Gordon's OM Presidential Year

 12/10/2021 ....and finally a few words of reflection and summary about the past couple of years. I am not going to write a report, or indeed a summary of all the events and activities I was involved with (or missed). Rather I shall try to write about my feelings, experiences of being OMC President during these hopefully highly unusual times. When I was approached about taking on the role I was initially reluctant. I couldn't see how this fitted with my personality and indeed what I saw myself doing during this phase of life. However, after much thought, persuasion and discussion with Angela I decided to accept and give it a go. We also thought that it would be quite fun to both be Presidents of our respective clubs/societies at the same time (Angela is President of Corona Worldwide a charity focusing on friendship and community to women both at home and abroad). Having accepted the role I had more than a year, including as VP, before assuming the role. I joined the OMC Committee a...

 1st October 2021 Well this has finally come around - my Presidential Annual Dinner at which I hand over to my successor. The dinner was held at the beautiful and impressive Plaisterers Hall close to the Museum of London. I had been concerned that a combination of Covid caution together with a conflict of dates as a result of so many things being postponed would reduce the numbers attending. Indeed, this has happened to a small degree with several "regulars" not able to attend. However, overall the 140+ attending was a very respectable number, and I can say that I was delighted. I was pleased to see good representation from my era at school, the 1960s, as well as golfers, Oakers, and engineers, all groups with whom I have had the pleasure to associate with over many years. The feedback that I have had has been very positive. Everyone was impressed with the venue and the food was excellent much as we had hoped after our tasting experience. And then of course the speeches....! ...

 27th September 2021 Well, this month has been busy for this hitherto all too inactive President. We started the month with the 6th From leavers event which which turned into a great success. We hold this each year as an introduction to the OM Club. For many years this had been held at the National Liberal Club, but this is no longer relevant. So, in recent years it had reverted to the school. However, these past two years it had to be cancelled because of Covid. We decided to go ahead and hold it on 1st September when the leavers are formally no longer the responsibility of the school and at an external venue - the Saracens rugby stadium. 110 school leavers plus other guests turned up which was more than expected. Of course we did offer free drinks! Next came the Past Presidents Lunch. This has become a tradition and thanks to Stuart Hibberdine is held each year at the Athenaeum Club in London. There were 11 former OM Presidents including myself. Several were unable to make it thi...

 21st July 2021 At last....! The OM's Summer Cocktail Party went ahead at the National Liberal Club! Hooray!! Up until the last day I was wondering whether we might have to postpone given the rising number of Covid cases as well as the flash floods and storms around London. But it went ahead and was a great success. We are still reconciling the numbers but our section of the terrace at the NLC was crowded with OMs and guests enjoying a beautiful evening with excellent food and drink. My guess is that there were at least 55 present, despite several "regulars" having sent their apologies. Most encouraging was to see the age range. There were quite a number of young OM's as well as those mid-career. This bodes well for the future of the club. My thanks to Laura Turner at the OM Club who organised everything with the NLC. When I get some photos I shall upload one or two. Fingers crossed that we can look forward to a few more events before we get to the Annual Dinner on Fr...

 15th July 2021 It has indeed been a while since my last Blog post. When I set this up and set out to Blog regularly during my Presidential term who could have imagined what we have been through these past 18 months. At every stage when I thought that we were about to open up sufficiently to enable the OMC events to start up again, we have been thwarted by a surge in cases and new Covid variants. But at last we have good news earlier this week that the opening up will go ahead on Monday 19th July. This means that the OMC annual summer Cocktail Party can go ahead on Wednesday 21st July at the National Liberal Club. I realise that some people will still be cautious about attending such events, and I understand this. However, I do hope to see a decent turnout and look forward to catching up with many OMs. We haven't been inactive during these past many months. A couple of weeks ago we held the OMC AGM via Zoom for the second year running and this went very smoothly. We had 44 people l...

 26/11/2020 Today we held the first virtual OM reunion for Australia. I was delighted that we were 14 participants including Jane Sanchez (MHS Head), Peter Wakeham (OMC Chair) and myself as President acting as chair for the Zoom meeting. It was wonderful to see quite a number of those whom Angela and I had met during our trip in January, which now seems so long ago (almost another era). After introducing ourselves, Jane gave us an update on how the school is coping with the Covid challenges and examples of the arrangements that have had to be undertaken. Jane also touched on developments at the school and emphasised how much the school and Foundation have grown in the past few years and that demand for places remained strong. I then invited Peter to say a few words about the OM Club. Peter explained about the changes in structure, the life membership developments and some of our plans for the future, especially the careers and alumni websites. Below is a screenshot of those who joi...

Wednesday 11th November 2020 The Remembrance Day service  at MHS is always a moving event and very well organised . It aims to  include as many of the pupils as possible and explain the context and significance with imaginative displays. There is usually a strong turnout of OMs and the President of the OMC lays a wreath on behalf of the Club and gives a reading during the chapel service (see earlier blog).  Sadly, not all of this was possible this year. As a result of Covid19 restrictions in force, the OM contingent wasn't allowed to attend and I couldn't represent the Club as I had done last year. The school managed to live stream the service at the memorial arch and the earlier ceremony in the Quad in the Chapel Garden. Attendance was very limited, and most pupils were able to view proceedings in their classrooms via the streaming.  On a positive note, it was great to see the school putting on such a wonderful effort in these tough times, and I look forward to bein...

 My first entry for some time. The OM Golf Society Autumn meeting went ahead as planned this weekend past. 24 OMs turned up which is a great turn-out and testament to the work put in by Derren Hamilton (Captain) and Beej Chandaria (Vice captain). We were blessed with wonderful weather and perfect conditions for golfing.  OMs have been coming as a group to Royal Cinque Ports Club in Deal since at least 1930 I believe, mainly to play in the annual Halford Hewitt championships for public schools. However, the OMGS' Autumn meeting has been in existence for many decades as well. I have been attending since 2002 and always find it a very enjoyable weekend. This year was no exception. With Covid19 hanging over the event, Derren and Beej did a wonderful job to organise everything and get such a superb response. We stayed at Dunkerley's Hotel in Deal and had competition rounds on Friday and Saturday. On Friday I played with Stephen Wright in the singles and performed respectably. On Sa...

19th June 2020 The years longest day is almost upon us! Where is the summer going. Mind you, we have had a glorious spring. I have decided it’s time to come out of hibernation and restart my blog – and carefully expand my activities. I have restarted golf, and have event been to the shops in Watford and Rickmansworth. This week was a milestone for the OM Club when we held our AGM online for the first time. This involved quite a lot of detailed planning and organisation, and for that my thanks go to Peter Wakeham our club Chair who drove this through, supported by Julian Pollock (Hon Club Sec), Asif Ahmed (Hon Treasurer) and myself. I think I can say without contradiction that it was a great success. We had 50 people log into Zoom for the AGM and the papers and voting were handled through a service called MiVoice. We tried to plan for all eventualities, but in the end everything worked very smoothly and the feedback we have received has been universally positive. This will und...

Unfortunately all travel and events have had to be cancelled/postponed for the foreseeable future as a result of Covid19. This week we have had to cancel our trip to New York and Toronto where we had OM events scheduled. Similarly, a whole raft of OM events scheduled for the next 2 months have now been postponed. This is a great shame, but there is nothing to be done other than to hunker down and hope that these measures see off the virus as quickly as possible. I wish anyone reading this  - Stay Safe! Hope to be back in touch within a few weeks/months. Regards Gordon

Saturday 29th February Arrived back early Saturday morning to a very wet and cold Heathrow. We returned a few days earlier than planned as a consequence of having to cancel the Hong Kong leg of our trip. Apart from this disappointment, we had a wonderful trip and were delighted to meet so many OMs and be so welcomed by them. The lunches/dinners in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland were well attended and very enjoyable. On a broader front, our trip was fun, exciting and enjoyable and we managed to avoid the extremes of the weather (heat, deluges, fires) but had to divert because of Covid19. I want to thank all our hosts and OMs whom we met along the way. I hope that you manage to keep the interactions going and indeed spread the participation - we certainly had a few 'first timers' at our events. And if you are not already members of the Club itself then do join. We now look forward to the trip to New York and Toronto in April as well as a number of local UK even...

Sunday 23rd February At the end of a beautiful sunny day the Auckland OMs dinner was held a the Sails restaurant overlooking Westhaven Marina and so offered a superb view as daylight turned to dusk. Those attending were: Nick and Jill Howe-Smith (Nick: 78-83) David and Debbie Duggan (David: 65-70) Brian and Caroline Jones (Brian: 83-88) Tony and Ann Smith (Hon OM) Peter Mensah (80-85) Gordon and Angela Mizner (Gordon: 65-69) It was lovely to see David and Debbie attending their first NZ reunion, particularly so as David was a contemporary of mine – indeed we played in the same tennis teams. David and Debbie have retired to NZ where they have family. We were also delighted to be joined by Tony and Ann Smith who had recently arrived from the UK to stay with their son Nick. Tony and Ann are well known to many OMs for their involvement and support of school and OM reign you over many years. In fact Tony was made an Honorary OM some years ago. I was also delighted to meet Pete...

21st February 2020 We have now spent more than 2 weeks in New Zealand visiting and travelling with friends. This is our third trip to NZ and this time we have seen more of West of Auckland and toured the East Cape including Napier and Hawke's Bay. This is a beautiful and at times remote part of NZ with many delightful bays and indeed much history as it was the focus of the early European settlement. Back in Auckland I have been meeting with OMs. on Thursday I had coffee with David Duggan (64-69) who is my direct contemporary. We hadn't seen each other since school but recall being in the same tennis teams. David has now retired to NZ. On Friday we met Nick Howe-Smith (78-83) who gave us a tour of the Devonport area and hosted us for a BBQ at his delightful house on Stanley Point. It was great to meet his partner Gill and parents Tony and Ann Smith who had recently arrived from UK. Nick is the OM Ambassador in NZ and has organised an OM dinner for Sunday 22nd February in ...

Friday 7th February Angela and I arrived in Auckland on Wednesday evening after a good flight from Sydney. We now have a programme over the next three weeks in the North Island staying and travelling with friends, and of course meeting OMs. Nick Howe Smith has arranged for a dinner on Sunday 23rd February, and I hope to meet him and David Duggan (a contemporary of mine) before then. Our major concern has been the unfortunate progress the Corona Virus. After much consultation with contacts in Hong Kong, Steven Chan and I have agreed that e OM dinner should be cancelled. Additionally, it would not makes sense as judged as judged from this moment to commit to any visit to Hong Kong. Therefore we have reluctantly cancelled our visit to Hong Kong. I a very disappointed given all the had work to make these arrangements and that Angela and I were looking forward to going back there. However there is no option at present. I hope that this outbreak peaks soon, and that Hong Kong in ...

Thursday 30th January We flew in from Melbourne on Tuesday, and spent Wednesday with an old friend of Angela's., visiting Balmoral and seeing some of the north side residential areas. During our first couple of days in Sydney we experienced very pleasant summer weather, continuing to miss the great heat. However, the temperature was rising for the weekend. Thursday was the Sydney OM luncheon. On a hot day (by my standards – just 29C) Mike Hailey and Guy Pollock arranged for us to meet and lunch at the Sydney Flying Squadron yacht club which is situated in Kirribilli on the north side of the Sydney Harbour bridge. This was a lovely setting in one of many little bays overlooking the harbour bay. Present were: Mike (62-67) and Linda Hailey, Guy (82-85) and Annette Pollock, Alan (59-64) and Dawn Mills, Steve Rudlin (64-69), Michael Bishop (Lord Glendonbrook) (55-57), Grahame Elliot (52-57), Gordon (65-69)and Angela Mizner. I was delighted that Steve Rudlin managed to attend as ...

We arrived in Melbourne Thursday 23rd. We have been so lucky with the weather, avoiding tbe really scorching temperatures thzt seem to have circulated around us. On tbe road journey from Adelaide we had some rain but nothing to spoil our enjoyment or the spectacular scenary. Melbourne is tennis city at the moment. We decided to chance it and went to the tennis centre which was a short tram ride from our hotel. We got a day pass into the event and the  queued up to get on one of the main courts where we saw a couple of great matches. The otber days saw us visit much of what Melbourne has to offer, whuch is a lot. Full of construction and amazing pace of development since i last visited. Monday 27th January Australia Day falling on a Sunday this was a public holiday. The Melbourne OM gathering was held at the RAC Victoria on Bourke Street.  Justin Wernham had organised for us to dine at the Bistro which turned out to be perfect for our gathering.  We ...

Friday 17th January Breakfast at The Playford Hotel which is very central and just opposite the railway station. The hotel has been built in an old Art Deco style on the site of Rupert Murdoch's SA office, and is excellent whilst offering something slightly different from the standard modern hotel. Roger Tagg (54-59) kindly offered to show us something of the Barossa Valley. Roger met us at our hotel and drove us out of the city. Our first stop was Chateau Barrosa. Note the different spelling. It is thought that this was the original version. We had a light lunch and a glass of wine of course......not Roger who was driving. We then Stopped at Jacob's Creek a well known brand and had a look around. Very much a tourist set up. It was then off to Menglers look out where we had a great view over the Valley plain...as that is really what it is. We then stopped for a short walk at the Kaiserstahl conservation park and did a couple of km loop. Saw two kangaroos and several bi...

A Happy New Year Not an event. Just a happy new year to anyone who happens across this blog. I cant believe that we are already into the 20’s. It just seems yesterday that we were celebrating the millennium (and yes I know that those of a strict interpretation state that the new millennium and decade don’t start until there is a ‘1’), and worrying about the millennium ‘bug’. At that time I was living overseas and running a company and we had to develop all sorts of contingency plans just in case….what a waste of money and effort and a great deal for all those consultants we used. Anyhow, wishing everyone in the OM firmament a happy new year. I am enjoying my term of office thus far. Angela and I are getting ready to set off on our first overseas trip which will take in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland (and North Island), and finally Hong Kong. We are watching closely the awful fires in Australia and especially NSW and Victoria – here’s hoping that it cools do...

Saturday 21 st December = YOMs Christmas Drinks The Young Old Millhillians (YOMs) held their Christmas drinks at the Adam & Eve pub in Mill Hill.  I went along for a while and was delighted to see such a great turnout. I hadn’t visited this pub for many decades – in fact not since I had been at the school (if I remember rightly it was one of 3 within walking distance of school! Although one had to be careful not to bump into masters who frequented it as well).  For those of you who cant remember which one, it’s directly opposite where the cancer research facility used to be; that’s now been replaced by a massive residential development. Anyhow, back to the event. I was pleased to talk to many of the YOMs present and to hear what they are doing. Many of them are still at university and are studying a wide range of subjects; engineering, music, law, natural sciences, medicine and so on. I was mightily impressed by how positive they were about their Mill ...

Monday 9 th December: OM Oakers Christmas lunch. The Oakers is an informal gathering of OMs at lunch at the Boot in Sarrat each month; I attend fairly regularly and it is always most enjoyable. The Christmas lunch however is special. Up to 50 places are available and as usual in recent years we were almost full. Gerry Westoby who organises the Oakers did a marvellous job once again with everything appearing to run smoothly.  Apart from the regular faces of the monthly Oakers, many other OMs make a special effort to attend from far and wide and it is an opportunity to see and meet OMs whom one hasn’t seen for many years. I usually have the traditional turkey at these occasions, but decided on a change and had Game Pie which was an excellent choice. However, tradition won over for dessert with Christmas pudding. All accompanied by some wine tempered by the need to drive back. Whilst this is an informal OM event, there cant be many alumni clubs that can muster such ...