I have a
cavalcade of messages about year members, mostly good news this time.
Firstly, hearty congratulations to Fiona Stewart (AM) on her Order of Australia in January for services to anatomy tuition and research. We now have over a dozen award recipients from our year that I know about.
Jim Markos (AM) has been looking after his elderly mother in Sydney the past couple of months in his sister’s absence, now due to return to his ‘retirement’ in Tassie after some medical issues, now happily well again. We had a lovely dinner with Jim and Annabelle Farnsworth (OAM) last night, notable for a massive Sydney summer downpour.
Romany White is being supported by her family and several year members. A recent luncheon on the Hawkesbury was attended by Di Phillpot, Anne Glanville, Suzanna Tait (Rosenthal), Judy Stokes (Woolley) (OAM) and Anne Pike. I understand an enjoyable time was had by all.
Libby Jurd was an honorary member of our year – and Steve has a band of trusty mates who have been supporting him though his tough times with Libby’s illness and death [stream for funeral: Elizabeth Jurd]. The group meets up at Sydney Uni for coffee. A couple of years back Steve happened to run into John deLauney while Libby was having treatment at RPAH or LifeHouse. Since retiring from dermatology, John has been studying archaeology with a recent trip on digs in Greece. He and Shauna are looking forward to a trip to Pompeii and environs to further their knowledge at the place where modern archaeology was ‘invented’.
I chanced to see Anne Pike at a Brandenburg concert this past week. She is also in happy retirement and seems well and jolly. She has suggested another year reunion dinner or lunch (anyone else?). I have been sociable with Mary Kathryn Dwyer, Miriam van Rooijen and Bill Brooks in recent times. I still have coffee with Jim Wall and Mike Campbell-Smith regularly in Moss Vale. I happened to see Rosemary Sheehy briefly at Kings Cross Markets last year. Bill Sewell continues to work part-time and attends high-brow cultural events, Mahler one of his favorites.
I have regular news from Judy Stokes, Andy Csillag, Agnes Kainer Geyer and Jenny Gray. I also get occasional messages from Richard Abbott, Julia Arnold, Katherine Brown, Andrew Cole, Anne Glanville, Greg Marks, Lynda Marks, Justin Smith, Lyn Starr, Ian Stokes, Jeff Taylor, Tamara Freunde, Garvin Williamsz, Jeff Taylor, Clive Lovell, Suzanna Tait (Rosenthal), Di Phillpot, John Vaughan (OAM), Graham Blom and Helen Zorbas (AO).
St Mark’s Darling Point held the funeral of RPA neurologist Dr John Allsop (AM) who died recently aged 101. He is one of the last of our medical tutors to leave this mortal coil (I know only two others alive). John was famed at RPA for his annual lecture on abnormal gaits, getting a few giggles for his schooled demonstrations. Dr Allsop was not amused. He taught us the most important issues of clinical neurology learned long before modern scans and electro-grams: cranial nerves, sensation, motor, reflexes, conscious state, etc, etc.
We need to learn from King Leah and especially his mistakes: “It is our fast intent to shake all cares and business from our age, conferring them on younger strengths, while we unburdened crawl toward death.”
Best wishes from Andrew Byrne, please send your news, be it private to me or public for the blog: 1978 Sydney University Medical Graduates social pages.
Speak what we feel, not what
we ought to say.
The oldest hath borne most;
we that are young
Shall never see so much nor
live so long.
Edgar in
King Leah — Act 5, scene 3
