On Friday 5th June, just under 100 ODs (with seventy years separating our oldest and youngest OD present) were delighted to welcome to the annual UK OD Dinner, wives and partners and especially Jane Everard, former President of the Old Haileyburian Society and her husband Doug (also an Old Haileyburian). A special welcome was extended to Jim Pettit, the deputy head of the Rondebosch Boys High School UK Old Boys' Union and his wife Jane.
We also extended a special welcome to our guest of honour and speaker, Gareth Penny (F, 1980). Brian Robertson (W, 1979) the ODU Chairman, too, was welcomed and thanked for having flown up from Cape Town to be with us. Special mention was made of our lady-OD-in-her-own-right, Katie Hofman (G, 1981).
Once again we were in the wonderful RAF Club, Piccadilly through the kind auspices of John Fairweather (G, 1948).
Pre-Dinner drinks in the Churchill Bar
Click on photos to enlarge
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| JOhn Gibson (B, 1998), Eric Louw (W, 1998) and Matthew Gibson (B, 1998) |
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| Eric Louw (W, 1998), Harris Gorre ( S, 199) and David Shepherd (S, 1998) |
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Our most senior ODs present, John Fairweather (G, 1948) and Bruce McKenzie (F, 1943)
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| Deputy chairman of the RBHS Old Boys Union (UK) Jim Pettit and Jane Pettit talking to ODU Chairman Brian Robertson (W, 1979) |
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| In the middle, Michael Enotiades (F, 2007), on the right George Hutchins (W, 2009) |
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Haydn Hammond (B, 1990) Nicholas Ackerman (S, 2004) and Ian Currie (F, 2005)
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| Greg Baldwin (O, 1975), Haldane (W, 1999) and Sarah Luscombe |
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| Victoria Bond Elliott, Katie Hofman (G, 1981) and Ian Currie (F, 2005) |
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| Matthew Golesworthy (K, 2011), Dave Clark (O, 1982) and Craig Peters (G, 1985) |
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| Richard Wheeler (G, 1999) and George Hutchins (W, 2009) |
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| Dave Clark (O, 1982) middle, talking to Andy Jackson (F, 1983) and being ignored by Zoe Walker |
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Brian Mannion (S, 1979), Bruce McKenzie (F, 1943), Hilary McKenzie and John Fairweather (G, 1948)
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| Anne and Richard Immelman (B, 1989) (not our only OD in tartan) |
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Bruce McKenzie (F, 1943), Hilary McKenzie and Tim Shaw (S, 1952)
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| Pu and Stuart Lucani (S, 1968) |
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Caelim Parkes (O, 1990), Philip Wheeler (G, 1970) and John Richards (G, 1988)
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| John Fair weather (G, 1948) and Hilary McKenzie |
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| Devan du Plooy, Brett Ormrod (M, 2007) and Victoria Bond Elliott |
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Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012) and Alexander Enotiades (F, 2012)
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| Harris Gorre (S, 1999) and Chris Olds (O, 1999) |
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| Katie Hofman (G, 1981), Victoria Bond Elliott and Ian Currie (F, 2005) |
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Greg Chiapinni (S, 1988) and Rob Johnston (G, 2010)
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James Deane (B, 1990), Caelim Parkes (O, 1990), Choppy Bands (K, 1990), Francis Eliot (F, 1996) and Haydn Hammond (B, 1990)
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Steve Suckling (F, 1976) making Trevor Torington (S, 1978) cry
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Up the grand staircase under the Memorial Windows en route to dinner
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Caelim Parkes (O, 1990), James Deane (B, 1990)) Choppy Bands (K< 1990), Haydn Hammond (B, 1990), Nicholas Ackerman (S, 2004) and Francis Eliot (F,1996)
Dinner
The lull before the storm
Miserere Nostri
Te quaesumus Domine
Tuisque donis quae de tua benignitate
Percepturi sumus benedicito
Per Jesum Christum, Dominum Nostrum
Amen
Thus began the 2015 UK OD Dinner with the Grace of Trinity College, Oxford, said by Matthew Golesworthy (K, 2011). Matthew is the Organ Scholar at Trinity.
The Toast to Bishops
Following the Grace, the Loyal Toast to Bishops was proposed by Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012). Chaaba spoke of his memories of Bishops, and the opportunities a Bishops' education provides, and what the School is and what it stands for. He spoke too of some of some less memorable events (not many) but even these were to provide learnings for him after school.
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| Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012) |
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The Welcome
Brian Robertson (W, 1979) ODU Chairman flew up from Cape Town especially to attend the dinner (thank you Brian). He spoke on behalf of Bishops and the ODU. Brian updated the UK ODs on School's achievements over the past twelve months and the ongoing transformation of the culture and depth and breadth of the School's offering. 27 sports are now available to Bishops boys, making it almost impossible to avoid some form of physical exercise. In the days when rugby and hockey were the only winter sports, a sick note was relatively easy to drum up. 27 sick notes are less easily available.
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| Brian Robertson (W, 1979), ODU Chairman |
The Speech
Gareth Penny (F, 1980), our guest of honour and after-dinner speaker challenged the School and ODs to think hard about the essence of transformation and what it really means to Bishops now and in the future. He encouraged us to embrace change and recognise in particular the uniquely African opportunities it brings. In particular, Bishops, he suggested, needed to think hard about the curriculum it provided its boys so that it was truly inspiring and, more importantly, prepared and equipped ODs to be able to exploit the new-world chances on offer. He spoke of the Africa renaissance, about a continent that politically and economically was starting to be a force to be reckoned with. The days of the corporate careers that our fathers and grandfathers enjoyed were essentially over. Success would come to those who were masters of their own destinies and in that lay the challenge for Bishops. Entrepreneurship and the skills necessary to learn entrepreneurship (yes, they can be learnt) need to feature on the Bishops teaching agenda and the School should make it a compulsory subject if it were to be true to its vision of "inspiring individuals".
And for individuals to be so inspired, self-awareness and insight were key attributes. Without these, the ability to form, sustain and leverage relationships with a wider range of stakeholders would be very difficult indeed and personal success even more difficult to achieve. He challenged Bishops (and ODs) to recognise this and ensure that boys are exposed to these soft aspects of personal and leadership development.
We were all ourselves inspired not just by a flawlessly delivered address, but one in which the content was relevant, valuable and thought-provoking.
Thank you, Gareth
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| Gareth Penny (F, 1980) |
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| Gareth Penny (F, 1980) addressing the ODs |
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| Gareth Penny (F, 1980) startling Andy Jackson (F, 1983) |
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Listening to the speech
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| Niall Carroll (O, 1981) talking to past Old Haileyburian President, Jane Everard |
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| Philip Wheeler (G, 1970), Marie and Peter Syfret (S, 1961) |
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| Your secretary refuses to guess at what Choppy Bands (K, 1990) is trying to illustrate to Justin van Breda (S, 1992) |
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Nicholas Ackerman (S, 2004)
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| Greg Chiappini (S, 1988) and Dave Clark (O, 1982) |
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| Matthew Gibson (B, 1998), Rob Baerveldt (F, 2002), Brian Robertson (W, 1979), James Deane (B, 1990), Brett Ormrod (M, 2007) and Stuart Commins (F, 2006) |
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| Nick Dowdell (G, 2006) and Ian Currie (F, 2005) |
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| Two Old Boy (and Girl!) association heads: Jane Everard (Haileybury) and Brian Robertson (W, 1979) |
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| Caelim Parkes (O, 1990), Haydn Hammond (B, 1990) and James Deane (B, 1990) |
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| Sue Carroll, Doug Everard (Old Haileyburians) and Jane Pettit |
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| Katie Hofman (G, 1981), John Richards (G, 1988) and Stuart Crawford-Browne (K, 1988) |
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| Victoria Bond Elliott and Ian Currie (F, 2005) |
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| Andy Jackson (F, 1983) |
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| Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012), Matthew Golesworthy K, 2011) and Rob Johnston (G, 2010) |
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| Joy Montgomery and Brian mannion (S, 1979) |
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| Joy Montgomery and Tom Baigrie (F, 1978) |
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| Justin van Breda (S, 1992) |
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| Guy Whitfield (F, 2010), Nick Boswell (S, 2010), George Hutchins (W, 2009) and Rob Johnston (G, 2010) |
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| Sue Carroll with Doug and Jane Everard (Old Haileyburians) |
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| Sarah and Haldane Luscombe (W, 1999) and Rob Baerveldt (F, 2002) |
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| Nicky Bicket (F, 1973) with Sue Carroll |
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| Neil Orpen (W, 1990) and Francis Eliot (F, 1996) |
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| Neil Orpen (W, 1990) and Greg Baldwin (O, 1975) |
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| Neil Orpen (W, 1990), Francis Eliot (F, 1996), Anne and Richard Immelman (B, 1989) |
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| Caelim Parkes (O, 1990) and Neil Orpen (W, 1990) |
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| James Deane (B, 1990), John and Matthew Gibson (both Birt, 1998) and Brian Robertson (W, 1979) |
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| Brian Robertson (W, 1979), Jim Pettit and Gareth Penny (F, 1980) |
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| Gareth Penny (F, 1980) making a point which Tom Baigrie (F, 1978) and Trevor Torrington (S, 1978) are trying to comprehend |
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| Caelim Parkes, Haydn Hammond and James Deane |
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| Gareth Penny (F, 1980), Tom Baigrie (F, 1978), Malcolm Brown (G, 1978), Trevor Torrington (S, 1978) and Chris Anderson (F, 1978) |
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| Jim Pettit, deputy head of the UK branch of the RBHS Old Boys' Union |
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Brian Robertson (W, 1979) and Niall Carroll (O, 1981)
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| Peter Syfret (S, 1961), Tim Shaw (S, 1952) and Bruce McKenzie (F, 1943) |
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| Guy Whitfield (F, 2010), Nick Boswell (S, 2010), George Hutchins (W, 2009) and Rob Johnston (G, 2010) |
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Brian Robertson (W, 1979) with Jim Pettit (deputy head of the UK branch of the RBHS Old Boys' Union)
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| Ian Currie (F, 2005), Nicholas Ackerman (S, 2004) and Dominic Hibbert (G, 2004) |
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| Trevor Torrington (S, 1978), Malcolm Brown (G, 1978), Tom Baigrie (F, 1978) and Chris Anderson (F, 1978) |
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| Stuart Commins (F, 2006), Brian Robertson (W, 1979), Brett Ormrod (M, 2007) and Adam Francke-Matthecka (F, 2002) |
And then back to the bar
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| David Shepherd (S, 1998), Chris Olds (O, 1999) and Nicola Lees-Jones |
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| Dominic Hibbert (G, 2004) and Nicky Bicket (F, 1973) |
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| Richard Montgomery (G, 1976), Malcolm Brown (G, 1978) and Steve Suckling (F, 1976) |
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| Harris Gorre (S, 1999), Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012) and Eric Louw (W, 1998) |
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| Francis Eliot (F, 1996) and two of Bishops' organists Nicky Bicket (F, 1973) and Matthew Golesworthy (K, 2011) |
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| Alexander Enotiades (F, 2012), Chaaba Jangulo (W, 2012) and Michael Enotiades (F, 2007) |
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| Dominic Hibbert (G, 2004) and Rob Baerveldt (F, 2002) |
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| Greg Chiappini (S, 1988) and Justin van Breda (S, 2992) |
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Ian Currie (F, 2005), Stuart Commins (F, 2006), Devan du Plooy (G, 2007), Brett Ormrod (M, 2007) with Caelim Parkes (O, 1990) not really part of the group
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| Brian Robertson (W, 1979), Gareth Penny (F, 1980), Matthe Golesworthy (K, 2011) and Neil Orpen (W, 1990) |
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| Dominic Hibbert (G, 2004) and Derrick Betts (G, 2001) |
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| Stuart Crawford-Browne (K, 1988), Richard Immelman (B, 1989) and James Deane (B, 1990) |
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| Stuart Crawford-Browne (K, 1988) and Richard Immelman (B, 1989) |
Oh, what a night
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| Homeward bound: Rob Baerveldt (F, 2002), Trevor Torrington (S, 1978) and Dominic Hibbert (G, 2004) with Neil Orpen keeping up in the background |
Who was there:
