REPLACING MY Editorial in last term's issue of THE GOLDONIAN was an item headed 'An Occasion for Pride', which our Headmaster had
written as a result of his attending the prize-giving of the Building Industry and London Technical Colleges at which one of our old boys, Brian
Balderson, received the Premier Apprenticeship Award. I am sure any editor of a school magazine would be delighted to 'cut' his own
observations for such a report, as indeed I was.
Following this mode of thought, I too have often had occasions to feel proud of our old boys. Recently I attended the inaugural dinner of the
Hertford branch of the National Graphical Society. At that dinner, 'Goldings was very much to the fore, and not only as printers!
Mr. Mondin, and Mr. James (Old Boy) Secretary and Treasurer of the Branch, organized the whole affair and were among the V.I.P.s on the
top table. Old Boys Albert Hopcroft, Brian McCarthy, and Colin Fuller were among the members, together with Mr. Stackwood and myself,
and Mr. Newton was a guest at the dinner and M.C. (honorary) for the dance.
Apart from dancing there were folk songs by John Silvo. That name may not be familiar to many, but 'John' Woods (ex- School Captain,
Drum-Major and Sheet-metal worker), I am sure is, so please read 'Woods' for 'Silvo', which is John's professional name.
John was booked for two l0 minute sessions, and was encored for twenty and twenty-five minutes! Need one say more? Just John and his
guitar (no microphone) and 150 people were under his spell. Yes, we all felt proud to know John. No one at Goldings had taught him to sing
and play, or to speak with such polished diction, but it is nice to think that as well as continuing his trade, which Mr. de' Boeck had so ably
taught him, someone must have influenced John that there is more in life than just doing one's job! Well done John, you won a lot of friends
that night.
There is just one more point I would make about this dinner. Although, regretably, none of our printing apprentices were present, their
handiwork was, because the menu card was designed by Winston Norton, and printed by Geoffrey Rose and John Burr. What a shame they
could not have been present to have heard the complimentary remarks made by Mr. Robert Willis, the Joint General Secretary. A word of
encouragement from someone not directly connected with us is worth its weight in gold.
I feel that any school magazine should, whenever possible, highlights its old boys' accomplishments and activities generally. In this issue of
our magazine, about one-sixth of its content concerns old boys.

A GOOD OPINION
'Ah, but a mans reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a Heaven for?'
ROBERT BROWNING wrote a curious poem about a painter called Andrea del Sarto, from which the above is a short quotation. I don't
suppose that many readers of THE GOLDONIAN have ever read this obscure piece of poetry. I happened to have it set before me as an
examination exercise in my youth, otherwise I doubt whether I should have read it either. Still it shows that even examinations have their uses,
for this little extract stuck in my mind and influenced the way I thought.
We sometimes hear people say, 'He's got a good opinion of himself, in a disparaging way,, as much as to say, 'He's conceited �stuck-up'.
During my long experience of Goldings boys I have known many who have attracted this kind of remark, for grownups do get a bit irritated
and unsympathetic towards the boy who preens himself. For my part, I am not at all worried about the boy with a good opinion of himself.
He is usually full of life and has some drive about him. The boy in real danger is the one with a poor opinion of himself. He has nothing to
live up to. He is not even bothering to reach and his poor estimate of himself stunts his growth.
The lad for my money fancies himself a bit. He never starts the day with dirty shoes and even if he does take a shade too long viewing himself
in the mirror, what he sees there is worth looking at. Maybe he's a bit headstrong and insists on his own opinions, rejecting those of his seniors,
but that's better than behaving like a sheep. When it comes to estimating chances of success in life, the statistics are all on his side, for long
experience has taught me that the boy who thinks well of himself is very likely to live up to the good image he has formed.
R. F. W.

RETIREMENT OF MR. T. F. TUCKER, O.B.E.
MANY OLD boys will not have heard of Mr. Tucker's retirement, after twenty-one years' devoted service to the Homes, but all will wish him
happiness in his retirement, I am sure.
Mr. Tucker was a frequent visitor to Goldings, and the annual cricket match, with his team from Stepney, was considered by many as the sports
day of the year.
Among the many offices held by Mr. Tucker is that of President of the Barnardo Old Boys' Association. It is his most cherished appointment
and one in which he intends to continue to serve.
N, T. P.

MR. HOOPER joined our staff in October, 1951, and worked with Mr. Walker, who was then
our Maintenance Engineer, and after eighteen months 'learning the ropes' took over from
Mr. Walker when he retired.
Mr. Hooper, a native of London, served his apprenticeship as an engineer with Messrs.
French and Co., and attended the Hackney Technical School to get his qualifications in engineering.
During the war Mr. Hooper was producing military equipment, and after being called up for service
to use some of his equipment, H.M. Government decided that they would prefer him to 'produce'
rather than 'use', so back he went to the production line.
After joining our staff Mr. Hooper attended the Hatfield Technical College for four years to get his
City and Guilds qualification as a Plumbing and Sanitary Engineer. With twelve years' service here
at Goldings and his engineering background I am quite certain Mr. Hooper is capable of dealing with
any problem that might come his way.
Mr. Hooper has always taken an active interest in the social life at Goldings, and for several
years has served on the Social Committee., and has been responsible for the last three years for
the organization and running of the dancing classes for the boys., In this sphere he has received
valuable support from his wife and daughter, Carol. Alas, Carol is now married and 'dad' is now
'grandad' to a fine grandson, so I suppose we cannot expect to sec so much support from Carol
as we have done in the past.
Apart from dancing, Mr. Hooper is a keen swimmer, and until recently enjoyed his game of
cricket too, in fact he would still enjoy a game if someone would pick him! As he says a good
twelfth man is always an asset (remember England in India). Another sport in which Mr. Hooper
excelled was rowing, but local facilities have not permitted Mr. Hooper to keep in practice.
Finally, and perhaps the best reason why Mr. Hooper is so adaptable to any situation, and socially such a good mixer, is that he was a member
of the Scout movement for thirteen years! What better testimonial?
N. T. P.

ABERDEEN HOUSE
Admissions
ENNIS, DAVID, from Hove
CLARKE, PAUL, from Cardiff
HIRCOCK, PAUL, from Boston
STEPHENS, BRIAN, from Birmingham
Leavers
PASSMOOR, ROBERT : (September, 1960 to January, 1964).Carpenter.
ROLLS, PHILIP: (April, 1963 to December, 1963). Restored.
JONES, ROGER: (August, 1963 to December, 1963). Restored.

CAIRNS HOUSE
Admissions
FAIRMINER, ANTHONY, from Barkirigside
MIKKELSON, JOHN, from Woodford Bridge
Leavers
CROWE, MICHAEL: (September, 1961 to February, 1964). Sheet Metal Worker.
HILL, SAMUEL: (December, 1960 to November, 1963). Carpenter. House Captain.
WILDMAN, WILLIAM: (August, 1960 to January, 1964). Carpenter.
STEVENS, TERRENCE: (August, 1961 to February, 1964). Carpenter.
WITLEA, WILLIAM : (February, 1961 to February, 1964). Queen Elizabeth College.

MACANDREW HOUSE
Admissions
MARTIN, MELVYN, from Horsham
WILSON, WILLIAM, from Crieff
DUELL, ALEXANDER, from Kendal
MOUNT, RAYMOND, from Barkingside
Leavers
LANG ADRIAN: (June, 1961 to December, 1963). Carpenter.
CROOKS, FRANK: (June, 1963 to December, 1963), Restored.
HOSIE, DAVID: (November, 1962 to November, 1963). Restored.

PELHAM HOUSE
Admissions
BOARDMAN, DAVID, from Oxfordshire
LEBECHEE, GLYN, from Newbury
MAN, PETER, from Llandudno
Leavers
BIRD, GRAHAM: (September, 1961 to November, 1963). Sheet Metal Worker.
ROSE, GRAHAM: (January, 1961 to November, 1963). Painter and Decorator.
LOVED AY, CHARLES : (January, 1962 to December, 1963). Carpenter.
HARRINGTON, PHILIP : (February, 1962 to December, 1963). Painter and Decorator.
BUDD, EDWARD: (August, 1960 to December, 1963). Shoe Repairer. House Captain.
BROOKE, JOHN: (October, 1963 to February, 1964). Restored
BROOKE, BARRY: (October, 1963 to February, 1964). Restored.

SOMERSET HOUSE
Leavers
MOODY, JOHN: (February, 1961 to December 1963). Shoe Repairer.
KAY, JOHN: (September, 1960 to January, 1964). Restored.
BUGGS, JOHN: (September, 1960 to February, 1964). Shoe Repairer. House Captain.

Aberdeen
Houseparents: Mr. and Mrs. H. Morrison
House Captain: Malcolm Clewcr
Group Leaders: James Brown, Michael Linnell, Raymond Bowden, Jamie Marsh
IT SEEMS only a short while ago that we were preparing notes for the winter edition of THE GOLDONIAN and here we are again with spring
almost upon us.
In the new term we have made progress and an improvement insofar as the morning inspections are concerned. We are getting fairly regular
mentions nowadays which is most encouraging to the lads, and we must at this stage say a very big 'thank you' to the Painting and Decorating
Department for doing a fine job on our bays and giving the lads an inspiration.
We are making steady progress in the 'Queens' Cup' and will endeavour to make an inroad into the big lead, built up by Somerset.
The boxing tournament was very well staged�thank you, Mr. Newton, and all concerned. We were placed third in the Seniors and second in the
Juniors, and the following boys earned points for Aberdeen. Seniors: R. Buxton, R. Bowden, M. Clewer. Juniors: K. Bishop, W. Charlesworth,
J. Murray, A. Sibbons, R. Carlyon, M. Tilbury, R. Smith, R. Harding, E. Kennedy, and D. Tate.
In the Senior football R. Smith has maintained his place whilst in the Juniors we have R. Smith, J. Murray, and D. Tate.
Table tennis has once again afforded us the opportunity to get into the news. B. Stockton has kept his place in the first team and M. Clewer in
the second team.
There was some exciting play in the Inter-house Tournament and in the Senior events Aberdeen had the honour of providing two of the
semi-finalists, B. Stockton and M. Clewer were drawn to meet and Brian triumphed and went on to the final where after a very exciting game
he beat M. Ross of Somerset. Hearty congratulations, Brian.
We also had two of our boys drawn to meet in the Junior semifinals, when Jackie Murray beat Eddie Kennedy.
Jackie was not so fortunate as Brian in his final, being defeated 21-19 in the final set by M. Hultum of Somerset.
Our thanks to Jackie for a praiseworthy effort and our hearty congratulations to the Somerset lad. Well done everybody in the table tennis sphere.
We now have two Sergeants in the cadet force, Mike Linnell and Ray Bowden, and Ray still holds the 'Best Bugler of the Year' title. Best of luck
to them both.
Boys are now reading the Bible Lessons at morning assembly and our thanks in this respect are due to G. Tovey, M. Tilbury, J. Marsh, R. Coppin,
M. Steele, and P. Hircock who read for Aberdeen.
During this term we have regretfully said 'Good-bye' to our House Captain, Bob Pasmoor, and we wish him 'all the best'_ in the outside world.
M. Clewer has been appointed to replace him.
We have also 'lost' Phillip Rolls who has been restored and we wish him well.
The following new boys have been welcomed to Aberdeen House: Paul Clarke, David Ennis, Brian Stephens, and Paul Hircock, and we hope
they will be very happy with us.
Finally, our very best wishes to the Headmaster and Mrs. Wheatley, Mr. and Mrs. Embleton, and all the staff who do so much to help us. A
happy Easter to all.
H. M. AND MALCOLM CLEWER