OV Author Abbas Back at King’s

We were so very grateful to OV Abbas Kazerooni (Ch 91-96), who took time out of his short visit back to the UK to pop into King’s for a brief visit in April.

Simon Cuthbertson’s (Hon OV) Upper Fourth (U4) form had been reading Abbas’ second book, The Boy with Two Lives, in Form Time. The book charts Abbas’ life once he arrived in the UK, following a traumatic journey from war-torn Iran, and includes an account of  his time at King’s, both as a day boy and a boarder. The pupils had been entranced by the book, especially when connecting Abbas’ words and descriptions of King’s with the school they know today; they jumped at the opportunity to meet with the author himself!

The U4s had prepared a whole tranche of questions for Abbas, asking with great insight about aspects of Abbas’ book through to his life now; he kindly took all these in his stride, giving full and considered answers.

Following the Q&A with the U4s, Abbas joined Alumni Relations Co-ordinator Amanda Sutcliffe for a walk around the school site, reminiscing about Abbas’ schooldays, especially the joy he found in the John Moore Theatre with school productions and how that led to his acting career. Hon OVs Annabel Jeffery and Marion Capell also welcomed Abbas to the Matthew Armstrong Library, where he very kindly signed a copy of each of his books.

Abbas was delighted then to spend some time with Hon OVs Richard Davies, Tom Sharp and Dr Mark Poole, all of whom knew Abbas while he was at King’s and are still on the teaching staff. A further highlight for Abbas was to be joined by Hon OVs Trudie Marskell and Nicky Wilson (formerly Mrs Anstey), who popped in for coffee too. They had both played pivotal roles in Abbas’ time at King’s and it was incredibly special for Abbas to spend some time with them.

Truly taking a step back in time, Abbas then joined Simon, Richard and Mark again for lunch in the Dining Hall, much to the delight of the U4s who were eating at the same time and enjoyed waving to their celebrity author friend.

Headmaster, Gareth Doodes met with Abbas for a post-lunch coffee and added his thanks for inspiring the U4s and many other current pupils.

Abbas’ visit was topped off with some quality time with his good friend and newly appointed Director of Operations, OV Adam Winter (Cl 84-94), before heading to the railway station and thence back to London, travelling onwards from there home to California.

Simon added, “It was a real pleasure to welcome Abbas back to King’s and such a treat for U4E to meet him in person. His book and visit have inspired the Form to take every opportunity available and never to give up, even when times may be hard.”

Thank you for your time, Abbas; we look forward to seeing you again very soon!