Issue No 20 Winter 2012 Reunion For Portugal Rugby Tourists Members of the 1976 rugby tour party to Portugal – the first LGS team to go on tour - held a 35 year reunion, combining the event with the fundraising dinner for the 2012 school rugby tour to South Africa. Here Jeremy Harrison, one of the original Portugal tour members, recalls the day. The tourists met for lunch at GSAL and included Chris Bray, Andrew Illingworth, Andrew Jackson, Jeremy Harrison, Neil Muffitt, Chris Pickard, Jas Singh, Mike Smith, Steve Field and Ian Briars. Neil Muffitt read out a message received from tour captain Greg Burns and glasses were raised to all members of the party and, in particular, to the late and great Mike Lamb. Lunch was followed by watching the 1st XV play Woodhouse at the Headingley Stadium to experience from which are born Grove in a Daily Mail cup match. raise funds for the 2012 tour to true camaraderie and friendships. Unfortunately the result went the South Africa where the guest To cap the day off a few bottles wrong way but the old boys were speaker was former England and of port were consumed for old pleased to hear how the school British Lion Roger Uttley. times’ sake. was once again a force to be reckoned with at rugby across all Jeremy Harrison said a few words Thanks go to Steve Field and John age groups – just like in the good on behalf of the Portugal tourists MacKenzie for helping to organise old days! to reminisce (including the parrot the reunion. Steve, who is retiring story!) and to wish the 2012 tourists from school this summer, is going In the evening the tourists joined well. He also reminded them that on the South Africa tour. the GSAL rugby club dinner held a successful tour is a lifetime Tickets are still available for the OLA AGM and London Dinner at the Savile Club on Friday, February 24. The event starts at 7pm. Guest speaker: OL Geoff Newton, Director of Olympic Opportunity at the London Development Agency. For tickets, priced £45, contact [email protected] more news at www.gsal.org.uk 1 President’s Message Continued from front Perhaps one of the most significant words we use on a daily basis is ‘time’ and yes, probably one of the most important. My time is certainly precious to me and I am Portugal sure it is to you too, and as the years pass by it becomes even more significant. The hymn writer Isaac Watts summed time up very well in his hymn ‘O God Our Help In Ages Past, with the line ‘’time like an ever flowing stream’. I have a stream running 1976 through my garden which at times flows along gently but, following heavy rain, rushes along at a very fast and frightening rate. Our llves run along on similar lines and it The tour to Portugal was the first behoves us to make the best of this most important and precious gift. overseas tour undertaken by LGS To help in setting your OLA timetable for the year ahead, please include these and consisted of 21 players and four dates in your diary, and join us at some of these events thereby enhancing our time together in 2012! masters – Jim Collard, Mike Lamb, Ian Briars and Steve Field. Wednesday February 1 from 5-7 pm: Booking: Tickets £20 each, available from Council meeting at GSAL. www.gsalhansascooking.eventbrite. The tour was based in Estoril and If any of you have any points to raise co.uk Proceeds go to the Saraswati comprised three fixtures, all of which at this or any future council meetings Vidhyalaya, an educational charity were played in front of crowds in please e-mail me at davidkeithbell@ which funds the ‘one teacher schools ntlworld.com programmes’ in India and Nepal. excess of 1,000 spectators. The first match was against a combined Friday February 24. Start 7pm: Saturday August 4: Coimbra/Porto XV which was OLA Annual AGM and Dinner OLA Luncheon Club Speaker from RHS Garden Harlow Carr. comfortably won 52-4. This was At The Savile Club, 69 Brook Street, Mayfair, London, W1K 4ER. This lunch coincides with The Leeds Flower followed by two bruising encounters Guest speaker: OL Geoff Newton, currently Show at the school .Free entry tickets to against a Lisbon U19 XV and a Lisbon the Director of Olympic Opportunity at the show will be included. U18XV side. Both of these - with the the London Development Agency. Our London Chairman Richard Turney Saturday October 27: exception of two or three players and I hope to meet another good OLA Luncheon Club. -formed the Portuguese national contingent of OLAs and their friends. Speaker: Philip Benham, General sides. Manager of North Yorkshire Moors Saturday March 17: Railway. This event coincides with the OLA Luncheon Club Leeds Model Railway Exhibition at GSAL The first of these matches took place Speaker: Dr.Paul E.Belchetz, Consultant and includes free entry. under floodlights at the Benfica Sports Endrocrinologist, Snr Consultant Clinical Philip has helped in making this the Lecturer in Medicine at Leeds University, Stadium and the LGS team lost to a most successful and profitable private Specialist in Endrocrinology, Diabetes & last minute penalty. However they Osteoporosis. preservation railway in the UK, and I bounced back and went on to win am sure those railway buffs among you the final match 7-0. The title of his talk is ‘The Memoirs of a will greet him with great enthusiasm. Medic: The Good, The Bad and The You may have recently seen him on Ugly’ Paul is an old friend of mine and Michael Portillo’s TV programme Great The commitment on the pitch was this amusing medical talk will, I am sure, British Railway Journeys. matched only by the stamina of the meet with your approval! tourists off the pitch as the Portuguese Friday November 30: Tuesday April 3: proved to be excellent hosts with their Cookery demonstration and Annual Leeds Lunch extravagant post match hospitality buffet dinner This is our annual informal lunch when we enjoy a good meal and get together of fine food and wine. by chef Hansa Dabhi of Hansa’s Gujarati Vegetarian Restaurant, Leeds prior to the Christmas Festivities. Venue: GSAL Venue: TBA Between matches beach football Time: 6pm and the local sites and hostelries were enjoyed. The party was entertained In addition to the above events, we are hoping to hold a dinner at the school towards by the Royal British club and invited the end of the year. Details will be announced shortly. by the Ambassador himself to the I look forward to seeing many of you at these events. British Embassy in Lisbon where many David Bell were introduced to the taste of Port President for the first time! OL 2 news OL news OL news Welcome to the Winter issue of OL Review. will know as the school’s part-time Development Manager, I hope you enjoy reading about what the decided to leave as all the roles in the new structure are full- time. I am sure that you will join me in thanking her for all school’s alumni have been doing. the work she did supporting the alumni and wish her well for the future. As you will see there has been a lot going on and there have also been some changes at The Grammar School at Leeds. I am in the process of recruiting to all of the new roles, so I was appointed as Director of External Relations last March in the meantime please contact me regarding any alumni and I have been looking at the best way to ensure that the matters. School continues to be successful in the future, recognising that independent schools are operating in an increasingly Helen Clapham competitive environment. Director of External Relations [email protected] I have been working on a number of projects including the restructure of the External Relations team. Through the restructuring process Bronwen Ashton, who many of you News From GSAL You and the Olympics… The countdown is now well and truly on for the London The Annual Report 2010/11 and the Speech Day 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and we are Programme are now available. looking for any personal stories or experiences from Please email [email protected] our OLs. or telephone 0113 229 1552 for copies. You don’t have to be an Olympic hopeful to play your part in this momentous occasion! OL Geoff Newton is the Director of Olympic Opportunity at the London We are keen to keep in touch and ensure that our Development Agency with responsibility for delivering records are up to date so please email alumni@ social and economic benefits for London through the gsal.org.uk if your home address, email address or Games. telephone number has changed. You may be working with the London 2012 Organising Committee which is hosting and running the games, or perhaps you have volunteered to help at one of the We have just launched a GSAL smartphone app events, are involved in coaching, know a competitor, which you can download by using your smartphone or you may even be one of the lucky ones to have a to visit our website www.gsal.org.uk. When you are on ticket. the homepage an icon showing the GSAL logo will automatically appear at the bottom of the screen. Whatever your Olympic story, we would love to hear it. If you want to download the app, click the arrow You can write to us at [email protected] symbol beneath it and select ‘Add to Home Screen’.