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."
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Steve Fairbairn
I think John Kerr took this one of me outside the Photo Dept. in '68. |
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Margrét Jóelsdóttir
(A detail from the picture below)
Margrét has her trademark - a bright red shiny plastic mack - draped over her
shoulders. |
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Mikes car
1967.
Mike was in the Teaching department. Never knew his last name. 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 (possibly Dave) Warner |
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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. |
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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. |
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| Steve in the photographic
studio along with 'one of the teachers whose name I can't possibly
remember' - anyone recognise him? |
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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. |
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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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Confessions of a Graphics Bod
by
Steve Fairbairn |
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