News & Notes

I suppose the main thing happened on the 26 October 2020 when I reached the age of 90! Because of Covid I had to celebrate, like Caesar in All Gaul, in three parts! We were at home, in restaurants and elsewhere to see friends and family in small, lockdown permitted groups. One highlight was all the Residents of Penstones Court where I live, singing Happy Birthday while cake arrived for the party. It was iced like a cricket field, with the scoreboard showing 90 Not Out and had been ordered by my carer, June.

Covid has dealt kindly, so far, with me and my family having all escaped infection, but we have been very cautious. Also my youngest daughter, who was planning to come over with her husband for the summer, is still stuck in Australia. However the ever changing regulations have begun to irritate. I’ve written some doggerel to cover this, to the tune of John Brown’s Body.

Glory, glory Hallelujah.

Glory how they try to fool yer.

Everyday they change the rule, yeah?

But lockdown marches on! I’ve continued with the third volume of my autobiography entitled Dignity and Impudence Revisited OR Did I tell you the one About ……..? as I’m infamous for my anecdotes! For the last year I’ve been dealing with my editor on weekly phone calls but at last we have had a daylong meeting in person. It is so much simpler and more effective!

Have moved to Fenimore Cooper country (described by him as picturesque and romantic) in Central New York, where we plan a Photography Gallery which will be open at regular times throughout the year. I am giving talks at libraries and clubs around the state about my sixty years as a photographer, and my plans for another book about the residents of Central New York State. Tennis back after a rest of 18 months because of Covid.

Have published a book of my photographs with extended captions of information and chat about the pictures (examples pictured below). You can see it on my website: www.kasterine.com There is, however, a serious omission in the book, that of the influence of my friend Jeffrey (Jake) Sharpe (1945), also of Cocks’ Social.

His father gave him a Rolleicord camera for his fifteen or sixteenth birthday. It was the year that General Lattre de Tasigny inspected the Corp and Jake, as soon as we were dismissed by the General, ran to the door in Covered Passage that leads to the library and retrieved his Rolliecord that he had hidden there. With the camera securely round his neck he marched up to the General, saluted him, and, in French, asked if he could photograph him. The general, returned his salute and replied that he would be delighted to have his picture taken.

You don’t learn that kind of courage and enterprise at photography school, and not many people actually see an example of it given by somebody so young as Jake. I shall never forget it, and I tell the story whenever somebody asks who my influences were.

Examples of Dmitri Kasterine’s work. Left: Samuel Beckett, 1965 Right: Young woman wearing a Playboy belt in Newburgh, NY, 2004

At age 84 and after much reading and study, I have rejected the teachings of the bible which were drummed into me at Radley. It is a great story with some good teaching. However the bible is full of historical error and inaccuracy. It bears no relation to the problems of today such as climate change and modern liberal thinking on subjects such as LGBT. I have become a Humanist which accords entirely with my views.

My life’s voyage of discovery continues.

We are still running our B&B and selfcatering studio in central France, very conveniently situated in the centre of the Loire Valley chateaux, just 5 km from Chenonceau, to which all Radleians, old and new are most welcome.

My wife’s new and extensive biography of her great-grandfather Canon Hardwicke Rawnsley, a co-founder of the National Trust, should be published, after lengthy delays caused by the Covid pandemic, in time for Christmas.

Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley 18511920 An Extraordinary Life by Michael Allen and Rosalind Rawnsley (Lethuen, £30)

I was most intrigued by hearing the excerpt from the BBC broadcast service from Whitsunday 1956 in the Radley Archives.

I remember the occasion well (though I couldn’t have told you where the plainsong excerpt came from had you not said!). The preacher at that Whitsunday Evensong was the Rt Rev Launcelot Fleming, Bishop of Portsmouth. Launcelot was a personal friend of my mother’s family. He was a most distinguished, almost charismatic, cleric. He was Chaplain of Trinity Hall, Cambridge in the 1940s, where the redoubtable Owen Chadwick was Dean. Launcelot was known in Cambridge for his outstanding pastoral gifts amongst the undergraduate population.

After Portsmouth, he became Bishop of Norwich, and finally Dean of Windsor. He was involved throughout his life with initiatives to assist young people, and I believe he was instrumental in finding a VSO placement for my late brother, Giles (1962), in South Africa, as a result of which Southern Africa became home to Giles until his sadly premature death in 1993 from melanoma.

We are very lucky to be living in Perth, Western Australia. Very few cases of Covid and nearly all restrictions have now been lifted. I am continuing to paint Australian landscapes and am planning another exhibition early next year.

The painting of Berkeley River (pictured above) was done in my studio this year, from photos taken during an earlier trip to Berkeley River in the Kimberley region of north eastern Western Australia, an area that is only accessible by boat or light aircraft.

Promoting Exmoor Stone and growing commercial timber, as well as taking the flash out of flooding. Planning more village bypasses, to keep things local. Learning about Hydrogen production.

As a result of a recent downsizing, we were happy to donate to the College a tapestry of the Radley crest that had been worked by my mother in 1959/60.

It now hangs on the wall in one of the rooms in Mansion (pictured right).

I was intrigued to read that Radley’s Chairman of Governors was educated at Glenalmond, up the road from a cottage in Perthshire where I spend my time when I am not in Edinburgh. With pleasant nearsymmetry I can tell you that the Chairman of the Fettes board is an Old Radleian, myself. The last year has been extremely hard on teachers and young people and it has not been particularly easy for Chairmen. I stand down in July and shall do so with mixed feelings!

I completed an eBook recounting my solo motorcycle trip around Latin America in 1974. I’d be glad to share this book with any Radley friends.

A message from Heather, the sister of Jeremy Holden Brown (1968) came into the Radleian Society with the information that amongst her brother’s possessions she had found the old Tuck Box of someone who she presumed was with him in D Social. The name on the box was P T Isolani and so through the RadSoc office, we arranged to meet up.

I am grateful to Heather Holden Brown for tracking me down and returning the Tuck Box over convivial drinks with Teresa and me at her house, where we chatted about all sorts of things including of course, Radley and we picked up the Tuck Box which is now here at home. I never thought I would see my old tuck box again! I now keep old photos and some old Radley memorabilia in it.

As we emerge from the near blanket suppression of artistic activity, I count myself lucky to have directed Ivan the Terrible at Grange Park Opera, Die Meistersinger in Leipzig and coming shortly an opera commissioned by the Dubai Expo 2020. In lockdown I also created a contemporary Masque out of 49 different Purcell tracks – sublime music cunningly re-purposed.

In July, I played a golf foursome at The Royal West Norfolk Golf Club, Brancaster with three of the four being ORs. They were Brigadier Richard Heywood OBE DL, His Honour Judge Philip Curl and myself (pictured above).

This was the first time that we had met since leaving Radley, over 55 years ago!

I was awarded the CVO in the New Year’s Honour List. The citation was Chairman of the Future Programme Board and Trustee of the Royal Collection Trust.

I recently came across my mortarboard again and dug out this old photo of the Upper Sixth (pictured left).

I believe that the Upper Sixth referred to those who had already received their A-level results and stayed on into the Autumn term, as it did at least for myself, to take Oxbridge entry exams. For me, by the time those exams came round, my heart wasn’t in it anymore as I had already received two university acceptances and Bristol’s in particular could not be rejected.

Whether such a picture would be approved of today is another question, but it happened then so it is a part of our history. I cannot remember many of the names of those in the picture but I am the second from the top on the fire escape.

I can’t find much use for the mortarboard anymore here in Texas!

Some years ago you may recall that a large memorial was unveiled to Bomber Command. It is situated in the west end of Piccadilly, almost opposite the RAF club in London. The Queen unveiled it, after a long campaign to have such a memorial

commissioned. It was felt that Bomber Harris’s men of the RAF had never been properly recognised for their sacrifice in the war. I visited this memorial a couple of years after it had been unveiled. I walked round it very carefully, reading and noting carefully. When I came to the west wall, overlooking the grass, I read the inscriptions from top to bottom. I was horrified to see that some of the French grammar was incorrect! Horrors, I thought.

I wrote it all down, took it home and corrected it all. I then set about trying to find someone to verify my work. Eventually I located an ally and kindred spirit in the Department of French, Birkbeck College, University of London. A lecturer read my corrections and pretty well agreed with me, but said one of the French sentences could go either way. (We did not know what was in the mind of the originator). In the end we adopted one. I sent the corrections to the RAF Benevolent Fund in NW London and politely pointed out their errors -- on a public monument that the Queen had unveiled, containing errors! Why had not staff from Buckingham Palace visited the memorial first of all? They should have done so and they should have delayed the unveiling.

At the end of that year I visited the memorial and I could see that stonework had been removed and replaced. The errors in the French text had been corrected. So I expressed my thanks to my ally at the university. He too was so very surprised, and probably shocked, to think that the RAF could have made such a silly mistake. London is full of scholars whom they should have consulted. The other person who supported me was the equerry to HRH the Prince of Wales. Time well spent.

Having seen few ORs for years I find myself living near Bishop Julian Henderson and, until recently Fr Timothy Lipscombe. Hopefully my chances of going to heaven are, at least, slightly enhanced as a result. For the benefit of anybody who may be interested (perhaps I flatter myself...) I am a retired GP who spent a career in medical education and latterly worked in Acute Medicine at the University Hospital of Coventry and Warwickshire. I had finished by the time BBC2 produced their recent documentary series there.

My grandfather worked for Sime Darby in Malaysia (1900-1916) and when my father AHR Sellar (1925) was born in 1911, he asked his fellow Director, John Mustard, to recommend a good school. He recommended Radley College, where his son was to go. It then evolved that in and around 1925 the sons of Sellar, Pepper and Mustard were all at Radley. This resulted in the nicknames Salt, Pepper and Mustard!

I am delighted to report that four of the Sellar family had the privilege to attend Radley and two very close relatives are currently there.

I am enjoying campaigning my Sparkman and Stephen’s yawl Comet and this year won the inaugural Mediterranean Cup coming first in class at Cannes Royale Regatta.

I am now retired from practising Architecture, which was never that fun when it went computerised. There is nothing like sketching out a scheme with a pencil. So I am enjoying taking up my brushes and palette knives again to try my hand at oil painting, which after a period of some 45 years, has been a challenge! Charlie Mussett might approve!

I am also learning Bridge again, trying to hone my mental arithmetic skills, as Goldsmith tried to instill in us. Ironically sitting in front of a screen – It’s just not as fun as sitting across a table, but ‘Zoom’ has helped with the added banter! At other times I am enjoying creating a garden.

My book The Final Innings was somehow joint winner of the annual Cricket Society/ MCC literary prize. I have a small dual biography of the late Surrey and England players Jim Laker and Tony Lock being published in 2022. Meanwhile, they tell me that my account of the strange relationship between Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini, Masters of Mystery, is to be made into a film of some sort, although I’ve learned not to hold my breath on these occasions. I mostly live in Seattle.

I remain lead shareholder and MD of ISGAM AG, an independent wealth management company and multifamily office based in Zurich, with a global clientele. I am also Master of the Clothworkers’ Livery Company this year, in the City, July to July!

I am happily semi-retired now after a career as a neuropsychologist in the NHS and in universities, mainly at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, in London. I was recently awarded the International Neuropsychological Society 2021 Mentoring Award for my PhD and clinical training supervision (pictured below). I reflect on learning many mentoring skills from the support and encouragement I received at Radley College. As well as doting on grandchildren, I now do sea rowing for recreation in my adapted Laser Pico, with accounts of voyages on: www.picomicroyacht.blogspot.com

I self-published my first book in 1984, with two more coming 25 years later. One of these was the history of two sailing clubs: the Oxford & Cambridge Sailing Society and the Imperial Poona Yacht Club – in a double fronted book called 75 Years of Port & Balls. The former for the Society’s penchant of investing in vintage port; the latter because the Club was described to Prince Philip as ‘a load of balls’ – immediately after which he joined.

This gained quite a bit of publicity recently when the father of the house, Peter Bottomley, quoted Prince Philip’s foreword in his tribute to him in the House of Commons: “If you can bring yourself to read this book from cover to cover, you will be in a position to judge for yourself whether, or not, life can be significantly improved by not taking it too seriously all the time.”

I am not sure where my love of books came from, but I’m sure that Radley played a part, even though Dennis Silk described me in one report as ‘illiterate’! When I began to lose interest in market research after a lifetime in it and over 15 years running my own agency, the opportunity came up to acquire the nautical list of publisher John Wiley. This had started off as Fernhurst Books before Wiley bought it, and so I revived the Fernhurst Books’ name and became a publisher with a list of about 150 titles overnight.

This has been a bit more strenuous than the retirement project it was supposed to be but, after eight years at it, I know a bit more about publishing than I did! One of the things we quickly learnt was that lots of people want to write/publish books which aren’t going to be viable for a publisher to take on. But knowing the joy of having a book published, we launched Self Publishing House, a consultancy offering publishing services, advice and support for self-publishers, enabling authors to craft, create and self-publish high-quality, bookshelf-worthy books. We are currently working on our third book by Radley alumni and would be delighted if any others wanted to consider this option.

To find out more visit: www.bit.ly/SelfPublishingHouseFB

or email: selfpublishinghouse@fernhurstbooks.com

After 20 years working in the USA, family needs meant I took early retirement at the beginning of August and returned to the family home in Bridgnorth. I am now enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle but have had a brand new sculling boat delivered (pictured above) and continue to row for multiple clubs! I’m also looking forward to being able to attend more OR events.

I was made an Honorary Canon of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, on 22nd June by the Right Reverend Steven Croft, Lord Bishop of Oxford, in recognition of my service to the rural church in the diocese.

In 2021, retired from Investec plc after 10 years and now focussing on nonexecutive roles. Also enjoying being part of the ORGS, after meeting Will Bailey by chance, in the car park of The Berkshire Golf Club!

Every year the Royal Horticultural Society nominates an Iconic Horticultural Hero and in 2021 this honour has fallen on consummate landscape designer, Tom Stuart-Smith.

At the RHS Hampton Court show, Tom designed a showpiece perennial meadow garden that showcased plants that suit hot, dry conditions.

Thanks to the craftsmanship and generosity of Simon, the new Chapel now has a beautiful silver paten (pictured below). Simon created a modern and elegant design, consisting of three hand forged nails, a stylised spear and the crown of thorns at the base.

Other examples of Simon’s silversmithing work were featured in the Old Radleian 2018 article, ‘All That Glitters’.

For the last six years I have been working on the cinema documentary Born of War, narrated by Edward Fox, and profoundly hope to complete and release it before the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Falklands War.

In October 2021, I hosted a fundraising event for the documentary which encompasses the death in action of Rupert Thorneloe (1983). Nearly four years ago, Jock Mullard kindly sanctioned filming of the memorial tablet to Rupert and we also filmed the Radley Beagles for a WW1 section of the film that chronicles successive generations of Welsh Guardsmen in war and operations.

Dr Ogunlami became Anglia Ruskin University London’s Deputy head of School for Accounting, Hospitality, Law, Events management and Tourism (ALHET) in January 2021. On the 16th October 2021 he became Chief (Dr) Gbadebo Ogunlami with the conferment on him of the Yoruba chieftaincy title of Olugbon of Imagbon land.

I am delighted to report that 37 years after leaving Radley, I have completed an MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation Planning at the Centre for Alternative Technology, with a Distinction for my dissertation in the now hot topic of how to sustainably insulate UK housing. I’m looking to bring my research findings to a wider audience and form a strategic retrofit policy group to inform decision makers. I invite any ORs in the retrofit/construction/ decarbonisation/sustainability & climate adaptation or green finance fields to contact me at: ceri.m.fielding@gmail.com

On 27th September 2020 I was admitted as a Companion of The Society of St Francis (c/SSF).

Family all well, including Charlie (25), who is training to be a Luthier and twins Georgie and Sophie (19) who are both at University. Just completed 25 years at Summer Fields in Oxford, where several ORs’ sons have come through. The school is in rude health and we send a decent flow of boys to Radley every year, but there could always be more! Let me know if you’d like a tour, some help or even a chat about SF: rbl@summerfields.com

It is always fun bumping into ORs. They appear in the unlikeliest of places. The unofficial OR society chaired by Andrew Marshall features an eclectic group. New recruit James Nash no sooner joined than he had departed back to Tokyo to found the Asian wing of this esteemed gathering.

Earlier this year there was a virtual reunion of the gold medal winning Achilles Relay team of 1984, together with coach MJC who had an uncanny recollection of the day, with the unlikely quartet of Chilvers, Groome (unavailable), Chick and Empson (in running order). Impressively, Empson wore his medal for the Zoom call. Cuthy recalled his surprise and delight at the feat with typical raised eyebrow, smile and a lick of the lips. Happy days.

I was honoured to assume the role of High Sheriff for the County of Worcestershire and the County of the City of Worcester in the presence of the Honourable Mr. Justice Pepperall in the Shirehall, Worcester, on 8th April 2021 (pictured below).

As we all emerge from the Covid-19 Pandemic restrictions, I have been aiming to shine a positive light in supporting mental health charities, organisations, and initiatives assisting all age groups and communities across Worcestershire.

Tim continues to work as a freelance food industry consultant at the same time as pursuing his passion for all things related to wildlife, conservation as well as helping to educate the young conservationists of the future. With this in mind, he is part of the team of Trustees of Daws Hall Nature Reserve in North Essex planning to fundraise to build an environmental education centre on the banks of the River Stour. He is also retraining as a Garden and Landscape designer and maintains his links to African conservation and tourism.

Richard Beard’s new book, Sad Little Men: Private Schools and the Ruin of England, was published in August 2021. ‘Passionate, well-argued ... one of the finest polemics I have ever come across.’ The Spectator.

Another quiet year in frontline politics. Fired as Minister of State for Transport in Feb 20 for having said No Deal would be seriously damaging to the economy.

Kept busy in the pandemic starting a patient-owned blood cancer research mutual and founding the global Health Resilience Commission: www.R4RX.org.uk

Fiona (Laird) and I tied the knot in a wartime-style Covid service in Highgate with 29 close friends. Invited back to the front bench by the PM as Minister for Science Technology & Innovation in September. Sculled a Victorian skiff from Oxford to Henley with my 16yr old son last year. Happy memories of RCBC with Jock and Malcolm. KBO.

Andrew Smith and family (pictured below right) appeared on Grand Designs in February, telling the story of pioneering the UK’s first self-heating home (pictured above right). It is designed to be a selfheating home, working as a giant storage heater to store the warmth of the summer in the earth surrounding it. So far it all seems to be working very well. Being nestled into the ground it is designed to merge with nature. We sometimes have deer on the roof... www.ohomes.co.uk

PhD completed 2020, delighted to have joined NGO Mangrove Action Project full-time as Exec Director in Baguio, Philippines.

I launched a guide to establishing ambitious climate action plans at a COP26 event in Glasgow with the chief executive of Scottish Power, representing the collective commitment to climate action of Spain’s Green Growth Group of companies (most of the large Spanish listed firms).

Living the Exmoor life. River/coastal rowing & sculling in prep for the 2022 US events. Supporting the health sector, providing back-log planning direction for elective ops with Lightfoot Solutions Ltd.

Taking on maths graduates to become analysts. Growing commercial timber for many good reasons. Rebuilding a period property and wearing many hats!

To mark the centenary, members, staff and volunteers were nominated for outstanding service to the Royal British Legion. I was presented with the Centenary Award for ‘Passion’ in Kent County.

The presentation (pictured left) was made by the President of the Cowden, Hartfield and District Branch, Ann Cleeve MBE.

In addition to my work as a GP I’m now working in Garden Design - using the crossover of both these worlds to create Therapeutic Gardens, as well as private ones (pictured right). Follow me on Instagram: @richardclaxtongardens

I’ve also launched a web-based directory of Therapeutic Horticultural Organisations around the UK. www.gardening4health.co.uk

I have been Bursar at Lancing College in West Sussex for the last 8 years. It has been challenging but also amazing and rewarding. I live here at the College with my beautiful wife, Francesca, who is now Deputy Head at Lancing College Prep at Worthing, my gorgeous daughter, Purdey, who is in Year 7, and our 3 small and annoying dogs. Given Radley has just extended its chapel, I thought you may like to see “mine” - the largest school chapel in the world (pictured below), which we have just completed after 153 years. I do realise that size isn’t everything but....

Richard received an OBE for charitable services to Children and Young People with Disabilities (West Marden, West Sussex).

We had a highly successful 30th year (Covid delayed) reunion in October at Quo Vadis in Soho (pictured opposite).

Lieutenant-Colonel Guy Stone presented the Colours to the Queen at the Trooping the Colour 2021 and was made an LVO in the special Queen’s Honours for those closely involved with the Duke of Edinburgh, whose funeral he had an important role in plannning.

James Burton (B Social) conducted his first public concert as the Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University on 1st October 2021 (pictured right).

After a year of working behind closed doors with small chamber orchestras of BU students, James conducted a full orchestral programme of Brahms, Shostakovich and Sibelius 2nd Symphony to a sold-out house.

Katerina and I welcomed daughter Mia Judith Hereford on 2.6.21. Co-produced feature film To Leslie starring Alison Janney and Andrea Riseborough and as an actor I won Best Actor at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival for my role in the multi-award winning short Half Chance of Evil. Very excited to continue to work with the drama department at Radley on various workshops.

After 25 years in London, we have moved to leafy West Berkshire and welcomed little Freddie Turner to the world. His big brother Jasper is now 6 with Milo 4 years old. All three boys are down for Radley (of course) with the two oldest starting Elstree school this year. I am still working as an Equity Trader for a US Fund Manager based in Belgravia. I still meet up with a few ORs and look forward to going to Radley-related events in the coming years.

I started as the School Chaplain at King Edward’s School, Witley near Godalming in September 2021. David Corran is also on the staff.

Our numbers for the LinkedIn OR Switzerland group (15+) continues to grow. Many a “pandemic cautious” meeting, from hiking, to lunches, dinners and drinks between various individuals amongst us has occurred, and we will eventually aim for a more substantial meet up as/when the pandemic situation improves.

Please feel free to reach out if you are living in Switzerland, have strong links to the country, are regularly in the country for whatever reason or are trying/want to move here.

Earlier in 2021 I became Chair of Global Acts of Unity (GAU), the campaign set up by Mike Haines in response to his brother’s murder in Syria by Daesh in 2014. We are busily working to reach as many young people as possible with Mike’s message of Understanding, Tolerance and Unity. If you would like Mike to address your child’s school please get in touch. Hoping to achieve charity status by end of 2021. Find out more at: https://mikehaines.globalactsofunity.com

Meanwhile continue to keep bread on the family table by running the interesting line between government, politics and business offering strategic communications support to organisations and companies through my company Godolphin Communications.

Freelance journalism has paved the way to founding and editing The Hockey Paper (pictured below) after reporting on the GB women’s success at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Any hockey-related stories you have, do get in touch!

At the Trooping the Colour 2021, Lieutenant-Colonel Viscount Marsham, was in Command of the Parade.

The William Wates Memorial Trust offers amateur cyclists the opportunity to ride stages of the Tour de France every year. This event has raised over £4m for disadvantaged young people across the UK. Old Radleains are always very welcome to join us. There is something for everybody. To find out more go to: www.rideleloop.org

We now have little Sophia, joining William and Edward. My property consultancy business in Yorkshire and London continues to thrive with various appearances on the BBC, ITV and radio. Very happy to meet with any ORs who are in the area to catch up!

I am Director of one of London’s finest boutique property search companies, Aykroyd & Co, helping clients find the best property both on and off market and then negotiating the lowest price for it through our contacts.

We are very proud to have been written about by Conde Nast in various recent GQ, Tatler, House & Garden and Vogue magazines (pictured below).

Should any Radleians be interested in finding out more please do drop me a line at: et@aykroydco.com

Out of work I am a keen equestrian and enjoy shooting, visiting home (God’s Own County - NY) and racing old 911’s when time allows.

I’ve had an eventful year; new daughter, new house and working at AstraZeneca managing the financial aspects of the Oxford-AZ vaccine.

In April of this year, I moved back to Providence in the US (where I had previously been at university), following my wife who had accepted a job in nearby Boston. Making the move meant giving up my London-based job in sustainability in the mining industry but I’ve recently started taking on consultancy work in the same field. In addition to the move and job change, we are expecting our first child in February 2022, so lots of change in the space of a year! If anyone finds themselves in southern New England, do get in touch.

Happy and living in Elizabeth Bay in Sydney with my partner Sarah, 9-year-old daughter Tilly and 2-year-old dog Billie (black cocker spaniel) who is main star of the show! Still working for Reckitt as Managing Director of ANZ region and very excited to have Louis Eggar (1996) moving to Sydney in December who will be General Manager at Woolworths so that will be terrific. If any other ORs in Australia please feel free to get in contact.

Realised a dream this year... I have been working on this invention in the background for many years and in October this year we tested it for the first time with great results (pictured right).

The Pico-Stream: a Fish-Friendly, Lightweight & Portable Pico-Hydropower Generator is set to revolutionise energy generation in developing nations. Mill owners, farmers, charitable organisations, military and more can harvest 24hr renewable electricity from rivers and streams without the need for costly construction works.

We’re hoping to attract the right investor now to help us launch this amazing product to the world where it is greatly needed.

Princess Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi announced (pictured above) the birth of their first child on 18th September. The Queen’s 12th great-grandchild, they have named their daughter Sienna Elizabeth.

Recently celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary. Now a Managing Director in the UK investment banking team at Bank of America (with other ORs) - looking forward to a twice Covid-delayed 10-year sabbatical travelling around Canada with our three children.

Greencore Construction and Springfield Meadows were named Oxfordshire’s most impactful green energy pioneer, as part of the Energy Pathfinders (EP:50) competition run by OxLEP & Oxfordshire Greentech.

In November, I was delighted to exhibit a selection of new paintings at June, alongside sculptural punctuations by Fernando Marques Penteado. ‘Doubles’ is the realisation of a group of images produced during – and greatly influenced by – the last eighteen months.

The works continue a project begun earlier this year, providing brief moments of escape through painting. It remains a luxury to exhibit artworks physically, and was a great privilege to be able to do so.

Over the last three years I’ve been working as a writer/producer on my debut feature film, A Brixton Tale, which completed its theatrical release in the UK this year following premieres at the Slamdance Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival.

We were delighted with the response we’ve had from around the country and from the press. We’ve received pleasing reviews in The Guardian, Sight and Sound, The Evening Standard, Little White Lies, BBC and many more, and are currently scoring an 89% approval rating on the critic site Rotten Tomatoes.

For more details see our website: www.abrixtontale.com

I still remain in the Army as Adjutant of the Light Dragoons and have just returned from 6 months on Operation Newcombe, the first deployment of British troops to Mali.

It’s been a while since my last update and a lot has changed at Trilo – securing our funding, growing the team, and ramping up to launch & gaining FCA authorisation.

Tobin has joined Trilo as our CTO, he is also an OR. In our investment team we have four investors who are ORs, and on our advisory board we have 2 advisors who are ORs. Somehow we’ve ended up consolidating Radley into one business, with lots of support when and where we need.

Since leaving Edinburgh University, and having suffered a brief stint thinking I should become an accountant with Deloitte, I managed to join the Army. In 2019 I commissioned into the Irish Guards. I am currently deployed in Africa on an anti-poaching Operation based in Kafue National Park, Zambia. By pure happenstance, I am here with two other Officers from the Micks, both of whom happen to be ORs, Dave Pumphrey (2002) and my brother Hugo (2009)! Dave is our Commanding Officer out here.

Nick Gubbins who has played cricket for Middlesex for eight seasons, signed for Hampshire, initially on a loan deal before making a permanent move there.

In one of his first matches for Hampshire against Sussex, he scored a magnificent 131 from 119 deliveries, including 6 fours and 5 sixes, and then went on to take 4-38 (pictured below).

In August this year, Will and Charlie Codrington (2009) completed Europe’s Toughest Mudder race.

This 12-hour, overnight obstacle race takes place on a 5-mile course and features some of Tough Mudder’s most challenging obstacles. Their efforts raised money for the Carlie Tufnell Charitable Trust.

This year I completed my medical foundation training in the peninsula deanery. I started the British Army commissioning short course in September this year and will hopefully be commissioning into the RAMC in November this year.

Introducing In Memoriam Dr H.G.K. and Inquiry Into The State of My Health, two films I’ve produced in partnership with Hungarian Cultural Centre London and with the help of so many brilliant & talented people. Both films were selected to play off-competition at Raindance and Curzon Cinemas Online this autumn.

I have begun pupillage with a set of commercial chancery barristers, which I’m greatly enjoying.

Being (finally) in full time employment has sadly meant fewer wedding photography engagements, and consequently fewer chance meetings with OR grooms and ushers.

In September, myself, Jamie Prowse (2009) and two other friends ran the entire 184 mile length of the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path, aiming to raise awareness and money for CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) which provides a helpline and support workers for people who are struggling with life. In the first 2 months of Lockdown in 2020, CALM answered nearly 23,500 calls and prevented over 100 suicides. We wanted to do something to raise money to ensure that these vital lines stay open so that everyone feels they have someone to talk to when the pressures of life become too high.

In total we have raised over £80,000 for CALM, and have been blown away by the incredible support received (link still open to donate if you would like to!).

The coastal path covers 186 miles from Amroth in the south, to St Dogmaels in the north, and it is VERY hilly. The total combined elevation change is the equivalent of the height of Mount Everest, and the path can be very rocky at times, so we had to watch our footing! We had a lot of laughs along the way, and a great playlist - all songs suggested by our friends and sponsors when they donated via our JustGiving page. A truly memorable week, but we are all relieved we can say goodbye to early morning training runs before work, regular ice baths, and eating silly amounts of pasta!

The support we received during the week was utterly overwhelming. It was incredible to see how many people got behind us and the cause; not only those heroes who came down to cheer us over the line but everyone who messaged throughout the week or donated to our page. Your support drove us forward throughout and got us through the hardest parts. We would like to say a massive Thank You to all our sponsors and those who supported; the challenge would have been nothing without all of you. It’s thanks to all of you that CALM will be able to make a massive contribution to people’s lives.

Benedict Yorston (2013) Represented the successful Oxford team in the 150th Real Tennis Varsity in July 2021.

Anyone looking for the perfect present for an OR (or for themselves!), then bespoke British crafted, Radley cufflinks would make a great choice.

Available in two designs, Serpent & Dove or Crossed Keys, these high-quality cufflinks are made of Hallmarked 925 sterling silver and enamel and come in a smart presentation box (pictured below). At a cost of £150 per pair (with P&P at £10), £52.50 from each pair sold will go directly to the Radley Foundation, with £8000 having been donated to date! To place your order, please contact hglinks26@gmail.com

Zac made his Premiership Rugby debut for Wasps Rugby on Saturday 30th October in their 27-17 away victory against Bath Rugby.

Helping out at a restoration project for a 17th century Grade I listed country house in Somerset called Halswell House.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ conquerthecoast

Josh rowed at 7 for the Oxford crew in the Boat Race on Sunday 4 April at Ely and was selected for the victorious British Eight competing in the Under 23 World Rowing Championships that took place in the Czech Republic from 7 to 11 July.

For David’s 85th birthday, his daughter Sally (1979) contacted the many ORs who had been taught by ‘Geo Dave’ over his many years at Radley and collected their recollections into a surprise compilation book. For those interested, here is a link to the book: https://bit.ly/3EcfyYW

She would like to thank all those ORs that sent in entries. She couldn’t have done this without all of their input, amazing memories and photos. David was quite overwhelmed and Sally says he took several weeks to go through everyone’s entries!

If anyone would like to drop him a line directly then please feel free, as he loves hearing from ORs: Geodave52@gmail.com

In October, Jack completed the Marathon des Sables 2021, regarded worldwide as ‘the toughest footrace on earth’. The Marathon des Sables is an epic ultramarathon which involves running six marathons in five days and all in the blistering heat of the Sahara Desert. Two of the marathons are run in one day, meaning Jack traversed over 82 kilometres of impossible terrain in the space of 24 hours. In fact, he took just 15 hours to make it over the finish line.

Jack was due to take on this incredible challenge back in April 2020, however due to Coronavirus the 35th edition of the event was postponed to April 2021. It was then postponed again, meaning 22-year-old Jack had been training for over two and a half years; constantly prepared, before being understandably let down at the last minute. With the run put back to October, temperatures were consistently higher than usual, with every day of Jack’s extraordinary feat being completed in temperatures of over 50 degrees.

Despite having never run a marathon before and all the adversity Jack’s faced, he was totally set on completing the challenge to raise vital funds for Horatio’s Garden, a national charity that creates and preserves beautiful gardens in NHS spinal injury centres. Throughout, his thoughts were with patients and their loved ones facing extraordinarily difficult times adjusting to spinal cord injuries, something which motivated him to continue with his training and in the race’s toughest moments. The generous donations and countless supportive messages he received on his JustGiving page also helped drive him to complete the challenge.

Thanks to the overwhelming kindness of everyone who donated, Jack has raised over £49,000 (so far)! Jon Bromley

Jack’s 6ft 5” makes him easy to spot amongst the other runners, as they battle the heat of the desert.

And for those of you wondering how his week went, his team provided a little chronicle of what he got up to in the desert:

Standing at 6ft 5” and emblazoned with his running number, 543, Jack was easy to spot amongst the pro runners throughout this year’s Marathon des Sables! He crossed the finish line on day one in 52nd place, 1st in his age group, starting the week by conserving his energy as much as possible for the mammoth task still ahead of him. Having completed his first marathon, he was in good spirits and was pleased with his result. His shoelaces also snapped during this first leg, meaning he continued on with shoes full of sand. As he put it in one of his emails to home, “nowhere to buy spare laces in the desert, Mum!”

Having finished in 52nd place the day before, Jack was going into his second marathon in a strong position. However, his family and all of us at home couldn’t quite believe it when he managed to claw his way up to coming 23rd on the second day of the race! This put Jack into 26th overall, leaving everyone feeling enormously proud of his efforts. In terms of fundraising, his total had also increased by £1,000 at this point, putting the grand amount raised at over £35,500! Nevertheless, there was still a little way to go until he reached his ambitious £40,000 target, something which spurred him on into day three…

Jack continued to sit comfortably in the top 50, up there with the 150 pro runners taking part and maintaining his position despite there being over 700 athletes involved. After finishing so high in the rankings, he was going into stage four starting with the professionals; a major deal as day four is the most demanding, with competitors running two marathons in one day, equivalent to 82.5 kilometers.

Day three was also a really difficult one, but thanks to everyone’s enormously kind messages and thoughtful donations, Jack remained positive, sending the following email to those closest to him:

‘Thank you so much for the email updates. They help me so much, you would not believe. It is my only contact with the outside world! With it normally meant to be in April, no one expected it to be this hot! Every day has been over 50 degrees! It is sweltering but I am feeling good. Not quite sure where I am coming but I am keeping up with some of the pros! Think I might even be in the top 50, how cool is that, seeing as there are like 150 pro runners!

Love the fundraising updates, they are keeping me motivated and push me every day! Sending my love to you and everyone at home. I am safe and not ill at all by the way, so no need to panic! I will make it back in one piece. 82.5km tomorrow! Gonna be a big one and I am going to smash it! Keep the fundraising people updated as I am sure you will and let them know I am going to smash this race! Top 50 here we come!’

Double marathon day... With three marathons already under his belt, Jack was ready to face his biggest challenge yet. Setting off at 11am BST in scorching temperatures of over 50 degrees, Jack was remarkably still running at 21:45pm BST. Nearly 11 hours into the 82.5km journey, he continued to make good ground and was keeping pace with the pro leaders of the stage.

He ran through the night, crossing the finish line of his second marathon of the day in just over 15 hours. Phenomenally, he was still holding onto his top 50 place, one that was most certainly more than deserved. In recognition of his astounding achievement, the donations continued to flood in, with the hope being that Jack would successfully reach his £40,000 fundraising target either before or after the final stage of the race.

After running through the night, day five is designated as a rest day, with all the runners taking time to recover ahead of the final marathon on day six. It was confirmed that Jack was coming 36th in the race after his staggering performance in stage 4, meaning he was once again starting with the pros going into the final phase of the event. He sent a funny email home telling everyone that the pro runners looked very bemused every time Jack asked them what charity they were representing! It seems no one was expecting a fundraising newcomer to be on the professional start line, but they were most certainly pleased to have him there and Jack made many new friends from across the globe throughout the week. By the end of the day, Jack was within touching distance of his target, with his JustGiving total rapidly rising to £39,545.

The runner’s sixth and final marathon commenced at 9:30am BST and it was an incredible spectacle to see everyone making their way over the start line. Just a few hours later, Jack was crossing the Marathon des Sables 2021 finish line, placing 32nd overall, which was the unexpected icing on the cake and a testament to all his training and hard work over the past two and a half years! Amazingly, by the time he accomplished his inconceivable adventure, Jack not only looked totally fine, but he had also successfully reached and far surpassed his £40,000 fundraising target! By this point he’d raised over £43,600 and it continued to climb all over the weekend.

Whilst the race was officially over, it’s Marathon des Sables tradition to get involved in an extra ‘fun’ charity race the day after completion, which is roughly 7 kilometres; just enough to finish off everyone’s legs! Jack naturally took part and as he was busy making his final meander through the dunes, countless others were busy leaving comments and donations as a show of support for his awe-inspiring performance.

www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jackfolkestone1

Team Peninsula, made up of Toby Kendall (1997), Will Drew (Rugby School) and Sam Morris (Charterhouse School) are rowing 3,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge (TWAC) in December 2021, from La Gomera to Antigua, to raise funds for and awareness about the ever-increasing volume of plastics that are finding their way into the world’s oceans each day, month and year.

Having spent 7 years in the British army (The Rifles regiment) and then 6 years with De La Rue, living in Kenya, Toby will be spending around 40 days at sea with the team on a purpose-built ocean rowing boat, a Rannoch R45 elite (pictured right). With two small cabins and an en-suite bucket they will be rowing in shifts of two hours on the oars and two hours rest throughout the race.

They have been training throughout the lockdowns and beyond and have had as many days as possible on the boat itself in the North Sea. As good as an erg and gym can be nothing can quite prepare for the challenges they could face mid Atlantic. With waves up to 50ft, storms and marine life, it is truly going to be a challenge of physical and mental resilience.

Will Drew, Toby Kendall and Sam Morris aboard their boat during a training run. Early sea trials (on rather calmer water than they expect to encounter).

They will have pre-packed all their food, requiring over 5000 calories a day, and have a solar powered water desalinator to provide them with daily drinking water. On top of the rowing training, they have all attended the mandatory courses including sea survival, navigation, as well as technical training on the communications equipment and water makers.

Toby was always a dry bob at Radley and university so this is certainly beyond his comfort zone on all levels and he was inspired to challenge himself and join the team to support the cause having seen the devastation that plastic pollution can and has done here at home, but is ever more visible in the developing world.

The team are raising funds for two charities/non profits that carry out critical work in education, cleanups and policy on responsible use of plastic. Azraq, based in Dubai, are on the front line of action (https://azraqme.org) and Ocean Generation, formerly Plastic Oceans UK, who have a strong history of science, education and influencing policy to create behavioural and political change to protect our oceans from human plastic waste (www.oceangeneration.org).

You will be able to find out more from their website and can follow their progress through their social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin. They will have access to a limited data platform so will be able to receive and send updates as they row across. They have partnered with several corporates as well as received some generous personal donations. If you would like to support please see the website to find out how.

They will need plenty of morale as they row through Christmas and New Year’s Day with nothing but ocean and each other to raise a rum to, so please do engage to boost their spirits.

www.teampeninsula.com