No. 140
The Trusty Servant
Andrew Hampton( B, 71-76), himself an experienced Headteacher and bestselling author, says that his latest book, How to Run a School, was inspired in no small way by his own time at Winchester. The book examines school leadership from four angles – how to lead pupils, staff, parents and Governors. Written for new and aspirant Headteachers across the primary and secondary phases, as well as experienced Heads looking for fresh solutions, How to Run a School is full of practical strategies to help readers respond to the challenges and dilemmas of running a school. 168 pages; Routledge; ISBN 978-1032853604
Nicholas Postgate( Coll, 59-63) has written and published City of Culture 2600 BC: Early Mesopotamian History and Archaeology at Abu Salabikh. Cities were the defining components of early Mesopotamia, acting as the base for all economic, social, political and cultural activity. With their shared languages and traditions they belonged to a single cultural order, and as with other similar groupings of individual urban centres – whether in Greece, Italy or China – the rivalry and emulation generates a vibrant but varied and innovative world. City of Culture, 2600 BC presents the city which lies beneath the surface of the archaeological site of Abu Salabikh in southern Iraq, first investigated in the 1960s and excavated in the 1970s and 1980s. It starts from the facts on the ground, and shows how the material remains can resurrect the city for modern understanding. 246 pages; Archaeopress Archaeology; ISBN 978-1803276694
Robin Somes( C, 77-82) has written and published three books:“ Digging up the past: a collection of Waterside stories”( 2023);“ From Severn to Solent: Theo Osborn Smith & the Smith family”( 2024); and“ Digging deeper: more Waterside stories”( 2024).
The two“ Digging” titles compile a series of illustrated articles, first published in a local magazine, featuring historical events, family connections, and personal recollections of life around Fawley and the Waterside villages of southern Hampshire.“ From Severn to Solent” is a vivid account of the lives of Theo Osborn Smith( the author’ s great-grandfather), boat builder, designer and inventor, and his family. Much of the story is seen through the eyes of Theo’ s wife, Mary Piper, and their daughter Evie, and interwoven with history and contemporary events on the banks of the Severn in Gloucestershire, the city of Oxford, Fawley in Hampshire, and Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. The book is richly illustrated with over 250 images, many never published before.
Theo, and his brother Harry, were renowned in their day as the innovators of the planing hull for racing dinghies, and many other developments in yacht design. Their lasting legacies include the Yarmouth One Design and West Wight scow( 2024 was the centenary of their first production), and innumerable other boats, as well as the boatbuilding careers of Theo’ s son and grandsons, well-known in their own right. Meanwhile, the legacy of Mary and Evie Smith, and the rest of the family, is a vast hoard of letters and other ephemera, recording the minutiae of life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
All three titles, plus other books by Robin, are available in print and e-book versions from shop. robinsomes. co. uk
Mihai Cucos( B, 86-91) has released In Memoriam, a new composition for 3 electric guitars. The piece is dedicated to those who have suffered in the Siberian Gulag. In 2013 he found out that his grandfather had spent 5 years as a WWII prisoner in the Siberian Gulag. Reading more about the Gulag inspired him to write two sections of In Memoriam in 2014 but didn’ t develop them further. Then in February 2024 Alexei Navalny died in a prison in the same Gulag. The injustice and brutality of his treatment at the hands of the Russian authorities spurred Mihai to finish the piece.
In Memoriam was performed and recorded by Mihai Cucos. It was mixed and mastered by Wharton Tiers( Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr) in the summer of 2025. The recording was released on Reward Center in August 2025. A recording is available on the usual streaming platforms and the CD can be ordered from Bandcamp. To find out more about Mihai’ s work, please go to his website: mihaicucos. com
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