Alumni Notices

Wanted: Co-Trustee of the OE Trust Fund

A lawyer or chartered accountant is sought, ideally with knowledge of one or more of the following: investments, book-keeping, trust accounts and charity law. Please contact Sue Croucher in the OE Club if you are interested in this voluntary post: oeclub@epsomcollege.org.uk 01372 821294.

Stephen Oliver Directs Play

Mr Stephen Oliver (pictured left), former member of the Common Room and known to many OEs, is directing Taking Sides by Ronald Harwood at The Richmond Shakespeare Society from 28th January.

If OEs would like to attend, email Stephen Oliver who can arrange for tickets to be picked up and paid for at the Box Office without incurring the Audience Membership charge. stephen.oliver97@ntlworld.com

"Ronald Harwood's 1995 play, a hit in the West End and on Broadway, pits Furtwangler against his hostile American interrogator, Major Steve Arnold, who has witnessed the horrors of Belsen. Their impassioned debate on the conflict between art and politics makes gripping theatre, and challenges members of the audience themselves to 'take sides'. http://www.richmondshakespeare.org.uk/

OE in Queen's New Year Honours List

Lord Alex Carlile QC (H-S/Fa 1960-66) becomes a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours List for services to national security. The picture on the right shows Lord Carlile (centre) with fellow OEs Morley Pecker (left) and Peter Hakim at the recent House of Commons OE reception. To read the full article, go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-16365590

Andy Fernando (Holman 1999-2004) supports 'Movember'

Some of you may have noticed a significant increase in the number of moustachioed men during the month of November. This is 'Movember', a charity event where participants attempt to grow a moustache for the whole month, and wear it with pride.

The aim of this charity is to raise vital funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. Via the moustache, conversation about these issues is more widely discussed and awareness is increased.

Andy explains, "A number of my work colleagues and I decided to join this movement and each of us chose a 'Tache Idol' on which to base our moustaches on, such as Burt Reynolds, Freddie Mercury, Hulk Hogan and Mario & Luigi. At the end of the month we celebrated our new-found manliness by frequenting a few of London's finest bars dressed as our idols. We decided to raise money for Accounting for Africa and Cardiac Risk in the Young, as well. As a result of everyone's generous donations, we have raised over £2,000 for three very worthy causes."

Passages: Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu  (1933-2011)

The former leader of the breakaway Republic of Biafra, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu (Holman 1947-52), died in a London hospital at the age of 78. Ojukwu, widely known as Emeka, was born in Zungeru, northern Nigeria. His father was the transport millionaire, Sir Louis Ojukwu. Following Epsom College, he studied history at Lincoln College, Oxford.

An Espom College contemporary, Michael Norsworthy (Holman 1946-53) recalls, "The young Emeka had so much alien culture and discipline to absorb in those first few months that he could either have collapsed under the pressure or striven, as he did, to master it with his own brand of determination."

It was rugby and athletics for which Ojukwu became best known. He won his 1^st XV rugby colours in 1950 and, two years later, his First String athletics colours after excelling in the shot putt, discus, high jump and the sprints. 

Mr Norsworthy comments further, "Oj was the joy of any rugby coach, being able to play in almost any position on the field. He was a very difficult man to tackle. He had a long stride and, when in full flight, legs going like pistons, his feet would kick out at all angles behind him and his knees would carve a fearful path in front of him. This made any orthodox tackle a hazardous, if not a masochistic, undertaking."

To read a full obituary, follow this link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/27/chukwuemeka-odumegwu-ojukwu

Christmas Tree Decorations

Looking to brighten up your home this Christmas? Why not buy some Christmas tree decorations made by members of the Young Co-operatives as part of their fundraising efforts for the Landirani Trust, a charity that supports orphans in Malawi. For more details and an order form click here

Support the Forces

Over the past few years the College community has supported Help for Heroes and Thank the Forces. Donations are now being sought for another initiative aimed at supporting our soldiers in Afghanistan. Old Epsomian Lieutenant Guy Baker (left) has recently been deployed to Afghanistan and his family has set up Mama Baker's Boxes, a project to send shoe boxes filled with home comforts to his troops in 10 Battery, 47 Regiment, Royal Artillery. A collection bin is available at main Reception to receive gifts from all members of the College community. For a list of list of suggested items click here

Charitable Trust set up in memory of son

David Morton (Rosebery 1967-71) and his wife Pippa have set up a charitable trust, Paul's Fund, in memory of their son who died from a brain tumour aged 19. The Fund pays for young adults (aged approximately 18-30) to stay at Paul's Place, their B&B and place of retreat near Croyde on the North Devon coast. Those eligible are young adults who have been bereaved, diagnosed with a terminal or life threatening illness, or who are themselves providing a significant, long term caring role for a family member. The fund will also pay for a friend, family member or carer accompanying them. For full details of eligibility or how to make a donation, go to http://www.pauls-fund.co.uk/

OE participates in IBM's centennial celebrations

June 16th 2011 marked the 100 year anniversary of the founding of IBM. To celebrate, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of IBM, Samuel J Palmisano, rang the Opening Bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Later in the day, OE Denny Jacobson (R 1952-56) took part in special celebrations at IBM's Somers location, some 50 miles north of New York City.

Denny joined IBM in London in 1961 after graduating from University College, London with a degree in Engineering. and has had a career spanning half of IBM's history in international sales and marketing, working in six different countries and being involved with business operations in over 100 countries. He continues to work for IBM as a consultant for visits to the USA by major customers from all over the world.

Denny comments, "IBM's innovations are the DNA of today's technology industry: computer memory, personal computers, floppy disks, hard disk drives, rewritable CDs, relational databases, and standards to safeguard and protect information on computers. These contributions are the underpinnings for today's technology industry and illustrate how IBM has transformed the modern world."

OE to receive prestigious award

Bob Newman (Wilson 1943-46) has been awarded the N.W. Jolly Medal, which is the Institute of Foresters of Australia's highest and most prestigious honour for outstanding service to the profession of forestry in Australia. Bob, whose career spans over 60 years, will receive the award at a ceremony later this year.

Pedal power

Peter Brennan (Rn 1991-6) and his sister Keara are currently cycling from India to Ireland in memory of their cousin, Deirdre, who died aged just 29. 

Their aim is to raise a pound for every one of the 15,000 kilometres (9,320 miles) of the journey for Room to Read, a charity close to Deirdre's heart, and build a library in India in her honour. 

Room to Read is a charity supporting millions of children in poor countries through education, establishing 700 schools and 7,000 libraries worldwide.

To sponsor Peter and Keara or to see more details, go to http://www.justgiving.com/indiatoireland

Cycling for Charity

Christian Zaleski (Carr 2003-5) and three university friends are preparing for a charity cycle trip from London to Milan at the end of August.

They are raising money for the Geoff Thomas Foundation, a charity that helps in the fight against Leukaemia, set up by the former footballer Geoff Thomas. With a couple of stages in the Alps, Chris admits that it's going to be a tough trip.  Between the four of them they hope to raise over £10,000 for the charity and donations from OEs will be much appreciated. Please go to:  www.justgiving.com/london2milan

National selection  

Oliver Jones (Wilson 1992-1997) was selected to join the Hong Kong national rugby squad on their annual 3-game tour of Europe with International tests against Germany, Norway and the Netherlands in December 2010.

Oliver was awarded his first cap and scored a debut try against Germany and played in the Norway game as well. Unfortunately the Netherlands game was cancelled due to heavy snow. Oliver is looking forward to playing in the HSBC Asia 5 Nations tournament - against Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea and Arabian Gulf in 2011.

River Thames run for charity

Christian Elliott (Fayrer 1991-96) has set himself the challenge of running the length of the River Thames - from source to London Bridge - next Easter in aid of the Anthony Nolan Trust. Christian expects to take about five days to run the 180 miles. The Anthony Nolan Trust created the first bone marrow register for leukaemia patients needing a lifesaving transplant. Many OEs will know that Paul Golding (a friend of Christian's at Epsom) was diagnosed with leukaemia earlier this year. Through the work of the Anthony Nolan Trust, more than one compatible bone marrow donor was found. This is fantastic news but Paul still faces many hurdles. Christian is hoping to raise awareness and as much money as possible for the charity over the coming months. If you would like to sponsor Christian, go to: www.anthonynolanevents.org.uk/ChristianElliott

OE named Deputy Chairman of Conservative Party

Michael Fallon (Forest 1965-70), Conservative MP for Sevenoaks, has been named Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party To read related article click here 

Clive Lorkin (Rosebery 1957-62) visits site of new school during recent visit to Malaysia

We had a chance to visit Bandar Enstek where the site for KLEC (Kuala Lumpur Education City) is situated.   We think the location is really fantastic. Apart from being very close to the airport and Kuala Lumpur, it will be close to many other educational establishments, so the area should be intellectually very stimulating.

The road connections are excellent as well, but an unexpected benefit is the Morib coast some 30 minutes away, which seems to be totally deserted apart from a few locals, although the sandy beaches stretch for miles. There are a number of isolated seafood restaurants right on the beaches under the coconut palms with a wonderful sea breeze, serving the most delicious prawns, crabs, clams etc. For example at 4pm we were eating the fish which the restaurant owner had just collected from the fishing boats at 1pm.

 As we relaxed over a few Tiger beers (yes it is the year of the Tiger as well, so we had a few more), we watched the clam collectors returning back over the sands with their delicacies. Like all Malaysians, our motto is "we live to eat, not eat to live" and we often travel up to 200 km for a lunch or dinner out, so we are really lucky to have such world class seafood virtually on our doorstep.

OE Tea Party in Alaska

In April and May 2011, Ben Biswell (Forest 1996-2001) will be embarking on a ski mountaineering expedition in Alaska. He and two other members plan to ski from Alaska's capital, Juneau, 200 km north to the town of Skagway, crossing the heart of the Juneau ice field and the boundary peaks which divide Alaska and Canada. For further details of the expedition and to find out about sponsorship opportunities, please go to: http://www.teapartyinalaska.blogspot.com/