Memories

E-mail from one of those who'll be attending the tour of my demolished prep school grounds next week, congratulated Sue - based in Cyprus - who's co-ordinating things on the internet:

Sue, Your industry astonishes me. All in aid of a bunch of geriatrics on a wild goose chase looking at something that is not there any more. But the ways of the human mind are unfathomable and nostalgia can be a mighty powerful thing!

Another e-mail from someone else with whom I was at school long ago:

Simon old Cheese, Did my cryptic email not strike a chord?

Me:

Cheese? Somewhere in the recesses of our attic there’s a painting called ‘Lord Mousy’. Paint laid on thicker than slap on an old actor. I must try to find it. Best, Simon

He:

What have you been up to since 1955? Max 30 words.

Me:

30 words. Phew! [but with the magic of hyperlink...] Westminster, Cambridge, then by sailboat across the Atlantic. University of Pennsylvania, Tavistock Institute, Michigan U, Birmingham U. Remarried. Son daughter. Environmentalist, academic, traveller, working from Ano Korakiana, Corfu and Handsworth.

I’m so looking forward to seeing you and others on Nov 1. I don’t think I’m over-inclined to idealise the past, but the more I live the more I value the way we learned at Ashfold. I came there aged 7, rescued by my new step-father from a long closed abusive prep school in Berkshire. He with my mother took a lot of time looking for Ashfold, determined to ensure no repetition of the earlier mistake – about which my wonderful mother, at 91, still feels guilt while I entertain no iota of blame. I had nothing like so bad a time at that place as others, but it left apprehensions that Ashfold exorcised - like something out of David Copperfield including the happy endings Dickens liked to give his readers. Best wishes, Simon

* * * On the 30 October until the 2 November 2008 there will run, in Athens, the 13 International Anti-Corruption Conference': 'Global transparency -fighting corruption for a sustainable future'. Among the opening speakers will be Sotiris Hatzigakis, Minister of Justice who's recently overseen the passing of new anti-corruption legislation, Dimitrios G. Sioufas, President of the Hellenic Parliament and Kostas Karamanlis, Prime Minister. Also there will be Costas Bakouris, Chair, Transparency International (Greece) (English version of the website under construction), who said recently:

"The biggest problem is that lack of transparency has almost become part of our culture (incomplete webpage). Many Greeks have accepted that they need to bribe to get the job done. On the one hand, there's indignation about the situation. But on the other hand, it's also tolerated. Our country has arguably the highest degree of tolerance towards corruption in the world."