I hated school when I was young, It wasn’t that I was against learning, I just thought that I could do the job better than a school!

Living in London gave me the opportunity to learn without school with all its’ wonderful museums, but the authorities thought different and for three years tried to get me to stay with little success I could be escorted to the gates of the school and before you could ring the school bell ..I was gone over the back wall and away. Then some bright spark hit on the idea that If I lived at the school I may stay and in January 1964 I arrived at St. Michael’s and although I was a little homesick I stayed, other than a time when I thought I was in trouble and I ran away and got as far as Ely.

The Police took me back as far as King’s Lynn and Mr. Pott picked me up in the Commer at 2 in the morning. The King’s Lynn Police were great, I was given chocolate, soft drink, and ice cream. Mr. Pott was not amused. He did not speak all the way home and he would glance over his shoulder to look at me with the look that only he could give and then we arrived at Heacham. I cannot remember who drove the Commer that night but whilst he was putting it away Mr. Pott spoke to me and told me that I had been silly and that I was wanted at St.Michael’s and he gave me a hug. He never gave me one again and I never saw him give anyone else one but it made me feel special and I had then and still have the highest regard for ‘Uncle Roger’.

My years at St. Michael’s ‘64 to the end of ‘66 I consider as the happiest years of my life I had friends who I still hold dear although over the years we’ve lost touch (maybe I’ll find some of them again at the reunion). And I have memories that will last a lifetime, like trying to get out of sport on a cold Winters day and telling matron that you had a sore throat and then being dropped off the Chieftain bus a Snettisham and walking in the Rubber Macs up to Ingoldisthorpe.

The school was crazy! I loved it. After I left St. Michael’s I spent a short time in the Army before emigrating down-under I had heard so much about Australia from Miss Hayes-Williams that I felt I already knew the place before I arrived . I went into the Nursing profession and after a couple of years I met a ‘sheila’ and got married and had three wonderful sons who are now 27, 21 and one son who drowned when he was 5. I have also adopted another son who is 15 and two daughters 16 and 12 and late May will be a grandfather. Sadly my wife has dementia and requires a lot of full time care

.My career has changed. I was ordained in 1994 in the Congregational Church and pastored a small community church on Bruny Island in Tasmania but I did not believe that I was where God wanted me and after working with the Salvation Army for a while and being overtured by the Continuing Anglican Church I became Orthodox and was ordained last year into the orthodox priesthood, where I have been given a new name, Father Alban.

It is the second time that I have had a ‘name’ change at St.Michael’s I was known as Christopher, When I came to Australia the Hospital where I worked was full of Christophers, Christines, and even a Kris,.. so I started to use my middle name David and in Australia every one knows me as that so if you get a little confused by my “differing” names in October just think of it as very Michaelian. If any of “THE MITRE” readers are down under at any time my home is always open to old Michaelians Best wishes to you all and see you in October.

Father Alban. David McMahon-Winter (Chris Winter)