22 FEBRUARY 2019

The final 12 tickets are up for grabs. If you still haven't booked your ticket, this is your final chance to do so!

The ticket site will close as soon at these extra tickets have been booked. 

 Click the button below before it's too late! 

(Please ignore this message if you've already done so)

The Old Diocesan - Issue 3

We are very excited for the launch of Issue 3 of The Old Diocesan.
 
Please join us to hear our guest speaker - OD Union Patron and South African business giant Raymond Ackerman – and to find out:
- How Prof Jonathan Jansen, Guy Pearson, James Winfield and Gary Skeeles believe we should be preparing Bishops boys for the future;

- What political-economics expert Greg Mills thinks South Africa must do to prosper after the 2019 elections;

- About the OD Hollywood director making movies with Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman is;
- What it’s like to free solo a sheer cliff with a 100m drop below;
- How 5 ODs met in the middle of the ocean;

- And more from ODs doing interesting and ground-breaking things around the world. 

The launch will be held at The Mitre on Thursday 7th March from 6PM onwards. All are welcome to attend. Please RSVP below for admin and catering purposes. 

An OD in Hollywood

Congratulations to Donovan Marsh (1987W) for directing the big-budget Hollywood action film, Hunter Killer starring Gerald Butler and Gary Oldman which has been named one of the “6 Of The Best Most Ridiculously Fun Action Films” by Hollywoodnews.com.

In the upcoming issue of The Old Diocesan we’ve featured an in-depth article with Marsh on his latest Hollywood film. Don’t forget to sign-up to the mailing list below!

Founders Day 2019 Program - Final Draft (Updated)

Please note: This is the final draft for the 2019 Founders Day Program.

Please contact the OD Captains, or the OD office in order to join one of the participating sides. 

Please click on the button below to view. 

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.

The following notice is from the Principal's office:

The Principal, Mr Guy Pearson, invites you to the Founders Day Service to award the Robert Gray Medal to

Mr Raymond Ackerman

and

Dr Robert Frater

on Friday 1st March at 7:45am in the Memorial Chapel

Refreshments will be served afterwards in the Mitre

RSVP: [email protected] by 25 February 2019

Please note that due to very limited seating, only a certain number of seats are available.  Alternatively, ODs are encouraged to join at the Tea in The Mitre afterwards. 

Founders House Lunch

Calling all Founders ODs!

Founders House holds a reunion once a year where we invite all our OD’s to visit us on Founders’ Day. The purpose is to quite simply to reunite the OD’s with the House.

Date: Friday 1st March 2019
Time: 12: 30 - 2:30 pm    
Venue: Founders House - Terraces
Lunch: R100 a head with a cash bar available

For catering purposes, we would appreciate it if you could reply ASAP to [email protected]

UK Branch Secretary, Nicky Bicket (1973F) reports: "The extraordinary photo of Bishops which makes up this month's header was taken by Jean Tresfon (F, 1992) a professional aerial and underwater photographer who has had his pictures featured in both of the new ODU Magazines.

While Bishops quite rightly celebrates its continuing excellent matric results (the 2018 ones were reported in last month's letter), the measure of a Bishops education should not be how well - or poorly - one does in one's exit exams but how, armed with a Bishops education, one lives one's life. Which is one of the reasons I include a section on celebrated ODs..."

Earlier this week Nicky Bicket (1973F) and Duncan de Groot (1989G) both came for a visit to The Mitre.
As ODs are well aware, Nicky is the much-loved UK Branch Secretary who has raised the bar and expectations of what a Branch Secretary can do, to unprecedented heights. UK ODs have experienced Nicky's personal touch through a home visit, a generous gift, or a well organised event. 
Duncan is the current Chairman of the Western Province Cricket Club (WPCC).  He is also busy organising the 1989 Reunion. Duncan has dedicated his life to service in the community, and is often seen around Bishops helping out wherever he can.

Mike Bayly (1983S), current Director of Rugby at Rugby School in England, kindly paid a visit to The Mitre during their mid-term holiday.
Mike has implemented a focus on a supportive organisational culture at the rugby department. He explained that the on-field results have surpassed their expectations with an over 70% winning average across all age categories. In his year-end report, he stipulated that his focus will remain on building a fast-paced, supportive, and enjoyable culture, with more emphasis on connectivity between players with each other, between coaches and players, and between coaches themselves.
In the picture Mike is wearing his Rugby School cap.

Mentee response: "...He has been and still continues to be a great mentor...his words and guidance will always be there and I will carry them with me throughout my career..."

To sign up as a Mentor/Mentee, click on the button below. 

Deaths & Obituaries

Michael Desebrock (1958O)

A full obituary for Michael has now been uploaded to the OD Website, thank you to Nigel Desebrock for sending it through to us. 

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.

1954 Reunion - 1st - 5th March

The class of 1954 are organising various reunion events around Founders Day. 

Please contact Margie Brown for more information: [email protected]

1969 Reunion - Friday 1st March

The class of 1969 are organising a reunion on Founders Day in the Woodlands Pavilion. 

Please contact John Smuts for more information: [email protected]

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].

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.

Bishops v UK ODs Golf - 22 Mar 2019

On Friday 22nd March, The UK ODs will be taking on the Bishops 1st Golf team and their hapless masters-in-charge at The RAC in Surrey.

Should you like to play, please let Alex Price (M, 2008)  or Nicky Bicket (F, 1973) know by email by clicking on our names.

Walker Cup Golf - 25 April 2019

• Venue: King David Mowbray
• Date: Thursday 25th April 2019
• Time: TBC
• Shotgun Start, 4BBB Stabelford
• 128 Golfers – 64 per school
• Greenfees: R300 per golfer to be paid at the ProShop.

Please contact John Smuts should you wish to play: [email protected]

Peter Elliot (1967W) Book Launch - 7 May

Peter lives in the Languedoc where he has become an expert on the history of the area. He also writes books and at this function in London will talk to ODs about his latest, Constance: One Road to Take; The Life and Photography of Constance Stuart Larrabee (1914-2000)...

UK ODs vs Old Tonbridgian Annual Golf - 8 June
This will be the fifth in our annual derby against the Old Tonbridgians. 

Once again the course is the Old Course at The RAC in Surrey.

If you would like to play, please contact our captain, Alex Price (M, 2007) at [email protected]

UK Annual Dinner - 14 June

The 2019 UK Annual Dinner will take place at The Carlton Club in London. 
Guest speaker to be confirmed.

The UK ODs vs the Old Haileyburians Golf Match - 10 August

This will be the second match against the Old Haileyburians, 

If you are interested in playing, please contact our captain, Alex Price (M, 2007) at [email protected]

1999 Reunion – 16 – 17 August

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”.

Annual Oxfordshire Pub Lunch - 12 Oct

This relaxed and informal annual lunch at one of the country's finest pub/restaurants has become an entrenched feature of our calendar. This is not just for those living in and around Oxford but for any OD and their wife/partner.

School Updates

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Bishops will be staging Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sparkling family musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this year.  Retelling the Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colours, this magical musical is packed full of unforgettable songs including ANY DREAM WILL DO and CLOSE EVERY DOOR TO ME.

The production will be staged from 5 – 9 March 2019, in the Memorial Theatre, at 7:30pm each evening.  Bookings open at The School Shop, on Wednesday, 27 February 2019, and tickets cost R120.00.  Direction is by Wayne Tucker, Musical Direction by Stephen Carletti, Andrea Rutter is conducting the band, and choreography is by Anni Goedhals.

Principal's Message

Guy Pearson reports: "...Congratulations to Olga Peel who placed 3^rd in the National Teacher Awards and received the Kadar Asmal Award for Excellence. Well done to Peter Hyslop who was awarded his long service certificate for completing 35 years of wonderful service to Bishops...."

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 letters, and also the UK OD letters.
For all our previous weekly updates, 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

This week's quote is taken from the D.C. Magazine of April 1966 on pg. 9.

"...Bishops cannot rest complacently on its undeniably fine past tradition: tradition is a fine living commodity...All of us are guardians, as well as creators, of this tradition: it cannot be too jealously guarded, nor too lovingly created, for we are year by year, sending forth the South African citizens of the future..."

~Mr A. W. H. Mallett

Kind regards,

Adam, WP and Nicole

Contact Us

To contact the OD Union:

Telephone: 021 685 1829

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.odunion.com/

This is a message from Bishops OD Alumni Network

Having trouble reading this email? Try  viewing it in your browser

You can change your contact details and preferences here

Want to unsubscribe from these emails? Click here

Powered by ToucanTech