Surviving the old grey temple test (From The Northern Echo)

Surviving the old grey temple test

10:51am Monday 26th October 2009

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EVERY now and then, something happens which makes me realise how long in the tooth I’m getting.

It happened at Staindrop School the other night when I was invited to make a short speech and present the leavers’ prizes.

The pupils came up on stage in batches of four to receive their certificates and I was taken aback when Laura Guy was followed by Kirsty Guy, Rebecca Guy, and then Emma Guy. You’d soon run out of pennies with all those Guys coming at you.

It dawned on me that they are quadruplets – the same quadruplets I remember being at the centre of such a lot of attention when I was working on The Northern Echo newsdesk in 1993.

It was a big story then. The sisters, weighing as little as 2lb 2oz in Laura’s case, had been born at South Cleveland Hospital and were battling against the odds to survive.

Survive they did and, 16 years on, there they were, climbing happily up the steps to receive their GCSEs. How time flies.

ANOTHER name rang a bell at the Staindrop School presentation evening.

One of the main awards of the night was the Bob Golightly Award for sportsmanship.

During my speech, I’d made reference to The Northern Echo’s successful campaign to reduce waiting times for heart bypass operations following the death in 1999 of photographer Ian Weir.

I was reminded afterwards that Bob Golightly was Staindrop School’s much-loved deputy head who died in 2000 after waiting eight months for a triple heart bypass.

Bob’s tragic story featured heavily in the campaign, which resulted in waiting times being brought in line with the European average of three months.

How nice to see Bob’s memory living on through an award at the school he served with such distinction.

MY thanks to Robert Cartmell, from Skelmersdale, who wrote to tell me of his exciting discovery in a Plymouth antiques shop.

There amongst the clutter was a letter of welcome from Uncle Mac to The Northern Echo’s Children’s Ring and Nignog Club, along with membership card number 45,005.

As all former members will know, Nig and Nog were two innocent little imps who lived in the Land of the Moon.

Nignog 45,005 was Dorothy Taylor. I wonder if anyone remembers her.

OH dear, what have I started with the Women’s Institute?

Last week’s column lamented the disappointing turnout to hear me speak at Witton- le-Wear WI due to the date clashing with Cliff Richard at the Metro Arena in Newcastle.

Sheila Tock, president of Witton-le-Wear branch, responded with an email which began: “Although you are greying at the temples, you still appeal to us, the older members of the WI…”

Presumably, this means I don’t appeal to the younger members of the WI.

She goes on: “The next time you visit our group, we would like you to sing. Could it be Nat King Cole’s Autumn Leaves?”

If the donation to the Butterwick Children’s Hospice is big enough, I’ll be Nat King Cole, Andy Williams or even (if the cheque is especially fat) Val Doonican.

But has it really come to this – reduced to taking requests from the WI?

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