What on earth did John Parry just say?

On the stage in the mess hall at Ullenwood in 1979. Plainly, from the fact that everyone is falling about laughing JP must just have said something hilarious to Randal Motkin who clasps a ceremonial block of oolitic limestone (probably that season's 'Personality of the Year' award. Why John is wearing a crash helmet is lost in the mists. Back row, L to R, Dmitri, C-H-M, Bernard Dawson, Randal, Terry Courtney, JP. Front row, David Hole, Zoya Spivakowska, Ros Cleal and Anna Collinge.

Stop press: following a recent straw poll of Crickley veterans this year's reunion will be on the weekend of 16 to 18 July, holding the picnic on the hill on Saturday 17th. This at least gives Noakesy a chance to hotfoot it from his foreign tour just to make it in time ... I will email the usual suspects soon about the arrangements.

All in a good mood

High good humour all round at the award, it would appear to Randal Motkin, of the 1979 'Mr Crickley' title. Back row, L to R, Dmitri, Terry Courtney, Julian Parker, Bernard Dawson, Dave Southwood. Middle row, Training, The Skeleton, John Parry congratulating Randal, Mike Taylor. Front row, David Hole, Zoya Spivakowska, Ros Cleal, and Anna Collinge. The Skeleton is wearing C-H-M's father's demob suit from 1945.

Cutting AXV, 1979: that ditch

This 1979 compilation of Phillpotts photographs has a slightly "morning after the night before" feel to it doubtless caused by the out of focus photography. Many of the usual suspects here and there including Pete, John Parry, Mike Taylor, Dick Potts, Zoya Spivakowska, Mark Spivakowski, Training, Rachel, Dmitri, Elsa Charlot, Julian Parker and Mandy Hatherly.

1979: the strain starts to show

Another collage from Dr Phillpotts's 1979 photographs: F3351 was clearly beginning to take its toll as you can tell from the look on my face as I come back down towards it with a wheelbarrow. Dr Cleal looks as though she's just been knocked out. On the right-hand side of the collage Matthew Wilkinson looks a bit cheerier, whilst at the bottom Randall Motkin chases a frisbee. At the top in the middle Marian Barter scratches her head with Matthew Garner and Dave nearby. At the bottom in the middle many people slave away in the bottom of the Iron Age ditch on cutting AXV, including Mike Taylor, Training, Gill, Pete, Zoya Spivakowska, Elsa Charlot, Mandy Hatherly and me.

From Bernard Dawson: line gang removing rocks from the ditch, cutting AXV, 1979

Another splendid shot, this time of the team removing large bits of rock from the bottom of the ditch on the outer side of the rampart in 1979. Bernie Dawson sent the photo and Dr Phillpotts identified far more people than Bernie and I did: L to R on the baulk: Malcolm White, ?, ?, Ken Collier, ?, Julie Fissenden, ?, ?, Paul Noakes, ?, ?, Julian Parker. In the ditch: Terry Courtney, ?, ?, Elsa Charlot, Gill Drury, ?, ?, Zoya Spivakovska, Mark Spivakovsky (in hat), ?, Dmitri, ?, Pete, ?, Penny Locke, ?, Training (blue top at right), Mike Taylor in the background.

What a cheerful crew...

Following a tipoff from Dr Ferris, I'm delighted to have found Bernard Dawson again: he's still teaching but now in North London rather than Coventry. Bernie has sent me the above gem from his 1979 archive with a challenge to name the guilty parties. So here goes: back row, L to R, Mark Spivakowski [update from Dr Phillpotts: it's not Mark, it's Dmitri whose surname escapes both of us] , Terry Courtney, Julian Parker, Bernard Dawson, David Southwood, middle row L to R, Training (sorry I can't remember your real name but I do recall that this was how you were known), the Skeleton clad in Randel Motkin's jacket, John Parry, Randel Motkin, Mike Taylor, front row, L to R, David Hole, Zoya Spivakowska, Ros Cleal and Anna Collinge. Hope I've correctly spelled all the names. Why is RM clasping a large slab of limestone? Can anyone help answer that connundrum? Was it the Personality of the Year award or some such oddity? That rings a very faint bell. It looks as though the Skeleton is also wearing trousers as I can detect a hand that appears to be holding them up.

Update from Iain: "Yes it was the investiture of the Crickley Hill 'Personality of the Year', with all nominees on stage together. The 'PotY' competition was, I recall an idea of mine probably after one too many Gold Label ciders at the Air Balloon, which was surprisingly taken up enthusiastically by all present. The inspired idea for the actual award being a lump of limestone came from Dave Southwood, I think. What I cannot remember is what on earth was the significance of the piece of paper that 'Training' is holding in his hands and what had brought about Randel Motkin's 'thousand yard stare'. I don't know if this competition was held in subsequent years."