1996 - Central Pyrenees Expedition Members

List of Expedition Members:

Expedition Leader: John T.K. (Ian) Barr
Deputy Leader: Graham Stoddart
Assistant Leader: William Cooper
Assistant Leader Iain Vize
Alan Duncan
Marc Pawson
Alasdair Rogers
Richard Stoddart
Lee Hammerman
David Pollock
Jamie Russell

1997 - Pennine Alps Expedition Members

The Last Geog-Ex:

Leaders:
Ian Barr
Fraser Runciman
Willie Cooper
Graham Stoddart

Pupils:
George Docherty
James Lawrie
Jamie Russell
Jon Hammerman
Jamie Hooper
Allan Kerr
Craig Malcolm
Richard Stoddart

1998 - Eastern Pyrenees Expedition Members

[Images courtesy of Roger Scott]

Ian Barr
Alan Parker
Alan Runciman
Roger Scott
 
Ewan Crawford
Niall Duncan
Alister Kyle
Andrew Graham
Adam Gregory
Iain Macleod
Peter Maclean
Fraser Scott
Douglas Winch

Alan Parker & JTK Barr

2008 - The Last Hill

On Sunday 13th April 2008, a group of around 30 family, close friends, former Scouts, Geog-Ex and Ibex members laid his ashes to rest on a hill overlooking Loch Tay. Click the picture for a bigger version.

He has gone home.

A horse walked into a bar...

I met Ian in the sands of the Sahara in Mauritania. My abiding memory of him is during our many rest stops during the trek, there would be a lull in the conversation, and Ian would start one of his jokes from his vast repertoire (from the 1964 Beano Joke Book, as he said): "A horse walked into a bar..." - the rest of the group would hang on his every word and action, and end up weeping tears of laughter at an awful joke expertly told. On the last night of the trek, somewhere in the desert, with the only light coming from the campfire in the sand, Ian organised everyone - tourists, camel drivers, cooks, drivers - into groups to sing a round of songs with utterly nonsense sounds. I can still picture it ending with everyone dissolving in laughter, while Ian looked on in mock disappointment.
 
I am sure (being a failed teacher myself) that the ability to have an audience in the palm of your hand is vital to success as a teacher and I am sure that Ian would have been very fondly remembered by his ex-pupils.

I also remember walking with Ian through the town of Chinguetti (more of a loose collection of buildings being buried under the sand), and trying to find a phone. Eventually we found a shop claiming to have an international telephone. It had hardly anything on its shelves, but after about 20 attempts, Ian managed to get through to phone home.
 
The success of a trip like that depends largely on the group, and how they get on. Ian's presence there contributed greatly to its success.
I am sad that I won't bump into him again on some trip to a far-flung part of the globe.