Living with the Editor

Observations by Witty’s Wench

(Abbreviated version first published in the Federal Saints Journal No 73: January 2011)

Ian in Australia 2010

I am not a “Saint” – which in this particular case means I have never attended Saint Andrew’s High School in Nyasaland. I have never even been to Malawi but that has not stopped me from learning a whole lot about the country, the environment, the places and people who lived there during the Federal Period - roughly 1953 -1964.

For those that ask me what Ian "does", my normal reply is that he runs a group of ex-students from his old school in Malawi (then Nyasaland). They kinda smile politely, I know they just do not "get" it. It took me a while as well in the beginning because it really is very difficult to explain. By the blank look on their faces you just know that they consider it "pottering" to keep  busy!!!! 

1st Newsletter: January 2005

Ian had often wondered what had happened to his old school friends, and with the advent of the internet and email, Ian  found it a whole lot easier to track them down. Like the proverbial snowball, catching up with one person, led to being given their connections and so the group of contacts grew. Nobody is quite sure how it happened, but when someone suggested that a Newsletter keeping everyone abreast of developments and group contact details - Ian got the job and the first Saints Newsletter was published in January 2005.

When we first met, Ian told me about his “little group” and that he published a monthly newsletter. This was during August 2005 and he had brought along a copy of the latest edition and my first impression of the 30-odd pages was that this was no newsletter!! In my world a Newsletter is maybe 4 pages, filled mostly with advertisements and bland blah rhetoric which in simple terms is boring, boring, boring! The copy that he brought along should have warned me that this time consuming project would feature largely in our lives.

The Newsletter was simply packed with articles and features contributed by members of the group, little snippets of information from their lives, their wanderings and travelings around the world, information on "hatches, matches and dispatches" (Births, marriages and deaths), where they were, what they were doing, books on the area, charity projects, and just lots and lots of gossipy stuff.  If you wanted to know what happened to your old buddy, the Newsletter was bound to catch you up with his activities in a very short period of time.

Our world is dominated by the production of the Newsletter (now called the Journal) - there is very little that suspersedes the importance of ensuring that the deadline is met on the 14th of every month and you will be amazed at how many gremlins are bent on disrupting the process:

• Electricity supply (or lack thereof)
• Internet connectivity (hey, this is Africa)

• 

  8th Newsletter: August 2005

  Software upgrades not compatible (who knew there were so many variants of the same thing?)
• Computer hardware failure (umm yes, that too!)
• Life in general (Life is what happens when you are making other plans!)

From the 7^th of the month, an invisible shield is run around the household as the final touches are put to the Journal. Leaking taps, broken equipment or any other minor household crisis is put on hold or simply “lived with” until after the 14^th. This shield also includes me answering the phone a whole lot more, and keeping Witty’s distractions to a minimum – especially if there has been either hardware or software issues that are being particularly difficult to resolve! I know which crisis is being dealt with at any given point in time, so to those who feel that I am “blocking” calls to Witty – it is not out of being ornery, it’s just me keeping his stress levels down to a minimum.

And those stress levels are sometimes brought on by the simple fact that his audience is made up of strange characters called a human beings. Yes, we all know that it is impossible to please all of the people all of the time and in any group there are bound to be "those" individuals who are just out of sync with their world. In retrospect, some of the incidents that Ian has had to deal with over the years are actually quite funny but at the time, it was anything but!!! Situations where you have family members feuding across the ocean separating them; friends getting into a squabble with each other and emailing Ian with their respective points of view (instead of addressing each other - the email is addressed to Ian and the guilty party c.c'ed); members of the group getting hot and bothered because the "Federal Period" has expanded to include additional old students of the school; going off at a tangent because Ian dared edit their submissions and generally just being, well, human!

All of the above pales in comparison with the absolute joy and happiness the producing of the Journal provides to Ian. Every time a connection between old friends is made, family reunited, a missing Saint found or some missing bit of information traced – the hassles, and drama’s, and frustration is forgotten. Every time someone writes to him about meeting up with someone they had lost contact with, it provides renewed energy to keep doing this “job” which started out as a hobby and turned into a vocation.

Ian says that he is the “glue” that merely puts the Journal together from information provided by the members. This is true but a comment from someone could be the nudge that sends him off on searching additional information on any particular subject. And this is what makes the difference... the additional information or snippets about a topic which gives informative and factual depth to the publication. A task that I might add – gives him tremendous enjoyment ... like a modern day super sleuth. So can you imagine the disaster when the Internet goes down??

Federal Saints Journal 102 - June 2013

Then, because life does happen while you are making other plans, the deadline for the July issue was approaching really fast and Ian simply was not well. For years he has been treated for high blood pressure and suddenly out of nowhere, his blood pressure plummeted! Of course, figuring out the problem took a few days while he continued with his normal medication which threw him out even further and he just could not find the energy or keep concentrating long enough to continue to put the Journal together and out on time. John Longmore who distributes the electronic format of the Journal was asked to please advise everyone that their beloved mid-month treat would not be on time and the reason for it.

What happened next was absolutely amazing! Emails started pouring in from members of the group from around the world with messages of support, love, appreciation and understanding. All wishing Ian everything of the best with the hope that he recovers quickly, and many, many other warm wishes. We stopped counting after the 200th email, and they still kept coming!!! 

If ever there was an indication that the amount of hours he puts into producing the Journal every month is greatly appreciated, this outpouring of concern for his well-being firmly established that fact, and for that, I am personally most grateful to all those who send emails, phone calls and just hung in there for a few days till the Journal was ready to be sent! 

I admit I did not “get it” – and if truth be told, I still don’t entirely understand the allure of being in contact with old school chums, old teachers, old school; in fact, anything much to do with the past. Having said that, I have learned over the past eight years, that it is not so much the past that has the allure, but a sense of freedom and discovery remembered by people who were already showing signs of the amazing individuals they were to become.  

And of these amazing individuals who contribute regularly to the publication, support Ian in his endeavors and in the process have become household friends – you have taught me that it is not so much the past that is important but the spirit that is remembered. There is no such thing as an “inner circle” of Saints – there is a group of people who share the same interest, background and history who share their experiences and love with anyone who cares to listen. There is always room for more – even me!