Contact Newsletter

Table of Contents

It is our pleasure to present the 3rd edition of Contact, our very own newsletter, of and about the DRGS worldwide alumni. As always, we are dedicated to bringing you news and information of old friends and ex-students across the globe. Our previous two editions have been very well received, and we are encouraged by the general consensus that we continue this venture. To help us produce successful, enriched newsletters, we urgently appeal to all alumni to take an active role and send in articles that we will be pleased and proud to publish. You don’t need any special skills to be published in this newsletter. A story of the old days, a story of your new lives in your chosen country, or even a story and pictures of family, would make great reading. In an effort to broaden our content, we are especially soliciting articles of different or special hobbies or interests. Please take a moment to consider our request, and keep the articles coming. The deadline for your article submissions for our next April 2015 issue is March 6, 2015.

We are pleased to have been able to focus this edition of Contact on the U.K. based alumni, in anticipation of the 2014 Reunion, U.K. Chapter. Much credit must be given to the Chairperson, Alvira Almedia (nee D’Sa), and her dedicated committee who have worked tirelessly to put together the upcoming celebration. Congratulations to this entire group who now have a “Sold Out” event on October 26th, 2014. Watch for our next issue of Contact which will contain pictures and write-ups of this auspicious event. Thus, in the spirit of the reunion our contributors are mainly UK based. The Nostalgia section will take many on a happy trip down memory lane. And, for those who don’t remember that far back, within these pages there’s much to learn about the beginnings of our beloved alma mater. We have featured stories on how new arrivals in the early years helped to shape the Goan community in the U.K. Our gardening section which features a neighbourhood allotment plot is most informative. And, as always, we end with a word from our DRGS Padre, UK based. Read all about it....!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have so kindly volunteered articles for this special edition....Lambert, Jacinto, Donald, Josephine, Ron, Austin, Afra and Fr. Tony. This project would not have been successful but for the alumni who took the time to submit their stories.  A special mention must be made of Mafalda DeSa, daughter of ex-student Helen Fernandes (nee Byean). Mafalda’s relentless and powerful networking abilities have gleaned us the memorable articles you will be reading. Her dedication to her Mother’s alma mater is both, inspiring and appreciated.

In closing, we extend our heartiest best wishes to the Chairperson, the Committee and the helpers of Reunion 2014, U.K. Chapter, for a successful and enjoyable event.

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I look forward to the 3rd DRGS Reunion to be held in the U.K., on Sunday, October 26th, 2014. It is wonderful to be reunited for a time, reliving our shared past. We will remember old friends, our teachers, those who will be at the Reunion, those unable to attend, and those no longer with us.

This reunion would not have been possible without the support of my committee. I thank Gerry Rodrigues, Mina Andrade,  Bernie Godinho, Jeffrey Fialho, Joe Fernandes and Chris Moniz for their sterling work and goodwill. I thank Merwin D’Souza for his team's website assistance and for his total commitment to helping us and our DRGS community worldwide.

The support of the DRGS alumni and their guests has been encouraging since I started planning this occasion in May. The

generosity of those attending the reunion has been tremendous, and I thank you for the numerous raffle prizes and donations.

I leave you all with my very best wishes for an enjoyable evening in the hope that many new memories will be made, to be cherished until our next DRGS Reunion scheduled for September 2015 in Toronto.

God Bless you all.

Alvira Almeida

I wish at the outset to point out to readers of this article that it is written in August 2014 from memory, and covers a period of eleven years from the late forties to the late fifties. I am therefore relying on my memory cells to guide and inspire me as I write. More importantly, I wish to emphasize that my account does have a lot of named people - people who have not only impacted on many of our lives at school, but also whose names and characters are interwoven into the very fabric of the history, culture and spirit of that famous educational institution we called Dr Ribeiro’s.

When I started my primary education, the family lived in a bungalow in Park Road and I recall having to take the school bus to and fro together with several other Goan pupils living locally. That bus incidentally, had a logo on each side that read G.O.A., which was rudely interpreted by some as being an abbreviation for Goats of Africa! Our very first teacher was Mrs Jacques, a lady of stern disposition and well remembered by many who went to her classes. Other teachers during those primary school days included Mrs Coutinho, Mrs Joannes, Mrs Paul and Mrs Lobo, all specialists in their profession. This was a co-ed school and needless to say, we shy boys, and equally-shy girls, tried our best to get along, behave in a manner that was becoming of our Catholic background and listen attentively to what was being taught. We had to sit, two to a bench, in tiny cramped wooden benches. It must have been difficult not to be distracted by someone or the other playing the fool. I hasten to add I was one of those in my primary school days and eventually was forced to sit on my own at some classes. My impish behaviour often compelled teachers like Mr Romeo D’Sa to say 'open that door and get out of my class’. So with head downcast I would leave and stand sheepishly in the corridor whereupon I would be confronted by the Principal doing his rounds. There followed many a lecture and of course the customary caning. Surely I was not the only one to endure such humiliation!! There were many, boys and girls, who despite their misdemeanours, got away lightly.  However, I did not fret too much, as I called to mind the school motto ‘Nil Desperandum’!. On the subject of mischief and mayhem, I recall that some of us used to nick (steal) a few packed lunches from desks left unattended by fellow pupils during the recess periods. One of our victims was a meek and humble boy called Edgar Dias. There were others who fell into the trap too. I guess this was a form of harmless bullying which many of us perhaps may have encountered in our early days at school.

I believe that later Edgar did forgive and forget that incident as we smoked a peace-pipe!

I will never forget those years when the family moved to quarters in Ngara and lived with neighbours like the Lobo family of six members, and the Pinto family comprising about a dozen or so members. One can imagine the good times we used to have in those days. We used to walk to and from school often stopping on the way to pick over-hanging fruit, mostly guavas, from the back garden of some unsuspecting neighbour. One such home was that of Alfred Fernandes who used to set his Alsatian dog on all-comers who attempted to steal such fruit. Kicking stones and stray cats and dogs en route was also another of our traits. Consequently, I wore out many pairs of shoes and was eventually given an old pair of my mother’s maroon crepe-soled shoes that I had to polish black to save constant teasing by my fellow pupils. So folks, it must be noted, I was also on the receiving end of ridicule and embarrassment in those innocent days.

We used to look forward to recesses, sports days, flag days, picnics and planned outings to the Museum, the Arboretum or to the conveniently- located St Francis Xavier’s Catholic Church where I was part of the choir, headed by Mr Britto. Mr Tavares was responsible for the training of the militarised flag-waving ceremonies for special commemorative events. Mr Britto and Mr Tavares were also responsible for the activities of the Scouts and Cubs Groups. I know not who monitored the activities of the Girl Guides group or indeed of the First Aiders Group. Competition between students was encouraged and desirable, and so we had 4 different Houses, namely St Andrew’s (Blue), St David’s (Yellow), St George’s (Red) and St Patrick’s (Green). At times rivalries in various activities, either in the classrooms or on the sports field, were intense and one did the best to win for one’s respective House. I was in St David’s House and we did well in sports but could have done better in the classroom. I do believe that prizes were on offer for the winners!

I must make mention of the famous Goan photographer, Mr M.A.Rosa who was given the contract of taking all school class photos. Thanks to my father’s involvement with the School Governing Body, I still have hard copies of some classroom photos ( in black and white of course) which I sometimes look at to remind me of the many individuals who were my class-mates – individuals like Mario Almeida, Frank Menezes, Robert D’Costa, Shiraz Rabady, Edwin Rodrigues ( the book-worms), and Maria Dias, Joyce Botelho, Iris D’Souza, Milena Noronha ( the head-turners). There were many others too, of great fame and renown, who contributed their might to the success of our school.

 In 1955/56, if my memory serves me right, our family moved to a suburb known as Nairobi South ‘B’ with newly-built bungalows, on the fringe of the National Park. We were so pleased to be surrounded by a host of fellow-Goan families who had also moved into the area, including the Pintos, our former neighbours in Ngara. After all, ‘birds of a feather flock together’! It was not uncommon at the time to have visits by wild animals that strayed beyond the Park boundary. One such stray, a tiny dik-dik , was kept as a pet by one household nearby. More often than not commuting to and from school was by local bus services. Occasionally, we would leave home early and walk to school in order to save on bus fares which we promptly spent buying sweets and other delicacies from the pedlars in carts parked outside the school gates. My favourite was a gooey ball made from popcorn, as well as iced-lollies and all varieties of delicious fruits.

 It was about this time when the new school building was erected on the upper level of land away from the playing field, to accommodate classrooms for the secondary students ( Forms 1 to 4). This was an exciting time for the school governors, teaching staff and students too, as it heralded an era of positive growth and development, which I feel sure led all of us to rise to the challenge and be better role models for the ensuing younger generations. New teachers were hired by now – some from the Indian subcontinent – including Mr Roldao Menezes and Mr Stanley D’Souza. Both of these men I took an avid liking to as, not only were they splendid teachers, but they also took on roles of sports masters, the former being the football team manager and the latter in charge of cricket. Being a sporty person myself, I was chosen to represent the school at both football and cricket. I can vividly remember being so excited on days when we had to travel by the school bus to play cricket against other schools like Duke of York and Prince of Wales, both of which of course had mostly English players (students). These games were of the shortened version perhaps 20 overs each. During the interval players partook of a sumptuous spread of cakes, biscuits and other goodies. I daresay that that was the highlight of the day, although we had to be competitive too. My team-mates then included Rui Dourado, Cajetan Dias, Gerson Fonseca, Roland Rebello, William Suarez, Richard Caldeira et al. My forte was batting and I also excelled at slip fielding, especially to the fast bowling of Roland and Rui. On one of these occasions I scored a moderate score of 61, aided and abetted by Pius Mendonca. Those were special moments for me and led to my involvement with cricket for all my working life, including managing teams and arranging fixtures.

We Goans excelled at all forms of sport, and it would be remiss of me not to mention the achievements of the school hockey team who competed against other schools and won the Mustaqh Trophy for a few years running. Some of the squad like Hilary, Silu and Leo Fernandes and Alu Mendonca went on to represent Kenya at National level. In athletics too we had some stars like pole-vaulter, Anthony Vaz, miler, Alban Coutinho, sprinter, Astrid Fernandes and many more too numerous to mention. Some of the girls excelled at hockey too and played for a team called The Collegians. I recall that playing in a mixed encounter against some of this team I received a stick to my face that left me minus a tooth. They certainly played hard those girls! For years thereafter my colleagues called me ‘bucktooth’ and so I had to have remedial dental treatment to restore some of my good looks (only joking!!) I was grateful to Mr Britto and Mr Menezes who used to drive me sometimes to the dentist during school break times for this treatment. Needless to say, I never played hockey again!!

In keeping with Goan culture and tradition, there was an abundance of musical talent at the school.  One could not fail to be impressed by such students as Henry Braganza , Xavier Almeida, Gilbert Fernandes and Levit Pereira (my brother), Maximo Alphonso and his pretty sisters, all marvellous crooners who featured in many concerts including the Six-Five Special staged at the Goan Institute.  Henry had his own band and others, like my brother Lionel and Leo (drummer boy) Rodrigues, played in a band called ‘Rhythm Kings’ after they graduated from school.

My days of schooling came to an end in 1959 when, together with the rest of my classmates, we had to bid a fond farewell to our beloved school and teaching staff. We owed them an immense debt of gratitude for their efforts in giving us a solid educational foundation that enabled us to aspire to and attain much success in the ensuing years of our lives. Apart from all the teachers who tutored and trained us during this time, we cannot forget the dedicated and selfless help and support of our respective parents who, after all is said and done, are the ones who gave us the opportunity of going to such a noted institution as  Dr Ribeiro Goan School.

When we made our final exits from the school gates it certainly must have brought a tear to many an eye. It was indeed sad to say ‘ Kwaheri ’ to my fellow students who had been a part and parcel of my period of eleven years at the school. Happily, thanks to my parents, I was able to continue my further studies, firstly at Duke of Gloucester School in Ngara , together with a few others of my class of ’59, and then at St Xavier’s College in India graduating with a BSc degree. Truth be told, I could write an entire book about my college days in India. Perhaps I could ‘tell all’ in my autobiography which I am currently drafting, following my recent retirement.

Over the years since leaving Dr Ribeiros, many ex-students had migrated with their families to various parts of the world including Australia, Canada and the USA.  Many of my school colleagues had, like me, migrated to the UK, in my case in 1968, at the time of the so-called Exodus. So we had a wonderful opportunity to renew our acquaintances at various social and family gatherings in London. In fact, years ago, in the ‘80’s I believe, I used to organise an annual Xmas party especially for our Class of ’59. It was sheer joy and pleasure to have some fun times again with the likes of Frank (sadly deceased), Edwin, Steve, Hilary, Donald and Alvira Almeida, Tony D’Silva as well as Olga Fernandes, Diana (nee Colaco) and Apolonia - all with a tale or two to tell of bygone days in Kenya . Our respective spouses too joined in the merriment at those events. Alas, we no longer meet as often as we used to. The winds of change seem to have affected us all, as we strive to make the best of our retired lives in our respective localities. I am sure that wherever our paths may have taken us since our school days, we shall always cherish the memories and times we had at Dr Ribeiro’s.

In concluding, I would like to extend my warmest greetings to all ex-students of our beloved school.  Across whatever seas your Ship of Fate has sailed, and wherever in this big wide world you may reside, may The Good Lord bless you all. Thanks for the wonderful memories!

P.S. I understand that learly next year the school will be renamed Dr Ribeiro Parklands School.  

You can find the other photographs Lambert submitted with his article by clicking on the link below:

Lambert's Photos

Lambert Pereira, Class of 59, has been residing in the UK since 1968. After a long professional career, he finally retired 4 years ago and spends his time doing volunteer work in the community. He is also deeply involved in Church activities. Lambert resides in West London with his partner of 40 years, Fatima Fernandes. He has 3 brothers, Lionel and Luban who also live in London, and Levit who is still in Nairobi. His only sister, Linda, lives in Goa. Lambert has a deep and abiding love for his fatherland, Goa, and tries to get away as much as he can to the apartment he owns in Colva. Lambert’s hobbies include reading, gardening and music. He has recently taken up playing the saxophone and is even trying his hand at the electric organ. When Fatima eventually retires, Lambert plans on travelling to catch up with friends and relatives worldwide – “inshallah”, as he puts it. 

My dad, Miguel A. Rosa, was born in Goa in 1902 and after marrying left Goa to settle in Zanzibar where I was born together with my five siblings. My dad started his own photographic business there and after ten years or so decided to leave for Nairobi which was about the time of WW2. I understand from my parents that we sailed in an Arab dhow in the dead of night to avoid being spotted by the Nazis!!

We settled in Parklands fairly close to Dr. Ribeiro Goan School where we were all educated. My dad continued his career in photography and worked for Vanguard Studios, Wardles and finally the Ministry of Works. He was the official photographer for the Goan School for many years, taking pictures on Sports Days, First Holy Communions, Confirmations, school concerts and class groups. He was also the chief photographer for the Goan Institute where many of his pictures are still on display and, I am sure, in many a private album. He also covered the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the

Goan Institute. I know my dad will also be remembered for the many, many happy memories he captured of wedded couples.

Apart from this, my dad was a dab hand at repairing cameras. He would come laden with cameras that needed repairing. I remember him working late, night after night in his "dark room" developing photographs and fixing cameras to keep up with the demand. He even "air brushed" negatives to correct imperfections! How clever was that? At least I thought so!

My dad finally retired in 1964 and immigrated to Goa with my mother. They are both now deceased.

Josephine Rosa, Class of 54, married an ex-student of the Catholic Parochial School, Aires Fernandes in 1957. Aires was a brilliant Billiards and Snooker player (Kenya champion). Josephine has three sons, married and five lovely grandchildren and lives in Tooting Bec, London We are indebted to Mr. M. A. Rosa for his invaluable visual legacy. The composition, clarity and quality of his photographs is remarkable even with all the advances we have made in the last 50 years. He helped bring our community's history to life personalizing events which would have been merely a narrative. Just last week one of his photographs of the Class of 58 was used to help track down certain elusive classmates who had become blurs in our aging memories.

Sports have always played a major role in the Association’s diary of events. I was fortunate to be elected as Sports Director 1988/89 when the G.O.A owned its premises and grounds. In my opinion the life and soul of the clubhouse during my time as Sports Director, were our sporting events – events which gave us an excuse to have social get-togethers.  

My term was very fulfilling, satisfying, though at times frustrating! I was unable to extend my term of office due to an overseas posting, but while I was at the helm of the Sports Section, I had an excellent team of Managers who worked and played hard to promote their individual sport. Each sports section was financially independent as those participating had to pay a levy, thus enabling me to purchase new equipment.

Maintaining the grounds was a nightmare! Anyone who volunteered to drive the tractor was persuaded to hop on and mow the grass! Wives, girlfriends no exception!  During my term two sizeable trophies were presented: The Romeo Fernandes Cup donated by Mrs Bevinda Viegas for Hockey and the Stanley Braganza Cup donated by Mrs Bertha Braganza for the 100 metres.

Thanks to Peter Rodrigues who put Sports Day on the G.O.A UK map way back in 1979, my team and I were able to hold the 10th annual Sports day at the Clubhouse, in 1989. I was fortunate to have the expert services of Caruso Monteiro and his helpers in setting out the sports track. I applaud all those then and now who are involved in this great event as it is a lot of hard work.

Badminton became a popular indoor Sport under the management of Steve deSa and in the 1989 tournament enjoyed by players and spectators, there was some fierce competition before the finalists received their well-deserved trophies.

Cricket was organised by Lazarus Ratto and apart from arranging outside fixtures, he also had a Sunday League to compete for the Sunil Gavaskar shield. Teams comprised of club members residing in the South East counties of England. The keen spirit and enthusiasm of the teams to win the shield was incredible...you would have thought “The Ashes” were at stake! To Kent’s disappointment Croydon won the shield. As always the spouses were very supportive in providing scrumptious teas and snacks, the taste being all the sweeter for the winning team.

Football saw Errol Colaco devote a lot of his time to form a team that would compete in the Kent Sunday League. Our good football players were not forthcoming; nevertheless we had a lot of tournaments, among them 7a-sides. Tough referring stopped many a punch up and friendship was resumed over a pint or two at the bar.

Hockey: Again a lot of dedicated champions to promote hockey, namely:

1st Eleven: Oscar Fernandes

2nd Eleven: Filu D’Souza

Special Eleven: Denis Lobo

Ladies Eleven: Ronald Vaz

There being a few hockey bulletins in this brochure, I shall not cover that sport in depth except to say that the Wallington 6 a-side was won by G.O.A captained by Fidelis D’Mello.

Indoor sports organisers were Chris D’Souza: Darts; Val Nunes; Pool and Vince Fernandes; Table Tennis. A good social atmosphere presided. I thought I had become the second Eric Bristow in the Darts tournament only to be beaten by Chris! In the Pool tournaments Val observed that the youngsters were giving the seasoned players a run for their money! Vince had a difficult task as there were some very skillful table tennis players who were a thrill to watch.

Trook was managed by Jacinto Fernandes, who continues to run this tournament to the present day. I thought Trook was gentle card game but tempers were easily raised when a player played the wrong card! Many an argument was firmly and fairly handled by Jacinto.

Volleyball always provided a highly explosive situation, but on hand to diffuse that particular bomb was Richard Fernandes! Richard coached and managed a G.O.A team that finished third in the Kent and Surrey casual leagues. There were a number of trophies to be played for, one being the St. Brittos Trophy and the other the G.O.A Open Trophy. Fierce competition between teams gave the spectators sheer entertainment !

With the help of my team Managers, it gave me great pleasure to organise the first Interclub Tournament, held on 4th June 1989, between Simba, South East Goans and the G.O.A. The Association took the opportunity to host this event to promote sporting links between the clubs.  This was achieved by friendly rivalry and good sportsmanship. I had hoped this event would have become an annual fixture with plans to invite other Goan clubs from further field.

Wilfred De Souza and Mafalda deSa were voted Sports personalities of the year 1988/89 for their participation and contribution to their sports.

My memories as were, remain fond and often wistful. Our Clubhouse years, if only for a short while, were good times. My association with the G.O.A was an enjoyable experience and long may the G.O.A continue as the unifying force of our community.

Donald Almeida, Class of '59, and a past office bearer of G.O.A UK was a keen sportsman, playing hockey for the Goan and Railway Institutes, Kenya Police and Sikh Union and football for Luo Union and the Aga Khan Club. He joined the British Forces, serving in the Royal Engineers Corps and he represented the 20 Field Squadron in football, cricket, basketball and rugby in the UK. Not content with playing these sports he also boxed for the 36 Engineer Regiment. On tour in the Pacific islands and Aden, he continued his sports and proudly finished his sporting career in the forces when he represented the 36 Engineer Regiment at hockey, winning the Army Cup. As a civilian in Nigeria he continued playing his favourite sports and back in the UK he participated in all the sports played at the Clubhouse.  Married to Alvira, they have two children, Alistair in Toronto and Candice and are proud grandparents to Spencer, Alistair and Sophie’s son.

I left Kenya for the UK in 1973 and in time honoured Goan tradition of belonging to a club, I became a member of G.O.A UK.  

Being a keen sportsman, I got involved and set about structuring the sporting programme for the G.O.A. Only Men’s Hockey was being played in the early 70’s, so when I was appointed Sports Secretary in 1975, I immediately started the Ladies hockey section. I commenced Badminton sessions on Sundays, at Crystal Palace Sports Centre and organised Trook and Squash tournaments. Playing all these sports, gave me an added incentive and our sporting section was well underway.

I took over as Manager of the Men’s Hockey team in 1975 and G.O.A went on to win Middlesex Div. 2 that year. The following year we won the Div. 2 title, thereby giving us promotion to the Premier Division. In the same year we also won the unique double, by taking the indoor hockey title, a feat rarely achieved! Before I left office in 1977, I mooted the idea of a Sports tour to Toronto Canada and a very successful Sports Tour was later held in 1978.

As Vice President in 1980 and being a man of varied interests, I took a party of 52 on a mini cruise to Gothenburg, Sweden. Needless to say a good time was had by all, as not only can we play Sports but can appreciate culture and socialise in equal measure!

In 1985, with our enviable premises, I was appointed Clubhouse Administrator, at Beckenham and with the facilities readily available, a lot of Sports activities flourished. I was Sports Co-Ordinator, when Mombasa Institute visited the G.O.A UK on a Sports Visit. Apart from the visit being a success on the sports and social front, it also evoked fond memories for us all of our inter- club sports visits within the Goan Institutes of East Africa. Those glory days were now being recreated at the G.O.A in Beckenham.

Jacinto, ex -Badminton Champion represented Kenya vs. India in 1968. He went on to win the Kenya Open Mens Doubles in 1969 and 1970 and represented Kenya at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh in 1970. He won his first major singles title in 1971 by taking the Kenya Open Mens Championship in that event. Winning the mixed doubles in the Mauritius Open in 1971, he then represented Kenya again in 1972 in singles and doubles against Malaysia.

Jacinto continues to organise and participate in the ever popular Trook tournaments. He is a staunch supporter of the Association and volunteers his services annually in the role of MC at the Goan Festival and Sports Day. He epitomises the quintessential Goan, by excelling both in the Sports arena and on the dance floor! His evening of ballroom dancing, held annually, (for charity) where strict dress codes, fancy dance steps and music to enthral are a must, has proved a fantastic night out and a huge success.

My name is Ronald Coelho, and I attended the DRGS in Nairobi, Kenya, for three years.

I was a student there from 1963 to 1965 (standard 5, 6, & 7B). After the K.P.E. exams, I proceeded to do my secondary education at the Prince Of Wales School, now known as Nairobi School.

My most memorable time at DRGS was when I was in Standard 7B. Apart from our normal study curriculum and playing football and marbles in our lunch breaks, there were two of us who had a great passion for singing.

Edwin Colaco was my class mate and best friend, and we were both very big fans of the Beatles. The FAB FOUR were at their peak at the time, conquering the world with their fabulous music. Edwin and I just loved singing their songs, and collected as many newspaper cuttings and pictures of the Beatles as we could. We often compared notes, and tried to see who could collect the most and best pictures of the group.

Unfortunately, I left DRGS after the K.P.E., and never saw my friend Edwin again. I was told that he played in a band in the years ahead, but later passed away at a fairly young age. I would have loved to meet him again, as we had shared some really good times at DRGS.

I too continued in the music channel, and am presently an Elvis Presley singer and performer.

Attached are a couple of photos.

What is the meaning of noise? The definition of this very ubiquitous phenomenon is a very subjective one. After all what is one man's Mozart may be another's dub music. Perhaps the best definition would be sound energy that causes annoyance. Of course this only takes into account the fact that noise can cause psychological and physiological upsets. This is true for sound at any intensity.

To illustrate, let us consider passengers in a moving train. To a man reading his newspaper the sound of the train is almost calming but to two people trying to hold a conversation it can be infuriating.

This then is one aspect of noise - the sound that irritates.

The other more alarming but far more insidious aspect is the physical damage that noise can product. This is a function of its intensity. There is now irrefutable evidence that loud noise damages the delicate mechanism of the ear, and when such damage has occurred it s irreversible.

The end organ of hearing located within the delicate snail shell of the cochlea is the Organ of Corti.  Simply, it contains millions of hair like cells embedded in a jelly. These hairs bend when sound waves strike them. High frequency sounds stimulate the Organ of Corti near the base of the cochlea and low frequency sound near its apex. The range is from 60Hz to 20,000Hz. The intensity of sound or its loudness will dictate how much these hair cells bend and thus the intensity of the electrical signal reaching the brain. It is therefore easy to see that sounds of large intensity constantly striking these

delicate hairs will eventually damage them and that since the high frequency receptors are first in the path of the sound wave they are the first to go. Noise damage is a function of intensity (measured in decibels - db) times length of exposure (measured in hours).

The decibel scale is a logarithmic scale so that an increase of 20dbs is a tenfold and 40dbs a hundredfold increase in sound pressure. To illustrate what is meant by sound intensity some everyday examples are shown below:

0 db Threshold of hearing

10 db Normal breathing

20 db Leaves rustling in a breeze

30 db Empty movie house

40 db suburban residential neighbourhood at night

50 db Quiet restaurant

60 db Two-person conversation

70 db Busy traffic

80 db Vacuum cleaner

90 db Water at the foot of Niagara falls

100 db Subway train

120 db Steel band at close range

130 db Rock Band at 100 yards

140 db Military Jet at take off

160 db Wind tunnel

180 db Space rocket

0 decibels or near absolute silence can only be achieved in an echo free chamber but it is the level at which a normal ear will just pick up sounds in the range of 250Hz to 4000Hz. The speech frequencies incidentally are 500, 1000 and 2000Hz with 1000Hz being the frequency at which hearing is most accurate.

Above 120db noise is so intense that it can be felt as a ticking sensation in the ear, and beyond 130db the sensation changes to pain and will damage the unprotected ear.

In the early part of the century in the U.K. noise induced hearing loss was recognized in workers who used pneumatic riveters to rivet steel plates. It was given the name 'boilermaker's deafness'.

Oddly enough it was the Russians in 1929 who first classified noise induced deafness as an industrial disease and offered compensation.

Nowadays most industrialized countries have set safety standards for maximum noise to which workers can be exposed during a working shift through Occupational Safety and Health Acts.

For example the U.S. O.S.H. Agency recommends eight hours at 90db six hours at 92db, four hours at 95db and so on. Scandinavian countries use even lower levels viz eight hours at 85db etc.

In addition to the damage they can do to hearing, loud sounds have several other effects. For instance a sound of 140db can produce unpleasant bodily sensations: a felling of vibration in the head, a pain in the middle ear, loss of equilibrium, nausea and sweating.

Sudden sounds of lower intensity like the sound of a small firecracker going off unexpectedly can cause the blood pressure to rise, the pulse to quicken, the mouth to dry up and digestion to be upset.

If noise produces so many unpleasant side effects is it any wonder that rock musicians who are constantly exposed to sound at 130dbs need recreational drugs to "calm their nerves"?; or nearer home that schoolchildren exposed to loud music in the confines of a maxi taxi are aggressive when they get to school?

And these are just the physiological and psychological aspects! Think of the damage that is being done to their delicate hearing apparatuses. We are slowly producing a generation of deaf children and deaf musicians

Now if you think that this is all a bit far fetched and alarmist, then think of the last Carnival fetes you went to. Do you remember how, as you left the fete your ears were ringing? And maybe even hurting a bit? Do you remember as you walked to your car you and your companions spoke to each other in raised voices? Do you recall that when you were in your car you had to turn up the car radio's volume in order to hear it? What had just happened was you had suffered temporary deafness.

Your threshold of hearing had shifted downwards. In other words if you started off with a hearing average of 10db you could be now down to 15db. Not much you might think but this means that you will now require sounds to be four times as loud if you are to hear them. Of course this is only temporary and your hearing will be restored by the next day. But think of this happening everyday or even say three times a week - it is not difficult to imagine what the final outcome will be. And the

bad news is that once you've lost it you can never get it back. You then will probably end up wearing a hearing aid.

We can now identify the sources of noise with the potential to damage your hearing ... what has often been referred to as Invisible pollution.

Noise in the Work Place..... Machinery, engines, turbines, steam valves, lathes, grinders, jackhammers, pneumatic tools - the list goes on. Also at risk are workers at airports, tractor drivers and railway workers.

Recreational Noise

There is no doubt that loud music in public transport vehicles should be banned. Besides the deleterious effect on the passengers it is distracting to the driver. This is a matter of some urgency and can easily be carried out by the relevant licensing authority.

Musicians should wear ear defenders, D.J.s should keep headphone sound down to a minimum (suggested maximum of 80 db for a six hour stink with several days rest in between); Revellers should wear ear plugs when attending noisy fetes and attendees at concerts should do the same.  Ear plugs will attenuate sound by up to 25db still allowing you to enjoy the music.

It is very important that our musicians (pan men especially) heed this advice for the very people who represent the creative talent in our society now have endangered hearing acuity. And if you can't hear you can't create (Not everyone is a Beethoven!!).

And of course there's the eternal nuisance created by noisy fetes. All public fetes should require a license and none should be granted to promoters who desire to hold it within 500 yards of a residential area.

Ambient Noise

This can be reduced by enacting strict laws governing noisy auto and motor bike exhausts; the use of car horns in residential areas; the siting of factories, workshops; the licensing of bars and nightclubs.

Enviornmental Noise

There is always the debate as to which came first the airport or the residential area and similarly the industrial complex and the housing estate.

If a residential area existed before then no planner should put in an industrial complex slap bang in the middle of it. Besides the noise nuisance there's also the obvious danger of industrial accidents (remember Five Mile Island and Bhopal).

Airports with low flying aircraft landing and taking off present a very real nuisance.

Airports should be as far away from residential areas as possible.

Of course both examples with their large employment capacity attract home buyers to their vicinity so that there should be good policing of developers by the Town and Country Planning Division.

Finally, here is a sobering fact... in 1975 in the U.S.A., there were more people afflicted with hearing problems that were permanent than all the people afflicted with blindness, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, kidney, liver and venereal disease combined!!!!

In a world full of sound, the intensity is reaching deafening proportions. Our hearing is fast becoming an endangered sense. Let us opt more for the sound of silence.

After studying at Strathmore College, Austin Trinidade, Class of 63, entered Makerere and qualified MBChB in 1972. Idi Amin forced him to leave East Africa and he relocated to Trinidad. After postgraduate studies in the UK he qualified FRCS in '82 and returned to Trinidad where he has been practising as an ENT surgeon.  He served as Medical Chief of Staff at General Hospital San Fernando from 1995 to 2007. Austin retired from the public service in 2007 and is now only practising privately.

Your Hobbies: In the Garden

By Afra Fernandes

Sooo here I am at the end of February with a water logged allotment and the rain continues to fall.  By now my garlic and shallots should be planted and the rest of the allotment double dug or limed.  For nearly nine years this is the routine I have followed so I have no back-up plan. I could pray for an exceptionally dry Spring but what do I know about praying?!!!! So I resigned myself to a quiet, clean summer with no worries about clubroot with my brassicas or blight with potatoes/tomatoes or the pesky bugs that scoff everything in sight. Perhaps a summer holiday...now that's a thought.

Then guess what? Come the end of March someone's prayers have been answered the rain has stopped and hey presto we have an exceptionally dry, warm Spring!!!! The sodden allotment slowly but surely starts to drain and dry out. Like superman I jump into action and hastily get my seeds started indoors. The allotment is still too wet to dig but I'm feeling optimistic and with fingers and everything crossed the weather stays dry and my seedlings finally get planted by mid-May.

The warm, dry Spring turns into a glorious hot, dry Summer. The seedlings turn into strapping plants and suddenly the growing season is in full swing with everything budding or blooming. Isn't nature a wonderful thing? By mid June I'm harvesting runner beans and courgettes and the strawberries, the size of golf balls, are ready for picking. Nothing, but nothing beats the taste of home-grown English strawberries with or without fresh cream!!! The continued hot spell has also

brought to fruition such an abundance of fruit and vegetables that I'm struggling to keep up!!!! Due to family problems I was unable to attend my allotment for one week and on my return you veg. gardeners will know that the courgettes wait for no man. The baby courgettes were now full-grown marrows each the size of a sumo wrestler's thigh and there were 23 of them!!!!! WTF do I do with them? So I loaded up my wheel barrow and carted the whole lot out to some workmen in the street

outside the allotment and asked them to help themselves. I swear they thought I was the mad woman of Redbridge!!!! Still I managed to shift 13 of them. The rest were distributed among bemused friends, relatives and neighbours.

It's now September and the growing season is showing no signs of winding down. I have had more fruit and vegetables than I can cope with to the point that I cannot give them away nor freeze any more!!! Seriously!!! Today I harvested more than 20 pounds of tomatoes and I have no idea what I am going to do with them or the hundreds that are still on the bushes!!! Let alone the beans, beets, sweet corn.......but I'm not complaining...well perhaps a little bit!!!

So it appears that the trick to a productive season is massive amounts of rain followed by a hot dry spell...now if I could bottle that......

Afra Fernandes nee DeMello, DRGS class of 64, lives and maintains her shamba in London, England.

Parklands school exudes a rich history that spawns from a colonial and post colonial past. The founding fathers of the school – the two Goan educationists in East Africa; the late Dr. A.C.L. de Souaa and Dr. Rosendo Ayres Ribeiro, combined efforts and started a school to cater for interests of their community. This led to the founding of Dr. Ribeiro Goan School in 1928 to take care of the Goan child’s education needs.

The late Dr. A.C.L. de Sousa and Dr. Rosendo Ayres Ribeiro later on successfully negotiated with the then government (colonial protectorate of Kenya) for a land grant. They acquired the land on 1st August, 1957 under the “The Goans Overseas Association Trustees (registered)”. The title deed issued then, had set out special conditions on land use.

In 1965 the school was renamed Parklands School upon being taken over by the Ministry of Education’s District Education Board. This was done in the spirit of the independent Governments’ decolonization and Africanization policies. In 1973 the City Council assumed the management of primary section while Parklands Secondary became a government secondary school.

The first African Principal was Mr. H. K. Mbuthia was appointed in 1975 and since then the school has transformed enormously. The school has embraced diversity in culture from all Kenyan communities. It has grown in enrolment from the Parklands environment to the entire city community and far flung estates like Dagoretti, Kawangware, Githurai, Gachie, Westlands, Kayole, Kibera and Baba Dogo. Now that we have a boarding facility we have students from as far as Wajir, Mombasa, Migori.

The student population cuts across all socio-economic groups within the city, especially the low and middle income groups. The school comprises of day and boarding secondary school scholars and a primary school which also attracts students from the diverse socio-economic groups. The co-existence of the two levels of schooling gives it a unique character in the education system. It moulds students from their early development stages to more complex levels at high school – from where the students transit to colleges and universities.

Given its rich history Parklands School has endeavoured to realize its goals towards imparting knowledge and the general societal development by generating the required social capital.  However, the growth of the school continues to be faced with teething challenges that derail school performance and holistic realization of set out vision and objectives. The performance levels have dropped from first-rate quality to average levels. It is against this backdrop that the school

management has opted to rejuvenate the school through various measures. One of these is to rename the school – Dr. Ribeiro Parklands School. In doing this the management will have give school. It is worth noting that his descendants still maintain a keen interest in the school and are in communication with the school from time to time.

Secondly, we seek to recapture the experiences, feelings and belongingness of the past. We want to recapture the spirit and drive evident in the many successful professionals who graduated from this school in its years of glory. We hope to ignite a renaissance in the school through links with its history and the passion of our alumni both young and old.

The launch date is 15th January, 2015 in School at 9.00 a.m.. This date was selected because many Kenyans are out on holiday during the late November to December period including the school children. This ceremony requires everyone’s full attention therefore it is prudent to do it in January when everyone is back to business.

A Steering Committee has been formed to plan the launch whose membership consists of

• Board of Governors

• Parent Teacher Association

• DRGS Alumni based in Nairobi

Sub-committees have also been formed:

• Hospitality committee - whose mandate includes to plan for inviting, receiving, hosting guests at change of name launch.

• Fund-raising committee - receiving the budgets of other committees and raising the money

from well wishers to fund their activities.

• Editorial committee - printing commemorative magazines and producing other memorabilia around the theme.

Beyond the launch the school will still need the support of well-wishers to rebuild its infrastructure.  Computerize its functions, convert some of its traditional classrooms to e-class – in general modernize the school.

It is worth noting that DRGS Class of 68 alumni, donated 3 computers to the computer laboratory.  The 2012 DRGS Alumni (Toronto) Reunion Committee have funded a photocopier to, inter alia, facilitate the work of the examinations department. Our sincere thanks to the Class of 68 and the 2012 DRGS Alumni (Toronto) Reunion Committee for their contributions.

We urge all well-wishers local and abroad to join in and help the school reclaim its role as a beacon of excellence.

Steven Luseno, the current school principal, obtained a B.Ed degree from the University of Nairobi. He has extensive experience in teaching, and school management. In his 30 year career he has taught at some of the Kenya’s leading high schools including the prestigious Alliance High School – arguably the top secondary school in Kenya. Mr. Luseno is also an author of a Biology text book written specifically to meet the objectives of the Kenyan Syllabus. Since joining the school in 2010 he has committed his energies to raising the academic and discipline standards and also creating effective synergy among all the stakeholders to uplift the school.

Dear fellow students,

Many among you who had made the journey to the Sacred Heart Church at Battersea on 25th March 2012, to celebrate the lives and times of our deceased alumni, will recall with nostalgia during the Memorial Mass, the moment when you brought to the altar, lighted candles representing the memory of your class mates who had passed on but still live in our hearts and minds. It gave meaning to our presence on that beautiful spring afternoon even as we gathered for teas and snacks in the foyer and open courtyard. Some surprised their classmates appearing to look like they could live to see yet another couple of decades. 

On October 26th, 2014, you and others will once again embark on another sentimental journey, some even coming from great distances. A good number have dared to overcome fears and concerns of how you look; others knowing that they will have to divulge the fact that they have filled the ranks of those whose careers have come to an end or sadly have been out of a job. Others would boast how their ‘royal blood’ still continues to flow in their great grand-children. What is most important is that we are all here once again – reunited even if it is only for a day.

Your exchanges, your encounters, your fellowship all count for making this Re-Union a memorable one. This is a wonderful opportunity for having even deeper conversations with classmates – not about who we were and what we did back then, in high school, but about how we are dealing with the challenges of making the most out of our lives now and wanting to leave behind a legacy fit for our children or relatives to transform to another level.

I wish to thank the organisers who have made this possible and whose tireless efforts and foresight have brought about the realisation of this forthcoming memorable event. I want to wish you all every blessing, and assure you that God will continue to smile upon you even as He did long ago when you first dared to step into the precincts of Dr. Ribeiro Goan School.

Fr Tony Fernandes, SDB, has always been an inspirational shepherd to this flock of the-class-of-64. A priest of the Religious Congregation known as Salesians of Don Bosco, ordained 37 years ago, and has worked in Tanzania, Kenya, India, and now the UK. Fr. Tony currently serves at the St. Dominic Savio Youth Retreat Centre, Cheshire, UK. It is with much pride that we announce his recent appointment to the Directorship of the Dominic Savio Retreat Centre, also known as Savio House. An accomplishment, indeed, as this is the first time a new émigré has been appointed to such an important position. Fr. Tony asks for our prayers that he will meet the expectations of those who have voted him into this prestigious position.