Alphonse Ogulla:

Greetings from Nairobi, Kenya.
I joined Kaptagat Prep sometime in September 1982. I started of in form three (the classroom facing the fountain and swimming pool) and was in Taurus house (the green). The headmaster was then Mr. Rushbrooke, aided by Marash (Mrs. Rushbrooke) who seemed to have an upper hand. Neil and Helen Rushbrooke are still very much in my mind, Neil as a brilliant rugger player and Helen the rounders captain. Mr. Tax was our class master and taught us Latin, French, Kiswahili and of course Greek Mythology (Hercules, Centaur etc). On a sad note, Mr. Tax passed away in Dec 1988 and more recently his son, Sammy in 2000. Petronilla Tax, a great colleague, is somewhere in Poland, with her aunts, married with one daughter. Please touch base.
During my years, I saw several headmasters come and go, some of who are, Mr. Bergman from Canada (84), Mr. Hildebrand from America (85) and Mr. Rose (86). A few teachers that I remember include Mr. Boyd (math & rugby), Mrs. Pierce (science & bird watching in her VW combie), Miss. McKenzie (art & cookies) Ian Bateman (science), David Higgins (english, history, math, cricket, hockey & athletics) and lastly Suzy Bridgewater (english). Not forgetting my good old friends, I wish mention Joshua Ejangu or Professor in those days, Erika Zechner (before you defected to St. Andrews Turi), Mehbub Abduldaim (Mawingo), Daniel Sang & Kimuge, Robert Abaliwano, Jackie Mangoli (I have been trying to get in touch with you), the late Sammy Peter Bird (passed away with his brother Charles William in a fatal road accident on May 1st, 1999), David and Dorcas Mulira, the Lukwagos, Martin Walusimbi, and many others. Just in case you find your name listed above or remember me, please send over a mail note.
Memorable events at KPS during our time were the Guy Fawkes day bonfire accompanied by the fireworks, Halloween and the Cock House party, but one that I find impossible to wipe off my mind was the kiss chase on Sunday evenings. Girls chasing boys was not much of an issue as most boys just stood and waited but the opposite sent most of the girls scampering or sprinting back to their dorms for safety. My bet is that such events can no longer take place lest the school is sued for harassment. I wonder how far this tradition dates back…
From Kaptagat, I moved over to Prince of Wales school(Now Nairobi School) in 1989, University of Poona and lastly the University of Nairobi. I’m currently working with Shell and BP, local operating units of the Royal Dutch Shell and British Petroleum where I do Retail Automation (Instrumentation and Control). I will be 28 come May 06 2002 and probably not single any more.
Best regards, Alphonse Ogulla (KPS 82-88) aogulla@yahoo.com

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