Old Princethorpians

We were delighted to hear of the safe arrival of baby Elias Paphitis born on Wednesday 18 August at 1.20pm. Baby Elias weighed in at 7lbs 8ozs.

Elias' Mum, Mrs Rod Kefalas Paphitis (Class of 2010) is a very popular member of staff at Crackley Hall School and the children were overjoyed to see her and meet Elias when she popped into school in mid September.

Rod reports that both baby and parents are doing well.

Many congratulations to Rod and to Elias' Dad, Savvas!

We are delighted to share the news that Alice Afford (nee Pickin) (Class of 2012) and her husband Tom welcomed their son William Charles Afford earlier in the summer.

William was born on 15 July 2021 (in that big heatwave!) weighing 8lb 12oz. They are all absolutely over the moon and feel so very lucky to have a beautiful, healthy boy.

This July OPs Kate Whitfield and Matt Adkins (Class of 2014) tied the knot at their village church (the same church Kate's parents got married in). 60 guests were allowed inside and the rest watched it on live stream outside.  

After the ceremony, they took a short trip to Matt's family's farm in Southam. Kate writes "My husband had spent the past year renovating an old straw shed into a beautiful wedding venue, you would have never known that cows had ever stepped foot in it. He had worked tirelessly with every spare moment he had, if he wasn’t at work he was at the farm, hanging lights, putting up guttering or pressure washing the walls and floors.

It was all worth it, everyone commented on how beautiful it all was, and how well every little finishing touch had been thought through and executed.

Not to be mushy but every moment felt like a dream and if I could relive only one day over and over again, without hesitation, I would pick that one."

Many congratulations to them both and we wish them every happiness for the future.

OP Ellen Turnock (Class of 2016) married George Wise at St Mary and St Egwin’s Catholic Church, Evesham on Thursday 9 September 2021. They held their reception at the Manor by the Lake, Cheltenham, travelling from the church to the manor in their beloved 1968 Series IIa Land Rover called Ethel, pictured. 

Ellen wrote "We had an absolutely wonderful day surrounded by all our friends and family, many of whom we had not seen for several months! We continue to immerse ourselves in the photographs, wishing we could go and relive the whole day all over again -  we could not have wished for anything better!"

Congratulations to you both and we wish you all the best with married life! 

Becky Redman Peck (Class of 2011) finally married her partner of seven years, Beth on Saturday 11 September 2021. Like many they had planned a wedding for September 2020 but due to Covid had to postpone it for a year.

After an emotional year of will they/won’t they, they finally tied the knot on Saturday 11 September, at Greenwood’s Hotel and Spa, in Stock, Essex. Becky writes "It was the most perfect day, everything we planned and hoped for our perfect wedding day. Surrounded by our friends and family. We partied to the early hours of the morning and the dance floor was never empty."

We were delighted to hear their news and we wish them both all the very best for the future.

OP Charlotte Ritson (nee Plant) married Maia Ritson on Friday 24 September at her parents' house in an autumnal pumpkin-themed wedding. Charlotte tells us "it was a lot of people's first real chance to be together again after Covid which made for a really lovely atmosphere and everyone was so happy to be out and together again.

She continues "the wedding was really held together by other Old Princethorpians who helped us pull it all together at the last minute!! A special thank you to Princethorpe's Director of Music, Gil Cowlishaw who let Nick Bond collect his electric piano at 8.00am on the wedding day after the band's piano stopped working the night before!

It was a lovely day and myself and Maia are so grateful for all our friends and families help in making it happen!"

Sad news reached us in mid September that OP Dan Brown, leaver of 1993, had unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. Dan was 44 years old and leaves a wife and three children.

Prayers were said for Dan at Princethorpe and in a Mass at St Anne's Wappenbury.

Our sincere condolences go out to all Dan's family and friends.