Scotch College

'Letter to the Editor'

Hi Lethal,

How are you? Thanks for your email.

Yes, the OSCA London branch annual dinner was a fantastic night indeed. Held at the Carlton Hyatt Tower, a magnificent venue, we had a fantastic turnout especially among the 'younger brigade'. All up around 80 old boys and partners turned up in all their splendor to enjoy the occasion.

After reacquainting ourselves with old boys we hadn't seen for a number of years during pre dinner drinks, we moved in for the main part of the evening. The food was beautiful and of course some fine Australian wines were served to boot. I spent much of the evening talking to the guys from '88 - '98 and also with Campbell McComas. We performed some sterling renditions of school songs and one special performance of the school haka led superbly by Jason Andrews (who had to be reminded of the words he had made up all those years ago!). We rounded off the evening with a rendition of 'goodnight ladies' (sung by the 'youngsters') and a classic school war cry. Campbell McComas was his usual funny self and had the audience in fits of laughter. Another highlight was the architect's video of the proposed new music and drama centre which had the Old Boys in awe and wishing they were current boys of the school. It looks magnificent! After the dinner a few of us headed into the West End until the early hours of the morning just to make a really big night of it. Home very late but up again early to head to 'The Oval' to watch the Hawks v. the Dons in the annual London grudge match. It was great seeing some Aussie Rules, even though the game really never got out of first gear. Old Scotch could have beaten either team!! It was like being at the amos, having a kick of the footy during the breaks and listening to the coach's talk. Great day!

All in all, a fantastic evening was had swapping old school yarns and laughs. The evening was very well run by Rod Scott and congratulations must go to him for organising such an event. Hope all is well and I'll speak to you soon.

All the best, Teaser

All attendance records were broken at the 1999 London branch dinner, held on Friday 8 October in the private rooms of the Hyatt Carlton hotel.

Forming a truly international guest list, seventy-two members of the Scotch Family assembled from as far away as France, Germany, Canada and Australia for this increasingly popular event. Special guests were OSCA president Richard Nelson ('57) and master impersonator Campbell McComas ('69).

Proceedings were kicked off by a cheerful but heavily jet-lagged Rob Logie-Smith ('60), who said grace.

Richard Nelson, in response to the toast to the School, gave an update on preparations for the 150th anniversary celebrations, including interesting research on the original Aberdeen home of James Forbes, undertaken by the family of Tom Rehfisch ('88).

The Aberdeen to Melbourne torch relay, announced by Richard, may pass through London at the time of the 2000 London dinner. Aspiring athlete Stuart Rayner ('88) later volunteered to spearhead any running efforts that may be necessary.

The incomparable Campbell McComas presented the evening's main address as a series of cameos, employing no more than a variety of spectacles. These highly enjoyable sketches were followed by latest details of the James Forbes Academy, including a remarkable video consisting of computer animated views of the planned building. Cam summed up the spirit of Scotch as 'a vision of boyhood, a world of opportunity, a pride in tradition and a passion for belonging.'

he remainder of the evening witnessed splendid renditions of popular school songs, ably led by budding chorister Andy Cohen ('84), followed by an upbeat version of a new rugby haka prompted by Jason Andrew ('89).

Regular diner Ian Gordon ('38) and newcomer Hubert Sissons ('38) raised broad smiles when younger members joined together at the conclusion of the evening for a full-blooded war cry.

The dinner was again well supported by old boys who happened to be passing through London at the time, either on holiday or business. These included, from Australia, earliest class representative Len Hewitt ('33), Michael Scott ('44) and Nicolas Radford ('59), and from Canada, Brett Langley ('84). Classes up to and including 1998 were represented. It is very encouraging to see the youngest members of OSCA taking the opportunity to travel to London. Most represented class was that of 1991 with five attendees.

In all, the evening was an outstanding success and thanks must go to chief organiser Rod Scott and all those who helped spread the word amongst the continually changing Scotch Family located here in London. Special thanks also to Lynley Nimmo at OSCA headquarters in Melbourne. We look forward to continuing this now established tradition in 2000.