From the President

from Bristolienses Spring 2022 Issue 62

In Memoriam

Dear Friends and OBs,

I write this to you from a train travelling into the Alps which is ironic really as two years ago I travelled home from the

Alps to be installed as President at the 2020 dinner.

What a two years it has been. A time to test all of us and a time that will be marked in history that really tested the human spirit. A time of uncertainty and challenge. As I write we are being tested again just as we were beginning to return to normal. I hope by the time you read this article things have settled and that humanity has overcome.

Thinking on my two years in post I want to reflect on my learning through the period. For me the importance of connection has never been more paramount. I asked you in a previous copy to go through your address books and make contact with those you had not spoken to in a while. My work in schools and in community sports clubs has emphasised the importance of connection in helping everyone feel part of something again as opposed to the isolations of lockdown where many became introspective in a way that challenged their wellbeing. Our return to sport when it eventually came in 2021 at Failand demonstrated the importance of that connection but also the small acts of kindness that make a huge difference to people’s lives, their well being and helps others feel that connection helping to strengthen their resilience.

Whatever our pastime, sport, theatre, music, reading etc the OBs’ society helps bind us OBs and non OBs together to makes us all a collective. This is witnessed every weekend at Failand, but especially on Remembrance Day when the OBSC comes together to pay respects and give thanks for the sacrifice of Old Bristolians on our behalf. The importance of young people’s connection to the past is embodied in our service and the emphasis on the history of The Memorial Playing Field.