For some years now we have thought that the Old Girls' Association could assist the School in its marketing campaign by asking some Old Girls to write up a little bit about their lives and their successful careers which would reflect on the good education they initially received at Ashford School.
Finally this idea has been taken up by the current Head who asked Carolyn to get some profiles from suitable girls, which could be framed and put along Coronation corridor for prospective parents to read as they get taken round the School. The Good Schools Guide visited Ashford in October and expressed a desire for exactly this type of thing for their current publication. The same day that Mr Buchanan told Carolyn about this she managed to persuade our first two "victims" to come up with something overnight, which they of course did.  We think you will be as impressed by what they are doing in their so-called retirement as you will be with what they did in their working lives.
Carolyn will be requesting other Old Girls to do the same thing as time goes on.. The Rogues' Gallery can be added to bit by bit, so if you have a school friend who has had an unusual or exceptionally successful career, please ask her to contact Carolyn. Remember, the objective of this exercise is to highlight what girls have gone on to do after their initial education at Ashford School. This may just tip the balance when parents are trying to decide which of the schools they have visited will prove to be the best investment for their daughter.
 

Bettina Ribes-Gil (Boo Dicks, Nightingale '54)
	This is the story of another bilingual Nightingale! When I left Ashford, my only O-level failure was French but our headmistress Miss "Cherub" Brake's love of France and its culture made her encourage my parents to send me to live with a French family and I attended the local Lycee for a year. Returning to London I took a bilingual commercial course at the Institut Francais. Following a couple of initial secretarial jobs I was contacted by an Anglo-French advertising film company and as in the swinging 60s advertising was the in-vogue job - gap year and going up to university became the norm much later - I jumped at the opportunity of frequent trips to Paris where the company had its studios.
By now 1 had studied Italian at the Holborn College of Law and Languages which led to my transferring to the feature film industry as the London PA to the Italian film producer Carlo Ponti, better known as Sofia Loren's husband. Subsequently, during gaps in filming I began to work on the United Nations conference circuit in Europe and America in various capacities: secretary, proof-reader, translator, documentalist. I later returned to London as PA to the President of Paramount Pictures and studied Spanish - as I was about to marry a Spaniard. When my husband completed his studies we went to live in Geneva and joined the United Nations family of international organizations. I worked in many departments of the International Labour Office before finally running the Liaison Desk for their Latin American and Caribbean offices, when I added Portuguese to my CV and travelled on missions to Central and South America. When I stopped work for a time on the birth of our daughters I undertook freelance translation work and on early retirement, before choosing to live in Spain, I took the Cambridge University course on teaching English to adults and have since given private lessons to both adults and young learners. I also take in translation work. However, I originally aspired to be a journalist and have now achieved this ambition by writing articles that are regularly published in teachers' specialist magazines principally on cultural issues in relation to linguistics. The education we received at Ashford in the mid 20th century was more affective than academic. It geared us towards awareness of other cultures through travel, an interest in languages and endowed us with the independence which guided us towards what have been fulfilling careers right up and into retirement, not forgetting the firm friendships formed during our years together as boarders, which have lasted over 50 years, and can only confirm the successful ethos of Ashford School.
Lynette Shrubbs (Mrs Coote '54 Sommerville)
I saw the 2006 journal, and it pushed me to do what I have meant to do for a long time. I left in 1954 - after a chequered career at Ashford— 'expelled' most terms, but my father (in Aden) took so long to respond to letters that it never actually happened. Eventually I became House Captain, Somerville, and thus redeemed myself! Then off to nursing, followed by nursing overseas. On my return to work in UK I really redeemed myself in Ashford eyes, when I married a bishop! 'Bad old girl made good!' Then after 3 children, and caring for 4 others, I returned to work - and three Masters degrees and 5 other qualifications later -1 am still working happily..mad really. Sadly my husband died in 2000 - but I was always very spoiled by his support for my work, and his assertion that he was 'happy to see little of a happy wife'. For nursing / nursing management / hospital management -led to my discovery that planning hospitals (and health care) is my real forte - and so while holding an university lectureship in planning, design and management for nearly 25 years, I became a consultant (to WHO, PAHO, DFID, Aga Khan, governments, military, missions, private hospitals, architects worldwide), have directorships in UK and Australia, ran my own company etc. Project values ranged from £20—650 million. I left the University to work in southern Africa for three years. Now I am with a UK company, working on UK and international projects. So road and air miles —. I recently returned from Botswana where I have both government and private projects, and I am considering a request to relocate there. Meanwhile my 3 and the other 4 have grown up and scattered, but they are in close touch and I am an indulgent 'grandma' when at home! Gosh! so that's where 50+ years have gone - no wonder I did not notice them rushing by!"