Alvaro Aguirre Saez (J96) works in the travel industry. He writes (7 February 2002) “As I am part of the business travel team, the uncertainty in the travel industry only makes my job more interesting. Right now, we are negotiating with airlines and hotels”.

English Language Assistant job opportunity - Open to any OA aged between 19 and 25. A year's work in Paris (accommodation and salary provided) as an English Language Assistant. The post runs for the academic year, from the end of September to the end of May  annually).  Currently looking for someone for 2002-2003.

John P. Ridge MA (Cantab)
Head of Modern Languages
Ampleforth College, York - YO62 4ER

Rupert King-Evans (T94) was commissioned into the Grenadier Guards on 10 August 2001. He writes [7 February 2002] “Following the completion of the Platoon Commanders Battle Course at Warminster, I joined my Battalion in Belfast. It has been an eventful tour,  with the rioting in January, the murder of the Postman Danny McColgan, and  the trouble at Holy Cross Primary School” He returns to Windsor in March 2002, going back to back Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace Guards until July 2002 when the Battalion is off to Canada for a 6 week exercise.

Prince Jean of Luxembourg (A38) retired as Colonel, Irish Guards in October 2000, with the formal handover in May 2001. He was the seventh Colonel of the Regiment in its 101 year history and had held the post since 1981. Prince Jean had been with the Irish Guards since the early years of the war B for about 60 years; as the regiment was raised in 1900, Prince Jean has been with the regiment for more than half its history. As noted in the Ampleforth Journal Autumn 2000, Prince Jean abdicated as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after a 36 year reign on 7 October 2000, and was succeeded by his elder son, Crown Prince Henri.

Jeremy McDermott (H85) continues as the Daily Telegraph correspondent in Latin America and also contributes to the Economist, the Scotsman on Sunday, the Catholic Herald and some North American newspapers.  He is often on BBC World Service. He has spent a year in residence at St Anthony=s, Oxford - commencing a thesis on the Response of the Columbian Armed Forces to Threats to National Security 1964-2000.

Tom Milroy (H61) works as a Consultant for the State of North Carolina - focusing mainly on community health and serving sixteen very diverse counties. He has lived there for the past nineteen years - with the exception of two years in Zambia (where he had also lived in the 60s and 70s) at the end of the 80s.

Duncan Davidson (T59), is Chairman of Persimmon, the UK's biggest houusebuilder. Of the 130,000 houses expected to be built in 2001, Persimmon were reported to be on course to build 13,000, on a turnover increase of 93 per cent to £698.1 million [The Times 29 August 2001].

Charles Grace (O92) works as a Lloyd's Broker in a small broking house called Berry Palmer and Lyle (Chairman is Charles Berry O70) specialising in trade credit and political risk insurance. He has recently been involved in the launch of a web-site called www.art-e-pix.com which displays 30 photos of various trips to Mongolia and Far Eastern Russia (Kamchatka peninsula). He has had two photographic exhibitions running concurrently in London which have been a success. As to music, Charles conducts his choir (the Velvet Chords) in concerts in Notting Hill, some of the members being OAs (Paul Brisby (D89), Tom Gaynor (D92), and Jamie Hornby (J95)).  Charles made his first visit to Lourdes in early May 2001 with the Order of Malta Volunteers.

Ruben Esposito (A96) worked in investment banking for a year and now works for UBS Warburg.

William Evers (O96) is with Bear Stearns, an American investment bank in London.

Chris Geoghegan (T80) works for the EPO - European Patent Office - in the Hague. In summer 2000 he sailed his 45 foot yacht in the Bahamas for three months.

Michael Hamilton (O96) and Gildas Walton (D96) work at Conduit Business Information in Chiswick, London.

James de Lacey (D96) started working with Honda in 2000 and was sent from London to work in their European head office for motorcycles based in Rome. He writes [30 July 2001], 'I have been here for almost a year now and I shall be leaving for Tokyo this September/October [2001] for six months' experience in Honda International Head Office'. Following the events of 11 September, this changed and he wrote [8 October 2001] that this visit to Japan had been postponed 'till early next year. I shall be staying in Rome till this time and hope that things will calm down soon. Honda will be sending me for experience and training in an American consulting company called Hewitt Consulting (mainly for asset and finance consultation), commencing early on next year [2002].'

General Election - 7 June 2001

Michael Ancram (W62) [Conservative - Devizes] and John Burnett (B63) [Liberal Democrat - Devon West and Torridge] were elected to the House of Commons in the General Election. John Roberts (H74) [Pro-Life Alliance - Burton] was also a candidate.

Nicholas Ryan (O86) works in Budapest for BPP International as a Financial Trainer, training Hungarian accountants in international accounting practices.

Paul Arkwright (D79) starts as Political Counsellor to the UK Delegation to NATO [mid-November 2001].

Stephen Magrath (A90) continues to work for Dow Jones Newswires in their London office.

Julian Roberts (E83) Head of History, Christ’s Hospital [1999].

Sir Swinton Thomas (C50) has completed a three year term [to 3 April 2001] as President of the Thomas More Society - the society of Catholic judges, barristers and solicitors.

Simon Ambury (H82) is in the RAF and currently serves as a Flight Trials Officer on the Nimrod Operational Evaluation Unit specialising in Electronic Warfare. Although the unit is based at Northwood in Outer London, he works at the BAE Systems site at Warton, near Preston.  This is because the new Nimrod  MRA4, which is due to enter service within the next five years, is being built by BAES at Woodford but will complete most of its trials programme from Warton.

David Lowe (H91) has joined the Leeds office of Donaldsons Chartered Surveyors. He writes [10 August 2001], "I had been working as an estate agent for the past six years, but found it restrictive and three years ago decided to bite the bullet and go back to university.  I have two years remaining of a part-time surveying degree at Northumbria University; it has been hard to balance with working full time, rugby and married life. The course I am studying is accredited to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and is strongly geared towards to commercial property surveying. Once I have completed the course I will be eligible to take APC (Assesment of Professional Competence) and be interviewed with a view to becoming a full member of the RICS. This is what I have wanted to do since leaving school." David writes further [10 August 2001], "Since leaving school I have been a keen rugby player and played for Durham County and eleven different clubs including West Hartlepool, Darlington Mowden Park and Greystones in Ireland to name a few. Due to an injury to my knee last year, my playing days are over - during the past season I helped coach at Barnard Castle Rugby Club.  Over the past 10 years, I have found the world outside the valley a different place from the one I had been used to from the age of eight to 18 at Gilling and Ampleforth. Since leaving in 1991 I have found that one of the best skills that Ampleforth and the Community had taught me was the ability to look for the good in others and to look for those who need your help without asking."

Aidan Lindsay-McDougall (T85) works as a DP Executive for a market research Company in London.

Hugh Marcelin-Rice (J95) works at the Post Hotel, CH-3920 Zermatt, Switzerland [since December 2000], described by an observer as Aa star member of a very international staff@. During the winter season he more than doubled the turnover of the prestigious Boathouse Bar.  As an expert skier and snow-boarder, he guides groups unofficially on and off-piste in the mountains and glaciers around the Matterhorn.

Sebastian Marcelin-Rice (J93) works as a trainee solicitor with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer [since September 2000]. For the first six months of his second year [September 2001 onwards] he is in Milan, joining an 80-strong Freshfields team. He rides a Kawasaki 900 Ninja bike and still dances, mainly Jive and Latin B his latest exploit was to captain Imperial College London to victory over all UK universities in 1999: Sebastian and his dancing partner also won the open Salsa at Varsity Match in 2001.

Duncan Moir (A77) is still a partner and the auctioneer at Allsop & Co, who have been described as Athe UK's largest and most successful property auction house@. He lives in Putney. He took part in the 1999 Monte Carlo Rally in a 1928 Bentley 4.5 litre, coming third in his class. He writes [27 April 2001], ‘An enormous adventure down through France over four days in February. I have never been so cold, or had so much fun.’

The photograph shows Duncan on the Rally in Casino Square, Monte Carlo in 1999.

Miguel Morenes Bertram (O95) [mmorenes@deloitte.es] works with Deloitte and Touche in Barcelona. He wrote [email 5 October 2001], 'Auditing is a continuation of my learning process, with the great advantage that for the first time in my life I am getting paid to learn. I find Deloitte & Touche the best auditing company to work for, not because of their position in the market, but because of the human quality of the people working here. I went through the selection processes of the so-called Big Five, and it was only in this one that I felt comfortable and, even better, I felt that they valued me. After leaving Ampleforth, I studied Law for three years before changing to a four year degree in Business Administration that I was able to do in three years. I am writing to you to express my disappointment about not being able to attend any of the meetings held in Spain by the Ampleforth Society - I was on a training trip for my new company in Normandy.'

Matthew O'Brien (W91) is working as Project Team Manager for one of the Deloitte Touche UK Divisions. He specialises in project, change and risk management. After leaving Ampleforth, he was in the Middle East and, more recently, in Columbia. He now spends time in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and also on the South Coast of England enjoying speedboats and sailing.

Frans op den Kamp (J93) is a diamond broker agent for De Beers in Antwerp and London, going to India, Israel and New York.  

Marcus Roberts (E83) Senior Bookseller, Blackwells University Bookshop.

Peter Rosenvinge (O75) Director of Promotion and Fundraising at the Dementia Relief Trust, which helps carers of people with dementia.

Lord Tugendhat (E55) retires as Chairman of Abbey National in February 2002. He takes on a new post as part-time non-executive Chairman of the European operations of Lehman Brothers, the American investment bank.

Tom Verdon (O82) is Sales Director Africa & Middle East for Barclays International Funds Division.  He is based in Jersey in the Channel Islands. When not working or travelling on business, he divides his time between flying (PPL 1996) and riding as an amateur for Newmarket trainers John Berry and Chris Dwyer. In Jersey he rides for Jersey based trainer Robin Le Pennec for whom he also breaks in young horses. During the period 6-12 July, Tom is to be found at 8am in front of the church in Plaza Con Cisto Real in the town of Pamplona for the Fiesta of San Firmin and the running of the bulls, something about which he has written pieces.

John Wade (A96) works for an American Company called Worldcom. ."I have recently moved to Oxford and am doing well, having graduated from Reading University in 1999 and now doing a part-time Postgrad in Marketing@ [24 September 2001].

Jonathan Wong (J96) works with JP Morgan in Singapore.

Mike Hirst (A96) wrote [27 September 2001], "I've just returned from four months in the Middle East - more research into the Christian-Muslim relations around the region, following the route of a 12th century Papal Emissary to Ethiopia - maps, photos and text describing the experience can be found at www.100days.org.uk. I am now working on articles about the situation in the Holy Land and Sudan."

Ferdinand von Habsburg Lothringen (E87) has lived in Africa for over 10 years and currently holds the post of project coordinator for the Diocese of El Obeid in southern Sudan, a region controlled by the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). He has been based in Kenya for five years and travels regularly to the war-torn communities to develop sustainable projects for education, water/sanitation, food security and other priority areas. He is married to Mary Nyanut, a Dinka from Bahr El Ghazal region of the Sudan, and they have a daughter Luisa Aluel. Ferdinand writes from Naroibi on 14 August 2001, "The work continues well with so much to do. I came back from Sudan on 14 July after three weeks in the Nuba Mountains, Kiir Kou and Turalei. A mixed bag of experiences with our plane being bombed, walking over eight hours per day from one parish to the next and much more... I have been sitting with DOMINIC FRENCH (W76) just now. We were discussing crucifixes that are being made in Ukambani where he lives. He acts as the salesperson and I as the contact. They are beautiful".  Ferdinand von Habsburg's article Christus Vincit - Sudan Civil War was printed in the Diary, 24 April 2001. Support for the work of Ferdinand von Habsburg can be given through Face-Faw, Ampleforth Abbey, York, YO62 4EN (tel 01439 766 797).

Guy Hoare (093) is a lighting designer - he goes from town to town throughout Britain and in Europe setting up lighting. He has been designing lighting for the Royal Opera House.

Anthony McNicholas (C89) lives and works in Saudi Arabia, with work that occasionally take him to other parts of the Middle East, to Europe and to North America. He writes [6 January 2002] “It is an interesting experience to live within a conservative Islamic culture that is significantly different to anything to be found in the western world, and work amongst colleagues who are almost exclusively Muslim. Following the events of September 11 in the USA and the ongoing unrest in Palestine, it is also a unique opportunity to understand the feelings and opinions of Arabs and Muslims towards the West”.

Anthony writes [6 January 2002] of his work since graduating from university in 1993 as follows: “In 1993 I completed a four year BA (Honours) Business Studies Degree. The degree comprised three years of academic study punctuated by two six month placements at Total Oil Marine PLC in Aberdeen. Following the successful completion of a special project during my first placement, I received sponsorship from Total to assist in the completion of my studies. Immediately after graduating from university, I joined Nationwide Building Society where I ultimately became responsible for the management of technical development and support of the Nationwide Automated Teller Machine (ATM) network. Amongst other projects completed at Nationwide, I managed the technical development of the world's first ATM to use the customer's iris to authenticate the transaction (rather than the traditional PIN number). The system was profiled by the BBC's Tomorrow's World programme and received global press coverage. The system was selected by the Smithsonian Computerworld Awards in 2000 as a World-wide Finalists and then singled out for special recognition as an award winner alongside organisations including eBay and RealNetworks. The application became part of the Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History on 3 April 2000. In May 2000 I joined NCR in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a Project Manager/Consultant where I am currently responsible for the delivery of major information technology projects for a number of multi-national banks operating in the country”.

Viscount Hawkesbury (O91) joined the Leisure & C2 department of FPDSavills plc, based at Grosvenor Hill, London in May 2001.  This specialises in the acquisition and disposal of golf courses and residential institutional property with in the UK. Previously Luke Hawkesbury spent 2 years working for Property Vision Ltd buying residential property for private clients and investment portfolios.