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Dear OD
These are uncertain, unclear and confusing times. If you're uncertain, unclear and confused about precisely what is and isn't allowed, just ask Boris Johnson for a quick summary of the rules.
If you have children at universities in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Manchester (or in almost any other city for that matter) we hope they are holding up and that they will be home for Christmas.
ODs are made of stern stuff and even a micro-window of freedom is still a gap not to be wasted. The Instagram pages of various UK ODs reveal holidays on foreign shores with much happiness reflected in carefree faces. Those ruddy complexions may not just have been down to the sun. If Bishops taught us nothing else, it was how to survive.
Nevertheless, given the unpredictable track of the pandemic, it very much seems like it won't be until 2021 (hopefully) that our branch gets fully back into its groove. But we remain alert to those windows!
But when restrictions seemed to be lifting before they appeared to slam back down again, I was, for a moment, able to see more ODs face-to-face. Last month I mentioned several and omitted to say that I had enjoyed a wonderful Sunday lunch with Mark Charnock (O, 1962) and Margie at their fabulous home just outside of Oxford. Also there and in sparkling form, was Deborah Honoré wife of the late great Tony (F, 1939). Deborah, the daughter of the last British Governor General of South Africa, Sir Patrick Duncan, had three brothers at Bishops: Patrick (c1934 - he didn't matriculate from Bishops having moved to Winchester when he was 16),
John Hawinkels (O, 2010) once again kept me company at his local Fulham hostelry, this time in the amusing company of Nick Boswell (S, 2020).
The editorial policy of these newsletters is to prevent as far  as possible pictures of your secretary pasted all over the place, but there was no escaping this photo of (back left, clockwise) Niall Brown (G, 1973), Michael Mills (S, 1973) and Malcolm Brown (G 1978) taken last month in Barnes.
Not all of my contact with the extended OD family is face-to-face and I was delighted to have been invited to tea with Mair Molteno whose husband Julian (F, 1958) passed away in 2016. Her stories of Bishopsa and ODs, very much part of her life through Julian, were varied and amusing.She also very thoughtfully passed on Julian's full collection of magazines to the Bishops Archives for which we thank her.
Those days seem far away now with little prospect of their being regained anytime soon.
 Mike Power (W, 1957, right) turned 80 at the end of last month and we congratulate him on this milestone and send him best wishes for a very happy hear ahead.
Colour is important to artist Stephen Rae (K, 1994) and this informed his flat-toned, sharply-contrasting designs for this edition of The Old Diocesan. Editor Tim Richman (B, 1995) said they were going to use a lighter blue background for this edition but preferred the striking dark-blue option. Click on the header photo above to read the magazine online or below to order a printed copy off Amazon.
Do keep safe and don't hesitate to get hold of me if you think the ODU can help out in any way.
Kindest regards
Nicky Bicket
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ODs ON THE MOVE
This month we congratulate:
Lood van Niekerk (G, 2014) who has started on an MSc (Computer Science) at Oxford. Prior to Oxford, he was a Research Engineer at LifeQ, a company that leverages wearable data to help inform personalized health decisions. He completed his Data Science Honours at the University of Stellenbosch in 2017. He has a passion for startups and is planning to get experience in the business sphere before I try to begin my own ventures, focusing on software engineering, and machine learning in particular.
Douglas Craig (F, 1991) has been appointed as Information Security and Privacy Leader with Cognizant. In his area, he leads the team providing advisory services to CISO, CIO and CEO’s and acting as the engagement lead from a security perspective. This includes advisory in Risk Management and Controls, as well as acting in the capacity of vCISO in instances where companies do not have a CISO or where it is not economically viable to have a full time CISO
Jordan van Tonder (W, 2015) has been appointed as a Protiviti, a business and strategy consultancy based in London. Jordan graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Business Science degree specialising in Finance and has worked actuarial investments as well as serving as the head accounting tutor helping IEB and NSC students prepare for their accounting exams.
Liam Cook (S, 2015) who has been appointed as an Investment Banking Analyst at HSBC - Leveraged & Acquisition Finance. Liam graduated from the University of Cape Town with a Business Science degree specialising in Finance and Accounting. He's also written and passed CFA Level 1 in 2018 and is currently a Level 2 candidate.
Lloyd Bowden (DCPS, class of 1999) who for many years was the Director of Development and Operations for HCA Healthcare UK, has just started with Medneo as the Lead for strategic business development with PMIs and key customers in London, NHS and private. Lloyd was my predecessor as secretary to the ODU UK Branch.
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MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
 Fifty years ago, The Beatles wrote a song about it. Last month, telling a similar story, one of the most extraordinary documentaries to have been produced in recent times hit the screens to global acclaim. 6,000 miles from Liverpool, Craig Foster (F, 1985, left) has brought fame and honour to Bishops and South Africa with his masterpiece My Octopus Teacher. This Neflix-produced documentary has ready won several premier international awards. It chronicles and describes the relationship formed between Craig, a film maker and diver, and an octopus, astonishingly beautifully filmed in the waters off Cape Town. Improbable as the story may seem, and despite the differences - at least six obvious ones by my count - between humans and octopuses (or octopi or octopodes, depending on which set Latin you were in or in any set at all) this is a very real and heart wrenching story. Netflix describes it as "investigative and emotional". One reviewer recommends watching with a box of tissues at hand!
  This was something of an ODU enterprise: the music, "haunting and mystical", was composed by fellow-OD, Kevin Smuts (O, 2004, right) who for a short while was "apprenticed" to composer Grant Mclachlan (F, 1973). Barry Donnelly (B, 1988, left) was in charge of the sound design. The house and year of the octopus are unknown.
I cannot recommend the film highly enough. To watch the trailer, click HERE and to watch the film in its entirety, find it on Netflix. You'll need to be a subscriber. One of many excellent reviews can be read HERE.
As Beatle George Harrison said of the song Octopus's Garden, "... it gets very deep into the ... consciousness because it's so peaceful". He could have been speaking of this film.
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AN OD SWIMS FOR CHARITY
Sticking with the water theme, Iain Derrick (W, 1985) most impressively participated in the Channel Relay Swim last month. The project was to raise money for ASPIRE, a charity that helps people with spinal cord injuries. What ASPIRE do is outlined on their website.
Should you be so moved, donations for the cause can still be made HERE.
After many on-off-on-off moments it was eventually on, and Iain's short essay below describes, amusingly, this endurance adventure:
 Standing “ready to swim” on the stern of the boat - 31 minutes to dawn:
Speedos - check
Swim Hat - check
Swim Goggles - check
The CS&PF official observer relays the message from the bridge… “one minute”.
How did I get here…? A thought, not unfamiliar to ODs who have attended ‘get-togethers’ hosted by a certain N. Bicket (F, 1973 ), as the ‘get-together‘ lurches towards a crescendo.
My mind wanders off… What a year it’s been. Pools shut, all training needed to be in other bodies of water. This brings its own challenges of safety, conditions and obeying government guidelines.
The doubts seep in… I haven’t done enough training… I’m not prepared/acclimatised for the cold of the channel… Is my shoulder feeling a bit tight?
This adventure has been an Off Again, On Again, roller coaster since we ‘Aspire Wallabies' teammates committed to the swim on 22 Dec 2019.
Initially we were all:
On Again, sharing training tips and working hard in our training sessions.
Off Again as lockdown in March came into effect.
On Again as lockdown restrictions were lifted in June.
Off Again as Social Distancing on a boat would be impossible.
On Again as the guidelines were eased - it’s now late July…
The nitty-gritty of departure dates began to loom. It seems that getting the ‘swim window’ sorted is a bit of science, common sense, scribbling on a napkin and the boat skipper not being too grumpy…
The Aspire Wallabies window opens on 05 Sept and shuts on 15 Sept - according the the napkin squiggles…
So the call on Aug 25th was a surprise …”yes I could make it”, “can you be here in 7 hours?”, again “yes”…. so could another team, conditions meant they got the slot…
The call on 05 Sept - “get here for 12.30am departure 07 Sept” was great news… the call on the evening of 06 Sept - “the wind has changed the the forecast is poor” was disappointing.
Off Again… weather forecast looks poor until Thursday…
On Again… Thursday morning starting to look spectacular
Off Again… weather forecast looks too good for relays - solos first
On Again… weather for Monday 14th Sept looks OK - “can you make 4am, Dover Marina?”
“30 seconds” the observer mutters through his moustache… as I put my foot in the water to feel the temperature, I wonder how portentous it is that the crew of our boat remind me of the movie “Jaws”.
“Ready“… ‘Richard Dreyfuss’ shouts from the wheelhouse.
 I jump into the English Channel at the sound of the siren, swim the British side of my teammate to “take up the baton” and start my first hour of swimming. At 06h33 I watch the sunrise from the water, conditions are superb and I smile my way through my first swim of the day.
“Swimmer on board” is relayed to ‘Robert Shaw’ as I flop onto the deck like a geriatric walrus… now the ritual of getting warm begins - drying down, woollen hat, strip off swimmers, layers on and then hot drink and some food to stop the shivering.
So the day progresses with each teammate taking their turn to drive us on to France… As 18h03 and my third hour approaches, team leader Catherine leans over and asks for a “Big Push now”. This is the science part - as my hour finishes the slack tide will begin - our next swimmer needs to be as close to France as possible to finish… I nod and jump…
We land at 20h01, in the dark, scaring French fisherman with our atrocious accents and shouts of “Merci, mon ami” as they guide us to shore with their flashlights…
The trip across ‘La Manche’ back to Britain is happy but quiet, apart from third and fourth thought
I am thrilled that as a team, the Aspire Wallabies have raised about £12000 for the Aspire Charity - helping people suffering spinal trauma.
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THE ROBERT GRAY AWARD
 The Robert Gray Medal is the most prestigious award which the school can bestow on an OD.It recognises ODs who have made a significant contributions in their fields of endeavour and society as a whole.
In 2019, the inaugural Robert Gray Award was made to Robert Frater (O, 1946) and Raymond Ackerman (S, 1948). This year Richard Cock (O, 1966) was the awardee.
The full details for the award can be read HERE.
Please send your nomination with a short motivation to the ODU at odu@bishops.org.za. The selection panel - the Principal, Chairman of the College Council and the ODU Chairman - will make their selection which will be presented at the Founders Day Service next year.
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HOW THE MIGHTY ARE AGED - THE CLASS OF 1990 30th REUNION
Just before the restrictions were renewed, the Class of 1990 (UK) at the end of last month squeezed in a family weekend to celebrate their 30th reunion. (This celebration is in addition to the one taking place in Cape Town over the weekend of the 15th-18th October). Breaking with convention and eschewing the traditional black-tie and regimental port affair, the class made off on a glamping weekend in a field on the banks of the Thames at Henley. It turned out that the adjacent field had been taken over by an antique fair which posed the very real danger that at least one or two of the class were at risk of being mistaken by enthusiastic collectors as desirable objet d'art from the last century.
Caelim Parkes (O, 1990 and chauffeur, below) reports:
 In 1990, had you asked the 123 (not sure that’s accurate) boys of the matric class ‘Where will your 30th anniversary be’ – none would have suggested a camp site, next to the Thames within walking distance of Henley. But on a balmy late summer September weekend, there we were, a selection of the UK based ODs and their families – doing what we do best - make fire, cook meat and enjoying each others company.
 Murray McPherson was brave enough to suggest his Henley camp site should host the event (Embers Camping, truly excellent) – proper bell tents and blow up beds were enough to entice Neil Orpen, Gordon Robinson, Neal Arnold, James Legg, Robin Stehlik, Marc Willmott , myself and Murray to bring their families out to the wilds of the country side. Had it not been for Corona – Chris Bands, Anthony Marten, Anthony Pickering and James Deane would have joined. I am sure if our communication had been better, so would Matthew Gale, Stephen Larkin, Duncan Coombe and David Tordesillas. We still managed to miss a few others based over here, I am sure.
The Friday night pizzas provided the necessary ice breaking between the families and gently checking who’s memory was intact – with games like ‘who played centre in 1989 1st XV’ to ‘How often did Gordon play centre and prop in the same game’.
 Saturday brought out the SAn speedos and the Thames swim. Unaffected by the cold, the Thames was crossed. Don’t ask how many rowers only just missed them. Once revitalised by the cold and near death experience, it was Nicky Bicket’s turn to share his years of wisdom with us at the Henley pub lunch. Pub lunches in the times of Covid are frustrating events – mostly because tech has taken over the ordering process and quite frankly that’s for the youth. I don’t recall the major points of Nicky’s wisdom – but he assures me they were meaningful [ed: they were].
  A day of swimming, paddling boarding, pub and motor boating ended with the traditional fire, boerewors and adult beverages as we eased into the evening. More re hashing of big games, the BBC and general misdemeanours. Our wives still in disbelief at how many times we can tell the same story...and still find it funny.
There was a notable lack of fathers vs kids sports events – for good reason mind you; we’re not 21 (and some of the kids are ... almost).
It’s a great bunch of guys. Everyone of them unique. It takes a little effort to get everyone round the same fire given the priorities we all have, but worth it in these challenging times.
Thank you to Murray for Embers. He knew the risks he was taking....
Here’s to the next 10 years.
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The ODU Mentoring programme started as an experiment in the UK seven years ago and went "global" two years later. It has, with some small slips, been a great success. To-date just under 300 ODs have been mentored by mentors drawn from a panel of 346 ODs who cover 96 professions/disciplines.
The purpose of the programme was and is to provide - usually younger - ODs with the opportunity to engage with other ODs for advice around about career choice,how to prepare for interviews, relocation, and work-related issues. Quite explicitly, the programme was not designed for job-seeking although it happened that many mentoring assignments ended up with work offers..
Now we have gone one step further. Believing that there is strength and opportunity in greater numbers, our branch has got together with the UK alumni branches of Michaelhouse and Hilton to trial a platform which will create a job market for our old boys looking for or offering positions in the UK. (Old Boys looking for opportunities must be permitted to work in the UK).
The idea is that the combined alumni of the three schools provide a wider set of opportunities. Meaning that an OD may well discuss opportunities with an OH and/or OM..
This forum will be created via a private page on LinkedIn. A more detailed communication will be circulated in the next week or two. Watch this space.
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THE OLD DIOCESAN - ISSUE 6, SEPTEMBER 2020
 Issue Six is hot off the press and ready for ODs to enjoy. This edition reports on ODs in sport, history, art, music, in the time of Corona (of course) - and much more.
You may have read of the changes to the delivery arrangements for this edition.
To start with what's not changed: the magazine can still be read and/or downloaded online and to do this, please click HERE.
What has changed is for those of us in the UK who'd like a printed and bound copy, we'll need to order and pay for it via Amazon. The price excluding delivery (but free delivery for Amazon Prime members) is £8.85. If you are not an Amazon Prime member, delivery in the UK is around £2.99.
Having trialled the process for the fifth and this edition, I can assure you that the quality is top class. And you will have the magazine within seven days.
The reasons for the changes are (a) the delivery cost for getting the printed magazines here from South Africa is prohibitive (more than the magazine itself) and (b) it takes forever. Those of you who received editions 4 & 5  in the mail waited more than eighteen months
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The Amazon solution sorts out both these problems. To order your hard copy, please click on the cover picture or HERE
Enjoy it and if you have any comments, contributions or questions, please let me have them. In the meantime, congratulations and thanks to our editor Tim Richman (B, 1995, right) for another superb publication.
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THAMES HARE & HOUNDS ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS CROSS-COUNTRY
 Because the ODU is the only non-British alumni association (out of more then 40) to compete in this 67 year-old annual competition, the organisers are seizing the opportunity to rebrand the event The International Thames Hare & Hounds cross-country race.
So ODs who have always aspired to national colours need look no further than the 12th December (provisional and subject to the diktats of "the science") for this year's race.
 The race is a five mile cross-country event on Wimbledon Common. This will be the fifth year an OD team has participated, and, under our fleet-of-foot captain, Rowan Nicholls (O, 2010) we have acquitted ourselves with honour. This year we hope to better our previous performances. Having overtaken Dulwich, Marlborough, and Stowe - Eton, Oundle, Ampleforth and Winchester know we're after them.
There are the obligatory post-match refreshments which are as wet and as cold as the race itself - and lots of fun and medically necessary.
To run - in a very distinguished OD running vest - please email Rowan HERE.
In the photo, taken after the race, are last year's team (four is the minimum - come on chaps) are Robbie Brink (K, 2013), Rowan, Gordon Robinson (F, 1990) and Caelim Parkes (O, 1990).
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THE OD MARKET PLACE
Behind the "invention" of the ODU Mentoring programme seven years ago was a philosophy of "ODs helping ODs". It is a mainstay of many of the top English school's alumni associations up here and it has, worked well for us too.
These pandemic times have caused great uncertainty - but also great creativity as many of us look for innovative ways of deploying old skills. Whether this is looking to sell products or services, or to change careers, it doesn't really matter. Help in both instances is always very welcome.
And so I make no apology for bringing to the Branch's attention ODs who would like you to know that they are "available" to assist you with their experience and know-how. If you are able to reach out to them, then I know the system works.
This is exactly the value we hope the Michaelhouse/Hilton/ODU LinkedIn page will be able to create for ODs. But until then ...
 The first is Eric Allan (S, 2010) who having taken some time off to travel at end of last year - via New Zealand's South Islands and Patagonia before finally making it home to Cape Town dodging Brazil and Argentina's lockdowns, travel bans and, thankfully, the virus itself - is now heading back to the UK.
He is hoping to join one of either a private equity firm, mid-market investment bank or infrastructure fund.
 Eric's CV and contact details are HERE.
Rob Brink (K, 2013) works as a Technology Consultant for OryxAlign which entails enabling clients to operate effectively by supporting them in the use of the the right technology for their business needs. If you are in need of desktop support or internet support, or any assistance with technology, please contact Rob HERE.or on 07487772997
 We are supporting Don Nelson (G, 1957) in the marketing of his latest publication, 25 Great South African Rugby Schools. Don is pretty much South Africa's Mr Publisher, with literally thousands of books to his company's name.
To preserve what is a unique history of the game in South Africa and the schools that have traditionally excelled at it, 25 Great Rugby Schools : A History of Excellence is an opportunity to purchase the story of rugby at these schools and their contribution. This leaflet will give you a flavour of what's in the book
There are three versions:
- a soft cover at £27
- a hardback at £33
- and a Collector's Edition at £150 (this is leather bound with a tip-in page which includes numbering, signatures of the headmasters of each school, school crests in colour and name of recipient (either the purchaser or anyone else he nominates). Postage is excluded and is £4.74 per book
10% of the purchase revenues will be donated to The Bishops 175 Campaign.
If you order now, delivery will be comfortably in time for Christmas. And after 5th October there won't be any opportunity to order the book from the UK.
To place your order, please click HERE.
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 South Africa may well have declared a level-one Covid alert, but even what to us in the UK might seem like a fairly relaxed rating, the School is still operating with maximum care and vigilance. The Mitre, once - and soon to be again - the home of the ODU is for the moment the testing venue for everyone coming onto the campus. Classes are still socially-distanced and at times remote.
Notwithstanding the restrictions and the difficulty of achieving anything like a normal school programme, Bishops still continues to produce athletes and intellectuals of international standards and we congratulate those who have been selected for the national teams and who have achieved national and international honours in more academic sports.
The Principal's newsletter gives more details of all this. To read it, please click HERE.
Rowing is now among the top five sports at Bishops. Here is a short video clip which in just two minutes explains why.
I don't recall in my day that houses had their own badges - or other than the School badge, any badges. But they do now and they've just received a makeover. In all their glory, here they are:
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