Ewellian Email Bulletin Content
Ewellian Email Bulletin Content
Launching Our 'New Look' Old Ewellians E Bulletin
Golf Day, Friday 26th April 2019
You are cordially invited to join us for our fifth Old Ewellians (OE) Golf Event at Kingswood Golf & Country
Club, Sandy Lane, KT20 6NE on Friday 26th April 2019.
The event is open to both golfers and non-golfing OE’s alike. If you are a golfer and wish to play on the day then please arrive at 12 noon for sandwiches in the Kingswood Club house. At 1pm we will have a group photograph and this will be followed by 18 holes of golf. A casual golfers’ grill supper will be served around 6.30/7pm and prizes will be presented to the winners. OE’s who are not golfers are very welcome to join us for dinner and for those who wish to continue socialising afterwards a cash bar will be available.
1/ Golfers full day is £55.00, (includes the golf, lunch, the golfers grill supper-tea/coffee and prizes.
2/ Non golfers lunch only (drinks not included) £8.00 including the photo session before the golf.
3/ Non golfers supper £14.00 (including tea/coffee).
For all those who wish to join us please contact Colin Griffith on 01737 812 498 or colinagriffith@btinternet.com as soon as possible.
Funds can be transfered to the School Barclays bank account adding "Golf 2019" as a reference, or send in a cheque payable to "Ewell Castle School" to the Finance Office marked "Golf 2019".
Sort code: 20-29-90 Account: 30357960
Forthcoming OE Events - OE vs 1st team Netball Match
OE's playing netball are requested to arrive at reception at 1.45pm and ask for Ms Hernandez, Alumni Manager, who will escort you to the changing rooms. There will be a warm up and the game will commence at 2.15pm. It will finish at 3.30pm and there will be match teas. If you have not yet confirmed your attendance, we are still looking for players to join the OE team, so please email Carol at oldewellians@ewellcastle.co.uk
Previous OE Events - Careers Mentoring/Carousel
A number of OEs visited the School earlier this month to take part in the Sixth Form Careers Carousel which takes place every other year. Careers Advisor Mrs Lawrence organises the speed networking event which provides students with an insight into a number of professions and industries and includes a Q&A session.
We celebrated British Science Week and STEM Week at School last week with a series of Science, Design Technology, Maths and Computer Science events. Old Ewellian Nigel Harrison MBE, co-founder of Cyber Security Challenge UK, presented to our Year 10 pupils on the importance of cyber security and how it's a growth area rich in career opportunities for those with an enquiring mind. https://www.cybersecuritychallenge.org.uk/
Altior the hero in thrilling week at The Festival
It is labelled “The Greatest Show on Turf” and the 2019 edition of the Cheltenham Festival lived up to its billing and then some. Horseracing like any other sport needs its icons. Over the years, those have both manifested in the shape of jockeys and trainers. However, at the moment National Hunt racing is dominated by one star; the mighty Altior. Trained by Nicky Henderson, ridden by Nico De Boinville and trained by Patricia Pugh, the nine-year-old son of High Chaparral captured a record-equalling 18th success over Jumps, emulating the mighty Big Buck’s with a pulsating victory in the G1 Queen Mother Champion Chase.
Altior is a big, imposing type and to remain unbeaten for 18 races in succession is no mean feat, particularly with the trials and travails of running over jumps. However, he etched his place into the Jump racing pantheon with a dramatic win. Looking in trouble at the final fence, Altior showed his trademark stamina, grit and undenying speed to power up the hill to triumphant roars from an expectant, yet adoring crowd.
There were other marvellous moments during those four days at Prestbury Park with Bryony Frost becoming the second woman to win a G1 contest at The Festival aboard the gallant Frodon in the Ryanair Chase. The duo have become one of racing’s great pairs this season and this victory was all about guts, tenacity and toughness. Shortly after, the talented Rachael Blackmore became the third lady to land a G1 courtesy of Minella Indo in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle.
We cannot also forget the thrill of seeing owner Andrew Gemmell, who has been blind since birth cheering home his superstar Paisley Park, named after a song and the house name of his favourite singer Prince. It was an emotional week, but one which those who there won’t forget in a hurry. The Cheltenham Festival – there’s no place like it. Danny Archer (ECS Head Boy 2013-2014)
Royal Horticultural Society: Jobs for March
1 Protect new spring shoots from slugs
2 Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes
3 Plant summer-flowering bulbs
4 Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials
5 Top dress containers with fresh compost
6 Mow the lawn on dry days (if needed)
7 Cut back Cornus (dogwood) and Salix (willow) grown for colourful winter stems
8 Hoe and mulch weeds to keep them under control early
9 Start feeding fish and using the pond fountain; remove pond heaters
10 Prune bush and climbing roses
Changed Jobs and/or Changed Address
If you have changed jobs and/or your address, email Carol at oldewellians@ewellcastle.co.uk with your new contact details.
Where are they Now? - Former pupil, Olympic Champion John Naber
Future Olympic champion, John Naber, attended Ewell Castle in the late 1960s, prior to his family’s return to their native United States of America. John recalls his days at Ewell Castle very fondly, even though his American accent made him stand apart from the other students. On his first report card, the teacher wrote to his parents: “Your son, John, has excellent leadership skills, but we wish he would not use them to cause uproars during recess." He enjoyed swimming in “the pond” and still remembers stepping into the communal showers in the school basement after football practice, while still wearing his soccer cleats with five-pound clogs of mud on each shoe. Mr. Keys' history lessons on the chalkboard taught John how to focus his attention on difficult tasks over a long period of time, which he put to good use as a competitive swimmer with four hours of daily training.
After earning four gold medals and one silver at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Naber embarked on career as a sports broadcaster and motivational speaker. He has covered over 30 different sports for television and radio, filing reports from ten different Olympic Games. His most recent visit to Ewell Castle occurred immediately after the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games. He is the author of two Olympic related books, and was inducted into the International Swimming and the US Olympic Halls of Fame. Naber was twice elected as the President of the US Olympic and Paralympic Association (USOPA is the US Olympic and Paralympic Alumni) and currently is the President or Chairman of three different Olympic related non-profit organizations. He lives with his wife of 38 years in Pasadena, California, and still finds time to swim a couple of miles 2-3 times a week.
Reporting from the USA - Roger Smith (ECS 1949-1952)
My name is Roger Smith. At Ewell Castle I was Smith VII and I attended the school from the beginning of 1949 until the end of the 1952 school year. After school my parents moved to Southend-on-Sea and at the age of 17 I became an apprentice reporter on the local weekly newspaper. I worked in Fleet Street and the House of Commons press gallery and, at the age of 27, I moved to the United States in 1964. Since then I have worked in New York and Washington, covering a wide spectrum of American and international business. I became an American citizen in 1978. So now, at the age of 82, I can look back over a long life in the U.S. and many experiences in the U.K. How do I think of myself: American or British? I think it must be a bedrock of English and a generous overlay of American. I think my outlook on life and especially government must be truly American. I have become convinced of the soundness of the American way of life based on ;private enterprise and individual enterprise, with the minimum of interference from (largely incompetent) government. My wife of more than 50 years (also English) and myself have lived in New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida and for the last 10 years in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It is an old steel town full of Victorian houses. Our house was built in 1880, for example. Bethlehem Steel closed in 2000 but since then the town has reinvented itself as a tourist destination and a center of the health-care and trucking (haulage) industries. It is prospering despite the loss of an employment powerhouse like Bethlehem Steel.
We have family here and in Florida, granddaughters and a grandson (who has moved to Scotland). My wife and I keep active. Some 20 years ago we took up ballroom dancing and, as a result, we are both very fit now. My wife is a portrait painter and I build and fly radio-controlled model aeroplanes (a hobby which I began while at Ewell Castle). So, this is my first essay from America with, I hope, more to follow.
School News: Public concert at St Mary's Church, Ewell
Old Ewellians are invited to join parents, staff and friends of the School at our Spring Concert at St. Mary's Church, Ewell. Tickets are available from http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/ewell-castle-school The programme includes Five Mystical Songs by Vaughn Williams, performed by Isaac Connibear, Requiem in D Minor by Faure, performed by Joseph Edwards and Agnus Dei, a new composition by Naym Ali.
March Culture Vultures: The Supreme Court - London
Tired of visiting the same museums and galleries? Go somewhere different this March and visit The Supreme Court. The beautiful building is open to members of the public during opening hours, Monday to Friday, 0930 to 1630. During the legal terms the courts are normally in session - Mondays - 1100 to 1600, Tuesday to Thursdays - 1030 to 1600.
You are very welcome to observe cases when the court is sitting, but please be aware that space in the public galleries is limited. This may mean you have to wait before gaining access to the court room but normally you should be able to observe a case at some point during your visit. Please note that the court does not sit on Fridays. https://www.supremecourt.uk/visiting/visiting-us.html
We'd like to reconnect with as many OEs as possible and each month we'll be highlighting a few who we have lost touch with. If you have kept in touch with them please ask them to email oldewellians@ewellcastle.co.uk - this month we're looking for: Alistair Catto who left in 1998, Nicholas Boland who left in 1996, Gareth Rowe who left in 1995, Ben Blackburn who left in 1994 and Mark Harris who left in 1993.