Number One again

TAIO CRUZ scales the UK singles chart with Dynamite:



On the question of whether this now world-famous man is, or is not, an Old Blue, please see the sidebar.

Abolished

THE government axes the General Teaching Council for England, established ten years ago by the late Carol Adams (3's 59-65, Almoner 06-07).

Monstrous misfits

"Probably the most politically incorrect novel of the decade" ~ Anna Swan (3's 71-77) reviews Ned Beauman's Boxer, Beetle.

Dem bones

IT'S not a crime scene, it's an Anglo-Saxon burial, says archaeologist Hugh Coddington (ThB 69-76).

Man who improved the nation's health

HE tended the feet of the Jarrow Marchers and examined the chest of the teenage Prince Philip: epidemiologist John Pemberton (PeB 22-30) has died at 97.

This meaty interview dates from 2006.

Ideal for the post

CONGRATULATIONS to Simon Reid (Staff 93-04) on his appointment as headmaster of Gordonstoun.

Rough old trade

THERE was little joy on election night for three candidates with links to CH.

Martin Linton (ThA 54-62) lost Battersea, the marginal seat he'd held for Labour since 1997.

Also unseated was senior Labour malcontent Charles Clarke, son of the eminent Whitehall mandarin Sir Richard "Otto" Clarke (ColA 22-28).

And in Bradford West David Hall-Matthews (LaA 78-85) failed to break through for the Liberal Democrats. If his surname sounds familiar that's no surprise, as he's the son of John Hall-Matthews (Horsham Assistant Chaplain 65-72).

Loud Vulgar Breakcore Gabba Glitch Mashup

MATT:Scratch, alias Matthew Vyner (PeB 98-04), has his wicked way with Mozart's Requiem (4½ mins):



He's added more tracks to his MySpace page, plus loads of biographical info.

Born to the purple

SAVING SPECIES, a forty-part Radio 4 series that began this week, will follow the ups and downs of a colony of Purple Emperor butterflies with National Trust entomologist Matthew Oates (ThB 63-72). The first programme's repeated today at 9pm, or you can hear it on BBC iPlayer.

Serious trouble

THE BIG I AM stars Leo Gregory (MdA 90-95) as a small-time crook way out of his depth. We were sorry to learn that the stream of disasters afflicting the project included the smashing of Leo's nose when a stunt backfired.

Their name liveth

DURING this blog's recent quiescence, three well known members of the CH family have died:

Denis Pelmore (Horsham Staff 64-74), our former Head of Science (recent photo here)

Chief Petty Officer Ted Bradley (CCF Staff Instructor 72-87)

Kate Davidson, a nurse at the CH Health Centre for twenty years.

May they rest in peace.

Something in the water

EARL BALDWIN of BEWDLEY, whom we knew as Lord Corvedale (Horsham Staff 70-74), pops up five times in this ten-minute video opposing water fluoridation:



There are two more instalments, but he's not in those.

Ours after all?

THIS blog's had its doubts, but the folk at the Telegraph don't share them: Taio Cruz, who topped the US singles chart last month, went to CH. Presumably they got this from Taio himself, and he ought to know.

Even so: what were his dates? What houses was he in? What name was he known by? And why's he so hard to find in the CH records? If you can shed any light, please leave a comment or email me.

One bluecoat remains in Hertford

FORMERLY the Sportsman, but originally the Bluecoat Boy, the Bluecoat Restaurant & Bar has been up and running since November. (On its website the CH uniform is described by Frank Ledwith, MdB 18-24.)

Winning friends round here

THE author of How To Lose Friends And Alienate People takes up the cudgels on behalf of CH.

Brief Encounter

STEVE HILTON (MaA 81-83, LaA 83-86) had a mauvais quart d'heure at Birmingham New Street station in 2008 (4 minutes):



Ah well. Fancy some more moaning about his emails?

Unique new voice

IN the unlikely setting of Dubai, Joanna Marsh (Staff 97-02) has blossomed as a composer.

Saved from pratdom

AS Andy Serkis passionately reincarnates Ian Dury in the film Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, let's keep in mind that Dury was an Old Blue manqué. He won a place at CH but some sort of muddle over his father's income prevented him from taking it up. In 1979 he told the Daily Mirror:

I was quite thankful. I didn't want to walk around wearing prattish uniforms and there was something about the place I didn't want to know about."

Still, it's one heck of a thought…

"Life's a joke between me and God"

KATHLEEN STEWART-SMITH (Ffinch, 4's 16-24, Governor), who for some years presided as the wife of the Dean at St George's Cathedral, Jerusalem, has died at 102.

Photo credit: Deror avi

A break in the clouds

HOPES of a fresh inquest on Jeremiah Duggan (ThA 92-99) rose yesterday after Baroness Scotland, the Attorney General, commented:

There is an unanswered question from the inquest into Jeremiah's death as to whether the fatal injuries he suffered are in fact attributable to a car accident.

Full details in this BBC report. Donate to the cause here.