Steven Brierley
| Richard Steven Brierley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nicknames | Bugs, Bugsy |
| Born | 3 July 1938 |
| Died | 2004 (aged 65–66) |
| Education | Manchester (BSc 1960); Manchester (Cert Ed) |
| Roles | Head of Biology |
| Years at BGS | 1964-1990 |
| Departments | Science |
| Subjects | Biology |
| Known for | Biological Society, Dramatic Society; Natural History Society, Tennis |
| Spouse | Jane |
| Children | Catherine, Jonathan |
Richard Steven Brierley was a teacher of Biology at Boston Grammar School from 1964-1990.
Early Life
Steven Brierley grew up in Cheshire.
At BGS
Steven taught biology at Boston Grammar School for 26 years. He was diabetic and had regular laser treatment to his eyes to combat the effects of diabetes.
During the academic year 1973-1974 Steven and his wife went to Pennsylvania as part of an exchange with James O Stevenson. During this time he taught at Radnor High School.
He retired in 1990 due to ill health. During his 39 years in Boston, Steven was heavily involved with Wyberton Theatrical Society, Blackfriars and Diabetes UK (Boston group).
Death
Steven Brierley died in Leicester General Hospital at the age of 66, following illness.
Off with the Harris Tweed
An account by Steven Brierley of his exchange year in the USA published in the 1973 edition of the Bostonian
"They speak English so they must be like us." Thoughts like this accompanied our entrance to the USA after a twelve hour flight from Gatwick. The Turkish bath atmosphere of Washington DC in August soon made us realise that at least the climate was different. Different, also, was the chastening sight of a large policeman patrolling a drug-store with live bullets and a revolver in his belt. The Stars and Stripes are flown everywhere, including each classroom at Radnor High School. And cars hit pedestrians from the left and not the right.
However, some things are the same, and American technology prepared our counterparts for an average English winter by producing a sixteen-hour power cut. This meant that the last we saw of the Stevensons was them disappearing into a candlelit gloom.
We soon discovered that the 'ugly American' image of a large, loud, rich American tourist simply does not apply to the vast majority of people we have met so far. Our neighbours and my colleagues at school made us most welcome.
The school is large and is inhabited by fourteen hundred students. They wander about the campus dressed in an incredible variety of colourful clothes, from near bikinis to the complete tramp. T-shirts, sneakers and shorts made from jeans cut off above the knee and deliberately frayed are the strongest current unisex fashion. Believe it or not, the teachers also dress in equally bright colours. last week, the headmaster turned up in scarlet trousers, and even I have discarded my Harris Tweed jacket.
The students are lively, noisy and normal. They are certainly interested in England and particularly in my accent. Having just shouted across my lab (in true Brierley fashion) to a student who was not working, I apologised to the girl whose ear I had nearly blown off. She merely smiled and said: "It's all right, I just love listening to your accent."
However, there is missionary work to be done in righting some of the misconceptions that are entrenched in student folklore. Not only fo the students fail to understand me when I use words such as fortnight, chips and petrol. They have even asked me whether we have TV in England (not realising that much of their only public TV channel si ex BBC2 material). "How long did it take you to learn how to speak English?" they asked, thinking that my native language was a different language called British!
Nevertheless, I have thoroughly enjoyed my first two months here and I am looking forward to the next ten, so that I can see even more of the USA. Why don't you come over and see it all for yourself?