Michael Bird

The Bird family has been friends with my family since before I was born. Roger Bird went to school with my half-brother and Chris Bird when to school with my brother. In turn, I went to school with Michael, though he's two years older than me.

I became friends with Michael despite the age difference when I was about eight, because we were sat at the same table for lunch, when it was too cold to sit inside. Whenever I think of eating lunch at that table I just remember how big Michael and the other sixth years looked. But I know they were so small.

Once he left Coombe Hill I lost touch with Michael until I became involved with a social group in the year in between us during a Tiffins classic trip to Greece in Year 9 (Michael was at Tiffins too). He was sort of involved with this group as well and I often talked to him at lunchtimes, just as before. I found that Michael shared my interests in military and classical history, and was going to do a degree in War Studies. In this way, Michael had a profound affect on my life- without him, I may never even have heard that there was such a thing as a War Studies degree, and likely would not have studied for one. I feel that when I last saw him at Tiffins Michael was very much like me.

That is why I see Michael as a sort of a role model. He's achieved or is on the way to achieving everything I want to achieve- he's finishing his War Studies degree this year, he has a fantastic relationship with Amy Wright and is winning for himself a secure and worthwhile career in the Royal Navy. If in two years time I have gotten one half of the way to where Michael is now I should consider my University career a success.

Michael is outgoing President of the King's College London Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and because he was in this position he was there at the Fresher's fair when I was. Because of this happy chance of fate I caught up with a highly admirable human being and at the same time was introduced to the first real-life group of people who truly made me feel at home. My life really sucked in September 2002. Michael and G&S went a lot of the way to rebuilding it.