Boarding School, Art, Memory & Portraits from Paris with Gavin Cologne-Brookes – S&H Podcast – Ep 59
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In this thoughtful and deeply reflective episode of the Seen & Heard podcast, Chris Braitch speaks with writer and painter Gavin Cologne-Brookes about boarding school, memory, creativity, identity, and healing through art and storytelling.
Gavin shares vivid reflections from his experiences at prep and public school during the 1960s and 70s, exploring themes of isolation, rebellion, emotional survival, and the ways children adapt to life away from home. Together, Chris and Gavin discuss the emotional impact of boarding school, the importance of friendship and kindness, and how creativity became a lifeline through painting and writing.
The conversation also explores Gavin’s memoir Portraits from Paris: School and Travel Remembered from the City of Light, alongside themes of portraiture, travel, parenthood, trauma, literature, and the work of Bruce Springsteen. Gavin reflects on how memory shapes identity, why storytelling matters, and the importance of honouring the younger parts of ourselves.
This is an honest, moving and compassionate conversation about childhood, resilience, creativity, healing, and bringing forgotten experiences back into the light.
This portrait drawing of Gavin as a child was referenced during the conversation and reflects many of the themes explored throughout the episode — memory, identity, boarding school, childhood experience, and the enduring presence of the younger self within adult life.
The image connects closely with Gavin’s reflections on portraiture, storytelling, and the emotional significance of preserving and revisiting childhood memories through art.
#BoardingSchoolTrauma #GavinCologneBrookes #PortraitsFromParis #BoardingSchoolSurvivors #ChildhoodTrauma #Healing #Creativity #Art #Memoir #BruceSpringsteen #Storytelling #TraumaRecovery #SeenAndHeard
Links:
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction to Gavin Cologne-Brookes
02:15 – Growing up and going to boarding school aged 8
06:20 – Fear, survival and the first days at school
10:05 – Rebellion, punishment and resisting authority
16:10 – Boarding school survival strategies and “the rebel”
18:05 – Discovering art and creativity
20:40 – Senior school, bullying and isolation
23:05 – Friendship, kindness and survival
26:20 – Leaving school and finding freedom
28:10 – America, travel and transformation
31:00 – Returning to painting through parenthood
35:10 – Parenting after boarding school
37:00 – Writing Portraits from Paris
40:10 – Paris, memory and storytelling
44:30 – Trauma, memory and emotional survival
49:20 – Portraiture and capturing personality
55:20 – Bruce Springsteen, trauma and identity
59:00 – Art, healing and bringing people back to life
01:02:30 – Final reflections and closing thoughts
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Chris is now an emotional health coach, following a 20 year career in business and marketing, working for SME’s and some of the largest food companies in the world. In 2024 he co-founded Seen & Heard whose mission is to support the wellbeing of past and present pupils of boarding and independent day schools, and their families.
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