15
was to become AAA champion at 1500 metres in 1970, and
in the 1970s he was a colleague and close running rival of
Olympic bronze medallist Brendan Foster. His extraordinary
versatility as an athlete is clear from his marathon time of 2
hours 13 minutes while coming 3rd in the 1977 New York
City Marathon.
Nowadays Chris is as busy as ever. Based in Penang, Malaysia,
Chris travels the world helping disabled athletes and is an
international volunteer for the Achilles Track Club which
is supported by well-known figures such as former U.S.
President Bill Clinton. "I have been shot in the foot once,
in Bosnia, and I also hit a land mine once in Cambodia," says
Chris, who has played a key role in the revival of many wartorn
countries.
He has helped to start training groups for Sri Lankan school
children who have stepped on land mines in the recent civil
war. And he was also there in 2005, when he witnessed the
horrific results of the tsunami. In his bid to find athletes
suited to participate in the New York Marathon, Chris
travelled toTrincomalee and Jaffna, and he has also worked
with the pupils at the school for the blind in Ratmalana.
Chris is currently helping to raise funds for a school in KwaZulu
province, Natal. he Ethembeni School is a boarding
school for primarily Zulu children living with Cerebral Palsy,
visual impairment, and other physical disabilities in rural
South Africa. he school is home to 274 students between
the ages of four and 18, and is their residence as well as their
school.
He stresses the importance of long distance running for
rehabilitating physically challenged people and says that,
unlike in sports like golf, the only thing people need is a pair
of shorts - " that is the beauty of running."
Interview and Photo by Patrick Scanlan
Jonathan Meades - Meynell 1964
An Encyclopaedia Of
Myself by Jonathan
Meades won the
Spears Memoir Award,
was longlisted for the
Samuel Johnson Prize
for non fiction and is on
the shortlist for the Pen
Ackerley prize.
He is presently making
a BBC film about
the architecture of
Mussolini's Italy.
Richard Leslie - Bishop Fox 1964
In November 2014 I was installed as an Honorary Canon of
St Albans Cathedral and have now just retired after 18 years
as Vicar at St Michael's Elstree & Borehamwood to Hemel
Hempstead.
Christopher hom - King Alfred 1967
I retired fully in 2014. Last October I sailed from our home
in Connecticut USA to Portsmouth Virginia and then across
the Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands. I then spent 7
months sailing around the West Indies as far as Grenada.
I then sailed back to CT via Bermuda. A great adventure.
It's now time to catch up with our five grandchildrem, who
reside in the UK and Singapore.
Simon Jones - King Alfred 1968
Photo courtesy of Jonathan Becker
Simon will be performing two roles on stage this summer -
both by the seaside, but this year he'll be in the USA.
Firstly, he'll be in Cape Cod, playing 'Man in Chair', the lead
role in "Drowsy Chaperone" a musical at the Cape Playhouse.
Next, he comes back to New York City to rehearse for his
OA Update