1900 Contacts

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a good, healthy New Year!

We are both well here in Cape Town and looking forward to Lindsey coming out to visit in January and the arrival of Nici's second baby in May.

Don't eat too much Turkey.

From 1993 I worked with Mike in Hong Kong - since then... Mike & Barbara retired to the South of France - which they're enjoying enormously!!

413 Chemin de la Sine

Tel: +33 4 93 32 95 98

Yes, I am still here although I had a scare in January 2008. Ended up with a quintuple heart bypass. I ma now okay and back into a fairly regular life.

Thanks for your good wishes. I was very lucky with my heart problem and I obviously must have done something right to have survived the major blockages.

I am in good health now, except for back problems which I have had for some ten years now. My specialist looked at my MRI results a few years ago and asked what sport I played, when I was younger. When I said first class rugby, he was not surprised at the state of my back.

How's Fred? May I ask, who else do you keep in touch with?

I spoke to Peter and Caroline Chiswell yesterday and I exchange Xmas cards with Jack Curtis. 18 months ago, Jane and I had a great trip to South Africa (first time back since we left there in 1978) and spent four weeks visiting friends and touring. What a great trip and we managed to spend a lot of time in various game parks and ended up driving down the Garden Route to Cape Town before flying home.

The only other 1900 person that I have been in contact with is Jim Cummins, who lives in Vancouver. We re-united a few years ago. His daughter is our Canadian 800 metre track and field champion and she was fourth in the Worlds a couple of years ago.

p.s. Nearly four years ago, we moved to Collingwood, about 150 kms North North West of Toronto. I am retired but Jane is still working. Retirement life is hectic and I am very busy with the British car club (over 90 members) that I started up here (www.gbbcc.com) and being Treasurer for the local Georgian Triangle Lifelong Learning Institute (www.gtlli.ca).

Jane & Graeme Wallace

Collingwood, Ontario

My son picked up your 'remembered names' output on the web. We are in touch with John Greenfield who is in touch with Ron Parkin. Also Tony and June (not sure what their surname is).

We also have lines of communication with Ann and Tom Mulligan (in Australia) and Carol de Klerk (not sure what her name was before she married Ludi). Carol lives here in Bedfordview and knows where to find Pam Brown and Jim.

Ken Johnson's daughter, Claire, is a very successful singer here in South Africa with the band Mango Groove and, lately, as a solo singer.

Brian and I and our family are all still here in Bedfordview. Our children and grandchildren are all close by. Let us know why you are looking for names and if you would like any more info.

Yes - did make the 2 mill, but it was in drachmas..... Now doing energy certificates - which is proving to be quite lucrative, since this is a legal requirement now in UK for all buildings.....

The Singapore business still tries to get airborne, but seems to run out of runway at the wrong time... Daily contact with my men there, though, and some quite interesting products on offer. Just hope that Europe can afford them!

Enjoy the pension - I have been getting it for 3 years, and it just about pays for the curry bills.....

Well Well Mike - What a surprise to see my name on the internet on a list provided by Wally Pears. I thought I would just kill time before seeing in the New Year quietly and decided to surf the Internet looking for nothing in particular.

I typed in my own name - I knew there has to be only one Aubrey Tray on this planet. I knew that my old school had my name on its website but I certainly didn't expect anything else - so was astounded to be able to trace back to 1900 Programming colleagues.

I doubt that you will remember me as much as I remember you. I worked in Melton Street. You were the first person I was assigned to when I started. You gave me the most hellish task to do. You wanted a PLAN program - I think it was for a Dutch Insurance Assessors and they provided their data on magnetic tape which was produced on an IBM. Not only were their requirements very complex, but the initial phase of the program was to read in the non-standard tape and then to translate bytes into ICL character formats. I had never worked so hard in my life. I think the project lasted about twelve weeks and then you left for South Africa.

However, I really got to know you well in that time. I can remember you as a cheerful cheeky chappy. I think you had a tiny car at the time. I may be wrong about this but weren't you living in Cuffley, Herts? At the time I had never heard of it but for the last 23 years I have been living only a few miles away in Potters Bar.

I was already married to Elaine when I joined 1900 Programming early in 1970. Our first son was born in June 1971 and I remember the company sent Elaine a huge flower basket to the hospital. I survived a big shake-up in the company when two-thirds had to go early in 1971. But eventually we were all dispersed in the summer of 1971. I then joined the Institution of Electrical Engineers who incidentally had been a client of 1900 Programming. I have been working there ever since and am due to retire in 2004. Our second son was born in 1974. He graduated from Cambridge and Manchester with a PhD and is now a scientist.

I remember well many people on Wally Pears list - not least Wally himself. I have the utmost respect for him - his wonderful softly spoken English diction and his professionalism. And Paul Basson now in Monte Carlo - to me he always had that aura of success.

Well Mike at the time I send this, you will already have seen in the New Year. I hope you had a good time - but not too good that you don't remember it!

During a surreal conversation over a glass of cheap but acceptable red wine I said as I have an unusual name bet if I do a search on google I am the only one. So I got that as wrong as the lottery numbers - I appear to be as common as muck (so what friends have said for years must, alas, be true).

Anyway it was such a boost to an old girl fast approaching bus pass age to discover that anyone at all had remembered my name. I think I remember some of the names but years of dedicated wine tasting have caused my little grey cells to become very unreliable. At last I am senior because I have been experiencing senior moments for many many years.

I do remember Ken or was it Len who had a Ford Cortina and I drove it home for him one day for some reason - had he known what a truly dreadful driver I was he would never have entertained the idea.

I only worked for 1900 for a year I think but it was really useful being able to work 2 or 3 evenings a week as the old man was attempting to make it in the music business so was only around during the day. I do also remember taking minutes at meetings and the decision made that I did not have a drink as the minutes for the second half made even less sense than the first!

I could go on but will have some sympathy for you but was just so excited to see my name on the list. I will happily upload a picture but could not see how, do you know anyone good with computers who could advise (-:

Short synopsis ahem!!!

Left 1900 Prgramming after being given the nod that we were going downhill.

Went to Rothman's International as their Cheif Programmer in Basildon Essex

moved up through the ranks and eventually was a Systems Project Mgr

Moved onto CMG Consultancy) in East End London. Not a good experience and left after 18 months

Joined Whitbread the Brewers doing Project work 5.5 years great job, great people, great company cars.

Split with Pam - 2 kids, too immature parents and no help / support from relatives on both sides about halfway through that job.

1979 married American (Cathy) from Louisville Ky USA Oct 1979

1981 joined Mobil Oil as Corporate European IT Auditor.

1982 went on International with wife accompanying many countries up until 1984 incl 6 month stints in Jakarta Indonesia, Paris, France and Capetown South Africa

1984 transferred to Mobil Oil Benelux as Operations Mgr based in Rotterdam NL, 1986 moved on to Appl Mgr.

1988 Moved to Corporate HQ in NY - International Sales and Supply as Focus Programming supervisor

1990 Moved to Fairfax Virginia in numerous assignments

1997 moved to Worldwide data center in Dallas Texas as Business Continuity Planning coordinator

2000 Exxon bought Mobil for 79 billion dollars

Moved into IT Risk Management

2004 assigned to Maritimes Canada (Eastern end of Canada Atlantic Standard time) to fix 2 failed audits

2007 Audit review succesful

2007 Transferred to Houston Texas as Corporate Business and now Upstream Divisions IT Business Risk Management Advisor

ie no longer, and for some time, have been kept well clear of any actual damage I can exert on applications

Bill - No items off the record

07/April/2009 - Bill Henderson and Curley - meet up in the Sheraton Suites Hotel, near Galleria, Houston, Texas!! Alas, no piccies.... but like old women - we gassed for about 8 hours - everybody's ears must have been burning!! Well done Bill - thanks for making the effort..

28/12/2008 - Hi Mike

What a blast from the past. This is Pam Buffin that was and is now Pam Hill. I am married to Michael, retired and now live in a little village called Ashendon in Bucks. Have to dash now but will contact you again asap. What a lovely surprise. Think I may have found Linda Gates, that was, now out in Perth but not sure yet. Look forward to hearing from you.