MARRIAGES

KATHRYN MIDDLETON nee Cousins (pupil 1987 - 1995) 

Even though they are extremely belated, as news has only just reached us, our warmest wishes go to Katy who, after the sad death of her late husband Dr John Martin in 2005, met and married Anthony Middleton in 2008.  Good luck from the ORA Community.

Best wishes go to James and his wife Victoria, on their marriage on 28th May 2011.  The couple were married at Appuldurcombe House in Wroxall.  The reception took place at Godshill Park, which is James’ parents’ home.   Several Old Rydeians attended the wedding, including Paul Lewis and Oliver Scadgell, who were ushers. 

SARAH PESKETT (pupil 1994 - 1997). 

Best wishes go to Sarah and Paul Grant, who were married in Gurnard on October 4th.  Their reception was at the Island Sailing Club.  Bridesmaids were Emma Peskett and Nicky Shmidt, both Old Rydeians.  The couple are taking their honeymoon in New Zealand in the New Year. 

 ALEXANDER NEWMAN (pupil 1990 - 1997).  

Congratulations to Alex who married Megan Rowland on New Year’s Eve, in a candle lit ceremony, at Powderham Castle, Kenton, Exeter. Alex and Megan are both doctors and met at university.

EMMA LANGDON (nee Thomson - pupil until 1997).  

Congratulations to Emma who sent the following announcement: -
“I got married on April 26th to Johnny Langdon, (Chartered Surveyor of Fulham, London), in All Saints’ Church, Freshwater, followed by a reception at my parents’ home in Tapnell, Yarmouth.
Old Rydeian Natasha Boswell was a maid of honour, and my bridesmaids were Mary Thomson (sister - Old Rydeian), Anna Shears (cousin - Old Rydeian) and Elspeth Shears (cousin - current Rydeian). It was a beautiful day weather-wise and everything went perfectly! Johnny and I will be living together in Fulham.”

HENRIETTA RAYNOR nee Creasey (pupil 1985 - 1993).  

“I thought you might be interested in news of Henrietta Creasey’s wedding.  She was in the first intake of girls into the Junior School in 1985 and left the Senior School in 1992.  She was married at St. Peter’s Church, Seaview, on 18th August 2007 to Ken Raynor, a fellow member of the world of radio broadcasting.   

 The reception was held in the grounds of her childhood home at Puckpool Hill where her father, George Creasey, a staunch supporter of Ryde School, still lives.  Not surprisingly, there were a number of Old Rydeians present.  In the case of the girls, I will give the surnames they were known by at school: -  Two of her bridesmaids were her sister Georgi and Catherine Baksi.  Her step-sisters Helen and Liz Napper were there, as were Catherine's twin brother John, Vanessa Walsh, Laura Traves, Sophie and Libby Sellars, Simon Shenton, Darren Griffiths and from earlier years, friends of her father, Roger Peck, Jim Ball, Keith Brading and John Cleaver.  Roger, of course, made a significant contribution to the development of the School as a Governor, and Jim worked tirelessly for the Friends for a number of years.  Catherine and I did the readings at the service and I was Master of Ceremonies at the subsequent proceedings. 

It is interesting to note also that at least one of the church choir was a former member of the staff of the Junior School, and the taxi driver who took my wife and me home at midnight proved to be the mother of one of my former pupils!  

In view of the weather and in case the ground was too waterlogged for the marquee and car parking, we had to have a fallback plan and Dr England had very kindly offered us the use of the school theatre for the reception.  In the end this was not necessary, but it was a great comfort to know that we had that safety net.”  

With kind regards, David Napper (former teacher).

 AMANDA HEAL nee Hale (pupil 1988 - 1997).  

Congratulations to Amanda on her recent wedding.  On leaving Ryde School, Amanda attended Hull University and then Dartmouth Naval College.  Now aged 28 years, she is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and is based in Porsmouth in the Education Department.  Her husband, Ian Heal, is a 34 year old solicitor.  Amanda and Ian were married at St. Mary's Church Brading on the 6th October 2007 and they honeymooned in the New Forrest. 

LUCY NETHERCOTT nee Reed (pupil 1992 - 1996)

Congratulations to Lucy, who married Craig, at St Mary’s Church, Carisbrooke, on the Island, on the 2nd September 2006. There were five bridesmaids and among the guests were OR’s Helen Lambert (nee Strike), Charlotte Williams (nee Yapp), Eva Draper-Oatley (nee Oatley), Jocelyn John, Chloe Swinton and Mark Reed (Lucy’s brother). Lucy said, “We had a marquee wedding at my parents’ farm in Carisbrooke. Guests were from Wales (Craig is Welsh - he lived in Australia for 10 years as a professional rugby player), London, Australia & Germany and of course Islanders! It rained on the day however we didn't let it beat us - I still had a horse and carriage! My brother had paid for a tepee to be pitched on the farm as our wedding night accommodation, however it blew away when all the guests arrived - it was a real talking point! The cake collapsed on the dance floor however the guests didn't see it happen luckily (before they entered the marquee), the caterers managed to put it back together again! We went to Capetown in South Africa for our honeymoon, followed by a Safari then went to a beach lodge to relax.” Lucy is an accountant and Craig is National Director of an international IT company.

EMMA RINGER nee Crossley (pupil 1996 - 1997) 

Congratulations to ORA Committee Member, Emma and her fiancé Dan Ringer, who were married on 2nd September 2006, at St Blasius Church, Shanklin. The marriage service was conducted by the Reverend Alan Swanborough. Emma was attended by Katherine (Chief Bridesmaid) and Caroline (Bridesmaid). The wedding reception was at the Montrene Hotel Sandown. Emma and Dan both hold managerial positions at Tesco’s Ryde Branch, where they first met.

 JONATHAN ELY (pupil 1986 - 1991)

On 27th May 2005, Jonathan married Madeline Chifamba, of Harare, Zimbabwe, at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Wymering, Portsmouth. The service was attended by family and close friends of the bride and groom, where the bride was given away by her brother. The reception was held at the Marriott Hotel in Portsmouth, and both the wedding and the reception were attended by a small number of ORs, Paul Smith, Tom Melrose and Emily Dunkason foremost amongst them. The bride and groom live in Aldershot, where Madeline is a senior care assistant and Jonathan works as a Health and Safety professional in London, after recently leaving the British Army. 

CHRISTOPH LEES (pupil 1975-84)

Congratulations to Christoph Lees and Paola Almeida, who were married at St Mary’s Church, Cadogan St, London on Saturday 12th June 2004. The wedding reception was held at the Goring Hotel, Beeston Place, London. JULIA SMITH (Pupil 1978 – 1980) Congratulations to Julia Smith, who married Eric Smadja in Paris on 5th September 2004, at the Synagogue Copernic. Friends from 22 countries attended the reception, which took place at The Cercle de l’Union Interalliée. 



JENS RATSEY-WOODROFFE (pupil 1975 – 1986)

On 25th January 2003, Jens married Susan, who is from Long Island, New York. The pre-ceremony photographs were taken in Grand Central Station. The wedding ceremony was a full mass at St Monica’s Roman Catholic Church in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Jens and Susan travelled in a 1947 Cadillac to the reception, which was held at Harrison House, which is a Georgian Style Mansion that was built in 1910 in Glen Cove, on the north shore of Long Island. The bride wore a Reem Acra gown. The bridesmaids’ dresses were in claret. The bridegroom and groomsmen wore full morning suits specially flown in from the United Kingdom. Over 50 people travelled from the UK for the event, braving temperatures of -20C. Guests included Old Rydeians Steven Frost and Rupert Sayer. Jens and Susan have recently moved into a newly built house in Long Island.

RUPERT SAYER (pupil 1975-86) 28th May, 2005.

Many congratulations g to ex Ryde School pupil Rupert and his wife, Amy Louise Shiels, who married at St Thomas’ Church, St Annes-on-Sea, in Lancashire. The reception was held at Lytham Hall, Lytham and the guests, who included Old Rydeians Chris Caws and Stephen Frost, attended from far and wide, including the US, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Brazil. Rupert and Amy honeymooned in Brazil and Argentina. After 11 years at Ryde School, Rupert took BA and Masters Degrees in international relations, strategic studies and defence. He undertook research positions in the European Parliament and the Atlantic Council before becoming Assistant to the Right Hon Virginia Bottomley MP, in the House of Commons. He spent several years editing financial magazines before becoming the Founder & Director of his own international financial and legal publishing and events company, which is based in southwest London. 



HELEN GORBUTT (pupil 1990 – 1995)

On 23rd August 2003 at Seaview, the marriage of Helen Gorbutt and Ed Hopper took place. The reception, attended by several Old Rydeians, was held in Ventnor Botanic Garden. The couple met at Durham University and are now living in Reading. 

 JONATHAN WRAY (pupil 1984 - 1991)

On 25th April 2003 at Brentwood Cathedral, Essex, the marriage of Jonathan Wray and Victoria Wood took place. Paul Rollinson was Best Man and Joyce Wray, ex Ryde School teacher and current Editor of the Rydeian Magazine, was in her ‘Mother of the Bridegroom’ outfit. The honeymoon was spent in Mexico and Jon and Vicky are now living in Solihull. 

GEORGINA SIM (pupil 1985-1990) KEITH DYER (pupil 1988-1986, then 1987-1991)

Best wishes for the future, to former pupils Georgina and Keith, who were married at St Peter’s Church, Dumbleton, Cheltenham. Georgina is an educational psychologist and Keith is an RAF pilot.

KATIE HAMILTON (pupil 1989 – 1991)

Katie and Eric Févre, were married on the 4th September 2004, at the Farringford Hotel, Freshwater. Katie’s sisters, Jane and Sally, were bridesmaids and Eric’s brother Marc was best man. The marriage was blessed by the Reverend Sandra Lloyd, at St John the Baptist Church Niton and the reception was held in a marquee, in Katie’s mother’s garden. Katie met Eric while studying for her Masters, at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. Eric now works at the Centre for Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Edinburgh and spends a lot of time in Africa. Katie has recently submitted her PhD and is currently living in Edinburgh. 

ELIZABETH NEWMAN (pupil 1991 - 1997). 

Congratulations to Elizabeth and Ashley Hamilton, who were married at Winchester register office on August 15th.  Their reception was held at Longwood Shooting Lodge Owslebury near Winchester.  Old Rydeians present inclulded Alex Newman, Emma Ringer and Neill Doe.