From Our New President Darryl Davies (FS 62-68)
It was a great honour for me to be elected as your President for the next two years. I was a pupil at the school from 1962-1968 and a master from 1975 to 2007, although I did return to help from February 2022 to the summer of 2023. A good friend, John Braithwaite, commented, ‘How did the pupils respond to being taught by a geriatric?’ My hope was that they benefited and enjoyed my jokes, which hadn’t changed in over forty years! Currently the school is going through a period of change, and we are fortunate to have an excellent Head in Andrew Keep, ably assisted by Vanessa Johnstone. Sadly, Andrew’s appointment is only temporary as he is due to retire at the end of the summer term. In my time as President I have attended two events. The first was a social event with a meal at Grange-over-Sands Golf Club. Thanks to Carter Croft and Paul Haywood for organising this event, which was well supported by those in the Barrow and Kendal areas. My second was a lunch at Northumbria Golf Club in Newcastle, which is an annual event, but this year it was held to commemorate the life of Bill Dove and his work over what would have been fifty years as secretary of the North East Branch. Bill’s daughter Amanda helped with the organisation of the proceedings, which were hosted by Don Williams.
During my time as President, I have two main areas I would like to develop. The first is to encourage female OSBs to be recognised and become more involved with the Society, and the second is to see how the Society can generate interest for our younger members. Representatives from both these groups attended a meeting in October, which proved to be very successful. A follow-up meeting has been arranged for January. Some great ideas were put forward, which are now being considered. I urge anyone who has any ideas to get in touch with me or Pam Rumney. Two local events for 2025 are the Cumbria Dinner on February 28th 2025 at Armathwaite Hall, near Keswick. If you haven’t already confirmed, please do so as over seventy reservations have been made. The other event which I am greatly looking forward to is Old St Beghians’ Day, which will be held on Saturday 14th June 2025. This year we have a new innovation, ‘Music in the Quad’ – rock, pop, folk and other genres. At this event there will be a barbecue and a bar. I hope to see as many of you as possible. I should like to conclude by thanking our Secretary, Pam Rumney, whose hard work and advice are invaluable. Darryl Davies (FS 62-68).