Carthusian Magazine by Sitewrights

THE CARTHUSIAN Volume 40/2 2010

Volume 40/2 2010

THE CARTHUSIAN

Contents Vol. 40 no. 2 Autumn 2010

Editorial

LETTERS

Writing and Miscellanea

OC Interview NICKY HENSON

Book Reviews

Brooke Hall Salvete & Valete and page 150

OC Interview JANE ALLISON

Music Concerts and Prizes page 151

ART

DRAMA

Sport and page 155

103

Expeditions

127

Obituaries

150

Births and Marriages

151

Pupil Editors ML Reynolds (V), JP Ismail (G), RW Cowie (G), MZ Buisseret (W), AEG Marks (H), JJ Park (H), RJH Kirkman (B), TJY Parsons (B), HGD Wise (B), MT Foley (R) Editor Mark Blatchly Design & Photography Roger Smeeton Sport Bob Noble with special thanks to Margaret Mardall (OC Recorder), Catherine Smith & Sue Cole THE CARTHUSIAN, CHARTERHOUSE, Godalming, Surrey GU7 2DX THE CARTHUSIAN Vol.40 no.2 covers life at Charterhouse from July 2009 to August 2010 Views expressed are not statements of School policy, neither do they necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors

Editorial Tales, Tellers and Texts

properly appreciate the value of learning, and nowhere is that more obvious than in the curriculum offered for those in their teenage years. More than anything, the attempts to keep up with other countries in the league tables of those continuing into tertiary education – and at the same keeping those young people out of the unemployment statistics – seems to have been the primary focus, as evinced by the derogatory acronym NEET (Not in Employment, Education or Training) and the accompanying government targets and strategies that go with it. The result of all of this for the UK’s education system has been an interesting one: GCSEs prefixed the Education Reform Act of 1988 which harnessed the new examinations within Key Stage assessment, as framed by the National Curriculum. This, coupled with the required standardisation of pupils, teachers and schools has surely done little to joy – let alone engage – any of us. And the obsession with ‘key skills’ and ‘functional’ English, mathematics or other industrially useful subjects has compromised many of the subjects about which we care, resulting in a reductio ad absurdam as

Creativity in Education At Charterhouse, almost all pupils continue their education through until the end of the specialists. The, school leaving age has gradually risen as the years have gone by but it has not been raised to 18 yet. For some, the most significant educational development in the UK was the 1944 Butler Act which, amongst other things, recommended the raising of the school leaving age to 15 and the mandatory provision of part-time education for all young people up until the age of 18 (just as the Fisher Act of 1918 had also advocated). The logic was that pupils were only just starting to see the real value of education at such an age and a shift from schooling to employment at 14 was an uncomfortable disturbance. Another reason that the Butler Act sought to increase the amount of time that was spent by pupils in schools or undergoing technical training was that industry was demanding more qualified and skilled workers. In the national context it is a moot point as to whether we have gone far enough in trying to ensure that young minds

Fox on a cold day

they have come to be controlled by economic and financial forces. The result is a treadmill of educational processes, and gone is the opportunity for creativity in education. Charterhouse has turned its back on such impositions: the arrival of the Pre-U and the school’s desire to seek authorisation to offer the IB Diploma Programme are testimony to that. The Public Schools Act of 1868 in response to the Clarendon Commission enabled nine schools to be freed from the strictures of responsibility to either Crown or State, and a broader range of studies was ushered in. Both before and since, the gust for learning is something that this school has sought to foster in its pupils and it is expedient that it is allowed to undertake this without interference and without restrictions. The original, most simple and engaging educational process is that of story-telling – it is almost certainly one of the most enjoyable. How many of us yearn to cast off the responsibilities of banco (whether setting it, doing it or marking it) and return to the delights of sitting and listening to someone else telling us a tale? The popularity of this year’s Arts Festival which had story-telling as its theme, and the masterful Ben Haggarty as the story-teller in residence, suggests that we all like a good story. Telling tales is at the heart of education in that it establishes the teacher-pupil relationship and identifies information with authority. The presentation of such is important, too: if one has good stories to tell, then there is ample opportunity to choose the right one for the right moment, but limiting the range of the stories and forcing the orator to speak in a monotone will mean that the thoughts that are shared and the creative scope of the teller of tales are both constricted. What happens after the tale has been told is just as fundamental. Acquisition is the first phase, the development of dialogue, the renewal of ideas and then the use of such are how ideas become properly understood and appreciated, which is a far cry from producing regurgitated gobbets for the benefit of an examination. What goes on in the hashroom is of paramount import and how beaks and pupils interact is of the utmost significance; beaks genuinely dread the silent receipt of information, and intellectual involvement is what stimulates and entertains us all. There is a significant difference between information and knowledge: learning and experiencing this is sometimes challenging but it is a beak’s duty to inspire such awareness through encouraging experimentation and development of thought. Without such a challenge being set down it will not be possible to find ‘the treasure within’ – something that is carefully illustrated by the Delors Report of 1994 which quoted (appropriately enough) from one of La Fontaine’s fables ‘The Ploughman and his Sons’. Such a challenge can only take place if the milieu is appropriate. We are all learners and we seek to develop our skills and abilities in an academically purposeful community. That community operates at all sorts

of levels – the hashroom, the boarding-house, the school, the family, the nation and the world. If we can share that spirit of enquiry, we can extrapolate those experiences and learn to cope with our changing society and our evolving planet. The tensions that exist between old and new, universal and individual, global and local, spiritual and material need to be explored and there has to be the preparedness, the confidence and the ability to grapple with that. Charterhouse’s foundation in 1611 was to support the local community with the maintenance of a chapel and the establishment of an almshouse. In addition, it was also created to provide an education for 40 boys. That focus on commitment and service to others within the community, combined with a desire to educate is the delicate balance that the school seeks to achieve. Responsibility to ones community and education are intrinsically linked and if we wish to make a better society then it is incumbent that pupils should start out in a lively and engaging intellectual community that stimulates and allows interests to flourish. Education, quite simply, is not a tool for the benefit of politicians, industry or statisticians but a means to foster a deeper and more harmonious form of human development and society. It is our responsibility to seize every opportunity for education (in its widest sense) here at Charterhouse for the betterment of us all and in order to ensure that we truly are contributing to education for the 21st century in as creative a manner as possible.

Deep Superficiality Election Reflections Before reflecting on the May 2010 election and its aftermath, it is perhaps worth thinking for a moment about which of the problems facing the world and the nation are the most important. There are quite a few, and most of them require the British government to be a part of the solution. The list includes climate change and energy generation & conservation; growing inequality, both at home and worldwide; resource depletion & sustainable development; the age profile of the British population; the Middle East, Israel & Palestine, Iran, and the political radicalisation of Islam; nuclear proliferation, human rights and the desperate need for a system of international law to settle disputes without recourse to war; and the need for international co-operation to regulate the behaviour of corporate entities and market traders. So what were the main topics aired in the media during the election? The personalities, media-friendliness and body language of Brown, Cameron & Clegg; MPs’ allowances; the effect of the leadership debates on the polls; the reaction of business leaders to a small rise in NI contributions; Bigotgate; immigration (despite the fact that the vast bulk of it is from the EU and therefore effectively uncontrollable); the implications of a hung parliament; and the meaning of a ‘big

Photograph by Mark Blatchly

society’. Overshadowing all else however, was the deficit – and the question of who would cut public-spending more ruthlessly and rapidly, albeit with little or no discussion of where the cuts would fall. In the year leading up to the election the British media had somehow managed to take a global meltdown of credit in the banking system – which clearly originated in international derivative markets, and was therefore outside the control of any individual state – and re-characterised it as a local UK problem which any responsible government should have prevented. This had the effect of re-directing the debate away from the global situation and the need for international measures to address the obvious failure of unregulated international markets. Instead the debate was restricted to the UK deficit as if Britain were the only country with one – meanwhile ignoring the relatively low level of Britain’s total debt. The inevitable large rise in the need for government borrowing worldwide as revenues collapsed and banks were rescued, much of which would unwind if growth returned, was re-drawn as a uniquely British problem. Newspapers gasped with horror at the sight of numbers with several zeroes. The deficit was the focus of all the discussion, at the expense of any analysis of how to ensure that lack of demand worldwide did not result in a depression of the kind experienced in similar circumstances in the 1930s. Even though getting the economy operating nearer to full capacity is by far the least painful way of reducing the deficit, the need to restore demand was brushed aside in the rush by rival politicians to don the hairiest shirt. And cutting was the only option considered; with the honourable exception of the Green Party, no-one dared to suggest that increasing taxation might be an alternative to taking an axe to public services. As the election gave way to coalition negotiations, credit-rating

agencies – which had recently categorised worthless derivatives as triple-A – were cited as doubting the credit-worthiness of the UK. The Euro wobbled as Germany debated whether to support Greece. Now Canada is cited as a model for deficit reduction without any acknowledgement that it made its cuts at a time when the rest of the world was booming, not in the middle of a worldwide recession. Meanwhile the real debate about how to handle the world economic problem goes on outside, with most of Britain oblivious to it. This would all be bad enough in itself, but (while encouraging a ‘beggar your population to pacify the markets’ approach which, if emulated elsewhere, might precipitate a further world downturn) the British media pushed all the other issues off the radar completely. The serious problems listed earlier – which can only be addressed and solved if the public is faced honestly with the choices, and is involved in the debate and the decision-making – were virtually ignored. The government will have little mandate for any decisions it now takes about them. Since the tragic death of John Smith (the Labour Party leader who preceded Tony Blair) we seem to have succumbed to the gradual but inexorable decline of democratic politics as an engagement of the public in debate about real issues, in favour of politics as a branch of the entertainment industry. A number of features of modern life have undoubtedly contributed to this, including the development of twentyfour-hour news, the emergence of celebrity as an end in itself, the rise of the career politician and the resulting redistribution of power in political parties away from the local branches to central organisations for whom the grassroots are at best merely a source of finance and at worst an embarrassment. The imposition of centrally vetted, media-friendly

candidates – whose career ambitions can be manipulated by the whips to ensure that they toe a party line designed not to offend swing voters in marginal seats – has all but eliminated from parliament the more maverick members who could enliven debate and keep the parties in touch with the country. Very few of the MPs put up for ‘Question Time’ or ‘Any Questions’ seem able to articulate any ideas of their own – often they simply parrot the latest line from the spin doctors. The current Labour leadership election – brilliantly encapsulated in Steve Bell’s Guardian cartoon picturing the candidates as the members of ‘Diane and the Tokens’ – looks likely to leave us with three party leaders almost indistinguishable by age, race, background, education or even politics. At the same time a more sinister development has been the disappearance from debate of any real alternatives. Argument is largely conducted by assertion and ridicule because any idea which cannot be expressed in a single sentence is considered too difficult for public consumption, and too long for a sound-bite. Documentaries which might enlighten are squeezed into niche slots in the schedule on specialist channels. Information released by government is massaged and sexed up for media consumption – and the continuous need for new twists to a story mean that politicians are pressed for decisions before they have had time to find out the facts, let alone analyse and debate possible plans of action. The unseemly haste with which the new coalition was formed under intense media pressure was in marked contrast to the more measured approach in other countries whose proportional systems make coalition a commonplace. Politicians have grown so wary of the media that real debate and argument have become completely stifled. The recent election and its aftermath demonstrated just how impoverished our politics now is, and underlined again how unhelpful our media can be. We can only hope that electoral reform will enable more points of view to be credibly presented to the electorate next time – but it would be inadvisable (as they say) to hold our breath meanwhile.

standard by replacing it in some subjects with the new progressive Cambridge Pre-U – and soon the International Baccalaureate will be introduced. Consider also our uniform: had it not been altered from time to time, scholars would still be wearing gowns – and we would have to wear our school clothes for the whole day. Some changes have been a matter of deliberate policy; others have come about through natural wastage: the wearing of cravats and boaters in CQ, while still just about alive, is a rare thing today; when a Carthusian does happen to drink a little too much coffee and don this alternative uniform, he goes about for the rest of the day attracting more glances than the Headmaster. In 1874 it was decided that scholars would be selected on intellectual grounds rather than social status, and no longer isolated in Gownboys: an important reform. The late 19th century saw an increase in sport (football particularly) and other extra-curricular activities, such as drama and music. All this followed the move to Godalming and the rapid expansion of the school, with the addition of new boarding-houses; Charterhouse left London because the school needed more space, and a healthier environment; yet, ironically, the new houses were not especially spacious or sanitary – and when they were replaced in the 1970s by buildings in the old copse between Wildernesse and Northbrook the improvement in accommodation was felt to be remarkable. It is interesting to note that the school solved the problem of over-crowding in chapel almost fifty years earlier in 1927 with the opening of Frank Fletcher’s Memorial Chapel, which provided plenty of space for the now much larger school. The 1970s also saw the very important introduction of girls. Since then, we’ve seen fresh facilities rise up at an unprecedented rate: BTT, RVW & JDTC (1980s), QSC & Chetwynd (1990s), Beveridge Centre (2006), Modern Languages Building (2007), and Hunt Health Centre (2009); whilst Library was renovated in 2003. So the school evidently has not been afraid of changing and improving its rules, policies and surroundings; however,

Tomorrow was New Yesterday Continuity & Change British public schools have long been thought of as old-fashioned, rooted in the traditional, generally trapped in the past – and Charterhouse has not escaped this condemnation. When visitors to Charterhouse first see the old houses, they might think the school’s ways haven’t changed much, and are just as strange as they were in the 19th century; but, just as the interiors of those neo-gothic buildings have been renovated, so Charterhouse (while maintaining those fundamental traditions that are not inimical to modern educational philosophy) has evolved through numerous reforms – some more obvious than others. Recently the school reacted to the decline in the A level

Burning burgers

But oddly enough we need these traditions, simply because they unite us, making us feel that we belong to the school we attend; they give us an esprit de corps and an identity linked to the school. We are Carthusians. Even the daily routine (or is it a set of rituals?), with its adsums and morning chapel, gives us this sense. Furthermore, some things only established recently seem to have already become traditions in their own right, and should definitely be kept: for example the annual student-run Lack of Talent variety show, launched in 2000 – particularly its popular Brooke Hall sketch, which gives pupils the chance to impersonate their beaks (without being too offensive…). We need certain traditions. As the English writer W Somerset Maugham said, ‘tradition is a guide and not a jailer’. We also need to remember the past, to commemorate figures of Charterhouse’s history. After all, if yesterday means nothing to us today, how do we know that today will mean anything tomorrow? But, obviously, change is also important, as long as the school keeps its academic, sporting, cultural and spiritual priorities. We need both continuity and change; and we should remember that, looking forward to the opening in September of a new 50-place day-pupil house, Fletcherites, and to the quatercentenary of Charterhouse’s foundation at the death of Sutton next year.

there’s no doubt that the school does also have a strong sense of its past. Indeed, most of the buildings listed above were named after figures from Charterhouse history; houses usually keep the names of their founding housemasters. We commemorate those of the past, and remember the age of the school – and it’s true that we maintain many traditions: one such is the singing in Chapel – particularly of CV Stanford’s Nunc Dimitis, and CHH Parry’s ‘Jerusalem’ in the last service of each Quarter; much of the hymnbook is written by OCs. On the academic side we have Calling Over – and there are sporting events, such as Pontifex, which have become traditions; there are fairly recent traditions too, such as the 1st Year Specialists’ 50-mile Walk at the end of CQ. Then of course we have Carthusian Day (originally called OC Day) – for Carthusians, their parents, and OCs. On the last day of the school year there is a unifying March around Green, which lets leavers do an extra lap, perhaps to show that they will continue in life as Carthusians – and Founder’s Day (in memory of Thomas Sutton) with Founder’s Feast brings together all members of houses for a festive evening. Some traditions, it’s true, just seem silly. The ever-mutating slanguage, for example. The naming of school terms as Quarters, when there are only three, also sounds ridiculous, as does the labelling of the shortest term as Long Quarter.

Letters The New Great Comp

The Acorn

Hunt Heath Centre

Dear Sir, I read in The Carthusian vol. 40 no. 1 that my successor as Head of Computing, Barry Larrigan, has now retired. While I gladly acknowledge the excellent and extensive work that Barry carried out when given adequate resources in terms of personnel and finance, I do wish to take issue with a statement on page 42: ‘At that time Charterhouse’s IT provision ran to half-a dozen stand-alone Acorn computers.’ This is far from the truth. In 1996 the school had exactly 100 Acorns, and there was a network that extended throughout New Block, where the main computer room was, into Geography and the entire Science Department. The administrative side used both Acorns and Windows-based machines, with a network that extended from the Headmaster’s Office through the Bursar’s Office, Careers, Admissions and Accounts to Brooke Hall. When I joined Brooke Hall in 1978 the school had no personal computers; the only IT equipment was a link to the Surrey University Mainframe. Brian Freake (BH 1968-86) set the ball rolling with the purchase of a Commodore Pet for the Physics Department in about 1980, which was excruciatingly slow by modern standards. I taught myself the Basic computer language, and took over production of the White List, writing my own database. Soon afterwards both the Mathematics Department and the Physics Department pioneered the use of the BBC Model B and Master computers as teaching aids. I became Master-in-charge of Computing in 1986, and one of the first requests I made was that we should have a BBC computer in Brooke Hall. The Bursar (Harry Foot) queried what use members of Brooke Hall would make of a computer, but approved the purchase. It proved so popular that several more had to be bought. As a matter of interest, the Acorn computer I had when I retired from Charterhouse in 1996 is still in use today, fifteen years after it was purchased – albeit with more memory and a larger hard disc drive. ARK Clayton (BH 1978-96)

Sir, I am unfortunate enough to enjoy superb health. Unfortunate, because I am seldom in a position to profit from the ministrations of our superb new medical facility – the Hunt Health Centre. It may be that tagging any building ‘centre’ is intrinsically direful, but this scarcely matters since most still refer to the place they go when ill or injured as Great Comp – and perhaps they always will. The old Great Comp waiting area was dark and (not actually smelly, but, well… it felt) smelly. I have test-driven the new Great Comp, and its flashy interior (this is the absolute truth) made me feel better, more or less by itself. The school website describes HHC as being ‘state-of-the-art’; I do not think that is right. Nowadays, everything is said to be ‘state-of-the-art’ – regardless of how ‘budget’ the facilities are. ‘Fabulous’ would be more appropriate for the Hunt Health Centre. There is shiny, modern medical equipment in the treatment rooms – and nice, clean chairs (sad to say, not sofas) which you only get in the newest hashrooms. Hacking up to Great Comp of a morning with a chit from your matron, you may still look like an idiot whilst everyone else is walking the other way for hashes & Chapel – nevertheless, you will never find out how fantastic the new Great Comp is unless you take the plunge and BE ILL (or, Devon forfend, fake it). Moastly Pinndrup (E)

Mouse (G) aged 18

Still in Use

Writing and miscellanea

We Start Mildly Human

Feel Sick, Feel Great

Bubble or Squeak

Hunt Health Centre

I was astonished when, on the first day of the treasured holidays, my sister was educating me about the plethora of good songs that had been released in the previous three weeks, whilst I’d been banged up here... er, residing at Charterhouse. I’d stayed in at the weekends in a vain effort to force myself to concentrate on revision; arriving home to be told just how much I’d missed out on, I had an epiphany about the extreme seclusion from modern culture which is imposed by inhabiting such a public school as ours. Conversing with a fellow pupil, recently arrived as a new specialist, I realised that I was not alone in this belief: she described Charterhouse as ‘a bubble’; I thought this term most appropriate. Previously I had thought of it as like a prison – the inmates completely sectioned off from internet music databases, online radio, persuaded not to watch television, and denied the opportunity to purchase new fashions. The School does, however, allow pupils one escape from school – and trying this out for myself proved one the greatest anti-climaxes that I have to date encountered: Godge. Godalming may be the only small town in Britain that boasts designer shops (and Record Corner is probably the finest record shop in the world), but nonetheless you end up feeling that if your greatest connection to the outside world is the Godalming branch of [name of famous, ubiquitous but not especially nice shop] you need to get out of the school on a more regular basis. Perhaps the best example of the Charterhouse ‘bubble’ syndrome is the slow decline in Carthusians’ focus on fashion. Everyone tends to start a new Quarter dressed from toe to head in new clothes, mostly purchased earlier that day; however, within about two weeks the standard has reached rock bottom. Not only has the spectrum of personal clothing been exhibited thrice over, but most have given up – resorting to hoodies and tracksuit-bottoms. Perhaps this explains Roger Smeeton’s enthusiastic photography at the start of each term: he wants to snap us while we still look mildly human. Though our isolation within school is beyond doubt – it could be argued that it is beneficial: we may be more inclined to focus on the resources around us, and on our friends – and we may also appreciate new information, fashion and culture all the more when the time comes to rejoin society during the holidays. Andrew Marks (H)

Charles Baudelaire once wrote that: ‘this life is a hospital in which every patient is possessed with a desire to change his bed’. With the opening of Fletcherites, what was once the mighty Great Comp is now possessed with that very same desire. And the location of the new ‘bed’? About 30m down the road. An exceedingly modern feel and an abundance of reading material makes feeling sick feel great. There are several new wards for people who need to stay the night. The medical staff are also exactly the same as before, so pretending to be sick is equally difficult and being treated is equally clinical – but clinical in a comforting way. The satisfaction of having much improved receptions, treatment rooms and beds means Carthusians can now stagnate in much comfort. If sickness shows us what we are, as Baudelaire also once said, then the Hunt Health Centre should be valued because health is the first of all liberties. Unless you have a banco in for hash one. Matt Foley (R)

More Bell than Parrot Recitation Competition Hall is an intimidating space, especially on a dark winter’s night when the rafters are little more than ghostly ribs holding up a roof as dark as the sky outside. It seems bigger at night, too – shadowy corners extend infinitely. But it was here that twenty-five finalists, selected from over five-hundred entrants, delivered a variety of speeches, poems, and dramatic monologues for the English Recitation Competition. Each student, underschool and upperschool alike, looked exactly the same as he or she mounted the solitary podium: a bright, slightly swaying wisp against a cavernous background. Each waited silently to begin. Each donned a patient, calm smile, until the adjudicator, Dr Ralph Townsend, Headmaster of Winchester, nodded at them from down the aisle that split the audience. And then, with a casual breath, each began. These initial affinities did not extend too far into the performances, as the students distinguished themselves from each other with a selection of widely varying texts and styles of delivery. Selections varied, from the lilting middle English of Chaucer, performed with fluency by Jonny Denham (W), to ironic political tracts like Carl Sandburg’s poem ‘Government’, recited with appropriate acrimony by Anthony Adams (V), to the comic lines of Billy Collins’s

poetry, spoken with wistful wryness by Jeremy Wong (S). Peter Gimson (G) and Josh Spector (H) took on lengthy poems, Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’ and Alfred Noyes’s ‘The Highwayman’. Gimson ensured that the raven remained more a sobering bell than a pet parrot, while Spector kept the highwayman’s running, running, running from being tiresome, winning the overall prize for his exhausting efforts. Angus Walker (B) won runner up for his recitation of Edwin Muir’s ‘The Horses’, presenting a gentle vision of the apocalypse with his delicate intonation. The liquid-black backdrop of Hall also served as a theatrical setting for other students performing pieces that required them to take on voices and characters. Lucy Bowker (D) also won runner-up with her impassioned performance of Bertolt Brecht’s poem, ‘Not What Was Meant’. Her rollicking cries of “freedom!” were balanced by the poignant emphasis that she placed on the final lines of the poem. Indeed, all the participants understood the message, emotions, and ironies of their pieces, and it was this depth of knowledge (as well as their seemingly fathomless wells of confidence) that made the performances so genuinely arresting. Robert Harding (H) dramatised an excerpt from Terry Pratchett’s comic vampire novel, ‘Carpe Jugulum’, and David Torkington (P) won the Junior Competition with his extract from Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull. Eleanor Kerns (V) took on multiple voices while performing Siegfried Sassoon’s poem ‘The Hero’, her vivid acting belying the initial image she presented of a

schoolgirl in her badminton kit (she represented the typical Carthusian multi-tasker thwarted by traffic on her way back from a match!). The competition was lengthy but captivating as Hall reverberated with the participants’ carefully controlled energy. Next year’s event will undoubtedly be as engrossing, as both repeat and first-time finalists once again display their exceptional poise and re-energise Hall’s yawning space on another cold winter’s night. SEC

Telling Lives 24th Sir Robert Birley Memorial Lecture BTT OQ 09 Richard Thorpe (or DRT as he is known to generations of Carthusians) taught English, politics and history at Charterhouse for more than thirty years and has enjoyed a highly successful second career as one of our foremost political biographers. He has specialised in leading Conservative politicians of the mid-twentieth century and his books include official biographies of Selwyn Lloyd, Alec DouglasHome and Anthony Eden. Supermac: The Life of Harold Macmillan is to be published by Chatto & Windus on 2nd September 2010. Sir Robert Birley was Headmaster of Charterhouse from 1935 to 1947. As a young beak, DRT met Birley several times in the 1960s, when Sir Robert was a member of the Governing Body – and, naturally, they discussed political

Concert for charity in BTT

Photograph by Max Weaver (D)

Nightingale and General Gordon were presented with a distinct flavour of irony. Fifty years later, Strachey was himself the subject of a ground-breaking biography by Michael Holroyd, which established the template for the modern approach with its explicit description of the personal lives of Strachey and his circle. DRT’s own approach to biography has been to favour the official biography rather than the unofficial one. Whilst the latter may offer more freedom to criticise the subject, the former has the significant advantage of allowing access to private papers and interviewees which might otherwise be denied. Given DRT’s belief that a well-chosen anecdote is much more illuminating than a general observation, such access is critical. Many of DRT’s interviews have been moving as well as informative. He vividly recalled Macmillan describing the last time he saw Kennedy – and Rab Butler contemplating his failure to become Prime Minister. Given the setting, DRT took the opportunity to commend the audience to read the biographies of great headmasters, such as Hearnden’s life of Sir Robert Birley and the current Headmaster’s life of Sir Frank Fletcher, Birley’s predecessor. DRT particularly encouraged us to read Annan’s life of JF Roxburgh (L 1907), founder of Stowe. The circle of connections was pleasingly completed, as in the audience sat Brian Rees (Headmaster of Charterhouse, 1973-82 – and son-inlaw of Sir Robert Birley) – author of the recently published history of Stowe [reviewed in vol. 40 no. 1] and of the entry on JF Roxburgh in the new Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. This was a hugely enjoyable talk, followed by some very good questions from the audience. Perhaps the best of these questions highlighted the difficulties that biographers of contemporary politicians will face because of the paucity of documentary evidence in the age of electronic communications. No such problems with Harold Macmillan – and DRT’s next book promises to be as informative and entertaining as its predecessors. ML Everett (B 77)

history. DRT recalled how Birley described the mood at the school in 1938 when Chamberlain returned from Munich, proclaiming peace in our time, as one of ‘relief and outrage’. The Munich crisis and the war years that followed had profound effects on DRT’s biographical subjects (Home had been Chamberlain’s Parliamentary Private Secretary) and interviewees. He illustrated this with several good stories. I particularly enjoyed the Queen Mother telling DRT that she thought that, for reasons of constitutional propriety, it had been a mistake for King George VI to invite Chamberlain to join them in waving to the cheering crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. She noted that her daughter had not invited Mr Major to do the same thing after Maastricht! DRT described the development of the modern style of biography from the pious recital of the deeds of great men favoured in the Victorian era to the current no holds barred approach. Curiously, the great Bloomsbury figure of Lytton Strachey twice plays a key role in this development. First, with his own Eminent Victorians (published in 1918), in which psychological studies of Victorian greats such as Florence

...obviously 10

They’d Prefer to Walk

would be the answer. Though the run up the hill will cause implausible amounts of pain, runners will find it cannot be run at any other inconceivable time – viz, and to whit: the end. Whereas Happy Valley is a mere Chapter 2 in the book, Death Drop is the last chapter where the most deeds (regrettable and otherwise) occur. Death Drop has the elevation of Happy Valley, but the exuberance of a funeral. Its harsh climb will send you to the grave if you decide to sprint up it. Be careful, future Pontifex champions; you may be in for a stiff shock. So: no lackadaisical sit-back-on-the-fence slackness whatsoever. These hills are of a tremendous difficulty which will send the fear of all things putrid into your stomach. These hills do not accept slackness as a sedative. You have been warned. Harry Wise (B)

Pontifex Martin Luther had Pontifex about right, and here I paraphrase: he [the Carthusian runner] must do his own believing that he will finish the course and do his own believing that he will not do his own dying on it.’ Failure in either particular is not fitted as standard. Pontifex is tricky and fretting; it will slap any Carthusian with awe. Two laps of this consternation of a course cost you fourand-a-half miles, a long run for those of you with legs like school bangers. The course boasts two distinct areas of joy & gaiety, as relaxing as a light laugh over an afternoon cup of tea. In these two spots boys and girls of all ages play happily as if there were nothing on their animated minds. Well… maybe. Consider Happy Valley: it is about as ‘happy’ as a lion and an armour-free gladiator playing ‘It’ in the Colosseum. There is much agony that derives from this philathletic cesspit. For Happy Valley has a large, steep, Everestlike climb (complete with death zone) which all runners find a painful endeavour. On a wet day, it is worse; the mud becomes moistened and runners slip over and find the climb a long and bruising excursion. For all would-be runners at Charterhouse, I have a message of admonishing volume: Beware the Valley of Exultance. For a man who does experience this misery usually hurts, but those who leave it be, will hurt even more. Idleness will never be tolerated. But what of that other location of jubilance on the Pontifex course? Well… it is even worse than Happy Valley itself. If Satan ever thought of punishing the world Death Drop Hill

Roots, Sights, Guns, Senators Govt & Pol 2YSs in Washington DC Exeat, OQ 09 We set off for Washington with anticipation, but not knowing what to expect from our trip. In only five days we managed to pack a lot in, making the most of our time. On the first night we experienced some authentic American culture at the Old Post Office: here we had the chance to appreciate American cuisine. Later, though we were exhausted, we watched The Capitol Steps – a troupe of political satirists which performs live every Friday and Saturday night at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in DC; we understood more of the jokes than we expected to, and the use of music enlivened our introduction to

from matters political to popular culture such as Kermit the Frog and Dorothy’s red shoes. We enjoyed lunch at Union Station then made our way to the Capitol, where we saw an open session in the House of Representatives and took a tour of the building. Thanks to Mr Knight’s diplomatic skills we were allowed to enter an open session of the Senate – seeing the likes of John McCain, Joseph Lieberman, Robert Byrd and Patrick Leahy as well as other significant political figures. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see that many well known senators together; however, there was no rest for the wicked – as we immediately made our way over to the College of William & Mary’s Washington DC Office for a discussion about environmental policy. With delegates from Barack Obama’s administration, as well as independent lobby groups, we were given access to privileged information – and discussed crucial topics with high-powered experts. As a group we all became completely involved with the discussion, and managed to initiate what we hope will be a long relationship between Charterhouse and the College of William & Mary. Though we were tired after such a busy day, Messrs Knight & Richards had one more trick up their sleeves: a visit to the ESPN Zone (the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network presents North American professional and collegiate sports) with wall-to-wall plasma TVs, sports games and pizza. For many this was the perfect way to spend our final evening in Washington. On Wednesday we were taken by car to the headquarters of the National Rifle Association, where we met Glen Caroline (Head of Grassroots Operations) in order to discuss the 2nd Amendment (which asserts that ‘a well-regulated militia is necessary to the security of a free state’, and upholds ‘the right of the people to keep and bear arms’), and pressure groups in general. This encouraged us to feel far more sympathy for those who wish to possess guns – and explained how Americans think about guns, also how some Americans fear and distrust government intervention. I speak for all thirteen Carthusians on this trip when I thank Messrs Knight & Richards for organising and taking it; this trip exceeded our expectations, proving to be unforgettable and greatly enhancing our understanding of the American political scene and way of life. Lucy Bowker (D) & Olivia-Lace Evans (P)

Washington’s satirical perspective on American politics. Next day we were prepared for a lot of walking as we were to cross the state line from Virginia (where our hotel was) to DC. We made a fairly early start, taking the metro then walking to Arlington National Cemetery where we had an experience beyond the scope of ordinary school trips: a special behindthe-scenes tour of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which was emotional as well as interesting. Speaking to one of the soldiers, we gained a significant insight into the relationship between the American public and the military. That afternoon we were given some free time to explore the Smithsonian Museums: the Museum of Modern Art was stimulating, but was eclipsed by the National Air and Space Museum (as advocated by Mr Knight) with its hands-on exhibitions full of information made accessible to non-scientists. That night we had one of the most enjoyable meals of the trip in Georgetown – an area which combines vivacity with sophistication. On the following day (Monday) we donned our suits to go to the Supreme Court – eagerly anticipating the chance to follow up on our studies of the Judiciary. We were fortunate to take our seats for a court session where we observed the swearing-in of new lawyers, sitting only a few rows away from the justices themselves – including the newest justice, Sonia Sotomayor. We were then taken on a tour of the court, gleaning privileged insights. We were excited to meet Eloise Pasachoff, the top law clerk of Sonia Sotomayor; she gave up half-an-hour of her valuable time to discuss the American judicial process with us. What struck us was just how intelligent she was – but, equally, how patient and kind she appeared. She answered all of our questions to the best of her ability, and proved to be very supportive. That afternoon we met with Kylie Smith, the Northern Virginia co-ordinator for the Republican Bob McDonnell’s campaign for Governor – and were invited to help. It is probably fair to say that here the Charterhouse tour party felt a little awkward, since few could claim to be wholly conversant with Mr McDonnell’s policies. We arrived apprehensively at a tiny building – and yet, when it came to engaging at first hand with the electorate by cold-calling potential supporters, we became whole-heartedly involved. It didn’t matter whether or not people hung up on you, embraced you or, in some cases, insulted your distinctly British accent – it was all about the very roots of the American democratic process. McDonnell went on to win the election; clearly our efforts were not in vain. That evening we were rewarded by attending a Knight family barbecue: a delightful chance to relax, eat some fantastic food, and converse with people pivotal to the trip including a few OCs (amongst them Hugo Scheckter, P 09). On the Tuesday we had a leisurely breakfast and did some preparation for the evening’s environmental policy seminar; we then made our way to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, which has exhibits ranging

Brown: the new Green 50-mile Walk 2010 During the fortnight or so before the 2010 50-mile Walk the weather went from warm & dry to stinking hot & humid, with not nearly as many thunderstorms as you might expect. Green went brown, and earth stood hard as iron. The course had been checked in early June rather as usual by a man equipped only with an Orange Gringo, three bananas, three litres of water and a hunk of bread of his own devising.

Williams, Marie Genini, Marjon Stephens, Angela Kendall, Annie Hardie, Mandy Howard, Rollo Kirkman (B) & Adam Lindley (R) (two CQ 10 leavers), Anthony Rodov (V) & Linda Chen (V), with the renowned Southwater Catering Corps – Jill Newland & Sarah Webb. Here, at the 30½-mile stage it’s break or make – and without the wonderfully restorative refreshments, foot maintenance and general care many would cape it at this point. At Snoxhall Fields Vikki Pearce, Elaine Downes & Judy Affleck somehow revived those who felt (probably not for the first time) that enough was enough, and at Bramley two more CQ 10 leavers – Timothy Parsons (B) & James Sprake (B) – played a brilliant jape on the passing walkers by manning the checkpoint from 4 am and being really helpful to their juniors… well-subversive; double-unhierarchical! Back at School the Take-aWeary-Walker service and school cover was provided by Sue Taylor, Carolyn Darby, Connie Mayo, Barbara Kealy, Jo Reynolds, Alison Boyd & Pam Archer. Out-and-about – here & there – Jane Drew, Belinda Knox & Emma Woods were busily and usefully helpful. Iain Hedley and all his staff – particularly Don – saw to all our alimentary needs. 154 walkers started and 138 finished – that’s an 89.61% success rate… quite possibly a record. Stats aside, this was (as usual) a memorable event, drawing a great deal of interest and much kind-hearted help & support from right across the Charterhouse community. MLJB

Photograph by Mark Blatchly

Again as usual the merry band of helpers – both pupils & staff – were heroic behind the proverbial scenes (which included people changing their socks, wondering if there was a ‘toiler’ close at hand, and asking themselves why they’d chosen to hack up 27 miles of unvarying track-bed). Those who had taken the trouble to consult Bradshaw noted that trains between Henfield and Bramley (in the days when there were trains between H & B) averaged something like 14 mph tops – only three times as fast as the most ambitious walkers. As one group approached the junction with the extant line at Christ’s Hospital there was a formidably spooky moment when the kerdick-kerdee kerdick-kerdee of an actual train coming in from stage left conjured a passable impression of a ghost train on the disused line itself, and the temptation to jump out of the way into the bushes had to be resisted. At 19h00 a great sea fret stole in, shrouding the Fulking Escarpment in a chilly white-out; with the temperature down to 17 degrees C the field, which was always fairly closely packed, moved swiftly and with remarkably little by way of route-losing fuss & bother. From now until the end of the event (a full two hours shy of the allotted 24) a cooling wind blew. The sunset on Truleigh Hill lit the plain below in strangely faded colours – olive green with a milky haze. Special thanks were due, as ever to Annie Hardie for co-ordinating an extraordinary team of workers: on the Souterbus, and at Southwater – Liz Carey; at Southwater – Pippa

Once more into the speech...

providing expert rebuttal in particular. Tim has been a wonderful servant to school debating and signed off with typically thoughtful and lucid rhetoric – but Henry and George, rising stars, won the evening through intense and ranging reasoning. Debating is a vital school for the workplace where the construction and presentation of ideas are essential in any occupation, and for the lifelong battle of wills that characterises many relationships! Everyone taking part learned a great deal and it is hoped that debating will continue its burgeoning popularity in the years to come. Thank you to all the participants for their hard work and entertainment. JHBS

House Debating Carthusians are always fervent about representing their house, and the junior and senior debating cups were contested with particular passion this year. The competitions have caught the imagination of the school: there were a record number of specialists who entered and extra chairs were needed in Hall to accommodate the swelling horde that gathered to watch the finals. Stunning trophies excavated from the London Silver Vaults added further to the glamour and prestige of the event. It was a demanding road to victory for the eventual winners, with JHBS and JMR having adjudicated over forty debates in OQ and LQ. There were many contemporary concerns skilfully disputed in the earlier rounds; there was rigorous engagement with the potential pitfalls of going to war and the mass use of the internet, and more light-hearted of questioning of whether computers should replace teachers (with an enthusiastic response from the floor!) and whether we should all holiday in the UK. Come the semi-finals, the weighty matters of the government’s bank bail-out and the future of the monarchy were fiercely discussed. In the seniors, Daviesites and Weekites both just missed out on a place in the final after impressing in earlier rounds – and Saunderites and Weekites again were the unlucky ones in the junior section. With outside judges from the legal and political worlds arbitrating the finals and a packed house in Hall expectant, the juniors began with Sam Mottahedan (R) arguing that he longed for an end of the age of television and Xavier Hetherington (G) responding. These two were fresh from winning both the district and regional finals of the English Speaking Union’s Public Speaking Competition, and the standard was impressive. Hector Don (R) and Liam Kelleher (G) were the second speakers and belied their relative lack of experience with crafted arguments and eloquent speech. The Gownboys won the cup, shading the debate thanks to their powerful delivery. The seniors followed with Henry Braime & George Cussins (G) making a persuasive case for the occasional justification for government internment; Tim RoseInnes & Alice Jones (S) opposed the motion intelligently,

Not, in fact, an Anti-climax Arts Festival: Story-telling Hall LQ 09 How can one capture the intensity of Arts Festival? The theme was Story-telling and it was, as Dr Reston put it, a rather anti-climactic ending to a week that had seen Ben Haggarty declaiming the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Modern & Ancient Languages Verse-speaking Competition. The sense of anti-climax was reinforced when specialists were limited to only one cup of wine each. Georgie Ambrose’s (H) six-word story captured the mood of this moment: ‘Paradise beach; the sun never shone.’ The female in Sam Mottahedan’s (R) ‘Symmetry’ had also decided that, in the present, ‘Everything golden has turned grey.’ There is an inherent irony in recounting an event entitled ‘Story-telling’. I fear now that every word I type has, according to Henry Braime (G), ‘a subterranean oasis of connotation’. The experience that was Ed Robert’s (G) band was, in the words of Ed Roberts, ‘rather more sensual’. Arts Festival was, in fact, of a characteristically HIGH quality. Prize-winners Robert Harding (H) and Robin Cowie (G) produced some outstanding pieces of work, but it was the highly commended Sam Shepherd (H) who produced my personal favourite – ‘Jumpsuit’: ‘Mum said he was a bad man/ And he would be put where he belongs, / But I just saw the tears on his chin dripping one by one / Onto his orange jumpsuit.’ Such profound works were contrasted with Oliver Hill’s (R) ‘sensual’ six-word story: ‘Bad weekend; met girl; she’s pregnant’ – and Nick Lee’s (W) repugnant: ‘The toilet broke; he used the bin’. Matt Foley (R)

Piles of Participampshires Trips We piled off the bus, eager to get inside and find our seats. The teachers that accompanied us looked excited. We all waited impatiently for it to start. It was really interesting. The participants participated really well. Afterwards we ate the packed lunches from school. The crisps were nice. Everyone had a really fun trip. [Skip this next bit if you’re of a nervous disposition.] On the trip back the coach broke down. We

waited for it to get fixed. It got fixed. [Ah; everything’s going to be alright.] We continued driving back to school, stopping at a fast-‘food’ ‘restaurant’ to calm our nerves; this was the best bet of the trip by far. When we returned to school we piled off the bus tired but happy, eager to tell our friends about the trip. Those who had been unable to accompany us looked envious. Thank you to all the teachers who organised the trip. It was fun and really nice. Tony Plank (E)

managed to prove that story-telling is still an art – that the wine break isn’t always the best thing – and that it can actually be rewarding to listen once in a while to someone publicly speaking… which (you never know) may cause at least one person to desist in future from yawning in Chapel. Andrew Marks (H)

Teaching at Busbridge Beaks know better than most that teaching can be ‘disenchanting’ when pupils give nothing back. Of course, when the pupils become the beaks, and the 7-11 olds at Busbridge become the pupils, it is quite the opposite to the souldestroying experience the majority of Charterhouse beaks have to endure. The Busbridge children were eager to learn classics, and the Carthusians were eager to teach. What could go wrong? Quite a lot, but thankfully nothing did. Every Tuesday, Anthony Adams (V), Matt Foley (R), Chris Goetz (P) and Anthony Kane (g) introduced the delights of classical civilization and Latin (in the form of ‘Minimus’, the mouse with attitude) to the hungry learners. The results demonstrated empirically that it is impossible to teach younglings anything worth knowing without rigorous testing and stringent demeanour. However, the lessons everyone learned in those classrooms will probably stay with them for the rest of their lives – and I’m not just talking about the 7-11 year olds. Matt Foley (R)

Yarn not Yawn The Epic of Gilgamesh Hall LQ 10 You know you’re talented when you have managed to keep over fifty adolescent and extremely grumpy teenagers truly captivated by every word spoken… for two hours. On 1st March March Ben Haggarty had the daunting task of reciting The Epic of Gilgamesh to a mass of English students of all ages. Anyone who has witnessed a school chapel service and the extreme lengths pupils have to go to in order to keep occupied through a fifteen-minute sermon, whether it be good or not, can understand that it must have been slightly intimidating for poor Mr Haggarty. It is a matter of principle that we show our disgust at being herded into Chapel on a Sunday night through the medium of yawning, and therefore when presented with a two-hour presentation of The Epic of Gilgamesh on a Monday evening the question was whether or not our yawning abilities would be up to the ‘Epic’ task. Having stocked up on carbs for a yawning marathon, and now looking forward to a wine break, it was particularly surprising and slightly uncomfortable (thanks to prior over-eating) to find that really Mr Haggarty was quite good; in fact he was really good. He spoke clearly and enthusiastically with a variety of voices to enhance an already complex plot, and within the hour we all were forced to take a break. It was then that the feeling of general appreciation for Mr Haggarty’s talents became apparent; with cries of: “he’s not that bad, actually...” – “I know; he really isn’t” – “did anyone spot the mistake he made five minutes in?” – “oh yeah! He stuttered, didn’t he!” – “yeah, yeah” – “but still: one mistake in an hour… not bad” – “I thought, ‘he has an obsession with the number fifty’… fifty metres this… fifty villages that…” – “yeah; you’re right there.” As you can imagine, no word was left un-analysed – and yet, although Mr Haggarty’s dramatic delivery was of the sort that, in a preacher, might result in hysterics and humorous post-sermon discussions, here the audience was expressing unanimous admiration: quite an accolade. The second half flew by as quickly as the first; because time was now short, Mr Haggarty was unable to go into as much detail as he had in the first half – but he was still getting a favourable reaction. Mr Haggarty may not realise that he managed quite a few things within his allotted time: he

Never too old to play... OCs Matthew Martin (S 08), Anthony Beddows (G 08), Archie Gammell (B 09) and David Brennan (G 08) take advantage of the first big fall of snow in December

Mission: Best UN Possible

required, such as in Somalia, where vast portions of the country are in the control of known terrorist factions (which was the topic of my resolution). Whether taking the floor directly to address the committee on the merits (or faults) of a particular measure, voting on the resolutions, or watching in despair as some pedantic delegate proposes the most insignificant alteration to the wording (some of which made absolutely no difference to the meaning of the statement, or were simply correcting a blatantly obvious spelling mistake) and waiting in disbelief as such amendments are debated for up to twenty minutes each, we were all constantly involved in the debates throughout the conference. However, the key moment for each of us was when our resolution was finally put to the floor and underwent rigorous scrutiny for any time between forty-five and ninety minutes. We each prepared our own resolutions to present to our individual committees, such as Olivia Hurley’s resolution on the UN financing UN peacekeepers, or Nico Marsh’s resolution on the use of mercenaries and its human rights implications, both of which had been researched thoroughly in the run up to the conference. This preparation was put to the test – for when a resolution was attacked there was certainly no holding back. One of the speakers in my committee, when granted the floor, proceeded to outline in full detail how every single clause and sub-clause of a 25-clause resolution was fundamentally flawed or too vague to be effective. Some were torn to pieces. Yet, despite this, six Carthusians passed resolutions – and those who did not missed out only narrowly… by as few as four votes in one case. Special mention should go to Eleanor Kerns: not only was she the main submitter of a resolution on disarmament which passed in her own committee (overcoming the resolution put forward by the USA), but also she debated her resolution in the plenary session (where several separate committees come together to discuss resolutions passed by individual committees) and passed it there as well. To put that in context, only one of the four resolutions discussed in the plenary session I attended passed – so to pass was a truly remarkable achievement; yet there was so much more to this amazing trip than just the pursuit of success – chiefly the opportunity to meet 4,500 students from around the world and get to know them. It was a truly international conference: there were delegates from Germany, the USA, Brazil, Turkey, Switzerland, New Zealand, South Africa, Morocco, Mexico, Slovenia, China, Japan and Eritrea. Meeting so many people from such diverse backgrounds was a fantastic experience. I met a guy who claimed to be the 2nd best teenage dancer in the UAE, as well as an Australian who had won a nationwide competition with over 10,000 competitors to lead the national delegation at The Hague – and the American son of a diplomat at the embassy in Brussels, also delegates much closer to home, such as one who goes to school a mere five minutes

International Model United Nations, Den Haag LQ 10 6 days. 144 hours. 8,640 minutes. Rarely has this much time seemed to pass so quickly. One of the greatest things about Charterhouse is the wealth of opportunities that it offers to its pupils – and the chance to attend The Hague International Model United Nations may well be one of the best. It is a unique intellectual exercise – an unparalleled social experience, and an unforgettable week. Trying to summarise the conference is difficult: it is a complex procedure. We were well briefed beforehand, but the event must be experienced to be fully understood. As the name suggests, it is a simulation of the United Nations by high school students from around the world. For a week we were part of the UN – and for a week Charterhouse was Papua New Guinea. Delegates debate and pass resolutions on some of the greatest crises facing the world today. The aim is to be the best UN possible, and to find the best possible solutions to these crises. Before the conference delegates research their topics thoroughly and draft resolutions. At the conference you combine your resolution with other resolutions which have similar proposals, and if there is enough support for the resolution and it is approved by the expert chair on the issue, the resolution will be debated by the entire committee. Once the resolution has been debated thoroughly, a vote is taken; if the majority votes in favour the resolution is passed – meaning that it will appear in the list of resolutions passed at THIMUN, which is shown to the real UN. THIMUN is the world’s largest MUN conference with over 4,500 delegates (all of them students) attending every year. Being involved in an event on this scale was an overwhelming experience – and the sheer professionalism with which the conference was conducted made a lasting impression: this was a thoroughly authentic and comprehensive simulation. Charterhouse’s delegation (seven students among 4,500) was enormously successful. Each member of the team was either the main submitter or main co-submitter of the resolution; each Charterhouse delegate was fully involved in the writing of the resolution, and was also given a chance to address their respective committees. Each of us were assigned to different committees, where we debated an enormously diverse range of issues facing the UN and the world at large over the course of the week: some of these directly affected Papua New Guinea, such as dealing with piracy and people trafficking, (as well as larger scale issues such as nuclear disarmament and global warming), or on other issues which threatened the international committee at large, such as deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, assisting refugees (particularly Palestinian refugees), or dealing with severe internal crises where the UN’s assistance is desperately

violent fashion. I am thus reminded for two reasons: first – since an 07-08 B monitor emerged from the Jameson Room in RVW shaking her head in a tragic way and exclaiming: “they [the house musicians] are re-enacting 300 with music stands”, which has always made me laugh; and second, Sportarded is always a hopeless fight. Sportarded, as many a reader of the antiquities may know, was started by Hugo Scheckter (P 09) as an opportunity for those less able yet nonetheless interested in football to come together and play on Lessington in decent kit against a BH team. We, that is, I (as metaphorical King of Sparta, I use the royal ‘we’) decided to honour the tradition this year, and was duly elected from a pool of one candidate to the captaincy to take over the six-pack and crimson cloak of Leonidas (alas, however, without a suitable Queen Gorgo) with an overwhelming majority of 100% of the one voter (me): who says democracy never works? Thus the stage was set, and the journey to become Spartans began. I wondered, ‘why?’ Was I was the best of the worst, the worst of the worst, the best organiser, or the idiot who stuck his neck out? Despite these negative thoughts, I soon challenged RGL (Captain of the BH 2nd XI) to a match and began picking up names. Mine (obviously) graced the team sheet, and various others’. With varying levels of ability at my disposal it only remained for me to motivate my team, motivate BH, get kits, and learn how to play the game in a decent fashion. Thus, for all those who may come after, here is a guide to success:

from where I live. What’s more, I worked with all of these people quite closely to merge and pass our resolution, and am still in contact with all of them several months after the conference. For that week, The Hague virtually belonged to THIMUN. Every street, club and bar in town was full of delegates hanging out and having a fantastic time every night – often so crowded with students that you could hardly move. There was also an enormous dance which nearly all of the 4,500 delegates attended on the final night – a night that was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the trips (though definitely not thanks to the choice of music or the DJ). The combination of this incredible social opportunity with the intellectual stimulus of the conference itself was what made this trip so enjoyable. Seven Delegates got through an intensive interview process involving at least fifty Carthusians to attend this year’s THIMUN conference: Rory McDougall (W), Nico Marsh (H), Matija Pisk (R), Eleanor Kerns (V), Olivia Hurley (P), Thomas Hobkinson (R) and Christopher Goetz (P). All of them proved over the course of the week that they had earned their place in this year’s team – but special thanks should go to the ambassador and leader of the Charterhouse delegation, Rory McDougall (W). From the start Rory handled every last aspect of the conference with enthusiasm, professionalism and skill; he was strongly dedicated, organised and efficient – and always set a fine example to the team. Special thanks should also go to Mr Knight and Dr Yeo for all their efforts; this was their first year of being involved in Charterhouse’s delegation to THIMUN, and yet it seemed as though they had done it all before – for they consistently offered sound guidance, and were always willing to help us out whenever they could. With their support, future delegates can be confident that they will be able to handle whatever the conference throws at them. THIMUN is unforgettable; all who attend will remember this unique experience for the rest of their lives. It requires a great deal of preparation, it is physically exhausting – and when you get back to school there will be lot of work to catch up on. Despite this, anyone who attends THIMUN will have a fantastic time. If you’re averse to politics and debating, you’re probably not reading this article; to anyone who is reading it, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Christopher Goetz (P)

Motivate your Spartans This is a difficult one, to be sure. While some people wanted to play, and were (to quote our goalkeeper, who went on to have a blinder of a season with the C XI in LQ 09) ‘well up for it’ – others were less enthusiastic. The trick was to appeal to those who were actually somewhat talented but reluctant by a mixture of begging sessions, offers of good positions, and the promise of the opportunity to hack at poor Revd Lloyd’s shins. Many of our players turned out to be surprisingly good, and thus we were lucky as a team to secure their services – and for this I must thank the two friends who made up, with me, the triumvirate of management: Henry Thorpe (g) and Sam Shepherd (H). We thus had our (almost… we were only out by a matter of 286 or so) 300, brave or foolish Spartans.

Motivate your Persian foes (Brooke Hall) This, I may say, was one problem Leonidas of Sparta did not have: the Persians, under Xerxes, actually wanted to be there in the first place. If motivating a group of first year specialists is hard, motivating a load of beaks to do the same thing is near impossible. Their Xerxes was, at first, the long-suffering RGL – but, as we suspect, after the entire team beginning to carve their studs into dagger shapes, he organised a christening to cover his back (and shins). Thus, after much

Beagle of the Ninth Sell-by expired – still readable As I write this I’m suddenly reminded of the film 300. For 300 – oblivious readers: it’s a sword-and-sandals epic based incredibly loosely on the battle of Thermopylae in which Gerald Butler & co (sporting leather Y-fronts and six-packs) fight off enemy hordes in a bloody, heroic, macho and ultra-

searching, we happened upon the new beak, Dr Langman (hereinafter PJL) to motivate his new colleagues – although command of the actual battlefield was left to Dr Johnson (DRHJ), a task that seemed impossible at times: an hour before the match started, BH still didn’t have a full team. Yet, all praise to the eventual Brooke Hall 2nds – despite their recourse to co-opted ‘members of staff ’: Professor Scheckter (P) and Dr Birkett (D).

predations of BH, while we managed, in the first half, to make them bleed a little (and not just in the metaphorical sense), with goals from Galliford (W) and Hasan (g) scorching unanswered from the front. Our midfield was superb, with Terry, Spector (H), Hasan, Galliford, Thorpe, Somji (g) and various others piling in and trying to convince the ref we hadn’t put more than eleven players on the field at one time – although the Shearer figure at the front didn’t seem to do that much, and delegated most of the work to his partner Brierley (L) and to the super-subs Hughes (H) and Zander ‘Big Z’ Howell (P). Overall the first half was superb, with cheering from half the underschool, and fine play by our boys against a BH team that wore white. But like all great defences, the work of a traitor often undoes the good work. This Ephialtes was played by none other than the old Sportarded Captain (Schecker) who [see above] had joined BH along with Ed Birkett – and this duly boosted the BH defence, allowing the beaks to unleash some of their best: Messrs Reynolds (TER), Hadley (EH), Mogford (APM), Elton (OPE) and Funcasta (PF). Our defence weathered well, with Coles pulling saves left right & centre – but the sheer weight of the BH assault soon left us on equal footing, before PF scored (in the manner of Maradona) in the last minute granting victory to an ecstatic Brooke Hall team. Sportarded was dead in the dust, so to speak – with a 3-2 loss for its troubles. Despite this I still believe that we did a superb job, and would like to thank my entire team: Coles, Shepherd, Thorpe, Howell, Brierley, Somji, Hasan, Galliford, Lane, Hughes, Leon, Terry & Spector – who battled so bravely. I would also like to thank DRHJ, PJL & RGL and their team for their help in organising – and Mr Reid for refereeing; EJR demonstrated that, unlike the run of the usual refs, he actually does have 20/20 vision – and he ran an eminently fair match. In the end we may have fallen, but I hope that in future the Sportarded XI pulls off return fixtures in the manner of later Spartan victories at Mycale or Plataea. Rollo Kirkman (B)

Getting the red cloaks and muscle suits One of the main attractions of 300 was the crimson cloak worn by the Spartans – which, combined with the unreasonable amounts of gore, made the film’s comic-book style of filming so much more effective. As Sportarded, we too aspired for the best in stylish battle-wear – as most of us had always been forced to wear the school’s rugby shirts for football, never the nicer synthetic fabric kits the school teams wear. Therefore we purchased our own blood-red and black kit: shirts, shorts & socks – these last proving incredibly serviceable later on in the year when it got cold, and I could waltz into an English hash last thing on a wet Monday and laugh the laugh of a man with warm feet at those huddled by the radiator. The kit also had a length of personalisation, with numbers and names. As Captain I chose the number of the finest striker in English history (and it’s in print now, so there’s nothing the hordes of Chelsea fans can do about it) – Shearer’s no. 9; the rest of the team did the same, although there was a certain amount of debate over the suitability of one number which occurs in the high sixties… need I say more?

Years of training, waiting for the perfect death Again we cannot come close to our relatives in Ancient Greece, who were actually separated from their mothers at an early age in order to become the perfect soldiers; even so, it was quite an effort to remove some of the Hodgsonites from their computer screens for long enough to do some training – for which I can thank the founding Captain, Hugo Scheckter, for his help as a FIFA-qualified coach. However, despite calls for no training (“…we’re Sportarded, we don’t train – and it’s cold outside…”) the team was forced out for a good few sessions to get us into shape. Thus the stage was set, and the match was scheduled for the last(-ish) day of Quarter. Recollections of the match are, like those of many a battle, quite hazy – with the details blurred or forgotten by the eroding power of time (this being Spartan Speak for “…we’ve all forgotten, and are desperately trying to ask around to find out who played etc, before the printing deadline tomorrow morning…”), but the match did play out quite well – and surprisingly, in the manner of 300, at first our phalanx at the back was solid with the Hodgsonite defence of Shepherd, Leon & Lane (with the token Weekite Terry) ably defending our goalkeeper Coles (B) from the

Postscript Of course, in true Carthusian and Sportarded style, this piece is actually an entire calendar year late (see telling comments about deadlines; I seem to be becoming Cassandra, seeing things before they happen and then failing to act upon my previsions); I suppose there exists a certain irony in the fact that, despite coming from the school which produced the founder of a movement with the motto ‘be prepared’, most Carthusians seem to have a habit of forgetting things… perhaps Leonidas had the same problem and forgot all but 300 of his army; you never know…

Huge Victory for High Verse

impressed the panel of external judges who are always so delighted to see that such events still take place. Each year I am filled with a feeling of great pride to be working with pupils who can lay on such a delicious linguistic feast. I would love the Carthusian to print here all the beautiful verse we heard that evening back in March but since this can’t be so, I wondered if I might at least offer this snippet for Carthusians (and beaks!), young and old (this was this year’s French specialists poem), though it is perhaps not the sort of advice a beak should be handing out. Emily Fox

Verse-speaking Competition Hall LQ 10 Languages (ancient & modern) and are alive and kicking at Charterhouse. This year’s Modern & Ancient Verse-speaking Competition brought many familiar and some new faces to the stage in Hall on 4th March. The chosen texts this year were a challenging collection (there were some very long passages) and real credit goes to all the finalists who recited by heart with such maturity and ease as if they declaimed Homer and Goethe every day. They rose to the occasion and

And for those who sadly abandoned French before encountering the great Victor Hugo, here’s what it means: O young people! Chosen ones! Flower buds of the living world! Masters of springtime and the rising sun. Do not listen to those who say: ‘Be wise!’ Wisdom it is to shun all those dreary faces! Be young, be bright and carefree, alive and passionate, be crazy! O sweet friends, live and love! Take no notice of those mawkish and appalling teachers. You are full of the joys of life and that offends those prigs. Dark, thick unkempt hair, Fresh-faced, firm-footed, bright-eyed and no gaps in your teeth, While they, wrinkled, worn-out and withered, toothless and bald, Are hideous! The sparkle in their wild eyes is envy in mourning crepe. O how I hate the priggish misers! They concoct out of their spite and disgust A wisdom full of boredom and no-nos And, fit for the old, dare dish it up to the young.

Ô jeunes gens! Elus ! Fleurs du monde vivant, Maîtres du mois d’avril et du soleil levant, N’écoutez pas ces gens qui disent: soyez sages! La sagesse est de fuir tous ces mornes visages! Soyez jeunes, gais, vifs, amoureux, soyez fous! Ô doux amis, vivez, aimez! Défiez-vous De tous ces conseillers douceâtres et sinistres. Vous avez l’air joyeux, ce qui déplaît aux cuistres. Des cheveux en forêt, noirs, profonds, abondants, Le teint frais, le pied sûr, l’oeil clair, toutes vos dents: Eux, ridés, épuisés, flétris, édentés, chauves, Hideux; l’envie en deuil clignote en leurs yeux fauves. Oh! comme je les hais, ces solennels grigous! Ils composent, avec leur fiel et leurs dégoûts, Une sagesse pleine d’ennui et de jeûnes, Et, faite pour les vieux, osent l’offrir aux jeunes! Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

‘The Bored Curator’ Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Photograph by Edward Mole (P)

An OC Interview Nicky Henson Nicky Henson (H 61) is proud to describe himself as a jobbing actor. He has worked without ceasing since the day he left Charterhouse, and his fabulous technical skill has equipped him to ply his trade in theatre, television and film throughout five busy decades. He has worked with the greatest British actors of the age; he is highly rated and respected in the business. Henson’s theatre credits (www.nickyhenson.me.uk) read like a dictionary of drama – an exhaustive list of plays both mainstream and recondite. He has also done about 30 films and loads of television, including Eastenders, A Touch of Frost, and The Bill. Born in the week of VE Day – the son of the legendary between-the-wars star of stage screen & radio Leslie Henson (who was also for a time in theatrical partnership with Ben Travers, D 1904) – Nicky’s life ‘in the family business’ has kept him young. He exudes a rumpled 1960s cool: with his Aviator shades, richly modulated voice, and effortlessly imposing physical presence – he is relaxed and friendly, and yet beneath the mature repose there is an intense vitality; he

has immense charm and a beguiling grace and agility in his manner – an impressive command, altogether. He is undoubtedly tough too – for acting is a notoriously tough business. “We have 47,000 members of Equity in this country, 87% of whom are out of work at any particular time; and it seems to me that it’s the same 13% who work, most of the time… as you probably notice from the television. When I joined the union in 1961 there were 14,000 members and five times the work there is now: we had the reps, movies, B-movies and television drama. That’s all gone. There are now 47,000 members and a fifth of the work – also, you don’t have to be a member now. Maggie Thatcher got rid of the closed shop – so now you’ve got all those Equity members, plus all those footballers & WAGs who also want to be at it. It’s a cut-throat business. I’ve watched untalented actors make lots of money, and lots of hugely talented actors never get their break; it’s a very unfair business in that way. Just look at all these reality TV shows: it’s awful.” Henson’s three sons are not – he is relieved to say – actors. He has two

Nicky Henson in St Joan at Charterhouse

was in one of Geoffrey’s reviews. I played guitar in all the bands, and I sang in all the vocal groups, and I was in most of the sketches.” In the audience that evening was the famous agent Richard Stone – father of Barry Stone (L 63), a fellow performer. Richard Stone came backstage to congratulate Henson, who told him: ‘I think I want to go on the stage, sir.’ “He’s been my agent ever since.” Stone was not the only one to spot Henson’s talent; Henson recalls Headmaster Brian Young’s valedictory quip: “Are you going to be doing this banjo stuff for a living?” Only a few years later Carthusians of the sort Henson had most disliked at school would turn up at his dressing-room door; one such OC remarked, ‘all that showing-off paid off then, didn’t it?’; this was no doubt kindly meant. Henson has one thing to say about Charterhouse now: “You know when you come back, everything generally seems much smaller? Well, this is still huge – but a lot more civilised.” Before leaving school Henson auditioned for RADA, but he was far too young (“sixteen going on twelve, actually”). Henson was desperate to leave school after O levels, and he had to prove to his guardian that he was going on into further education – so RADA offered him a year on the stage-management course and then the chance to re-audition for the acting course. Meanwhile Richard Stone had arranged an audition for Henson with EMI. Henson got a recording deal (including a three-year contract writing songs for The

by his first wife – the actress Una Stubbs: Christian (a film composer) and Joe (a TV composer). He is now married to Marguerite Porter, the ballerina; their son (named Keaton – after Buster, the silent comedy genius) is an illustrator, designer & recording artist. In Henson’s day Charterhouse was austere: “it had one foot in the past; it certainly wasn’t swinging into the 60s in any way at all. There was a classics beak who wore his OC tie every day. I found it restrictive until I met Geoffrey Ford.” Ford (BH 1956-92) frequently went up to see shows in London and brought back a whiff of the outside world – and his own shows in Hall were wonderful outlets for creative Carthusians... an early platform for, among others, the boys who went on to form Genesis. When Nicky Henson left Charterhouse he, like many another Carthusian who had acquired a taste for the stage in Geoffrey Ford’s productions, declared that he intended to pursue a career in the theatre. Ford’s response to such enthusiastic declarations was nearly always a kind but firm ‘no’; but to Henson he said, ‘you might as well, mightn’t you?’ “I couldn’t do anything else”, Henson admits. “Geoffrey put me in a lot of plays; my voice broke quite late – and eventually I refused to play any more girls.” As well as insisting on playing men, Henson was now instinctively developing his flair for comedy: “Geoffrey let me play 1st Gravedigger; I managed to find some extra skulls and kept throwing them out while Hamlet was doing ‘Alas, poor Yorick!’ – and I got a lot of laughs.” He was, in fact, a jack-of-all-trades: “on my last night here I

Nicky Henson as Jack Edwards in Eastenders

and I never thought I’d do the classics. I was very lucky: I just kind of fell into it. I had a chip on my shoulder about it… until, years later, I was doing A Ride Across Lake Constance by Peter Handke at Hampstead Theatre Club; I was sharing a dressing-room with Alan Howard & Nigel Hawthorne – and I was going on about how I wasn’t a proper actor because I had never trained. It turned out that neither of them had trained either… so I didn’t have that excuse any more: I just had to get on and do it!” After three years at the Young Vic, appearing in everything from Shakespeare and Restoration comedy to Waiting for Godot, and playing Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger, Henson went on to the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. “I learned it all on the shop floor – and worked with amazing actors… with my absolute hero, Sir Ralph Richardson.” Henson is now relishing the task of passing on what he has learned: “I teach Restoration comedy at LAMDA. I’ve acted an awful lot of it, but I don’t know an awful lot about it… but every Friday I take the class to the pub and buy them all a drink and tell them what it’s like to be in the business. I’m a working actor; there are very few working actors who teach.” In fact, Henson does know an awful lot about Restoration drama, and his passion for it is threefold: first, it is not done often enough any more – “the casts are too big, and young actors have no experience of it”; second, “it leads to Wilde, Ben Travers & Joe Orton; it’s about unlearning all the subtlety”; third, “it’s all about sex.” As for the business itself: “English actors work primarily in the theatre; we do film and television as well, but we are rooted in the theatre. English theatre is a team sport. I’ve worked a lot in America, and it’s completely different: it’s a competitive sport there… mainly because they’re not based in theatre; they mainly do film and television, where all the work is done the night before on your own in your hotel room – and it’s all about what you’re going to get out it. It’s much more of a family atmosphere in English theatre. The English are not terribly good film actors. There have been exceptions: Alan Bates, Michael Kitchen [Chief Superintendent Foyle]. We get very little practice at it; we make two or three films a year and there’s very little drama on television – so we’re all based in theatre. In this country theatre is becoming much more important now: the television audience has fragmented because of all the new channels; the audiences don’t have what the Americans call a ‘water-cooler moment’ any more… where they’re all talking (the next day) about what they watched the night before, which they used do with English television. Audiences want a shared experience. It’s thrilling at the moment to see young people back in the audiences.” Nicky Henson’s experience as a founder member at the Young Vic – which attracted crowds of new young theatre-goers, chiefly in school

Shadows and Cliff Richard), and he cut his first single in 1961: ‘Till I see you cry’. He finished the stage-management course and went on the road with his band (The Wombats, featuring his great friend Ian Ogilvy) and so he never studied acting. After touring with the band, Henson returned to London and went into cabaret – stand-up comedy, playing the guitar and singing: “again, I was far too young. I remember coming out of the kitchens of the Blue Angel Club in Mayfair at one o’clock in the morning and thinking, ‘I should be tucked up at home in bed – not facing all these drunks… upper-class twits and their deb girlfriends…’ and this was just the first show of the night! One winter I never saw daylight: there was a show at 10 and a show at 2; afterwards we’d go bowling and then fall into bed for the day.” Henson then went into review-work: his first west end show was All Square, with Beryl Reid in 1963 at the Vaudeville. For the rest of the 60s, Henson worked in musicals: Camelot (Drury Lane 1964), Passion Flower Hotel (Prince of Wales 1965), Canterbury Tales (Phoenix 1968). When Frank Dunlop founded the Young Vic in 1970, a theatre for young audiences, he wanted actors from light entertainment and musicals because he thought they would be sufficiently disciplined to cope with the rapid-fire schedule – putting on shows in only a week or two. Henson was recruited with the likes of Jim Dale, Sam Kelly & Denise Coffey from the fields of review and comedy work, “because it was a three-sided theatre, and we could work directly to an audience – look an audience in the eye. We were doing the classics, and modern classics, for young audiences – and that was the first time I’d done Shakespeare; I’d never trained as an actor at RADA,

they come back to haunt me on late-night television. In Psychomania Henson is the leader of a motorcycle gang who commits suicide and is buried sitting upright on his motorcycle; he comes back to life as a zombie, rides out of the ground and goes around terrorising the neighbourhood. Henson get invited to address university film societies about it. “Time Out always describes it as ‘one of the greatest comedy-horror pictures of all time’: I have to point out that we didn’t make it as a comedy: it was supposed to be for real!” On the other hand, Witchfinder General (1968 – with Vincent Price, Hilary Dwyer & Ian Ogilvy) in which he played Trooper Robert Swallow, is a straight piece of high quality. It was the director Michael Reeves’s third film; he was only 24 at the time – and he died less than a year later, early in 1969: “he would have been huge.” More recently Henson has appeared in Syriana (2005) with George Clooney, playing an American (Sydney Hewitt) – “which was scary”; Henson wryly alleges that he felt during the making of this film (his 30th) he was “beginning to get the hang of film-acting.” Many years before, Henson had turned down a lucrative Hollywood film contract in order to fulfil his prior commitment to the National Theatre: “so there I was in one of those brown rehearsal rooms at the National on a rainy winter’s day – the day I’d been due to fly out to California – and I looked across the room and saw Ralph Richardson, Dorothy Tutin & Ben Kingsley and thought, ‘ah! There’s no

parties… including coach-loads of Carthusians on theatre trips organised by Geoffrey Ford – informs his work now directing young companies, such as Love & Madness, and The Factory. “Young kids come out of drama school and say, ‘I see… we’ve got to do it ourselves’ – and they buy a van and stick some scenery in it, and it’s like the old days again.” Henson also directs at Sheringham every summer, where they do an old-fashioned three-month season of weekly rep. “The standard of the young actors who audition is very good; they get £235 per week – it’s in Norfolk, so you can’t get casting directors to come and look at you – but they still want to do the work. In the heyday of rep, with a company based in a town for months on end, the audience would get to know the actors – the actors would become their actors; and after doing an Agatha Christie, a Restoration comedy and a Shakespeare, you could take a chance on something new like The Caretaker – and the audience would come, because they knew the actors already. With pick-up shows in the provinces these days – one-off productions with a bespoke cast for the one show – you don’t get that happening.” Nicky Henson loves theatre – and most of all he loves Shakespeare comedy; he’s played all the clowns and two of the three fools. He argues from experience with those who (like his friend Derek Jacobi, and Globe Director Mark Rylance) say that Shakespeare did not write Shakespeare: “there’s no way those parts weren’t written by an actor; there’s no way those parts were written by the Earl of Oxford. You come across a line and say, ‘why’s it written like this? It’s stupid… I’m having such trouble learning this line: he’s put the words in the wrong order.’ Then you hit the first preview, and you get this huge laugh at the end of a line – and you think, ‘that’s it! He knows the laugh’s going to come there, so he’s put that word at the end of the line… whereas if you put that word in the middle of the line you’d ruin the line: they’d laugh, and they’d not hear the rest of the line.’ It’s an actor’s done that! Also Shakespeare uses the magic rule of three all the time: you do a joke, a joke and then another joke… and then no more. That’s an absolute magic theatrical rule. There’s no way the Earl of Oxford would know that; I’m sorry! Who did Shakespeare think wrote those plays he was putting on and being in?” Henson’s fellow-feeling for Shakespeare is as one jobbing actor for another. Alongside all the high-minded (and lowpaid) work at the Young Vic (£35 a week), Henson was working incredibly hard out at Shepperton: “We still had a B-movie industry in this country – so from time to time Frank Dunlop would leave me out of the next show; I would still be in the show at night, but not rehearsing for the next one. Filming was still very unionised at that time – so it used to stop at 5.30 pm on the dot, so that I could finish there and go on stage at the Young Vic in the evening. Some of those B-movies were so bad that they have become cult-classics…

of adrenalin as someone in a major car smash. The rest of the cast becomes more important to you than your family and friends, because you all go through this traumatic experience together. I’m sure that’s where this ‘luvvie’ business comes from – because you are so close. You might be sharing a dressing-room with someone for eighteen months; you very rarely work with the same people again – and two years later you might be walking down the street, and suddenly there’s this man coming towards you (with whom you’ve been through this major car smash) and you can’t just say: ‘I’m terribly sorry, I can’t remember your name’ – so you say ‘hullo, love.’” Nicky Henson is an actor by instinct and by experience; he learned his trade on the job. “I was never a method actor. Beryl Reid would buy the shoes first and find the walk; Sir Laurence Olivier did the same. I do it from here” – he points to his guts, not to his head. Henson’s ‘method’ is to find a connection with his audience. Here’s how he kept going through gruelling runs month after month; here’s why he always chose theatre over film work: “When I was at the National I did three or four plays at once… In Canterbury Tales I did an 18-month run: I’d put my make-up on and go and listen to the house filling up. The theatre takes you by surprise. Once in a while something extraordinary happens: you all come off stage and say to each other, ‘what the hell happened tonight?’ Every audience is a different animal. Some nights things just come together.” Nicky Henson is currently working on a Feydeau farce with his old friend and colleague John Cleese. Henson played the leather-trousered rock star who smuggles a girl into his room under Fawlty’s nose in ‘The Psychiatrist’ (Fawlty Towers). Henson is frequently called upon these days to recall the experience of being a key player in the greatest episode of the greatest sitcom of all time. “I knew something extraordinary was happening – but it was forty years ago and five days’ work.” This great jobbing actor, with credits to make your head spin, expresses mild and genial bemusement: “When I die I’ll just be the man who hid his girlfriend in his room.” Emily Stovold (S) & Jeremy Wong (S)

choice is there, really?’ And Peter Hall was directing, too!” Henson rates Hall as the best verse-teacher in the world; from him he learnt apposition and breath-control when Hall directed him as Malcolm in the Scottish Play. Henson also rates ex-actor directors – like Michael Grandage & Michael Blakemore: “they know when you’re trying to get away with something… being lazy”; but Henson has no time for the sort of ex-university director who doesn’t really understand how actors operate. The actors are working morning noon and night – rehearsing one show by day, putting on another in the evening and trying to remember what they’re doing. Enter the shiny star director: “he has an air ticket in his backpocket for Italy, where he is off to direct some opera as soon as he’s disappeared after the first night… and you’re left doing his play. Directors who have not acted tend not to understand the process actors are going through.” In 2003 Henson was diagnosed with cancer; his treatment was successful, but it returned in 2006 when he was rehearsing as Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night at Stratford. Belch is the longest part in the play, and the comic motor for the second act. By the end of the first night Henson’s voice had gone; he went to bed and knew he couldn’t do it again: “the worst night of my professional life”. He has never been able to act on stage since. He has enjoyed the teaching all the more because of this – being in the company of actors, seeing a play develop: “…and what’s more, you can have a drink on the first night.” “Actors are nice people: actors are very brave, very tolerant, very reliant upon each other – and that’s why actors become very close. We’re all working in the theatre and building towards this traumatic experience, which is the first night. Apparently an actor on a first night produces the same about

Phenomena, Hypotheses & the Nano-State

chemistry and chirality (Ben Peck), and the iron-sulphur world hypothesis (Chris Terry). The customary dinner in CQ with the officers’ presentations concluded this year’s programme: George Lane spoke on dye sensitised solar cells, and Adrian Tam gave a talk about the early beginnings of chemistry… the alchemists. This year Sanger Society was joined for dinner by our friends from Feynman Society. I would like to thank George and Adrian for all their help in running another successful year, and to wish their successor Anthony Kane (g) the best of luck for next year. OWC Members 09-10: (Left to Right) Chain Vayakornvichit (H), Ben Peck (G), Sandy Lau (P), Wayne Yeang (W), Adrian Tam (G, Secretary), George Lane (H, President), Chris Terry (W), Chris Bullock (R), Ben Goode (R), Alexander Woo (V) & OWC Absent:- Jason Chan (P) & Will Law (P)

Sanger Society Sanger Society (senior chemistry) has had another busy year with a number of external lectures. The fourth Frederick Sanger Society lecture was given by Professor Peter Atkins (Oxford University). His talk ‘Galileo’s Finger: The Ten Ideas in Science’ was an intellectually stimulating survey of the great pillars of modern science. Ewan Main (Sussex University) followed with a lecture on how to make real life – from the human genome via chemical biology to synthetic biology. Dr Vlad Stolojan (Surrey University) presented a paper on nano-technology explaining the structure and function of nano-structures and their applications. In the first of two lectures given in conjunction with Feynman Society, Dr Paul Wood (Cambridge University) introduced us to his research on porous materials for gas storage – a technique which is likely to be critical for future energy storage in the form of molecular hydrogen. The year ended with a superb lecture by Professor Stephen Elliot (Cambridge University) entitled ‘Through a Glass, Darkly’; this talk dealt some strange phenomena concerning the behaviour of light passing through optical fibres. Members of the society gave a range of stimulating lectures; topics included: green fluorescent protein... discovery, expression and uses (Chain Vayakornvichit), the chemistry of opiods (Alex Woo), ‘Aqua Peculiaris’ (Chris Bullock), making sense of taste (Sandy Lau), Alzheimer’s disease (Will Law), bio-mimetics (Jason Chan), lasers (Wayne Yeang), stereo-

House barbecue

Joshua North (D) abseiling from Heywood Court

Photographs by Oliver Epp

Too Old for Straights

serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps in Singapore and doing scientific research in his home country Scotland. He started at RADA – but when asked whether drama school was a good idea, Wilson stresses to us that actors have to be able to understand the human condition, and so life experience is by far the most vital thing. The actor goes on to describe the production of Twelfth Night, and his character of Malvolio. “For years people had been telling me to play Malvolio”, he mutters – this shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have seen his cantankerous One Foot in the Grave role. Yet despite this Wilson admits to having been extremely nervous before the opening night of his RSC debut, to the point of wanting to flee the theatre and perhaps even the country before the curtains opened, as Stephen Fry once did in 1995. At the age of 74, Wilson regrets not having written: “writing is the great thing”, he admits; “acting and directing are only interpreting.” Who knows, he had a late start in acting, perhaps he will decide to write a play some time soon. He’s certainly made himself a name without writing so far, though. When asked what he feels about being a celebrity, Wilson says that it “loses you a bit of privacy, but it gets you into all sorts of other areas”; it is “strange but exciting.” Those two words could also be used to describe the experience of performing before the actor: after his talk, Theatre Studies students do a three-hour workshop with Wilson on ‘Improvisation as a means to thinking about acting’. Surprisingly, no one tries to provoke by exclaiming the words “I don’t belieeeve it!” in any of the improvised sketches... Wilson has also been a strong supporter of the Labour party, and says so in his talk. Inevitably, the question ‘have you ever met Gordon Brown?’ pops up at the end of the lecture; what is not so predictable is the quite loud and impertinent “really?” that almost immediately follows the actor’s affirmation. Another man Wilson admires is multi-Academy-Awardwinning actor Marlon Brando, whose “metamorphic abilities

The Petty Concerns of Luke Wright BTT LQ 09 In his hour-long one-man show, Luke Wright looks back on his ten years of performance poetry. He leaps from topic to topic as he explains his life as poet and stand-up comedian – Googling his own name, and explaining the effect of nonfame upon his self-esteem. This modern odyssey – one man’s quest to answer, ‘how did the humble desire to be adored by millions turn into an ego trip?’ – begins with Wright’s dawning realisation that he may be too old to wear teen-trendy skinny jeans. It steers us towards the brilliant true story of how a mistaken identity led to a whopping 4,000 views on lukewright.com – though, ultimately, his hubris led to his nadir. Now the first hit when you search for “foppish buffoon” on Google images is a picture of him disguised as a modern-day harlequin. It’s true; try it. Ego, ambition and humility were the themes of the show. We were given plenty of each with both humour and passion. Mr Wright delivered half-a-dozen of his sparkling, lyrical and honest poems. Haunting lines such as ‘Awful, shrill, like a dentist’s drill / then the sky turned black as tar’ were balanced with others, like the simile ‘as sure as Scousers can’t take a joke’. In his teens, he scribed a taut and pretentious piece about a car crash on the M1, and his embarrassed deconstruction of it was one of the show’s highpoints. We listened to a wide range of contrasting poems: some were light-hearted, such as those in which Mr Wright relives memories of his Essex boyhood – for example, ‘The Ballad of Fat Josh’. Other poems uncovered his journey of selfdiscovery in ‘Colchester / where very little culture stirred’ – as in ‘Company of Men’. Some were more serious and sinister, such as ‘The Ballad of Barlow Burton’, a true tragedy set in ‘barb’s belt’ where ‘London over-spilled’. With all Luke Wright’s poignant, acerbic and ironically delivered poems, this was a show really worth catching. Sam Mottahedan (R)

You’d Better Belieeeve It Richard Wilson LQ 10 The school was very fortunate indeed to have distinguished actor and director Richard Wilson come to give a talk on acting, production, and his role as Malvolio in the recent RSC production of Shakespeare’s comedy Twelfth Night, directed by Gregory Doran. Wilson is probably best known for his roles on television, especially that of the archetypal grumpy pensioner Victor Meldrew in the sitcom One Foot in the Grave, and its catchphrase ‘I don’t belieeeve it!’ You might have also seen him on television recently as elderly wizard/physician Gaius in the BBC’s Merlin. Richard Wilson gives an illuminating talk, starting with his own life as an actor and award-winning director; belieeeve it or not, he only went into acting at the age of 27, after

Photograph of Tea-Drinking Society by Ed Mole (P)

Not for Mugs

were stunning”. But at the end of the day (literally), Richard Wilson was the man centre-stage, and that evening over fifty Carthusians went on a Culture Society trip to see him perform Malvolio in the West End; they then had the opportunity to meet several members of the cast after the curtain, discussing the characters of Twelfth Night and aspects of the backstage experience. Whether you attended the lecture, took part in the workshop, or watched the RSC production, you couldn’t help but admire Richard Wilson’s work – and wish he had, just once, exclaimed: “I don’t belieeeve it!” Robin Cowie (G)

Tea-drinking’s Stunning Finale Tea-drinking isn’t for mugs, but it isn’t for tea-drinkers either. In fact, everyone walked straight past the tea and onto the main events – the band and the garrulous jester. Paul Raleigh (D) & co opened with quaint renditions of Green Day, Fightstar, Arctic Monkeys, Dirty Pretty Things, Rage Against the Machine and The Strokes to wrap up a biblical set of songs. Paul Raleigh also managed to set a personal best by keeping his shirt on for the first five songs. Miles Beckwith (g) was the potty-trained Charterhouse performing monkey for the evening. He unleashed a consummate repertoire of gags, to universal approval – aside from one lead balloon: “I’m allowed one!” Often he paused for inspiration, which came in the form of trying to read writing he couldn’t read on his arm – and when that failed, he had a rant about Avenance (the catering company which does our school food). He also fondly recounted the episode in which he drew Hitler on his Spanish GCSE paper and nearly got disqualified. Miles concluded that he would live for another 50 years, provided he didn’t hang around his destructive peers for much longer – in which case he would only live for 20. He proceeded to display to his audience a picture of one particularly rotund and square-faced peer who was not named because he currently relies upon the support of a machine to keep him alive (the fridge). And, as advertised, everyone got back in time for ‘Skins’, completing a Thursday night routine that has quickly settled in the hearts of Carthusians everywhere. Matt Foley (R)

Fourths Go Forth Ypres CQ 10 The Fourth-form history trip to Ypres this year was not dissimilar from previous excursions – with an early start, several lengthy coach journeys, but far more importantly large excesses of good iced-cream and Belgium chocolate: it was definitely not boring. As well as the afore-mentioned luxury comestibles (and nonluxury travel), however, the trip also included visits to the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot cemetery – and to an ill-maintained German mass grave, in which 25,000 soldiers are buried. Visiting the locations we had learned about helped to bring to life the war that afflicted so many. Thanks to Mr Gillespie, Mr Francis, Miss Robinson and Revd Lloyd for taking us the 200 miles to Belgium. That said, a 5 am start probably kept the lid on the freighted yearlings for at least the first few hours! EFA Pinnegar (S)

Noticing Things & Making Connections

As has happened for the last few years, there was a theme to the talks – this time ‘War’. There were three short presentations on the following aspects: Ben Phillips (g), Alec McClean (R) & Danyal Hasan (G) gave a detailed account of the Arab-Israeli Conflict. David Torkington (P) & Robert McGowan Stuart (P) talked about the Vietnam War. Tom Gilbey (W) & William Mallin (W) discussed the defeat of the Aztecs. Each of these talks was carefully prepared and well delivered. The first scholars’ event in LQ was the dinner for the first year specialists. Alistair Adams (H) gives a short description of the talk: Dr Richard Brown (BH) spoke on the numerous patterns that occur in nature – unexpected things, such as Fibonacci spirals in sea shells. After this thoroughly interesting talk, discussion ensued about the Multiple Universe Theory – that every time an event happens, another universe is created in which an alternative event takes place… and what sorts of things are constant in all universes. There is one occasion in the year when all the scholars are present: the Philip Balkwill Memorial Lecture. The 2010 PGB lecture was given by Canon Paul Jenkins on the subject ‘Symbolism in Art – or, Life before Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code’. Canon Jenkins treated the audience to a wide survey of symbolism. He began with the Renaissance painter Carlo Crivelli and his ‘Annunciation with St Emidius’. We then saw how symbols had different meanings in different cultures and religions, including the swastika. Canon Jenkins showed a lot of art from the Spanish Civil War and explained its symbolism. The lecture provided an entertaining insight into a very wide subject. The remove scholars had two events. In the first of these, Jonathan Hall (R) & Ben Culverwell (R) gave an interesting presentation on diabetes. They explained the nature of the condition and the different forms that it can take. The talk was followed by a lot of thoughtful questions. On the occasion of their formal dinner, the remove scholars gave a series of short talks on law. These are described by Nicholas Lee (W): there were three presentations given by six scholars. The first of these was by Jonny Peppiatt (L) & Mark Fischel (g). They looked at the different types of law – including criminal law, administrative law & constitutional law. The second talk was given by Paul McClean (R) & Joshua Pacey (V) on the history and differences between American & English law. Finally, Caspar Bayliss (W) & Callum Morganti (S) concluded with a number of humorous and ridiculous sets of laws. The fourth-form scholars met for a working supper and heard talks by Joshua Andrade-Brown (L) & Calum Scott (L). They spoke about Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King respectively. Henry Clinton (W) describes the two talks: Joshua began with Mandela’s early career as a politician, and described his work in his law firm as well as in public. Next he moved on to Mandela’s first real actions against Apartheid

Scholars 2009-10 As always, there has been an interesting programme of talks and dinners for the scholars. Each year-group has had a formal dinner. On each of these occasions, the evening has been split into two parts – academic and social. Sometimes the scholars have talked on a particular theme and on other occasions, a member of Brooke Hall has given a short lecture. The scholars in the underschool have also had working suppers at which two of them give talks which are followed by discussions. I have normally asked the scholars to write short reviews of these occasions, from which I quote extracts below. Tom Annable (B) describes a talk to the remove scholars by Dr Conan de Wilde: Dr de Wilde lives in Switzerland, where he is Head of English at the International School in Geneva and a leading member of the International Baccalaureate team. Amongst other accomplishments, it is notable that he speaks four languages and that he has undertaken many a personal Odyssey – for example a month living in the desert with the Bedouin. His theme for the evening was travel literature and how it had the power to move people. The fourth-form scholars met in November: Thomas Timms (B) & Henry Shore (B) gave an interesting pair of talks on the Napoleonic Wars. Tom focused on Trafalgar, considering the events leading to the battle and the tactics employed on the day. Henry gave a description of Waterloo. Timothy Parsons (B) describes the talk given by RCD Millard to the second year specialist scholars: the lecture was on the tritone, known sometimes as ‘diabolus in musica’ (the devil in music). This interval, as its name suggests, spans three tones (exactly half an octave) and, seeming to undermine fifth-based diatonicism, it has a distinct and characteristic sonority. The lecture showed particularly how the tritone has been linked with forces of evil in music. RCDM began with an extract from Beethoven’s 1805 opera Fidelio, which was the first clear example of using the tritone to evoke the presence of the devil; we also heard Saint-Saens’s ‘Danse Macabre’ (in which the violin’s strings have to be tuned to a tritone), Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, and excerpts from Wagner, Weber & Liszt. But we also heard extracts from Jimi Hendrix and from the charmingly named Heavy Metal bands Black Sabbath and Slayer – all of which exhibited the tritone, sometimes in a patronisingly obvious manner. Finally, RCDM drew our attention to the bass line of The Simpsons theme-tune, where once again the tritone makes its evil appearance. The lecture was skilfully crafted to appeal to all tastes – which is why everybody understood and enjoyed it. Perhaps we will now tune in with greater acuity to the sound of classical music, and find it a more fulfilling experience than before. Later in OQ the fifth-form scholars had their annual dinner.

Gownboys dining-room. The guest of honour this year was Professor Roger Cashmore, Principal of Brasenose College Oxford. Professor Cashmore spoke and proposed the toast to scholarship – and the Senior Scholar, Christopher Terry (W), replied. It was a fine finale for this group of scholars. We thank them for their excellent contributions over the years, and wish them every success and happiness in the future. Stephen Shuttleworth (Master of the Scholars)

with his non-violent protests. Having described his politics, he then went on to Mandela’s arrest. He then went to the same lengths to explain about the release from prison. He ended by describing why he had chosen to talk about Mandela and to explore the theme of freedom fighters; he said that he had been inspired by the film Invictus (2009). Calum’s presentation was on another major freedom fighter, Martin Luther King – his life in general, with much detail on some of his major projects. He spoke about his education, and how he came to fight segregation; he described King’s campaign against segregation on buses – which started with Rosa Parks’s courageous action, leading to her trial and the subsequent successful bus boycott. Calum then moved on to King’s march on Washington and his ‘I have a dream’ speech, and his Nobel Peace Prize. Finally, the presentation ended with the assassination of Martin Luther King. The fourth-form scholars met again early in CQ for a working supper. We heard a couple of talks about the science of sport. Ajitesh Rasgotra (R) describes them: Henry Clinton (W) opened the night’s presentation with his explanation of the scientific aspects of golf & tennis. Henry explained how the grooves on a golf club assist the players – especially professionals – with control, grip and spin on a golf ball. Henry then moved onto the science of tennis. He elaborated on the never-asked (yet interesting) question on the importance of felt on tennis balls which, apparently, slows them down through the air – giving the players more time as well as more control over their shots. MacGregor Cox (V) then enlightened us on the science of cricket and Formula 1. He began by describing the effect of polishing one side of a cricket ball throughout an innings to make it swing later on. He then moved onto three aspects of F1: tyres, KERS (kinetic energy recovery systems) and aerodynamics. Overall, everyone at the dinner came away knowing a lot more about the science of sport. The remove scholars had a working supper in CQ, after which Caspar Bayliss (W) talked on the subject, ‘How the music industry has responded to the internet’. The evening is described by Mark Fischel (g): First Caspar described how in 1980 the record label was all-powerful over a band’s relationship with the public, and then he showed the stark contrast with 2010; now, through the use of social net-working and the increasing numbers of live performances, a successful band no longer needs a record label. He illustrated this with the example of the band Arctic Monkeys, which recently rose to fame attracting thousands of fans without ever having signed up with a record label. Next Caspar discussed legal and illegal down-loading. The talk was presented well with excellent visual aids, and the audience was kept captivated throughout. The major event for scholars in CQ is the dinner for the second year specialist scholars, which, by tradition, is held in

Auschwitz Holocaust Educational Trust Our trip to Auschwitz as part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s programme was to increase our understanding and create further awareness of the mass genocide that took place from 1941 to 1945. The Jews have been a persecuted nation for thousands of years and the old Christian stereotype of a Jew was an evil, conspiratorial figure. Since Christianity dominated most of Western Europe, it was able to transmit anti-Semitism. Laws were passed which singled Jews out and forced them to lead precarious existences as stateless refugees. In 1919 the National Socialist (Nazi) Party was formed. Hitler, who soon became its leader, saw the world in racial and biological terms; in this perverted world view, the Aryans were the superior race and the Jews were a demonic force who didn’t deserve to live. At the time of the Great Depression in Germany, Hitler attracted millions of Germans with his young and energetic party. Worried by the threat of communism, Germany’s conservative elite offered Hitler full power. He ruled as a dictator, abusing his power and setting his heinous plans into motion. Hitler used his power to organise one of the biggest crimes against humanity ever witnessed. For years sociologists and historians have tried to search for the roots of the ‘Final Solution’ in human behaviour. It is thought that if this can be fathomed, then it may be possible to understand how genocide can come about and how we can prevent it. The Orientation Seminar in preparation for our visit to Poland was essential. We heard Kitty Hart-Moxon, a Holocaust survivor, speak of her experiences – and we learned about pre-war Jewish life. Then came our visit to Poland. Nothing could have prepared us for what we were about to encounter. Stepping into a death field where millions of Jews, gypsies and other ethnic minorities were butchered shamelessly was a horrifying experience. The main aim of the concentration camps was to de-humanise the victims. We were handed works of literature written by survivors of the Holocaust, which personalised our understanding of the horrors and made a profound and potent impact. Auschwitz I was the first and main camp to be established; it was set up in an abandoned Polish army artillery barracks, located in the suburbs of the city. It continued to grow in

size and prisoner-intake, and was equipped with gas chambers. It was constructed to serve three purposes: first, to incarcerate those who were deemed to be enemies of the Nazi regime – second, to supply forced labour – third, to eliminate those deemed ‘different’. The camp comprises many stone buildings, and contains objects preserved to remind us of the inhumane treatment meted out to the prisoners: colossal mountains of prisoners’ belongings (they were tricked into believing that they could each bring 25 kilos of luggage to their ‘new life’) – we saw piles of glasses, suitcases, pots and prosthetic legs and forty thousand pairs of shoes; these are preserved as a memorial to all those who were murdered there. What struck us the most was a two-ton pile of human hair – hair shaved off the prisoners, which was intended to be sent off for stuffing mattresses and cushions. The sheer size of Auschwitz I had shocked us, but Aushwitz II left us speechless: an endless vista of wooden huts. It is estimated that 1.2-million people were exterminated at Auschwitz-Birkenau – yet survivors of Auschwitz question this, stating that this must be an under-estimate. The strong and the healthy were sent to work, but the majority were sent directly upon arrival to the gas chambers – and this group would have included pregnant women, children, old people, and the mentally and physically ill. The atmosphere at the extensive and bleak Auschwitz II left no doubt in our hearts that the evil that had been present there was still casting its grim shadow. Many of the original wooden huts had been destroyed – but we were able to visit a lavatory block, shocking in its lack of sanitary basics: it comprised rows of holes, numbering 600 altogether, with only inches between them. The rooms were equally shocking: at least eight people had been piled into each bed, often resulting in fatal accidents: collapse of the upper frames could cause death to those below. Our day ended with a memorial service at the ruins of Crematorium II Birkenau, which enabled us to reflect on all that we had experienced: it had been harrowing and overwhelming, and the service helped us to bring our thoughts together. A rabbi led the service, singing traditional Jewish prayers. For decades, the Holocaust had been essentially a private grief for the Jews, while others avoided the issue and denied its importance. The prayers conveyed the Jewish peoples’ collective response to the suffering which they were forced to remember in silence. It is only in the last fifteen years that the shocking reality of the Holocaust has been aired more openly. The aim of the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’ project (the scheme which gave us the opportunity to make this trip) is to make our generation aware of the importance of acknowledging such dramatic events in our past – and to preserve the memory of the Jews who perished. We were also able to understand the victims through their lives before

the war – lives which drew basic parallels with our own. We could not imagine being able to maintain such strength of character throughout such an ordeal; the threat of death was ever-present, and the treatment the prisoners suffered robbed many of the will to live. Kitty Hart-Moxon’s testimony fascinated us. She had to survive on her wits, taking bread and clothes from those who died. A bowl which she tied around her belly was her lifeline; she had to defecate into it, and drink soup from it. Kitty had the ‘prestigious’ job of scraping toilets with her bare hands, which meant that she was able to work indoors out of the bitter cold; this increased her chance of survival. She was promoted to the Kanada Kommando. Kanada was the nickname given to the group of men and women who sorted out the possessions of people brought into the camp. They had a better chance of survival than the others. Kitty vividly remembers piles of wasted food rotting away next to skeletal figures – a sickening image. After enduring two years of torture and despair – being forced to walk a death march in winter for months, and unceremoniously herded into cattle trucks and left to suffocate, Kitty was saved by American and Russian troops. Unfortunately the indifference and antagonism towards survivors was universal. Hardly any financial or psychological support was given, and Britain was considered a very uncaring society. Birkenau, she said, was her ‘university’ – the place where she spent her adolescence. It ruined her childhood – in fact, it abolished it; but she was able to leave the god-forsaken place and become a strong, honest woman who was able successfully to start a new life… and she is still educating our generation. She believes that we cannot face the challenges of the future without identifying with our past. There are those who deny the Holocaust and those who believe it to be irrelevant to their own lives. It is hard to see how anyone could maintain such a lie or remain indifferent. When we gave our talk for the Trevor-Roper Society, we showed a short clip from a video that showed Kitty meeting Holocaust-deniers at Auschwitz-Birkenau. She called them ‘phoney Nazis’, because of their ignorance and unwillingness to listen. Denying the Holocaust – pretending that there is not enough evidence to prove it – is quite simply absurd. History is about gathering all the evidence you can, and coming up with a reasonable conclusion – it is not about denial. The Holocaust has become a metaphor for evil – a synonym for every kind of genocide. Its moral, ethical and historical dimensions remain profoundly relevant; through learning and examining the lessons of the past we may understand how hard it is to construct a decent society, and why it is essential to keep on striving towards this goal. Georgia Davies (G) & Sasha Madan-Patel (G)

Charterhouse Swings Left

Security & Brooke Hall – all came to cast their vote on Thursday 29th April at one of the three polling stations posted around school, gripping their chance to express their opinion. The results were statistically interesting. With an overall turnout of 65%, almost 5% higher than that of the 2005 General Election, the highest turnout being in Verites (possibly because there was a polling station right outside V) – it seemed that the majority of the school had taken an interest… especially the support staff, whose voter turnout was higher than that of Brooke Hall. 22 votes made all the difference. Hamer (Liberal Democrat) made a shining win, with the heaviest support from the first year specialist boys and the underschool. Labour, only 22 votes behind in second place, with most support from the girls and the staff, battled on – with evidence of extreme voter-dedication in the receipt of one postal vote from Hong Kong, which begs the question: how close might it have been if the other international students could have been present? In third place was Hurley (Conservative), with most support from the second year specialist boys; Laji (Green) was fourth – and still (it was alleged) unaware of the Green party leader’s name. Overall, thanks to Mr Knight and Mr Richards, the event was a success and provided an opportunity for some students who may not have originally taken an interest to learn more about politics and the current situation we are now facing. Although the results of the real General Election did not reflect the success of the Charterhouse Labour party, let’s hope that the new coalition creates compromise and not conflict. Chris P Duck, Will de Beest & Drew A Blank

Mock Election CQ 10

Photograph by Oliver Epp (D)

The Charterhouse Mock Election results confounded the expectations of everyone within and without the school. The extension of the franchise to the students of Charterhouse showed democracy at its best; nobody declared a moat or duck-house on the school shop tab, but there was an abundance of bribery in the form of chocolate. In the real election the general purpose slogan parroted by most contenders was ‘Vote for change!’; in the mock election the winner was not going to be in a position to change anything. The four candidates – Olivia Hurley (P, Conservative), Felix Hamer (R, Liberal Democrat), Nidhin Laji (P, Green), and Venetia Menzies (g, Labour) – ploughed through their exam week while also canvassing support and decorating the school with political posters… each branding the other parties with pejorative names but retaining the highest standards of decorum, of course. The main event was on Sunday 25th April in Lecture Theatre: as in the television debates in the real election, each candidate gave a prepared introductory speech; they were all then hounded with questions on six main topics, with unseen and unpredictable follow-up questions from the audience. All the candidates, being Carthusians, had done enough banco to give convincing speeches – but when the follow-up free-for-all questions commenced, most were thrown against Labour… and Menzies did her best to think on her toes and defend Gordon Brown’s legacy. Then came election day. United and confederate – the student body, the support staff,

Flattering Earth Society

Harpooning Cobwebs’, was from Dr Hamish Towler, Consultant Ophthalmologist. Dr Towler described how he had come to specialise in ophthalmology. He went on to describe reasons for poor vision, and focused on two of these. The first was cataract surgery (‘window cleaning’). He explained how the operation is now done under local anaesthetic and takes a matter of minutes. The patient is free to return home the same day. He had video film of two cataract operations that he had done: one on a healthy person and the other on a diabetic. He then spoke about macular degeneration and the ways in which it can be treated. Our next visit was from Dr Ken Laji, Consultant Endocrinologist at St Richard’s Hospital Chichester. Dr Laji described how he had become interested in endocrinology and explained the qualities required of an endocrinologist. We then heard about how the malfunction of various glands caused certain conditions. We enjoyed a visit from Dr Fiona Cresswell, Medical Registrar at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals. The subject of her talk was HIV/AIDS. She informed us that the number of people being infected with the HIV virus each day in the world is approximately 7,000, which is roughly ten times the number of pupils at Charterhouse! It was also explained how patients with AIDS were more susceptible to infections which would not affect healthy people. There were three lectures in OQ 09 – Professor Martin Cook, Consultant Pathologist at the Royal Surrey Hospital, gave a talk entitled ‘Pathology – Art and Science in Medicine’. Professor Cook described the various branches of pathology, before going on to talk about melanoma, one of his specialist areas. The title hinted at his love for art. He showed slides of paintings by Gaugin and pointed out how the style had altered with time and how, therefore, a pattern was discernible. In a similar way, a pathologist could often see a pattern in how tissue changes and thus make a diagnosis. Dr Johan Zylstra gave a talk on general practice entitled ‘The Delicate Art of Peeling Onions’ Having talked about his training in South Africa, Dr Zylstra used his title as a metaphor for making a diagnosis. There were often layers of complexity which had to be removed carefully before the nature of a condition was plain to see. Dr Sean Nadaraja came to speak about his career as an anaesthetist. Dr Nadaraja talked about his training and then gave a quick survey of what an anaesthetist does. He also gave some insight into the way in which anaesthetics work. He had worked for Médecins sans Frontières in Nigeria, Jordan and Yemen – and we heard about his work in each of these areas. Professor Adam Timmis, Professor of Clinical Cardiology, London Chest Hospital came to speak in LQ 10 on ‘Cardiology – the Most Exciting Medical Speciality’. Professor Timmis explained how he had come into medicine

Parent Tours “You are the brightest and the best this school has to offer”, we were told – “…which is why you have been chosen to do parent tours.” I grinned, because obviously if I were bright enough I might have been able to avoid parent tours altogether – but next day I was smugly showing some parents around the very history hash that I was missing to do the said parent tour. In many ways, the whole concept of touring parents around a school is as conceited as it first appears: ‘you’re not selling the school, you’re advertising it – entirely different things’… supposedly. What won me over on my parent tour (‘me’ being an immature twelve-year-old) was, actually, the view. And Chapel. And BTT. This doesn’t mean that a tour guide is an unnecessary luxury. Rather, he or she shouldn’t be encouraged to act as a rampant force of endorsement for the school. The point is: while we are being tacitly encouraged politely to show off the school, there really is no need. The school has the capacity to sell itself. “I mean just look at Maniacs; it really is the flattest pitch in England, Mr Foley”. the tour guide told my dad. Matt Foley (R)

Orastory School Debating After qualifying amongst the top few teams at the regional stage held at Guildford High School, Charterhouse sent two teams to Oxford on 13th March 2010 to compete (for the first time in the school’s history) in the finals of the Oxford Union Schools’ Debating Competition. In the senior A team were Christopher Terry (W) & Oliver Malin (D), and in the B team Timothy Rose-Innes (S) & Annabelle Bonham (V). This was an important first for Charterhouse debating; beaks JHB Schmitt and JM Richardson, who run the school’s regular Colloquium and inter-house debating competitions, are sure to be taking more teams to debate at the world’s oldest and most famous debating union in years to come. The debates themselves are run in British parliamentary format, with four speakers each on the government and opposition side – and cover topics such as private schooling, copyright legislation and government procedures for engaging in war. Reaching the finals of this prestigious competition is testament to debating’s growing popularity and importance at Charterhouse, and an indication of what the future will bring for the school and its budding orators. Oliver Malin (D)

Knees & Onions Medical Society Medical Society has met regularly over the last four Quarters. We have had visits from doctors with a large variety of specialities. The first, entitled ‘Cleaning Windows and

and then gave a short survey of his area of expertise in cardiology. Mr Guy Slater, Consultant Surgeon at St Richard’s Hospital, Chichester, talked about ‘Surgery for Obesity’. We heard about morbid obesity and how, in many instances, it was best treated by procedures referred to as Bariatric Surgery. Mr Slater explained two of these and the circumstances in which they are administered. These lectures have been well attended and have always provoked a series of thoughtful questions from the audiences. It is good to see enthusiasm for medicine, and I hope that the Carthusians will feel inspired to pursue medical careers. SJS

A Grand Final Schools’ Challenge & House Quiz

Old favourites, such as the Foursome and Eightsome Reels, Gay Gordons, Reel of the 51st Division, Dashing White Sergeant, and Strip the Willow, were skilfully accomplished by all – in addition to the more complex dances, such as Duke of Perth, Mhairi’s Wedding and Postie’s Jig. The evening’s dancing was divided by a delicious meal – and the vibrant mood was not lost once, thanks to the excellent George Buchannan Scottish Ceilidh Dance Band. A final rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ concluded the Ball in tremendous fashion. Considerable gratitude must go to Mr Bogdan and Hattie Walker-Arnott (G) for the dancing expertise and time they put into organising the evening. It would simply not have been possible without their tireless and lively commitment – from last minute practices to dance cards and drinks. Every single person will testify that the St Andrew’s Ball was a unique and remarkable experience, and certainly will be one of my lasting memories of Charterhouse. Most importantly, all profits from the event went to the Mark Evison Foundation – dedicated to the memory of an inspirational Old Carthusian who, in 2009, was killed whilst fighting in Afghanistan as a lieutenant in the Welsh Guards. This charity gives financial support to young people who wish to pursue personal, physical and mental development and challenge themselves in new ways – as Mark Evison (R 00) did both during his Charterhouse career and in the years that followed. Sam Jenkins (S)

The inter-house Quiz provided its usual excitements, joys and disappointments this year. As always each house entered two teams, but this year there were also two girls’ teams. The format of the matches is similar to ‘University Challenge’, but there are no penalties for wrong interruptions and the scoring system is more generous. The first semi-final was between Bodeites A and Daviesites A, both of whom had progressed effortlessly to this point in the competition. In the event, Bodeites continued in this fashion and won 440150. The other semi-final was between Robinites A and Weekites A. This encounter was altogether closer, with Robinites winning 270-210. The stage was thus set for the final. It was clearly going to be a high-scoring affair; indeed, more than 1,000 points were scored. Bodeites was on quite good form, but Robinites was in another class and won with a score of 600 to 410. The R team comprised: Chris Bullock, Andre Zylstra, Jonathan Hall & James Jones. The school team was matched against RGS Guildford in the first round. It has been a long time since we last beat RGS. For a lot of the match it seemed as if we might just manage it, but a late surge saw RGS home by 460-430. The members of the Charterhouse team were: Rollo Kirkman (B), Chris Terry (W), Tom Annable (B) & Hugo Sloper (B). I would like to pay tribute to Rollo Kirkman for his contribution to our quizzes over the years. He has been a stalwart member of many teams, and I hope that he will keep this going at university. SJS

Rigorous Dancing 19th St Andrew’s Ball Hall OQ 09 This year’s St Andrew’s Ball brought Oration Quarter to an end with a flourish; no fewer than 80 specialists & beaks descended on Hall for one of the highlights of the School’s social calendar. Weeks of learning, practice and polishing culminated in a thoroughly enjoyable evening – which not only demonstrated the rigours of Scottish Dancing, but also its unrivalled capacity for engendering an atmosphere of festivity.

They Preferred to Run Together

To add variety we spiced our running up with interval sessions. Our first such session was to attack the hill out of the village. A pyramid session up a hill with a gradient reaching 20% provided plenty to induce leaden legs and twisted grimaces. Our next set of intervals took us to the beach at Whitby (too many of us had watched Chariots of Fire). “Inconvenient, not extreme”, said the lady we chatted to as we waited for the train that would take us the picturesque route to Whitby. The firm sands of Whitby provided ideal conditions for a ‘beep test’ along the beach with the waves piling up alongside us and a biting wind making us work for every step. EH proved why he is not a maths beak by insisting that the 800m being run really was 500m. Ben Jobson, nonetheless, showed himself to be the strongest of the group consistently managing to cut the time he took to do each length of the beach until he was the only one remaining. After each afternoon run there was plenty of time for revision done by the fire or at the kitchen table with questions fired off to beaks while supper was prepared. With stomachs full we gathered round the wood-burner in an old barn and mixed our entertainment with a play-reading (Tom Stoppard’s droll The Real Inspector Hound), poems recited, the reading of the diary for the day as well as charades and other games. JPF and CRGH’s recitation of ‘Fern Hill’ by Dylan Thomas and ‘Rain’ by Ted Hughes will long remain in my memory. Mens sana in corpore sano. My thanks go to EPN, CRGH & JPF who did so much, were so enthusiastic and such good company. The boys too deserve a great amount of credit for their good company and willingness to muck in and help out. There seemed to be a real bond between members of the group, and a great sense of achievement. EH

Cross-country in North Yorkshire Commondale sits in a bowl amongst the hills in the North Yorkshire moors. For the cross-country team’s trip for five days in January it was bedded down with a thick blanket of snow. Ideal conditions, then, for a memorable week of running along empty lanes in breath-taking scenery. The aim of this time was to get some pre-season miles under our belts combined with wider reading and revision in the periods in between. On the trip were Charlie Wilkinson (R), Alex Jeffreys (D), Ben Jobson (S), Matt Clarke (B), Scott Lyons (H) & Jon Hall (R) along with JPF, EPN, CRGH & EH. On arriving we were eager to feel the snow underfoot and to stretch our legs after a long journey, and so we set out in the early evening with a bright moon making clear our way along an undulating track. JPF summed up the mood of the group with the observation that this short run alone seemed to make the trip up worth it. Each day we took a longer run to get some miles into the legs, with Wilkinson usually to be found spear-heading the way. These runs were memorable for the uniquely beautiful scenery they took us through. Common to each was the snow-laden landscape of undulating hills criss-crossed with black trees and walls, with fields populated by shaggy-haired cattle and sheep. Our group passed through in two lines breaking the silence with the crunch of each footfall, the rustle of clothing and rhythmic breaths. It felt that there was little to surpass the pleasure of the effort expended in running whilst uplifted by wonderful surroundings… combined, that is, with the luxury of a warm cottage and delicious food at the end of the day.

Book Reviews Something to be going on with A History of Aviation in Alderney Edward Pinnegar Amberley Publishing, Stroud 128 pp; illustrations – c 70 black & white, 32 colour; £12.99 ISBN 978 18 4868 981 7 The text of Edward Pinnegar’s remarkable book arrived for review at a most inconvenient time (I was meant to busy doing innumerable dull things) – and, even more inconveniently, it was quite impossible to put it down... because it is entertaining and absorbing – written in an inimitable style: efficient & witty. Pinnegar (S, IVth-form) has lots of fascinating things to say about aviation in Alderney, and he says them fascinatingly. He appears to be aware that the reader might be a busy or impatient person – easily irritated by lumpy or soggy prose, and easily bored. The result is a cracking read that works on every level. Here are some of the questions I wanted to ask the author as soon as I had given the book the once-over (his answers are appended in square brackets): How did you come to be writing this book? [Coming to Alderney involves flying on a 16-seater, and there my interest started.] What is your connection with Alderney? [My grandfather lives on the island.] Are you an aviation fan, or an Alderney fan? [Both... religiously!] What are you going to write next? [This has yet to be decided; something, however.] How long did it take you to research this? [I started writing in August 2009, and since then have met with many people and delved into museum archives to uncover the previously unknown.] Packed with incidents related in a constantly delightful manner, with technical detail rendered INTERESTING, this

book was written this year in celebration of the 75th anniversary of Alderney Airport, the 40th anniversary of the Britten-Norman Trislander (that’s a plane, by the way) and the 30th anniversary of Channel Islands Air Search (to which excellent charitable concern 50% of the profits will go). It will tell you about Alderney Airport (whose runways were surfaced with tarmacadam only in the late 1960s), the interwar years (the era of the resourceful Wilma Le Cocq), the German invasion (1940-45), the BEA years (1946-67), the founding of Aurigny Air services in 1969, the struggle to fight off competitors in the 80s & 90s (I myself helped, a bit, no doubt – when I chose to fly Aurigny to a friend’s wedding in 1982), and the recent past including the death in 2009 of Aurigny’s founder (Sir Derrick Bailey). In Chapter 8, Pinnegar relates the tale of the drunken Lockheed Hercules pilot, and the sticky-end story of the Piper and the (suspected) seagull – but/and there is entertainment value on each & every page, not just in this bumps & scrapes bit: especially when Pinnegar’s thoroughness and meticulous care over detail should be testing the reader’s patience, mirabile dictu, the r’s p remains, well… totally untested. There’s stuff on Channel Islands Air Search, on special aviation events, and the future – as well as a short chapter devoted to technical info to make tech-buffs’ eyes water. The whole is basted liberally with excellent photographs – which complement the consummate charm of the text, which is thoroughly engaging... written throughout in the authentic voice of a great and persuasive enthusiast. This review is a pre-publication special – and, having read the thing as a bulky sheaf of print-outs, I can’t wait to buy my own copy. Give this bloke a knighthood! Edward Pinnegar’s achievement in this wonderful and unusual book is singularly fine. Mark Blatchly (G 77)

National Service

(C) Not recommended for Officer Training. It was unusual for more than three or four from a group of ten to be ‘Recommended’: swift, uncompromising and brutally frank judgement, in public. (When he failed, a contemporary who had travelled to ‘Wosbee’ and stayed overnight with me, felt too ashamed even to speak to me afterwards.) Gunner Goodliffe became Officer Cadet Goodliffe at the Officer Cadet Training Unit, Mons, Aldershot – the OCTU providing the compulsory six weeks basic infantry-officer training for originally mounted, now mechanised, regiments – ie Armoured Corps, Artillery, Engineers, Signals, REME, RASC – before they went for the remaining ten weeks to specialist regimental OCTUs, eg Bovingdon for Armoured Corps, Catterick for Royal Signals. Infantry officer cadets spent their entire sixteen weeks at Eaton Hall in Cheshire. What an astonishing experience Mons was – how bizarre was what Goodliffe terms ‘the army game’. I recommend the story of the non-standard boots, which would have resulted in the cadet being RTU’d (Returned to Unit) had it not been for a seemingly humourless and fearsome senior NCO being ‘economical with the truth,’ persuading even the Medical Officer to turn a blind eye and write a medical ‘chit’. Who could forget the legendary Regimental Sergeant Major Brittain, whose curiously high-pitched parade-ground voice was clearly audible in Aldershot town centre on windless days. To be ‘idle on parade’– wearing your beret at a slightly incorrect angle, or failing to swing arms correctly – seemed a crime worse than murder. A contemporary of mine had a miserable six weeks following this memorable exchange: RSM Brittain: (bellowing from then other side of the parade ground) Staff-Sergeant, take the name of that cadet in the Royal Signals! Staff-Sergeant: What is your name, sir? Officer Cadet (quietly): Officer-Cadet Idle, Sergeant. Staff-Sgt (bellowing): Officer-Cadet Idle, Sarn’t Major, sah. RSM B (incredulous, full volume): Officer-Cadet… IDLE? …Staff-Sergeant, I do NOT believe we have an IDLE officer-cadet on MY parr-aade! During one practice Passing-out rehearsal – a scene worthy of Ben Travers: “Staff-Sergeant Brown! March off the parade that Armoured Corps cadet not swinging his aaaarms… at the double.” Pause. “At the DOUBLE, StaffSergeant.” Longer pause. “Sergeant-Major Smythe! Double that Staff-Sergeant and that Armoured Corps cadet off the parade.” Rigidly to attention, out of the corner of my eye, I see at the edge of the parade ground: first a very tall, lanky Armoured Corps cadet, extremely close behind him, virtually touching, pace-stick under arm, small rather tubby StaffSergeant Brown and, even closer behind him, the immensein-every-way Sergeant-Major Smythe Welsh Guards disappearing in, literally, a cloud of dust. All so close, moving so

Recollections of Gunner Goodliffe Brian Goodliffe Life of a National Serviceman in 1952 and 1953, from his own diaries Publicity Overload Ltd – Belmont, Unit 1, Arisdale Avenue, South Ockendon Essex RM15 5TT 392 pp; illustrations; £20.00 ISBN 978 09 5618 140 4 Brian Gooodliffe left Charterhouse at the end of CQ 1951. In November 1953 2nd Lt Goodliffe RA stepped from the plane at Blackbushe to be demobilised having completed his National Service. For fifteen years after the end of WWII, National Service was the lot of virtually every reasonably fit young man. Unusually, but fortunately for us, he decided to keep a diary during his time in the army. It is these comments, made day by day, which form the core of his fascinating memoir ‘originally written entirely for the sake of the family.’ However, it became clear that such a valuable source of social history deserved wider circulation, resulting in this handsome volume – proceeds from which will go to the charity of the author’s choice. After a month or two on the bottom rungs of the family business, BW Goodliffe (R, joined SQ 47) found himself 22616387, Gunner Goodliffe, BW with 300 other young men from every social and educational background, ordered “Get fell in!” at the guardhouse of 67 Training Regiment Royal Artillery, nr Oswestry. He was assigned to Troop A, as a candidate for ‘Wosbee’ – War Office Selection Board – which assessed ‘potential officers’ from all corps and regiments. For three days, in groups of ten, under constant observation by a team of officers and psychiatrists, there were written tests, interviews and discussions, with ‘assessors’ lurking in the background. Most daunting of all, the physical/practical ‘problems’: Each candidate in turn is put in charge of his group and ordered to accomplish a task – eg, in 15 minutes get his group safely across a ‘river’ where the one ‘island’ was slightly too far from either bank to be reached by any one of three short planks which, together with an empty oil drum, a filled sandbag and a length of rope, might provide a solution. As well as assessing the individual’s capacity to think a problem through and organise a possible solution (some of the problems were deliberately insoluble!), the co-operation (or not) of others in the group was noted. Perhaps most testing of all was the group task: set without appointing a leader, to see who instinctively took control, or contributed essential suggestions. After three days, the candidates’ OQs (officer qualities) having been assessed, each was handed a folded half-sheet of paper with one of three verdicts marked: (A) Recommended for Officer Training. (B) Not yet ready, watch and return in three months. (colloquially known to us as ‘NY3’)

thirty young men could be ordered to spend the daylight hours of an entire weekend on their knees cutting the grass surrounding the barrack block with their army issue claspknives. Here are contemporary glimpses of a way of life when there was still rationing, including sweets, and very few TV sets (with tiny screens) even after the surge in ownership prompted by the Coronation in June 1953. Perhaps most dramatically definitive of the remarkable difference between Britain then and now is the photograph of officers, NCOs and national servicemen comprising Troop A 149 Battery 64th Regiment RA: not a single non-white face. Seemingly ignored by social commentators are the unintended consequences of National Service. Most radical perhaps, the effect of the first frightening days before ‘potential officers’ were combed-out into special troops and platoons. Adolescents from every social class were mixed indiscriminately. Teenagers (a term then unknown) with limited education had their beds next to those from grammar and public schools. Sophisticated young men – already with university degrees, or Oxbridge scholarships awaiting them – drilled, ate, polished boots, lived cheek-by-jowl with contemporaries brought up in yet-to-be-cleared slums and back-to-backs who had left school at fourteen, many barely literate or numerate. A shocking, sudden and crude learning process for all – with no ‘counsellors’ to recover them from the ‘traumata’ today’s social workers would no doubt avidly discern! National Service wrenched millions of young men away from their families – plonking them down in strange, Spartan, environments supervised by NCOs whose sensitivity matched only the imaginative foulness of their language. Hundred of thousands who had never travelled more than fifty miles from home were posted, with scant ceremony, to distant corners of the world still coloured pink on maps. Then, just as abruptly, even those who had been in battle were expected to resume civilian life without a blip. Goodliffe returned to England six months after the Coronation. At the time, I doubt whether any of us compared ourselves with those soldiers who, having fought barbarian hordes to secure the borders of a far-flung earlier empire on which they also probably said ‘the sun never set’, returned to find the barbarians already at the gates of Rome and realised that they themselves were relics of its last long sunset. IM-B (BH 1968-94)

fast, they look like some six-legged alien species. Did they ever return? Perhaps they are they still doubling round the globe fifty years on. For some small lapse, or boob you could be ‘Relegated’ to a more junior course, even RTU’d. Finally came the daunting ‘Redemption Scheme’ when, if you were selected to lead a platoon-in-attack, you realised it was your last chance. Memorably recalled is the hectic pace of it all; even after Mons, you were still under constant surveillance and could fail at any time until finally commissioned. Sport had the highest priority; essential schedules were routinely interrupted, even vital tests excused, to prepare for some regimental team. Goodliffe was often switched from less congenial tasks to train for athletics, or compete. (I was excused the intensive three-day course on radio valves – ‘a vital component of your training’ – because it coincided with the three-day final of the Northern Command Cricket Cup, and we were captained by the Commanding Officer. Even more intriguing was my highly respectable score, well above the pass-mark for the compulsory examination which I discovered I sat officially at the same time as I was actually opening the bowling 25 miles away.) Finally commissioned, 2nd Lt Goodliffe found himself posted to 29 Field Regiment RA MELF (Middle East Land Forces.) On reaching the Canal Zone, he was seconded to Cyprus as temporary ADC to the Governor – a post of enormous responsibility, barely a year after leaving Charterhouse. Thereafter we glimpse service with along the Canal Zone in the years preceding the Suez crisis, duties sometimes interesting and exciting, often almost boring. We see the effect on morale of senior officers on the units they commanded – some with energy and enthusiasm… others, disappointed men, merely dutiful. With younger generations in mind, Goodliffe includes a useful bullet-pointed summary of political and international events which turned the wheels of history between 1945 and 1962, together with a very useful glossary decoding the military love of initialising, eg RHQ (regimental headquarters.) This contemporary record reminds us that, a year from leaving school, young subalterns commanded professional soldiers and NCOs who had fought throughout WWII. Some NS officers, posted to Malaya, Aden, Kenya, Cyprus & Korea, led men in battle, and lost their lives. The book is dedicated to a 20-year-old fellow Robinite David Nicoll (joined OQ 46; left CQ 50) The Black Watch, killed-in-action in Korea about the time Goodliffe was taking up his own first posting. Brian Goodliffe opens a tiny window on a forgotten era; a society that must seem as remote today as the nineteenth century seemed to those who accepted National Service as par for the course; a world inured to the perverse priorities of military discipline where, supervised by a full Corporal,

Sinless Mother The Child Madonna David Maidment Melrose Books; £13.99 ISBN 078 19 0656 129 1 Set in a village in a country where law & order is maintained by an occupying army concerned to keep the government in place but with little sympathy for the prevailing, fundamentalist

down our throats unnecessary details and bizarrely imagined ‘Olde Worlde Englishe’ dialogue: ‘Settling her tabby kirtle comfortably over the crupper of the rouncy, she held a posset to her nose, exclaiming, “God’s bodikins my good Perkin, what dost thou with thy master’s codpiece?”’ etc. Maidment’s Mary (Mariam) could be a younger Tess of the D’Urbevilles – naive, innocent, seeming to family and villagers perhaps a bit ‘simple’. The immaculate conception is conveyed ingeniously. We can understand why Mariam is as vague and enigmatically uncommunicative as Charles Causley’s Virgin in Ballad of the Breadman. Mary never answered, Mary never replied. She kept the information, Like the baby, safe inside. Maidment’s Angel, keeping an eye on the growing girl, ensuring she is the ideal sinless mother of Christ, awaiting the right moment for the Annunciation, has much in common with Causley’s: “And who was that elegant fellow,” They said, “in the shiny gear?” The things they said about Gabriel Were hardly fit to hear. Unfortunately the publisher and his book designer have chosen an irritatingly small font (which is even more trying on the eyes in the several italicised passages), then separated every speech and paragraph on the page by double spacing. This has the probably unintended consequence of recalling old slowly hand-wound films, flickering a sequence of connected of ‘stills’ rather than fluent narrative. A very professionally presented volume, it is to be hoped that an adverse first impression of the presentation of the text will not inhibit sales, because all royalties from the novel (inspired by author’s chance encounter with a six-year-old street child at Churchgate railway station Bombay) are dedicated to charities, namely Consortium for Street Children, and Railway Children (the charity Maidment himself founded). Safe at last from her savagely censorious grandfather, far away in Bethlehem, his native village, an ecstatic Joseph murmurs to a still drowsy Mary, “You have a lovely healthy boy.” However, we know their apparently happy ending is not the conclusion to the story: all the grief and sorrow has yet to come. So I shall not be surprised if The Child Madonna is ‘optioned’ by an astute agent. Controversial ‘prequels’ are very attractive to the highly competitive world of film and TV and, in the wake of the success of Slumdog Millionaire, this story provides the opportunity to discover and promote another child star of non-European ethnicity, greatly increasing David Maidment’s generous benefaction. IM-B (BH 1968-94)

religion – its soldiers wage an anti-insurgency campaign against ‘terrorists’/‘freedom fighters’ – this story relates the childhood of a girl until the moment when, aged thirteen, she gives birth to a baby whose father is not her husband. Mariam and her mother live in the household of an unbending grandfather, deeply respected by the village for rigorously upholding his harsh religion. He forbids his young granddaughter to turn her eyes away when he forces her to witness, right to the end, the horrific and traumatic stoning to death of an adulterous woman. Her father is one of fugitives hunted by the army living in caves in the hills. At the age of twelve, sent to contact him she falls into the hands of a patrol on the way back. Their suspicion that she is a messenger to the rebels is confirmed when they find hidden gold. (Later, she learns that she has inadvertently led them to her father’s whereabouts.) Stripped and, about to be gang-raped by the soldiers, she is saved in the nick of time by an officer who whisks her off home. The fact that, virtually naked, she has ‘been with a man’, an ‘unbeliever’ moreover, means she is shunned even by her family. Their religion demands ‘purification’ by the ritual caning on which her repellently pious grandfather insists, although he is eventually prevailed upon reluctantly not to administer it in public. Throughout the story she is ‘stalked’ by a mysterious handsome stranger (groomed by a paedophile?) When, aged thirteen, she becomes pregnant and maintains her ambiguous evasiveness about the identity of the father, her family is horrified less at the dire consequences for her than at the disgrace it will bring them. An arranged marriage, to a much older terrorist whom she loathes cannot take place because because, like her father, he has been killed by the soldiers. No cover-up is possible. Fortunately, a thoroughly good man is found to marry her, though her child is not his – and he takes her to his distant home where the child is born. Thus, baldly summarised, the plot seems almost banal – the story of the hurt and betrayal differing from many others only by its setting in a fundamentalist middle-eastern backwater of Iraq, or Afghanistan. However, The Child Madonna is set in Judaea: Herod is on the throne; the Roman army is hunting down zealots like her father; fundamentalist practices are based on the Torah not the Koran. David Maidment (G 56) creates a credible girlhood for the Virgin Mary because he has done his ‘banco’ thoroughly – taken much trouble to familiarise himself with history, customs and day-to-day domestic details of life in Judaea two-thousand years ago. She lives in a remote rural community, with no quick or easy communication. Water has to be carried daily from the well. An officer on a horse is both unusual and alarming. Most commendably, he avoids the mistake made by so many historical novelists who cannot resist showing off their undigested ‘learning’ by cramming

Brooke Hall Valete PG Allison

Noble, and with this challenge accomplished he managed to find another willing volunteer – Chris Wheeler – to relieve him of the duty. The route that he and CKW devised for this annual challenge is still used today. A qualified mountain leader, lifeguard and football coach, Peter contributed in many areas of school life. Over his thirty-one years at Charterhouse, he ran the Royal Marines, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, and a number of football teams including the U15A and U16A. Peter was appointed as a GCSE examiner of PE in 1986, and GCSE PE was duly introduced at Charterhouse. He continued to teach it from then until 2005 when pressures within the timetable meant that no slot remained available. As a house tutor of Bodeites and Pageites, he was well respected – and his evenings on duty were enjoyed by housemasters and pupils alike. He introduced a notable level of efficiency and support, whilst amazing pupils with his repertoire of what may loosely be described as jokes! Kind, caring, helpful and selfless almost to a fault, Peter enjoyed a life’s work at Charterhouse – but the ever-increasing paperwork demanded of all teachers exacted its toll, cramping his spontaneous and personable style. He left us in LQ 10 to become a First Aid trainer for the St John’s Ambulance, and to teach PE at St Dominic’s school for disabled pupils. Ivan Hoffmann de Visme

Peter’s first contact with Charterhouse was on teaching practice in OQ 1977. A national junior swimming champion, he was quickly introduced to the delights of football and, during a match between Brooke Hall and the 2nd XI, was injured in a heinous tackle and spent the Christmas holiday in hospital before returning to college to complete his practical finals wearing a plaster-cast. After such a positive introduction, Peter joined the school in July 1978, appointed to teach PE – and to design a sports centre, which came to fruition eighteen years later when he showed HRH Queen Elizabeth II round at the official opening of the QSC. As a PE instructor and swimming coach he influenced countless Carthusians, guiding a number of them towards significant sporting achievements and helping many to enjoy the rigours of exercise and the joys of sport. His arduous circuit-training sessions, where all attending were wilting fast, were accompanied by a cheerful smile and the unwelcome information that ‘you have only done thirty minutes’ work’ – a memory that will remain with many of us in our nightmares! Peter willingly, but possibly unwisely, agreed to run the 50mile March for one year when Peter Scott was on sabbatical. Seven years later, he himself completed the walk with Bob

SP Fielder

remained devoted enthusiasts for large green machines, long after leaving school. Some of them have reappeared as instructors at Simon’s frequent off-road driving days, when pupils have had the opportunity, under adult supervision, to take the wheel of a Land Rover, a lorry or even an armoured car. Simon has for many years served as a CCF officer and was recently awarded his Long Service Medal. His work with Motor Club led naturally to the formation of a REME Section, which attracted very favourable comment on a recent Biennial Inspection, and he has been a regular and valued presence during the training week at the end of CQ, and at camp during the holidays. Simon’s interest in military history led him to take pupils and others on numerous commemorative visits abroad in Motor Club vehicles, starting on the Normandy beaches in 1984 and including trips to Dunkirk, Dieppe and Arnhem. A visit to France in 1993, marking the 50th anniversary of the death in action of Lt (A) AH Beane RNVR (S 36), resulted in the design and creation of a unique memorial. Standing on a parcel of land donated to Charterhouse by the farmer, who as a nine-year-old schoolboy had heard Lt Beane’s aircraft crash nearby, it consists of an elegant wooden column surmounted by an aluminium model of a Spitfire. Simon designed the memorial and sourced the materials, salvaging

Simon came to Charterhouse in OQ 1980, having worked for Rolls-Royce in Derby and taught in Watford and Liverpool. He has been a fine, enthusiastic and hard-working teacher of technology, with a particular expertise in all things metal from motor vehicles to industrial machining processes. He was at the start of seeing the subject develop at Charterhouse from O level Design & Technology to GCSE and A level DT. In the context of today’s rapidly changing technology, Simon has shown a constant willingness to learn and to develop his knowledge for the benefit of the students. He has been an enthusiastic exponent of computer-aided design, from the early days of two-dimensional drawing to the more sophisticated three-dimensional drawing using ProDESKTOP, which is now used by all students. Despite constant changes in exam specifications over the years, he has remained committed and involved with making the subject matter accessible to students of all abilities. Since the beginning, Simon has been passionate about Motor Club, whose public face has included running many aspects of the prestigious Rolls-Royce rallies which have often been held at Charterhouse. He has put many extra hours into maintaining and restoring the military vehicles which have become Motor Club’s stock-in-trade under his leadership, and it is a tribute to him that a number of OCs have

the timber from old school benches and casting the Spitfire model from parts of the original wreckage. He also organised visits by two school groups to build the memorial in the spring of 1995, and of course supervised the construction work itself. This project has involved Carthusians, OCs, beaks and support staff as well as various individuals, businesses and organisations in France, and regular visits to maintain the monument continue to this day. Another indirect result of this aspect of Simon’s work has been a series of trips, in the UK and abroad, specifically to commemorate OCs who died in the Second World War, with over 140 graves and memorials visited to date. Whether teaching his subject, acting as a tutor in Verites, or getting to grips with the innards of a Bedford engine, Simon’s approach has been dedicated and single-minded. His wife Sandra and daughter Stephanie (herself no stranger to Motor Club off-road days) deserve a vote of thanks for their tolerant support of Simon’s frequent absences on a variety of school activities. Simon himself has often expressed appreciation of his good fortune in being able to conduct his teaching career in such congenial surroundings – but the School has been equally fortunate in enjoying for three decades the benefits of his professionalism, enthusiasm and sheer hard work. RA Crowsley & CK Wheeler

AJ Jolliffe At well over six-and-a-half feet tall, Alex cut an imposing figure. His long, stately stride devoured the ground, and we of shorter stature found ourselves reduced to an ungainly scuttle to keep up. His gait might have appeared effortless, even lazy, but Alex will be remembered for the selfless commitment which he showed in all he did at Charterhouse. Alex’s lessons were meticulously prepared and delivered in a calm, friendly, encouraging tone ideally suited to those who wanted to learn. But his contribution to the Classics Department went far beyond his formal teaching: he helped to lead Charterhouse’s first classics expedition to Tunisia; he was a dedicated mentor of those Carthusians who taught classics to primary school pupils (and he was much loved by these children who barely reached his knees); and he directed a superb production of Sophocles’s Oedipus the King which put the classics literally at centre stage. Alex’s positive and cheerful demeanour made him an ideal coach of junior soccer and hockey teams, and he also helped to supervise the Roman Catholic masses. All these duties were undertaken with his customary happy willingness to serve. Thoughtful, gentle, and an exemplar of decent and civilised behaviour, Alex was a most congenial colleague. We will miss him, and wish him the best for his future career. JPF

L Saxby

the ceiling and making us look at the space differently. Lara’s love for the sublime and ethereal is often reflected in her pupils’ work – with Carthusians using video and new media in inventive and original ways. Under Lara’s guidance Jamie Manton (B) produced a memorable GCSE video work of swirling water with ink transforming into a landscape. Jamie, now finishing his second year Pre-U art recently told me that Miss Saxby was the reason he chose the subject in the specialists. She has inspired many Carthusians from across

Lara joined us in OQ 05 as an artist-in-residence, having studied at the Royal College and Chelsea. She made her mark very quickly with Studio and the school, and became a full time art beak from OQ 06. She had the challenge of producing an exhibition of her work by the end of her first OQ, and she impressed us all with a very considered show ‘on reflection’ where she filled the South African Cloisters floor with mirrors thus reflecting

the spectrum and has helped a good number apply for top art colleges. We respect Lara’s calm, ordered approach with the pupils – and her ability to get the pupils to organise their sketchbooks immaculately and display their work with RCA precision. Lara throws herself into her pastoral role too, caring for the young people she mentors. I know that Gownboys will miss her – and she leaves the house on a triumphant note, since G won House Art in OQ 09 [qv]. Lara has also really mucked in on the extra-curricular front – joining us on several New York trips, and camping with the removes. I have always admired Lara’s clear desk at the end of each day amongst the general creative chaos of Studio. She has an independent determination to broaden her experiences in teaching and in the art world. I still hear cries from Studio: ‘where’s Lara today? Oh, she’s on another course!’ Studio went to visit her most recent solo exhibition in London, which show-cased her new video installations. The show was a great success and was also visited by Lara’s past pupils now in London doing art. This completes the circle and is a good reflection of Lara as a strong artist and educationalist – and, in a way, it symbolises the creative journey she has made through Charterhouse. We wish her all the best with her new life in Bristol and her marriage to Nick Mills (BH 2004-09). Peter Monkman

Her interest in helping students with learning difficulties and other special needs was there from the start, and she was taking responsibility for designing and implementing programmes of work for children with learning problems and physical disabilities long before these roles were formalised in legislation. But her experiences with the education system and special needs came to fruition in trying to ensure that her dyslexic son was given the support he needed. At that time dyslexia was generally dismissed by the profession and very few teachers knew how to help. Roma’s link with the Helen Arkell Dyslexia Centre was formed at this time, and she was offered a place on their Diploma programme in 2003. After gaining the Diploma she was given a choice of hourlypaid secondments – there was a position as a tutor ‘in a secondary school in the Godalming area’, and another at Feltham Young Offender’s Institution. Feltham was too far to travel so she opted for the school. Only after she accepted did she learn, with a mixture of pleasure and trepidation, that the secondary school was Charterhouse. Roma began work here as a tutor paid hourly by parents, but it soon became clear that she had much more to offer us, and the now-established role of Study Skills Advisor was created for her. It is a tribute both to her and to Jane Drew that the role has been such a success, and that no major adjustments have been necessary to it in appointing Roma’s replacement. Roma will be missed by many – but most keenly by the colleague whose job she did most to ease, her own Head of Department. SAR

R Wing Roma Wing, who retires as Study Skills Advisor this year, will be missed by all the staff who dealt with her, and by the multitudes of students whom she helped. Her job is actually very difficult, bearing as it does a responsibility for introducing to the School’s long-established educational culture a very different one – but with her mixture of tact, firmness of purpose, calm and good humour she made it look easy. Oneto-one teaching of pupils who struggle with the curriculum, and who may be troubled or difficult, is often fraught with friction and tension, but after a lesson or two with her, students who found relationships with all their class teachers difficult would seek Roma out and demand her attention. Brooke Hall, of course, presents a far trickier prospect, but here again Roma triumphed, spending most of her coffeetimes in easy chat with one teacher or academic manager or another about the problems they faced with their pupils, and the solutions she could offer. Roma started her lifelong career in teaching as a dance and drama student, and went on to spend the large part of her teaching life in primary schools, including six years running a nursery. Class sizes when she first began teaching were up to forty-four!

Brooke Hall Salvete SE Clarkson

studying at St Catherine’s College Oxford; whilst there she rowed in the women’s 1st VIII (she had originally taken up rowing on her secondary school’s varsity team) and began to develop what would later become her master’s thesis, an exploration and analysis of the role of illustration in Victorian novels. Following her honours graduation from UVa in spring 2008, she returned to Oxford where she completed her MLitt in 19th century literature at St Peter’s College. SEC harbours a nerdy and not-so-secret love for comics and graphic novels, as well as illustrated books. She likes to spend her free time drawing, knitting, baking, and occasionally venturing out of the domestic sphere to attend an exhibition or concert.

Samantha Clarkson joined Brooke Hall in OQ 09 to teach English. Here she is sketched for The Carthusian by her older sister, Leah Clarkson. Samantha Clarkson was born in Chicago Illinois, and at the age of just two months returned to Cairo where her father was posted on assignment for the US Agency for International Development; she spent the first decade of her life overseas, with tenures in Costa Rica and El Salvador following her early years in Egypt. Her family eventually returned to the USA to settle outside Washington DC, and Miss Clarkson completed her secondary schooling there before enrolling at the University of Virginia. During her undergraduate stint she majored in English literature with a particular focus on Victorian literature, and minored in art. At UVa she spent three years working for an alternative newspaper The Declaration, ultimately serving as art director; she was also an intern with Iris, the award-winning magazine of UVa’s Women’s Center. She spent her third year abroad,

AR Hunt Andrew Hunt joined Brooke Hall in OQ 09 to teach maths. He read astrophysics at Peterhouse Cambridge and then taught English as a foreign language in Laos for a year. After

IS Richards Ian Richards joined Brooke Hall to teach politics in OQ 09. He is married to Laura, a maths teacher who is currently not teaching but looking after their two-year-old son Callum and their second child, Jessica, who was born in April 2010. ISR was educated at St Andrew’s High School Worthing (an all boys’ state school) and at Worthing Sixth-form College for A levels. He was a keen badminton player and footballer at school, and played badminton for Worthing & Sussex. He completed a BA in history at Royal Holloway, University of London. He went on to complete an MA in history & politics at Warwick University (with distinction); his dissertation was on the philosophical foundations of 19th & 20th century racism. ISR took a PGCE at Wadham College Oxford before entering the teaching profession in 1999. His first post was at Cheam High School in the London Borough of Sutton – a large, mixed comprehensive; here he taught for five years, three as Head of Politics – he also coached the school debating team to several local and regional finals, as well as taking various lower school football teams. Ian Richards’s second teaching post was at Dr Challoner’s High School in Little Chalfont Buckinghamshire – a girls’ state grammar school; he taught here for another five years as Head of Politics and Head of University Admissions – again he coached the school debating teams, competing mainly in various university-run competitions (Oxford, Cambridge,

he had trained at Emmanuel College, he taught at Oundle for three years where he ran tennis and hockey teams; he was also master-in-charge of the Christian Union. He married Sarah in August 2009 in Cambridge before moving to Godalming. His interests include football, tennis and playing jazz piano. He is a tutor in Weekites, and was pleased to score a hat-trick in ’tics. He has been helping with swimming, water polo and badminton as well as helping with the Christian Union.

MD Kinder Mark Kinder arrived at Charterhouse to teach chemistry in OQ 09. He was educated at Oaklands Catholic School & Sixth Form College in Waterlooville, Hants. He took an MChem at Lady Margaret Hall (Oxford), graduating in 2009. Mr Kinder played university hockey for four years – one year in the 2nd XI and the remaining three in the 1st XI, getting three blues; he coached the university ladies’ 2nd XI in his final year. MDK plays casual football and cricket, and enjoys outdoor pursuits such as walking and camping – in which connection he has been involved with Vth-form & IVthform pioneers. On top of his routine teaching, he has taken the chemistry seminar group for Oxbridge chemists.

Durham & UCL) and reaching regional and national finals on many occasions. ISR has been an A level examiner for Edexcel for the past three years; with two very young children he has little spare time but he enjoys reading non-fiction (politics, history, philosophy etc) whenever possible, as well as playing various sports – football, tennis, badminton, and in OQ fives: “a completely unknown quantity until I came to Charterhouse… it still seems quite odd, but lots of fun!” ISR coached the 15C football team in OQ 09, and had an enjoyable season. He coached swimming in LQ & CQ. He assisted with the Vth-form pioneers in OQ & LQ, and will be co-ordinating the activities for this group in 2010-11.

legal training. I am really enjoying being at Charterhouse: it’s a privilege to work in such a beautiful, inspiring place with so much history – and I appreciate that so much more having spent a few years cooped up in an office first.” CLR’s interests include the history of music and sport: her undergraduate thesis was on the history of ladies’ golf and the social consequences of women playing sport in the late 19th and early 20th centuries – and she spent a fair amount of time tucked away in a room at the back of the British Golf Museum in St Andrews, reading old journals. She played golf for the Cambridge University Ladies’ team, and was the first girl to play in the public school old boys’ golf tournament – the Halford Hewitt: “my 15 minutes of fame – it made a Telegraph headline, ‘Girl-Power at Deal’.” CLR is now a member of Worplesdon Golf Club. Miss Robinson raced (slalom and giant slalom) as a teenager with the English Schools’ team – and still loves trips to the mountains; she’d like to do some ski-touring, and aims to do the Haut Route in the not-too-distant future. She is also a keen athlete: “I’ve always liked cycling but hated running, and couldn’t swim a length of a pool without feeling that I might pass out – so triathlon wasn’t an obvious choice, but with a bit of coaching I worked up to an Olympic distance race at Windsor: the mile’s swim in the Thames was particularly unpleasant! I have no plans to become an ‘iron man’. Miss Robinson is a pianist and choral singer: “both my voice and my playing are more than a little rusty, but the wonderful concerts at Charterhouse might yet inspire me to get practising again.” She has done some guiding – taking American tourists (largely high school students) around the UK, France and Ireland on historically based tours: “for many of those kids it was the first time they had left their state in America, let alone come abroad – and to help them experience cities like London and Paris was such a pleasure.” She spent three months in Kenya working for a company who organised walking safaris – mostly in Tsavo; she climbed Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro. Miss Robinson has also enjoyed trips to Peru (where she walked the Inca Trail), Australia and New Zealand (a rather wet trip in a camper van); more recently she has climbed closer to home in the French Pyrenees: “I escape there as often as possible.”

CL Robinson Catherine Robinson joined Brooke Hall in OQ 09 to teach history. She was educated at Surbiton High School, Westminster, and St John’s College Cambridge (where she read history), and Law School (BPP London and the College of Law, Guildford). As a qualified solicitor, Miss Robinson describes herself as “the black sheep in a family of medics, dentists and chiropractors… I’m totally squeamish.” She trained with a large American Law Firm – “but I didn’t quite see eye-to-eye with the City.” She moved to a healthcare firm where she worked as a litigator, mostly for NHS trusts – “not ambulance chasing!” she adds. “I never really felt at home in an office, but I don’t regret my

Dr MG Yeo Dr Matthew Yeo joined Brooke Hall to teach history in OQ 09. He comes from a dynasty of teachers – er, well... at any rate he has at least four close relatives in the beaking trade. At Handsworth Grammar School Birmingham he was taught by a softly-spoken folk-rocker called Nigel King who got him interested in European Absolutism in the 17th and 18th centuries. During his undergraduate studies at St Catherine’s College Oxford (where he read modern history) MGY spent a semester at Princeton University, where he

acquired a passion for the history of the book. After taking an MA at Manchester in the history of the book Dr Yeo wrote a PhD thesis entitled ‘The Acquisition of Books by Chetham’s Library, 1655-1700: A Case Study in the Distribution and Reception of Texts in the English Provinces in the Later Seventeenth Century.’ This was submitted in the summer of 2009 (just before MGY started at Charterhouse), and examined in the middle of the last week before OQ Exeat. His thesis passed without corrections, even though the examiner remarked that it was ‘a bit dry’ at times. MGY captained the University of Manchester team which won University Challenge 2009 in unusual circumstances: Manchester won by default after the opposing team was disqualified for fielding a nonstudent member. In the week of this famous victory, MGY achieved three other major lifetime ambitions – appearing on the front page of The Guardian, writing for The New Statesman and being recommended as a possible candidate for Prime Minister by Anatole Kaletsky of The Times. MGY has helped with the school’s Model UN team: “really enjoyable, but hard work; it’s not just a week in The Hague, you know!” He is also involved in the Army section of CCF, U14 E & F Football, Junior History Society, and assisting SJS with quizzes. Dr Yeo is a keen pianist, but rates himself as being of modest ability compared to his brothers who are all music graduates; he also sings bass and was a member of Manchester University Chorus during his time at the university. Walking is his favourite holiday recreation; in 2008 he walked

the West Highland Way, and spent Christmas in the Lake District – he ascends Cadair Idris with his family every year. Times Square, New York Photograph by Edward Mole (P)

Drill & Enthusiasm The Paras Trophy CQ 10 The inter-section drill competition, held on Carthusian Day, marked the culmination of many quarters, afternoons and evenings of dedicated practising, shouting, polishing, ironing, moulding & sewing. Under a stony grey sky and persistent light rain the ten most proficient cadets from each of the four sections of the CCF competed for the prestigious Paras Trophy – the first time this trophy was contested for well over a decade. Each team carried out a challenging routine involving a variety of difficult drill movements that are not taught as part of basic training; large portions of the routine were learnt specifically for the competition. These complex routines were carried out under the scrutiny of one of the highest military authorities on drill: a senior non-commissioned officer of the Coldstream Guards: Sergeant Lewis from 8 Cadet Training Team, who had kindly agreed to judge the competition. Yet more pressure was placed on the competitors – as a sizeable crowd of officers, parents, OCs and Carthusians gathered and gave appreciative support from under the shelter of Studio’s first-floor over-hang. Each team was given a score out of 100; the criteria allowed 20 points for each of the following five areas – word of command, precision, timings, turnout and military knowledge.

A remarkably close competition ensued: the winners this year were the Royal Marine detachment’s drill team: ably led by C/Sgt van Meurs (L), it comprised Sgt Threlfall (B), Cpl Mole (P), L/Cpl Gimson (G), L/Cpl Reynolds (H), Cdt Clarke (B), Cdt Jobson (S), Cdt Wilberforce-Ritchie (R), Cdt Miller (R) and Cdt Calnan (H). The RM team gained an impressive score: 71 out of 100. The runners-up were the Army section, led by C/Sgt Clarke (R) – ending up only three points behind with a score of 68. The Royal Air Force and Royal Navy sections also offered solid performances displaying precision of drill that could only result from many effective rehearsals. All cadets involved worked extremely hard and should be congratulated; if they manage to maintain these standards of turnout, drill and enthusiasm then they should continue to be exceedingly successful and efficient members of the corps. This C Day performance bodes well for the next academic year (2010-11) during which there will be a Biennial Inspection and the celebration of 150 years of the cadet movement – Cadet 150. It just remains to thank all of those involved, especially the squad commanders, who worked tirelessly to prepare the teams for the event. A final vote of thanks should go to the Contingent Commander for allowing us to stage the competition and thus permitting the CCF to put its best foot forward. CSM Sprake (B)

An OC Interview Jane Allison

athlete, “…and I can’t quite work out why: he’s a lovely boy, but there is not that much there; he doesn’t really interest me.” Jane Allison (S77) lives with her husband John Freeman (also a noted artist – www.johntfreeman.co.uk) in a handsome Victorian house in Guildford’s smart upper east side; their son, William, is away at Harrow in his final year, choosing between some enticing university offers and becoming a film director. The dog (a Staffordshire bull terrier called Nellie) is a major presence; densely bulky, she should seem menacing – but she just isn’t. The house is completely possessed by art: pictures hang in layers on the walls – pictures are also stacked on the floors. Most of the first floor is given over to creation: “I used to have a studio – and never got round to getting another; I really need a north-facing room.” Jane Allison paints in a large and light room on the south side, over-looking the garden; the room is dominated by her current work-inprogress – a large portrait of John Sentamu, Archbishop of York. On the north side are John Freeman’s rooms – fully loaded with the quasi-industrial paraphernalia of etching,

Photographs by Mark Blatchly

Jane Allison paints. “I never stop painting; I’d rather paint than do anything else, it’s my main interest in life. I am very lucky to be able to live like this; I have a huge degree of control over what I do.” She has painted royalty, surgeons, dentists, vets, captains of industry, actors, headmistresses & headmasters, bishops, generals. “I have never painted anyone I haven’t liked. With some I feel it’s an enormous privilege to have spent so much time with them. I find myself thinking: ‘Oh, it’s the last sitting; I won’t see them again.’ I have painted a lot of Bishops ; I have especially enjoyed their company. All I can do is respond to what I see;I try to capture a personality and believe that a good portrait should be a distillation of a person in their entirety. It’s the little things. They talk to me as I paint. I ask people how they see themselves. The most successful paintings are those in which the people look as they should look – for the part they are playing.” Henry Allingham (whom she painted as the oldest man in the world, at 113 old) looked as his character; on the other hand Allison is ‘not very fond’ of her portrait of a young

also a substantial library of art history, Arabic and Islam… and a ‘camera graveyard’. Jane Allison photographs people who are not going to be able to sit for her for as many hours as she would like. She also relies on photography for detail, such as the Archbishop’s cope (the MacLagan cope), onehundred years old – made for the coronation of Queen Alexandra; she has hundreds of photographs of the cope – photographed from different angles, since to start with she is not sure what composition she’ll be using. She is painting two pictures of the Archbishop (she does not often do this): one guided by his wishes (the official York portrait) – and one that she is painting for herself, though she will probably eventually let him have it, “at a vastly reduced rate… because, as you can see, we’ve got a lot of pictures in this house.” The Archbishop wants to appear reasonably friendly and approachable; the official portrait is ‘almost conversational’, with one hand held up, and the other holding a Bible, seated in the York chair with his throne behind in his Chapel which is bedecked with gold angels; these angels will appear prominently in Jane Allison’s own picture, but will scarcely feature in the official one which makes reference to the famous portrait by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres of Napoleon on his imperial throne: “he may come over as quite genial, but he is very serious… very serious about the Church.” On the wall behind the easel is another work-in-progress – an intimate and private picture of her husband and his best friend Robert (and Nellie); it’s an after-Xmas picture – John in his painting shirt (covered in paint) and his friend (shirtless) also ‘painted’ with tattoos… the dog squashed between them: “this portrait will end up fairly photographic, but I can

let the paint do whatever I want it to do.” Again, as with the cope, photographs will supply the detail for Robert’s tattoos. There are also (literally) stacks of small canvasses which Allison has painted entirely for herself: “when I need a change from painting portraits, I like going and sitting in the countryside and painting; portrait-painting is hard work, in that it’s got to be right – whereas with these [countryside sketches], if a tree is a little bit to the right or left it doesn’t matter. Portraits are more challenging; landscapes use colour in a different way, and in landscapes you put the paint on in a different way; landscapes are more layered, and thickly layered – whereas portraits are thin-layered, partly because if something goes wrong you end up with a blob in the wrong place… on a cheek, for example – or, worse, in the middle of an eye so that it catches the light and makes the person look funny.” Jane Allison even paints on holiday (“because I’m very boring”, says she… [‘HA!’, we protest; here, just the once, her disarming bluntness misfires – she does not intend to be falsely modest, but/and boring she is NOT]); last year she holed up on for a fortnight on Tanera Mor, one of the only habitable Summer Isles: “no electricity after ten o’clock at night; after a week I was getting anxious, and Inverness Airport [on the way home] seemed colourful and full of life.” The resultant mass of art in her studio may be verging on riotous, but it is all intended: “I’ve put these pictures up in

here – partly to keep them off the floor – and partly because (if they’re framed) they’re safer on the wall, because the frames get battered. Some of them are up because I’m working on them still… or thinking about them: thinking that there’s elements of them that I like, but that they don’t quite work. I sometimes look at a picture and say, ‘all that time on a picture that just isn’t working: what a waste of time! You know it’s not working, and it’s never going to work… and yet you can’t leave it: it’s like scratching a spot, almost. You can’t resist it.’ I spent ages on some of these, and I think, ‘why do I do it?’” If the ‘why’ sometimes remains unclear, the ‘when’ (when to stop perfecting a picture) is a distinct, received impulse: “I suddenly get the urge to sign it, and then I know I’ve finished. The day before I’ve finished I think, ‘there’s lots to do’; some I can’t bring myself to finish until the very last moment, then I think, ‘right… today I will finish it.’” Mundane slog is the unavoidable prelude to completion, and for the painting of the brocade on the Archbishop’s cope Jane Allison will need a good day of Radio 4 – “not ‘Money Box Live’ or ‘You & Yours’: you have to plod your way through it, it’s not interesting, it has to be done.” Allison’s daily routine is tough and regular: “I’m usually working from 8 am until lunchtime, then I take the dog out; I work again until 5-ish, then do paperwork (by e-mail); supper will be at 9.30.” An eminently practical approach extends to all that Jane

Allison does – the size of her major portraits are limited by the interior capacity of her Ford Mondeo estate, and by her dread of “getting twirled about in a high wind”; but her technique is firmly rooted in cherished classical influences: “my hero is Velasquez.” Allison insists that, “Art has got to be a bit of everything – a coming-together. The drawing has got to be almost effortless so that you don’t notice it. In Velasquez, the way it’s painted is very important: there’s a pale bit of pink that stays as a mark of paint on the surface of the canvas, and yet becomes a hand. It’s that hovering between the two that I find quite exciting. You don’t often get that. I also like the French Impressionists (not so much for portraits as for landscapes) – early Renoir landscapes, for example… and Sisley; I like Sargent and Frans Halss and Gainsborough – and Emily Patrick who does particularly good flowers; I would love to paint flowers like her – I can’t do it… I occasionally get near it… I don’t have nearly the feeling for flowers that she does. John [Freeman] is a Londoner; he doesn’t have a feeling for landscape, and is not interested in how a tree grows. I am. He is brilliant at architecture. I like Stanley Spencer & Paul Nash for their Englishness – I am quite interested in the idea of Englishness in painting… there something about being English in painting, writing & music which is somehow different; it’s bound in with countryside.” This Englishness is strongly expressed in the cluster of Allison’s Surrey pictures

on her studio wall – the Chantries, Shalford looking towards Godalming, etc; a great deal of her landscape work (apart from her recent foray to Scotland, which she found ‘terribly foreign’) is very local: “I’m a Surrey girl.” I think of Edinburgh in greys & blacks, rather in colours… which doesn’t mean I don’t like it: I like it a lot.” Jane Allison is restlessly prolific; alongside all her high-profile commissions, she has good-naturedly obliged friends and customers with bits of what she must regard as irregular work. Recently she ‘ghosted’ a painting for a lesser artist friend who found himself in a bind – expected to produce a posthumous portrait for a grieving gangster associate who was unlikely to accept his protestation of inadequacy for the task. Posthumous portraits in general, says Allison, “tend to be quite tricky”; she normally reckons to find out how people like to look – and this option is not available with a dead subject. “A portrait is not a photograph, it’s more of a distillation – it’s not a snapshot, but it is of the time; because the subjects have sat for you, they are also a physical presence.” Multiple portraits (hundreds of distinguished professionals artificially grouped in a major composite portrait) generate complications: who should be in it (or not), who should go where (there being many contenders for prime position) – and, of course, who is too busy to sit for it. As for modern art, Jane Allison is characteristically direct and clear: “I’m not interested… just not interested. There’s nobody painting anything today that I’m really interested in.

I can’t think of any artist at the moment that I would race to see an exhibition of… which is, I think, very sad really. I’m not interested in the ‘Big Idea’. I can walk through Tate Modern, for example (or the Turner Prize) and, well… I can be through it in five minutes: seen it; done it! If I wanted a portrait of somebody I loved, whom would I get to do it? There was a man who died ten years ago – an old Academician, Norman Blamey – who I felt, then and now, was very under-rated; I liked his honesty. So much now is done for effect, without purity of intent. Even Lucian Freud, much of whose stuff I like a lot… if you were getting a portrait of someone you really loved, you wouldn’t get him to do it would you? He’s not going to show them at their best, is he? Other modern scuttlebutts get a decisive ‘heave-ho’ from Allison: “super-real pictures all look like they’ve been painted by the same person; the modern Florence tradition is superficially very good – heavily side-lit, lots of chiaroscuro sight-sized…” and, speaking of superficiality, Allison is scathing on notions of contemporary ‘cool’: “Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor-Wood – they’re social and connected: it didn’t used to be as trendy.” Banksy alone gets an ovation: “he’s

quite entertaining.” In the social and connected world of 70s Charterhouse, Jane Allison seems to have played a Banksyesque role – for she was brilliant (and entertaining) but also detached and elusive: “I was a very bad Carthusienne. I led a double life; I went to the Art School in Guildford, where I was passionately in love with my teacher. I saw attempts to teach me art at Charterhouse as an invasion of my private life – and I resented Saturday morning school. The idea that they wanted me to go into Studio on Sunday! And Chapel! When I went to Art School after Charterhouse, I was able to approach it in a very different way; I had had my eyes opened by Charterhouse; I found Charterhouse very shocking when I first went there; I’d come from Guildford High School, which was very strait-laced; I got to Charterhouse, and … well! It was a den of iniquity in those days. Had I gone from GHS to Art School [Chelsea, Kings Road & The Slade] I’d have died of shock.” In fact Jane Allison was not, and is not, by any means wholly anti-Charterhouse: “the teaching of English & History was just brilliant; the teachers were inspiring: amazing. I really regret now that I did not participate more fully with life at Charterhouse.” What was life like for the few girls at Charterhouse in the 70s? “I never felt bullied, because I was hardly ever there. The only loo available for girls had to be shared with matron; there were only two or three girls in Saunderites, which was pretty daunting. After my first meal I never ate at Charterhouse: ever. Nobody noticed. The liver was rock hard – it had great tubes going through it, and god knows what animal it came from; the broad beans were like bullets. I didn’t know what you were supposed to wear – so I wore jeans; I didn’t know you weren’t meant to. Some girls were immensely sophisticated; I was not; I knew nothing about designer-wear; it never occurred to me that it mattered. It was so cold; I remember being frozen, and sitting indoors in a coat. As soon as hashes ended I was off, down the hill to the station. Jane Allison combined school with a job waitressing in the Corona café, Guildford High St. “Nobody really cared. If I had a free period, you wouldn’t see me for dust. Charterhouse is a better school now than it was, from what I’ve seen. I was not really part of the place at all. It was all highly irregular – none of the teachers would have got teacher-training certificates; work would not necessarily get marked. It was terrific. The art teaching would have been good, had I allowed them to teach me.” How did she embark upon her career as an artist? “I’d met John in college. We were living in London, and we decided to move to Petworth. We had a bizarre, almost hallucinogenic summer there – I painted lots of landscapes… we saw

a wonderful cottage one Good Friday: there were primroses in the hedge. I painted the children of a friend of my father’s; I enjoyed it.” Portrait-painting provided some other things: “the meeting of people – the brushing with different worlds – seeing how society works, what a bishop does, what a judge does… the thrill of the chase: trying to pinpoint these people. I don’t advertise, but I have a website [janeallisonportraits.com] – you have to these days.” Jane Allison lives her life by a serene logic. You could try calling this logic eccentric, except that it’s just so… well, logical – and few people (especially in this crowded and stress-obsessed south-east quadrant of the UK) exude such happiness; hers is a rare contented singleness of purpose. “If you’re an artist you have to live in a certain way: you cannot have debts, for example – so I never borrow money (if I buy a car, I buy it); you’ve got no guarantee of it coming in. I live in an old-fashioned way. I have no desire to travel. I do like going to Paris. The thought of waiting at an airport… oh god, no! I’m going to Istanbul for three days: that’ll be quite long enough. I do not wish to buy expensive cars, or clothes – because they’d all get covered in paint. Jane Allison is a true artist: “I’ve always done loads; to be really good at anything you’ve got to do ten-thousand hours. It’s no good just being talented; you’ve got to want to do it.” Does she have a favourite picture? “No; I’m only interested in the one I’m doing at the moment. To me it’s an on-going (I won’t say intellectual) thing, but (just as a crossword puzzler is not interested in the one completed three days ago). I look at something I did twenty years ago and say to myself, ‘I can’t even remember painting that… but I know I did… I just can’t remember it’; sometimes I might look at old work and say, ‘that was better than I thought it was’. You’re always hoping that the next picture is going to be THE ONE. You are always striving for that (for want of a better word) masterpiece. Although you know you probably won’t get there. There is this striving for (as you see it) perfection – when the paint almost takes off, and becomes something else. That’s what you would hope for. And all the rest of it is like a series of experiments on the way.” Luke Millington-Drake (V) & Tiffany Wheaton (B)

Pacey – singer, director & arranger) sang and crooned three light a cappella pieces; glorious individual vocal colours blended beautifully in delicious harmony. Then we moved into RVW for page two of the prog – first, that Poulenc (Joshua Pacey – oboe; Walter Bayliss, S – bassoon; Olivia Nunn – piano). These summer concerts often include moving musical valedictions from departing 2YSs: the clarinet virtuoso Myles Wakelin-Harkett has set a fantastic example of dedication to his instrument during his five years here – and his Castelnuovo-Tedesco sonata movement was tabasco, disco, and not at all tedious…three puns on the composer’s name intended to convey that the playing was as hot as the day (30 degrees C), dance-rhythmic and not boring; I have refrained from saying whether or not one might hear it in the Newcastle branch of Tesco… give me some credit: this is a morning-after review, the mag is almost ‘to bed’, and the day is again hot already. Some light Shostakovich (arr RWS) for an unusual combo (Olivia Chan – flute; Alexander Hoffmann de Visme, P – oboe; OP Elton – clarinet; Arthur Yeung, L – trombone; Walter Bayliss – bassoon; Henry Mak, G – piano) and that Bonsor for sax quartet (Nicholas Aston, W; OPE; Walter Bayliss; William Coleshill, D) were the perfect digestive. There were two frankly amazing compositions – properly modern and ‘difficult’ (meaning you’d have to hear them twice even to begin to fathom their impressive depths: both pieces – Timothy Parsons’s ‘Carillons’ for piano and string quartet (Timothy Parsons; JN Parsons; Eugenia Lee; GF Murray; Jonathan Pacey), and Ed Roberts’s (G) ‘On Five Tones’ (same line-up, but no piano) were brilliant essays in motivic development; both had clear structural integrity and offered lucid and inventive instrumental textures. A pleasant Mozart string quartet movement (Seho Han, G; Ivan Chan, L; Keith Tso, P; Edward Morris, H) and the spick & span ‘Jam Session’ (James Parker) featuring the fabulously limpid touch of Callum Edge (S, Head of School) on piano (note, not ‘on THE piano’… this is jazz, kidz!), nimble bassism from Barney Wynter and saxism from William Coleshill (barking-fruity tone not unlike Wayne Shorter’s interpolations on Steely Dan’s album Aja) took us up to the point where the room began to heave with string players (until now disguised as audience members) coming up to play two String Orchestra items directed by JN Parsons: Telemann’s Viola Concerto in G (soloists: Scott Simpkin, S; Constance Leung, B; Keith Tso), and Andante Festivo by Sibelius. This music-making was as pin-sharp as you would expect from JNP’s crack outfit. If John Parsons felt the same way about football as he does about string playing (and it is no secret that he does not), he’d be a shoe-in for England Manager – and ‘we’ would probably win the cu- [put finger in mouth sideways and pull out sharply] -P. Mark Blatchly (Brooke Hall child, 1966-72)

Music Five Lines On My Stave Summer Concert CQ 10 Chapel & Llewellyn Room Forty years ago Chamber Group was rehearsing in Lower Kelstone, as it did every Sunday evening; a Chelsea supporter aged ten in the neighbouring room was watching ‘his’ goalkeeper, Peter Bonetti, help West Germany to a 3-2 World Cup victory against the run of play – revenge for 1966. As the situation worsened, the musicians abandoned their obscure Baroque ensembles and clustered round the primitive telly in shocked silence. The young boy went out to boot his black & white ball disconsolately round the garden. Sunday 27th June 2010 saw the unveiling of England’s latest plan to discomfit Germany at footer: this plan involved (a) losing 4-1, (b) beefing about a disallowed goal, and (c) heaping opprobrium on an Italian in a grey suit with a three-lion breast-badge – as if having to wear this grim garment for a fortnight had not been humiliating enough. If the musicians of Charterhouse were infected by the national grief, beef & blame-fest they hid it bravely. This year’s summer concert was (to borrow from The Who) ‘meaty, beaty, big and bouncy’. At a glance the programme looked light and jolly – but there was a second page to it, and there seemed to be three of everything: three movements, three dances, three choral numbers, three pieces by Gordon Jacob (who wrote that ingenious sequence of chords which sometimes heralds an outbreak of our National Anthem), a Poulenc trio, and er… ‘3 into 5’ by Brian Bonsor. Are long concerts ok? Yes, if they are good... and this one was. Timothy Parsons (B, organ) exorcised any lingering footballmisery (including his own – and to be frank he was distraught only to an extremely mild, almost imperceptible degree) with ‘The Dambusters’ March’, then he soothed us with a holiday-flavoured ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’ – multiplying two negatives (our stodgy H & H, and Coates’s inherently dull music) to make a positive. Jonathan Pacey (V) then sang a remarkable setting by his brother Joshua (V) of Betjeman’s ‘Back to Australia’. There followed a nifty clarinet quartet by Gordon Jacob in which the four liquorice sticksters (Myles Wakelin-Harkett, H; Laura Marshall, W; Michael Cheung, g; PM Price) sounded uncannily like a (good) organ with lively tone – an unusual noise in Charterhouse Chapel. A crack vocal nonet (Olivia Nunn, S; Madeleine Buisseret, W; Eugenia Lee, H; Constance Leung, B; Olivia Chan, D; Sam Jenkins, S; Barnaby Wynter, G; Henry Braime, G; Jonathan

Cranking up the Xmas Spirit to the Max Late Evening Carols Chapel OQ 09 impressed by his Scouse accent; this year – as Scrooge (‘Screwage’ might be a better name for this twisted character) he was as wonderful. We had the amusing pleasure of going into the actual scenes that Dickens imagined when writing A Christmas Carol – the classic story of Screwage being incredibly stingy etc. Screwage’s defective personality traits may be annoying for those co-inhabiting the story with him, but they are hilarious for us; is this a good example of utilitarianism – joy for the majority, and suffering for the [fictitious in any case] minority? The marvellous Chamber Choir (with special guest star Katie Aylard, V 09) kept our spirits high with ‘Ding Dong Merrily’ – for there is no doubt that the high notes of the sopranos made some boys and girls actually ‘high’ for Christmas. Finally, ‘Jingle Bells’ – with its familiar words (‘jingle all the way…’) got us right into the Christmas mode (for, by the by, we are NOT robots). So, if you are ever worried about having a ‘bad’ Christmas (though this sounds like the text of a medicine advert) don’t be! As long as one goes to the candle-lit carols, they will ‘make’ your Christmas. Never mind about the colloquialism. Jinjae Park (H)

Early December: it is a time when everyone in the school is excited about Christmas, and plans to do intra-house Secret Santa etc; at the same time, Revd Harker advises members of the school to attend candle-lit carols… “if you are cultured in any way.” However, it really isn’t about being ‘cultured’; candle-lit carols is an event to which you can go as long as you want to do so – and you will come out of it realising that it has been a privilege. This year’s Late Carols was so fabulous that one Hodgsonite went TWICE – despite having a huge history essay due for the next day. Here joyfulness and seriousness co-existed peacefully (does that remind you of Khrushchev during the Cold War?) – and Revd Lloyd, in his welcoming words, mentioned the light and peace with which Jesus Christ came to the earth. This made me think of the beautiful neon lights of Christmassy decorations everywhere, and that we should be thankful not to be in a place of serious conflict like Helmand in Afghanistan. This slightly gloomy mood lifted as the time progressed forwards – after all, we were that much closer to Christmas by the end of the carols (for remember: time always goes forwards…) – and a dramatic change was wrought by our well-popular reader, Dr O’Neill. Last year we had all been

A Musical Grand Day Out

in the church, we were struck by its regal beauty. An untouched quietness filled the air [and a musty niff] – and the decorative detail of the walls and pillars was absorbing, as was the history of the church. Since we were not due to perform for a few hours we had a quick lunch in the church café, and then took an equally quick trip to the National Portrait Gallery. The interest in the art lingered for a time, but our eagerness to perform dominated the atmosphere – and sure enough the time to play eventually arrived. The audience was large, and as excited as we were; the programme began with Bach’s 2nd Brandenburg Concerto featuring Katharine Holmes (H, flute), Callum Edge (S, oboe), Hugh Parsons (G, violin), Myles Wakelin-Harkett (H, clarinet), Walter Bayliss (S, bassoon) and Henry Mak (G, harpsichord). The vigour of this allegro movement contrasted with the somewhat dark and eerie Elgar Piano Quintet op 84 (1st movement) which followed; this was played by some of Charterhouse’s most talented performers – including the diploma-level violinists Eugenia Lee (H) and Tristan Parsons (G), and the virtuosic cellist Adrian Chan (L). The music was full of dynamic expression; the performance was flawless – impressing fellow pupils, beaks and audience alike. But the mood changed again with the Charterhouse brass group, which played Buonamente’s stately Sonata, Elgar Howarth’s

St Martin-in-the-Fields & Cardinal Clinic LQ 10 After a welter of sheer gratitude for the news that they would in fact NOT be missing all hashes of the day because of their dual concert commitments, the Charterhouse musicians flocked to RVW Music School in order eagerly to await the coach for London and then Windsor. Anticipation hung in the air – for Charterhouse musicians have built a musical reputation at St Martin’s over many years, and it was important that we should maintain it today. Aside from the glamour of this expedition was the difficulty of loading an estimated forty instruments into a bus, including a harpsichord and a double bass. Time was of the essence as the music staff tried to vacuum-pack the gear into the underbelly of the coach… total value (gear, not beaks) upwards of £15,000. The harpsichord was a particular problem, with half of the instrument unceremoniously dangling outside the hold at one point; however, after much exasperation we lumbered out of school at 6.30 am (according to the bus clock) and began our expedition into the capital. We arrived in rainy Trafalgar Square just after lunch [WHAT? Surely the concert was at lunchtime? No, I see what you’re doing here – developing the clock thing]; we unloaded the instruments and carried them into the crypt. As we resurfaced

Processional Fanfare (which I heard as ‘Professional’ – well, it was both!) and Jeremiah Clarke’s Trumpet Voluntary arranged by Iveson. The acoustics of the church allowed the brass sound to swell to great effect, filling the listener’s ears and inducing tinnitus (arg &, if you please, arrgh; what a lovely arrghrangement THIS was) for several minutes afterwards. To end this matinée concert came Chamber Orchestra – the largest group of the lot. It gave us all three movements of Bach’s Double Concerto for Violin & Oboe, with Eugenia Lee (violin) and Timothy Parsons (B, oboe); it was conducted by Head of Strings John Parsons. The stunning talent of both soloists was contrasted splendidly by the transparent yet essential string orchestra accompaniment,

and it was CLEAR (excuse this transparency pun-whammy) that a great deal of effort had been put in by all instrumentalists to make this a fantastic performance. Thus ended the first half of the day – and the performers were pleased with their collective achievement; but only a few minutes’ rest were granted, before the musical crew quickly piled back into the coach with music stands flying into the hold of the once-again groaning vehicle. We trundled out west to Windsor for an evening gig at the Cardinal Clinic as guests of Dr Lesley Morrish (W 53) who, for more years than anyone can remember, has kindly hosted an annual February concert by Charterhouse musicians – thereby raising money for Charterhouse music scholars. Here we

repeated our lunchtime programme for a new audience (hoping to leave them spellbound), and threw in an interesting and novel addition: the Sutton Singers – a small group of Charterhouse vocalists, whose pieces ranged from traditional English folk songs such as ‘The Oak and the Ash’ (sweetly sombre) and the moving ‘Londonderry Air’ (with tenor soloist Sam Jenkins, S) – and the alternative rock song ‘Viva la Vida’ by the popular band Coldplay, intelligently arranged a cappella by Jonathan Pacey (V, bass); this song – with tenor soloist Barnaby Wynter (G) dominating the scene, and a simple yet effective accompaniment – displayed the true

musical talent of all the singers; this group also included sopranos Olivia Nunn (S) & Natalie Krzywkowska (G), altos Elizabeth Kahn (P) & Edward Roberts (G), and baritone Henry Braime (G). The Sutton Singers’ demanding programme was met with great appreciation from the audience. Dr Morrish’s concluding speech was heartfelt and touching. We were rewarded at last for our long day of music-making with a delicious buffet dinner – then we rode the coach back to school, (needless, but nonetheless delightful, to say) tired but happy. Madeleine Buisseret (W)

wearing the St George cross on their skin & attire paralytic with national pride – though, on reflection, there may have been other factors. The audience participated in an arrangement of ‘The Old Hundredth’ by Landor and in ‘Jerusalem’ by CHH Parry – and at one point I did find myself wondering how it was physically possible to fit that much Englishness into anything smaller than England itself. Do not, however, think that this was a concert with repertoire designed only to have the audience leave the building and board a plane to South Africa singing ‘God Save the Queen’; the above-mentioned items (which do tend to centre around Blighty somewhat) were, in fact, in honour of Her Majesty’s birthday, which we were celebrating on that day – and amongst the other items were a selection of Handel and other colours of the spectrum than red & white. After the nail-bitingly athletic ‘Hallelujah’ chorus we departed from London with more than we went there with. The answer to the burning question ‘what’s the score?’ was received with a disheartening lack of surprise – and, since there had been a performance of an extremely high standard from OUR team (of musicians), many Carthusian brows remained unfurrowed. It only remained for us to work through the familiar postconcert syndrome: repetition of the day’s events. All the way back to Godalming, at a near-obnoxious volume, the chant was, ‘Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet...’ and (according to one seasoned veteran of the Orpheus choir) ‘Bob the builder’. The superficial disappointment over England’s sporting impotence was overwhelmed by satisfaction – and in this sentiment we were spurred on by Mr Begbie and Mr Kazi, who enthusiastically rapped about their fondness for the programme, and by our fearless heads of choir who had remained responsible and focused for the vast majority of the day. Henry Braime (G)

Crude Brute-annia Chamber Choir with Orpheus Choir & LMAO CQ 10 Saturday 12th June saw Carthusian choralists boldly going where no un-split infinitive had ever been before: Trafalgar Square. The performance, punctuated by the inebriated battle cry ‘Eng-ga-land!’ which echoed from the four walls of St Martin-in-the-Fields, featured performances of ‘Zadok the Priest’, the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus, and the timelessly classy ‘Rule Britannia’ – which (it has to be said) was well complemented by the jeering of men with red crosses on their faces. A small number of singers from Charterhouse, led by the perpetually smart-casual MNS, implanted themselves amongst the Orpheus Choir & London Musical Arts Orchestra (director – John Landor, S 79) and put on a more rousing display of national pride than the 90 minutes of self-deprecating folderol that was England’s 1-1 draw with the USA. There were, in fact two performances: the first came as something of a surprise to the choir, as the vast majority of this ‘family concert’ was spent allowing children in the audience to play the timpani and conduct. There was a sense of accessibility and goodwill about it which is often sadly lacking in the public’s encounters with classical music. One girl appeared to be channelling the spirit of Keith Moon as she wielded sticks (which were considerably larger than her arms) and struck the timpani, causing a wave of shock which could only be measured on the Richter scale. The second concert was far more formal, and shunned the classical music/pantomime fusion of the first one in favour of a more refined, English experience. That was, until the choir entry at the beginning of ‘Zadok the Priest’, which was at a volume that made inanimate objects bleed… and those

support from other musicians or housemaster) for whom the thought of such a venture would be terrifying, and largely a waste of time. A singing-only competition also militates against the instrumentalists who would like to have a go – and certainly disadvantages the houses that are capable of putting on some impressive house orchestras and bands. The Hodgsonites Band, for example, entertained Godalming for a couple of hours at the bandstand in the park only two or three weeks into OQ – they really could ‘out-band’ any other house in the school, but just didn’t have the chance to do it this year. As it was, I arrived in Hall to find the place packed with excited supporters and performers sitting in their house groups, and ready to file out round the back and come onto the stage for their six-minute performance. The atmosphere was quite different from previous years; gone was the halfempty Hall; in came a packed house, and a palpable feeling of a proper school occasion – of mutual support and interest. A few houses had been eliminated in the first round, leaving H, G, g, D, W, V, L, and S (last year’s winning house). Hodgsonites performed a good arrangement of ‘Spider Man’ by Jasmine Shaddock, and Rhys Brown’s final solo basso profundo note scored top marks for well-judged humour. H’s house song was ‘Do you hear the people sing?’ from Les Misérables; this was excellent, although I’d have preferred to hear this particular bunch of people sing something a little less one-dimensional. Gownboys sang very well,

ERROR: Vol. 40 no. 1, p 57 – S was 1st in 08, not 2nd. Sorry.

Now read on… House Music Hall OQ 09 We music beaks have a love-hate relationship with House Music. On the one hand we (especially MNS this year, since it was all choir-based) run around for two or three weeks beforehand, expending several gigawatts of emotional energy trying to help some worthy non-music-scholar in Sportites to create a workable performance out of a grade 2 trombone, a grade 3 flute, and somebody who used to play the ‘keyboard’ at prep school. On the other hand, we can remember many stunning house music performances in past years – pupils tend to become very motivated by the competitive element (no surprises there then) and on a couple of occasions we’ve had to have the Brooke Hall Motivatometer recalibrated by specialist engineers in Farncombe. This year it was different. Instead of the usual tripartite orchestra, plus song, plus chamber music/band menu, we had a house singing competition with each house presenting a part-song, and a bigger group (in some instances the whole house) performing a more populist item. I wasn’t sure how this was going to work out: very well, I suspected, for the houses which have an eager army of singers and (more to the point) have a strong and popular leader who can rally his ‘mates’ to take part, all in the name of house spirit of course. This would be unsuccessful, I feared, for the less confident type (faced with a reluctant mob, and with insufficient

hymn ‘I vow to Thee My Country’. Lockites produced a really good programme, starting off with their house song ‘Hallelujah’ by Rufus Wainwright, and finishing with ‘Let it be’ featuring an excellent high tenor solo from Jonny Peppiatt. I look forward to hearing him sing ‘You Should be Dancing’ (it’s by the Bee Gees, silly) in Band Show sometime soon. Jonny made the arrangements for both items, and rallied his fellow performers around him extremely well – and he is only a remove: a superb achievement! Saunderites concluded the evening with its house song ‘The Ash Grove’ (traditional, arranged by Callum Edge) and ‘Follow Me’ (Uncle Kracker, arr Edge). These were superbly done – good arrangements, rehearsing and organisation – and of course it was only appropriate that our Head Boy, Callum, should lead his team to victory and win the overall House Music Trophy. Due to a (rare) random electronic brain impulse on the part of a well-respected colleague, last year’s result was reported wrongly in last year’s Carthusian. So, for the record, Saunderites has, in fact, won the competition for three years in a row – congratulations! It’s a shame there wasn’t more ‘proper’ music performed this year: most of it was popular, vacuous, and ephemeral – the musical equivalent of a fast-‘food’ bargain meal (kids eat free, obviously). Generally however, the event exceeded my expectations and turned out to be a very good evening. JNP

and deserved much greater credit than it got from the Judge for performing real music: ‘Va Pensiero’ by Verdi, and ‘None but the Lonely Heart’ by Tchaikovsky. Girdlestoneites showed off some good voices and polish with their ‘Shine Jesus, Shine’ by Graham Kendrick. Daviesites began with a five-girl choir (Stephanie Frayne, Olga Denislamova, Lucy Bowker, Hannah May and Olivia Chan – accompanied by Jacob Bird) which sang ‘Music when Soft Voices Die’. This was excellent, and deservedly won the prize for the best partsong of the evening. D then proceeded to let itself down with a rather ordinary rendition of ‘Let it be’; perhaps next year D should sing ‘Don’t Let Me Down’ instead. Weekites was a little over-ambitious with its ‘Summertime’ by Gershwin: unfortunately one of the inner parts started off on the wrong note, and they kept this error going (still smiling) right through to the bitter end of the song. This was a shame. However Weekites managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by singing (the dreadful) ‘Afternoon Delight’ brilliantly; they sang with a great sense of performance and thorough preparation, and rightly got the prize for the best house song. Verites began with an effective arrangement (owing a lot to Tippett) by Jonathan Pacey of ‘Steal Away’. This was good, although the word ‘ain’t’ superbly sung in best English public school brogue possibly qualified for the best laugh of the evening. V’s house song was the

Symphony Orchestra at Chichester Cathedral

Blue Notes on a Warm Island Jazz Band tour to Malta After tours to Germany, France, Hungary, Austria and the USA this year the Jazz Band headed for the Mediterranean. Malta is a very English place â&#x20AC;&#x201C; they drive on the left, the plugs are good old square 13-amp things and everyone seems to speak English. The history of the Island ranges from Roman through the conflict between the Knights Hospitallers and the Turks, the Napoleonic wars and most famously the Second World War. The Jazz Band was invited to take part in the annual ceremony celebrating the award to the Island of the George Cross, in recognition of the bravery of her people during that war. We gave a number of performances and very much enjoyed the sunshine and sights, although as soon as we got there the Icelandic volcano erupted and it looked as if our tour was going to be very much extended. We were quite sad when our very efficient agent managed to get us a flight home after a delay of only three days.

Sorbet, not Squeak

waltz before returning to a more reflective mood. Unsurprisingly, contemporary Viennese audiences thought Haydn’s church music more suited to the dance floor. The Gloria opens with vigorous fanfares, becoming more subdued for ‘Et in terra pax’, after which the fanfare motif returns several times. Conventionally the section ends and there is a change of mood and pace for the following section, ‘Qui tollis peccata mundi’; however, here Haydn carries the allegro section on – and for ‘Qui tollis’ he quotes the horn motif and solo line from his oratorio Die Schöpfung – specifically the music from the duet of Adam and Eve ‘Der thaunde Morigen, o wie ermuntert er’ (‘The dew-dropping morn, O how she quickens all!’) thus making a link between the sins of the world and the original sinners. According to Griesinger, this quotation expressed Haydn’s opinion that ‘weak mortals sinned mostly against moderation and chastity only’. The Empress Maria Theresa was an ardent collector of Haydn’s music, but her response to this treatment of the text was along the lines of “Wir sind nicht amüsiert!” so he wrote a version for her omitting the Creation theme. In keeping with convention, the Gloria ends with ‘In Gloria Dei Patris. Amen’ treated in fugato style. A notable feature of the Credo is the ‘Et incarnatus est’ in which the figurations of the organ obbligato are said to suggest the fluttering of the wings of a descending dove, symbolising the Blessed Virgin being overshadow by the Holy Spirit. This section is followed by a triumphant ‘Et

Die Schöpfungsmesse, Haydn Gloria, Vivaldi Hall LQ 10 There are more settings of the Latin mass than of any other text, and on March 14th the 87 members of Charterhouse Concert Choir, with soloists Susanna Fairbairn (soprano), Jennifer Attia (mezzo-soprano), Benedict Hymas (tenor) and Mark Begbie (bass), accompanied by an orchestra of original instruments with Mark Blatchly (continuo) under the direction of Mark Shepherd, performed two of these: a late mass by Haydn and a setting of the Gloria by Vivaldi. Composers of the Baroque period divided the text into many sections, each having its own uniform orchestration and expressing a single mood; Vivaldi’s Gloria belongs to this genre. During the Classical period, however, influenced by contemporary developments in opera where composers began writing arias and ensembles in which the mood was much more fluid, settings of the mass were divided into more substantial sections, each featuring considerable variety of instrumentation and contrast of mood to suit the specific words. To this latter genre Haydn’s Die Schöpfungsmesse belongs – the penultimate of a dozen completed masses; it was written in 1801 for the name day (September 8th, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary) of Princess Maria Hermengild Esterházy, wife of Haydn’s patron. The Kyrie opens with a slow flowing section featuring a mezzo-soprano solo, leading into a chorus resembling a

resurrexit’ which slows into a sombre ‘Et mortuorum’ before bursting forth in the lively ‘Et vitam venturi’ again treated in fugato style. The Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei are more solemn, but Haydn finishes with a vigorous ‘Dona nobis pacem’ which sounds less like a request and more like a demand for peace. Choir, soloists and orchestra brought this fine work vividly to life and it was a treat to have the orchestra producing the timbres that Haydn intended, although the authentic lower pitch used apparently caused some difficulty for members of the choir with perfect pitch. The second piece of the evening, the Gloria by Vivaldi, was probably – like much of his musical output – written for the Ospedale della Pietà, an orphanage for abandoned girls in Venice where he was employed as violin tutor and then composer; thus the Gloria makes especially good use of the upper voices. The work is broken into ten sections which contrast alternating chorus and solo voices, and display a wide variety of moods. The comparative lightness of texture made this a kind of musical sorbet after the Haydn main course, and a substantial audience turned up to enjoy the musical feast. SJH

And Made Proper Use Of… Evensong at Chichester Cathedral OQ 09 If you cast your minds back to vol. 39 no. 2, you will recall that the success of Chamber Choir’s LQ 07 jaunt to Chichester to sing evensong was jeopardised by two notorious catastrophes. First – the coach didn’t turn up, necessitating

the temporary installation of an emergency taxi-rank at Oak; second – an unexpectedly drawn-out memorial service encroached dangerously upon our rehearsal time. I regret to report that the OQ 09 evensong gig was entirely devoid of logistical mess-ups, so this account may be less exciting than its predecessor. In fact, so efficient was the rehearsal that there was a forty-minute wait before evensong (although the café in the cloisters was soon discovered and made proper use of). The quality of the performance, though, must surely have out-matched [sic] any desperate taxi-chases through the streets of Chichester in terms of sheer adrenaline. MNS opted for some boisterous and well-loved repertoire: the Clucas responses, Stanford’s setting of Psalm 150, Wood in D (for the canticles) and RVW’s setting of George Herbert’s ‘Let all the World’. The anthem in particular was boldly and clearly sung, and the vigour of the refrain-like first phrase never interfered with the more lyrical episodes. The Nunc Dimittis was performed with an appropriate degree of musical cheese by the basses, and the responses were full of variety and personality. MLJB gave a stirring performance of Reger’s Prelude & Fugue in D minor & major as the final prayer was uttered [er… after it, actually – be fair, Tim! No liturgical ‘gun’ was ‘jumped’ on this occasion] – and then it was back on the bus for tea and banco. TJY Parsons (B)

A Fine Tradition – and a First National Chamber Music Competition for Schools Groups from Charterhouse have reached the final concert of the National Chamber Music Competition (organised by Pro Corda) for many years now, but this year was the first time we have had two completely independent groups (not sharing any members) getting through both initial rounds and reaching the final together. The string quartet (Seho Han, G; Ivan Chan, L; Keith Tso, P; Edward Morris, H) played the first movement of Haydn’s Quartet in D minor (op 42), and although it was competing in the under-19 category, the group included two yearlings and a remove – very good going. The other group (Eugenia Lee, H; Tristan Parsons, G; Constance Leung, B; Adrian Chan, L; Henry Mak, G) played the first movement of Elgar’s demanding Piano Quintet in A minor. They gave a superb performance, and received a special commendation from the adjudicators at the final concert. JNP

Henry Mak, Eugenia Lee, Constance Leung, Adrian Chan & Tristan Parsons

Charm, Fun & Food

vocabulary of most choir members: ‘qui tollis peccata, etc...’) before we dug into a three-course meal; it was just like Founder’s Feast at Charterhouse, minus the whizzbangs. We made haste down the M11, for the journey was long and treacherous – and school the next day (Ascension Day) brought with it another service for the Burczyck Singers. Ed Roberts (G)

Evensong in Cambridge CQ 10 Despite the fact that several extremely valuable members had sore throats, MNS bravely (and not at all resignedly) carried Chamber Choir to Queens’ College Cambridge where we were to sing evensong. We thought that the college lacked the imperial grandeur of King’s, but nonetheless, we valued its quiet charm. The college chaplain, who is also a lecturer in biochemistry, kindly gave us a tour showing us buildings from every century since the 15th – and informing us that the Mathematical Bridge, which (it is said) would remain standing were all its bolts removed, is only so named by dishonest gondoliers who connive at impressing tourists. Some second year specialist members of the choir chose to spend the duration of the tour in the ‘Fun Palace’ (the rooms of Charlie Bell, V 07) revising for their imminent Pre-U exams, failing to realise that most of the history syllabus would be taught on the tour of the college. Timothy Parsons (B), who is due to go up as Organ Scholar of Selwyn College in 2011, was overjoyed at the opportunity to play on a Cambridge organ. Although he personally felt displeased with his improvised voluntary, both choir and congregation were dazzled by his accompaniment of Balfour Gardiner’s ‘Evening Hymn’ and Herbert Howells’s Gloucester Magnificat & Nunc Dimittis. According to one member of the congregation, it was possible to determine that the singing would be brilliant as soon as the choir had sung the first response half-a-minute into the service. Before returning to Charterhouse we were fed at the college’s ceremony of High Table, in which a grace was declaimed in Latin (unfortunately this contained more than the standard

Socks Ablaze! Orchestral Concerts Hall CQ 10 On Friday 7th May Charterhouse Chamber Choir & Orchestra was joined by a substantial party of musicians from Aldro for a splendid and varied concert. Myles Wakelin-Harkett (H) gave a distinguished account of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A (K 622, 1st movement) – technically faultless, and with a mature and measured

delivery that let the music speak for itself. Aldro Choir followed on with engaging performances of ‘For the Beauty of the Earth’ (John Rutter) and ‘Risen Lord’ (Barry Rose). The Aldro Irregulars (a talented instrumental ensemble) played two intriguing anonymous compositions – rhythmically sophisticated and harmonically inventive; these pieces turned out to have been written by Aldro’s modest and accomplished Director of Music David Carr, but one could have believed that they were by Stravinsky or Britten. John Parsons and his String Orchestra proceeded to electrify the audience with a fiery and committed reading of the first

movement from Holst’s St Paul’s Suite. This was stunning. To celebrate the tercentenary of something Vivaldi did (presumably, he must have done something three hundred years ago to the very day[s]) Charterhouse has been laying on a series of outings for his Gloria recently (‘…a few good chords, and the odd loud bit’ – The Northbrook Gazette) – and another performance of this jangling festival of D majority is forecast for November 14th, so don’t say you haven’t been warned. A man who is tired of Vivaldi’s brash pronouncements is not tired of life (necessarily), but this man would be downright perverse were he here to omit two dicta: (a) that the Gloria was brilliantly performed under the direction of Mark Shepherd – and (b) that the icing on this Surrey-served Venetian cake was the (as ever) wonderful solo singing of Jennifer Attia, whose fabulous voice and super-intelligent interpretation always guarantee really memorable musicmaking. There was a special bonus item in this programme: a short jazz piano improvisation by the Head of School, Callum Edge (S) on ‘Over the Rainbow’ – tightly-organised, delicately intent on exploring beautiful sounds… it was just right – perfectly judged. Two weeks later, the Clarinet Concerto and St Paul’s Suite were re-heated for another Hall concert – with the pleasing addition of the remaining two movements of the Holst; once again, Wakelin-Harkett and String Orchestra were toppity croppity. NR Quewbrox

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70 Leticia Bombieri (W)

Art Fooled, Fouled, Filled, Foiled

set, but in place of a menu student sketchbooks provided a visual feast for the judges. The judges commended Antonia Gardner’s striking series of portraits and Thomas Macfarlane’s subtle tonal portrait. The judges were surprised and impressed to hear that it was Thomas’s first painting in oils – so impressed, in fact, that they decided to award him the prize for best Vth-former. In Verites we were greeted by Stephanie Wilson and Joe Clarke who led us around an outstanding display of work. The first room we were shown was dominated by Stephanie’s bold, large-scale diptych, which showed deft handling of paint and colour. In the next two rooms the judges became engrossed in Stephanie’s two intensely emotive films. Again the works showed a sophisticated understanding of the medium and level of maturity. The judges were in no doubt that Stephanie should be awarded the prize for best second year specialist. Amid this seductive display the judges also had time to notice two subtle and sensitively painted nostalgic landscapes by Joe. As the unrelenting rain continued, the party gratefully accepted a lift across campus to Pageites where they were greeted by Jason Chan and Elizabeth Kahn. Pageites had taken the idea of frames as a theme throughout the exhibition – from the hanging display of frames suspended in the stairwell, to a bizarre a piece of performance art in which walking through constructed door-frames triggered responses from performers in the room. Strong contributions to the house display included Jason’s outstanding life drawings and an excellent exhibition of photography from the recent art trip to New York by Edward Mole.

House Art OQ 09 One stormy November morning a pair of brave Directors of Art, Tim Hardisty (Monkton Coombe) and Dylan Lloyd (Canford), faced the weather and began a veritable art marathon: eleven art exhibitions in eleven houses in just six hours. Armed with a clutch of prizes for a few talented individuals – including the coveted Palette for best house – the judges set out on their artistic quest through artworks, installations, films and live performances. Our first port of call was Saunderites, where Grace Reid guided us through to the extravaganza of neon and newspaper that had transformed the common room, forcing the viewers to reassess the architectural space. Saunderites’s display impressed the judges with its wide range of work, from more traditional skills such as Cara Armstrong’s superb life drawing and Grace’s print series through to the technological expertise of Jeremy Wong’s animation on climate change which benefited from its large scale projection and even provoked spontaneous dancing from the housemasters’ son Joshua! Dashing to Duckites we were met by Anthony Kane who led us through to a darkened room to view the house group piece. Anthony had photographed every member of the house, including its tutors, and digitally manipulated the images, removing the colour red from their faces; but it was the chance encounter with a broken projector that brought the work to life – the strange blue light that it cast across the faces in the photographs created an eerie atmosphere that lit up the whole space. In the next room, a long table had been

Daviesites

Raphael Leon (H)

sound. Harry’s experimental and inventive approach to his work earned him the prize for best IVth-former. Across in Daviesites we were greeted by Oliver Epp who, although only a remove, had managed to motivate the house and come up with an excellent group piece which had the whole house involved, the matron included. Each house member had made a paper life-sized cut-out of themselves which they had decorated individually, and which were then imaginatively hung in the common room as if the house was assembled for adsum. Other work on display included Nicolai Collins’s installation of his larger-than-life plaster sculpture of a dog and Artem Katinov’s imaginative series of etchings, as well as Oliver’s excellent portrait paintings. In acknowledgement of Oliver’s outstanding work and the leadership skills which he displayed in motivating the house, the judges awarded Oliver the prize for best remove. At Lockites the judges were greeted by Matthew Chandler who invited them to crawl inside an installation L had built from mattresses. From inside, the judges were able to look up at the giant stairwell through a skylight of purple balloons. The imaginative use of space was striking in the way it highlighted how differently each of the new houses had utilised the spaces which were architecturally identical. Guiding us round the rest of the work Matthew spoke convincingly about his own work, a series of graphic and illustrative portraits of family and friends, explaining how he worked with appropriate imagery and painting styles to reflect the memories that he had of the sitters. In Robinites, Max Agace explained the house theme of ‘Pollution’, which seemed to have taken over the entire building. In the senior common room a ‘street scene’ had been created, complete with abusive drunks and homeless tramps whilst the buttery had been converted into a ‘drug den’ as a cautionary tale against the dangers of ‘pollution of the body and mind’. In another room a cityscape had been created from recycled milk bottles, the senior buttery had been converted into a hot and humid tropical jungle, and one room by contrast had been cleared of everything except a single luminous recycling bin, which glowed like a happy solution to the chaos of the other rooms. The judges were most impressed by the huge amount of effort that had gone into creating this complete transformation of the whole house. As the judges entered Weekites, the door swung open and we were ‘greeted’ by a pair of silent masked faces – Lowry Jonathan and Johnny Denham, I was later told. We quickly realised that all Weekites were present, but all were masked and frozen in their everyday activities. Masked students sat in front of white-noised computer screens, one student was filling a cup oblivious to the fact the cup was long over-flowing, a ping-pong game was suspended mid-shot, and in the common room members of the house (including the housemaster) were gathered for gibs. The effect was startling to the

Edward Mole (P)

In Hodgsonites Emma Seaton and Raphael Leon explained how their house had taken the idea of ‘Daily Routine’ as a theme for their exhibition. Footprints represented paths of movement throughout the house and in one room a sound graph charted peaks of activity throughout the day. The judges were impressed by the painstaking attention to detail in Raphael’s mystical animated figures and by Harry Sherwood’s installation piece. Harry spoke articulately about how his interests in technology, physics and electronics had combined to create his artwork, which was designed to respond to the viewer’s mood with changes in lighting and

Bodeites in the stairwell

viewer. Instead of feeling empowered as the ones free to walk around and look at the exhibits, we felt that we were the objects of scrutiny as emotionless face stared out at us as we walked past the canvases held by these masked house members. The house was at once full of activities but simultaneously enveloped in stillness. An explanatory handout described how the concept had evolved from looking at the long history of Weekites as a house whose character transcends and outlives the individuals who pass through the house over the courses of generations. Weekites, the show seemed to say, was something greater than the sum of its parts in which individuals, even the housemaster, became anonymous. I found the event highly sophisticated on a conceptual level, in spite of the simplicity of the act, and hugely successful in terms of the impact for the viewer. I was also impressed by the commitment of the whole house for turning up and remaining frozen for at least twenty minutes! For the judges however, two other houses had the edge over Weekites, leaving Weekites behind in third place. Bodeites impressed the judges with the wide range of work displayed. Theo Coles spoke eloquently about how his wood-carving techniques had evolved and the judges appreciated the patience, skill and subtlety in his work – along with William Himpe’s ceramic work and Jamie Manton’s filmic diary from his travels to Tanzania. The group house piece consisted of an installation of photographs of all house members, which were suspended in grid formation in the gigantic stairwell, another example of excellent use of this space. However, it was Talfryn Francis’s animations and films which caught the imagination of the judges, in particular the

mirrored installation piece of his film of New York – and they awarded Talfryn the prize for the best first year specialist, and Bodeites won second place overall for house effort. But the Palette – for best house – went to Gownboys to the surprise and delight of all involved. Georgia Davies, with a fantastic amount of support from Chris Hollis and Charles Lynch and an enthusiastic response from all year-groups within the house, had put on a fantastic display: 1,080 square metres of tinfoil had been used totally to transform Gownboys into a surreal fantasy space for an exhibition entitled: ‘Welcome to the Land of your Imagination’ – a phrase which greeted us on arrival, from a laptop playing a humorous animated film by Hiteshree Ruparell. The effect was enticing and seductive, bringing to mind Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. The exhibition had a clear curatorial direction, which gave coherence to the work presented without over-powering it. The exhibition was conceived as a particular journey and environment and its location on the stairwell allowed the exhibition to have a strong focus. There was a wide variety of work on display such as Charles Lynch’s portrait series, and Chris Hollis’s bright abstract landscapes. The judges were also impressed by Robin Cowie’s (G) illustrative and highly imaginative series of digital prints. Although Robin does not study art within the school timetable, the judges recognised that he was no less an artist and awarded him the Brush – the top individual prize. This perfectly illustrated how House Art can provide a real opportunity to promote art beyond the scope of the subject syllabus – and how art can be used to take over new spaces and include whole houses. Lara Saxby

Theo Coles (B)

Jason Chan (P)

Jamie Manton (B)

Georgia Davies (G)

Christopher Hollis (G)

Emma Seaton (H)

Even the Queue was Exciting Art in New York Exeat OQ 09

Tiffany Wheaton (B)

Edward Mole (P)

As the plane touched down at JFK Airport, and as we waited in a two-hour immigration queue, the excitement boiling inside us was indescribable. We were all so eager to get out and explore the city that never sleeps – the city that so many of us knew only from films, pictures & novels; however, by the time we arrived at our hotel it was so late… and we were burnt out from the excitement we had built up on the flight. We were up bright and early next morning, though, and ready to venture out. We had breakfast in an American diner called Bloom’s Café, where the majority of us filled up on pancakes & syrup… perhaps not the healthiest of breakfasts, but certainly a fitting introduction to the city of New York. Our days were filled with countless museum visits, continuous sketching and picture-taking. The Metropolitan Museum of Art not only overawed us by its sheer size (the ease with which we could get lost in it), but also with its vast array of art; it was like nothing we had ever seen before. It included ancient far-eastern architectural pieces, classical Roman busts, contemporary photography, works by Monet (water lilies), Matisse, Giacometti, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol & Roy Lichtenstein – also Damien Hirst’s (now decaying) 12-million dollar stuffed shark! MOMA is positioned conveniently close to Fifth Avenue – so once we had decided it was just all too much to take in, we could quickly pay a visit to the Trump Tower for lunch or visit the flagship Apple store.

Angus Edwards (V)

Edward Mole (P)

Tom Markwell (S)

Edward Mole (P) Katie Russell (g) Edward Mole (P)

The contents of the Guggenheim proved to be an acquired taste (which some of us have not yet had time to acquire); it was entirely filled by an exhibition of Kandinsky’s work – and, although this Kandinsky was much appreciated by many in the group, others felt that the architecture of the building itself was of more interest than the artwork within. The Whitney Museum featured a number of works by Georgia O’Keeffe. We also managed to spot an A-list film star, who proved to be really quite unfriendly; fair dos… perhaps she has come to feel like an exhibit, and this makes her mardy. As well as visiting museums and carrying out art-related activities (eg: looking at things intently, etc) we spent the late afternoons on more casual pastimes. Several trips to Times Square saw us eating in Bubba Gump & Planet Hollywood; we also saw an archetypal Broadway production – Chicago, on Broadway! There were also numerous trips to two famous-name ‘chocolate’ stores. The musical members of the party visited the music district for its unbelievable music stores – and the fashionistas among us duly visited the fashion district. On successive evenings we made our way up the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Centre. These were two truly breath-taking experiences – looking out over the Big Apple’s landscape, with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights… and the dark mass of Central Park, the mystical bubble of glowing light emitted from Times Square, the distant green

Oliver Bell (G)

also met the builders who are reconstructing the surrounding area. We then slowly made our way back up the island – travelling through Soho, Noho, Little Italy, and joining onto Fifth Avenue, and visiting numerous vintage clothes stores along the way. All that is left to be said is a huge thank-you to Mr Monkman, Miss Pinkney, Miss Saxby & Mr Pelling for giving up their time and taking us on such a great trip. We feel inspired! Oh, and of course we must not forget Hank Orenstein – not only a fantastic guide, but a fantastic person all round: we miss you! Georgia Davies (G) & William Harrison (W)

Edward Mole (P)

hue of the Statue of Liberty, and thinking solemn thoughts when looking down Manhattan at where the World Trade Center once stood. One of our last jaunts was a ferry trip around Liberty Island; this helped us to appreciate the huge scale and number of the skyscrapers, and the significance of the Statue of Liberty. It was a shame, however, to find out that we had missed Barack Obama’s motorcade by only a few seconds when we docked again for disembarkation. On the last day we made a quick visit to the Museum of Photography, after which we were allowed to do what we wanted. For the writers of this article this meant taking a yellow cab to Ground Zero – a very moving experience. We

Stephanie Wilson (V)

Antonia Gardner (g)

Joseph Clarke (V)

Jason Chan (P)

The Poetry was in the Pity Oh! What a Lovely War BTT OQ 09

complete with proscenium arch, a raised stage and balconies – quite a technical feat for a start – and it immediately placed us in the sunny optimism of pre-war Britain. This was reinforced by the pierrot costumes worn by the entire cast – and both contrasted starkly with the story they had to tell. The actors form an ensemble, each playing a number of roles. It is difficult, therefore, to single out individuals for praise, but outstanding amongst the boys were Tasso Dattenberg-Doyle (S) as Sir John French, Oliver Higginson (g) as the sergeant-major, Archie Rhind-Tutt (g) as the MC, and Robin Cowie (G) in a number of roles. Of the girls, Olga Denislamova (D) and Isabelle Smith (H) gave outstanding

I have never been sure about Oh! What a Lovely War: in many ways it is a dated piece of theatre, a relic of the 1960s, full of caricature rather than characters, and pedalling a view of the First World War, and it particular of its generals, which has now been discredited, at least in academic circles. But this was an outstanding production by Julian Freeman which went a long way towards convincing me of the play’s merits. It was, at times, profoundly moving – especially since, as the programme reminded us, the actors were the same age as many of the characters they were playing. The set transformed the BTT into an Edwardian Music Hall,

Ben Travers Theatre 81

vocal performances. What struck me, above all, was the conviction which all the actors showed. They had a powerful story to tell, and they were determined that we should understand it. The music was excellent too, and great credit should go to the band under the direction of Niall Bailey. Helen Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s choreography was slick, disciplined and imaginatively executed. Memorable scenes? There were many, but I enjoyed the sergeant-majorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attempts to drill his recalcitrant platoon into some sort of discipline and order; the confused strategy meeting between the British and French commanders, preceded by a car journey, ingeniously staged; the shooting party during which profiteers from both sides discussed prolonging the war, for all its Marxist claptrap; the cheery Irish soldiers, suddenly left marooned in no manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land; and the (successful) attempts by the girls to recruit members of the audience onto the stage, with some amusing results. Finally, and most movingly of all, it is hard to forget the scene on Christmas Day 1914, when the two sides rose from their trenches and fraternised. After a few seconds, as the mist swirled around the stage and the soldiers mingled, sharing beer and schnapps, it was impossible to tell who was British and who German. Before long, of course, the shell fire resumed and they retreated back into their trenches. It reminded us of the pity of war; and in the end, perhaps that is the most important lesson we should learn. WJ Lane

Issues, Shouting & Understatement Drama Festival BTT OQ 09 We all know what student plays look like: there should be at least one monologue, a handful of difficult ‘issues’ (abuse is always a good one), and it should culminate in quite a lot of shouting. A really top class effort will also, almost inevitably, include a first year specialist girl in a white nightie, having a bit of a breakdown. We always like those. Sam Shepherd’s (H) Acheron is a really impressive piece of work, not least because it doesn’t obey any of these wellunderstood rules. There’s barely any emotion, for a start, and very little sympathy. The basic scenario is admirably pared down: God and the devil are bored, so endlessly pestered by self-righteous but misguided souls demanding judgement that they’ve taken refuge in brain-teasers and desultory banter. The performances matched the concept admirably –

very dry indeed, with Jeremy Wong (S) and Tasso Dattenberg-Doyle (S) drawling, heavy-lidded, through a bone-dry script. Despite the efforts of a mutinous Jesus (Jack Lee, B), Alice Tapper (L) and Lucy Bowker (D), the audience seemed a bit hesitant on the night that I saw it, perhaps because, after a night of high-quality angst, they wanted their comedy dealt out in capital letters: the general consensus was that a few people falling over wouldn’t have gone amiss. A few of the minor characters kindly indulged them: Alistair Adams (H), for example, improvised a little business with a pot plant. In general, however, the cast stuck to their understatement admirably.

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There was a danger that Be My Baby, by Amanda Whittington, would deliver the kinds of drama festival cliché which had failed to materialise in Acheron. It has to be said that the script did tend towards the educational in places. It follows four girls sent to a mother and baby home in the 1960s to give birth to, and then give up, their children – and this basic scenario did allow for a few over-helpful pieces of dialogue of the ‘I don’t think you really understand the procedure: let me explain…’ variety. The characterisation, too, carried a distinct whiff of the Radio 4 drama. Once the sweetly naïve middle-class Mary (Megan Reynolds, V) found herself sharing a room with the swaggering, inarticulate, working-class Queenie (Katie McFadden, L), it would have been a brave punter who bet against the gradual development of a touching if troubled friendship by the end. Throw in an on-stage birth and the fact that the political point (Women Had It Tough Back Then) was so obvious that you longed to pick holes in it, and you have a recipe for an evening of synchronised cringing. Fortunately, this was an excellent production, well-directed by Stephanie Wilson (V), evoking the girls’ bewilderment and desperation powerfully enough to make the little fun they manage to have genuinely poignant. The overly protective Mrs Adams and her dysfunctional relationship with her daughter Mary was well played, with Stephanie defying type-casting to turn in a wonderfully

thin-lipped performance which still managed to hint at the kind of emotional warmth the character would, consciously, have found rather distasteful. Megan produced her best Brief Encounter accent without slipping into parody, which allowed her to slip seamlessly into a genuinely traumatic birth scene; similarly, Katie McFadden’s portrayal of Queenie combined buoyancy and aggression with gradually leaking evidence of vulnerability, complementing the quieter characters of Dolores (Stephanie Frayne, D) and Norma (Olivia Peacock, W). The stern and bustling Matron (Grace Reid, S) is the voice of reason in an emotionally charged performance – quite an achievement, given that the play seemed to be set up to dismiss her as an embodiment of a determinedly unfeeling society.

The other two plays were much more obvious crowdpleasers. Michael Thonger (V) directed the Dario Fo farce The Virtuous Burglar with an impressively light touch, drawing thoughtful performances from a stylish cast who were ready to take time over scenes of domestic discomfort but were absolutely up to the task of upping the pace as the logic of the situation threw their characters into more and more absurd situations. Michael himself played the hapless burglar who is driven by his difficult wife Maria (played brilliantly by

Rachel Kosciuszko, G) to steal from a rich estate. Unfortunately for him, he breaks in on the same night as the owner (Jamie Manton, B) brings home his lover (Elise De Nardi, V). Mariaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ill-timed and neurotic phone calls cause confusion, heightened by the return of Anna (Leticia Bombieri, W) with her own lover Antonio (Peter Wright, V). The joy of the play lies, of course, in the hypocritical squirmings of bourgeois characters who long to be self-righteous in the face of a clear crime against property, but are agonisingly conscious of their own secrets, and increasingly rendered powerless by the endless proliferation of lies they have to tell to keep them. From a political point of view, of course, the play works like an intellectually light-fingered cousin of An Inspector Calls, as we gradually come to the conclusion that the one truly reasonable and likeable character is the person we are conventionally expected to despise. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a great script, and the cast did it full justice.

That was also the case in a really impressive production of The Party. Godber’s script, following the various goings on at an office do, can probably be best described as a weird hybrid of The Office, Glengarry Glenn Ross and Dinner Ladies – full of telling comic details of social interaction, constantly leaking hints of unspoken angst and inadequacy, and yet also flirting with (well, actually rather more than flirting with) some pretty broad slapstick. The great fear, of course, was that a play involving a good deal of on-stage drunkenness will quickly degenerate into a festival of over-acting, so I was particularly impressed by the disciplined performances turned in by a cast (Lee – Robin Cowie, G; Bob – George Jones, V; Pippa – Tiffany Wheaton, B; Jo – Miffy Nash, W; Gavin – Luke Millington-Drake, V; Archie Rhind-Tutt, g; Patty – Pippa Stannard, R) who worked selflessly for each other under the direction of Olivia Lace-Evans (P). The gradations from one stage of drunkenness to another, and on to hangover and repentance, was beautifully handled: no comedy staggering or hiccoughing, just that dawning realisation that something is going steadily (and then rather quickly) wrong with ones centre of gravity, and that, as consonants seem to have deserted you, it’s probably a good idea, from now on, to communicate principally in vowels. The morning after scenes were particularly good – the cast managed to suggest, as Kingsley Amis put it, that they had somehow been expertly beaten up by the secret police, and that they had, equally mysteriously, lost the knack of wearing their own clothes. There were a number of stand-out

performances, but I have to admit to having particularly enjoyed Luke Millington-Drake; he has polished the art of being charming while destructive to a very high level. Just another of the benefits of a Carthusian education, perhaps. CRGH (with additional material by Cat Hall, R)

Cheridee & Fun Popular Concerts Many years ago, a friend and I expressed the intention (to a third party) of ankling beachwards to make sand-castles. The response was, “is there a competition?” No, we were going sand-castling for the fun of it – but our questioner had clearly felt it worthwhile instantly to conjure up a possible ulterior motive for us. In the same way, people like school pop concerts to have an extra-musical purpose – and a most laudable one; rock music is especially associated with charitable effort because charity itself suddenly became fashionable in 1984 with the founding of Band Aid by Geldof & Ure. A wealth of great and good things have followed… and (by the law of unintended consequences) it has also become more or less impossible to go for a walk or a cycle just for the sake of it any more; people get themselves sponsored to put out the bins, to tidy the shed, or to mow the lawn – and here at school it is often assumed (because it is a very long walk) that the 50-miler (which is in fact on the school curriculum) must be a sponsored event. It is not. Charity has made competitive sand-castlers of us all. Thus all three major Charterhouse pop-certs in 2009-10 raised money for charity – or, as they say in mid-Atlantic Sleb-speak: ‘cheridee’. Even if Lack of Talent had been put on in aid of something quite nasty, its unbelievable popularity would still have packed ‘em into BTT: tickets for LoT are wept over, teeth get gnashed – and, oh to be there on the Friday night with anyone who is (…er) senior! The genesis of Hear Us Out (OQ, BTT) was entirely charitable – mounted in aid of Fairbridge – ‘which works with young people (aged 13-25) that other organisations find difficult to engage – giving them the motivation, self-confidence and skills they need to change their lives.’ The music was simply beautiful – delicate, unplugged and under-stated – with finely judged performances (including original compositions) from Chris Hollis (G), Tristan Parsons (G), Matt Wright (P), Hunter Goetz (R), Xavier Hetherington (G), Pippa Stannard (R), Marcus Rice (W), Oscar Bashall (G), Ed Roberts (G), Jake Tempest (G), Nick Aston (W), Chantal Cox-George (S), Callum Edge (S), Will Westerman (S) & Harry Legge (V). Contradistinctively, LoT (LQ, BTT) was suitably over-stated – featuring the above-named ‘usual suspects’, also Robin Cowie (G) who played a blinder as writer & producer, Freddie Mills (g), Michael Thonger (V), Peter Wright (V), Beau McCarthy (V), Hugh Parsons (G), Peter Barlow (V), Katie McFadden (L), Elizabeth Donaldson (L), Stephanie Frayne (D), Lowry Jonathan (W), Miffy Nash (W), Charlotte Iley (B), Georgia Davies (G), Alex Herbertson (G), Henry Braime (G), Annie Gibson (S), Gina Page (B), Olivia Nunn (S), Will Chesney (G), Stephanie Wilson (V), Olivia Peacock (W), Sam Harris (V), Ed Mole (P), Jasmine Shaddock (H), Paul Raleigh (D), Harry Moseley (D),

with skill and charm by Tom Macfarlane (g) and Sammy Wilson (G), it showed off (in an unostentatious way) the talents of Ben Foulston (R) whose guitar playing is phenomenal (knock-out slick, and covering a wide range of styles), Joshua Pacey (V), Nicolas Walker (H) Barney Wynter (G), Harry Light (V), Jonny Peppiatt (L), Sean Brennan (V), Edward Iley (V), Jack Bergqvist (L), Hugh Parsons, Robert McGowan Stuart (P), Oliver Higginson (g), Steven Kontoyannis (g) & Ben Stafford (R). The unsung (and unsinging) hero of all these concerts was the great English beak, JM Richardson – whose expert, patient and tirelessly willing technical support ensured that there was no extraneous crackle & buzz… and that the almost impossible task of balancing vocalists with rock instrumentalists was always accomplished spotty-dog-on. They did it for cheridee, and for the joy of putting on good shows for us all to relish and to feel good about. Even Tommy Sutton (who looks so much like the statue of the Commendatore turning up for homebill at Don-Giovanniites) was tapping his foot… almost. Colin Trendy

James Wood (D), Michael Fatsis (P), George Harris (g), Luke Millington-Drake (V), Edward Smith-Suarez (L), Thomas Allison (G), Olivia Lace-Evans (P), Alice Jones (S) & Fraser Ross (L)… ie, a lot of people. It was presented in customary style by Charles M Lynch (G) and Tom Lodge (W); jokes were made, remarks were passed, acts were linked, some clothes were removed… all immensely popular with the Friday night crowd, and the would-be Friday-nighters who had perforce to attend on the Wednesday or Thursday through their own blameless juniority. New for this year was the Ukelele Medley, the near-impossibility of telling which beak was intended by which impersonator in the BH sketch (which was, however, quite well scripted) – and the fact that though, as usual about a dozen Carthusians volunteered excitedly to write it up for the school mag, no-one actually delivered. LoT has its critics – but this show was at least as good as usual, ie: very good indeed, mostly. It raised loads of mun for the Haiti disaster appeal. Later in LQ an underschool version of this show (but with no sketches) was put on in Concert Hall for the same excellent cause. Like the Fairbridge concert this was as refreshingly new-hat on the Charterhouse scene as LoT is reassuringly and comfortably old-hat – and, like the Fairbridge concert it was disarmingly unpretentious and under-stated. Presented

Problem Play The Merchant of Venice LQ 10 Following the success of recent Shakespeare productions – Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream – The Merchant of Venice had its work cut out to match the prevailing standard. It is good to report, therefore, that it succeeded in doing so. The Merchant of Venice poses problems for directors. Finding the right tone to deal with some of the obvious themes and issues can present difficult decisions and demand great subtlety and understanding from the cast. In this lucid production, there was less focus on cultural differences and more on the social and class conflict between the wealthy and powerful Shylock and the ‘old school’ group led by Antonio. The main setting was a gentlemen’s club – a familiar and comfortable businessmen’s world: exclusive, inwardlooking, and unforgiving to outsiders. Robin Cowie (G) was superb as Shylock. His bewilderment and frustration at being excluded was the mainstay of his sensitive portrayal. This was particularly evident in his glorious delivery of the ‘Hath not a Jew eyes’ speech. This was beautifully countered by the easy arrogance of Luke Millington-Drake’s (V) Antonio, and made for a production which was more evenly balanced than is usual with this play. Jack Hillcox (P), playing his first major part in BTT, was a revelation as Bassanio; he brought

intelligence, compassion and humour to the role â&#x20AC;&#x201C; making his relationships with both Antonio and Portia utterly convincing. Jacob Bird (D, Lorenzo), Jamie Manton (B, Solanio), Henry Wise (B, Salarino) and Tasso DattenburgDoyle (S) as the ebullient Gratiano combined well to create an old boys network, which encouraged the audience to see both sides of the argument. In this male-dominated world, it is not always easy for Portia to convey the necessary strength and command which the role requires; however, in the hands of Megan Reynolds (V) there were no such worries. She gave one of the most accomplished and intelligent performances seen in BTT for some time. Her innate understanding of the character and her impeccable delivery of the verse were impressive and

contributed greatly to the overall success of the production. It is a testament to Julian Freemanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s direction that there were no weak performances â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the main characters were ably supported by Archie Rhind-Tutt (g) who navigated the tortuous speeches of Lancelot Gobbo with aplomb, and

Michael Thonger (V, Prince of Arragon) & Angus Walker (B, Prince of Marocco) who had enormous fun with their delicious cameos and brought much humour to the evening. Hettie Touquet (D, Nerissa), Olivia Hurley (P, Jessica), Oliver Goode (R, Old Gobbo), Anthony Kane (g, Tubal), Chris Goetz (P, Duke of Venice), Jeremy Wong (S, Leonardo) and Jack Lee (B, Balthasar) all gave excellent performances and contributed to a stylish and impressive production. May the tradition of high quality Shakespeare live long at Charterhouse! Kennef Bloak

losing itself in the character and leads them to be a consciously critical observer. Set in a nursery in the 1950s we see into the daily lives of seven young children and their relationships with one another. Each character has a particular fondness for one object, ideal or status – for example money or a perfect household. These appetites are based around a nursery rhyme, which ultimately dictates their adulthood. For example the character ‘Freddie’, who is influenced by ‘Humpty Dumpty’, endeavours to be the brave daredevil and in time alienates himself from his friends in fear of his own inadequacy. Each character shone through with its individual trait and provoked the audience to connect with the actors while keeping in theme with Brecht’s creation of ‘epic theatre’.

Distance & Enchantment A2 Devised Pieces BTT LQ 10 Neverland Lost Inspired by the distinguished German practitioner Bertolt Brecht, this piece explores the effects of socio-psychological issues experienced in childhood on later life. Brecht is famous for his ‘Verfremdungseffekt’ which is the ‘distancing effect’ that aims to disengage the audience from passively

The cast: Megan Reynolds (V), Elise De Nardi (V), Robin Cowie (G), Freddie Mills (g), Oliver Melvin (S), Peter Wright (V) & Michael Thonger (V)

Rat Races This piece studies Bertolt Brecht’s theory of using drama as a forum for political ideas and as a discussion of the aesthetics of consumerism. Centred on the childhood story of the race between the hare and the tortoise, one despairing father (played well by Archie Rhind-Tutt) explains to his child the irony of the contrast with real life. He reverses the tale and explains that greed and cunning are the only ways to succeed. The drama, spoken in verse, revolves around how money dominates today’s society but through the medium of a nursery story. The actors played talking animals in this tale – a tortoise, a hare and a rat. These characters were sustained thoroughly throughout to give an effective performance.

Again, ‘Verfremdungseffekt’ distances the audience so it becomes a consciously critical observer: it engages intellectually, rather than passively being entertained; we are forced to question the meaning behind the actors’ words, and read the subtext of the tale. This piece of ‘epic theatre’ impressively provoked the minds of the audience members and led them to question the morality of money’s prominence in contemporary civilization. Venetia Menzies (g) The cast: Will Westerman (S), Archie Rhind-Tutt (g), Jamie Manton (B), Jasmine Shaddock (H), Luke Millington Drake & Olivia Peacock (W)

Home at Last The Band Show BTT CQ 10 Charterhouse Jazz band toured Malta [qv p62] at the end of the Easter holidays, and accounted for 18 168ths of the Carthusians-in-exile when the ash cloud from the Icelandic volcano caped air travel for nearly a week. Post-tour gigs have a special musical quality: the intensive programme of rehearsal, performance and recreation yields a super-smooth blend – thus the 2010 Band Show was especially satisfying. ‘The Anvil Chorus’ filled the acoustically unlovely theatre with warm syncopations. ‘When the Lights Go On Again’ (with fabulous muted trumpet bites and brushed swing drumming) was performed, bafflingly enough, with the lights off; I used the glow from my portable ‘phone* to read my programme, but I knew that Jasmine Shaddock (H) was playing the trombone solo. Miss Shaddock’s trombone playing is (like the cherry pie in Twin Peaks’s Double R diner) damn’ fine – with a magical just-so quality… infinitely flexible and interesting. Michael Thonger (V) – a seasoned BTT funnyman – came on to do ‘Gap Yah’, a skit familiar to most of us from the www. Thonger skilfully cranked up the humour as he went, so that the lines seemed to get better and better. My neighbour and I laughed a lot – but we were more or less on our own, possibly because the joke is on young ex-publicschoolies which (for better or worse) the audience members (mostly current Carthusians) are bound to become sooner or later; we old ex-public-schoolies were (and are) just as laughable – but not in quite this way. Two more faves followed on –

Photographs by Oliver Epp (D)

this was not a big problem for this able comedy trio. Xavier Hetherington, with Sinatra-inpsired moves and white winklepickers, was the solo vocalist in ‘A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square’; the band accompanied beautifully – Hetherington shimmied off for the instrumental verse, and shimmied back on for the pay-off. Hetherington has the voice for this stuff, and no doubt that he will be fronting similar numbers in 2011 & 2012…‘Sunny Side of the Street’, perhaps. The finale was ‘Running Wild’ – a fast 12-bar blues packed with incident; Ben Phillips’s (g) explosive drumbreak, ending up on the cowbell, was my favourite bit. I have attended every Band Show since 1997… it’s an annual treat like Xmas. This year’s sound was brassier than it was saxy; the drumming was tidy – suitably discreet most of the time, but with some spectacular fills; both guitarists were superb – the bass line (Ed Roberts, G) buoyantly rhythmic, and the solos (Anthony Buswell, g) deftly diverting. Music is 90% putting out the chairs and stands… and arranging the music, etc; this excellent Band Show was, as usual, the product of Roger Smeeton’s meticulous attention to detail and tireless behind-the-scenes organisation. MLJ Blatchly *At last, a use for this dismal contrivance – though it makes a dim torch, and the light keeps going out. ** The dinner jacket dubbed ‘tux’ comes from Tuxedo Park New York State, then there’s Tuxedo Manitoba... take your pick.

‘Tuxedo Junction’ (from a jazz club in Tuxedo** Park, Birmingham Alabama) & ‘American Patrol’ (you all know where America is). ‘The Brain Surgeon’ (Peter Wright, V; Michael Thonger; Robin Cowie, G; Jasmine Shaddock; Xavier Hetherington, G) is a loosely constructed play on words about plonking pomposity; it raised a good laugh or two. ‘Hurt’ – performed by Oscar Bashall (G, voice & acoustic guitar) did not raise laughs. Deliciously it did not match the rest of the show; Bashall (and his music) wore jeans – put a few slivers of red chilli on the avocado. Bashall is an intriguing artist – versatile and assured; here was a new sound from him – a rich lower vocal register, with the familiar Bashall anguished upper range warmed up to match. The song (chorus: ‘What have I become?’) was well structured, delicate figuration interspersed with light strumming. RWS included ‘St Louis Blues’ & ‘Song of India’ to placate those fans who (like me) were inconsolable at the nonappearance in this year’s show of ‘Song of the Volga Boatmen’ [next year, please!]; here again were the impeccable timing and attention to tone colour which underpin great big band playing. By popular demand Wright, Thonger & Cowie reprised ‘Gerald the Gorilla’ from LoT 2010 – a strong piece on an unusual premise: a loquacious primate who effortlessly twits his anthropologist captor. Written for telly, this sketch originally segued into another so it has no punch-line – but

As We Liked It AS Scripted Practical Performance BTT CQ 10 Extracts from three widely varying plays were performed by the AS theatre studies group to a packed and appreciative audience on 17th May. The first play was Doubles by Michael Frayn, in which two married couples have similar problems in adjacent hotel rooms. Miles (Peter Barlow, V) and Melanie (Georgia Newbold, V) arrive first in one room closely followed by Laurence (Toby Sherwood, H) and Lynn (Venetia Menzies, g) in the other. Each couple’s lives mirrors the other’s – both literally and metaphorically – in an inventive, moving, but also funny piece. All four actors gave outstanding performances, not only rising to the technical challenge of performing this demanding work but also the psychological angst of two couples in less than satisfactory marriages who seem ‘doomed to be doubles’. The production was further enhanced by the outstanding lighting of David Stephens (P), who offered lighting design for the exam. He dealt with the changes of locale, time of day and intermittent outbursts from the televisions in the rooms, seamlessly. This was followed by Me and My Friend by Gillian Plowman. This was a challenging play about four characters recently discharged from psychiatric hospitals and trying to come to terms with life on the ‘outside’, whilst living in rented

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‘half-way houses’. It required enormous sensitivity and power from the four actors; Hettie Touquet (D), Georgina Ambrose (H), Jeremy Wong (S) and Luke Millington-Drake (V) were all equal to the task and proved themselves to be accomplished and mature performers in a piece which demands soul-searching and technique of the highest order. The evening concluded with Lucky Seven by Alexis Zegerman. Based on Michael Apted’s television series/documentary Seven Up, it explores the lives of those individuals who took part in the series at different times in their lives; in this case the ages of 21 and 49. The age and class differences between the characters were captured superbly by Emily Stovold (S) as the upper crust Catherine, Oliver Plummer (L) as the middle class would-be film writer, and Charlie Pelling (R) as the working class owner of an underwear factory from the East End. All three brought a real sense maturity and expertise to their respective roles as the friction (and attraction) between the characters unfolded and the pressure of living their lives in the goldfish bowl of television began to tell. Julian Freeman

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Pale, Thin & Unusual

Thwarted Moan

Newton BTT OQ 09

Saunderites House Drama

Every year a guest actor comes to Charterhouse to perform an educational play on the life and work of a great figure from the history of science – this year, Sir Isaac Newton was played by Peter Joyce. Born on Christmas Day 1642, Newton was a very sick child; he survived childhood but remained pale and thin, developing into an unusual and extremely clever boy. At school he was bullied and called ‘names, names, names, names, names, names!’ – therefore he began to retreat into his own mind, and to make many different scientific discoveries. One such involved measuring the area of an irregular shape using smaller and smaller rectangles. Newton called this fluxions and used this method to measure the orbits of the planets, and to find out how the universe worked. He discovered the visible spectrum which results when light hits a prism, and said that he had added colour to the world. He claimed to have improved upon Galileo’s telescope by using mirrors rather than lenses; this, he thought, was his greatest invention – but not his greatest discovery, which was the discovery of gravity. We know the story of the apple falling on his head, but in this show Newton wondered why when he threw some stones at a bull they all fell to the ground as they flew – and he went on to relate his discovery of terrestrial gravity to his work on the orbits of moons and planets. We learned about Newton’s three laws of motion. Although all Newton’s chief discoveries and inventions were described to us in drama, the play’s unifying theme was a celebration of the fact that we all think and act differently. This show was hugely enjoyable – and Sir Isaac made audience members feel more involved by spraying them with water and popping balloons in their ears, as well as enlightening them with Newtonian theories thoroughly and effectively explained: an amazing feat – for one man to keep an audience of cynical IVth-formers captivated whilst providing both humour and knowledge. Mark Fischel (g)

In All in the Timing – a collection of one-act plays by David Ives – we witness a young couple meeting for the first time, having umpteen attempts at the same conversation, gradually eliminating all the passion-killing conversational pitfalls in the process (think When Harry Met Sally on Groundhog Day); we see the ghost of Trotsky, gradually realising that he is dead and trying to understand why there is an axe (precariously) embedded in his head; we eavesdrop on some of the proverbial monkeys, doomed to spend eternity trying to randomly write Hamlet, but actually lapsing into Paradise Lost and so on. Reading summaries of these scenarios, one might have been forgiven for expecting an evening of not-quiteStoppard, destined to be received in politely bewildered silence. In fact, an audience drawn from a number of houses, but dominated by Saunderite IVth-formers and removes, seemed genuinely delighted to have something clever and mischievous to watch. It is, of course, traditional not to single out the strongest performers in this kind of venture; after all, the main point of the average house play is to soak up the kind of time which might otherwise have been spent in Gownboys Garden, or playing computer games, rather than to earn critical plaudits. Since this did not appear to be the case with this particular venture, perhaps I can be forgiven for saying that Walter Bayliss is maturing into a rather acceptable Hugh Grant substitute; that Ellie Buchanan gave a very acceptable impression of someone well-used to fending off disappointing suitors in cafés; that Callum Morganti’s ape impression is absolutely uncanny; that Tasso Dattenburg-Doyle’s dandyish puzzlement comes more naturally to him with every passing day; that George Handscomb evidently could not believe his luck; and that Cara Armstrong has the poise and self-awareness of a truly gifted comic actress, without the self-regard or defensive irony of the average specialist wannabe. One of the great pleasures of middle age is having the chance to moan about the young – so it’s always a bit annoying when Carthusians show anything like initiative, enthusiasm, or talent. On all of these counts, this was very annoying indeed, in that it was a completely self-generated project, initiated and directed by Jeremy Wong. Worse than that, with the help of his co-directors, he managed to draw genuinely stylish and entertaining performances out of actors who clearly understood the author’s quite tricksy intellectual games well enough to cope quite casually with selfconsciously repetitive scripts, and to draw an enthusiastic response from a positive and receptive audience. Bewildering. CRGH

Left:- Unsung heroes

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Sport football League Champions

1st XI vs Eton – Julian Hornby (g) scoring

1st XI vs Aldenham – Charlie Evans (W)

The 1st XI had something of a curate’s egg of a season but they knew when to get it right and, with a little more consistency, might have been able to boast a record to match any. History will recall that they won the Southern Independent Schools League and reached the Quarter Finals of the Boodles ISFA Cup where they lost narrowly away at Millfield. In the course of the season they scored over 50 goals and Julian Hornby’s (g) personal haul of 14 goals was the second highest individual tally in the past ten years. There was little sign of this success in early September, however, when a tame 1-1 draw with Forest was followed by a home defeat to Alleyn’s in the first league match of the season. These set-backs seemed to goad the team into action and a scintillating performance at St Bede’s followed by an equally good first half against Lancing put them back into the hunt for the league title. More good performances followed with comfortable victories over Eton (4-1) and Winchester (61) where both Hornby and Harry Lineker (g) scored hat-tricks. A sloppy defeat at Bradfield and the surrender of a 3-1 lead against Westminster blotted the copybook somewhat but the post-Exeat period was lit up by an outstanding victory at Repton against a very polished side and an equally accomplished 0-0 draw at Ardingly which opened the door

1st XI vs Forest – Harry Walford (g)

1st XI

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1st XI at the Madejski Academy – James Kinsey (g) and Harry Lineker (g)

1st XI at the Madejski Academy – Charlie Evans (W) and Shubby Odunowo (D)

to the league play-off final. Hornby’s goal at Repton where he beat two men down the left touchline, cut inside and unleashed an unstoppable shot will live long in the memory and was surely the goal of this or any other season. Meanwhile the Boodles ISFA Cup continued its trend of offering nothing but away fixtures. The team travelled to St Columba’s in St Alban’s, Wolverhampton GS and to Binfield to play the Licensed Victuallers and won each time by the odd goal. Millfield away in the quarter final always looked a bridge too far and 0-3 down with ten minutes left a lesser team would have been ready to accept their fate. They scored twice in those ten minutes and could so easily have had a third when Hornby deflected a fierce drive from Harry Walford (g) into the arms of the grateful keeper. There was more drama about the staging of the league playoff final than took place in the match itself. Twice postponed at Corinthian-Casuals’ ground through bad weather, it became difficult to find a date to suit both sides. Eventually it was agreed to play at Wallingford FC on the last day of February. Again the pitch proved unfit and the match had to be played on the artificial 3G surface at the John Madejski Academy in Reading. The highlights of a scrappy match

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1st XI vs Hampshire – Tom Bray (W) and Charlie Kimmins (R) 1st XI vs Hampshire – Harry Lineker (g)

1st XI vs Forest – Julian Hornby

1st XI vs Hampshire – Edward Mole (P)

1st XI vs OCs – Oliver Plummer (L)

1st XI scoring against Forest

punctuated by lost balls proved decisive: Michael Fatsis (P) saved a penalty just before half-time and James Kinsey (g) scored with a header seven minutes into the second period to land Charterhouse the trophy for the second time in the four years of its existence.

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2nd XI vs Lancing – Jonathan Denham (W)

2nd XI vs Lancing – Fraser Ross (L)

U16 vs Forest – Julien Tavel (D)

Football continues to flourish at Charterhouse at all levels. In all age groups it is easier to pick out the defeats than the victories, since defeats are a much rarer commodity. The 2nd XI lost only to St Edmund’s 1st XI and were able to count a strong OC team amongst their victims. They conceded a miserly 11 goals in 14 games and three of those came in a ‘carnaval’ last match of the season against Highgate when the 2nds replied with eight goals of their own. The 3rd XI went through all 13 matches unbeaten with ten victories and only three goals conceded all season while scoring 36. Lest it be thought that Charterhouse football is founded solely on

U16 vs The Hill School

U16 vs The Hill School – Hal Briggs (S)

Other football 2010

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U16 vs Bradfield – Ben Phillips (g)

U16 vs Forest – Tim Downes (L)

U16 vs Bradfield – Robert Carnegie-Brown (W)

U15 vs Winchester – Gameliel Chyne Mylliem (G)

U15 vs Winchester – Harry Coe (R)

watertight defence the 4th, 5th and 6th XIs managed to concede 5 (twice) 6, 7 and 8 (twice) in various matches but all had successful seasons. In the lower school, the U16A team lost only twice – early in the season to St Bede’s and late on to their customary nemesis, Royal Russell’s 1st XI. The U16B and U16C teams also had winning seasons and witnessed plenty of goals between them with 102 for or against in the 19 games they played.

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U14 vs St Bede’s – Henry Morgan (L)

U14 vs Ardingly – Jonathan Hatt (g) U14 vs St Bede’s – Joshua Andrade Brown (L) U14 scoring against Bradfield

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The U15A team were unlucky to exit the ISFA Cup in the early stages, mugged by one exceptional player from John Lyon. That defeat apart, they lost only twice more and have the makings of a fine side, the core of which will be defending the School’s honour at the Gothia Cup in Sweden. There were as many as five teams playing in this age group and all had successful seasons. The most remarkable was the U15D team which amassed no fewer than 48 goals in just six contests, one of which they lost. The U14A team showed similar promise and recorded some very impressive victories as well as one or two of the unlikely defeats which often plague this age group. They averaged almost four goals a game and, with the U14B team also scoring freely, the prospects look very bright for the future.

Six-a-Sides P vs S ’Tics S vs D – SPMA

W vs H Yearlings – Gus Giddins (W)

Turning Up

L vs D – Jamie Ferguson (D)

OCs vs Fulham Academy – RPN lends a helping hand

Weekites ruled the competitions appearing in six finals winning four, whilst Duckites appeared in five finals and won one. Senior House D beat S 2-1 Junior House W beat g 4-0 Senior Sixes g beat D Junior Sixes won by W Senior Plate V beat R 2-0 Junior Plate G beat P 2-2 1st ’tics W beat S 3-2 Yearlings B beat L 3-0 Colts V beat L 5-1

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parried by Moni-Nwinia in the Daviesite goal on the stroke of half time. Nine minutes into the second half, Tavel shot wide for Daviesites after a neat cut back from Ferguson. More nervous play ensued before, right at the death, Saunderites came perilously close with Sam Jenkins heading over inside the six yard box. The match seemed destined for penalties as it trudged into extra time. However, with the ball pinging about on the edge of the Daviesite box, Scott Simpkin, (a man riddled with injury throughout the 5th XI’s long and industrious campaign), swung his left boot at the ball. The ball curled past Nwinia sending the Saunderites faithful into raptures. This looked like a heartbreaker for Daviesites; but they should have known that the competition still had some life in it yet. At the end of the first half of extra time, the ball was whipped across from the left. The Daviesite captain, Shubby Odunowo, leapt like a salmon and sent a looping header past Rowe. Extra time had already conjured up more action than the previous seventy minutes. Due to an injury, Daviesites sent on little known Faris Rahbani. The second half of extra time produced nerves from both sides until the game moved into stoppage time. Daviesites managed to find some space and the ball ran to Rahbani. Letting the ball run across his body, he fired high past Rowe. Everyone was stunned. The U16B’s man had just created a fairytale ending for Daviesites as their fans danced in jubilation. Rahbani was mobbed by his teammates. With seconds remaining, Saunderites tried to launch one final push but their efforts were in vain. Rahbani had won the game with a moment of magic, the sort which epitomised the freak nature of the 2009 Senior House Cup. Archie Rhind-Tutt (g)

House Match Final Daviesites 2 Saunderites 1 Senior House Final It is difficult to explain the drama of the 2009 Senior House Cup. Partly because of all those that fell before the final and the drama which unfolded during its final minutes. No one seemed to boast the same prowess as Duckites and Weekites with their 8 1st XI players combined. Yet somehow both were knocked out. Duckites fell to Pageites 1-0 whilst Weekites lost out to Saunderites in the semi-final on penalties. By the time the final came, Seeds 1, 2, 3 and 4 had all been knocked out. This left 5th seeds Saunderites and 9th seeds Daviesites to battle out the final. It wasn’t the prettiest of games to say the least. Chances were at a premium and both teams seemed nervous: perhaps understandable with only one 1st XI regular, Seb Cox, on the field. The match never really took off. It might have, had Sam Jenkins’s header from Jack Chard’s cross not been ruled out for offside after 18 minutes. Cox had a long ranged effort

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Sport hockey A Disappointing Season

1st XI vs Tonbridge – Julian Hornby (g)

1st XI vs Tonbridge – Joshua Doble (S) makes (another) save

1st XI vs Tonbridge – Jonathan Webb (g)

The 1st XI suffered its most disappointing season for many years and only an outstanding victory at previously unbeaten Radley on the last Saturday of the season did anything to lift the gloom. It seemed that the hockey gods were set against the School from the outset. Having decided not to go abroad for preseason training for the first time in a number of years, the team managed just one frozen match against Taunton school

1st XI vs Tonbridge – Oliver Greenhalgh (H)

1st XI

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1st XI vs Tonbridge – Charles Kimmins (R)

2nd XI vs Cranleigh – Edward Mole (P)

before the snow intervened. On the first week-end of Quarter the snow was so bad that Wellington sent their whole school home and cancelled all fixtures. Meanwhile Charterhouse had bulldozed the snow off the Astro and stood ready and waiting. Eventually Wellington were shamed into bringing their 1st XI but were only prepared to treat the School’s longest standing fixture as a practice match. Three days later a powerful Canford side arrived for the first

round of the Boarding Schools Cup. After five minutes one of the senior colours tore a fetlock never to be seen again and at 0-1 down Charterhouse missed a penalty stroke which might have got them back into the game. The season went rapidly downhill from then on. Nor had aunty Nemesis finished with her tricks: matches which might well have been won – St George’s, Reed’s, Eton – were lost to the weather; the tougher games – Kingston GS, Cranleigh, RGS Guildford – went ahead. Two of these exemplify the season: against St George’s a sudden flurry of snow rendered the Astro unplayable at lunch-time and the game had to be called off. Meanwhile on the other side of Guildford not a flake fell and the 2nd XI romped to a comfortable victory. Against Cranleigh a wonderfully resilient performance saw the score stand at 1-1 with less than ten minutes on the clock. Charterhouse were attacking when Cranleigh broke out of defence. The ball appeared to go into touch and the home defence hesitated fatally. Cranleigh scored and broke the spirit which had resisted them for over an hour. It is fair to say that this was not a vintage Charterhouse team and there were games, most notably at Bradfield and Epsom, where their own shortcomings led to their downfall. Nevertheless, they played with spirit and determination, epitomised by their ubiquitous captain, Charlie Russell-Jones (W), who did the work of three men quelling opposition attacks, covering for his colleagues and prompting, urging and encouraging throughout. The triumph at Radley was the very least he deserved for his season’s efforts.

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U16s vs Guildford Hockey Club – Tim Downes (L)

U16s vs Guildford Hockey Club – Alex Curry (L)

2nd XI vs Cranleigh – Felix Hamer (R)

2nd XI vs Cranleigh – Oscar Royds (W)

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U15 vs Guildford Hockey Club – Harry Coe (R)

U15 vs Bradfield – Ashley Beddows (W)

U14 vs Epsom – Rory Peplow (W)

U15 vs Bradfield – Tom Gordon-Martin (S)

U16 vs Guildford Hockey Club – Jack Reynolds (H)

U14 vs Epsom – Huw Reynolds (S)

U14 vs Epsom – Gus Giddins (W)

Other hockey best for last with a 3-0 victory over Radley while the U15C and D teams lost only three times between them in 13 outings. Traditionally, KDB is faced with the biggest problem trying to find a team and a system for the yearlings in such a short Quarter. It was compounded by the weather this year but the U14A team emerged with great credit winning five of its seven matches, while the yeargroup as a whole managed more wins than defeats between the six teams fielded regularly and showed real promise for the future.

The disappointments of the 1st XI were reflected in the performances of the other senior teams who also fared worse than in recent years, but on a much smaller scale. The 2nd XI lost as many matches to the weather as they did to other schools and ended up with five wins and three defeats in a very stop-start season. The programmes for the 3rd XI and Vagabonds teams were also reduced, but all managed more wins than defeats with Tonbridge and Radley causing the most problems. In the lower school things looked considerably brighter: the U16A team went unbeaten conceding only six goals in a season which saw them win six and draw two of their matches. There was depth in this year group, too, as the U16B team won five out of seven and the U16C team won all five of their matches. In the U15 yeargroup the U15A team took a little time to find a winning formula but finished with three wins and a draw in their last four matches and ended up with a winning season. The U15B team saved the

Turning Up

D vs g – Jonty Webb (g) scores

Senior Housematch final Junior Housematch final Senior League Colts Yearlings Sports Monday Indoor Robbie Allen Cup

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Robinites beat Saunderites 2-0 Weekites beat Girdlestoneites 1-0 Bodeites beat Verites 4-0 Weekites beat Lockites 0-0 (3-0 pfs) Bodeites beat Weekites 3-1 Saunderites beat Robinites Charles Russell-Jones (W)

The game was well contested with Doble and Imrie in the S defence battling to keep four 1st XI colleagues in the Robinite team at bay. Chard and Cox had led the 2nd XI attack through the season and hoped to spring a few surprises. There was a crucial moment when Fergus Imrieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strike at a short flew past Goode in the Robinite goal but was deemed too high by the umpires. Then in the latter stages of the match the composure and skill of the Robinites took over. Kimmins and Hamer grew in confidence and created a few chances, but in the end the match was won by two short corners converted by Alex Rozier-Pamplin. His drag flick beat Doble and Imrie to prove what the 1st XI had missed throughout this season with his injury in the first School match. Thus Robinites hold the cup for another year.

House Match Final Robinites 2 Saunderites 0 When one of the favourites stumbles in the semi-final it gives a chance for a newcomer to challenge for the honours. This Year Duckites imploded, despite their potential on paper, when Saunderites put up a spirited effort to hold them to a 1-1 draw. Then the Saunderites converted their penalties in style whilst Josh Doble proved too sharp for the Ducks. The final was contested on the last afternoon of LQ as the floodlights replaced the setting sun. Once again the protagonists were an Old House competing against a New House. This in fact was a rerun of the Indoor final in OQ when Saunderites surprised the favourites.

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Sport cricket Not Enough Runs

1st XI vs MCC – Julian Hornby (g)

1st XI vs St Peter’s – Julian Hornby the wicket keeper

1st XI vs Cranleigh – Charlie Evans (W)

It was always going to be difficult to follow the outstanding season of 2009 and the major concern before the start of this season centred around where the runs were going to come from. In the first match Charlie Evans (W) scored a fine century and fifth-former, Tom Gallyer (S), scored fifty in a comfortable victory over I Zingari and hopes and expectations were raised. Sadly, it proved to be a false dawn since only two more fifties were scored in the rest of the regular season and both of those came in one match against Cranleigh. Initially, a good start to the innings was followed by a heavy collapse, but later a pattern of batsmen getting a start but simply not being able to go on with it was established. It became a depressingly regular occurrence for batsmen to get into the 20s and then find ways of getting themselves out. Julian Hornby (g), the captain, and Shevantha de Soysa (S) with a chanceless 106, finally broke the mould in the 2-day game at

1st XI vs MCC – Shevantha de Soysa (S)

1st XI Cricket

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1st XI – Tom Gallyer bowling against St Peter’s 1st XI – Andrew Corridan (W) bowling against MCC 1st XI – Edward Birkett (D) bowling against St Peter’s

Cranleigh, but it was too little, too late. The inevitable fallibility of the batting put extra pressure on a bowling attack already weakened by the loss of both last season’s opening bowlers to the pressure of exams. By and large the bowling was tidy without being spectacular but Ed Birkett (D) produced some venom at times with the new ball and will treasure the wicket of Eton’s star player, Vanderspar, for many years to come. Gallyer took five wickets against Westminster and Jack Ryder-Smith (g) also took five at Harrow, but the pick of the bowlers was undoubtedly Andrew Corridan (W) who took 24 wickets in 200 overs of beautifully controlled left-arm spin and had the knack of putting the brake on opposition innings just as they were looking to push on. It was not all doom and gloom. There were good wins against Cranleigh and Bradfield and a fine victory over the best Westminster side for many years who arrived at Charterhouse with thirteen wins already under their belt and high hopes of another. They went home chastened after an excellent fielding display gave the School a deserved 19-run victory. For the rest it was very much a case of what might have been but with three Fifth-formers in the side, a total of six colours returning next year and a Christmas tour to South Africa hopes are high for a better season in 2011.

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1st XI vs Tonbridge – Aex Rozier-Pamplin (R) 2nd XI vs Eton – Tom Davies (B)

The 2nd XI’s season was almost as disappointing as the 1st XI’s but they did have the great pleasure of beating Eton’s 2nd XI on Green. Victory was all the sweeter since it was the genuine Eton 2nd XI after enduring a number of seasons when the opposition had sent a weaker side. In contrast Maniacs cricket is flourishing. Between them, the Maniacs A, B and Combined Maniacs teams played a host of fixtures and the wily Robert Bogdan’s astute handing of affairs brought the Maniacs B team six victories in seven matches against various village sides. The U16A team suffered from losing their three best players to the 1st XI but still put up some sterling performances and won as many matches as they lost. James Robin’s century in a losing cause against Tonbridge was probably the highlight. The U16B season is limited to a handful of fixtures before

U16 vs Winchester – Alec McClean (R)

Other cricket

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U16 vs Winchester â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Gavroche Gergaud (G)

U16 vs Winchester U15 vs Cranleigh

Exeat and they won the majority of these. The U15A team had a moderately successful season with several good wins. There was a slight tinge of disappointment, however, that a team with this much promise did not do better still. They reached the final of the Surrey U15 20/20 competition and must have fancied their chances when they had reduced Whitgift to 66-6 but in the end they were disappointed. The bowling of Tom Mason (g) was the feature of this side as he took a remarkable 28 wickets with his well controlled leg-spin. The U15B team was less successful but ended the season with a thrilling tie against Wellington.

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U15 vs St John’s – Tom Mason (g) bowling

rather better in the Surrey Cup winning through to a final against Cranleigh with impressive victories over Whitgift and Willson’s in the quarter- and semi-finals. The U14B, U14C and U14D teams also won more than they lost and there are very good grounds for optimism about the future.

U14 vs Wimbledon – Henry Clinton (W)

Like the year above, the U14A team showed much promise. They won most of their matches and, apart from the defeat by Eton, came very close to winning the matches they lost. They had a run towards the end of the season when they lost in successive games by 4 runs, 1 wicket and 1 run. They fared

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D vs L – Oliver Plummer bowling

Cricket House Match Final Weekites vs Duckites

The Final – Archie Hill batting for Weekites

On a beautiful summer’s day the two strongest sides from this year’s tournament met on Green to contest the Senior House Final. Weekites won the toss and had no hesitation in electing to bat first on a perfect wicket and a fast outfield. However, when Harry Lineker removed former First XI player Tom Bray first ball, things were looking good for the Duckite team. It was short lived optimism as first Charlie Evans, then his younger brother Sam and finally Archie Hill plundered runs at will and a score of 240 in 20 overs was an impressive total. In reply the Duckite innings struggled to get going as Andrew Corridan and then Rob Carnegie-Brown applied the brakes and took regular wickets. The final total of 140 all out was a hundred runs short and a fair reflection of a one-sided final. Credit must go to both sets of players for the impeccable standard of behaviour throughout the match and also many parents who turned up to watch. Martin Bicknell

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Other Sport

While one assumes and trusts that football, hockey and cricket will always be manned by capable personnel, the success and development of many of the other sports depends to a large degree on the enthusiasm and energy of its participants and the expertise and willingness of Brooke Hall. So it is that sailing has had to take something of a back seat for a while since there is no member of Brooke Hall able to devote sufficient time to running it effectively. Nevertheless, while sailing has been reduced to the exclusive domain of the RN Section of the CCF, badminton, fencing, fives and rowing are all experiencing a real upsurge in popularity and success. The badminton team now comprises an U19 team and a girls’ team as well as an U16 team who are Surrey South champions; the fencing team has increased its fixture list to include the likes of Eton and St Paul’s and had great success in the regional championships with Elizabeth Rose-Innes (P) winning the foil and Antoine Grey (B) finishing in the top three in his age group; the fives team had three of the four pairs in the semi-finals of the Southern Schools U14 novices tournament and also reached the final of the national U14 championships; and the rowers celebrated the opening of

Racquets – Alex Rozier-Pamplin (R) at Queen’s Club

Upsurge in Popularity

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Fives success

XV vs Hurtwood House â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Oliver Quintin-Archard (L) touching down

their new boat house with trophies at the Ball Cup and the Chiswick and Walton & Weybridge regattas. These successes have not replaced the more established sports but rather have built on them. Ben Jobson (S) won the county intermediate high jump and came second in the regional championships; three of our cross country team qualified to run for Surrey; the golfers went unbeaten throughout the OQ and were unlucky to draw a very powerful Wellington team in the first round of the Gerald Micklem competition; the karate team won a host of medals at the national championships; the rugby team had its best season

Ben Jobson (S)

Huw Reynolds (S)

Sam Harvey (B) and Henry Shore (B) reached the final of the U14 National Championships played at Highgate School. They lost against a very strong Shrewsbury pair having beaten Eton 1 in the semi-finals. Huw Reynolds (S) and Tom Barley (S) won the Southern Schools tournament played at Charterhouse in October.

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House Athletics

Tom Williams (V)

Fotis Lykiardopulo (S) Photograph by Henry Chow (W 09)

for many years winning six matches out of nine; the squash team also had a very good season with the highlight being a magnificent performance by the U15 team in the national championships where they went down to favourites Lancing by the narrowest of margins; the senior swimming team won almost all of its matches and came 7th out of 54 schools in the prestigious Otter Medley Relay; the tennis team was strong in all age groups and the seniors reached the 3rd round of the Youll Cup before being beaten by Repton in a match which could have gone either way; and the U18 water polo team reached the national finals for the third time in the last four years. In short School sport is as healthy as ever and as diverse. There is no reason to believe that it will not continue to go from strength to strength in the years to come.

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managed to remain competitive in all of these. Indeed, girls’ participation in sport over the two winter Quarters continues to grow, so that the School now fields a 2nd hockey XI and as many as four netball teams. Furthermore, enthusiastic advances from coaches of other sports has seen the inception of a girls’ badminton team and the involvement of girls in rowing and fencing as well as the re-emergence of girls teams for swimming, athletics and cross country. Nor are the girls simply making up numbers. Camilla Maudsley (L) and Annabelle Bonham (V) qualified to run cross-country for Surrey and Elizabeth Rose-Innes (P) won the Southern Region Girls U18 foil championships. Meanwhile, in the more established sports the hockey team showed real promise at times and won a number of matches with captain, Chantal Cox-George (S), averaging almost a goal a game. The first years have been rewarded with another planned trip to Spain next year. The netball team continued to prove difficult to beat and the lacrosse team, led by Martha Nash (W), won more games than they lost despite injuries to key players at times. Sadly, a casualty of the pressure of exams has been cricket. The girls simply cannot find the time to put in enough basic groundwork to make themselves sufficiently proficient and the heady days of girls playing cricket on Green and Maniacs are a thing of the past at least for the foreseeable future.

Girls’ Sport As Competitive as Ever

Lacrosse vs Cranleigh – Rebecca Rowe (g)

Girls’ sport at Charterhouse is under significant pressure. Most of our traditional rivals (Cranleigh, Wellington, Bradfield, Epsom) are now fully co-ed and this presents a dual problem: not only are they able to select from a much larger base, but they are also able to train the girls for a full five years. At Charterhouse each September sees a new influx of half a team and, naturally, it takes some time for the sides to gel. To compound the problem, the likes of Epsom and Cranleigh are keen to have ‘block’ fixtures which is something which Charterhouse simply cannot offer. Meanwhile, the traditional matches against all-girls schools (Prior’s Field, Tormead, St Catherine’s) are hampered by their refusal to play on any afternoon other than a Wednesday, a culture priority day at Charterhouse. Despite these obstacles, Charterhouse manages to complete a full programme of matches in hockey, lacrosse, netball and tennis as well as some squash and rounders, and has

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Expeditions Pizza & Mud: Equally Enjoyable RM Camp & Pringle Trophy Summer 2009 saw the best ever attendance by the Charterhouse Royal Marine Detachment at the annual RM CCF Camp at Garelochhead. Only the most experienced and capable cadets attend this demanding camp, which usually limits numbers to just one or two from each Detachment. This time three Charterhouse cadets attended; Mike Fatsis (P), Alex Don (R) and Hector Threlfall (P). All three delivered an outstanding performance, including Hector’s victory in the Phil Guy Memorial Race and Alex being awarded Best Cadet at the camp. On our return for OQ 09, thoughts turned to the annual Pringle Trophy; the early weeks of the Quarter were busy with rigorous training for the competition. Led by Mike Fatsis, the Pringle team members threw themselves at the challenge, and dedicated much of their own time to improving their fitness and military skills. An intensive weekend at Pirbright Camp focused on Pringle training but involved the whole RM Detachment. Saturday night pizzas and the infamous mud run on Sunday have now become regular features of the weekend, and it’s a credit to the cadets that both seem to be enjoyed in equal measure. Early autumn and the first weekend of October saw the Charterhouse Pringle Trophy team head down to the Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon. The Pringle Trophy is the annual competition between Royal Marine CCF Detachments from schools throughout the UK. It is a gruelling 48-hour event that pushes to the limit the physical stamina, determination and team-work of the cadet teams. The Charterhouse team was absolutely superb, and gave 100% effort to every challenge, especially the endurance run. This test of physical fitness and sheer grit follows the same rough-terrain course used by regular marine commandos, with a punishing combination of hills and mud-filled ditches. It also includes the notorious water-filled tunnels that spring to mind when one thinks of commando training. Having won the trophy in 2007 and 2008, a hat-trick would have been marvellous. As it was, 4th place overall and winning the medical stance was still a terrific result and a credit to Mike Fatsis and his team – which comprised Alex Don, Hector Threlfall, Will Law (P), Ed Mole (P), Mat Pisk (R), Rob van Meurs (L), Peter Gimson (G) and Tom Hobkinson (R). With Pringle behind us, the OQ programme settled down

The Marine section winning the drill competition into its regular mix of military and physical training. The latter was greatly enhanced by two further sessions of unarmed combat training by Sgt Maj Chandler. A former regular Royal Marine Commando, Sgt Maj Chandler is currently an unarmed combat and firearms instructor for London Transport Police and a member of London Royal Marine Reserve. His training is of the very highest calibre and always appreciated by the RM cadets. Military training continued into the spring of 2010, including two full-bore range afternoons at Ash Ranges and several exercises on the local S5-S6 military training areas. January also marked the departure of our regular Royal Marine Youth Training Team Sergeant ‘Mac’ Macpherson, who was an outstanding instructor and will be greatly missed by the Charterhouse Detachment. We welcome his replacement Sergeant ‘Tommo’ Thompson. Also of particular note in LQ was Ed Mole’s success in being awarded an Army scholarship for university study. Ed has been an outstanding member of the RM Detachment and richly deserves this award. I have every confidence he’ll go on to be an exceptional young officer. LQ Activities Weekend saw another first for the Royal Marine Detachment by way of a tremendous (and rather daunting) day’s vertical assault training provided by Royal Marine mountain leaders down on Dartmoor. Training was thorough and involved plenty of the unique commando humour, which was reassuring considering the height of the climbs and abseils involved! The weekend also involved navigation exercises over the open moor by day and night and an overnight bivouac in temperatures down to -6° C.

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camped in the beautiful surroundings of Knighton Manor Farm in Broad Chalke. Our kind hosts Peter and Caroline Lamb let the boys help out on the farm and the sports programme included swimming and grass court tennis. In the spirit of inter-service cooperation, strong links are

This was all good preparation for the six Royal Marine Cadets who attended the CCF adventure training camp in Snowdonia during the Easter holidays. Based at Capel Curig Training Camp, the week included mountain and water based activities and was both challenging and very enjoyable. Thanks to NSG for his faultless organisation in running the exercise. The future of the RM Detachment looks exciting. Another round of selection has produced twelve superb new IVthform recruits, and even as we bid farewell to our most senior and experienced cadets next year’s Pringle Trophy team is already taking shape. JFA Tully

Wallop, Rock no Roll RAF The RAF Section at Charterhouse is in good health, and larger than at any time in the recent past. The headline activity remains Thursday afternoon flying at Boscombe Down, in which cadets fly the Grob Tutor aircraft alongside experienced

feeding the pigs at Knighton Manor farm

This cooling movement is not from the drill manual being built with the Royal Navy section. Joint expeditions were undertaken in Snowdonia during OQ 09 & LQ 10, during which cadets conducted land- and sea-based training at the National Mountain Centre (Plas-y-Brenin) and the National Watersports Centre (Plas-y-Menai). Charterhouse RAF Section achieved a top-half position in the Regional Air Squadron Trophy competition held at RAF Halton in Oxfordshire during February 2010. The section performed particularly well at physical fitness, with an outstanding result achieved by Charles Rogers (V). As a first for 2010, nine cadets will travel to Virginia as guests of the United States Air Force during the summer holidays. They will be based at Langley Air Force Base, and in addition to military activities they will visit places of interest along the eastern seaboard. This trip is being planned jointly with Haileybury and Campbell College. The RAF Section has been fortunate in having strong leadership from a group of committed senior cadets. Head of Section for 2009-10 was Adrian Tam (G), who distinguished himself by winning a Gliding Scholarship in 2009 and selection for the International Air Cadet Exchange (IACE) in 2010 as one of only twelve cadets nationally. He will travel to Canada as a guest of the Canadian government and visit a range of facilities and attractions during August. Adrian has been very

(Left to right) Underway in their raft: C Rogers (V), J Gonszor (P), T Macfarlane (g), A Tam (G), D Grierson (D), J Kahn (P) pilots using dual controls. Monday afternoon sessions are usually related to the formal syllabus, and this year’s cadets had a good record at Part 1 (removes) and Part 2 (Vth-formers). The RAF Section Vth-formers visited the Hillingdon Outdoors Activity Centre (HOAC) during OQ 09. The day comprised a session on high ropes followed by raft building. The cadets all had good fun whilst building their confidence and team-working skills. Newcomers to the section continue to enjoy the annual summer trip to the west country, which involves flying at the Royal Naval Air Station, Yeovilton – navigation exercises on the South Wiltshire downs – and visits to the Met Office in Exeter, the Hydrographic Office at Taunton, and the Army Air Corps Museum at Middle Wallop. Once again the Section

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RAF and Navy cadets prepared for gorge-walking in Snowdonia ably assisted by Rollo Kirkman (B) who particularly promoted military skills within the section. The Senior Leadership for 2010-11 is Branton Li (G) as Head of Section, and William Davies (g) who will captain the Air Squadron Trophy team. Section Officers are Flt Lt T Reynolds (master-in-charge) and Flt Lt J Kazi, along with Mr A Hunt. FO Peter Hewstone continues to support Charterhouse RAF Section in all its activities. TER

Photograph by Stephan Harker

Above:- RAF cadets enjoying iced-cream on the cobb at Lyme Regis (Photograph by Harry Sherwood H) Left: The Headmaster presents awards Below left:- Yearlings pioneers on the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal (Photograph by Stephan Harker) Below: The art of wearing a cap badge by Ben Clarke

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The Remove Expedition Photographs by Oliver Epp

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Mallory Group on Cadair Idris in October

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Mountain Man

early start in the morning, we were not allowed to depart to our welcoming beds until we had first waterproofed our boots – an essential preparation for walking in the Peak District. We had an early start the next day: whilst preparing our bags and attempting to fit useless gaiters, Mr Noble prepared a mega-breakfast of the full English variety – with black pudding and the works; it was delicious and, even though not many of us knew what black pudding actually consists of, we all tried it in order to satisfy our cook. We took a short drive up Snake Pass – the least reliable road in Britain because it is always the first to close when bad weather sets in. From the minibus we could see the sheer magnitude of Kinder Scout, which still had snow on it in March! We pulled up outside a remote pub and began our climb up a gorge, which began to get steep after only half-an-hour; we reached the summit of Kinder Scout before lunch, finding many muddy slopes upon which we could jump and slide around on. After mucking around on top of the hill we used the sun to navigate. There were plenty of snow-covered gullies which were perfect for jumping down or sliding on and pushing each other down. The walking started to get reasonably mundane once

Mallory Group in the Peak District We went straight from our hockey pitches into the minibus, with Mr Noble driving us safely up to the Peak District to the accompaniment of his light-hearted humour concerning the vital match that West Bromwich Albion (his team) had lost. As we travelled past the crooked spire in Chesterfield, Mr Smeeton recounted the myth of how it would be straightened if five virgins walked past it. We almost got lost on the way to the isolated farm which lay in the lee of Kinder Scout, the mountain that we were to climb in the morning. Our smooth journey came to an abrupt stop as we traversed the isolated farm-land; the road was now rough and uncomfortable, jerking the ’bus-load of people so that we were shaken from our sleep, pulling up outside a surprisingly comfortable bunkhouse; even in the pitch black we could make out the ominous outline of Kinder Scout – and although we felt the cold keenly, we were surprised to see that the pond had frozen over. We stepped inside to be met with a slight smell of damp; the interior of the spacious bunkhouse was bedecked with engraved graffiti – and the beds were shockingly comfortable. Even though it was late, and we had an

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am, with Mr Smeeton sleeping soundly on the sofa in spite of the fact that we celebrated loudly when I had won. We clambered quietly into bed and slept soundly after our 18mile walk. The following morning we packed up and departed to meet a slightly eccentric mountain man called Ken who was there

we had been traversing for two whole hours without encountering a horizon of any description. After lunch we were still at the highest point for many miles around – and we had to go down in order to meet with Mr Noble at the bottom. There were many routes down – but, of course, we chose to scramble down the hazardous river bed occasionally going straight through the river… in which we sank right up to our knees. Somebody sank through the ice up to his hip and we had to pull him out. At the bottom of the valley, surrounded by tumbling rocks, we met Mr Noble for a refill of water and some jovial company; in the distance we could see the almost over-hanging Mam Tor, which blotted out all the sunlight from the view. Some of the group, thinking that we had finished the walk, dropped their bags on the ’bus and sat down; little did they know that, after having already walked for most of the day, we still had to overcome this mountainous hill before sunset. After the sweaty climb up to the top, we arrived on the ridge and shouted our goodbyes to some paragliders as they hurled themselves off the mountains. Walking for another four miles along a ridge with amazing views on both sides, we came down once again to find Mr Noble waiting for us. We showered, whilst Mr Noble prepared a charming tarragon meal after which we had a quiz in which (obviously) the better team won. Although it was already quite late we decided that it would be a good idea to play Monopoly, which could have lasted hours... well, it did: we finished at 2

to guide us to the wreck of an American bomber which crashed in 1946 – walking up the snowy and steep marshy bog, pushing people down slopes and getting some photos taken along the way. We saw several white hares, which are apparently quite rare… though there seemed to be plenty around when we were there. We arrived at the crash site where there were many poppies strewn upon the wreckage. We left Ken near the site and went back to the minibus which was to take us home via curry in Woking. We arrived at school completely exhausted, with the prospect of school the next day. Harvey Jullien (D)

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Planning the Aftermath

zens, or are projects better when they are organised by the project managers (so-called top-down regeneration)? We studied the South Bank, including Coin Street – and the Canary Wharf area, a top-down developed area. One of the highlights of the day was an exercise in area planning in the Olympic education centre: here groups of five pupils had the chance to plan their own plot of land; we actually got to divide up the land hypothetically after the Olympics. Would the whole plot be restaurants? Or even a gas-guzzling industry heaven (excuse the oxymoron)? In the end I seem to remember our group settling on an Hispanic-style concentric culture hot-spot with an artificial lake and some waterside restaurants. Of course, for some people the only highlight was lunch. My only comment on this is that liberty and large department stores in the centre of Canary Wharf do not mix! HJM Sherwood (H)

IVth-form Geography: Olympic Park CQ 10 April 26th: a trip to see the future literally being produced right in front of our eyes – an amalgamation of excitement, education, realisation – and for some people, even freedom. This trip required a colossal amount of planning – and so, on behalf of the year-group, I would like to say a big thank-you to all involved; it was also nice to see some unexpected guests (the Headmaster and sundry beaks) materialising among the groups. The day was not solely about the Olympics and sustainability; we also considered some key geographical issues concerning London and, in fact, the whole world. Regeneration was the focus of the day – and some interesting questions about two different types of regeneration were raised: to simplify – are developments more effective when they are conducted by the actual citi-

G Yearlings Mystery Tour was great fun, with lots of fun and laughter – and I think everyone enjoyed everything we did! My favourite was the go-karting, as I felt it was like the Monaco Grand Prix (which was going on while we raced). The highlight of the day was the go-karting… My favourite part was the go-karting… So, the go-karting went down well. MLJB, HPG Bendit, MHG Brahm, JS Day & JT Figi

Photograph by Mark Blatchly

Way back when, year-groups were thought not to ‘bond’ unless they went on a three-day trip – where they would have the opportunity to (a) spend a great deal of time with one another (b) eat meals together (c) experience things together… er, in fact do all the things you cannot avoid doing (all the time) at a boarding-school. You could equally well look at the house yearlings’ trip as a treat pure & simple – and so, jamming three days’ worth of fun into twelve hours, all that was left to be decided on the G mystery tour (Sunday May 16th) was: what constitutes a treat? The component treats, were (in chronological order): a walk up & down Butser Hill, a picnic in a one-tree grove on Old Winchester Hill, a onechurch crawl (Blomfield’s astonishing 160-ft-spired town church at Privett), go-karting at Camberley, curry in Binscombe, Iron Man 2 in Guildford [so, you see, we traced out a big (if deflated) capital G across Hants & Surrey – so much for house spirit; try photographing that for the G 2014 Yearbook page]. Here’s what was said about the tour: the day

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Mallory Group in Snowdonia in June

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Photograph by Ed Mole (P)

Photographs by Rizwan Bhattia (D)

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Looking Back Classics in Italy Exeat OQ 10 Writing this article now (June 2010), nearly eight months after the Classics trip to Italy, my memory of everything that we did over the course of the week is a little hazy. That’s not to say that it wasn’t a memorable trip; the hard part is fitting it all on this page. Aside from waking up at 4 am, and later landing in Naples in a sea of leather-clad Italian men, the number of Classical sites we visited was, looking back on it, staggering. The amphitheatre at Pozzuoli was our first stop; it’s the third biggest amphitheatre in Italy – large… as well as deserted. It was great to be able to roam underneath it, to see exactly how it was all laid out for the raising of animals and men into the arena (something which is not possible at the Colosseum in Rome); animals kept in chambers below the arena were driven with whips and flaming torches onto platforms which were then raised up through lift shafts by means of pulleys to points underneath trapdoors set into the arena floor. At choreographed moments in the gladiatorial show, the trapdoors were opened, and the animal released (or forced) into the arena. Pompeii was next; this truly was an eye-opener. I had not expected it to be so large and so well preserved; bath-

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houses and brothels retained their beautiful and detailed artwork on the walls and floors. On the outskirts of the town, we were treated to JPF reading Pliny’s account of the eruption of Vesuvius – and to be there listening, in the shadow of the volcano, was certainly memorable. To climb up the mountain later in the week, and to see the clouds of sulphur still being emitted was a great experience. The view was breath-taking too, as you can make out in the back-drop photo. Then there was Herculaneum (basically an upper class Pompeii) – and Cumae, seat of the Sibyl who famously guided Aeneas to the Underworld… and I have barely touched on Rome. The Forum, the Palatine Hill, the Colosseum – places all central to ancient Rome and Italy – are still incred-

ibly well preserved; having read so much about these places in Latin texts, once again I felt a fantastic sense of awe imagining what it must have been like standing in the same spot 2,000 years ago. Finally, the Vatican – and fortunately for us, JPF’s warning that it could take hours to get into the museum proved an over estimate. The museum was amazing – hundreds of statues, busts, mosaics everywhere – as well as the famous statue of Laocoon and his children being strangled by sea-snakes (remarkably free of tourists), and the incredible masterpiece that is the Sistine Chapel (not just the ceiling). I am conscious that this still misses out a lot, but there is just too much to say in such a small space. Fortunately, I still have my 1,500 photos to pore through whenever I want. ALS Herbertson (G)

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Exhibition by Andrew Murdoch Paintings of Charterhouse 30th March - 16th April 2011 Curwen & New Academy Gallery, 34 Windmill Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 2JR 020 7323 4700 www.curwengallery.com Andrew Murdoch (W68) studied Art and History of Art and Architecture under Ian Fleming-Williams. He read Architecture at Pembroke College Cambridge and is now a practising Architect living and working in central London. The Curwen & New Academy Gallery in the West End regularly exhibit his work and have agreed to host an exhibition in April next year entitled ‘Paintings of Charterhouse’ as part of the Quatercentenary Celebrations of the foundation of the school. Originals and prints will be on show of both Charterhouse in London and Surrey. Andrew writes “coming back to the school after a long period away, I was struck by the incredible grandeur and beauty of the high Victorian composition. It is remarkable that these buildings have been so well looked after and have not been altered at all on the exterior. They really are in mint condition.”

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RESEARCH ESSAY PRIZES Naomi Bentley (B) Jeremy Lam (P) Alexander Herbertson (G) Timothy Parsons (B) Justin Ismail (G) Timothy Rose-Innes (S) GREYHOUND AWARDS Timothy Parsons (B) Timothy Rose-Innes (S) Annabelle Bonham (V) Michael Fatsis (P) Chantal Cox-George (S) Samuel Shepherd (H) Callum Edge (S) James Sprake (B) Adrian Tam (G) THE MARK LOUGHLIN PRIZE FOR HISTORY Camilla Maudsley (L) NAMED PRIZES CLASSICS Palamountain Prize Savannah de Savary (V) Elder & Alick Tassell Prize Alexander Herbertson (G) Gordon Whitbread Prize Savannah de Savary (V) Bryant 1A Prize (Latin) David Torkington (P) Bryant 1B Prize (Greek) Xavier Hetherington (G) ENGLISH London Prize Cara Armstrong (S) Anderson Prize Joshua Rawlins (P) Tennant Essay Prize Camilla Maudsley (L) Thackeray Prize Martha Nash (W) ECONOMICS Beveridge Prize Yuri Baranov (V) ART Thomson Prize (Pottery) Elizabeth Kahn (P) Dean Prize (Figure) Antonia Gardner (g) Leech prize (Drawing) Jason Chan (P) Struan Robertson Prize (Painting) Stephanie Wilson(V) Ehrman prize (Design) Grace Reid (S) David Baldwin Prize (Photography) Jamie Manton (B) HISTORY Carter Prize Jin Jae Park (H) Elwyn Prize Camilla Maudsley (L) Balfour Melville Prize Olga Denislamova (D) A S White Prize (2nd Year Spec) Jason Chan (P) Bryant 2 (1st Year Spec) Christopher Goetz (P) MODERN LANGUAGES Havelock Prize 1 (French) Camilla Maudsley (L) Havelock Prize 3 (German) Annabelle Bonham (V) Bushe Fox Prize (Spanish) Olivia Peacock (W) Talbot Prize 1 Justin Ismail (G) PHYSICS Eustace Dallin Wade Prize 1 Jonathan Hall (R) Allsop Prize Henry Mak (G) Beeton Essay Prize Edward Birkett (D) BIOLOGY Eustace Dallin Wade Prize 3 (Removes) James Perry (P) Allen Prize Andre Zylstra (R) Bridge Prize James Reddyhough (B) CHEMISTRY Eustace Dallin Wade Prize 2 (Removes) Benjamin Torvaney (D)

2ND YEAR SPECIALIST SUBJECT PRIZES ART Georgia Davies (G) BIOLOGY Sandy Lau (P) BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT Christie Pemberton (V) & Max Fakhre (V) CLASSICAL CIVILISATION Savannah de Savary (V) CHEMISTRY Sandy Lau (P) DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Joseph Clarke (H) ECONOMICS Annabelle Bonham (V) ENGLISH Oliver Malin (D) FRENCH Robin Cowie (G) GEOGRAPHY Theodora Goodwin (g) GERMAN Annabelle Bonham (V) GREEK Jeremy Lam (P) HISTORY Camilla Maudsley (L) LATIN Alexander Herbertson (G) MATHEMATICS (Double) Lois Liao (R) & Sandy Lau (P) MATHEMATICS (Single) Winnie Wong (g) & Annabelle Bonham (V) MUSIC Timothy Parsons (B) PHYSICS Martin Lesourd (P) POLITICS Christie Pemberton (V) RELIGIOUS STUDIES Callum Edge (S) & Naomi Bentley (B) RUSSIAN Jeremy Lam (P) SPANISH Oliver Malin (D) THEATRE STUDIES Jamie Manton (B) 1ST YEAR SPECIALIST SUBJECT PRIZES ART Tiffany Wheaton (B) BIOLOGY Henry Mak (G) BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT James McCallion (W) CHEMISTRY Jonathan Hung (g) CLASSICAL CIVILISATION Susanna Archer (P) DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Thomas Pinnegar (S) ECONOMICS Kenneth Hui (W) ENGLISH Matthew Foley (R) FRENCH Jacob Bird (D) GEOGRAPHY Rory McDougall (W) GERMAN Charles Bogard (V) GREEK Christopher Goetz (P) HISTORY Laura Rowson (D) LATIN Christopher Goetz (P) MUSIC Jacob Bird (D) MATHEMATICS (Double) Fergus Imrie (S) & Kenneth Hui (W)

MATHEMATICS (Single) Eugenia Lee (H) & Anthony Kane (g) PHYSICS Oliver Sheridan-Methven (P) POLITICS Rory McDougall (W) RELIGIOUS STUDIES Laura Rowson (D) SPANISH Stefan Metaxa (W) THEATRE STUDIES Venetia Menzies (g) THE HARVARD BOOK PRIZE (First Year Specialist) Henry Mak (G) ANCIENT AND MODERN VERSE SPEAKING COMPETITION LATIN Under School (Stuart Prize) Thomas Annable (B) Specialists (Stuart Prize) Anthony Adams (V) FRENCH Under School (O’Meara 1) Sam Mottahedan (R) Specialists (Havelock 2) Anna Novoselskaya (g) GERMAN Under School Philip Lam (D) Specialists (Havelock 4) Tasso Dattenberg-Doyle (S) GREEK Under School (Stuart Prize) David Torkington (P) Specialists (Stuart Prize) Jeremy Lam (P) SPANISH Under School (O’Meara 3) Xavier Hetherington (G) Specialists Justin Ismail (G) RUSSIAN Under School Andrey Drozdov (G) Specialists Anna Novoselskaya (g) ENGLISH Under School (Ivor Gibson Prize 1) David Torkington (P) Specialists (Ivor Gibson Prize 2) Joshua Spector (H)

PRIZES

SPECIAL HEADMASTER’S PRIZES (for excellence in GCSEs) Alistair Adams (H) Stefan Metaxa (W) Anthony Adams (V) Edward Mole (P) Nicholas Aston (W) Jonathan Pacey (V) Thomas Davies (B) Angus Walker (B) Matthew Foley (R) Frazer Watt (D 09) Christopher Goetz (P) Andre Zylstra (R) Fergus Imrie (S)

Peacocke Prize Roberto van Meurs (L) Kreis Prize Sasha Madan-Patel (G) Mabbott Prize James Reddyhough (B) SCIENCE Eustace Dallin Wade Prize 4 (Removes) James Perry (P) GEOGRAPHY Jenner Hoskin Prize James McCallion (W) Talbot Prize Oliver Galliford (W) Wales Prize 3 Gabrielle Erhardt (V) Wales Prize 4 Alec Raeside (D) Fourth Form Prize Thomas Timms (B) POLITICS Politics Prize Olivia Lace-Evans (P) ECONOMICS Wales Prize 1 Becky Skeffington (G) Wales Prize 2 Sebastian Cox (S) MATHEMATICS McIssac Prize Robin Lee (V) Talbot Prize 2 Jonathan Hung (g) Walford Prize Henry Mak (G) MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD Certificates of Distinction, Medals and Book prizes to Jon Hall (R) & James Perry (P) DRAMA & THEATRE Evans Prize Jack Lee (B) Timothy Hyde Prize Jack Hillcox (P) DIVINITY Monahan Prize Matthew Foley (R) DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY Power Prize ( 2nd Year Specialists) Fraser Ross (L) Power Prize (1st Year Specialists) Thomas Pinnegar (S) Hammerwood Prize Joseph Clarke (H) Hyams Prize Theo Coles (B) SCHOOL HISTORY Rendall Prize James Nugent (L) & Christopher Potts (P) PUBLIC SPEAKING Junior Prize Xavier Hetherington (G) Christopher Jones Prize Timothy Rose-Innes (S) Cyril Maude Prize Christopher Terry (W)

BRITISH MATHEMATICAL OLYMPIAD Certificates of Distinction Owen Guo (H) Jeremy Lam (P) Henry Mak (G) who also wins a Bronze Medal and Book Prize for excellence

MUSIC PRIZES BRASS PRIZES Junior Prize Andrew Tinker (G) Open Brass Prize Jasmine Shaddock (H) COMPOSITION PRIZES John Wilson Prize I Timothy Parsons (B) John Wilson Prize II Joshua Pacey (V) Russell 3 Prize Sam Jenkins (S) PENNANT PRIZE Walter Bayliss (S) ORGAN PRIZES Ralph Llewellyn Prize Karissa Chan (G) James Prain Prize Henry Mak (G) PIANO Ehrman Prize Under 16 Pawat Silawattakun (G) Erhman Prize Over 16 Sam Harris (V) Thatcher Prize Olivia Nunn (S) Russell Prize Under 16 Blaise Mallard (R) Russell Prize Open Callum Edge (S) SINGING PRIZES Joanna Dawson Prize (Open) Alice Jones (S) Warren Green Prize (Intermediate) Xavier Hetherington (G) Philip Langridge Prize (Novice) Harry Ward (S) STRING PRIZES Geoffrey Ford Prize for Junior Strings Ivan Chan (L) Intermediate String Prize Seho Han (G) Antonia Butler Prize Adrian Chan (L) WOODWIND PRIZES Wales Prize (Open Wind Prize) Jonathan Hung (g) Under 16 Prize Alexander Hoffman de Visme (P) George Draper Prize William Coleshill (D) THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD SILVER AWARD Matthew Foley (R), Branton Li (G), Charles Russell-Jones (W) DRAMA Leonard Prize Megan Reynolds (V) Gygax Prize Robin Cowie (G) THE PETER ATTENBOROUGH AWARD Henry Clinton (W) THE MARK EVISON FOUNDATION AWARD 2010 Anthony Buswell (g), Harry Moseley (D), Paul Raleigh (D), James Wood (D)

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HEADMASTER’S PRIZES Callum Edge (S) Alexander Don (R) Camilla Maudsley (L) Martha Nash (W)

Totton

OBITUARIES

VALETE

RK Totton Brooke Hall 1964-88 Died 11th March 2010, aged 81.

Robin Totton was a close friend, with a deep interest in music – and although I worked in the Music Department teaching the violin, my experience included a lot of play production as well as a keen interest in French; and thus, in time, Robin’s and my interests overlapped and ultimately we were to collaborate in a series of French plays – about fifteen in all, I think: hence our friendship – and when Robin died I was asked to give the address, and it is on that address that this appreciation is based. Robin arrived at Charterhouse in 1964 and it was clear that this clever, witty man was a significant addition to Brooke Hall. Robin was a gifted and natural linguist, by which I mean that were you to (unannounced) place him in a totally foreign country, he would in a fairly short time have absorbed and understood the language, and probably end up speaking it! Robin came to Charterhouse principally to teach French, but I think that Spanish – the language, the music, the country, the culture – was a greater passion. He had as a young man whilst at Oxford read, and been much influenced by, the writings of George Borrow – Lavengro principally – and as a result the seeds of interest in Spain, the gypsies and flamenco, were sown at this time. They were to flower later in his life when he wrote a very fine book about flamenco, called Song of the Outcasts. The book is remarkable for its lucid explanation of the subject and – this will not surprise anyone who knows Robin’s prose – it is written in beautiful English. Robin’s hospitality was generous and frequent. Many of his friends have sat with great pleasure at his table while he cooked for us, and the quality of his offered wines was proof of his very considerable vinous knowledge. Conversation was easy and always interesting and amusing. One was constantly astonished by the range and depth of Robin’s interests – and his breadth of reading was, it seemed, immeasurable. Architecture too, was a preoccupation. During the last years of his life Robin spent a good deal of his time in Jerez, where he had an apartment. From there he pursued his interests in flamenco, wrote for newspapers and journals, and made many friends. He was indeed a well known and respected figure in Jerez as I witnessed when staying there. I went with Robin, on a most memorable holiday, visiting Seville, Granada, Cordoba and other parts of Andalucia. Robin’s knowledge and enthusiasm made him a superb travelling companion. Robin’s sadness was the break-up of his marriage: it affected him deeply. But this difficult time was lived through with dignity and no acrimony. His ex-wife and he remained always very good friends. I once heard Robin described as a ‘real gent’. Yes, he was a ‘gent’ – beautiful manners, always courteous – old fashioned many would say. These qualities are rare and enviable. Geoffrey Ford

Ives

Mrs Barbara Ives

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Mrs Barbara Ives died on 29th June 2010 aged 102 at Allonsfield, Campsea Ashe, Suffolk. She was the widow of Frank Ives (Brooke Hall 1929-62; Head of History; Housemaster of Weekites 1940-54) who died in 1971. Mrs Ives was very active in the School, singing in Small Choir – and making costumes and dressing the boys for plays and two Masques. Mr & Mrs Ives had two daughters, Cassie and Susan – and a son, Stephen, who died several years ago.

VALETE

Henry Metelmann

Henry Metelmann, who has retired from the ground staff after 21 years’ service, was proud of the fact that, at the age of 86, he was Charterhouse’s oldest employee. He had worked part-time at the school since he retired from his job as a railway signalman, but few who encountered him in his daily work on the golf course, or mowing or marking out the pitches, would have realised the extraordinary life that he has led. Born and raised near Hamburg, he joined the Hitler Youth at the age of 10 and was conscripted into the German army to join the campaign on the eastern front against the USSR in 1941. He endured the retreat from Stalingrad, drove a tank at the Battle of Kursk, the greatest tank battle in history, and was captured by both the Russians and, at the end of the war, the Americans. After the war, he settled in Britain, becoming a passionate advocate of peace and a harsh critic of the far right. Whilst working for British Rail he wrote two books about his experiences; since he retired he has travelled the country speaking to thousands of schoolchildren and has appeared in several television documentaries. All who meet him are struck by his determination to educate people about the crimes perpetrated by the Nazis, crimes for which, he admits, he was in his own small part responsible. But they are also touched by his quiet modesty, his honesty and passionate hatred of injustice and intolerance. WJ Lane

Chloé Conil

Chloé Conil joined us for the year in September 2009 to take on the role of French assistante. She was then studying at the University of Avignon specialising in English, and she now returns to the south of France to embark on the rigorous French teaching qualification programme. The assistante’s key role is to prepare specialists for their final oral examinations, and this year Chloé had the job of taking the first batch of Pre-U candidates through their final year: quite a time to have the job of assistante. Carthusian linguists will remember her for setting high standards at all times – these oral hashes were not cosy little chats over a cup of coffee, but serious discussions on a wide range of current and cultural issues. The opening gambit of her first meticulously planned lesson was to ask pupils who Marcel Proust was. I will always remember how appalled she was (with some justification) that her question had been met with blank faces. This was, I think, the moment when she really decided to grasp the challenge of this often difficult job; she was determined to see it through to a successful conclusion, which she certainly did. The pupils all came out smiling – she had prepared them well. We thank her for all the work she did here at this crucial time in Charterhouse’s changing academic curriculum and wish her well on her return to France. Emily Fox

Stephanie Gill

Stephanie joined Charterhouse in 1989 as secretary to the Domestic Bursar, Denis Rowe, when word-processors were the norm and computers were just coming into common use around the School. Having left the Foreign Office some ten years earlier (including a year in Moscow) when manual typewriters were de rigueur, this introduction of technology proved ‘interesting’. She recalls some months after joining the School, the master-in-charge of IT walking into the office one morning, plugging in her first computer and inviting her to ‘carry on’! In 1996 she moved to the Assistant Bursar’s office, where she worked for

Thirty-six years ago, in 1974, Roy James joined Charterhouse as a plumber & fitter in the Buildings Section of the Maintenance Department. Since then, Roy has worked under the leadership of four bursars and six headmasters, seeing the Charterhouse estate grow and develop in many significant ways. He was promoted to Head Plumber in 1981, with responsibilities for all hot & cold water services in the School, and training others in the use of the numerous plant rooms – and then to Head Engineer in 1984. In 2002 he was promoted to Assistant Maintenance Manager, and then in 2007 to Maintenance Manager and to Projects Manager & Co-ordinator in 2008. As well as bringing his plumbing skills to the School, Roy has taken on a broad range of other tasks in his time here – from giving annual tours of the buildings and plant rooms for IVthformers during their first Quarter, to taking on ‘night watch’ duties during the 70s at the swimming pool in an effort to check on unauthorised users of the pool! In 1989 he organised ‘The Crackpot Run’ raising money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Wishing Well Appeal – and Roy, along with another local man, was sponsored by local companies to drive from Charterhouse to John O’Groats and back again within 24 hours in a seven-and-ahalf-ton lorry. Altogether they raised around £15,000! Roy has seen many changes to the estate in his time here – and recalls that before the main ball valves were put onto the water tanks in the 1970s, to ensure that the water did not overflow down Racquets Court Hill, he had to check the level of water in the Gownboys tank daily. At 7.30 am and 10 pm he pumped the gauge located outside the G glass double doors until the pressure registered, and hand-adjusted the water levels. On one occasion this even involved hand-pumping water from water tankers parked outside when the water had been cut off. Manual adjustments were all the rage and, before it was electrified, Roy was even responsible for the twice-weekly hand-winding of the OC Clock over the Science Block – daily turning on the chimes at 7.45 am and turning them off again at 9.45 pm. I know that Roy is extremely grateful to all the masters and support staff he has worked with throughout his time. He and his wife Jan (who also used to work for many years at the School) are retiring to their home in Gosport. This brings renewed

Mary Simmonds & Janet Bishop

After over thirty years of service each, all of them spent working in Hodgsonites, it seems almost inconceivable that the formidable team of Jan & Mary have decided to retire within months of each other. Jan & Mary have been responsible during their long and happy reign (spanning the tenure of five housemasters) for introducing a huge numbers of boys to concepts of tidiness and cleanliness that they had (it seemed) previously not known. This was done in such a way, and with such care and good humour, that they have over the years become a Hodgsonite institution – and it is common for old boys visiting the school to come to Hodgsonites looking for them to pay homage, catch up, and exchange stories of redemption through neatness and uniformity. I feel privileged to have worked with them, and I can’t help feeling that I am presiding over the end of a particular era of Hodgsonite history. As Oscar Wilde might have said, “To lose one cleaner may be regarded as a misfortune. To lose both looks like carelessness”. Unlike Lady Bracknell, however, I would say that losing both has been a great misfortune – and indeed they are a double-act which will be greatly missed in Hodgsonites, and very hard to replace. DGW

Brooke Hall Marriages

BIRTHS MARRIAGES CONCERTS

Roy James

opportunities, too, for their passion to travel the British roads in their motor-home – and we wish them happy times ahead. Jane Drew

AGUADO & BROWN, Kevin Brown and Patricia Aguado de la Fuente on 9th July 2010 at Olmedo, Valladolid KNOX, Belinda Knox and Simon Spinks on 9th July 2010 in Memorial Chapel, Charterhouse

LLOYD, Richard Lloyd and Victoria Aylwin on 17th October 2009 at Holy Trinity Brompton

Brooke Hall Births

ALLEN, Jessica Charlotte to Suzanne and Simon Allen on 3rd February 2010 MOGFORD, Evangeline Olivia to Alex and Christine Mogford on 28th June 2010 REID, Jonathan Robert to Edward and Jean Reid on 16th June 2010 RICHARDS, Jessica Lily to Ian and Laura Richards on April 27th 2010

Joo Cho (soprano) & Marino Nahon (piano) Llewellyn Room LQ 10

On 15th January Charterhouse welcomed the Haverhill Sinfonia & Giulio Neri Singing Competition 1st prize winner Joo Cho. Miss Cho is a world-renowned soprano. She has sung leading roles in several international productions and is an active performer of twentieth century and contemporary vocal music. Miss Cho was accompanied by the Italian pianist Marino Nahon. They commenced with three songs by Mendelssöhn (‘Auf Flügeln Des Gesanges’, ‘Es weiss und rät es doch Keiner’ and ‘Hexenlied’) which were fantastically suffused with passion and colour. The animation of Mendelssöhn substantially contrasted with the two imaginative lieder by Schumann which followed (‘Meine Rose’ and ‘Requiem’). Immediately after were another four songs by Brahms

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Ian Crouch for four years, encountering personnel administration for the first time. She enrolled at Godalming College one day a week and not only achieved the CIPD Certificate in Personnel Practice but was also awarded the prize for best student. When Michael Bates succeeded Ian as Deputy Bursar, Stephanie made the natural transition to support Michael. With his huge enthusiasm for both the Bursary and his responsibilities, Michael set up a staff rifle club; Stephanie vividly remembers that one afternoon, when he was a bit short on numbers, MGB said to her, “you’ll enjoy shooting, Steph!” With no more ado she was marched off to Armoury, handed a rifle, given instruction – and found herself lying on the floor wearing skirt and heels, shooting at targets. Finding it difficult to shut one eye, Steph concluded she was never going to be ‘natural’! Three years ago, with Steph now in the role of Human Resources Officer, I joined as Director of HR. Drawing on her outstanding School knowledge and administrative skills, I have valued enormously her integrity, discretion, driving sense of fairness and – not least – her great sense of perspective and humour. She is one of the very few people who can honestly say they have met virtually every single member of staff in the school – permanent or temporary, academic or support. I know that she will miss the whole Charterhouse community – its wonderful site, the challenges and excitements of each different Quarter – and I will certainly miss an outstanding colleague and friend. After nearly twenty-one years in the school, Steph leaves us to enjoy retirement with her husband, David, and we all wish her well earned happiness in this next stage of her life. Jane Drew

(‘Alte Liebe’, ‘Von waldbekrantzer Hohe’, ‘An eine Äolsharfe’ and ‘Von ewiger Liebe’), flamboyant and dramatic. Finally there were four lieder by Schubert (‘Nachtstück’, ‘Die Forelle’, ‘Suleika’ and ‘Wilkommen und Abschied’), which Miss Cho handled skillfully with her sonorous but light-hearted voice and her sensibility for the rhythmic presence. She managed running passages with ease with flawless breath control. The concert was very well attended and, like many others in the school, a pleasurable evening. My personal favourites of the evening were (without doubt) Henry Mak (G) ‘Requiem’, ‘Die Forelle’ and ‘Wilkommen’.

They Never Went Away

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CONCERTS

Everard Ensemble Llewellyn Room OQ 09

‘They’re Back’, said the poster – which also carried a cartoon mugshot of a cheeky woodland creature with a long nose and an eye-patch; no… I don’t quite know why either, but this rascally visage suggested that we were in for an evening of top-drawer musical mischief – and so we were. Those buccaneering Everards, with an ensemble in every port (and never the same line-up twice) were indeed in the ‘hood on Friday 13th November – and this time they were three: JN Parsons (violin), RCD Millard (viola) and MN Shepherd (pianoforte). Russell Millard began with two of his own compositions for viola; the first was a duet with a recording of a digitally altered piano playing gong-like chords, the second was a solo described by the composer as repeated attempts by a melody to take flight – a sort of ‘Lark Ascending’ in which the lark seemed tethered or weighted. Both were intriguing – and, as with all properly contemporary music, because the medium was more or less unfamiliar one longed to hear it all again straightaway in order better to understand the fearsome intelligence which was clearly at work throughout. There was another thought: how would the viola match the recorded piano? Well, mostly: Millard’s ear for pitch and tone is famously acute – and although there were isolated moments when the sound from the speakers and the sound from the viola seemed wrongly separate, the blend and contrast were on the whole miraculously successful. The piano chords, processed by compression into rich brown throbbing thuds (imagine how a piano would sound in a nightmare inspired by a nasty ear infection – or if dropped into a custard-filled swimming pool) were like the solemn knelling of a gamelan orchestra – and the viola traced a linear western path through these (it seemed to me) eastern chimes, urging form, motion and direction on the impassive piano bongs. The viola melody in the second piece was more anguished and angular than the surprisingly rounded and emollient lines of the first – and a brief pizzicato figure acted as a ritornello, a device which always makes music easier to comprehend. Yes, I would definitely like to hear this music again – and I’d like to hear more contemporary music at Charterhouse altogether: it’s so interesting, for one thing. Of course Millard played his own music superbly. The Kegelstatt Trio (K 498, 1786) is a jolly affair – gentle and, particularly in terms of rhythm and form, playful… appropriately enough, since Kegel means skittle – though a quick www search renders statt as ‘instead of ’ – pray sew a button on that. Whether or not the Everards love their skittles (or skittle-instead-ofs) I cannot say, but they certainly love their chamber music and it shows. The audience was privileged to watch three friendly BH beaks practising what they preach; their performance was a real spirit-lightener – engaging and thoroughly charming: a lively musical conversation between colleagues – by turns intimate and declamatory – and (as with all merry meetings in the Mus Dept) there was humour too. DS van Tayurn

Band Standards – Muted by Hand Charterhouse Jazz Band Hall LQ 10

In the final days of LQ a modest but clearly discerning audience

was treated to a new musical phenomenon, that of the public rehearsal. The concert was performed in preparation for the Band’s imminent tour to Malta [qv p. 62]. A noisy tune-up heralded the start of the performance, and following a promising first number the audience was invited to mill around and help themselves to the refreshments at any time. This concept may have proved to be a little too forward-thinking as most remained firmly fixed in their seats until the interval, during which we were treated to an impromptu piano solo by Xavier Hetherington (G). Throughout – a total of twelve pieces, one of which Mr Smeeton has taught to thirty jazz bands – the band proved itself more than up to the challenge of a tour; the only hint of lack of ensemble practice being a slight hiccough whereby a trombone was muted with a hand rather than with more appropriate apparatus. Andre Zylstra (R)

Oh Hear!

OCMS Concert Hall OQ 09

The second orchestral event mounted by the OC Music Society (President: Robin Wells, BH 65-03; Chairman: Bill Shipton, G 80) was held on Sunday October 4th. OCs and Carthusians met in the morning and enjoyed playing music throughout the day in preparation for an evening performance in Hall. The concert started with two Beethoven works – the Egmont Overture and the Romance no. 2 for Violin & Orchestra (soloist: Vaughan Jones, R 88); Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme (cello soloist: Gerard Le Feuvre, G 81) followed, and the evening finished with Dvorak’s New World Symphony. The OCMS Orchestra was conducted by Mark Shepherd (Director of Music) and John Landor (S 79). The concert was dedicated to the memory of Chris Yorke (S 65) who had helped launch the society so successfully in 2008. Bill Shipton (G 80) brought the day together, supported by Belinda Knox (B 78, Head of OC Club Relations) with Vaughan Jones leading the orchestra and playing the Romance with such breath-taking beauty. Gerard Le Feuvre, who had travelled from Jersey for the day, played the Tchaikovsky with great sensitivity and gentleness – and then played an impressive improvisation which he offered to the memory of Mark Evison (R 00), who had been a music scholar here and who died earlier in the year serving in Afghanistan. The finale brought the concert to an enjoyable conclusion for all. If you are interested in being involved either as a participant or as a member of the audience for the next event, which will be on Sunday October 3rd 2010, please contact secretary@ocmusicsociety.org in the first instance. Belinda Knox

Evening Recitals

Llewellyn Room OQ 09 & LQ 10

Evening Recitals, designed to challenge worthy musicians but giving them a more formal and extended platform than quarter concerts, were introduced a couple of years ago. On Friday 6th November Tristan Parsons (G) gave a lively, well articulated reading of Bach’s E major Violin Concerto followed by a reflective Beethoven Romance in F – in which there was plenty of scope for admiring SAG Wyatt’s velvet accompanimental tone on the newly restored Bösendorfer (the piano equivalent of a Bentley coupé). Reflective it was, but not without a really committed, and at times, full-blooded sound. It shouldn’t really be that surprising that musicians give away so much of their personality in their performing. Tristan then finished off with the exciting Moto Perpetuo by Bridge, clearly relishing the virtuosic aspect of the piece. Sam Jenkins (S), Jonathan Pacey (V), Xavier Hetherington (G) & Barnaby Wynter (G) then took to the stage with four barbershop pieces. Why do people sing barbershop outside barbershops? All the singers clearly relish public performance, and their assured countenances helped the audience even when we were unsure of which key they were in.

We adopted a slightly different form for Brass Prizes this year: we held the senior class (with an external adjudicator) in March, and the junior class (in May) in the style of a short informal concert. If we come to the junior class first, there was much promise in this class – especially when you consider that most boys were playing in public for the very first time, which as anybody who has done that knows is a really scary experience. The competition was judged by an audience committee chaired by JNP, and it decided to award first prize to the very secure horn playing of Andrew Tinker (G). Joshua North (D) was highly commended for his accomplished performance of ‘Muskrat Ramble’ – and, in view of the achievement of the others in the class, trumpeters Benji Woolf (H), Hugo Hughes (W), Alexander Hall (g) and cornet player Lewis Harvey-Samuels (L) were all commended for their spirited playing. The senior competition was judged by our very experienced guest adjudicator Robert Wilson, who is the distinguished Head of Brass at Cranleigh School. He was extremely complimentary about the standard of brass playing at Charterhouse and extremely helpful in his comments and the suggestions made in his excellent adjudication. This was a real heavyweight competition, with a wealth of high-powered virtuoso test pieces chosen by the participants to show off their skills. There was some incredibly dexterous trumpet playing from Barnaby Wynter (G) in the very popular solo ‘Tico Tico’ – and, as a contrast, Rhys Brown (H) performed with great skill a contemporary trumpet toccata by Geoffrey Burgon. The trombone was well represented with William Davies (g), Arthur Yeung (L) and Xavier Hetherington (G) all showing us magnificently sonorous and effortless playing. At the end of the day Mr Wilson commended Sam Harris for his deft performance of the very tricky French Conservatoire test piece ‘Badinage’ by Eugene Bozza. Highly commended was Nicolas Walker (H), whose light and nimble-fingered tuba per-

Organ Prizes

MUSIC PRIZES

Brass Prizes

formance of Cappuzzi’s Andante & Rondo was a joy to listen to. I was present at the world première of the euphonium solo ‘Brillante’, which was written as a vehicle to display the virtuoso capabilities of the Childs brothers who have a truly international reputation for pushing the technical possibilities of the instrument further than anyone had thought possible. I certainly don’t recall it being played any better in the old Manchester Free Trade Hall than Jasmine Shaddock (H) ATCL played it at Charterhouse. She played it with a maturity of musicianship and technique that brought sheer delight to the audience. Not surprisingly then Mr Wilson selected Jasmine as the winner of the class. Congratulations are due though to everyone who gave us such a wonderful afternoon of brass playing, and also to Mr Simon Wyatt who accompanied with care, intuition and virtuosity at both events. DGW Organ Prizes, scheduled for 29th April was sabotaged by the volcanic ash cloud which prevented many Carthusians from getting back to school on time after the Easter hols. This year’s Judge (Adrian Partington – Organist & Master of the Choristers, Gloucester Cathedral) kindly agreed to a postponement, which gave us time for the wind to change and for the school’s organists to do a load more practice. So, on Wednesday 16th June at 6 pm (or so) we kicked off. Jacob Bird (D) and Ed Roberts (G) both played items from the Eight Short Preludes & Fugues which are only attributed (as Mr Partington reminded us) to JS Bach. Some might say that this makes them less worthwhile than pieces certainly written by JSB, but we do not want to get into a Shakespeare-Bacon-Oxford sandwich over this – and, in any case, consider: no-one is quite sure who came up with the original idea for the design of the Citroën DS – but does that stop the ‘goddess’ being the most beautiful car ever built? No, it does not. Any-road-up – back to Bach (or ‘Bach’): both Jacob and Ed delivered their pieces stylishly – showing the true value of this music: it comprises a variety of useful technical tasks, attractively rendered. Both players had a good crack at making the organ articulate clearly – and both showed a promising sense of poise at the instrument. Karissa Chan (G) won the prize with her lyrical and atmospheric performance of Guilmant’s Melodie in G – fulfilling Mr Partington’s stated criterion for this class: getting the music to speak directly to the audience. Henry Mak (G) began the open class with the Vivaldi (arr Bach) Concerto in A minor 1st movement; to say that Henry rattled through this with a merry clatter-bang would be to suggest that he gave the impression of an impromptu ice-hockey match in a hardware emporium (which he did not) – but there was an irresistible force and agility about his playing (with its iron, yet flexible, rhythm – and his riveting technique, whereby nearly all rapid notes were rendered with a staggeringly even staccato); the Harrison & Harrison is not used to being ‘spoken to’ like this – and it can rarely have sounded so, well… Baroquely fit for purpose. All one could say was (to paraphrase the Judge – and to quote verbatim Mr Punch, of Punch & Judy fame), ‘that’s the way to do it!’ Remarkable. Next Eugenia Lee (H) played Brahms’s Chorale Prelude op 111 no. 1 (‘Mein Jesu, der du mich’) with a fabulous legato and mature control of the complicated and widely spread contrapuntal texture; her performance was in many ways matched by Constance Leung’s (B) Prelude Fugue & Variation by Franck – in which the autumnal melancholy was beautifully captured. Both players – new to the organ this year – have a wonderful sense of line, and make the organ breathe and sing; this takes a lot of hard work, and tremendous musicality. There would not be space in this magazine to do justice to the all-round musical phenomenon that is Timothy Parsons (B) and his terrific five-year musical career at Charterhouse: he has presided at the organ most ably as soloist and accompanist, serving up polished and assured performances prepared with meticulous care and a conscientious

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The concert concluded with a close harmony group in which the above-named quartet was joined by Olivia Nunn (S), Alice Jones (S), Olivia Lace-Evans (P), Lizzie Kahn (P) & Henry Braime (G). We heard some finely balanced choral songs, with solos from Henry Braime and Jonathan Pacey. This was a real treat, with moments of real beauty. Sorry guys; I’m not being sexist in saying this, but the mixed voices group sounded ten times better than the all-male one. Some sublime quiet singing (from both males and females) sent us away in a relaxed mood into the dark evening at the end of the week. On Friday 5th February Jonathan Hung (g) and Xavier Hetherington (G) were accompanied by Simon Wyatt (S 73). They rose to the challenge magnificently, giving confident, polished and intelligent performances – and giving an enthusiastic and large audience a real sense of occasion. Jonathan played Schumann’s three Fantasiestücke. Sad to say, his clarinet was not able to be tuned quite as brightly as the newly refurbished Bösendorfer, but one became less troubled by this and more occupied by his mature handling of this subtle music – balancing very capably the paradoxical juxtaposition of virtuosity and introspection, always with technical ease. Xavier presented a charming selection of Italian, German and English songs. His voice is maturing into a fine tenor, and he sensibly keeps his voice within the technical boundaries inherent in such a young instrument, allowing his formidable musical intelligence to do most of the work, with great success. Xavier’s linguistic capabilities were on impressive show, but what really shone, throughout was his formidable musicianship. There was a very special mood to this concert, brought about not only by two excellent performances, but also in the support and enthusiasm evident among the audience. The regular evening concerts have clearly become a worthwhile part of Charterhouse culture. MNS

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application of his high musical intelligence. This year particularly he has acquired (by careful listening – and also having the extremely unfair advantage of a superb ear for pitch) a facility for improvisation that is, for a chap at this stage, quite astonishing; his harmonic repertoire is already vast – and he is likely to mature like fine wine for decades to come. He goes to Hereford Cathedral for the academic year 2010-11 as Organ Scholar, and thence to Selwyn College Cambridge in 2011 also as Organ Scholar. On the day (he had sat a hefty history exam) his playing lacked the topedge sparkle and definition that he normally produces; his Vierne 1st Symphonie Final was good, but not good enough to win the James Prain Prize, which was won fair & square by Henry Mak. Adrian Partington – a most distinguished late 1970s Organ Scholar of King’s College Cambridge (noted for his fiendish accuracy), a virtuoso pianist & organist, and now a high-powered chorus master – gave typically erudite, engaging and thoughtful adjudications. He expressed his appreciation for what he’d heard, and said that the organ is a difficult instrument – whereas on the piano you can hide behind the sustaining pedal, etc! Yes; quite. We were grateful to him for making the trip during a most busy period in which he is gearing up for the 2010 Three Choirs Festival at Gloucester this August. MLJ Blatchly

Piano Prizes OQ 09

With so many good new pianists entering Charterhouse in September 09, this year’s Piano Prizes, held on Sunday 8th November and judged by Richard Dickins (Director of Music at Imperial College London), promised to provide some strongly contested classes – and this indeed proved to be the case. The day began with the two classes for under 16 players. There were a number of good performances in the intermediate, as well as those which were actually mentioned by the judge. Nicholas Lee (W) and Hugh Parsons (G) both gained commendations while Barnaby Wynter (G) was highly commended for his jazzplaying, which he only began in September! The Ehrman Prize, however, was awarded to Pawat Silawattakun (G) for a particularly mature and thoughtful performance of Elgar’s ‘In Smyrna’. In the junior class the VSH Russell Prize was won by Blaise Mallard (R) who demonstrated a promising finger technique in his Kuhlau Sonatina movement. The afternoon continued with the 16 years and over intermediate class (Ehrman Prize) – won by Sam Harris (V) with an expressive performance of Mendelssöhn’s Song without Words in G. The open class, with seventeen performers, was the largest class of the day. With pieces ranging from Haydn to the twentieth century, it provided listeners with both variety and a high level of performing accomplishment. Eugenia Lee (H), Constance Leung (B) and Olivia Nunn (S) gained well-deserved high commendations, while Henry Mak (G) was very highly commended for his musically colourful and technically assured playing of Debussy’s ‘Jardins sous la pluie’. The VSH Russell Prize was won, however, by Callum Edge (S) with a truly atmospheric performance of his own arrangement of Arlen’s ‘Somewhere over the Rainbow’ – the first time that this class has been won by a jazz pianist. After supper, the final class (the Thatcher Prize) provided a fitting climax to the day. Awarded this year for a performance of any piece in dance style, this gave performers choices from different periods and at varying levels of difficulty – so that less advanced pianists were also able to take part. Once again there were several impressive performances, with high commendations given to Constance Leung, Timothy Parsons (B) and Barnaby Wynter. Henry Mak gained another very high commendation for his playing of Rachmaninov’s virtuoso transcription of Kreisler’s ‘Liebesleid’, while the prize was won by Olivia Nunn for her polished and finely judged performance of two of Ginastera’s Argentinian Dances. RK Dines

Singing Prizes

Singing Prizes was held on 20th May 2010 in Llewellyn Room; the adjudicator was Malcolm Archer (Director of Chapel Music & Organist, Winchester College). Twenty-nine singers were listed in three classes. Harry Ward won the novice class (Joanna Dawson Prize) with ‘I attempt from love’s sickness to fly’ by Purcell; he was the clear winner, with his plangent tone and considered ornamentation. Xavier Hetherington (G) won the intermediate class (Warren Green Prize) with a mature interpretation of ‘Silent Noon’ – RVW’s profound and elegantly touching evocation of love & the countryside… the counterpart in song of JL Carr’s perfect novella A Month in the Country. Also especially praiseworthy in this class were Dominic Howell (W) with his committed reading of ‘Stars’ (Boublil & Schönberg), Georgina Page (B) whose ‘Lascia ch’io Pianga’ (Handel) showed off her colourful and mature sound, Jonny Peppiatt (L) who really sang out in Tosti’s ‘A Vucchella’, and Alice Tapper (L) whose ‘Think of Me’ (Lloyd Webber) was thoroughly convincing. The open class was outstandingly good. Henry Braime (G) has a lovely voice and really knows how to use it to full effect; on this occasion he used it for ‘O du mein holder Abendstern’ (Wagner) & ‘These are the Sacred Charms’ (Purcell). Eugenia Lee (H) gave an extraordinarily considered and profound interpretation of Strauss’s ‘Allerseelen’. Jonathan Pacey (V) displayed great virtuosity in his Bach (‘Eilt, ihr angefochtnen Seelen’, St John Passion) – and Sam Jenkins (S) gave one of his very best performances in ‘Ich will nur dir zu Ehren leben’ (Bach, Christmas Oratorio) and ‘Maria’ (Bernstein). Alice Jones (S), who has given distinguished service & leadership in the choirs these last two years, was the worthy winner of the Philip Langridge Prize – here we sadly note that the great singer himself died in March 2010, aged 70 – with ‘Una donna a quindici anni’ by Mozart and ‘Beau Soir’ by Debussy. Marcus Thatchstor

String Prizes

This year’s String Prizes was judged by Vaughan Jones (R 88). Vaughan has led the newly-formed OC Orchestra for the past couple of years; he is a fine violinist who, having ‘done time’ in the main London orchestras, now runs a music business providing recitals (chamber music and solo) and orchestras for concerts and recording sessions. He is also very interested in teaching, and this came across on 16th May as he brought various participants out to the front for an off-the-cuff master class during the adjudications. This was all extremely interesting, and gave us all plenty to think about, and much inspiration. A number of ex-Music Department colleagues, who had taught Vaughan here, joined us for lunch – including Robin and Stephanie Wells, Bronwen Buttifant and Geoffrey Ford. The Geoffrey Ford Prize (junior class) was won by Ivan Chan (L) with his meticulous and exciting account of the Praeludium & Allegro by Kreisler. Keith Tso (D) and Douglas McNeil (D) were highly commended. The intermediate class was won by Seho Han (G) playing the (very difficult) Preludio from Bach’s Partita in E. Vanessa Davies (R) was highly commended, and Jonathan Law (g) and Libby Rose-Innes (P) were commended. The open class (Antonia Butler Prize) was won by Adrian Chan (L) with a heartfelt and passionate performance of the last movement of Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Eugenia Lee (H – Brahms Sonata in G, 1st movement) and Michael Cheung (g – Mozart Violin Concerto in G, 1st movement) were both very highly commended. Tristan Parsons (G) and Madeleine Buisseret (W) were both highly commended, and Hugh Parsons (G) was commended. JNP

Carthusian Society

The Committee of the Carthusian Society met in CQ 09, OQ 09, LQ 10 & CQ 10. The following grants were approved. CQ 09 Archives: to digitise photographs £7,000 Rowing: a further grant to buy a coxed-four £4,500 Recording Society: further equipment £3,400 Kayak Club: new boats £1,000 Art Department: a contribution towards the display boards in Concert Hall £700 Squash: video camera for coaching £450 OQ 09 The Carthusian: a camera for pupils’ use £1,200 DJ Society: twin turntable etc £2,189 Cross-Country: two GPS/heart-rate watches £524 LQ 10 Motor Club: t robust awning £600 Club: a drum kit £900 Fives: a tour to Switzerland £1,200 Fencing: a conductive piste £2,021 Kayak Club: a boat, wetsuits etc £1,170 CQ 10 Publication of Corinthian Spirit by Bob Noble: £2,500 Football: Equipment for Gothia Cup in Sweden £765 Stephen Shuttleworth Brooke Hall Representative

1st XI

Won 12, Drew 4, Lost 6

When Charterhouse won the ISFA Cup in 2007-8 the team played 21 matches and conceded only 6 goals. During the OQ the XI let in 35, including 3 own goals over a similar number of encounters. Popular opinion amongst football coaches is that is relatively easy to defend but hard to score. Certainly our forwards might have taken more chances during the season for there were some glaring misses but by giving away goals at the back, our team always appeared to be under pressure. We did actually score 48 goals (more than in 2007-8) with Julian Hornby amassing 14. Harry Lineker, who sustained an unfortunate injury against Hampton just after Exeat, had scored 6 by then and with another half term surely would have doubled his total; so we lost a major influence on our attacking options and with him I believe we would have been more successful. Harry is a stocky, busy and bustling centre forward with a high leap and the team appreciated his value when he returned to fitness in LQ. Giving goals away early in the game, just before or just after half time and sometimes in batches of two within minutes of each other was also a disappointing trend. This is a concentration failure (hashes are 40 minutes long). Giving away 8 penalties, mainly from clumsy challenges suggests a lack of mobility and deftness of foot. This is no place to have a post mortem but it is safe to say that the goalkeeper made few errors therefore the back four has to hold its collective hand up along with the midfield; our two lines of defence. Whilst we worked on mobility, quickness across the ground and communication, we were not uniformly brave in the challenge as one would expect from Carthusians and this is something that cannot be coached. Actually in the end it was a good season with 11 wins and 4 draws in OQ games. As far as the defeats were concerned, we should have done better against Alleyn’s but it was early in the term and we had not shaken off the summer excesses, against Bradfield there was a “pre-Exeat” performance, Hampton and Shrewsbury were good sides as always but we gifted them goals and even at Millfield in the quarter final of the ISFA Cup, we gave them two goals start in the early part of the game, went 0-3 down and nearly got back to 3-3 in the dying minutes.

FOOTBALL

The junior part of this concert consisted of William Coleshill competing against himself for the George Draper Prize. Will is a superb sax player and his technical competence and musicianship would probably have seen off most of the competition in the other classes, given some repertoire that could be acceptable to the classical establishment. The Lower School Prize was contested by four contemporaries in a spirit of great rivalry. Oliver Weston is the future of bassoon playing at Charterhouse and he always surprises and pleases when he performs; Jonathan Peppiatt is a fluent and beguiling clarinettist, becoming better known for his fabulous singing voice; and there is little to choose between the oboe playing of Ali de Visme and Joshua Pacey, although on this day Ali won the Prize by a whisker. Olivia Chan, only just off the plane and very late back to School because of the Icelandic volcano entertained us with her effortless and lyrical flute playing of the Woodhall Serenade, as did Aneya Scott trilling her way through the Bozza Aria. Tim Parsons dusted from his oboe the cobwebs accruing since his wonderful performance of the Bach Double Concerto at St Martin-in-the-Fields earlier in the year and played a movement of the Saint-Saens Sonata. This was masterly playing with his usual consummate musicianship and lovely tone. The bassoon is not blessed with repertoire and probably Hurlstone is not a name on everyone’s Desert Island Discs, but Walter Bayliss’s performance of the sonata movement was capable and entertaining. Jonathan Hung is a complete professional. Never puts a foot wrong when playing and spends a lot of time practising to make sure of it. A committed musician he sees performing as an exciting opportunity – indeed if he had had his way he would have played all of the Schumann Fantasiestucke and not just two of them, with a couple of Weber concert pieces thrown in for good measure. With faultless technique and lovely limpid tone there was little doubt that he was a worthy winner of the Open Prize. RWS

VICTORIES On the bright side we did turn out some excellent performances. After playing the OCs, Hampshire schools and opening up against Forest (1-1), our visit to St Bede’s, Hailsham, the reigning ESFA champions, was going to be a major test. Of course they had a new team but they are always a big challenge, so beating them 4-1 was rewarding. This might have been our best performance. We then struggled past St Columba’s at St Alban’s in the ISFA Cup, comfortably beat Lancing with Harry Walford putting in a virtuoso performance on the left wing and swamped Winchester 6-1 with hat tricks from Hornby and Lineker. Add to this an away win in the cup at Wolverhampton GS on their huge pitch, we thought we had solved our problems by mid-term. On either side of Exeat we let in 3 goals from Bradfield, 4 from Hampton and 3 from Westminster in a drawn game. We did try to shore up the leaky defence during the season, but nobody from the 2nd XI or 3rds or indeed the U16s stood out as replacements, so we battled on making the best of what we had. Wins over Licensed Victuallers School (Ascot) in ISFA on Binfield FC’s ground and Aldenham were encouraging but not conclusive, so we went to Repton with some concern that their free-scoring team would put our defence to the sword. We quickly went 0-1 down but it was Julian Hornby who produced a magical goal that brought us level and Jack Ryder-Smith got a tap in following a set piece. We then did not just hang on to the lead, we should have extended it with a great effort from all concerned. We have beaten Repton eight years running and this was a fine victory over the future ISFA Cup finalists. This was during a period when we had 10 games to play in 34

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Wind Prize Concert

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days. Shrewsbury came next and we just did not get going, with 3 more goals going into our net. Two of them were gifts but we never really threatened them. Charlie Evans bagged a brace against Eton and we played extremely well defensively to hold Ardingly 0-0 away in the final league game. Our last game produced a casual performance against Highgate drawing 2-2. Coming back from being down in the final game of the term, at home, against an average Highgate team summed up most of the season. Dominant early on, we should have been in front, we were lucky not to concede or get a penalty, then 0-2 down as the game wore on with a comedy goal thrown in and then a spirited come back when we went to three up front. It did not look as though we would ever win the game; definitely an anti-climax. SOUTHERN LEAGUE CUP FINAL Waiting for the dire weather to improve during the first few weeks of the LQ, to present a decent enough day for the Elgin Capital Southern League Cup Final allowed us to play two 1st XI games in the LQ before we met Eton. One was against Marlborough where there was a comfortable win (4-0 Hornby 3, Ryder-Smith 1) and after Exeat against Gordon’s School whom we beat 9-1 (Hornby 4, Lineker 3, Evans and Mole 1 each). In the end the final was played on a 3 Generation astro surface at the John Madjeski Academy in Reading on Sunday 28th February. Eton had played on this surface before but it suited our passing game. We dominated the first half and Hornby and Evans should have put us ahead following well worked moves. It took until 6 minutes into the second half for Kinsey to score yet another goal with his head, following a cleared corner and subsequent cross from Evans. Eton plugged away but were only big and robust, relying on long throws and long ball whereas we carved out chances which we never took and so the score remained 1-0. Mike Fatsis saved a penalty in the first half which was crucial and Seb Cox particularly had a good game in midfield. Winning team: Fatsis, Royds, Kinsey, Bray (capt), Webb, Denham, Evans, Cox, Walford, Lineker, Hornby, Ryder-Smith, Odonowu, Kimmins, Mole, Jenkins THE COLOURS Tom Bray (W), as captain, could play in any position on the pitch, even in goal. Both he and I would have enjoyed him playing in the midfield or up front to complement Julian Hornby’s talent. Needs must and Tom elected to play in the back four. He has pace, headed the ball well and marshalled his defence cleverly. As captain he should be pleased with the progress his side made especially reaching the final stages of the ISFA Cup and giving outstanding performances against our top opponents. Played for the South. (2 goals, 8 assists) Charlie Evans (W) was vice-captain and it was a pity that either he (or Jack Ryder-Smith) was not left footed which would have given us a better balance in the midfield. They both made significant contributions to our team effort and Charlie should be very pleased with his Quarter’s work. He is a real enthusiast who can win headers despite not being the tallest and he has a very cultured left foot. His spirit was important and his crunching tackles and clipped passes were memorable. Played for the South. (7 goals, 6 assists) Julian Hornby (g) proved to be one of the best players passing through the school side in my time. He was quick, clever, fit and resilient as well as being thoroughly honest. If he ‘pulled the trigger’ a little earlier he might score more goals and provide opportunities for others. He was always picked out as one of the classier players and it was a travesty that he never got beyond the South ISFA XI. (14 goals, 10 assists) Harry Walford (g) was occasionally brilliant as an old fashioned winger who crossed the ball accurately and was always a tireless worker when asked to defend in the 4 man midfield. What a shame for him football discovered 4-4-2! Played for the South. (2 goals, 4 assists)

Back row:- MJB, CER Kimmins (R), OJD Royds (W), EC Mole (P), JWS Kinsey (g), OJ Plummer (L), HW Walford (g), RPN Seated:- SJE Cox (S), JF Webb (g), JP Hornby (g), TCG Bray (capt.)(W), C Evans (W), JE Ryder-Smith (g)

Jonty Webb (g) at left back was as solid as a rock. He made up for his genuine lack of pace by being tactically aware and very brave providing us with a bit of “no nonsense” at the back. He genuinely loved the game and was bitterly disappointed when we did not get a result. Jack Ryder-Smith (g) was the youngest old colour and had a very good term showing better strength on the ball than last year and confidence within the whole context of the game. He is not naturally extrovert but he encouraged his colleagues by example and showed real determination to lead the team through difficult games. With an ability to win headers and pass accurately with a deft left foot. I look forward to him being even more dominant next year. (6 goals, 5 assists) James Kinsey (g) worked very hard to get his place in the side and proved to be a central figure in the defence as well as an important scorer of goals. He got better as the year went on, so much so that he was man of the match in the cup final, despite having had half a term of hockey. I can see him doing well in OCFC should he continue to play. (6 goals. 5 assists) Seb Cox (S) realised his weaknesses and played to his strengths. A solid and determined defender he was found out for pace at times but he never flinched from a tackle and was decent in the air despite his lack of inches. He always wanted to do well and applied himself effectively. Oscar Royds (W), like Seb, spent too much time on the bench for his comfort but he fitted into the game where required and proved vital in the team morale. Oscar was a little more mobile than Seb and jumped well but his passing was not as good. It was a shame we could not have a hybrid. (1 goal) Oli Plummer (L) kept his place in goal for the whole of the term and was cruelly injured at the end missing the Millfield game and the league cup final. An extrovert, he was like most keepers, slightly mad, brave and vociferous. His kicking was generally very good and he coped adequately in the air. We now know why did not like diving to his left! Ed Mole (P) also warmed the bench too much but because he was flexible, he played in the midfield or up front, and was called upon more. He is extremely fit, has great stamina and is fast but lacked quickness in tight spots. If he got his head up more he would see the next phase of play earlier, however he made telling contributions and earned his rewards. (5 goals) Charlie Kimmins (R) has all the attributes and rather like Lineker did very well to add so much to our game at the higher level. Charlie is strong and fast, has good feet and jumps well but he did not have as much an influence on results as I had hope for. He did not get into telling places enough in the final third and when he did he failed to hit the target, so his strike rate was poor though his assists were useful. He defended well and will have a bigger influence over the next two years. (7 assists) Jonny Denham (W) has lots of football in him but needed

HOUSE FOOTBALL The House match finals came to a climax on December 11th when Saunderites and Daviesites met on Big Ground on a mild afternoon. Both top ranked teams had fallen earlier; Girdlestoneites in the quarter finals to Pageites which was the shock of the round and Weekites in a dour semi-final 0-0 draw, losing on penalties. With nine 1st XI players in these two teams it was not surprising that the final lacked quality although there was plenty of endeavour and an exciting conclusion to the game. The failure of the top sides to reach the final suggested also that maybe the best players in the school lacked some of the qualities that often went missing in 1st XI games. Senior House football proved to be unpredictable and Daviesites’ win was somewhat fortuitous. Various complications in the 1st XI season led to postponements of house rounds and without going into the gory details Robinites and Daviesites had to replay their quarter final which Robinites had earlier won. In the replay Daviesites, with their strongest side available, triumphed and their route to the final was eased when Duckites turned out the worst performance of the term (possibly decade) to lose to a very enthusiastic Pageites marshalled by the ‘marines’. THANKS The finals included 10 different houses and only Hodgsonites failed to make a mark although Sportarded was managed by Alistair Adams (H). Originally the invention of Hugo Schecktor (ex P), this marvellous charity continues to delight, giving those less able footballers a chance to play on Lessington and to take on a beaks Sportarded XI. Many thanks go to all the various members of Brooke Hall who have refereed and to KDB who has kept an eye on the competition. IJMH faultlessly looked after fixtures and various important lists, whilst RVL supplied many matches with outside referees. Big Ground and Lessington are both superb pitches to play on now that David Roberts and his team are able to work their magic and Iain Hedley with Avenance Catering continues to sponsor our team kits. The Prep Schools Sixes celebrated its 25th year with a glorious day’s football and a talented Parkside ran out worthy winners. MJB vs OCFC 1-5 (Bray ) vs Hants U16 2-1 (Hornby, Lineker) vs Forest 1-1 (Kinsey) vs Alleyn’s 0-1 vs St Bede’s 4-1 (Ryder-Smith 2, Lineker, Hornby)

3-1 (Ryder-Smith, Mole, Hornby) 6-1 (Hornby 3, Lineker 3) 2-3 (Lineker, Bray) 2-4 (Evans 2) 3-3 (Mole, Hornby, Walford) 1-0 (Mole) 2-1 (Hornby, Ryder-Smith) 6-0 (Hornby 2, Kinsey, Ryder-Smith, Royds, Mole) 0-3 4-1 (Evans 2, Hornby, Ryder-Smith) 0-0 2-2 (Kinsey, Hornby)

Boodles ISFA Cup vs St Columba’s vs Wolverhampton GS vs Licensed Victuallers vs Millfield

2-1 (Evans, Kinsey ) 3-2 (Walford, Hornby, Evans) 2-1 (Kinsey, Mole) 2-3 (Evans, Hornby)

Southern Independent Schools League Final vs Eton 1-0 (Kinsey)

2nd XI

Won 8, Drew 5, Lost 1

FOOTBALL

OTHERS Mike Fatsis (P) came in at very short notice against Millfield in the ISFA Cup (on the morning of the match) and played against Highgate. What a nice bloke! He loved to represent the school and was mainly assigned to the 2nd XI but he did his training, worked hard with Plummer and in the end served the 1st well in some important games. He saved a penalty in the cup final. Sam Jenkins (S), Felix Hamer (R), Temi Afalobi (P), Max Downing (B) and Ollie Hill (R) also played.

vs Lancing vs Winchester vs Bradfield vs Hampton vs Westminster vs Aldenham vs Repton vs KES Witley vs Shrewsbury vs Eton vs Ardingly vs Highgate

Traditionally, the opening game of the season against the OCs is usually a little bit one sided with the portly gents normally plodding to a victory over the disorganised waifs and strays that have accidentally found their way into the Second XI squad. But this year the Seconds cruised to a comfortable 2-1 victory and set the tone for a vintage season. The visit of KES Witley’s first XI might have been a sterner test but in the September sun the Seconds strolled to a 4-0 victory, in what bizarrely became a game of three halves. For a while we dreamed of unbeaten seasons. And in truth this should have been an unbeaten season. But for reasons best known to woodland sprites the Seconds contrived to lose at home to St Edmund’s Canterbury by one sad goal, against the run of play. But, the Seconds showed themselves to be made of steely stuff in the way they responded to such an unmerited reversal. Seven goals were hammered past Lancing; Denham (W) and Afolabi (P) both scored three. Eight goals were put past Bedales. This was actually a close game in a way. The Seconds were under-strength, with George Thorpe (g) having to play through an injury and Denham and Orr (W) both missing. But, after a forgettable first half, and a slight reshuffle, Thorpe and Ross (L) found some scoring boots. In the process Sando (B) established himself as a lynchpin of midfield, creating a fine partnership with Max Downing (B). Winchester were dealt with in similarly imperious fashion by four goals to nil. An away fixture at Eton is always a tough proposition and has in recent years been memorable for all sorts of reasons. This year was no exception. The Eton Second XI was very good and had the Twos down by two goals at half time. It was at this point that it occurred to me how remarkable it is that there is no patron saint of football. With no easy route to invoke divine intercession – Saint Sebastian is apparently a generally sporty sort of saint but he didn’t seem interested – the Twos had to turn instead to the almost saintly Mr Pat Francis, whose words of wisdom proved to be stirring stuff. The second half was a tale of epic proportions in which the Secondary men pegged the game back to 2-2 and showed the kind of tenacity which one normally only witnesses when someone is trying to get an old sock away from a Jack Russell. Although it ended a draw there was no doubt about who retained the sock. Bradfield away was a similar tale of grit, ending at one apiece. The toughest game that the Seconds have all season tends to be against Hampton. But, once again the Seconds did not wilt and fought their way to a very commendable one-all draw. Two more draws followed, against Westminster and MPB’s select XI and there was

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another year! He has a great attitude and is popular as a player. In the LQ he seemed to flourish, probably because he found himself on the pitch for longer periods, but he was stronger, so he scored goals and worked tirelessly going forward. Defensively he was less successful but did the job asked for with honesty. As he strengthens he will become a very useful footballer. Olasubomi Odonowu (D) is a better player than we give him credit for. Seeing him carry his House team into the final and knowing now what he was able to achieve in LQ, I cannot help thinking that we may have underestimated him. Not a technically gifted player he has the knack of winning tackles and mopping up in midfield. His passing certainly needs to be more reliable, but he loyally stuck to the XI and earned his colours.

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a slight sense that the Seconds, whist being almost impossible to beat, had forgotten how to win. A return to winning ways was finally found at Marlborough, against their first XI. This was one of the most satisfying results of the season in that the Seconds absorbed a lot of pressure and won the game 2-0 with some fine counter attacking football. The season was brought to a fitting climax with two deserved victories: 4-0 against Ardingly and 8-3 against Highgate. The last fixture featured an audacious backheeled goal by George Thorpe, which, amusingly, we had practised a few days before just for something to do. Undoubtedly, the overall success of this team was built upon an exceptionally strong defence. In goal, Fatsis (P) was tremendous and the twin Verite full backs of Legge and Harrison proved to be resilient and determined. The centre of defence was commanded by the redoubtable Robinite pairing of Hamer and Hobkinson, but Sam Jenkins (S) also did well when called upon. In midfield, Orr was a busy and effective presence whilst Bolt (B) was intermittently incisive on the left. Up front, the DenhamAfolabi linkage brought bags of goals and a delightful contrast in styles. Overall, this was highly enjoyable season and I would like to thank all those involved for making it so memorable. NSP

3rd XI

Won 10, Drew 3

It is almost a tradition that the opening fixture against the OCs sees us overpowered and unable to stand up to the broad-shouldered opposition. Yet it was immediately apparent that this 3rd XI boasted its best defence for many years, proving capable of matching powerful forwards throughout a brutal physical encounter played on an unforgiving pitch as hard as concrete. We rode our luck (a header against our crossbar, a shot against our post) but keeping a clean sheet against some celebrated former 1st XI strikers ensured a goalless draw – and this was a significant achievement given historic results in this fixture; yet there also seemed an alarming lack of creativity going forward. After a bruising collision, it was rare to witness a Carthusian talking back to an OC (‘um, you’re still at Charterhouse’ was then the weak rejoinder from an OC who will soon learn the age card only works for a while), but such defiance characterised the performance from a team refusing to be intimidated. Encouraging signs… After the annual OC friendly, the next game also seemed like a practice match, dispatching an unusually mediocre KES Witley 2nd XI with ease (5-0), the highlight of a forgettable afternoon a stunning top-corner volley from outside the box by James Wood (D), a strike that was later awarded goal of the season. We still lacked patience in the build-up, though, and struggled to retain possession reliably; yet the defence continued to look impregnable with no goals conceded in almost three hours of football thus far. On a blustery late Wednesday afternoon with a late kick-off, we leaked our first goal against a decent 2nd XI from Alleyn’s, allowing their striker to squeeze the ball in after a lucky rebound. In truth, we played poorly in the first half, struggling to take advantage of a significant combination of wind and slope in our favour. Against the odds, we emerged stronger after the break, with Tom Lodge (W) hitting the inside of the post with a sweetly struck shot from twenty yards and then Alec Raeside (D) providing the equaliser after finding room behind their defence. Down to ten men with ten minutes to go (after a controversial red card for a challenge off the ball), we almost stole an unlikely victory when Wood ran powerfully from halfway only to place his strike agonisingly wide. A draw was a fair result, however, in a gritty game of petty fouls and unwanted niggle. After working hard in the first half against respectable, if not threatening opposition, we scored three pleasing goals in the second period against St. Edmund’s 2nd XI to secure another win and another assured defensive display. The most encouraging sign in this pedestrian game was the improved quality of the crossing, especially from the measured boot of Charlie Russell-Jones (W);

balls whipped in from the left set up all of the scoring and accounted for numerous other chances. We were learning how to stretch the opposition and manoeuvre ourselves patiently into threatening areas. A routine victory (10-0) over a weak Lancing side saw Jon Koh (H) net five goals, confirming his sharp finishing skills. A trip to Winchester ensued ten days later and we were expecting to win again. Frustrated for an hour as some sturdy opposition reduced the game to pinball at times, the deadlock was finally broken by a wonder strike from birthday-boy Raeside, keeping his promise to the coach to honour the special event with a goal. A conclusive second followed from the cultured boot of the improving Joe Clarke (V). With the chance to reach Exeat unbeaten, we journeyed to Bradfield midweek. Never an easy fixture and with the outstanding defensive partnership of Sam Jenkins (S) and Ed Strang (D) for once disrupted due to the latter’s illness, this would be our sternest examination yet. Charlie Forte (L) seemed determined to be sent off as usual, but provided the decisive moment, tapping in after excellent work from Clarke down the left. The defence held firm once more and the commitment of every player on the pitch was exemplary. The games came thick and fast after Exeat, with our toughest fixtures ahead of us, beginning with Hampton. Expecting a stern examination, we began the game sensationally after Raeside’s long shot was deflected past the despairing keeper, and Forte and Clarke quickly added a second and third respectively. Against accomplished opposition, this was a dream start – but deserved after our slick passing and ferocious tackling had left Hampton chasing shadows. They slowly found their way into the match and managed to claw one goal back; however, we remained composed and played out the rest of the game to secure a notable victory. Three days later, we were back on Lessington putting five past Westminster, with Oliver Melvin (S), borrowed from the 4th XI after an injury to Forte, scoring one of the goals of the season with almost his first touch. Next it was Aldenham 2nd XI, a fixture lost in each of the last five meetings, on an afternoon of wind and rain that made it seem we were playing football in the middle of the Atlantic. With injuries and a deserved promotion to Jenkins (now appearing for the 1st XI!) coupled with the awful weather, the scene was set for our fantastic record to crumble in the mud. But we held firm in the first half and, after chances at both ends, found a winner in the final minute via a superb corner from Wood and a towering header from the irrepressible Raeside. A dreadful game had found a memorable climax. A consecutive 1-0 victory followed against Marlborough with the decisive moment provided surprisingly by the head of Fraser Ross (L); not at our best, we ground out a result thanks to a determined display from the whole team in awful conditions. In a similar way to our compelling start against Hampton, we then caught Ardingly cold with four goals in the first fifteen minutes, negotiating a potentially tricky away fixture thanks to tremendous focus from the outset. Ross charged down a defensive clearance in the opening exchanges, leading to Koh finding the net, and the latter found the net again after a tremendous move involving the vision of Wood and a deft assist from Clarke; a Ross penalty and another nonchalant Raeside strike from range completed the scoring. The defence remained typically impenetrable for the next hour, although we lost impact as at attacking force. Last game, an unbeaten season in sight, we welcomed Highgate, a game we would normally expect to win. There was an air of complacency, or was it just fatigue, as we began badly, not marking properly, not working hard enough off the ball and allowing the opposition to dominate. To make matters worse, we seemed vulnerable with the inexperienced goalkeeper Oliver Greenhalgh (H) deputising for George Rowe (S), promoted to the 2nd XI. In fact, it was Oli that kept us in the match, making a string of excellent saves, including a sensational reflex parrying of a fearsome volley. It was a relief to reach half-time all square and a better second half showing saw us dig in for a goalless draw. This

Player of the Month (September): Player of the Month (October): Player of the Month (November): Players’ Player of the Season: Coach’s Player of the Season: Captain’s Award: Razzak Mirjan Award: Golden Boot (11 goals):

4th XI

Sam Jenkins (S) James Wood (D) John Koh (H) Edward Strang (D) Sam Jenkins (S) Charlie Russell-Jones (W) James Adams (S) John Koh (H)

There is more to draws than meets the eye

The 4th XI had a topsy turvy season characterised by some big wins and losses, but the best performances were seen in drawn matches. After an initial reverse versus the impressive OC veterans, the team settled into an unbeaten run of four matches with a draw against Forest and big wins over Rikkyo, Bedales and Hampton. The growing confidence was then shattered by a heavy loss against a very ordinary Winchester side followed by a deserved defeat versus Bradfield. It is sometimes said that a team can be defined by how it handles setbacks and at the midway point in the campaign it was far from clear how the season would develop. It was therefore pleasing that the 4th XI was then able to achieve a 2-2 draw in their best performance so far versus a strong

FOOTBALL

Battersea Technical College first team. However, this recovery proved to be a false dawn when followed by a clear-cut loss against Frensham’s first XI. The final turning point in the season proved to be a very creditable 3-3 draw versus Eton’s 5ths. This was a high quality and physical game that amply demonstrated the great strength of football in depth at both schools. Straightforward wins against Marlborough and Ardingly followed. The team was expecting to play Hampton at home for the final match of the season but the fixtures on that day were juggled and the 4th XI ended up playing their former nemesis team, Frensham firsts, away and in atrocious conditions. It is a measure of how far the team progressed over the season that honour was restored in a hard fought 2-2 draw. Hard statistics distil the season to 5 wins, 4 draws and 4 losses with a goal difference of +13. What cannot be measured is the sporting and positive way that the 4th XI continued the tradition of Carthusian football during 2009. The team overall was characterised by willing volunteers who really enjoyed their football, with very few signs of ego or petulance even when the going got tough. Theo Coles (B) had some torrid days in goal but also made some fine reactive saves as a shot stopper. His capable deputy was Edward Birkett (D) who filled the goal Schmeichel-like on occasion. William Harrison (W) was a solid and committed right back and a fine example as captain for most of the season. The central defence was tested severely at times. Matt Pisk (R) fought with no less commitment than one would expect of a Royal Marine and captained the side early on. Sam Harris (V) was strong and capable, especially in the air. The two Alexes Herbertson (G) and Barton (L) stuck to their tasks manfully, almost always playing the passing game unlike the defenders of TER’s day. George Cussins (G) was stylish at left back, possessing an intelligent left foot reminiscent of Glenn Hoddle. In midfield, Tom Davies (B) ran affairs on many occasions with aplomb – I believe the modern term is ‘bossing’. Tom Lodge (W) toiled tirelessly on the right, whilst bagging a few goals. On the left side, Max Fakhre (V) looked like Ryan Giggs in disguise with his dancing runs down the touch line. Max McCoy (B) added emotion, commitment, skill and goals to the midfield mix. Harry Cradock (D) was an essential member of the unit before injuring his ankle seriously against Rikkyo. It has been gratifying to see his return to fitness as part of the successful Daviesites Senior House team. The squad was lucky to have a ready supply of free-scoring quality strikers. Matt Chandler (L) always looked threatening, troubling defences with his long strides and pace. Oliver Melvin (S) was always dangerous and scored some fine goals. Francesco Cariati (W) provided Italian flair going forward. Spencer PugheMorgan (D) joined the team partway through the season with a fine scoring record for the 5th XI. A hat trick against Ardingly confirmed his eye for the net. Fellow Daviesite Jamie Ferguson also managed a hat trick versus Marlborough and J ground chemistry was clearly in evidence when these two played together. Jonathan Cooper (g) and Miles Beckwith (g) should also be mentioned as very willing and able replacement players who came up from the 5th XI when called upon. Player of the month awards were given to Harrison, PugheMorgan, McCoy and Lodge. After so much commitment from so many players it was not easy for TER to choose the overall player of the season. His eventual nomination of Harrison for his performances both on and off the pitch was well deserved and popular. The 4th XI can be proud of their achievements. Drawn matches might not evoke the obvious gratification of victory or despair of defeat, but it is the games versus Battersea, Eton and Frensham that revealed the best qualities of the 4th XI during 2009. TER

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was an anticlimactic performance, but the achievement of going thirteen games without a defeat had been secured. This is a very rare feat, especially given the number of 2nd XI sides we are pitted against. Yet it was fully merited by an outstanding team. I stress the word team. I have encountered some better quality players at this level of school football before, but never such collective resilience and focus. Every player in this side stuck to their task with determination. The defence deserve the most praise. Rowe is an excellent goalkeeper: an athletic shot-stopper with quick hands, he also proved an authoritative organiser of the back four who can distribute the ball intelligently. Strang and Jenkins will, I think, never be surpassed as a defensive pairing at this level of school football. Russell-Jones was also someone who could easily have coped with playing at a higher level and possessed impressive leadership skills. He combined consistent application towards marking and tackling, with effective attacking play, frequently making skilful raids down the left and providing numerous assists. Amrit Hathiramani (H) became an increasingly dependable right back, improving significantly over the course of the season and providing some wonderful moments of skill. Finally, there was James Adams (S): steadfast, staunch, reliable, he was an indispensable member of the team who barely made a mistake in three months and his trusty outstretched leg saved the team on many occasions. These six kept ten clean sheets and only conceded three goals – an unprecedented record. Nonetheless, our defensive prowess was due to the muscular presence and robust challenging of the likes of Wood, Raeside and Oliver Hill (R) in midfield, with Hill and Ross also providing electric pace down the wings. There were also a range of players on the field capable of scoring from distance – Wood, Raeside and Clarke all netted sensational strikes at important times. Up front, Koh was ever-present, bagging eleven goals with precise and remarkably powerful shooting in the box; if he works harder off-the-ball, he could be very effective indeed. Overall, this team was such fun to coach, and I found much to admire in their industrious approach to training and matches – they deserved their tremendous success. There was also some above average Carthusian ‘banter’ on show (Raeside and R-J) and almost exclusively (Hathiramani) mature behaviour at the enjoyable team curry! There was even a Mr. Schmitt© T-shirt (Raeside, again) piloted at our final practice which should be in expensive stores in time for Christmas. JHBS

U16A

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FOOTBALL

Won 8, Drew 2, Lost 3

The Under 16As enjoyed another very successful season, winning eight and drawing one of our games against other under 16 teams, with the only defeats coming against older and physically superior opposition. Perhaps more impressive than the results was the quality of football that was played: there was a fluency about the passing and movement and an understanding that developed amongst the players that made the side very exciting to watch at times; with a little more guile in the final third we could easily have doubled the number of goals we scored. The camaraderie amongst the side was also a notable area of strength, and this developed despite – or perhaps because of – having to cope with the loss of two players to the first XI and another to a long term injury which saw him miss the whole of the first half of term. The season got underway with a scrappy 1-1 draw against a battling Forest side in a game we should have won; an opening goal from Julien Tavel (D) was cancelled out by our visitors who then survived a late missed penalty. We played a little better against Alleyn’s in our next game but in another slightly nervy encounter captain and centre-forward Tim Downes (L) was the difference, scoring twice in a 3-1 victory. Our first defeat came at the hands of a strong and quick St Bede’s 2nd XI on a hot day and a dry pitch down in Sussex. Missing a number of players, we coped admirably with their considerable threat for much of the game and once Downes had halved the deficit with about ten minutes to go, we were very much in the ascendancy without being able to snatch an equalizer. Downes continued his scoring run in an exciting game against Hampshire Schools the following Tuesday. We normally play their U15 squad, but this year were up against their U16 reserve squad, so were up against it physically as well as having to cope with their passing and movement. We found ourselves 3-1 down with about fifteen minutes left but a stirring comeback saw Downes complete his hat trick – thanks in part to some generous goalkeeping – before a last minute corner saw him fire a header onto the inside of the post, but it stayed out and the game ended 3-3. A trip to Lancing in the sunshine of late September saw us record our second win of the season, by 5 goals to nil, in a game that was, if anything, even more comfortable than the score-line suggests. Winchester made life much more difficult for us in our second outing on Big Ground, as they often do, and it took a long range strike from left back Oliver Higginson (g) to seal a narrow 1-0 win. Eton are strong in this year group, and reached the U15 ISFA cup final last season, but they were missing even more players than we were and we were too strong for them in the end. We started extremely well, Downes scoring two fine goals amidst prolonged periods of possession, but our level dropped in the second half and a very soft long-range equalizer that dropped in over the head of our surprised goalkeeper led to a nervy last twenty minutes. Even within that time we looked threatening on the break, and we hit the woodwork twice more in holding out for a 2-1 victory. We also scrapped to a 1-0 win over Bradfield, man-of-the-match James Robin (P) scoring the only goal. The first game of the post-Exeat period saw last year’s captain Alec McClean (R) return to the side alongside Rob CarnegieBrown (W) in the centre of midfield, and his two goals helped us to a pleasing 5-1 win over a Hampton team who had bizarrely lost every game of their season to date. We followed this up with another good win, 4-1 against Westminster on a wet and dreary Tuesday afternoon. Our game against Chichester fell victim to high winds and storms that battered the south coast that weekend meaning that they couldn’t travel, but we made up for this by playing an extra game against the visiting American touring side from the Hill School, in place of the 2nd XI who had initially been scheduled to play them. After conceding an early goal we played some of our best football of the season to dominate the midfield and work the ball around nicely, and when we equalised soon after half time momentum was very much with us.

However, an immediate response from our visitors killed us off and their extremely pacy front three undid our defence twice more in the final fifteen minutes to leave us with a 4-1 defeat that did not reflect how well we had played. The same fate befell us against Royal Russell 1st XI, though despite a goal from Robin to make it 1-2, we never really got our passing going and conceded a couple of soft goals that led to our downfall. The final game of the season was a fitting showcase of how well we were capable of playing and some great football saw us race to a remarkable 7-0 half time lead against Highgate, in a game that we were eventually to win 9-1. In goal Gavroche Gergaud (G) was an imposing physical presence whose shot-stopping and confidence in coming to claim the high ball improved noticeably as the season progressed. Tall and strong and willing to learn, if he can cut out odd handling errors and improve his kicking from the floor then he could become a very effective keeper for the senior teams. In front of him we tried various combinations in the back four, due to injury, but the regular centre halves were Ben Phillips (g) and Tom Gallyer (S). Phillips’s uncompromising style complemented Gallyer’s more deft touch and together they were relatively solid and positionally sound, which made up for their moderate pace and reluctance, at times, to head the ball with authority. At left-back Tom Randolph (g) had an excellent first month before missing a number of games through injury; he was committed in the tackle, quick and always eager to get forward to support the attack. James Robin (P) operated either at right back or right midfield for much of the season, and also had pace and commitment, and deservedly won the Man of the Month for November as well as chipping in with a number of goals. Oliver Higginson was our Mr Versatile, operating in a number of positions as required, though most usually dovetailing with Robin at right back or right midfield. His fitness improved and with it his touch and his confidence, though his heading needs work. Tom Glover (S) also filled in at right back and right midfield when needed and despite being exposed at times for a relative lack of pace and strength, he showed some good touches and positional sense. In the middle of midfield Rob Carnegie-Brown, October’s man of the month, was crucial to the way we tried to play. Blessed with a good touch and always looking for a pass, he kept things moving nicely and was at the heart of most of our best moves; if he can get himself on the score sheet a little more often then he will become a very good player. Alongside him in the centre of midfield for the second half of the season was Alec McClean, who also has a good touch and the ability to drive forward, though he perhaps didn’t dominate games as much as he might have liked and I suspect that his best position, and where he will be of greatest value to the school in future years, is centre half. On the left side, Tom Gilbey (W) provided us with good width, showed excellent touch and delivery and improved his mobility and physicality over the course of the season. Up front our focal point was captain Tim Downes. Tall, strong, good in the air and quick with two good feet and a powerful shot, he was instrumental to our success in breaking down opponents and he finished the season with 13 goals and a number of assists; he will surely go on to have two seasons in the 1st XI. His partner for the first half of the season was the speedy but enigmatic Julien Tavel, though loss of form and injury saw him replaced by hitherto right-midfielder Hal Briggs (S). He proved a better foil for Downes with his good feet and ability to link the play, and he chipped in with the odd goal too as well as his useful dead ball deliveries, but he could have been braver at times, especially in the air. Luke Mendenhall (W) also featured ‘in the hole’ at times and what he lacked in pace he made up for with his decent touch and canny football brain. My thanks again go to EJH for his assistance in running the side, as well as to RVL for his reliable recruitment of referees and of course to the grounds staff for their tireless preparation of immaculate pitches. SPMA

By Exeat I was starting to wonder whether I was simply deluded in believing that this was a very good U16B team. After an impressive opening win we had suffered two defeats against older opposition, and then a wonderful performance against Winchester was followed by a very disappointing loss to Bradfield. This game, featuring a goal conceded after six seconds (from our own kick-off!) and another two minutes later, was undoubtedly the low point of the season. It also neatly encapsulated the difficulties that the team had against physically stronger opposition in the first half of the season: we frequently dominated possession without turning our superiority into goals and all too often we conceded carelessly at the other end. That the season should have ended so well is tribute to the hard work of the boys during the term. The defence improved dramatically as the season wore on, with Alex Curry (L) increasingly reliable and confident in goal. In front of him injuries meant that it took most of the season for a settled line-up to emerge, but George Kelly (H) and Jonathan Gonszor (P) established themselves as the regular full backs, providing excellent support to our attacks as well as doing their defensive jobs in a very disciplined way. In the centre of defence Hugo Livsey (W) and Tom Macfarlane (g) were a very reliable pairing by the end of the term, when they finally played consecutive games as a partnership, and Will Himpe (B) pushed them for their places and never let the team down in the matches that he played. Much of the success in the second half of the term was due to our midfield, which looked much more potent going forward once we started to play with three in the middle and two genuine wingers. Will Mallin (W) was a dynamic and inspirational captain who was badly missed when a recurring back injury forced him out of several games. He formed an excellent partnership with Tom Julius (V), whose immaculate passing and ability to control the tempo of a match led to his award as Player of the season. Alongside them Sebastian Chan (g) selflessly worked for the team, tackling and harrying the opposition and showing great positional discipline. Towards the end of the season Matthew Powell (L) joined the squad, performing especially well against Aldenham, and Beau McCarthy (V) returned from injury to score two wonderful goals aginst Highgate. On the wings Faris Rahbani (D) had an excellent second half of term, tormenting right backs with his trickery, and Charlie Rogers (V) learned an unfamiliar position remarkably quickly to become one of our chief goal threats. As an alternative to these two we also had Ben Munns (W), whose speed frightened all his opponents and gave us a different option during the game. Up front Luke Mendenhall (W) began the season in fine form and soon moved up to the A team. This left Theo Valaydon Pyke (V) and Boris Linnebank (V), who did not initially gel terribly well as a partnership (one of the reasons for the change of formation) but who each improved significantly as the season wore on and were prepared to work very hard and uncomplainingly when alternating as our lone central striker. This was a very enjoyable season, and I am extremely grateful to the boys for their fun, good-natured and enthusiastic approach and for their willingness to train hard and to learn. I am also very thankful to SPMA and EJH for their input and to SJN for his willingness to promote his best players from the C team! My thanks go also to the laundry and grounds staff for their hard work and to our loyal parental support. EJR

U15A

The 2009 season started with high hopes but ultimately ended with a feeling that we could have done better. A total of 19 players were used, an indication of never really knowing what our best team was, and to what positions they were suited. The ISFA Cup run was over in the first round courtesy of an inspired John

Lyon team who had a gifted Arsenal academy player but little else across the pitch. And a heavy loss to Eton when chasing the game was disappointing. Ironically the best performance of the year, a draw, came against an excellent Hampton side who we should have beaten but for a late equaliser. The season started with Alex Baldwin (V) in goal but a lack of height meant we had to go with Anthony Metelerkamp (B). The back four was marshalled well by the captain Tom Gordon-Martin (S) until he broke his wrist just before half term. Euan McDougall (W) then assumed the role and led very well from the centre half position. Joining him in that role came Harry Frearson (W) a no nonsense defender who made the transition from right back very well. At left back Angus Best (g) was an inspiration, always willing to get stuck in and rampage forward to support the attacks. Ashley Beddows (W) made up the back four after a brief spell in midfield, calm and assured on the ball a bright future beckons. The midfield area became something of a conundrum. Sam Evans (W) dominated the centre of midfield, scored 6 goals and was a clear player of the season. Fraser Payne (g) played alongside him for most of the year despite forays up front as we searched for a killer combination in front of goal. Kyran O’Keefe (g) also played the holding role in midfield and his strength in the tackle and committed attitude gave us more bite against the stronger teams. Making up the midfield were Gameliel Chyne-Mylliem (G) or ‘G’ as he came to be known and Paul McClean (R). Both players had moments of excellence and provided an attacking force down both flanks. Our attacking options were based on the successful pairing of Harry Coe (R) and Adrian Ho (V) from the previous year. However it often lacked a decisive touch in the final third and as a pairing it was unsuccessful despite Coe’s 6 goals. Later in the year Victor Raber (B) emerged as a typical centre forward and gave us a target man up front. In his first game he scored 4 against Westminster including a 2 minute hat trick, some feat. I would like to thank the boys for all their efforts this year; they also conducted themselves very well on the pitch and were a credit to the school. I would also like to thank James Silvester’s contribution throughout the term in his first year with the 15s. Passionate, energetic and knowledgeable about the game, despite being a Peterborough fan, James made an excellent contribution and was a tremendous help to me. A brief match report from each game follows. Forest 1 Charterhouse 1 On a rock hard pitch and a strong wind good football was always going to be at a premium and overall a draw was probably a fair result. The Forest keeper was certainly the busier but a lack of killer instinct in front of goal meant that only a close range strike from Paul McClean separated the sides at half time. The second half mirrored the first but Charterhouse couldn’t put the game away and consequently Forest’s only genuine shot on goal looped over Baldwin and into the roof of the net. Charterhouse huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the elusive winner. Charterhouse 3 St Bede’s 1 A first win of the season relied heavily on a strong second half showing after conceding a goal on the stroke of half time. Gameliel scoring from close range before a stunning effort from distance from Sam Evans gave the home side the lead. Harry Coe scored a late goal in a one on one with the keeper to give Charterhouse a deserved victory. John Lyon 5 Charterhouse 3 ISFA Cup It was all too brief a run in this year’s ISFA Cup as we went down 5-3 at John Lyon. The early stages were dominated by John Lyon but against the run of play we took a lead as Fraser Payne deposited a 35 yard free kick into the top corner. This however sparked the home side into wave after wave of attack and before long we were 2-1 down, an Arsenal academy player wreaking havoc. Then again we scored through Harry Coe but inevitably the home side hit back to take a lead into half time. With a slope and a little wind to help us we gradually started to take more of a

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Won 6, Drew 1, Lost 3

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U16B

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hold in the game and should have equalised but for a debatable decision to chalk off a goal from a corner. Then the killer blow, as we pushed on we left more gaps in defence and the game was out of reach as two breakaway goals put the game beyond us. A late goal from Gameliel and a flurry of chances came to nothing as the game ended Charterhouse’s run before it started. Lancing 1 Charterhouse 7 Charterhouse started brightly and, within the first few minutes of the game, a corner kick was volleyed in by Tom GordonMartin. Charterhouse then added a second just after through Harry Coe. An own goal brought up the third goal, a result of concerted pressure from Charterhouse’s forward line. Lancing got one back before Charterhouse added a fourth before the break. In the second half Beddows added a fifth after a well worked team goal. Another own goal from a well delivered Sam Evans corner was the sixth before Angus Best scored from the edge of the area, ending a very good display. Charterhouse 2 Eton 6 A score-line that didn’t reflect the match as Eton scored 3 goals in the final 5 minutes of the game. Individual mistakes cost the home side the first two goals but at half time we had fought back to be 2-2. A goal each for Harry Coe and Sam Evans. The second half was again a hard fought affair but it was another error in defence that let in the pacy Eton forwards to take the lead again. Good chances to equalise came and went and as we pushed on Eton hit us on the break to put the game away. As legs tired and minds drifted Eton scored two more to give the score-line a one -sided look. Charterhouse 5 Winchester 1 A poor game of football against a weak Winchester side, Charterhouse were 2 up inside the opening 5 minutes and a rout looked possible. However a goal from a corner (no marking) saw Winchester briefly back into the game. Sam Evans scored his second and at 3-1 the game looked sewn up at the break. After the interval the home side pressed without much quality and the game descended into who could give the ball away more. Sam Evans completed his hat trick and Harry Coe added his second as the game died a bit of a death. ‘Could do better’ being the final verdict. Bradfield 0 Charterhouse 0 A hard fought game with few chances for either side to shout about. The Charterhouse back line were outstanding but will now miss Gordon-Martin for the rest of the season with a broken wrist. Charterhouse 2 Hampton 2 After losing 5-1 in last year’s fixture an element of revenge was in the air. However, being asleep from a corner after a minute and presenting the away side with an early goal meant that it was going to be an uphill battle. But battle we did, allowing the smooth flowing football to happen in Hampton’s half and relying on fast breakaways, Charterhouse created some good opportunities and an even half followed. The second half followed in the same pattern but there was a growing sense that we could get something out of the game and when Gameliel scored from close range and then Fraser Payne scored a beautiful free kick from 25 yards a shock was on the cards. It wasn’t to be however, as in the last couple of minutes another soft goal gave the visitors a share of the spoils. An excellent performance. Westminster 2 Charterhouse 7 After a long trip into the heart of London Charterhouse played for the majority of the first half like a team who were still on the bus. Trailing 1-0 with two minutes of the first half remaining Victor Raber, making his first appearance of the season transformed the match with a blistering hat trick in the final two minutes of the half. The second half started like the first with Westminster grabbing an early goal but then the away side swept away with goals from Gameliel, McClean, McDougall and another for man of the match Raber. Aldenham 1 Charterhouse 1 On a very windy day that made quality football something of a luxury Charterhouse ground out a draw despite missing 5 regular

players. A poor decision from the ref led to the opener for Aldenham but Charterhouse hit back just after half time when Fraser Payne scored direct from a corner. Despite a few chances at either end neither side could force a winner and the game ended all square. Charterhouse 1 Ardingly 2 Charterhouse came into the match on the back of a decent run of form. Early signs were that the game was going to be tight, the Ardingly midfield were very skilful and the home side had to work hard to gain possession. However, when Victor Raber latched onto a through ball to put Charterhouse ahead it looked as if a lead at half time was on the cards. It wasn’t to be as a debatable offside goal drew the visitors level. The second half mirrored the first, the few chances there were fell to Charterhouse as Sam Evans hit the post and Gameliel drove just wide. Then for the second time in the match a contentious decision led to a penalty award and the game was gone for Charterhouse. A late rally and flurries of goalmouth activity led to nothing as the home side Martin Bicknell could count themselves a little unlucky.

U15B

The U15B team had a hugely enjoyably and successful OQ 2009, winning all but three games, and performing with great desire and passion throughout the season. The team was ably led by the Tom Finnie (S), whose skill and tactical knowhow made him the obvious choice for captain. The season began strongly, with the team registering three wins without even conceding a goal, thanks to a defensive line-up that included full-backs Jamie Banks (g) and Tom Mason (g), who were a thorn in the side of the opposition’s wingers throughout the season, and fearless central defenders Nicolas Walker (H), who soaked up everything thrown at him, and Kyran O’Keeffe (g) whose mature and strong performances earned him a call-up to the under 15As after just three games where he stayed for the remainder of the season. The nature of being a B team meant that we had to contend with a number of last minute personnel changes, however credit must go to the team for sticking to the fundamentals regardless of who was on the team sheet. This allowed us to be a free-scoring team at times, with our fast and powerful forward-line of Jeremy West (B) and Victor Raber (B), and towards the end of the season Adrian Ho (V), providing many of the finishes. Indeed special mentions must go to Jeremy West for his hat trick against St. Bede’s, and to Victor Raber who scored all five in a 5-3 win at Bradfield; both of whom were rewarded with promotion to the 15A team. Our midfield engine room of Tom Drinkwater (B) and Augustin Wauters (V) also both registered on the score-sheet for the team, and should be praised for their skill and positional discipline in the middle of the park along with our esteemed captain Tom Finnie; they were almost always at the centre of our attacking build-up play. Also key in providing a link from defence to attack were our wide midfielders, the tireless Weekites Dom Howell (W) and Jack Olsen (W), whose fitness and strength frustrated many opposing players. Fergal McGuire (B) also deserves a mention here for slotting into the midfield perfectly after suffering from injury during the first half of the season. I would like to reserve special praise for the players who turned out for the U15Bs in goal this season; Alistair Wright (S) and Alex Baldwin (V) both put in good performances in the net before opting to play out on pitch, and I am pleased to say that they both fitted into outfield roles in the defence and midfield with the greatest of ease. Angus Brayne (S) showed incredible commitment to the team, and stuck at the task for the entire season despite competition from several others, and he really came into his own by the last few games, playing with much improved confidence and character; in fact he deservedly earned the accolade of MDK’s most improved player. Overall the under 15Bs had a great season in terms of both results and style of football played, and despite three losses (to strong

We started the season with a very different team from last year. But the team was strong across the field; a dangerous attack and a solid back five were complemented by a tough-tackling and skilful midfield. Our first match against Forest saw a confident side keen for victory. Our midfield dominated with Liam Kelleher (G) and Liam Wartig (G) being strong and physical. Forest pressed hard but we held them off in the end for a 3-0 win. A hard-fought home win against Bradfield followed and then a rather disappointing away draw against St Edmund’s. Importantly, the C team enjoyed the asset of having a fantastic keeper in Peter Collins (P) and a great captain in Charlie Hill (R). Unfortunately, we suffered 1 of only 2 losses soon after against Frensham Heights. With several players injured we drafted some D players who performed well, but unfortunately the desire to win the ball was not there that day and we suffered a rather embarrassing home defeat. With the desire to redeem ourselves we went to Bedales to win. Again, a makeshift midfield was in place and our coach was unfortunately absent. We gained the lead confidently and we were cruising for a win. But due to terrible luck we conceded three goals and lost the game. We were worried that a losing streak was just beginning. However, we went back to winning ways against Winchester with a solid 4-0 victory with some great goals especially by Tim Louis (D) and some outstanding defending by Alex Broke-Smith (V) and Sean Brennan (V). We then went away to play Bradfield again with a strong side. We scored 7 goals through some great runs by Jasper Cook (P) and some clinical finishing by Alex Spooner (S) and Patrick Baatz (P). Our match against Battersea however was our hardest game yet, the whole team was keyed up to win this game. In the first attack by Battersea the striker was stopped swiftly by a magnificent slide tackle by Sean Brennan. We scored twice but Battersea had plenty of time in hand to equalize. With Charlie Hill leading the team the boys did not hold back on the tackles and challenges. Peter Collins put his body on the line in goal and went off injured to be replaced by Liam Wartig. Toritse Atake (g) played very well on the left wing with many dangerous runs and penetrating crosses. We held on to achieve a 2-2 draw and were pleased to get such a result against such a strong side. We played another three matches against Hampton, Aldenham and Ardingly with players like Alex Weaver (V) coming in to perform key roles in midfield and attack. We won a surprisingly comfortable victory against Hampton, beat Aldenham 3-0 (including the goal of the season by Ope PaulLawal (g)) and should have overcome Ardingly, but for some unfortunate errors which ended in a 2-2 draw. The final game of the season against Highgate was called off due to waterlogged pitches in north London. At our end of season party, Liam Wartig received the Players’ Player award and Sean Brennan the Manager’s Player award. In conclusion the season has been a successful one, with plenty of great performances to outnumber the bad. Every player had a good day and with plenty of great players the team was strong, also thanks to a great coach. Finally, thanks go out to all the players who contributed to the team’s success, whether they played 1 game or all 11. Sean Brennan (V)

U14A

Won 5, Drew 1, Lost 5

When the usual football trials started on Broom and Lees, they followed a very familiar pattern for sportsmen of this age-group. Half the team picked themselves while the others fought form, pace, strength and making mistakes in order to establish

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U15C

themselves. Which is good... competition that is. So when it came to heading round the M25 (clockwise of course) to Forest for the opening match, we were optimist of a result and two minutes in, very optimistic, as Sam Harvey (B) picked off a loose ball in the box from a corner and volleyed into the back of the net. However, that was all the highlights we were to be treated to, as Forest’s streetwise-ness allowed them to rally, hassle and frustrate their way back to 2-1 at half time, going 3-1 up two minutes into the second half and effectively kill the game later on with a fourth goal. In a scrappy disjointed match Josh AndradeBrown’s (L) fitness and physical presence in the midfield stood out as the performance of the day. Our first home match was to welcome St Bede’s (with their Kiwi coach) to Broom and Lees and comfortably dispatch them in a flurry of goals just before the break. First, Wilkie Briggs (S) got the ball rolling before Tom Green (W) stepped up and scored his first hat trick for Charterhouse in the five minutes leading into half-time. 4-nil up at half time surprised everyone! Patrick Harrison (W) continued where the others had left off scoring our fifth two minutes into the second half to snuff out any reply from the visitors. From there the match was played at a more sedate and controlled pace before Rory Wyatt (B) notched a goal on the final whistle. The unsung player this day was Oliver Gilbey (W), whose positional play and tackling meant that many of St Bede’s attacks amounted to little. Another Sussex visitor in the form of Lancing came next and against a weaker opposition we scored a steady stream of goals in both halves of the match, Green scoring another hat trick while Briggs, Max Brahm (G) and Henry Morgan (L) all chipped in... Lancing’s left back also did the same to take the score up to 7-1. We faced a much sterner test in the form of the U13 National Finalists, Alleyn’s School. In the end this turned out to be a terrific game of football, the opposition played superbly in the first half and deserved their two goal lead going into half-time. In a reversal of roles it was Charterhouse that played the better football in the second half pushing hard for the first goal which we got through Max Brahm, however, the second didn’t come and after much pressure and hitting the posts twice Alleyn’s came out on top with both sides, the referee, coaches and spectators realizing they had been involved in a terrific game of football. Sam Harvey and Calum Scott (L) combined expertly this day to snuff out many attacks, especially when they were pushing for their third goal to put them out of sight. Away at Winchester we again played some nice football at times, but it was clear that the midweek game against Alleyn’s took a lot out of the team. Our second own goal of the season came within minutes of the start and in essence set the tone for the match until they curled in a well struck free-kick to beat Alec Cadzow (G) in goal. Order was restored when Tom Green scored twice while Jon Hatt (g) deservedly popped up in the box to net a goal. During this match it seemed our goalkeeper, annoyed at being beaten from distance, thought it appropriate to come out of his box, commit a foul, then in retreating thrust his arm out to stop the quickly taken free kick from leading to a goal. Now while this is not the Champions League (by any stretch of the imagination) and a sending off would be fair, it didn’t happen. Therefore as coaches, Mr Lewis and I thought it pertinent to make a statement and duly sacrificed our captain (Green) for ten minutes. Gentlemanly conduct is expected at all times when representing Charterhouse. We then thrashed out a 3-3 draw with Eton, a typically end-to-end match with both sides preferring to push for the win instead of getting ahead and staying ahead. Macgregor Cox (V) got the ball rolling for us before Green stepped up to score twice again, as we came from a goal down to go 3-1 ahead. But as I said, instead of “shutting up shop” and taking the win, we left ourselves exposed at the back and paid the price. Another one to learn from. The matches didn’t get any easier with Bradfield at home and here we got a true lesson in football. Bradfield were fast, strong,

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opposition) I am very proud of the way the boys have carried themselves both in victory and in defeat this season, and have enjoyed every minute. I wish them all the best for their future football careers. MDK

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technically better and much more streetwise. A 6-1 defeat flatters us slightly and it was only through the efforts of Cadzow (inside his area this time) that kept the score below double figures! After Exeat we headed up to Hampton to start the second half of the fixture list and on a big soggy pitch with a tiny ball we found ourselves unable to adapt quickly enough. With the usual halftime pep talk doing its job we played a much better and more direct game to level the match at 2-2; Henry Morgan (L) and Tom Green, who moved back into midfield, were the scorers. Drama then ensued as Rory Wyatt was brought down in the box to win a penalty, only to get up place the ball and for the goal-keeper to make a good save. This all happened very quickly and in trying to find our feet after the miss, Hampton’s ‘good’ player moved forward, picked up the ball, rounded a defender and the goalkeeper and produced the “sucker punch” of the season. 3-2 to Hampton. A committed and vigorous Westminster side came to play us at home on the Stadium Pitch, catching us on the backfoot, winning 4-3 in a dramatic game. Before we could blink an eyelid we were a goal down... then two... From this point on we were chasing the game and although on the whole Westminster were less skilful, they had two very good players, while the rest knew exactly what they had to do and made it very hard for us to score. Max Brahm entered the fray before the half time break and almost instantly latched onto a through ball to give us some momentum. But in the second half due to pushing forward for goals we left ourselves exposed, leaking one then two more goals. Brahm scored his second, Rory Wyatt ‘back-heeled’ from a corner but it all came too late and Westminster held on for a great win. After a draw and three losses in our previous four games a win was much needed against a visiting Aldenham side. Focus was paramount and on this occasion no one was more focussed than Tom Green who scored SEVEN of the team’s eight goals this day and tried to claim the eighth which turned out to be another own goal (No.3 of the season). However, it wasn’t a complete shut out as Aldenham scored a sole goal to make the final score 8-1. With momentum restored we approached what was to be our last game of the season against Ardingly. Another close contest was settled by a two goal swing. Midway through the match at 2-2, thanks to Green and Brahm, Ardingly had a free near the halfway line. After playing their centre forward in, between our two central defenders... again, he hit a well struck shot from outside the box which Cadzow in goal could only watch hit one post, then rebound and hit the other before being picked up by Henry Clinton (W) at right back and knocked down the channel for Green to latch onto and score. Ardingly were truly deflated and again under pressure. This pressure turned into another goal as they pushed forward again as Green completed his fourth hat trick of the season. As stated, the Ardingly match proved to be the last match of the season, Highgate away, was unfortunately cancelled due to waterlogged pitches which proved to be a real shame. These boys want to play matches, they enjoy them the most and importantly they learn the most from these. Tom Green ended the season as the top goal scorer with an astounding 22 (of the team’s 40). Max Brahm took his chances in the later part of the season scoring five, while the next best was Own Goals generously coming from Lancing, Winchester and Aldenham. Green was awarded the Man of the Month award for September for the kick start to the season that the team required. October’s award went to Alec Cadzow in goal who, barring his little indiscretion against Winchester, did his “damnedest” to keep the attacks at bay in the middle part of the season - Cadzow also received the Players’ Player award, as voted by the team. Max Brahm received the Man of the Month medal for November for his goal scoring prowess and impact play coming off the bench. The quiet and effective Calum Scott got the coach’s award as the Most Improved Player but it was left again to captain, Green, to pick up the Player of the Season trophy to end a terrific first year of Charterhouse football, long may this continue. KDB/RVL

vs Forest (A) vs St Bede’s (H) vs Lancing (H) vs Alleyn’s (H) vs Winchester (A) vs Eton (H)

1-4 6-0 7-1 1-2 4-1 3-3

vs Bradfield (H) vs Hampton (A) vs Westminster (H) vs Aldenham (H) vs Ardingly (H) vs Highgate (A)

1-6 2-3 3-4 8-1 4-2 Cancelled

U14C

Won 4, Lost 5

Ultimately, these Yearlings should be a little disappointed with their season. Individually, they are talented footballers, but collectively they only won one tight match (Ardingly 3-0). The other competitive fixtures were lost (Alleyn’s 1-4, Eton 1-4, Bradfield 0-1 and Frensham 1-2) and, in future, they will need to find the extra 10% which will make the difference in such matches. Only Battersea truly outclassed the team (2-7). Furthermore, two of these matches were lost with late “collapses” – mental and physical fatigue? The team were ruthless in beating weaker opposition (St.Bede’s 12-2, Winchester 8-1 and Hampton 9-1). Hampton weren’t that bad and this was the most complete performance that I witnessed (sadly I missed another top show against Ardingly). The headline makers were the forwards Henry Shore (B) and Huw Reynolds (S) who scored 12 and 9 goals respectively. The midfield was made up of Tom Barley (g) (6 goals), Oscar Silver (B) (5 goals), Matt Hobkinson (R), Hector Don (R), Pietro Theotokis (L) and Finn Longmuir (R). The defence were generally uncompromising and included ever-presents Felix Medlock (B) and Ed Worrall (B), Player of the Year, Hugo Bamberger (G), Harry Criswell (V), who had bad luck with injury and illness, James Rendell (W). Jack Berqvist (L) was an excellent keeper and his fearlessness at diving at a forward’s feet reminding me of Bob Wilson in his prime. Many thanks to PF for his coaching, managing and refereeing and to all the boys, who certainly enjoyed their season. I wish them many happy days playing on the manicured acres of Charterhouse. PP

1st XI Hockey

After the highs of last season it seemed inevitable that another form of High should be a crucial factor this year. A dramatic Anticyclone which brought deep snow across the whole of the UK nobbled our pre-season programme. After the trials and tribulations of last year’s pre-season trip to Barcelona, we decided to train at home. Other than a hopeful outing against Taunton before the snow and ice returned all other training matches were off. We won this 4-2. 30 years ago it seemed the norm to clear pitches or even play on a snow-covered pitch with a red cricket ball (vs Reed’s!). This year the ground staff put their backs into clearing the pitch in time for the first Saturday of the season. Wellington did not believe that it was possible and had decided to send the whole school home for the weekend. However after a series of calls to South Africa and Berkshire they sent a 1st XI squad over for a late afternoon training match. Our goalie was ‘resting at home’ but the rest of the squad were available and keen to stake a claim for a place. It was five minutes into the game that a defining moment happened: Alex Rozier-Pamplin limped off and hardly played again this season. In the second and third sessions we began to earn a few shorts, but there had been no time to hone our routine. Then in the final moments of the third 20 minute session, we allowed a Wellingtonian to move up the line and his ‘cross’ squeezed between Alex Osborne and his post. Thus we were ill-prepared for the visit of Canford for the first round of the Boarding Schools’ Cup. They were a good side but it was a weird match. Josh Doble kicked over an innocent ball to allow a soft tap in goal to break the deadlock. We then hung on

HOCKEY

Back row:- RAB, JET Clarke (V), TA Hobkinson (R), AAA Don (R), JWS Kinsey (g), FG Hamer (R), OCC Greenhalgh (H), JS Doble (S), IJMH Seated:- FM Imrie (S), CER Kimmins (R), HW Walford (g), CP Russell-Jones (capt)(W), JP Hornby (g), JF Webb (g), GV Thorpe (g)

Doble. The experience of Guy Tassell (H ‘94) & Harry Hooper (G ‘04) helped the Shafts into a comfortable lead when the young recruit to BH, Mark Kinder (MDK) displayed his trademark reverse stick shot to excellent effect. The XI were undaunted and fought back despite another Hooper deflection from a MDK creative run. Then tiring legs and flailing sticks gave the youngsters a couple of flicks and Charlie Kimmins managed to defeat the Old Robinite keeper twice from the spot. Was this a new form of House nepotism? Our return from the break gave a chance for us to find our stride but fate took another twist. Eton withdrew their 1st XI team from the block fixture because of an imminent Berkshire Cup match. Our next outing was against Tonbridge at home. We matched them for much of the first half, but they scored twice just before the break, when concentration and composure lapsed and they took their chances well. The second half began badly when the skipper made one of his rare mistakes. He missed an overhead and left two players to finish off against the stranded Doble. Midway through the second half Josh Doble made a spectacular triple save but the defence failed to clear and eventually the ball was forced over the line. The team did keep up the challenge and late in the game both Hobkinson and Kinsey forced spectacular saves from their keeper. Our visit to Epsom was a disappointment. We competed against some excellent teams this year but they were a very ordinary side and we should have gained that elusive win. We gave away a soft goal before the team appreciated that the game had started: we had push back, they scored within 24 seconds! Gradually we began to make progress and create chances. We scored from a short corner and it seemed that we could seal the match. But we chickened out and poor tackling gave them a short from one of their few attacks and then gracefully we allowed them to convert it. Their defence looked clumsy but we had no-one who could take the initiative. This was a spiritless performance even by this season’s standards. The drive to Croydon is never one to relish. However we were determined to gain our first victory. This was another even match with a better organised Trinity team than we usually encounter. We showed spirit under the watchful eye of Pat Francis who is on his second secondment to BH. The game moved freely around the park but that underlying lack of confidence showed at crucial moments. Our sweeper kicked one cross straight to an attacker’s stick for their first goal and then our right half gave our free hit straight to their forward with the rest of the defence caught out of position. Two soft goals had undermined all the positive work. Then in a simple move we strung a couple of passes together broke down the right and Felix Hamer ably converted the chance. We had much more pressure in the final stages but failed to break them down again. RGS Guildford were celebrating their 500th anniversary this

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and eventually created a break down the left where Ollie Greenhalgh was impeded. Sadly Kinsey’s flick was easily saved by their keeper. Then just before half time they scored from a short with a drag flick just inside the post. This sapped our morale and in the second half we allowed them to score from their next five short corners, aided by the postmen neatly stepping out of the line of fire. We had been forced into a slow start to the season and this continued when the match against St George’s was called off by snow on our pitch. We were unable to travel to Weybridge because of Specialist exams and so it was left to a 2nd XI, made up of 1st Year Specialists only, to put them to the sword. At the weekend the snowed cleared, but Reed’s cancelled the block fixture because we were suffering an outbreak of flu. Few of our sportsmen were afflicted but their Medical Officer would not risk it. Weather disrupted the Surrey Cup but eventually we went over to Reed’s to play them and Dulwich. A goalless draw with Reed’s gave us a chance to qualify but then we lapsed against Dulwich and allowed them to score four with no reply. Our journey to Kingston was inevitably a tester for a side so lacking in practice. IJMH had succumbed to the dreaded lurgy and Kinsey was the only player to follow his lead, whilst RP was still injured. We were still experimenting at the back with Felix Hamer trialling at sweeper. For some obscure tactical reason we were on their old hard pitch instead of their sand-dressed new surface. Our subs were supplied by the U16s and they were soon in action: first Harry Walford limped off with a knee injury, then Charlie Kimmins took a knock on his foot. We were now reduced to two experienced colours to take the fight to Kingston. We did create a few chances but lacked composure in front of their keeper. Two late goals gave them a comfortable win but in reality we made them work hard, after a spirited performance by a novice outfit. On the hill top at Bradfield we were hoping that our luck would change despite the absence of four 1st choice players through illness and injury. A realigned defence made a tentative start and a weak back pass and sloppy clearance gave them a chance to tap in the ball on the far post. For most of the first half we were outplayed but the score did not alter. The defence rose to the challenge and began to work together. Then we gradually moved out of our 25 and took the game to them. Just before half-time a miscued cross-pitch pass by their defence was intercepted by our lone centre forward, but Ollie Greenhalgh’s air shot would not have tested any keeper. Impressively this did not faze our team and we began the second half with more control and pressure. We gained a short and the drag flick was repelled onto the stick of Charlie Kimmins who neatly despatched it into the roof of the net. This long awaited goal lifted spirits and the match was now a much more evenly-contested encounter. But their keeper was a match for several fine strikes from Julian Hornby and then, in a cruel climax, their right winger eluded the clutches of Joe Clarke and his cross was struck ruthlessly into the roof of the net with Doble stranded. Our next visitors were Cranleigh and without doubt this was the best Cranleigh team we have seen in many years. They had several internationals and played the ball around the park with confidence and pace. Eventually the pressure on our defence told when a reverse stick shot flashed across Doble to the far post. The only real glimmer was when Jack Ryder-Smith broke down the left and took his chance well to give us some hope, but the pressure proved too relentless. We had now reached Exeat and the season seemed to have hardly begun, certainly for the forwards, though the defence had been busy. In traditional pattern the Shafts rolled out to give the boys a keen match on the eve of Exeat. This is a select XI invited by the Fuhrer: a mixture of BH and OCs with an enthusiasm for golf. The match began brightly when a simple move allowed Tom Hobkinson to notch up his first goal, as the hapless Charlie Noble (R ‘04) sought succour from his errant defence. Then a neat through ball was deftly deflected by RAB past a wrong-footed

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season and showed that they have an excellent team when they played at the Varsity Match. For our match IJMH liaised with their coach who wanted to rest some of his players and so Hammy decided to rest the old stagers and blood some of the youngsters. In the event RGS turned up with a strong squad with several RGS boys having experienced National League hockey: it was men versus boys!. They played the ball around with confidence, but redoubtable defence managed to hold them until Josh Doble kicked over one innocent ball. However 0-1 at half time was encouraging. However, though the defence were working hard to contain their skilful players, we created few chances and did not earn a single short corner. They took the initiative when they converted two left wing crosses and then as tired legs crumbled they scored thrice in the last two minutes to spoil the hard work of the previous 68 minutes. Radley are fine hosts off the pitch but they savour this fixture as the highlight of their season and so we did not expect any favours once the match began. As the half unfurled the match proved more even than the bench hoped for. From their fourth short they managed to place a slap hit across the D in on the far post. Midway through the second half a well struck Radley short was stopped on the line by our defender’s foot and the ensuing penalty surely spelt disaster. But Doble won the contest when the flick struck the post. This seemed to sow a few seeds of doubt in the minds of the Radleians and we began to win a couple of shorts. Finally Julian Hornby confirmed his cricketing credentials with a sweet strike which eluded their keeper. Spirits were lifted and then in a moment of pure magic a break down the right found Hornby heading into the D and he tried, and executed, a perfect reverse stick strike into the roof of the net. The elation was electric and the team then strove to keep everything tight at the back and we held on for a famous victory. The end of season jolly is a match against the Acrostics. Josh Allen-Back (g ‘02) provided a couple of talented mates from Richmond whilst the rest of the side is made up of old troopers who have played alongside RAB over the decades. On the evening experience told and the Acrostics put on a fine display, though late in the game Ollie Greenhalgh managed to slot the ball past the rooky goalie in the guise of SGB – coach of the enthusiastic U15Ds. This was Ollie’s first and only goal of the season! It is quite a challenge to put a positive spin on a season when we failed to score in 7 matches and our total of 10 goals for the season was our lowest ever tally. This was the only record we seem to have broken this season! With few senior goalies remaining in the fray it gave a chance for a youngster from the U16s to seize the No 1 jersey. Josh Doble, once he returned, took up the reins in goal. He is a promising prospect who plays regularly for Teddington Juniors & Middlesex U16s. In the past he has been criticised for diving too much and sometimes too soon, however he has improved enormously in these departments. He made many fine saves and when we consider the pressure that the defence was under, he coped admirably at the top level. Just on occasions his concentration lapsed and twice he stepped over simple balls to give the opposition an easy lead. It will be fascinating to see if he can head off the challenge of a phalanx of young keepers who are moving up the ranks behind him. After our disrupted preparations we finally settled on Fergus Imrie in the sweeper’s role. Ideally he would have been more effective on the right, but we had few alternatives. His slap hit has become more reliable and he tackles well with his long reach. Occasionally he has a rush of blood to the head and charges up pitch to find himself stranded. The key to the defence and the whole team was Charlie Russell-Jones. He captained the side with tremendous composure from the central back position. His tackling and distribution was magnificent. He was largely responsible for holding the defence intact despite the excessive pressure that we seemed to be under. He was so unlucky to be let down by the absence or lacklustre performance of so many of the other

experienced old colours. The left of the defence was settled by Joe Clarke. He marked his man and tackled soundly. On occasions he pushed forward but tended to be held back by the pressure our team was under. On occasions he made excellent last ditch tackles as he covered across the D. After much experimentation, Alex Don managed to secure a regular place in the team at right of the defence. His speed enabled him to keep track of the opposition forward but he needed more composure on the ball to give more effective support to the midfield. We planned to play Alex Rozier-Pamplin in the defensive midfield role. But he limped off after only a few minutes in the first match and we hardly saw him back except for the Tonbridge match. When he recovered his fitness at the end of the season, he inexplicably chose not to travel to Radley and thus missed that famous victory. So this gave a chance for Jonty Webb to support the defence and control the midfield. Jonty is a thoughtful player and reads the game well, but did get caught out by the pace of the modern game. He found it tough to move up field enough especially with the defence under so much pressure. When he was fit James Kinsey played in the attacking midfield role. His strength gave him a chance to strike several fine shots, but they seemed always to bring out the best in the opposition goalies. In the first half of the season we hoped to rely on Harry Walford to play in the left midfield role. This was a position that he made his own last year, but sadly his knee gave way in the Kingston match and he missed most of the big matches for the rest of the season. This gave Felix Hamer a chance to take over this midfield role. He looks composed on the ball but he needs to work on his distribution since he gave the ball away too readily. Eventually Tom Hobkinson was able to stake a claim for a 1st XI place and came into the side on the right. The forwards seemed set fair, led by Julian Hornby and Charlie Kimmins, both old colours. It was hoped that they would bring a rich vein of experience from last season’s campaign. The newcomer was Oliver Greenhalgh a regular in the A XI who had impressed with his running off the ball. But this was the department where we faltered seriously compared to last year. No-one seemed to have a clue in front of goal. Charlie Kimmins scored his rebound against Bradfield, otherwise his two penalties against Charlie Noble was all he managed for the rest of the season. He looks skilful on the ball but somehow he never really showed that sharpness, evident last season, which causes panic in the opposition defence. Julian Hornby left it late, with his two spectacular strikes against Radley, to display his talent. It seemed strange that he had been unable to score against more humble opponents. He retained his fitness throughout the season and on occasions had to drop back into midfield to bolster our depleted resources. Eventually Ollie Greenhalgh broke his duck when he slotted his first goal past the Acrostics’ rookie goalie (SGB)! He ran with vigour but found it hard to anticipate where the ball might run in a crowded D. Perhaps the forwards would have fared better, if we had been able to settle on a more composed midfield. Others had their moments: George Thorpe had a couple of runs out, when the squad was depleted, but his skills were just not sharp enough at this level, though he was a regular on the bench; Jack Chard similarly had the pace but not the control at the top level. Jack Ryder –Smith took to the field and scored a goal against Cranleigh, when this seemed to be our key problem, but then he was ill for the rest of the season. Curry and Gilbey came up from the U16s on occasions to help cover absences. They adjusted well to the pace of the senior game. This was a team that failed to take their opportunities. The senior pros chose to miss all the pre-season skills’ practices which we ran in OQ. With the benefit of hindsight this was part of the problem since their basic skills let them down against the talented sides which we now play. Probably a couple of marginal players could have won a regular place in the team if they had been willing to practise and train during the OQ. This was a season to put behind us and appreciate that there is a very fine line between

0-1) 0-7 c c 0-3 1-2 1-4 3-5 c 0-4 1-2 1-2 0-6 2-1 1-4

Surrey Cup vs Reed’s vs Dulwich

0-0 0-4

(BSC 1st Round) (Kimmins) (Ryder-Smith) (Hobkinson, Kimmins 2 pfs) (Imrie) (Hamer) (Hornby 2) (Greenhalgh)

Team: CP Russell-Jones (W), JP Hornby (g), HW Walford (g), CER Kimmins (R), JS Doble (S), FM Imrie (S), JN Clarke (V), AAA Don (R), JF Webb (g), OCC Greenhalgh (H), FG Hamer (R), TA Hobkinson (R), JWS Kinsey (g) Also Played: AW Rozier-Pamplin (R), GV Thorpe (g), AJH Osborne (V), JE Ryder-Smith (g), JW Chard (S), ZH Shellman (D), SJT Harris (V), TW Gilbey (W), ASC Curry (L), MC Powell (L), TM Downes (L), JS Robin (P)

2nd XI

Won 5, Lost 3

By the standards of recent years this season was something of a disappointment, containing three losses; these came against strong opposition, however, and at times the team played fine flowing hockey to good effect. There was much to commend in the strong team ethic, although the side did not quite match the technical standards of previous years. Quantities of snow better suited to Nordic sports and the demands of the examination schedule at the start of Quarter meant that the season started less smoothly than we might have wished. The first fixture was not until Wednesday 20th January against St George’s, Weybridge, and involved a side composed entirely of First Year Specialists, excepting only Ben Clarke (R) who ably captained the side to a 5-0 victory before dropping down to help the 3rd XI through another very successful season. Kingston Grammar School provided stronger opposition in the next fixture, which resulted in a hard-fought 3-2 victory. Some excellent hockey was played by both sides, but Charterhouse proved worthy winners. Sadly, however, the team was unable to reach the same heights in the next game away at Bradfield, during which we enjoyed the vast majority of the play but simply could not score enough goals. A 1-2 defeat ensued in a game which could and should have been won. Better things followed the next week, with a deserved 2-0 victory against Cranleigh on the Saturday and a flowing 3-1 win against Eton on the Tuesday before Exeat. At this point hopes were high, but stronger opposition loomed after the holiday. The 1-3 loss against Tonbridge was tighter than the score suggests, and Charterhouse could have had something from the game; the side

HOCKEY

(vs Wellington vs Canford vs St George’s vs Reed’s vs Kingston GS vs Bradfield vs Cranleigh vs Shafts vs Eton vs Tonbridge vs Epsom vs Trinity vs RGS Guildford vs Radley vs Acrostics

came back strongly from defeat, however, to win in some style against Epsom. The final fixture against Radley, however, saw us matched against stronger opposition, whose 4-2 victory was well deserved and reflected the fact that they were the strongest 2nd XI team on the circuit this year. Although not quite as successful as in the past, this squad was a delight to coach and the team consistently played in the best of spirits. A young defence struggled a little at times against the stronger opposition, but was ably marshalled by goalkeeper Alex Osborne (V), who shows much promise and pulled off some outstanding saves over the course of the season. George Rowe (S) filled the role of sweeper with increasing conviction as the weeks went by, and Sam Harris (V) at left back was consistently impressive in his work rate and the strength of his tackling. He looks a strong prospect for next year. James Manton (B) exerted a strong influence on the side from right back, demonstrating strong technique and a fine eye for a pass. The midfield varied a little over the course of the season, but the stalwarts were Max Agace (R) on the right side, Zach Shellman (D) on the left and Oscar Royds (W) and Felix Hamer (R) in the middle. Although distribution was less strong than in previous years their work rate could not be faulted, and at their best they proved capable of dominating weaker sides with excellent passing hockey. This meant that the front trio of Jack Chard (S), Seb Cox (S) and Edward Mole (P) were well served through most of the season; they too exhibited huge determination throughout, although without quite scoring the number of goals we might have anticipated. Chard’s pace, however, proved very difficult for opposition defences to handle, and Mole’s increasing poise in the D augurs well for next year. Cox adapted his strong sporting abilities admirably to the demands of the hockey pitch, and also led the side in exemplary fashion, exhibiting determination and good sportsmanship in equal measure. One of the great pleasures of this year was to see the number of 1st XI players this year who had spent the previous season playing in the 2nd XI; I know that several members of this year’s squad will hope to see that pattern repeated in 2011. Thanks are once again due to RPN both from the squad and from me. The side continues to benefit hugely from his excellent umpiring, always consistent, good-humoured and fair. This year he also uncomplainingly shouldered a much larger coaching burden, and for this the team and I are hugely grateful. MGA vs St. George’s (a) 5-0 vs Kingston GS (h) 3-2 vs Bradfield (a) 1-2 vs Tonbridge (h) 1-3 vs Cranleigh (h) 2-0 vs Epsom (h) 4-0 vs Eton (h) 2-0 vs Radley (a) 2-4

3rd X1

A season that took forever to get started due to weather and illness, stuttered at the start and faded at the end. A number of players ‘retired’ from hockey as the first teams were announced, thus depriving a potentially very strong side. In total, over 20 players were used throughout the 6 games due to one reason or another. This prevented any sort of consistency as team selection and positions were generally decided in the warm up before the game! Jack Meyer (L) was consistent throughout as Captain and led well, Alex Jeffreys (D), Andy Corridan (W), Ben Clarke (R) and Matt Hoffman de Visme (P) were excellent 3rd XI players and can consider themselves unlucky not to have been playing at a higher level. And in Fraser Ross (L), Alastair Church (R), James McCallion (W) and Shaun Allan (G) the 3rd X1 had some very skilful players. As for the results, three wins against Cranleigh, Eton and a last gasp winner against Epsom were the highlights. The opening game defeat at Wellington got us off to a poor start and the end game defeat at Radley won’t go down as this 3rd XI’s finest hour. An excellent 2-2 draw at Tonbridge being the best match of the term. Martin Bicknell

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success and failure at the top level. However we are aware that it was our worst season for 30 years! We don’t want to suffer that again in the next season. Now we are building for the future and though there is a delay in providing the new astros, we are in the process of planning a major tour to the Far East and Australia in the summer of 2011. This is a wonderful chance to bring on some young players who should form the core of sides from 2012 onwards. RAB

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HOCKEY

U16 A

This was arguably the strongest team I have coached in eight years. My thoughts, however, of having a good season were not positive as the season started. The regular keeper was in the 1st XI and the old ‘B’ keeper wanted to play football. It was therefore with some trepidation as I watched Anthony de Unger (L) put on his pads and rather awkwardly stop some tame shots. Any fears were soon dispelled though by Anthony. Although he was never the best trainer (he didn’t want to dive in practice) he never let us down during the season, and was often our best player on the pitch. Against Bradfield, for example, with very little to do for most of the game, he made an excellent save with the score at just 1-0. He was also the star of the Surrey Cup tournament. At right back was Tom Gallyer (S). I can’t remember a more skilful player in that position, and he often made excellent runs into the opposition half. He does need to get his head up before playing the final ball though; too regularly position was needlessly given away, often with Tom out of possession. On the other flank was the determined and nugget like Tom Randolph (g). Like Gallyer, Tom passed the ball without looking up (and sometimes without enough pace), but could then be relied on to win the ball back. His will to win was no doubt best seen in the gutsy victory away at Tonbridge. Missing a number of key players, and struggling a little on the bouncy pitch, Charterhouse were forced to defend for sizable chunks of the game. Randolph was at the heart of this effort and put in a number of very brave tackles. In the same game George Jameson (L) was another influential figure. Although not the athlete of the other defenders, which might explain his resorting to rather bizarre tackles against the RGS, he was calm on the ball and capable of many important interceptions. When he speeds up the transfer of the ball by getting his feet in better positions, he will be a fine player. The final component of the defensive unit was the consistently brilliant Matthew Powell (L). Playing regular club hockey was a huge advantage for Matthew, and he often looked a class apart from the rest of the boys on the pitch. He mixed deceptively good skill with clever positioning and fine distribution. There was rarely a long period in our matches when he was not involved, and he was arguably our most complete player. Having said that, I should not forget the impact which Tom Gilbey (W) had on the season. Playing in a defensive midfield position he regularly snuffed out opposition attacks, and he was crafty enough (when needed) to slow the game down in a ‘professional manner’! Next year the Surrey umpires might not be so lenient with his enthusiastic tackling, so he does need to work on developing a more innocent face. Nevertheless it was Tom who was at the heart of our superb performance against the RGS. He never allowed the preening Surrey players time to settle on the ball, and he worked tirelessly for the full sixty minutes. Ahead of him in the centre of midfield was Jack Reynolds (H). Although Jack did not score the goals he probably hoped for, he was a powerful presence in the centre of the pitch and linked up well with the forwards. He does, however, need to work on his general fitness and speed over ten yards. This will be crucial to make the grade at the next level up. On the right of midfield was arguably the most skilful player I have coached at U16 – Sam Robin (P). In some ways he is the perfect build for a hockey player, and he was the one Carthusian with the same skill level of some of the Cranleigh boys. (Having said this, skill is not everything. This game ended 0-0, with Charterhouse missing two one on ones with the Cranleigh keeper!) Robin scored a wonder goal from an extraordinarily tight angle against Bradfield to settle a nervy, but ultimately comfortable, game. On the left of midfield was the very different Alec MacLean (R). Alec did not have the skill of Robin, but he ran tirelessly for the team and scored a number of crucial goals at the far post. He often played better in the harder games and, towards the end of the Tonbridge match, he was probably our most dangerous option going forward. Alec was also someone who played out of position when required and simply got on

with the job – a pleasing attitude. The two first choice strikers were Alex Curry (L) and Tim Downes (L). Downes was big and strong, and was too much for a number of defences. However he was not all brawn. He also displayed impressive skill, and got into a number of wonderful positions throughout the season. Despite this, he did not score the huge number of goals he would perhaps have liked, and he will need to improve on his finishing. It is surprising, for example, that he prefers to flick rather than the strike the ball, and I urge Tim to work on smashing the ball home from the top of the ‘D’ next season. Curry, by contrast, was more of a link man with midfield. He captained the team in a quiet and effective manner, and led by good example. His positional sense, often underestimated in a forward, was impressive, and he channelled the opposition in an intelligent manner. Like Downes, I am sure that Curry will be looking for more goals next season. Finally, mention should be made of Tom Glover (S). Although he rarely started a game, he was a skilful and very useful substitute, who played in both the midfield and the forward line. He played very well against Cranleigh, and probably just needs to work on his strength on the ball – something which should come with age as much as anything else. In short, this was a very fine team who performed well throughout the season. Unbeaten outside of the Surrey Cup is no mean achievement, and is a testament to their skill, determination and courage. For me, the memory of the season will be 2-2 draw with an excellent RGS team who had won the previous year’s fixture 7-1. The boys did not simply sit back and hold out for a draw, although they defended tenaciously when they had to. They also played swiftly and simply to score goals and even miss clear cut chances. I expect them all to go on and be a big success over the next two years, and I wish them the best of luck for their hockey future. MRG

U15A

Won 4, Drew 1, Lost 3

Despite the disruption at the start of LQ caused by the snow and then the Norovirus, this turned out to be an enjoyable season with a number of memorable matches. The team improved considerably in a short space of time and finished the season on a high note winning three and drawing one of the last four matches. The first match, at Kingston Grammar School, was always going to be tough, especially as we were short due to injury. Our defence was shaky and indecisive and we conceded too many soft goals from short range. We broke out quickly from time to time, and it was clear that there was plenty of pace and strength in the team, if little cohesion as yet. Pavel Degtiarev (V), plucked from Yearlings House hockey obscurity, had a baptism of fire in goal, but he certainly did not let the team down despite the 1-6 score line – in fact he was one of our best performers on the day! We had just a few days to shore up the defence and prepare for the visit of Bradfield: we switched to four in midfield, with Dominic Howell (W) coming in at RM and Augustin Wauters (V) making his debut at LB. Tom Annable (B) and Fraser Payne (g) worked hard up front but were rather isolated at times. We ran out deserved winners 2-1 in the end though at times, when it was 1-1 in the 2nd half it looked as if the game might go the other way since we gave the ball away too often. Euan McDougall (W) however, had a much more secure and confident game at Sweeper and, along with Tom Gordon-Martin (S) at CB, nullified the Bradfield threat. Next up were Cranleigh: we knew they were going to be a tough proposition with an England player in their line-up. Again we set up defensively and aimed to hit them on the break: the tactics worked well for 20 minutes and Payne finally took one of his chances in his lone role up front. But then our captain Ashley Beddows (W) who had been shadowing their England player so successfully, suffered a knock and had to come off for a few minutes – during which time the game was turned on its head as

vs Kingston GS vs Bradfield vs Cranleigh vs RGS, Guildford

0-6 2-1 1-4 0-1

vs Tonbridge vs Eton vs Epsom vs Radley

3-0 2-1 4-0 2-2

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better often to keep possession, manipulate the ball into a stronger position, drive with it, dribble with it – this perhaps went against the grain for Charterhouse teams of the past built on a passing ethic, but ultimately, if our teams are to compete with the likes of three-astroturfed Cranleigh, club-based RGS, Guildford and two-term Kingston our individual stick skills need to improve. This is not going to happen until our players get more astro pitch time: a handful of one-hour (or less) training sessions in a whole season is hardly the recipe for producing the technical skill required to compete at the highest school level these days. Which makes it all the more incredible that our 1st XI won the Surrey Cup last season – perhaps this U15 team, combined with the U16 team above them, will emulate them – but it will be little thanks to our facilities. RWTH

The squad: P Degtiarev (V), EW McDougall (W), TP GordonMartin (S), NF Kleiber (G), ND Lee (W), AD Wauters (V), DJS Howell (W), AJ Beddows capt. (W), EJA Iley (V), HSN Coe (R), FS Payne (g), TGP Annable (B) Also played: AP Baldwin (V), APC Wright (S), DM Bowcock (L)

U15B

Won 1, Drew 2, Lost 3

The hockey season started very slowly this year, with the heavy snowfall badly affecting our ability to play games or even train throughout January; by the time our first fixture came around late in the month the boys (and I) were itching to get out and play some competitive hockey. The Under 15B’s season of 2010 was characterised by continuous progress and improvement. Determined to play attractive, flowing hockey, as opposed to the crude but sometimes effective ‘hit and rush’ tactics favoured by many of the teams we faced, we took a bit of time to gel as a team, but when the boys hit their stride at the end of the season it was clear we had become a force to be reckoned with. We opened the campaign with a loss to Bradfield; despite some solid work in the centre of midfield from the tireless pair of Harry Light (V) and Henry Morton (L), we couldn’t break down a strong Bradfield defence, and were left exposed at the back several times. A textbook far-post knock in from Ali Hoffman de Visme (P) got us back in the game but it was a case of too little too late. Our trip to Cranleigh was no more successful, and probably represented a low point in the season as our only heavy defeat. Still, lessons were learnt, and our determination to improve after such a capitulation was a real turning point. Our next match was a testing home fixture against Tonbridge, but the team showed their spirit and determination, fighting back from a two goal deficit to secure a draw. The attacking partnership of Ali Wright (S) and Will Melvin (S) came into fruition in this game, and the boys showed that their direct style and pace could unlock defences, especially when they linked up with our skilful and quick-thinking wide midfielders, Angelo Filarmonico (H) and Dom Bowcock (L). Three days later we went to Eton, full of confidence that we could seal our first win of the season. We took an early lead, and were easily holding them at bay thanks to some strong tackling and sensible ball distribution from our centre backs Hugo Sloper (B) and Anthony Metelerkamp (B). However despite several forays into the opposition half, spearheaded by defender Nick Walker’s (H) willingness to get forward, we could not secure the second goal we deserved, and unfortunately were punished when Eton equalised late on in the game. In our next fixture against Epsom we also took the lead early on, and were looking completely comfortable, despite a new look lineup, with Alex Baldwin (V) ably marshalling the centre of midfield,

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Cranleigh scored twice in a couple of minutes as the spaces opened up on the edge of our D. After half-time we fought valiantly but Cranleigh ran out deserved 4-1 winners. I was pleased however with our spirit and the way we fought back towards the end, forcing a number of penalty corners. We deserved a second goal for our efforts, but a penalty stroke opportunity was missed. After Exeat another very strong team lay in wait – RGS, Guildford, who themselves had had a close match with Cranleigh. In teeming rain we fought tooth and nail but, despite all our efforts and several superb reaction saves by Degtiarev, including one stick save which drew spontaneous applause from the spectators, finally conceded from a penalty corner with five minutes to go. But this performance was, I think, the turning-point of our season. We now knew we could compete with the best and we set ourselves the target of winning three out of the last four games. Two days later we faced Tonbridge: with three up front and Harry Coe (R) now installed as RW we played superb attacking hockey in the first half, but missed several sitters in front of goal. One mesmerising run in particular by our county winger Tom Annable (B) when he beat five defenders would have resulted in ‘goal of the season’ had Payne stuck the chance away. How we were only 1-0 up at half-time was difficult to explain. In the 2nd half we just needed a second goal to kill the game but it took until ten minutes from the end for us finally to score the goals which our pressure merited. Ed Iley (V) finished Tonbridge’s resistance with a pin-point strike from a penalty corner. It seems strange to say that I was disappointed with only a 3-0 win, but our play had merited more. Three days later, with rather tired legs, we travelled to Eton to face a strong side to which this side had lost as U14s. Despite dominating much of the game, our finishing was poor and Eton took the lead after a mistake in defence. We equalised before half-time and after half-time, despite an injury to Nick Lee (W) at RB and a recall for Nick Kleiber (G) from the adjacent B team game which unsettled us for a few minutes, we finally scored the winner when Harry Coe ran through their defence and passed the ball past their keeper despite himself being hampered by a pulled muscle. So two wins out of two with Epsom to come on the following Saturday: by this time we had practised a number of penalty corner options and introduced the aerial tactic, hoping to use the full variety against Epsom – but it was not until the final fifteen minutes that everything clicked. Ashley Beddows, ever gaining in confidence in his CM role, threw in a couple of well-placed aerials behind their defence but Payne spectacularly failed to take advantage. However, penalty corner routines finally clicked, with Coe finishing off from the penalty spot and Beddows finally hitting the target from left slip. Coe finished things off with a reverse-stick sweep to ensure a comfortable win and earn himself the ‘man of the match’ award. But it should have been so many more than 4-0. So the win target had been met – but could we make it four in a row in the last match against a previously unbeaten and confident Radley team. As expected it turned out to be a thriller: we were twice behind but fought back for a deserved 2-2 draw. Payne scored a great individual goal and Tom Gordon-Martin played a crucial role for us in defence to keep their CF quiet. It was a pity the season had to end when it did since the team was beginning to blend into a very useful unit with plenty of pace and strength in the team all round. Several of the players are still relative novices with little or no club experience but the future, I think, is very bright for this year group. The outstanding player of the season for one of so little experience was Pavel Degtiarev: with further technical coaching in the off-season he could challenge for a high team next season. But there are six or seven other players with 1st XI potential in this side. MDK’s coaching and advice on the side-line was invaluable: the players began to appreciate what they needed to do off the ball as well as on it and his catch-phrase ‘enjoy the ball’ reminded players that they didn’t always need to pass the ball too hastily,

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and Will Oakes (P) slotting nicely into defensive and midfield roles as required. However we inexplicably took our foot off the gas, and managed to ship two goals in quick succession. This ended up being our ‘game that got away’, as despite our superior possession and dominance going forward, some superb last-ditch defending from Epsom prevented us from getting ourselves back in the game. This left us with one final chance to record a ‘W’ this season, the daunting prospect of a visit from a previously undefeated Radley side. We started tentatively, with goalkeeper Tom Finnie (S) making a couple of crucial saves, however we soon started to ship the ball around beautifully, with Harry Light and Henry Morton linking defence to attack with finesse. It wasn’t to be long before we broke the deadlock, and for the first time in the season we managed to get the three-goal cushion we had often deserved, thanks to strikes from Will Melvin, Ali Wright and Angelo Filarmonico, effectively killing off the game mid-way through the second half. The defence held out well, and Tom Finnie recorded a much deserved clean sheet for the first time this season. Unfortunately the Radley game was our last, and we were left wondering what could have been if we’d have had a couple more games to show how far we had come. All the same I have very much enjoyed taking the boys this season, and am delighted with the progress that has been made. I would like to thank all of the boys and their parents for their commitment to the Under 15B hockey team this season, and I wish them the best of luck for the next hockey season.

U15C

Won 4, Drew 1, Lost 1

The hockey season of 2010 will probably be most clearly remembered for the foul weather conditions rather than the hockey played, but that would fail to recognise the achievements of this spirited and competitive group of players who won all bar two of their games and had an undefeated run after Exeat. Having said that January was notable mainly for its lack of hockey, the first Saturday (which was to have seen a fixture against Wellington) was lost to the snow that still lay thickly on the ground and the second was cancelled due to a bout of norovirus that was threatening to rampage through the School. It wasn't, then, until the final Saturday of the month that the U15C hockey team first took to the pitch in anger. This proved to be a vigorous and passionate, if not necessarily beautiful, game to watch. Both teams generated good chances with the keepers making important saves, Jack Olsen (W) in goal showing himself to be fearless and skilled. Ultimately the difference between the two sides came down to two clean strikes by Nic Walker (H). In the first half he connected very cleanly, from the top of the D, after yet another Carthusian attack, with the ball striking the backboard with a pleasing thump. In the second half a simple short corner move saw him drive the ball across the goal sweetly for it to crash home bottom left. Although the two goals won us the match there were other players who made significant contributions to our success. The calm and controlled defending of Will Oakes (P) and the energetic and purposeful play of Fred Knottenbelt (W) in the midfield thwarted many a Bradfield assault and allowed us to attack swiftly on the counter. February saw us playing our only game on astro against Cranleigh. Unlike the previous week where Bradfield had been unlucky not to score we saw our fortunes reversed when we were unable to convert numerous attacks and probably 60% of the possession into goals. Every Charterhouse midfield and forward player had clear chances in their D but our collective radar was askew and we failed to score. Cranleigh, on the other hand, converted twice, once in each half, both goals seemed avoidable and resulted from some slightly hesitant defending on our behalf. What was noticeable again, however, was the great passion and determination with which we played right up to the final whistle. I would be surprised,

if we were to play them again, that we would lose by two goals. Although this was a team effort I was particularly struck by James Perry’s (P) play that was calm and assured pushing out from his defensive position on the right. Amazingly it was three weeks until our next game as Exeat week was upon us. Nevertheless, the game against Tonbridge was to prove to be our best of the season where, once again, the Charterhouse boys played with their customary energy and commitment, but this time with a little more hockey ‘nous’ and skill. Harry Frearson (W) was the spearhead of the attack working tirelessly to generate chances and was justly rewarded with two goals from short corners. Callum Morganti (S), Ollie Hallett (L) and Angus Best(g) linked magnificently on the left hand side and at times cut the Tonbridge defence to ribbons. Although the Carthusians dominated from the start we kept on letting the Tonbridge boys back in and it was still only 1-1 at half time. In the end we did just enough to secure victory despite a late second from Tonbridge (to make it 2-3) and a frantic last 5 minutes of end-to-end play. Quickly following on from this was a rather one-sided affair away to Eton mid-week. Unfortunately the sides were rather mismatched and the Carthusians strolled to a 9-0 victory. Charlie Hill (R) got on the score sheet for the first time with two goals, his hard work from midfield also helping to generate many more chances for the rest of the forwards. Also scoring for the first time was Fred Knottenbelt who, in the end, was extremely unlucky not to get a hat trick when his stick got stuck in the Etonian mud when a nudge from one yard out would have gained him a third. From this high point we then were disappointed only to draw against Epsom the following Saturday. Maybe having three matches in eight days removed some of our cutting edge, but it was noticeable how we seemed to flag in the final fifteen minutes when we had played with great passion right to the final whistle in our previous matches. Having said that the game started in a pulsating fashion with the Charterhouse boys pushing hard, although Epsom proved dangerous on the break. Indeed it would have remained goalless at half time had it not been for a skilful reverse stick collect by Angus Best on the left wing to slot away a half-saved cross from the right. The second half saw us start to fade with too many attacks trying to be forced up the middle when there was plenty of space wide right and left, and it came as no real surprise that the Epsom boys equalised. Indeed by the time the final whistle was blown a 1-1 draw looked a fair result. The final game of the season saw a revitalised and much more determined U15C team take to the pitch and for the first time in the season scored in our first attack, Harry Frearson driving home a fierce shot from the top of the D. After that the game settled into an extended period of attack followed by counter attack with neither side seeming to get any clear-cut chances. Tom Mason (g) sweeping at the back proving very efficient at firing clearances up field. Also George Lawson (g) enjoyed many forays up field, bursting out of central defence with great speed cutting through the opposition with his direct running style. Despite this I suspect the score-line would have remained at 1-0 if it had not been for one piece of inspired play by Ludo Royds (W) who picked up a mistimed 16 yard hit in the Epsom 25, drove into the D and calmly slotted past the keeper into the bottom right hand corner. As always I would like to thank all the players who took to the field for the U15C team, their enthusiasm and willingness to work at their game making many a freezing cold mid-week practice session enjoyable. This season the U15C team was ably captained by Charlie Hill, Fred Knottenbelt, Harry Frearson, Jack Olsen and Angus Best and I would like to thank all of them for willingly taking on this demanding role. AGJ

The blizzard conditions did nothing for our chances of starting this hockey season on the first Saturday and even with the MiC manning a shovel on the astro (to go with the front-loader) Welly thought better of the Arctic conditions and called off early, offering 5-a-side footy for the beaks instead! However, after a few e-mails to a former colleague who now works at Wellington, their mood changed and the 1st XI did travel so one of the scheduled 17 matches was played! The following day we did get a game in down at Broadwater School against a Guildford Hockey Club U14/U13 team. Here we played three sessions of 20 minutes, which is always a good opportunity to try different combinations in order to try and settle on a squad as quickly as possible. It was clear from this day that we were going to be strong up front. With strikers like Huw Reynolds (S) (who netted three times in this match), Sam Harvey (B), Henry Morgan (L) and Drew Kemp (R) our goal this season would be to supply this potent strike force with as much quality ball as possible. So after a good run out against Guildford it was with anticipation that we looked forward to our first real match against St George’s. However, according to George’s, their preparation was not ideal and they didn’t fancy a game….of any shape or form, practice or otherwise. This was poor, and we were gutted. However, not as gutted as four days later when the whole hockey fixture against Reed’s School was cancelled due to a virus (NB: For the record, NOT the Noro-Virus thank you!) going round the School. So there you have it, two and half weeks into the term and we head to the U14 Surrey Cup at Cranleigh having played 60 minutes of semi-competitive hockey. Once again, the format had changed in the Surrey Cup and this day we found ourselves in a pool of four playing round robin before playing an inter-pool match to see if we’d qualify for the next stage of either Cup or Plate. True to form (we never really do well at this competition) we lost our opening match to RGS Guildford and to be honest didn’t play so well. Never mind though, a terrific performance against KES Witley (who ended top of our pool) meant we had got ourselves right back in the hunt only to under-perform against St George’s (one I really wanted to win!). However, we did play well finally against KCS Wimbledon and in the process, progressed into the next stages of the Plate Competition. At this age it is all about playing games, yes, practice of course makes a difference but when Bradfield arrived for a match on the Leave Weekend we were clearly more prepared than previously in the season and were able to ‘eke’ out a very close win 2-1. Drew Kemp was in the right place at the right time (again) and scored twice to elevate us from a goal down in a very exciting match that went end-to-end for 60 minutes. Henry Clinton (W) in goal was superb! His composure, concentration, agility and technique ensured that after the early goal we would not concede again. And so to Eton for our next match, played on their slow astro (they’d heard about our slick passing game!) where we dominated from the beginning as Sam Harvey, Huw Reynolds and Kemp ran riot scoring two goals each thanks to a combination of power, poise and of course position. In a 7-0 win it is hard sometimes to distinguish a ‘Man of the Match’, but here Hector Don (R) put in a very accomplished performance, allowed too much room and time to pass and move and control the game in the middle of the pitch. A much stronger opposition turned up at school for our next match, Kingston Grammar. Bolstered by a few U15 players, due to minor sports matches going on, we put together a competent performance but lost 2-nil. Although on the end of a loss, the performance (albeit a little disjointed at times) and game was a good one. Another learning experience for all I would say. Dan Federer’s (V) “smack talking” on the phone to his friends on the mini-bus ride over to Cranleigh meant a couple of things: 1) he was going to have to play well; 2) the team were going to have

to play well; and 3) someone was going to look silly at the end of 70 minutes. Luckily for him, he did play well, as did Drew Kemp another of the former Cranleigh Prep students playing this day. The match itself was gripping. Cranleigh started the brighter of the two sides and looked dangerous every time they attacked and looked like they may run away with it. However, when going behind by two goals (0-2 and then 1-3) we knew we had to go for it and here we really started to put them under pressure. We finished the match in a stronger position but that was little consolation as yet again we had come up short against the local rivals. Tom Green (W) at sweeper made an outstanding contribution to the game and once reined back into position (he was eager to join Reynolds at centre forward on occasion) he showed what he is truly capable of with the little experience he has as a hockey player. A mid-week jaunt up to Kingston Grammar’s hockey pitches for the plate section of the Surrey Cup was again another good experience for the boys. Although two strikers down due to poor Calling Overs we put in a solid performance over the three 30 minute games, drawing with Dulwich and beating Epsom. However, the heavy loss to RGS Guildford (1-3) meant we had no chance of winning the plate or progressing to the next intercounty section of the competition. Before we could re-gather our thoughts it was time for another inter-school fixture. And although Cranleigh was clearly our performance of the season to date, the lads would prove to go one better away at Tonbridge on their water-based astro. After going a goal down early on to what at first glance looked your typical Tonbridge side, big, powerful and fast, we rallied well and got ourselves back into the game thanks to Huw Reynolds who worked his socks off up front, was a real headache (in a good way this time) and was duly rewarded with two goals. However, it was our discipline at the back that meant any Tonbridge attack was easily halted and countered upon. Those unsung heroes playing wingback, Angus Giddins (W), Oliver Gilbey (W) and the versatile Jack Bergqvist (L) had terrific games which allowed those people in front a solid base to attack from which they did with great movement, verve and ‘nous’ – Kemp on the right and Harvey down the left caused all sorts of problems, winning a penalty flick near the end of the game which Reynolds dispatched (“mucho cojones” the coach was quoted as saying!) to extend the lead to 4-2 and extinguish any Tonbridge hope of a comeback. A ‘thumbless’ (thanks to a warm up mishap) Rory Peplow (W) played an instrumental role in keeping control of this match in the later stages, calming and concentrating the minds of the whole team, his game was one of maturity this day. After such a good performance at Tonbridge we had a little come down against Epsom where after a very strange goal and lazy first half we were able to ease away with a comfortable 5-1 win. All three strikers were again in the goals, once they stopped mouthing back at those defenders trying to take out their legs! After three great performances it was disappointing to head to Radley for the last match of the season and not put in a good show. Whether it was the long ride up, the smell of vomit in the mini-bus (thanks Gus), having to wait around until 4.00pm to start playing or just general end of term tiredness, this day we let ourselves our down and it was a very disappointing way to finish the season. To be fair though, Radley were good; they hustled well, put us under pressure and didn’t let us play our own game and when we looked to be creating some momentum, for example: a goal from Ed Worrall (B), they went straight down the other end and scored to scupper any chance of a revival. Huw Reynolds playing at centre-forward ended the season as the leading goal-scorer with eleven. “Jonny on the spot”, Drew Kemp was next with a well deserved eight, followed closely by captain Peplow with seven goals. Sam Harvey also made a noticeable contribution goal-wise with six. Tom Green gets the Most Improved Player award for the season and should continue to improve in this manner over the next few

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Won 8, Drew 1, Lost 6

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CRICKET

years he will become a very sound hockey player. The “Team Man Award” goes to the goal-keeper, Henry Clinton for his consistent play, practice and playing attitude. His ability to concentrate when really needed, understand the game and convey all this to his teammates, as well as being technically good, will help shape this team in the years to come as they grow and develop. Rory Peplow captained the side well, keeping a cool head when required in the tenser matches which certainly rubbed off on his teammates at times. Should he and this side stay together for the next two years they will no doubt become a very strong hockey unit. They are easily the best and most balanced U14 side I have seen and coached at Charterhouse, I expect great things from them now they have been released! KDB

U14B

Won 4, Drew 1, Lost 2

Despite the disruption caused to early fixtures by weather and illness, this was a very enjoyable season. The boys were always enthusiastic and eager to improve, and it was fitting that the season should end with by far the team’s best performance. This win, over a Radley side who had previously won every match, was more convincing than the scoreline suggests and showed the benefits of putting into practice the lessons learned on the training pitch. Rory Wyatt’s (B) sweetly struck winning goal will live long in my memory and confirmed the progress that he made after coming into the side a couple of weeks into term. The other forwards also contributed important goals and assists throughout the term; Christian Crowson-Berney (V) started the season very well, scoring a fine hat trick against Bradfield, and in later games Charlie Walker (B) and Tom Williams (V) proved their worth after promotion from the C team. Hari Sood (S) provided a number of fine crosses from the right wing, while Archie Smith (L) struck the ball sweetly and caused defences difficulty with his tricky dribbling skills. At the other end of the pitch Marwan Mohammad (S) swiftly learned the art of goalkeeping and provided a masterclass during our totally undeserved victory over Epsom. He was constantly challenged for selection by Finn Longmuir (R), who was outstanding against Bradfield. In defence, Charlie Thomas (W) developed into a fine captain and was ably supported by Will Coleshill (D) and Callum Scott (L). In the final two games of the season James Boissier (L) came into the side at right back and contributed greatly to our improvement in the ‘goals against’ column. In midfield Patrick Harrison (W) began the season so well that he swiftly went up to the A team, but the gap he left was soon ably filled by Louis Webb (W), supported by George Peirson (L) and Chris McGleughlin (S). James Rendell (W) moved up from the back in the last couple of matches and provided extra dynamism in attack and energy (if not technique) in defence. The boys will know that there are many areas of the game in which they can improve, which is hardly surprising given that so few had played competitive hockey before starting at Charterhouse. I am sure that they will avenge the two defeats next year and I hope very much that they will continue to enjoy the game as they move up the school. I am very grateful to KDB and IJMH for all their advice over the season and for being so generous with their time. To them, to the parents who supported us both home and away and above all to the boys, who were always so cheerful and committed, I offer my thanks. EJR

U14C

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Won 3, Lost 4

The under 14C team had a respectable season. The team beat Bradfield College, Cranleigh and Lord Wandsworth College and lost to Eton, Tonbridge, Epsom College and Radley. Many of the squad had not played much hockey before and significent improvement over the season was apparent. James Boissier (L)

and Matthew Hobkinson (R) were effective captains of the side. Other individuals deserving special mention include Maximilian Brahm (G) for some stalwart defending and Henry Shore (B) and Thomas Barley (g) for their prolific goal scoring.

1st X1 Cricket

After the success of the previous two years it was fairly inevitable that there would be a dip in performance in 2010. Quite how big that dip would be took us all by surprise although in fairness there were several mitigating circumstances. The decision by Tom Bray (W) and James Kinsey (g) to ‘retire’ from cricket left us with a massive hole in our bowling attack that we couldn’t replace. Furthermore, the absence of Aaditya Shah (G), Jonty Webb (g), Harry Legge (V) and Matt Chandler (L) left us very thin on the ground as they also decided not to play cricket in 2010. The dust cloud that descended in early April also robbed us of some players, stuck abroad, in the first few games of the season. The absence of these players gave opportunity for us to blood players earlier than expected. Tom Gallyer (S), Jonathan Gonszor (P) and Charlie Kimmins (R) played all season as sixteen year olds and all acquitted themselves well at various points over the season. Gallyer scored over 350 runs batting at number three and took over 20 wickets with his medium pace bowling. Gonszor bowled inconsistently but better times await for him with bat and ball. Charlie Kimmins, after an excellent 2009 failed to live up to the expectation and his performances of note were few and far between. A greater work ethic should ensure he improves for 2011. The fact that we started the season with just three colours meant that many players made their debuts this year. Our bowling was led up front by Ed Birkett (D) and Fergus Imrie (S), both of whom probably wouldn’t have played but for the absence of Bray and Kinsey. Birkett in particular led the attack well with his left arm seamers and his economy rate meant we generally started well. Imrie had a more mixed time with the ball as his ability to bowl one or two four balls an over resulted in quite short spells at times! The middle part of the innings was generally dominated by our strength which was spin. In Andrew Corridan (W) we had a bowler who could command respect from the best batsmen on our circuit, well over twenty wickets and an economy rate of just over three made him the stand out bowler. He was supported well by Jack Ryder-Smith (g) and Gonszor. Ryder-Smith batted maturely at times in adversity and his off spin is not to be underrated. His 5-41 against Harrow stands out and if he only believed in his ability he would be a much better all round cricketer. Gonszor has much ability but is still learning his game and will improve next year. The batting was led up front by Charlie Evans (W) and Alex Rozier-Pamplin (R). Evans in his uncomplicated, uncoachable style made batting look easy and difficult at the same time; however, nearly 400 runs made him the second top run scorer of the season. His aggressive style gave us some fast starts and his hundred against I Zingari will remain in the memory for a long time. Rozier-Pamplin batted with a little more style but too often gave his wicket away around the magic 20 mark, but he wasn’t alone as twenties dominated the batting. Gallyer batted three and at times looked our best player with almost 400 runs, mixing caution with aggression and with another two years at the School a high aggregate of runs await should he show the same application as this year. At four came the enigmatic Shevi de Soysa (S), all grace and elegance sadly without the rewards his talent suggested. The one saving grace of his season came in his final innings for the School where he crafted a beautiful hundred at Cranleigh. However, Shevi will, I am sure, look back at his school career and wonder where it all went wrong for a player of his ability. An average of around 20 is as disappointing as it is frustrating for the promise he once showed. The lack of substantial scores up front meant that too often our middle order was in far too early. In Charlie Kimmins, Jack Ryder-

I Zingari 213-5 dec Charterhouse 215-4 Charterhouse got their season off to a great start with a six wicket win. I Zingari won the toss on a bright morning and after an early wicket for Ed Birkett made run scoring look very easy. Andrew Corridan stemmed the flow nicely in the middle overs and prevented a large score being accumulated. Set 214 to win Charlie Evans set about the bowling in violent fashion, aided by Tom Gallyer at the other end. The pair maintained the run rate as the I Zingari bowlers wilted and Charterhouse ran out comfortable winners. Gallyer finished with 59 but the star of the day was Charlie Evans finishing unbeaten on 126 not out. Radley 235 Charterhouse 173 (55 overs) After such a convincing win against I Zingari the Charterhouse team came down to earth with a bump with a defeat to a strong Radley team. Charterhouse won the toss and inserted Radley but the pairing of Ed Birkett and Fergus Imrie failed to control the swinging ball as the extras piled up. The introduction of spin in the form of Andrew Corridan, Jack Ryder-Smith and Jonathan Gonszor stemmed the flow and restricted Radley to 235 in 55 overs. In reply Charlie Evans and Alexander Rozier-Pamplin got us off to a flier before the inevitable middle order collapse cut short any hope of victory. Lusty hitting from Birkett and Corridan prevented the score-line being much worse. Charterhouse 126 Winchester 127-4 (55 overs) A second defeat followed rather too quickly. Another good start by Evans and Rozier-Pamplin gave us early hope but an astonishing middle order collapse saw us at 60-8 before Julian Hornby gave us some respectability and a total of 126. An early onslaught against the pace of Charlie Kimmins and Tom Bray left the game dead and buried as Winchester cruised home. Andrew Corridan once again the pick of the bowlers with three wickets late on. A defeat by 6 wickets.

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MPB, TM Gallyer (S), FM Imrie (S), EM Birkett (D), JE Ryder-Smith (g), JC Gonszor (P), AG Corridan (W), RPN Seated:- AW RozierPamplin (R), ST de Soysa (S), JP Hornby (capt.)(g), CER Kimmins (R), C Evans (W)

Charterhouse 173-9 Tonbridge 177-4 (55 overs) Tonbridge were always going to be a severe test (in fact, they went on to win the Cowdrey Cup) and at 46-4 we were really up against it. Kimmins (43) and Gonszor (16) batted sensibly if a little too cautiously to double the score but when Hornby departed just before lunch, the prospects looked bleak. Ryder-Smith (43) injected some pace into the innings after lunch and 173-9 looked relatively respectable. The Tonbridge openers did not see it that way and put on 80 for the first wicket in just 12 overs. Corridan applied the brakes but it was always in a losing cause and the visitors got home comfortably enough.

Eton 251-7 Charterhouse 175 (55 overs) This was an extraordinary game which was much closer than the score suggests. Eton’s superstar, Vanderspar, had scored almost 700 runs already and had only once failed to reach three figures when he scored a modest 87 against Radley. Birkett bowled him for just 16 and the Eton innings never really gained momentum after that shock. At 158-6 with just eight overs left Charterhouse were scenting victory. Instead Shaw and Browne set to with a vengeance helped by some careless fielding. Shaw finished on 107 not out and Eton looked to have the game in the bag. Far from it! At tea Charterhouse were 109-3 with 30 overs still to bat. After tea only de Soysa (43*) offered resistance as the rest found increasingly more unlikely ways to get out.

Charterhouse 215-8 Cranleigh 198 (50 overs) After a run of defeats Charterhouse were desperate for a victory and a second wicket partnership of 127 between Rozier-Pamplin (69) and Gallyer (66) set up the chance for a big score. When they departed in consecutive overs the momentum was lost and only 50 runs accrued from the last ten overs as wickets fell regularly. Cranleigh reached the half-way mark on 92-2 and looked well on course but Corridan applied the brakes as usual and made the vital breakthrough and Birkett mopped up the tail as wickets fell in clusters. Cranleigh ended just 17 short with five overs still unused. MCC 256-5 dec Charterhouse 149-6 A strong MCC batted extremely well but went on far too long, perhaps remembering the heroics from Jeffery and Kimmins last year. Charterhouse raced to 89-1 but then lost four wickets in as many overs and with little batting to come decided to shut up shop. Ryder-Smith’s was a lengthy vigil for just 11 runs off 71 deliveries but it saved the day and left the MCC reflecting on whether they might have set a more realistic target. Dulwich College 277-5 dec Charterhouse 77 Men against boys. MPB compared the Dulwich College team favourably to Essex 2nd XI who he had watched earlier in the week. All their batsmen struck the ball with authority and

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Smith and Julian Hornby (g) we had a strong looking 5, 6 and 7 but again a lack of substantial innings undermined our ability to post anything competitive. With only two hundreds and five fifties all season it is easy to see why we struggled so badly to score runs. Our four wins came against I Zingari, Westminster, Cranleigh and Bradfield, all tight, close games and credit to the boys for coming through in pressured situations. There were too many crushing defeats, perhaps the low point being bowled out for 77 and 67 in the same week. Too many times we came up against opposition that was just far too strong for us and we suffered accordingly. Looking ahead to 2011 lessons will undoubtedly have been learnt from this year’s campaign. A greater work ethic will be required in the winter months to work on techniques, harder work at training sessions and a greater concentration level with the bat to turn those twenties into fifties and beyond. The First XI will have a young captain in Tom Gallyer and he will hopefully have greater support than Julian Hornby had from his absent senior colleagues. I would like to add in my list of thank yous a special mention to Julian Hornby who led the side with dignity and intelligence. It is always difficult when you lose by such large margins but to his credit he stuck at his task very well, kept wicket to his usual high standard and made notable contributions with the bat often in adversity. As always Bob Noble combined his role as Director of Sport and my assistant seamlessly and was always on hand to offer a consoling word, often following a heavy defeat! Once again his off spin in the nets was mocked endlessly by me and his batsmen but invariably ended with a wicket for the wily old man. Richard Lewis worked tirelessly as usual, combining his role as U14s coach with helping the top end of the school and he along with myself will enjoy the tour of Cape Town at the end of the year. Hopefully during this tour we will unearth new talent for 2011. We can but hope!

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Alleyne’s century was a master class in batting. A depleted Charterhouse had nothing to offer in reply with only Ryder-Smith (36*) showing any sort of resistance. The visitors’ feeble effort was summed up by the fact that two of the last three wickets to fall were stumped and the last was bowled leaving a straight one. Harrow 228 Charterhouse 67 (55 overs) Being skittled for under 100 twice in a week was difficult to bear. In the field Charterhouse had bowled well and looked sharp. Ryder-Smith picked up 5-41 and Harrow stuttered to 228. This was perhaps 30 more than it might have been but was surely within reach. Eleven overs into the Charterhouse innings the score stood at 12-4 and any hopes of victory had completely evaporated. Only Kimmins (10) made double figures as Charterhouse crumbled in the face of some very hostile fast bowling. In the end CarnegieBrown showed his seniors what could be done with a brisk 19 not out which matched extras as top-scorer. Charterhouse 160-9 Westminster 141 (40 overs) Westminster arrived full of confidence having already won 13 games. On the back of consecutive drubbings Charterhouse were anything but confident and only Gallyer (35) batted with any authority until being unnecessarily run out. Charterhouse should have been all out for 129 but the keeper missed a leg-side stumping and Corridan and Imrie put on another priceless 31 runs before running out of overs. At the half-way mark Westminster were 71-2 and coasting. Ryder-Smith picked up a wicket immediately after drinks and then Gallyer took over finishing with 5-21 off his eight overs. With the opener Wood still at the crease Westminster were still in with a chance but Kimmins came to the party taking the last two wickets to seal an unlikely victory. Charterhouse 214-6 Bradfield 201 (50 overs) Charterhouse progressed steadily to lunch without setting the world on fire and reached the break on 146-5. After lunch Hornby (42) and Ryder-Smith (39*) batted sensibly to set up a respectable total before Hornby was run out in the last over. The visitors’ innings followed a similar pattern but, when Gallyer bowled the dangerous Gaur for 77, panic set in and Kimmins and Birkett picked up a brace apiece to finish them off just 13 runs short.

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St Peter’s, Adelaide 201-7 Charterhouse 177 (35 overs) At 18-1 off five overs the visitors gave no indication of what was to come, but the next 23 overs saw 142 runs scored without a risk being taken and the game was slipping away from the School at an alarming rate. Ross in particular batted with great composure and was devastated to be bowled by Gallyer just 4 runs short of his century. Wickets fell cheaply at the end of the innings but 201 in just 35 overs looked like a tall task. Evans (43) got the School off to a flier and when he was out there were still almost 20 overs left and 127 required. No one could keep up with the necessary rate, however, and wickets tumbled as batsmen took more and more risks. Three wickets fell in the 32nd over and, despite a late swish from Imrie and Hornby the game was up. Wellington 209 Charterhouse 159 (55 overs) The wicket had been left uncovered overnight and Wellington had to bat with great application in order merely to survive. This they did and, while no one dominated the bowling, wickets were hard to come by. Kimmins bowled a lively spell after lunch to finish with 4-47 and show what we have been missing for much of the season. When it came to our turn to bat, Evans (39) again got the innings off to a fast start and, when he was first out, the score stood at 55 off just ten overs. Sadly no one else could take over the baton and two ridiculous run outs did little to help the cause. Hornby (20) and Gonszor (21) offered some resistance but the game slipped inexorably away.

Hilton College, SA 258-7 dec Charterhouse 119 Another debacle in which a strong opposition more or less did as they pleased against very feeble resistance. The visitors batted beautifully on a very hot afternoon as Charterhouse toiled and waited for a declaration. In the home innings Kimmins (37) played another cameo which he couldn’t turn into an innings of substance and Plummer (17) and Strang (25) struck a few blows but the procession to and from the crease had all too familiar a ring to it. Charterhouse 225 & 267 Cranleigh 310-5 dec & 184-2 The final match of the season and a two day match. Charterhouse won the toss and struggled from the off, losing the top four for just 40. Ryder-Smith and Hornby dragged the flailing ship around and we posted 225 off our 55 overs. It wasn’t enough as Cranleigh led by Allan’s rapid hundred took the home side to 310-5 declared, a lead of 85. The second innings saw de Soysa craft a beautiful hundred while wickets fell around him and when Charterhouse were bowled out Cranleigh needed 183 to win the match in 40 overs. This they did far too comfortably on a benign pitch to win by eight wickets. Batting Innings N.o. Runs H.s. Average TM Gallyer 15 0 394 66 26.27 C Evans 15 0 389 126 25.93 ST de Soysa 12 1 276 106 25.09 JE Ryder-Smith 16 4 228 45 19.00 AW Rozier-Pamplin 15 0 279 69 18.60 CER Kimmins 12 0 204 43 17.00 JP Hornby 16 1 236 54 15.73 JC Gonszor 15 2 136 21 10.46 EM Birkett 9 3 55 21* 9.17 AG Corridan 12 3 65 23 7.22 FM Imrie 11 4 42 13* 6.00 Also batted: RA Carnegie-Brown 0, 19*, 13, 25*, 35, OJ Plummer 0, 0, 4, 17, EW Strang 0, 4, 0, 25, TCG Bray 2, AAA Don 0*, JAR Wood 0 Bowling Overs Maidens Runs Wickets Best Avge. TM Gallyer 97.2 4 509 21 5-21 24.24 EM Birkett 63.5 8 257 10 3-19 25.70 AG Corridan 200 24 712 24 3-18 29.67 JE Ryder-Smith 99.2 7 467 13 5-41 35.92 JC Gonszor 94.3 2 442 12 4-50 36.83 CER Kimmins 77.3 4 386 10 4-47 38.60 FM Imrie 77 8 345 8 2-25 42.13 Also bowled: EW Strang 14-2-67-3, C Evans 7-0-48-2, RA Carnegie-Brown 12-1-73-0, AAA Don 5-0-21-0, TCG Bray 4-028-0, AW Rozier-Pamplin 1-0-5-0

2nd XI

Won 1, Lost 6 This has been a very trying season for the 2nd XI. The team have never had the same side twice. It certainly has been a ‘who’s available’ side! If you were last into Chapel, on match day, you were in the side that afternoon!! It is such a shame as 2nd XI cricket can be exciting and a lot of fun with a slightly more relaxed atmosphere than participating at the very top, but still playing on some of the great school grounds in the South East of England. The season opened against Winchester in which the side just failed to chase down 167 by three runs. Their ‘Driver come Mentor’ then returned from an extended stay in South Africa to take charge at Tonbridge. Frustratingly a large cloudburst minutes before the start finished all chances of any play. Eton were played mid week and were thoroughly beaten by 9 runs thanks to a 60 from O Plummer (L) and tight fielding and bowling

Maniacs B

By the end of June Wildernesse was looking parched and blotchy after a long dry spell reminiscent of the summer of ’76. This was when I first took over Maniacs! Thus the weather this year gave us a chance for a very full programme of matches, except on Carthusian Day. We made a promising start to the season with a Sunday visit to Milford for our first match on this local village ground. Our openers set a fine stall with a steady opening partnership and Tom Lodge (W) went on to complete a half century. A final flourish by Agace (R), Hughes (H), Skinner (L) and Brierley (L) helped us to declare on a challenging total. All our bowlers chipped in for the odd wicket but they held on with 2 wickets in hand. It is always a pleasure to head off into the Surrey hills for our visit to Dunsfold. They chose to bat and though we made an early break-through, Rupert Howell (father of a current Weekite) batted through for a century till Galliford (W) nicked his stumps. Oliver was then mobbed and left the field behind the retreating batsman, with a nosebleed! Jamie Manton’s (B) 3-38 helped to peg them back and they set a target of 190 after tea. Though wickets fell steadily Jamie was undoubted MoM with an unbeaten 95. He was ably supported by Will Harrison’s (V) quick 42. After many close matches in recent years this was our first clear win at Dunsfold for a while and we scampered home with 6 overs to spare. It is an idyllic setting for a Maniacs’ fixture. We hosted Maladroits on Undergreen for this battle against an Old Maniac side founded at Newcastle Uni. They made an excellent start but then Manton came on to bowl and gained the breakthrough, ably supported by Sean Brierley. We skittled them out for 178 on a pitch that had seen them chase down 300 a couple of

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years ago! For once Charlie Brewer failed to make his customary 50! Again Manton’s rich vein continued and he led the side to a convincing victory with an unbeaten 80, despite the efforts of Richard Newman and Dom Moore. They were followed by another Old Maniac inspired side: the Wandering Wisps. Perhaps foolishly they chose to bat and they had little to offer against Sean Brierley’s fine spell of 4-15. Lodge and Skinner both reached unbeaten half centuries in our easy win. The Bramley fixture has lapsed for the last few years but Jerome Hagen in Accounts was determined to get it back. For the first time we hosted them on Wildernesse on a Sunday. We batted poorly with only a scratchy innings from Rhind-Tutt (g) saving the day. He chipped the ball into space and just missed out on his first half century. We had only survived 21 of our allotted 30 overs but the Wildernesse wicket was still playing tricks. Tea had not arrived so they commenced the chase and were somewhat chastened to be two wickets down before we broke for tea: Manton and Skinner had bowled straight and true and forced the errors. Will Hughes (H), guesting after his elevation to the 2nd XI, was despatched for 20 in his one over and all seemed lost. But then Brierley continued the relentless pressure. More wickets fell and we scented an unlikely victory. In the end we sneaked to a 6 run win. The visit of Southwark Clergy is always a genial midweek affair. Again the wicket on Undergreen was a bit too lively for the first spell with Jamie Ferguson (D) leading the assault. One batsman made his half century to give us a chase. Our pursuit faltered with a couple of ducks amongst the early batsmen but Harry Wise (B) remained solid and eased his way to an unbeaten 61. The Old Maniac match was sadly a washout after the School made a good start in such bad conditions. Rain stopped play at lunch. After Exeat the pressure of exams began to take its toll and raising a balanced team proved more of a challenge. The Butterflies normally play the 2nd XI and arrived with a strong and experienced team. They scuttled us out for 152 with only JHBS making a respectable 44 to keep us afloat. One of their openers retired hurt but otherwise we made no inroads. This is the first time that I ever remember a 10 wicket defeat! Simon North as captain picked Jamie Ferguson as recipient of a Butterflies cap for his all round performance. Then to add to the pressure we hosted the Buccaneers the next day. Shaun Allan (G) batted stoutly to his half century with a flourish from MJB with a cameo 35. We batted slowly and declared on 187 -8. They managed to chase this down for the loss of 4 wickets with an over to spare. This was a most enjoyable fixture against one of Ed How’s clubs. The following weekend fell right in the midst of the exam period but we had two fixtures to honour. I have never cancelled a fixture in 35 years and was not going to start now. We managed to field a full team of Maniacs A with the help of a couple of Dads for an exciting winning draw against Uplands. However Maniacs B were struggling for a side when one colleague had to cover another at the last moment. We went into the match against Ancient Mariners with 10 players after recruiting two Remove tennis players at lunch! A middle order partnership between Knight Manton helped us to an insubstantial total of 154. Our bowling and fielding was lacklustre and not helped when one of our opening bowlers decided to return to House with a strained side. They cruised to victory with Tim Goldman leading the way. The end of the season was another tough encounter with Theberton. On a lively wicket Wise led the revival with a crucial half century after Shevi de Soysa (S), guesting from the 1st XI, made a promising start before being given out LBW. Allan and JHBS had a valuable partnership but we knew that 184 was unlikely to be enough, with such a fast outfield. Sadly our bowlers did not take full advantage of the wicket with only Anthony Kane (g) bowling with any great accuracy. Rhind-Tutt took a couple more wickets, but too late, and they cantered home with a couple of overs to spare. This was another fun season with many boys getting a chance to play for Maniacs. Half a dozen players were summoned up to the 2nd XI to fill gaps which proved the added value of Maniacs.

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from all the team. This was the first time for some years that Eton had fielded their 2nd XI against Charterhouse, so it was a particularly satisfactory result. That was our high point as we then sadly lost heavily to Dulwich and less so to Harrow, when we made them sweat a bit over chasing an inadequate total. Cranleigh and the OCs were both games foiled by the weather. The last away game against Bradfield produced another close encounter. Bradfield passed our total in their last over. Good batting by G Cussins (G) and bowling by A Hill (W) helped contribute to this competitive game. The season finished on Green against Wellington when, again, we failed to defend our total. O Greenhalgh (H) had a captain’s innings top scoring with a fine 53 and Archie Hill bowled his seven overs very tidily. I must thank Ollie Greenhalgh for all his support and captaining the side and keeping wicket to a very high standard. Other stalwarts also deserve praise; Archie Hill bowled his off spinners with intelligence and guile, rarely giving the batsman anything easy to hit. Alex Don (R) had a happy knack of taking a wicket in his first over, though not, alas, many after that. Will Hughes (H) steamed in purposefully with the new ball and produced some excellent deliveries. Ollie Plummer was the best batsman in the side, and made some good runs against decent bowling. Ed Strang (L) looked good with both bat and ball and will produce better figures next year. Josh Barrow (R) scored rapid runs in several games and was, perhaps, underused as a bowler. Tom Davies (B) is another who needs to learn how to convert a good start into a substantial innings. James Wood (D) was always willing to bowl as fast as he could and produced the occasional unplayable ball, though tended to be wayward. Special thanks must also go to the numerous boys who stepped up from the Maniacs to help us out and of course HDG with the umpiring. I hope the 1st Years enjoyed their cricket and will carry on playing next year rather than a few weak minded souls this year. Regulars: OCC Greenhalgh (H), AJB Hill (W), AAA Don (R), WJHughes (H), OJ Plummer (L), JB Barrow (R), EW Strang (L), GA Cussins (G), TNWM Davies (B), JAR Wood (D). IJMH

Exam pressure inevitably took its toll though some chose to remain loyal throughout the season. James Knight has become a really keen keeper; Tom Lodge showed promise as an opener before his early retirement. The stalwarts were undoubtedly Jamie Manton who performed well with bat and ball, Sean Brierley who hits the ball solidly but developed well as a bowler as did Tom Skinner; Archie Rhind-Tutt took his chance with the bat but has come on marvellously as a spin bowler. With the return of Maniacs’ caps it is fitting to award them to Jamie Manton, Sean Brierley and James Knight for their unstinting services to the club. RAB

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U16A

This year’s U16A XI played seven matches only, won three and lost the rest. The game at Harrow was cancelled owing to exam study leave (their decision). Limited overs’ games seem to be the flavour of the decade. Whilst there is something to be said for the cut and thrust of this style of game, our young cricketers are not given the opportunity to develop the canny art of judging and controlling a game of cricket. The skill of saving a match or timing a declaration is being lost by their generation. The school season could eventually be made up of 20/20s for convenience sake. Limited overs can bring about some exciting matches however and one cannot ignore the pressure that is put on both sides when there is a tight finish; and somebody wins. 24 April: Against Winchester on Green, on a dull day, the captain, R Carnegie-Brown (W), and his opening partner B Phillips (g) gave us an impressive start to the season with 60 runs for the first wicket. The rest of the order chipped in with small scores amassing 175 from 35 overs. With a series of good overs from G Gergaud (G), 2-16 off 7, and C Rogers (V), 2-20 off 6.3, the opposition were reduced to 49-4 quickly and the win was never in doubt. S Munns (W) claimed 3 wickets to bring the game to a conclusion in the 35th over. It was unfortunate for him that he played only a few games being sidelined with a back injury. We also lost Gergaud to injury around half term. In this game 24 extras (including 14 no balls and wides) enabled them to reach 135 and I am afraid that we gave away easy sundries too often. 1st May: 43 extras against Tonbridge in the next game hardly helped our cause. We bowled 24 no balls and wides, 4 extra overs. Unsurprisingly, they scored 276 off 35, on Wildernesse, on a wet day, when eight batsmen were caught. Rogers pitched in with 3-47 and A Curry (L) 2-21 off 3 overs only. We batted well but the target set by the visitors was too big and despite J Robin (P) hitting a sturdy and inventive 101 supported by A McClean (R) 47, we never really got close. Our opening partnership mustered 5 runs, not the only time that we did not get off to a good start. 6th May: Away at Eton we only scored 139 losing 5 wickets. The opening partnership lasted for 4 overs and thanks to CarnegieBrown’s 44 and H Lineker (g) who smashed 67 from number 5 we set a smallish total. We then had Eton at 42-4 with Lineker striking back with his venomous left arm bowling. Unfortunately they had enough batsmen to recover and reach our score off only 20 overs. 8th May: Cranleigh came to Wildernesse and batted first scoring 210 for 5 off 30 overs. They benefitted from 40 extras. CarnegieBrown took 2 wickets for 18 at the end. We batted and ran out of overs. The opening partnership lasted only 23 runs however Phillips survived scoring 43. Curry hit a lusty 20 at the end. We fell short by 7 runs. There was a Cowdrey playing in the Cranleigh side, later we met a Doggart at Wellington. 15th May: Away at Dulwich without Carnegie-Brown (gone up to 1st XI for a spell) on the Trevor Bailey sports ground we won. Dulwich beat the U15s last year and they were a very competent side. The win was memorable. The opening partnership blasted 13 runs! But Phillips continued, scoring 49 and the rest of the team chipped in to gather 172 runs off 32 overs. Then the fun began. Dulwich lost their first wicket at 37, slumped to 47-4 and from that point wickets fell regularly until we beat them by 61 runs. W Mallin (W) brought up from the Bs because of a curious

string of injuries on Cup Final day, took a double wicket maiden in his first over and ended up with figures of 5 wickets for 6 runs with 3 maidens off 5.2 overs. Remarkably he simply bowled straight. D Hasan (G) inspired by his effort also took 2 for 6 off 2 overs and Curry 2 for 15 off 4. The scheduled game against AJ’s XI on Carthusian Day was cancelled due to bad weather then Exeat came and went. 12th June: At Bradfield we let them score 150 off 30 overs with Rogers taking 3-33 off 6 overs. B Woods (D) bowled some tweekers and Robin caught two catches off his bowling. The openers put on 0 and then we reached 27 for 4 with our batsmen surrendering to moderate bowling. At this point two of the more impressive players in the side came together. Neither Woods nor wicket-keeper batsman T Julius (V) are technically good batsmen but they dig in and nurdle runs. They are also very good team men who remain chirpy and keep spirits high under all circumstances. They reached 33 and 30 respectively giving us a firm core to the innings. Then we suffered another collapse to 115 for 9. Numbers 9 (Mallin) and 11 (Hasan) were at the wicket with 4 overs left. We won. Mallin struck fours and so did Hasan bringing about an unexpected victory with 2 balls to spare. They only had 10 men but still a win is a win. 19th June: In the final match against Wellington on a small pitch, deep into exam time and study leave we only fielded 10 men after a misunderstanding over selection but with 6 more players it would not have made much difference. Our opening batsmen rallied and scored 3 runs for the first wicket, we then went to 55 for 3 with McClean reaching 27 but Woods (18) and Julius (70) did it again bringing up a respectable total of 170. Mallin got another 13 to help out. Their opening pair including a girl saw off this total with no fall of wicket in 25 overs. They gave us one chance. During the term we gave away 238 extras including 108 no balls and wides each of these needing an extra ball to be bowled. With three players from their year group elevated to the 1st XI, the team lacked a solid core but they remained cheerful company and hopefully learned a little about the game through the term. Others who played were: L Mendenhall (W), T Randolph (g), H Dawkins (L) and J Foley (R). Many thanks to MFDL for his support through the term and to AGJ who did all the administration; not the easiest job during the exam season. MJB

U16B

Won 4, Lost 2 This has to go down as one of the most enjoyable cricket seasons I have had the pleasure to be associated with in a long while. Not only was the quality of the cricket on the pitch of a highly competitive standard but the enthusiasm of the pupils for the game and their general excellent behaviour both on and off the field made for good fun all round. The brief, but intense, season got off to an entertaining start with our now traditional fixture against Winchester. For once this game was not played in arctic tundra conditions, and indeed we basked in pleasant spring sunshine for the whole afternoon. Having elected to bat we got off to a disastrous start when both openers went in the first 7 balls, but after excellent partnerships between Harry Dawkins (L) (44) and Tom Gilbey (W) (44) and then between Gilbey and Tom Macfarlane (g) (44) we posted a good total of 189 all out. In reply the Winchester boys started well reaching 45-1 in 11 overs, but Will Mallin (W) (5-3-13-1) and James Foley (R) (5-0-17-1) put the brakes on with two tight spells of bowling and when Ben Geffen (B) dismissed their set batsman for 50 the game was decided. In the end the Winchester tail wagged and we could not bowl them out in the allocated 30 overs but nevertheless secured a convincing 33 runs victory. The following week we travelled to Tonbridge knowing that this would be a much sterner test of our mettle. Again electing to bat first we were entertained with the knock of the season when Will

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side to an impressive 3 wicket win. Incidentally, the Dulwich centurion also had bowling figures of 5-1-20-5 so I think he had something to celebrate at the end of the game. The final game, much like the first, was played in pleasant sunshine and being put in the field the Carthusian boys gave a good all-round performance with the ball. Seven bowlers in total were used and all of them took at least one wicket, the pick of the bowlers being Chaand Raja with figures of 5-1-7-1. I must, however, recount the ‘joke wicket of the season’ award for Luke Mendenhall, who having got bored of keeping wicket decided to give his occasional off-spin an outing. The first ball of his spell landed mid pitch and was heaved to the mid-wicket boundary for four, the next two were well wide of the off and then leg stump. The batsman fancying his chances decided to reverse sweep the next ball that was a yard wide of the off stump and in doing so trod on his wicket! I believe Mendenhall’s celebration were the most extravagant of any bowler all season!! Set 154 to win we lost three wickets within the first 6 overs, but when the ever-dependable Harry Dawkins was joined by Tom Gilbey (again echoing the first game of the season) they put on an undefeated 116 runs for the fourth wicket. Harry Dawkins scoring a well crafted 70*, whilst Tom Gilbey found the boundary regularly in his 50*. During the course of the season three batsmen exceeded 100 runs, Harry Dawkins with 138 at an average of 69, Tom Gilbey with 159 at an average of 53 and Will Mallin with 127 at an average of 31.8. With the ball the honours were more evenly spread with four bowlers taking 5 or more wickets Chaand Raja with 8 at an average of 10.6, Max Weaver with 8 at an average of 11.1, Tom Randolph with 6 at an average of 17 and Will Mallin with 5 at an average 19.2. These figures, however, hide the fact that the successes of this season were based on a team effort and the fact that twenty players in total represented the U16Bs shows what strength in depth this year group has. I can not conclude a report without thanking Luke Mendenhall for his excellent captaincy throughout the season balancing the need for the team to be competitive whilst giving all the players the chance of contributing to the game. I look forward to hearing of the success of this enthusiastic group of players as they move into the Specialists next year, in the meantime I would like to thank one and all for making my job so easy this Quarter. AGJ

U15 A

A record of seven losses and six wins suggests that this was a reasonably successful season. In a sense this is absolutely right. However, having barely won a match as U14s, there was a clear and marked improvement this year, and with a little more nous not only could this team have won the Surrey Cup, they could also have defeated Tonbridge, Bradfield and Wellington. The real star of the season was revealed in the very first game against Winchester. Having cruised at a good rate to 70 odd for one wicket, I feared a mammoth chase later in the afternoon. That this didn’t happen, and that Charterhouse comfortably reached their target of just 120, really came down to the leg spin bowling of Thomas Mason (g). Straight and zippy, with barely a poor delivery, Mason was too much for Winchester and ended up with 5 wickets. By the end of the season he had the extraordinary average of 8.3 with 28 wickets. No team ever dominated him, and when he becomes more assertive with his field placing, he ought to do even better. The next few weeks were something of a roller coaster. (In the sense that things went up and down). Good wins against Cranleigh and St George’s were sandwiched by a close defeat to Tonbridge and an embarrassing display against Eton. Cranleigh was a deceptively good performance, with Ashley Beddows (W) scoring a dominant 50 to win the game. The pitch at Tonbridge was very wet and another 10 to 15 runs would probably have been enough to win the game in a very low scoring encounter. The only good thing which can be said about the Eton match was that

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Mallin dispatched the Tonbridge bowlers, literally, to every point of the compass. This was the biggest pitch we played on this season and Will cleared the boundary rope to the furthest point on a number of occasions, even losing the ball in the river on one occasion. Unfortunately he fell, caught on the long on boundary just seven runs short of his century. Chasing 148 to win in 25 overs the Tonbridge boys got a bright start and were 54-1 off just 8 overs. However, the insertion of Tom Randolph (g) (4-0-32-2), Will Mallin (5-019-1) and Chaand Raja (P) (5-0-20-2) swung the game back into the balance when Marcus Marsh (S) and Ben Geffen held on to three crucial catches between them. Two outstanding run outs from pin point throws from the boundary, one by Tom Randolph and the other from Tom Macfarlane gave us the edge, but with 2 overs to go the Tonbridge boys were still in with a good chance as they needed 14 runs with one set batsman and two wickets in hand. Chaand Raja then held an excellent catch from a crisp cover drive in the penultimate over and when Max Lange (L) swooped in from the cover boundary to dismiss the final Tonbridge batsman in the final over victory was ours by the margin of 8 runs. The heroics of the previous Saturday could not be repeated mid-week when we took on Eton with a team ravaged by absences due to Art GCSE exams. The Etonians won the toss and decided to bat and when they were 119-0 off 14 overs the situation looked grim indeed. There then followed a period akin to the quiet when the eye of a storm passes overhead when Max Weaver (D) bowled a spell of almost unplayable swing bowling, his figures of 7-1-185 would be impressive in any game but given the rest of the attack was dispatched for 253 runs off the remaining 28 overs at an average of just over 9 an over almost makes then surreal. Just for a moment it looked like we might be able to retrieve something from the game when we had the opposition at 161-7 (after 26 overs), but then the storm returned in full force and a further 110 runs were plundered in the remaining 9 overs, including 49 for the last wicket. Set an improbable 272 to win against a very accurate attack we could not keep up with the run rate and inevitably wickets went down as batsmen tried ever more desperate shots to get the ball to the boundary. Once again, though, one player seemed to be playing in a different game and Tom Gilbey’s 58* in a total of 94 all out must go down as some sort of batting record. After the one-sided affair against Eton the tables were rather turned on Saturday against Cranleigh’s 3rd XI. On a miserable afternoon when the drizzle only stopped for the twenty minutes we warmed up in tea (evidence my score book, which will never be the same again) we played some compelling cricket. Tom Randolph (5-0-14-2) and Tom Macfarlane (5-2-17-3) produced an impressive opening spell that set the tone for the whole game, even more remarkable given that the ball was wet and difficult to grip. Likewise, the catching and ground fielding was exemplary despite the conditions. Then when Rob Darke (L) (4-1-16-1) and Will Mallin (5-1-18-3) came on at first and second change the Cranleigh innings stuttered and finally expired at 79 all out. In reply Luke Mendenhall (W) (40*) and Harry Dawkins (20*) quickly extinguished any hope the opposition might have had of snatching an unlikely victory and saw us home in an entertaining 9 overs. The fifth game of the season was a roller coaster affair in the extreme with both teams looking dead and buried at different parts of the game. Electing to bat we were in desperate trouble at 1-3 (after 7 balls) and then 22-6 (after 8 overs) until Ben Geffen (50) and Max Weaver (32), cautiously at the start and then with ever increasing confidence, added an impressive 92 in a shade under 10 overs. A cameo of 22 from Louis de Watteville (W), including the champagne moment of the season where de Watteville sashayed down the wicket to strike the off-spinner for the cleanest straight six you would care to see, and 20 not out from Chaand Raja allowed us to take tea with a competitive 165 on the board. In reply Dulwich were in very bad shape at 50-6 after 9 overs and it took a man-of-the-match performance from the Dulwich number six batsman who scored 103* to steer his

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we looked liked winning the hastily arranged 15/15 before having to leave to catch the coach home. By this stage of the season EJH and MRG knew that they had a talented bunch of cricketers in the squad. Fraser Payne (g) had developed into a dangerous opening bowler, with enough skiddy pace to worry the batsmen. With a little more patience he will be very good indeed. His opening partner Sean Brennan (V) was a good foil for Payne at the start of the innings. With less pace, but a lot more height, he probed the top of off stump in an effective manner. By the end of the season he had 15 wickets at 21 (Payne had 14 at 20). Once Brennan starts to fill out and add some yards to his bowling, he will be a real handful for opposition batsmen. It was also clear after a few games that Kyran O’Keeffe (g) was a thoughtful and improving captain. He made starts in most of his innings, and would no doubt have scored more runs if he batted higher up the order. His bowling was also very effective, and with a little more nip he will end up as a useful second change bowler. The second half of the season was characterised by success in the Surrey Cup but defeat in the regular school fixtures. Two good wins against Willson’s and Riddlesdown came amongst defeats to Bradfield and Wellington. It was pleasing that Thomas GordonMartin (S), after finding extraordinary ways to get out earlier in the season, started to get some runs at this stage. At times he looked very classy, although he does need to value his wicket more highly as his overall record of four ducks in the season suggests. Nevertheless it was Sam Evans (W) who had emerged as the team’s leading batsman. An unbeaten 107 ensured a draw against Dulwich, his quick-fire 59 set up a large total against Willson’s, and his 117 not out ought to have led to victory against Wellington. Evans does dangle his bat at decent balls outside his off stump, but he hits the ball in very awkward parts of the field, and is a real pain for the opposition. Paul McLean (R) also experienced good form in the later stages of the Surrey Cup. Indeed he scored vital runs in the last three games, displaying the ability which seemed to be missing in the regular fixtures. It was not just the batsmen, however, who started to perform well. Victor Raber (B), after some impressively sharp bowling in the B team, was promoted five games into the season. His impact was immediate, even if this wasn’t evident in his bowling figures. At times Raber was simply too quick for late order batsmen, and he rarely went for more than 6 an over in the 20/20 competition. Unfortunately, when he was wild he was very wild. Most of the runs he conceded were in the form of wides, and it is possible that this made a decisive difference against Wellington. I make this point as constructively as possible – Raber could seriously effective if he gains that consistency. Another player who has the potential to be a good cricketer is Harry Light (V). Light got a start in most innings, but too often gave his wicket away. It sometimes seemed that he was playing for himself, and probably would have scored another 30 runs in the season if he had made the effort to run quickly between the wickets. In short, having made real progress this season, I hope that this squad of boys (who also contained James Perry (P), Jack Thomas (L) and Thomas Drinkwater (B)) will continue to go from strength to strength next year. A very good school 1st XI is in the making. MRG

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U15B

Won 4, Tied 1, Lost 5 The season was one of consistent improvement. The players were all keen and worked to improve their game. There were the normal frustrations of a B XI; when results were going well key players tended to be taken by the As. However, this was compensated by the players from the As who all made their mark when they came down. The results came in the expected pattern. We did well at the beginning and end of the season but less well in the middle when we played Eton, Harrow and Tonbridge in quick succession. The skippering was shared by JTDD North (D) and ME Fischel (g).

Each did well. North led the spin attack as well as the side while Fischel was remarkable in his consistent progress from the Cs to the Bs captaincy and was one of the most consistent batsmen. By far the most memorable match was that against Wellington and it is upon this that I will concentrate. They came full of confidence having only lost to Eton and destroying most sides they came across. They also remembered an easy victory from the yearlings. We won the toss and decided to bat. Fischel made an excellent 73 and was backed by the reliable D Howell (W) who made 43. The last wicket partnership of 32 by AD Best (g) and EJA Iley (V) took us to a respectable 181 for 6 in the allotted 30 overs. However we went to tea knowing that it would be difficult to hold batsmen to 6 an over on a quick outfield. The Wellington innings got off to the best possible start from a Charterhouse perspective with a wicket maiden from JEG Perry (P). He continued to bowl on a splendid line which was matched by DDM Bowcock (L) who won a tussle with the other opening bat bowling him for 27. They were replaced by North and Iley. Iley maintained his usual hostility while North’s left arm off-breaks caused batsmen enormous trouble and yielded two catches to the specialist short point NGH Walker (H). The fielding was excellent with boundaries being saved by WEJ Oakes (P) in the deep and Best keeping wicket at the top of his game. Wellington required 80 from the last 8 overs. This was when their number 7 batsman came in and started to hit boundaries at will. However the field was well marshalled by Fischel and confident bowling by TG Drinkwater (B) and the returning opening bowlers led to a final ball from which Wellington needed 2 for victory. A scrambled single meant a tied match which exemplified the approach of this team; all tried hard and made contributions. The Winchester match was an excellent start to the season. We had an opening stand of 164 of which JA Thomas (L) made 87 and Oakes 67. Thomas went on to complete his maiden century and looked a very strong batsman indeed. It was clear after this innings that his time in the Bs would be limited and he was duly promoted. Iley destroyed the Winchester batting by taking 5 wickets in 4 overs. The other remarkable feature of this was the six over spell from V Raber (B) for 4 runs without taking a wicket. Raber, PEH McClean (R) and Thomas were rapidly promoted to the As; we benefited from the advent of Perry who was consistently hostile in his bowling, Drinkwater both bowled and batted effectively and RAG Weaver (V) who produced the innings of the day in the victory over the Brooke Hall XI. The other matches all contained individual pieces of high quality cricket but none could match the excitement of the Wellington match. We came close to beating both Tonbridge and Bradfield. It was in the Tonbridge match that Howell discovered his runscoring touch with 19 from 68. The wicket was poor; Iley and Bowcock almost pulled the cat out of the bag. The results against Eton and Harrow were correct but neither match reflected the balance of power; we should have come closer to Eton while Harrow could have made their win more emphatic. The Harrow match was notable for excellent spin bowing from FJM-H McGuire (B) who also made the position of silly mid off his own taking an astonishing catch from a full off-drive. The final match of the season was a comfortable victory against St John’s Leatherhead and showed the quality of the middle order. RS Mirchandani (G) finally made the runs that had been expected, Howell made another 40 and Walker won the man of the match award with 44 not out to follow his 2 for 14. The pleasure of looking after the Junior Colts Bs was split between MB and JCT. The word is chosen advisedly as they were a cheerful group who always enthusiastic and behaved well. A master in charge can ask for no more.

U14A

This season started with the usual match against Winchester, what was unusual about it though was the format. A new master in charge

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However, with the focus being to bat out the overs we allowed ourselves the luxury of having a few wickets in hand at the end to accelerate the run rate. Tom Green started it scoring 30 in the middle order with some quick boundaries, followed by Alec Cadzow’s hefty blows down the ground and Sam Harvey’s quick hands - collectively they scored 55 off 33 balls to take the tally to a defendable 144. In reply Harrow eased to 105 for none in the 17th over, after which the match was all but over but as I have witnessed in many Charterhouse sports teams the never-say-die attitude meant that one wicket brought another, then another, and another... then the overs started to disappear, runs begin to dry up, another wicket gets taken, a superb catch by Harvey in close, a run out, things were happening and in a match that was all but lost Henry Clinton came on to bowl the slowest (in bowling speed and time) last over ever as Harrow needed six runs to win (previous to this the damage had been done by Rory Wyatt 3/12). The captain’s field placings were all important and the pressure was at its height, dot-one-wicket-wicket-dot-run out saw an extraordinary game of cricket finish with all coaching staff from both sides shaking their heads in collective amazement. As was pointed out afterwards it is performances like these that inspire confidence, composure under pressure and memories of what can be achieved when facing adversity in life, not only sport. This was a great win! From here on in the season started to get a little hectic with the number of matches beginning to back up. And so we entertained our next opponent in the Surrey Cup, Heathside School out of Weybridge. Charterhouse won the toss and elected to bat, scoring 155 off their 25 overs, the newly promoted Henry Shore (B) scored a nice 43 while Marwan Mohammed starred with the bat for a change, making a competent 33 off 25 balls. Heathside put up little resistant in their reply being bowled out for 49. Rory Wyatt for the second match running was the pick of the bowlers, opening the innings and taking 4/10 off his five overs. The old foe Cranleigh appeared as our next opposition and in another 25 over match we found ourselves chasing 145 to win. Federer’s return to his old stomping ground saw him just miss out on a hat trick as he took 3/12, while Wyatt continued his good form taking 3/3. Tradition ensued and we were behind the run rate before you could say, “Shall we come off for rain?” Then Mohammed played a terrific innings (making 57 not out off 37 balls) turning the tables and putting the opposition under such pressure that they moved all fielders to the boundary (not really in the spirit of the game). However, with twelve runs required off the last over the match ended frustratingly with three wickets being lost, two to unselfish running trying to keep Mohammed on strike. [Ed – We only hope that come the Surrey Cup final we are able to make a better fist of things and that the umpires enforce a better code of conduct with regard to fielding restrictions.] After a spate of limited overs matches it was back to a 65 over declaration match against Bradfield. We, the hosts, batted first and declared on 161 in the 33rd over. Henry Clinton and wicket-keeper Rory Peplow scored nice 30s, while Cadzow again plundered runs (29) coming in lower down the order. Bradfield won by one wicket and had we taken one of the several chances offered to us by their number four batsman (who scored 81) we probably would’ve won comfortably. However, cricket’s a funny game and of course “catches win matches”, it wasn’t to be. Bar Rory Wyatt taking four wickets (again), that is all that needs to be said about a lacklustre bowling and fielding performance. Playing at home again on Wildernesse, we entertained Portsmouth Grammar in another mid week fixture and after losing the toss found ourselves chasing the ball again as the opposition scored freely in the opening overs. Things were reined in a little when Henry Clinton’s off spin was introduced (he took 4/21) but other than keeping down the runs, only Henry Shore made any further inroads, taking 2 wickets in the last over of the innings. Once more this run chase started slowly with wickets falling

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for Winchester meant years of playing the traditional twenty overs from six o’clock was converted to a straight 35 over match. A long game all the same being the first of the season, we were put into bat and scored a demanding 256 for 7 from our allotted overs and were more than pleased with our position at the halfway stage. Henry Clinton (W) opened his Charterhouse account with a well constructed 65 not out while Tom Green (W) also scored a handsome 53. James Rendell (W) then played a quite destructive innings near the end, scoring 46 off 16 balls. With plenty of runs to defend we started confidently, Alec Cadzow (G) taking a wicket in the second over and from there the pressure mounted as wickets fell regularly and we cruised to victory by 139 runs. Marwan Mohammed (S) took 4/23 off his seven overs with his left-arm “Chinaman” action while Sam Harvey’s (B) seam reaped him 3/22. This was a welcomed confidence building start that we required for a good season and with competition for places high in the year group due to the strength in depth, the contribution of all players was vital for the team’s development. A much sterner test was to come next in the form of Tonbridge at home. A 65 over declaration match was decided upon and after winning the toss we put the visitors in. After two early wickets the pressure eased slightly before being reasserted forcing Tonbridge to eke out their runs from the maximum number of overs allocated to them, being 34 which left us 31 to score 122 to win. Rory Wyatt’s off-spin proved useful this day as he took 3/8, with Mohammed, Rendell and Hector Don (R) all taking two wickets apiece. 122 off 31 overs doesn’t seem like much, however, losing a man on the first ball of the chase immediately puts you on the back foot and this is exactly what happened. From there it was a case of steady as she goes as wickets fell until the winning post was out of sight and a draw had to be settled for. Hector Don backed up his bowling performance with a solid 40, while wicket-keeper Rory Peplow (W) played an intelligent (almost match winning) innings to score 25 not out in the middle order. Our first U14 Surrey Cup match saw us play Wimbledon College mid week and as with many of these early round matches this was won handsomely against a weaker opposition. Highlights were Marwan Mohammed’s three wickets and the composed batting of Henry Clinton and MacGregor Cox (V) who made 26 and 36 not out respectively. Our next test was against Eton on Wildernesse, a straight 35 over match which was always going to be hard, made harder still as during their innings catches were dropped and bowling was wayward. On a flat hard track Mohammed exploited the conditions as best he could taking 3/33 off his seven overs, however, support was lacking as the Eton side racked up 170 with little to no fuss. A gettable total, but tough all the same. Too tough in fact as runs were difficult to come by and subsequently wickets fell at regular intervals as the runs rate increased. Hector Don made 22 before being caught out at mid off for the second time in two games, while Henry Clinton scored 18. This was a disappointing match due to the momentum we had been building over the previous games. We expected more but this was not to be. At home to Dulwich College we made amends for the mid week loss winning by five wickets. The skipper Mohammed was in the wickets again, taking three, Daniel Federer (V), Alec Cadzow and Don also chipped in with one each. Another slow run chase culminated in Henry Morgan (L) being given license to “have a go” and he did just that, scoring 36 off 23 balls to ease the nerves which were just starting to appear as the target of 150 off 31 overs (the match being a 65 over declaration match) seemed to drift away on us. Before this, Don, Clinton and Cox all made worthy contributions, albeit a touch slowly. Harrow away will never be an easy match, as the 1st XI can testify, and on this occasion it was no different. Opting to bat first in a 30 over match we traditionally (as per every game this season) started scoring slowly and were losing wickets along the way as well.

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needlessly [Ed – all wickets lost were to catches, either poorly executed shots or needless slogs], however, Don (29), Mohammed (55) and Green (39) all got themselves in and helped edge the team towards the winning post. But in a reversal of the Harrow match we found ourselves throwing away a win, buckling to the pressure put on us by the fielding side and the constant chatter that emanated on the ground. With Whitgift in the Surrey Cup Quarter-finals (!!!) the following day on the same pitch this was not the warm up we had expected. And so it was that Whitgift turned up, won the toss and decided to bat... pity! It wasn’t long before their batsmen hit their stride and a tired looking Charterhouse team’s heads dropped. But some loose shots and a wicket here and there saw us keep the score to an optimistic 164, just over a run-a-ball. Hector Don’s up and down seam acquired him four wickets while the tactic of opening with the off spinner Wyatt, proved to keep runs down and wickets coming as he took 2/27 off his five overs. A steady 58 run opening partnership between the Henrys Clinton (26) and Shore (30) was just what was needed, however, it came a touch slowly and meant that those coming in would have to score at a much faster rate... they did exactly that! Henry Morgan (L) promoted to three got things moving with a quick-fire 24 and after some rain came and halted play momentarily, the game was in the balance as bowling and fielding became more difficult. With on-off drizzle from then until the end of the game Tom Green with the aid of Mohammed, who scored another quick twenty, began to find the boundary right to the penultimate ball of the innings which saw an emphatic win by five wickets. Green ended the match on 37 not out off 23 balls, a terrific innings under the circumstances. But after these heroics it was back to earth with a thud, as a score of 198 off 35 overs was not enough to beat Wellington, away. Although Clinton continued his good run of form at the top of the order (scoring 45), wickets fell regularly and partnerships were short. And although getting up to the score we did with the customary blows from Cadzow and Morgan, who scored 34 a-piece, this game could’ve been put away with the other 30 plus runs lost through poor shot selection and lack of concentration. In reply, Wellington took 19 off the first over and never really looked back – they were also aided by four dropped catches. Wyatt took two wickets, as did Sam Harvey, however, Wellington got home at a canter, with three wickets and two overs to spare. Our run in the Cup continued and a trip to Willson’s School in Wallington saw us win another close run thing. A winning toss saw us insert Willson’s and make a breakthrough in the second over as again, Wyatt opened up with his off-spin. However, some concerted (albeit slow) batting saw us needing 120 off 25 overs to win the match. Captain Marwan Mohammed took 3/19 off his five overs while Harvey followed this up with three himself for 36 runs. Our run-chase was by no means easy as the relaxed approach we had started to put us under pressure by not concentrating or paying attention to the required run-rate. It was thanks mostly to Hector Don who anchored the innings with 24 that allowed Green (21), Morgan (18) and Harvey (13 off five balls) to ease this pressure and get us home by four wickets and two overs to spare. We were now in the Surrey Cup Final! The final school match of the term came against St John’s School of Leatherhead. Another 65 over declaration match saw us win the toss and elect to bat, which immediately looked a bad move as the enthusiastic leg-spinner they opened with set about ripping through the top order taking 5/13! It was mostly thanks to Henry Clinton who batted the whole of the 34 over innings to score 57 not out and James Rendell coming in at nine (40), that we got up to a defendable total of 144. However, once again the bowling proved to be unreliable and game began to slip away from us. But as demonstrated against Harrow, with one wicket comes another, and another and soon we had taken from them a winning position and had placed it in our

hands. The wickets were again shared, Don, Clinton and Wyatt all taking two but the result was not to be, St John’s nine wickets down at the end of the 31st over and 21 runs behind, match drawn. Henry Clinton easily outshone his team-mates with the bat, scoring 362 runs in total at an average of 40.22. His application, patience and sheer concentration saw him face 626 balls in total with the next best facing 305 (Hector Don) giving credit to the adage you must occupy the crease in order to score runs! Tom Green scored 222 “brisk” runs at 18.50 and it is his strike rate that is the telling tale here, 109.90 runs per 100 balls faced is fantastic and certainly proved invaluable in the close games where needing to accelerate the scoring. Fighting it out next was the skipper, Marwan Mohammed and Hector Don with 204 and 201 respectively. These batsmen can count themselves unlucky on occasion but should also realise that at times they got themselves out unnecessarily. Mohammed just edged out Rory Wyatt as the leading wicket-taker, taking 27 in total at an average of 13.33. However, Wyatt´s fewer runs conceded per over (3.77) means his total wickets of 25 come at a better average of 11.56 – although to be perfectly honest, there is nothing between these two spinners and should they build on this bowling partnership they will become a competent and dangerous force in the years to come. Hector Don was the next best bowler with 16 wickets at 13.31 with his straight up and down seam, while Sam Harvey (B) also broke double figures as he took 10 wickets at an average of 19.20. If there was a fielding award, this would have to go to Sam Harvey who transferred his Fives skills and reflexes to cricket becoming a very effective close fielder taking ten catches in total (some, he had no right to get anywhere near!) and making three run outs. His ability to impact and change a game as a fielder is something that all sides strive to obtain. We, the coaching staff, have been pleased with the way this team has fared this season. While there is still plenty to improve on (fielding, bowlers conceding extras, wicket-keeping and batting concentration to name just a few), the fact is that win or lose, the majority of matches played have been tight right to the end and this vital match experience and hardened cricket edge is certainly something to take forward into their next years playing cricket at Charterhouse. KDB/RVL Winchester Wimbledon Coll. Tonbridge Heathside School Eton Whitgift Dulwich Willson’s School Harrow Cranleigh Bradfield Portsmouth GS Wellington St John’s, L’head

U14B

Won by 139 runs Won by 9 wickets Match drawn Won by 106 runs Lost by 53 runs Won by 5 wickets Won by 5 wickets Won by 4 wickets Won by 4 runs Lost by 6 runs Lost by 1 wicket Lost by 2 runs Lost by 3 wickets Match Drawn

(Surrey Cup Rd 1) (Surrey Cup Rd 2) (Surrey Cup Rd 3) (Surrey Cup semi)

In a season initially disrupted by Iceland’s volcanic emissions, the U14B team succeeded in reaching Exeat unbeaten. Winchester were the first team to fall to Giddins’s (W) shrewd captaincy. Batting first, Shore (B) and Barley (g) put on 175 for the 2nd wicket with scores of 117 and 77 respectively and Charterhouse reached 284/3 from their 30 overs. A deflated Winchester side were skittled for 78 with three wickets each for the sharp bowling of Smith (L) and McConnell (g). A declaration game followed against Tonbridge: batting first again, Giddins contributed 64 to a total of 247/6 from 34 overs. At 106/5 in reply, Tonbridge were

The summer got off to a frustrating start, with so many pupils stranded abroad that it became necessary to postpone the InterHouse Athletics, and it was several weeks before we really felt our momentum had been fully restored. Our frustration was compounded by a series of injuries to our most reliable athletes: it wasn’t until after Exeat that we were able to call on Ollie Hill (R) or George Lawson (g), for example, and we were also periodically without athletes of the calibre of Shubi Odunowo (D), Ollie Epp (D) and Freddie Knottenbelt (W). And then there were the exams… The maddening thing was that one problem always seemed to lead to another: when one athlete failed to appear it became necessary to ask others to fill in ‘for a point’ – with the result that our most reliable competitors tended to have exhausted or injured themselves by the time their own specialist event had come round. On one awful occasion I found my most likely substitute crawling around on his hand and knees, complaining of back pains, and so turned my attention to my next victim – only to find him being sick in (someone else’s) shrubbery. All the injuries I have mentioned were absolutely genuine, but it has to be said that we suffered from a lot of what the army would call ‘spine’ or ‘upper head’ injuries: Carthusians, as a tribe, do not like pain, and every tweak and niggle seemed to require the best part of a month of traction, physio, counselling and bird-watching in Gownboys Garden to recover from. We were often reduced to

BADMINTON

Badminton

ATHLETICS

Athletics

begging for help from stray tennis players: I was particularly grateful to Moni Moni-Nwinia (D) (a stalwart of JAT’s legendarily painful circuits sessions), Mike Fatsis (P) and Foti Lykiardopulo (S) for their occasional appearances in the field events – and to Felix Hamer (R), who actually left the Tonbridge courts (sorry...) to run a leg in the 4x400m relay. As a result, it would be fair to say that we were not particularly competitive as a team this year. We were not always last, but we can, in all seriousness, now claim to have been the first contenders ever to have come 7th in the Tonbridge Six Schools match. Nevertheless, we managed to have a very pleasant summer: the cluster of athletes who made it to training were never less than motivated and engaging, throwing themselves into everything from 20x200m speed endurance sessions to mysteriously exhausting games of ultimate Frisbee and British Bulldogs. We missed SCA, but with CLR master-minding the high jump, JPF handling the throws and APM developing an interest in the hurdles (all praise to YouTube…), we were able to cover almost all the angles. We had eight Waverley Area Champions this year; five of them went on to represent the Area team at the County Championships: Fraser Ross (L), Patrick Baatz (P), Oliver Epp, Rob McGowan-Stuart (P) and Ben Jobson (S). Of these, Ben Jobson went on to become County Champion, achieving a height of 1m79. As a result, he was selected to represent Surrey in the regional championships, coming second with a new school record of 1.85. This made him the most successful Carthusian athlete since Johnny Van Deventer, who won a junior international vest a few years ago. It’s worth noting that, before these championships, Ben had won the inter-house athletics with 1.83 – with the second placed boy, Tom MacFarlane (g), jumping a remarkable 1.80. The Icelandic volcano delayed the inter-house athletics, which caused a good deal of inconvenience, not least because we had to run the relays and paarlauf on the same day, exhausting several of our better runners, but, even so, an extra month’s training resulted in a number of very impressive performances. In fact, 31 of the events were won with better times or distances than was the case last year. We found a few young talents (Jeremy Gaunt (R), despite his protestations, looks like a good triple jumper in the making; Feyi Bakare (g), despite his slight build, looks a capable discus thrower; Pietro Theotokis (L) seems to be a respectable competitor in almost anything from 200m to 1500m. We were also just as pleased to make a few discoveries further up the school. Of these, the most spectacular find was probably Ed Mole (P), who improved his 800m time from 2.28 to 2.04 within a matter of weeks. Other athletes made significant breakthroughs, too: Freddie Knottenbelt improved his 100m time from 13.1 to 11.9, and suddenly discovered he could jump 1.65m for the high jump; Rob McGowan-Stuart seemed to set a new best time every time he ran. This is a very small club, but athletics is all about individual improvement – so the most important statistic of the year is that, once again, Charterhouse athletes recorded more than 100 new personal best times during the course of the season. CRGH Badminton has enjoyed a productive year, with the U16, U19 boys and U19 girls competing in the Surrey County Divisions, and the re-emergence of the inter house competition giving the chance for even more students to play. We had to wait a few weeks for the QSC Sports Hall to reopen, but we soon started to make up for lost time, with training sessions using up all 8 courts on a regular basis.

U19 Badminton There were several changes to the squad from last year, and it remained up to the likes of captain of badminton Romeo Chang (S) and Charles Kwan (D) to spearhead our charge in the Surrey South Division. A friendly match against Tiffin provided us with an opportunity to find out who would be able to represent the

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in all sorts of trouble but a fabulous unbeaten century saved the match. Four further solid team performances followed before Exeat resulting in convincing victories against Eton, Harrow, Dulwich, and Westminster. At this juncture the talismanic opening batsman, Shore (you read his name here first), had notched up nearly 300 runs and was picked off by U14A vultures KDB and RVL. It was difficult to deal without the guaranteed fifty or so runs he would reliably contribute every game and two batting collapses against Cranleigh and Bradfield provided the season with a low point. The tide was turned on a baking Thursday afternoon against a strong Portsmouth Grammar School side. Pitch 1 looked every bit the batsman’s wicket yet Giddins, on winning the toss, put PGS in. This unexpected move of tactical genius may well have wrongfooted the opposition and, after two overs of fairly wayward bowling, three wickets had fallen. Portsmouth were eventually bowled out for 80 in a little over 15 overs with another tidy spell from Smith picking up four wickets. Cox (V), Giddins, Barley, and Crowson-Berney (V) had no trouble notching up the runs. A confident Wellington team was the next scalp. An astonishing 22 ball 50 from Williams (V) kicked Charterhouse’s scoring rate on after the openers had been muted by some fine Wellingtonian line and length. Useful contributions from Smith and Worrall (B) set a competitive total of 176 from 30 overs. Wellington set off on the chase at a frightening pace but were bowled out over 30 runs short after Sood (S) picked up a season’s best of 4/7. The final game of Quarter took place at St John’s Leatherhead on an excruciatingly warm afternoon. St John’s won the toss and batted but failed to leave some good deliveries and Barley took three fine catches behind the stumps as they were reduced to 126 all out with Gilbey (W) taking four. What followed was the most nail biting innings of the season. The Charterhouse top order collapsed to 44/6 after just eight and a half overs and a defeat on the last day of the season looked inevitable. With 83 further runs required, Worrall and Silver (B) stepped up to the crease and produced an heroic seventh wicket stand of 53 before Worrall parried one down mid-off ’s throat and Silver was bowled soon after. McConnell and Boissier (L), displaying cool heads in such intense heat, saw the team home for a two wicket victory. McConnell, Smith, Thomas (W) and Sood were the season’s leading wicket takers with Shore, Giddins and Barley all contributing over 200 with the bat. Eight out of the eleven fixtures were won.

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School in the League matches, as well as testing out various pairings. Adrian Tam (G), Ed Holden (D), Kenneth Hui (W), Wayne Yeang (W) and our two 5th formers Jerry Xu (H) and Nelson Tsui (H) made up the core base of the squad, and played some good quality badminton, only going down 9 matches to 7 in a highly competitive match against one of the county’s leading badminton schools. Next up were Willson’s, who decided in their infinite wisdom to put out a stronger team to play against our under 16s (see later!), and also brought a very strong U19 side for a friendly. As always, we conducted ourselves impeccably, with Romeo and Charles leading the way with some high quality badminton. However, we weren’t able to capitalise on our opportunities, so were unlucky only to win 5 of the 16 rubbers. The League matches were against RGS Guildford, St John’s Leatherhead and KES Witley. We played RGS Guildford on a Friday evening just before Exeat in OQ. Needless to say, the players were understandably tired and ready for a break! That said, Romeo and Adrian picked up 2 out of 3 rubbers, with our remaining pairs unlucky not to pick up any more rubbers (final score 2-7). St John’s Leatherhead provided more tough opposition – despite having a relatively weak 3rd pair, their top two pairs were strong. The critical matches between the 2nd pairs and 1st pairs in the final round didn’t go our way, making the overall final score 4-5. Luck seemed to be absent from Charterhouse badminton! The final League match against KES Witley was incredibly tense. There was no doubt that KES had improved significantly over the last two years (a mixed U19 side had lost to them earlier in the season). With several players missing – we travelled with 4 U19 players to two new up-and-coming U16 players – Hasan Beckett (V) and Parsant Jotikasthira (H). What unfolded in the next two hours was quite extraordinary. Romeo and Charles won all 3 of their rubbers, playing with the composure and confidence of established badminton players. Kenneth and Ed won a crucial rubber against the KES 3rd pair, but lost two very tight 3-setters against the other two pairs. The match rested on the outcome of the Charterhouse and KES 3rd pairs! At 1 set-all 19-all, this was incredibly hard to watch; however, we kept our heads, winning the next two points and hence the match overall 5-4. The very least that we deserved! This was always going to be a tough season, but many thanks to all the 2nd year specialists – Romeo, Charles, Adrian and Ed – whose enthusiasm and commitment to badminton has been fantastic. U19 Girls’ Badminton With several players expressing interest in playing badminton, it seemed a reasonable idea to start up an U19 girls’ side to play in the Surrey League. What transpired was one of the real success stories in Carthusian badminton this year. A core group of players made up the squad: Justina Lam (S), Eleanor Kerns (V), Lucy Jillings (S), Anna Novalyskaya (g), Linda Chen (V), Elizabeth Rigby (L), Olivia Chan (D), Chantal CoxGeorge (S) and Nicole Lam (B). Whilst not knowing the standard of girls’ badminton in the Surrey area too well, I hoped that we would be able to give a good account of ourselves. After a friendly victory against St John’s Leatherhead, we started off our League campaign with an away trip to Howard of Effingham School. We were a few players light that day, but the effort was clear to see. A 3-6 reversal didn’t tell the whole story, and if we had played them later in the season with a full squad, then I would expect a Charterhouse victory. The American School in Kingston was our next destination, and we put the opposition to the sword! An 8-1 victory announced our arrival on the scene. This was closely followed by a 6-3 win against Putney High School, and the talk was whether the Charterhouse U19 Girls’ team in their inaugural season would win the Surrey Schools League. Lucy and Eleanor, along with Anna and Linda, looked like established pairings, and I'm sure will play a pivotal role next year as well.

Guildford High was going to be a crucial match – we had a few difficulties pre-match, but I hoped that this would be resolved on court. However, it had a feeling of “not going to be our day”, and unfortunately this proved to be the case. A narrow 4-5 loss against our toughest opponents to date, with several sets finishing 19-21. Even chocolate cookies post match couldn’t lift my spirits! Our final match against Caterham was another closely fought affair. The quality of badminton remained consistently high throughout, and despite being nerve-wracking to watch, I was exceptionally pleased with the progress the girls have made. However, the score finished the same as our previous match (4-5). Looks like we need to create a ruthless streak! In short, it has been an enjoyable season for the U19 girls, and with the bulk of the squad being 1st years, the omens look good for next year! U16 Badminton The U16s have experienced both ends of the scale in what turned out to be a successful season. The ‘Willson experience’ to eventual Surrey South Champions! The friendly match against Willson’s was meant to give several players who had not represented the school a chance to play some competitive badminton. To say that Willson’s didn’t play ball is an understatement; they brought their U19 side, filled with Middlesex and Surrey County players. What followed was a case of character building, and in actual fact worked to our advantage in future matches. Sometimes you have to play against top players to appreciate the standard that you have to aspire to. The League campaign benefitted from this experience, as we dismantled St John’s Leatherhead (7-2), Cranleigh (6-3) and Winston Churchill School (7-2) in emphatic fashion. Nelson and Jerry look like developing into a top pairing if they stick with badminton; Jonathan Peppiatt (L), Ali Hoffmann De Visme (P), Mackenzie Xu (P), Nelson Xu (P), Husin Beckett (g), Hasan Beckett (V), Sam Artigolle (g), Parsant Jotikasthira (H) and Rizwan Bhattia (D) all played their part in ensuring that the U16 campaign was a success. Before we knew it, we were Surrey South Champions! House Badminton This event really took off towards the end of OQ and the start of LQ. The houses were split into two groups, with the top 2 sides progressing to the semi-finals, and the remainder going into the plate. Each match consisted of 5 rubbers: yearlings, underschool, specialist girls, specialist boys and open. Group A went to form, with Saunderites and Gownboys coming in the top two places, very closely followed by Lockites. Group B was incredibly close. In fact, Verites were only one rubber away from winning the group but ended up in 4th place! The surprise group winners were Weekites, whose team spirit and ethic to producing teams regularly meant they went through relatively comfortably (they were already through before the final group matches were played). Pageites always looked like progressing given the strength of their underschool players, and Daviesites were unlucky to miss out. The plate competition eventually saw the two teams that finished 3rd in their groups contend the plate final. At 2 rubbers all, it went to the deciding rubber! Daviesites had two U19 squad players, so Lockite captain Jonathan Peppiatt had it all to do. At one stage, it was 10-10 and a real upset looked on the cards; however, the experience of the Daviesite pair eventually told, and they were eventually crowned plate champions. The main competition was still to be decided. Pageites failed to put out 2 pairs in their semi-final against Saunderites. Gownboys proved to be a little too strong for Weekites, so an all-old house final was to take place. All the rubbers were close in the final, but Saunderites just had that little bit extra when it counted most, and deservedly picked up the inter house crown. My many thanks to IDV, ARH and Mrs Tully for their help in making sure that badminton sessions ran as smoothly as possible

The U19 and U16 basketball teams enjoyed another strong season winning 6 out of 8 games against the likes of Harrow, Tonbridge and even one very odd match against the Rikkyo School. The teams were ably captained by Christian Pedrini for the U19 (H) and Tom Macfarlane (g) for the U16. Each player improved on key skills throughout the season and the U16 team in particular should be highlighted for their key contributions in U19 games with players like Tom Macfarlane (g), Phil Lam (D), and Jonathan Law (g). This year the team says goodbye to Kriz Kitilimtrakul (H) and wishes him the very best for the future. JJK

Cross-Country

This season has been marked by some particularly good individual runs with the Inters standing out as the team with considerable promise for next season. The teams were ably led by Charlie Wilkinson (R) and Milly Maudsley (L). A beautifully hot September day at Sevenoaks did not give us any hint of the weather we would encounter later in the year. Here the Seniors and Inters ran together over a four mile course with Ciaran Dougherty (L) and Ben Jobson (S) coming second and third overall and the Inters team won their event. Maudsley decided to run with the boys and came an extremely creditable 15th. Wimbledon Common provided an altogether different challenge with muddy paths and a bloated river to be negotiated. This was an Open race with some of the best schools in the south east present. With a team of mostly Inters we were not expecting to place highly. However, Ben Jobson ran exceptionally well coming 14th, Ciaran Dougherty 24th and Charlie Wilkinson 48th. Our own event at Charterhouse in October was again an opportunity for the Inters to shine in a strong field of six other schools. Dougherty placed 2nd and Jobson 4th with Matthew Clarke (B) and Scott Lyons (H) doing well. In the end, as a team, they beat off the opposition from John Fisher school by just two points. Other memorable runs included a very wet (it did not rain unless we were running) Richmond Park for the Judge Cup where we came 6th out of 14 teams, whilst the Inter-House Relays were convincingly won by W with both Nick Sando (B) and Wilkinson going under seven minutes for the lap and with two excellent runs by Maudsley and Catherine Hall (R) in the girls’ event. LQ began with several of the team having some good miles under the belt having been on the inaugural running and reading week in Yorkshire. We were rather sorry, then, that the first and one of our biggest events, the Knole Run at Sevenoaks was cancelled due to the snow. Carthusian runners, it seems, are made of sterner stuff. Nevertheless, at Winchester MacGregor Cox (V) ran a very fine race coming 5th in the juniors race and at the Surrey Schools Mausdsley, Wilkinson and Annabelle Bonham (V) all qualified to run for Surrey later in the Quarter. This was followed by a beautiful run at Royal Grammar School, Guildford and the Wellington Relays in which Scott Lyons (H) started to show significant improvements on the back of all the hard training. Cranleigh was perhaps the best result of the Quarter. Over a wonderfully muddy and wooded course the Inters (Jobson, Dougherty, Matthew Clarke, Olly Higginson (g), Lyons, Jon Hall (R), Patrick Baatz (P) and James Coghlan (S)) all having very impressive runs coming second out of seven teams. The fourths also showed their mettle by all running over this difficult Inters course. As a team they demonstrated increasing promise reflecting improved fitness and determination with the team growing in numbers as the year progressed. Pietro Theotokis (L), Drew Kemp (R), Cox, Jeremy Gaunt (R), Wilkie Briggs (S), Alex

183 BASKET BALL CROSS-COUNTRY FENCING

Basketball

Cadzow (G), Will Jeffreys (R) and Miles Conlon (V) all suggest that the future of Charterhouse cross-country is in good hands (or I suppose legs). With the end of the season upon us Pontifex applied its traditional focus to our energies. Nick Sando ran stylishly and confidently to win with Wilkinson also delivering a typically gutsy run. Jobson and Dougherty swapped their positions in the Inter-House relays with Dougherty this time going faster. This was true too of Cox and Tom Green (W) with Green just managing a better sprint to put Cox in second place. Perhaps the best run on the day, though, was Lyons’ third place. The final run of Quarter was our last Club run, this time at night. The Shackleford loop provided a well trodden course, but it was a completely new experience done by head torch. Looking back at just a host of bobbing lights was a spectacular sight. Harry Wise (B) won the most dedicated runner of the Quarter [qv photo p123], Higginson was awarded the shield for the most improved, Wilkinson and Maudsley for the best runs and Dougherty for the fastest runner. Next year Jobson and Clarke will be joint boys’ captains and Catherine Hall will be girls’ captain. I am very grateful to the whole team and all the other beaks involved to have made this such an enjoyable season, particularly so as I was learning the ropes as master in charge. I could not have asked for a better bunch of boys and girls who gave everything in training and in matches as well as being such good company at training, matches, on Saturday Club (i.e. pizza) runs and in Yorkshire. Final word should go, though, to the beaks whose unstinting good humour, ideas, enthusiasm and example in training set the standard. I am enormously grateful to EPN, JPF, CRGH and ZSG for everything they have done. EH

Nick Sando winning Pontifex

over the course of this year. Given the popularity of the sport – especially over the winter – having players of their quality being able to assist in sessions is a huge bonus. JMS

Fencing

The Charterhouse fencing team welcomed a number of new fencers in OQ and there have been many innovations throughout the season, including a wider range of fixtures and the introduction of different weapons. It has been a pleasure to see the team responding positively to these developments and it is pleasing to report that everyone in the team has gone from strength to strength over the recent months. At the beginning of OQ the emphasis was on allowing the fencers to regroup and regain their fitness after the summer. The first match of the season was against Bradfield when the Epee A team had a close call with a 45-44 win. Since then, this team has galvanised considerably over recent months, evinced by their convincing win by 20 points against Bradfield in LQ. The core is now based on Derrick Lau (H), Tasso Dattenberg-Doyle (S) and Pavel Degtiarev (V) and they work very well together. Degtiarev has consistently provided an iron wall of defence (although he is starting to be more combative in style) before patiently seizing the moment to penetrate his opposition. For Dattenberg-Doyle, his strength has been in his extraordinary perspicacity when reading other fencers; this has been put to ever better use as he has sought to counsel his team members in appropriate tactics. The Foil A team made a convincing start to the year in their first match which was also against Bradfield – that was until halfway through the match when the opposition snatched the lead by one point with a 17 point recovery. However, some final flourishes by

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Anthony Buswell (g) recovered the situation to win 45-37 and the same strength was in evidence in LQ when they won 45-35. Buswell has become the core of the Foil A team and has regularly redressed the balance when there has been the need: his powerful play is genuinely intimidating for the opposition belied by a quietly unassuming approach. After a pleasant start to OQ, the team then faced Winchester – arguably the team’s strongest opposition. A suite of losses followed for Foil A (36-45), B (32-45) and C (23-45) as well as Epee A (40-41) and B (37-45). Quite simply, a combination of both complacency and a lack of discipline were in evidence and there is no doubt that lessons were learnt for the rest of the season. Subsequently, when the team faced Winchester again in LQ, the result was much more pleasing: Foil A (45-40), B (42-22) and Epee A (43-31) and B (45-22) and testimony to the development that all fencers have made. The matches against Eton were new fixtures this year. We constructed these events in a three-way format against Tonbridge and in OQ the Foil A team fared very well winning 44-22 against Eton but lost 36-45 against Tonbridge. The Tonbridge fight was closer than may be evident from the score and the bout lasted a lengthy 45 minutes with the foilists having to show some real determination and sustained concentration. The epeeists had a much more successful match against Tonbridge: Lau happened to know quite a few of the opposition team, having fenced with them at his club in Hong Kong, and was thus aware of their likely strengths, weaknesses and tactics. His insight, combined with the formidable combination of Dattenberg-Doyle and Degtiarev allowed them to dominate from the start and they succeeded in limiting the number of opposition hits thanks to careful thought and reflection, eventually winning 44-22. The Foil B team against Tonbridge in OQ lost heavily 9-45, although this was a largely one-sided match as a result of having relatively novice fencers on the Charterhouse team. We have made a distinct effort to put out junior teams when the occasion has arisen in the firm belief that in future years they will benefit from having as much match exposure as possible – and whether this has been for a ‘social’ match or as part of the official team, it has been hugely enjoyable to watch the younger fencers grow in confidence. Joshua Pacey (V) made his debut for the school as a foilist against Bradfield (although he has now started to focus on epee, preferring its slightly more tactical approach) and has been a fine supporter, whether fencing or administrating at matches. Sebastian Fomin (P) initially represented the school against Winchester and Kyril Dashkovskiy (H) made his first efforts against Tonbridge: both have shown a good level of commitment, in the face of much older, physically larger and more experienced opposition teams and as a result they are becoming ever more skilful. Worth provided rather more consistency as well as technically and physically stronger competition when we visited them in OQ. Both Foil A and B lost 29-45 and 42-45 respectively but after a fairly robust discussion at the interval, the Epee A and B teams won 45-35 and 45-34. It was after these matches that the teams regrouped considerably and Elizabeth Rose-Innes (P) was promoted to the Foil A team. She has had a very good year, indeed, improving in tactics and style – she will head off to the national championships later on this year, having won the Southern Region Under 18 Girls’ Foil and she will now go through to the national finals. It has also been very good to see the role that she has taken in spurring the team in its efforts. However, the revised combination was not quite as successful in LQ with losses in both Epee A and B matches (40-45 and 37-45), as well as the Foil A (29-45); however, the consolation was a close win by the Foil B team (4342) thanks to some sturdy last minute endeavours by Lau. The foilists recovered well against Hampton, largely as a result of a much more cohesive sense that the team sought to develop. There are no left-handers in the Charterhouse team and, as a result, it is always a struggle when facing such opponents. Fate has

guaranteed that Antoine Grey (B) will always come up against those of a sinister nature – whenever they are on an opposition team – but, tellingly, a combination of moral support from RoseInnes and some tactical advice from Buswell ensured significant success on this and subsequent occasions. There is little doubt that Grey has gone on to become a much more deft fencer and he, too, will be in the national championship later this year having been one of the top three foilists in the region for his age group. Wellington provided some entertainment at the end of OQ and LQ with a clean suite of convincing victories for Charterhouse on the first and second occasions: Foil A (45-20; 8-1), Foil B (45-13; 7-2) and Epee A (45-34; 7-2) – excepting a minor hiatus with the Epee B team in LQ as concentration started to slip (45-31; 4-5). It was most pleasing to see Jin Jae Park (H) achieve a considerably greater level of consistency in his play in the final matches of LQ and he certainly holds a great deal of promise for future seasons. There were similarly inspiring victories against Epsom’s Foil A (40-30; 40-23), Epee A (45-29) and Foil B (45-22). This year, St Paul's was also a new fixture and they provided a notable end to OQ with a 42-30 win. In the midst of the bout of swine flu we put out a side against St Paul’s at the beginning of LQ winning Foil A 5-4 and Epee A 5-4. It was also the first time in a number of years that the school has fenced sabre and on that occasion we lost 4-5 but pleasingly won 45-40 against Winchester later on in the season. Public Schools Fencing Championship At the end of LQ, almost all of the team was entered for the Public Schools Fencing Championship at Crystal Palace and it was good to see Charterhouse properly represented there for the first time in a number of years. Frustratingly, on the first day, the junior epeeists were unable to register on time but they had a good day watching the senior foilists in some exciting fights. Those who are principally senior epeeists had a very good first day fencing foil. Dattenberg-Doyle finished 20th after some very fine fighting throughout the course of the day, coupled with the demonstration of a pleasing tenacity; however, towards the end of the day, his focus wavered and that was to be a repeated pattern in epee and sabre fights over the next few days with him being seeded 38th and 47th respectively. Lau (another epeeist) was 37th in the foil but his typical engagement and commitment were tangible and he finished in an admirably high position. The next day, when fencing epee, he was unlucky in the poules in which he fought before the knock-out competition and thus struggled against a similarly seeded epeeist before being knocked out as 39th seed. Buswell was ranked 21st in the foil following some difficult opposition. His experience in competitions stood him in good stead and his typical measure and composure were to the fore. He was thus unfortunate not to have progressed to the next round given the skilful fencing that he evidenced throughout the course of the day. He, too, struggled with his poule allocation in the epee and finished 55th and 43rd in the sabre. Rose-Innes had a fantastic day with foil, thanks to her upbeat and positive outlook. Her skill lies unquestionably in the focus and patient determination that allow her skills to come naturally to the fore. She finished 6th having been overwhelmed by an aggressive Korean national champion but she certainly responded admirably. Again, the poule allocation for the epee was not in her favour but she finished 18th – just before the direct elimination rounds. The juniors fared well, overall, but all of them will continue to develop with wider match exposure. Grey ended 40th having been in the strongest of the early poules and facing his nemesis – a sequence of three left-handers. Nonetheless, his mature outlook and much improved control allowed him to make positive progress. Although he also struggled in some fierce poules for the sabre (where he finished 51st) there is no doubt that on both days, he displayed extraordinary focus and discipline. Park also had a pleasing result being ranked 52nd with foil and he did very well to enter the direct elimination rounds thanks to a good level of

Fives team had an excellent season. We ended by taking part in the national tournament at the beginning of the Easter holidays and had a senior pair ( F Imrie (S) and G Rowe (S)) who reached the last 16 and a finalist in the under 14 novice competition. S Harvey (B) and H Shore (B) were beaten by the Shrewsbury first pair having beaten the Eton first pair in the semi-finals. This was the icing on the cake for a season that had promised much with a great influx of yearlings and a group of capable players in the upper years who consistently gave a good account of themselves. The seniors were affected by injury and the inevitable pull of football, hockey and squash on our first pair. There is little doubt that if they had been regularly available any combination of Imrie, Rowe and E Birkett (D) would have given any first pair a significant challenge. The challenge was successful in the early season but only the captain, Imrie, was regularly available in OQ and even he was regularly lost to hockey in LQ. The other senior players, H Wise (B), A Kane (g) and R McDougall (W) had to move up a pair or two which limited their success. The Colts matched the teams we played against. C Rogers (V) and T Julius (V) had great natural talent but were unable to train enough to make the impact they should. James Foley (R) continued to develop as a player and was able to develop his partnership with Ben Wilberforce-Ritchie (R) to become a significant force. Their best result was a 5 set win against a strong Westminster pair. The newcomer to the team was R Brown (H) who came to us from Lancing and added enormously to our strength. He played with a number of partners but was most settled with M Marsh (S). They will develop more over the next year and become formidable as seniors. The under 15s were represented by E McDougall (W) and N Walker (H). Both played well when they got their eye in but suffered from competing attractions of major sports and music respectively. The Yearlings were as strong as we have seen. At the beginning of OQ we put out a side against Harrow that did not lost a game and almost failed to concede a point. The Southern Schools tournament in October was won with three semi-finalists from Charterhouse and both the finalists. The winners were T Barley (g) and H Reynolds (S) in a close match against Harvey and Shore. The caravan moved to Eton where N Radonjic (g) and M Mohammed (S) just lost a close 5 set match but the discovery of the day was H Clinton (W) and P Harrison (W) who won a four set match, having taken the game up only shortly before the match. The other really distinguished players were H Criswell (V) and D Federer (V) who were able to destroy the Etonian pair for the loss of less than 10 points. This was the pattern of the fixtures as the yearlings overwhelmed opposition, a problem solved by promoting the stronger pairs to play in the year above.

GOLF

Won 10, Lost 6, Drew 1

Golf

FIVES

Fives

As LQ progressed the pairings settled down. S Sergeant (V) and C Crowson Birley (V) showed they will be able to lead the under 15 pairs next year. A Smith (L) and J Barker (L) improved and won the final match of the season. T McConnell (g) who joined the school in LQ showed a games player’s ability to adapt and became a powerful player pairing with fellow Duckites J Anite and A Hall in different matches. Hall made immense progress through the year and won the improver’s medal for the year. C Lewis (S) and F Longmuir (R) joined the sport in LQ and were becoming sound players by the end of the season . The greatest triumph came at the end and is referred to in the introduction to this report. We took two senior and three novice pairs to the championships. The seniors did as well as could be expected. Rowe did well to re-acquaint himself to the game in the short time he allowed himself. The lack of practice became evident when we came up against the eventual winner in the form of Shrewsbury 2. Kane and Wise made it to the semi-final of the plate competition. The novices all played superbly. Three pairs manage to get to the last 16 in the competition at which point Reynolds and Barley fell to Shrewsbury 3. Clinton and Harrison went one stage further before going out to Eton 1. Finally Harvey and Shore after beating Eton 1 in the semi-final without dropping a set succumbed to a very strong Shrewsbury 1 who are thought to be one of the strongest pairs to play in the tournament. It was a good end to an excellent year. We were left thinking about the possibility of going one better next year. What better way to celebrate 400 years. I would like to thank our coach, David Mew who was a great encouragement to players at all levels. Two OCs (Ron Patterson and Alex Burrows) have come down on Wednesday evenings to coach. On top of this we have the knowledge and unfailing enthusiasm of Gilles Gergaud helping the sport. JCT

The golf team started the academic year with a number of impressive victories. Neither the Senior nor the U16 team lost a match during OQ. The Senior team notched up wins against Harrow, Bradfield, Cranleigh, Winchester and Seaford and the U16 team against Winchester. The team also played well to achieve halves against strong sides from Wellington and Eton. We were ably captained by Oliver Greenhalgh (H) and consistently supported with strong play by Archie Hill (W) and Paul Raleigh (D). Two promising fifth formers, George Kelly (H) and Edward Wilcox (B) strengthened the team. Sadly this excellent start to the year was not sustained through the long winter. The cold weather affected our results and we lost to Bradfield and Cranleigh as well as RGS Guildford in the second round of the HMC Foursomes. The Gerald Micklem was disappointing. We drew Wellington in the first round. Wellington is our toughest rival with a flourishing golf academy. We lost 4.5 vs. 0.5 against a team with three as their highest handicap. The team won against Stowe in the semi-final of the Plate and narrowly lost to Rugby in the Plate final. Archie Hill has been an excellent Captain during the second half of the academic year despite disappointing team results. Archie and his father, Julian, managed to reach the final of the Fathers and Sons at West Hill in April, losing by the narrowest of margins which is a fantastic achievement. As ever, I am thankful to Worplesdon with whom we have a junior membership arrangement and where we play the vast majority of matches. I am also grateful to those who keep the School course in such good condition. Finally, thanks to Nick English for teaching the team and Carthusians who attend our weekly coaching. RGL

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concentration and engagement. Pawat Silawattakun (G) did exceptionally well to be ranked 61st in the Mount Haes foil competition showing a superb eye and qualities of aggression – this was the first occasion on which he represented the school. It was also good to see strong performances in the foil from 69th seed Peter Collins (P), 71st seed Degtiarev, 73rd seed Daskovskiy and 97th seed Benjamin Woolf (H). Mr Johnson’s coaching and Derrick Lau’s (H) captaincy have been central to the success that the team has enjoyed. We have also been fortunate in the sterling support that has been provided from a number of parents and their commitment has been a veritable tonic on many occasions. In addition, we were very fortunate to receive a grant from the OC Trust which allowed us to purchase a new conductive piste, allowing for much more fluent match fights: we have been very grateful for such generosity. It has been a splendid year, with excellent leadership being provided by the seniors, under the careful eye of Lau – and the juniors have appreciated that direction. All augurs well for future seasons. JHK

ROWING

RUGBY

Rowing

In the last issue of this magazine I reported our revised strategy of consolidation owing to the departure of a number of senior oarsmen last year. The weather in Long Quarter has proven particularly troublesome. The locks at the Thames displayed red boards on more days than not. As a consequence water training had to give way to ergos. Our lack of quality water time showed itself in the first race of the term at Hampton with finishes in the lower half. With suitably low expectations, given the presence of red boards but by no means lacking enthusiasm, the first four (J 4+) arrived at the Tideway for their biggest race of the year, the Schools’ Head of the River Race. The crew had a great row and after last year’s 5th place they managed a very solid 7th place out of 17 crews. The next day saw the J15 Quad race in their first serious head race, the National (Oarsport) Junior Sculling Head at Dorney Lake. In all, not a bad result for almost no water training all Quarter. Crews LQ: J 4+: Alex Goulds (G), George Barnett (B), Will Davies (g), Jake Tempest (G), Nidhin Laji (P) J 1x: Will Davies (g) J15 4x+: Georgia Newbold (V), George Webb (L), Ben Culverwell (R), Ben Foulston (R), and Pippo Kalra (L) Cricket Quarter saw us move into the new boat house at Walton. What a change to the old place! This spurred us on to make it a good first term with brand new facilities. The first race was Chiswick Regatta on the Tideway. The senior four, J 4+, won their race against a strong Magdalene College School and Eastbourne College by one and three lengths, respectively. The two Bens (Culverwell and Foulston) won their first pot by beating Globe by three and a half length in the J15 2x final. Other notable achievements were second places by Will Davies in J17 1x and George Webb in J15 1x. The Ball Cup at Dorney was shortened to only a measly 750m this year which may have proven to be too short for our crews. Hunter Goetz (R) kicked off this year’s race for us just after 8am and achieved a good third place in his heat. The J18 and both J15 doubles had an extremely strong field to content with and did not manage to make the final. Our first final was reached by the mighty J15 quad. Unfortunately, they had to content with a somewhat erratic starting umpire who gave the go when our boys were still lining up. As a result the distance they lost at the start proved too much to claw back and they finished in disappointing sixth place. All hopes lay now with the J17 single and the flagship event the Senior Ball Cup. Will Davies dispatched his opposition with ease in his first heat and did likewise in his final to secure our first medal of the day. He did not have much time to relax and was on only half an hour later for his final race, the Senior Boys final. The heat saw them come in second behind Reading Oratory. The final was between Charterhouse and the Oratory. Leaving last

year’s disappointment of the narrowest loss behind, we started well into the race. Half way down the race it became clear that the Oratory’s winning margin could be at least half a length this year. However, in lane one and from nowhere a Whitgift four pushed passed both crews to take the title this year leaving us with the bronze medal. Our boys should be proud of their achievement, considering that the Oratory fielded four (!) boats in the J 4+ events and therefore had sixteen oarsmen to choose from for their first crew. As a result it was never easy to beat them; and for the actual winning crew…? Well, who knows how these things happen, they obviously had a mighty good row; well done to them! The final race of the year was at home at Walton, at the Walton and Weybridge Regatta. The two J15 double sculls, the J15 quad and Will Davies were in action. The J15 boys had to contend with an enormous (in every respect) Walton crew in their first or second rounds; unfortunately they proved to be unbeatable. Will, however, won his J18 1x final very convincingly. A number of novices tried their hands in the art of rowing and were expertly coached by Guildford’s Paul Woowat; There were five female rowers among them, too. Our second annual boat club dinner on May 22 was well attended; Will Davies was awarded minor sports’ colours and ‘The Payne Rowing Cup’ was earned by the J15 squad for their devotion and effort over the entire year. George Barnett ended the evening with an excellent Captain’s speech and handed over the baton to Will Davies. Crews CQ: J 4+: George Gilligan-Court (R), George Barnett, Will Davies, Jake Tempest, Nidhin Laji J18 2x: Nidhin Laji and Jake Tempest J17 1x: Will Davies J16 2x: Hunter Goetz and Raman Kalra (H) J16 1x: Hunter Goetz J15 4x+: George Gilligan-Court, cox, George Webb, Ben Culverwell, Ben Foulston, and Pippo Kalra J15 2x: Ben Culverwell, Ben Foulston J15 2x: George Webb, Pippo Kalra A big thank you must go to our parents, all other supporters including our very able coaching team without whom our endeavour would be unthinkable; SEC, David Hosking, Ralph deJong Mellon and Paul Woowat and of course the boat clubs nutritionist and honorary matron, Annie Hardie. An OC Rowing Club is in the process of being formed and if past Charterhouse or subsequent oarsmen/oarswomen are interested to join or who know of anybody, please get in touch with Oliver Choroba (owc@charterhouse.org.uk). I would like to end by wishing George Barnett, the outgoing Captain of Boats all the best; he did a very good job in leading the squad. Good luck to the new officers, Captain of Boats Will Davies, Keeper of Boats Raman Kalra and Nidhin Laji as Vice-Captain. OWC

Rugby

186

Played 9, Won 6, Lost 3

It was a squad full of promise which assembled in early September. There were big men amongst the forwards (the cognoscenti will be impressed to learn that six springs were required on the scrummage machine to withstand the weight) and exciting runners in the backs. RGS Guildford provided our first opposition on a blistering hot first Saturday. The XV withstood a lot of pressure throughout the game, but even on their own try line their resolve did not waver. Although the back line did not find its rhythm, Max Agace (R) made a crucial scoring break down the hill, with George Jones (V) adding the extra two points, and this single try was enough to secure a hard-earned victory.

SQUASH

Many Second Year Specialists left this year who have served the club with distinction. Moni Moni-Nwinia was barely able to manage a half last season but this year his barnstorming running proved almost impossible to stop; Charlie Draper, after initial doubts about whether or not he’d play rugby at all, assumed the leadership of the pack and he led from the front, always on the charge to great effect; Will Hughes (H) partnered Charlie in the second row and his skill with the ball in hand belied his size; James Knight (R) and Chris Bullock (R) matched each other in commitment throughout their time with the squad and in determination to come back from injury: their last game against ACS was their best; Will Law, freed from the duties of full back, ran elusively and very fast, while proving a staunch defender; and George Jones’s kicking game gained us many yards, relieved pressure on our line and scored not a few points, and his running and service enabled a talented back line to attack effectively. Jack Chard was an inspirational captain. His running, passing and tackling were matchless, and his organisation of the side via pithy emails and contribution to the planning of training made him a genuine leader who quickly won the respect of all those who had dealings with him. What of next year? Many First Year Specialists and Fifth formers turned in performances this season which make me relish the prospect of the next one. Hooker Roberto Van Meurs (L) controlled our set piece and was much in evidence around the pitch, often performing a vital supporting role allowing others to shine; locks Joshua Barrow (R) and Foti Lykiardopulo improved throughout the season as they gained confidence at close quarters; Shaun Allan (G), Jack Reynolds (H), George Clifford (V) will be a formidable back row with their pace and physical commitment; the strong running of centres Max Agace and Oliver QuintinArchard poses great problems for the opposition, and Toby Sherwood (H) has matured into a full back of impressive skill and courage. I thank the whole squad for its support during a hugely enjoyable season, and also AJ and SFCB whose expertise, anecdotes and selfless commitment to this group of players helped make it such a success. RGS Guildford 3rd XV (H) St. Bede’s (H) Tonbridge 3rd XV (A) Ewell Castle (A) Emanuel (H) Hurtwood House (H) Sevenoaks 3rd XV (H) Gordon’s (H) ACS Cobham (H)

7-0 W 20-29 L 49-10 L 0-8 W 7-19 L 55-5 W 59-5 W 19-15 W 37-0 W

Squash

1st V Despite the top four players leaving at the end of 2008/9 the 1st V made a good start to this season under the enthusiastic leadership of James Adams (S). James started the season at no. 1 but he was hotly pressed for that position by James McCallion (W), who indeed, before OQ was out claimed the no. 1 berth. Incoming 4th former Tom Williams (V) with Surrey squad experience, soon made the no. 3 position his own for the season, Pornphrom Vikitsreth (P) played at no. 4 and George Rowe (S) at no. 5 with Tom Gallyer (S) ably filling in where required. With the loss of C Evans (W) permanently to football shortly to be followed by O Plummer (L) with a long-term shoulder injury, the squad might have been stretched but, thankfully, injuries were less frequent than during 2008/9. After surprisingly comfortable wins over Brighton and KCS, Wimbledon came our first real test – against RGS, Guildford in the U19 National Cup. They boasted three county players and though we won comfortably at nos. 4 and 5 we were outplayed at

187

Strong running by St. Bede’s a week later led to the Charterhouse side being 3-24 down shortly before half time. However, admirable qualities such as patience and discipline enabled the side to creep back into the game with three tries and if the game had lasted a few minutes longer the result might have been different. Tonbridge hammered any incipient complacency out of the team. The forwards lacked physical assertion at the breakdown, and defensive organisation was not yet instinctive among the backs, so Tonbridge’s final tally was close to fifty points, though tries from captain Jack Chard (S) and Martin LeSourd (P) salvaged some pride. It was Jack Chard again who made what proved to be the decisive break for a try against Ewell Castle. It was a closely-fought forward contest, but Charterhouse weathered a lot of pressure and deserved a win which was sealed by George Jones kicking a penalty in front of the posts. His all-round kicking game and particularly his box kicking did much to keep Charterhouse on the front foot. We were indebted to Will Harrison (V), Alex Jeffreys (D) and Gavroche Gergaud (G) for making up our numbers to 15 after injuries, illness and the Royal Marines Pringle Trophy had made a number of regular squad members unavailable. All acquitted themselves with great credit. It was disappointing to lose to Emanuel just before Exeat. The side was slow to start, and players only began to assert themselves after two tries had been conceded. A try from Jack Chard, converted with aplomb by George Jones made the score 7-12, and had much second-half pressure been converted into points, we might well have emerged worthy victors. But sport is full of such “what if ”s, and another Emanuel try late in the game sealed their victory. Hurtwood House eased us into the second half of the season. It was very pleasing to assuage the hurt of last year’s defeat by scoring over fifty points: superior organisation won the day, and strong rucking by Charlie Draper (L) and Fotis Lykiardopulo (S) in particular provided a platform for the elusive running of Oliver Quintin-Archard (L) and Jack Chard who both scored hat tricks of tries. Sevenoaks were our next visitors, and the match was played in a strong crosswind after torrential rain. Again, Charterhouse won by a large margin and many players deserve credit: Jack Chard again provided inspirational leadership in attack and defence, Will Law (P) made good ground every time he got the ball, Charlie Pierson (H) tackled and passed well, Charlie Draper imposed himself on the rucks and Moni Moni-Nwinia (D) again proved very hard to stop. But the team as a whole hit new standards of performance, and thoroughly deserved their resounding victory. Gordon’s school provided much stiffer opposition. Their back row was mobile and their back line was full of threatening runners, and at 0-10 down after 25 minutes Charterhouse was having the worse of it. But Will Law ran most of the length of the field and Charlie Draper backed him up well to secure our first try. George Jones converted and scored another try himself from short range early in the second half. Gordon’s scored again to regain the lead, but the Charterhouse XV showed great character in immediately scoring again themselves through Max Agace after Draper had again driven forward up the blind side. This was a victory in wind and rain founded on collective refusal to give up: it was enormously satisfying. ACS Cobham provided the season’s final opposition. The occasion was charged with emotion as we bade farewell to several stalwarts of the side, and it took time for Charterhouse to establish control. However, tries from Quintin-Archard and Agace up the hill set us up for a second half where the opposition never saw the ball, and our first-choice back line ran with confidence, producing five more tries. Again, the Charterhouse performance was impressive, with straight running, secure passing and support play well to the fore. Charterhouse finished the game in an atmosphere of celebration of what they had achieved during the season, having won all their matches since Exeat.

SQUASH 188

the top: the variety of shot from the RGS top players, especially their well-timed lobs and precise drop shots were a lesson for us. Another 5-0 win followed against Cranleigh, though Adams was made to work hard for a 3-2 win. Plummer won at no. 5 but sadly for him and the squad that proved to be his last game of the season. After Exeat, we defeated Tonbridge comfortably 4-1, though Adams was outclassed at no. 1. We then beat Merchant Taylor’s 4-1 in the cup with James McCallion’s hard-fought 3-2 win, 13-11 in the 5th game the highlight. This gave us a slim chance at qualification for the knock-out stages with Epsom still to come. Our inexperienced team coincided with the strongest team Winchester have fielded for some time and, though we fought very hard on their courts we lost a close contest 1-4. Rowe’s 15-13 win in the 4th tested out his fitness and Vikitsreth, though inconsistent, fought back in the 5th only to lose 14-16. The others all went down but in each case we lost games 9-11 that could have been won had fewer unforced errors been made. As expected this proved to be our last close match before Christmas, since we had to face Harrow, Eton, Lancing and Epsom in consecutive matches. The only string we picked up in any of these matches was at no. 3 v Epsom where Williams played his best match to date to beat a physically strong opponent 3-1. Despite the heavy losses, the spirit in the team remained good and McCallion in particular began to realise the improvements required to challenge the top players in other schools: fitness, athleticism, determination and good, straight drives were simply proving not enough. Drops, lobs and boasts had to be added to the armoury –and played at the right time. All in all, a 5-5 win-loss record at Christmas was as good as we could have expected. After Christmas we suffered one or two injuries which affected match results, in particular against Winchester and KCS, Wimbledon: this gave Gallyer the opportunity to get some 1st team match experience and he improved with every match, as he worked on strengthening his backhand in training: indeed he was the only player to win against Winchester. At KCS, Hugh Parsons (G) and Sam Evans (W) made their debuts for a much-weakened 1st team with three players unavailable. The pleasing thing, however, were the gritty and skilful performances of McCallion and Adams at 1 and 2. McCallion won an epic 11-8 in the 5th, including the longest rally of the season, indeed any season I can remember, reminiscent of watching professional squash times, in which both players had clearly decided that they were not going to let that ball bounce twice! McCallion lost the rally, but shortly afterwards won the match! We fell at the first hurdle in the U19 Plate knock-out to Merchant Taylor’s, this time at full-strength with a strong 1, 2 and 3. Tom Williams threw away his match after a good first game and will have learned harsh lessons from that loss: the need to be patient, to keep one’s cool under pressure and never to assume that an easy win in the 1st game means a win in the overall match, especially when playing at home. Undoubtedly the highlight of LQ was a late invitation to play in the prestigious 12-team Schools Roehampton Tournament. We have not entered this for several years due to its clashing with Activities Weekend. This was a new experience for our players: an early Sunday morning start, several consecutive matches, little time for lunch (!), best of 3 game matches, timed matches lasting 22 minutes with the player winning within the time getting 2 ‘points’ and a player leading at the ‘bell’ 1 ‘point’. Gallyer and Ali Wright (S) substituted for unavailable players. An easy win against Dulwich was followed by a knock-out match v Epsom, the holders. Ali Wright played superbly to win 2-1 and Tom Williams was leading at the bell, but Epsom proved too strong overall, consigning us to the 6-team Plate event. In this I thought the boys played to their limits, Ali Wright was a revelation, winning 3 out of his 4 matches on the day, Williams became the master of leading by one or two points at the ‘bell’ and was undefeated on the day, Gallyer played superbly to win against Wellington, Adams played excellent squash throughout the day especially against KCS and McCallion’s

match v Wellington’s no.1, an U14 National player, in which he won the 2nd game 10-9, and held on until the ‘bell’ was very exciting. Though Wellington went through our group and eventually won the plate, I felt we had really competed well in all our matches, and out of the 12 teams there we were arguably in the top 6 or 7. The players enjoyed the day and benefited from it enormously from a squash point of view. Note to myself: we must enter again when invited! In the final two matches Gallyer continued his good progress with two wins against the Brigands and Harrow, McCallion played superbly in defeat but took a game off Charles Fuentes for the Brigands (something C. Wright had been unable to achieve!) and two games off the Harrow no. 1 playing in his last match for Harrow; and Adams clinched a rare victory against the Brigands with a 3-0 win over Angus Williams. My thanks to the players for an enjoyable season. James McCallion will lead a team of promising young players next season and the future, I think, is bright at 1st V level. ‘A’ V/2nd V/U16 V After their success at the end of last season the progress made by the U16s this season was disappointing: apart from Gallyer, players did not or could not attend training frequently enough and often did not make best use of training sessions. It continues to be difficult, however, for members of the Underschool due to unavoidable clashes with Culture. But the focus, even in matches, was not as it should have been. Consequently, a few players made little improvement. I hope that these players make more effort as Specialists next season since we play a number of ‘A’ V fixtures now against opposition 1st Vs such as Oratory School, Reading, Lord Wandsworth College and Bradfield where 2nd team players have the chance to play a higher standard of squash. These matches could become rather one-sided – the wrong way! – if players do not commit to training and aim to improve their games. U15 V The U15s were our most successful year group this season, thanks to a strong and enthusiastic squad of U14 players from the previous season who came to training weekly after their Culture commitment – and, of course, to the addition of Tom Williams into the Cup team. They lost to only one school all season, Lancing – and in the National Cup Knock-Out, came within a few points of creating the biggest upset I would have seen at this level when they lost only 2-3 to Lancing, a team consisting of a number of county players who had reached the National Finals the previous season. The most improved player was Ali Wright, but the best record was held by Ben Vigneau-Singh (S) who lost only one match all season – sadly the last, at Lancing! Sam Evans was also a strong performer but he will have to work on his backhand and variety of shot if he wishes to take his game to a higher level; I certainly hope so since he has the necessary power and athleticism. Ed Iley (V) also improved enormously and he proved a very reliable number 5, coming through victorious in several tight contests at no. 5. Harry Light (V) liked to take five games to beat his opponents, perhaps feeling that he wasn’t getting his money’s worth if he despatched them in three! Ashley Beddows (W) also joined the squad and would no doubt have played more often in the team if he hadn’t missed the previous season with knee problems. Interesting that the whole squad came from just three houses: S, V and W. U14 V An enthusiastic squad of players came regularly to training in LQ, though sadly numbers thinned considerably in LQ. With Tom Williams promoted to the 1st V Louis Webb (W) took on the mantle of no.1. He rarely failed to play well in matches, especially when the chips were down. Never-to-be-forgotten will be his come-back against the no. 1 at Winchester from 2-10 down in the 5th to win 13-11 and secure team victory in the process. Tom

Swimming & Water Polo

This year has been as busy as ever in the pool with swimming matches taking place on a regular basis throughout the academic year. Most schools, like us, are finding it difficult to field their best or even a full team after exeat in CQ. This year we have managed to have a Girls’ team competing after a lapse of several years. They may not have won any matches but under the leadership of Vanessa Davies (R) they have not been disgraced at all. The Seniors have once again done particularly well losing very few matches, and to the top schools. We once again reached the finals of the Otter Medley coming 7th in the finals out of 54 schools and improving our place to 20th in the Bath Cup. In doing so, two new school long course records were achieved at Crystal Palace. Our Intermediates have lacked depth and commitment this year but Kirill Baev-Stokmayer (S) has broken all three Intermediate and Senior Breaststroke records. Alex Woodman (g) broke the Senior 100m backstroke record and Tim Almazov (g), the Under 14 50m Backstroke. The U14s also broke the 4 x50m medley relay record which had stood for 5 years. (Rob Law (P), Tim Almazov (g), Joshua Andrade-Brown (L), Ciaran Dougherty (L)) House Swimming goes from strength to strength and each Quarter and we have had inter-house Water Polo competitions on Wednesday evenings each Quarter. Winners of cups were: House Cup (Seniors) Pageites Gale Cup (Intermediates) Saunderites Yearlings Cup Pageites Burgess Cup (overall) Pageites Buchanan Cup AJ Woodman

Our Under 18 Water Polo team reached the National Finals in Walsall under the guidance of Mike Clark our water polo coach. We have also hosted ESSA and London Schools tournaments at Charterhouse this year, both Under 18 and Under 16. Since Ed Hadley left it has been difficult to mentor the Under 14’s but we do have some promising juniors. What is encouraging is that we are strong at the top end and have been for many years. We need to keep the Juniors inspired and committed to maintain this through the removes and fifths when we lose too many talented swimmers and water polo players to other activities. I would like to thank ISR for his help with swimming matches and motivating the team (We all look forward to his return in LQ) and Mike Clark for his continuing support to water polo. ARH is also leaving the sport where he has managed the Daktronics for matches and ferried water players to fixtures. Ellery McGowan

Tennis

TENNIS

Overall, by my count, the Squash club as a whole won 28 matches this season and lost 18 – not a bad record. Many thanks to Neil Frankland and his fellow coaches. The Monday sessions for seniors have been a useful addition to the usual Wednesday training. I am also very grateful to Dr Lancefield and Mr Begbie who have supervised Minor Sports sessions and managed matches very efficiently. Next season I intend to inaugurate Individual Knock-out competitions for both seniors and juniors to run over the season. These will be full length matches rather than the necessarily curtailed House matches. It will also be time to promote our next tour, hopefully to the USA in October 2011. RWTH

K Baev-Stokmayer Pageites Saunderites Saunderites

The 2010 season started with strong competition for first VI places. The strength in depth was apparent straight away with a number of squad members from last season looking taller and more accomplished than they were a year ago. The Wellington match on our first Saturday demanded that pairings were arranged quickly and accurately. Seb Cox (S), captain of tennis, showed he wanted to lead the team from the first pair, exhibiting a forceful presence on court and a balanced opinion when discussing team selection. The first VI – Seb Cox (S), James McCallion (W), George Rowe (S), Ali Wright (S), James Adams (S) and Oscar Royds (W) demonstrated that the strength in depth would translate into results with an 8 ½ to ½ win over Wellington. This would set the pattern for the Quarter with wins over Harrow, Winchester, Tonbridge and St John’s. The second pair, Rowe and Wright did not concede a set in school matches – quite an achievement. In the Independent Schools League, the top six were joined by Felix Hamer (R) and Anna Novoselskaya (g) to play as an VIII. They worked hard for a draw against Cranleigh a win against Dulwich and a loss to St George’s when the singles round let them down after levelling the doubles at two matches all. In the final round the VIII beat St Paul’s and Sevenoaks but succumbed to a strong Marlborough side. The Carthusian Day match, though in foul weather, managed to wade through half the planned format and the match was stopped at a genial draw. The House Tennis was a most competitive event with Saunderites again taking the shield, something of a habit forming there. A new cup was procured for the school singles tournament ( Thank you RPN ) and some excellent matches were played over a two week period. The semi finals between Cox and Wright, Rowe and McCallion were both interesting, if very different challenges. The first contained hard fought rallies for almost every point, the second was an easy first set for McCallion as Rowe struggled to find his form. That was followed by a set for Rowe as, once he had woken up, he looked the stronger player. McCallion managed to take the deciding tie break and go on to win the final against a slightly tired looking Cox who arguably had the more taxing semi. The spectators were treated to some fine play and a BBQ on the grass behind the Prom courts. The second VI and 3rd VI have had some good wins over Wellington, St John’s, KES Witley and Bradfield. The Youll Cup rounds off the season with almost seventy schools competing in the Independent Schools Championships. Charterhouse had a good run, ending in a third round match against Repton. Playing for a place in the quarter final against one

SWIMMING

House Matches Both Senior and Junior House match finals were close-fought affairs only decided upon games or even points count back after each ended 2-2 in matches. In the Junior Final between Verites and Weekites, Verites won 5-4 on games. Congratulations to Williams, Iley, Light and Baldwin for winning the cup. The Senior shield went once again to Saunderites though only just after McCallion swept Adams aside and Charlie Evans beat Rowe. Gallyer and Wright proved too strong for Russell-Jones and Sam Evans and though matches and games were tied, Saunderites scraped through by four points! Will there finally be a changing of the guard next season?

Standish Cup (under school) House Water Polo Under16 Water Polo Yearlings Water Polo

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Green (W) was a reliable player with great physical presence but he will need to work on his weak backhand. Charlie Walker (B) was a novice but another good tennis player to join the squash ranks: he improved quickly and once he learned to keep calm he began to play a more thoughtful game too. Hari Sood (S) was technically strong but his lack of power and physical strength put him at a disadvantage, but he always played with a smile on his face. Oli Knight (D) also showed good promise but he sadly disappeared from the scene in LQ. Ajitesh Rasgotra (R) also played: so unusual to see a Robinite in the squash courts!

of the seeded schools the Carthusians played with real composure to be defeated by a very narrow margin. The first pair 4-6, 6-7 and the second pair 4-6, 4-6. Special mention should be made of James Adams (S) who stood in for a player struck down with illness at very late notice – thank goodness James had his mobile on! We look forward to next season with three of our senior VI still with us and anticipate the building of six new tennis courts, a much needed development given the popularity of tennis at Charterhouse.

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TENNIS

U15 Tennis

After the encouraging start made by this group last year, there was a real sense of anticipation about the 2010 tennis season for the U15s. Some had been playing fairly regularly throughout the year, and some had just enough time to dust down the racket that had been lurking in the cupboard since last July before the first session! A core group of 22 players made up the teams predominantly, although this year seemed to throw up a number of difficulties in getting the strongest possible teams out on a regular basis. The first match of the year was against a strong Wellington side, against whom our A team were determined to avenge the 0-9 reversal from last year. The new man on the block Callum Corr (S) formed an excellent partnership with Benjamin Vigneau-Singh (S), with the ever reliable Euan McDougall (W) and Augustin Wauters (V) forming another established pairing in the U15A side. The match was incredibly tense, and with the scores at 4 rubbersall, and with the final match into a tie-break, there really was nothing to separate the two teams. Unfortunately we just came up short, but the omens were extremely encouraging. The U15B had no difficulty in dispatching the Wellington U15B side 8-1 with some scintillating doubles on our Astro which is far from conducive for high quality tennis. Winchester came next and probably wished they hadn’t. The A, B and C teams all won convincingly (7-2, 8-1 and 7-2 respectively), and the class from the Charterhouse players really did tell. Another win, and with ISL around the corner, confidence was high. On a filthy day at KCS Wimbledon, Vigneau-Singh, Corr, McDougall and Annable (B) made up the U15 ISL squad, with each playing 3 sets of singles and 3 sets of doubles. They proved too strong for KCS, Radley and St Paul’s, winning 17 out of 18 sets. A truly fantastic effort to keep concentrating for a long period of time, given the horrendous conditions they faced. On the same day, the U15B visited Cranleigh; sets were very close, but we weren’t winning as many of the tight sets as we should have done (an area which was picked up as one that needed addressing). A 4-5 reversal, with 3 of the sets lost on tie-breaks. The following weekend was the 2nd (and final) round of the ISL held at Eton. Due to the U15s sensational performance the week before, the juniors had been placed in the top group alongside Eton, Hampton and Dulwich. Conditions were in complete contrast to the previous week – hot, sunny and playing on artificial clay courts. Having the chance to play on decent courts paid dividends, as the top U15 players had their chance to shine. Against Eton, the highlight was the comeback by Vigneau-Singh against the Eton number 1; 0-4 facing game point for 0-5, he fought his way back into the set, eventually winning it on the tiebreak. The matches against Hampton and Dulwich were all very tight affairs, and by the end of the day, the U15s had picked up a highly respectable 10 out of 18 sets. McDougall and Wauters remained unbeaten in doubles for the duration. If the tournament had been run by age group, the U15s would have won the competition – another indicator of the ability of the squad. With confidence running high, the prospect of going unbeaten for the remainder of the season was a definite possibility. However, getting the strongest sides out on a regular basis proved exceptionally tough for all the remaining matches. Our fixture against Harrow clashed with a geography field-trip; if the School was taken as a sample, there would be a very strong positive

correlation between students in the tennis squad and those who study geography! With 15 squad players missing, the challenge was to beat a strong Harrow side. Nick Lee (W) and Liam Kelleher (G) made their U15A debuts partnering Tom Annable and George Handscomb (S) respectively. Together, they played some excellent tennis in parts, with Lee and Annable handing out a bagel to the Harrow 2nd pair. However, a tight set between our 1st pair for the day – Wauters and Charlie Hill (R) – and the Harrow 1st pair went against us, meaning that we lost the match 4-5. The U15B team had suffered even more damage! Angelo Filarmonico (H) and Caspar Bayliss (W) held the team together with some fine doubles in the 2 rubbers they won. With the squad down to the bare bones, an U15 debut was handed out to current 4ths Harry Criswell (V) and Alex Sonnenberg (V). They certainly did impress in all three of their sets, and were very unlucky in their final match against the Harrow 3rd pair, going down 7-5. We eventually lost the match 7-2, but given how many players we were missing due to trips/injury, it was a very good effort by the players involved. A weekend fixture against Tonbridge brought its share of rewards and dramas. With all the matches under way, it only came to our attention that Wauters had to withdraw through illness. What do you do if your partner is away? Well, in Euan’s eyes, just take them on by yourself! On a blistering hot day, he picked up 3 out of 4 sets, including beating the Tonbridge 2nd pair 6-1 6-0. A superb effort, and leading contender for moment of the season. The U15A cruised to a 7-2 win, with the U15Bs winning by a similar score line. The U15C had another dilemma – a player (who shall remain nameless) failed to show up for the match. Luckily, there were some keen 4ths around who could also play. David Rabinovich (D) and Edward Harris (V) made their competitive U15 debuts, and despite the best efforts of Alex Klein (B), we were on the receiving end of a 5-4 defeat. The trip to Bradfield ended up being a deeply unsatisfying one. Once more, several players were missing due to injury and other commitments. The U15A, whilst looking the better players, seemed to lack the capability of taking advantage of winning positions. At crucial stages in games, the unforced error count sky-rocketed. The fact that the Bradfield 2nd pair won all three matches closely made for interesting viewing. They played with confidence, which our players perceived as arrogance and got wound up. A positive persona on court now came to the forefront, but it took another close defeat (4-5 again!!) to get the players to realise that. The U15Bs also fought bravely, but were unable to win the close sets in their 3-6 reversal. Bedales came to us next, and gave us a real scare. Given the talent at the U15s disposal, defeat here would be nothing short of humiliating. That said, we were missing several players due to various theatre trips taking place, so some players had to play up a team or two. In a revised doubles/singles format, the U15As and U15Bs were left to thank Filarmonico and Klein for coming through their singles match to scrape 4-2 victories respectively. Thank goodness for that! Eton would provide stiff opposition in our penultimate fixture of the year. The doubles/singles format was implemented again, giving the chance for our players to play competitive singles – something that is definitely missing on Saturday afternoons. We knew that it would be closely fought, but were we up to the challenge? The U15Cs had a tricky afternoon, and despite Klein and Andrey Drozdov (G) winning their singles, they went down 7-2. The U15Bs also had a tough day, but I was impressed by the way Harry Frearson (W) and Handscomb looked to ‘own the court’ with their personalities in their doubles. Alex Baldwin (V) also won a tight singles match, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a 6-3 defeat. It was left to the U15A to restore pride into Charterhouse tennis after a few tough weeks. The doubles were halved so it was all down to the singles. Becoming tough to beat and being extra consistent on key points are skills which I have been trying exceptionally hard to emphasis to the squad, and today it seemed

With only four of last year’s team returning there was great concern about finding replacements for the leavers. We need not have worried, not only did we have plenty of first years come to trials but they were all hockey players, and good ones. The real bonus was Georgina Ambrose (H) who turned out to be a more than capable goalkeeper and was only too eager to practise and improve, which she did do as the season progressed. It turned out to be a season of ups and downs, with some disappointing results balanced by some encouraging ones, which is only to be expected with the majority of the team not having played together previously. We began positively by winning our first three matches. We then went through a rough patch after a disappointing County tournament. There we played well below our best but somehow managed to qualify out of our group only to lose 1-2 to Reigate Grammar School. I think we forgot to turn up for the first half! We managed equally poor performances in school matches against Prior’s Field and Bradfield but countered this with excellent team performances against Christ’s Hospital and Cranleigh both of which showed character and determination from the whole squad. Chantal Cox-George (S) was once again the leading scorer with 11 goals out of 24, but she was ably supported by Annabel Gibson (S) and Olivia Hurley (P) who proved to be dangerous wide players with their speed and confident forays into the opposition’s circle. Gabrielle Erhardt (V) and Emily Stovold (S) also scored on several occasions from midfield. They are both hard working and intelligent players who together with Kathryn Russell (g), Cara Armstrong (S) and Henrietta Touquet (D) make up a formidable and talented midfield. Unfortunately Katie was injured on and off throughout the season but Hettie showed a determination on the ball belying her small stature. The defence was equally impressive at times. It was led at the back by Harriet Walker-Arnott (G) whose confidence has improved no end from last year, which in turn made her a safe and reliable sweeper. She was supported by Eleanor Seddon (P) and Becky Skeffington (G), another example of how becoming a year older makes you have far more self-belief and in turn become a valuable team member who the team can rely on. Kathryn MacNay (W) in the centre of defence showed real determination on several occasions running herself to a standstill and never giving an inch. There is a lot to look forward to next season especially as there are nine players remaining from this season. I would like to thank Chantie for captaining the side so well, not always the most straightforward and easiest task, and for organising me, an even more difficult task. I would also like to say a big thank you to Ian Hamilton for all his patience and good humour in coaching the side and Louise Batty who had to do a

Old Carthusians Lord Wandsworth Reed’s Cranleigh Prior’s Field Cranleigh Seaford College Prior’s Field Lancing St John’s Christ’s Hospital Tormead Bradfield Woldingham

won 1-0 won 2-1 won 3-2 lost 5-6 won 1-0 lost 1-0 lost 2-4 lost 1-2 lost 2-5 won 4-1 drew 1-1 won 2-0 lost 2-5 won 1-0

Surrey Tournament Kingston Grammar School Godalming College Prior’s Field Cranleigh

lost 0-6 drew 1-1 won 1-1 lost 0-1

2nd Round Reigate Grammar School

lost 1-2

Girls’ Tennis

GIRLS’ SPORT

Girls’ Hockey

lot of organisation this season as I was indisposed for the latter part of it. FCN

Unfortunately all but two second years decided that they were unable to play tennis due to their impending exams. This put a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the captain Sasha MadanPatel (G) and her doubles partner Emma Seaton (H). They were only too willing to commit to all but one of the matches before Exeat and proved to be quite a successful pairing. The lack of second years did put an onus on the first years to come forward and take their place, and several 2nd VI matches had to be cancelled due to unavailability through one reason or another. The first half of Quarter was mainly filled by league matches. Sadly we narrowly lost our Branston Shield match against St Catherine’s 4-5 and from there on in it became a season of what might have been. In the League we lost to Tormead, Prior’s Field and Guildford High School, only managing to beat The Royal. The friendlies were also not too successful, losing heavily to Wellington and Epsom but managing to beat Cranleigh 5-4, with a good display from the whole team. A special mention must go to Eleanor Seddon (P) and Kathryn MacNay (W). Kate was pulled in at the last moment and after a nervous first match, they went on to win their next two matches. It was not all doom and gloom, there were lots of good performances in matches especially by Lucy Jillings (S) and Lucinda Brice (H) who became top pair after Exeat. Gabrielle Erhardt (V) and Emily Stovold (S) gelled well and became quite a formidable pairing, losing very few matches as the Quarter progressed. There was a lot of commitment shown by Isabelle Smith (H), Madeleine Hebert (R), Laura Marshall (W) and Kirsten Hilliard (S), who were willing to play whenever asked and whose game improved no end by attending practices and heeding what Martin Sterio, the coach, had to tell them. As long as these girls do not decide to sacrifice all their sport for work next summer things look promising. I would like to thank LFB for all her hard work with the girls throughout the quarter but, especially at the start, when I was marooned in South Africa, and to Martin Sterio who coached the girls after Exeat. FCN

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to pay off! Vigneau-Singh, Corr, McDougall, Wauters and Annable won their singles matches 6-4, 7-5, 7-6, 7-6 and 7-6 respectively. A superb 6.5 – 2.5 win against a previously unbeaten Eton U15A side. In the final match, we made the short trip to St John’s looking to finish the season on a high. Vigneau-Singh, Corr and Annable got the call-up to the 2nd VI, but despite missing these three as well as several other players making themselves unavailable for selection due to family commitments and play rehearsals, it did not stop us as Charterhouse steam-rolled the opposition 8-1. A satisfactory way to end the season. As you can tell, I have little doubt that this year group contains several high quality tennis players. A win percentage of just above 60% shows that we’re winning more than we’re losing, although the aim should be to push this up significantly. Beating an unbeaten U15A Eton side is a clear indicator, but now the players must look to develop and enhance a competitive edge on court. If they could somehow keep playing regularly over the year, then I would JMS anticipate even greater success next year.

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GIRLS’ SPORT

Lacrosse

The season started on a high with a rare win against St Catherine’s 2nd XII by 6-1. However, I think this must have gone to their heads as several players decided there was no need to practise any longer and inevitably things took a turn for the worse with narrow defeats against Cranleigh, Lady Eleanor Holles and a draw at Claremont. Attitudes improved in LQ after a few words in the ears of the offenders resulting in only one defeat in the remaining 6 matches. This was yet again against Cranleigh, when unfortunately we had to field a weakened side due to illness and injuries. There was a good mix of old and new players in the team and thanks to the captaincy of Martha Nash (W) the first years were encouraged and made to feel at ease. We were very lucky to have inherited an experienced goalkeeper in the form of Ella Buchanan (S) who did a wonderful job between the posts making some terrific saves, often keeping us in the game and frustrating the opposition forwards. This in turn made the rest of the team more confident knowing that there was a ‘brick wall’ behind them if the defence was breached. Unfortunately, Ella was injured for part of the season and thankfully we were able to persuade Emily Stovold (S) to take over showing herself to be a capable stand-in. She was backed up by some stalwart defending by Becky Skeffington (G), Antonia Gardner (g), Leticia Bombieri (W) and Miffy Nash. Becky and Antonia took very few prisoners on the lacrosse pitch and it was with great relief that they were on our side rather than the opposition’s as they never backed away from anything, a great asset to any side. Leticia was one of the success stories of the season. She had only started playing the previous year but had persevered at practices and turned into a reliable and tenacious

defender. Gabrielle Erhardt (V) Stephanie Frayne (D) and Charlotte Oliver (G) worked tirelessly getting the ball from defence up to the attack whilst Rosanna Knottenbelt (W) turned out to be the ‘speed merchant’ of the side causing panic in opposition defences as she left them in her wake. This in turn made openings for the attacking force of Olivia Bryan (V), Lowry Jonathan (g), Catherine Hall (R) and Rebecca Rowe (G). Rebecca scored a number of goals over the season with her quick and skilful runs which the opposition at times seems powerless to stop, finishing with a shot generally on target. I would especially like to thank Miffy Nash who showed herself to be an excellent captain both on the pitch, where she was willing to play wherever needed most and always gave 100%, and off it, where she organised both the team and myself, without ever complaining. I would also like our two American coaches Russell and Erin who both did an exceptional job over the year and always with smiles on their faces. FCN St Catherine’s 2nd XII Cranleigh Lady Eleanor Holles 2nd XII Cranleigh Claremont Malborough 2nd XII Cranleigh St Swithun’s 2nd XII Claremont Bradfield

won 6-1 lost 5-8 lost 7-9 lost 8-13 drew 11-11 won 8-1 lost 1-5 won 5-3 won 10-6 won 10-6

CORINTHIAN SPIRIT A History of Charterhouse Sport by

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THE CARTHUSIAN Volume 40/2 2010

Volume 40/2 2010

THE CARTHUSIAN