Another great shot and some controversy

Sorry that I have not been blogging this past week - but Annikki and I got adopted as mum and dad!



Hasnain submitted this above photograph as an afterthought. He called it a sort of an artsy-fartsy attempt. I, personally, think, like his photographs of the Chapel and the stained glass windows, this is an outstanding photographic composition.



This shot from Brinda is about the same construction feature, pre-renovation.


Given above was the findings of the condition of this roof and what was done leading to....



....the final outcome.

Thank you 59er Hasnain Chinwala / Chhaya Purwar for the picture from their collection and to 64er Brinda Somaya for the details.

Moving to another subject, I am having a slight disagreement with 57er Behram Badhniwalla (alias Budni) about who were 57ers. In an email he circulated, he wanted to contact these whom he claims are 57ers. Here is the list:

Alwyn Ceal
Andrew Gordon
Ernest Haskel
Johnny Jameson
Tom Peters
Abbas Ahmedbouy
Sarosh Forbes (Budni has located him)
Lachi Melwani

I had serious doubts about Andrew Gordon (Bahram), Ernest Haskell (Bahram) and Johnny Jameson (Savage) being 57ers.

Budni must be right about John Jameson, who became an English Test Cricketer and then an Umpire in English First Class and Test Cricket. I followed his career out of my interest of his having played Cricket, Hockey and Football alongside me! Greatness by association? :-)

This is his official background from the Cricket-Online Site:

Full name: John Alexander Jameson
Born: 30 June 1941, Byculla, Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra, India
Age: 64
Batting: Right-hand batsman
Bowling: Right-arm off-break, right-arm medium pace
Major teams: Warwickshire, Marylebone Cricket Club, England, International Wanderers
Test debut: England vs India at Manchester, 2nd Test, 1971
Latest Test: West Indies vs England at Bridgetown, The Wisden Trophy, 3rd Test, 1973/74
ODI debut: England vs West Indies at The Oval, Prudential Trophy, 2nd ODI, 1973
Latest ODI: England vs New Zealand at Nottingham, Prudential World Cup, 5th Match, 1975

If he was born in 1941, he would have been either a 55er, a 56er, or, at the outside, a 57er.

I have a classic photo of Johnny submitted to me by his friend, 57er Aubrey Ballantine, from Canada. Johnny was an absolutely natural sportsman and he would have excelled in whatever sport he chose to follow. And it was cricket that got him in the end. He performance is a tribute to Cathedral and Savageites!

It must be reasonable to assume he is a 57er.

To contact him, it would be possible by sending an email to the MCC. He used to be on my circulation list.


Johnny, photograph submitted by 57er Aubrey Ballantine

Sorry Budni, my mistake. :-)

Andrew Gordon was, however, certainly not a 57er. Here is a picture of the 59 Hockey Team. Andrew (Andy) Gordon is the one standing on the extreme left.



Since I also have a photograph of the 58 Hockey Team, where I was also the goalkeeper, I have a clear recollection of all my team members. Andy was either a 58er or a 59er. I have a recollection that he was in the B-section of my year - 1959. He also sang with me and all the Colaco brothes in the Cathedral Church Choir along with another Johnny Jameson who was a 59er (but who left school in 1956).

The other person about whom I must disagree with Budni is Ernest Haskell. His younger brother, Jack, was a 59er. Ernest, who won the McDonald Medal in 1958, was the Cricket Captain in 1959, as can be seen in this photograph where he is sitting just above me on the floor.



Ernest and Nalin Dharia were "technically" 56ers who completed their HSc in 1959. I think 56er HS Uberoi (Ubi) will bear me out on this, but I am willing to stand corrected!