Last Updated: 15/04/2008

Old Breconian Association

NEWS

Old Breconians lose to school in a high-scoring match (on penalties): Friday 11 April

There have been some excellent soccer matches between the OBs and the school in recent years, and last Friday’s game was no exception. Marcos Kostalas had done a sterling job in raising the OB XI (within 24 hours via Facebook), and the match kicked off at exactly 5.30 pm on a raw but dry evening. The first half saw plenty of good football from both sides, but the OBs, perhaps because they were unused to playing together, failed to make the most of several good chances, and reached the interval 1-0 down. The plentiful use of the half-time water bottles as showers rather than drinks seems to have had a galvanising effect, for in the space of 30 minutes that deficit had been turned into a 4-1 lead, thanks to goals from Sam Frazer, Chris James and Richard Barker (2). However within the last ten minutes the school managed to claw their way back, their equalising goal being scored just before the final whistle. Referee Chris Webber thought that that was the end of the matter, and that a draw was an eminently fair result; but some vociferous demands for a penalty shoot-out led to the school emerging victorious by 3 penalties to 1.

Very many thanks to Marcos for his efforts in getting the side together, and to all eleven OBs for contributing to a stirring game. OB team: Marcos Kostalas, Sam Frazer, Richard Barker, Ed Norbury, Stephen Greaney, Joe Woodrow, Paul Davies, David Barrington, Duncan Thain, Chris James and Nicolai Lewis.

OB VII in Rosslyn Park Exhibition Match: Friday 14 March

The CCB VII may have been unable to take the field at this year’s Rosslyn Park tournament – the Festival event was cancelled because of waterlogged pitches – but Christ College was still able to make its mark later in the week when Jon Williams received an invitation to field a VII against a side from Millfield in the slot before the final of the Open tournament. Nine OBs signed up, and Jon was extremely grateful to Adrian Whittall, Gethin’s father, for driving six of them up to London. One of the nine, Chris James, who as a result of injury would have been unable to play, was quickly redeployed to provide commentary for a private video of the game, and the remaining eight, after a somewhat rusty beginning which led to their being two scores down by half time, battled royally to keep the second half score to one try apiece, and the final score to 7-19. Tom Marsden was the try scorer, Gerwyn Williams the converter.

Full squad: Andrew Bridgeman, Gethin Deakins, Alex James, Chris James, Courtney Maggs-Jones, Tom Marsden, Tom Perryman, Gethin Whittall, Gerwyn Williams.

The OBs have agreed to field a side in this year’s Cronk-Cunis tournament, for under-21 sevens, which is due to be held at the end of August. The winners of that tournament are usually the team invited to play the Old Millfieldians on the Friday of the Rosslyn Park event, so it is just possible that the OBs might get another crack at these very familiar opponents.

Forthcoming Date

Friday 18^th April OBA careers presentation to the Sixth Form. We currently have a full house of ten speakers signed up for this year, with one reserve. Nevertheless it is always encouraging to hear from OBs who are willing to help, not least in the event of last-minute withdrawals – so please let John Payne know if you are interested.

Old Breconian, Victoria James - First Welsh Woman to reach the Summit of Mount Everest

On 24^th May this year, Old Breconian Victoria James became the youngest woman, and the first Welsh woman, to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

On Thursday 18^th October, Tori gave a presentation to the school which gripped the audience, who listened with rapt attention to the account of her ascent to the roof of the world.

The Head said "It is wonderful to have a young Old Breconian with such drive and such a spirit of adventure. It inspires our current pupils to believe that they, too, can achieve momentous things if they believe in themselves, aim high and apply themselves with this kind of grit and determination."

Tori was inundated with questions afterwards, which indicated the extent to which she had fired the imaginations of her listeners. She finished by challenging our pupils to be entrepreneurial and to take part in Enterprise Week, in November, which is being organized by the company Tori now works for, ‘Make your Mark’.

A truly memorable evening and just what we needed to get us through the pre-half term tiredness. Thank you, Tori!

OBA Dinner at Christ College: Saturday 23rd June 2007

	Because this was the last annual dinner to be held during Phillip Jones’ headship it was felt appropriate that it should be held at the school – the first time for a number of years; indeed brief research suggests that the last time the Association held its dinner at the school was in 1982, in which case the present occasion marked the latter’s 25^th anniversary. Since then, of course, much water has flowed under the bridge – not least in the form of coeducation; and while female OBs do not as yet attend dinners in large numbers we have become used to – and indeed welcomed – the presence of wives and partners, who have without question made it less likely that the Association would be blackballed, as happened several times in the past, at the school and elsewhere.
HOST, the school’s caterers, and in particular Daniel Zimmer the catering manager, expressed a readiness to feed us; and Mrs Ali Trumper, wife of the Alway Housemaster but who in an earlier incarnation had been a professional florist, readily agreed to create the table decorations; and, with a target attendance of 90 we were able to muster 88 for what proved to be an excellent occasion in every way. Soon after the date and venue for the dinner were announced Air Vice Marshal Peter Harris AFC, QCVS (Orchard, 65-67), who had been unable to attend the 2006 dinner at the RAF Club, got in touch to volunteer his services as a speaker, and pointed out that 2007 marked the 25^th anniversary of the Falklands campaign, in which he had been active as a Harrier pilot.
	With that in mind invitations to speak were extended also to Commodore Neill Thomas DSC (Blues, 57-63), another Harrier pilot, and to Clive Dytor MC, now Headmaster of the Oratory School but in 1982 a Royal Marine Lieutenant who distinguished himself in the recapture of the islands. After our Chairman Peter Lewis had paid tribute to Phillip and Jane Jones not only for all they had done for the school over the past eleven years but in particular for their great support for the OBA, our three gallant colleagues regaled us, each in his own very different way, with accounts of their experiences during what proved, by current standards, to be a mercifully short engagement. Clive Dytor even suggested that the rigours of life at CCB had been the best possible training for a yomping Marine.
Among those present it was a particular pleasure, for the Association as a whole but especially for Phillip and Jane Jones, to welcome six of the eleven Heads of School who had held office during their time with us; and a seventh, Laura Allen-Clarke, made a supreme effort to join us the next day for OB Day. There was time afterwards, with a bar extension until midnight, for plenty of informal mingling and reminiscing; and many of those present then retired to a variety of hostelries in Brecon to ready themselves for another bout of nostalgia the following day.

Old Breconian conquers Everest

An Old Breconian has become the first female from Wales, and youngest from the UK, to conquer Everest.

Tori James, 25, reached the 29,030ft ((8,850m) summit in the early hours of the 24^th May, local time, and has now safely returned to her Base Camp. She was part of a team from the London Business School who were raising funds for the Prince’s Trust.

Tori, from Pembrokeshire, has set several extreme challenge records. In 2005 she became the youngest ever female to complete The Scott Dunn Polar Challenge – a 360 mile race to the Magnetic North Pole.

Phillip Jones, Headmaster, said “We’re all incredibly proud of Tori and her achievement, but it will have come as no surprise to anyone who knew her at Christ College”.

She spent 18 months preparing for the Everest expedition, training six-days-a-week. Last year she climbed Cho Oyu in Nepal – the sixth highest mountain in the world and earlier this year completed an intensive trek up Mount Kilimanjaro.

Before leaving for the Himalayas, Tori, whose mother Jane is a Governor at Christ College, said “I do have fears, my biggest are avalanches but obviously I am going to be praying for the right weather conditions. I have proved that my body can cope so I am pretty confident that I can do it”.

Two of her team mates made it to the summit on 17^th May but Tori was forced to sit out that attempt due to a stomach bug. However all four of her team made it to the top early on the 24^th May, according to Ice 8000, the company that helped organise the expedition.

The company said that Tori is the youngest woman from the UK to conquer the world’s tallest mountain, and the first from Wales.

Old Breconian presented Highest Guiding Award

Angharad Lewis has been awarded the top UK Award for her services to girl guiding by the Lord Lieutenant of Powys, Shân Legge-Bourke. Chief Commissioner, Girlguiding Cymru, Mrs Cathryn Brooker was also in attendance.

The presentation of the Queen’s Guide Award took place at Christ College and the award is the highest accolade for Girlguiding in the UK. It is based on the concepts of personal challenge and participation and is split into five sections including 60 hours of practical guiding service, an outdoor challenge similar to that completed for the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award and a 12 month community action project. The sections are designed to give girls the chance to develop skills through activities that they enjoy.

Angharad was excited to be back and said: “Time has passed so quickly since leaving Christ College but it was great to go back and see some familiar faces. I started working on the Award when I was 16, so Christ College played an important role in my achievement. They fully supported me in all my Guiding activities when I was at school, including giving me time off to attend an International Guiding Jamboree in Sydney in 2003.”

Angharad is currently coming to the end of her first year at University but isn’t feeling daunted by the upcoming exams. “I’ve really enjoyed my course and it has been rewarding to see the skills I learnt at school coming together so well to help me in my first year. I’ve found university life a little hectic but fun and have even managed to continue my Guiding commitments by helping out a local Brownie unit.”

Old Breconian Reunion in Düsseldorf: Saturday 14 April 2007

The number of German pupils joining our Sixth Form in recent years has been growing steadily and this seemed a very good moment, therefore, to organise some sort of reunion.

Düsseldorf was chosen as a relatively central location with good transport links to the rest of the country and invitations received an enthusiastic response.

For more information click here to download in PDF or click here to download in a word document. Scroll down for photos on the event.

Daisuke Watanabe with girlfriend Noriko.

Kosta Barrmeyer, Robert Westhaus, Ben Ahnert	Arne Tiddens, Magda Grünenwald, Max Degenhart	Class of 2007
Connie Von Gemmeren, Rebecca Riebling, Katrin Balzer	Katharina Geier, Fee Niemeier, Max Engelhard, Susanna Doll	Anna Geier, Katharina Geier, Eva Schieren

Old Breconian receives prestigious Music Award

During its bi-annual Global Mainstream Media Award ceremony in London last week, the Triangle Media Group (TMG) presented OB Adam Khan (1986-1993 School House Red) with a Global Music Award in recognition of his most recent album ‘A Day In November’. Adam was also nominated as one of the ‘Top Achievers of Asian Origin’ for his 2006 concert schedule which took him to Asia, Europe and South America. Launched in 2003, the Triangle Media Group's ‘Global Awards’ were founded by Australian media tycoon and legal scholar David Flint. Adam’s new CD, recorded for the prestigious ‘Guitar Masters’ record label was recorded in Buenos Aries in October 2006 and will be released in the Spring.

Old Breconian wins Global Space Award

Kamal Tripuraneni OB (1992-1999 Orchard) has been honoured with the first prize in a prestigious international space science competition for his project on industrial extraction of oxygen from the lunar soil to commercialize space travel. Twenty entries reached the final of the contest and the entries had to include scientific and technical detail plus a business plan of the proposed project.

Kamal’s project ‘A Greater Viability of Space Travel by the Lunar Generation of Oxygen via the FFC-Cambridge Process’ has been adjudged as the best by an international jury of experts and awarded first prize of ‘Robert A Heinlein Flight into the Future Contest,’ a spokesman for the US-based trust that conducts it said after presentation of awards.

“The project of Indian student Kamal Tripuraneni, currently studying in Cambridge, would help in industrial extraction of oxygen and metals from the lunar soil to commercialize space travel,” Dmitry Peison, secretary of the contest, said.

The contest is conducted by the US Heinlein Prize Trust and assisted by the Russian Aviation and Space Scientific Innovation Educational Complex (RASSIEC). The competition aims to encourage young international students and researchers in the field of space exploration and was created to honour the memory of renowned American author Robert A Heinlein. The contest, originally for citizens from European, African, and West Asian nations, also allows students under 30 regardless of nationality, attending any European, African, or Middle Eastern institution.

Kamal will benefit from the international recognition of his work along with $3,500 cash prize and diploma.

Old Breconian becomes highest Welshwoman in the World

Victoria James, whose membership of the first ever all-women team to complete the Polar Challenge, has now committed herself to a challenge on Mount Everest in 2007. In preparation for this she was in a team which completed a successful assault on Mont Blanc in July, one which included an hour’s respite on the top and the rather more nerve-racking need to sit out a thunderstorm on the way down. Her next move, as part of a team mainly consisting of former students of the London Business School, was into the Himalayas in August, the target Cho Oyu – at 8,201 metres the sixth highest mountain in the world. Altitude sickness took its toll on the team, but on 2^nd October Tori and a Chinese girl reached the summit. As a result Tori can now claim to have been the highest Welshwoman in the world – with Everest still to come.

Cricket Reunion – 50 Years on

All eleven members of a 1956 school’s cricket team attended a 50 years reunion on 24 and 25 June. The Christ College Brecon 1^st XI set a record in 1956 that has never been bettered. Out of 16 games played they won 12, drew three and lost just one.

The team (all now in their mid to late sixties) attended Old Breconian Day where they recreated the original 1^st XI team photograph. Former Brecon town resident Frank Bissex, who travelled from Victoria in Australia for the reunion said: "It is very emotional being here today and seeing all the old fellows. I was talking to my GP back in Australia about this reunion and he was amazed that it was taking place at all, joking that the law of averages should have dictated that a couple should have fallen off their perch by now."

Mr Jones, headmaster said “It is quite remarkable that all eleven former pupils got together for the first time in 50 years to celebrate their remarkable year. Most of them have travelled the world with their jobs before settling back home, or in some cases moving much further afield and it is good that the pull of their old school brought them back. It was a special day for all of us.”

Well done Sarah!

Very many congratulations to Sarah Jane Davies (de Winton 92-94) who on Monday 5 June won the final of the Welsh Singers Competition in St David's Hall, Cardiff. As a result of her success Sarah will now represent Wales in the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

OBA Dinner at RAF Club, Piccadilly - Saturday 6 May 2006

Although we failed to match the numbers for last year’s dinner in the House of Lords, 89 OBs and their guests enjoyed an excellent evening in the august surroundings of the RAF Club in Piccadilly – an especially appropriate venue this year in that Peter Lewis took over in February from Huw Richards as the Association’s Chairman, and Richard Thomas, former flight commander of the Red Arrows, was our main speaker. Not many years ago Peter and Richard were contemporary station commanders, Peter of Brampton/Wyton and Richard of Linton-on-Ouse; and it was a good place also for OBs to meet for the first time Kieran Dempsey, our new Bursar, who left the RAF only last autumn – for more details of his career see the forthcoming CCB newsletter.
	It was a particular pleasure to have with us both our OB MPs, Simon Hughes and Roger Williams, and to welcome as guests Brigadier Alan Hedley and his wife Tricia – it was only at the end of last year that Alan severed his connection with CCB after fourteen years as our Army senior schools liaison officer, a period during which he saw something like 50 Breconians move on to training at RMA Sandhurst. Soon after Richard Thomas had agreed to speak at the dinner John Payne noticed, in the window of Calvin Meredith, the chartered accountants in Ship Street, a large print of a painting by David Lawrence of the Red Arrows, signed by all the members of the flight – and the top signature belonged to Richard.
Mr Meredith very kindly let us borrow the print for display at the dinner; and the OBA committee subsequently agreed that the Association should buy the print and present it to the school for display wherever was thought appropriate. Before Richard spoke Headmaster Phillip Jones responded to the toast of the school with some thoughtful comments about life at CCB, assuring his audience (which included one of his predecessors, John Cook, and his wife Vivien, as well as Eric Pollard and the Rev. Philip David from the staff of former times) that the school was in excellent shape.
	The Association’s committee will almost certainly be discussing at their next meeting (on OB Day, 25^th June) the future pattern of dinners, and it would be very helpful if Old Breconians with thoughts on this issue would share those thoughts with us. The critical points are probably location, venue, time of year and pricing – though the last is not entirely under our control. At the moment no future dinners are scheduled, so we start with a blank canvas.

Careers Evening 2006

For the fifth annual OBA careers presentation, on Friday 28^th April, we had a record number of volunteers – which, as it happened, was just as well, for several either had to withdraw because they found themselves committed elsewhere (eg Afghanistan) or were unable to make it to Brecon on the day. Nevertheless the eight OBs who battled their way to CCB filled the allotted hour with some uniformly excellent (and obediently brief!) presentations, and all could be seen afterwards engaged in chat with interested members of their audience. A ninth would-be speaker, Max Mason (O, 91-93), who has followed a short service career as a hydrographer in the RN by opening a very successful and award-winning bangers-and-mash restaurant in Oxford, on finding himself for the second year running unable to find staff to cover his absence on a hectic Friday night, offered to come and talk to the RN section of the CCF on a quieter day of the week, and is due to be with us on Ascension Day (25^th May).

Our eight speakers this year were:

James Lawford Davies (D, 89-92)
Emily Cate (née Brewster) (W, 87-89)
Gary Evans (R, 68-72)
Geraint James (O, 76-83)
Luke Holland (S, 91-98)
Richard Batten (R, 67-73)
Owen Murfin (R, 87-94)
Oliver Thomas (B, 94-99)

Both Luke and Oliver had to battle especially hard to get to us from London, but we are very much in debt to all eight speakers, and I look forward to a similarly good response for next year – the important thing is that each year we cover as wide a range of careers as possible.

One volunteer has already signed up – he should be back from Afghanistan by then; and I’d like to put in a special plea for a few more girls – the Sixth Form is increasingly evenly divided between boys and girls, and as the first girls to join the school did so nearly twenty years ago there are plenty of possible female speakers out there.

Our photo shows seven of this year’s speakers – Oliver had not yet made it from London when the photo was taken – and also vice-president Guy Clarke (B, 60-66), who spoke later in the evening about the possibilities of grants for worthwhile overseas projects from the OBA Charitable Trust.

Father of two Old Breconians undertakes an Adventure in the Americas

Mick Daly, father of Andrew and Chris (Old Breconians), is embarking on a motorbike adventure in the Americas which he planned with his friend, Mick Simpson.

The aim is to ride two motorbikes unsupported from the southernmost habitable point of the planet (the city of Ushuaia in Argentina, South America) to the northernmost navigable point (in Alaska, Prudhoe Bay), visiting every country en route.

Mick Daly, who retired from the army after 30 years, felt that it was an ideal time in life to embark on this journey due to a natural career break. He aims to raise awareness of the Christ College Foundation as well as other charities, on the way. For more information see their website click here or for up-to-date information visit www.2wmc.blogspot.com.

Golf - OBs triumph once more over Old Llandoverians
(Friday 2 September 2005)

For the sixth consecutive time the Old Breconians won their annual tussle with the old enemy – albeit by the narrowest of margins. On a beautiful late summer’s day at Royal Porthcawl nineteen OBs managed to pull off another victory in the most exciting way, with everything depending on the result of the last match; and it was the newest and youngest member of the team, Llyr Raw-Rees, who found himself being cheered into the clubhouse after clinching the all-important point with his father Charles. At the subsequent dinner veteran Tom King-Davies (S, 30-35) received the cup on behalf of the team from Old Llandoverian Huw Thomas; and that cup, duly inscribed, will shortly find itself sitting once more in the trophy cabinet at the head of the library stairs. Regardless of the result, however, both match and dinner, as well as a great deal of friendly banter, were thoroughly enjoyed by both teams.

OB team: Peter Owen, Jonathan Spencer, Simon Spencer, Michael Clarke, Keith Gibson, Mark Wilson, Stephen Falck, Stephen Maggs, Peter Jenkins, Russell Davies, Robert Calcaterra, Mervyn Fudge, Andrew Hutton, Clive Mort, Michael Muir, Charles Raw-Rees, Llyr Raw-Rees, Michael Davies, Gwyn Jones

House of Lords Dinner- Friday 6 May 2005

	The dinner was very well attended – a sell-out, in fact, though a couple of seats were empty on the night through illness. The House’s refreshment Department looked after us very well, the setting, with views out over the Thames and the London Eye watching over us, was magical, the food was good, the speeches ideal in length; and there was time for a fair bit of informal conversation after the dinner. Huw Richards, our Chairman, welcomed our guests, who included the Archbishop of Canterbury, Mr and Mrs Robert Webb, Dr and Mrs John Elliott representing the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion and Mr W Tudor John representing Wales in London. He expressed the Association’s thanks above all to Lord Livsey of Talgarth, our chief guest, through whose kind offices we had been able to hold the dinner in the House of Lords.
He congratulated our two Breconian MPs, both safely returned to the Commons the previous day: Simon Hughes (who was with us throughout the evening) for Southwark North and Bermondsey and Roger Williams for Brecon and Radnorshire. The loyal toast was followed by another to the Prince of Wales as Patron of the school’s Foundation. The Headmaster responded to the toast of the school, illustrating with anecdotes his conviction that Christ College was a very special place; and Robert Webb, QC, responding to the toast of the guests, commended his own company, British Airways, for ensuring that all their aircraft repairs were carried out on home territory in Wales whereas the likes of Lufthansa contracted theirs out to China. He went on to enter a plea for less government – and if this summary makes his speech sound somewhat dry I hasten to add that it was plentifully spiced with wit.

The undoubted success of the evening led to several calls for such an event to be held annually in London. T

Careers Evening 2005

The fourth annual OBA careers presentation took place on Friday 29^th April. Eleven OBs had offered to speak; of those two found that their work commitments on the day prevented them from coming (from London and Oxford), while a third, Anup Shah, driving up from Portsmouth, was able to join us only for the later discussions in the library. The remaining eight, who came from various parts of the country including Chelmsford, London, South Devon and Cirencester, contributed to an evening which was very well received by the audience of Sixth Formers, and I hope they will all feel that their reception made their long journeys worthwhile. My main purpose in listing the places they had come from, however, is to emphasize their commitment – they had all volunteered, or at least shown no resistance to invitations, and the school is immensely grateful to them.

This year’s speakers were:
Jamie Hacker-Hughes and Joanna Crockett – clinical psychologists
Robin Smith – human resources director
Fiona Pickup – working with a television sports production company
Lucy Widdows – teacher
Matthew Thomas – fund manager with HSBC
Charlie Mowat – MD of his own office cleaning company
Owen Pritchard – Army officer
Anup Shah – doctor (eye specialist)

Our thanks to them all – the Chairman, Huw Richards, is on record as saying that this evening is the best thing the OBA does, and I hope the flow of volunteers will continue.

OBs' Soccer Triumph 2005

The afternoon of Thursday 10th March found an impressive array of OB soccer talent descended on the school and inflict on a severely depleted 1st XI a 3-0 defeat. The fixture coincided with CCB's turn to host the local inter-schools cross-country event, Field Day for the CCF, and the dress-rehearsal for the annual play - "Oh, what a lovely war" - and these, combined with injuries, meant the school had to turn to the Senior Common Room for reinforcements, with coach (and Orchard Housemaster) Michael Bond in defence and veteran Tony Reeves in goal.

Las year this match, played on the Astroturf, ended in a 1-1 draw. Michael Bond had hoped this time to play on the hallowed turf - and excellent surface - of the 1st XV pitch, but the cross-country course made that impossible, so the game was played on Pitch 3.

A scoreline of 3-0 after twenty minutes, with three crisply taken goals from Owen Wolfe, Chris Howe and Matthew Wolfe, threatened to signal a deluge; but a combination of improved defence on the part of the school and a general easing up by the OBs, who introduced two subs early, meant that the eventual result was at least respectable.

The game was played in an excellent spirit, and we are very grateful to the thirteen OBs who turned out: Marcos Kostalas, Owen Wolfe, Chris Howe, Matthew Wolfe, Oliver Hilton, Neil Murray, Chris James, James Vaughan, Tom Cleland, Ryan Price, Morgan Bayley, Dan Thomas and David Durning.