2001 Reunion - Selborne College, East London (11 - 14 October 2001)
- David Moores reports (see photos)

Facts and figures
124 class members.
104 located as at the date of the reunion.
51 able to attend.
46 from South Africa (24 East London, 9 Cape Town, 8 Johannesburg, 1 Grahamstown, 1 Komga, 1 Mseleni, 1 Plettenberg Bay, 1 Queenstown).
4 from the United Kingdom.
1 from Australia.
R7700 collected for the gift to the Old Selbornians Assocation (to go towards the school museum fund) out of a total collection of R35000.

Those who were able to attend various parts of the weekend:  Dean Arnold, Colin Beard, David Benge, Michael Biberauer, Ryan Botha, Jason Chambers, Michael Church, Allan Clarke, Deon Coetzer, Alan Downey, Eddie Dryden, Shaun Fourie, Jeremy Gallimore, Patrick Gibbons, Alistair Gilroy, Stavros Hajiyiannis, Sean Hart, Peter Harvey, Ian Klopper, Ryan Köhler, Dwayne Kruuse, Ashley Lipke, Jason McDowell, Brett McKenzie, Ryan Meyer, David Moores, Stephen Nash, Leon Nel, Duncan Noble, Allan Opperman, Bruce Page, Matt Pankratz, Anthony Parker, Edward Peinke, George Pires, Anthony Pulford, Pierre Rautenbach, Kurt Rewitzky, Anton Roets, Nico Schonken, Simon Schultz, Darryl Schwartz, Richard Slavin, Bradley Stevens, Robin Steyn, Jason Still, Glyde Thompson, Brenden Tiltman, Mike van der Merwe, Justin Weare and Justin Wynn.

11 October 2001
The reunion weekend got off to a relaxed start with a group of about 25 members of the Class of 1991 gathering at the College fields for a game of touch rugby and a few drinks.  Surprisingly for the state of fitness of the lads, the pace was fast and furious, with the emphasis more on running straight for the line than straight for the cooler box.  In fact, it was a full 30+ minutes of mostly high energy stuff before a drinks break was called for.

While most of the class looked as one would expect after 10 years of good drinking and minimal exercise, some had clearly gone against the spirit of the reunion and had prepared for this game, and thus were in peak fitness.   As expected, most of the plays revolved around those insane individuals, while there was an overabundance of wings "ready" (between asthmatic heaves) for the ball on the outside.  The sun reflecting off sweaty bald spots certainly added to the challenge of catching the pill...

The first casualty of the weekend (actually the only casualty of the weekend) was Jim Gallimore, who managed to tear his Achilles tendon while keeping up with the play.  Perhaps we should consider dropping touch rugby from the next reunion's programme in favour of lawn bowls, or perhaps some needlepoint...

Even though darkness was falling another session was called for, and play continued under a solitary floodlight (perhaps one of the lights donated as part of our matric gift).  Eventually hunger and lethargy overtook all but the keenest, and the game disbanded in favour of drinks at the Old Boys Club.

12 October 2001
Because of the 9:00 start to the Ceremony of the Key, and the need to scrum with the rest of the general public (the school thoughtfully provided reserved seating for the older years, but we were deemed youthful enough to fight with the rest or stand) there were some bleary-eyed individuals standing around our "official", "reserved" grandstand.  Unfortunately our 1991 numbers were diluted by some very non-male, very non-less-than-30 people who didn't take the steely bloodshot glares of a few large 10 year reunioners as a hint that they shouldn't sit there.  Hopefully we'll get our own stand at the 15 year reunion, although I'll be more prepared next time and bring a pen and a large white card to knock up some Reserved signage.

The Ceremony was as good as ever, and only one or two whuss cadets were seen sinking to the ground.  The drilling was good, and perhaps it was my failing hearing, but even the Cadet Band sounded in some sort of tune.   The PA system wasn't too hot for those of us in the cheap seats, but it did appear as if the order of events was much the same as in our time.  Even the programme that had been handed out looked pretty much the same, albeit with a few more names under Custodian, and fortunately not too many under the list of Old Boys killed in action.   Basil Blumrick (deputy Headmaster in our time) was back as guest of honour, and gave a good punchy speech.  Perhaps this would account for the paucity of casualties among the cadets.  Bring back the long speeches we say!  With Basil at the mike it felt like we had been transported back 10 years in time.  Only the beer bellies and balding heads around (and on) me removed that illusion.

After the final march past the crowd filtered through to the Hall to climb into the tea and various eats laid out by the Ladies' Committee.  There was a bit of a crush in there so I hung back for a while, but eventually the crowd started dispersing out of the Hall.  This was probably because the speeches were about to start, and although I had had some vague prior warning, the news that each reunion class would have to say a word led to some hasty finger pointing and haggling in the crowd.  Eventually Anton Roets' legal background beat out the verbal skills of Brett McKenzie and Ryan Köhler, and he gave a good off-the-cuff speech which didn't seem to offend many people.  Having felt distinctly ancient yesterday when I had dropped into the school and had been surrounded by the current batch of Selbornians, being in the Hall surrounded by a sea of grey hair and complaints about the cost of living these days, made me feel a lot more comfortable and youthful.

After the tea it was off for a tour of the school and a chat to the few remaining teachers who weren't our age.  Finally we eased our way towards the cricket match where, later in the afternoon, the school 1st XI managed to beat the Old Boys team containing two of our vintage - Fourie and Köhler.

The class members went their various ways for lunch, some heading to the local Keg, while the bulk ended up at the more formal lunch in Norton House where the Ladies' Committee excelled in producing a great lunch for the large gathering of Old Boys and partners.  For the hostel boys in the class this was probably a nostalgic moment, but for the rest of us we couldn't see what they'd been complaining about all those years - the food was excellent!

Next event on the agenda was the rowing race between the Class of 91 crew and a crew from the School.  There was a smattering of talented (and fit) individuals in the School boat, so it was all credit to the experience of the old geezers of the 91 vintage for the clinical and methodical manner in which they won.  That and the 10+ boat length start, the fact that they were 8 versus the School's 4, and the repair stop the School made to fix a broken seat mid-race...

The formal proceedings for the day were rounded off in the traditional way with the Retreat Ceremony.  A good crowd had turned out as usual, and the large support from Old Boys and the public was a good sign that this tradition will continue.  The drum solo was perhaps a tad more contrived and overdrawn than in recent years, but other than that it was still a good performance all round.

And after a loooong day the highlight of the weekend finally arrived - the Class Dinner at the East London Golf Club.  About 45 of the class (some with partners) gathered for an evening of good food, good drink and lots of long rambling stories about years gone by.  Glyde Thompson and Anton Roets weighed in with speeches that were both humorous and serious in parts.  And for Glyde, drunkenly-slurred in all the other bits.  The serious side was to remember the two class members (Daniel McAlister and Ian Rens) who didn't have the choice of whether they'd be attending the reunion or not, and to toast Alan Downey for his postiveness and efforts in getting back into routine after his diving accident a few years back.   There were also some derogatory comments, but unfortunately I didn't have the camera running at the time, so we'll have to wait another 5 years for the next speech in similar vein.

We were eventually kicked out of the Golf Club at midnight, with most rather worse for the wear.  Fortunately it does seem that name wasn't thrown too badly, and we can probably still return there for future reunions.   That despite the brilliant War Cry near the middle of the evening which must have made a few ELGC members choke on their G&Ts.

13 October 2001
After the huge day on Friday, it was obvious to expect the following day to be a lot more subdued.  It was however a good time to catch up with family, and generally recover from the previous day's excesses.  I think there were some informal golf games involving various class members, but no reports have filtered into Reunion HQ to confirm or deny that.

In the evening the Old Selbornian Association held their annual dinner at the Primary school.  The organising Committee did a superb job for a very reasonable price, and the hall looked perfect for an event of this stature.  The food and drink matched the decor, and an excellent evening was had by all. 

Although the Class of 91 had confirmed bookings for about 25 people, in the end only 10 arrived.  It was a little embarrassing, but those who didn't pitch missed out on an evening right up with the previous night's.  Even if we'd filled our table we would have been the smallest group - the older guys clearly enjoy these events!

The formalities were brief - Luke Baisley was sworn in by Elvin Jones as new OSA President, and a particularly deserved award of honorary life membership was made to Mrs Visser for all the effort she has put in to the OSA over the years.  The applause was quite deafening, even through a wine-soaked haze.

14 October 2001
Finally a day of reflection and proper relaxation, without too much alcohol in the proximity.  The number of 91ers attending events had been steadily declining over the weekend, and only 3 made it to the Church Service at the College on the Sunday morning.  A reasonable number of people were there, and the service was concise yet meaningful.  A quick tea in the hall foyer ended proceedings, and I took one last opportunity to wander around the school and take a few photos, not knowing when I'll be back again.

All in all a weekend which turned out to be good fun, and thanks to everyone who made it a success - the OSA and Mrs Visser for co-ordinating and arranging the weekend (and Luke Baisley for the pointers and tips he offered this novice reunion organiser), various class mates for tracking down lost souls and following up on their details, and all those who supported the reunion.  It wouldn't have been much fun if no-one had pitched!  See you all in 2006 for our 15 Year gathering... 

© Selborne College Class of '91 Reunion Co-ordinating Committee, 1998-2002
Page last updated 2 February 2002