Neil Pittaway reports:
In the intense heat of Thursday July 25th, five Oldboys went and had a buffet lunch with John Sarson at his home. Mike Gildon organised,Christine Sarson provided food and drinks, and took this group shot for the album.
John’s birthday was a few weeks back but that didn’t prevent him cutting into the belated cake Howard brought!
Dear Family and friends,
As you may now know Robert Pratt passed away on Saturday 4th May very unexpectedly. So many of you loved Robert very much and your kind words and expressions of shock and sympathy have been a great comfort to Bajka, Ala, myself and the whole family. It’s a true testament to the wonderful man and the positive effect he has had on so many people so thank you all.
If you feel able and would like to come and join us in celebrating his wonderful life you would all be very welcome. The funeral, internment, wake and subsequent bonfire will all be held in Cornwall close to his family home of Trudgian Farm, Coombe (St Stephens). If you would like to join us please RSVP so we have an idea of numbers.
Details of the funeral and service are as follows:
Funeral service. 23rd May at 2pm, St Stephen-In-Brannel Church, 8 Fore St, St Stephen, Saint Austell PL26 7NN
Internment at St Stephens-In-Brannel Cemetery straight after the service . It is right next to the church. You are all welcome to join us.
Many of you may be thinking of sending or bringing flowers which you are welcome to do. However we would ask alternatively that you consider donating to the charity box which will be circulated at the church on the day in aid of one of the many charities Robert was a patron of. The details of the charities to follow.
Getting there
By car- St Stephen-In-Brannel Church is best reached (for those travelling via the A30) by leaving the A30 onto the B3275 towards Grampound Road. It’s about a 15 minute drive from there. Parking is available at the community centre next to the church as it is usually busy directly in front of the church.
By train- The closest train station is St Austell which you can reach via Exeter St David, Reading or London Paddington. From St Austell, the church is about 5-6 miles. Some taxis are usually available at the station. We will have capacity to arrange lifts from the station the day before the service if you decide to travel the day before.
By air- It is possible to get flights into Newquay airport which is about a 15 mile drive from St.Stephens and Coombe.
Wake
Following the service and internment we will be holding the wake from 3.30 pm at:
The White Pyramid , Trewoon, St Austell, Cornwall, PL255TQ
The White Pyramid is a very direct drive of about 3-4 miles from the church straight down the A3058. There is a fair amount of parking at the pub but it may prove a little busy on the day.
Accommodation
We appreciate many family and friends will be travelling from around the country. Our part of Cornwall is well served by a range of hotels, B&B’s, campsites etc which can all prove quite popular. We would recommend booking accommodation as soon as possible if you intend to stay in Cornwall overnight either before or after the funeral and wake given the imminent half term week.
And finally!
For those bold and brave enough, or who have fond memories of Dad’s legendary fireworks parties we will be hosting a bonfire gathering at the farm later/early evening, after the White Pyramid. A bonfire has been prepared (because it’s exactly what Dad would have done) and we encourage anyone to come. If people feel they would like to bring firework(s), that we can let off in Dad’s honour, they are more than welcome. There will be drinks and nibbles available.
The farm is no more than 1-2 miles from St Stephens church and 3-4 miles from the White Pyramid. There may be some parking available close and at the farm on the night but please let us know if you wish to attend so we can try to manage parking.
Trudgian Farm, Woodlands Lane, Coombe, PL267LJ
Phone no-01726 884379
RSVP
Sending love to you all, Bajka, Jan & Ala x
Sad news from his daughter Ala,
Bob died quite suddenly on Saturday 4th May. I’d like to let people know, in particular Clive McArthy, Nick Maingay and some others.
Funeral funeral arrangements to be announced.
Ala Lloyd (nee Pratt)
George’s funeral was yesterday (April 11th) in Poole. Phil Southby has sent this photograph of the few of us who attended. The other faces are his sister Moira and her husband.
George Hynde, ex Planning Assistant in the OB Planning office and then Planning and Allocations in TVC VT, passed away on 16th March.
His funeral is at 14:00, in the Barn Ceremony Hall, Harbour View Crematorium, Lytchett Minster, Dorset, BH16 6AN, on 11th April.
The wake will be at the Bakers Arms in Lytchett Minster, Dorset.
His sister, Mrs Moira Smallpeice, would like to see as many of George’s
BBC colleagues there as possible.
Best regards,
Dave Hume, Telobians Organiser.
This sad news from Leo Hutchings
As you may have been aware, my father, Paul Hutchings, had been fighting cancer of the mouth for the last couple of years and sadly lost his battle on the morning of 5th February.
The funeral service, to which all are welcome, will take place at South West Middlesex (Hanworth) Crematorium, on Monday 4th March at 12.20pm.
For those who can make it, the wake will be held at the Cabbage Patch Pub in Twickenham after the service. If you will be looking to attend the wake, it would be helpful if you could let me know so that I can confirm the finer details with the venue.
I have arranged two floral tributes, if anyone else would like to add to that I would ask that they be delivered to the address below before 10.20am on the morning of the service.
Lodge Brothers Funeral Directors
13 Market Parade
Hampton Road West
Hanworth
TW13 6AL
Any charitable donations that people would like to make are to be shared between Clarendon School and MacMillan Cancer Care. Donations can be made on the day of the service or via the donations page on the Lodge Brothers website, www.lodgebros.co.uk. My father’s details should be available on there from 19th February onwards.
If you think that anyone whose email address my father didn’t have should be notified or would like to attend, please feel free to pass these details on. Please also feel free to ask me if there’s anyone in particular you think I should try to contact who I might not have done already, albeit that I might not be able to reply immediately.
Leo Hutchings
Following the dismantling of the Ampex sign (post below), Howard and I wrote a letter to the San Mateo Daily Journal which was published today.
As it seems to be difficult to access (unless you are registered) I have grabbed a screenshot:-
This from Keith Graham in California:-
Email from Steve to Howard just before the weekend:-
Hi Howard
I’m hoping to get home today.
Still a bit wobbly on my feet, but steady improvement. I should make the next oldboys. I look forward to seeing everyone.
Cheers Steve
Some of you may have heard of Steve’s ‘visit’ to Harefield Hospital back in June – he had to miss the Pyrford lunch.
It proved rather problematical with him finishing up up in Intensive care.
Martin Drake visited with him on Monday:-
I managed to get in and see Steve in Harefield on Monday. He’s making progress slowly but has had a few set backs. The work on the heart is now all good but he has suffered from fluid on the lungs so been back into theatre for that and also now fluid in the abdomen which is draining slowly. This was causing him some quite severe stomach cramps when I visited but fortunately Hilary (his wife) rang to say that this problem was a lot better the next day so hoping for continued improvement. He’s on the normal ward now and hopefully transferring to Wycombe as soon as the drains are out but its going to be a long road to full recover as he has been so weakened by all the surgery and length of time out of action. He was grateful for the visit ( I took Hilary over with me which worked well she left us for an hour or so and then stayed on and got a taxi back) I’ll let you know when he gets transferred but in the meantime if you could pass this on to the old boys along with Steve’s greetings that would be great. I have got a mobile for Hilary now if you wanted to check about visiting.
To contact Martin who has a new email address click here