My Dear Richard,

Seen your name so often and keep meaning to write but sloth sets in just when I shouldn't let it. I hope that you are well and the troubles that beset you are all manageable. I have to tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed the All Stars entry and particularly the piccies thereof. I can't help but remark that some people age a great deal better than others, and to see so many dear old friends looking like a shadow of their former robust selves is very saddening. Ah well, they would probably say the same about me if they saw a recent picture, though truth to tell I think I am aging pretty well considering the various traumas that have occurred.

Click on picture to see... some years ago...

Our little reunion was an absolute smash hit, laughter for two complete days and the sort of lamp-swinging that you would only see in the Titanic the night it tried to run down an iceberg. A little precis of each person. From England came Michael Hutton, a marvelous Euphonium and Cellist who should have been commissioned, he was an excellent musician and a very personable man. He attended the Royal Academy and rightly expected that his commission would follow. When it didn't he left, a very disillusioned man. He became Director of Music at the famous Blue Coat School and then taught at Repton. He and his charming wife Maureen have latterly had a second or third career selling amber jewelry, some of which they very kindly gave to the other attendant ladies. Then there was Eric Hayward, late of the Staff Band at Deal a zillion years ago. Along with Patrick Flynn and the well known trombonist Len (I think) Spencer, he was a continuous thorn in the side of one FVD. He came to Australia, joined the RAAF Central Band, as Bass Drummer, Bassoonist and later, Drum Major. He eventually became the Warrant Officer in charge of the Band, and did the job so well that he was awarded the Order of Australia. A great lump of a man he is married to a diminutive lady of great charm, Jan.

Then there was Barrie Baker, a man of very quick wit who could easily have made a great deal of dough as a stand up comic. He was a very good clarinet player whom I had in the Royal Yacht with me for some time. He also made his way to Australia after buying himself out, settled in Adelaide, joined the burgeoning music department of the Education Dept. and eventually became the senior lecturer in charge of all the wood-wind teachers. His lovely wife Sandra comes from Deal which she still remembers fondly. Bob Chumley, in whose house Michael stayed and where we enjoyed each others company, was also a Euph and Cello. He is a very sincere and delightful man whom I did not know in the Corps but who now works in the judicial system in the Central courts of Adelaide. He also plays for me in my string orchestra which meets monthly and does a couple of concerts a year. His wife Carole, an absolute honey, is a very fine singer and has sung on occasion with the orchestra, a lovely performance of Elgars of "Where Corals Lie" I remember well.

And then there was me and my lovely wife Margaret. My exploits would fill another couple of pages so we will just leave it to posterity. It may have been short but it could not have been sweeter. If I win the big premium bond prize, I swear I will activate it all again at no cost to anyone. Anyone who is contemplating a similar event should get on with it, it is just about the most worthwhile thing you could ever do.

Tom Lambert