6 June 2015
The 96th Annual Old Boys’ Dinner was once again, and quite possibly for the last time for the foreseeable future, held in the School dining hall on 6 June 2015, after a year’s gap with the 2014 dinner having been held in the old Abernethy Hall, before the construction of the new hall commenced.
Old Boys were welcomed with the ever-popular sound of the Dixie Band playing out on the balcony, and a happy hum of reminiscence, as friends from years gone by met up to spend an evening together and to share in great food and, in the words of our esteemed Master of Ceremonies, a few “lemonades”.
The evening was a great success, with some of the best speakers the dinner has seen for a number of years, keeping us all well entertained. Trevor Quirk, as always our MC for the evening, had many an anecdote to bring back the happy memories of boyhood and the mischievous acts that we all got up to, proving that no matter the era, Boys High boys are all the same. Trevor’s “pokes” at School House also spurred on the audience throughout the night. Oh, how nothing has changed.
One of the recurring items on the agenda at each Annual Dinner is the welcoming of the attendees by decade. Old Boys who matriculated before 1950, right through to Old Boys who matriculated during 2014 were present at the dinner, all interspersed amongst one another; yet another great testament to the love and loyalty for the School that we all share, regardless of age.
Chairman of the Old Boys Club, James Lourens, said grace, and Harry Todd and Glen Corlett gave toasts to absent friends and to South Africa respectively. Thomas Rundle gave his Chairman’s Report on behalf of the Old Boys Association, and Mr Reeler reported back on the happenings of the School over the last year. One of the speeches that stood out, however, was that of Head Prefect Mashao Mukhari, a speech all Old Boys should listen to. It was filled with passion for the School, and inspiration for the future, and left goose bumps and a feeling of pride in all of those in attendance. It is clear, when listening to current boys of the School like Mashao, that our beloved School on the Hill continues to be a beacon of hope for education in South Africa, and that it truly is a place where we were not just taught, but where we learned to live.
We were honoured this year to have Robin Jackman, world famous cricketer and cricket commentator, as our guest speaker. Mr Jackman told many stories about his career in test cricket and even more about his career as a commentator, and spoke highly of his experiences of Boys High and the Old Boys with whom he had come into contact. He had the Old Boys in fits of laughter at stories which included riding a motor cycle in a foreign country to catch a flight that he was running late for after enjoying a drink at the pub with Trevor Quirk, and some interesting anecdotes about sharing a room with his fellow companions, which only the boarders seemed to understand.
The evening’s formalities ended with the singing of “40 Years On”, before the crowd made its way to the Old Boys Club for another “lemonade” or two.
The Association looks forward to welcoming all Old Boys to the 97th Annual Old Boys’ Dinner in 2016 in the new School hall.
“‘Tis there we learned to live. “
– Jason Webber
