The Old Bordenian Association

Keith Minton who taught languages at Borden from 1970 to 1973 has written a highly entertaining and extemely well written first novel.  ”Escape to Paradise” draws on Keith’s personal experience both as a school teacher,although the institution involved is far removed from Borden,and from his observations of the British abroad from stays at his parents’ villa in a remote Southern Spain coastal village (his mother was Spanish). It takes a wry and occasionally hilarious look at British school life,the British dream of a place in the sun and at love and sex.

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This continues Barry Gilbert’s story of life in the Police Force.  For the first part, see http://www.oldbordenians.co.uk/down-memory-lane/a-police-odyssey-january-1957-august-1992/.

I returned from Anguilla in December 1970 and the ‘winter of discontent’  of the Heath government was in full swing. There were three day working weeks for some and we suffered numerous power cuts. Keeping warm was a problem and having spent three months in the balmy climate of the West Indies it took a while to get accustomed to the cold of the English winter.

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Recently, a very remarkable Old Boy got in touch with us.  There is nothing especially remarkable about his career : teaching.  What is completely out-of-the-ordinary is where his career has taken him.  He has taught (English) for 5½ years in Saudi Arabia, for 2 years in Spain, for 2½ years in China, for a year in the Sudan, for 5 years in Mozambique and for a brief period  in Afghanistan .  For the past 13 years he has been living in Vietnam with his wife and two daughters.  It was Aristotle who paced up and down in the Peripatus at the Lyceum while he was teaching and created the generic name for an itinerant teacher.  Well, Aristotle – eat your heart out!

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