THERE ARE JUST THREE PLACES LEFT FOR OUR FOUNDERS DAY DRINKS WITH FRANCOIS LOUW.
WEDNESDAY 4th MARCH AT 6.30pm IN LONDON 
For admission, you must have RSVP'd : RSVP HERE

Dear OD

Since our last newsletter the UK have exited the EU, Savid Javid has exited the cabinet, Donald Trump keeps his digs and lives to fight another day (or 1,460, perhaps) and Ciara has come and gone (although making way for Dennis). Overshadowing all of these is the coronavirus, for which we must all be watchful and careful - "Sit jou hand voor jou mond..." as the old ditty urged us, albeit for a slightly different purpose.

Perhaps not at quite at the same geo-political level, but with just as much (local) intensity, it's been a busy time at The Mitre. In January, the first of two SGMs was held and two resolutions were adopted. These change the ODU constitution in two ways: (1) all ODs, not just those paid-up members of the Union, may now participate fully in OD matters. And (2) every OD, wherever in the world he or she is, may "participate, be heard and vote" at general meetings. (In the past, a member had to be physically present at the meeting to vote). With modern technology and the acceptance that there are ODs outside of the Cape who might have a view on the state of our Union - and would like to be able to influence it - remote participation and voting (including the use of proxies) is now in place.

Then on Thursday, at the second of this year's special meetings, now live-streamed to the OD diaspora (not a box-office blockbuster, by the way, with only 5 ODs tuning in), a somewhat vaguely-worded resolution was adopted. Roughly translated, the amendment shortens the term of a committee member from five to one year, requiring Committee member (re)election at each AGM.

One of the effects of these changes is that ODs from around the world are able, if elected, to become Committee members. No airline tickets are on offer but service is its own reward. The ODU constitution does not prescribe a maximum number for members or the Committee or a minimum number of votes to get elected. Presumably just one will do. So it's not inconceivable, if enough UK ODs put themselves forward, that the ODU Committee meetings could be run out of London! Your Committee wants YOU!

The overall objectives of all these changes are, purportedly, to increase participation, transparency and accountability. Time will tell.

 
Over the past few months, those ODs who know her would have had Vivienne Mallett, wife of the Bishops Principal Anthony Mallett (1964-1987) in their thoughts. One such OD was Peter Robinson (S, 1966) who sent me this photo of Vivienne and him when he visited her in Cape Town last month. She wrote to me to say how much she had enjoyed seeing Peter and all the ODs who pop in to see her from time to time.

When Peter's mom, Maggie (wife of Chippy Robinson, master, housemaster and Vice Principal at Bishops form 1950-1977) died last year, Vivienne wrote saying, "She and Betty van der Bijl [wife of the legendary Prep headmaster, Pieter] were my most wonderful supports and kept my balance right, from the very beginning of our time at Bishops, and I miss them both now very much.  Their bubble and humour made all the rather pedestrian things we Staff Wives did into sheer fun".

We sometimes forget that Bishops, boys and ODs, owe a huge debt to the staff wives for their commitment and support - and above all, forbearance. Vivienne, Maggie and Betty, were beloved by literally thousands of boys at Bishops.

Another such wife, very involved with Bishops life, is Rosemary Wilke (left), wife of the late Fr Terry Wilke, Bishops Chaplain from 2009 to 2017. Rosemary retired from Bishops as the School's marketing manager last year and next month will be moving to London where she will be working for the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Office based in Tavistock Crescent, London. Initially, she will be very involved with the Lambeth Conference. Welcome to London, Rosemary, and good luck for the move and the new job. And we hope to see you at some OD events!


It's always a happy event to receive news from ODs. especially when they contains news of other ODs. Peter Carter (F, 1963, right) wrote to me:

"We had the young with us for Christmas which meant that my preference: Hereford Cathedral on Christmas Day in the morning was overruled by the family who wanted the nearest service & thus the shortest car ride, the sooner to get back for pressies, fizz, etc. So Diana [Peter's wife] looked up our local church newsletter & reported that the 9.30am service would be taken by the Revd Hugh Wakeling (G, 1959). Not come across the man but just a moment, I said, I was at school at the same time as someone of that name, at least I seem to remember so. His father was a priest, maybe a Canon, and these things do run in families, so I wonder . . .? Good service the next morning but no obvious recognition of the celebrant, however something niggled away at my mind until the moment when we shook hands on leaving and I asked “Where were your schooled?” And he replied “Bishops”. Well I’ll be buggered, I said. Actually, I probably didn’t as we were still in church and Diana was standing right by me but that’s what I thought. Gave Hugh our number & he joined us on 31/12 (my birthday) for lunchtime drinks with a few friends. Lives here in Ledbury and we will be sure to see to see more of him. Funny old world . . . "

Yes it is

Nicky Bicket
THE DIOCESAN COLLEGE RHODES SCHOLARSHIP & ST CYPRIAN'S
 
In 2015, the Diocesan College Rhodes Scholarship was opened to past pupils of Herschel, St Cyprians, St Georges and the LEAP Schools. Ashley Pople (St Cyprians, right) with an honours degree in economics (with distinction) from UCT wasted no time in being selected as the first non-Bishops Bishops Rhodes Scholar in its then 113 year history. So up to Oxford she went where she completed her MPhil (proxime accessit) in economics and, still at Oxford, is now finishing her DPhil in Development Economics.

Ashley very kindly agreed to speak to ODs at our first lunch of the year (decade) on Friday 31st January. Held at the Carlton Club in London, with 30 guests attending, we were delighted to have join us three past St Cyprian's students, Eileen Heenan, Giorgina King (who had two brothers at Bishops: NIck (S, 2000) and Ben (M, 2003)) and Zarina Olla. Also at the lunch were Richard Smith who runs a sustainable investment fund and who has mentored several UK-based ODs, Jane Rosenberg (who studies with Ashley and whose father, uncle and two brothers were at Bishops) and David Pople, Ashley's father. 
 
Not to be outdone, three of Bishops Bishops Rhodes Scholars attended the lunch and, I think, must have been (secretly) relieved that they were not against Ashley in their selection year: Stephen Hofmeyr (O, 1973), James Gardener (W, 1974) and Graham Thomas (K, 1984)

The diverse bunch made for an interesting and lively lunch with, hopefully, more like it on the way.

After she was welcomed by the Patron of the ODU Raymond Ackerman (S, 1948) Ashley started by debunking the popular (mis)conception that economics was for data junkies who aren't able to make decisions ("on the one hand-on the other"). Economics, she told us convincingly was about people and the data, while it might provide evidence for understanding and predicting behaviour, was not where the value of this field lies.

She described her extensive travels around the world (Ethiopia, Uganda, Jamaica, India, Rwanda and Colombia among others) working with the most under-developed countries and communities. Through her projects she has highlighted examples of buried talent and potential blossoming against the odds and has provided support in helping with the creation of employment in these marginalised states.

Finally she talked of the opportunities she had personally benefited from since winning the "Rhodes" and some of the challenges - not least of those being the #rhodesmustfall campaign on her arrival at Oxford - she has had to face.

We were thrilled to have her with us as a Bishops Rhodes Scholar and we will be watching her trajectory with interest and pride.

Stephen Hofmeyr (O, 1973) thanked Ashley on behalf of us all an in doing so encouraged us - and Bishops - to think of opening up the Bishops Rhodes even wider to include Zonnebloem College, founded in 1858 nine years after Bishops and thirteen years before St Cyps. The connection: all three schools founded by Bishop Robert Gray.


To see all the photos, please click HERE
 


While "literary and scholastic attainments" is the first of the four criteria specified by Rhodes for his eponymous scholarship, hard on its heals comes "fondness of and success in manly (sic) outdoor sports such as cricket, football and the like". (These are Rhodes's words, not mine!)

So it seems a logical progression from Ashley Pople's talk to ODs last month (see above) to Francois Louw's (W, 2003) next month. To commemorate Founders Day, Francois will share his experiences and stories of South Africa's triumphant 2019 Rugby World Cup at an informal and participative evening on Wednesday 4th March at the offices of 
Stonehage Fleming in London from 6.30pm-9.00pm

Francois, a stalwart of the Bath rugby club, retired from international rugby after the 2019 RWC. He will also be reflecting on his rugby-playing life and the future of rugby as a career.

There are very few places left and admission is with a confirmed RSVP only. So now is the time to snap up those remaining tickets. If you've booked already, there's no need to do so again

RSVP HERE.

 
MENTORING

"I continue to work with Peter and the experience has been nothing short of invaluable. Whether it be advising me on how to approach job interviews or evaluating which career path to follow, he has taught me to always keep a cool head and to believe in your own ability and value. The opportunity to consult someone with such distinguished experienced is priceless to any young person beginning their career and is something I will always be grateful for. "
 

This and other testimonials give impetus and urgency to the ODU Mentoring Programme, now in its fifth year. Of course, not everyone needs a mentor, but the benefits are huge. It's a crazy world out there and ODs don't have to walk alone.

The panel of mentors is building steadily and the requests for advice and guidance increasing. More and more, this programme which is managed completely confidentially, is being seen as something of real value and it is gratifying that non-ODs are writing in to see whether they too can tap into the wealth of experience available.


The quote above, is, with permission, from one of the mentees, Michael Foxcroft (W, 2011). describes the benefits he's derived from working with Peter Arthur (W, 1965, also mentioned with permission).

So, if you would like to put yourself as a mentor or request one, please do so via this form.
PROPOSED OD TRIP TO THE LUBERON - MAY 2020

For the past three years, the ODs have set off to visit various European destinations. Not only are have these trips been interesting and most enjoyable, but it gives ODs a chance over two or three days to meet and get to know each other.

In 2017 we visited the Western Front; in 2018 The Languedoc and last year a fabulous trip to Amsterdam centered around the Rijksmuseum.

Simon Burrow (F, 1968) our ODU branch secretary in France has suggested we should visit the romantic and wine-filled area of The Luberon in April 2021. The plan would be to coincide with the L’Isle sur la Sorgue annual antiques show (3rd biggest in world). A very draft itinerary is HERE. Should you be interested, please click on the button below. This is an expression of interest and dos not commit you in any way

.
I would be interested in joining this trip in:

April          October          either April or October

Please keep me informed
PLAY GOLF FOR THE UK ODs - THERE IS MUCH TO PLAY FOR WITH A NEW MATCH IN THE CALENDAR


As much as it may appear that we are getting closer to St Cyps alumni up here - we are both keen to hold one or two collaborative events a year, now - in the world of golf, we also have Michaelhouse and Hilton Old Boys' closing in. Our reputation, whether as a pushover or the high water mark of elite golfing performance, is clearly an attraction. Our amazing captain, convenor, coach and handicap auditor,
Alex Price (M, 2008), is setting his sights on a July three-way against the two of them.

Our sixth annual match against the Old Tonbridgians takes place on Saturday 4th April and the date for our third annual game against Haileybury is to be confirmed shortly.


Now is the time to suck up to Alex to get yourself selected. As past and current players will tell you, these are fun and tightly fought - and selection comes with a pretty impressive OD golf shirt. To contact Alex, email him by clicking HERE.

 
ODs ON THE MOVE

This month we congratulate Richard Westby-Nunn (W, 1994, left) who has been appointed Specialist Technical Account Manager - Networking at Amazon Web Services. Richard's core skills and interests are in managing, designing, configuring, and implementing multiple large-scale infrastructure projects that meet required business goals of reducing Total Cost of Ownership and helping to increase the Return On Investment in technology, people, systems and processes, all whilst following the required change management principles.He has been with Amazon WEb Services years fo five years and before that spent seven years with Dimension Data

Last month I wrote about the pioneering work (from left to right) Dugald Macdonald, Pete Husemeyr (both S, 2005) and Mike Cockburn F2006) are doing bringing sports science (probably maths) into the 21st century. A visit to their buzzy offices between Hoxton and Spitalfields was energising and eye-opening. Follow the link HERE to see what they do; and what they do has captured the attention of major sports' federations across the world. It was a fascinating two hours and a visit which will turn into a talk and demonstration for interested ODs in the very near future. Pioneering ODs are a very exciting species.

Mark Hartnardy (S, 1998, left) has been appointed Salesforce Architect at VRP Consulting after time spent in similar roles at X-Cloid Ltd, Global Sign and Jaguar Landrover. VRP Consulting has worked on some of the largest and most complex Salesforce implementations globally and
counts Salesforce as one of our biggest clients. The company has deep experience across all Salesforce clouds implementations, across many key verticals and industries and are are often brought in to complex or stalled projects.

Last month, Paul Betts (G, 2000, right) was appointed Managing Director at RBC Capital Markets. Paul has been with the Royal Bank of Canada for almost nine years.

Andrew Henwood (W, 1986, left) writes, "My news is that I have accepted an offer from EY and
joined their operational transaction support team – in short advising clients in preparation or execution of a merger, acquisition or disposal. It’s a great opportunity and after 4 days in the team I have met some great people, learnt much and already started on a project. My family will join me in April after the first term in SA. So we all have much to do selling houses and packing in SA, and me finding a place to live and identifying schools"
 
Ryan du Toit (F, 2008, right) has been promoted to Business Intelligence and Process Engineer  at Bloombergs where he has been for just over five years

Congratulations to all these ODs having an impact and reaping the rewards for all their accomplishments. And who do us proud
 
1990s 30th REUNION IN THE UK

To look at them, so sprightly and fit do they seem, it's difficult to imagine that the Class of 1990 walked out of the Bishops Gates for the last time III decennia ago.

But they did and this year marks the 30th anniversary of that walk. They are calling all their classmates to join them for an unusually outdoor reunion which will take place in the beautiful Embers New Forest over the weekend of the 12th and 13th September.

Early signals are that wives and children are included.

To find out more and register your interest please get hold of one of Gordon Robinson, Caelim Parkes or Neil Orpen.

 
2019/20 DATES FOR THE DIARY
As always, wives and partners most welcome to all events and functions
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Wednesday 4th March
6.30pm-9pm
Founders Day Drinks with Francois Louw
Stonehage Fleming, 15 Suffolk Street, London, SW1Y 4GH

RSVP HERE
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Saturday 4th April
All day
ODs vs Old Tonbridgians Golf
(venue to be confrmed)

Please let Alex Price know you'd hate to be left out by emailing him HERE
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Friday 19th June 2020
18h30-midnight

The 2020 UK Annual Black-tie Dinner
The Carlton Club
69 St James's Street, London, SW1A 1PJ

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!
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Saturday 17th October 2020
12.15pm-3.00pm

Annual Oxfordshire Pub Lunch
The Bell at Hampton Poyle, OX5 2QD

SAVE THE DATE!!!!!
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Copyright © 2020 UK ODU, All rights reserved.


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