A little about me
I was at CLS from 1954 to 1962. Having started in OG, come up through the
B stream and the Science 6th I read Chemistry at UMIST but with the aid of my tutors immediately thereafter decided that my skills and preferences were more financial than scientific.
I joined the accountancy firm of Charles Comins & Co as a trainee and qualified as a chartered accountant in January 1969, becoming a partner in August 1971. A number of mergers followed causing the business to be rebranded as first Fraser Russell and then Baker Tilly. I remained there until my retirement in March 2009 and continue still as a part time consultant.
At school I found that playing sport for the school teams gave me a significant degree of flexibility over homework so I played lots of sports, Rugby, Cricket, Eton Fives, Boxing and even for a while I was on the junior chess team.
Sports for the Old Cits were firstly Rugby which I played till damage caused my retirement at age 40, also Eton Fives and Cricket for a while.More latterly I joined the Golf Society and hope to play more with them this year. Unfortunately skiing is not a JCC sport - I've almost done as many years skiing as I have paid annual subs to the Club.
The Last Post - 17 November 2010
My last Blog post as President of the JCC.
17 November
Preparations are well in hand for the AGM and Supper next week 24 November at CLS when I expect to welcome many members, report on the club's activities over the year and of course introduce our next President.
12 November
The Remembrance Day Parade at CLS. The CLS CCF provided the guard and the band in full uniform to honour the fallen of many many wars. David Levin and I laid wreaths on behalf of the School and the Old Boys. A very solemn service, attended by many parents and friends but for an ever present reason that we should continue to remember others sacrifices for our safety.
1 November
The Lord Mayor's Prize Giving held at Guildhall was as ever a tour de force. However we were provided with excellent sustenance by a very delightful lunch beforehand. The list of prize winners is very long and Gary Griffin very ably and accurately reads out all the winners and their respective prizes. I wonder whether he puts his voice into training beforehand.
In the abscence of the Lord Mayor on duty in India, Lord Peter Levene, Old Citizen, permanent Govenor, former Lord Mayor stood in Locum Tenens, presented the prizes with many a word to the recipients and spoke of the value of some custom and formality in our lives. Ed Stroud, Head Boy, gave the address in praise of John Carpenter with great aplomb and a new twist on a well rehearsed topic. The Headmaster presented a very robust and continuously improving picture of the school, it's results, it's activities and it's culture.
September and October 2010
Preparations are in place for the forthcoming AGM in November and also for the club's Annual Dinner to be held in the Old School Great Hall on 24 March 2011. There is a limit on the number who can attend this event and I urge early application.
18 October
Another exceptional fencer received his International Honours Tie last Monday. Jack Horrix who at the Great Britain Championships won the Under16 Sabre Championship title earlier this year was taken into an elite training squad. He represented GB in a recent event that gave me the opportunity and privilege of presenting him with his tie in front of the school assembly to a huge ovation. That became the fourth tie to be presented this year, two going to fencers. What a fantastic year!
14 October
The April 2010 Accounts were presented to the General Committee but that was not the most important item on the agenda. Finalising and approving the mechanisms and people that will manage the club's affairs in a more effective way going forward was essential to implimenting the vision for the future that had so involved all of us for some time, and I believe we have achieved that. We have also agreed and are implimenting an upgrade of our website to be able to manage members areas and better communicate with them. The work of the ARO underpins the expansion of our active involvement with all Old Cits, and careers events for finance, law and engineering are a current focus.
Brian Millo has for many years been the editor of the Gazette, which was predominently the voice of the club and reflected the communications from members. This has been a tour de force given the need for three publications a year. Brian has decided to retire from that office and it was entirely appropriate for me at the meeting to express the unreserved and heartfelt thanks of all of us for his talented approach and unstinting endeavour.
This made for a somewhat emotional moment, enhanced when I expressed my own enormous thanks to everyone for their fantastic support of my presidential year. A stupendous amount of commitment and care from every member of the committee has gone into the transformation of our club, that can only have come from individuals whose hearts are in the welfare of the JCC, Old Citizens generally and the School. This cannot be costed nor should it be, but it is exceptional and should be recognised. I shall say some more about that at the forthcoming AGM (24 November 2010)
20 September
Yet another International honour awarded to a CLS pupil. There was a twist this time in that Ben Waterman an 800 metre runner had reached the same time "on conversion" as Barrie Savory had done back in 1958 for 880 yards. It was great fun to have Barrie present the tie to Ben and acknowledge that although they then shared the record he would expect Ben to surpass it next season. Ben represented England at both 800 and in the 4x400 relay, gaining a gold in the latter and is now ranked 5th in the country. Not bad for someone only in his second full season!
Your committees continue to make sigificant progress in making the operation of the club efficient and effective in meeting the needs of all the members and particularly the younger groups and those seeking employment or guidance on careers.
An update on the Presidents' dinner was that it was a resounding success, we were treated exceptionally well by the JP Morgan staff and enjoyed an excellent meal. We were also able to re-visit the Great Hall with all its honours boards. Three of our number had mentions therein and another three owned up to walking across the highest beams of the hall.
Summer 2010
13 September 2010
This is a very busy week in prospect as today is a Steering Committee meeting to confirm the focus of the ARO for the coming year. Tonight is a 1917 Society meeting and dinner, tomorrow is a General Committee meeting and Wednesday is a dinner for Past Presidents of the club and the current committee. I am delighted to report that we will be dining in the Old School Library which is part of the JP Morgan complex at Victoria Embankment. This opportunity has only recently arisen and we are delighted also to have arranged for the next JCC Annual Dinner (24 March 2011) to be held in the Great Hall there. JP Morgan have looked after this landmark building beautifully, and it's a joy and a privilege to be allowed back. I hope you will all realise and share this special event by booking early and attending.
Whilst the summer brings holidays for the CLS pupils, much work still goes on and also within the JCC. Karen Sage (ARO) has been working on finding more contact details for OCs with whom we had lost contact by emailing lists of those names to others of a similar age group. If you have contact with OCs please endeavour to make sure Karen has those details. Phillip Everett the Director of Finance at CLS has advised that there are 127 new JCC members arising from those leaving CLS in July
Golf
The Old Citizens Golfing Society had its centenary last year and I had promised to make a greater effort to attend some more events. Swinley Forest ( 9 July) is a long time favourite for the club and for me. The Berkshire (1 Sept) is a new course to me and I had the pleasure of playing off first with the Captain David Lidgate. David and I had very many years ago played in the same OC Rugby team, as I had with others present or at cricket.
Partly because of the previous membership rules the club lost sight of and contact with old boys who were not JCC members. The current regime offers us the opportunity to keep in touch with the modern generations of leavers who automatically become members for life. However actually remaining in touch is a time-consuming and perhaps endless task. We have tried to copy the best of other former pupils associations by being involved with Facebook, Twitter, and Friends Reunited etc, but more particularly we have sought more direct help from a small, obviously social group out of those leaving to be OC Champions. I had some fun lunching with the four chosen this year, having to split it between two dates to accommodate their busy lives.
May and June 2010
23 June
My congratulations and praise to those of many others for the production of Bugsy Malone . The innovative use of the theatre space and slick changes of scene were all very much in keeping with the splendid acting and singing of the performance itself. In the original Alan Parker film even the furniture was scaled down to be in keeping with size of the children. These actors had so much personality we did not notice they were even a modest amount below full grown.
The Forward Planning of events for reunions of year groups, business sector groups and the Annual Dinner 2011 proceed at pace under the capable control of Karen Sage our ARO. Her appointment has been the piece of magic that has transformed the level of interaction of OCs. There are still many who are not in contact and she and others are working hard to improve our coverage. Read her blog for more information. You can help by encouraging other OCs that you know to be in contact and reintroduce their OC friends. We are particularly interested in keeping contact with university students and by offering advice and assistance in many forms with careers, we and CLS are hoping to fulfil one of the important pledges of our objectives. If you are at university would you like to keep in touch with your fellow OCs there? Please call Karen. The most recent reunion was for 2000-2003 leavers on 14 June at CLS where I was able to meet the son of one of my former class mates going back to OG. More of which another time.
10 June
The big event for the School Bursary Appeal is the Tate Modern Charity Dinner held every other year. This time on 10th June the event was not only a great social success but an enormous financial one achieving contributions from many different sources including some extremely generous ones from Old Citizens to raise well over £200,000, more than twice that of the previous time. A special thanks to Sam and Michael Akinfala and Bernard Silverman, all former pupils and bursary boys, who kindly agreed to speak at the Dinner. And to the School Jazz band for their entertainment at the reception. Given the importance of having a very mixed population at school with pupils attending on the basis of merit not wealth this helps hugely to secure that culture for the school. The work of the trustees in raising these funds is indeed richly rewarded by this level of response.
25 May
I took a little breather in May as OC and CLS activity levels were down and holidayed in France to return refreshed for the OC's Entrepreneurs evening on 25 May, except that having not rechecked the venue, I turned up to the wrong place and thus never arrived. Apparently, however my abscence made no difference to the enjoyment of all who did attend and their appreciation of the efforts of Simon Cummin and Tim Levene, to get this group off the ground.
April 2010
28 April 2010
The Brass Band Concert was, of course, a display by all ages of their accomplishments, to the delight of all who attended. There were some stunning solos showing real talent from a number of prize winners. I was particularly impressed with the number of trombonists. We were told this was one of the poorer supported instruments nationally, but clearly CLS has a very large and talented contingent. Music at CLS is clearly very important and hugely supported with apprently well over 50% of boys taking at least one musical instrument. Alongside this too, are the choirs of significant merit.
27 April
The Strategy Group made its first report back to the General Committee on 27 April and continues its excellent work to progress the implementation of the ideas and thoughts that drove our changes. Bruce was also able to update the Headmaster and the joint steering group at their meeting the following day. After which I went to the CLS Brass Band Concert in the great hall.
22 April
Previously unknown to me OCs attended a reunion for the 1973(+-) leavers on 22 April. This was prompted by the work being done by Karen our ARO and other reunion events, but was organised by Nigel Primmer and Koolesh Shah and attended by circa 20. The whole event was hosted at the Indigo Hotel Paddington. Many thanks for an excellent event to Koolesh, who is MD of that hotel group. Like a number of year groups, we are struggling to get up to date contact details, please help by letting us have the contact details of all OCs you are still in touch with unless you know for sure that we already have them.
2 April
Opportunities to catch up with OCs happily occur in the most unusual places. I had been invited by old friends to attend a chamber concert not far from my french house on a recent visit to France. One of the chamber group was cellist Alice Neary, daughter of Martin Neary, former President of the JCC. Having heard that whilst I was away Martin had celebrated his 70th birthday in fine style with a concert at St John's Smith Square, in aid of one of the charities he supports, at which Alice was of course a major participant, I was in touch with Martin to congratulate him. I hope we may get some photos of the event.
March 2010
I have found time to go skiing and just returned. Apart from a general lack of fitness everything went very well with weather, accommodation etc. However spending time with an even older OC, Paul (Sooty) Tout, amongst others, was a revisit of holiday experiences many years back and the banter has not changed in the least. So its still true that growing old is inevitable but growing up is entirely optional.
The feed back from the Mahiki event on 24th was excellent. Clearly many delighted OCs gathered and enjoyed a great evening. This was clearly one for the younger members and congratulations to Isaac Livne, Sam Spring and Tim levene. Since this was a first of its kind there were many useful suggestions for subsequent events as well.
Facebook is clearly the 'new network' and we are hoping to encourage all up-coming leavers to join the 'Class of 2010' page and keep in touch readily this way.
18 March 2010
I recommend that future Presidents of the JCC find accommodation close by. Fortunately I live only a short tube ride away and was back at school for the Winslow Boy, a Terence Rattigan play set pre first world war. Every part of this production was highly professional, from the welcome at the front entrance to the organisation of refreshments at the interval, the beautifully produced and interesting programme, and of course the set, the lighting, stage management and direction. The evening was capped by stunning performances by the lead roles and top class performances from all the other actors.
Brian and Doreen Winterflood are not only the benefactors that provided the theatre in which these events can be staged but they are great supporters, attending many if not most productions, and providing even more encouragement, if that were needed! These combined efforts of the boys and the girls of the two City of London Schools should be in everyone's calendar!
17 March 2010
The largest voluntary CCF corps in the country in four main groups, Infantry, Signals, Navy and Air Force being inspected in a central city school location makes for a tight fit. Add to that the seemingly hundreds of parents and friends supporting, and the school was teeming with activity.
The enthusiasm of the cadets was evident commented the inspecting officer Squadron Leader James Rickard, an OC. It is important to recognise, he went on to report to the assembled company, that the main purposes of the CCF were not military but for the wider education and training and broader experience of school boys.
As an invited guest the School also provided me with lunch, and I have come to realise the catering at CLS is excellent. The catering staff seem to recognise me too! I must be feeding well! With Martin Clement on one side and Gary Griffin on the other I could have expected the very cheery time we enjoyed.
10 March 2010
Holding our Annual Dinner at the House of Lords was always going to be special, even if the last postponed one was only six months back. It is also a privilege for the President to host the occasion. Peter, Lord Levene, kindly sponsored us again and it was a pleasure to have him and Wendy attend.
Our main guest and speaker was Oliver Letwin MP. He spoke about the importance of science in education and its application in the standings that UK has in exporting to the rest of the world, when Financial Services have taken such a battering. He also characterised education at school, in addition to being a training and preparation for the wider world, as a cultural involvement for the better life of the individual and our society generally.
It is always a joy to hear about the school and its achievements and the latest huge success in getting 29 boys to Oxbridge, a record. David Levin is also to be congratulated on his forthcoming role as Chairman of the Headmasters Conference, a major national role.
A full house appeared to enjoy the event and I was able to greet all OCs as members of the John Carpenter Club for the first time. Nearly seventy availed themselves of the opportunity to have a tour of the Houses of Parliament, or at least those parts that were currently open to the public - both Houses were sitting.
4 March 2010
Getting through a General Committee meeting in 90 mins seems impossible because there is such a large agenda and so many reports to consider. Trying to make our work more effective was one of the matters I had raised with the Strategy Group and hopefully receiving reports before the meetings will assist, but it is essential that the committee has the opportunity to share as much of what is happening as possible. Support for the initiatives at School and our sustained involvement in them is at the forefront of our activity.
February 2010
26 February 2010
I have asked Bruce Todd to head up a Strategy Group to look at what we as a club need to do and how we were to achieve it. This group met on Friday and has set itself some outline topics to address.
25 February 2010
It was the turn of the Creative Industries Group. This is not as large as some of the other professional groups but none the worse for that, there was a splendid turnout. Those still at university were again able to mix easily with their peers and benefit from anecdotes and advice and enjoy the company of contemporaries. We were paricularly delighted that Michael Apted, who is in London finishing the latest in the Narnia series was able to be involved too. Because he lives in USA he had apparently not been back to the School for years. I hope other usually far flung OCs will also be enticed to return to some of these event. I am also hoping that the contact details of those who have offered their help in advice and mentoring will shortly be more widely broadcast on the web. John Emerson whose range of experience in the business side of "the Media" is huge, particularly wanted me to mention his commitment to these initiatives.
22 February 2010
I have talked earlier about the Alumni Steering Committee, its role and the personnel associated with it. The update we received from Karen Sage (ARO) and Nigel Baglin (Careers) was enormously encouraging and demonstrated the positive reception for these events which are designed to bring together OCs from every walk of life and every generation.
16 February 2010
One of the pleasures of being President is the privilege of being invited to share in the events of other similar institutions. Many years back now, when the Mercers School (1959) closed, a number of boys finished their schooling at CLS. Also particularly the cricket teams have benefited over many years from the participation of many Old Mercers. I attended the Old Mercers Club lunch held at the Mercers Company Hall in Ironmonger Lane. The building had been bombed during the Second World war and it is a tribute to the Company that the restoration is so magnificent. The lunch itself mirrored the elegant surounding and of course wonderful company. Howard Stephens their President and his wife Celia are to be our guests at the JCC House of Lords dinner on March 10.
12 February 2010
With some considerable help from my friend Alan Willis I think I am now able to populate my own blog at least with text. The next lesson may improve my capabilities. Alan, amongst many other talents, is our guiding light on websites and electronic opportunities as well as being the founder of the JCC element of the bursary appeal.
4 February 2010
The Financial Sector interest group met at CLS on Thursday 4 February. Over fifty people gathered for this networking and reunion event. Any reserve about the state of the economy was very soon drowned in the melee of bonhomie and chat, food and drink.
A number of OCs had not visited the school for a long time and some never at Upper Thames Street so there was a large up-take on the offer of a tour guided by two excellent Prefects. The Headmaster, Nigel Baglin (Careers Master) and I made short welcoming addresses which interrupted the flow of conversation almost not at all.
A key objective of these evenings is to provide on going careers support post school. Another is to give those about to start out in a career the opportunity of meeting more experienced OCs, and get some advice or even help with the tricky area of getting started.
This too worked well and a number of undergraduates, some of whom had travelled significant distances, appeared to have met very helpful responses to their needs. Many thanks to all those who were able to offer their advice, work experience opportunities and jobs. We hope that a range of mentor/mentee relationships may also emerge.
I met up with some friends I had not seen for many years and cannot stress enough the need for us all to search our memories and our contact lists for all our OC contacts as the Club's database of contact details has very significant holes in it.
1 February 2010
I was delighted to have been invited to the whole senior school assembly to present "International Honours" ties to William Moore (fencing) and Joshua Cavendish (chess). Both are in the 2nds (aged 11-12) and their achievements for GB are even more remarkable as they were punching well above their weight. William fences Sabre in the under 19s and Joshua is in the under 16 category. Their achievements were recognised to thunderous applause.
January 2010
26 January 2010
The General Committee meeting had been postponed from earlier in the month because the adverse snow conditions made it very difficult for members to travel. Much of the business of the evening was focused upon our own and particularly Karen Sage's efforts to contact and re-engage with younger members of the club. Fostering the relationship with leavers and being able to keep in contact through their university/medical school careers is critical to the long term success of the Club.
The ARO reported that the focus on sector group meetings and reunions of age groups continues to be a forum in which we make progress in attracting members to participate. In particular there had been the 87/88/89 leavers reunion the previous evening which attracted a lively 20+ OCs.
25 January 2010
A lively evening with those of the 87/88/89 leavers who were able to turn up. Catering for an uncertain number sometimes provides a significantly larger opportunity to eat and drink. Tonight was such an occassion. Gary Griffin gave an update on CLS matters and Nigel Baglin reported on the careers activitities being enhanced and promoted at CLS and supported by the JCC. I reiterated the need for further support for the
Bursary Appeal if the schools culture and ethos are to retain the benefits of a high value mix of ability regardless of background.
December 2009
Seasonal Greetings to all. Following recent rule changes all OCs now have automatic membership of the JCC. I am therefore even more delighted to send my warmest best wishes for the Season and the New Decade to many more members of the JCC.
There may be some OCs reading this blog who did not receive this greeting by email. That means we don't have your current email address. Please help our communication with you by letting Karen Sage know your current address.
17 December 2009
CLS Carol Concert. There can be few more uplifting experiences at this time of the year, regardless of one's religious affiliations, than the joyous Carol Concert in which I have just been privileged to participate in the beautiful and historic Temple Church.
The CLS choir naturally benefits from the combined stunning treble voices of the choristers of the Chapels Royal and the Temple Church and many others too. It also demonstrated a breadth and depth of quality in the other more mature voices to provide a complete, powerful and vibrant sound under the compelling and encouraging direction of Paul Harrison, not only in the hymns we all sang, but in the variety of carols undertaken by the choir.
All the soloists performed admirably and special thanks are also due to those who read the seven lessons from a pupil in OG to the headmaster.
8th December 2009
OC Legal Dinner at the Reform Club. Where else but at the Reform would you expect to hear a very personal review of some of the key issues concerning Human Rights and their application to us all at a very individual and yet also a global level. Lord Frank Judd (CLS 1945-53) allowed us the privilege of sharing some of his inner thoughts. The dinner was attended by 25+ OCs from across the legal spectrum and it was a pleasure to meet up with old friends and those I perhaps may have remembered from my days at CLS.
7 December 2009
The CLS presentation in the Winterflood Theatre of Richard III was as ever excellent and a tribute not only to the cast but to the directors, producers, designers and stage management. Daniel Bratt’s performance as the misshapen and evil Richard was a tour de force and the many other powerful contributions from the boys and ladies from CLSG combined to provide us with a riveting and memorable evening.
I had the pleasure also of meeting other guests notably the Masters and their wives of the Glovers Company (Oliver Holmes) and the Carpenters Company (Peter Povey).
2 December 2009
The CLS Alumni Steering Committee recommended the extention of the ARO's working hours from 3 to 4 days, which has subsequently been agreed by the JCC General Committee.
AGM Supper - 25 November 2009
Dining in the Masters Dining Room appeared less formal and even though numbers may have been down a little the usual sense of great camaraderie was ever present. Thanking Bruce for his exceptional two years as President was a great pleasure and I am sure everyone shared my gratitude. It was also an opportunity to thank David Levin for his considerable role both as Headmaster and committed OC not only in the debate but in supporting, promoting and implementing the outcomes from it.
Thanking Bruce for his exceptional two years as President was a great pleasure and I am sure everyone shared my gratitude. It was also an opportunity to thank David Levin for his considerable role both as Headmaster and committed OC not only in the debate but in supporting, promoting and implementing the outcomes from it.
His summary of the School's wellbeing across all its activities was well received and we had the pleasure of being introduced to a number of the senior pupils who represent the School and help to make it run so admirably.
In addition the recession is causing a significant dent in the long term financial support of City institutions for Bursaries at CLS. This is a fundamental ingredient in sustaining the culture of CLS. It's Pay-Back Time! OCs individually need to multiply their support for the
Asquith Bursary Appeal through giving regularly to the JCC collection scheme.
This requires more individuals to contribute and for those that do to increase their donations. These are charitable donations and give tax relief to donors and tax uplift to the fund. In puting my money where my mouth is I have very recently doubled my own annual donation.
Please help too!
AGM - 25 November 2009
Bruce's presentation of the Committee's activities over the previous year culminating in the new vision and new Rules for Old Citizens was unanimously approved after a minor clarification in the drafting.
My own inauguration as President followed, with the usual exchange of regalia. Not only am I conscious of the honour of representing the Club but I am particularly pleased to be following an exceptional period under Bruce's leadership.
I am committed to supporting enthusiastically the work being undertaken by our new ARO Karen Sage in building more and stronger relationships with all our members - including seeking to provide increasing benefits to all and particularly those in the earlier stages of their careers where historically we have often lost contact.