From 1983 until 2013, our class reunions have been held every decade and then,
as the autumn shadows started to grow longer, one at our 45th and almost
certainly, one at our 55th.
But 2023
marked our 50th and whether in cricket or marriage, this is cause
for celebration.
And celebrate we did.
Under the
stewardship of Peter van Ryneveld and supported by the secretarial
services of Nicky Bicket, work began in February 2022. Building an
accurate class list is thirsty work but we did it. By 16th March this year, we
believed that bar five of our classmates (Matthew Wagner, Giles
Arnold, Clive Thomas, Roger Field and Ian Woodall) we
had made contact with everyone still around to tell the tale.
Of the 86 in the leaving cohort, 13 have sadly
passed on to higher things. We remember them with fondness.
Of the remaining 68 (i.e. 73 less those we couldn't
reach) 46 attended at least one of the three functions — 63% which by any
measure is a wonderful turnout. For those who couldn't make it, travel was the
biggest barrier. By our 60th, we are hoping that AI, robotics, lightweight
battery-operated zimmer frames and, possibly, avatars, will effectively have
made this, literally, yesteryear's excuse.
Classmates
from around the world showed up from: Australia, the UK, The Netherlands,
Johannesburg, Durban. No one from North America or New Zealand. We understand, but
next time….
Many of
those who were not able to make it very generously made donations to the
Reunion and some of that money will find its way into the Class of ’73 Bursary
Fund. Thank you so much. You know who you are.
Wine
plays a central role in any of our get-togethers and for this, specially
labelled Groote Post Merlot and Chenin Blanc were available to drink and take
away as a souvenir. For the dinner, partners/wives received a gift of
skin-enhancing balm, probably more necessary for ourselves than for them. The
Reunion consisted of three functions:
The
opening event was a drinks reception on Thursday 16th March at The Mitre, the
global headquarters of the ODU. This was a boys' own affair and we were very
fortunate to have with us David Carter (President of the ODU) and Tony
Reeler (Bishops Principal). It was a great pleasure to have Brian de
Kock, Tom Fair and Ed Milne represent staff who had taught
(or tried to teach) us. Brian spoke on behalf of the staff and Peter van Ryneveld
on behalf of the boys (?). Jerome O'Regan who does a Herculean
job growing and keeping the Class of 1973 Bursary fund working as well as
it does, updated us on where it now stood and reminded us that no matter how
large the capital amount, it is never enough (more about this in the covering
note).
The Class of '73 started as they meant to carry on and the
official closing of 9pm passed in a bit of a blur as revellers pushed through until closer to midnight signalling that a very good time was going to be had by all.
The
second event on Friday 17th was a lunch at Kersefontein, the family
farm of Julian Melck. There he hosted us and wives/partners to a
fabulous lunch with gigantic boarding school portions (you can't take Founders
out of the boy). Before lunch, he gave us a fascinating potted history of the
Melcks and the farm which Martin Melck had bought in 1770.
After
lunch he (Julian, not Martin) and Nicky Bicket performed a lively piano duet on
Julian's stately Bosendorfer. We hoped our rendition of Schubert’s first Marche
Militaire would aid digestion, even if it failed to provide an enhanced
musical experience. The critics are still out.
The final
event, the closing dinner was on Saturday 18th at The Vineyard Hotel. After
drinks on the lawn, 53 ODs and wives/partners sat down (and then got up again -
it was a buffet) to an excellent supper much to the surprise and delight of the
White House boys who couldn't believe that food could taste that good.
Geoff
Rudman was our MC for the evening and
what a great MC he was. Resplendent in a colourful waistcoat looking every bit
the commanding circus ringmaster, he kicked off with a
quick tutorial on the law of delict (well, he's a lawyer). Whether this was a warning to his already loosening-up
audience or a sneaky bit of business advertising, one couldn't be sure, but as
a warning it worked and as far as we know there have been no claims for
compensation. Geoff was witty and very effective at crowd-control.
From 1970 to1973, many of us were exposed to the Romanesque teachings of Brian de Kock and Paul Dobson. So with a nod to our classical antiquity, Steve Hofmeyr opened the dinner with the Grace, in impeccably-enunciated Latin, of Queens' College Cambridge.
Then Grant
MacLachlan at the keyboard accompanied Archie Swanson who read three
of his own poems. Both Grant and Archie are extremely accomplished and internationally-recognised in their respective disciplines. Archie’s poems were insightful, sonorous and thought-provoking.
Grant’s accompaniment was sympathetic and sensitive and his clever
extemporising on the Chapel Bells and Psalm 150 a delight.
It fell
to Nicky Bicket to give the main speech which was billed as “That was the Year”
but sort of went all over the place as he (gently) picked on a selection of the
class to illustrate the breadth and depth of the many accomplishments since
school.
A rejig
of the table seating in preparation for the quiz saw Rohan Millson
rather fortuitously land on Table One which pretty much sewed up the result before the competition even began. The difference in scores between the lowest
and the highest (the aforementioned Table One) brought back memories – and not
pleasant ones either – of the 1972 U16A rugby match outcomes against Paul Roos.
By
10.30pm, the staff had had enough of us and we were shepherded into the main
bar of the hotel where – so I’m told – quite a few stalwarts held the fort
until 2.30am.
And then that,
as they say, was that. The Reunion was over almost as soon as it had started.
It is
received wisdom within alumni associations that the strongest bonds are formed within
year groups, then house groups and then, some way down the list, the School
itself. The Class of 1973 has always been a tight bunch, through school and
after and while we may not get together as a unit more than once a decade, it
seems that nothing can dim the special, genuine and enduring affection we hold for
each other. A constant flurry of WhatsApp messages since the Reunion has underscored
these feelings.
It was apposite,
then, for Nicky to have ended his speech with this quote from WB Yeats:
“Think
where man’s glory most begins and ends
And say
my glory was I had such friends”.
The
Reunion Brochure via which you can read the sometimes modest, sometimes
incredible, bios of most of the class (and see their pics) can be accessed HERE.The
photos below can be enlarged/downloaded by clicking on them
THE MITRE DRINKS RECEPTION (Thursday 16th March 2023)
 |
| Niall Brown, Graeme Dunn and Anthony Gibson |
 |
| Gary Taylor and Brian Notcutt |
 |
| Graeme Dunn, Anthony Gibson and Gary Taylor |
 |
| Niall Brown, Barry Bayly, Dirk Hoffman, Dave Grifiths and Archie Swanson |
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| Cormac Petit and Robert Slingsby |
 |
| Michael Steytler and Mark Fry |
 |
| Paul Austin and Pete Stephenson |
 |
| The Class of '73 are products of the teaching skills of Ed Milne, Tom Fair and Brian de Kock |
 |
| Grant MacLachlan, Gary Taylor and Bruce Wilson |
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| Grant MacLachlan, Frank Barry, Mike Thompson and Gavin Allderman |
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| Tom Fair, Archie Swanson and Leslie Bosma |
 |
| Richard Whittingdale and Tom Fair |
KERSEFONTEIN (Friday 17th March 2023) |
| The front lawn at Kersefontein |
 |
| Julian Melck, the 7th generation of the Melcks, explaining the history of the farm |
 |
Back: Archie Swanson, Bruce Wilson, Geoff Rudman
Front: Michael Mills, Russell Baxter and Steve Hofmeyr |
 |
| Even Kersefontein has its rules |
 |
| Julian Melck and Michael Mills behind the bar |
 |
| Phoebe, Gavin Allderman, Marlene Harvey-Kelly, Geoff Rudman, Charles Harvey-Kelly, Audrey Hofmeyr, Melanie and David Loxton with Michael Mills pulling pints |
 |
| Lunch |
 |
| Kathy and Clive Hill and Peter van Ryneveld |
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| Post-prandial entertainment: Nicky Bicket and Julian Melck coaxing music out of Julian's Bosendorfer |
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| Schubert's 1st March Militaire, to be precise |
THE CLOSING DINNER (Saturday 18th March 2023)
 |
| Geoff Rudman |
 |
| Grant MacLachlan and Archie Swanson |
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| Steve Hofmeyr |
 |
| Peter van Ryneveld |
 |
| Nicky Bicket |
 |
| Bibi Black, Lindsay and Peter van Ryneveld and Anthony Black |
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| Robert Slingsby, Geoff Rudman, Rohan Millson, Archie Swanson, Simon and Michelle Walker |
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| Steve and Audrey Hofmeyr |
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| Bruce Wilson, Cormac Petit, Clive and Kathy Hill, Graeme Dunn, Marlene and Charles Harvey-Kelly |
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| Tony McKeever and Phoebe |
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| Richard Whittingdale, Tony McKeever and Phoebe, Harvey Cassie and Angus Houston |
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| Liza and Tim Chase, Bibi Black, Lindsay and Peter van Ryneveld, Anthony Black and Gary Taylor |
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| Michael Mills, Nicky Bicket, Jerome O'Regan, Niall and Lynn Brown, David and Melanie Loxton |
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| Barry Bayly, Jenny and Ian Findlay, Fiona and Anthony Gibson, Paul Inglis and Philip Simpson |
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| Russell Baxter, Mark Fry, Paul Chilton, Mike Steytler, Gavin Allderman and Jill Sheard |
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| Tony McKeever, Grant MacLachlan, Philip Simpson, Graeme Dunn and Gary Taylor |
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| The whole catastrophe, more or less |
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And then it was over, the memories, the happiness, the fraternity and altogether magicality of the whole affair
View from The Vineyard garden at about 2.30am |
