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Steve 2004
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Steve Fairbairn did graphics 1966-70, married ex-Corsham student Margrét Jóelsdóttir painting, and moved to Iceland in 1970 where they now live. "I first went to Iceland in the summer of ’69 and worked for a short time at a small ad. agency in Reykjavík. It was the year that the first men landed on the moon and I remember seeing it on the Icelandic telly. I returned to the UK to finish my last year at BAA, went back to Iceland the following autumn and have been based here ever since."
Steve Fairbairn
I think John Kerr took this one of me outside the Photo Dept. in '68.
Margrét Jóelsdóttir
(A detail from the picture below)
Margrét has her trademark - a bright red shiny plastic mack - draped over her shoulders.
Mikes car 1967.
Mike Goater was in the teaching department, he had this very old car - dull red with a faded black top. Margrét is sitting on the running board.
Mike was a pleasant chap to talk to over a pint at the Oak and had a friend called Pete Warner and they usually turned up at the Oak together.
It turned out that Margrét also knew Mike (hence the photo), even though I hadn't met Margrét then. At that time I was going out with someone else.
Margrét & Steve
A studio picture of us taken in October '68 at about the time Margrét moved to Brighton. Might help jog somebody's memory even though it wasn't taken at BAA.
Steve in the photographic studio along with 'one of the teachers whose name I can't possibly remember' - anyone recognise him?

The Court - Janet Nesaule
This was just a trial shot which I never threw away. Also taken around '68. I managed to blow up the part of the picture with the long blonde walking down the drive (inset). I seem to remember that her name was Jan (probably Painting or Pottery) but I didn't really know her.

I have recently heard from some contemporaries of mine.
For example:- Val Prinsep, Clive Adams, Sue Mann and Judy Pilcher - all in Graphics from around 66 to 70.

Val was best known for his souped-up cars and often did racing starts in clouds of dust and showers of gravel on the drive at Beechfield, to the amusement of some and the dismay of others (especially John Vince). He lived above the pub at Gastard and just before he left BAA he bought a long-wheelbase Land-Rover and was planning a round-the-world trip. I heard that he got stopped by the natives in darkest Africa and they took away his car. He then set up a Land-Rover agency there but as far as I know no-one has heard from him since. Maybe they ate him?
Found:- An article about Val Prinsep on a trans-world safari from the Bath Chronicle '71.
Update:- Val has been found by Steve - this is an email sent to him in reply:

"Bloody years ago isn't it!! Lots of fun things happening. Straight from Corsham to Johannesburg in a clapped out Landrover, opened trans-africa safari company crossing africa in 4x4s (I would LOVE to see those Icelandic monsters some day!) until Idi Amin screwed us, then business development in East and West Africa, then Beirut, then the war there and met my English wife in Nairobi, live in Athens, then to Montreal for 4 years still in business development, then Toronto for nearly 20 (ditto), then moved to Paris about 4 years ago and all the time building up a private moving network from Zambia to Sudan so never a dull moment.
Our two boys are 20 and 24 (in Canada) and all goes well. Never got into the direct artistic side apart from helping my wife with our art dealership (19c French and British) which is flourishing. But aim to retire some day for 5-6 months a year to the place we have on the beach in Zanzibar and perhaps buy something modest in the south of France for the summer."

Clive was rhythm guitarist in the famous Jellybread band - almost up to Hendrix standards. Thursday night was disco night upstairs at the Oak and could be heard miles away. Black light and white shirts and maybe Rick Dewar singing bawdy songs and accompanying himself on the fiddle. I lived up at Neston a couple of miles away and always knew when the party had started just by sticking my head out of the door. Clive's girlfriend was called Juanita Waukaso - a Chippewa Indian girl from the US who couldn't hold her drink. (Something to do with enzymes that Indians don't have for breaking down alcohol).
Update:- Clive Adams has been tracked down by Steve and has added this page to the site.

Sue (Susan Hudson) Mann (married Dave Mann in Painting), before they got married (in Pre-Dip) we often went out together to the Crystal Palace pub in Bath when there were drawing classes there under the august eye of Andrew Wilson.

A few more names from Graphics/Painting 66-70'ish.
Andy Jackson - married Sue Roberts sometime after BAA.
Andy Sinclair - nice chap from Manchester.
Carol Kirschner - (Pre-Dip) pretty little American girl with long blonde hair. Her dad was an officer in the US army. Shared a room at 44 High Street with an attractive blonde in Pre-Dip Painting with whom I went out for a time.
Charlie Mitchell was a keen musician. Played in Mike Gray's jazz band and did a lot of experimental film work.
Janet Bolton - Plumpish, dark and very pleasant. I exchanged letters with her some years back but haven’t heard from her in donkey’s. John Kerr couldn’t remember her.
Maria Simmonds-Gooding went out with a chap called Ken in Painting. Was usually drunk or stoned or both. He’s now in the art-dealing business.
Malti Kidia - an Indian girl from Rhodesia. Lived at 44 High Street in Pre-Dip and then in Bath.
Noëlle Stewart - a very loud girl in Graphics from the year before. Everyone knew her, you couldn’t help it. I once threw a party up at Neston. It rained and the floor got all covered in mud. Noëlle was the only person who had the decency to offer to help clean up afterwards. She rose considerably in my esteem because of that.
Vicky Hornby - (Pre-Dip) a local girl from Calne.
Susan Whitesmith - married Phil Higson.
And then of course there was Mrs. Evans, a Welsh woman who served "would you like your coffee frothy, dear?" in the basement at the Court. And Renee (pron. Reenie) in reception at the Court. And Anne Phillips admissions registrar who was very nice to me and Margrét.

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Margrét and Steve - artists

Visit Margrét & Steve's 

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click here to read his story.

  Confessions of a Graphics Bod  by Steve Fairbairn

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