Newsletter 18th January 2019

OD OFFICE & BRANCH NEWS

The annual dinner of Old Diocesans will take place at Kelvin Grove on Thursday 28th February 2019 at 6 for 6:30 PM.

We are delighted to have Professor Jonathan Jansen as our guest speaker for the evening.

Guest Speaker: Prof Johnathan Jansen

Introducing our much loved and respected guest speaker, the public intellectual and former vice-chancellor of the University of the Free State, Prof Jonathan Jansen: "...It means daring to stand alone, to think for yourself rather than hiding in the crowds, and to be fearless, like Joshua Broomberg of King David, Victory Park..."

Getting to Know the Maestro - Richard Cock (1966O)

We asked Richard about his love affair with music and how it all began, you guessed it! (at Bishops of course!).

"It was at Bishops that I was hooked on music by Claude Browne and later by John Badminton. I studied at the College of Music at UCT and then went on scholarship to the Royal School of Church Music in Croydon, UK. Church music was my thing after singing daily in the chapel at Bishops..."

UK January Newsletter

UK Branch Secretary, Nicky Bicket (1973F) reports: "The ODU sends its best wishes to you for 2019. With resolutions still, hopefully, firmly in place, there are, happily, only about 350 days until these need to be reset. And for those of you smugly resisting these life-shaping decisions as a modern-day fad, bear in mind that NY resolutions date back 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians!"

Welcome to Our New Ireland Branch Secretary!

Doug Carruthers (1999S) has taken over from Allan Versveld (1998K) as the secretary for the Republic of Ireland branch of the ODU. He is keen for ODs living in Ireland (both Northern and the Republic of) to make contact with him. He can be emailed at [email protected]. 

Bishops First XV Tour to Ireland

In its first international rugby tour in ten years, the Bishops 1st XV visit Ireland in March this year with two games in Dublin - Thursday 14th and Sunday 17th. On Saturday 16th they practise at the Donybrook Stadium.

If enough ODs would like to travel as a party to meet and support the team, I would be very happy to put together a relaxed trip, to include dinner with the team, coaches and parents on Friday 15th, watching the practice on Saturday 16th and the match on Sunday 17th. (The Dublin opposition schools will only be named after an internal league has completed its season).

If interested, contact Nicky Bicket: [email protected]

The Old Diocesan - Calling all photographers!

We're on the hunt for OD photographers to get involved with future editions of The Old Diocesan. Hobby or profession, novice or an expert, give us a shout!

Order a free hard-copy or to read the electronic version below.

The Robert Gray Medal

The School would like to honour ODs who have made a significant and exceptional contribution to their field of endeavour by awarding them The Robert Gray Medal. This has been supported by the Bishops Council and the ODU Committee and serves not only to honour significant ODs but to inspire current boys at Bishops. Please click on the button below for more details.

ARCHIVES & HISTORY

James Henry Greathead - Father of the "Tube"

Thank you to the many ODs who sent in the article published by Biznews this week on remarkable OD, James Henry Greathead, whose invention made the London Underground possible.

"...His cylindrical Greathead Shield invention, patented in 1874, massively disrupted tunnel construction, is delivering projects 10 times faster and 90% cheaper and is still used today. Quite an achievement for the Grahamstown-born lad schooled at St Andrews and Bishops, and grandson to a land surveyor who led one of the 1820 settler groups..." 

OD UPDATES

Mad 4 Waves - Live Update

Cole Barnard (2014B), Grant Soll (2014W), Lee Gordon (2014M) and Matthew Boynton (2014W) are taking part in the 2018 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge - a 5 500 km transatlantic row from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. 

Exciting news! Mad 4 Waves is the next boat expected to finish. Three boats have finished so far, leaving the ODs in fourth place overall and third in Fours. 

They're expected to arrive on Monday morning at 01:40 at the finish. 

You can track their progress live below. 

Peter Hyslop (Staff)

Long-standing staff member, Peter has extended an invitation to ODs to an exhibition opening that he will be hosting this coming Sunday, 20^th Jan. Please click on the button below to enlarge it.

Super Sports 

OD Union Vice-Chairman, Anton Taylor (2005B) is the host for "Rugby that Rocks -18".  As the host, Anton was recently joined by Varsity Cup legends past and present, Dillyn (2010S) and Tristan Leyds (2015S). The focus of this segment was on the contribution of the Varsity Cup to SA rugby as well as what 2019 has in store. 

DEATHS & OBITUARIES

Jan Paul Steenkamp (1959F)

Jan passed away on Monday 7th January 2019. 
Thank you to Andrew Stevens (past parent) for submitting an obituary of Jan earlier this week. To read it, please click on the button below. 

Upcoming Events

2019 OD Dinner - Thurs 28 Feb

The annual dinner of Old Diocesans will take place at Kelvin Grove on Thursday 28th February 2019 at 6 for 6:30 PM.

We are delighted to have Professor Jonathan Jansen as our guest speaker for the evening.

2019 AGM - Wed 27 Feb

The 2019 AGM will be held on Wednesday 27th February 2019 at the Woodlands Pavilion at 6PM.

Please RSVP via the button alongside for administrative purposes. 

Founders Day - Friday 1st March

Founders Day will be rather early this year due to the earlier school holidays. 

More details will follow soon but ODs are urged to keep this date open should they wish to participate.

1989 Reunion - 28 Feb - 3 Mar 2019

Duncan de Groot (1989G) is organising the class of 1989 30-year reunion over the Founders Weekend next year, and anyone whom he has not been in contact with yet can get hold of him on [email protected] or 082 410 6081.

1979 Reunion - 28 Feb - 3 Mar 2019

The 1979 Matric Year will be holding a reunion centred around the 2019 Founders Day weekend starting on Thursday 28^th February 2019 and ending on Sunday 3^rd March 2019.  Please could any ODs of this vintage that have not yet been contacted by the organisers please contact Simon Peile at [email protected].

1999 Reunion – 16 – 17 August 2019

The class of 1999 will be holding a 20-year reunion over the weekend of the Bishops v Rondebosch fixtures on 16-17 August 2019. Matrics and post-matrics of 1999 are welcome to contact Alistair Price on [email protected]. Further details will also be made available on the Facebook group: “Bishops 1999 Class 20-Year Reunion: 16-17 Aug 2019”.

School News

New Chaplain Induction

Guy Pearson (Principal) reports: "This morning a special ceremony was held in the Memorial Chapel to induct our new Chaplain, Father Monwabisi Peter. The service was presided over by the Visitor to Bishops; Archbishop Thabo Makgoba. We wish Father Monwabisi God’s richest blessings."

Congratulations Akshay!

Congratulations to Akshay Thakersee who represented Western Province under 12 A at the South African Junior Chess Championship in December. The team won the Gold Medal. Akshay won the Board Prize for best performance on his table. He remained undefeated after 14 rounds of Chess over 10 days and finished 3rd in the SA Wildcard Championship.

Bishops 1st XV – Tour to Ireland

In March 2019, the 1st XV squad will embark on a 10 day tour of Ireland. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for the boys as it gives them the chance to test themselves against teams from a different country.

Our appeal: of the 25 boys who have been selected, 7 are on school bursaries and will require financial assistance towards the costs of the tour.

To find out how you can help please click on the button below

Follow Us and Find Out More

Owing to so much OD related news, it is often challenging to report on the wide range of Bishops activities.

For ease of use, we thus include links to the Bishops Website, the Principal’s Newsletters, and also the UK OD Newsletter.
For all our previous newsletters, click HERE
Please enjoy spending some time reading these, as they are the best means of keeping up to date with Bishops.

Quote for the Week

The quote for this week is taken from the Archbishop Thabo Makgoba's 2018 Christmas Message:

 "...It’s a time for us as South Africans to speak about finding our cultural confidence, a time for us to remember our national values and mostly, a time to begin trusting again..."

Kind regards,

Adam, WP and Nicole

This is a message from Bishops OD Alumni Network

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