Wakefield: Edmund Blair OW 1988

 I joined KESW in 1981 and spent seven years there. I can’t say the early years were happy. The rough and tumble of a boarding school all too often drifted into bullying. But by the Fifth and Sixth Forms, I had found my métier and made lasting friendships.  

 Amid the downs and ups, there were some exceptional staff. John Pridmore (‘Jasper’) embraced the appeal made to the founder for ‘a place to lodge Christ in’, even if the school had lost its way. His cottage at the main entrance provided an escape – the door was open and there was toast for the hungry. Herbert (‘Herbie’) Winter was larger than life. We thought ourselves so artful when we drew him into a digression in Latin class or a late night dorm chat. We were too naive to realise this was no idle distraction, it was his route to a rounded education. I remember his wise words not Latin declensions. And, Stuart Williams was an inspiration. He taught me from the start as if I had already won a place at Oxford (even from his new post at Bradfield College after he left just one year into my A Levels). 

After graduating from university in 1991, I took my ‘year out’. I spent several months in Oman scuba diving and burying myself in Arabic grammar, followed by about eight months in Syria, working and studying. I had determined that a Theology degree wasn’t enough for a career in journalism, and I wanted an ‘expertise’. Arabic served me well. I joined a Middle East magazine in London (pestering the editor for work experience and turning up until he finally tired of my persistence and gave me a job during someone’s maternity leave) and I stayed three years and travelled the region. I joined AFP (a leading global news agency) in Kuwait, which brought me closer to the frontline and offered some interesting rides (like being catapulted off U.S. aircraft carriers).  

I was hired by Reuters in Dubai in 1998 and am still with the company. Every time I get itchy feet, some new endeavour turns up. I’ve been Bureau Chief in Tehran, Cairo and Nairobi (in between stints in London), reported attempted coups in Bujumbura, ducked car bombs in Baghdad, and interviewed everyone from street shoeshines to central bank governors and presidents. They’ve paid me to go on this rollercoaster and, for now (I’m currently Middle East editor), it doesn’t feel like time to get off. My wife and two boys (not really boys now) have joined me for most of the journey.