [email protected] OA Club Committee Chairman: Julian Denée (1991) President: Henry Scarlett (2007) Elected Members: John Rawlinson (1972) Charles Lowe (1976) James Smethurst (1989) Sebastien Wilson (2008) Peter Moore (2013) Ian Fishpool (Hon. OA) Ex Officio Members: Michael Windsor (Headmaster) Simon Bliss (Common Room) Alexa Broad (Director of Development and Alumni Relations) Alison Lester (OA Club Officer) Becca Robinson (Communications and Events Officer) O From the Headmaster From the OA Club Chairman A The OA Club Committee is pleased to hear from OAs interested in getting involved with the life of the Club by serving on the Committee. To find out more, please contact the OA Club Office. [email protected] Michael Windsor Julian Denée (1991) G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 2
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 3 OA Club Awards 4 Report from a 2022 recipient Colditz: Prisoners 5 of the Castle A review of Ben Macintyre’s latest book OAs in the Arts 6 Report about OAs who work in this sector and the ways in which they responded to the challenges of the pandemic Memories of the Reign 12 of Queen Elizabeth II OAs recall the times when they met the late Queen and other members of the Royal family Development 14 Update on projects from the Development team School News 15 David Dawswell, Second Master, reports on the past year A Masterclass in Whisky 16 Richard Pygott muses on the delights of ‘Scotch’ Artisan Cheese 18 Rachel Yarrow’s move from teaching English at Abingdon to making award-winning goats’ cheese From the Archive 19 Marking the Death of the Queen and her Predecessors Abingdon & the Fab Four 20 Jeremy Taylor draws together stories about Abingdonians who have somehow encountered or worked with The Beatles OAs in Europe 23 Alumni news from the continent Sport 27 OA sporting achievements and endeavours Elegiac Reflections 30 Following the publication of a new book, Michael St John Parker reflects on the life of Hugh Leach (1953) The Power of 32 Partnerships A review of the impact of Abingdon’s partnership work An Interview with 34 Colonel Christopher Pickup (1960) A look back at a career in the Army and the Royal Warrant Holders Association Members’ News 36 Updates and achievements from the OA community Obituaries 40 Tributes to fellow OAs and Former Common Room members Dates for Your Diary 44 Contact: [email protected] Design: Visual Philosophy Print: Interprint Cover Photo: Photo courtesy of The Abingdon Marathon 47
The OA Club runs a small grants programme for OAs. OAs are invited to apply either forThe Personal Fund orThe Group Fund. * his summer, thanks to a generous OA Club Award, I was able to spend four weeks in India undertaking an internship. After completing my MPhil in Islamic Art and Architecture, I was keen to get some practical experience working in a museum setting as well as to see some of the art and buildings that I had studied during my Masters. When I discovered the Centre for Historic Houses (CHH) of India, which was established by Dr Esther Schmidt in 2019 and works with India’s erstwhile princely families to devise sustainable ways to protect their historic properties, it seemed too good to be true. The internship itself consisted of placements with CHH’s partner organisations: the Maharaja Jai Singh II Museum in Jaipur, and the City Palace Museum in Udaipur. Both are based in large palaces, and both continue to be supported by the descendants of those who built them back in the sixteenth century. Though both museums have extraordinary collections, government bodies, conservative trustees, and the punishing Indian climate all pose challenges to effective conservation and curation. Nonetheless, the commitment and enthusiasm of all the museum staff we worked with was truly inspirational and I learnt a lot, not only practical skills needed to manage a museum collection, but also the challenges and rewards of that work. As well as the work itself, a highlight for me was the opportunity to take part in excursions to see the buildings which I had studied at university. Not only the inevitable trip to the Taj Mahal, but the nearby Mughal shrine-city of Fatehpur Sikri with its extraordinary congregational mosque entered through the enormous ‘elephant gate’. I also was able to go inside the incredible state rooms of Rashtrapati Bhavan, originally the Viceroy’s house, but now the centre of a democratic and independent republic. India, however, is currently undergoing a dramatic shift, as the ideals of 1947 are slowly eroded by growing polarisation. Before the internship, a spokesperson for the BJP had attracted criticism for remarks made about the Prophet Muhammad. Shortly after I arrived, two men in Udaipur committed a gruesome murder in response to comments the victim had made on social media in support, prompting demonstrations and calls for a total economic and social boycott of India’s muslims. The atmosphere was such that a video I made for the museum in Udaipur – discussing the fusion of ‘Islamic’ and ‘Hindu’ elements in palace architecture – had to be taken off their Twitter account after only a matter of hours, in response to the outrage expressed. On the 75th anniversary of Indian independence, it was a shocking reminder of the way in which present-day issues can impact our interpretation of the past, reshaping narratives as a tool for whichever populists think that history is theirs to alter. ARCHIE WILLIAMS (2017) , recipient of an OA Club Award OAClub Awards T OA Club Awards *2023 applications should be submitted by 1 May 2023. Terms & conditions apply. Application forms can be obtained from the OA Club website. www.oaclub.org.uk Archie exploring some of the palatial rooms in Jaipur. The ‘elephant gate’ to the Friday Mosque in Fatehpur Sikri Rashtrapati Bhavan, the seat of the President of India Getting down to work dusting the old elephant howdahs G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 4
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 5 COLDITZ PRISONERS OF THE CASTLE In this highly readable book, Ben has yet again applied his considerable investigative research skills and his talent for storytelling to one of the most iconic and cherished stories of the Second World War. BEN MACINTYRE (1981) e convincingly demonstrates that the heroic and upbeat version of life in Colditz, established in the 1950s by Pat Reid, a former Colditz prisoner, and which has dominated the popular imagination ever since, ‘contains only a part of the truth.’ Brave and ingenious escape attempts there were, some even successful and vividly described in the book, but life in the grim castle during the course of the war presented a far more complicated picture. Ben reveals how issues of class and race, of politics and ideology, and of sexuality, divided this otherwise closely knit community of officers from half a dozen countries. Ben traces the evolving conditions within the castle from 1940 to 1945, and the fluctuating state of the prisoners’ attitudes, morale and health. He brings to life many memorable individuals, such as the irrepressible but ultimately tragic Michael Sinclair, the principled Bengali doctor Birendranath Mazumdar unfairly suspected of treachery, or the selfeffacing Julius Green, a Jewish dentist from Glasgow, who became a secret agent for British intelligence within the prison – not to mention the better-known Douglas Bader or Airey Neave. He also does justice to the active role played by the Polish, French, Czech, Dutch, Belgian and American officers held in Colditz. A fascinating aspect of the story is the clandestine link established between the prisoners and anti-Nazi elements in the local population. Nor does Ben ignore the German staff who ran the prison. The Anglophile schoolmaster turned main warder, Hauptman Reinhold Eggers, stands out here. While determined to prevent all escapes, Eggers showed a degree of humanity and a respect for the Geneva Convention which stood in sharp contrast to the sinister schemes of the Nazi leadership for dealing with the most prominent of the prisoners, who were only saved by the dogged interventions of the Swiss diplomat Rudolf Denzler. Altogether it’s a remarkable and gripping story, beautifully told. H Review by Hubert Zawadzki (aka Dr Z), Common Room 1976–2006
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 6 Actor Max Hutchinson (2007) felt the pain of the theatrical shutdown as keenly as any performer. When the curtain came down, he was barely six weeks into a year-long run as star of The Woman in Black. At the after party on his opening night at the Fortune Theatre, he discovered another Abingdon connection to this show; its director throughout its thirty year run has been none other than Robin Herford, uncle of the celebrated OA baritone Johnny Herford (2003). Like all involved in theatre, Max found lockdown challenging, but he responded by creating Scoot Theatre Company, a group of actors with a mission to bring people together in whatever ways they could, and offer family-friendly shows to audiences in unexpected spaces. In summer 2020, this meant taking an abbreviated version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the only spaces in which audiences could gather – the great outdoors. Max spotted an opportunity at his local cricket club, and before long, he’d arranged a tour of other cricket grounds that saw Shakespeare’s famous play being re-fashioned as the work of dim-witted amateur cricketers (aka the Mechanicals). The enthusiastic response from audiences encouraged Scoot to undertake further outdoor productions of A Christmas Carol and The Comedy of Errors. Max then set up Scoot Youth Theatre to give “teenagers the space to tell stories that are important to them.” Making the switch from actor to theatrical impresario was challenging and rewarding for Max, who experienced both the additional responsibility of being an entrepreneur, and the pleasure of holding the reins in a way actors rarely can. Nonetheless, Max has been happy to set aside his CEO cap for a while to take up another year-long acting contract in the cast of the hugely popular production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End. Will Abell (2012) approached the theatrical interregnum in a different, but no less bold fashion. Having built a successful career as a theatre technician via a variety of freelance work and a full-time post as technical manager at London’s The Other Palace theatre, Will responded to lockdown by re-training as an emergency care assistant with the NHS South Central Ambulance Service. Now, after serving on the medical front line for 18 months, Will recently announced he is “hanging up my ambulance uniform for a bit to get back to theatre tech.” He described his new-found medical colleagues as a “bunch of legends” and announced he’d “loved (almost) every minute” of working with them to help save lives. Can art flourish in turbulent times? There are those who think it can, and cite some of the ingenious ways artists found to flex their creative muscles during the pandemic to support that view. Whilst the perpetual challenge of a career in the arts is now more daunting than ever, it seems many Old Abingdonians have found ways to thrive in the creative industries despite hard times. What follows is by no means a full picture, but rather a digest of news received from OAs or gleaned from the airwaves. If you’re reading this and wondering why you’re not included, do get in touch! OAs in the Arts Will Abell (pictured in centre) with his NHS colleagues Max Hutchinson
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 7 Director Simon Evans (2002) is one of Abingdon’s thespians who could be said to have ‘aced’ lockdown. He may also have helped save the mental health of a nation. Despite the cancellation or postponement of several productions he was about to direct, Simon showed tremendous ingenuity by conceiving, creating and selling to the BBC a new television sitcom that became an instant, runaway success at the height of the restrictions. Staged starred David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Simon and his ex-St Helen’s actress sister Lucy Eaton as barely fictionalised versions of themselves, all struggling hilariously to cope with the reality of no work. It threw into the mix some of the biggest names of stage and screen for a killer set of cameos that featured, inter alia, Adrian Lester, Samuel L. Jackson and Dame Judi Dench. Such was the acclaim with which the first six episodes were received that the BBC promptly commissioned a second series. Now, despite the easing of restrictions and a much longed for sense that things could be returning to normal, Simon is preparing to unleash Staged Series 3. Three years before the pandemic, actor Kit Young (2013) emerged from RADA like a comet, turning heads with a string of superb performances in high profile productions such as Nick Hytner’s Julius Caesar and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at London’s Bridge Theatre. It wasn’t long before Netflix and Hollywood caught on, and Kit was signed up to play the key role of Jesper Fahey, “a Zemeniborn sharpshooter, Fabrikator and member of the Dregs” in the Netflix fantasy series Shadow and Bone. The success of that series led to another prominent role in a new Netflix film, The School for Good and Evil, released in October 2022. Kit has also starred in a forthcoming film, The Origin, about the first six homo-sapiens to land in Britain, for which Kit had to learn a specially created approximation of primitive human language. The film follows “a small, hungry group of Stone Age hipsters as they are hunted through a harsh landscape in the wilds of Scotland by a malevolent, mystical being.” With The Beautiful Game, another new film - in which Kit performs opposite Bill Nighy - set for release in 2023, it seems for the moment as though Kit’s services are exclusively dedicated to the silver screen. However, at a recent catch-up in London, he revealed he hopes to return to the theatre in the next year or two, in the company of Hollywood legend Laurence Fishburn, who plans to involve Kit in productions at a new venue in New York. Toby Marlow (2013) has also had an extraordinary rise to prominence in the relatively short time since leaving School. Having cowritten with Lucy Moss the musical SIX, which tells in the most novel and entertaining fashion the stories of Henry VIII’s six wives, Toby has seen their university-created show go from one extraordinary success to another in dizzying fashion. Hailed as ‘the most uplifting piece of new British musical theatre’ by the Evening Standard, the show’s subsequent Broadway opening was greeted by The New York Times as ‘pure entertainment’, while the studio album of the show has been adored on playlists across the globe. Toby and Lucy’s achievement was deservedly recognised with a Tony award for Best Original Score. Toby is now writing songs for DreamWorks, the American film company co-founded by Steven Spielberg. After his Cambridge degree, Henry Jenkinson (2012) headed for New York and trained as an actor at the prestigious Juilliard School. He returned to the UK in early 2020 for a role in a production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George at the Savoy Theatre with Jake Gyllenhaal. The pandemic intervened, and Henry’s plans were forced to change. He switched from performing to writing for television, in tandem with his Cambridge contemporary, Sophia Carlo. Together, they have now produced a number of issue-driven stories that give voice to those who are underrepresented in mainstream television drama. They are currently writing a speculative history drama called Owensville for Dancing Fox and working on a TV commission for the actress and James Bond star, Eva Green. As theatre picked up again, Henry was cast in another Sondheim classic, Into the Woods, directed by the legendary former Monty Python star, Terry Gilliam. For details of one of Henry’s subsequent performing assignments, read on! No-one knows the reality of trying to keep the theatre lights on better than John Terry (1997). One of the first Abingdonians to take A level Theatre Studies in the 1990s, John has now been artistic director of the Theatre in Chipping Norton for more than twenty years. This 200-seater may be a ‘small rural theatre’, but thanks to John, it’s known for punching above its weight. John not only leads on the creative decisions, but is also CEO of the business, which means life is never boring; “On an average day, I might come out of directing a scene where people are covered in mashed potato, walk downstairs and deal with the fact that the heating has broken or someone’s handed in their notice, and then go back in and carry on with the mashed potato.” As well as directing bold contemporary work such as Katori Hall’s Olivier Award-winning play The Mountaintop, John also powers Chippy’s annual panto. This theatrical marathon runs each year for 97 shows over three months, and demands huge reserves of energy and stamina. Yet despite all the challenges of running a theatre, John claims “It’s an awfully nice way to make a living, really.” In 2022, playwright Mike Bartlett (1999) achieved the remarkable distinction of having three plays running concurrently in London theatres. The 47th played at the Old Vic and featured Bertie Carvel’s superb characterisation of Donald Trump as a 21st century Shakespearean villain in a play that immersed us in the Machiavellian plots surrounding the next US Presidential election. The action sees Trump giving his backing to other Republican contenders before betraying them by announcing his intention to run against Kamala Harris for the White House. Mike’s play revisited the contemporary blank verse technique he’d first explored in King Charles III, which allowed us to view a contemporary leader through the filters of critical, linguistic and historical distance. For many, there was delight in the dark wit of Mike’s script and the brilliance of the acting, whilst for others, the humour was a little too close to the contemporary bone. As a New York Times review put it, “This Trump play in London is a comedy. Unless you’re American.” Whatever your nationality, Mike’s Scandaltown, his second new play to occupy a London stage this summer, was a sure-fire comic hit. Toby Marlow Kit Young and Paddy Gervers at the BFI
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 8 Described as ‘a comedy for the new Restoration of the theatres’, this Lyric Hammersmith production drew loosely on Sheridan’s 18th century Restoration comedy The School for Scandal – a play in which Mike appeared when he was at Abingdon – and set a cast of largerthan-life comic types against each other in a delightful satire on contemporary manners. The third of Mike’s London shows was a revival of his 2009 award-winning play Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre. It opened with a stellar cast and garnered another string of excellent reviews for both the play and the acting, although both were to some extent overshadowed by headlines about the controversially inflated ticket prices being charged by the producers – perhaps another sign of the difficulties faced by theatrical managers trying to balance the books after the shutdown. Ed Rowett (2005) is the writer of BBC Radio 4’s award-winning sitcom Reluctant Persuaders, which starred Nigel Havers and Josie Lawrence, and ran for four seasons. Ed has now branched out into playwriting and radio broadcasting. His new play, Fan/dom, recently received a rehearsed reading at Oxford’s Old Fire Station Theatre where it was very enthusiastically received by its audience, while Ed’s Radio 4 documentary on the writer Richmal Crompton aired in May 2022 to mark the 100th anniversary of Crompton’s Just William stories. Ed’s latest play, Eleven was commissioned by Ben Phillips (2005) for Abingdon’s middle school actors, who performed it in the Amey Theatre at the end of Michaelmas term. Toby Jones (1985) was part of the first generation of actors to tread the boards of the Amey Theatre when it opened in the 1980s. Across his thirty-year career, he has won awards in film and theatre and become one of Hollywood’s leading men. He is now rapidly acquiring the status of a ‘national treasure’, bringing with it all manner of side hustles. Recently Toby was the subject of My Grandparents’ War, a Channel 4 documentary in which Toby discovered his grandmother Doreen Heslewood had risked her life travelling into WW2 warzones to perform morale-boosting entertainments for troops as a member of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA), while his grandfather Reggie fought the Japanese in Burma and India. Julius Green (1982) was also one of the first to perform in the Amey Theatre, but his subsequent path led to delivering West End hits, both for the Bill Kenwright organisation and as an independent theatre producer. Now with a wealth of experience behind him, Julius has recently taken time out to write a number of books, including How to Produce a West End Show, and Agatha Christie: A Life in Theatre. His latest venture sees him teaming up with intelligence expert Christopher Andrew to write Stars and Spies: the Astonishing History of Espionage and Show Business. Aside from his writing, Julius retains a passion for all forms of theatre, including burlesque and circus. For some years, he has worked with another theatrical OA, Martin Burton (1972) who’s perhaps best known as Zippo the Clown and founder of Zippo’s Circus. Together, Julius and Martin have fashioned a new, year-round circus for the 21st century called Cirque Beserk. It’s now arguably the most successful show at the Edinburgh Fringe in terms of its performance and audience numbers. Described variously as ‘the perfect family show’ and ‘an eclectic mix of electrifyingly glorious performances wrapped up in a whiff of petrol’, it clearly lives up to its billing as a show that’s not to be missed. Actor/musician Reuben Havelock (2018) graduated from Royal Holloway in the summer and promptly won a place on the postgraduate Music Theatre course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, starting in January 2023. Also graduating last summer were actors Callum Ravden (2019) and Johnny Allison (2017), both of whom studied acting at another of the UK’s leading drama schools, Rose Bruford College, where they were directed by actor and 2011 Rose Bruford graduate Huw Parmenter (2007). Huw was one of three Abingdonians from the same year to train at Rose Bruford, alongside Max Hutchinson (see page 6) and Alex Mugnaioni (2007), who followed roles in two productions at the National Theatre with a tour of a new musical called Gin Craze, in which Alex both acted and played the trombone. Those who can both act and play musical instruments may seem a rare breed, though in fact they are becoming more common, hence the growing number of reputable training courses for actor musicians.And Abingdon, with its fine musical tradition – nurtured and developed for 35 years by Director of Music, Michael Stinton – seems wellplaced to produce these artistic all-rounders. Tom Richards (1999) certainly fitted that description when he was at School, acting and singing in shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar and fronting the sax section of Abingdon’s formidable Big Band. Yet his brilliance as a jazz musician ultimately led him to focus on the world of music, in which he is now a leading figure. He recently performed with the Hackney Colliery Band at an OX14 partnerships event at Radley, and is now on tour with Jamie Cullum’s band. He is also active as an arranger (contributing a chart for a recent recording featuring Michael Bublé) and as a conductor, directing the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in a programme that also featured Alice Zawadzki, daughter of Abingdon Common Room legend, Mike Bartlett, Jeremy Taylor and Tom Richards Tom Richards conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 9 In their (different) school years, Paddy Gervers (2008) and Jonny Donahoe (2001) probably spent more time in the drama department than the music corridor, but when they teamed up as Jonny and the Baptists in 2011, it was as exponents of ‘musical comedy’. Over their more-than-decade together, they have risen to the very top of this particular tree through a combination of national tours, sell-out Edinburgh Fringe shows, countless witty songs, broadcasts and a series of joyfully pungent live recordings that have got up the noses of some of the so-called great and not-so-good (mentioning no names). With such a commitment to live work, the Covid shutdown dealt the Baptists a heavy blow, made worse when Jonny moved to Glasgow while Paddy stayed in London. They responded by crowdfunding for a new studio album called Dance Like It Never Happened. Their efforts were so successful that they were able to hire most of Jamie Cullum’s band to back them and the result is not only their most accomplished album to date – surely the Sgt Pepper of musical comedy discs – but also the most potent of theatrical calling cards. Not long after their album release, Jonny and Paddy were invited to work on new projects at the National Theatre. At Abingdon, Fin Taylor (2008) played the bass in various school ensembles, but like Paddy and Jonny, headed for the door marked ‘Comedy’ when choosing a career path. Like every other performer, his work stopped in March 2020, and for a few months he delivered food parcels and wrote copy for an electric scooter company – ironic at a time when no-one could go anywhere. Happily, a range of television work came along, and before the end of 2020 he had made appearances on Have I Got News For You and Late Night Mash with fellow-comedian Nish Kumar. Now that live work has returned, he is balancing that with broadcast appearances – most recently on the Radio 4 stalwart The Now Show – and a variety of online ventures, the latest of which is called Fin Vs The Internet. Fin Taylor at the Hackney Empire Dr Hubert Zawadzki. Alongside these engagements, Tom also finds time to teach as Professor of Jazz Composition and Arranging at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and to serve as visiting Jazz Lecturer at Oxford University. Hugh Cutting (2015) is another Abingdonian with a dizzying array of talents. Many here remember his superb performances in a School production of Les Misérables, in which he delighted audiences with his mellifluous tenor. Now, he is acquiring a reputation as one of the finest counter tenors on the scene, witness his selection as one of BBC Radio 3’s New Generation Artists – an accolade that places him in the company of a select number of the very finest classical musicians. Hugh also triumphed in this year’s Kathleen Ferrier Competition, becoming the first counter tenor to win the coveted award. As part of the Radio 3 scheme, the good news for listeners is that they will, quite literally, be hearing a lot more of Hugh in the next two years. Not to be outdone, Hugh’s older brother Guy Cutting (2009) has also been a significant presence on the airwaves. This summer, he appeared as a soloist in a BBC Prom performance of Bach’s B minor Mass. In autumn Guy had numerous engagements in Germany, France and the Netherlands, and he was performing closer to home in December, in concerts in Oxford, London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Another distinguished Abingdon musician is Hugh Morris (1995), not only an organist of repute but also director of the Royal Society of Church Music. Like Hugh, Edmund Finnis (2002) ‘grew up’ in church music. He was a chorister at both New College and Abingdon, but after studying at the Guildhall School of Music with Julian Anderson, he focused on composition, and now has a growing reputation as a composer with a ‘multifaceted output that ranges from intimate music for soloists to immersive electronic pieces, music for film, ensemble music and works for large orchestra.’ In September 2022, the Southbank’s Queen Elizabeth Hall saw the world premiere of his new work Mirror Images, performed in the Purcell Room by Vikingur Olafsson. Baritone Donald Greig (1978) began his musical journey as a chorister at Westminster Abbey, and followed his time at Abingdon as a choral scholar at Canterbury Cathedral. By his own admission, he made attempts to “fly in the face of such an upbringing” by emerging from the University of Kent with a First in English and Film Studies, undertaking postgraduate research and lecturing in Film Studies and Semiology. But by the mid-1980s he was in London and part of the burgeoning Early Music scene. In what he terms “more by luck than judgement”, he joined the Tallis Scholars at the start of their rise to becoming an internationally acclaimed concert and recording group, and in 1988, became a founder member of The Orlando Consort, a male quartet specialising in the vocal music of the medieval and renaissance eras. The quartet has now enjoyed nearly 35 years of success, both on the world’s concert stages and in the recording studio, including performances at the Proms, in the Carnegie Hall and at the Edinburgh and Lucerne Festivals, as well as recording for the Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi labels. Their versatile programming has included jazz, film and world music. Now, with the last of their twelve-disc collection of the music of Machaut close to completion, the group has decided that next year will be their final year of touring and recording together. Music is certainly a broad church, though it’s probably fair to say Ed O’Brien (1986) views it from a different pew. Still, the Radiohead guitarist showed he has commendably catholic tastes when he attended the recent launch of two new jazz-tinged albums produced by long-serving Abingdon trumpet teacher (and featured artist on Radiohead albums) Andy Bush. The event took place at BFI Southbank in London, where Ed told Andy he’d originally had aspirations to take up the trumpet when he was at School, but was told to try the trombone instead. That, as everyone knows, is no instrument for a gentleman, so after just a few weeks, Ed turned down his invitation to join the brass section. The first orchestra’s loss was rock music’s gain, as Ed took up the electric guitar and teamed up with fellow On A Friday founders Thom Yorke (1987), Jonny Greenwood (1990), Colin Greenwood (1987) and Phil Selway (1985) to create what would eventually become Radiohead – now one of the world’s most striking and successful rock bands. Orlando Higginbottom (2001) began as a chorister, before crossing the aisle from church music to contemporary pop. Orlando found his new musical home in the worlds of Indietronica, Future House, Electro, Indie Pop, DJ-ing, song-writing and music production. In the process, he also found a spectacular new name and stage presence – Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs (or TEED for short). In an interview with an American music magazine, TEED said he was looking for a name that “couldn’t be cool, couldn’t be put into some kind of scene that gets hip for six months and then falls out of fashion.” Now based in the United States, TEED released his second album, When the Lights Go On in September 2022 on his own record label, Nice Age.
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 1 0 Pianist and composer Will Bartlett (2000) is a musician with wide-ranging tastes and interests who divides his time between the UK and Germany. Fans of the Oxford Lieder Festival enjoyed a chance to catch up with him recently at the Holywell Music Room for the premiere of his new jazz-infused song cycle setting the poetry of Philip Larkin in what was the poet’s centenary year. It was performed by Will, Tony Kofi on saxophone, Ankita Saxena (spoken word) and legendary jazz singer, Norma Winstone. The event also launched a CD recording of the work that included an acknowledgement for Andrew Swarbrick’s assistance with the project. Andrew was for many years Abingdon’s Head of English, and is an expert and published author on the subject of Larkin and his poetry. Adrian Lo (2010) is a classically trained violinist who also creates music in a range of genres and contexts. He has issued a number of solo albums and composed music for films, many in collaboration with Tian Ji (see below). Based in Berlin, Adrian is now focusing on audio production for film and television, and working as a sound designer and re-recording mixer. Abingdon’s Film Unit (AFU) has been a feature of life at Park Road for nearly 20 years, and many of its alumni have made their way into the media in one form or another. Filmmaker Tian Ji (2010) now works as a journalist with Associated Press. Based in AP’s Bangkok bureau, he is putting his documentary experience to good use as a frontline journalist, covering news stories across the region. Recent assignments have taken him to Korea and Cambodia, where he covered the Association of South East Asian Nations Conference. His reports have been shown on news outlets around the world as well as The New York Times and USA Today websites. Tian has also continued to make films. His latest is a beautiful new documentary called The Re-education of Ji Zhihao in which Tian follows his uncle to a remote Chinese village to explore with him the tender bonds and painful memories of his time there during the Maoist revolution. Tian retains strong links with those he encountered at Abingdon. The music for the film was composed by Tian’s contemporary, Nick Ereaut (2008); the sound was the work of former AFU tutor Mikkel Eriksen, while one of the film’s editing consultants was ex-AFU cinematography tutor Jonas Mortensen. Tian’s new film is currently doing the rounds of major film festivals and has already been shortlisted for several awards, including the 2022 British Short Film Awards. When he was in the AFU, Tom Wakeling (2006) was the cinematographer for a film shot in Cambodia in support of a charity founded by renowned Abingdon English teacher Rodney Mearns. After studying design at Brunel, Tom established a career as a freelance film director, including work in the commercial sphere. His films have won numerous awards and his latest – Pattern – looks set to repeat the trick. Described as a “dreamscape achieved using a unique in-camera lighting effect”, this visually arresting short was filmed on 16mm on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset. Tom said, “We all get lost in patterns. For some of us they can be totally consuming. I wanted to make a film about the feeling of being totally consumed by one thought. A thought that endlessly repeats, that spirals out of control until there’s nothing of you left. The light effect technique reflects this repetition; it is one singular beam duplicated and then stacked back in time. The light itself is real – no CGI was used in its creation. All the effects are captured in camera.” In his time at School, Rob O’Kelly (2014) made Warped, the AFU’s first music video. He is working as a cinematographer after studying at the National Film and Television School. His CV lists an impressive range of work, including narrative films, commercials and music videos. At the London Film Festival in October, he enjoyed a chance reunion with AFU tutor Colin O’Toole, who guided Rob through his first experience of making a music video back in 2014. Tom Swarbrick (2005) spent his year in the AFU trying to make a film about Sunningwell Cricket Club, before eventually deciding documentary filmmaking was not for him. That clearly hasn’t held him back in terms of forging a successful media career. After spells in radio with the BBC, and as adviser to Theresa May in Downing Street, Tom returned to LBC, where he won awards as National Radio Journalist of the Year and International Reporter of the Year. He is now the host of LBC’s daily Drivetime show, as well as making regular appearances on This Morning, BBC, Sky and NBC News. Paddy Garrick (2002) left Abingdon the year before the AFU was established in 2003, but this didn’t prevent him from becoming a multi-award winning post-production specialist with True Vision Productions. Many of the programmes Paddy works on are documentaries covering aspects of human rights, and following the Reithian principle of informing, educating and entertaining. The latest of the many awardwinning productions with which Paddy has been associated is The Missing Children uncovering the scandal of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Homes. In November 2022, the programme won the Grierson Award for Best History Documentary. Alex Ingham Brooke (2006) cut his teeth in the AFU’s animation department, but now combines work in photography, fashion and documentary. His films have been included in screenings, exhibitions and film festivals internationally, while his work in fashion has been featured in Vogue, Dazed, and Interview magazines. He has shot commercial films for JW Anderson, Swarovski and Adidas. Michael Bicarregui (2014) was also a pillar of AFU animation when he was at Abingdon, and now combines freelance work in the film industry with his own independent filmmaking ventures. His most recent film, currently in its final phase of production, is a twenty-five-minute short called Overpowered, about a school for superheroes. Overpowered features music by Michael’s brother and fellow AFU alumnus David Bicarregui (2020), Henry ChurchmanDavies (2018) as a supporting member of the cast, cinematography and visual effects by Josh Sarphie (2015), sound recording by Jack Bradley (see page 11), artwork by Ben Oliver (2015) and Edmund Cornforth (2014) and production by another Bicarregui brother, medical student Peter Bicarregui (2018). Will Bartlett and Tom Richards reunite in Oxford AFU tutor Colin O’Toole with Rob O’Kelly at the London Film Festival
G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 1 1 Edmund Perou (2007) is another AFU animator who found his way into the film industry. Now based in Los Angeles, Edmund is currently working as a Creative Project Manager in Entertainment Marketing for IMAX. Jack Bradley (2015) made a number of award-winning documentary films in his time with the AFU. He was also a member of the BFI Young Film Academy. After leaving Abingdon, he studied English at Bristol before winning a place on the directors’ course at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield. Now in his final year there, he is preparing for his graduation show at BFI Southbank in February 2023, in which his latest film Nighthawks will premiere. Before that, he made 22 Weeks, which follows a group of pigs on a farm in Sheffield. Mark Pluck (2006) initially made strides as a tennis player before heading for advertising. In his words, he “soon saw the error in his ways”, and moved into film production. He now has four films to his name, the latest of which – Hornbeam – has been nominated for the BAFTA qualifying Iris Prize and will soon be aired on Film4. In January 2023, he starts production of You Are Awful, a new feature film. Of all the arts,‘fine art’ is perhaps the discipline that gives a school-bound teacher the fewest clues about the future direction his or her charges might take. Follow the fine art path, it seems, and you’re as likely to end up creating your own fashion brand as exhibiting your work in a prestigious art gallery.As it happens, two recent Abingdon artists have done exactly that. Heyse Ip (2014) describes himself as a “multi-disciplinary artist and researcher” based in London and Hong Kong. His current work in moving image, performance, sculpture and sound explores themes such as the power dynamics of surveillance in public spaces, which he views “through a lens of absurdity and humour”. When Heyse completed his MA at the Royal College of Art in 2022, he already had a growing list of solo exhibitions to his name. Luke Derrick (2014) has started his own fashion brand – called, simply, Derrick – one year after graduating from Central St Martins, and the label has been attracting a lot of press attention. His first collection explored the idea of how we might dress post-pandemic. Inspired by a desire to relax the traditional rules of tailoring, Luke is making what one reviewer called “couch-to-club clothes for the modern man.” Of all the Abingdonians working in the arts, perhaps Matt Copson (2010) comes closest to embodying an idea of the arts as an open space in which any idea can be conceived and expressed in whatever its most appropriate form might be. That, certainly, seems the only way to make sense of the incredible range of Matt’s work since he graduated from the Slade School of Art in 2014. To be fair, his degree show gave fair warning of his intentions, as bronze sculptures, paintings, a furry fox head, films, projections, a lighting and sound installation featuring a recording of Matt delivering a text he’d written in iambic pentameter all combined in an immersive viewing space that took the form of a fox’s den, into which viewers had to crawl to experience the exhibition. Here was a young man, you felt, in full possession of the kitchen sink, and determined to use it well. In October, this zest for free-ranging creativity found its ultimate expression as Matt co-created a new opera, Last Days. Based on a film of the same name by the American director Gus van Sant, the opera received its world premiere at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and featured a score by Oliver Leith alongside a libretto by Matt, who also provided the art direction and co-directed the performers with Anna Morrissey. These included Henry Jenkinson (2012) in a searingly effective non-singing cameo as a sinister magician. Matt’s opera received standing ovations and rave reviews, and will transfer to Los Angeles in 2024, where it will be conducted by composer Thomas Adès. The production cemented an impression, at least for me, that wherever you look in the arts, you will find Abingdonians who are bravely developing their talents and working to fulfil the promise they first showed at Abingdon. Jeremy Taylor Director of Arts Partnerships & Abingdon Film Unit Henry Jenkinson in Matt Copson’s opera Last Days The cast and creative team take a bow after the first performance of Last Days Matt Copson after the first night of Last Days Mark Pluck’s latest film
Recollections from the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II OAs recall memories of encounters with the Royal Family. G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 1 2
James Milne (1960) The recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II led me to remember my very tenuous connections to the Royal Family during my working life. I consider myself very lucky to have met the late Queen, the late Queen Mother and Prince (now King) Charles. I met Queen Elizabeth in 1983 when she awarded me my MBE for service during the Falklands war. My memories of that day include walking up the steps towards the Throne Room and wondering about the statues lining the stairs. Looking more closely I realised they were troopers of the Household Cavalry! After what seemed like an age in a long queue it was time for my award. The Queen asked me what I did during the Falklands – I replied ‘I drove a desk in the Ministry of Defence Main Building. A smile and a ‘well done’ in response followed by a handshake with a gentle but firm push backward indicated that my audience was over. In 1978 I was the Senior Observer of 824 Squadron (Sea King HAS 2) embarked in HMS Ark Royal. This was to be Ark Royal’s last commission before being scrapped. The ship was operating in the Moray Firth close to the Queen Mother’s residence, Castle of Mey. As the Queen Mother had launched Ark Royal in 1950 she had expressed an interest in visiting the ship prior to de-commissioning. The weather on the day of the visit was marginal but the Queen Mother was not to be deterred. Her programme that day is lost in the mists of time, but my recollection is meeting her on the quarterdeck. We were in groups and the Royal party moved from group to group. The 824 Squadron group consisted of the Commanding Officer, me, the Senior Pilot and Air Engineering Officer. The Queen Mother was ushered into our group and started speaking to the CO. However, she may have apparently been speaking to one person, but she was addressing us all at the same time. She brought us all into the conversation. This was an ability I have never seen again in my 80 years of life. The Queen Mother loved helicopters and put this across to us. As the party moved on, I spoke briefly to one of her ladies in waiting. She must have been in her eighties and looked quite frail. She said she wouldn’t have missed this trip for any reason and that she held the UK Helicopter Pilots Licence No 1. You could have knocked me down with a feather. Finally, I met Prince Charles. The occasion was a reception in St James’s Palace hosted by the White Ensign Association. In the late 70s I had a book published by Maritime Books entitled Flashing Blades Over the Sea which recounted the history of Fleet Air Arm helicopters from the early days to 1976. Prince Charles had been kind enough to write the foreword for my book. I never had the chance to say thank you personally. To cut a long story short I hijacked a conversation with the Prince to remind him of his agreement to write a foreword and to say thank you. To my amazement he said he did remember the book and thanked me for my thanks. The photo above shows me buttonholing the Prince with a copy of the foreword he wrote – just in case he had forgotten. David Riddick (1961) I never actually met the Queen but during my ten years at Horse Guards where I was in charge of security of the military within the M25 and Windsor, it was part of my job to run the Ops Room on all state occasions. One Birthday Parade, at 30 seconds after 1.00pm, the Major General came on the radio saying “Her Majesty wants to know where her Air Force is.” They should have been overhead doing the flypast. I rang Air Traffic Control and asked where the flypast was. They replied that they knew all about it and were expecting them at 5.00pm; I responded by saying that it was probably now cancelled. I informed the Major General who got the message to the Queen on the balcony. As a result an Air Vice Marshal was subsequently ordered to be present at Buckingham Palace on the Queen’s official birthday to assure HM that the RAF had not forgotten, and I was now a recipient of the RAF Op Order. Another Birthday Parade. my first task was to ring the Met Office for the weather forecast for Horse Guards Parade at 11.00am. They told me that it would be raining very heavily all morning. I rang the Palace and suggested that the Birthday Parade be delayed to the afternoon (Plan B). After a while, the Palace rang me to say that Prince Philip had said that the last time they went to Plan B the sun was shining at 11 o’clock and they would stick with the original timings. The weather forecast was more than right, the parade ground was flooded and Prince Philip, sitting on a horse wearing a bearskin that became heavy with the rainwater, suffered as a result. That was the last time he rode on a Birthday Parade. When President Putin came on a state visit, his plane was 10 minutes late arriving at Heathrow. Prince Charles, who was on hand to meet him, could not hurry him up and he was 20 minutes late leaving Heathrow. I informed the Major General who was already on the dais together with Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Blunkett and the Lord Lieutenant of London. The police helicopter then reported that the traffic was heavy and there was no chance of the police motorcyclists accompanying Putin’s car getting him to Horse Guards Parade any quicker. I rang the Palace, informed them that Putin would be 20 minutes late arriving at Horse Guards Parade and suggested that the Queen delayed her departure from Buckingham Palace. I got a reply to say that Her Majesty had been informed but she would leave as originally planned. I informed the Major General. The Queen duly arrived and had a few words with those on the dias, but then spent the remaining minutes talking to David Blunkett’s dog! Richard Taylor (1951) Joining Abingdon for the summer term 1942, I was under WM Grundy, who had also been the Head during the time of my father and his three younger brothers! During 1951-52 I had a gap year, 1952-55 I attended Reading University, 1955-57 I undertook National Service in the RAF, where I completed Pilot Training and in 1957-88 I flew with BOAC/BA. I was one of the pilots on the crew of the BOAC Boeing 707 that flew the Queen and Prince Philip from Perth to Fiji, via Sydney, on their way home from the Royal Tour of New Zealand and Australia in 1963. We did, of course, meet her briefly. We had, in the few days immediately before the flight, attended receptions both at Government House in Perth as well as on the Royal Yacht, moored in Fremantle Harbour. Another crew flew them from Fiji to Vancouver and a third crew brought them home, from Vancouver to London. Peter Annett (1969) In 1977, I was involved in the London Celebrations Committee for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. We organised the planting of a tree in the Victoria Tower Gardens (the recent site of the snaking queue of those waiting to pay their respects to Her Majesty). On the day, the great and the good waited for her arrival. Despite our familiarity with ceremonial tree planting, the thought of meeting Her Majesty fogged the mind. When asked what the tree was (a hybrid oak) she then asked a similarly easy question – from which parent species did it derive? There was an embarrassing silence as experts stumbled and mumbled before Her Majesty was provided with the answer – it was a clone of the Turkey and Cork Oaks. She was direct, probably knew the answer but had a supportive aura and warm smile. The moral: always be prepared for the obvious unexpected! n G R I F F E N 2 0 2 3 | 1 3 In Spring 2022, Abingdon's Art Department ran a Jubilee Stamp Competition to celebrate the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
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