From: "Daniel Millan" <>
To: "Paul" <pbird
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2003 2:18 PM
Subject: Re: MNC update


Hi Paul,

I joined in September 1988 after leaving the regular army in July 1988 and
stayed until the MNC had to close. I joined the protest at ILEA to oppose
the closure of the MNC but our banners and our numbers and our petition was
not enough to change what was to happen. We held meetings in the canteen at
MNC to discuss a strategy to prevent ILEA from closing us down.

The reason that nobody bought the site was the fact that the old officers
training college or to us known as 'The Folly' was a listed building and a
ruin. If anyone was to buy the site, they had to incur the costs of
restoring the house and in the meantime the cost of security to stop people
vandalising and trespassing was mounting. I was lucky enough to have been
one of the students who managed to get a look inside the magnificent
building when you could at least imagine what it used to look like. If
anyone knows what Wray Castle in the Lake District was like that they would
see the similarities. The hall was a lovely wood panelled high ceiling hall
with a huge mirror reaching from floor to ceiling. Two lovely staircases
went up both sides of the mirror to the upper level. There where cellars but
they had collapsed. Admittedly the view was by torchlight at night on the
hunt for ghosts or scaring other illegal visitors.

I remember spending most of my time in classes staring out the windows to
watch the shipping going past the window from the river, and loved the
marvellous view from the canteen.

I know I was not there long but I was inspired by the place and felt a
tragic loss at its closure. I remember coming back to see it a few years
later and met the old security guard that used to be there when the college
was operating, he allowed me to go down and walk around the class rooms. I
could not believe the state of the pool, which had a layer of mould scum at
least two inches thick over it as no one had drained it since closure, this
in turn had left the ground floor so moist that the gymnasium floor was
breaking apart from warped timbers, it was not how I would have liked to
remember the college.

If you want anything else from me, feel free to contact me again.

Regards
Daniel Millan