For the past ten years (bar one, thanks to the virus) the UK Branch of the ODU has held an annual black-tie dinner in London. After a long period of dormancy, these were (re)launched at the RAF Club in 2014, and then moved, in 2016, to The Carlton Club in Mayfair where we have become - almost - part of the family there. Anthony Record (S, 1956) who is our long-suffering and unbelievably generous donor of the excellent wines from his Gayda Estate in the Languedoc, is also our sponsoring member. We think the Club loves the ODs; we certainly love them.
The black-tie format in one of London's grandest clubs is, it seems, a winning formula and there is no reason to change it. ODs always look so fantastically smart and elegant and in such an environment this all adds up to making these dinners very special occasions.Every year, ODs remark that each year's dinner is better than the previous. And this year, so they say, was the best of them all. I think they're right.
This was a knock-out, sold-out affair, with a waiting list of almost 50% of the capacity (94) of the dinner itself. Which presents a dilemma for future years if the popularity and demand for places keeps growing. Where would we go? Do we have to say goodbye to The Carlton?
We'll cross that bridge next year.
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Our Speakers:
Top: Choppy Bands, Nigel Owens, Nick Heesom
Bottom: Adrian Kritzinger, Matthew Golesworthy
and Matthew Perrott (click to enlarge) |
With ODs joining us from Switzerland, Portugal, South Africa, Scotland and Hong Kong, we started the evening in The Morning Room for the pre-dinner reception. Simonsig Brut is the beverage of choice, and along with the Gayda wines and OD-brewed Cobru beer oils the wheels for the dinner to come. It is also the time when the seating plan (see at the end of this blog) is unveiled which tends to cause a certain amount of raised blood pressure and some frenetic horse trading.Then we moved through to The Churchill Room where we stood for the Grace. Our tradition is that the Grace (usually in Latin) is always taken from one of the Oxbridge Colleges and always said by Matthew Golesworthy (K, 2011). This year, with a nod to our Guest of Honour and Speaker, Nigel Owens, while still of an Oxford College this year's was from Kellogg College and delivered in impeccable Welsh. It is printed on the menu (posted at the end of this blog).
We remained standing for a moment of silence to reflect on the lives of four recently deceased ODs: Raymond Ackerman (S, 1948), Julian Ogilvie Thompson (F, 1951), Richard Duck (G, 1964) and Nick Koster (F, 2007).
Nick Heesom (W, 1961) our most senior OD present hosted the evening and welcomed ODs and guests including the President and Secretary of the Old Haileyburian Society with whom we've enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship. Nick's welcome is posted at the end of this blog.
Choppy Bands (K, 1990) once again demonstrated his deftness as an MC with a gentle yet non-negotiable approach to crowd-control. He set and maintained the gezellige tone for the entire evening.
Matthew Perrott (O, 2016) proposed the Toast to Bishops (or An Ode to Bishops, as he called it). The Toast is always proposed by the youngest - or thereabouts - OD and Matt delivered it with the aplomb of a seasoned public speaker without losing the warmth of someone who loved Bishops very much (see the Toast at the end of the blog).
After the Toast, jackets were removed and the noise level started to increase. Which is good sign, volume being a reliable barometer of enjoyment.
The starters and main course cleared away, it was time for Adrian Kritzinger (F, 2006) to introduce our speaker, Nigel Owens. Nigel has recently retired from international rugby refereeing. He is considered one of, if not the, best referee of recent times, arguably of all time. Adrian's introduction was well researched and wittily made.
Nigel's speech in which he covered his journey from a schoolboy rugby player to a world class referee was a tour de force. The speech was peppered with personal and very amusing (some of them) anecdotes of his experiences around the world (he loved refereeing in South Africa) and some insightful comments about, in his view, who the best and worst players to referee were.
He also referred to his own troubled youth in which a crisis of confidence almost caused him to take his life and his journey back from that. And, as a consequence, he has a keen interest in and support for mental health issues, especially among sportsmen and women.
He was the first referee in the world to come out as gay and is a great advocate of LGBTQ rights both in the UK and internationally.
His speech was met with a very well-deserved standing ovation and, inevitably, loads of "selfies" and autographs. In his response and thanks, Adrian presented Nigel with an ODU rugby jersey. These have been made especially for us in the UK in the style of old-fashioned jerseys; industrial strength and warm enough to keep Nigel insulated from the weather on his farm in West Wales.
Then dessert and after that, for most of us, back to The Morning Room for the traditional afterparty which went on until our hard stop at midnight. After which, or so I'm told, some after afterparties.
It was a wonderful evening in every respect, and perhaps the most important of all was the camaraderie and Bishops spirit which was evident and palpable (and audible).
Until next year.
Names, houses and years are given on the guest list at the end of this blog
Click on the photos to enlarge
THE PRE-DINNER RECEPTION
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| Reginald Aspinall and Zandy Gordon |
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| Nicky Bicket, Lizzie Graham, Nigel Owens and Jane Everard |
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| Luis Buckmaster and Chris Buckmaster |
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| Scott McLean and Chris Leach |
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| Waleed Omar, William Clerke and Brendan Raubenheimer |
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| Stuart Commins and Brendan Raubenheimer |
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| David Clark and Brian Mannion |
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| Brice Dunlop, Gabriela Grodzki (back to camera), Michael West and Stuart Bristow |
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| Scott and Marlene Forsythe |
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| Mark Jones, Jeremy Friedlander and Peter Smith |
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| Matthew Golesworthy, David Clark, Mark Hanslip (back to camera) and Grant Challie |
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| Anne Peden, Blaine Tomlinson (back to camera) and Nick Heesom |
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| Stephen Hofmeyr, Michael Mills, Nigel Owens and Audrey Hofmeyr |
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| Richard Immelman, Choppy Bands and John Richards |
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| Adrian Kritzinger, Alex Price and Nick Stirton |
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| Mike Leach, Nick Boswell and Chris Leach |
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| Michael Mills and Rupert Langerman |
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| Costa Ghioules, Martin Muller and Craig McKenzie |
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| Nigel Owens, Nick Boswell and Mano Ghioules |
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| Stuart Commins, Costa Ghioules and Nigel Owens |
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| Nigel Owens, Jason Mitchell (back to camera) and Doug Mallett |
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| Alex Price, Michael Cockburn and Michael Leach |
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| John Richards, Stuart Crawford-Browne and Sandy Leslie |
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| Kosta Scholiadis and Costa Ghioules |
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| Nick Cunningham and Kosta Scholiadis |
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| Kosta Scholiadis, Justin Thorne and Tom Horne |
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| Dane Stirratt and Scott MacLean |
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| Steven Falconer, Nick and Peter Smith |
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| Ian Haggie and Eduard Swanepoel |
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| Peter Syfret, Graham Thomas and Marie Syfret |
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| Peter Syfret, Blaine Tomlinson, Marie Syfret (back to camera) and Anne Peden |
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| Nick van Breda and Michael Cockburn |
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| Calum Wehmeyr and Cecilia Melloni |
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| Robbie Weich and Anton du Plessis |
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| Keegan Sutherland |
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Gabriela Grodzki, Daniel Woolf and Mark Jones
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THE DINNER
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| The Seating Plan on the way into dinner |
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| The lull before the storm (1) |
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| The lull before the storm (2) |
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| The menu - more or less |
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| Michael Cockburn looking lost - or about to be lost |
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| Nigel Owens and Nick Heesom |
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| Audrey and Stephen Hofmeyr |
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| Brian Mannion, Michael and Chris Leach and Alex Price |
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| The incomparable Choppy Bands, MC extraodinaire |
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| Nick Heesom welcoming ODs and guests (Peter Smith and Choppy Bands being welcomed) |
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| Daniel Woolf, Darren Bosman, Mark Jones, Sandy Leslie and Chris Buckmaster |
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| Matthew Golesworthy saying the Grace, flanked by Stephen Falconer, Rob Johnston and Andrew McAlpin |
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| Matthew Perrott proposing the Toast to Bishops |
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| Listening to the Toast |
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| The Toast (1) |
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| The Toast (2) |
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| Jeremy Friedlander and Audrey Hofmeyr |
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| Marie Syfret, Blaine Tomlinson and Nigel Owens |
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| Matthew Jordan and Andrew McAlpin |
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| Andrew Clarkson and Daniel Woolf |
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| Grant Challis and Lizzie Graham |
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| Stuart Bristow and Rupert Langerman |
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| Chris Anderson, David Clark and Graham Thomas |
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| Blaine Tomlinson and Nigel Owens |
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| Mike Leach, Kosta Scholiadis, Alex Price and Justin Thorne |
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| Darren Bosman and Mark Jones |
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| Scott Forsythe and Robbie Weich |
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| Jeremy Friedlander, Audrey Hofmeyr and Chris Anderson |
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| Sandy Leslie and Chris Buckmaster |
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| Richard Immelman, Marlene Forsythe and Anton du Plessis |
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| James Johnston and Matthew Golesworthy |
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| Nick Heesom, Peter Syfret, Jane Everard and Greg Baldwin |
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| Luis Buckmaster and Waleed Omar |
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| Andrew Clarkson, Daniel Woolf, Darren Bosman, Mark Jones, Sandy Leslie and Chris Buckmaster |
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| Brett Ormrod, Doug Mallett and Michael Cockburn |
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| Michael Mills and Peter Smith |
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| Doug Mallett, Michael Cockburn and Nick van Breda |
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| Blaine Tomlinson, Nigel Owens and Nick Heesom |
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| Luis Buckmaster, Nicky Bicket, Waleed Omar and David Leslie |
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| Eduard Swanepoel and Ian Haggie |
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| The Carlton staff being thanked for the wonderful care they took of us |
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| Adrian Kritzinger introducing Nigel Owens |
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| Nigel Owens |
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| ODs and guests enthralled but mainly amused by Nigel's speech |
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| Nick van Breda, Dillon McEvoy, Mano Ghioules and Nick Stirton |
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| Rupert Langerman, Zandy Gordon and Matthew Perrott |
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| Nick Smith and Murray Raubenheimer |
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| Adrian presenting Nigel with an ODU rugby jersey |
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| Nigel acknowledging his standing ovation |
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| And two (below, as well) inevitable selfies; Choppy Bands, Peter Smith, Nigel and Nick Smith |
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| The formal part of the dinner over ... Martin Muller, Chris Hau and Craig McKenzie |
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| Adrian Kritzinger, Brice Dunlop, Andrew Clarkson, Jason Mitchell and Daniel Woolf |
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| Nick Boswell and Martin Muller |
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| Brendan Raubenheimer and Nick Stirton |
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| Jackie Wilgar, Nicki Orpen and Caelim Parkes |
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| Ian Haggie, David Leslie, Sandy Leslie and Waleed Omar |
AND ON THE WAY TO THE AFTERPARTY ...
THE AFTERPARTY
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| Guy Whitfield, Dillon McEvoy and Chris Leach |
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| Cecilia Melloni, Calum Wehmeyr, Nicky Bicket and Rob Johnston |
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| Nick van Breda, Nick Cunningham, Craig McKenzie and Brian Mannion |
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| Caelim Parkes, Choppy Bands and Maida Shivik |
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| Graham Thomas, Mark Hanslip, Grant Challis and Matthew Golesworthy |
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| The Ghioules boys: Mano and Costa |
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| Kosta Scholiadis an Steven Falconer |
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| Brian Mannion and Ian Haggie |
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| Alex Price, Peter Smith and Michael Cockburn |
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| Murray Raubenheimer, Mark Jones, Jason Mitchell, Andrew Clarkson and Daniel Woolf |
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| Adrian Kritzinger, Martin Muller and Nicky Bicket |
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| Nick Cunningham, Jane Everard and Lizzie Graham |
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| Stuart Bristow, Gabriela Grodzki and Blaine Tomlinson |
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| Stuart Crawford-Browne, Choppy Bands and Richard Immelman |
Z
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| Ian Haggie, Murray Raubenheimer, Dillon McEvoy and William Clerke |
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| Reginald Aspinall, Zandy Gordon and Troy Horrell |
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| Kosta Scholiadis, Chris Leach, Alex Price, Michael Leach, Scott MacLean and Nic Boswell |
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| The Menu and order of events |
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| Welcome : Nick Heesom |
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| The Toast (Ode) to Bishops - Matthew Perrott |
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| ODU Rugby Jersey presented to Nigel Owens |
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| Messages from the president and chairman of the ODU |
