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GEORGE WATSON'S COLLEGE -
LEAVERS 1963 50TH REUNION
"MEMORIES AND
REFLECTIONS"
NAME: George Hay
ADDRESS: (Please email me for further contact details)
EMAIL: sanuk1102[at]gmail.com
MEMORIES OF WATSON'S:
Teachers
Johnny Sinclair - fantastic teacher, if a bit terrifying at times. Showed me what maths was really about and encouraged me to study it for my degree.
Sandy Mac - a real character and scholar. I remember telling him I was sorry that I would not be able to study Greek since I was doing the science curriculum. He gave me a copy of a Greek grammar and told me I could learn it on my own!
Papa Hendry - taught me how to study a foreign language effectively, and laid the foundation for my future studies of Thai and Swedish, the two languages that proved essential in my career.
Donald Doull - taught me how to analyse a text and how to plan an essay. He also encouraged me to work in the library, which I enjoyed a lot (since I have never been interested in sports). Allowed me to express disagreement with what the text book said, provided I could justify my position. A kind and tolerant man who gave me the space I needed to develop.
Dizzy Lyall. Somehow I could never get physics experiments to work properly, but usually had fun trying. His comment on my report has stayed in my memory: "George works very well on occasion, but I have not discovered how often the occasion arises."
Pongo Hyde - for some reason we just never got on, I guess it was just a personality clash, but his experience of music and mine just didn't match (and of course as a teenager one is always right!)
Fellow Pupils
Roger Kelly, Donald Evans, Douglas Bridges, John Law, Ian Cassels. I remember spending lunch hours in discussions on the back staircase when others were being more active, and of course working in the library. I particularly remember Ian Cassels because of his kindness in welcoming me and taking care of me when I was a new boy. His ability to construe Latin fluently in class was spectacular!
Most fun time
Playing the solo piano part in Beethoven's Second Piano Concerto with the newly formed Edinburgh Youth Orchestra.
Most embarrassing time!
Being called into Johnny Sinclair's office (otherwise known as the medical room) and asked if I knew who was responsible for sticking a potato in Mr Taylor's car exhaust pipe. I told him that I did not know and had only heard rumours. He asked me to confirm the name I had heard but I repeated that I had no direct knowledge of what happened. I thought he was going to explode. I cannot remember the name of the boy now, but I know that Johnny already knew it when he called me in.
POST SCHOOL EDUCATION
BSc Mathematics Edinburgh University. Post Graduate studies in computer science at Imperial College and Oxford universities. Ongoing professional development.
Diploma in Swedish as a Foreign Language (Stockholm), Thai Ministry of Education Pathom 6 Equivalency diploma.
In parallel with my IT work, I gained professional qualifications in music - FRCO(CHM), ADCM, FTCL - and in my retirement I completed the Open University Diploma in Music.
SOME FAMILY DETAILS
Took early retirement in 2001 to return to Edinburgh and care for my aging mother. She died in 2010. It was not an easy time, but looking back I am so thankful to have been able to do it, it changed my perspective on life completely.
Partner - Weerachai Yailert (since 1991)
WHAT HAVE I DONE "WORKWISE"?
Pursued an international career with IBM, moving between technical, marketing, and management positions. UK Laboratory near Winchester (language design and definition), Nordic Laboratory Stockholm (systems management), Washington Systems Centre (technical support), Americas/Far East Systems Centre (program manager), Thailand (project manager, systems integration manager, IT consultant specializing in Rapid Application Development throughout SE Asia), London (IT consultant). Finally head-hunted to CMG (later taken over by Logica) in Rapid Application Development. For several years I was a director of the DSDM Consortium.
HOBBIES, PASTIMES, SPORTS
Music has always been a major interest and I continue to listen and to play (mainly the organ).
I enjoy travel and particularly like Scandinavia and South East Asia. After my mother's death I decided to make a "once in a lifetime" trip to New Zealand. I fell in love with it, returned again the following year, and have already booked another visit for early 2014. I just completed a three week journey through China.
In retirement I divide my time between living in Edinburgh and in Bangkok.
REFLECTIONS ON MY LIFE (INCLUDING THE IMPACT THAT WATSON'S HAS HAD ON IT)
When I was at Watson's I could not have foreseen the path my life would take. There were so many things I was interested in, and it was largely through Johnny Sinclair's influence that I finished up with maths. Watson's gave me a good grounding in the skills I would need - maths, communication, languages. In my final year at Edinburgh University, Computer Science was offered for the first time. I took that course, and quickly realized that this was what I wanted to work with (a summer job with an insurance company had already convinced me that I did not want to become an actuary!)
The speed with which technology has developed combined with the size of IBM as a company gave me the opportunity to progress through a variety of jobs in different geographical locations, and to continue learning throughout my working life, mostly within the same company.
I have no regrets!
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