The painting above was sent to us by Donald Edwards and it was sent to him by Alfred 'George' Gabb. George tells us it is a water colour painting of the school painted by the late Fenton Bailey, the Art Master, in 1946. He had it copied to make rather attractive Christmas cards which were made available to pupils at that time.
Alfred 'George' Gabb is an ex student of Barnes School and has written a very interesting book called 1600-1947 Anglo-Indian Legacy: A Brief Guide to British Raj India History, Nationality, Education, Railways & Irrigation', published 2000 ISBN0948333898.Available from Alfred D.F.Gabb, Church Farm Bungalow, Overton, York, U.K. YO30 1YL. (e-mail: alfred.gabb@btinternet.com). Price including p&p £8.10 in UK, £8.70 Overseas Surface Mail, or £10.30 Overseas Airmail
BARNES
a peom by Earnest Joseph Flannegan
I'm a Barnes ex student, 44 years of age,
Sitting down to write my memories, on an empty page.
But the memories are elusive, impossible to find
Tucked away in some obscure corner, of this dreamer poet's mind.
Only a reunion would jog this memory, a familiar face,
a forgotten name and the memories come flooding back,
and for a time we're young again.
Isolated incidents, we remember with clarity,
the fun we had, the things we did, the class of '73'.
When we met were shocked and dissapointed,
that only our names haven't changed
our slim muscular figures, have been drastically rearranged
unwelcomed additions like a beer belly
or substraction like the the hair on my head,
not much time for frivolous pastimes,
we're looking after a family instead.
Now we're e-mailing each other, and chatting on the internet
trying to re-establish that bond, that we will never forget.
Here we are almost 30 years later, responsible family men
Trying to relive the adventures, of the wild boys we were back then
BY,
ERNEST JOSEPH FLANAGAN.
"C'mon double-up Javeri, you're supper is waiting for you", said a stern voice from a dark corner of the games-field. The year was 1966 and the speaker none other than Mr. McInnes. Too scared to look in the direction from where the words originated, I lifted my knees and jogged the distance that remained between the Dormitory block and the Mess.
"I say man, Bakir, where is the heater and the sugar & coffee". These words with the alphabet 'r' rolled really well, still ring in my ears from whence they were first spoken by Mr. Gadre, in his inimitable style in 1973. They sent a shiver up my spine then, for I was caught committing the duel crime of making coffee and studying at an unholy hour for the forthcoming Senior Cambridge exams. Today, recalling the incident, it still does not fail to cheer me in my worst of moods.
"I want everyone to be quite quiet", was the oft-repeated orders that emanated from the bald and storky Mr. Hoffman. I, too, was subjected to its command till 1973, and I still find it hard to forget him in complete Scout regalia including his unique khakhi shorts and hat to shield his bald head from the scorching sun.
From another corner of my memory bank I can still hear Mr. Michael's voice screaming, "You ruddy fool" and sounding exasparated. This was his way of expressing disgust at any uncomprehending student of his class. These words still haunt me whenever I err or make mistakes in every sphere of my lift.
Then there is Mr. Smith's loud preaching with his favourite words, "Imagine and the world shall lie at your feet". It is hard for me to express, in such few lines, how effective and valuable this advice still is today whenever I attempt a new project or toy with a new idea.
The list can go on and I would need reams of paper to recall and write about this remarkable team responsible for my upbringing and transformation from an awkward Cub to one who had learnt to know and keep the track, first under the captaincy of Mr. Coles followed by the stewardship of Mr. Davis. The voices of Mr. Mishra, Mr. Gupta, Mr. Emannuel and Miss D'Sa still ring in my ears till their echoes sing and are as soothing as would music and melody be.
On the other side of my memory's fence is Clyde Arnold, the Head-Boy and the most outstanding student of 1973. It was no surprise then that he was also voted Best Boy and this was minus the votes of the girls, where his popularity was even greater, thanks to his outstanding looks that supplemented both his brains and brawns.
Following him is the gym-monkey and diving-board daredevil, Parvez, and the meticulous Deepak, whose note-books were cited as citadels of neatness by all the teachers. Incidentally, on my recent visit to the Taj-Exotica, Goa, of which the latter was General Manager, I realised that old habits truly die hard. Then there was the studious Jaldeep, the tadpole of the science section of 1973's Cambridge class and the not-so-serious Cyrus, to whom almost anything and everything from toothpaste to boot-polish to iodex was edible. Surprisingly, today he is a hotelier of a famous Indian eatary in London. For intelligence we had Kapil, also Candy House's Vice-House Captain and whom everyone, including myself, looked-up to for unsolvable Maths problems. I believe he is still solving them on the computers he now markets somewhere in the U.S.A.
For inspiration we had Piyush and Mangesh who were always competing to solve problems and equations. I wonder which corner of the world they have now chosen to settle down in and solve life's problems and equations. Doing justice to his post of Vice-Head Boy was Bharat who strived hard to be second in everything and on most occassions succeeded in doing so. An, of-course, who can forget fat Firdosh and his "Riceplate Is Ready" cliché, and the history crazy Jaggi, with his penchant for politics and infatuation for Linda, the former due to his Delhi-origins and the latter because of her beauty. That brings me to the other girls of our batch, the Nadias and Faridas, and Anna Young and Sangeeta. Oops! Haredia, how could I forget you and your maveric ways and your determination to outshine in every sport; be it hockey or 100 metres or even cross-country, you endeavoured to impress the girls immensely whilst being Candy House's Captain also.
Then there was Suhas, the rich little boy from Nasik, who could not decide whether to continue as a Day-Scholar or become a Boarder. Anyway, thanks to his indecisiveness our house enjoyed the privilege of a third Prefect in the dorms.
Ernie, I still hum the tunes and the lyrics that emannated from the keys and the strings of the piano and guitar that your deft fingers dabbled with. Those sounds of silence still haunt me in times of solitude and loneliness.
Today, our Class stands splintered all over the globe, but yet I am sure shows signs of belonging to each other by reflecting images and memories in a myriad of the colours Green, Blue, Red and Yellow. I have reasons to believe that with a background like Barnes, we all have surely moved Onwards and Upwards from whence we last split.
Rise all ye guys from Candy, Greaves, Royal and Spence and all ye Joan of Arcs, Helen Kellers, Edith Cavells and Florence Nightingales.
Nothing but nothing can quite push us downwards because we "Never Give In", have "Firmness in Action", know fully well that "Unity is Strength" and "Courage is Destiny".
