2013

The magazine for the alumni of Colston’s School Past Presidents

1855-63 M. Gore 1917 W. H. Morgan 1966 J. W. Stiddard. M.C. 1864-67 F. J. Brickdale 1918 S. C. Osmond 1967 L. Welch 1868-69 R. G. Barttow 1919 H. Messenger 1968 M. W. J. Coates 1870 T. T. Knyfton 1920 W. Crew 1969 J. E. Adams 1871 G. K. Morlan 1921 A. S. Maby 1970 N. Gibbs. M.A. 1872 S. V. Hare 1922 P. G. Davies 1971 J. E. R. Tarzey 1873 H. C. Miles 1923 E. W. Allen 1972 T. G. Bickle 1874 T. T. Taylor 1924 W. H. Morgan. JP 1973 J. H. Parsons 1875 W. A. F. Powell 1925 C. H. Lawrence 1974 D. J. Briffett 1876 A. Baker 1926 P. S. Harris 1975 J. D. lewis 1877 C. B. Hare 1927 H. T. Godfrey 1976 M. G. Moore. JP 1878 F. F. Fox 1928 Canon A. A. Millbourn. M.A. 1977 P. J. Mahoney 1879 Wm. P. Baker 1929 Thos. Richards 1978 G. Searle 1880 G. W. Edwards 1930 L. O. Vowles 1979 A. D. Watson 1881 J. N. C. Pope 1931 L. O. Vowles 1980 R. W. Hayward 1882 R. Hassell 1932 T. W. Ellis 1981 P. J. Besley 1883 G. D’Lisle Bush 1933 T. W. Ellis 1982 M. J. Wood 1884 C. O. Harvey 1934 R. C. Organ 1983 B. D. Sparkes 1885 R. W. Butterworth 1935 E. J. Baker 1984 A. V. Clark 1886 Chas Paul 1936 Dr. J. A. L. Roberts 1985 F. G. Taylor 1887 J. H. Woodward 1937 E. S. Cotton 1986 R. Pring 1888 P. L. King 1938 H. Messenger 1987 M. J. Dymond 1889 E. B. Colthurst 1939 L. B. Phillips 1988 J. R. Wright 1890 T. P. King 1940 W. J. Cochram 1989 T. S. Forse 1891 H. W. Beloe 1941 R. F. E. Emmerson 1990 J. F. Cousins 1892 H. F. T. Bush 1942 R. F. E. Emmerson 1991 I. B. Lloyd 1893 T. G. Mathews 1943 L. F. Davies 1992 D. A. Shaw 1894 R. A. Fox 1944 L. F. Davies 1993 N. P. Hurley 1895 E. Burrow Hill 1945 V. C. Pratt 1994 J. C. Kettlewell 1896 E. B. James 1946 V. C. Pratt 1995 D. G. Dollery 1897 W. W. Ward 1947 R. E. Snaith. M.A. 1996 S. J. Jenkins 1898 J. H. Clarke 1948 A. P. H. Wear 1997 N. H. J. Bacon 1899 H. G. Edwards 1949 G. K. Baker 1998 Mrs. Ann Miller 1900 A. N. Jones 1950 C. G. Lawrence. M.A. 1999 G. E. G. Stock 1901 G. O. Spafford 1951 J. H. Gleave 2000 J. J. Tolman 1902 Wm. Bennett 1952 H. B. Thompson 2001 D. Faulkner 1903 Geo. Fielding 1953 Leonard O. Vowles 2002 J. J. Cook 1904 C. R. Pendock 1954 F. G. Taylor 2003 D. J. Crawford 1905 Anthony Finn. M.A., L.L.D. 1955 A. T. Richards 2004 P. J. Mitchell 1906 Geo. Bryant 1956 M. J. Jenkins 2005 D. G. Lodge 1907 W. S. Calway 1957 C. H. R. Dimond 2006 Mrs. M. Matthews 1908 F. W. Martin 1958 F. J. Whatley 2007 P. J. Beasley 1909 G. W. S. Hurst 1959 G. H. Fleck 2008 D. J. Mace 1910 E. W. Allen 1960 Sir Charles Colston 2009 W. E. Lorang 1911 W. M. Colston C.B.E., M.C., D.C.M. 2010 I. H. A. Gunn 1912 F. Organ 1961 J. H. Varcoe 2011 I. H. A. Gunn 1913 W. H. S. Cooper 1962 A. Green 2012 A. C. Thomas 1914 E. S. Hare 1963 A. G. Colston 2013 A. C. Thomas 1915 H. Messenger 1964 H. L. H. Tooze 1916 P. G. Davies 1965 N. W. Haskins Contents

Page IFC Past presidents 1 Contents 2 - 3 Review of the year from the President 4 Annual General Meeting 2013 5 - 41 O.C. News 42 Ben Smith 43 - 44 Headmaster’s Article 45 Peter Fraser 46 Welcome to Jeremy McCullough 47 David Shaw 48 - 51 O.C. Contributions 52 Colston’s Summer Ball 53 - 54 Old Colstonian Golf Society 2013 55 O.C. Postbag 56 Obituaries

Editor - Martin Tayler [email protected]

Design & Reprographics - Mike Donoghue [email protected]

1 President’s Article

Review of the year from the Old Colstonian Society President

ust as Christmas is receding into the darker Jcorners of our memory banks a new gift arrives to brighten those remaining cold winter evenings. Welcome to the 2013 edition of “Cribsheet”.

Past years have seen our annual offering turn up with the Christmas post and in some instances get lost in the morass of junk that tends to descend upon us in those days. This year we have decided to publish in the New Year so that we can enlighten you as to events from the whole calendar year.

We have articles from a good number of contributors covering not just events put on by the Society as a collective but by individual OCs who have allowed us to share in their experiences.

As before, we also have a wonderful photographic portrayal of many events, which, in the main are reliant upon the skill and commitment of Martin Tayler. They very much represent a labour of love by him, but without them, the whole magazine would be far less professional in appearance and content.

2013 commenced with a massive freeze but thankfully by the time the first of our organised events took place the thaw had taken place. In March a Veteran’s XV v OCRFC Vets match preceded a lunch and afternoon spent watching the 6 Nations in the Clubhouse. The players were supported by family and friends in what was a splendid advert for the Society’s initiatives.

By the time that May Bank Holiday arrived the weather had turned decidedly balmy. This saw a huge throng from the whole range of the Colston’s family enjoy a touch rugby tournament and a mixed (in age as well as gender) hockey match. The whole day was well supported by the Parents’ Society and was made complete by Dave and Linda Mason’s culinary efforts.

A few days afterwards, the hubbub generated by the younger generations was replaced by the gentle murmurings of around 40 older OCs as they enjoyed a tour of the school and a lunch in the OC Pavilion on our annual Open Day (please note that this is later in 2014 but still coincides with a cricket match for OCs).

The summer passed by and as the leaves were demonstrating a reluctance to fall from the trees we staged our Annual Dinner on October 12th. This was Peter Fraser’s last Dinner and as such we invited him to mark his departure by providing the main speech for the evening which he did in typical fashion - a mixture of passion and humour. Peter has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Society and has played a full and active role in all the events that we have staged at School. We owe him a huge debt of gratitude for this.

In December we had the first lunch organised for older OCs which was enjoyed in the Dining Hall in the first instance (to the strains of school musicians) - and thereafter mince pies and a convivial drink in the Pavilion. This successful event was the first major gathering put on especially for those 2 President’s Article who have retired. More are to follow. During the day David Shaw was thanked for his years of service as Treasurer - a role which he had passed over earlier in the year - and for his speed and guile on the rugby pitch. Someone mentioned stout-hearted defence but poetic licence can only stretch so far!

Hard on the heels of the lunch followed The Carol Service, which was held, as last year, in Stapleton Church and afterwards in the Dining Room. Again this proved to be a popular event with Colstonians, Old Colstonians, staff and parents. We must congratulate the pupils for the excellence of their performances and thank the School caterers for the enjoyable fayre on offer, as is the case whenever we call upon their services - the Dinner being especially notable.

On a sporting front the OC Golf Society enjoyed 3 good golf days and, as usual, dates are in the Diary for 2014. In addition, we launched a triangular golf match involving Staff, Pupil and OC teams at The Bristol Golf Club and this will, most definitely, be repeated in 2014 - especially as the Old Boys made off with the spoils.

The OCRFC continue to offer a good mix of enjoyable rugby and a convivial social calendar. They have a new, enthusiastic coach in OC Matt Leek and hopefully with an infusion of talent from pupils and recent leavers will make progress up the leagues.

After a couple of false starts we are now on the brink of offering two major sixth-form bursaries to pupils from Oasis Brightstowe in memory of Jim Tolman. A protracted decision-making process, involving various visits and face to face discussions, has produced a few candidates who are genuinely excited at being offered the opportunities that we all enjoyed. By this time next year they will be part of the Colston’s family, and we should all be proud of the part that our Society has played in making that possible.

I am approaching the last couple of months of my (extended) presidency and I would like to say a big thank you to all of you that have assisted me in this role. I have, in the main, thoroughly enjoyed my time and hope that I can continue to offer support and assistance to Martin when he takes up the mantle. We have a strong programme of events in place, and, with next June’s Summer Ball as a major focus we can look forward to an enjoyable and social OC 2014.

We cannot rest upon our laurels and we look to you all for ideas, support and a willingness to make the Society relevant and successful. Please help in whatever way you can. Submit a tale of what you have been up to. Approach us for support if you think that you have a deserving project. (we consider all requests that have a large element of social awareness and benefit to them). Come to events or send us ideas of events that we should be considering. Offer help in whatever way you can to the Society or Colstonians at large. Please just get in touch.

Hoping that 2014 is a good and enjoyable year for all of us.

Andy Thomas

3 Old Colstonian Society Annual General Meeting 2013

The Society held its Annual General Meeting in the OC’s Pavilion at the School on Tuesday 12th March 2013. The meeting was pleased to welcome two senior past presidents, George Moore and Willie Lorang as well as members of the committee and other OCs.

oug Lodge, the Society’s secretary, reported on a full programme of events during the past Dyear despite the weather which led to the cancellation of the very popular rugby 7s day. Work on the refurbishment of the OCs’ changing rooms and showers was completed with financial support from the Society and opened on a cold February afternoon by Olly Barkley. A social evening for London based OCs was held at the Light Bar in Shoreditch in October and proved to be very successful. A most enjoyable Annual Dinner was held at the School, also in October, at which Sophie Phillips (past head girl) gave a very entertaining after dinner speech. In December, an OC Carol Service was held in Stapleton Church and a recent leavers’ reunion took place in the Po Na Na nightclub. Both events proved very popular and will become permanent fixtures in the OC calendar. Fred Forse presented his last report as membership secretary. Tributes were paid to Fred for outstanding service to the Society over many years and he leaves it in a strong position with over 1,100 paid up members. Over 1,600 copies of our annual magazine, Cribsheet, was distributed to OCs, Parents and Staff and provided an excellent pictorial record of OC activity during the past year. Our thanks again to Martin Tayler for a huge collection of wonderful photographs, to Mike Donoghue for the graphic design/Reprographics and to Doug Lodge for the printing work necessary to produce a magazine that is highly valued by many OCs. Ian Gunn presented the treasurer’s report on behalf of David Shaw who unfortunately could not be present. The Society incurred a small deficit for the year after making substantial charitable sponsorship awards to OCs and a contribution of £25,000 towards the cost of refurbishing the OCs’ changing rooms. The Society remains in a strong financial position with its investment portfolio continuing to perform satisfactorily. The OC Charitable Trust maintained its bursary programme throughout 2012 and is to consider support of a number of hardship cases presented by the Headmaster. Andy Thomas and Martin Tayler were unanimously re-elected as President and Vice President for the ensuing year. The Society had benefited significantly from the continuity in its leadership over the past few years. David Shaw tendered his resignation after 36 years of outstanding service as treasurer during which time there had been a transformation in the financial strength of the Society. Steve Burnside was elected as treasurer in his place. Martin Tayler was elected to succeed Fred Forse as membership secretary. Finally the President expressed encouragement to younger OCs, particularly ladies, to join the Society’s committee and help organize a growing list of OC events.

4 O.C. News

Cricketers steal the limelight on OC Rugby Reunion Day wo of Colston’s most notable cricketers made appearances at Colston’s School yesterday at the Old TColstonian Reunion Rugby Day. Former Gloucestershire, Nottinghamshire and England test cricketer Chris Broad and former Gloucestershire captain Chris Taylor both managed to fit a visit to Colston’s in to their busy international schedules.

President of the Old Colstonian Society, Andy Thomas, and Chris Broad with their partners Verity and Rosemary at the rugby reunion day

Chris Broad, father of current England cricket star Stuart Broad, is an international test umpire and officiates all over the world and Chris Taylor has just returned from Australia where he was the coach to the England Lions team.

Chris Broad, who is a contemporary of the current president of the Old Colstonian Society Andy Thomas, was pleased to be supporting the day as the Old Colstonian Society will be supporting, at the OC Reunion Sports Festival on Sunday 5th May 2013, the charity “The Broad Appeal” that Chris set up with his son Stuart and daughter Gemma (the England cricket team performance analyst) in memory of Chris’s late wife Miche who died of Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Chris Taylor whose appearances on the rugby field since leaving school have been very limited due to his cricketing commitments, although looking a very unfamiliar figure in muddy rugby kit, showed some of the skills that won him the vote as scrum half in the Colston’s team in their Daily Mail Cup final at Twickenham when he was at school.

The main feature of the day was a Veterans’ rugby match between the Old Colstonians Vets and the Old Colstonians Rugby Club Vets (a number of whom perversely were members of the current school rugby team). Early on the weather was not kind to players and supporters but as the players were flagging they were encouraged by some splendid rays of sunshine.

Old Colstonians of all eras (even some from before the time when the Old Colstonians’ vice president Martin Tayler started teaching at Colston’s) then assembled in the Old Colstonians’ Pavilion to watch the two international rugby matches on a big screen. However, the main attraction continued to be the reminiscing and romanticising about the “old days”. At the end of the day, although many OCs were making ridiculous vows to perform again on the rugby field on a more regular basis, everyone was agreed that getting together was well worth the effort.

Thanks to Dave Mason and his renowned hog roasting skills and the support of his wife Linda everyone enjoyed some high class food to help swill down the beer. 5 O.C. News

The Old Colstonian RFC Vets rugby team

The Old Colstonian Vets rugby team

Rich Bryan and his family Jon Pritchard and his family

A big thanks to Rich Bryan and Jon Pritchard who organised the teams and managed to concrete the relationship between the OC Rugby Club and the Old Colstonian Society and made it a great family day.

6 O.C. News

Young OCs take the initiative to organise a reunion at Colston’s

Helena Scott-Hardy, who left school in 2006, took it upon herself to organise a school reunion. She reports on the support she got from Colston’s Foundation Coordinator, Tracy Mace, and the Old Colstonian Society and how things went...

“My OC classmate, Phil Hoy and I were chatting a few months ago that it had been a long time since we had got a group of us OCs altogether. Reflecting on this, I decided that it would be a nice idea to send a message out to everyone and propose a get-together in April, in which we could reunite and catch up on each other’s news. On sending out messages, I also made contact with Tracy Mace, Foundation Coordinator at Colston’s and with her help I managed to arrange for us to hold a reunion at the OC pavilion. I thought that this would be an ideal location for us all to meet; a place which we all knew and could catch up on our news, as well as reminisce on old memories. On the evening of Saturday 6th April we all met at the OC pavilion and on behalf of the OC Society who are always happy to support any OC event, each Old Colstonian who attended was offered a free drink, which everyone was very grateful for. We spent a good few hours catching up over a few drinks from the OC bar and then the majority of us headed into town to continue our night altogether, meeting up with more OCs along the way. I was very grateful to Tracy Mace for all her support in helping me to arrange the reunion and also to Derek Barnett who manned the bar for us at the OC pavilion. He was a great sport and was happy to stay on an extra hour for us, while we waited for the taxis to arrive. We also had the pleasant surprise of Dave Mason making an appearance, popping in to see us and sharing a drink with us all before his early flight the next day. Having been Head of Boy’s Boarding during our time at Colston’s, many of the OC boarders were delighted to see him! It was nice that many OCs thanked me for organizing the event, as it made it feel like the organization had all been worth it and people had enjoyed the reunion. So much so, that the majority agreed that we must arrange these get-togethers more often! Our next event which we hope to arrange is a Summer BBQ, where we hope we will be able to get another big group of us OCs altogether... details will be sent our nearer the time. I am already looking forward to the OCs’ Sports Festival to be held on Sunday 5th May, which will be another opportunity to reunite with old friends and faces.

Many old friends enjoying the reunion in the OC bar On the whole, the reunion was a very enjoyable evening for all who came along and I really hope that these OC reunions will continue to happen in future years... I will certainly do my best to make them possible!” 7 O.C. News

OC Sports Day blessed with glorious weather and everyone has lots of fun

Colston’s connected: a two word phrase that sums up perfectly the latest Old Colstonian-inspired day of sport and fun to take place at Colston’s on Sunday May 5th.

Blessed with perfect weather - almost unheard of for a bank holiday weekend - Colston’s was invaded by hordes of Colstonians young and old, male and female. In addition, a good size crowd was bolstered by parents and other family members.

In contrast to previous years when we had only had rugby, this time we also staged a mixed hockey match. This was well and evenly-contested by a team from school and an Old Colstonian side of various vintages.

The rugby featured 5 mixed teams from school, a team from the OCRFC and 2 teams of recent(ish) leavers. The school teams had been organised by the pupils and were captained on the day by Chris Willmot, Joshua Grant, Jacob Spence. Harry Glew and Sam Boyland. Our thanks go to them for doing such a good job, both 8 O.C. News

in encouraging so many of their friends to take part, and then for their excellent skill and enthusiasm on the day. The two teams from recent leavers were organised by George Thomas and Alastair Polis. It was great to see Luke Eves turning out for the latter team- although disappointing in a way as he was only able to do so because of Bristol’s non-participation in the RFU Championship play-offs!

The team from the OCRFC with the aid of a couple of Southern Hemisphere 7s experts, deservedly, took the honours and the Jim Tolman Trophy. The rugby was played in a very good spirit and yet it was still very competitive and well appreciated by the large crowd. The fact that the rules of touch demand the inclusion of at least two females in every team meant that the fairer sex were well represented and took a full and active part all day and not just in a one-off game as has been the case before. All games were refereed by either Iain Crombie - who was unable to play due to a recent dislocation of his shoulder and Richard Bryan - who was unable to persuade his contemporaries to play anything other than full contact!

The gratitude of the Old Colstonians must be extended to Dave, Linda and Ben Mason who served up delicious pork baps and Justin Hill and his group of parents from the Colston’s Parents’ Society who served up a delightful assortment of cakes to accompany the tea and coffee. Derek Barnett ran the bar in the Clubhouse for those who needed something slightly stronger than that which was on offer in the Parents’ Society tent.

The OC Rugby Club team celebrating their victory 9

O.C. News

Several members of staff attended to support the day. As always Mr. Fraser lent his enthusiastic support and thanks must go to him for allowing us, once again, to stage an event on the school grounds. Mr. Thornley appeared with whistle but was relieved to be asked to sit in the sunshine and keep track of the scores for the tournament. He was making a not-insignificant sacrifice as it was, in fact, his wedding anniversary - let’s hope that Mrs. Thornley is still talking to him and that he gets to celebrate it properly next year!

There was also a serious side to the day as this year it has been decided to raise funds for The Broad Appeal. This raises awareness and money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association- and is especially poignant as it was responsible for the death of Chris Broad’s wife Miche. Chris, a former international cricketer is an Old Boy who is taking an increasing interest in the activities of the Society and has visited school a few times in the last couple of years despite living in Nottingham and travelling the world as an I.C.C. match referee. Apart from the time that he was shot at in Pakistan, it is a job of which most of us would be envious. Not so the sad loss of his wife, which is something which has inspired him and his children Gemma and Stuart to raise money to fight this dreadful disease. Thanks go to those that contributed on the day (thank you to Tracy ,Verity and the year 9 boys for selling the raffle tickets) but if you were unable to attend and should you be moved to do so please log on to www.mndassociation.org or www.thebroadappeal.org

Finally, special thanks must be paid to Martin Tayler for his splendid photo gallery, which depicts the day so brilliantly. If you are yet to do so spend some time viewing the events of the day online.

Andy Thomas President of the Old Colstonian Society

Old Colstonian e-bulletin prompts reply from OC

In response to an e-bulletin sent out recently to Old Colstonians it was very gratifying to receive news straight back from an Old Colstonian in America about a physics textbook he has had published. Amir-Homayoon Najmi was in Roundway House at Colston’s from 1972-73. From Colston’s he gained a place at Cambridge University to read Maths and since has had an illustrious academic career.

Amir writes: Amir at a book signing for his first book

“I left Colston’s for Cambridge (St. Catharine’s) to read Maths. I completed the tripos (including Part III), spent a year as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Relativity, returned to Oxford (St. Catherine’s) and completed a D.Phil. in theoretical physics (at the Astrophysics Department) in 1982, and took my first job at the University of Utah Department of Physics that year. After 3 years I left for Shell Oil geophysical research centre in Houston. Five years later I left for the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (www.jhuapl.edu) where I have been since.

I teach several classes in theoretical physics and applied mathematics/signal analysis for a graduate programme at Johns Hopkins, in addition to my regular research work here. The book serves as a textbook for one of my classes.

I had a great time at Colston’s in Roundway house with Wally Feiner. He got me started on Cross Country runs, which I hated at first, but gradually began to enjoy! Together with a few other “Iranian” students we started a volleyball team coached by Dave Rolitt, who was also the Applied maths teacher. My time 12 O.C. News

at Colston’s was mostly spent trying to pass the English O-level that was my only requirement to enter Cambridge: I had passed all my A and S-levels 4 months after arrival at the school in February 1972. Fortunately, and with the help of everyone at the school including a retired teacher brought in specifically to help me (Ms. Naylor) I passed all three O-levels that I sat for, and even passed the Use of English exam (that was not a requirement for me!) much to everyone’s surprise.

I met my American wife when in Austin, Texas. She came over to Oxford a year later (Balliol) and completed her D.Phil. in Zoology. We have 3 boys: 26, 24, and 14.

The oldest is doing a PhD in physics at the University of Maryland. The middle one graduated in Voice (baritone) and is now reading Law. And the teenager is in high school! The first two boys saw Colston’s and Wally many years ago. We are hoping to take my youngest to England some time, and that will certainly include a visit to Colston’s!”

At Colston’s we are really pleased to hear news from Old Colstonians. We hope that others will be encouraged to let us know what they have been doing. Please email the webmaster Martin Tayler.

Old Colstonian Open Day

Over 40 Old Colstonians returned to Colston’s today (Thursday, 9th May) for the annual OC Open Day. The Open Day, which is open to all Old Colstonians but in general attracts Colstonians who are now in a position to enjoy a relaxed day at school, is normally fixed to coincide with the 1st XI match against the Society of Merchant Venturers’ XI. Unfortunately this year the rain prevented the Old Colstonians from spending a pleasant afternoon on the boundary - especially disappointing as the school team was performing rather well and had bowled out the MSMV for 45.

Nonetheless the OCs had a very pleasant day starting with coffee in the Pavilion and a welcome from the headmaster Mr Peter Fraser, followed by the very popular tours of the Lower and Upper Schools led by pupils.

A splendid lunch was provided in the OC pavilion and, as well as being able to reminisce about the “old days” amongst themselves the Old Colstonians met the OC president Andy Thomas, the vice-president Martin Tayler, the Foundation Coordinator Tracy Mace as well as the Chair of Governors Karen Morgan.

The headmaster, Peter Fraser, who also spent most of the day with our guests was able to enthuse about the qualities of the current pupils. Everyone agreed that the children they had met on their tours were indeed very special ambassadors for the school. 13 O.C. News

OC Charlotte Whitham fulfills a dream in Beijing

Charlotte Whitham, now 28 years old, a former student at Colston’s from 1994 – 2003, is currently living in Beijing, one of China’s biggest (and smoggiest!) mega-cities.

Charlotte writes:

“ So now I find myself doing something I genuinely only considered a distant dream… I’m enrolled at Beijing Forestry University under the supervision of an Associate Professor here and a research fellow at Oxford University back in the UK, to do my PhD. Through my research I’m trying to find out more about the ways by which people and nature interact, and I thought what better place to do this than in the tropical and temperate forests of poor, rural China. A country with a lot of people, a lot of nature and a lot of need to improve situations for both! The research group I work with specializes in wild cat conservation and research – primarily snow leopards, tigers and leopards (find out more about our research group here). China is an extremely important place for wild cat conservation, being home to 13 of the world’s 37 wild felid species. The areas where I work now (in the south of China) are, or were once home to tigers. My work aims to inform local Nature Reserves how they might better manage their tiger and top predator projects, whilst considering how people and nature interact.

WWF volunteer in Madagascar, Dec 2008 I’m very sucked into my research at the moment, being halfway through my 2nd year already. It means spending a lot of time in the field, collecting data, interviewing local people and hiking through some beautiful forests! Of course, it also means a lot of studying, reading, data analysis and writing! Living in China however, means I can’t just focus solely on my work. Before my PhD, I spent one year in Beijing learning Mandarin and working as a research assistant, giving me the opportunity to see what life is like and how to get work done here. I was also able to travel to many different parts of China – I’ve been to 12 of its provinces, each time being like visiting a different country! For example, I have to fly for 5 hours to get from Beijing to my research site in Yunnan (the southwest of China). That’s almost the same as flying from Bristol to Istanbul! On arriving in each province you take time to experience some new culture, new food and even new languages. As a whole, China is quite simply a very different place to the UK, in very many ways. In fact, it’s quite different to any other place I’ve visited. 14 O.C. News

Since leaving Colston’s I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to a few other places. After working to save up some money, I spent 7 months traveling alone around South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique, before starting my undergraduate degree at the University of Liverpool. There, I studied Environmental Biology and spent a summer working as a paleo-ecology research assistant in Norway. After graduation I was accepted as a volunteer to work for the WWF in Madagascar on a lemur conservation project. That’s where my interest in human-wildlife interactions began. On my return to the UK, after working at Bristol Zoo as a presenter, I decided to go back to university to complete a Masters in Conservation Science at Imperial College London. Through this I was lucky enough to travel back to Africa, this time to Ghana, to live alone in a forest village for 3 months, researching the lives and behaviours of bushmeat hunters. Back to the UK once more for a short time to work at an environmental education charity in Epping Forest, London and that’s when I decided on starting my China adventure…

Like I said at the beginning, I wasn’t really expecting that I’d end up here! It’s certainly been an adventure, not without its challenges. However clichéd it may sound, spending a lot of time away from family, friends and familiar surroundings, does really spur you to count your blessings. When I look back at my time at Colston’s I have so many memories – so many people, places and events… and another cliché I’m afraid… but I know I wouldn’t be where I am right now if it wasn’t for those friends and teachers and all those memories. Thank you so much to all of you and please know I think of you often and send you my best wishes from Beijing!”

Wildlife Institute Website

It’s great to hear from Charlotte and we wish her well with the rest of her stay in China. Let’s hope this will inspire other OCs to let us know what they are up to.

Colston’s Parents’ Society Update

During the 2013 – 2014 academic year the Parents’ Society has run a wide range of events ranging from a Lower School disco and School Summer Fair, through to a Dinner Dance and our biggest event the Christmas Bazaar. Over this year, we’ve had the pleasure of being able to donate £11,281.09 towards items for the Lower and Upper School. Due to the work and commitment of the volunteers on the Society we have had a successful year fundraising, which has allowed us to donate the large number of items. As a charitable organisation, any profit made from our events is spent by the Parents’ Society on items for the school: the ‘wouldn’t it be wonderful to have’ items that just wouldn’t be prioritised in the yearly school budgets. We have another busy calendar of events for this year, and the Parents’ Society are really looking forward to partnering the OC’s in the organization of the Colston’s Summer Ball which aims to show off Colston’s and it’s wider family. The event is promising to be a grand affair and will no doubt attract a lot of interest. Further information can be found on the OC’s / Parents’ Society section of the school website www.colstons. bristol.sch.uk . The Parents’ Society would warmly welcome any OC’s that would like to support our events.

15 O.C. News

OCs in Oz We receive more and more news of Old Colstonians who are now living in Australia and it has been particularly pleasing to hear from two Old Colstonians who married each other and have moved to Australia to further their careers.

Nick Ashby and his wife Brieta (née Waymouth) - both left Colston’s in 1988 - are now settled in Coogee, about 100 metres from the beach, in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.

Brieta commutes into central Sydney where she works as a management consultant for the NSW Education Department and Nick is currently busy getting his law qualifications accepted by the New South Wales authorities. Brieta and Nick Ashby with their daughters Lucy and Lisa Nick writes about their careers so far:

“I went to Aston University in Birmingham to study Business Management while Brieta went to Newnham College, Cambridge to read Oriental Studies. We stayed together throughout and upon graduating in 1993 I went to the College of Law in York to do the CPE (law conversion course). Brieta went to London and over the years has variously worked for Burberry, Fuji Productions, Mitsubishi Bank, Fujitsu and then Hewlett Packard where she was an IT consultant. Meanwhile having been admitted as a solicitor of the supreme court in 1998 following articles I joined the firm Martin Murray and Associates where I was a partner for a number of years. Murray and Associates are a top twenty criminal law firm with about 70 staff and I spent my days in the Crown Courts as a Solicitor Advocate defending the usual array of villainy on pleas and jury trials. The work was very interesting. Now that we are in Sydney I have been seeking exemptions from the NSW Law Society to be allowed to practice as a solicitor over here and have been granted quite a few although I have been told I need to take several exams at Sydney University. It seems fairly standard for English solicitors to be required to take these exams but as I have significant experience I plan to appeal this and see if I can be admitted on a limited basis to practice criminal law whilst we are here. We shall see. I am the domestic support at present for our twin daughters and mixing these duties with jogging up to Bondi and back, swimming across the bay etc, it’s pretty tough going!

I would be very happy to network over here with OCs as it seems I may need to look at other areas if not to practise law in any meaningful sense during our anticipated two year trip. Brieta tells me beard growing doesn’t count as an occupation and so once the girls are settled and able to travel independently I will need something productive to occupy myself. The economy here seems pretty buoyant compared to the UK and I hope I am not too long in the tooth to look at redirecting myself, even returning to education if necessary. One is struck by the evident increasing Asian influence in this country and I can’t help thinking the future opportunities for our children would be greatly enhanced by an ability to speak Mandarin!”

We wish the Ashbys well with their stay in Australia and hope that other OCs in Australia will get in touch with them. Nick’s email is [email protected]

We are always pleased to news of OCs and happy to publish their news on the website. Please email Martin Tayler at [email protected]

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OC Katie Mason to represent Great Britain in the World University Games

Congratulations to OC Katie Mason who has been selected to represent Great Britain at rugby in the World University Games in July this year.

This year the World University Games are taking place in Kazan in Russia. Katie will be in Russia for the rugby competition from the 8th to the 18th of July. The Games are purportedly the largest sporting event after the Olympics.

Katie left Colston’s in 2009. At school she was vice captain of the girls’ rugby team who appeared in two consecutive finals at the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s. Since then Katie represented England U20s for a season and was in the England 7s development squad last year and this year. Katie says “Last summer we won the World University 7s championship in France. Basically every 2 years all the sports for this competition are brought together for one massive ‘Games’ compared to last year where the events were all individual and in different places.” Katie Mason in her Great Britain colours

OC Callum Braley wins Junior World Cup medal with England U20s

Congratulations to scrum half Callum Braley who was a member of the England Under 20s rugby team crowned IRB Junior World Championship winners for the first time after beating northern hemisphere rivals Wales 23-15 at Stade de la Rabine in Vannes, France. Callum, who came off the bench after 52 minutes when England were trailing 15- 3, clearly contributed to England’s turn of fortune. Callum was capped for England U16s when he was in year 11 at Colston’s. He is now under contract at Bristol Rugby.

Callum, who was back at Colston’s for the annual Old Colstonians’ cricket match, said “We were very disappointed not to make the play offs at Bristol last season but events in France in the last few weeks have certainly made up for it”. Well done Callum. We looked forward to following your fortunes at Callum Braley donned his England rugby jersey when back Bristol in the forthcoming season and wish you at Colston’s for the annual Old Colstonian cricket match continued success at international level. 17 O.C. News

Volunteering in Tanzania and Kenya

In March 2013 Tom Boot, a friend from Colston’s, and I spent four weeks volunteering in Tanzania and Southern Kenya with a project called Camp Kenya. Due to the Kenyan General Elections taking place during the start of the month, we spent our first week or so at a camp on the Tanzanian coast where we helped the group that had been there for 2 months already finish off building a school in the local village.

The patch of land the school was being built on had been donated to Camps International by a local from the village who had sadly sustained a serious injury whilst playing football years previously. Everyday he would sit and watch over the progress we made and was keen to talk to us during breaks and find out more about us, as were we to him!

When we moved to the camp in Kenya we began work on the foundations for a dispensary, but there was also chances to teach in the local school and help with health checks on new born babies in the clinic.

One of the highlights for me was helping out on Wednesday afternoons which were designated to athletics practise. Facilities were extremely basic but the enthusiasm and endeavour of the pupils could not be faulted.

This became evident when we were challenged to a relay race against the school teams and we pulled together a motley crew who made our way to our positions on the track and were greeted with cold hard faces of determination from our competitors. This was probably why we let them win and so it was all smiles at the end!

I would like to thank Colston’s School for awarding me the John James award which enabled me to take advantage of this amazing opportunity. It is an experience I would recommend to everyone and although I went on to travel round South-East Asia for several months after this, the month I spent volunteering was certainly the most rewarding and was an amazing way to experience a part of the world I would probably otherwise not have been fortunate enough too.

Ollie Levingston

Upper Sixth Leavers’ Day Service and Lunch

The Leavers’ Service in Holy Trinity Church Stapleton on Thursday 4th July was, as always, a very special and emotional occasion.

The service was opened by the headmaster who spoke of his appreciation and admiration of the leavers. He then asked the Head Boy, Jon Roper, to make a presentation to Mr Tommy Williams who is also leaving Colston’s this term to take up a new post at Denstone College.

The leavers were then presented with bibles by The Master of the Society of Merchant Venturers’, Mr. Peter Rilett and with Old Colstonian ties by the president of the Old Colstonian Society, Mr. Andrew Thomas.

The Head Boy, Jon Roper gave his final (very witty) thoughts and reflections on his time at Colston’s.

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The Reverend Tim Hastie-Smith, former headmaster of Dean Close School, gave a powerful and impressive address to the leavers.

The leavers and their families enjoyed a convivial lunch in the Dining Hall. This tradition, which was introduced by the headmaster on his arrival eight years ago, is much appreciated by leavers, parents, governors and staff.

After the lunch the leavers departed to make their preparations for the annual Leavers’ Ball at Old Down Manor in the evening. 19 O.C. News

Leavers Ball

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Leavers Ball

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OC Lucy Forse

Old Colstonian Lucy Forse, who was a pupil at Colston’s from 1996-1998, achieved her target of rowing the 22 miles of the English Channel from Dover to Sangatte with friends to raise money for two of her favoured charities, her local RSPCA affiliated Bath Cats and Dogs Home and Cancer Research.

Lucy’s account:

Upon returning from six months travelling abroad, it was decided that we needed a bit of motivation to get fit. Luckily three other friends with whom I used to row as part of the City of Bristol squad were in a similar boat and suggested that we should row the Channel. It was quickly decided that rowing the 22 miles, with our respective partners was the perfect challenge and plans were put in place to row the busiest shipping lane the following May.

Three couples decided to raise money for Cancer Research and my partner and I decided to raise money for the Bath Dogs and Cats home, which is affiliated to the RSPCA. I had recently read that the RSPCA had seen a big increase in the number of calls they received, a 13% increase on last year to 1.3 million. We subsequently decided to raise money for our local affiliated home, the Bath Dog and Cats home, who pride themselves on a strict nondestruction policy and aim to find every single animal a new loving home, no matter how long it takes.

Made it! Spurred on by the need to fund raise for such a great cause, my partner and I began training in earnest. We borrowed a rowing machine from a family member and placed it in the lounge of our one bedroom flat! Our goal was to get up to 20km, in a 6 month period. Gradually building the distance each week, mixing the sessions up between constant pace and shorter sessions of interval training and some strength training for our back, core and legs we pursued our goal. 22 O.C. News

As part of the package we were provided with two sessions in “Barbie” gig that we would use to do the Channel row. In February, in the snow we travelled to Southampton for an induction, where we watched a good and bad crossing on a video, which sufficiently scared us to death! We quickly piled in to the boat and carefully navigated our way out to the estuary where we practised the rocking motion of rowing in a gig. In our second outing we headed for open water, hoping to gain some experience in the rough waves. It was unfortunately flat as a pancake, so we focused on how to grip, rock and move in one motion and rotate through the boat, taking in turns to cox.

In between our open sea sessions in Southampton we did several sessions in Bristol Docks to gain some coaching on technique. We sought advice on the best seating arrangements i.e. tall individuals in the middle and experienced rowers at stroke, setting the pace, which enabled us to maximise the power within the boat.

All too soon the week of the row was upon us. Having obtained a weather update the row was moved to the 2nd June, so that we would hopefully benefit from calmer seas. Donning rowing tops and armed with kilos of flap jack we took to the waters, all thinking how far away just the harbour wall looked. Rowing six at a time, one man coxing and with one passenger at the back we rotated every hour, to maintain momentum in the boat. Desperately trying to ignore the smells of bacon butties from our support boat, we rowed amongst the cruise liners and cargo boats, watching the cliffs of Dover gradually disappear, whilst searching the horizon for the French shores.

After five hours fifty six minutes and several power twenty strokes as a final flurry, we passed the buoy near Sangatte and achieved our goal of rowing the busiest shipping lane. We collapsed into the safety boat and got towed back to our Holiday Inn, where we celebrated our success!

As a boat we raised £3500 pounds, £1300 for the Bath and Cats Dog Home and £1200 for Cancer Research. It was a great team event, fund raising for a worthy cause and want to thank those that sponsored the Blazing Paddles. I know the fund raised money will be well spent.

OC Joe Page wins young entrepreneurs’ award with his Caribbean Coaching enterprise

Old Colstonian Joe Page, who was supported by the Old Colstonian Society last year, has won the Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award for young entrepreneurs with his “Caribbean Coaching “ entreprise and was awarded £1000 toward marketing.

Joe writes to update us on his recent ventures:

In November of 2012 we ran our second tour as a company, Caribbean Coaching. We took with us Becky Hughes, an Old Colstonian and Bristol Ladies rugby player. She had a very productive month and we were able to achieve a great deal. During November we continued our work to decentralise rugby in the often overlooked south of the island. We formed a team in Laborie village into the first club team on the island, Laborie RFC, and increased the number of guys training. We also began to work with a group of youngsters in Laborie aged 4 to 12, running an hour-long session before the men’s training. This group grew from strength to strength and by the end of November we had over twenty children training. Our group in Peirott had continued to train in our absence and upon our return we continued to run sessions there with a fantastic group of children aged 5 to 14, both male and female.

Following our work with the Sacred Sport summer camps over the summer we were asked to begin running rugby sessions in the local school, Vieux Fort Tech. We ran two 90 minute sessions here a week with a

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fantastic turn out of around 30 children per session. Many of these young guys had never heard of rugby before but took to it with enthusiasm and gusto. Our sessions developed quickly and by the end of the month we were able to play tag matches with them. One of these young men went on to represent St Lucia in the U19s tournament in Trinidad last month, a very proud moment for us.

November is the month we run our national youth tournament. The turnout was brilliant, over 100 children, formed into eight teams. Becky was in charge of our Pierott group and led them to victory. We also had a ‘round robin’ event for the men/U20s teams that we had formed. Laborie RFC claimed victory. We had been able to make an arrangement with a bottled water company who supplied free water to all of our training sessions and our tournament throughout the month.

Following the success of this tour we formed a partnership with Sporting Opportunities, the largest gap year sports company, to advertise and offer our coaching projects on their website. This coincided with our expansion to offer not only rugby but also football, cricket and netball into our coaching development projects.

In March 2013 we won the Shell LiveWIRE Grand Ideas Award for young entrepreneurs. This was a great honour for us and we were awarded £1000 toward marketing. We will also hear shortly if we have been shortlisted for young entrepreneur of the year, which will be announced this November.

Over the past summer we have been very busy, running two tours, taking 15 volunteers to St Lucia.

In June we went with four volunteers, three for rugby and one for netball. The majority of our rugby project aimed to develop rugby in and around the Castries area of the island, now many of our groups in the south are becoming self-sufficient. We began running twice weekly sessions in the capitals poorest community; Marchard. Here we worked with a very large group of young children, their ages ranged from 6 to 14. They were a brilliant group who, even though they had no knowledge of the game, took to rugby very well, coming to each session with great enthusiasm. Our volunteers did wonderful work with them and by the end of the month we were having some brilliant tag matches - though we may have been fairly lenient on the forward pass rule. Since forming this group we have heard that Touraid are keen to become involved with them and hope to take over a number of the girls from this group to London next year for a rugby tournament, a fantastic experience for them. Our coaches also worked closely with the National outfit, training them three times a week in preparation for their friendly match against the well established club Diamante of Martinique. 24 O.C. News

On top of this they were also key in preparing the newly formed under19 team for their tournament in Trinidad. We had laid the foundations for this team with our work in the south and the formation of a U21 youth development side. This team made the backbone of the U19 outfit, all of whom were new to rugby. This marked a significant development in rugby on the island and this was the first time in their history that St Lucia was able to enter an U19 outfit into an IRB recognised tournament.

At the end of the month we took part in the St Lucia vs. Martinique match, with two of our coaches playing for the St Lucian side. St Lucia fielded a very young side to give the U19s a taste of a competitive game before their tournament. The young men excelled but in the end Martinique’s experience showed and they sealed a closely fought victory.

Caribbean Coaching’s second tour of the 2013’s summer followed 2 weeks later. This time with a group of 11 rugby coaches we were able to spread our coaching team around various projects and even enter our own team for the SLRFU’s invitational tournament. Working in our first ever youth group in the deprived area of Barbonau it was incredible to see how far they had come in two years, many of them representing St. Lucia in the U19s tournament and all of them maturing in attitude and outlook. Entering the tournament was a brilliant experience for us and all our coaches. Our team Caribbean Coaching team made up of all our coaches and staff generated a lot of local publicity for the tournament and SLRFU as a touring UK side and were able to record wins against St. Vincent and the St. Lucia B team before losing in the final for a second time against St. Lucia’s 1st team. Some of our most worthwhile work on this tour was done when our coaches were able to contribute a week of rugby sessions to a court prevention behavioural programme being run in Marchard, the large group of male and female adolescents responded brilliantly to the sessions and sport and as a result the court diversion programme is looking to take on rugby, on a permanent basis.

We were also able to establish the island’s newest group in the town of Anse La Raye on the west of the island which falls in line with our overall plan of establishing a senior male league.

Our progress in two years is evidenced by the vastly increased numbers of players across the island and we plan to have the nation’s first domestic male rugby league running by November.

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Marathon des Sables 2013

The Old Colstonian Society was pleased to support OC Tim Woodcock (1990-1996) on an incredible endeavour.

Tim reports on his achievements:

My Marathon des Sables adventure started in May 2011. Registrations opened at 10am and the organisers had said that the whole UK allocation of places would go in a couple of hours. I was at my desk when registrations opened so I thought “Why not? I paid my deposit and I was in. I had two years to train for the toughest footrace in the world. How hard could it be?

Did I know what I was letting myself in for? Not really. I’d heard about the race and seen James Cracknel’s documentary and it seemed like the sort of challenge I was looking for. Lots of people ask me why I wanted to do it. I wanted to test myself in the toughest, most austere environment possible. How would I cope with the heat? Could I keep going, both physically and mentally, hour after hour, across tough terrain carrying everything I needed for a week? What better way to test yourself than by running 150 miles across the Sahara Desert in 6 days.

My training started in earnest in July 2012. The Olympics had started so it was easy to find motivation and I’d signed up for the Atlantic Coast Challenge, 3 marathons over 3 days from Padstow to Land’s End. I wanted to know if I could cover big distances day after day and this was a great test which, fortunately, I enjoyed and did well at. I was lucky enough to meet Martin, Nik, Glenn and Nick, who were also training for MdS and would become my tent mates in the desert.

My last big training test was to cover a big distance with a full rucksack of about 10kg. I did the 50km London Ultra which winds its way from Bromley to Brentford through the streets of South London. Possibly the worst preparation in terms of terrain, but it was the miles I needed as I had to have the confidence that I could cover those sorts of distances. The rest of my training involved endless laps of the Berkshire countryside and South Wales sand dunes just getting miles into my legs and getting my upper body used 26 O.C. News

to carrying the rucksack. By March I was doing between 40 and 50 miles per week which usually consisted of 10 miles on a Wednesday night, 10 miles on a Friday night, then 15 miles on a Saturday and 20 miles on Sunday.

I arrived in Ouarzazate, Morocco feeling ready to go. I’d been meticulous in my kit preparation, trained with everything I was going to use, planned my food down to the last dried apricot and packed and re-packed my rucksack. Dinner that night was my first opportunity to get to know some of the other competitors. Generally, they seemed to be a good bunch. This was proven when the organisers announced that one lad’s bag hadn’t left Heathrow and the only thing he’d had in his hand luggage were his trainers and his sunglasses. By the end of dinner there was a big pile of donated food and kit from people who’d brought extra and he had everything he needed to race. One guy had even brought a spare sleeping bag as he hadn’t been able to decide which one to use!

The next day we were bussed out to the desert. The landscape looked like Mars. It wasn’t your classic Saharan sand dunes. It was rocky and barren with no shade whatsoever. Even from inside the air conditioned bus you could tell it was hot. Once we arrived at the camp I met up with the guys from the Atlantic Coast Challenge, plus Dan, Tom and Simon who were doing the event as a team of three. We became tent #116. Once our kit had been checked and we’d proven that we were carrying the minimum number of calories required for the week and had been issued with our distress flare we were ready to go.

The first day was 20 miles across relatively flat terrain with some sand dunes to negotiate at the end. The atmosphere at the start was electric as 1,300 people from all over the world lined up to put all that training in to practice. After a quick briefing (don’t forget to drink your water or take your salt tablets and don’t get lost) the PA system started playing Highway to Hell, we were buzzed by a low flying Eurosport helicopter and we were off. The main thing I remember about day 1 was trying to force myself to run slowly. The terrain was unforgiving and it would have been easy to turn an ankle. This was also my first day running in the heat and I was aware that, despite several Bikram yoga sessions, I wasn’t acclimatised yet. I also soon realised that I hadn’t been drinking enough water when I got to checkpoint 2 and I still had a full bottle, a mistake I’d pay the price for when I started cramping up at the end of the day. Overall though, everything seemed to be working and while the last 5 miles were very painful I’d made it through day 1 and was sure I’d be ready to go again by the next morning.

Day 2 was billed as “the mountain stage” and it didn’t disappoint. It was 18 miles long and there were several steep climbs up Jebels and along ridges, some of which involved climbing on your hands and knees up very steep, boulder covered slopes. The views were spectacular and almost took your mind off how much it hurt to get up there! Again, I was pleased with the way everything was going. While I was having to force myself to drink water regularly (it was like drinking bath water and in no way refreshing) my food was working well and as the checkpoints seemed to be spaced around 10km apart I was able to treat each stage like a series of 10km races rather than trying to tackle 18 miles a day. We were also starting to get in to a routine in camp. You were given three bottles of water as you got in from every stage. You had to use this to cook with, clean yourself and your kit and make breakfast the next day. I was really lucky in the fact that everyone in our tent got on really well and we encouraged and helped each other. We had a rule that, no matter how bad you were feeling, you weren’t allowed to complain. No one else had put you there, so don’t go bringing everyone else down.

Day 3 was a slog. At 23 miles it was the longest stage yet and about 7 of those miles were over long flat sand dunes that seemed to go on for a lot longer than 7 miles! Running on soft sand takes a huge amount more effort than just walking over it and I could feel myself starting to overheat so new I had to slow down. Luckily I met up with Tom, Simon and Dan at the last checkpoint and we finished together.

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Day 4 is known as the long day. A double marathon over huge sand dunes that takes some competitors well in to the next day to complete. I knew that psychology was going to play a huge part in getting me through the day. My plan was to try and stick with Nik and Martin for as long as possible from the start. I wanted to try and get as much of the distance out of the way as I could before the midday heat and they were quicker than me so I knew it would push me. I hung on until checkpoint 2 and was happy to have 20km under my belt. My plan was to treat the rest of the stage as a series of 10km runs between checkpoints.

This stage is what the whole event had been leading up to. As the day progressed and the competitors spread out, I found myself practically alone climbing vast, deep red Saharan sand dunes before running down the steep front to the desert floor and starting the long climb up the next one. It was noticeably hotter than it had been on previous days (we later found out that the temperature had reached 54°C) and I could feel the heat sapping my energy, particularly with the increased exertion of trying to run across soft sand. There was more than one occasion when I had to start to walk to give myself time to cool down as I could feel my head starting to pound and my vision blurring. At checkpoint 4 it became clear that I wasn’t the only one suffering. The medical tent had four or five people on stretchers getting IV fluids and a few more were being sick as they tried to take on water. I also saw Laurence Klein, who up until the day before had been leading the women’s event, staggering and incoherent as she was being helped into a tent by two medics. She later retired. I was lucky that I just wanted to finish, so could slow down if things got tough. If you’re expecting to win you need to take more risks. I filled my water bottles, spent 10 minutes sorting my feet out and pushed on. As the sun set everyone turned on the glow sticks they’d been issued at the previous check point and you could see a fluorescent green line snaking its way through the dunes. The organisers had also rigged up a laser on the back of a truck just before checkpoint 5 which fired a bright green beam of light into the sky. This meant you didn’t have to rely on your compass when working through

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the dunes in the dark. As the temperature dropped I really started to enjoy the stage. My feet were sore but nothing else hurt and I knew I could make the last 20km and I was going to finish. I got in to the camp at 1.50am, 17 hours after I’d started (I later found out that my parents had stayed up to watch me cross the line on the webcam). I was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. There was a definite feeling in the tent that we’d finished the event. The next day was a rest day but there was still the marathon stage to go after that so it was important not to get carried away.

We spent the rest day sorting our feet out, eating whatever food we had left and standing at the finish line to cheer home the steady stream of people who carried on arriving well into the day. Some people had chosen to sleep for a few hours at one of the checkpoints. I was very glad I’d got it done in one hit. I also managed to get into the email tent and responded to some of the messages I’d been sent by friends and family. The messages were printed out and handed out by the organisers every evening and were a real boost. It was great to hear how my fundraising total was increasing through the week and to get a bit of news from home.

The last day started as any other, with the Berbers taking down our tents at 6am whether we were up and ready or not. By this time our packs were very light as we’d eaten all of our food through the week and people were elated to have got ‘the hard bit’ out of the way. As we heard Highway to hell for the final time and waved to the Eurosport helicopter I felt it was important not to get finish line fever. We still had to run a marathon in 50°C across tough terrain and more sand dunes. I wanted to make sure that I ate properly and carried on drinking all my fluids. This is something that a few people didn’t do as at least five people dropped out on this stage, one of them needing to be helicoptered out with less than 5km to go. The stage turned out to be very difficult. The heat was brutal and the terrain was steep and rocky making it very difficult to get into a rhythm. Where on previous stages I’d always felt like I’d had enough water, I found myself running short before the final check point. I was tempted to take a time penalty in exchange for another bottle. I chose to press on, mainly because I would have to have walked 20 metres up hill to the organisers’ tent and I was so tired that seemed like a monumental waste of effort.

Eventually I made it to the finish and received my medal. At 7 hours, I’d taken twice as long as my normal marathon time but it felt like I’d run just as hard. I found Nick, Martin and Nik, who had already finished and we waited for the others to come in. Glenn made it back shortly after me, particularly impressive considering he’d slipped a disc on day one but carried on regardless, choosing not to stop at check points because he was worried that if he took his rucksack off he’d never get it back on again. Simon, Tom and Dan were also not far behind, which was great news as it meant that the whole of our tent had completed the event – a great achievement.

On reflection my Marathon des Sables experience was overwhelmingly positive. I enjoyed training and preparing for my goal as much as I did completing it. The event itself was fantastically well organised while feeling like a real adventure, and I made some great friends along the way. I also managed to raise over £11,000 for Excellent Development ( www.excellentdevelopment.com ), a charity that does some amazing work building sand dams in rural Africa that provide clean, reliable water for communities for life. On the back of this I was able to go to Kenya and help build a dam, which is a story I’ll tell next time.

Many thanks for your support.

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Arnhem Land Immersion

Last year’s Head Boy, Jon Roper, reports on how he has used his share of the John James Award in Australia:

Having come to Australia for my Gap Year I thought that it would be interesting to experience a region that even the average Australian rarely visits! I was granted an opportunity through the company Red Earth Connections and The King’s School to go and volunteer in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Here, I was lucky enough to live in different aboriginal homelands, where, as a team, we worked to renovate and do some general handiwork for the community as well as to help teach the local children. We were also educated in their culture which was totally different to anything I had ever experienced before.

I arrived in Darwin and was struck by the sweltering temperatures and humidity. After a crocodile tour in the Adelaide River (where I was relieved to escape with all my limbs!) we headed to the indigenous homelands of Bagetti and Byran Byran. These areas are extremely remote and we travelled for long periods of time to get to our destination, but it was definitely worth it!

When I first arrived I was apprehensive about the array of dangerous wildlife that these areas had to offer and the long distance to medical facilities. However, I was struck by how the locals simply got on with their lives and adapted around these issues to ensure they survived, as they have been doing for generations.

Whilst there we were welcomed as part of the community, I was given a name and skin group as well as being told I was a ‘Yirritja’ man, (this is a concept rather like ying and yang that every living thing in the world is either Yirritja or Dhuwa.) I was known as “Gumulu” which means Raven and my skin type was “Bungadi” which meant that I had an array of family amongst the community. I found this concept really empowering as it showed to me the closeness and trust they hold within their culture.

In the evenings we were invited to join in a corroboree with the locals which involved lots of dancing and singing. After being plastered in bush paint and presented gifts by our respective family members (I received a hand crafted didgeridoo from my brother Baru) we were taught how to dance which I really enjoyed and it brought the community together.

During my time at the second homeland I taught English to the local children and helped them with basic maths, helped in the garden area so that they could grow more food instead of relying on hunting and bush tucker, helped to construct divides on the people’s homes to prevent scavengers stealing food and helped to collect food for the community, mainly fish and mud crabs. We also made dampa bread. I felt immersed into their lifestyle and felt privileged to help in any way I could to make their lives easier in such a remote and hostile region.

I felt privileged to be able to experience this region and be accepted into the Byran Byran community. The differences between aboriginal culture and normal urban life are vast and by the end of my visit I felt proud 30 O.C. News

to have been able to help in and experience a completely contrasting community to my own, it certainly adds a different perspective to life.

I would like to thank The King’s School, Red Earth Connections and mainly Colston’s for giving me this opportunity, as well as the Old Colstonians, the John James Foundation, and everybody at school who motivated me to apply for this award.

It truly has been a humbling experience and I wish to encourage the current Colston’s Sixth form to apply for this award, break the mould and witness how others do not lead lives as privileged as ours but still live every day with a smile on their face.

Jon Roper

Old Colstonian Society Annual Dinner 2013

Over one hundred Old Colstonians gathered for their annual dinner in the Dining Hall at Colston’s School on Saturday 12th October 2013. Although the turnout was again a little disappointing amongst younger Old Colstonians and girls, a most convivial evening was thoroughly enjoyed by all OCs and their guests.

Old Colstonian Society President Andy Thomas

The Old Colstonian Society was very pleased to welcome a large number of guests including representatives from three other associations of former pupils in Bristol, the Cathedralians, Old Elizabethans and Old Bristolians. There was a good representation from the school including a table of staff and the head boy, Jack Stephens, the head girl, Lauren Hurrell, and the school prefects. Other guests included the school’s head groundsman, Tony Shaw, who earlier in the year had been elected an Honorary Old Colstonian for his long service of over 25 years to the school, the president of the Society of Old Colstonians in London, Jack Dempsey, and the headmaster of the Lower School, Stuart Smart. 31 O.C. News

The principal speaker was the headmaster, Peter Fraser, who after 8 years at Colston’s, is leaving in December to take up the post of headmaster of St. Andrew’s College in Dublin. He gave a very witty and touching speech about the teaching profession and his time at Colston’s.

The president of the Old Colstonian Society, Andy Thomas, gave an account of the Society’s activities throughout the year and updated everyone about the progress with the scholarship of a pupil from Oasis Academy Brighstowe in memory of former OC Society President Jim Tolman.

Andy Thomas also made a special presentation on behalf of the Society to David Shaw who has stepped down this year after many years of devoted service as Honorary Treasurer of the Society.

Everyone agreed that the standard of the catering supplied by the school’s catering manager, Mr. John Dier, and his staff was of the highest quality. The team of girls, currently raising funds for a hockey tour to Holland, who acted as waitresses, were also highly praised for their excellent service.

Colston’s headmaster, Peter Fraser, with the head girl, Lauren Hurrell, the president of the Old Colstonian Society, Andy Thomas, and the head boy, Jack Stephens.

32 O.C. News

Christmas lunch for Old Colstonian seniors

During the last week of term a group of 32 Old Colstonians of a certain age were invited to Christmas lunch in the school Dining Hall where they were served by Mr Yaxley’s volunteer group and entertained to some festive music by the school’s musicians.

At the lunch Ian Gunn, past president of the Old Colstonian Society, made a special mention of David Shaw who retired earlier this year as Honorary Treasurer of the Old Colstonian Society.

Ian said:

“ Whilst we have such an impressive group of OCs gathered together I would like to mention one very special OC who has played over 400 games of rugby for the OCs, has also played cricket and golf for the OCs and has served continuously on the Society’s committee for over 34 years. He has been central to everything that the OCs have achieved throughout this period. I am of course talking about Dave Shaw (or Cacker) to most of you. Dave retired as the Society’s Treasurer in March after 33 years during which time the fortunes of the OC Society have been transformed.

Dave took over as Treasurer from Jeff Lewis in 1980 when the OCs had assets of about £15k including the OCs ground at Mile Straight, a valuable legacy provided by our predecessors including Frank Taylor. Today we still own much of the ground at Mile Straight, which now includes a modern Clubhouse which cost the best part of £1mn (in sharp contrast to the facilities we enjoyed) plus the Society now has investments and other assets totaling some £2.5 mn.

Dave has been responsible for the proper safeguarding of these assets and was almost totally responsible for making sure that when we sold land at Mile Straight, we retained as much as possible of the proceeds and paid as little as we could to the tax man.

Dave was President of the OC Society in 1992 and it was during his year of presidency that the OC Charitable Trust was set up. The Charitable Trust is already assisting 4 pupils to attend Colston’s and has recently 33 O.C. News

announced the award of two further Jim Tolman bursaries starting in September next year. We have David and others to thank for their foresight in establishing the charitable trust which will benefit many more children who in due course will become worthy Old Colstonians.

Current and future OCs have a lot to be grateful to Dave for and we hope that we will continue to benefit from his wise and cheerful advice for many more years to come.”

After the main course in the Dining Hall the group adjourned to the Old Colstonian Pavilion to have Christmas puddings, mince pies, cheese & biscuits and no doubt a liquid refreshment.

In the Pavilion there were two further presentations which were made by Len Callacott, the chairman of the OCRFC: David Shaw was presented with a cap in recognition of the number of games of rugby he played for the OCs and a very special award was made to Tom Boucher (95) who played rugby for the OCs in 1937. It is thought that Tom is the third eldest Old Colstonian.

Thanks to Old Colstonians Fred Forse, John Wright and Nigel Hurley for getting this group of OCs together.

The extended Colston’s Family enjoy the Colston’s Carol Service in Holy Trinity Church

Old Colstonians and parents packed Holy Trinity Church Stapleton for a very enjoyable Carol Service this evening (Thursday 12th December 2013). Afterwards everyone enjoyed a most convivial reception in the School Dining Hall.

The Reverend Stephen Pullin, the Minister of Holy Trinity Church and a Colston’s parent, led the Service and gave a thoughtful address. The congregation enjoyed singing familiar Carols and much appreciated the high quality of the musical talents of the Colston’s pupils.

34 O.C. News

Mr Ian Gunn, an Old Colstonian and Governor of the School, was able to pay tribute at the end of the Service to the magnificent headmastership of Mr Peter Fraser as he prepares to take up his new post as headmaster of St Andrew’s College in Dublin.

During the Reception in the Dining Hall the Colston’s Parents’ Society were also able to pay their own tribute to Mr Fraser and wish him and his wife Sara well for the future.

Old Colstonian Theresa Jones begins work for Médecins Sans Frontières in Palestine

After leaving Colston’s in 2006, Theresa Jones studied Psychology at York University, graduating with a 1st class degree, before gaining a place on the Clinical Psychology doctorate course at Hull University.

Theresa qualified as a Clinical Psychologist last year and has chosen to volunteer for Médecins Sans Frontières, providing mental health care for those who are suffering due to violence within conflict situations.

Theresa is currently volunteering in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and will be working over the Christmas period, helping providing mental healthcare to people who would otherwise go without.

Please visit the MSF website to read more about Theresa’s work as well as the opportunity to send Theresa Jones her messages of support. www.msf.org.uk/send-message-theresa 35 O.C. News

We thank the Bristol Post for permission to publish the following story about Old Colstonian Chris Townsend.

WHEN you mention St Peter’s Hospice to most people they think of the care the organisation provides to people at the end of their lives. But the charity plays an important role in educating doctors, nurses and trainee healthcare staff across the city to better prepare them for looking after patients with terminal illnesses.

“It is probably something we don’t shout about that much,” learning and development manager Chris Townsend said.

However, by his calculations, about 3,300 people attended courses run by the hospice last year, with two thirds being from outside the organisation.

St Peter’s Hospice offers courses on symptom control and communication with people at the end of their lives for healthcare staff in care homes and hospitals, as well as training in bereavement, ethics, Chris Townsend, learning and development manager nutrition and planning for end-of-life care.

The charity’s education department was established more than 30 years ago and has long been recognised for the expertise it can share to help healthcare professionals provide the best care to people at the end of their lives.

“We have patients who we directly impact on as a hospice because they are directly involved in our care but as a group we have a responsibility to broaden the hospice’s impact,” Chris said.

“There are more than 2,200 clinicians interacting with people with end-of-life care who are hopefully delivering a better quality of care because of our course. It is hard to put a figure on that; it could be a GP or someone working in a home so it is difficult to quantify – but we know patients receive better care.

“In our 18-bed inpatient unit we are seeing hundreds of people in the community, through education we can touch tens of thousands of people potentially”.

Chris admits that he was surprised by the numbers of people benefiting from the hospice’s education programme when he applied for the role about two years ago. Having grown up in Bristol he was well aware of the charity and its work but knew less about the education programme.

Some of the courses are run at St Peter’s Brentry hospice, while modules for UWE degree and masters courses are based there. The courses are run by the charity’s registered nurses who have done additional teacher training to help them develop the educational programmes.

“When I came in, the department was already established and really well regarded”, Chris said.

“I met up with someone who worked in community care who said ‘if St Peter’s is running a course it will be a good course because they are specialists in what they do’. We run predominantly end-of-life care courses 36 O.C. News

and the majority of people who come on these don’t work for the hospice. It is usually health and social care professionals”.

“We do a lot of communication skills stuff and we also get a lot of commissioned work that used to be through the primary care trust. We are running a project at the moment for residential care homes and are looking to engage with 60 homes around the local area. We are doing that in collaboration with the community nurse specialists who are coming into homes with us.”

While training GPs and nurses also go into the hospice on placements, meaning the charity is “getting to them before they have really started their profession”.

“That’s really important to us,” he said.

St Peter’s also offers professional visits where healthcare professionals, such as GPs and district nurses, can visit the hospice and see what the charity does “Being able to better explain to patients what the hospice is and understanding the service,” he said.

The charity has also started doing work outside the healthcare sector, and is working with schools.

“We have done a bit of work in schools and recently had people working in prisons, looking to engage with people working in homeless hostels and GP reception staff, because if you are working with people who have been given bad news you have still got that contact,” Chris said.

“We run a course called I Don’t Know What To Say and a lot of work we do is around communication.

“All the people in our commercial department go on that course and we have had a lot of hospital porters and people like that on it as well.

“If you look at people working in our fundraising department they often have people coming in to give money, having been personally affected by the hospice and want to support the hospice, and because of that it leads to people having conversations about it that they don’t want to shy away from. It is really important to our guys that they handle that conversation correctly.”

To find out more about the hospice or to support its work, visit www.stpetershospice.org.uk or call 0117 9159400.

Colston’s groundsman, Nick Beedell, reports back from indoor Cricket World Series in South Africa

After intense training from May onwards the day finally came for the England over 35s and 45s to set off to Heathrow for our flight to South Africa. After an 11 hour flight we arrived in Johannesburg and set off for our base for the next two weeks- the Indaba Hotel.

After a good night’s sleep the options we had on the only day of leisure was a safari, golf or a day around the pool and shopping for loved ones who could not come. The next day it was down to business, starting with a 6.30 alarm call and breakfast, followed by a 3-hour training session which preceded our first warm- up game. Unfortunately due to a slight hamstring problem I had to miss this game. Day 2 saw our training followed by 2 more practices matches for which the physio passed me fit. All 3 games were hard but we made a lot of new friends who wished us well.

That night our new England shirts arrived at the hotel and after a brief meeting it was time for an early night to prepare for an 8.00 start in the Tournament v Sri Lanka. Although we lost 85-75 it was one of the best 37 O.C. News

moments in my life. Representing my country, singing the National Anthem and to cap it all being made player of the match in my first international.

After all group games had been played we ended up 4th in our group, which saw us drawn against the South Africa Invitational side in the ¼ final. Sadly, we lost 111-47 but beat Singapore 112 – 90 in a play-off for the Plate Final to play Sri Lanka. This was an exciting game that came down to the last couple of balls but which we lost 64-60 and frustratingly that meant no silverware.

I have many great memories to savour. The way that all the teams mixed on and off court; the late night cool down in the pool; my man of the match award; my hat-trick v. South Africa which helped me to be voted player of the Series for England; and the hard cricket played by Australia and the eventual champions South Africa-all of whom praised us for our level of cricket.

I would like to thank the Old Colstonians Society, Colston’s Parents Society, The Merchant Venturers, the pupils of Colston’s School, Chew Magna CC, Seaton CC, Gloucestershire Groundsmans’ Association and especially Peter Fraser for all the help and donations which provided me with this opportunity to represent my country.

Nick Beedell

38 O.C. News

Old Colstonian Helena Cicmil crowd-funding for girls’ school in disaster-struck Haiti

Former Colston’s pupil Helena Cicmil writes about what she has achieved since leaving school and on her current project.

“Throughout my time at Colston’s, I was encouraged to be interested in and passionate about lots of different disciplines; we learnt that we didn’t have to restrict ourselves to enjoying just one subject. Education was about more than that. So, undertaking a degree at University College London that allowed me to study Political Science, Philosophy and a modern language was ideal. It was during my second year that I experienced first-hand how individuals qualified in subjects as different as engineering and philosophy could work together to address some of the world’s big problems.

On a cold January morning in 2010, I was shocked, like many others, by the news that a magnitude 7 earthquake had struck Haiti, leaving a trail of destruction. Millions of lives and livelihoods were affected that day. I had no idea that 8 months later, the beginning of my second year, I would meet a team of individuals who had become vital to helping a community in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, recover from the disaster.

They were called ‘Thinking Development’ – at the time, a newly registered charity, associated with UCL’s Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction. It was set up by Linda O’Halloran, a Philosophy research student, who rallied together architects, engineers and urban planners, with support from UCL’s Development and Planning Unit.

Why? To work with the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, the largest educator of women in Haiti. Linda had responded to a call for help from them via her school network when they lost important educational facilities in the earthquake. Most worrying was the Centre Rosalie, a complex of girls’ schools in downtown, urban Port-au-Prince. It had a primary school for 600 girls, most of whom live in the slums of nearby Fort National, provided evening classes for 150 girls who had to labour during the day, skills workshops for young adults, and held national education conferences and community meetings. Suffice to say, in a country short thousands of schools, where 30% are denied basic primary education, the Sisters are key to providing a better future for the next generation of Haitian women and men.

Helena Cicmil Girls at the Centre Rosalie on the site filled with temporary classrooms. 39 O.C. News

While the nuns set out to work against all odds to teach in temporary classrooms, hundreds of girls have not been able to attend school, as admissions have been partially suspended. With a growing population and more and more children needing an education, this is a waste. A nearby site, Mere Louise School, was also destroyed. Mere Louise students are among the most disadvantaged children of downtown Port-au-Prince, and many were extremely traumatised by the 2010 earthquakes, suffering injuries, anxiety and stress, and losing relatives and homes. The nuns were denied permission to rebuild on the Mere Louise site, so these children have had to travel further to share the space at Centre Rosalie. Half of the classrooms currently on this site are unstable or unsafe. There are not enough rooms, toilets, kitchen facilities, or play spaces to accommodate the demand.

Alarmingly, no one could offer this community the chance to design and build a new school that would meet their needs, that would be a more resilient building in case of a future disaster. So, through Thinking Development, people with world-class technical talent and visionary minds collaborated and travelled to and from Haiti to work with the community to design a new school complex.

Some of the team held workshops with the pupils and I found it particularly telling that nature and green spaces were especially important to the children, as the site is a unique green area in the dense, urban city. This has been integrated into the design. Harvesting rainwater, growing food on-site, and using sunlight to lower maintenance costs are also key features of the finished masterplan. When completed, the 3-storey school complex will provide education to over 1,250 girls. It will offer them a unique opportunity to develop their minds and recover from the trauma of the disaster in a safe oasis of woody land in the heart of Port-au-Prince.

My role over the past few years has been awareness, communications and fund-raising, and after graduating this year, UCL supported me to work full-time on fund-raising with the organisation for 8 weeks over the summer. One project we planned was a crowd-funding campaign. This is now live online and we have 40 days to raise £40,000, to fund a section of the construction, and build the school as soon as possible. We’ve launched in English, French and Spanish which makes us one of the world’s first tri-lingual crowd-funding campaigns in this field. We are relying on donations from all over the world to reach this target, with people giving what they can. Everyone involved in Thinking Development is volunteering their time and expertise, so without this generosity, we will not be able to get the school built.

I believe now more than ever that every child has a right to education, and that through collaboration, amazing things can be achieved. The girls in Port-au-Prince will benefit from this multi-functional, safe and inspiring educational complex so that they can build a stronger Haiti. I hope one day to travel to Haiti to meet the pupils and teachers of Centre Rosalie and see the construction project in action.

For now, as the clock is ticking, I would like to say to anyone able to make a donation, however small or big, that it will go far and every single contribution will be sincerely valued. All proceeds will help our peers in Haiti secure what we might take for granted.

- We are pleased to report that Helena and her team achieved their target of £40,000 within the 40 day campaign.

To watch our campaign video, donate or find out more, you are welcome to contact me directly at [email protected] with any questions or suggestions.

40 O.C. News

Old Colstonian Society supports young OC on adventure in Nepal

OC Nicki Mills reports on her recent trip to Nepal:

My last year at Manchester University came and went during which I planned a trip to Nepal in a bid to climb Island Peak as well as some trekking peaks along the way. Crossing various high passes, the trip culminated in visiting Everest Base Camp. Although having a relatively good fitness level, I realised how much I had underestimated this challenge on day 2 in the mountains; hit by altitude sickness at 3,400m, each subsequent day was a nerve wracking experience knowing that I was just going higher. Somehow, after one week and crossing the most difficult high pass in the Everest region, I had become acclimatised and headaches were a thing of the past.

As a friend who I met during the trip said, I could now just “enjoy the journey”. Showers consisting of a single bucket of hot water were a weekly luxury which I looked forward to, but having to sterilise every drop of drinking water was a burden with unpleasant tasting results.

Crossing Cho La Pass was one of the hardest days that I encountered due to the steep and icy terrain. The following day, reaching the top of Kala Patthar (5550m) for sunrise was just as demanding but was all made worthwhile with an incredible view of Mount Everest which can only be seen from a few places in the area. The longest and most challenging day of all began at 12:30am on the 1st October when we set off from Island Peak Base Camp, climbing through blizzard like conditions and finally reaching the summit at 9:15am. It was all a complete blur by the end! A single Mars Bar, which I ate at the top, got me back down to the bottom 16 hours after first setting off, and the treats which had been packed from home were much appreciated.

For the whole month that I was in Nepal, I pushed myself further than I thought was possible. The feelings and sense of achievement experienced will always stay with me but are hard to express to others. I learnt that many people have a desire to explore new places, but to do so takes ability to prepare and lots of determination - qualities that I realised I possessed only recently. It was an experience I will never forget and is hopefully the first of many more adventures.

41 Ben Smith

Ben Smith: From ‘gappie’ at Colston’s to world star

When Ben Smith takes to the Twickenham field on Saturday for the All Blacks, there will be a group of his old team-mates in the crowd. Not from Otago, nor even from New Zealand, but from a school in Bristol.

Colston’s, one of the south west’s best rugby schools. England’s Olly Barkley, Shane Geraghty, Tom Varndell, Lee Mears and Duncan Bell all learned their trade at the day school in Stapleton. In 2005, Colston’s welcomed a teenager who had just finished his education at King’s High School in Dunedin.

His coach in Dunedin was Darryl Paterson, who then journeyed to Colston’s in 2002. Smith ran out for King’s 1st XV, but in the words of Paterson, “he was a very good player but certainly no superstar. For a guy who has become an All Black winger he didn’t even run in school sprint competitions”. Smith is currently switching between outside centre and the flank for the All Blacks but back then he was lining up at half-back.

Ben Smith during his days as an Old Colstonian Getting the all-important try

In 2004, Smith captained the King’s 1st XV and played at fly-half and like plenty of 18-year-old students, when he finished his school studies, embarked on a gap year. He opted to journey to Colston’s and lived with Paterson and his family in the school house. Alongside his duties for the school as a teaching assistant, he ran out for the Old Colstonians.

For Old Colstonian Matt Leek, two memories spring to mind. “’Bin, as his name was pronounced by the boys at the rugby, was a firm favourite. We went on tour to Bognor. We were supposed to be playing their 3s but due to an administrative error we ended facing most of their first team. Most of our squad were more than a little worse for wear but Smithy took them on single-handed and we were somehow winning at half time - albeit we went on to lose the game. 42 Ben Smith

“Then there was a cup game against Newbury Stags, who were definitely two leagues above us, but it could have been three. I can’t remember all the details but again Smithy rose to the occasion and did his best to beat them on his own. We ended up drawing the game 34-34 but went out as we were the home side. Oh, the injustice of it all.”

For Paterson, another memory of Smith’s time at Colston’s is still fresh in the memory. “He was very good but he didn’t tear teams apart, in fact the guys from there still rib him about a local cup final against Frampton Cotterell where he missed a number of easy shots at goal. His goal kicking for Otago was never much better.”

It is testament to Smith’s drive and ambition that he has gone from ‘gappie’ at Colston’s to world star. He is the school’s only All Black and a photograph hangs of him in the clubroom. For Paterson, Smith’s experience at the school “had a major influence on his career”.

After his time at Colston’s, Smith returned to Otago and played for his beloved Green Island. When Paterson returned to Dunedin in 2007 he tried to persuade Smith to join the Southern Club but “true to form in his well mannered way he politely declined and wanted to stick with his local club which is about a long iron shot away from his parents’ place.”

A couple of years on and in 2008 Smith was picked for Otago and in 2009, the Highlanders came calling. An All Blacks debut followed and now, he is the form back in world rugby after crossing for eight tries in the recent Rugby Championship.

But a school of 802 students can feel proud at the role they had in getting Smith to where he is now. As Leek remembers, “Ben was an all round good egg who no one has a bad word to say about”.

Paterson still catches up with Smith on a regular basis and puts his current status down to hard work. “I still find it hard to believe how good he has become and at present probably one of the form players in the world but he has always taken time at whatever level to realise how good he could be.”

From Colston’s to being one of the best players in the world in eight years, it has been a rapid rise for Ben Smith. We thank Tom Hamilton of espn.co.uk for permission to publish this article.

Headmaster’s article

y first experience of Colston’s School occurred on a beautiful summer afternoon and involved a high Mspeed tour of the school conducted by Mrs Brighton. I have often referred to my first impressions of Colston’s pupils and they remain unchanged to this day. While I have visited hundreds of schools I have never met boys and girls who display such outstanding courtesy and politeness – who welcomed me so warmly and were so willing to engage me in conversation. Never have I met pupils who represent their school with such obvious pride – and so it remains.

It was, at first sight, very clear to me that there was a need to attend to the fabric, facilities and the quality of our classrooms in the school. We were, however, faced with numerous compliance issues and had to attend to the kitchens, roofs and boilers, as well as responding to the recommendations of a Boarding Inspection and a visit from the Fire Officer!

For all this we were able, with the support of Governors, to refurbish the Library followed rapidly by the Laboratories, Sixth Form Centre and DT facility. Larger projects were to follow and the phased refurbishment of the Teaching block and the conversion of Mortlake produced high quality classrooms and an improved 43 Headmaster’s article

environment for teaching and learning. None of this would have been possible without the work of Nicola Prosser, the Finance Director and Alan Meakin, the Facilities Director. Both have worked tirelessly to ensure that projects have been delivered on time and within budget. Without them very little would have been achieved and the improvements in the school are, in all respects, a reflection of their excellent work.

There was also a need to review the place of boarding which was, at the time, central to our recruitment of rugby players. It was clear that a small boarding community was not financially viable and the last boarder left in July 2011. This provided an opportunity to provide additional sixth form teaching rooms and a large examination room in the heart of the school.

Throughout my time at Colston’s I have always been convinced that the House system is one of the major strengths of the school. The quality of pastoral care at Colston’s is notable and I would want to record my thanks to the Tutors and pay tribute to the outstanding work of the Heads of House. There is no doubt that the quality of relationships between pupils and staff underpins all that we seek to do. My favourite annual events are the Inter-House athletics and the House Music competitions which both reflect the spirit of camaraderie and healthy competition that pervades the school. Of all things, however, the hours spent in the Dining Hall have been my favourite time. It has always been a pleasure to have lunch with members of the school and to enjoy the quality of our catering. John Dier and his staff produce excellent meals and I have never had a complaint about school food in my time as Headmaster!

The Old Colstonians have been keen to support the school and always afforded the Headmaster support in the form of pupil bursaries, assistance with development projects and support for individual and collective pupil initiatives.

The generosity of Kenneth Hilborne and Roger Newport, both major benefactors, will enable us to support pupils from modest homes and widen access to a Colston’s education. Both retained a strong affection for the school, a tangible appreciation for their education and a commitment to the school motto, ‘Go and do thou likewise’. It was clear to me that their time at Colston’s had a major impact on their lives and played a large part in their success.

The Society of Merchant Venturers continues to provide half of the Governing Body and retains strong links with the school. I would want to thank all of the Governors for their support and wish Robert Bernays, the new Chair, every success in the years to come.

At the heart of every school is the staff and I would want to pay tribute to the commitment of the staff to our pupils and their loyalty to the school. Equally, the ancillary staff works tirelessly to ensure that everything is as it should be. Their commitment, loyalty and consistent good humour have always been evident and I would thank them one and all.

Finally, I would want to record my pride in each, and every, member of the school who have collectively given me so much. I have always been touched by the affection and attention members of the school have afforded me.

There is no doubt that I will miss Colston’s far more than Colston’s will miss me. I will always have a huge attachment to the school and consider it a privilege to have been the Headmaster. I trust I leave Colston’s a better place for Jeremy McCullough who succeeds me and I know that he will be warmly welcomed by the wider school community.

Headmasters come and Headmasters go, but Colston’s remains!

Peter Fraser

44 Peter Fraser

Headmaster 2005 – 2013

hen Peter Fraser first visited Colston’s he was immediately impressed by the open, engaging and Wconfident students he met. It was an experience he was to recall many times and throughout his headship he maintained that Colston’s greatest asset was its pupils.

Peter’s time as headmaster was characterized by his relationship with every boy and girl at the school and he frequently spoke of joining them for lunch in the dining room as being amongst his happiest moments at Colston’s. His hoard of chocolate bars, kept in a large plastic container in his study, and distributed to deserving pupils was further evidence of the very special relationship he had with those in his charge. He was proud that his two children, Georgie and Charlie, were educated at Colston’s.

Peter joined Colston’s in the autumn of 2005 having previously been headmaster of the Boys Division of Stanford School in Lincolnshire. He took an active interest in all aspects of School life but still found the time to be a regular attender at the OCs monthly meetings. He encouraged closer ties with the OC Society and welcomed old boys and girls back to the school whenever they were able to visit.

Peter was a passionate believer in the founding principles of Colston’s School and was the main driving force behind the establishment of the Colston’s Foundation whose purpose is to raise money to provide bursaries to parents of aspiring children who might otherwise not be able to afford a Colston’s education.

Peter Fraser made a huge contribution to Colston’s School, during his eight years as Headmaster.

• Academic performance improved significantly • A wide, rich and vibrant co-curricular programme of activity has been maintained • Students continue to participate in a huge range of community and charitable work • Access to a Colston’s education for talented children from aspirational but poorer homes has been broadened by the expansion of means tested bursaries • The exceptional standards of behaviour, politeness and confidence of all students continues to impress, and • Despite the deepest recession in living memory, the school has continued to invest heavily in its buildings and facilities to make the educational experience at Colston’s truly exceptional.

Peter left Colston’s at the end of the autumn term to take up the appointment as head of St Andrew’s College in Dublin and we wish him and his wife Sara every happiness and success in the future. Peter and Sara Fraser at the Parents’ Society Dinner Dance Ian H A Gunn 45 From The Chair of Governors Mr R Bernays Tel: 0117 9655207

From The Chair of Governors 22nd November 2013 Mr R Bernays Tel: 0117 9655207 Dear OC s, 22 nd November 2013 The Governors are delighted to announce that Sally they and Jeremy have McCullough appointed Jeremy McCullough as the next Head of Colston's Dear OC s, School.

The Jeremy Governors McCullough are is delighted currently to Second announce Master that (Deputy they Head) have of appointed Lancing Jeremy College, where he has played a McCullough as the next Head of Colston's key role School. in this very successful independent co-­‐educational school in West Sussex. Prior to this, he was a Housemaster at Fettes College in Edinburgh. Jeremy McCullough is currently Second Master (Deputy Head) of Lancing College, where he has played a keJeremy y role was in educated this at very successful a comprehensive independent co-­‐educational school school in in West Nottingham, Sussex. from Prior where to this, he was a he secured a place at Christ Housemaster Church, Oxford. at After Fettes grad Collegeuating in he Edinburgh. moved to Cambridge to complete his PGCE in Mathematics with Sport.

At Jeremy Oxford was educated Jeremy played at in the a comprehensive University football side school and he in also Nottingham, played cricket. from where At Cambridge he was he secured a place at Christ awarded Church, Oxford. a After Football graduating Blue and also a he Half moved Blue to for Boxing. He Cambridge presently to complete his coaches PGCE hockey in and Mathematics he is also with Sport an . accomplished viola player. Jeremy embodies the Colston’s tradition of pursuing breadth as well At Oxford Jeremy played in the University football side and he also played cricket. At Cambridge he was excellence! Academically, Jeremy has done much to help develop impressive academic results at Lancing awarded a Football Blue and also a Half Blue for Boxing. He presently coaches hockey and he is also an and he will be taking a keen and active interest in all aspects of Colston's. It is also quite clear that he will accomplished viola player. Jeremy embodies the Colston’s tradition of pursuing breadth as well ensure that the pastoral strengths of Colston's are taken from strength to strength. excellence! Academically, Jeremy has done much to help develop impressive academic results at Lancing and he will be taking a keen and active interest in all aspects of Colston's. It is also quite clear that he will ensure Jeremy and that his the wife pastoral Sally strengths will of Colston's be are moving taken to from the strength Head's House to strength. with their four children who will be entering the school at various stages between Reception and Year 9. Here is a message from him-­‐ Jeremy and his wife Sally will be moving to the Head's House with their four children who will be entering I the am school delighted at to various have been stages appointed between as Reception the next and Head Year of 9. Colston’s Here is a message from him-­‐ and Sally and I are thrilled that our four boys will be joining such a happy, busy and positive coeducational school. The holistic education provided at I Colston’s, am delighte from d to age have 3 been all the appointed way through to 18, is something as the that next Head we firmly of Colston’s believe and in Sally and we look forward and I are thrilled that our four boys to being will part be joining of the such next a exciting happy, stage busy in and the positive school’s coeducational long and distinguished history. school. The holistic education provided at Colston’s, from age 3 all the way through to 18, is something that we firmly believe in and we look forward The to being family part feel of of the the next school, exciting and stage the enthusiasm in the of school’s the long and distinguished history. pupils and staff that we have met so far im pressed us enormously and Sally and I look forward to meeting the rest of the school in near future; pupils, The family parents, feel teachers, of the support school, staff and and the enthusiasm the wider of Colston’s the pupils community. and staff that we have met so far In the meantime it is great to know impressed that us the enormously school will and be Sally e in the very saf hands and I of look Mr Peter forward Goodyer, to meeting with the whom I shall be in close rest of the school in near future; communication pupils, parents, until teachers, formally support taking staff up and my the post wider in September Colston’s 2014, community. as he continues to build on the In the meantime it is great to excellent know that foundations the school laid will by be Mr e in the very saf Peter Fraser. hands of Mr Peter Goodyer, with whom I shall be in close communication until formally taking up my post in September 2014, as he continues to build on the excellent foundations laid by Mr Peter Fraser. Jeremy will be coming over to regularly Colston's and is keen to start meeting staff and parents on various occasions from January onwards. I am sure that you will share our confidence and enthusiasm that the Jeremy will be coming over to regularly Colston's and is keen to start meeting staff and parents on various school will be brilliantly led in the years ahead and give Jeremy and his family a warm welcome. occasions from January onwards. I am sure that you will share our confidence and enthusiasm that the school will be brilliantly led in the years ahead and give Jeremy and his family a warm welcome. Yours faithfully Yours faithfully

Robert Bernays Robert Chairman Bernays of Governors Chairman of Governors 46 David Shaw

David Shaw Treasurer

Dave (Cacker) Shaw retired as the Society’s Treasurer in March 2013, after 33 years dedicated service, and handed over to Steve Burnside who is still an active member of the OCRFC.

Dave was at Colston’s, in Beaufort House, from 1956 to 1961 and represented the School at both rugby and cricket. It was therefore natural, on leaving School, for him to join the OCs Sports Club for whom he played cricket and rugby for over 20 years. He was a fine winger and made several appearances for Bristol RFC. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant and ran his own very successful practice in Bath. He married Rachel Tolman (younger sister of fellow OC Jim) in 1978 and they have three children, Hannah, Sophie and Daniel, who, following in his father’s footsteps, recently qualified as a Chartered Accountant. David is now also the proud grandfather of three lovely grandchildren.

Dave took over as Treasurer from Jeff Lewis in 1980 when the OCs had assets of about £15k including the OCs ground at Mile Straight, a valuable legacy provided by our predecessors including Frank Taylor. Today we still own much of the ground at Mile Straight, which now includes a modern Clubhouse which cost the best part of £1million (in sharp contrast to the facilities that Dave and others at that time enjoyed) plus the Society now has investments and other assets totaling some £2.5 million.

Dave has been responsible for the proper safeguarding of these assets and was almost totally responsible for making sure that when we sold land at Mile Straight, we retained as much as possible of the proceeds and paid as little as we could to the tax man.

Dave was President of the OC Society in 1992 and it was during his year of presidency that the OC Charitable Trust was set up. The Charitable Trust is already assisting 4 pupils to attend Colston’s and has recently announced the award of two further Jim Tolman bursaries starting in September next year. We have David and others to thank for their foresight in establishing the charitable trust which will benefit many more children who in due course will become worthy Old Colstonians.

Current and future OCs have a lot to be grateful to Dave Shaw for and we hope that we will continue to benefit from his wise and cheerful counsel for many more years to come.

Ian H A Gunn 47 OC Contributions

The Other Beautiful Game

I once saw Bill Clinton explain, with dead-pan face, that he used to play saxophone in nightclubs to earn a living, but then decided he wanted a day job …..

My own day job has been fostering rural development in developing countries. After qualifying in various aspects of biology I left Britain and have spent more than 25 years’ living in Africa, and another 12 years in Asia, across some 20 countries. I started off at the technical level, becoming an ‘expert’ in this and that. Then over time, like all of us, I became a project manager. I’ve liked nothing more than operating at grass roots level, sitting under a mango tree or in a local administrator’s office in the middle of nowhere, helping to formulate a development plan for the village.

After a while at this though, I realised that to actually get some of these plans implemented I needed to take time away from the project, at the political level, and came to spend more and more time with government Ministers. Otherwise, no matter how good an idea or a plan might be, unless it has the backing of the Minister concerned, it may never see the light of day.

I started writing speeches for Ministers, for they often seemed not to have time to do so. The next step was to start writing speeches for Presidents. These tended to be more political than technical. Yet never have I been paid to do this. It has never been my ‘day job’. Yet, unless it was done, I was unable to do my day job properly. There can be no development without political stability, something we take for granted in Britain, though it has been hundreds of years in the making.

The point of writing all this is to suggest to those still at our school that it might be worthwhile considering ‘politics’, as a day job (like Bill Clinton) or as a supplementary activity. Not necessarily straightaway, and indeed, preferably not straightaway. Get a lot of real world experience first, so you have something to offer.

Whilst in Ireland this February I had the pleasure of listening to John Bercow, Speaker of the British House of Commons, during a visit he paid to University College, Cork. Not only did he give a very amusing speech to the Department of Government, but he made several very important points. One of these was how much debate mattered. A good idea will always survive the grilling it may receive in the House, so long as it is argued well. These debates really matter, he opined. It is not like the Oxford Union, he said - peoples’ lives are actually influenced by decisions made at Westminster.

I like to think that the speeches I wrote for one particular President in Africa influenced peoples’ lives, beneficially. This was not my interference in the politics of another country, for I qualify to be a citizen of that country too, and had spent many years there. I had helped that President in a small way during the bush war he fought to gain power, thereby putting an end to years of bloodshed at the hands of a raft of appalling dictators. And I knew one of those dictators personally, saw the madness in his eyes at close quarters, was jailed by him for a while. As the Irish statesman Edmund Burke once famously said, “All that is needed for evil to flourish, is that good men (and women) do nothing”.

When the last of the dictators was driven out of that country by a brilliantly executed people’s bush war, there was never a more popular President in the whole of Africa. Like millions of others, I would gladly have fought beside him, laid down my life under his leadership, had war ever again been needed to defend personal liberty. I wrote speeches for him because he deserved it, because the country deserved him. There was only one speech I ever wrote for him that he declined, on the grounds that “I’ve written one just like it myself recently”. What a thrill for me to hear that, to know that we were on the ‘same page’. I wrote for him during two Presidential election campaigns, and each time he received about 79% of the public vote. 48 OC Contributions

Once, during the first campaign, I happened to be in a town that he was visiting on the trail that day. I departed for the capital before he did. I saw the people had gathered along the road in their tens of thousands to welcome him drive back later. My travelling companion said she saw one man had stripped off his shirt and pinned a photo of the President to the skin of his chest. The crowds were exultant. He had brought peace to the country. We no longer had to sleep in banana plantations for fear of being taken during the night by the secret police, and never seen again. And with peace restored, the country once again developed, the energies of the private sector being released. It was again possible to plan. The country boomed, indeed it did, in those post-war years, and is still booming today. I have never been more elated than driving along that road to the capital knowing that ‘my man’, who would soon follow me, had so endeared himself to his people.

Later that evening, in my home in the capital I watched the national news on television. It showed the President’s motorcade struggling to make headway because of the throng along and all over the road. He eventually reached the capital for a pre-arranged address at a large sports stadium. He started by apologising that he was late ‘because of the crowds’. The TV newsreader, whom I knew, said the packed stadium roared “Never mind !“. My companion and I watched this TV news standing. We were far too exhilarated to sit. We both cried. I am crying now as I write my recollection of it. What an honour to have witnessed that day, to have been part of it. What a great country, that allowed me, born in England, to be part of the campaign. When I next saw the newsreader I told her how emotionally uplifting her newscast had been that night … the way she had said ‘Never mind !’ ….

During the second election campaign I was out of country, working with another government, so submitted my draft speeches to the President through one of his senior advisers. I was particularly happy with one of the speeches, which had been inspired by Henry V’s Agincourt address, as imagined by Shakespeare almost two hundred years after the battle. I had sent my scripts to my colleague there, for her information, and she attended the election eve address to the country, which the President made from an airstrip in the capital. She told me that ‘my Agincourt speech’ was saved until that moment. I was just so proud, so humble that the great man had thought it worthwhile to give, to rally his votes on the last day of the campaign.

Years later I was able to get close like that to another President, who was a champion of his people, Yasser Arafat. He awarded me citizenship too because of the work I’d done. I had drafted a decree for him at his request, but he was murdered before he could issue it. I am in his country now, Palestine, close to where he is buried. Never a day goes by when I do not miss him, hardly a day when I do not remember the dinner to which he invited me, with all his advisers present, just weeks before he was poisoned, serving me himself, making sure I knew the cultural significance of every item he put on my plate. He pulled me by the hand through the corridors of his ‘Mukata’ palace. He was strong and vigorous. I don’t know how many times we kissed each other that evening, as Arab men do. He got some bad publicity, yet had he lived, by now there would have been peace in the ‘Middle East’. I feel certain of that, because he had the total loyalty of his four million people, and the other six million in the Diaspora. He had complete authority.

So, pupils of Colston’s, politics can be an honourable calling, and can give one the most enormous satisfaction. Rab Butler, architect of the 1944 Education Act (and whom I believe once presented the prizes on speech day at Colston’s), in his autobiography described politics as ‘The art of the possible’. It is an instrument whereby you can make your mark, make the world a better place. One doesn’t need to go to Africa or Asia to get involved in politics of course. I have never participated in British politics, because I’m hardly ever in Britain. Yet one of my favourite political books is “Time to Declare” by David Owen, leader of the short-lived Social Democratic Party, and what an impassioned read that makes, of his ideals and political career. The passion that John Smith, former Labour Party leader long before your time, put into his

49 OC Contributions

job was stunning, a passion that killed him. And no British politician has impressed me more than Michael Stewart, former school teacher (at Merchant Taylors’) and Labour Foreign Secretary, whom I saw give the most sincere speech at the Cambridge Union. I shall never forget his deliberate and beautiful delivery, making his case in support of the motion.

I would commend politics to you, as a day job, or as an evening job, as best suits you, and at whatever level you choose. I shall always be so grateful to Mrs Frankham, mother of my dear classmate Geoff (whom I met again this year after more than 50 years), who as a Brislington ward Councillor in ‘local government’, made it possible for me to take a second degree, through her nursing my application for a grant through the Bristol Education Committee. Because of that qualification in psychology, I’ve been able to participate at ‘street level’ in the peace process, in both Israel and Palestine, when I can spare time from my day job, which currently is preparing the olive sub-sector strategy for the Palestinian Authority Ministry of Agriculture. In the Holy Land, growing olives and extracting their oil, provides the main livelihood of the rural people, has done for thousands of years. The same olives that President Arafat had spent time telling me about, that evening in 2004.

John Ashley, September 13th, 2013

Dolphin (1952-61)

Defeat only the prelude to drama

It must have been the Saturday of the winter mid-term weekend holiday. I have been a fanatical supporter of Bristol Rovers for 55 years since I watched my first match at Eastville. It was not until 1965, however, that I watched my first away match. Forty years later, the fact that Rovers lost the match appears of little importance on a day which ended in drama.

Beaufort house school friend Ian Thomas and myself decided to watch the FA cup-tie at Reading, We travelled on the supporters’ club coach. The journey to Reading was without significant incident. Anticipation turned to disappointment as Reading won the match 3-2.

Upon leaving the ground we decided to have something to eat. We found a café nearby. I cannot recall whether we lost track of the time or whether we had not checked the departure time of the coach. What I do recollect, however, is that as we came out of the café we saw to our horror the coach disappear from our vision. We had missed it! How could we have been so stupid as to allow that to have happened?

We considered our options. It would be no problem were we to go home by train. Or would it? We had little money between us – especially after the café! Certainly there was not enough for the train fares. ‘We can catch the supporters club train to Bristol! After all, we came to Reading on their coach,’ I reasoned. The train station was near to the ground. ‘You can buy train tickets for Bristol’ said the man in the ticket office. ‘However, you cannot use the coach tickets!’ How naïve of us to suppose otherwise!

The problem was that we had insufficient money for the train. We resolved to walk and hitch lifts. It was the mid-sixties and hitchhiking was very popular then. In retrospect, I realise the problems we faced as we embarked on our walk along the A4. Two teenage boys with football rattles could have suggested a risk for would-be Samaritan drivers. Furthermore, it transpired that this was to be the coldest night of the late autumn. 50 OC Contributions

Not long after reaching the A4 we were delighted when a Morris Minor stopped. An elderly couple offered us a lift. This was to shorten our journey by about 25 miles. Hitchhiking is great! With renewed confidence we left the kindly couple and started to walk again. As evening progressed the cars became less and less. It was of course the early days of the motorways. The majority of traffic had transferred to the much faster roads. Concerns came into my mind! The coach would have arrived in Bristol. Mum would be expecting me home shortly. We must find a telephone box as soon as possible! Mobiles are so invaluable in such a situation. In 1965 what WAS a mobile?

After what seemed to be an eternity a Land Rover drew alongside. To Ian and myself, both particularly small teenagers, the driver seemed to be very large. During the journey he said little. However, suddenly he started to mutter to himself. He then stopped the vehicle, jumped out and began to kick the bonnet violently. He then proceeded with the journey as before. A few minutes later he started muttering again and repeated the process. Whilst he was kicking the bonnet Ian and myself exchanged worried glances. We had not noticed the Land Rover behaving oddly. The only odd behaviour seemed to be that of the driver. Was he a mad man? If he were to turn his violence towards us instead of the Land Rover what hope would two weedy lads have against this ‘Colossus’ of a man?

The journey continued in this fashion for perhaps forty-five minutes. During this time concern evolved into anxiety. He WAS mad! Suddenly the Land Rover stopped and the man let us out. We were now at Devizes. I am sure that Ian felt as did I that we had just had a very lucky escape.

Back on the road as pedestrians again the priority was to find that elusive telephone box. We walked and walked. There were now very few cars and it seemed that the prospect of a further lift was remote. After the last episode we were not certain that we wanted another lift anyway. At last we spied a telephone box and made our respective calls. I was convinced that Mum would be panic-stricken by this time – about 2.30 am. “Hello, Mum, we missed the coach back and we are hitching lifts”. “Yes, I thought so”, came the very calm reply! “I’ll see you when I see you!” I was so relieved that I had been able to alleviate the dreadful anxiety that I had felt sure my mother was feeling. I was nonplussed at her calmness in the situation.

Shortly after the telephone calls a man pulled alongside us in a Bentley. This was going from one extreme to another! He took us from Box to Bath station. We slept in the station for an hour or so and then took the early morning milk train to Bristol. We had just enough money for that.

We alighted from the train. Walking down the incline outside the station we were greeted by a suspicious policeman. “What have you been up to?” he asked. When we told him I suppose he realised that there really could be no other answer. After all we still carried our football rattles!

Thirty years later the story broke of the many bodies found buried in Gloucester. It was believed that many other bodies lay buried – some since the 1960s - in haunts known to a certain Fred West. I read that this killer used to drive around in his Land Rover picking up innocent victims. I understand that one such area was not far from Devizes!

Perhaps we really did experience an amazing escape that night.

Pete Stock

51 Colston’s Summer Ball

Colston’s Summer Ball Saturday 28th June 2014

t is with great excitement and pleasure that we announce the Colston’s Summer Ball to be held on ISaturday 28th June 2014. This is a Ball for the whole of the Colston’s family and friends. It will be hosted by The Old Colstonian Society, The Old Colstonian Rugby Club, and The Colston’s School Parents’ Society and Colston’s School.

This will be a spectacular event held in a marquee at Colston’s School. A special evening where we can all dress up and feel glamorous in our Ball gowns and Dinner suits. There will be a pre-dinner drinks reception at 7.00pm on the school library lawn as well as alongside the marquee which will be situated on the school cricket field near the pavilion. This will be followed at 8.00pm by a delicious three course dinner. We will also have a well-stocked bar in the Marquee including a selection of wine to have with dinner. To help make the night even more fun we are having a top quality live band with DJ so that we can dance the night away and for those punters among us we are also having a Casino.

We are very keen to encourage all those connected to Colston’s to keep in touch and help celebrate being part of a wider Colston’s family. Coming together at a great event like this is an ideal opportunity for us all to share with friends and loved ones and create memories to treasure.

We do not want anyone to miss out on this special event, something they might not hear about and would otherwise have enjoyed. We would like to prevent this happening and ask that everyone contacts some of their friends they were at School with and encourage them to come along, you might even like to arrange a group of 10 to fill a table.

You may be in a position to support the event as a sponsor which would be a huge help to the hosts and add to eveyone’s enjoyment. Even the smallest amount would be greatly appreciated and will make a valuable difference. If this is something you feel you can help with please contact Mr Andrew Thomas OC Society president at [email protected] who would be pleased to discuss this with you.

Tickets, which are available to all family and friends of the Colston’s community, are priced at £55 per person – however, tickets purchased as a table or individually before the 1st March 2014 will be only £50 per person.

Tickets are available from Tracy Mace at Colston’s School (a booking form can be downloaded from the school website) Colston’s School, Bell Hill, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1BJ

Tel: 0117 965 3376 Email: [email protected]

52 Old Colstonian Golf Society 2013

Old Colstonian Golf Society 2013

wenty-two brave souls assembled on 7th April Tin the sub-arctic chill at Oake Manor Golf club, near Taunton to contest the OCGS Spring Shield. The trophy was ably won by Alistair Huckle with 38 points, a remarkable effort considering most of us couldn’t feel a club in our hands!

On to Minchinhampton in mid-July, when conditions couldn’t have been more different, as a packed field played at one of our favourite courses Mike Brown receiving the Autumn Challenge Trophy in unabated hot weather. As England defeated from Club Captain Glyn Evans Australia at Lord’s Peter Huckle, determined not to be upstaged by his son’s efforts at Taunton, lifted the Summer Cup with a net score of 66 strokes.

In between times, the Society took on the School and the School Staff in an inaugural three-way match at the Bristol Golf Club. A closely fought affair was ultimately won by the Society but there will be the opportunity for revenge, as battle will be resumed next year.

And finally to the Autumn Challenge Trophy played on the 29th September at the country’s oldest golf Club Captain Glyn Evans presenting Peter Huckle club at Royal North Devon, Westwood Ho! Another with the Summer Cup full field saw Mike Brown take the cup with an extremely creditable 38 points.

It has been a very enjoyable year with nearly forty members turning out over the three fixtures, six of whom were playing with the Society for the first time. Next year’s fixtures are detailed below. Why don’t you come and join us?

Glyn Evans OCGS Club Captain [email protected] (W) 01934 637911

(H) 01934 863129 Alistair Huckle congratulated by Club Captain Glyn Evans on winning the Spring Shield.

2014 Fixtures

Fri/Sat/Sun 25/26/27 April 2014 Friday 11 July 2014 Sunday 7 September 2014 Carlyon Bay Hotel, St. Austell Knowle Golf Club, Bristol Orchard Leigh Golf Club, near Frome

53 Old Colstonian Golf Society 2013

Members who played during the year

David Briffett Mike Humphries Andy Thomas Rob Green Roger Fry Andrew Smith Neil Crombie Colin Olds Rob Pike Dave Bowrey Richard Jennings Chris Wells Peter Boswell Alistair Huckle Dave Tooze Kevin Griffiths Richard Hibberd Peter Skeels-Piggins Iain Crombie Ian Parks Ian Roberts Andrew Bromley Richard Lewis Matt Webley Pat Bowrey Peter Huckle Steve Tucker Ian Gunn Dave Hodgson Martin Tayler Glyn Evans Marina Parks Dave Shaw Mike Brown Doug Lodge Dougie Winston Samantha Bowrey Bob Jennings Keith Watts

54 Postbag

We were pleased to hear news of Charles Wokoma (class of ’86) who was married recently. He sent us some photos from the ceremony.

Charles went to university in Nigeria where he read architecture and practised that for a while. He then jumped at an opportunity to work with an international oil company (AGIP) where he is still working.

We also have news of Martin Lawrence (1966-75) who in December 2013 was retiring as Managing Director of EDF Energy. He now plans to spend more time at his house in Florida, at least in the winter months. He will retain his role as a Director of Energy UK, a member of the Council of the Energy Institute and as a Non- Executive Director of Ofwat. We hope you enjoy your retirement Martin.

A more recent OC, Christy Greaves, also writes: “My partner Sam and I are both very excited for the birth of our first baby, due in April 2014. After 4 years managing hotel events, it is nice to be able to take some time out, building the nursery in our home and planning for family life! Sam is a chef at The Olive Shed in the City Centre, but as he has also played a few games of rugby for the O.Cs, Colston’s has a special place for him as well. We hope our little one will be able to enjoy the same school traditions at Colston’s as I did, when the time comes.

55 Obituaries

Brian Meadows (1934 - 2013)

The Colston’s “family” was well represented on Monday 20th January 2014 at the service in celebration of the life of Brian Meadows, former head of mathematics at Colston’s School, who passed away before Christmas. Amongst a large congregation at St Peter’s Church in Frampton Cotterell of Brian’s family and friends there was a good representation of Brian’s colleagues, former pupils and parents of former pupils to pay tribute to Brian. Mike Graham, Brian’s former colleague in the mathematics department at Colston’s, conducted the service. Another former colleague, Alan Brown, played the organ. Brian had taught at Colston’s from 1971 until his retirement in 1995. Brian’s children Simon, Jeremy and Louise read out a message from Brian’s wife Cynthia and each made their own tributes. Simon’s, Jeremy’s and Louise’s tributes can be seen on Colston’s web site (http://www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk/09-news/BrianMeadows.html) Contained in those tributes were extracts from many of Brian’s former pupils who had written to express their own personal tributes.

David George Dollery (Colston’s 1944 - 1950)

On leaving school David went to work for Bennett Bros. Printers until he was called up for National Service with the Royal Marines. He represented the Corps shooting at Bisley and on the rugby field. On leaving the Marines he went into the family Fish & Chip business, in North Street, Bedminster where he spent the next 30 years, hence his affectionate nickname ‘Chipper’. David joined the OCRFC in 1949 and played more than 450 games and served on the committee in many capacities. He was one of the five OCs responsible for reviving the Old Colstonian Cricket Club post war and he continued to play for many years ‘behind the stumps’ and was a committee member for 28 years before he retired due to ill health. His wife Ann’s cricket teas are well remembered. He served as an Old Colstonian Society committee member before becoming President in 1995. He was also Assistant Secretary for 9 years. For many years he also refereed rugby for Colston’s Preparatory School and will be well remembered by many OCs and staff. David retired with his wife Ann to Portishead where he did a great deal to actively support the local Royal Lifeboat Station. He will be greatly missed by his wife Ann, children Philip (72-77) and Sandra and many OCs.

56 Past Secretaries

1855-1864 R. Rowlatt (Headmaster) 1865-1876 James Jones 1877-1890 Arthur Beacham 1891-1895 Edwin G. Cooper 1896-1912 Joseph W. Miller 1913-1918 Thomas Richards 1919-1920 A. T. Richards 1921-1929 Leonard O. Vowles 1930-1931 W. C. Gillett 1932-1946 Leonard O. Vowles 1947-1960 V. C. Pratt 1961-1976 J. E. Adams 1976-1979 J. H. Parsons 1979-1986 N. P. Hurley 1986-2000 J. J. Cook 2000-2002 Mrs. A. Miller 2002- D. G. Lodge

SECRETARY

Douglas Lodge 3 West Ridge Frampton Cotterell Bristol BS36 2JA

Tel: Home (01454) 778924 Office 0845 1266600 Email: [email protected]

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY

Martin Tayler Colston’s School Stapleton Bristol BS16 1BJ

Tel: 07979 368130 Email: [email protected] Old Colstonians

Calendar of Events for 2014

Annual Events Golf Society Saturday 15th March Friday 25th, Saturday 26th Beer, Food and International Rugby & Sunday 27th April 2014 in the OCs’ Pavilion and Vets OC match OC Golf Society weekend at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall Sunday 4th May 2014 Sports Day at Colston’s School Sunday 22nd June (including tag rugby and mixed hockey) Triangular golf match between OCs, Staff and Boys Wednesday 25th June 2014 Friday 11 July 2014 OC Open Day and OC cricket match Knowle Golf Club, Bristol v 1st XI at Colston’s School Sunday 7 September 2014 Saturday 28th June 2014 Orchard Leigh Golf Club, near Frome Summer Ball in Marquee at Colston’s School 7.00 pm OC Seniors’ Events Saturday 11th October 2014 Wednesday 9th April 2014 Old Colstonian Society Annual Dinner Coach trip to visit Brooklands Museum at Colston’s School 7.00 pm and the Brooklands Concorde at Weybridge Monday 19th May 2014 Thursday 11th December 2014 Visit to County Ground Bristol OC Carol Service with Colston’s School for County cricket match against Kent at Holy Trinity Church, Stapleton (including lunch) Thursday 18th December 2014 Thursday 24th July 2014 Recent Leavers’ Informal Social Event Coach trip to Hampton Court Castle at Po Na Na 9.00 pm and Gardens, Herefordshire

If you would like further details or wish to attend Tuesday 9th December 2014 any of these events please contact Tracy Mace Christmas Lunch at Colston’s School [email protected]

Tel 01179 653376 If you would like further details or wish to attend any of these events please contact Fred Forse [email protected] Tel 01179 025901

Please see the Old Colstonian page on Colston’s School website for more details and regular updates of all events: www.colstons.bristol.sch.uk

To receive regular updates via email please ensure you are registered on Colston’s Connected website: www.colstonsconnected.co.uk