CLASS OF 1973 50th REUNION

1973 was a momentous year in at least two respects. Sunderland won the FA Cup (who remembers? Well, as it turns out, no one), It was also the year in which 86 Bishops boys matriculated in a class that contained 9 boys who had spent twelve years at the School, being members of the inaugural 1962 Pre-Prep Sub A Class.

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

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

Grant MacLachlan, Frank Barry, Mike Thompson and Gavin Allderman

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

Post-prandial entertainment: Nicky Bicket and Julian Melck coaxing music out of Julian's Bosendorfer

Schubert's 1st March Militaire, to be precise

THE CLOSING DINNER (Saturday 18th March 2023)

Geoff Rudman

Grant MacLachlan and Archie Swanson

Steve Hofmeyr

Peter van Ryneveld

Nicky Bicket

Bibi Black, Lindsay and Peter van Ryneveld and Anthony Black

Robert Slingsby, Geoff Rudman, Rohan Millson, Archie Swanson, Simon and Michelle Walker

Steve and Audrey Hofmeyr

Bruce Wilson, Cormac Petit, Clive and Kathy Hill, Graeme Dunn, Marlene and Charles Harvey-Kelly

Tony McKeever and Phoebe

Richard Whittingdale, Tony McKeever and Phoebe, Harvey Cassie and Angus Houston

Liza and Tim Chase, Bibi Black, Lindsay and Peter van Ryneveld, Anthony Black and Gary Taylor

Michael Mills, Nicky Bicket, Jerome O'Regan, Niall and Lynn Brown, David and Melanie Loxton

Barry Bayly, Jenny and Ian Findlay, Fiona and Anthony Gibson, Paul Inglis and Philip Simpson

Russell Baxter, Mark Fry, Paul Chilton, Mike Steytler, Gavin Allderman and Jill Sheard

Tony McKeever, Grant MacLachlan, Philip Simpson, Graeme Dunn and Gary Taylor

The whole catastrophe, more or less

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