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From: "Michael Burrell" <mick_burrell@hotmail.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 23:30:57 +0100
To: Mikecurley@altavista.com
Subject: what a surprise
dear mike , what a big surprise when i looked through my hotmail e/mail
Well it was nice to read your notes, and especially of those you have tracked down. I was passing down the Greenford Road last week and wondered where the likes of Aln Britt was, also noticed Martin Croker on the list , he was a tall lad as i remember,
Being in the computer trade you are no doubt an expert in the workings of these things, I have only had mine for about a year and still getting used to it,started to go back to adult training classes but got to find my brain again. Anyway, still getting over the shock Mike, will get my thinking hat
mick burrell
From: michael curley <mikecurley@altavista.com>
Date: 24 Oct 2001 21:06:17 PDT
To: mick_burrell@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: what a surprise
Mick!!
Great that its YOU!!! and we're in contact again - only almost half a century!!
I remember you best (apart from the train) on the football field - left wing?? Did you retain those sparkling talents and make any use of them??
Good to hear North Hyde Rd and house are still there - I was last in that area about 10 years ago, and it hadn't changed much - that's one nice thing about the UK - it changes very slowly. Unlike another place I lived (Johannesburg, South Africa) - returned there after about 8 years to visit places I'd lived - and one of them had been bull-dozed into the swimming pool - just a building site, compared with my memories of trees, lawns, thatched cottages, drives, swim-pool etc... shame!
Anyway - do tell all your news - 40 years in 40 lines!! In the meantime I'll bore you with my story... most of this is on the web-site (do have a look - lots of memories there):
I think you left Ealing Tech before the ?College? year(s)?? ? We had to do ?O? Level to ?A? Level in one year ? needless to say I failed completely, and managed to re-pass some of the ?O? Levels I?d already gained. My father had died during that last year and I blame it all on him/it ? but in truth, I realize now ? how I learn best ? and it isn?t by being ?Taught?.
I joined ?The Times? newspaper, in the City and met Tucker on the Central Line most days ? I can remember the ?Cuban Missile Crisis? and he said to me one evening when I jumped on the train at St Pauls ? My mum phoned me during the day ? I?ve got my call-up papers ? have you got yours??? ? I nearly messed my pants ? the last thing I needed was to join the Army and fight Russians.. about 4 stations later he relented and said it was all a big joke ? maybe it was..??
During that 2 year sojourn, I discovered computers, left The Times, joined ICT/ICL in Putney, then Harrow then joined a software House in the City and ended up with them in South Africa for 4+ years ? good times all over the south there. From about 1970 onwards I always worked as a Contractor writing software for anybody who wanted it.
This is where it turns bad ? met the ?old bat? in Johannesburg ? she is/was German (a good friend still chastises me ? ?My dad fought against that lot, and you go and marry one?) and we moved back to London ? had 2 daughters (that is the big profit/result, from that union), separated ? still not divorced ? we lived out High Wycombe way ? Penn ? west of London ? wonderful times, but always moving towards a separation.
During that time I worked in Scotland for 6 years, in the US a few months, Saudi Arabia for 1 year ? boring!!
Around 1989 we split up and I moved to Denham (near Uxbridge), youngest daughter was living with her mother in Hamburg, eldest was with me ? not by any ?fighting? ? just what they wanted to do and soon thereafter I moved to Hong Kong ? there for 7+ years and now moved to Singapore.
I ?retired? about 18 months ago ? second time ? I tried it for 10 months in 1994, but didn?t really reduce my spending so that it would work. This time around ? I have help?. Living with a Philippina for the last 7 years ? she works for DHL ? travels all over the world ? no not as a Courier!! ? and gets such perks as a flat, all bills paid etc? so I live rent free ? for now!!
Youngest daughter (24) is currently in Sydney but off to New Zealand soon (just travelling) doing a ?1 year Student allowed to work visa exchange thing?. Eldest (26 ? who has just moved from London to deepest Somerset) and I visited the younger one for 6 weeks over Christmas/New Year 2001 - traveled all over Eastern Australia - great time!!
Keep in touch - and send lots of news/details - I'll put it in the web-site.
Mike C