1958 Leavers 50th. Anniversary ! It's 50 years since the class of '58 listened to the final whistle in July 1958, and went their separate ways. That year's hit parade featured, among others, bestselling records by Jerry Lee Lewis (Great Balls of Fire), Elvis Presley (Jailhouse Rock), Conway Twittey (It's Only Make Believe), Connie Francis (Who's Sorry Now), and Perry Como (Magic Moments). At the movies, new releases included 'The Vikings', 'Gigi', 'South Pacific'. Oscar for best film went to 'Gigi', while the Oscar for best actor went to David Niven. The Empire Games were held in Cardiff, and Nikita Kruschev became Soviet leader. It was also the year of the Munich Air Disaster in which 8 Manchester United players lost their lives.

How many of the 1958 leavers will join us for their 50th. anniversary reunion ?

Pre-Registration Please keep those Pre-Registrations coming in ! It enables us to prepare name badges, estimate the catering requirements and help to liaise with others who are travelling long distances. Our numbers are looking very good - let's make it a record attendance !

Dr. John Swift Former teacher John has asked me to let you know that his book, "AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF MOSELEY ART SCHOOL: ART EDUCATION IN BIRMINGHAM 1800- 1975" will be on sale at the reunion at the discounted price of £20.00 a copy on the day, and £25.00 by post after the event.

The 2008 Reunion- Format for the Day

Agenda for the AGM   The agenda will, as usual, be fairly straightforward and will include the election of officers.  It will be necessary for us to appoint a new Exhibitions Secretary, and I would be grateful if anyone who feels they could organise a Spring Exhibition for 2009 could contact me as soon as possible.   We will also need to propose and second candidates for the other offices; President, Treasurer and Academic Officer.

Format for the Day :

11.30  Annual General Meeting of Subscribing Members      

1.      Apologies
2.      Obituary
3.      Minutes of the Last Meeting & Matters Arising
4.      Election of Officers :                            

• President (Nominations invited)
• Treasurer (Nominations invited)
• Academic Officer (Mr. T. H. W. (Bob) Ashby for re-election)
• Exhibitions Secretary (Vacant – Applications Invited)

5.      To receive an outline of matters of significance from the President :

• The Spring Exhibition
• Review of the Aims & Objectives of the Association
• Proposal to include former students of Birmingham College of Art to become affiliated members
• Membership & Subscriptions

6.      Financial Statement & presentation of cheque to School Owners
7.      Progress report on refurbishment of School
8.      Any other business                

          12.00   “It's About You” with Graham Pepall

Graham Pepall,  who left the school in 1954, became a transport designer and his brother, Lynford who also attended MSA, is a product designer now based in Holland at Philips Electrical. Graham has written a book intriguingly entitled "It's About You" and his presentation will relate to his life before, during and after his time at MSA, culminating in a run through his newly-published book.

12.30  “The Birmingham Grid" with David Allen

David Allen left MSA in 1975 to embark on a career as a teacher. Those who attended our reunion last year will remember that we asked for volunteers to assist Dave in his project to photograph all of the area of Birmingham within the No. 11 Outer Circle route based on a series of grid references. The project has now been successfully concluded, our members having taken around one third of the total number of photographs. Using visual aids, David will present a background to the project, together with an outline for the future for the project. The Grid can be seen at David's website at http://www.birmingham-photographic-grid.org.uk

1.00   Lunch

2.00  “Careless Talk" with Michael Richardson

Michael Richardson  was a pupil at Moseley Art School from 1946 to 1949 and found it a particularly memorable and enriching period of his early life. The "Balsley School of Art" of the book, although clearly not Moseley, does bear a resemblance to it. Mike, who is the year representative for the leavers of 1949, will provide us with an insightful perspective of his life as a pupil at our school in the period immediately following the end of World War II, his career to date, and the background to his latest book.

2008 Reunion Update (i)

Pre-Registrations are now rolling in at a rate that indicates we are going to have a very good attendance - probably larger than last year !

If you intend to join us, PLEASE pre-register as soon as possible, stating your full name (inc. maiden name where applicable), year left MSA and the names of anyone you'll be bringing so that we can prepare name badges for admission. There are going to be large numbers attending, so please pre-register early and give us plenty of time to prepare.

1968 leavers Sue Dowsett (Hammon), Gloria Lightwood and Terry Savin will be attending and have asked that as many as possible of their old schoolfriends attend the Reunion.

Ruby Colson (Summers) ('35) "Auntie" Ruby is a great favourite, personifying the character of the school in the pre-war years. We have recently lost a leading light from that period (Bob Ball), and it would be marvellous if we could find another few former students from that era . . . .

Maggie Timoney-Giles ('78) is one of many former pupils who will be flying in from abroad to be with us. Maggie is travelling from Dubai, and hopes that she, Joy Parsons, Hazel Gleadall, Caroline Sandall and Fiona Maclean will be able to meet up with as many old friends as possible !

Nick Kane ('78) is another former pupil who intends to travel from the other side of the world to be with us for our special day. Nick will be travelling from Japan - he would like to meet as many old friends as possible on the day. Paul 'Spud' Taylor ('78) will have a shorter journey - he still lives locally.

John Stevens ('54), Pat Surman (Barton)('54), Graham Pepall and Ken Wood ('54) and other leavers from their year hope that there'll be many more familiar old faces on the day.

1962 leavers Frank Devine, Pat Roberts, Graham Fernie, Roy Dalton, Cliff Northam, Barbara Regan (Haines) and others are all looking forward to meeting up with Dave Woodcock when he flies in from New York. They're hoping that there will be many more from their year

The Downing Sisters - Beryl ('59) & Jill ('65) are both attending and would be most upset if all their old friends didn't turn out to meet up with them.

Graham Pepall ('54)

Members will be interested to know that Graham, whose brother Lynford also attended the school, has recently published a book entitled "It's About You" ISBN-13: 9781847995001, which looks to be a good read, and mentions our school several times. The book is available from Amazon price £12.91.

Graham and his wife will be attending the 2008 Reunion on the 18th. May and will give us a brief resume of his life and work, together with an outline of his book.

We look forward to seeing him then.

Colin Cole ('61)

We are delighted to have been contacted by Colin, who now lives and plays in Australia. More at our our Pupil Profile webpage.

The 2008 Annual Reunion

We're pleased to announce that the 2008 Annual Reunion will be held at the old school on Sunday, 18th. May. The doors will open at 11am. Will this be your last opportunity to meet those special old friends you may not have seen for 30, 40, 50, 60 or more years ?

The very best way to support the Association and to keep Moseley Art alive is to attend our reunions. Every year, ex-pupils travel from the four corners of the world - the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and Europe to be with us, only to find that many of their old friends couldn’t be bothered to travel for an hour to join them.   For them, of course, it was a one-off, and there may not be a second chance to meet their old classmates or former teachers. Please do try to be there – our 2008 AGM & Reunion is planned, as always for the third Sunday in May.

The doors will be opened and registration will commence at 11.00am. The superb buffet lunch will be served from 12.30 onwards, and we'll be dispersing at around 4.30pm.

Please remember - people will be travelling from all over the world, literally, to be there to meet YOU - and it may be the only chance you'll get to meet them. There's a possibility that there may not be a reunion next year, so please make sure you help us to hit that record attendance figure along with all of the new faces who've found us during the last year!

Admission Fees Just a gentle reminder – with the exception of subscribing members, EVERYONE who attends the reunion will be expected to pay £6 per person at the door at the time of admission as luncheon and other costs have to be covered.  It seems that you can take the child out of the school, but you can’t, sometimes, take the school out of the child.  Time and again we have people turn up saying “I didn’t know there was a charge” (who do they think pays for everything?), “I only want to come in – I won’t be having lunch” (they are then seen eating more than anyone else), “Can I pay a pound and just have a cup of tea?” (same), “I’ve no cash – do you accept Barclaycard?”,  “I’m sure I paid my subscription” (when they haven’t), “I paid at the other door”, “I only want to look around to see if there’s anyone I know” and many more gems.  The most insulting tactic of all, though, is that of just attempting to breeze past our door attendants to try to have a free ride at everyone else’s expense.  On behalf of the other people who feel that our reunions are excellent value for money and pay happily, I have to say that only people who are subscribing members or who pay at the door will be allowed into the building.

Pre-registration is essential to enable us to calculate catering requirements, prepare name badges and organise seating. Please remember that without pre-registering, there'll be a queue for up to half an hour to process your admission. Just e-mail your full name, year of leaving, the number and full names of each of the people in your party, including any under 15 years old ( who will be admitted free ). If you can't e mail, just phone your message to 01562 741777 - don't forget to leave the name of your partner as badges will be required for everyone attending - the badges will act as proof of membership or payment on admission. Let's keep those pre-registrations coming in - and if you know someone who wants to come but doesn't have E Mail contact, please let them have details of how they can pre-register.

Format for the Day It is planned that we will have some entertaining speakers on the day.  One of these will be Mike Richardson, who left MSA in 1949.  Mike has become an author, and will provide us with an entertaining insight into his time at MSA, his career since leaving, and his embarkation on his new career.  It had been hoped that John Ward would be able to provide us with the final instalment of his 2007 presentation, but this won’t now be possible – another time, perhaps . . . but there will be other speakers on the day. We're hoping that former teachers Mr. Jack "Butch" Taylor, Mr. Bob Ashby, Mr. John Swift, Mr. Ted "Moggy" Mason, Mr. Ernie "Prango" Price, Mr. Stan Vlahovic and Mr. Alan Rees will again be joining us, together with, for the first time, Mr. Martin Burford.

Payment of Subscriptions by Standing Order

Many thanks - the majority of our members are now paying their Annual Subscription by means of our Standing Order form.

This has made administration of your £15 annual subscription much easier and has removed the necessity for us to write to members with renewal requests. If you haven't already completed and returned your Standing Order, please download a copy HERE and return it to our Hon. Treasurer, Roy Dalton (not to your bank) as soon as possible at the following address:

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

The following officers were elected for the year 2007/8:

President : Graeme Collins    

Treasurer : Roy Dalton

Exhibition Secretary : No nominations or appointment

Academic Officer : T. H. W. (Bob) Ashby

The offices of President, Treasurer and Exhibitions Secretary will become vacant on the day of the Reunion.

Members who feel they have the appropriate aptitude and skills are strongly encouraged to consider putting their names forward for any of the above offices.

Auction Event As there were no nominations last year for the office of Exhibitions Secretary, it hasn’t been possible to mount any form of exhibition this year. As a special event, however, ALL FORMER PUPILS are invited to bring in a work of art in any form to be auctioned on the day, the proceeds to go to the Treasurer to support the Association’s funds.

Email Addresses

PLEASE drop an email in our inbox at the email address above – whether you think we have it on record or not.  It will update and confirm your contact details, which may have changed since we last met.  This means YOU!  Ever wondered how many messages you’ve missed?   Have any of your friends who are former pupils moved home without telling us?

A Final Note . . .

As a final note, we all have a great time at our reunions, but the organisation and administration of the Association and its meetings falls to just a few people who get a lot of satisfaction – just from knowing that they’re doing their bit to keep Moseley Art School alive.   Nearly all of the catering arrangements on the day will be undertaken by unsung heroes like Jan Williams (Cox), Pat Surman (Barton), Pat Reynolds (Mann), John Norton and my ever suffering wife, Wendy  – would YOU like to join them by offering an hour of your time on the day to make it a success?  We could also do with a number of helpers to take a turn lending a hand with the entry process.   Please let me know on 01562 741777.

We look forward to seeing you on the 18th. May – let’s make it the biggest and best yet !

Amelia Shaw-Hastings - new website

Amelia has informed us that she now has a new website where her works can be seen. Give her a visit at www.sketchbook.plus.com

Obituary

We are sad to announce the passing of Dennis Evans, a former student at Moseley School of Art between 1948-51, who passed away unexpectedly after a long illness on the 30th. November 2007. Following his time at MSA, Dennis entered the printing trade as an apprentice, and later became an Advertising Manager. Deciding on a change of direction, he studied for and attained a degree in Art and Education and became an art teacher. An enthusiastic supporter of the Association and our reunions, he is survived by his widow Maureen, two children and two grandchildren. Further details are available at our Obituary webpage.

Pupil Profile - Dave Woodcock (1962)

We're delighted to have been contacted by Dave, who was a conspicuous member of the class of 1962. Dave has had an interesting life since leaving the caring bosom of Miss Squires, and now lives in the USA. He's aiming to make it to our 2008 AGM & Reunion and would love to hear from all his old friends (whatever happened to Barry Brittle?). An outline of his time since he left Britain may be seen in his Pupil Profile.

Obituary

It is with sadness that we have to announce that Vincent McCann, a student at the Moseley School of Art from 1942-45, passed away on the 20th. April 2007 following a long illness. His attendance at MSA was interrupted by the war, and he was evacuated to Dursley, Gloucestershire, later attending the School of of Industrial Design at Margaret Street. He later became a partner in the family business, and then moved to Paignton, Devon, where he became Mayor of Torbay in 1998-9. An extremely popular and respected man, he was afforded a funeral with full civil honours by the townspeople. Further details are available from our 'Obituary' webpage.

Pupil Profile - Tina Oppenheimer (1967-8)

Imagine living in the American wilds of Arkansas on a mountaintop in a cabin you built yourself . . . That's where an email was written by Tina, a native of the USA who came to study at the Moseley School of Art back in the 1960's, so that she could touch base with us again. It was great to hear from Tina, who would love to hear from her old friends, Susan Ryan, Susan Mead, Heather Botrill, Naomi Joseph, and anyone else who remembers her. She has sent us a Pupil Profile - be sure to take a look.

Obituary

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Robert 'Bob' Ball on the 21st. February 2008. Bob, who attended the Moseley School of Art between 1930 and 1933, was our second oldest member. An enthusiastic supporter of the Association, Bob was a prolific and successful artist throughout his life, and, after attending Birmingham College of Art, became a teacher at MSA and elsewhere, finally becoming the Principal of the Stroud College of Art for many years. Our sincere condolences go to his widow, Barbara, and to his sister Dorothea, who also both attended MSA. As always, an Association wreath was delivered to the funeral on behalf of our members. Further details are available from our 'Obituary' webpage.

Invitation to an Exhibition

You are warmly invited to attend a Textile Art Exhibition which is being held at :

Gallery 2

Jane Powell Art Studio, KENILWORTH CV8 1LZ

until Saturday 23rd. February 2008

The invitation comes from June Palmer (Wood) who attended MSA between 1960 and 1964, and is one of the 6 exhibitors. Wendy and I were aiming to go on Sunday, the 17th. February - unfortunately, I've just been informed that the show won't now be open on Sunday, but will be open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and will close on Saturday 23rd. February.

Obituary

It is with sadness that we announce the death of Michael Broughton, who attended the Moseley School of Art between 1950 and 1953. Michael passed away on Monday, 7th. January. His funeral took place at Sutton Coldfield Crematorium on the 18th. January. Further details have been posted on our Obituary webpage.

Professor Peter (P. A. J.)(Jim) Waddington (1963)

Peter ( or Professor Jim Waddington, as he now prefers to be known ) was always a larger-than-life pupil. From the humble lad from Sparkbrook, Birmingham we all knew, "Peter" Waddington has become Professor P. A. J. Waddington, also known as "Tank" Waddington, and is now the Director who leads the 40 staff and 50 postgraduate research students who comprise the History and Governance Research Institute ( HAGRI ) at the University of Wolverhampton. He is also General Editor of the Oxford Journals publication "Policing - a Journal of Policy & Practice". He has taken up his appointment following his time as Professor of Political Sociology and Warden of Windsor Hall at Reading University.

We're proud of his achievements. Despite not feeling able to respond to emails from his former friends at the Moseley School of Art, we wish him well and hope that he continues to prosper.

His bruising battle with Barry Brittle ( cock of the school ) after sports one afternoon at Billesley in 1962 is one of the most memorable events for many of the boys who attended the school at that time. Around fifty boys from the 1962 and 1963 years watched the two heavyweights shape up to exchange blows over a period of what seemed like hours. Unusually civilised, the contest remained vertical, with neither boy falling at any stage. After trading punches for some time, Waddington resorted to demonstrating some of the martial arts skills he had recently acquired at the Kyu Shin Kan judo school. Having, since, run my own accredited martial arts school for five years in the '70's, I would advise Waddington to ask for his money back. Hostilities became deflated with the onset of fatigue and the proximity of "Popeye" starting on TV, so both parties agreed to congratulate each other on their inability to deliver a decisive punch, and parted unbeaten.

For those former pupils who may not have spoken to Peter for more than forty years, you can listen to a 4th. April 2007 BBC Radio 4 discussion about his new book by clicking on the live feed at :

Peter Waddington

His latest book is entitled :

"The Violent Workplace"  Authors : P. A. J. Waddington, Douglas Badger and Ray Bull. Publisher: Willan Publishing. ISBN-10: 1843921685: ISBN-13: 978-1843921684

His recent publications include :

• Public Order: then and now" in Transformations of Policing, edited by Alistair Henry and David J.Smith, Aldershot: Ashgate.2007
• "Cognitive interviewing as a research technique" in Social Research Update, edited by Nigel Gilbert: University of Surrey, 2007. (with Ray Bull)
• "In proportion: race and police stop and search." British Journal of Criminology vol 44: pp 889-914, 2004 (with Kevin Stenson and David Don)
• "Appraising the inclusive definition of 'violence' " British Journal of Criminology vol 45: pp 141-164, 2005 (with Doug Badger and Ray Bull)
• "Slippery slopes and civil libertarian pessimism" Policing and Society vol 15: pp 353-375, 2005
• "Policing public order and political contention" in Handbook of Policing, edited by Tim Newburn. Collumpton: Willan. 2003
• "Police (canteen) sub-culture: an appreciation" British Journal of Criminology vol. 39: pp286-308. 1999

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

The Christmas Newsletter . . .

It's been quite a few days - we've been sorting the problems we've had due to a computer virus causing our computer to crash. This has, unfortunately made it impossible to mailmerge the newsletter and Christmas cards to our members as usual. Our sincere apologies - we'll have our new computer fully functioning within the next few days, and will be sending out our newsletter just after Christmas. We know how disappointed our members will be, and hope that they'll understand.

In the meantime, we wish you a peaceful and happy Christmas, and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Still awaiting your news . . .

Hi, everyone. The Christmas newsletter is about to go to print - last minute call for entries !

We're happy to upload anything of interest to our members. Are you looking for an old schoolfriend or sweetheart? Would you like to tell us what you're up to these days? Would you like to organise a reunion for members from your year at the Moseley School of Art? Did you know anyone who has since achieved fame or notoriety? The Christmas Newsletter is due to go out imminently, so if you would like to add something to the sum of our knowledge, Email us by clicking on the email link at the top of this page . . . .

Pupil Profiles

We'd love to see many more pupil profiles - every one is interesting. A number of our former pupils have been extremely successful in their chosen careers, and we'd love to hear from them . . . but the most important stories are those from former students who haven't ascended to those ethereal heights where they feel that contact with lesser mortals is beneath them. This website is very successful, averaging around 30,000 hits per month, and we know that there are many more readers than contributors. We'd love to hear from you - your contribution doesn't have to be a literary masterpiece!

It will probably help you to recollect your experiences if you use the following list of pointers:

We are also seeking any and all photographs, especially those showing yourself, the interior and exterior of the building including classrooms in use, and works made by yourself or others during your time at the school. We guarantee the safe return of any documents and photographs within seven days.

Mike Richardson's Latest Novel . . .

Mike Richardson, who left MSA in 1949, has posted us details of his latest novel.

"CARELESS TALK"

"Careless Talk, the long-awaited sequel to Michael Richardson’s prize winning debut novel The Pig Bin, is now available from bookshops, www.tindalstreet.co.uk and other online booksellers at £7.99.

"Michael was a pupil at Moseley Art School from 1946 to 1949 and found it a particularly memorable and enriching period of his early life. The Balsley School of Art of the book, although clearly not Moseley, does bear a resemblance to it.

"David Nobbs (The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin) describes Careless Talk as, ‘A moving and very funny account of the painful adolescence of a young art student just after the end of the Second World War . . . such is the author’s skill and accuracy I ended up caring very much about Morley Charles’

"WILLIAM PALMER in the Independent says, ‘ . . . It can make you laugh out loud. The dialogue is brilliantly lively and the period scene-setting beautifully rendered’

‘Offbeat, moving and hilarious’ The Independent

"Morley Charles is a charming comic creation. Wartime atmosphere is spot on, and there’s at least a smile on every page’ Time Out

News from the 1960 Leavers Mini Reunion . . .

From Jannette Williams (Cox) 2nd. November 2007 . . .

"The 1960 Moseley leaver’s held their second mini reunion on Sunday 14th October at the Plough & Harrow Hotel, even though we are all pensioners and a year older than last year, it was still wonderful to feel 16 again.

This year all of the previous ex-pupils attended, even Joy Tomey (Bradshaw) who came home from holiday the previous evening, along with 5 others who made it for the first time, which was exciting for all concerned. Ian Fletcher, Steve Chaplin, Georgie Bates, Mary Parsons (Court) and Alison Guest (Schwind) all added to our numbers. During the course of the year we had heard from Bob Bates and Norman Hutton, who could not make it this year, but who will be there in 2008.

Pictured (Right) : Jo Phillips (Ashen), Joy Bradshaw (Tomey), Jo Webster (Dutton)

Sadly, Tony Withers (‘the Wiz’) wasn’t there, and everyone said how they missed him, and how he would have loved meeting everyone, and of course there were lots of ‘Wiz’ stories. 

Sheila Ravenscroft treated us to an impromptu song – wow! What a voice, and, without the group she sings with.  What a star, love her to bits.  For those who would love to hear her perform, she is taking part in the ‘Oxfam Stomp’ in the New Year, in Birmingham City Centre, will let you know details when I get them.

I must mention, ‘the other halves’ again, excellent job by all of them, very supportive to us `kids` I hope they are feeling more involved, now they are getting to know us all.

Pictured (Left) : Val Benger (Dodd), Alison Schwind (Guest)

So again, thank you all for coming and making the day one to be remembered, and I look forward to seeing you in May at the Association Reunion and again next year, at our 3rd mini reunion, and who knows we may have made contact with other ex Moselyites.

Love to all

Jan Williams (Cox)

For UB40 fans . . .

Fans of former pupils Ali Campbell & Co. who formed the legendary Reggae band UB40 can listen to the soundtrack of a Radio WM interview with Les Ross by clicking on:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/mainframe.shtml?http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/aod/wm.shtml

The interview starts at 60 mins. into the 180 min. show, and lasts for around half an hour. The interview is designed to promote the band's latest tour, which will include an appearance at the NEC on the 20th. and 21st. December 2007.

You are Invited to a Literary Launch Party!

Michael Richardson, Year Rep for the 1949 leavers, has written a second book, this time set in Moseley Art School. The book is entitled "Careless Talk" and is published by Tindal Street Press.

A book launch party has been organised, to which all members of the Moseley School of Art Association are invited, on

Thursday 25th October 2007

7.00pm onwards at the

Round Room

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, Chamberlain Square, B3 3DH

We hope that every former pupil who can make it on the evening will take the opportunity of obtaining a copy of the book, duly signed by the author. Mike has been a solid supporter of the Association since its formation, and has generously contributed his time to our meetings and exhibitions on many occasions. Let's support him by making it a reunion evening of Old Moseleyites at this special venue that helped so many of us, from our earliest years, to establish our love of Art.

Fancy a day out at Stourport on Severn?

One of our 1957 leavers, Janice Rowlatt (nee Hines) has asked if we could publicise an exhibition of works for sale organised by the Great Witley Art Group which will be held on Saturday, 27th. October 2007 at the village hall, Great Witley, which is a few miles outside Stourport on Severn, Worcestershire.

Admission is free and tea, coffee and cakes will be available. The exhibition will be open for one day only, and will run from 10.30 till 4.30pm. There is plenty of parking at the front of the hall.
 
The Great Witley Art Group are enthusiastic amateur artists who create paintings and works in a variety of other media and this will be an opportunity to acquire a work of art at modest cost.
 
If you'd like to make a full day day of it, the stunning yet little-known Witley Church is only five minutes way. It has magnificent baroque ceiling paintings, and it really is like stepping inside a gilded work of art, as a visit to the website http://www.360spin.co.uk/portfolio/church.htm will show.

Immediately adjacent is Witley Court, the stately home built by the Earl of Dudley, now owned by English Heritage - also well worth a visit. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.16927

Janice and her friends look forward to seeing old friends from Moseley Art School on the day.

Obituary

It is with sadness that we announce that Anthony "Tony" Withers, who attended the Moseley School of Art between 1957 and 1960, passed away on Monday, 30th. July 2007. His funeral took place at the Robin Hood Crematorium on the 8th. August and was attended by a number of former schoolfriends from MSA. Further details will appear on our Obituary webpage.

Change of Contact Email Address

Just a line to let everyone know that if you wish to contact our President, the Email address graeme_collins@btinternet.com is no longer useable. Graeme Collins has a new Email address, which is :

Please amend your address book / contact list (and that's an "L" after "graeme").

An Appeal by Michael Brassington ('58)

Like everyone else who attended our Reunion on the 20th. May, Michael thoroughly enjoyed himself. Unfortunately, he can't now find the cloth school blazer badge (MSA within palette version) he took to the meeting. If anyone has found the badge, which may have been dropped somewhere in or around the school, Michael would be extremely grateful for a phone call on 01827 383007.

Michael is devastated and has already made a large number of phone calls - he has also revisited the school - please give him a ring if you can help.

The 2007 AGM & Whole School Reunion . . .

Everyone said it on the day, and the phone calls and emails we've received since confirm it . . . Our 2007 Reunion last Sunday was the BEST EVER!

If you weren't there, you missed an amazing day . . . beautifully sunny and warm, the former pupils and teachers started arriving even earlier than our early starting time of 10.30. It was great to see lots of new faces, attending for the first time, and the enthusiasm of those attending from abroad was infectious. Within minutes of arriving, everyone felt that it didn't matter what years they had attended, they were among friends and the ice was very quickly broken.

The format for the day was completely different, and everyone has asked that we should repeat the process next year - something we're already planning. We were joined on the day by former teachers Bob Ashby and Ernie (Prango) Price, and a very special ovation was given to former teacher and, later, Headmaster Jack (Butch) Taylor when he arrived after lunch.

Please see our Reunion webpage for a full account of the day's proceedings.

The 2007 AGM & Whole School Reunion

- Last minute reminder . . .

Our former teacher and Headmaster has contacted me to say that he is going to make every effort to be with us on Sunday afternoon. For those who haven't met Jack "Butch" Taylor since leaving our school, I'm sure you won't want to miss this special opportunity of seeing him again after all those years.

Our numbers are looking good, and we'll be having a beautiful buffet lunch. See you there - the doors open at 10.30 . . .

The 2007 AGM & Whole School Reunion - Update

The 2007 AGM & Whole School Reunion

Spring is here – it’s that time again when we hope we’ll be able to meet those ex-pupils who we may not have seen for 30, 40, 50, 60 or more years at our Annual Reunion.   This year’s AGM and Annual Reunion will take place at the old school on Sunday, 20th. May.

The doors will open at 10.30, and we’ve found new former pupils who will be attending.  Please Pre-Register TODAY your intention of attending to help us to calculate catering and seating arrangements and to enable us to prepare your name badges - Simply return the Pre-Registration form. Please remember that you'll waste valuable time standing in queues if you don't pre-register, and our volunteers would also like to get on with meeting their own friends, too. As an alternative, you can also email your pre-registration, giving the details requested on the form.

The reunion will be another disappointment for many, if YOU aren’t going to be there. 

Every year, there are many stories of people who have travelled from as far away as the USA and Australia to meet up with their old classmates, only to find that their friends came the previous year and are having a year off . . . and for those who have travelled furthest, it may be their only opportunity to attend a reunion with their old friends and members of the teaching staff.

Agenda for the AGM   The agenda will, as usual, be fairly straightforward and will include the election of officers.  It will be necessary for us to appoint a new Exhibitions Secretary, and I would be grateful if anyone who feels they could do a professional job for our 2008 Spring Exhibition could contact me as soon as possible.   We will also need to discuss all of the other offices, including that of President.

Format for the Day :

11.15  Annual General Meeting of Subscribing Members      

1.      Apologies
2.      Obituary
3.      Minutes of the Last Meeting & Matters Arising
4.      Election of Officers :                            

• President (Nominations invited)
• Treasurer (Roy Dalton for re-election)
• Academic Officer (Mr. T. H. W. (Bob) Ashby for re-election)
• Exhibitions Secretary (Vacant – Applications Invited)

5.      To receive an outline of matters of significance from the President :

• Membership & Subscriptions
• Review of the Aims & Objectives of the Association
• The Spring Exhibition

6.      Financial Statement & presentation of cheque to School Owners
7.      Progress report on refurbishment of School
8.      Any other business                

          12.15   “Childhood – On Offer Once Only” with John Ward

John Ward,  who left the school in 1953, is a regular and enthusiastic attendee of our reunions.  John has followed a career in art education, and has acquired expertise in a number of art-related disciplines.  He intriguingly describes his presentation “Childhood – On Offer Once Only“ as “an affectionate but penetrating look, using both two- and three-dimensional aids, at the inventive, random and capricious nature of humankind in its headlong rush to produce gadgetry and devices to, supposedly, improve the quality of life (Handicraft – where are you now ?)”

1.00   Lunch

2.00  “A 30 Minute Audience with Marjorie Yates”

Marjorie Yates who left MSA in 1957 to follow a highly successful acting career in Theatre, Radio, TV and Films, has very kindly agreed to provide us with a highly entertaining interactive presentation “A 30 Minute Audience with Marjorie Yates” during which she will reflect on her time at MSA and provide us with an insight into her acting career.  Marjorie has acted alongside most of Britain’s finest actors.   A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, Birmingham Rep and other leading theatrical institutions, she is currently starring as “Carol” in Channel 4’s BAFTA Award – winning TV series  “Shameless” with David Threlfall.

Year Representatives  Once again, we’re very grateful to our year representatives for maintaining contact and enthusiasm with their year members.  I hope that all of our year reps will remember to phone around as many of their year members as possible to encourage them to make the 2007 Reunion – a few phone calls makes a world of difference to our attendance figures. 

The 2007 Spring Exhibition   For the reasons previously notified, there will be no formally arranged exhibition this year, but, following on from an idea by David Walton (’59), we do hope that as many people as possible will bring in as many of their own works as they can manage, together with their own easels so that they can be displayed in the first floor Drawing Room - Exhibitors will then be able to take their works away at the end of the day. Let’s turn the clock back by filling the first floor with our work – I’ll be bringing some of my own.  Please remember to bring label cards to let people know the name of the artist, title, medium etc.

Email Correspondence   One of the problems associated with website management is that I am now receiving in excess of 2,000 spam or junk emails every day, and no longer have time to visually run through my junk mail folder.   I still welcome emails as the most efficient method of correspondence, but I would ask that you ensure that the subject line mentions “Moseley School of Art” so that I can easily identify genuine emails.

Subscriptions and Pre-Registration   Our Standing Orders are still by far the most preferable way of receiving subscriptions as they require the minimum of time for us to process, and I would appeal to all members to pay by this method.   Please remember that the members voted for an annual subscription of £15 at the 2006 AGM, and that (if you haven’t done so already) a new Standing Order mandate (obtain a copy) needs to be completed and returned to us by the 26th. April to ensure your subscription is up to date.  If you’re in any doubt as to whether your subscription is up to date, just forward a new mandate as it will cancel all previous mandates.  By becoming a paid up member, you will be entitled to streamlined free admission to the Reunion for yourself and your partner by means of the coded name badge which will be prepared for you and available on your arrival at the Reunion (please remember to Pre-Register so that we can prepare a badge for your partner).  You will also receive our quarterly newsletters and will be entitled to vote at our AGM.

Wendy and I hope that our 2007 AGM and Reunion will be the biggest and best yet – we look forward to seeing you and all of our old friends at the old school on the 20th. May.

 

Obituary

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Janet Phillips (Taylor). Janet attended the Moseley School of art between and 1958 and 1961. Further details are provided at our Obituary webpage.

The Rev. Christine Musser

The Rev. Christine left our school in 1970 and, on becoming an Anglican Priest at Boscastle, Cornwall, starred in the BBC TV series "Seaside Parish", attracting millions of viewers per episode.

Chris is about to leave Boscastle after four and a half years after accepting an offer of a new post as priest at Pirbright, Surrey so that she can join her husband Brett who has been appointed Head of Music at the Priory School, in Dorking, Surrey.

The "Seaside Parish" series of programmes spotlighted the work of Christine, including caring for parishioners after the flood of August 2004 which had a devastating effect on Boscastle. She says that it will be a "huge wrench" to leave Boscastle.

Obituary

An Appeal for Information

The following email has been received from the granddaughter of one of our former pupils. If you can help with her enquiries, please reply directly to Ms. Smith.

Stop Press : Janet Bridges (1964)

The following headline appeared on Australian ABC News a few days ago as a sequel to the events that led to national news coverage regarding Janet a few weeks ago -

Man accused of stalking far north MP

A man has been charged with stalking Cook MP Jason O'Brien and his electoral officer Janet Hughes (Bridges) three weeks after a hostage drama at their Cairns office in far north Queensland.

Last month, a 44-year-old man was charged after allegedly taking Ms Hughes hostage while armed with a rifle in Mr O'Brien's office in Cairns.

Police arrested another man after he allegedly threatened Ms Hughes at the office last Thursday.

Jeffrey Francis Leech, 40, appeared in court on Friday charged with unlawful stalking and was remanded in custody to reappear again today."

RIGHT: Janet Hughes (Bridges) (centre) with Hilary Rigby (Coleman) and Linda Etherington(Court) at an earlier reunion

The story followed an earlier drama, when Janet was taken hostage by a gunman in the electoral office of Labour MP Jason O'Brien in Cairns, Queensland. Janet was held for several hours before her captor, who was armed with a loaded rifle, was arrested.

The School History

Those former pupils who regularly attend our reunions will know that Professor John Swift, a former teacher at the school, has authored a book entitled "An Illustrated History of Moseley School of Art: Art Education in Birmingham 1800-1975". We were very disappointed to learn that Professor Swift will not be available (for family reasons) to provide a presentation on the history of the school at our Annual Reunion on the 20th. May 2007. He has, however, agreed to provide what promises to be an extremely interesting presentation at our 2008 reunion.

Professor Swift has given his kind permission for an (abbreviated) serialisation of his work on our website, and the first episode will appear here a few weeks from now.

'Sharing Our Past'

A lengthy account of life as a youngster in Birmingham and life at MSA during the 1950's has been submitted by William (Bill) Hall, who attended the school between 1956-9.

Bill's story is essential reading and has been uploaded to our Pupil Profile pages.

The 2007 AGM and Reunion - Sunday, 20th. May

We have finally received confirmation from the school owners that we may hold our AGM and Annual Reunion at the old school building - newsletters will be going out within the next week or two.

Amelia Shaw-Hastings (1939)

One of our most senior former pupils has been honoured with a six-week retrospective of her life's work at the Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum. The exhibition runs from Saturday 10th. February until the 24th. March 2007, and further details can be obtained from the Cheltenham Art Gallery's website at: www.cheltenhammuseum.org.uk/exhibitions4.aspx

Wendy and I intended to join Amelia for her pre-exhibition private view on the 9th. February, but that was made impossible by the gridlocked road conditions caused by snow. We did, however enjoy a superb day out at her exhibition on Wednesday, 21st. February - the gallery has a varied and interesting collection and is well worth a visit anyway.

The exhibition includes many of her works executed while she was a pupil at the Moseley School of Art, and a good number of her original works and prints are available for purchase. The whole exhibition is superbly presented and is a credit to Amelia and the gallery.

Amelia attended MSA between 1936-9, then attended the first ever Industrial Design course at Birmingham College of Art. She has had a varied and interesting career, and, at around 86 years young, is still a very highly motivated artist. Her work includes original drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture.

We felt that the exhibition was well worth the visit - I hope that as many of our former pupils as possible will support Amelia by attending her exhibition. As mentioned above, the gallery is a very interesting visit in its own right, and we concluded our visit with a very nice light lunch from the range of freshly made meals and drinks that are available at reasonable cost in the gallery's cafe on the top floor.

An Appeal for Information

The following appeal for information has been received. If you can help, please reply direct by email to Christopher Marsden.

" Dear Graeme

"I am writing to ask for your help in my search for memories of three Birmingham students. Fritz Steller (Birmingham College of Art 1959-65), Sonya Ferris (1963-5) and Gwyn Roberts (Birmingham School of Architecture 1963-5) were key to the design of the 1970 Queensgate Market, Huddersfield (see www.huddersfieldgem.org for details).

"I am researching the development of this now listed building. I would be very grateful for any memories of Gwyn (full name, Gwynfor Edwards Jones), Fritz, or Sonya (who married Fritz) from their times as a students in Birmingham.

"Fritz is living and working near Munster. I have just completed a 7,000 word article on his architectural ceramics for the forthcoming Vol 13 of Journal of The Tiles and Architectural Ceramics Society. Sonya specialised in textiles, she is retired and living in Scotland, Sadly Gwyn died in 2004. His widow Sheila and children are helping me with my memories but understandably know little of his training and professional development.

"If anyone has any memory of Fritz and his passion for sculpting, Sonya and their friend Gwyn I would be very grateful if you would get in touch. Gwyn’s 1965 thesis was Services to Industrialised Building. I can send photos of all three from the 1960s, if it helps. If you knew none of them please accept my apologies for troubling you.

With best wishes.

Yours,

Christopher Marsden"

Email huddersfieldgem@hotmail.com

An Unexpected Reunion

Our Treasurer, Roy Dalton ('62) was treated to a surprise 60th. birthday party by his children at the Thistle Hotel, Birmingham on Saturday, the 17th. February. Roy's son, Rob phoned to ask if any of hisfather's old schoolfriends would be able to make it, so a few enquiries were made and Wendy and I were joined by Graham Fernie ('62) and John Greenway ('62) and their wives.

Roy had no idea that a party was planned (he thought they were going on to a casino). He arrived at the hotel with his son and was shown into a darkened room where around 120 friends and relatives lay in wait. The barrage of flash photography as he entered made Roy think that he'd walked into a firing squad! A great night was had by all, especially Roy, who is clearly a very popular guy.

Roy went into electrical engineering after leaving MSA and subsequently formed his own company in 1972 - the party was also the 35th anniversary of his founding of the company. He developed and patented an energy-saving light fitting, which has given rise to the company name - Lightsaver.co.uk. Nowadays, Roy and his family have a sizeable operation including other electrical appliances which are marketed online.

Obituary

The Christmas Newsletter

The following is an extract from the Christmas Newsletter which was sent out by post to all subscribing members before Christmas.

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The 2007 Annual General Meeting and Reunion   The very best way to support the Association and to keep Moseley Art alive is to attend our reunions . . . every year, ex-pupils travel from the four corners of the world - the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Canada to be with us, only to find that their old friends couldn’t be bothered to travel for an hour to join them.   For them, of course it was a one-off, and there probably won’t be a second chance to meet their old classmates.   Please do try to be there – our 2007 AGM & Reunion is planned, as always for the third Sunday in May – which will be Sunday, 20th. May 2007 at the old school.

The 2007 Spring Exhibition  The Spring Exhibition is a happy opportunity to provide our former pupils with the chance to show and sell their works in the school which nurtured their sense of creativity, and to provide a visual focal point for our reunions.  Our Exhibitions Secretary, Pamela Headford (Gilbert) has said that she’s reluctant to organise another exhibition at the school, and suggested that we stage our next exhibition at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists gallery.  This has proved to be unviable as there would be a cost of £1,000 - £1,500, there would be diluted attendance as the exhibition would take place at a different venue to the Reunion, and, last but not least, there are in any case no available dates before Spring 2008.   
Pamela's reasons were :

1. “The censorship imposed by the present owners of the school building”.  This  relates to the condition imposed by the owners of the school building,  a Muslim association, that there must be no depiction of the naked human form in any of the works.
2. “The lamentable security to the exhibition room”.
3. “The school building is a difficult location to attract the public”.   The character of the area around the school is certainly less than attractive, and it is agreed that the general condition of the building’s facade is a disgrace.

I wouldn’t disagree that the above factors present frustrations and difficulties for anyone intending to stage a prestige exhibition at the school, but these are, unfortunately the constraints within which we have to operate.  The Spring Exhibition must take place at the same time and in the same building as the AGM and Reunion, so it seems obvious that the exhibition must remain at the school building.   Given that an exhibition at the RBSA isn’t possible next year, I invited Pamela to let us have her proposals for our 2007 Spring Exhibition. Pamela has now resigned and, having already publicly thanked her for the contribution made to the 2005 exhibition, and am happy to reiterate my thanks here.

If anyone feels that they could do a good job for us next May, please me.   In the event that no-one steps forward, next year’s exhibition will, of necessity be cancelled, and, taking on board the excellent suggestion by David Walton (1959), I will suggest that members will be invited to exhibit their works on an informal basis for the day only, by bringing in their own easel(s).

Obituary We have been informed by Graham Williams, the Year Representative for the 1957 leavers that Margaret Davies (Webster), known as "Chutty" to her friends, passed away on Monday, 30th. October after suffering  ill health for a very long time.  Further details from our Obituary webpage. We have been informed by Beryl Dignam (1945) that John Dignam, her brother in law and classmate, passed away during September 2006 following a long illness. John attended the Moseley School of Art between 1942 and 1945 and had previously been a director of a successful signmaking company. Beryl Dignam has also informed us of the passing of another of her schoolfriends. Fred Smith, who also attended the school between 1942 and 1945, died suddenly during September 2006. Fred had worked as a commercial artist and in later years had indulged his passion for showing horses.

Robert Sedgley - Painting in Spain If anyone is interested in a short break of a week or two and the opportunity to paint in Spain with a small group of other MSAA members, you may wish to contact Robert Sedgley, who left our school in 1958. He writes -

" DATES: For as many days as you wish between Saturday 9th to Saturday 23rd June and/or Saturday 8th to Saturday 22nd September 2007.

LOCATION: Villalonga, Valencia.  Villalonga is a village of about 4000 people, situated in an orange growing region 10 kilometres inland from Gandia. The streets in the older parts of the village (where we live) offer some paintable subjects and there are interesting mountain views in the area.  The nearby historic city of Valencia with many monuments, museums and galleries is an hours train ride from Gandia,  also an interesting town with the palace of the Borgias amongst its historic monuments. The beach is 12Km away and can be reached by bus. There are very attractive drives and another historic town, Jativa with a splendid castle, is a 40 min. drive away.

GETTING TO VILLALONGA:  Cheap flights are available to Valencia (80K) and Alicante (120K) airports.  Thompsonfly, Easijet, Ryanair and Clickair fly to Valencia From Valencia: a short taxi or bus ride takes you to the train station where trains run 2/3 per hour to Gandia, where you could be picked up. Driving here: In addition to the usual Channel crossings P&O run a ferry service from Portsmouth to Bilbao. I can suggest routes through France and Spain.

ACCOMMODATION and facilities: We live in a large village house and can accommodate 3-4 house guests.  There is also bed and breakfast accommodation in the village.  Cost will be approx. £20 per person per day for half board.  Allow £5-7.00 for main (evening or lunch) meal.  I have a large 84 sq metre studio where we could meet, work and discus etc.   I also have a number of sketching easels and can get in a supply of canvases (cheaper than the UK) for anyone who wants to work in oils.
More details are available via the MSAA Ne