PBHSOB ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
Dear Old Boy
We are pleased to announce that Pravin Gordhan has kindly agreed to be our honoured Guest Speaker at the 95th Annual Old Boys Dinner this year. We are extremely privileged and excited to have him attend this special Old Boys Dinner and we encourage those of you who have not bought tickets do please do so without delay.
A reminder of what you can expect at the 95th Annual Old Boys Dinner this year:
- Guest Speaker – Pravin Gordhan
- Pretoria Boys High School Dixie Band
- Pretoria Boys High School Choir
- Pretoria Boys High School Orchestra
- Pretoria Boys High School Pipe Band
- School Museum will be open
All of the above as well as a Welcome Drink, Three Course Banquet Dinner and of course a great time with your fellow school mates and Masters!
We look forward to sharing the evening with you – please click here to BOOK BOW!!
In other news, the PBHSOB Association had a very successful AGM this past week, thank you to those who attnded.
The minutes of the AGM and the Chairman’s AGM report are available on the Association’s website, alternatively:
• Click here to read the AGM Minutes
• Click here to read the Chairman’s AGM report
OLD BOY NEWS
The final of the Momentum National Club Championship was hosted at Supersport Park on Monday 28th April 2014 with the final being fought out between local club side Tuks and Madibaz PE who both topped the log in their respective sections.
Who would have known that the cricket field would have six PBHSOB players gracing it on the same day? Sean Nowak, Graeme van Buuren, Murray Coetsee, Corbin Bosch and Aiden Markram all representing Tuks and Simon Harmer representing the Madibez PE.
The photoshoot of the 6 players took a while to do as Simon did not want to have the photo taken with Tuks players but was more than willing to have it done with all six players each wearing a PBHS 1st team shirt. Anyway, after much persuasion and bantering Simon agreed and the photo was taken.
The Madibaz, captained by Simon Harmer won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Tuks batsmen took the opportunity with excellent batting performances from Aiden Markram (79), Murray Coetzee (52) and Graeme van Buuren (97). They put in a combined effort to help Tuks score 316 for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
In return, the Tuks bowlers defended the total magnificently and managed to bowl out the Madibaz for 222 in 40 overs ensuring a victory of 94 runs for Tuks. Unfortunately Simon Harmer was given LBW for 1 in his innings. Sean Nowak(8-1-31-3) took three wickets in the match and Corbin Bosch (6-0-28-2) took two wickets.
Graeme van Buuren was named Man of the Match on the day with his outstanding batting performance in scoring 97 runs off 68 balls.
Tuks vice-captain, Aiden Markram was named player of the tournament. He scored 210 not out on day 3 of the tournament when Tuks played against United CC from Eastern Cape. This is the highest individual score by any batsman in National Club Championship history.
ANNUAL OLD BOYS WEEKEND
The Annual Old Boys Weekend is a mere two weeks away!
95 th Annual Old Boys Dinner – 7 June 2014
Those who have still not booked for the Old Boys Dinner, make sure you do so immediately! Email: info@pbhsob.com or call 012 348 1292. More Details >>
Annual Old Boys Golf Day – 6 June 2014
The Golf Day will be held at Zwartkop Country Club on Friday 6 June 2014. Call 012 348 1292 or email info@pbhsob.com for more details. Make a Booking >>
Battissphere Art Exhibition – 6 – 9 June 2014
There will be an art exhibition during the Old Boys weekend at the Battissphere from 8am – 6pm. More Information >>
SCHOOL HOUSE CENTENARY DINNER
Old Boys who still want to make last minute bookings for the School House Centenary Dinner are encouraged to please contact: Grant Keenan on grant.keenan@pentair.com | 082 550 2677 or
Michelle: michellepvt@vodamail.co.za | 082 457 8724 as soon as possible.
ART EXHIBITION
You are invited to an Exhibition of oils, water colours, inks and charcoal works of Trebot Barry in the Battissphere, Pretoria Boys High School from Friday 6 June – Sunday 8 June 2014 to coincide with the Old Boys Weekend and 95 th Annual Old Boys Dinner.
Proceeds to PBHS Art Department, building fund for the new hall and the artist. If there are any Old Boys who would also like to contribute artworks to the Exhibition, please email info@pbhsob.com
UPCOMING OLD BOY EVENTS
- 5 June 2014
School House Centenary Celebration Dinner Read More >> - 6 June 2014
Old Boys Golf Day. Read More >> - 7 June 2014
95th Annual Old Boys Dinner 2014 Read More >> - 6 – 8 June 2014
Trebot Barry Art Exhibition – Battissphere. Read More >>
PRETORIA BOYS HIGH SCHOOL FIXTURES & EVENTS
- 24 May 2014
Rugby and Hockey vs Parktown (Home) - 26 May 2014
Cross Country: Central Champs @ Thaba Trails - 31 May 2014
High School Choir Festival - 31 May 2014
Rugby and Hockey vs St Benedicts (Home)
LETTERS
I was at PB for six years having repeated std 6. Highlights of the 2nd std 6 was that I could do cadets when the 1st years did not. Mrs van Dyk, blond “bombshell” Afrikaans teacher. We (my brother Roger was two years ahead of me at PB ) cycled to and from school from The Willows out in the sticks about 14km come rain or shine winter or summer. There was an old school bus for all of us from Afrikaans, Meisies, Girls High and PB plus the odd CBC picked up along the way up Lynwood Rd.There was an old yellow and black school bus to Garsfontein but it was unreliable, broke down often but was lots of fun and we did take it from time to time when we were fed up with cycling.
And the teachers during those 6 years, subject to my memory, included :
Abernethy – the Headmaster,
Bob Fair – the Deputy,
Moerdyk – English,
Schiff – Science,
Walter Battiss – Art,
Larry Scully – Art,
Terence Malvena – Maths ? Geography? History?,
Terry Collard – PT ,
Harry Bennett – Woodwork,
“Blub” Howell – Science?,
“Tos” du Toit – Afrikaans,
“Baldy” Mathieson ( ex-Headmaster ) – History,
“Snake” Hofmeyer,
Ms Heystek – Maths,
Menge – German,
George Batty – the Form Master,
“Capey” Jones – Music?
Other memories relate to the graceful pine tree lined driveways, the “koppie”, large school grounds which included rugby / cricket fields, shooting range, gravel hoscket / cadet fields, swimming pool, bicycle sheds driveway from Lynnwood road and as cyclists we were not allowed to use the tree lined driveways.
Smoking on the “koppie” – Well, Walter Battiss won some or other Van Rijn cigarette award and brought a whole lot of cartons to school and said “I know some of you guys smoke so we will go and do an outdoor art class of the “koppie” and you can have a free puff “. Bob Fair used to walk to his home though the pine trees alongside the school to his home in Muckleneuk and used to alert the smokers of his pending walk thru the trees.
There were frequent visits to the headmaster’s office for “cuts” for which I make no apology and have no regrets. I was a rebellious pupil. Troublesome and disruptive were some other descriptions.
I can thank Harry Bennett for awakening the creative “handyman” instinct and his determination for perfection. Nothing but the best was allowed.
My father came to South Africa from Holland in 1946, My brother, aged 6 and I aged 4 , arrived with mother in 1947 in Cape Town . Came to Pretoria in mid 1955 and had 6 months at Brooklyn School.
As a Hollander and with a Dutch speaking family my father’s logic was that we would be fluent in Dutch. Afrikaans would be no problem and therefore an English medium school was the preferred educational institution. He had to surmount some barriers to get us into PB, but I am most grateful that he did. And then I learnt German at PB. So I speak four languages.
An academic career was not what I had in mind. So I dropped Maths ( I wa’nt good at it anyway ) and took art with respectively Scully and Battiss. If we had only known then what we know today we would have kept ALL of their casual drawings and scribbling’s which they came and did in our art books to give use creative guidance. But, Alas!
Some of the hurdles one has to overcome included Moerdyk telling me that there was no way I would make it in journalism because I did not have an adequate command of the English language.
In 1961 I applied for a job at the Pretoria News and was accepted for 1962. I had a very successful 10 year career in journalism at The Pretoria News, The Argus in Cape Town, the Rand Daily Mail and the Sunday Times / Sunday Express and the SA Financial Gazette. My psychometric assessment at the CSIR gave journalism, law and Public Relations as recommended career paths.
I went on to have a 20 year career in Public Relations, Sales and Marketing (Toyota SA, Leland SA, Jaguar Cars , Sales and Marketing Director) followed by syndicate wine farm owner, Franschhoek.
Another early hurdle was when Schiff came to get Matric results from the Pretoria News editorial offices (I was then handing them out) he told me he would not have let me pass Matric had he been in a position to do so. In retrospect, an interesting and unfortunate biased remark.
George Batty had another opinion but he never expressed them until about 10 years later, when, as Headmaster of another High school in Pretoria, he invited me to come and speak to his pupils on what one of his ex-pupils had achieved in his life up to that time through “rebellious” determination and perseverance. Everything was possible as far as I was concerned.
Ms Heystek was a firm disciplinarian and Maths teacher. She took me aside and told me that “cribbing” wasn’t going to help me pass Maths. She told me that Maths wasn’t my forte and should I not choose another subject. She had the insight to help me make a fundamental change in my schooling which was more in line with my, as yet unrecognised, talents.
And then we come to my school mates. Can you imagine 18 in a matric class!!! How does that stack up in today’s schools? A mixed group of young guys who got on reasonably well together under the guidance of a fair but strict George Batty who coached us through our last year at school. And then we entered the University of Life and…….Whew, it’s been a wonderful journey.
I am only able to single out one or two in the class who I was able to identify with primarily because they were also of a rebellious nature e.g. Taffy Jones, Neil Lumsden and James, but the six prefects in the class made for a calming influence.
As pupils we were quite cruel as well. We killed a bird, attached a piece of string around its neck and hung it from the top door pillar to his class room so that when he opened the door it would fall on him. Mrs Heystek got the coiled dead snake in the drawer of her desk. Schiff’s experiments in the gas lab were always foiled when one of us would blow back up one of the gas burners which would make the one he was using for the class experiment to go out.
Bunking, of course, was a favourite pastime. That is until Abernethy had a lot of us rounded up. We were paraded in front of the whole school at assembly and labelled as “cockroaches”. Very effective.
The final analysis is that I am proud to be a PBHS Old Boy.
Kind Regards,
Arne Pitlo
1961
– Content and photos kindly supplied by Arne Pitlo
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