IN THIS SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER ...
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CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM
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Dear OD
One of the many pleasures attaching to the job of UK Branch Secretary is enjoying and being fascinated by the range of generations that constitute our Branch. But even with the common Bishops thread running from top to bottom, it surprises me that in comparison to UK alumni associations, year groups (aka generations) do not naturally mix. Which means we lose out on the synergies and benefits of wisdom and exuberance. So, is it not time to ditch the idea of which hashtag generation we belong to as our expedient shorthand for "measuring" ODs (everyone really) older and younger than us.
To remind you, in case you’ve missed the last, oh, sixty years (or haven't really been able to make head or tale of them): Gen Z has quiet-quit the jobs they just started, millennials blew their mortgages on avocado toast, boomers have no idea how to work their tech, and if we skip over Gen X, well, that seems about right.)
Generations aren’t a particularly good measure/proxy for identity, ability, values or even the predisposition to help each other. The Pew Research Center named the problems with our generational obsession, announcing it would no longer report on generations the way it has before. “Generational research has become a crowded arena,” the center wrote. “The field has been flooded with content that’s often sold as research but is more like clickbait or marketing mythology rather than an informed understanding of what this means in practice.”
While ODs may not necessarily or consciously describe themselves in X, or Y, or Z terms, they sort of do by using their year group as a proxy. There is so much richness in avoiding this approach. And, for example, I am hoping that at the Dinner next week (and beyond) there will be plenty of intergenerational mixing, the start of a trend which I am pretty much prepared to bet will enrich us all.
We have so much to offer each other wherever on the generational spectrum we fall.
The Thames Hare & Hounds UK Alumni Associations Cross Country Race
Our header image this month signals the Branch's call to arms (legs?) of all our athletes who would like a leisurely 5-mile cross country ramble across, through and over the Wimbledon Common on Saturday 16th September at 3pm. It is the time of year that we take on the best of the UK Alumni Associations in The Thames Hare & Hounds Alumni Cross Country race — the oldest and biggest of its kind in the country. This is our fifth year of competing and we have always done very well. This year we would like to win.
 Dillon McEvoy (S, 2005, right) an Irish international cross-country and ultra-marathon runner is spearheading our teams (four ODs to a team and we have 12 ODs signed up already) and to stir the pride and honour, we have had specially designed ODU running vests (seen above) made for the event. Each runner gets one!
If you'd like to run - and although only ODs count towards the score, family and friends are welcome to join - please do contact Dillon.on dillmcevoy@gmail.com to secure your place and vest. Or register HERE. Our team code is BCTSA. The entry fee is £10, but the vests - yours to keep - are free.
And if you aren't able to run, do come and support our boys.
Because, did I mention The Telegraph pub in Putney Heath for the post match debrief and rehydration?
We said goodbye to:
Last month Bishops and the ODU said farewell to Julian Ogilvie Thompson who died at the age of 89 on 11th August.
 Julian, known to all as JOT, matriculated in 1951 before going on to Post Matric in 1952. From there, as a Bishops Rhodes Scholar, he went up to Worcester College Oxford. And then to Anglo American where he spent the rest of his hugely distinguished business career.
Some tributes to JOT can be read HERE, HERE or on the ODU website
JOT, one of Bishops golden boys, made an immeasurable contribution to the transformation of South Africa in so many spheres. May he rest in peace.
To his sons Christopher (F, 1976) and Anthony (F, 1982) and daughters Rachel and Katherine, our heartfelt condolences
There will be two Memorial Services held for JOT and his wife Jenny who passed away in 2020. The first will be in Johannesburg in the morning of Monday 16th October and the second in London during the afternoon of 28th November. Details to follow
 Anglo American has long been an organisation where many ODs have made their mark.
In this photo (click to enlarge) of Anglo's 1977 Executive Committee, three of the eleven members are ODs! Spot them for yourselves, but to help, anticlockwise from Harry Oppenheimer are (ODs in bold): Gavin Relly (F, 1943) , Julian Ogilvie Thompson (F, 1951), Peter Gush, Chris Griffith, Graham Boustred, Gordon Waddell, Guy Nicholson, Zach de Beer (O, 1945), Dennis Etheredge and Robin Crawford
 The Koster Family will be holding Service of Celebration In Cambridge University's Queens' College Chapel (Silver St, CB3 9ET) to remember the life of Nick Koster (F, 2007) who died in July. The Service starts at 11.30am and afterwards at the Cambridge Rugby Football Club (Grange Road, Cambridge CB3 9BN, about a 10-minute walk from the College). This is from 12.30pm.
If you'd like to attend, the College have asked that you RSVP via this link.
#rhodesmustfall ... or must he?:
Last month's piece on Cecil John Rhodes attracted some interesting comments, pretty much divided around the opinion that not-such-good people could do good things. Andrew Martens (S, 1979) wrote, "I always chuckle at the story of Mandela walking past a statue of Rhodes in the Rhodes/Mandela centre in Oxford, winking at it and saying, "You and I are going to work together now, Cecil."
Chris Winearls (W, 1967, right) wrote a challenging essay, The removal of the Rhodes Statue icons, bene-and male-factors, and UCT at the time of the #rhodesmustfall campaign which was then being waged at Oriel College. I thought it would be worth posting HERE and to ask whether other ODs had views on this.
Meet and Greet in during the month of August:
August, in terms of meeting with ODs started pretty much where it ended in July, with a farewell lunch with Rob Estcourt (F, 1966) who was visiting the UK from Australia. I was invited to a fabulous supper and creative production of the Faerie Queen at Longborough with Mark Charnock (O, 1962) and wife Margie. My travelling companion from and back to London was Graham Viney (O, 1970) who provided amusing and interesting conversation on what is otherwise probably the most boring train journey in England. It was good to meet (at The Oriental) with Caelim Parkes (O, 1990) and solve the problems of the ODU. I attended the Memorial Service for Richard Duck (G, 1964) and there had a chance to chat to Michael Dallas (O, 1961), Humphrey Payne (O, 1961) and Richard's brother, Christopher Duck (S, 1967).
One important and obvious difference between being a Bishops boy and an OD is that many have wives as the latter, but rarely (if ever) the former. Many of those wives have to put up with their OD husbands for a lot longer than their husbands put up with Bishops. One of the consequences is that wives have to "endure" for, it probably seems, a lifetime of Bishops memories. Many become strong supporters of Bishops and the ODU and when their husbands pass away, we should not forget these stalwarts of our community. Many still read this newsletter ...
 One such wife — and obviously there are literally thousands — is Deborah Honoré, right, widow of the late, great Tony Honoré (F, 1939, another golden boy of Bishops whose obituary is well-worth reading). It was an honor and a pleasure to have lunch with Deborah last month and to be able to delve a little into her fascinating life. An Oxford graduate, she is the daughter of Sir Patrick Duncan, the last British Governor General of South Africa. Her three brothers were at Bishops.
I continued my regular meet-ups with Rupert Pardoe (F, 1973) and John Campbell (F, 1974) and enjoyed a lively evening with Mike Cockburn (F, 2006) and his wife Kelly and Jo Cockburn (F, 2008) and his wife Nina. Marc van Heerden (S, 2008) "forced" me to drink more G&Ts than was good for me, but we had an amusing and interesting evening nonetheless. Is there any OD he's not related to?
 Since we humans, on average, are living longer, a 90th birthday might now seem pretty ho-hum. But they are to be celebrated. Which is exactly what Simon Arnold (F, 1951, left) did, with a high tea for his family at the beautiful Gravetye Manor in Sussex. Simon, a very generous benefactor to Bishops, very kindly invited me to join the Arnold Tribe. 90 is actually something to look forward to, although having devoured several artery-clogging scones, jam and cream (and cakes and sandwiches) it may be a personal goal just out of reach . Note the OD wrapping paper
At the other end of the continuum, I was thrilled to have been able to toast the tenth reunion of the considerable number of 2013 ODs (right) living in the UK. The gathering, at the White Horse in Parson's Green was organised by Ty Wills (K, 2013) who had corralled a good many of them to attend.
 Robert Murray (S, 1968) who keeps a guiding hand on Scotland, with his wife, Sally-Jayne, met two other 1968 ODs, Frans Kooy (O) and Kirsten and Mike Moore (O) and Audrey. Preserving the modesty of the wives, just a picture of the 1968 ODs is posted (left) in which are Frans, Robert and Mike. And while we're in Scotland, heartiest congratulations to Robert's son-in-law on his recent MB, ChB. Robert's daughter, Elspeth (who has very kindly been a mentor to a young OD in the past) is also a medical doctor so if his healthcare cover in his retirement isn't much, well, this is quite a solid insurance strategy.
 Justin Thorne (F, 2007) bumped into Sean Summers (W, 1971, photo right) at a recent get-together at which the photo of both of them was taken.
Sean was a former CEO of Pick 'n Pay, one of three ODs to have been so, The other two ... Raymond Ackerman (S, 1948) and Nick Badminton (G, 1978)
Although not a get-together, it was wonderful to hear from Jim Muller (G, 1965) who wrote lives in Denmark and who is pleased that the Europe ODs are now being included in the broader UK net.
 Not strictly an OD (yet) but I had an enjoyable meeting with Nigel Owens to brief him on our black-tie dinner next week. I think he really "gets" Bishops (in itself quite an achievement) and has of course refereed quite a few ODs. We're in for a wonderful speech.
For those who have not passed the waiting-list stage, thank you for your support and patience I am really sorry that we were not able to find a larger venue. Next year!
 Although these newsletters are not written by ChatGBT, they may soon be. Whether or not that actually happens will depend on the utility of AI in advancing the objectives of the ODU. But as we all are starting to realise, it's not a development which can be ignored.
I thought that the free interactive online workshop offered by the London Business School The Business Implications of AI would be of interest.
It is on Thursday 26th September from 6.30pm until 7.45pm (UK). There is no cost to join but you must register HERE.
  It would be remiss not to end with some reference to the rugby.
Perhaps to prepare for this epic contest, this insight into the life and philosophy of Rassie Erasmus and how he has achieved what he has achieved (so far) can be read in this Guardian article.
If you're travelling to France for the 2023 RWC, bon voyage and good luck at Calais!.
Go Bokke.
Nicky Bicket
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ODs ON THE MOVE
More career moves to celebrate; this month we congratulate:
 Jason Mitchell (M, 2007) has accepted an offer of a tenancy (barrister) at Maitland Chambers following the successful completion of his pupillage. Previous to this he was, for nine years, an advocate with Group 621 in Johannesburg
Matthew Pretorius (S, 2010) has moved from BDO (Dublin) to a new position as Finance Integration Accountant at Campion Insurance
Rupert Langerman (O, 2014) has started as a Web Executive at David Phillips after cutting his teeth at WIT in online marketing, e-commerce and web analytics
Nigel Collard (K, 1982) has been appointed a Consultative Partner at Finmont Global, previously having been with Hitit. His key responsibilities with Fin mont will be to promote a global payment orchestration platform (POP) FinMont, designed specifically for merchants in the Travel & Hospitality sector
Ben Nel (F, 2017) as a Building Services Engineer at PM Group - Dublin office.
Aidan Bizony (B, 2015) has been made an associate with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and oversight body very well-known to many ODs in the banking and money management world. This moves comes after his role with HS2 as the Third Party Agreements Manager.
Well done all of you and best wishes in your new roles. Hopefully other ODs will be in touch to discuss synergistic opportunities with your new companies.
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RUGBY & BISHOPS ARE CLOSELY RELATED
 Rugby was "invented" in the UK in 1823 by William Webb Ellis, a schoolboy at Rugby School making 2023 the games 200th anniversary.
Thirty-eight years after Webb Ellis "with a fine disregard for the rules of football ..." invented the game, Canon George Ogilvie introduced the game to South Africa at Bishops where he was the Principal.
And today, the Head Coach of rugby at Rugby is OD, Mike Bayly (S, 1983, right).
To help commemorate this bicentennial, we will be visiting Rugby School on Saturday 2nd December as guests of Mike Bayly. There he will lead us on a tour of the School campus and its incredible Chapel (left), steer us to the  Merchant's Inn, a popular pub across the road from the College gates for lunch. After that, we'll watch the School's keenest-fought derby against Cheltenham 1st XV which closes this commemorative year of celebrations and, regardless of the result, we wil close our day back at Merchants before heading home.
The day starts at 11am at Rugby and there is a direct train taking just over an hour from Euston to Rugby leaving at 9.46am.
 Other than lunch and a few drinks, there is no cost to the visit. Please RSVP HERE. ODs only and numbers will be limited
Curiously, the Old Rugbeian and ODU ties (left) are different only in that the stripes go in opposite directions
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THE UK ODU FINANCE FORUM
 After a successful launch of the UK OD Finance Forum in April at which Niall Carroll (O, 1981) spoke about his career in the sector and the importance of building networks (and working hard), Craig Vintcent (S, 1986) who convenes the Forum has two more events planned for the year.
The first of these Forum meetings will be on Wednesday 4th October at The Oriental Club. Magda Wierzyca, founder and CEO of Sygnia Asset Management in South Africa (and now in the UK) will be speaking about the various influences buffeting (no pun intended) and reshaping the investment management environment. She will touch on the challenges and opportunities presented by the whirlwind advances in AI and, of course, answering any questions you may have. There is a charge of £25 per person for this event which includes wine, beer, soft drinks and canapes.
 The second is also in October on the 26th. Maria de Peverelli is a Partner and Executive Chairman of Stonehage Fleming Art Management which advises HNW clients on art as an asset class and it is on this topic she will be speaking. The venue will be the office of Stonehage Fleming who are very kindly hosting this event for which there is no charge.
To RSVP for one or both these events, please click HERE
Note that the Old Boys of Hilton, Michaelhouse and St Andrew's are being invited - networking - so places, limited for both events, will go fast!
And given that our two speakers for October are women, it should also come as no surprise - sorry, chaps - that women are better investors than men. In this interesting article, the reasons given are compelling and empirical.
There's work to be done if we want to be masters of the investment universe.
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THE ORIENTAL CLUB AND THE ODU
It is quite rare nowadays to pop into The Oriental Club and not see a new OD member. ODs (and all ODs wherever they live in the world are eligible to join under our scheme) are starting to enjoy this fantastically located home-from-home Club.
No entrance fee is required for any joining OD. For younger members between the ages of 18 and 30 there is a very small one-off subscription (and no further monthly fees until they turn 31).
 The Club, which will a convenient and elegant London base for ODs, offers great benefits, not least of which is its location, business facilities, including video-conferencing and meeting rooms, private dining and reception rooms, and a long list of UK and international reciprocity. In addition, The Oriental is known for its wide range of vibrant and active societies and varied social calendar. There are also forty recently-refurbished ensuite bedrooms.
Networking with other member alumni associations is encouraged and almost inevitable. The Oriental has arrangements with Benenden School, Charterhouse School, Eton College, Haileybury, Harrow School, Malvern College, Marlborough College, Merchant Taylors' School, Oundle School, Radley College, Rossall School, Rugby School, Sherborne School, Shrewsbury School, Stowe School, St Dunstan's College, Wellington College, Wetherby Senior School and Winchester College
The attached files contain more info on the Club and the OC7/+ scheme and an application form. If you do apply, please let me know so I can let you have a letter confirming you're an OD. Note that ODs are not required to find a proposer or seconder.
Feel free to get in touch with me if you'd like to chat about the pros (and not many cons).
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At the exhibition, Damon will also be seeking support for Vince van der Bijl's (F, 1965) project at Masi township school in Noordhoek, as it look to raise sufficient funds over the next 24 months to buy a school taxi, to be called the Lekker Bus.
The StART Fair runs from 11 to 15th October.
Damon has a number of VIP entry tickets available so any OD's wishing to pop into the Saatchi to see these incredible photos, please contact him on damon@lekker.global |
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 The ODU Mentoring Programme started here in the UK in 2014 and then grew to a worldwide programme and ran very successfully. Just over three years ago, the then committee decided to move the "management" of it to the centre where it died. The good news is that there seems to be a concerted effort to resuscitate the programme and I am hoping that before long it will be up and running again.
The ODU September newsletter is out. It's very much a local, South Africa focus, but worth a read to keep yourself abreast of what's going on in that part of the ODU world.
Next year is Bishops 175th anniversary and alongside the programme of celebratory events and functions being arranged by the School, the ODU will be holding one or two of its own. One of those - but I'm sure not the only one - will be a UK Branch Dinner with the Principal, Tony Reeler, on Friday 5th July. We may even be able to entice some Cape Town-based ODU senior management to attend as well.
No sooner has one got used to the current committee, then it's time to get used to a new one. The somewhat higgledy-piggledy constitution, introduced by the previous committee, inexplicably reduced the committee tenure to a year which somewhat thoughtlessly undercut the ideas of continuity and institutional memory. Each new set of incumbents now have to spend a good deal of their time trying to work out what the previous committee did and what they should be doing. And then it starts all over again. Nevertheless, if you are so inclined, do consider standing for next year's committee. Nominations will be called for in early January.
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 The bellwether for the state of Bishops is, for many, the results of the 1st XV v RBHS derbies. If that were the only measure, then, well, things might seem a bit gloomy. But fortunately it's not and although we lost in the second of the two matches to RBHS (by one tiny little point in, literally, the last seconds) this belies the incredible talent and determination that exists in rugby world at Bishops. And we did win the first of the two matches!
So well done to the team and despite going down 35-36, you were a credit to the School. To watch a rerun of the game, click HERE.
And, by the way, the week before, the 1st XV beat SACS 27-25, also in the last minute. As a matter of interest, of the 17 games played by the 1st XV this year, they have won 11 and lost 6. That other winter sport, hockey, has also enjoyed great success, winning 22 of its 30 matches, drawing one and losing 7.
 If you were paying attention in your early-years arithmetic classes, you will know that next year is the 175th anniversary of the founding of Bishops (2024 subtract 1849). This is a big deal and the School is putting together a programme of events and functions to commemorate this. Our Branch will be hosting a dinner in London to toast Bishops with the Principal, Tony Reeler, as our guest of honour. This will be on Friday 5th July.
A commemorative badge has been designed for the anniversary year which expect to see emblazoned on any- and everything-Bishops from next January. There is some symbolism in the design which I'm sure you can work out for yourself, but if stumped, then the Principal's letter of 25 August will explain all.
And the three most recent of those letters are below. They are packed full of the incredible achievements in practically all spheres of Bishops. Click on them to read.
28 July
11 August
25 August |
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ODU ACCESSORIES
 Looking sharp the ODU way has never been easier. In fact at the London 2013 10th reunion, I was impressed by the imaginative ways the ODs had mixed and matched their ties with their more relaxed casual dress. So aside from looking elegant, wearing an ODU tie does make one stand out (in the best sense of the word) in a crowd. The 100% silk tie is £25 each (incl. p&p)
A few Christmases ago, our ODU Christmas card was of a painting of choristers in front of the altar in the Memorial Chapel (painting, right). The previous year, we  sold the original painting (of the Chapel exterior) with the money going to the Bishops 175. The original water colour of the choristers is still available and is an excellent (and one-off) reminder of those days when Chapel Evensong was the pivot around which the School week turned. The painting is £800 (incl. p&p) with the proceeds going to the Bishops 175.
There is one set of ODU cufflinks still available. I'm not sure that these will be repeated (although I think there are still quite a few pairs in stock at The Mitre. At £35 per pair (incl. p&p) there are very few more cost effective and elegant ways of announcing your arrival.
For ties, painting and the cufflinks, click HERE.
And our custom-made ODU rugby jerseys are for sale, but not through me. These, at £120, are the African Grey parrot of sportswear. That is to say, so good is the manufacturing and tough the material, they can be bequeathed to your OD descendants for generations to come. Available through Black&Blue, click HERE and if asked for a password, it's Bishops1849 |
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