Worth Society Blue Paper 2008

The

blue paper Magazine 2007/08

Neil Laughton’s love affair with Everest

Worth Society – Widening our Horizons Tom Bright – from Challenge to Honour Worth 75 – Celebrating Worth's Past, Present and Future Father Kevin's Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

The

blue paper

Contents Worth Society Life 04

Chairman’s Report 2007/8 Nick Butterworth (G’76)

06

Introducing your Secretary Olivia Henley

07

Worth Society: Widening our Horizons Simon McMenemy (R’89)

08

Work Experience Oliver Rumsey (G’99) and Matthew Scotland (Year 13) Martin Green (C’76) and Sam Swadling (B’07)

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys 34

Caught on Camera

36

My Love Affair with Everest Neil Laughton (C’82)

40

Lunching with Michael Spencer: Founder and CEO of ICAP Nick Barnett (G’73)

41

eMillionaire: A Life-Changing Experience Alex Buckley (G’88)

43

The Growing Pains of GO mental Andrew Bernard (C’81)

11

Careers Duncan Pring

44

From Challenge to Honour Tom Bright (R’01)

12

Global Action Awards (formerly VSA): Year 8 Olivia Henley

46

Life As A Missionary Priest in Algeria John MacWilliam (StB66)

14

VSA: In at the Deep End in Uganda Dominic Moor (StB’00)

48

Book Review: Spirituality, Values & Mental Health Julian Hughes (R’78) Peter Gilbert (R’68)

18

VSA: Cambodia and Beyond Michael Burr (F’06)

50

Announcements – Engagements/Marriages/Births/Deaths

20

Supporting Good Causes Chris Dobson (StB’66) : Greenwich to Paris Cycle Ride Matthew Hunt (StB’02) : Windsor Triathlon

52

News in Brief

57

Obituary – Fra’ Andrew Bertie Father Stephen Ortiger

21 23

28

The Order of Malta Volunteers Adam Fudakowski (G’02) Sport: Rugby (Des Calnan – R’69) Cricket (Simon Jones – StB’98) Golf (Ken Ross – G’65) Tennis (Crispin Hayhoe – StB’82) Calling All Sailors …

Events: ’06 Leavers Reunion – Robert Butterworth (StB‘06) Charlie Sacarello Memorial Rugby Match – Rob Cottrell (R’97) City Lunch – John Griffith (B’76)

Worth Society Directors Nicholas Butterworth, Simon McMenemy Worth Society is a not-for-profit company number 06506005

The Old Place 60

What Makes Worth Distinctive?

Gino Carminati, Headmaster

62

Worth ’75 – A Celebration of Worth’s Past, Present and Future Father Luke Jolly

63

Countdown to the Girls’ Arrival

64

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land Father Kevin

66

Second Generation Children of Old Boys Registered at Worth University Places Gained

67

Wearing the Society Colours

Worth Old Boys’ Society Patron Fr Christopher Jamison, The Abbot of Worth Trustees Nicholas Barnett, Nicholas Butterworth, Julian Gairdner, Crispin Hayhoe, Fr Luke Jolly, Simon McMenemy Worth Old Boys’ Society is a charitable trust (registered charity number 1084948)

Designed and produced by Green Lizard 01892 619888

I 03

Lost your password and e-mail address for the website?

E-mail Olivia at admin@worthsociety.org.uk and ask for them

Chairman’s Report 2007/08 Dear Worthians Welcome to this latest issue of The Blue Paper.

I am pleased to report that the last year has seen good progress on a number of initiatives aimed at enabling our Society to reflect and respond to the needs of our existing and future membership.

As with so many aspects of our lives, effective communication is fundamental to the growth of the Worth Old Boys’ Society. The Committee has been working hard to improve communication between the Society and our members and between members themselves.

Our communication hub is our website, and some considerable effort has been committed to improving it, as it has remained largely unchanged since its launch in 2000. As this issue of The Blue Paper goes to press, we are finalising a new-style website, which has been re-designed to allow members rapid access to the latest news about the Society, old boys, the School and the Monastery, as well as a specific facility to enable members to network for social, sporting and business purposes. The opportunity for business networking is an important new facility and members will be able to identify old boys who are engaged in the same line of work, or those who might be able to assist with a business or career matter. It will also be easier to locate old boys with similar interests and organise reunions. So, please do visit the new site at www.worthsociety.org.uk – it is very much 'work in progress' and we would appreciate any feedback you may have as a user. Please note that all future correspondence to the Society should be directed to Olivia Henley at the new email address; admin@worthsociety.org.uk.

We are grateful to Green Lizard – Michael (C’85) and Simon Gabriel (C’90) – for their expert guidance in the rebranding design work, and to Swing Digital – Jason Kitcat (B’97) – for the website makeover. During the year we hope to improve communication further through the introduction of an e-newsletter.

As we have sought to respond to increasing requests from old boys to support fundraising efforts for good causes, and to organise events for the benefit of members, we have found that the structure of our organisation as a charitable trust has restricted us from acting positively to certain requests from old boys. In order to widen our

04 I

ability to respond to such requests, we have restructured the operation of the Society with particular help from solicitors Charles Russell; and Simon McMenemy (R’89) reports, on page 7 of this issue, on the rationale and creation of a not-for-profit limited company.

As a charitable body we have always been mindful that we could not risk our funds on events organised for members that were not properly financed. Difficulties in obtaining a firm commitment and pre-payment from our members has at times restricted what we have been able to organise. To help overcome this problem we have introduced Paypal as an additional means for payment, which we hope members will find of particular benefit.

During the year the Committee also felt that we should improve the range of our sartorial stock and on page 67 of this magazine you can see our new range of merchandise – an alternative tie (which follows the traditional striped style for old boys’ societies), a new ‘Crown and Cross’ crested navy blue polo shirt, and new cufflinks in both bar and chain-link style. All are available for purchase via the website.

In thinking about our future membership, the Committee decided that the identity of Worth Old Boys’ Society should be reviewed in order to properly reflect the fact that, as girls enter the sixth form this year, we will have female members from 2010 onwards. As this issue of The Blue Paper displays, we have, after much thought, reverted to the pre-WOBS name of Worth Society, which is the identity that will appear on all communications. With the same concern in mind, the Committee gave immense thought to a name to replace the rather awkward ‘WOB’ salutation, and has chosen Worthian as the generic name by which all members can be appropriately addressed from now on – individually or collectively.

Finally, on the topic of looking forward … 2008 marks 75 years since monks from Downside arrived at Worth to establish a school, and 2009 marks 50 years since the senior school was established. Fr Luke reports, on page 62, about a series of events which will start in September 2008, to celebrate these special landmarks in Worth’s history.

Spirituality For the sixth consecutive year, the annual St Benedict’s Day Mass for old boys was offered by Fr Kevin at Corpus Christi Church in Covent Garden. Nearly 40 old boys

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

attended, from the founder group to 2002 leavers. In addition to our own Mass this year, Worth old boys were invited to a Mass for old boys of Ampleforth and Downside which was held at St. Mary Moorfields in the City on Friday 9th May, followed by lunch. Thank you to those wobs who attended. The hope is that the Mass will become a regular celebration for those of Benedictine education. On the subject of our spiritual wellbeing, please note that Fr Luke has organised various retreats again this year at Worth, including one being led by an old boy, details of which can be found under the Open Cloister section of our website.

Departed Friends

Voluntary Service Awards

From time to time we receive approaches from old boys seeking guidance, support or counselling on a variety of matters. Under the Bruised Reeds scheme – overseen

by Fr Kevin – a totally confidential support service is available. At a time when the consequences of the turmoil in the financial markets are causing widespread difficulties for many, I would simply remind all our members that if they know of any old boy who requires help in any way, Fr Kevin would be pleased to offer support.

One of the challenges faced by the Committee has been our desire to attract greater interest in the Voluntary Service Award Scheme. Although Awards have been successfully made every year since the scheme was introduced in 2000, it has typically attracted no more than two candidates from outgoing Worth boys in any one year.

Following consultation with existing pupils, part of this problem seems to be the association with the concept of ‘voluntary service’, for which sadly there has been only limited attraction. Accordingly, we have renamed the scheme Global Action Awards in the hope that the new branding will suggest support for activities of a wider significance. The scheme remains open to all old boys, irrespective of when they left Worth, and it is particularly pleasing to see greater interest from older members recently.

Events Socially, the Committee decided that we should encourage an early reunion of the most recent leavers, and assisted by sponsoring the first gathering of 2006 leavers in March 2007, which saw almost half of that year group reunited. The success of the evening prompted the group to organise its own reunion in the Autumn, to which virtually all the remainder of the year attended.

The Committee intends to continue to encourage the organisation of a recent leavers’ reunion for future year groups. A very successful ‘City Lunch’ drew old boys from 1964 through to 2002 and during the year we helped a number of other groups get together. We have also helped old boys from various years plan their own gatherings and are currently assisting two old boys who have offered to plan reunions for old boys based in Hong Kong and Ireland during 2008.

The year sadly saw the loss of Gareth Belcher (B’85) son of Fred and Anne, Neil Cawley (B’75) and Christopher Hall who was in the prep school and father of Casper and Rupert. Generations of old boys were also deeply saddened by the news that Fra’ Andrew Bertie died on 7th February 2008. The very significant impact that Andrew had on so many old boys is remembered by Fr Stephen on pages 57 to 59 of this issue. Please remember Gareth, Neil, Christopher and Fra’ Andrew in your prayers.

Support

Committee I am immensely indebted to those who serve the Society through being on the Committee, and who have worked this year to help move the Society forward through the various initiatives I have mentioned. On behalf of all old boys, I thank every member of the Committee for their support, hard work and tremendous enthusiasm.

Prior to her departure as our secretary, Marie-Claire McMenemy did one last favour for the Committee and the Society by introducing our new secretary, Olivia Henley.

For someone with no previous involvement with Worth, Olivia has proved to be the most tremendous successor to Marie-Claire, working immensely hard to fulfil what could easily be a full time role on a part time basis. This issue of The Blue Paper is entirely the result of Olivia’s dedication and originality and, on behalf of the Society, I thank her for taking up the position of our Secretary so enthusiastically.

We hope you will enjoy reading what follows, and that you will find extra benefits from your membership in the year ahead as a result of the changes we have initiated over the past year.

Nicholas Butterworth (G’76) May 2008

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Introducing your Secretary!

It’s been a busy introductory year to WOBS – and with all that’s involved in re-branding and re-launching the Society as well as putting together the annual magazine and keeping abreast of the usual day-to-day activities, I feel as though my feet haven’t touched the ground!

So, what can I tell you about myself? ... I am married to Mark who is a private client stockbroker and we have two little girls Arabella (6) and Jessica (5) who keep us fairly busy. Before taking over from Marie-Clare this time last year, I had a five-year break from work. Prior to that, life was pretty varied career-wise.

For twelve years, I worked in various London-based consumer and business-to-business PR agencies before going on an expedition to Botswana with youth development charity, Raleigh International, which completely changed my life. On my return I was lucky enough to be offered a job in Raleigh’s Head Office managing a £2.5 million Corporate

Community Involvement (CCI) programme with Inchcape plc. I was seconded to Inchcape for half the week to manage the CCI programme and ran the International Department at Raleigh in its quest to attract more non-British kids onto its expeditions.

It really was the job of my dreams and involved establishing expeditions in countries where Inchcape had business franchises but where Raleigh had not previously run expeditions, recruiting Venturers from the region, and maximising PR for both Inchcape and Raleigh in-country. Quite a considerable amount of my time was spent in the Middle East and China working with government departments and Inchcape franchises such as Cadburys, Coca-Cola, Timberland and Toyota.

And then I met Mark (who also changed my life!) and moved on after six years with Raleigh and Inchcape to work for a cause-related marketing agency developing and managing CCI strategies for organisations such as Vodafone and bp in the UK. I worked there for a year before taking maternity leave.

And now, here I am at Worth, with responsibility for the overall

organisation of the Society and working closely with the Committee which meets every two months. When I arrive in the morning, I never quite know what the day will bring! On opening the post and e-mails I can find anything from news about what some of you are up to; requests to ‘find’ old boys that you may have lost touch with; CVs from University students asking for work experience; requests for contacts from those of you in search of a new job; cheques for merchandise which has to be sent out; new membership applications; notices regarding births, engagements, marriages and deaths; queries, acceptances and payments for social events which need organising; notices to post on the website; applications for the WOBS Global Action Awards; or reminiscences from the past.

It is always wonderful to hear what you’re up to and read about your experiences beyond school. So please do keep the news and photos coming – wherever you’re located. One of the great advantages of e-mail is the ease with which we can communicate with everyone, wherever you are in the world – and I’ve heard from old boys

living in Algeria, Dubai, Hong Kong, Japan, Kenya, Russia, New Zealand, USA – to name just a few.

It is always a pleasure to see any of you who are visiting Worth, nothing quite beats putting a face to a name. Recent visitors to the office have included John MacWilliam (StB’66) on a visit to the UK from Algeria and George Macari (C‘87).

So all I ask is that you continue to keep in touch, don’t be shy about attending events organised by the Society, or getting in touch if you’d like to work with us in organising a reunion for your year group (whether it’s 1 or 50 years since you left!). And if you do happen to be passing – drop in and visit us here in the School Office. It’s always good to meet you.

Olivia Henley April 2008

Worth Society – Widening our Horizons!

It is now almost eight years since the Old Boys took on the responsibility of running Worth Old Boys’ Society from the School. As a charitable trust we have strived to find new ways to benefit our membership and pupils at the school, as well as the wider community. Through improved communications such as The Blue Paper and our website, the very successful annual careers fairs and the Voluntary Services Award (now renamed the Global Action Awards) we have established a relevant and active charity for the future.

However, in response to feedback we have received from you, our members and supporters, it is clear that there is a growing appetite for our organisation to be used not only as a link with the School and for our charitable activities,

annual general meetings which we hope will attract a larger number of you to become involved in the running of the Society – even if just by attending that meeting and sharing your views with us.

I look forward to welcoming you to our first AGM later on in 2008.

but also as a means of networking both socially and for

Simon McMenemy (R’89)

business purposes. There is also an increasing demand

Director, Worth Society

for us to improve and extend the range of merchandise

Chairman of Trustees, Worth Old Boys’ Society

for sale.

April 2008

As these activities fall outside the charitable objects of the Worth Old Boys’ Society, we have taken the decision to establish a not for profit limited company, which will, in effect, take over the day-to-day running of the Society.

This company has already been established and will be

A note to Direct Debit Subscribers

known as the Worth Society. The fact that reference to ‘old

A plea from our Secretary to help simplify the annual collection of

boys’ does not appear in the new title is not unrelated to

membership subscriptions! During July, those of you already paying by direct

the fact that in a couple of years from now we will be welcoming our first influx of ‘old girls’ into the Society!

debit will receive a new direct debit authorisation form to sign (that is all you will need to do unless your Bank Account details have changed) and return

Worth Society Committee Contact Details

All profits made by the company will be ploughed back

Ben Babington (G 1994-96) 020 7664 6649 (W) benbabington@jackson-stops.com

Julian Gairdner (StB 1984-89), Trustee 020 8652 4084 (W) julian.gairdner@rbi.co.uk

Duncan Pring 01342 710239 (W) dpring@worth.org.uk

Nicholas Barnett (G 1968-73), Trustee 020 7404 4022 (W) njbarnett@fsmail.net

Crispin Hayhoe (StB 1977-82), Trustee 07718 339802 (M) crispinhayhoe@hotmail.com

Edward Robinson (B 1984-89) 01628 637600 (W) eddie@robinsonsestateagents.co.uk

Robert Bodnar-Horvath (B 1969-74) 07788 754337 (M) robertbodnarhorvath@blueyonder.co.uk

Olivia Henley, Secretary 01342 710241 (W) admin@worthsociety.org.uk

Dominic Strickland (C 1976-81) 020 7937 1776 (W) dominic@antiquecanes.com

and future pupils, to Worth and to a wider community.

Nicholas Butterworth (G 1971-76), Chairman 020 7664 6644 (W) nbutterworth@jackson-stops.com

Abbott Christopher Jamison, Patron 01342 710320 cjamison@worth.org.uk

Father Kevin Taggart 01342 710338 (W) ktaggart@worth.org.uk

you have formerly known affectionately as WOBS will be

Gino Carminati, Headmaster 01342 710222 (W) gcarminati@worth.org.uk

Father Luke Jolly (C 1966-71), Trustee 01342 710317 (W) ljolly@worth.org.uk

James Forte (C 1968-72) 01753 651658 (H) james.forte@vision40.com

Simon McMenemy (R 1984-89), Trustee 07717 746 535 (M) simon.mcmenemy@charlesrussell.co.uk

06 I

As with all limited companies, the directors will hold

into the charitable trust which, for now, will continue to be known as Worth Old Boys’ Society. The trust will continue to operate through its trustees and will continue to make

to the Society’s office in a FREEPOST envelope. Once this new direct debit instruction has been received into the office, your annual subscription will be collected by Worth Society instead of Worth Old Boys’ Society.

charitable grants such as the Global Action Awards and, as its funds grow, to make a real difference to past, current

So, from 1st September 2008, all costs of running what

A note to non-Direct Debit Subscribers A plea from our Secretary! If you do not currently subscribe by direct debit,

met by this new company, and therefore membership

can we please urge you to take this opportunity to do so – it makes a huge

subscriptions will be paid to Worth Society. Should you

difference to us and helps relieve the significant administrative burden

wish to continue to make a separate charitable donation

relating to the collection of annual subscriptions. You will find a direct

to the Worth Old Boys’ Society (the charitable trust),

debit form to complete and return to the Worth Society office on the website

please indicate this on the direct debit form you will

www.worthsociety.org.uk

receive in July 2008.

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 07

If you can offer Work Placements or Internships to younger Worth boys, please contact Duncan Pring at dpring@worth.org.uk

Work Experience Worth Society will soon be launching its Business Networking Forum (BNF), the purpose of which will be to provide a network for former pupils to offer advice and share and develop areas of mutual business interest.

Another of the BNF’s aims will be to provide support for those old boys at University level who are embarking on the bewildering choice of career and who are looking for work experience and internships whilst at University.

There is, undoubtedly, an untapped wealth of experience among the Worth Society membership which offers significant opportunity to assist both our current pupils and old boys.

And, if you happen to be sceptical about the reciprocal benefit that can be gained from offering a work placement or internship, then do please read on. The following articles from Oliver Rumsey at Charles Russell and Martin Green at NewSmith Capital should allay your fears! Moreover, the articles written

by Sam Swadling (currently in his gap year before starting University) and from Matthew Scotland (Year 13 at Worth), clearly demonstrate the value and wealth of experience they have gained from their respective placements.

If there are any of you out there who are willing to offer Work Placements or Internships to old boys at University or to Worth pupils, do please e-mail your details to Olivia Henley at admin@worthsociety.org.uk. We would love to hear from you!

Olivia Henley

08 I

Charles Russell – Reciprocal Benefit As a trainee at the City law firm, Charles Russell, I have become accustomed to steeling myself against surprise at the spectrum of demands that are asked of me in the course of my work. And so it was, when I was asked to ‘buddy’ Matthew Scotland, a sixth form Worth boy who was due to spend time on work experience here at Charles Russell.

Being a Worth old boy myself, I remember the wealth of experiences and opportunities that were afforded to me by working in different places during my time as a student. In fact, having spent time at Charles Russell on work experience I find that, four years down the line this is the place where I have taken my first proper job!

Traditionally, participation by employers in ‘work placements’ or ‘vacation schemes’ is seen by them as doing students a favour – a chance for young Jack to put something on the CV. However, anyone who has been involved in a work placement – as either an employer or student – will tell you that, if properly organised, such arrangements can be mutually beneficial.

As part of its recruitment process, Charles Russell runs a formal ‘Placement Programme’. The scheme is a two-week structured programme containing a wide range of activities, including a mock trial, a group exercise, a team challenge, trips to Court and an overview from each service area. During that two-week period each placement has the opportunity to spend time in two different service areas, where they will have a mentor on hand to answer any questions and to help make sure the time spent at Charles Russell is beneficial.

The Programme is aimed at those individuals who will be eligible to start a training contract in two years time. Not only does it allow the individual to get a feel for the firm and for life in a City practice, but it also affords the firm an

Worth Society Life

opportunity to meet and assess potential applicants prior to commencement of training contract assessment centres.

spend some time with Charles Russell, a leading London firm of Lawyers. What a result – I took them both!

As a sixth-former, Matthew was not eligible for this Scheme, and was therefore offered work experience on an ad-hoc basis. While this is not something that the firm would ordinarily do, on this occasion an exception was made and, in conjunction with the HR department, I used the Programme’s structure as an outline template to select tasks for the duration of Matthew’s placement.

With slight trepidation I made my way to London to start my first work placement at Connaught Mason, a specialist fit-out contractor based in Central London.

The Company completes contracts in both design and build with project management services. For the first week I was based at one of their project sites in Vincent Square, working alongside the quantity surveyor and project manager.

After the first week I was transferred to their Head Office at Wardour Street. Here I was privileged to work for the Finance Director. I was kept busy entering invoices, auditing sets of accounts against costs, and setting up a new account book incorporating all projects. My time spent at Connaught Mason has opened my eyes to a new industry sector of which I had no previous knowledge.

During his time at Charles Russell, Matthew helped us with a project relating to a potential new client in relation to our compliance obligations under the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct. This was ‘real’ work, and will undoubtedly be relied upon in future matters relating to this client.

We are genuinely grateful to him for his contribution as it enabled us to speed up the process.

When on my work placement at Charles Russell, I spent two weeks in the litigation department with the then senior partner.

Throughout this period I was included in preparations for, and the beginning of, an arbitration involving another major City law firm. Both sides were acting on behalf of governmental clients. I found the whole experience fascinating. Suffice to say that my enjoyment of that time was seminal, colouring many of my future career decisions.

Hopefully, Matthew’s experiences in the courts, participation in conferences with our corporate team and his help on our client due diligence project will prove likewise for him; in this way repaying him for his efforts. I would hope that this is the case. I also hope that in future, he too will appreciate the reciprocal benefits that these arrangements help to propagate.

Oliver Rumsey (G’99) October 2007

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

Charles Russell – Broadening Horizons It became very apparent to me when talking to my Tutor about completing my UCAS application last year that my personal statement was going to lack any details of relevant work activities outside of school. This was the one opportunity I had to catch the eye of the University Admissions Officer and to stand out from the thousands of other applicants all competing for a University place. It was time I did something about it!

I was keen to follow a University course in the field of commerce, business, accounting or finance. My own considerable efforts at finding appropriate work placements proved unsuccessful, so I approached WOBS to see if they could help.

Within days I received offers of two placements – one for four weeks to work in a firm chaired by Worth old boy Robert Bodnar-Horvath ((B’74) and the other to

My second period of work experience was at Charles Russell, a City-based firm of lawyers. On the first day after a brief induction period I was thrown straight into the world of Law. I was asked to deal with a high profile case involving a household name company. I undertook research into potential clients utilising the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct, as well as looking up case files. I also sat in on conferences within the merger and acquisitions department, and visited the Law Courts.

During my time there I met a number of trainees and other staff at Charles Russell, including Oliver Rumsey (G’99) who is a Worth Old Boy. They all talked to me about their own experiences in respect of the degrees that they had studied at University, and what had made them decide to choose Law as a profession.

This experience has certainly helped me as it has opened my eyes to a potential career that I had never considered before. It has also given me a flavour of what happens

within a law firm. I really enjoyed my time at Charles Russell and had I been there for longer would have welcomed the opportunity to spend time in all seven departments of the firm to give me an insight into different aspects of law.

My advice to any sixth former would be to try and obtain as much work experience as possible. View it as an opportunity to broaden your horizons. It gives an invaluable insight into your possible future working environment as well showing commitment outside the classroom for UCAS purposes. In addition it has reaffirmed my determination to follow my chosen career path and has given me the extra motivation to succeed in my A levels. It is also a chance to start your ‘networking’, drawing on the generosity and experience of individuals who are already well established in their chosen field.

I cannot say a big enough thank you to WOBS for giving me this opportunity – and I would hope to be able to return the compliment to the next generation of Worth students sometime in the future!

Matthew Scotland – a Year 13 Student at Worth September 2007

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! In order to support the publishing costs of The Blue Paper, we do need to attract further advertising. We are very grateful to those people and organisations who have helped us by taking space in this issue of the magazine, and would welcome expressions of interests from those who might wish to advertise in the 2009 issue of The Blue Paper. The cost of a full-page A4 colour ad is £300 and a half-page A4 ad is £175. Please contact Olivia Henley at: admin@worthsociety.org.uk

I 09

2007 Speaker topics: Accountancy Advertising Brand management Economics

NewSmith Capital – An Invaluable Experience

NewSmith Capital – Pulling Out the Stops

NewSmith Capital is a fund management business based in the West End of London, managing around $7bn of money for various institutional and high net worth clients. As is very typical in any financial services business, a number of skills and talents are required to create a successful business. Consequently our Partners come from a broad range of academic backgrounds and professional qualifications, but have spent much of their careers in money management and/or investment banking.

7.47am, Monday 14th January 2008.

As a fully-fledged gap year student I can honestly say that I hadn’t been awake this early since my final exams about eight months previously. As I stood – sober, cold and waiting for a crowded train, I thought about how I had got myself into a position that a lot of you experience everyday.

I’d say something like ‘well to cut a long story short’ if the process had been at all stressful, but sorting the work experience out had been pretty much pain-free.

Sam Swadling (B’07) joined NewSmith for three weeks, during a particularly interesting time for debt and equity markets around the world (they were falling, dramatically!). Conscious of the fact that Sam didn’t have any professional expertise, but nor did we want him to just “make the tea”, we decided to put him to work on a specific project and also allowed him to “shadow” me on any meetings and ‘phone calls where appropriate.

The project was to update and collate all the very many proposals we had rejected in relation to unlisted investments, and log the reasons why they had been rejected.

I hope we managed to give Sam some insight into our thought processes and why the proposals were unsuitable (some parallels with TV’s Dragon’s Den alluded to

by Sam are true). In return I now have an up-to-date record, which is very useful to show to both our current and prospective clients who invest in our funds.

I think giving work experience is invaluable to any student, and I always have a policy of trying to give a good flavour of what the fund management and the broader financial services business is about. Equally I believe that any firm should offer specific projects so that both parties get something out of it – rather than just a good cuppa!

Martin Green (C’76) March 2008

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Worth Society – Careers

Engineering: Nick Norton (R ‘72)

I learned a great deal about an industry which is stereotyped by ‘Dragons Den’.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who facilitated this opportunity – especially Martin and Olivia – and I look forward to seeing a few of you in Whiteley Village for WOBS rugby on a Saturday afternoon!

On the morning of 28th June 2007, as part of the

Financial Services: Lance O’Neill (R ‘74)

School’s Academic and Cultural Enhancement (ACE)

General management

Sam Swadling (B’07) March 2008

particular career. All 78 boys attended four sessions –

week programme, we held a Careers Fair for boys in Year 12 (Lower 6th).

A group of speakers comprising old boys, Friends of Worth and parents of current pupils gave up a morning

Sports Management: Nigel Laughton (C ‘84)

on careers that the boys had themselves identified as being of specific interest.

With attendance averaging around ten pupils per

So I found myself on the 4th floor of Lansdowne House, Berkeley Square (‘Hedge Fund heaven’) ready to start making coffee for the Private Equity section of NewSmith Capital Partners.

Boys who participate in these Careers Days – helping to

Worth Society Life

Law

and each session was targeted to provide information

session, there was enough intimacy to offer plenty of

However, NewSmith Capital pulled out all the stops and I was allocated a desk, computer and even a ’phone. The next three weeks went by in a blur of meetings, spreadsheets and various other ‘grownup’ activities. In what turned out to be an extremely turbulent time in the City, as the FTSE dropped 700 points in the first week,

Journalism: Christopher Lamb (R ‘01)

to talk to the boys about what life is ‘really like’ in their

Having made the decision not to go overseas and do voluntary work for my Gap Year, I looked into the possibility of doing an internship in London. A good place to start seemed to be the WOBS network, so I fired an e-mail off to Olivia Henley detailing what I wanted to do, and three weeks later received a call saying that Martin Green (C’76), would be prepared to accommodate me in early January on the condition that I went up for, as it transpired, a successful meeting in December.

Having done a few placements before I’d come here expecting a quick tour of the office followed by a couple of weeks in either the mail room or the kitchen! Not that I’m complaining, because any placement is an opportunity to learn and improve your CV.

Fashion and Design

opportunity for questions and feedback. The morning ended with a plenary session in the Arts Theatre where boys could ask more general questions, before lunch was served in the Cowdray Room.

The feedback from the boys was extremely positive, with many commenting that it had given them a real

Nigel Laughton (C’84) talks to his audience about Sports Management

insight into the structure of careers that they were considering.

As Head of Careers I am extremely grateful to those Old make these events especially valuable to our current pupils. We were lucky enough to be joined by Nigel Laughton (C’84), Chistopher Lamb (R’01), Nick Norton (R’72) and Lance O’Neill (R’74).

Don't forget

Needless to say, we are always looking for more of you to pass on your knowledge and expertise to the next

to update us with any change of contact details (address, e-mail, telephone, etc) by emailing admin@worthsociety.org.uk

generation, so please do offer to come down and visit

David Butter, father of a Worth pupil, gives a presentation on Advertising

‘the old place’. We’d love to see you here!

This year the Careers Fair will be held on Friday 27th June 2008. We would love to hear from any of you who is prepared to come and speak to current pupils.

Please do get in touch with Duncan Pring at dpring@worth.org.uk.

Duncan Pring July 2007

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

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I 11

Global Action Awards If you’re thinking of taking a sabbatical and planning to do some voluntary project work in the UK or overseas, by applying for a Global Action Award you could be eligible for a bursary of up to £1,000.

The Worth Society Global Action Awards (formerly WOBS Voluntary Services Award) The ethos of the WOBS Voluntary Services Awards (VSA) continues with the Worth Society Global Action Awards (GAAs). The re-naming was encouraged by current pupils and old boys who felt that ‘global action’ has a closer affinity with the emphasis of the VSA Scheme today in the context of the global environment. We are hoping that we might be able to entice a few more of you to leave your desks and take a truly worthwhile sabbatical for the benefit of others. As we have said before, this is not just an Award for recent leavers taking a Gap Year, it would be great to see more mature Worth old boys taking advantage of them – as Rob Carson (G’94) has done, for instance.

Luke MacWilliam receives his Global Action Award from Nick Butterworth in September 2007

Dominic Moor returned to Worth in April 2008 to speak about his experiences in Uganda

To reiterate, Global Action Awards are available to any Worth old boy who is proposing to spend time in unpaid work for the good of people, the community or the environment, either at home or abroad. The table listing those awarded GAAs and VSAs clearly demonstrates the depth and breadth of projects considered, and over the last seven years we have awarded a total of £7,550.

Last summer, newly qualified doctor, Dominic Moor (StB’00), returned from his elective in Uganda for which he received a WOBS VSA. I would urge you to read his article ‘In at the Deep End in Uganda’ on pages 14 to 17 – it makes fascinating reading and is truly humbling. The challenges confronting him each day seem insurmountable to the uninitiated. Evidently his experiences have made a lasting impression, and he has already returned to Uganda with

GAAs Awarded 2006-07 Luke MacWilliam (R’07) – eco-tourism in South Africa; teaching in Malawi £750 Rob Carson (G’94) – camp for disabled children, Ireland £500 2005-06 Dominic Moor (StB’00) – elective in Uganda £500 Michael Burr (F’06) – conservation in Cambodia £500 Rob Carson (G’94) – camp for disabled children, Ireland £850 Edmund Chedgy (G’00) – elective in China £500 Johnathan Craik (C’00) – elective in China £500 2004-05 Daniel Grace (F’05) – teaching in Chile £500 Elliott Webber (R’04) – teaching in Nepal £500

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We are inviting applications for the 2008 Global Action Awards which are available to Worth old boys who are proposing to spend time in unpaid work for the good of people, the community or the environment.

equipment for one of the hospitals. Year 12 (lower VI) heard all about his experiences first hand in April 2008, when he came to speak to them and inspired them with his great passion and conviction.

Michael Burr (F’06) spent ten weeks in Cambodia doing field research in Bokum Sakur National Park before travelling overland through Vietnam, China, Mongolia and Russia (on the Trans-Siberian Railway) to return home to the UK. You can read about his experiences in ‘Cambodia and Beyond’ on pages 18 and 19.

We look forward to hearing from Luke MacWilliam (R’07) on his return from Africa. He successfully applied for a GAA in 2007 and will soon be leaving the UK to work at an Eco-Tourism Lodge in Kwa Madwala Game Reserve in South Africa, and then moving on to Malawi to teach school children with Lake Malawi Teaching Volunteers.

We wish him well.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Global Action Awards, please visit our website at www.worthsociety.org.uk and go to the ‘Activities’ section.

If you would like to apply for a GAA, donate to the GAA fund or find out about any projects in need of volunteers please e-mail Olivia Henley at admin@worthsociety.org.uk for more details.

Olivia Henley April 2008

2003-04 Andrew Welsh (B’04) – teaching in Galagapos Islands £500 2002-03 Francis Binney (G’00) – conservation in Indonesia £200 Mark Haden (G’03) – building nurses homes in Zambia £250 2001-02 James Powys Lybbe (B’02) – carer in Romanian orphanage £500 Alex Tyrwhitt (G’02) – teaching English in China £250

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

Luke MacWilliam (R’07) successfully applied for a Global Action Award in 2007. He will be working at an Eco-Tourism Lodge in Kwa Madwala Game Reserve in South Africa and teaching school children in Malawi with Lake Malawi Teaching Volunteers in 2008.

In the previous two years Awards have been made to Michael Burr (F‘06), Rob Carson (G‘94) and Dominic Moor (StB’00). Michael worked in Cambodia on a conservation project, Rob ran a summer camp for physically disabled children in Ireland and Dominic went to Uganda on a two month elective during his final year studying medicine.

For more details on the Global Action Awards, please contact Olivia Henley on – Tel : 01342-710241; e-mail: admin@worthsociety.org.uk address: c/o Worth School, Paddockhurst Road, Turners Hill, West Sussex RH10 4SD. Website: www.worthsociety.org.uk Registered Charity number 1084948

Orchardviews House: cottage and studio flat to let in Budapest, Hungary I am James Pontifex (C’63) and live in Budapest with my family.

We have a cottage and studio flat which we let to foreign visitors. I know Worth old boys would love staying here in the Buda hills. You are guaranteed both a warm welcome and friendly advice on exploring this fascinating city and country!

Visit our website for full details: www.orchardviews.com email: info@pontifex.hu

2000-01 Nick Smith (C’01) – teaching in Uganda £500 Ed Bonn (G’01) – teaching in Kenya £250

Worth Society Life

If you’re interested in applying for an Award, please contact Olivia Henley at admin@worthsociety.org.uk

tel: 00 361 394 2663

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It would take many years of training in Britain before you would get the opportunity to be involved in this kind of procedure and here I was actually doing it myself!

VSA: In at the Deep End in Uganda Electives are what most medical students consider to

enormous – even compared to UCLH and the Royal

be the highlight of their training.

Free in London where I was training. In addition, often

I had spent years planning where I was going to go and so, when my bus finally bumped and rolled across the Kenya-Uganda border and on into Kampala, my

we found more than one patient per bed and every patient’s family eats, sleeps and cooks on the floor around the bedside.

excitement was indescribable. With great difficulty and

I spent the day in theatre operating on children

endless confusing phone calls via what has got to be

between the ages of 8 months and 16 years. One of the

one of the world’s worst telephone networks, I had

cases was a young girl who had been badly burned in a

arranged a three-month placement in International

battery acid attack and needed extensive skin grafting.

Hospital Kampala (IHK), a 200-bed hospital in central

The surgeon handed me a set of instruments and said

Kampala. What I didn’t know was that the hospital was

“the burns are the same on both sides, I’ll do one side,

private, and when, on my first day, a senior

you do the other”. It was with a great deal of

government member’s daughter came into A&E with

reservation that I cautiously sewed my first skin graft

appendicitis, I knew this wasn’t quite the place that I

in place. It would take many years of training in Britain

had imagined arriving at.

before you would get the opportunity to be involved in

Then, one night I was with a group of local doctors in a seedy bar in downtown Kampala and met a Dutch plastic surgeon who was in the process of setting up a

this kind of procedure, and here I was actually doing it myself! This was exactly the kind of thing that I had come to Africa to do.

Burns Unit in Mulago, the big government hospital in

I stayed at Mulago for two weeks, but the staff there

Kampala – he suggested that I join him for a week or

were adamant that I should get out to a rural hospital

two. I immediately accepted his exceptionally

while I was in Uganda. So I packed up my things and

generous offer, and the next day arrived at what has to

met up with a friend, Dagan Lonsdale, who was also on

be pretty close to ‘Hell on Earth’. Mulago is a 1500-bed

elective in Kampala. We got on a bus to Fort Portal, a

hospital given to Uganda by the Brits in the 1960s. It is

small town in the west near the Congolese border.

Once we arrived we asked for the directions to Virika, the local mission hospital.

As we approached the hospital there were hundreds of

mind sorting out the wards for us?” The two of us

Royal Free, trying hard to stay awake just on the off-

people lined up against the wall outside. At the gate

looked at each other in disbelief, maybe we had bitten

chance that one of the doctors would ask you to do

there was a young guy who I thought was perhaps in

off more than we could chew.

something, which rarely happened. Here I was doing

his early 30s (we later discovered he was only 27). He

Fifteen minutes later we were on our own ward round

introduced himself to us as the ‘doctor in charge’. We

seeing 70 children – most of whom had Malaria (I’d

explained that we were final year medical students

never even seen Malaria, let alone treated it before),

from the UK and wondered if there might be anything

some had Meningitis and a few suffered from severe

we could do to help. He immediately grinned at us and

malnutrition known as Kwashiorkor. I was way out of

said, “Actually, you couldn’t have come at a better

my depth and very cautious about changing any

time, we have an open day today and everyone is

prescriptions or starting new ones.

patients that I’d ever laid eyes on. If that wasn’t enough

Opposite: Patients waiting to be seen at Virika – hundreds more were waiting outside

one of the babies stopped breathing and we had to resuscitate him. We asked a nurse to go up to the clinic to get one of the doctors but they were too busy to come down. After about 10 minutes the child started to breathe for himself and we got him to theatre, not for an operation, but because that was where the

getting free treatment. There are 1000 people waiting to see four doctors. We’re pretty busy, would you guys

my own ward round seeing some of the sickest

Above: Dominic with the head paediatric nurse, Margaret, on his last day

Until that day “Ward Round” had meant following some

oxygen machine was.

Professor in a pin stripe suit round the wards at the

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VSA: In at the Deep End in Uganda continued In one week we taught 110 nurses the basics on what

Tragically, a very good friend of Dominic’s, Laura Case, was killed in a bus crash just outside Kampala in February 2007. She was also there on elective and was returning to Kampala to catch a flight home having been to see the mountain gorillas on the Rwandan border. Laura loved her time in Uganda and had every intention of returning there one day to work.

to do when patients become unresponsive. This has since been passed on to subsequent medical students and is now an established protocol.

I will never forget my time in Uganda, it has already made the six years of medical school worthwhile – and I fully intend to go back next year with equipment for one of the hospitals.

And finally, I would like to extend my thanks to WOBS for generously donating £500 which paid for the majority of this project. It was a fantastic experience that has given me a great deal of confidence in my new job at UCLH, and I’m sure it will have an enormous impact on my life in the future.

Dominic Moor (StB’00) December 2007

Right: Teaching CPR in the International Hospital Kampala.

Opposite left: Dominic in theatre.

Opposite right: The paediatrics ward at Virika

There was one blood test available in the lab – that was

hospitals. All four of the doctors at Virika were under

for malaria. We were told that, “even if the test is

30 and they were dealing with the full spectrum of

negative, assume it is wrong, and treat them anyway”.

medical problems on a daily basis. All that you have to

The X-ray machine was waiting to be fixed (having

rely on is your clinical judgement and just hope that

been broken for six months). There were up to three

there won’t be a power cut before you’ve finished

children or two adults per bed and, once again, the

what you’re doing. I remember one instance during a

family stayed on the Ward.

caesarean section at 4am when the lights went out.

Many of the patients lived several days’ walk from the hospital and arrived in a terrible state. This was particularly true for the women in labour who often arrived in the advanced stages of emergency

had to finish the operation and all the light that we had was that of my torch and a mobile phone until the generator started up, ten minutes later.

For the last week of our time in Uganda we returned to

the night to help out with caesarean sections, and

Kampala to fulfil our commitment which was to start a

sometimes it was too late for both mother and child.

course in Basic Life Support and CPR for the nurses at

More often than not, however, everything went to plan

IHK. Cardiac arrests are not a common medical

and both the mother and child were fit and well.

scenario in Uganda and there is often no protocol in

who work year in year out in such poorly resourced

If anyone is looking for a worthwhile charity to support, then please consider The Laura Case Trust. There is no more efficient way to donate than to small projects where the money goes directly into buying equipment and straight to the recipient. If you are interested in finding out more about us, then please e-mail Dominic at d.moor@doctors.net.uk, or visit www.thelauracasetrust.org.

The baby had been delivered and was fine, but we still

situations. We were often called out in the middle of

I have an immense amount of respect for the doctors

Dominic is now one of the trustees of a Trust that he and her family have set up in Laura’s memory. The aim of the Laura Case Trust is to fund small medical and community project work in both the UK and Uganda.

To date Dominic and Laura’s parents have donated a new wheelchair to a young boy who they heard about through the Arundel and Brighton Lourdes Pilgrimage, and also several thousand pounds worth of medical equipment to a Catholic Mission Hospital in Uganda.

place within hospitals to deal with them. We were asked by the hospital to initiate a strategy to deal with cardiac arrests and to set up a rapid response system.

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VSA: Cambodia and Beyond

I Teaching in the classroom at Siem Reap Below: crossing the river at Koh Kong

have always loved experiencing new places and meeting new people and a gap year between School and University offered me the perfect opportunity to travel, undertake some voluntary work and experience different cultures. I was eager to travel independently from home – choosing to start in Cambodia and returning overland through other parts of South East Asia and finally back to my local home station, Reigate in Surrey. I wanted to see how I would cope with new challenges and was keen to help, through voluntary work, as a way of repaying the privileges that I enjoy through living in England.

After my A2 exams, I spent three weeks working as a volunteer for International Development Enterprises UK, a registered charity that helps poor farming families in Africa and Asia to escape from poverty by increasing their income.

As a future Economics student, I was interested in seeing how the charity confronts the challenges of rural poverty, particularly in developing countries such as Cambodia.

I needed to raise funds to cover the costs of my travels and found two jobs. One was at a local vineyard, where I helped bottle and label wine and another was at a farm

shop, where I learned more about cabbages than I thought humanly possible! In addition, I was lucky enough to receive sponsorship from WOBS in the form of £500 towards the voluntary element of my Gap Year.

In January 2007, I joined a small group of volunteers as a research assistant for the charity, Frontier, in the Cambodian jungle. The Frontier-Cambodia Tropical Forest Research Programme was established in 2003 and is run in association with the Department for Nature Conservation and Protection (DNCP), the Ministry of the Environment, the Department of Environmental Education and Communication and the Royal Government of Cambodia. The survey work that Frontier undertakes is very time consuming and labour intensive; without assistance from volunteers it would take the staff team a decade to collect the data that volunteers and staff can collect in just one year.

Based in Bokum Sakur National Park for 10 weeks, I was involved in a wide range of field research including setting bucket pitfall traps to sample small mammal, amphibian and reptile populations and learning how to catch and

handle bats. A key role was carrying out socio-economic surveys by interviewing local villagers. I was really struck by the warmth and generosity of the local people and remember one particular occasion when a family would not let us leave until they had cooked us lunch.

The journey to the jungle took three days, travelling by both road and boat. Crossing a river on a ferry – namely three canoes tied together with a series of planks on top! – laden with cars, lorries and as many people as it was possible to cram in, was a memorable experience. As was beating out a bush fire, being bitten by a large lizard and avoiding land mines. However, the support of the local team and the chance to work with Cambodian villagers was incredible and an experience I will always treasure.

From March to August, I travelled alone from Vietnam to home, mainly by train and bus. Visiting China was fantastic!

I soon left the more populated areas and set off towards the Tibetan Border and, after many uncomfortable days of bus travel, arrived at the town of Xiangcheng. The sun had almost set as we drove into this small valley and the bus was all but empty. Night had fallen as I climbed out at a small wall which was apparently the last stop. An old lady was standing there, half concealed in the shadows, who said she had a bed. I followed her up many dark deserted streets until we arrived in the shadows of a large house.

The bedroom was huge, containing at least 20 beds, and the walls were covered in many small doors and locks giving it a very creepy air. She left me to settle, bolting the large wooden doors behind her, as the oil lamp burned down, leaving me to find my torch in the dark. It was not until first light that I was finally able to fall asleep.

Not all was plain sailing; I almost had my wallet stolen as I wandered home late one night in Saigon, and sometimes the feeling of isolation would get to me; especially when plans went a little awry. Learning to deal with bureaucratic nightmares was often frustrating and exhausting, such as an unplanned ‘detour’ to Shanghai when I found out that I couldn’t get a Russian visa in Beijing. It was also salutary to see for myself just how many people live in developing countries and the challenges they have to face each day.

There is no doubt that travel broadens the mind and personal experience of it is priceless.

When I begin studying Economics at Warwick in October 2007, I feel certain that my experiences over the past year will really come into their own. Having the opportunity to take a Gap Year was wonderful and I would like to thank everyone, including WOBS, who helped to make it possible.

Top: Playing kickball in Laos Above: Michael pictured receiving his VSA from Nick Butterworth back in 2006 Below: Luxury en-suite shower facilities!

Michael Burr (F’06) September 2007

In Tiananmen Square I was approached by a teacher accompanying a group of about 30 fifteen-year old Chinese girls who asked if I would mind having my photo taken with them! Not known for my film-star looks and being slightly the worse for wear from the night before, I was rather taken aback but obliged willingly - and now assume that I am on the notice board in some girls’ school in China. I’d love to know what the caption says!

While in China, I also took the chance to visit the Three Gorges Dam. A Worth Geography teacher, who shall remain nameless, mentioned it so often in lessons that I felt morally obliged to see it for myself – and was not disappointed.

Riding the Steppes in Mongolia led to an extended trip across Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway and finally home via the Eurostar.

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The Order of Malta Volunteers A Charity with firm roots on Worth soil

Supporting Good Causes Worth Society considers individual applications for sponsorship from old boys who are participating in events for good causes.

During 2007, we were delighted to provide sponsorship support to Chris Dobson (StB’66) and Matthew Hunt (StB’02) for challenges they were undertaking for two very worthwhile causes.

Congratulations to both of them for successfully completing their events.

If you are interested in applying for sponsorship support, please e-mail your request to Olivia Henley by e-mail: admin@worthsociety.org.uk

Catholic and provides me with my spiritual injection

Cycling from Greenwich to Paris

for the year. And I’ll keep going until I’m thrown out!

In June 2007 I set off from Greenwich

So why do young people want to come on pilgrimage

with friend, Alex Burge, to cycle the

with us? After all, on paper, we’re offering them a week

320 miles to Paris to raise money for

of hard work and prayer with the sick and an occasional

Nyumbani, the AIDS orphanage in

pint in a cramped bar. Sound good? I think not.

Nairobi where my daughter, Theo, worked; and for Jubilee Action, a

The answer, I think, must lie in balance. Balance is a

Christian-based international human

word I remember hearing as a boy at Worth. If I picked

rights charity dedicated to protecting

up anything from the Rule of St Benedict at school, it’s

children at risk and combating poverty.

that you have to keep yourself in good shape, not just

It took us four days and we raised

Cathedral in the trees at Lourdes

£8,000 for these two charities. I would

at Worth are a good example of this, and will happily

like to thank our many sponsors and

join you for a social drink and have interests outside of

supporters, including WOBS, for all Right: Chris Dobson arrives at his final destination, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, after 320 miles hard cycling from Greenwich

their support!

Below: Matthew Hunt (pictured left) tackles the final discipline at the Royal Windsor Triathlon – a 10km run around Windsor

June 2007

spiritually but also physically and mentally. The monks

T

Chris Dobson (StB’66)

he Order of Malta Volunteers, known to many as

the Abbey Church. They value the balance between

the OMV, is a small charitable organisation run

study, prayer and sport.

and staffed entirely by youth volunteers. Co-

founded by Worth and Downside in the 1970s, it is now a thriving platform for young people to exercise the

Looking at the OMV it’s not all that dissimilar, except you might not see the immediate similarity between a bunch of teenagers and Benedictine monks! As

The Royal Windsor Triathlon 2007

virtue of Christian charity in a fun, relaxed and dynamic

I decided to enter the Windsor Triathlon

the end of the run, it was a great feeling to

atmosphere. Since its founding over thirty years ago,

In December 2006 having failed to

be cheered across the finishing line in the

an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes remains its biggest

secure a place in the London Marathon.

centre of Windsor by a very supportive

success story carrying over 50 sick and 200 volunteers

Having successfully applied for a charity

crowd. I completed the race in 3 hours and

place with Leukaemia Research, I set my

4 minutes – placing me towards the

sights on the Olympic distance Triathlon.

middle of the results table – and raised a

Over the years, many Worth boys have made the trip to

scared to clean dirty toilets. The pilgrimage is about

The prospect of swimming 1,500 metres

total of £800 for Leukaemia Research.

Lourdes with the OMV. Some have come once, and

meeting great people – able bodied and disabled –

in open water made me panic; and on

I am very grateful to WOBS for their support

others have kept coming back until they’ve been

having a great time, working really hard and getting a

top if this I had to cycle 42 km through

and encourage any old boy looking for a

thrown out. For me, the annual pilgrimage provides

bit spiritual. That’s what keeps our people in balance,

picturesque Berkshire countryside and

challenge to join me for the 2008 Royal

run 10km around Windsor town centre.

lots of things, but primarily it keeps me going as a

happy and coming back year on year to Lourdes.

Windsor Triathlon!

After a rigorous six-month training

Matthew Hunt (StB’02)

programme the day of the Triathlon

August 2007

balance between spirituality, socialising and service to our fellow pilgrims. What that means in practice is that although we’re the last in the bar at night, we’re always at mass the next morning (if a little late) and we’re not

Top: Some say Father James came from Hollywood!

Above: The pilgrimage photograph

Far left: Just sit back and relax!

Left: Cathedral in the trees at Lourdes

loomed bright and clear – although probably not quite as bright as my

to the destination in the French Pyrenees.

organisers of the pilgrimage, we try and create a

Below: Ready to take the plunge into the Thames

alarmingly yellow Leukaemia Research t-shirt, which I was very proud to wear on the day.

I don’t think I will ever forget the iciness of the Thames as I jumped in to start my swim at 7.15am, or the transition to the cycle stage when my legs felt like jelly. At

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The Order of Malta Volunteers continued To me, the OMV is a small but spectacular charity.

WOBS RFC Rugby Report – XV Years On WOBS RFC has started its 15th season in excellent shape!

In the 2006-07 season we finished a creditable 4th in Surrey League 3, where we now compete with clubs such as Old Cranleighans, Old Haileyburians, Reigate, Raynes Park and Mitcham.

Last season saw a change in Captains, with stalwart Rob Carson (G’94) departing for the green fields of Ireland, after three excellent years at the helm. James Burt (R’98) has taken on the captaincy, putting his own stamp on the club and leading from the front with some aggressive No 8 play – as well as the despatch of some fine motivational e-mails!

WOBS RFC continues to have a great blend of players – a large group of long-termers; a good proportion of newcomers who are just out of school or starting Uni; and those who play over a few seasons and then gradually move on to other things.

I genuinely believe that the atmosphere we foster for young people to care for others is amazing and quite unique. Last year, the sister in charge of the Lourdes hospital told me that the OMV are the noisiest,

We really do have some feats of longevity in our group of long-term stalwarts – with Mark Wilson (B’87) unique in playing regularly for the Club since we began way back in 1993. Not far behind Mark is a group that has held the club together for almost as many years – with Tom Calnan (R’95), Ben Holloway (C’93) and Ben Calnan (R’97) vying for the ‘most appearances’ tag; while Chris Jackson (StB’95) and Dean ‘Ox’ Hurley (StB’94) follow closely behind. Among these long-termers is a select band of non-Worth WOBS – notably Richard Hammond, Richard Saunders, Andrew ‘Hooch’ Hill, Tom Lewis, Lee Howard and youngster Ed Gordon-Steward (who still dons the number 10 shirt with confidence even after celebrating his 40th birthday).

These guys have helped the continuity of the Club enormously. They show great commitment and, most importantly for the coach, can be relied on to show up on time (not the greatest strength of the regular wob!).

Sport

If any of this sounds interesting and you’d like to find out more about the OMV, you can visit our website www.omv.org.uk or get in touch with me directly on chairman@omv.org.uk.

If you’re an old OMVer that we’ve fallen out of touch with, we can add you to our mailing list so you will receive regular updates on our events. It’s worth mentioning that we are always struggling to collect the required funds to run our activities, so if you feel the urge to donate, please, please get in touch or give online, tax-free, by following the just-giving link on our website at www.omv.org.uk.

untidiest, least punctual of any pilgrimage she has ever met, but that they show more real love and care for their hospital pilgrims than any other. She was spot-on.

Adam Fudakowski (G’02) December 2007 Adam Fudakowksi is Chairman of OMV.

Top: A swim in the glacial river at Gavarnie in the Pyrenees Right: A hop, skip and a jump down to mass Below left: Pascale and Adam – the organisers Below centre: It’s a big hill – but nothing is too hard for the OMV! Below right: Everyone loves a good show – final day party

The WOBS RFC team who played Worth School on Sunday 9th September 2007 : Back Row from left to right: Andrew Slater (guest), Peter Hilton (G’98), Tom Lewis (guest), James Madsen (C’77), Dean Hurley (StB’94), Will Taylor (C’99), Desmond Calnan (R’69) Mark Wilson (B’87) and Adrian Firth (C’89) holding his son Jay Front Row, from left to right: Ben Green (G’03), Tom Middlehurst (R’03), Andy Pollen (StB’00), Sam Barnett (C’97), Ali Stirling (B’00), Ben Holloway (C’93), Kevin Danagher-Smith (B’03), Dan Pring (R’03)

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If you’re interested in joining WOBS RFC – for just one game or for numerous:

STEP 1: Phone Desmond Calnan on 01372 386511

STEP 2: Go and find your boots and mouth-guard

The WOBS CC team who played the Worth School 1st XI on Speech Day 2007:

STEP 3: Join us on the pitch and have some fun!

Back row from left to right: John Denman, Julian Gairdner (StB’89), John Haan (StB’96), Angus Gairdner (StB’96), James Wallace (StB’02), Charlie Forbes (Worth 1st XI 12th man), and two great supporters of WOBS CC – Stuart Barnett and Les Kempster Front row from left to right: James Holt (StB’97), Marcus Lee (StB’04), Andrew Keatley (C’96), Alex Pollen (StB’04), Johnny Smith (StB’98)

WOBS CC Cricket Report – 2007

Rugby Report – XV Year On continued

The net result of the WOBS ‘yoof’ policy is that we have a tremendous group of young players who are waiting in the wings ready to take over the playing side of the Club in the near future. Headed by the irrepressible Jamie Bruce (R’04) – who is already in his fourth season with the club – we have a number of ’04 leavers who are poised to return, including Chris Madsen (B’04), Tom Cottrell (StB’04), Alex Podbury (C’04); and some ’03 leavers in their midst – Mark Lane (F’03), Andy Keelaghan (B’03), Jack Bodkin (G’03), Dan Pring (R’03) and the elusive Ben Green (G’03). If Giles Heather (F’03), Kevin Danagher (B’03), Phil Symonds (B’01) and Paddy Scott (B’01) can be persuaded to take up regular Saturday rugby we’d be well set up for several seasons, and WOBS RFC would surely have the critical mass to reinstate that nebulous 2nd XV again.

WOBS RFC has had its dose of Mancunians over the years from 1999 to now, but 2007 has been the year of Exeter Man – with skipper James and Peter Hilton (G’98) bringing in quality in the form of guests Ed Bishop, Andrew Slater and the remarkable Mikey Goodall. Other non-Exeter Man key players include James Madsen (B’02) who has been ever-present for two seasons, and the fiery Irishman John Henry Wicks (G’00) who has been on and off the pitch (with a little bit of help from the occasional yellow card).

The Baybutts, James (StB’99) and speedster Charlie (StB’00), and the Crossley boys Freddy (StB’96) and Dodo (StB’92) still turn out occasionally, all with great impact.

24 I

So What About the 2007-08 Season?

We had a tremendous start to the season with a big League win and early wins in the PowerGen national knock-out Cup, but then suffered a few narrow defeats (four matches lost by 4 points or less) which led to an undeserved drop down the League Table. However, we are on track again with two good league wins in January, so can hope for another respectable position this season.

With over 40 players to choose from each week, including high impact appearances from new regulars Joe Green (B’05) and Steve Whyte (B’98), we really do have the capability to rise further in the leagues.

The highlight this season was, without doubt, the “Charlie Sacarello Memorial Game” which took place at Worth. A select team of WOBS from Charlie’s era and members of his family took on an all-star Stonyhurst Invitation XV. This 10-year anniversary event was organised with great style and efficiency by Rob Cottrell (R’97), with just the right kind of service in the Abbey from Fr Luke, followed by a superbly competitive game of rugby, with extensive refreshments and presentations later on in the Cowdray Arms. Several hundred people, including a large group of Charlie’s family, left Worth that day uplifted by the occasion (see page 30 and 31 for Rob Cottrell’s report).

It is not possible to close an article on WOBS RFC without thanking our sponsors and the volunteers who work behind the scenes. We receive financial support from Worth Old Boys’ Society, and the cost of our long-term lease of pitches at Whiteley Village, Walton-on-Thames is largely subsidised by the generosity of our twenty-one Vice Presidents, without whom we would be homeless! A big thank you also goes to Julie Calnan, who like Mark Wilson (B’87), is in the XVth year of her role (she turns out all the match-teas). Bobby Horvath (B’74), Jon Nickell (B’87), Ben Holloway (C’93) and Ben Calnan (R’97) still help with the finances, tickets, fixtures and registration…and we have the new phenomenon in 2007-08 of ancient wob Tony Green (C’69) – competing with the Silver Fox himself as Water-Boy of the Club. Thank you to you all.

It was all change for WOBS Cricket Club (CC) in 2007.

Firstly, after twelve years at the helm, Julian Gairdner (StB’89) handed over the captaincy of WOBS CC to Simon Jones (StB’98). I know that all those of you who have played WOBS cricket will join me in thanking Julian for all his hard work over the years.

Secondly, after over 30 years at Worth, John Denman retired from the School. John has worked tirelessly for the cause of cricket (as well as football, rugby and geography!) in his years at Worth School. WOBS CC marked John’s retirement with the presentation of a picture at the match against the Worth Occasionals, and John accepted our invitation to become an honorary WOBS Cricket Club member and its first Club President.

The Start of the 1997 Season The season started with pre-season drinks in the Cittie of York pub, High Holborn, London. A very good game was talked by all and there were high hopes for the season ahead.

Our first game was versus the school 1st XI, and unfortunately our high hopes evaporated relatively quickly on the pitch, as the school managed to edge past

WOBS CC. However, Angus Gairdner’s (StB’96) first ever fifty was definitely worthy of note – almost as good as a victory in itself!

Sport

Sport

WOBS RFC – like many a rugby club – has a clear bias towards youth, and we have done well to keep the young interested in the Club. Every year we play at Worth School in September – where the School takes on WOBS RFC in a closely contested game, which the WOBS RFC invariably wins (usually by a whisker). Recent school leavers are made welcome at the Club during their gap year – not for altruistic reasons but down to the simple fact that the 19th year of life has been statistically proven to be the finest year of fitness! And the Uni boys are invited to the annual Cronk-Cunis Under-21 competition in September; as well as being given plenty of opportunities to play in the University holidays and in the Sevens at the close of the season. We’re grateful for the commitment of Jamie Bruce (R’04), Nick Hopkins (G’05), Mark Breen (B’05) and most recently, Sam Swadling (B’07). They all had a big impact within their own year groups and are now welcomed wholeheartedly to WOBS RFC.

The fixture against the Old Theonians was also a struggle as Paddy Hopkirk (G’89) scored a commanding 100 for OTs and J Carewpole managed 93 – guiding the OTs to a total of 276. James Anthony (G’97) and Max McAlister (G’02) both bowled well, but their only reward was a wicket each.

Jeremy Jalie (C’01) put in a very good performance taking 3 wickets. WOBS chased manfully with Simon Jones (StB’98) scoring 80 (batting with a broken finger no less) and Jonny Smith (StB’98) 25, but we were eventually all out for 200.

John Denman’s Worth Occasionals also managed a victory over the WOBS in the last game of the season.

The aim for 2008 is to add a couple of new fixtures and hopefully start on a winning run!

If you are interested in playing for WOBS CC then please do contact Simon Jones at (skjones@reedsmith.com). We are always in need of enthusiastic players (of any ability!).

Simon Jones (StB’98) February 2008 John Denman’s retirement from the staff team at Worth School in 2007 was marked by WOBS Cricket Club with a presentation of a picture, with citation, on the day of the Club’s annual fixture against the Worth Occasionals.

John (pictured centre) has accepted an invitation to become an honorary WOBS Cricket Club member and its first Club President. Pictured with John are past Club Captain Julian Gairdner (left, StB’89) and current Captain Simon Jones (right, StB’98)

Desmond Calnan (R’69) February 2008

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 25

WOBS GS Golfing Society Report 2007 The seventh annual match against The Old Gregorian

and an Autumn meeting to which all members are invited.

Golfing Society also took place in April 2007, as usual at

we returned to this magnificent venue in April 2007 for the Spring Meeting. Fourteen members, including our

Royal Ashdown Forest. An honourable half was achieved.

Unfortunately we still have to record a victory, but I am sure that it won’t be too long in the making!

President, Father Kevin, keenly did battle on the High

Finally the WOBS GS was represented as usual in the

course for the Worth Rose Bowl which was won by Ted

Grafton Morrish and Russell Bowl scratch foursomes

Tracey (R’94) with an excellent 37 points, followed by

events. We had high expectations of qualifying in the

James Blake (B’77) and Simeon Stevens (StB’95) with 34

former, for the final weekend matches at Hunstanton in

and 33 points respectively. ‘Nearest the pin’ prizes were

Norfolk, but sadly, despite fielding our strongest team to

won by Phillip Davey (F’02), James Ambrose (G’75) and

date, we all produced scores not befitting our

Hugh Maguire (R’77), whilst Patrick Davey (F’01) flexed his

considerable talent!

muscles to win the ‘longest drive’ award.

As ever, the Russell Bowl at Woking in May was enjoyed

Moor Park is a marvellous venue and we have secured it

by the six team members who participated – all with good

once again for our third Spring Meeting in 2008. Given its

scores – but not quite sufficient to beat Ampleforth who

proximity to Central London, and the M25, hopefully more

were the runaway winners.

Worth old boys will be able to take part.

The WOBS GS continues to have a good solid core of

The 2007 Autumn Meeting was held a little later than

members – but I am sure that there must be many other

usual at the East Sussex National Golf Club, which the

Worth old boys of all standards out there, who enjoy golf

WOBS GS has visited several times previously. Rupert

and who would be most welcome at our meetings.

Pridham (G’80) successfully defended his title for the Worth Salver with 34 points and also collected a prize for the longest drive. This is the first ‘back-to-back‘ win that has been achieved at these meetings. ‘Nearest the pin’

If you are interested, or indeed know any other golfing Worth old boy, please do get in touch with me at kenneth.ross2@virgin.net or on 01323 733499.

prizes were won by Simon Jones (StB’98) and myself, and

Ken Ross (G’65)

again the day was enjoyed by all who took part.

February 2008

The WOBS GS players for the 2007 Rose Bowl Trophy enjoy lunch at Moor Park, Hertfordshire. From left travelling clockwise around the table: Ken Ross (G’65), Ted Tracey (R’94), Philip Davey (F’02), James Blake (B’77), Patrick Davey (F’01), John Hatton (R’88), Hugh Maguire (R’77), Matthew Wood (B’77), James Ambrose (G’75), Father Kevin, Peter Gottelier (R’70), Stephen Bamford (StB’70), Simeon Stevens (StB’95) and George Ross (G’95)

The Old Boys were very pleased to be able to call on the services of the wonderful (and apparently ageless) Richard Knowles alongside myself, Neil Laughton (C’82), Nick Bottino (R’06), Matthew Anderson (’03) and Oliver Taylor (G’03). It was decided that, by and large, the WOBS team would use pairings where the partners were of like age – but with Richard it was decided that he should pair up with one of the younger WOBS, and as the afternoon progressed I was able to hear various astute tactical directives issuing from Richard’s highly experienced tennis brain (indeed I understand that Richard has been approached by Andy Murray’s advisors with a view to him performing a mentoring role for the rising British star).

I was paired with Bunny (Neil) Laughton. Bunny, having climbed the highest mountain on every continent (and for those who were not paying attention in Beefy’s geography class, yes, that does include Everest) is now well on his way to climbing all the mountains over 8,000 meters. As we were both over 40, we decided that the only way we were going to be competitive was by recognising the fact that we were never going to match our opponents for speed and dexterity, so we should instead rely on superior discipline and, to be frank, a measure of low cunning.

As the afternoon’s sport unfolded, I was rather pleased to overhear one of our opponents (who had played in previous years’ fixtures against me) note that my game used to be pretty weak, but that it was now considerably better.

I found this a rather affirming statement, demonstrating that it is always possible to learn new skills. Unfortunately this did not allow us to win that particular set.

Hugh Maguire (left) received the ‘nearest the pin’ prize from Ken Ross (right)

Worth Society Life

The annual WOBS versus Worth School tennis match took place on Speech Day, Saturday 26th May 2007. The bare fact of the matter is that the School defeated the Old Boys by 10 sets to 6 (81 games to 59).

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

That being said, it was the only set Bunny and I dropped that afternoon. I am sure that the tennis world is waiting with baited breath and barely contained excitement as to the secrets of our success (and I thereby demonstrate that at least my ego is undimmed by age). The plain truth of the matter was that Bunny’s service – although extremely fierce - was a little wayward, while I was able to play around with pace and placement to great effect, and achieved a number of second service aces. Bunny was absolutely dominant at the net leaping both high into the air, and apparently moving from one side of the court to the other in what appeared to be a single bound. By and large our

opponents were completely unable to cope with Bunny’s volleys and smashes, and this is what secured our success.

Sport

Sport

The WOBS Golfing Society (GS) continues to have a Spring

Following the successful meeting at Moor Park in 2006,

26 I

WOBS Tennis Tennis Match Speech Day 2007 Unfortunately matters were not going quite so well for the old boys on the other courts – and so it was that the School ran out as clear winners.

And so to Speech Day 2008 – it would be great if any old boys who play would get in touch with Olivia Henley at Worth Society on e-mail admin@worthsociety.org.uk, the standard is pretty undemanding and it is a lovely afternoon in the country!

Crispin Hayhoe (StB’82) February 2008

The WOBS Tennis team who braved Speech Day 2007 to take on the Worth School tennis teams. Pictured from left to right are Oliver Taylor (G’03), Matthew Anderson (03), Crispin Hayhoe (StB’82), Richard Knowles, Nick Bottino (R’06) and Neil Laughton (C’82)

Calling all Sailors ...

Worth hasn’t competed in The Arrow Trophy Regatta since 2004 – and we are hoping to change all that and put a team together for the 2008 event.

So, if you’re interested in sailing, please don’t be shy – come out of the woodwork and get in touch with us!

This year's Arrow Trophy Regatta will take place on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October 2008 on The Solent. Yachts are collected from Port Solent (Portsmouth) on Friday 10th October and sailed or motored over to Cowes Yacht Haven, ready for the start of racing on Saturday. You can find more detailed information about the event on the Arrow Trophy website at http://www.arrowtrophy.org.uk.

So, if you fancy the idea of competing in the 2008 Regatta, or if you know of any other Worth old boy or 2008 school leaver who might be interested in participating, then do please get in touch with Olivia Henley at Worth Society on admin@worthsociety.org.uk or Giles Turton on gilesturton@hotmail.com

I 27

2006 Leavers’ Reunion

The Easter gathering was the first occasion when almost half the year were reunited. The evening got off to a great start with a free bar (which didn’t remain so for very long!) with Matt Whitehouse chained to it, and saw a credit crunched WOBS’ Chairman exit the funding market almost as rapidly as Northern Rock.

The only disappointment was the limited ability of some attendees to cope with alcohol – presumably the consequence of the ‘one beer’ parties experienced at Worth! As a result the evening was not destined to hear the last bell, and was brought to a slightly premature ending with an unfortunately triggered fire alarm. The

attendees did, however, perform an extraordinarily orderly exit – the result of years of practice escapes to the front quad.

Events

Events

Since leaving Worth in July 2006 for all parts of the Globe, the ‘06 leavers have remained in regular contact for three main reasons – our extremely sociable nature, the WOBS’ network and, last but by no means least, ‘Facebook!’ Easter and Summer 2007 saw two reunions at one of WOBS’ HQs, The Antelope Tavern off Sloane Square, London – no map needed.

Our thanks to Worth Old Boys’ Society for helping to finance our first reunion!

The second reunion saw most of those unable to make the Easter event turning out, and demonstrated the hardening impact of Uni through exposure to copious quantities of White Lightening, resulting in a perfect demonstration of undergraduates’ desire to stay until lights out!

Once again a very successful evening and, on reflection, you realise the great bond that Worth has created between us all.

Here’s looking forward to many more reunions!

Robert Butterworth (StB’06) January 2008

Above, from left to Right: Kensey Green, Henry Herbert, Nicholas Coleridge-Watts, James Talty, Christo Geoghegan, Julian Pierce, Laurence Hegarty, Henry Tung, Matthew Whitehouse, David Moriarty, Richard Hayward, Chris Scotland, Adam Murlewski, Robert Butterworth, Paddy Johnston, John Barnes, Antonio Capistrano

FUTURE EVENTS We would be delighted to hear from any Worth old boy who would be willing to help us arrange an event or get-together – whether at University, regionally within the UK, or overseas. If you contact Olivia at

Left, back Row: Nicholas Coleridge-Watts, Robert Butterworth, Matthew Whitehouse, Kensey Green Middle Row: Julian Pierce, David Moriarty, John Barnes, Richard Hayward

admin@worthsociety.org.uk, we will give you all the administrative support you need to get in touch with, and organise an event for, old boys.

Front Row: Christo Geoghegan, Chris Scotland, Laurence Hegarty, Henry Tung

28 I

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 29

Charlie Sacarello Memorial Rugby Match of the most successful of all time at Worth, and so

Worth Old Boys v Stonyhurst Old Boys

Stonyhurst’s task was never going to be an easy one.

Charlie Sacarello (B’97) was a much-loved Worth boy who died shortly after finishing his A-levels in a tragic accident which left his friends and family members at a great loss. He had many friends and family who attended Stonyhurst College - our Jesuit brothers up in Lancashire. So, as a mark of remembrance, hundreds of people met up on his birthday, ten years since the tragic event, to celebrate his life. And what better way to do so than playing the game he loved so well and, annoyingly, was so good at…

Events

Events

Sunday October 21st 2007

It was apparent before kick-off that this game had a little more edge than most WOBS fixtures, as there were several egos at stake; with months of banter preceding the game as to who was in fact the better rugby-playing school. Certainly Stonyhurst have an incredible pedigree, but this match had far more riding on it than your normal game. Stonyhurst sang a rousing, yet out-of-tune, ‘Pater Noster’ to try and intimidate the Worth side (I believe one player burst

Rob Cottrell (R’97) feeds into a defending Worth scrum, with the front row under continuous pressure from the Stonyhurst opposition

The first smiles of the afternoon – both teams gather for a friendly post-match photo!

out laughing at the sound of it, so I’m not sure how well it worked), and there followed a one-minute

The day kicked off with mass held by Fr. Luke, with the

silence which was very moving, considering close to

for Worth, our ‘safe-as-houses’ fly-half Sam Barnett (C’97)

forwards, as well as Richard ‘Gooch’ Cottrell (R ’98)

250 attendees filling a good half of the church which

250 people were watching.

limped off with a hip strain, which is testament to his

in the backs, were frustratingly halted by a referee

hard work in National League Two with Westcombe

who seemed intent on disallowing a free-flowing

Park. The half was predominantly locked in a stalemate

continuous game. Alas it was too late, and for

save the two penalties apiece before the half time

Stonyhurst the game was won.

is certainly more than we expected during a half term break. The number of friends and family (from both schools) was simply overwhelming, and it was truly great to see so many people reunited after such a long time on what fittingly turned out to be the sunniest day of the year to date.

As Worth and Stonyhurst are not on the same schools rugby circuit, neither team went into the game knowing what to expect from the other. The selection criteria was to try and reunite as many of the 1st XV of the 1996-1997 season that Charlie belonged to, and of course to include family members who had been to Worth. This particular team of that season remains one

For eighty minutes both teams smashed each other!

Each player stepping onto the pitch was totally committed and passionate about wearing their school colours.

Worth had a simple but effective game plan, soak up the pressure, work tirelessly in the forwards led by Stephen Ebbett (R’97) and throw it wide, when the time was right, to the pace of Nick Vasquez (G’97) and Teddy Sacarello (B ’06), Charlie’s cousin and brother respectively. As expected, Stonyhurst came out all guns blazing, but couldn’t hold off Worth’s relentless and superbly organised attack that was camped deep in their half. Rewardingly, a try in the top right corner ensued, with the conversion narrowly missed by Sam Barnett (C’97). Stonyhurst continued to battle hard in the first half, whilst Steve Whyte’s (B ’98) spotless throwing-in at the line-out was accurately hitting the

A minute’s silence in memory of Charlie

30 I

whistle blew.

A huge thank you to Father Luke, Des Calnan and all

Changes were made and the same commitment

those spectators and supporters (both friends and

followed in the second half. Matt Pardo (B’01) deftly

family) of this great event. So great, in fact, that

slotted in at fly-half replacing Sam, but he too was

it is sure to become a yearly fixture. Get your boots

soon sidelined and Worth began to tire psychologically.

out lads…

Suddenly Stonyhurst were on the front foot and looking confident with ball in hand, as well as stealing ball (both legally and otherwise) underneath the

Rob Cottrell (R’97) November 2007

referee’s nose, from which their backs soon scored.

Two almost identical tries were scored on the left wing which went through several players’ hands with a few dubious passes inbetween. In the space of five minutes Stonyhurst had turned the game around and now led 13-8.

jumpers at two and four, proving Ben Duke (C’97) isn’t

The onslaught from Worth soon arrived. For nearly ten

in fact as heavy as he looks after all! The forwards

minutes Stonyhurst stood strong on their try line – to

battled away incessantly, with notable carries from

Worth’s credit we gave it everything but to no avail,

Mic Cataldo (S’97) and James Burt (C ’98) gaining yards

with Stonyhurst’s pack standing strong when it was

but frustratingly being stopped by poor refereeing and

needed the most. Some darting and direct hole-

hard hits from the Stonyhurst pack. Most unfortunately

punching by Pete Hilton (G ’98) and Ebbett in the

Back Row from left to right – John-Henry Wicks (G’00), Pete Hilton (G’98), Dan Mourad (B’99), Richard Cottrell (R’97), James Burt (R’98), Matt Pardo (B’01), James Madsen (B’02, Steve Ebbett (R’97), Teddy Sacarello (B’06), Rob Cottrell (R97), Paddy Scott (B’01).

Front Row from left to right – Sam Barnett (C’97), Colin Rowton (R’98), Ben Calnan (R’97), Ben Duke (C’97), Phil Symonds (B’01), Nick Vasquez (G’97), Steve Whyte (B’98), Mark Breen (B’05), Mic Cataldo (StB’97)

Matt Pardo (B’01) lines up a hit at the breakdown, flanked in support on his outside by Steve Ebbett (R’97), Mark Breen (B’05) and Teddy Sacarello (B’06).

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 31

City Lunch he shared a birthday with my older brother James, and

Lunch’ which caused some concern among my work

had exchanged cards with him for most of the 32 years

colleagues as they speculated as to what this stood for.

since school. A testimony to both Fr Kevin and the

Having left Worth in ’76 (that’s 1976…) and having had

power of the WOBS network.

embarrassingly little to do with the school that coaxed me through O’s, A’s and some turbulent teenage years, I confess I found myself speculating too. Would I recognise anyone after 27 years adrift? Who would be there and would I owe any of them money??

Clockwise from left to right : Richard Pollen, Andrew Pollen, Nick Butterworth and Father Kevin

Father and son – Richard and Andrew Pollen

Father Kevin and Richard Pollen

event, which boasted a two-generation attendance WOBS first. The mood was spirited and convivial and all appeared fit, prosperous and surprisingly hirsute…

Proceedings were ably herded by WOBS Chairman Nick Butterworth. Nick, now CEO at property consultancy Jackson Stops, gave an informal address which included an obit to Fra’ Andrew Bertie, sadly recently

Peering from the midst of the gathering as I arrived

deceased. He would have been proud to hear the

was the unfeasibly youthful figure of Father Kevin who

Tibetan morning song ringing through the vaults from

had given up the day to join us – and very welcome he

those that could a) sing and b) remember it. Bertie’s

was too. Being a Butler boy (your very good health, Mr

accompanying plug-in, taps-on wake-up calls were as

Owers) I was not instantly recognized by Fr Kev, and he

unwelcome then as they were effective, but along with

had to take a long and very hard look before he worked

his so many other talents and his irrepressible and

out who I was. But WOBS is a lot to do with keeping in

Sahara-dry humour, he was very fondly remembered.

touch, and after greetings were exchanged I discovered

From left to right : Ben Babington, Ian Gilmour, Nick de la Bedoyere, James Forte, Jeremy Sharman

Barnett and the ebullient Steve Noel-Hill all graced the

The restaurant’s cellar (more cosy than cavernous)

lunchtime drinking were soon dispatched...

Clockwise from left to right : James Madsen, Tom Podbury, James Wallace, Chris Coxall, Max McAlister, James Maclean

(Mark – ‘76 and Richard ‘74), Mike Berkeley, Nick

walked to Bow Wine Vaults in the heart of Cheapside.

distant from each other, any rules relating to weekday

The 70s table, clockwise from left to right : Ewan Ward-Thomas, Michael Berkeley, Michael Worrall, Nick Barnett, Steven Noel-Hill, Mark Breen

very well represented; Mark Simpson, a brace of Breens

from the Pollens (Richard ‘64 and Andrew ’00) – a

and since a Worth old boy and the bar are not long

Clockwise from left to right : John Griffith, Mark Simpson, Richard Breen, Sean Donnellan, Anthony Legge, Simon McMenemy, Mark Collini, John Crookenden

It quickly became clear that 1976, or thereabouts, was

The sharp early spring sunshine bathed the City as I

quickly filled with WOBS of all ages, shapes and sizes

The class of ’02, from left to right, Chris Coxall, James Wallace, Tom Podbury, Max McAlister and James Madsen

WOBS manages to tread the line between business and social network, grapevine and Charitable Trust so the availability of new merchandise in the form of a new

City Lunch Attendees Father Kevin Richard Pollen (StB’64) John Crookenden (G‘68) Michael Worrall (R’71) James Forte (C’72) Nick Barnett (G’73) Steven Noel-Hill (StB'74) Richard Breen (StB'75) Michael Berkeley (G’76) Mark Breen (StB’76) Nick Butterworth (G’76) Mark Simpson (StB’76) John Griffith (B’76) Ewan Ward-Thomas (B'77) Nick de la Bedoyere (G’79)

32 I

WOBS tie and cufflinks which goes towards funding Ian Gilmour (B’79) Jeremy Sharman (StB’79) Mark Shepherd (B’79) Sean Donnellan (StB’86) Antony Legge (G’86) Mark Collini (StB’89) Simon McMenemy (R’89) Ben Babington (G’96) James Maclean (StB’99) Andrew Pollen (StB’00) Chris Coxall (R’02) James Madsen (B’02) Max McAlister (G’02) Tom Podbury (C’02) James Wallace (StB’02)

were gracefully presented by Simon McMenemy.

An excellent meal was brought forth and the event went off without a hitch. Many cards were produced and within hours emails were already being exchanged and memberships renewed. Will I come again? You bet.

And those others from ‘76 who are in my address book and who haven’t reconnected (Franks? Holditch?..) will be getting an invite too.

John Griffith (B’76) February 2008

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 33

Events

Events

28th February 2008 went into my diary as just ‘WOBS

Caught on Camera

From left to right – Mark “Max” Walker (StB’80) surfing in Cornwall with fellow wobs Richard Williams (B’80), Jules McCarthy (StB’79), Ben Goodger (R’80), Ivan MacQuisten (B’80) and Simon Allen (StB’80)

Eddie Robinson (B’89), second from left, picks up the Silver Medal for the Best Estate Agent of the Year 2007 for the South East Region

Paul Collini (StB’91) pictured with wife, Magda and son Joseph, on holiday in Provence in August 2007

Abbott Christopher officiating at Christopher Lamb’s (R’01) wedding at Westminster Cathedral in London

In time honoured fashion, John Bennett (R’81) enjoys a pint at his local pub in Suffolk with fellow wobs - Mark Jenner (C’81) and Rohan Cavaliero (B’81) with Mia – something they learnt to do in the Red Lion, Turners Hill a quarter of a century ago!

Bobby Acworth (C’81) speaks at the hui on the summit of Mauo, Mt Maunganui on the feast of Ash Wednesday which coincided for the first time with Waitangi Day (the foundation date of modern New Zealand)

Dr Peter Bain (R’75) practising karate with his 12 year-old daughter, Annapurna, on the day that she received her Dan grade

Robert Tyler (G’02) ‘caught on camera’ in a Chinese art museum

by Max McAlister (G’02)

A jubilant Jason Kitcat (B’97) pictured at the time of his election as a Councillor for the Regency Ward in Brighton, standing for the Brighton and Hove Green Party

The photo that launched the modelling career of Gerry Ambrose (G’76) – more photos can be found in the ‘Balaclavas for Men 2008’ brochure!

Caught on camera by Gordon Moore (G’85) are Michael Gabriel (C’85) with his son, Samuel pictured on the banks of Loch Affric

Max Barnett (G’02) ‘caught on camera’ by Max McAlister (G’02) at Lord’s Cricket Ground in the summer of 2007

Mark (StB’89) and Paul Collini (StB’91) pictured with Paul’s son, Joseph, on holiday in Provence during August 2007

Fr Stephen Ortinger at RAF Anglesey in April 1984 preparing for a ride in a Hawk trainer with Andy Stewart (B’72) at the helm

22 years on - Fr Stephen Ortinger with his godson, Robert Stewart (B’99) – son of Andy Stewart – at RAF Leuchars, Scotland in July 2006

Please send us photos of great events in your life so that we can include them in future issues of The Blue Paper

34 I

Mark “Max” Walker (StB’80) drums with Prince William at the opening ceremony of the 2007 World Scout jamboree

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

Fr James Cutts went to the South of France to officiate at Andrew MicallefEynaud’s (B’96) wedding

I 35

I reached the mystical summit of Mt. Everest with a mixture of awe, tears and relief.

My Love Affair with Everest here is no place on earth more beautiful or brutal

T

utter exasperation when my request to borrow a radio to

than Mt. Everest. She commands the high Himalaya

assist with the rescue effort was turned down for selfish

like a true colossus – majestic yet deadly for those

reasons; the horror and relief of watching a disfigured and

that stray too close without due care and preparation.

frostbitten Beck Weathers return to camp, having been

More than 200 souls have been lost over the last 50 years.

given up for dead.

I have held a long fascination with the mountain that in

Then two years later, as my party descended from The

many ways is so British. She was named after an English

Balcony at 8,500m following another failed summit

Surveyor General, early exploratory pioneers were almost

attempt, I witnessed the horrific sight of two friends,

exclusively British and the first successful climbing

roped together, slip and tumble down the mountain. They

expedition in 1953 was launched from London and led

came to rest some 300 feet below me, unconscious, their

by a Brit.

path and certain death shortened by a snow drift. Then I

During the last twelve years I have spent approximately 3,360 hours on, or within sight of, the greatest and highest mountain on earth. Much of this time was spent attempting to climb the 29,035ft (8848m) peak; part of

I had been preparing for this final, daunting, exhausting 24 hours of climbing for the best part of ten years.

Would my body hold out? Would my mind function properly? Would the Gods favour me? Only time would tell.

saw the best in human spirit, the welcome sight of fellow mountaineers abandoning what they were doing to offer

Neil negotiates the ladder in Khumbu Icefall

assistance and a slow but successful evacuation off the mountain.

it was spent helping a disabled friend realise a lifetime’s

One week later, my body was in shape, my mind in sharp

ambition to reach Everest Base Camp; and some of it was

focus and the Gods were smiling. I reached the mystical

spent assisting two lunatics who were going to try and

summit of Mt. Everest with a mixture of awe, tears and

fly a powered paraglider above the height of the great

relief. I embraced my climbing partners and radioed our

mountain.

Base Camp, “We’ve run out of Earth!”.

This is a story of ascending Everest on foot, in a wheelchair and by parachute.

Everest on Foot I had been preparing for this final, daunting, exhausting 24 hours of climbing for the best part of ten years. Would my body hold out? Would my mind function properly?

Would the Gods favour me? Only time would tell. Waiting and waiting for the clock to tick round to the appointed hour – and finally it was time to don heavy boots and crampons, twist the bezel of my head torch, and gingerly slide out of the orange tent at 8,000m on the South Col of Mt. Everest.

In my 10-year quest to scale the highest peak on each of the 7 continents, I had been here twice before. On reaching the South Col in May 1996, a terrible storm materialised that pulverised us from dusk till dawn and round the clock again. Some dreadful scenes were played out in the ensuing chaos…the very sad, shocking and public loss of Rob Hall, whom I had only chatted to the previous day; the desperation of not being able to get help to Scott Fischer; the look of exhaustion on the face of Anatoli Boukrev as he set off on another heroic foray into the maelstrom in search of his missing colleagues; the

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Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

The South East Ridge and Hillary Step in sight – with the summit of Everest beyond

I 37

Neil (centre back) helps his friend Glenn Shaw realise a lifetime’s ambition in reaching Everest Base Camp – setting a record for the highest altitude reached by wheelchair!

Neil paragliding off Mont Blanc

Far left: On top of the world! Neil (right) flies the flag on the summit of Everest Left: The British support team brought together by Neil (front left) with Glenn Shaw on Everest

Everest in a Wheelchair

Everest by Parachute

helicopter help transporting our two tonnes of equipment

In Summary

A few years after our successful ascent of Mt. Everest, a

I have always enjoyed floating about the skies like an eagle.

to our base camp, we were in a position to attempt a flight

Not that many people have had the chance to cast their

friend called me with an unusual request for help. Glenn

From my first parachute jump at the age of 16; to leaping

which, if successful would smash the existing world

eyes on the summit of the greatest mountain on our

Shaw was a 35 year-old Banking Executive hell bent on

out of military aircraft at low level in pitch darkness; to

height record by over 10,000ft.

planet. Remarkably few have crouched down to touch

realising his lifetime’s ambition – of reaching Everest Base

freefall parachuting; hang-gliding; micro-lighting; gliding

We had to wait a few days to get the perfect weather

her summit snows and fewer still have done something

Camp in order to see the great mountain for himself.

and paragliding – basically anything that flies!

window, and I took the opportunity to walk up a

extraordinary in the shadow of her giant walls of ice and

Para-motoring is a wonderful variant to a number of these

neighbouring peak with my paraglider and launched off

rock. Every one of these men and women that have lived

– in that you strap a rucksack with an engine and three

the summit for a magical flight down to Base Camp. It

to tell their tale remain in awe of the place. To those poor

bladed propeller to your back, deploy a shaped parachute

was a nervous time for the two pilots, both family men.

souls that did not return, I salute you.

out on the ground behind you and start running whilst

I calculated the main risks were from an engine fire with

www.neillaughton.com

years before from the Nepalese side of the mountain, and

gunning the engine. This creates lift and you can take off

the prototype machines; extreme altitude (they had 4

had hired some fine Sherpa to help carry him in his

from your back garden and fly around the skies at your

hours of oxygen); getting caught in high altitude winds

wheelchair up and over the foothills and steep escarpments

leisure. I have flown some remarkable missions, such as

and crashing into a vertical mountain face; and of course

that lead to Everest Base Camp. This trek can take an able-

a twilight flight across the English Channel (only to be

surviving the seriously cold temperatures which was

Neil entered Worth School in 1973 and was Head of

arrested upon landing in a military camp at night!) and a

possibly going to be minus 70 degrees with wind-chill.

Chapman House in 1982. During the following 25 years

and physically exhausting exercise for even the fittest of

10-day exploratory flying expedition to the Venezuelan

Despite two abortive take-offs, both pilots laboured and

he has served in the Royal Marines and SAS; has organised

people. Halfway to Base Camp while traversing a narrow

jungles near Angel Falls.

finally managed to get their heavyweight machines off the

and led 20 expeditions in 7 continents; created a number

ground and slowly circled upwards until Gilo’s machine

of successful businesses and has learnt to fly helicopters.

cut out at 28,000ft. He flew back to camp and landed

He holds the 24-hour Pram Pushing World Record; was

safely. Bear, meanwhile, kept flying towards the summit

Captain of the England Bicycle Polo Team and has played

and when he was at approximately 29,500ft high, let out a

golf at the North Pole! His latest adventurous project

piercing scream over the intercom, turned his engine off

is commissioning the world’s first road-legal flying car

and floated gently back to earth where a relieved Team

whose maiden voyage will be a journey from London to

Manager opened the champagne!

Timbuktu in 2009.

A challenge confronted us, as he suffers from brittle bone disease and has been confined to a wheelchair for the whole of his life.

Glenn had attempted to launch his own expedition a few

bodied individual up to two weeks, and can be an arduous

track, Glenn’s wheelchair slipped off the path and he took a horrendous cart wheeling fall, down the side of the hill which left him in considerable agony with both legs broken in eight places.

Then disaster struck. Whilst flying in the Alps I suffered a catastrophic parachute collapse 75-feet above the ground and as I plummeted towards the ground there was time to realise I was going to die. But, as luck would have it, my

I put a British team together and we started training in

fall was broken by a Frenchman’s house and his sloping

earnest. I arranged a weekend in the Brecon Beacons

tiled roof took the main brunt of the impact. I bounced off

aiming to drag Glenn up the 3000 ft of Pen-y-Fan, but

the roof into his vegetable patch whilst his family were

we failed miserably – not even close. It was not that the

sipping their cappuccinos and munching their mid-

support team couldn’t handle the 120 kg weight or

morning croissant! I gave them quite a fright, and it took

awkwardness of carrying a man in a wheelchair, but Glenn

me a while to come to terms with this accident, although

was terrified of being dropped (no doubt experiencing

I was in the air again within six months.

flash-backs to Nepal a few years earlier). We did our best to allay his fears but it took three training weekends and a successful ascent of Mt. Snowdon to finally realise our goal – to get Glenn and the team to work in perfect harmony. Concurrently we had managed to design and build two rough terrain 3-wheeler wheelchairs that could cope with the harsh conditions at 5,000m in Tibet. We flew to Lhasa and hired 4 x 4 vehicles, and drove for five days arriving at the Rongbok Monastery where we set up

Neil Laughton (C’82) January 2008

The GKN Mission Everest paramotor team (from left to right) Gilo Cardozo, Neil and Bear Grylls

During our expedition to the Amazon jungle my two flying friends Gilo Cardozo and Bear Grylls started discussing whether it might be possible to fly a paramotor above the height of Mt. Everest. It seemed a tall order to me, and having actually stood on the summit a while back I had no real desire to fly over it – but did not want to be left out of an adventure and volunteered to be Team Manager and Safety Officer.

our base camp. From here we pulled, pushed and carried

Two years later, Bear had negotiated a substantial

Glenn in all his high altitude clothing to an incredible

sponsorship agreement from engineering firm GKN;

19,780ft. We were treated to a spectacular view of

Gilo had designed and manufactured two incredibly

Mt. Everest and Glenn set a new height World Record for

light, powerful and technologically advanced paramotor

someone in a wheelchair.

machines; and a team from Channel 4 met us at Heathrow for the three-week expedition to the Nepalese side of Mt. Everest. After a shortened trek, thanks to some

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Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 39

Lunching with Michael Spencer Founder and CEO of ICAP

eMillionaire – A Life-Changing Experience

Born in 1956 in Kuala Lumpur, his father was a colonial civil servant and Michael lived in Sudan and Ethiopia before attending Worth. Being mathematically gifted, he went on to study Physics at Corpus Christi, Oxford where he also played poker and backgammon. By his own admission, his main source of income in the 70s was gambling, and a career in the City beckoned. By 25 he had made a fortune, lost it and made another. False starts at Simon and Coates and Drexel Burnham led him, in 1986, to set up his own company - ICAP. Driven by Michael, ICAP has become the world’s most successful inter-dealer broker and his 22% share puts him quite a way up the “Sunday Times” rich list. He has houses in Suffolk, London and New York, a large wine cellar, an art collection and is chauffeured around in a Mercedes.

He is a political animal – a lifelong Tory and close friend of David Cameron and has recently become Treasurer of the Conservative Party.

Enjoying lunch with Michael Spencer at “The Don” in St Swithin’s Lane from left to right : Nicholas Barnett (G’73), Robert Bodner-Horvath (B’74), Hugh Bett (B’73), Michael Spencer (B’72), Paul Cattermull (StB’73)

Michael Spencer in the summer of 1972, he makes winning look easy – until you see the ‘recovery’ photo!

In the Spring of 2007, a handful of contemporaries from the early ’70s arranged to meet at “The DON” in St Swithins Lane in the City of London, to compare notes with one another and see where their careers had taken them since leaving Worth all those years ago.

Nick Barnett (Jewellery), Hugh Bett (Antiquarian books) Robert Bodnar-Horvath (Property) and Paul Cattermull (Finance) all lead successful careers in their own right.

But it is Michael Spencer who stands out as being one of Worth’s most successful old boys of all time – and the chat inevitably led to the paths that he has taken which have led him to where he is now, as founder and Chief Executive Officer of ICAP which employs over 3,000 people worldwide.

He is reputedly the richest self-made man in the City.

But is it the money that motivates him? He says not. Once describing himself as “that sad bloke sitting on the beach reading the FT”, he is still clearly driven by the markets.

Although he has a reputation for having a short fuse, on meeting over lunch he is at once smiling, casual and approachable and clearly enjoys a good lunch with friends, saying, “I didn’t get where I am today by not drinking at lunch time!“ Clearly charity is a high priority. For one day each year, all of ICAP’s trading profit for the day is given to good causes.

Fancy dress is the order of the day and prime ministers’ wives, celebrities and royals turn up to man the phones and help raise funds. Even other trading houses scale down operations for the day so that more business is channelled through ICAP. Surprisingly, many of the charities supported are individual ones in the developing world including the Boikanyo Foundation which provides supplies for open heart surgery in remote parts of South Africa.

The last glass of port has been drunk, it is after 3 o’clock and Michael is beginning to look nervously at his mobile phone. What about the future? Michael is bearish. “There’s a lot of pain to come“. Time to go, the bill arrives and next time Michael promises to pay.

Nick Barnett (G’73) December 2007

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Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

Back in 1999 I had a business dotcom idea that I thought could be massive. While surfing the internet one evening I came across a competition that was giving away a £2m prize to get a new dotcom business off the ground.

I entered and to my amazement from 10,000 entries I got down to the last 15 people. It was run by Channel 4 and was called the eMillionaire show, hosted by John Snow.

You had to pitch your idea live on TV and the public voted you through to the final. It was a very high profile show at the time. I won my round and was up against four others in the live show for a chance to win £2m venture capital to start my business. Unbelievable!

Com-poser.com was an online music tool that allowed non musical people to write music over the web. This was the start of a much grander idea. There are millions of pounds spent every day on music equipment and music technology by “home users”. My long term objective for com-poser.com was to provide state-of-the-art sound equipment over the web, enabling studios to share equipment and technology at a fraction of the cost.

While surfing the internet one evening I came across a competition that was giving away a £2m prize.

Unfortunately I didn’t win the show – the prize was divided between a company called youreable.com (still thriving today) and schoolsforschools.com (who went bust shortly afterwards!).

However – that show changed my life, because one of the judges on the show was Dan Wagner, the online entrepreneur. His venture capital investment firm, Bright Station, invested in my business and that allowed me to get it off the ground in 2000. I took office space in his public company’s firm in Leicester Square, and Com-poser.com ran for eighteen months with customers such as Freeserve. But I needed second round funding to enable the business to grow. Now gaining second round funding right in the middle of the Dot-Bomb when you are a loss-making music technology company was not a particularly enviable position to be in!

At that point Dan was in the middle of taking a venture private from Dialog, his public company. He had seen a niche in the eCommerce market and realised that the only option for a business to start an online shop back in 1999 was the buy and build approach. Dan approached me and asked me to help him set this venture up. Leave com-poser.com and join him and four others to build a new eCommerce business with an entirely new model.

I brought into the concept, seeing his vision because the com-poser.com concept had the same fundamentals -

a shared infrastructure reducing cost and maintenance.

And so Venda Limited was born.

Venda brought an entirely new business model to the world of online commerce. Through the acquisition of former “dot.com” assets at liquidation prices - Dan had acquired the assets of boo.com for £250,000 from their administrators, after they had invested over £40m in their eCommerce technology – it was a steal. Venda was able to deliver “best of the web” features and functionality to retailers, manufacturers and wholesalers at a fraction of the cost normally associated with sites of this calibre. Our unique selling point was to enable retailers to concentrate on selling goods, while Venda managed all the technology in one environment. We were the first company to offer eCommerce software as a service.

So five of us set up an office in Soho Square, with no customers but a wonderful technology ready to be

I 41

The Growing Pains of GO Mental

eMillionaire – A Life-Changing Experience continued proven. We hit the phones full of enthusiasm – and we needed it considering we were launching a completely unheard of technology with a completely new business model just after September 11th. Who would contemplate moving their website to us at that delicate time?!

Our first two years of trading were really tough – we had to prove the technology more than anything. And then, at the end of our first year trading we got a breakthrough.

The BBC no less! They wanted an all-inclusive solution that they could take telephone and mail orders through while they did the marketing themselves, as well as having the flexibility to change the site quickly and easily. Venda ticked all their boxes and they gave us the chance to prove what we all believed in.

Our mission was (and still is) to simplify our customers' paths to success. That means personal attention to every

detail to help them navigate the complex global eCommerce landscape and succeed. Today we service and maintain eCommerce websites for an international all-star client roster including: The Body Shop, Xerox, Panasonic, Sharp, Urban Outfitters, Fat Face, Monsoon, Republic, Wilko, DeBeers, BBC, Shoe Shop and many many more.

We are again in the position to grow the business and today our headcount is over 250 globally with most of that headcount being in infrastructure, software, account management and technical support. We have offices in London, New York and Bangkok.

I am personally very proud of what Venda has accomplished in eCommerce – and am very excited about the future Venda has in the global marketplace.

Alex Buckley (G’88) July 2007

Escape the mundane with Tourparty!

Information and booking: Details of all the camps are available at the website: www.tourparty.com Remember to mention “Worth Society” for your discount!

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Worth Society Life

As well as his involvement in Internet Marketing (http://www.omtac.com) Worth old boy Matthew D’Arcy (C’87) is working with Tourparty, a company arranging Sports Camps, Tours, Events and Competitions / Tournaments in the UK and various countries abroad including France, Spain and Switzerland.

Whether you are a teenager looking to escape the tedious long holidays, or an adult wanting more than just a beach holiday, Tourparty could be the answer and Matthew is offering a 5% discount for anyone mentioning “Worth Society” when they book for themselves, family or friends before 1st August 2008 (subject to availability). Tourparty are offering camps for singles, families and groups of friends throughout the Summer, Autumn and next Spring, combining sports coaching, activities and excursions in an active holiday package.

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

You’re sitting at work one day and you realise that what you should actually be doing is inventing a board game. Your mate Graeme thinks so too. Idly contemplating a future that stretches into an aching void, you then resolve to do something about it. And so is born Go mental – the Game of Improbable Connections.

Graeme (ex-Brighton College, but we won’t hold that against him) and I used to sit next to each other at Bankers Trust in Hong Kong – and we had the sort of lacuna during the working day that encourages people to talk nonsense. A lot.

We did that. Got bored. Decided to ask each other utterly useless quiz questions. These questions are now available to you, pre-packaged, neatly formatted and entirely organic.

In actual fact, it is really quite hard to produce a board game. Our collective experience of matters artistic had peaked with the 1974 Mrs Merkin prize for best cakeweaving by a boy in the Lower IV; so design, colour, packaging, etc needed a monumental effort. Green, for those of you of a more aesthetic bent, is redolent of the baize of the card or billiard table, and burgundy speaks of port and convivial evenings with friends. So we are told.

After the design comes the endless reading, rereading, proof reading, testing, re-testing (you have the idea by now) of each question – a ruthless process that means each card is a joyful blend of trivia and something else I can’t quite put my finger on.

Anyway, we did all this and then spent a drunken evening, or series of evenings if I’m entirely honest, working out the tag lines to use. We liked – “It’s the most fun your brain can have” and “It’s a game, it’s an education, it’s a way of life” – both of which pretty much cover it.

The next step is selling it to the many top stores and then adapting the game for the American market.

Cynics say this is dumbing down. I say that it is an unfounded slur on the country that gave us the quarter-pounder with cheese and irony-free taxonomy for military interventions.

Strangely, Go mental is a big seller in the US and was one of Chicago Tribune’s top 5 Games of the Year in 2005 – there’s a whole host of Awards and other stuff on the website (www.hlgames.com).

Graeme and his wife, Catherine, now run HLgames and live in the US. It is a full-time job with all the different versions now available – Go mental family edition (Go mental Fundamental), the religious edition (Sacramental) and future projects and other games we now run – Who Ate All The Pies?, AmuseAmaze – and we always welcome suggestions and ideas for questions.

To that end, we have set out some of the questions below. Please e-mail your answers to atcbernard@btinternet.com, and we will draw out the lucky winner and send them a copy of the game – complete with instructions and some most excellent cellophane all around it.

Don’t go mad, Go mental!

Andrew Bernard (C’81) October 2007

In each of the following groups of four things, one does not belong and the other three are connected. For one point, identify the odd one out; for an additional three points, say how the others are connected. Send your entries to atcbernard@btinternet.com. We will draw out one lucky entry as the winner and send on the prize of a copy of Go mental – it’s the most fun your brain can have!

1.

Tribes of Israel Days of Christmas Labours of Hercules Steps to Heaven

2.

Albert Camus Julio Iglesias Gordon Ramsay Pope John Paul II

3.

Star Wars Raiders of the Lost Ark Back to the Future American Graffiti

I 43

From Challenge to Honour On leaving Worth in 2001, I could not have begun to imagine what lay ahead of me!

Despite not coming from a military family, I became hooked on the idea of joining the Army for a challenge and an adventure while at school. I knew that if I took a gap year on leaving school, I would struggle to get on with work again. So for me, it was University or Sandhurst. I got a place at Bristol University and decided to put Sandhurst on hold until May 2006.

Throughout my time at University I was a member of Bristol University Officer Training Corps and became set on a career in the gunners. My time at Bristol laid the foundation for the two exciting years that lay ahead of me.

It was on OTC exercise that I met Charles Bairsto, and the two of us became intent on organising a challenging expedition for ourselves. We read the log book of two Scots Guards Officers who had rowed across the Atlantic and thought it sounded like ‘quite a good laugh’.

Before we knew it, we had told so many people about our ‘great’ plan that we had no choice but to get on with it. The more we looked into it, the more daunting a task it became, but undeterred, we pressed on enthusiastically as the true scale of the challenge we had set ourselves unfolded before us.

The start date was set for December 2006 – six months after graduating from University – and two extremely busy years followed, packed with fundraising, training and meticulous planning; while trying to juggle a degree and my girlfriend.

The day we thought would never arrive eventually did, and on the 1st December 2006 we set off from La Gomera, one of the Canary Islands, in our 24ft wooden rowing boat ‘Atlantic Warrior’ – headed for Antigua in the Caribbean. An epic two months followed.

Despite incidents ranging from near misses with container ships, to tropical storms and a capsize; we rowed alternate two hour shifts, 24 hours a day! Before we knew it, 59 days later, we were back on dry land in

Antigua, and we were celebrating in style. But at the same moment we couldn’t help feeling a sense of deflation now that the adventure was over. It seems like madness, but in spite of the moments of fear and the physical degradation I would, without hesitation, do it all over again!

The countdown to Sandhurst began and the focus for both Charles and I shifted from rowing to the Army.

Having spent two years preparing for our expedition, followed by two months holed up in a 24ft boat with Charles, we were somewhat surprised to find ourselves in the same Company on our arrival at Sandhurst.

New challenges were rife in our new environment, and I benefited hugely from two key attributes I brought with me from experiences shared during the previous two years. The first was teamwork – as to arrive in Antigua had been the result of the efforts of a huge number of people – and the second was a sense of humour when things go wrong, which they certainly did, and not infrequently!

We had an extremely busy year at Sandhurst, but one during which I made some of my closest friends. With opportunities arising from competing in the Devizes to Westminster Canoe race, to organising a Sailing expedition in the Canaries, not to mention the 44 weeks of military training. It was certainly my busiest year to date and I was extremely proud to be awarded the Sword of Honour on commissioning, which is a

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The Old Place

credit to the quality of the team that my platoon had become, as well as our Directing Staff.

On leaving Sandhurst in April 2007 having commissioned into the Royal Regiment of Artillery, I moved to Larkhill on my Young Officers Course to finish my training.

I am now serving in the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, and am preparing to deploy to Afghanistan in March, which promises to be a difficult but challenging and exciting operational tour.

The last few years have certainly been varied, exciting and challenging and I am sure, and hope, that the next few will prove to be so as well!

Tom Bright (R’01) February 2008

left: 59 days after leaving Le Gomera in the Canary Islands, Tom and Charles arrive in Antigua after an epic rowing journey in ‘Atlantic Warrior’ Above: Tom receives The Sword of Honour on 13th April, 2007 at the 153rd Sovereign's Parade at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. General Sir John Reith KCB CBE, representing Her Majesty The Queen, was the reviewing Officer

I 45

Life As a Missionary Priest in Algeria People often ask me what we do in the Sahara in an all-Muslim region where there are virtually no Christians.

Seven years on, we can certainly say that the worst excesses of the terrorist campaign of the 1990s are past. After the deaths of perhaps 150,000 people and the untold misery of the refugees and traumatised victims, the main guerrilla groups have accepted an amnesty and the people can now move about with some degree of security. However, there have recently been new suicide bombings, especially in the Berber Kabyle Region and in the capital, Algiers. They are perhaps part of the larger ‘Al Qaida’ worldwide movement, which is a worrying trend.

Among those who died in the terror attacks of the 1990s were 19 priests and religious figures, including one bishop. Several hundred Moslem imams, many of them more ‘moderate’ than their extremist killers, also lost their lives often along with some of their families.

The Catholic Church in Algeria shares the sufferings and joys of the people, even though we are still a tiny minority of the population.

When I returned to Algeria in 2001, I moved to Algiers and initially spent two years helping in a diocesan reference library there – to help assure access to the documentation required by students and researchers.

I

t is seven years ago that I last wrote an article for The Blue Paper, in which I described how, after leaving Worth in 1966, I spent eighteen years in the Army before joining the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) and was sent to work as a missionary priest in Algeria.

When I last relayed my experiences, Algeria was in the throes of a terrible ‘black’ decade of violence and my hope was “for peace to return soon and for freedom of conscience and religious practice to become the norm there and everywhere. …”

46 I

In 2003 I was appointed to Ghardaia, in the Diocese of Laghouat, which covers the whole of the south of Algeria, and is about the size of France and Britain put together. However, the vast open spaces of the Sahara contain relatively few people, and the only Christians, other than the small communities of missionaries like myself, are to be found among the foreign oil and gas workers or the migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa making their way hopefully towards the North. It was in the south of the diocese, in Tamanrasset, that the hermit, Blessed Charles de Foucauld, died in 1916. He was beatified two years ago and there is now a steady stream of pilgrims who visit the desert areas associated with his life.

People often ask me what we do in the Sahara in an allMuslim region where there are virtually no Christians.

How come we are there if there is no Church congregation to minister to? My answer, typically, is that “we are there in order to be there", and it is the being rather than the doing which is important. Our resident ‘parish’ has one bishop, four priests, seven sisters and two laypeople … but also about 120,000 other souls to whom we are ‘sent’ by the Church.

In a world where we are witnessing more and more misunderstanding between people of different religions and especially between Muslims and "the West" (sometimes confused with Christianity), it is so important to build and maintain good relations and trust at the very simple level of the street, the school, the market-place and life in general. In Ghardaia we rarely come across hostility, at least among those people we meet regularly. Probably less hostility than most Muslims come across in Britain. We often gain great encouragement from their faith and their devotion to God, even though there are aspects of the cultures and societies there which many might not find perfect.

Along with our being there, there are plenty of things for us to do! I live and work in our small White Father community of four priests (Spanish, Polish, Tanzanian and British). Much of my time is taken up with helping to run two libraries. One is a reference-library of books concerning every aspect of the Sahara, whilst the other is a more general lending-library, mostly in French, but with some English and Arabic. Since the schools which the White Fathers and White Sisters used to run were nationalised in the 1970s, we try to continue to support the education of the country in other ways.

I spend a lot of time teaching English to adults and secondary-school children in their final school year.

I enjoy the teaching and feel that those who attend the courses enjoy my personalised teaching style of wordgames, lotto, book discussions and playlets. The most fulfilling part of being in Algeria is the human contact and friendships made through the courses and library.

Opposite: On the roof in Ghardaia Above left: With some local children Above centre: Teaching French to lyceens in Ghardaia Above right: John Mac William at his ordination at Worth in 1992, pictured with Bishop Walmesley Below: Typical hazards we meet on the road!

I am hoping to carry on here for the time being – but, as a missionary, I am always open to being needed elsewhere. So, who knows where I might be in another seven years from now!

John MacWilliam (StB’66) January 2008

Ghardaia is an old and traditional town where there is no shortage of social problems and a certain 'tribalism' among the people. Even though it is very hot in the summer and sometimes gets hit by most unpleasant sand-storms, it is by no means an unpleasant place to live.

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Spirituality, Values and Mental Health Jewels for the Journey

This eclecticism is itself interesting, and points in the direction of an intellectual difficulty in this terrain; for it seems to stem from the conceptual nature of the word ‘spirituality’, which appears to mean so many things. This might simply be in the nature of the world and we shall have to live with the conceptual uncertainty. But there is a problem if the point is to bring together spirituality and mental health (itself a nebulous term), because it becomes unclear what this is all about. Perhaps health professionals just need to ask people about their religious and spiritual beliefs more frequently. Perhaps they need to spend more time listening to people. Or perhaps it’s the way they listen that causes problems. Perhaps it’s about acknowledging the authenticity of the diverse experiences of people with mental illnesses.

Edited by Mary Ellen Coyte, Peter Gilbert (R’68) and Vicky Nicholls

I can certainly see arguments in favour of all of these views and the book encourages such possibilities. Yet there are reasons to be critical. Ticking the box to say you have asked the question about religion is really not to the point (even if it’s a start). Nor should spirituality collapse into good interviewing skills (although undoubtedly there is something about being spiritual that might be helpful here). Acknowledging authenticity, however, might be taken too far – but this depends on one’s point of view. Certainly most psychiatrists would be inclined not to dismiss the person’s delusions or hallucinations: they are real for the person. But the point of psychiatry is normally, if possible, to stop such symptoms. In which case, if these experiences are defined as spiritual in some sense, there will be a clash of cultures with professionals on one side and user-groups on the other.

All of this became clearer to me when I read the excellent chapter by John Swinton, who also wrote the Foreword. He distinguishes between the American perspective, which focuses on religions and religious behaviour, and the UK perspective, which (more influenced by secularization) emphasizes spirituality and values. This in turn sets up a tendency for spirituality to be seen as over against the reductionism of science. Of course, the chapter on values-based practice makes the point that facts (as in science) and values (as in spirituality) can be complementary. But there is an anti-professional wind that blows through some of these chapters; it also emerges occasionally as a tendency to be critical of the health service.

Wittgenstein, once wrote: “Our sanity is at the mercy of a molecule” (p. 134). But he also wrote: “…we should never forget that there is, and always will be, a mystery about mental ill-health which makes it different from any disease of the body” (p. 89). To my lights, our health and our illnesses occur in a context of religious belief. How any resultant spirituality is, or should be, played out in one’s professional and personal life is partly the uncomfortable challenge of this book.

The movement in favour of spirituality, therefore, can start to feel like a political movement. Perhaps there is no harm in this; perhaps it is what we need to make people better as human beings. But I think we need to look squarely at the direction of travel and at what we could be leaving behind. And we also need to recognize that the eclecticism of spirituality means that it need not run in this direction. Spirituality as a political movement is one thing, but (as the book demonstrates) it is also a personal matter. It seems to me at least, as if spirituality can exist hand-in-hand with biomedicine, but the connections will be highly personal. This is exemplified in Barbara Pointon’s moving and thought-provoking account of her husband’s dementia. The connections will be many and various (as the book also shows) because of the diverse nature of spirituality.

London: Jessica Kingsley ISBN 978 1 84310 456 8 pp 336 Paperback £22.99

Julian C Hughes (R’78) January 2008 Reference - Drury, M O’C. (1973). The Danger of Words.

London : Routledge & Kegan Paul

Peter Gilbert (R’68) is Professor of Social Work and Spirituality at Staffordshire University. He has been a social work practitioner for 13 years and was Director of Social Services for Worcestershire Council. He is the NIMHE Lead on Spirituality and Mental Health.

Julian Hughes (R’78) is a consultant and honorary clinical senior lecturer in old age psychiatry, based at North Tyneside General Hospital and the Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University. His own book, published by Jessica Kingsley in 2006 and coauthored with Clive Baldwin, is entitled Ethical Issues in Dementia Care: Making Difficult Decisions.

By the end of the book, however, I was inclined to feel dissatisfaction with the notion of spirituality. There are some profound things going on, but there is also slippage into superficiality. I was left thinking that freefloating spirituality, neither based upon nor destined for religious belief in some guise or other, might just be so much flotsam. If for no other reason, this is a good book because of the way in which it should focus attention on the need for further thought in this area.

We are complex beings and these different aspects of our lives do not need to be separate. Drury (1973) a psychiatrist, pupil and friend of the philosopher Peter Gilbert (R’68)

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Book Review

Book Review

This is a remarkable work in terms of its breadth.

Almost every possible perspective is to be found within it – different religions and cultures, different professional backgrounds, along with the views of people who have suffered from mental illness. There is a variety of styles, numerous reflections, poems and sketches, humour and philosophy. It would be very difficult not to find something to enjoy, or to be inspired by, in these pages.

Julian Hughes (R’78)

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Don’t forget to e-mail Olivia at admin@worthsociety.org.uk with any announcements – engagements, marriages, births, major wedding anniversaries or distinctions

Announcements Engagements James Anthony (G’97) to Christina St Croix Tom Hammond-Davies (C’03) to Paull Hammond Lucian Sumpter (StB’97) to Joanne Andrew Cloud (B’00) to Natalie Travers. Wedding planned for July 2008 Andrew Cox (G’93) to Nina Kenyon Julian Gairdner (StB’89) to Melissa Fuentes. Wedding planned for July 2008 Marriages

Abbott Christopher married Christopher Lamb (R’01) and Isabel on January 12th 2008 at Westminster Cathedral. There was a large Worth contingent present on the day – including Michael Oakley and the Worth Abbey singers

Simeon Stevens (StB’95) married Joy in July 2005 Corrado Di Mascio (R’96) married Jessica Louise Kenny on 3rd November 2006 Edward Barham (StB’97) married Jennie Craik – Jonathan’s (C’00) sister – on 31st March 2007

Raimundo Morales (C97) pictured with his new wife, Cecilia

Father James Cutts officiated at the wedding of Andrew Micallef-Eynaud (B’96) to Katia The wedding was held in Sauternes in the south of France on 28th July 2007.

Corrado Di Mascio (R’96) was Andrew’s Chief Usher.

Edward Simpson (G’97) married Sareeta in April 2007

Above top: Charles McHugo (G’85) is pictured with his son, Sam

Raimundo Morales (C’97) married Cecilia on 26th May 2007

Births

Chris Martin (R’85) married Tori Nicholson on 1st June 2007

Tom to Kath and James Abbott (C’93) in December 2006

James Wills (R ’84) married Helen Thorp on 30th June 2007

Emily Anna to Sandra and George Ross (G’95) on 10th January 2007

Andrew Micallef-Eynaud (B’96) married Katia on 28th July 2007

Nathaniel Brian James to Abigail and Peter Gibbon (C’98) on 21st February 2007

Guy Nivelles (G’93) married Christine in August 2007

Oscar Ronnie to Caroline and Neil Laughton (C’82) on 30th March 2007

Richard Gairdner (StB’98) married Emma on 8th September 2007

Fraser Harry Alexander to Elizabeth and Mark Wilson (B’87) on 14th April 2007

William Pollen (StB’94) married Jennifer Kyte on 15th December 2007

Sam Olivier to Charles McHugo (G’85) and Myriam on 27th April 2007

Christopher Lamb (R’01) married Isabel on 12th January 2008

Christie Janina to Nathaniel Holloway (C’94) and Kate on 18th May 2007

Ben Ford (B’91) married Joanne on 15th February 2008

Maximilian to Ingrid and Ben Stokes (StB’96) on 7th June 2007 Alice to Crispin Dawson (StB’93) and Sarah on 9th July 2007

Above middle: James Abbott (C’93) pictured in August 2007 with his son, Tom

Toby John to Louise and Dominic Bruning (StB’89) on 31st July 2007 Harry to Marie-Louise and Dominic Crossley (StB’92) on 1st August 2007

Above bottom: Carrado di Mascio (R’96) pictured with his daughter, Isabella Florence, born on Saturday 12th January 2008 weighing 6lb 4.5oz

Isabella Florence to Jessica and Corrado Di Mascio (R’96) on 12th January 2008 Deaths We regret to announce the deaths of two old boys, both of whom had a long struggle with cancer : Gareth Belcher (B’85) 21/04/1968 to 28/05/2007, aged 39 Neil Cawley (B’75) 30/03/1957 to 06/09/2007, aged 50 We ask you to remember them both, and their families, in your prayers.

Above: In August 2007 Guy Nivelles (G’93) married his American bride, Christine, just outside New York. They are setting up home in Paris and expecting their first child in August

We also ask you to remember a much-loved teacher of modern languages and deputy housemaster at Worth School: Fra Andrew Bertie 15/05/1929 to 07/07/2008, aged 79, whose Obituary can be read on pages 57 to 59.

Left: Father Kevin officiated at the wedding of Ben Ford (B’91) to Joanne which took place in Cape Town on the 15th February 2008

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I 51

partner, and now sole trader, of my own company “Rostron and May”.

Projects this year have been ‘Lark Rise’ (BBC TV) and Gucci Autumn Windows (mostly sent out to China!). I am constantly thinking of a late career change and am currently considering a recent offer of pulling pints at ‘The Dog and Duck’ in Soho!

News in Brief Barder David ’63 Just back from chilly Fairbanks, 25 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. Off to Mexico City in eight days. Aviation insurance business keeps me travelling around the world. Play squash regularly so I can keep up with our six year old daughter.

Pontifex James ’63 I have lived in Budapest with my Hungarian wife and two children since 2001. She is a teacher and I am retired. We now rent out a cottage and a studio flat to visitors in Budapest. We would especially welcome old Worth boys. (see : Hungary section of Holidaylets.net) Bell David ’64 I have recently become chairman of Sadler’s Wells.

Boys Andrew ’64 After 28 years in the same house in London and after successfully offloading both children, we have relocated to a flat in SW6 near to the Hurlingham Club which we use a lot, mostly for playing tennis. Plan to buy a small house hopefully in the Salisbury area to pursue piscatorial interests and other country pursuits. On the work front my time is a mixture of business coaching (www.ABC.uk.com), a couple of non execs and an ongoing interest in a few small companies in which I have made a modest investment. One that might be of particular interest to old boys is NONSTOP ADVENTURE which provides training and extreme activity in both skiing and sailing (www.nonstopadventure.com). Take a look.

Wylie Hugh ’65 I am presently living in Luanda, Angola with my wife, Jenny, and my younger son Liam (14). My elder son, Ben, is at boarding school in Somerset. I am the installation manager for a large offshore oil development currently being constructed by BP 90 nautical miles NW of Luanda. We transferred here from Paris, a year ago, after finishing the engineering for the project there.

MacWilliam John ’66 I am working as a missionary priest (White Father) in Ghardaia in the Algerian Sahara. It is a mission of “meeting” rather than of “preaching” which makes it rich in the trust shared between us and the Moslems there – trust and friendship.

O’Cock Julian ’66 I am married to an Italian called Patrizia and we have three daughters. One is working at Korres Natural Products, one is doing her internship at Christies and the other is reading Modern Languages at Christchurch, Oxford. I am retired after a career with de Beers.

Johnston Kevin ’67 I had four happy years, 1963-1967, in Gervase under the watchful eye of Father Kevin, who many years later officiated at my Mother’s funeral in the lovely church at Worth. I didn’t do much work, preferring to drive tractors on the farm! I am now a retired civil servant and grandfather after a life crowded with incident.

Gilbert Peter ’68 I published ‘Spirituality, Values and Mental Health’ in November 2007. Spoke at the first National RC conference on Mental Health. I organised the second national Multi-faith Conference on Mental Well-being: From the Cradle to Beyond the Grave, at Staffordshire University on 8th January, 2008. A new book on the subject : Spirituality, Values and Mental Health: Jewels for the Journey, was published in 2007 (see this issue of The Blue Paper for the Book Review by Julian Hughes (R‘78)).

Martin Charles ’68 I am property developing in Bulgaria.

May Michael ’68 I am approaching retirement after a career painting scenery (BBC TV/Thames TV). For the past 15 years I have been

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Thomson Hamish ’69 After working as a Solicitor for many years, I retired five years ago and now live in Cornwall about a mile away from the Eden Project. I keep busy with a large garden with two holiday cottages in the grounds and various animals including horses, goats and dogs.

1970s Considine Anthony ’71 I continue to work in Russia, transforming a major oil and gas company amongst the fascination of a changing environment – both cultural and political. My eldest son is now studying at University in Australia. Our whole family returned to Australia at the end of 2007.

Wilson Will ‘71 I am 53, and growing old gracefully. Worth is 26 years behind me – the best days of my life. I am writing a book about my life. I am now Chairman of a MacMillan Cancer Support Group in Bedfordshire and still playing my barrel organ. I have passed £115,000!! I would never have changed a day of my life and live every day to the full.

Barnes Philip ’72 The Barnes family relocated to Dubai in the UAE in mid-2007 so that I could assume the role of Regional Vice President for the Middle East for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. Leaving Vancouver after nine years was tough, especially for the children, but our hope is they will forgive us in later life when they recognise the opportunities for their personal growth that are presented to them in this dynamic fast paced part of the world. It certainly has enhanced their travel options, having spent time in Kenya just before the elections and subsequent mayhem. There is a trip to Egypt and to Thailand in the works.

Fletcher Jerry ’72 I recently left Credit Suisse where I had been a Managing Director for the past 13 years, most latterly as Global Head of the Metal and Mining Practice on the Corporate Advisory side. I am now joining the board of a large corporation and advising two oligarchs on their private investments. My eldest child, Emily is in her second year at Oxford reading Classics. Lucy is on a gap year travelling the world, ahead of either Bristol or Durham (she still can’t decide!).

Jack is a scholar at Marlborough in his lower sixth year. Hetty is in her GCSE year at St.Paul’s in London. All of them keep us fully occupied. I love being on the water, bombing around in my rib at Bosham, near Chichester, where we have a weekend home. We are building a villa in Greece and I still watch rugby whenever I can.

Forte James ’72 I am currently the Interim CR Manager at Lovells LLP international law firm. I am helping them develop their Corporate Responsibility Programme - encompassing the strategy, communication and implementation. I managed to let the silver-tongued Simon McMenemy recruit me back on to the Worth Society Committee.

Quennell Chris ’72 I left the UK in 1980 to work as a maritime lawyer in Hong Kong. In 1989 I emigrated to Australia where I lived in Sydney until 1996 when I moved to Melbourne. In May 2007 I was asked by my firm, Holman Fenwick and Willan, to transfer to their Dubai office where I am one of four partners. I have sailed for Hong Kong in various Ocean racing series including the Southern Cross Cup, the Sardinia Cup and in the Swan World Cup in 1982 when I was on the winning boat.

Coffin Chris ’73 I am head of litigation at Withers LLP, which is an international law firm with offices in London, New York, New Haven, USA, Greenwich, USA, Milan and Geneva. I am with my wife Judy and our two girls, Jess (15) and Maddy (13). I live in what used to be my parent’s house, where I lived whilst at Worth. We will be attending the Open Day in September to see if Jessica would be interested in becoming one of the first boarding girls at Worth.

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The Old Place

Willson Simon ’73 I continue to evade my UK creditors by working at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC – where I have been since 1994. I play bass and drums with various suburban bands and will enthusiastically exchange ritual abuse with fellow WOBblers at swillson@imf.org.

Gordon Tom ’74 I am a partner in Brand(x), a healthcare advertising agency based in London. I live in Dunsfold, Surrey and am married with 5 children - 4 daughters and a son, all aged between 24 and 11 – phew...

Mackenzie Al ’74 I am in a GP partnership in East Grinstead. I am married to a doctor and we have four daughters. We have a nine acre smallholding which keeps me busy.

Whelpton Charlie ’74 I have a daughter in her final year at St Leonard’s, Mayfield, a son Harry (15) in year 10 at Worth and my youngest son, Edward (12) is in his final year at Brambletye Prep School. I regularly see the Drummond Brady brothers, Ward-Thomas, Metcalf, Pickards, etc.

Bain Pedro ’75 My two elder children, Annapurna (13) and Wulfstan (10) and I are all black belts in Karate, and we are Arsenal fans. I am a consultant neurologist at Charing Cross Hospital and have published over 100 medical articles, mainly on tremors.

Bathurst Robert ‘75 I recently performed a one man stage version of the Daily Telegraph cartoon "Alex" and later this year will tour the show in the UK and abroad before bringing it back to the Arts Theatre in London.

Ambrose Gerry ’76 I am currently working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

I have been married to Laini for 15 years and we have two daughters, Alissa (age 13) and Anis (age 9). Other Worth old boys who are based in Kuala Lumpur are Rohan Cavaliero (B‘81) and Julian Wynter (C’72).

Breen Mark ’76 I work in property with my brother, Richard (StB’75), and other Worth boys – Chris Bishop (R’75) and Nick Walters (R’76).

(See www.artesian.co.uk) Griffith John ’76 I have been living in Sarratt, Hertfordshire for eight years now with three teenage kids. For business, my wife and I run a recruitment agency www.pulseltd.co.uk and for fun I am launching www.therunningbug.com where all Worth old boys are invited to join for free!

Kirk Julian (Dennis) ’76 I am currently a wine consultant to restaurants, hotels, caterers, corporate companies and private individuals. I live in Clapham and am married to Fiona who is the Development Director at Imperial College, London. We have one son, aged 15, who is at Westminster, (sorry all!). I play football weekly with some old Worth boys and others.

Pasqua Dominic ’76 I am now working in Wimbledon as a partner for Knight Frank. Happily married with two young kids (4 and 3) and living in Balham. No longer smoking and getting fatter daily!

Seward Paul ’76 I am currently the Managing Director of Farm Input Promotions Africa Ltd based in Nairobi, Kenya . I am assisting smallholder farmers in East Africa to improve their crop productivity. More information is available at www.fipsafrica.com Blake James ’77 I am trying to fight back the passing years by playing golf (including WOBS events), 5 a-side football and running. I ran the 2006 London Marathon, 23 years after my previous effort. I had deteriorated at about one minute per year.

Madsen James ’77 After just over seven years back in the UK with HSBC, last November we moved to Ukraine where I am to establish and run a Bank for HSBC. Kyiv is providing quite a contrast to London – not

to say the previous nineteen years out in Asia and the Middle East. My wife, Fran, has found us an apartment right in the centre of town, (our twentieth home since we have been together), so at present I only have a four minute walk to the office. As the temperature has dropped to minus fifteen, and I am told this is a mild winter, I tend to walk briskly! Our son Charlie, who is in his last year at Bryanston, has bravely come out for half term and seems to like the place; and our daughter Pippa, who is in her first year at Leeds University, has promised to come out in the summer once it has warmed up. Any visitors with a Worth connection should feel free to get in touch if they are passing through - my email remains the same – james.y.y.madsen@hsbc.com. It was particularly good to catch up with so many contemporaries last year at the reunion superbly organised by Matthew Wood (B’77) and others.

Morrissey Mickey ’77 My news is that my eldest, Rosie, is Head Girl of St Mary's School, Shaftesbury (well known on the Catholic circuit). Her younger brother is in his second year at Downside and used to be taught by Dr Whitehead (our loss your gain!). We have two other children – but no particular news there! Meanwhile, I am trying to arrange, together with Charlie Hamshaw-Thomas (B’78) a 30th reunion for those who entered Worth in 1973.

Ward-Thomas Ewan ’77 I am Managing Director of my own consulting company which provides interim management and project skills to small and medium sized high technology companies in the UK and Europe. I have passed my second year as a management consultant for high tech and business fund raising in the UK. I have recently moved to Somerset and have two girls at Port Regis School in Shaftesbury.

Behard Mark ’78 I have been living for the past ten years in Waterford, Ireland. From July I will be travelling with my wife Nicole and our third son, Conor, on a Round the World ticket until January 2008. Our travels will take us to Peru, Australia, Bali and Singapore.

When we return we will be settling back in the Bristol area.

Brown Justin ‘78 I am involved in research & reporting in Myanmar (Asian emerging markets) on behalf of multinational companies.

Goodbody Justin ’78 I am married to Sarah and we have four children – Lucy, Felix, Hugo and Amelia. We are living in Malvern. Sarah works at the local school and I am currently job-hunting.

Hamshaw Thomas Charlie ’78 I am the Principal of CSR Solutions, advising on corporate social responsibility. I married in 1987 and we have three sons. We live in Somerset, across the field from Downside!

Hobbs Peter ’78 I am working as a project planning consultant mainly with financial, creative and professional services firms in London.

I am becoming better at multi-tasking since being widowed in 2004.

Mannix Ed ’78 I am still living in Meribel with Diesel the dog, filling in tax returns, developing property and skiing. My 16 year-old son, Matthew, who for some reason ended up at Bryanston instead of Worth, comes out during the holidays.

Rome Spider ’78 We are living between Winchester and Salisbury in the middle of no-where and love it. We have two great children, both at good Catholic schools of course! I have a sabbatical coming up and am wondering what to do after 20 years of flogging houses for KnightFrank!

Sharman Jeremy ’79 I am now working back in London after five years in Hong Kong.

1980s Douglas-Dufresne Simon ’80 I am writing to you from Kenya where there has been a lot of trouble recently, to say the least! News from my side of the family is that I have two children, Cassia-Peia 5, and DylanDean 2. We are very happy and are still enjoying this wonderful country as we are able to avoid all the places where there is trouble.

My father, Alan Douglas-Dufresne, ex-Downside has just passed away after a heart attack on 4th February 2008. He died very suddenly and very happily after he had spent the last months with all members of his family and friends. He was a wonderful father, friend, and entertainer to all. His heart was always overflowing with generosity.

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News in Brief

News in Brief

1960s

Calnan Desmond ’69 I am still living and working in Holland (Shell, The Hague) during the week but return to the UK every weekend to run, cajole and support WOBS RFC.

Tyler Tony ’73 I was appointed Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific Airways in July 2007. I urge all WOBS members to fly CX whenever possible, and would be delighted to catch up with them in Hong Kong if they do! My son Robert (G’02) has started work in the UAE with Fujairah Mining and Shipping Co. His older brother Andrew (G’00) is still playing and recording in Berlin with his band Myriad Creatures. My house in Hong Kong has been a hostel for ‘gapping’ WOBS for the past 12 years. It was good to be host recently to a couple of WOBS from my own era – Paul Cattermull (StB’73) with his family, and then Hugh Bett (B’73). Next to arrive will be Chris Quennell (C’72) visiting from Dubai.

Lemieux Guy ’80 I am happily married to Tracey and we have a son, Henry, born 14th January 2006. I am a very proud Dad – mind you it is a full-time job!! I am still working for Thomas Cook as an International Financial Advisor. My brother Robert (C’78) became father to his third daughter in April 2006.

Mocatta John ’80 Working at Lloyds Reynier Mark ’80 I am Managing Director of Bruichladdich Distillery – Single Malt – 3 x Distillery of the Year” since 2000! Currently building a new eco-distillery in the neighbouring village of Port Charlotte. All welcome for special tours and ‘tastings’!

Stordy Jonathan ’80 I have been living in Madrid for almost 10 years.

I am married to Sarah, Ciaran is now 13 and Anna is 9. I have been in the drinks business for 16 years and am now working for the makers of Teachers Whisky and Jim Beam Bourbon.

Tait Michael ’80 I shall be doing some freelance photography now both boys will be at school. I am still a house-husband.

Bennett John ’81 We have just taken our listed insurance broker off the market and completed a management buyout. I am working all hours, but still finding time to tend and show sheep, as well as a host of other animals, and to keep our three daughters entertained. Still in touch with a number of Worth old boys who are all in fine fettle.

Bernard Andrew ’81 We flooded during the summer – watching the Isis roll in the front door is an adventure (not what I said at the time)! It did mean that I could go fishing in the village street. But I caught nothing. Never do. I spent some time in a knee-polishing commune near Slough, but am still (as of today) working in the City. I do not have a dog called Binky.

Cavaliero Rohan ’81 I am living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with my wife, Aileen and our three kids, Ella, Mia and Charlie. I currently run a development company which I set up with two friends – our first project being a golf course and resort development on the island of Langkawi in Malaysia (www.99degreeseast.com). I still see Gerry Ambrose (G’76) here in KL, as well as Mark Jenner (C’81), John Bennett (R’81) and Chris Bloy (R’81) in England . I remain in touch with Paul Owers (G’81) and Ben Elwes (G’81) but haven’t seen them for years. I’m still very involved in the Royal Selangor Rugby Club.

Douglas-Dufresne Hugo ’81 Sadly the situation in Kenya has been very sad since the unrest and civil violence after the elections. Myself and several wobs are here and we will all have had different experiences.

My wife Antoinette has had to leave our Tea estate in the Kericho district whilst we try to get the security situation under control. Digby, our eldest son, has started at Michael House School in Natal in South Africa which is an excellent all boys school for those who cannot afford Worth. Look it up on the website! Many old boys will remember my father, Alan Douglas-Dufresne, himself an old Downside boy who died unexpectedly, and very quickly, of a heart attack on Monday 4th February 2008.

Elwes Ben ’81 I work for an investment company in London and live in Sussex, 15 minutes from Worth. I am married with three boys who are aged 11, 10 and 8.

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Fisher Harry ’81 Our son, Adam, was born with Down’s syndrome on 4th July 1997. If any new parents find themselves in this situation feel free to contact us. (harry.fisher@farmline.com) Jenkins Jonathan ’81 I am happily settled after twelve houses in ten years! I am living in Linlithgow, near Edinburgh with my wife Shereen, son Callum and daughter Pippa.

Thornton Henry ’81 I am still living in Hampshire, flogging up to ‘the smoke’ and trying to make a living in asset management.

Treays Jem ’81 I live in Cardiff with my wife, Fran, and young children, Ella and Louis.I work at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, teaching actors. Last Christmas the family toured Southern India for five weeks by bus, rail, motorbike and auto rickshaw.

Hamilton Giles ’82 I am still in Investment Banking in the City. I am married to Mini and we live in Wandsworth. We have two children, Hugo (6) and Alexandra (2). I am still riding motorbikes and fantasising about being in Motorhead. I recently attended Ed Hooper’s (C’83) wedding in Fletching – lots of old faces there! My brother, Ben (B’91), has a daughter, Karla, and lives in Copenhagen teaching English. My other brother, Angus (B’84), travels the world as a full-time punter and international playboy!

Laughton Neil ’82 I am commissioning the world’s first road-legal flying car in 2008 and will attempt a journey from London to Timbuktu in January 2009. My business colleagues at Office Projects Group remain dubious but supportive!

Payne Conrad ’82 Married 1993 – divorced 1998. I have two lovely daughters, Madeline & Clare (13 & 10), whom I see every weekend. I live in Ticehurst, East Sussex and they live in Mayfield. I am now 42!

Worth seems a long time ago but still very close to my heart and forms part of my everyday life! My parents still live in Africa and have ended up in South Africa after years of living & working in East, Central and Southern Africa. When I left Worth I completed a Diploma in Hotel Management and worked in the industry for three years in London and Tanzania before deciding to go into property in 1987. Worked for a couple of agencies before joining Lane Fox (Sevenoaks) in 1991 and Cluttons (Canterbury & Tunbridge Wells) 1993 – 2000 (in between Lane Fox & Cluttons I also started importing Kilimanjaro Mineral Water into UK, but sadly couldn't compete on cost, so a short lived but fun venture!) Then I joined Honeygrove Properties, a residential development company for 5 years based in Kent – specialising in large Victorian conversions and large new build properties. I joined Strutt & Parker (property consultants) in May 2005 and am based in London within the Development Land & New Homes team but most of my work is outside London. I look after the New Homes side of the business for the UK. I have been in touch with Austen Ivereigh (G’84) who is in London and Calum Richardson-Dobie (G’84) who owns a hotel in Scotland – www.theinndalwhinnie.com - a very funky place!

Also I see the Gabriel brothers – Simon (C’90) & Michael (C’85) – for the occasional pint. I am enjoying life immensely. I am very blessed!

Laughton Nigel ’84 I am living with my wife, Sarah, and daughter, Olivia, in the West Country and work as Rugby Operations Director at Bath Rugby.

Robinson David ‘84 I am married to Maretta with two daughters – Isobel (10) and Rebecca (8). We have been living happily in North Cornwall for the last 11 years. I am an Associate Partner for Stags Auctioneers & Estate Agents. Played Rugby up till three years ago for Launceston RFC (veterans, not 1st team!) and now looking for a sport to balance the pasty intake. Enjoyed watching little brother Ed (B’89) start his own Agency in Maidenhead. I am an active member of local Round Table as well as an amateur magician.

Sharpe Jonathan ’84 I am living in Sussex and am married to Charlotte. We have three children (11, 9 and 5). I am running my own hedge fund business in the City.

Gabriel Michael '85 Living and working in Tunbridge Wells. As well as running Green Lizard Marketing Communications with brother Simon (C'90), we also recently opened Green Lizard, an estate agency in Tunbridge Wells (if you are thinking of selling, give me a call - 01892 619888). In touch with a number of old boys: Gordon Moore (G’85),

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

Jaime Dunster (B’88), Bobby Noyes (C’85), Charles DeViggianni (B’85), Chris Hunt (StB’85), Johnny Greig (G’85)... After 22 years recently saw Roly Owers & Alastair Clayton who came to one of our old boy get together's at Christmas. How time flies...!

Jamison John ‘85 I am now married with two children (Archie, 6 yrs and Bonnie, 4 yrs) living in Ottershaw, Surrey and working for Samsung Electronics. I am in touch with Francis Hopkinson (StB’85), Mike Bishop (StB’85) and James Bisset (B’85). All of them legends…

Martin Chris '85 I married Tori Nicholson on June 1st 2007 at St Mary of the Angels, Bayswater.

Moore Gordon ’85 I am involved with Worth again as a school governor, therefore I see lots of the old faces (and the new) on a regular basis. There are a number of old Worth boys who are increasingly involved with the school from my generation – Johnny Greig (G’85) and Michael Gabriel (G’85) being two that spring to mind.

On the Worth old boys front, Michael and I arrange an evening get together a couple of times a year in a pub in central London. This year Roly – Roly Owers (G’85); Dusty – Jamie Dunster (B’85); Johnny – John Grieg (G’85); Alastair Clayton (C’84); and Dij – Charles deViggiani (B’85) came along. In normal Worth fashion there were a few no shows of course! If anyone is interested in coming to the next one please e-mail gordon@cleevehouse.com. Have also made contact again with Charles McHugo (G’85) who became a father in April 2007. He had a son called Sam, who, from the pictures, looks just like him. I had a chat to Joe Macari (C’85) the other day too and saw Chris Hunt (StB’85) in November when he flew over from Taiwan for Michael's 40th birthday.

Apart from that, life remains busy and fun. My four children see to that!

Owers Roly ‘85 I am married to Nikki and we have three children, Tabitha, Toby and Jessie. We live in a village just outside Cambridge.

Since 2003 I have been the Development Director of the Perse School in Cambridge. In January 2008 I am moving to become the Chief Executive of an international equine welfare charity (the ILPH) which is based just outside Thetford.

1990s Gabriel Simon '90 Living in Wadhurst in East Sussex and married to Toe with four children - Amelia (10), Martha (9), Benedict (4) and Madeleine (1). Still working in Tunbridge Wells with my brother, Michael ('85), and pleased to have helped the Society put this magazine together! As well as marketing and design, we also run an estate agency business and would be delighted to hear from any old boy looking to buy or sell in Tunbridge Wells or surrounding villages (www.greenlizardhomes.co.uk). Due to spend a weekend in April with Nick Lobb (C’90), Simon Douglas (B’90), Mel Carson (B’90), Charlie Gerada (R’90) and Dom Floyd (G’90) down on Ed Found's estate in Dorset.

Hancock Ben '90 I retired from the Army as a Major in 2005, and am now working in the city as an insurance broker for hedge fund and private equity firms. I am living in Peckham with my girlfriend, Linda.

Mathews Chris ’90 I am living and working on the Isle of Wight and married with one son, one dog, two cats. I am a Freeman of the City of London (it’s a long story!). Enjoying my motorbike (BMW R1200GS if you’re interested). Would anyone be interested in a WOBS motorbiking meet?

Stobart Dominic ’90 I am producing TV shows in New York and am married with a son.

Collini Paul ’91 I am currently living in Sheffield with wife Magda and 23 month-old son Joseph. I am a lecturer at the University of Sheffield and Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases at Royal Hallamshire Hospital .

Gairdner Ed ’91 After ten years in the Army I have taken the leap into the unknown and will leave the Army on the 6th April 2008! Looking forward to contacting some old boys to start the networking process!

Randall Justin '91 I have just passed a Graduate Law Diploma and am studying the Legal Practice Course, part-time, as a late change of career.

Sharkey Dom '85 I am posted again, on completion of advanced command and staff course, to be second in command of 3rd (UK) Division Headquarters and Signal Regiment in Bulford, Wiltshire.

Crossley Dominic '92 I am a lawyer working as a partner of Steeles Law in London. I still turn out from time to time for the WOBS rugby team.

Marie-Louise and I have a son Harry, born on the 1st August 2007.

Macari George ’87 I am currently an F.A. registered players’ agent and am involved in the management of Premiership football players – as well as a celebrity chef and jockey!

Dawson Crispin ’93 Sarah and I had a daughter, Alice, born on the 9th July 2007 to join our son Harry (24th March 2005).

Turner Mike ’87 I am a partner at 3i group in London doing private equity deals and recently launched a new fund for them which invests in quoted companies. On the personal side I have a one year-old daughter called Scarlett, and am married to Nicola.

Dunster Charlie ’88 After ten years at Mars, I am moving to join CocaCola in Hammersmith! Still playing cricket for Winchmore Hill and have been dragged in to help with coaching children in cricket and rugby at Beaconsfield.

Hogan Canice ’88 I am just about hanging on to a job at Lehman Brothers. I have two children, Saskia aged 7 and Talitha aged 5. I am living near Midhurst in West Sussex and much enjoying life in the country.

Collini Mark ’89 Still trying to keep broadcasters under control at Ofcom, whilst enjoying Scottish reeling and a spot of culture at weekends. Getting away whenever possible and looking forward to teaching little Joseph, my nephew, to ski!

Fincham-Jaques Dickon '93 I am working in Wealth Management in the City. I am also still in touch with Worth a bit through the Lay Community of St.Benedict.

Nivelles Guy ’93 (his news sent in by father, Patrick). Guy got married last August. The wedding was just outside New York at Peasantdale Chateau. His American bride Christine (nee Mclean) has been living in France and they are setting up home in Paris (where we have French relatives). Christine is now pregnant and expecting next August!

Dewberry Michael ’94 I am living in Central London with my partner and working as a Social Worker in drug and alcohol psychotherapeutic based rehab. Hard work but rewarding!

Holloway Nat ’94 My wife Kate had our second child, Christie Janina on 18th May 2007. She and her two year-old brother Oli are doing brilliantly.

Hurley Dean ’94 I have recently moved jobs and now working for Fujitsu in Telford, while living in Portsmouth and continue playing rugby for WOBS RFC.

Gairdner Julian ’89 I got engaged to Melissa Fuentes on 8 December 2007. The wedding will be in July 2008.

Pollen Will ‘94 I married Jen Kyte on December 15th 2007 in Hale Barns Chapel, Cheshire.

Robinson Eddie (Dobbo) ’89 Still running Robinson Estate Agents in Maidenhead, Berkshire. Would love to hear from any Worth old boys (especially if they have a 5-bedroom detached house with 3 acres of land within 10 minutes of Maidenhead!) Helen and I are still busy with both of our boys – Tim (May 2004) and Jamie (June 2006).

Kasanda Peter ’95 Currently living in Munich working as a finance lawyer for Norton Rose LLP. I am returning to London in March 2008.

Watts Mike '89 I am still teaching English at St.Benedict's School in Ealing. Two small boys keep us busy at home.

Ross George ’95 Sandra and I are delighted to announce the arrival of Emily Anna on 10th January 2007. A sister for Oliver.

Stevens Simeon ’95 I married Joy in July 2005, which was followed by a three-month honeymoon in South America. We now live in Putney.

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News in Brief

News in Brief

Hooper Charles ’80 Having travelled and lived around some beautiful parts of the world – it is somewhat ironic that I now live only a couple of miles from Worth Abbey! After more than 20 years in the advertising industry I retrained at University of Greenwich in 2001-05 and am now a Landscape Designer based in Turners Hill. I create outdoor spaces for people - be they personal gardens or larger public spaces. I have designed gardens for clients in London, the home counties and in France & Italy. Most recently I designed a landscape scheme for a 10 ha housing development in Trinidad! The symbiosis of man and nature, the ever changing elements and the ‘sense of place’ are all vital factors for my inspiration. Creating environments for living, entertaining, working, meditating or playing constantly provide me with rewarding challenges. I would be delighted to hear from any old Worth boys or their families and friends who wish to discuss the opportunities in redesigning their gardens. I can be contacted on 07957 621 672 or via e-mail: charles@charleshooper.com

Di Mascio Corrado ’96 I married Jessica Louise Kenny at St. Swithin’s Church, Holmesfield, on Friday 3rd November 2006. We now have a beautiful baby girl, Isabella Florence, born on Saturday 12th January 2008.

Match for Cambridge University. This year, 2007, I acquired the record number of Blues by a Cambridge University Cricketer, currently with 5.

With one more year to go, there is the potential to put the record out of sight!

Micallef-Eynaud Andrew ’96 I married Katia Braumueller in the south of France on July 28th 2007. David Micallef-Eynaud (B’98) was my best man and gave a thoroughly embarrassing speech.

Sanders Hugo (Monrad) '00 I am working in the City at JP Morgan and living in Fulham. I continue to climb in the Alps and Norway with the aim to move to Chamonix (well, in my dreams!!!) I am also training to be an international mountain guide.

Carson Eoin ’97 Having finished AMA to Command 19 Light Brigade, I am now Adjutant of the 5th Battalion The Rifles, stationed in Germany, with another tour of Iraq on the horizon!

Kenney Alex ’97 I am living in London and working in Management Consultancy for Financial Services firms.

Maguire Gareth ‘97 Genevieve and I moved to Dublin in October. We will be here for a while and it would be great to hear from any Irish old boy for golf / fishing / Guinness!

Morales Rai '97 I graduated as an architect in 2004 and moved to New York to work as an architect there for a year and a half. I moved back to Chile in 2006 and got married in 2007.

Morgan Richard ’97 I have just returned from six months in Baghdad where I have been working in the US Embassy for a British Brigadier responsible for all the medium and long term planning in Iraq.

Simpson Edward ’97 I got married to Sareeta in April 2007. Jamie Bentley did a fantastic best man speech! I have now been working in property for the last seven years and am currently based in Chelsea. I am also planning on running my third London Marathon next year.

Sumpter Lucian ’97 I am engaged to Joanne and we are getting married in Ravello, Italy in September 2008.

Albert Simon ’98 I am still serving with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards in Germany. In February 2008 I am due to go to Afghanistan for a six-month posting – hopefully returning to England in late 2008. Life is still enjoyable!

Barnett Ollie ’98 I left the Army (Scots Guards) in June after five years.

I have since started working in private banking at C Hoare & Co which is pretty different but really enjoyable. I have been playing for the WOBS rugby club, though they seem to have started winning since I stopped playing! I went to Richard Gairdner's (StB’98) wedding in September which was great fun. My brother, Sam (C’97), is very well and he has just left the Law to work in banking at Close Brothers.

Knight Matt '98 I am currently working as a senior house officer in General Hospital medicine. Still in touch with Peter Gibbon (C‘98) and went (as godparent) to his first son Nathaniel's baptism. I am also in touch with Chris Lamb (R’01) amongst others. I have recently had my first piece of research published and won a prize for my research in Endocrinology. I am now working in North London and living in Belsize Park, NW3. It would be great to see anyone in the area for a drink and I would love to hear from anyone who remembers me!

2000s Cloud Andrew ’00 I got engaged to Natalie Travers in February 2007 and we are planning to marry in July 2008.

Harrison Jack ’00 Ten of us Worth old boys ventured out to Berlin to catch up with fellow old boy Andy Tyler (G’00) who is trying his luck as a musician with www.myriadcreatures.com Heywood James ’00 I am entering the third and final year of my PhD on ‘Ruminant Dental Morphology’ – aiming to reconstruct the diets of extinct ruminants using the morphology and diets of currently living animals. Also playing plenty of cricket (probably too much or at least that’s what my supervisor says) and still able to play in the Varsity

56 I

Fra’ Andrew Bertie 15/05/1929 – 07/02/2008

Lamb Christopher ’01 Married on January 12th 2008 at Westminster Cathedral by Abbot Christopher. A large Worth contingent was present for the day (including Michael Oakley and Worth Abbey singers).

Working at The Daily Telegraph and living in London.

Thorp James ’01 I am now working for the Disney Channel UK as a Promo Producer which is loads of fun! Still see a few faces, and recently saw James Coutts-Donald (StB’99) and William Harrison (StB’01) at the White Knights Ball. It would be good to get in touch with a few more!

Carew Hunt Tom ’02 I am due to finish postgraduate Theology at St Benet’s Hall, Oxford. I played Real Tennis for the Oxford University team and was college Croquet Cuppers Captain in Trinity Term. I will start teaching Religious Education in a secondary school in September 2008, through TeachFirst.

Cloud Ronan ’02 Having worked at Sony in their Sales and Marketing team I went travelling to South-East Asia and China. I am now writing articles and offering stories to newspapers in my new job within the world of Property PR. Fudakowski Adam ’02 After leaving Cambridge in July 2007, I spent three months in Montpellier learning French and how to fly. I have now started work at the Boston Consulting Group in London.

McAlister Maxwell ’02 Having spent a couple of years in Beijing, I am now back in London working in the asset management industry and nurturing a pot-belly from lack of exercise.

Middlehurst Sam ’02 I graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2006 having spent a year ‘studying’ at the University of British Columbia (Politics and Philosophy - 2:1). I am now working for The Renoir Group as a Management Consultant, based out of the South East Asia Office in Kuala Lumpur. I am currently commuting between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Things could be worse...

Musonda Francis ’02 Currently in Zambia doing Marketing at the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies – working as an event planner and executive assistant – and striving to play in the Zambian rugby senior national team.

Boys Hugo ’03 I finished at Oxford Brookes in June last year with a degree in Retail and Business and have since been working in the London Insurance market for an underwriting company, called Aegis, on a temporary basis with the aim of moving into broking. I started working for the Energy Division of a major insurance broker called Jardine Lloyd Thompson on February 1st 2008 – so mission accomplished. I now live with my sister in a flat in Fulham.

Major Chris ’03 I am in my final semester at the University of Bath and looking forward to starting a career in Management Consulting (if anyone will get on with hiring me!!) I have just returned from a semester exchange at the University of Virginia in America where I had a surprise reunion with Ed Brennikmeyer (G’01) in the Rugby squad.

Fairbourn James ’05 I am competing in Athletics (cross country) at national level, representing both club (Belgrave Harriers) and University. I hope to continue through to international level in the next year to eighteen months.

Grace Daniel ’05 I am now a second year Medic at Kings College London and am captain of the GKT sailing club. I have also released my first 4 track EP for charity on iTunes.

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

The death of Fra’ Andrew Bertie on 7th February 2008 marked the sheathing of a very bright sword. He was, to give him his full title, His Most Eminent Highness (HMEH) the Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, more briefly the Knights of Malta.

This is a religious Order founded in the eleventh century to look after pilgrims to Jerusalem.

The important impact of Fra’ Andrew, the first English Grand Master since 1258, or possibly ever, on the Order has been noted in various public Obituaries but what also needs to be recorded, with huge gratitude, is his contribution to Worth during his twenty-three colourful years here as a member of staff from September 1960 to July 1983.

For the benefit of Worth old boys who came to the school post-1983 and therefore did not know him, Andrew Bertie (pronounced ‘Barty’; cf ‘sergeant’) was a legend in his own lifetime and memories of him abound. He lived in North Lodge – the Good Knight’s Rest – and it was his custom each morning, on his way down to breakfast, to give the fullest possible voice to the Moslem call to prayer - Allah u Akbar. No other Roman Catholic school in England, indeed anywhere, could boast this distinctive feature and it stayed in the memory of many. One Worth old boy, sleeping in an Istanbul hotel and catapulted into consciousness by the muezzin’s hideous shriek from a nearby minaret, leapt out of bed, imagining in his semi-comatose state, that Bertie was nigh. Fra’ Andrew’s additional tactic for rousing Sixth-Formers was to enter each one’s room, put the plug in the basin, turn on the tap, bid the recumbent incumbent good morning and then exit.

Obituary

News in Brief

Cullen Barry '97 After a number of years in the City, I went back to University to study Law and am now undertaking the legal practice course at the College of Law in Guildford. I work as a legal consultant to a number of criminal defence firms and intend to practice as a legally aided solicitor in the fight for social justice. As to life outside study and work, I live with the love of my life, Tallulah Messenger, in our home in Guildford.

Smyth Nick '00 I am currently working at Google which is proving to be very interesting. I have been here for a year and a half working with technology advertisers. I live with my brother (Jonny Smyth, StB’02) on the Wandsworth Bridge Road which has approximately eight other Worth boys living in various houses up and down the road.

He was also famous for his succession of Rolls Royce cars, each with his monogram (he was descended from the Earls of Abingdon on his father’s side and the Marquises of Bute on his mother’s) discreetly on the door. He eventually moved from a Rolls Royce to a Fiat and, when asked why, he replied, “The ashtrays of my Rolls Royce are full”. It was also his custom when parking his car, to leave his driving gloves on the steering wheel in the ten-to-two position so that those passing by had the initially unnerving impression that a ghost was at the wheel.

He was a member of the Modern Languages Department, employed to teach French and Spanish, but he was also more than happy to teach a variety of other languages – Russian, Tibetan and Sanskrit, for example – to anyone who asked him. The classes, on a private pupil basis, would often take place in North Lodge, perhaps in the evening, by which time Fra’ Andrew had changed into leisure wear – namely, judo kit. He might be found sitting in the lotus position and/or have a joss stick burning, perhaps to offset the aroma of the Gauloises he smoked, perhaps to provide a touch of the exotic. A language class in North Lodge might develop into a session on topics such as Buddhism, heraldry, Outer Mongolia, healing, the English aristocracy, horoscopes, dowsing, bilocation,

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Fra’ Andrew Bertie 15/05/1929 – 07/02/2008

And here is an email from David Barder (R’63) which he sent to the Worth Old Boys’ Society office when he heard of Fra’ Andrew’s death.

“Fra’ Andrew Bertie was the most influential teacher in my life. I learned from him that the accumulation of knowledge was a lifelong obligation to oneself. I have often thought fondly about him over the years and how he made my life better for being part of it. He was an inspiration to me and, I am sure, to the thousands who followed me at Worth. His knowledge of the world and mastery of so many languages was like opening an encyclopaedia when you spoke to him. I learnt much about Tibet from him, and have since always been interested in that part of the world. Thank you for all that you gave to me and to all of us who had the honour of knowing you.”

Fencing was his initial sporting activity at Worth.

Besides assisting Father Philip in teaching it, he was also happy to provide transport for the early Fencing teams, driving them to their away fixtures in his Rolls Royce. From Fencing he moved on to Judo (he himself being a Black Belt) which he introduced to the Senior School, initiating generations of Worth boys in the mysteries of Dans and dojos. He was also part of the pastoral scene. He was for many years Assistant Housemaster in Gervase (or in his language, G2) to Father Kevin’s, and then Father Philip’s, G1. On late night duty he often wore a black track suit and carried a black torch. This black-panther look brought some heart-stopping moments to boys who were caught where they shouldn’t be, or doing what they shouldn’t do – but very rarely would he actually impose a punishment. He was much more likely to invite malefactors to behave like sentient beings and gentlemen. His verbal and written communications with the criminal classes tended to be mock-apoplectic.

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Here is a note from Fra’ Andrew to the then Head of School, Andy Stewart (C&B ’67-‘72), on the subject of boys giving other boys cold baths on their birthdays:

“In that case, kindly get off my carpet”. The bubble having been burst – to use the ablative absolute – he gave the boy his fullest and best attention.

23RD MAY 1972 TO: THE HEAD BOY FROM: THE CHEVALIER BERTIE SUBJECT: WATER CLASSIFICATION: OPEN IMMEDIATE

There is a whiff of surprise in the public Obituaries that he chose to become a schoolmaster. Why teach Modern Languages and Judo in a small school in Sussex? Could he not have used his talents in other ways? The simple answer is the correct one. He enjoyed school mastering, he enjoyed Worth and he enjoyed the company of the young. To quote David Barder again : “He always had time for us boys, which we all appreciated’. Indeed; boys have an unerring sense of which members of staff are interested in them and Fra’ Andrew came very high on that list, which is why so many Worth boys sought him out while they were in the school and why, after leaving, they so often asked, “What news of Fra’ Andrew?” And this is why he was so welcoming to Worth old boys visiting Rome, and so prompt in replying to their emails and letters. G2 lived on alongside HMEH.

IT IS INTOLERABLE THAT EVERY TIME THAT SOMEONE SUFFERS A NATAL COLD BATH THE MARKING ROOM OF THE MASTERS’ COMMON ROOM IS INUNDATED STOP PLEASE INFORM THE JUNIOR SOVIET FORTHWITH THAT THIS PRACTICE IS TO STOP IMMEDIATELY STOP UNTOLD POUNDS OF DAMAGE IS DONE TO BOOKS AND PROPERTY AND EVERYONE IS UP IN ARMS STOP ANYWAY WHOLE CEREMONY IS UNCIVILIZED AND BARBARIC AND NOT WORTHY OF THE IDEALS OF THE ENLIGHTENED SOCIALIST PEOPLES’ REFORMED EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM STOP FURTHERMORE COMMA IF ANYONE AT ANYTIME MAKES A MESS IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THEY BE TAUGHT THAT THE CIVILISED COMMA SOCIALIST COMMA ETC COMMA THING TO DO IS TO CLEAR UP PRONTISSIMO STOP INSTANTANEOUS ACTION DEMANDED OR HEADS WILL ROLL COMMA IF THEY ARE NOT ALREADY STOP MESSAGE ENDS He might also play the aristocrat. One morning, on breakfast duty, he took a boy to task for appearing in the refectory in slippers and sent him back to his dormitory to change. The next day Fra’ Andrew himself appeared for breakfast in slippers. Noting this, yesterday’s culprit attempted to hoist our hero with his own petard; but in vain. “There is one law for the rich”, replied Fra’ Andrew, “and one for the poor; one law for adults and one for children; you are poor and a child, I am an adult and rich”.

His bark, apoplectic or aristocratic, was entirely without bite. It was, in fact, a cover for one of the kindest hearts one could hope to encounter. On one occasion a boy came to see him in North Lodge and announced, melodramatically, that life had become intolerable and that he was going to end it there and then by slashing his wrists. To which, unperturbed, Fra’ Andrew replied,

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

A key area of interest for him was care of the sick. The touch of polio he experienced when he was young, may partly explain his abiding concern for those who were ill. Whatever the reason, soon after arriving at Worth in 1960 he began to promote Lourdes pilgrimages and it was he who, in the 1970s, pioneered the transformation of pilgrimages from Worth and Downside into the Order of Malta Volunteers (OMV).

By linking these school groups to his Order’s bishop in Rome, he enabled them to take hospital pilgrims to Lourdes because the rule was ‘no bishop, no hospital pilgrims’.

OMV pilgrimages have been, and remain, key experiences for many Worth boys. Peter Bain, (R’75), now consultant neurologist at Imperial College, London, wrote in an email to Fra’ Andrew in October 2007: “I would like to fondly recall my numerous trips to Lourdes with OMV, of which I was a member during my teens and early twenties. Not only did this give me considerable insight into looking after the sick, but also the realisation that in many ways we are all vulnerable ……many thanks for all that you taught me. Even now I am deeply appreciative of your spirit.”

It was his concern for the sick that prompted Fra’ Andrew to join the Knights of Malta in 1956 and then, in 1981, to become a professed Knight, i.e. to live under vows (it was at this point that he became ‘Fra’ – ‘Brother’). He was soon elected to the Sovereign Council, the Order’s ruling body, and it then became apparent to him that he would have to choose between Worth and Rome. He found this a hard decision, but he felt he must go to where his vows beckoned. He left Worth at the end of the summer term 1983, and five years later he was elected Grand Master of his beloved Order – whose aim is to serve ‘our lords the sick’, which it most signally does. Its 12,500 knights and 85,000 support staff currently work for the relief of suffering world-wide. The Order provides hospitals, hospices and medical services in some 120 countries, and in 2006 it spent $900 million on its works of charity. Of this impressive body Fra’ Andrew was the much loved, and now much-mourned, head and the praises sung of him in the Obituaries are richly deserved.

Obituary

Obituary

how to sharpen razor blades by placing them under a cardboard pyramid. Boys were intrigued and some were positively inspired. Michael Aris (G’64) whose distinguished academic career established him as a leading western authority on Bhutanese, Tibetan and Himalayan culture owed much to Fra’ Andrew’s early influence in the 1960s.

We, at Worth, remember with pleasure that, before serving for twenty years as Grand Master in Rome, he was an Assistant Master here for twenty three years, a civilising and Catholic presence in those vitally important early days. He arrived a year after the Senior School was founded and for almost a quarter of a century he lent unforgettable and inimitable colour and warmth to our lives. We shall not see his like again.

Thank you, dear Andrew, for all that you gave us. You were a very bright star in the Worth firmament. “I think there’s little doubt about his whereabouts now”, wrote one Worth old boy and, to quote another: ‘’Good news for the Almighty, there will not be a dull moment”.

Indeed not.

Father Stephen Ortiger March 2008

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One of my reasons for leaving the state sector was because too many schools are over-preoccupied with the development of utilitarian skills and values which, although important and valuable on one level, rarely encourage the young to reflect and learn at a higher, spiritual level.

What Makes Worth distinctive?

S

ince starting here at Worth on the 1st September 2007, many parents have asked me the question “What made you come to Worth?”

Anne and Gino Carminati

The answer has always been, “Because of the school that it is, and because it is distinctive”. Yet trying to explain precisely what makes Worth distinctive is not always easy. There are always characteristics and elements to any community that are a little elusive and mysterious. Much is to do with the feeling and ethos that abides within the place, and whilst you can describe this to people, you really need to visit and spend some time here to begin to appreciate it.

As someone who has spent much of his career working in state schools and having been the Head of a maintained selective school, I know that the majority of schools do an excellent job – and often in very difficult circumstances. Generally, they are staffed and led by excellent practitioners with high ideals who have a strong commitment to their pupils and their education.

Yet, I cannot help but think that there is a lack of vision and depth in the education that is to be found in the majority of schools. From my experience there is something missing in what is offered to the majority of young people – something which, at Worth, exists in abundance.

From my many visits to different types of schools, it is clear that most are secular and any passing resemblance to having a Christian philosophy, vision or sense of purpose is generally no more than an acceptance of Christianity’s social code of conduct, with perhaps a fleeting act of worship for good measure. The occasional compulsory RE lesson, often merged with a diet of timetabled Citizenship and classes in Personal, Social and Health Education, is about as much consideration as many schools give to a nurturing of faith, spirituality or moral ethics founded on a living and visible religious tradition and philosophy. Christianity is often conveyed as no more than a type of liberal humanism.

One of my reasons for leaving the state sector was because too many schools are over-preoccupied with the development of utilitarian skills and values which,

60 I

although important and valuable on one level, rarely encourage the young to reflect and learn at a higher, spiritual level. Whilst many claim to develop the individual and prize individuality, the reality is that over-emphasis is placed on passing examinations and gaining so called ‘skills for life’. The promotion of spiritual thought and developing an appreciation of the divine in the life of each individual rarely feature as an important aspect in the education offered by most schools.

I would be the first to agree that schools have a duty to ensure that pupils achieve their academic best and are prepared for the world of work and everyday life beyond school. Yet at the same time, examination results alone and the ability to read a railway timetable, change a plug or know how to order a two course meal in French, are insufficient. All these things may be practical and they certainly have value. But are they what we mean by being educated? Is a utilitarian education enough? Does it provide young people with a greater understanding of the human condition, the knowledge and appreciation of belonging to something greater than ones self, or of being one with everything that exists around us? For me the answer is a resounding “No”.

To put it simply, God does not feature in the diet offered by the majority of schools and for the young, therefore, an ability to think, understand and know from a spiritual perspective is absent. The ever increasing move towards secularism minimises the opportunity of the young, and their teachers, to experience life, thought and meaning in a spiritual way and, in turn, reduces the ability to live a spiritual life.

So what does make Worth distinctive? The most obvious feature is that we are a Benedictine catholic school that has 1600 years of spiritual tradition and a very clear educational philosophy based on the teachings of Christ and the Rule of St Benedict.

Examination results and utilitarian skills do not form the basis of this tradition, but neither are they excluded, for we recognise that all we do and achieve is for the greater glorification of God and it is the responsibility of each individual to do their best in all things.

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

A Benedictine catholic education provides a solid philosophical foundation that anchors our reason for being, and provides clear guidance as to how we teach and learn alongside how we should live. An education at Worth is not just about functional utilitarianism in either a practical or social form. It is about seeking meaning and understanding which is driven primarily by nurturing an ability to think spiritually and to open up the mind and the heart.

Of course, like all good schools, Worth encourages and challenges pupils to seek high academic achievement and to develop their individual skills and talents. Being high achieving, having high aspirations and developing the potential of each pupil are a prerequisite of what happens here. Yet, in addition, we also nurture spirituality in order to provide meaning and equilibrium to our lives.

For me, a Worth education is founded on the view that success, achievement and happiness comes first and foremost in developing the spiritual dimension of each person. There is time and space for calm reflection and the realisation that God is an inseparable part of our existence. Our educational philosophy is built upon each one of us coming to understand how we should live out the teachings of the gospel in order to be living examples of Christian love.

Our distinctiveness, therefore, rests on our catholic faith and the Rule of St Benedict as the touchstones of the way in which we live, learn and teach. Service, hospitality, tolerance of things tolerable, fairness, justice, openness, balance, humility, discretion, moderation, love, sacrifice, obedience and the willingness to listen; at Worth, these are not merely words or a list of ‘skills for life’ to be taught in timetabled lessons. They are the language of a visible educational philosophy that underpins the experiences and opportunities offered at the school with an appreciation of our human condition and our relationship with God. We are also fortunate in having a monastery and monastic community that not only provide good role models, but are also the heart-beat of our school community and the embodiment of 1600 years of tradition and development. At Worth, our history is clearly also our present and our future and, above all, it is the foundation of a distinctiveness which has stood the test of time; has provided a philosophy for learning and living; and is the basis of the Worth community which is as individual and distinctive as its pupils.

Gino Carminati, Head Master March 2008

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Worth ’75 A Celebration of Worth’s Past, Present and Future The date 28th September 2008 marks an historic milestone in the diverse and colourful history of Worth School. It will be 75 years, to the day, since the Monastic Office was first celebrated; while 1933 also saw the arrival of the monks and the establishment of Worth Priory by a founding community of monks from Downside Abbey.

From the outset of Worth’s history, there has been a monastery and a school on the campus. The school was originally simply a prep school for Downside School. This situation changed on the 20th September 1959 when the Senior School was founded.

And so, the 28th September 2008 will mark the first day of a full year of celebrations which will run until 20th September 2009.

Worth ‘75 will celebrate not just the past, but also the present and the future of Worth. A key feature of Worth has been, is now, and will continue to be its diversity. This evolving diversity has the Monastery at its absolute heart.

The aim is to celebrate that diversity and seek to strengthen the links between the various constituents of Worth. Besides the monastic community (past and present) and the school (which encompasses past pupils, parents and teachers as well as the current school body), there is the Parish; Outreach Peru; the

Countdown to the Girls’ Arrival

Lay Community of Saint Benedict; the Open Cloister; and the Abbey estate. They will be all linked through Worth ’75 when we will celebrate our history, renew our spiritual and educational work, and look to the future with faith in Christ.

Worth Society has a significant part to play in the celebrations for Worth ’75. I am on the Steering Group as a member of Worth Society’s Committee, and Nick Butterworth and Simon McMenemy are involved in the co-ordinating meetings where all the different constituents attend.

The Worth ’75 Calendar of Events is to be published imminently. Worth Society will take the lead in the organisation of specific events and projects – including a concert featuring the musical and vocal talents of past students, which will take place on Saturday 9th May 2009. There is so much outstanding talent that has emanated from Worth, and it will be a wonderful opportunity to bring everyone together before a capacity audience within the Abbey Church.

We encourage Worth Society members and all past students to participate in the events and projects led by the Society, and also to attend the many other spectacular events which will take place during this historic year for Worth.

Three very important benchmarks have been reached

Hot off the press is the announcement that Mrs

in the path towards the introduction of girls to Worth

Caroline Brown is to join Worth from St Leonard’s

School on Tuesday 2nd September 2008.

Mayfield, where she was a Housemistress and teacher

Building work for More House – the new girls’ house – is well underway; a new Housemistress has been

Yvonne Lorraine, Registrar at Worth, is now turning her

have already been filled.

attention towards September 2009 when a further 25

It was on the 26th November 2007 that the construction company arrived on site to commence refurbishment of the unused boarding accommodation in Austin towards providing boarding and day facilities for a total of 80 students by 2010.

Prep school pupils from the very first year of Worth School in 1933

2008 as the new Housemistress for More House.

appointed; and all of the 32 places available to girls

House. This marked the first in a series of phases

Father Luke Jolly April 2008

of Italian. She arrives at Worth on the 1st September

places will be offered to Year 12 students. By 2010, there will be 80 girls throughout the school aged from 11 to 18 (Years 7 - 13), and a significant number of applications have already been received for both the Junior and Senior schools. Following a number of events specifically aimed at girls, the aim is for Worth to start 2010 with a full cohort of female students in

The first phase involves the refurbishment of the

Year’s 7, 9, 12 and 13.

existing Austin House building, ready for occupation in September 2008. This will provide initial accommodation for boarding and day Sixth Form students, a common room, Housemistress’s office and matron’s room. Phase two will be a new extension on the west side of the building which will provide 16 new study bedrooms and a new main entrance.

Phase three will be another new extension on the

Above: An artists impression of More House – the new girls’ day and boarding house Caroline Brown (left), the new Housemistress for More House – talks to the new Year 12 girls at the Welcome Morning held at Worth on Saturday 1st March 2008

north; this will complete the plan and provide more study bedrooms, small dormitories and a flat for an assistant Housemistress.

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Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 63

Below: Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee Bottom: On the Mount of Olives overlooking Jerusalem

A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

A

pilgrimage was being arranged by the Vicar of

with the sail back across the lake to our hotel on the

nearby Horsted Keynes and, as some of the

shore near Tiberias.

party were Catholics, I was asked to join them.

Nothing to organise; a delightful group; all free of cost: I couldn’t possibly refuse.

Was it worthwhile? Yes, most definitely. The company was excellent; and it certainly makes the reading of the gospels come alive, when you are able to visualise and

It was my first visit to the Holy Land, and I had no idea

identify with the Mount of Olives, the Kidron Valley,

what to expect. One of my brethren said it would be

Capernaum and so on. Would I go again? Probably not.

a wonderful and moving experience. So I was a little

I am not a great sightseer at the best of times, but

taken aback when on Day 1 our excellent guide – a

perhaps there was just too much crammed into a nine

local and very knowledgeable Armenian – said to us as

day visit.

we stood on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city, ”Nothing of what you see over there would have been seen by Jesus”.

Father Kevin January 2008

His remark rather shook me: it brought an immediate sense of realism – scepticism? – to the situation and to a degree it coloured most of my impressions of Jerusalem and its immediate surrounds. In my innocence I had expected to tread the same paths that Jesus trod 2000 years ago. But, as our guide pointed out, those are buried under 20 feet of civilisation; and this left me feeling at once removed from what I had come to see. Added to which, there is so much conjecture around – ‘a possible site of ….’ ‘one of the traditional sites of….’ – that I found it difficult to get excited.

But two things really did move me – a visit to the Yad Vashem memorial to the Holocaust and, on our way up country, a visit to a home for boys and girls in Bethany.

The home was founded 40 years ago by the now 83-year old Alice, a remarkable lady who takes in deprived children of any race, background or creed.

What a wonderful life’s work to look back on.

The last three days were spent to the North, by the Sea of Galilee, and it was here that things became much more meaningful for me. Perhaps it was because the lake has remained comparatively unchanged over the Top: Sailing back across the Sea of Galilee to our hotel on the shore near Tiberias

centuries; so that, standing on the shore, I could easily

Above: Eucharist on the lakeside of Tabgha

imagine Jesus calling out to the disciples, “Have you caught anything yet?” And celebrating the Eucharist on the lakeside at Tabgha was an amazing experience,

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Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

I 65

Worth Old Boys—the second generation: April 2008 Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Current Year

House

Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Current Year

House

(house, year left)

Bernard

Patrick

13

Bisgood

Thomas

Bisset

Oliver

Clyde-Smith Cruz Doyle Marcos Metcalf

Father’s name

Father’s name

St Bede’s

Andrew (C’81)

Neville Smith

Alexander

11

St Bede’s

12

Rutherford

Patrick (G’70)

Neville Smith

William

10

St Bede’s

David

12

Butler

Niel (B’77)

Noel-Hill

Michael

10

Rutherford

Steve (StB’74)

Benjamin

10

St Bede’s

Julian

Pickard

Rory

10

St Bede’s

Simon (StB’78)

Thomas

13

Butler

Simon (B’81)

Riley

Antony

12

Rutherford

Alastair (G’71)

James

13

Chapman

David (B’74)

Watson

Edward

12

St Bede’s

John (StB’70)

Ferdinand

9

Austin

Ferdinand (R’74)

Whelpton

Harry

10

Rutherford

Charles (B’74)

James

9

Gervase

Nicholas (R’75)

(house, year left)

David

Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Proposed start date

Bayles

Sebastian

2017

Coffin

Jessica

2008

Elwes

Barnaby

2012

Elwes

Jasper

2009

Elwes

Samuel

2010

Hamilton-Deeley

James

Harries Harries

Year group

Father’s name (house, year left)

Pupil Surname

Christian Name

Proposed start date

Year group

(house, year left)

9

Simon (B’90)

Murphy

Hugh

2009

9

John (B’77)

12

Christopher (G’73)

Owers

Samuel

2008

9

Paul (G’81)

9

Benedict (G’81)

Pickard

George

2010

9

Gregory (S’81)

made payable to Worth Society to Olivia Henley, Secretary, Worth Society, Worth School,

9

Benedict (G’81)

Pickard

James

2008

9

Simon (S’78)

Paddockhurst Road, Turners Hill, West Sussex RH10 4SD.

9

Benedict (G’81)

Quigley

Alexander

2014

9

Donal (R’81)

2008

9

Gavin (R’70)

Stordy

Ciaran

2010

12

Jonathan (S’81)

Remember to add an additional £3.00 for postage and packing.

Toby

2010

7

David (G’80)

Wheeler

Ruan

2008

8

James (C’68)

William

2010

9

David (G’80)

Wild

Tobias

2008

7

John (C’70)

Woolgar

Edward

2009

9

Dermot (G’83)

Montgomery

Archie

2010

9

Guy (C’83)

Morrissey

Frederick

2015

9

Patrick (R’84)

Father’s name

We have extended the range of Worth Society Merchandise available for you to buy.

We hope you like it!

Merchandise

Children of Old Boys—registered at Worth: April 2008

Wearing the Society Colours If you would like to order any item/s, then please either : 1. Complete your details below, indicating the items you would like and send a cheque

2. Visit the Merchandise section of the Worth Society website and purchase items there using PayPal.

Ties @ £20.00 each: 100% smooth navy silk with Worth cross and crown motifs embroidered onto the navy background

Worth Old Boys—university places gained 2008 Name

University

100% smooth silk navy blue, Worth blue and gold striped tie

Course

Name

University

Course

Christopher Andreotti-Cohen Winchester

Drama

Thomas Mitchell

Bristol

English and Philosophy

Thomas Ballard

Durham

Chemistry

James Moir

Oxford Brookes

History of Art

Ben Bartleet

Westminster

Commercial Music Performance

Andrew Morris

Leeds

History

Jonathan Morris

Royal Agricultural College

Rural Land Management

Charles Binder

Exeter

Law

Teddy Noel-Hill

Sussex

International Relations

Alex Blake

Sheffield

English and Music

Findlay Parke

College of William and Mary Social Sciences

100% reppe silk navy blue, Worth blue and gold striped tie

Enamel Cufflinks @ £30.00 per pair:

Nicholas Boyd-Gibbons

Edinburgh

Engineering

Alexander Parry

Leeds

History

Douglas Brown

Manchester

History

Each pair comes in its own presentation box and is available with

Lawrence Perks

Aberdeen

Kelvin Chan

LSE

Accounting and Finance

Celtic Civilisation and Gaelic Studies

chain-link or T-bar fitting

Christopher Cheeseman

Exeter

Philosophy and Theology

Matthew Pierce

Edinburgh

Biochemistry

Thomas Corstjens

Kings College, London

Business Management

Freddie Pritchard

Newcastle

History

Edward De Mott

Sussex

Engineering

Daniel Ruhlmann

Munster

Law

Matthew Doggett

Cambridge

Natural Sciences

Guy Salimbeni

Cambridge

Natural Sciences

Polo Shirt @ £15.00:

Sean Dwyer

Trinity College, Dublin

Economics & Philosophy

Florian Schacker

Swansea

Law and Economics

Joshi Eichner

Cambridge

History

Max Schaefer

Anglia Ruskin

Business Management

Navy blue 100% cotton Polo Shirt with Worth cross and crown motif embroidered

Grant Elliott

Oxford Brookes

Biology

Timothy Spiers

Durham

History

Christopher Geoghegan

Leeds

Portuguese and Spanish

Warwick Symcox

Cardiff

English Literature

Zheng Guo

Cambridge

Computer Science

James Talty

Kings College, London

Ancient History

Large

George Gwilliam

Cardiff

History

Fan Ting

York

Adam Hall

Brunel

Foundations of Engineering

Accounting, Business Finance Management

Extra Large

Edward Hall-Smith

St. Andrews

History of Art and Italian

Yu Ting

Alexander Hiam

Bristol

Music

Royal Holloway, University of London

Computer Science with Management

Josef Huwiler

Imperial

Mechanical Engineering

Javier Triay

Northumberland

Law

Toby Ingram

University of West England

Business Studies with Marketing

Carl Philip von Croy

Maastricht

European Law

Edward Wheeler

Harper Adams

Jack Jenkins

Leeds

Music

Agriculture and Mechanisation

Craig Jones

Manchester

Medicine

Alex Williams

Manchester

History and Sociology

Cream pottery tankard decorated with the cross and crown on one side and a line

Gabriel Wong

City

Air Transport Engineering

drawing of the main school building on the other, both illustrations in blue

Keith Wong

Warwick

Economics

Tom Wood

Oxford

European and Middle Eastern Languages

Freddie Little

University of West England

Real Estate

Martin Ma

Kings College, London

Economics and Maths

Luke MacWilliam

Sheffield

Geography

John Magee

Oxford Brookes

Hotel and Restaurant Management

James Manning

Nottingham

Francesco Manzi

University College, London History

Economics

Thomas Marsden

Reading

Chain-link

in gold on left-hand side – available in Large or Extra Large

Pottery Tankard @ £9.00:

Tom Woodman

Loughborough

Management Sciences

Order total = £

Alex Young

Newcastle

Economics and Business Management

Name:

Ali Yousseff

Durham

Business

Investment and Finance in Property

Worth Society Life

Life and Times of Worth Old Boys

The Old Place

+ £3.00 p&p = £ Address: Postcode:

Please note these details were correct at time of going to press.

Telephone:

66 I

T-bar

Email:

I 67