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01424 752803
14 Foxcote
Old Roar Road
St Leonards-on-Sea
East Sussex TN37 7HJ
25 May 2001
Dear Martin
First of all, it was great to hear from you and many thanks also for sending me copies of your letter to Mick and his reply. Am copying this missive to Mick and Paul, with warmest regards from Mary and myself.
Where the hell to start? It seems and of course is such a bloody long time since we saw each other and to say that a lot of water has passed under the bridge is a gross understatement. As far as our class (and teachers) at Ealing Tech is concerned, I remembered most of those that have been mentioned, but I also remember; Brian Donovan ? short and wanted to be a jockey. His father ran a betting shop. Also Brian Litchman ? he of the Jewish faith and a good friend of Cobby. Oh yes, Mick Burrell who I think came from the West Drayton area. As for the girls, you have mentioned Mary Draper ? but more about her later! There was also Mary Hamill (from Ruislip) who I had a brief dalliance with ? primarily if my memory serves me correctly because her bust had develped a lot quicker than some of the other girls! Pamela Brown/Joan Pengily/Pat Hutton/Sandra Gaff/Gillian Branch/Brenda Bainbridge are some of the others Mary and I remember. Brenda (known as ?slim? because she was anything but) was a good friend of Mary and although they kept in touch on a reasonably regular basis for some time after we left school, it is now only on a Xmas card basis. She does however still live in West Drayton. She may well know the whereabouts of some of the other girls so I shall be asking Mary to give her a buzz. As for the teachers, I remember Jenkins (Jeckyl) of course but it was only subsequently that I found out that he was extremely good friends with an aunt and uncle of mine (also teachers), which explained how my parents got to find out more about my school activities that I would have wished. The headmaster Mick mentioned was Fowkes, the typing teacher Sadler and the speech and elocution teacher Dagley ? the only lesson I ever came top in. There was also Major Hurley (1st year arithmetic as opposed to maths I think). And of course Miss Williams who took the girls for games (tall skinny bird). There was also a Miss ?Mae? West who I think was an English teacher. God, the maths teacher Handa ? he who used to freely throw us out of class for the least reason. God knows how we ever learnt anything ? well actually I didn?t. Yes Mick, I also remember Christine Greenstreet ? very nice. There was also Pauline Smith from the year ahead who during our second year went out with Ray Randall. What?s this about my eating toothpaste in Belgium? Can?t remember that although I must admit that on one particular day Johnny Perry and I did partake of a few bottles of the local brew so perhaps I was pissed. Ah yes, Mark Wilson. He did indeed join British Rail which was hardly surprising as he was made keen on trains, has a set-up in his garden I think and probably slept in a mock-up of a guards van. This is getting libellous!
Christ, this really is becoming disjointed so hope you can make sense of it.
Well, what of me? OK, let me bore you rigid. As you?ve gathered by now, I did indeed marry Mary Draper who has for the last 37 years managed to put up with me. Yes, I did join HM Diplomatic Service. Hey Mick, what do you mean you couldn?t see me as a diplomat. With minimal educational qualifications, not a great deal of common sense I was the ideal recruit! Having got married, we did indeed depart for India (Calcutta) for three years. What a place, but there were a couple of significant plusses as, mainly due to a lack of TV, both our kids were born there (Richard and Caroline). Actually, it wasn?t too bad, especially as I was able to spend a great deal of time partaking in either football, cricket, rugby, rowing and anything else of a sporting nature which reduced the length of time I had to spend working. The only other plus was that no matter where we were subsequently posted to, it couldn?t be as bad.
Good God, had to break of there as, would you believe, just had an e-mail from Clive Giblin. Bloody great to hear from him ? I?ll now copy him in on this missive.
OK, where was I. After Calcutta we went to Washington DC for 2.5 years which was really great. Had a great set of people at the Embassy which resulted in numerous parties, much drinking and general mayhem. On reflection, we really were a terrible advert for the UK. Subsequent to Washington I was whisked down to Bogota, Colombia (?for a few weeks? said the FO) whilst Mary and the kids went back to the UK. The few weeks then turned into a few months with the FO saying how grateful they were and Mary continually writing out asking when the bloody hell I was coming home! Anyway, had a pretty good time and saw quite a bit of the country. Actually Martin, while I was there I met up with a guy who did his teacher training at Brentside. When he realised that I had attended that rather unique establishment, his initial thought was that I must be on the run from the law. He found it quite amazing that someone from Brentside was actually being employed by the Foreign Office. Good point ? so did I.
After South America it was back to the UK for 3 years, the first time Mary and I had really lived in England since we got married. Bought a place in St Leonards-on-Sea and assumed the role of commuter. Didn?t really have any links with that part of the country but at the time the property was cheaper there than most other paces. As it tuned out, we really liked the area ? and still do.
We were then posted to Trinidad and Tobago for 3 years where I also covered the island of Grenada. Whilst we had a good time, living in Trinidad was a slightly different kettle of fish to being in a hotel on holiday. There was often a shortage of basic food items which made life a bit difficult but thankfully the local brewery only went on strike once.
Then it was back to London for 3 years ? by which time both Richard and Caroline were at boarding school. Not an easy decision but as it turned out they were both quite happy ? or as happy as anyone is at school. They both settled in well and although given the opportunity later to revert to state school, both declined in no uncertain terms. Richard went to Kings Canterbury where he did very well; Caroline was at Battle Abbey which was actually quite close to where we lived. Her school had a strong resemblance to St Trinians and Caroline did her very best to uphold that view! Caroline argues that whilst it cost a small fortune to put her through public school, she does at least know what length gloves to wear at garden parties and, when she so wishes, to talk with a bloody great plum in her mouth.
Our next, and what turned out to be our final posting, was to Manila for 3 years with me in the exalted position of Her Britannic Majesty?s Consul to the Republic of the Philippines. Hey Mick, I note that your better half is from that neck of the woods and I wondered if you had ever made the trip down from Hong Kong. Anyway, we had a pretty good time and got around some of the many islands. Also managed to get up to Hong Kong where Mary did her best to render me bankrupt.
After Manila it was back to London for a while before making the decision to come out of the Dip Service. Apart from a couple of 2-3 year spells, we hadn?t really lived in the UK for about 22 years and with Richard just about to go to university and Caroline having just left school, Mary and I thought that all round this was the time to stop the nomadic life. On balance I think we did the right thing and having made the decision to put down some roots, sold our first house and bought another ? also in St Leonards. I transferred initially to the Dept of the Environment, then to the Cabinet Office and am now with HM Treasury (Office of Government Commerce). It?s OK by and large and I work with a good crowd. Still, it brings in the pennies. It does however mean commuting which is a bloody bore and bloody expensive but chances are that it will not be for too much longer as the pull of retirement gets stronger by the day. Richard (still single) lives quite close by and also commutes to London, working with HM Customs & Excise. Caroline lives in Beckenham and although was married, is now single again. All amicable ? just didn?t work and thankfully there were no kids. Mary works locally four days a week and although continually moaning about the people she works with, actually enjoys it.
I really must draw this to a close. Before I do, must mention that Mary and I are off on our travels this coming October. Going down to Cape Town for a few days then across to Perth, Sydney and Cairns, before coming home via Hong Kong. If there was any chance of seeing you whilst we are in Sydney, it would of course be great. I note from Mick?s letter that he expects to be moving from Hong Kong to Singapore by October which is a bit of a bummer as it would have been great to have seen him as well.
It was really good of you to get in touch and even if we don?t meet up, we are but an e-mail away.
It?s now 26 June and I was going to finish this off but have now seen Mick?s e-mail and web site. Great stuff and indeed some of the info in this letter might well fill in a few blanks. By the way, who the hell are Wendy Gillanders and Sheila Selby?
OK, it?s now 2 July and one of these days I?ll actually get to send this off. Oh yes, I see Mick that you made mention of Maggie Leng. Mary tells me that your mentioning Maggie didn?t come as a surprise as according to Mary, your fondness for Maggie didn?t go unnoticed!!
That?s it folks. Our regards and best wishes to you, Mick, Paul and Clive.
Alan
_______________________________________________________________
From: "COCKER" <cocker@hinet.net.au Reply-To: <cocker@hinet.net.au Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2001 09:26:18 +1000 To: <mikecurley@altavista.com Subject: Fw: A shot in the dark
Found Alan Britt just by searching on his name!
-----Original Message-----
From: COCKER Sent: 20 June 2001 09:09 To: alan.britt@property.gsi.gov.uk
Subject: A shot in the dark
cocker@hinet.net.au
Is this the Alan Britt who attended Ealing Technical college and Brentside in the late 50's
If so please respond have been in touch with Mike Curley and Paul Tucker
Regards
Martin Cocker
From: Britt, Alan <Alan. Britt@ogc.gsi.gov.uk To: 'cocker@hinet.net.au' Subject: RE: A shot in the dark Date: Wednesday, 20 June 2001 19:46
Dear Martin
Guilty as charged, but how the hell you managed to track me down is quite beyond me. I am however delighted that you did.
Where to start, but on the other hand do I assume you are trying to pull together some form of reunion? If so, great.
I have just had a word about your e-mail with my better half, who you will remember as Mary Draper but who has, for reasons quite beyond me, been content for the last 36 years to remain Mrs Britt. Clearly quite mad but she sends her love.
I was trying to remember the last time we met. I think some of us got together at a pub (Queen Vic?) one evening in Ealing a year or so after we left college. In any event, it was a bloody long time ago.
Do hope you are keeping fit and well and no doubt you will keep me informed should any get-together occur.
By the way, my home tel number is Hastings (01424) 752803.
All the very best
Alan
PS Our warmest regards to Mick and Paul should you speak with them.