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We've Heard from You |
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Dave Smith. Dear Ed, I was so pleased to read the note from my old friend Don Knies in newsletter 17 concerning jazz in southern England. Being a modernist, I spent many happy hours in Kampala in the mid 1960s with Don and John Warren (Kibuli School - alive and well in Haywards Heath, West Sussex) learning about early jazz. For those jazz fans who find themselves in the southeast London area, Ronnie Scott's in Soho and, less expensive, the 100 Club in Oxford Street are obvious venues. Less well-known is the Lord Hoad in Greenwich which must be one of the friendliest pubs in the country. Every Thursday lunchtime, the Brunch Bunch plays traditional jazz for free, with ever more players sitting in. Jazz is on offer at the pub irregularly on other days and at other times. In particular, the Brunch Bunch are joined on occasion by a microcosm of the phenomenally impressive pantheon of young British jazz giants - Jonny Boston, James Evans, Sky Murphy, Adrian Cox, T. J. Johnson and Julia Farino. Jonny Boston is an impressive tenor player, singer and writer. His quartet is reminiscent of a young Mel Torme, but he can also really blow in a mixture of swing and bebop, with his duet with James Evans on "Lester Leaps In" an absolute tour-de-force. Jonny Boston and T. J. Johnson, amongst others, can also be seen in the crypt of St Martins-in-the-Fields, just off Trafalgar Square. More generally, lovers of New Orleans jazz should search out the Phil Mason All Stars with Christine Tyrell. Nigky Fairweather, Julian Mark Stingle and Dominic Ashworth are invariably uplifting; and the greatest living tenor player, the American Scott Hamilton, likes playing in London and Birmingham. Incidentally, congratulations to Trev Wilson (also Kubuli School in the mid-1960s) and Jean on their Ruby wedding anniversary. Hi to Ward Heneveld and Moses Howard. Best wishes, Dave Smith |
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Clive Shuttleworth. Dear Ed, Many thanks for your letter. I apologise
for the inconvenience. It is really good of you to make contact with
me. Yes, I no longer have an email address - nor even a computer! It
finally "died" through lack of use. Since retirement we found we used
it so infrequently , so it has not been replaced. We're back on
"snail mail." As you must be aware, the Shuttleworth household is not
on the cutting edge of technology! However, if you would add my name
to your snail mail list, I shall be most interested in TEAA
activities.
I still have contact with people I worked with in Uganda during the 1960s. My college in West Nile Uganda was administered by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, an American -based order. Sadly several of the Brothers have died, But I am in touch with 3 - occasional letters and phone calls, etc. The four of us met for the first time since leaving Uganda in America in 2005. Two are no longer members of the Order - married with families. We met at the home of one of them in San Antonio, Texas. Brother Matt came up from New Orleans (now in Mobile, since Hurricane Katrina). "Ex-brother" Kevin came with his wife from St Louis (small world!). My wife and I stayed with "ex-brother" Phil and his wife - and enjoyable and emotional meeting, seeing each other after nearly 40 years. We stayed in San Antonio for a week and then went - we went to New Orleans for a few days and met up with Brother Matt and other Brothers for a meal at their home. We then returned to the U.K. Shortly afterwards New Orleans was hit by the hurricane. I still follow events in Uganda. Media news is rarely encouraging - the rebels in Northern Uganda creating problems. More recently serious flooding has caused extensive disruption. I have also seen a TV programme on secondary education showing the efforts being made. There is no doubt that on a personal level, my experience of living and working in Uganda was very special - unique. Because of the very remote location of the college, it took me a while to adjust. The Brothers were helpful and most understanding - I was more or less accepted as an "honorary" Brother! It certainly widened my range of skills - building new dormitories, maintaining generators, repairing furniture, building a running track and tennis courts, and teaching, of course! All the students were keen to learn. Not all was smooth - we were evacuated to Jinja for a few months and set up a school there, near the Jinja Dam. There was fighting in the Congo and we were too near the border, so the government closed the school, we all went to Jinja, students as well. Quite an experience! But mainly I remember the Ugandans I worked with on the site, but above all the Brothers who welcomed me, helped and advised me - wonderful people! Ed, I've enjoyed writing this - sorry it's taken so long! Please keep me informed as and when. Most sincerely, Clive Shuttleworth. |
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Bob Ghormley (TEEA2) has sent a note that his wife died on December
26, 2006, and that he had sextuple by-pass surgery in January 2007.
Bob writes, "Things are going well and I often go to work with my son
who is an independent builder." Bob's new address and email appear in
the directory update section of the newsletter.
Gene Hansen reported a change of address and stated, "I presently am showing my slides of my Africa experience to co-residents of Oakdale Heights Assisted Senior Living." Gene and Grace's new contact information is in the directory update section of the newsletter. Bob Greenwood. Dear Ed, I am going to Uganda on 29th January for a month. My wife, who died in June, 2007, was Ugandan and I am going to see her family just outside Kampala and also take a holiday there. I shall see Paul and Lydia Mugambi who were Margaret's cousins. Paul was Professor of Maths at Makerere and Lydia the Art Teacher at Makerere College School. Some of our ex-TEA will know them. I shall let you know how I find the city and the country. Yours, Bob Hal Sondrol. Dear Ed, By now you've returned from the Seattle reunion, not to mention your marathon trip with Henry Hamburger to Africa. The program to support secondary schools in East Africa , especially with books and computers, is great. Too bad I'm not wired to a computer, but I'd end up being entombed with the blasted thing. Better in this life to exist with my faithful typewriter and my books. Maybe next time around. The sad news of my life from the past month is that my Mom has died. She was 96 3/4 years old. Having made the decision to care for both Mom and Dad in their old age, I grew very close to them, especially Mom.... [Hal's father died a few years ago.] All the best, Hal |
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Ward Heneveld. If you check out the William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation website you will see the announcement of
myappointment as their Program Officer for QualityEducation in
Developing Countries. For those I havenot sent notes to already, I am
in Palo Alto/MenloPark, having started work last week, and for the
timebeing Cheryl is still in Vermont guarding house andanimals. We
have a house-sit in Palo Alto, andanother afterwards that will get us
to next June.Then we'll see what we do from there.
If you want more explanation of why I have left retirement in Vermont for a full-time job inCalifornia, let me know. I will try to respond, but I am still figuring it out myself. It is definitely not because of the weather or needing additional income,though I won't complain so far about either. Announcement of my appointment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: http://www.hewlett.org/Programs/GlobalAffairs/News/Ward+Heneveld+Joins+Hewlett+Foundation.htm |
| Paul Mayerson. Hello Brooks, Was very interested to read the latest about TEAA, and its ever increasing activities. I know that my days of serious traveling, working and volunteering in the nether regions of the world are over. All being well we hope to join you in Atlanta in 2009. Joan and I have moved to Havenwood-Heritage Heights Retirement Community in Concord, NH and are thoroughly enjoying not having to worry about grass-cutting, snowplowing, maintenance problems and all other items of that ilk. There are many ex professionals from the local, national and international scene who are here. One of the many groups on campus is a World Concerns Discussion Group. Recently I was asked to chair and coordinate our Friday morning programs. I have done one program on Afghanistan and others have contributed as well. This week we have a speaker coming in to speak about "What is Democracy?" Next week it is China and Pollution. After Thanksgiving it will be a clergyman speaking about four years in Zimbabwe. And so it goes. Receiving your email reminded me that some very important things are going on in East Africa which seems to beg the question, How about a program on TEA(A), then and now? Or changes as you have seen them. Would you be interested in coming up to address the group (usually about 50 people) for about 35 minutes allowing another half hour for questions and discussion. Let me know if this is something that titillates you deeper than "Chicken Soup for the Soul." Best wishes to you both and TEAA, Paul Mayerson |
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Larry Thomas. To keep a daily tab on news from Uganda, go to:
newvision.co.ug. Sometimes it's helpful, like looking at what's
happening with the government there. A man I correspond with in
Kampala sent me the link. He writes poetry and one of his pieces will
appear in Issue #2 of the magazine, Third Wednesday, which I
edit.Cheers, Larry
Barry Sesnan. I have been holding the fort in rebel held Bouake [Ivory Coast]. It's actually very calm and quiet after hectic Abidjan, which I dislike. It's my nth rebel posting. I wonder if one day I will realise that people are sending me a message by sending me to places like this! (Goma, Bunia, Juba, Hargeisa). Mabel Lee. Hi, It is always good to hear of old friends from long ago. I began with the program in '64. As an update, I want you to know that I had to terminate my last contract with Malawi because of medical problems. On January 2nd last year I began my third assignment in Malawi as a lecturer at the Mzuzu University. Because of an infection, I returned to the U. S. in June. Now, after extended time at a hospital and at a rehab center, I am recuperating quite well. I am hopeful that one day I'll be able to revisit Malawi. I thoroughly enjoyed my three assignments there. My first two were in Domasi College of Education, and the last was at Mzuzu University, located in the northern part of the country. Love, Mabel C. Lee Jim Gilson. We now have all of the enrollment data in from all 37 QSI schools for the end of November 2007. The largest eleven schools (those over 100 students) are Shekou (703), Kiev (567), Almaty (460), Bratislava (261), Sanaa (251), Baku (150), Tbilisi (145), Sarajevo (142), Tirana (124), Phuket (116), and Skopje (107). These are followed by Dongguan (90), Ashgabat (88), Bishkek (85), Chengdu (80), El Tigre (75), Yerevan (66), Shenzhen (59), Zhuhai (54), and Kosice (54). These are the 20 largest QSI schools, all having over 50 students. Brooks Goddard. Those interested in programs that do on a larger scale what TEAA does should read today's (November 12, 2007) NYT's special section on "Giving." I'm sure it is available online. There is a program run by FemCare in Kenya described on page 6. Anyway, good stuff and plenty for the fund raising subcommittee to think about as well. Overwhelmed by leaves, Brooks Ted Essebaggers. Thanks for your news request. I still am with the Int'l Education Office at the U of Oslo and work as an international student advisor http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/int_advisors.html. I work with incoming European and American exchange students who are with the Erasmus program (our largest group), Nordplus and Nordlys students from the Nordic countries and the Baltic (new as of 2008), SUST (Scandinavian Urban Studies program from USA) and Divided States of Europe (also from USA). I continue to enjoy my work which also includes coordinating the special events program http://www.uio.no/english/student_life/spevents.html. Guess I will be retiring in another two or three years when I turn 70. Hope all is well with you. Happy 2008!! Best regards from Oslo. Ted |
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Kay Strain Borkowski. The rumors here in Dhahran hold that Saudi
Arabia, the only country on earth that prevents women from driving, is
once more debating allowing women to drive! Mind you, that was the
rumor when we left in 2002! However, the Tuesday, October 9, 2007
edition of the Arab News states:
The Society for Protecting and Defending Women's Rights (I kid you not, such an organization exists!) is planning to expand their campaign for women in the Kingdom to be allowed to drive by going out and educating people and rallying support for their ongoing drive, according to a member of the society. The group has already sent a petition to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah during the Kingdom's Sept. 23 National Day. They have received letters of support from public officials and well-known members of society who preferred to stay anonymous for the time being. On Aramco compounds, some of which are several square miles in area, women are allowed to drive, if they have a driver's license for another country. The CLASSIC driving story from our earlier years in Dhahran is about some women who wanted to take their children to the Aramco beach while their husbands were at work when the weather had gotten COOL enough to go out. (You read correctly! Here, and in other Gulf States, we wait for the weather to get COOL enough to barbecue outside or go to the beach during the day!) They decided that one would take off her make-up, wear a ball cap, backwards of course, loose clothes, etc. and DRIVE. The two, with their SUV full of kids, had no trouble going through the Aramco gate separating the housing area from some of the work areas. But when they reached the final Aramco gate, the Saudi guard stopped them to ask where they were going. The "wife" of the couple responded, "To the beach!" To which the guard retorted, "Maybe your husband should take off his earrings!" God bless and please continue to keep us in your prayers, Kay (and Danny) |
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Malcolm Maries. Hi Ed, Thanks for your e-mail. It's really pleasing to
hear that Don Knies is on the mend, even if it is going to be a slow
process. It's 46+ years since we first met at Makerere, but I still
remember how helpful he always was in those early days.
There's not much to report from here, I'm afraid. I guess if I had more sense, I'd have been out of this part of the world [Saudi Arabia] some time ago, but that's another story. Danny and Kay (Strain) Borkowski were back here doing a locum for the Saudi Aramco minister, but by now they should be back in their Mexican retreat. I hear regularly from Ian and Muriel Lornie, and the good news there is that Ian finally seems to have had his back sorted out and is once more playing golf. You may know that Larry Thomas (my erstwhile house-mate at Kyambogo for seven years) now edits a literary and arts magazine, Third Wednesday, out of Ann Arbor. I'm planning on another short trip to your side of the pond in late May to visit my son and family in New Jersey. I now have a second granddaughter there, whom I've never seen. With all that is happening, I think it's unlikely that I'll be in the U.K. this year. Best regards, Malcolm |
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Clive Lovelock. Dear Ed and all, Happy New Year! Delighted to read
that Don Knies is on the mend. I'm pretty sure that at least some of
our members will be aware of the situation in Kenya, but just in case
the news has not filtered through, and should people want to take some
action this campaign was brought to my notice about a week ago. I sent
you a copy at once, but it was returned, as the e-mail address I have
for you was out of date. Then by happy chance I got your request for
news, displaying your latest (I hope) address. The organization,
Avaaz, http://www.avaaz.org/en -is bona fide. It's quite a
well-known action group that looks for just causes to support around
the world. Perhaps you could circulate this - sooner rather than
later. Best wishes, Clive Lovelock (in Japan)
Pat Mische. Dear Ed: Just a quick note to thank you for keeping me on the TEAA news list. I have been far too busy for my own good and thus not a good respondent. I am still full time faculty member at Antioch, and also Pres. of my own NGO in NYC. I do appreciate being informed, and hope to give more input and even to attend future events. All good wishes for the New Year. Pat Mische. George Pollock. All: New post [my blog] on Kenya at http://patientsprogress.blogspot.com/2007/06/africa-agonistes-reflections-on-horrors.html It carries the June date of the first draft, but is all new as of Jan. 8. Happy New Year! gp |