Ed Nice (OE1960-64)
Ed is seeing out isolation in Melbourne, Australia where he has lived since 1980.
Ed played a lot of rugby in the front row for the school 1st XV under coach and London Irish player Johnny Tasker and later played for the OE 1st XV. He readily admits to having spent more time playing sport than he should have! Ed also enjoyed being a member of the Boat Club where he could spend most of his day rowing so long as he polished up for CCF parades. Ed remembers the expertise and experience Derek Drury brought to rowing. Emanuel was the first school on the river to use spades, a practice brought over from Drury’s time in the States.
He recalls many ‘escapades’ from his Emanuel days. Jack Grundy was headmaster at the time and the song Hit the road Jack was very popular. During one nighttime prank, Ed and his friends used school equipment to get up on the roof and write ‘Cafe – Jack’s Snacks’ up there. It could be seen from the air and even got covered in the news.
Another ‘escapade’ that got Ed into the punishment book was when he was caught drinking at The Roundhouse and was sent to see Mr Grundy. After offering him a sherry, Mr Grundy reluctantly administered his punishment – ‘six of the best’.
Ed recalls Physics teacher Harry Rodwell used to lie down on the bench during lessons until one day the class tacked his robe to the bench without his knowledge, pinning him down.
Ed’s father had a career in Medicine and joining the French army lined up for him but Ed had other ideas. As an enthusiastic car racer and mechanic, he spent a year working in a garage and then studied Metallurgy at London University. However, he didn’t enjoy the course and switched to Advanced Analytical Chemistry. After graduation, he began work at the Institute of Cancer Research which became a part of the Ludwig Institute, whose mission is to pursue innovative ways to prevent and control cancer. This was the start of a 35-year career working for the Institute in both London and Melbourne developing methods of early cancer detection. Ed’s specialty is colorectal cancer which, if caught early, has a 90% chance of cure.
Ed is currently Adjunct Professor at Monash University where he is Head of the Clinical Biomarker Discovery and Validation as well as being Scientific Advisor to the Monash Antibody Technologies Facility. He also holds a Visiting Professorship at Sichuan University’s West China Hospital and an Adjunct position at Macquarie University. He is also the editor of various journals. Ed says he is busier in supposed retirement than he has ever been!
The outdoor, sporty lifestyle down under really suits Ed. He enjoys the work hard, play hard and get rewarded culture. Living on the Yarra River in Melbourne, he is close to the beach, great markets and restaurants.
Ed has been spending his time in isolation enjoying lots of social media interaction, a resurgence of jokes, catching up on records and watching foreign movies.