Old Cambrian Society "e-Newsletter"

e-Newsletter - 20th January 2007!! ........... Happy New Year !!!

Dear Old Cambrian,

May I take this opportunity of wishing you and your loved ones a happy and healthy 2007. The Old Cambrian Society continues to thrive throughout the world, and I am very grateful to everyone who arranged reunions and mini-reunions during 2006. The web site continues to attract thousands of visitors every day, and I have used this medium for communication more and more rather than send out too many newsletters. So, if you wish to know what is going on in the OCS 'world', please make sure you visit the web site regularly.

So, it's straight on to announcements ............. as you can see, lots of reunions are planned, so take advantage of the hard work of the organisers, and enjoy!!:

Reunion - Old Cambrian Society (UK) - Annual Dinner - Friday 27th April 2007 at the RAF Club, Piccadilly, London

Once again we're heading back to the very popular RAF Club, Piccadilly. As in previous years, Alan Murdoch (Rhodes 1950) who is a Club member, is hosting us for the evening. Tickets are priced at £35 each, and we have a limit on numbers 120 - ten tables each with twelve people. So, to avoid disappointment, please contact me as soon as possible with your reservations. We will be selling the popular Impala CD at this function, if stocks last until then.

Details of the dinner, menu and order form can be found on the web site at: http://www.oldcambrians.com/events2007dinner.html

Reunion - North American Luncheon & Weekend, organised by Old Cambrian Society (Canada)

Saturday 8th September and Sunday 9th September 2007 - Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

This spectacular is being organised by Zahir Dharsee and Dave Allen, and will give everyone in north America the chance to meet up and reminisce about the "good old times"!! There is going to be a luncheon on Saturday 8th September at the Host Fine Indian Cuisine Restaurant, Mississauga. Then on the Sunday, it is planned to have a sightseeing trip to one of the main local attractions in Southern Ontario such as Niagara Falls or the Wine country.

For more details, please click on the following link: http://www.oldcambrians.com/Reunion-Canada2007.html

Reunion - Old Cambrian Society ( Kenya ) - Annual Dinner-Dance - Friday 28th September 2007 in Nairobi

This is advance warning for the highlight of the Old Cambrian Society calendar for 2007. Details are being worked out, and will be announced on the web site and future Newsletters. Once again, I plan to attend this reunion as I will be in Kenya on holiday at the time, and I hope that many of you from around the world will make the effort to join us. I plan to arrange an organised tour of the school on Saturday 29th September.

Calling all Western Canadians

I have received an e-mail from Ben Mbaja (Marsabit 1982-7):

I live in Fort McMurray, Northern Alberta but a regular in Edmonton and Calgary. Please spread the word out there if anyone is interested in starting up a Western Canada Old Cambrian Chapter to cover Manitoba, Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia to get in touch with me and we can set the ball rolling. This would also be an opportunity for Old Cambrian kids and grandkids to get together. I’m sure Old Cambrians are out there in the Prairies and the Rockies and it’s about time to get out their cowboy hats and boots and giddy up.

Please contact me if you're interested in Ben's idea, and I will put you in touch with him.

Impala CD - http://www.oldcambrians.com/impala.html

Many who ordered a copy of the CD have not followed through with the order. So, Martin Langley (in Houston, Texas) and I have a stock of around 100 CDs between us. I plan to take 25 CDs to Kenya for the 28th September reunion, and Martin plans to take a similar number with to the North American reunion on 8th September. So, we have around 50 CDs to sell. If anyone would like a copy of this fantastic record that charts the history of our great school, please contact me.

Web site - http://www.oldcambrians.com - 2.21 million "hits" in 2006

That's an average of 6,030 per day!! Up from 1.72 million visits in 2005. I'm delighted that so many of you spend your time looking through the variety of stuff that's now on the web site. Time-permitting (and also once I've learnt the relevant programming skills!!) I plan to upgrade the web site during 2007, and introduce some searching facilities.

Nanyuki town - 100 years old!!

Nanyuki town is 100 years old this year, and a celebration of the "century" is planned which will include among othere things developing a website for the town. The organisers of the celebration and web site are seeking articles, stories and photos from people who may have lived or visited Laikipia/Nanyuki during the past 100 years. Please contact Stanley Githaiga by e-mail at laikewa@yahoo.co.uk

"Childhood Memories of Colonial East Africa 1920-1963" - 2nd book planned

John Rawlins (Grigg 1945-7) had considerable success with his unique book, "Childhood Memories of Colonial East Africa 1920-1963" (see web site: http://www.oldcambrians.com/Books-ChildhoodMemories.html) . By popular demand, he is planning a sequel which will be entitled "Further Memories of Colonial East Africa 1920-1963". If anyone would like to share their own memories with John, for possible inclusion in the book, please e-mail at: john.rawlins2@btinternet.com

Ernest and Doris Shindler (& John Shindler) - Does anyone remember them?

I have received an e-mail from a Peter Gamble containing the following text:

My twin sister and myself were born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1947. We were both given up for adoption to two different families in 1947/48. Dawn and I found each other in 1984. Time is ticking by and with the help of the www, and organizations such as yourselves, we are trying to find information on our biological family.

We know that our parents were/are Ernest and Doris Shindler. We also know of a brother, John Shindler, who attended Saint Mary's School in Nairobi in the 1950's. We have received some information on John from people who remember him from school days, but have been unable to get any information after this. We also have a feeling that we could also have a sister out there, but we have no information at all on her.

If anyone has any memories of the Shindler's, or even better if they know of their whereabouts, please e-mail me with the information and I will pass it on.

John McClelland Memorial Plaque - http://www.oldcambrians.com/Photos-McClellandPlaque.html

Many of us will have walked past this plaque many hundreds of times during our stay at the school. Ron Bullock (Scott 1948-53) has posed the following questions: I wonder if anyone else has taken a close look at the medallion on the memorial tablet for John McClelland. It contains a heraldic device with the motto "Think on". Do we have any heraldry experts who might be able to expound further on the design and its significance? Please e-mail if you can help to explain this.

Death of Rosie Hogge - widow of the late David Hogge (Staff)

I received an e-mail from David Betts (Rhodes 1948-53):

Sadly deaths seem to be a feature of our lives these days and I write to report the recent passing of Rosie Hogge, a near neighbour and a very dear friend for many years. Rosie was the young, attractive and very popular wife of David Hogge who joined the School staff from South Africa in the 1950s. Rosie, a widow for many years, died in on 7 August 2006 and I attended her funeral in Reading on 14 August. JohnLenton, another OC, was present as were two sons of Bill Liversidge, Michael and Peter.

Staff Members

If anyone has news on the whereabouts of former staff members of our school, please let me know. I receive regular e-mails from "old boys" of the school wishing to know if I have contact details of their favourite teachers who had such a resounding influence on them and helped to make them who they are today. A number of staff members have registered with me, so they are in the Alumni section of the web site, but we could do with some more.

I am in regular contact with Rev. Peter Davies (Staff 1960s and 1970s) who lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales with his wife Tiggy, and during a recent conversation with him, he told me that he talks regularly to Stan Ware, and Stan is in regular contact with David Atkinson. Does anyone have contact details for David Haylock and Peter Newling?

I make my usual plea........ If you are planning a gathering/reunion of Old Cambrians, please let me know so that I can advertise it in an e-Newsletter and on the web site.

That's all for now!

Steve Le Feuvre

Webmaster - http://www.oldcambrians.com

& Secretary, Old Cambrian Society (UK)