Rhubarb 2021

ST EDWARD’S

independent boarding schools at the time seemed very stuffy, formal and hierarchical. Historically Houses were provided for the housemaster and they acted like independent barons in their own fiefdoms. But not at Teddies – right from the beginning it was Warden-centred. All the houses, apart from Field, were around the Quad and theWarden looked out onto it all So, right back to Simeon, there was an unpretentiousness and this was still the case when I worked here, and I think remains so to this day.The second thing is that Teddies always had a group of very academic pupils and those who were very good at games, and that balance was how the School kept going.

the most influential people in my time was Peter Whitehouse – a lovely and very able man. When I produced plays and musicals, he would write the music and we’d stand around the piano – he was wonderful. I was surrounded by very talented colleagues as drama producers and we were a team. I never remember having a

INTERVIEW

A big change was a huge increase in what you might call the Arts. Music got stronger, there was more drama, more modern plays and then, around the time I was leaving, more dance. Every time I come back and visit the School I’m really impressed. So that’s really what I want to put across: the unpretentiousness, the cosiness, the friendliness, the approachability, the balance of academia, sports, arts – it works. You were Housemaster of Segar’s House. What was boarding life like back then? Having been rather opposed to the notion of boarding at the time, I found myself defending

Malcolm in 1984

When I was a small boy, I used to have two shillings and sixpence a week as spending money. For some reason I just

cross word with any of them.

You have generously donated a significant number of books to St Edward’s.When did you start your collection? When I was a small boy, I used to have two shillings and sixpence a week as spending money. For some reason I just spent it all on books. I’m an only child and, though I wasn’t particularly lonely, we moved house when I was 10 years old to Bramhope, away from all

spent it all on books.

a lot of the old boarding traditions. For instance, on Sunday I would rehearse plays or take Sixth Formers out in my car to visit churches and have cream teas. Increasingly in the ’90s, pupils weren’t here on Sundays, so many of those things couldn’t be done. But, of course, family time is increasingly important to both parents and pupils. Which were the highlights of your career at Teddies? If I pick them out, I’ll sound arrogant! I think the Houses have changed a lot since my time but, looking back on my time as a Housemaster, I ran an interesting House and a rather old-fashioned one. Every day,

of my friends so that encouraged me to read a lot. I remember one morning, when my father was about to set off for work, a man came to the door because I had filled in a coupon in the newspaper saying I was interested in buying the Encyclopaedia Britannica – my father was furious! But I am a hoarder and I have thousands of books. My gift of 4,000 books to the library at Teddies was partly because I wanted to be generous but also because I still wanted to have access to them whilst I was still alive! After leaving Teddies in 1999, you moved back to Leeds before recently returning to Oxford.What have you done to keep busy? I was very lucky in retirement as a few years before, when I was in my 50s, I had a phone call from Simon Ditchfield (Sing’s, 1971-1976) and he asked me if I’d like to take a group of adults to Florence during the upcoming school holidays. I thought that sounded like the sort of job I’d like to do when I retired! So, I started leading these tours during the holidays and when I retired there was a job waiting for me. By this time, I’d been with the company for several years so I could choose the destinations and shape the tours, which I really enjoyed. At the same time, I ran several art history courses in Leeds, only giving that up a year or two before I moved back to Oxford. I miss it but couldn’t do it now.Those were very good years.When people talk about extending their working lives they should be careful because they’re destroying their retirement life and that’s a whole life in itself. Looking back, I see my 60s and early 70s as fulfilling and happy years. Retirement worked out very well for me.

after lunch, I expected my

Prefects to have coffee with me and I tried to make it a very personalised

From the production of ‘The Boyfriend’,1983

thing for them. From a personal point of view that was a very satisfying part of my time here. Otherwise, I think the play productions that I did because they were different from everything else – they were creative. I produced about 30 formal productions on the stage as well as little plays in-House, and I enjoyed that over the years. One of

22