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Your Stories
Richard Baines, Clarence Hunter, and Dennis Chanter
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Richard Baines. Forty years is a long time isn't it, and just contemplating it is scary. After Africa I found England restrictive (though the problem was probably mine) and I ended up in another country of wide open spaces (like Kenya, where I was posted) -- Australia. I then stayed loyal -- to Australia, to my beautiful Australian wife and to teaching English and Drama. We have three children. The teaching took me to the Blue Mountains, Melbourne and Sydney. I stayed in the classroom, where I clearly belonged, having no business skills or interest in unnecessary paperwork. After 40 years I found, naturally, that I was teaching with girls young enough to be my daughters. No complaints there. A mild heart attack put an end to the job, however. I now spend my time writing, conducting workshops, travelling and waiting for grandchildren! Cheers, Richard. Clarence Hunter. I've read with interest the reports by Jones and Hamburger. I really can't believe that it's been nearly fifty years since TEA started out and I landed in Uganda. It was good to see that Kajubi is still on the horizon. He worked really hard to make black Americans feel comfortable- not everybody did. To tell the truth I only wanted to go for one tour. I don't remember how many tours I spent. It was a defining moment in my life. There's a lot that goes through my mind. I watched Benedicto Kiwanuka play for Boston College and the Giants and I thought about his grandfather Benedicto, my close friend. I thought about Amin having him pulled from the Supreme Court Bench and shot. I then thought about the children of Basil Batyringia who were clubbed to death by Amin's hooligans. We Americans can do nothing about African tyrants but wring our hands like some old maid. But when there are resources to make people wealthy here we quickly bring tyrants to heel. I miss my TEA brothers and sisters, both alive and dead. It was a great experience, but it's time to move on. Dennis Chanter. Hello Ed, I recently stumbled across the TEAA website and your request for information about British members of TEA. Well, I was one! I went out to Makerere in 1964 and taught at Tanga SS 1965-7. Recently I transferred my 35 mm slides from that period into the digital age, and some of these can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/dennischanter. There are other things there as well but the two albums with Tanga in the name are the most relevant. I also have a few slides from Makerere, but I haven't got round to putting those up yet. Maybe this contact will stir me into action. On returning to the UK I worked as a supply teacher for a while but then went to Oxford to take a postgraduate course in statistics. This led to a job as a statistician at the (now-defunct) Glasshouse Crops Research Institute in Littlehampton, Sussex. There I collected a doctorate, and also a wife (Darryl). We have one son, Ben, born in 1974, who is now a Data Manager. After 10 years or so at GCRI I moved to a toxicology research lab, then called Huntingdon Research Centre, and after another 10 years I moved into clinical research with a variety of Contract Research Organizations. About 5 years ago I set up my own consultancy business, which has done well, but now I'm trying to wind it down so that I can semi-retire. We live in Bexhill, East Sussex. In my spare time I keep up with my musical interests, playing timpani in some of the local orchestras. With best wishes, Dennis |