PBHSOB ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

Dear Old Boy

A reminder that Summer Sports’ Day 2016 will take place on Saturday 16 January at Pretoria Boys’ High School.

The following activities will be on offer:

• Basketball
• Cricket
• Cross Country
• Squash
• Tennis
• Water Polo
• Chess

We look forward to see a great turnout of Old Boys supporting each other and the school!

In order to secure your place at Summer Sports’ Day 2016, we encourage you to please complete the attached entry form and return it to info@pbhsob.comas soon as possible or for more
information, please contact following persons:

SPORT	NAME	CONTACT
Water Polo	Jacques Erasmus	Jacques@xtrasport.co.za
Water Polo	JP Dumas	jdumas@boyshigh.com
Squash	Craig Stephens	cstephens@boyshigh.com
Cross Country	Lincoln Keeton	LKeeton@boyshigh.com
Basketball	Caterina Christodoulou	Cchristodoulou@boyshigh.com
Tennis	Gerald Stoffberg	gerald.stoffberg.pbhs@gmail.com
Chess	Elma Dreyer	edreyer@boyshigh.com

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Registration:
Registration will take place at the Sommerville Cricket Pavilion at the following times: 8:00 – 9:30 and 12:00 – 13:00.

Official Team Photographs:
Old Boys are requested to please make themselves available for official team photographs at registration.

Cash Bar Hours at Sommerville Pavilion:
The cash bar will be open from the following times: 12:30 – 14:30 and 16:00 – 18:00. Old Boys are welcome to visit the PHSOB Club in Lynnwood thereafter.

Regalia:
Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys Association Regalia will be on sale for Life Members of the PBHSOB Association at the Sommerville Pavilion on the day. Cash and Credit Card facilities will be available. Life Membership of the PBHSOB Association will also be available to those interested in joining.

CRICKET

OLD BOYS	VS	FIELD	TIME
OLD BOYS XI	PBHS 1	HOFMEYR	09:00 – 17:00
WHALES XI	PBHS 2	ABERNETHY	09:00 – 13:00
LEE XI	PBHS U15A	ABERNETHY	13:30 – 17:30
The Crufts	PBHS 3	OEHLEY	09:00 – 13:00
The Recruits	PBHS 4	OEHLEY	13:30 – 17:30
Sherwood XI	PBHS U14A	DOREY	09:00 – 13:00
No Kevin XI	PBHS U15B	DOREY	13:30 – 17:30
The Illegitimate XI	PBHS U15C	MULVENNA	09:00 – 13:00
Super Tiger Death	PBHS U14B	MULVENNA	13:30 – 17:30
The Woodrow XI	PBHS U15D	SHALANG	09:00 – 13:00
Blackmore XI	PBHS U15E	SHALANG	13:30 – 17:30

CROSS COUNTRY

The 4.5 km Cross Country race commences at 9am and starts at the tennis courts. For further information, please email Lincoln Keeton at LKeeton@boyshigh.com

CHESS

Chess matches will take place on the “stoep” of the dining hall from about 9am on Saturday morning. Old Boys who would like more information or want to register, please contact Elma Dreyer edreyer@boyshigh.com for more information.

PRETORIA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL NEWS

Congratulations to the Pretoria Boys High School Matric Class of 2015 for obtaining a 100% pass rate, as well as a Bachelor pass rate of 88%.

Special mention must be made of Gerrit Dreyer (ARM), who achieved a full house of 9 distinctions.

SCHOOL BUILDING UPDATE

Building Update; Week ending 20 November 2015

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Building is 40% complete and on schedule.
The storm water drain trench is complete with a pipe laid and is now being filled in.
The roof slab on the western side of the building has been cast, this being the last of the reinforced concrete elements in the building.
The external walls on the ground floor are now complete – the design on the western side has been modified to include ground-to-roof glass windows. The external walls on the first floor on the eastern side of the building are almost complete and the
internal walls on the eastern side of the building are currently being built and plastered.
Ventilation ducting is being installed on the library level.

Building Update; Week ending 10 December 2015

Building is 45% complete, on schedule and within budget.
The floor of the library and computer classroom has been cast and the internal walls in the music department section have been built and are being plastered. The internal walls in the library section are under construction.
The face brick panels on the outside of the building are being constructed.

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OLD BOYS IN THE NEWS

PBHSOB ON LINKEDIN

The official PBHSOB Association LinkedIn group is now open to Life Members of the PBHSOB Association. Join today and connect with other Old Boys!

The aim of the Pretoria Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association Group is to provide a platform where Life Members of the Pretoria Boys’ High School Old Boys’ Association can connect with other Life Members in a formal business environment.

https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8298402/

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PBHS OLD BOYS THUNDER GUN GROUP

John Golden and Boet Mentz became neighbours in 1967 Northcliff, Johannesburg. They soon discovered that they were both Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys.

One morning while they were jogging John suggested they have lunch together and each of them would invite an “old boys” friend. And so it was that on a blistering hot and steamy day in 1967 the four friends, all Pretoria High School Old Boys – John, Boet, Martin Mentz and “Houtie” Woodhead ex School House, Sunnyside and Rissik House respectively met for lunch in an air conditioned local restaurant.

After an hour or so of good fellowship, good fare and before going out to face the challenges of the afternoons business, they resolved to repeat this get-together once a month.

Shortly after the inaugural lunch, the “Founding Four” were joined by a handful of Old Boys who found pleasure in meeting old friends and sharing in fellowship over lunch. Numbers seemed to stabilise around 8 to 10 over the next thirty years, but one thing did make a difference, “The Girls” were invited to join their husbands at the end of the first year for a “Christmas Dinner”, a tradition that was established and continues to this day.

About ten years ago the group adopted the Thunder Gun Steakhouse as their home base.

Thunder Gun have a Pensioner’s day every Tuesday, the Pensioners get a discount of 25% on all food and drinks. As our group was growing in numbers Management decided to extend this benefit to the old boys group if we changed our meeting date from Tuesday to Wednesday (have you ever known an Old Boy to miss out on a good offer?) from then on we meet at midday on the third Wednesday of every month.

At the beginning of 2003 the late Roger Herbert was persuaded to travel from Pretoria to join us for lunch. This visit must have made a positive impression on the late Roger because only good was to follow. Roger played “Pied Piper” and gathered a group of Pretoria Old Boys to accompany him and, who to this day have honoured us with their presence every month. It’s great having them with us.

In 2005 we were delighted when the Headmaster Bill Schroder and his charming wife Cherry agreed to join us for our “Christmas Lunch” in November of that year. Bill presented us with an overview of the PBHS past year’s activities, achievements and prospects for the year ahead.

The years 2006 to 2008 were no different except to say that our numbers had increased to an average of 16/18. At our Christmas lunches we were catering for just over fifty, which made the occasion really special in so many ways.

There was a sad side to those years when we lost Martin Mentz, (Founder), Head Boy in 1945 and head of Rissik House. Martin was a fighter pilot in Korea, ADC to the last Governor General and an outstanding athlete and Victor Ludorum. More recently we lost “Houtie” Woodhead another member of the “Founding Four”. A point of interest that needs mentioning is that when any member of our group gets called to higher service, at the next luncheon their place is set but with the wine glass turned upside down as a token of respect. The widows are invited to the next annual dinner as our guests to show that they are not forgotten.

2009 was a special year in that Bill Schroder was to retire after twenty years of stewardship of one of the country’s finest seats of learning. The occasion was a well attended affair highlighted with the presentation to Bill of a beautiful crystal whisky decanter with matching glasses, an ice bucket with tongs and a crystal water jug all etched with the appropriate message beneath the Old Boys Coat of arms. It was a happy and memorable occasion tinged only with the sadness of having to bid farewell to a great Headmaster-but, of course he’s not lost to the school and now doing a great fund raising job.

Bill also introduced the new Headmaster and we look forward to having the same close relationship with him and his good lady.

Towards the end of 2010 John Golden and Boet Mentz the doyens of something rather special, something established 45 years ago which has today grown into a terrific occasion to enjoy fellowship with like-minded Old Boys over a convivial luncheon, that they have decided it was time to hand over the reins to “younger blood” and so in true democratic fashion Boet declared “by the power invested in me, I declare that Derek Brown and Mickey King, will henceforth be the Secretary/Chairman and Treasurer” end of declaration. In the true spirit of Old Boys’ tradition they have taken up the challenge and have performed brilliantly.
Derek is a great asset coming from Pretoria and Mickey, our treasurer, is looking after the Johannesburg group.

One of the first changes made was that in 2011 we had a second “Christmas” luncheon in June when we again enjoyed the company of our ladies. Long may this continue.

Our procedure at lunch is that each member pays a set amount for lunch; they can eat and drink what they wish, within reason, any balance after deducting an amount for a tip. Is handed to the Treasurer for the year-end function.

A highlight of our Christmas luncheon in 2010 was that we welcomed our new Headmaster Tony Reeler into our fellowship. We look forward to him sharing our formal occasions, at the Annual Christmas Luncheon in November and the second “Christmas” luncheon in June if they are able to fit it into their programme.

In conclusion I think it would not be out of place to pay tribute to our “Founding Four” for an idea which has brought pleasure to many Old Boys over the past forty-five years and continues today.

We hope that this short article may inspire Boys elsewhere in the world to try the same sort of thing.

Jerry Rose-Innes (Matric, 1944)

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THUNDER GUN LUNCH CLUB

The Thunder Gun Lunch Club meets on the third Wednesday of every month. The lunch dates for 2016 are as follows:

20 January 2016
17 February 2016
16 March 2016
20 April 2016
18 May 2016
15 June 2016 (Ladies welcome)
20 July 2016
17 August 2016
21 September 2016
19 October 2016
16 November 2016 (Year-end lunch with ladies)
21 December 2016 (Ladies welcome)

For more information or to join the lunches, please contact Derek Brown ddbrown@wol.co.za

IN MEMORIAM

DERYCK VAN LOGGERENBERG (1954)

PETER VAN NIEKERK (1952)

VERNON GEERE (1985)

SEAN VAN NIEKERK (2010)

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UPCOMING OLD BOY EVENTS

• 16 January 2016
  SUMMER SPORTS DAY
• 18 May 2016
  PBHSOB ASSOCIATION AGM
• 20 May 2016
  60 YEAR ON 2016
• 3 June 2016
  ANNUAL OLD BOYS’ GOLF DAY
• 4 June 2016
  ANNUAL OLD BOYS’ DINNER
• 23 July 2016
  20 YEAR ON 2016

OLD BOY REQUESTS

The PBHSOB Association Office often gets various requests from Old Boys, hence the inception of “Old Boys Requests” – a page on the Pretoria Boys High School Old Boys Association website dedicated for this purpose. Click here to visit the page.

If you would like to submit a request simply complete an application form and send it to info@pbhsob.com. Once vetted, it will be
placed on the page for a period of one month – allowing fellow Old Boys to reach out, contact you directly and assist you if need be.

Kindly note, this service is only available for PBHSOB Association Life Members.

If you have any interesting news items and photos or just want to let your fellow Old Boys know what you have been up to after school, please send all information to info@pbhsob.com