Colin and Diana Thomson (Griggs), a very brief history.

 

 

We first met in 1962 coming down the stairs at Adam House after the maths exam which was to decide who went into Maths 1, 2, 3 sets. Colin was foolish enough to ask me what I made the answer to Question 2 so we went to Wilkie House for lunch to discuss it.  The rest is history. Colin graduated in 1965 having decided that research chemistry was not for him and set about getting professional qualifications in Personnel Management. He ended up as Director of Human Resources for Eastman Kodak for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in Geneva, having spent most of his career in the various Kodak locations in the south–east of England.

I stayed on to complete the fourth year and graduated in 1966, getting married in the same year.  Teaching was the obvious profession as it was moveable but proved to be a most enjoyable choice.

We have one son, who is a consultant in Emergency Medicine, and a delightful grand-daughter, now aged nine. Our daughter-in-law brought with her two beautiful daughters so we now have pleasure in keeping up with the escapades of three girls.

Now that we are retired what do we do?

Colin, as may be remembered, was a collector of old cars; he had a Standard 10 pick-up, a mark 8 Jaguar, a Triumph Herald and a Ford Anglia whilst we were in Edinburgh.  That did not stop. At one point the collection, mainly old jaguars, numbered 20, dotted around various lock-ups and our ever expanding garage. It has now been drastically reduced to three, two jaguars and a mustang. Other collections followed, steam traction engines, trains and models of all sorts. We also acquired a 15th century farmhouse in the Loire Valley which keeps us well entertained learning all the words we were never taught in French at school and have become experts in land drains, slating and French bureaucracy.

I try to keep up with Colin and thanks to his connection with the NSPCC, I have been working in schools as a volunteer to promote ‘Childline’. I also help with the Medical Loan service for the Red Cross.