Aymestrey Magazine 1979

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MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

OF THE OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION

HELD AT AYMESTREY SCHOOL ON SATURDAY, 17th JUNE, 1978

Present: The President, John Hughes; The Chairman, John Coley; and the following

members, namely: Messrs, Jim Fink, Edward Lane, Charles Scovell, Edward Carpenter,

Hugh Griffith, Tim Chandler, Anthony Claydon, Anthony Powell, Hugo Tuthill, John

Phipps, Andrew Duncan, Richard Tildesley, Edward Weaving, John Hughes and Bill Stallard.

Apologies were received from Messrs. A. P. MacLaren, Mark Packman, Dan Aster ley, Alan

Aitken, John Eyton Coates, Nigel Blair-Oliphant, Paul Jeavons, Richard Coates, Robert

and Andrew Lane, Christopher Foster, Brian Massey, Nigel Coates, Robert Scholefield,

David Snell, John Shew, Bill Jay, Michael Powell and R. J. Thomason.

The Minutes of the A.G.M. held on the 18th June, 1977, having been circulated in the

School Magazine were taken as read, were approved and were signed by the Chairman.

The Accounts for the year ended 31st March 1977, were received and adopted.

The following Officers were elected for the ensuing year:

CHAIRMAN: Nigel Blair-Oliphant.

VICE-CHAIRMAN: Hugo Tuthill.

HONORARY SECRETARY/ TREASURER: Bill Stallard.

SCHOOL CORRESPONDENT: Dan Asterley.

COMMITTEE: Anthony Powell and Anthony Claydon to serve with Messrs. Richard

Tildesley, Edward Weaving, Andrew Duncan and Edward Carpenter.

The Asterley Appeal: The Secretary reported upon the response to the Appeal and

conveyed the thanks of the Appeal Sub-Committee and of the President for the generosity of

many members. The Appeal Fund stood at 3,400. There was a general discussion about the

commencement of the Building Programme, and it was agreed that the Sub-Committee

should make efforts to start the project as soon as there were sufficient funds for the purpose.

The School Fete: Members were reminded tha t a Fete would be held at the School on

Sunday, 2nd July 1978, in aid of the Appeal Fund.

Contributions to the School Magazine: The Secretary drew the meeting's attention to the

inadequacy of the Association's current contribution to the cost of the School Magazine. It is

currently costing the School 125 including postage to supply all members of the Associationwith their copies. It was resolved that the Association make an immediate contribution of 35 to

cover the cost of circulation to members of the Association.

THE CHAIRMAN, John Coley, proposed a vote of thanks to Hugh and Gi ll Griffith and

their Staff for the kind hospitality extended to the Association and this was heartily

endorsed by the meeting.

There being no further business the meeting closed.

The Association's Annual Dinner was again held at the Union and County Club in Worceste r.

Colonel Anthony Claydon took the Chair and proposed the health of the School which was

responded to by Hugh Griffith.

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THE OLD AYMESTREY ASSOCIATION

Income and Expenditure Account for the Year ended 31st March, 1978

INCOME EXPENDITURE

p p- -

Interest on Abbey National Building Society Balance in hand being excess of income over depositaccount ... ... ... ... 26-65 expenditure ... ... ... ... ... 32-80

Profit on Annual Dinner ... ... ... 8-00

38-29 38-29

Balance Sheet for the Year ended 31st March, 1978

pBalance brought forward from 31st March 1977 489 - 80 Balance at Lloyds Bank Limited:

Excess of income over expenditure for the year 32 - 80 Current account ... ... ... ... 27-32

Deposit account ... ... ... ... 33-18

Balance on Abbey National Building Societyshareaccount ... ... ... ... ... 462-10

522-60 522.60

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MAGAZINE

This year, and in future, we are sending the Magazine out in the Spring, together with the

invitations to Old Boys' Day, in order to economise on postage. As a consequence this number

covers from September 1977 to December 1978.


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LEAVERS AND NEW BOYS

March 1978

A. D. R. Colyer (Rossall) Came September 1972. Rugger XV; Cricket XI. July 1978

E. P. C. Bearcroft (Bloxham) Came September 1972. Rugger XV; Soccer XI; Cricket XI;

Colours for Rugger, Cricket , Gym and Swimming. County trial Rugger.

S. J. N. Coley (Malvern) Came May 1973. Captain Soccer XI and Cricket XI; Rugger XV;

Colours for Soccer, Cricket and Rugger; Choir. Prefect. G. J. Davis (King's Worcester)

Came January 1975.S. F. E. Goodwin (Wycliffe) Came May 1973. Choir.

J. Long (Kingham Hill) Came May 1977. Cricket XI; Rugger XV; Choir.

S. D. G. Partridge (Royal Grammar School) Came September 1973. Cricket XI; Choir.

G. C. Paske (Wycliffe) Came September 1971. Exhibition Wycliffe. Prefect; Choir (Article).

C. J. Ratcliffe (Ellesmere College) Came September 1974. Cricket XI; Rugger XV;

Soccer XI; Choir.

J. D. C. Tainton (Ellesmere College) -- Came September 1973. Cricket XI; Rugger XV;

Soccer XI.

S. N. Tudge (Lucton) -- Came September 1973. Cricket XI; Soccer XI; Rugger XV; Colo ur s

for Cricket, Soccer, Rugger, Gym and Swimming.

December 1978J. P. Kimpton (Bromsgrove) Came September 1973. Rugger XV; Soccer XI; Cricket XI;

Colours for Cricket, Rugger, Soccer and Gym. Prefect; Head Boy; Choir Leader. County

trial Rugger.

P. W. S. Wallace (Malvern) Came May 1973. Rugger XV; Soccer XI; Cricket XI;

Colours for Cricket, Rugger and Soccer. Prefect.

NEW BOYS

September 1977 T. D. Prince, M. A. Sanderson, D. S. Sanderson, D. J. Snell, A. Trove.

January E. Johnson.

April J. N. D. Terry, M. D. Kent

September 1978 R. T. Bader, M. D. Bews, G. A Edmonds, A. Hawa, D. W. Ilsley, D. B.

MacLaren, C. D. Parr, D. A. Pearce, D. C. Richmond, G. R. Shafto, F. N. Thompson, G. M.Yule.

OLD BOY NEWS

Dr. T. M. Tibbetts works in general practice and as an anaesthetist in Victoria, British

Columbia. His 14-year-old son regularly wears a 35-year-old Aymestrey sun hat.

E. R. Lane was President of the Internat ional Hop Growers Convent ion for the second time

and chaired the annual meeting in Spain.

Wing Commander P. D. Stokes has been posted to High Wycombe. He won the R.A.F. Squash

Championship for the 11th time.

Flt. Lt. M. J. Stokes is Chief Flying Instructor at Liverpool University.

P. W. Baldwin was married in August to Miss S. J. Phillips.

J. C. Nicholas has left Whitbreads in Cheltenham and is farming with his father.M.C. L. Harris is doing a fourth year at Cambridge.

N.R. P. Harris is at St. John's College, Oxford.

P. D. Martineau is at Lincoln College, Oxford.

M. A. Jeavons is at Cirencester Agricultural College.

P. Jeavons left Malvern with 10 'O' levels and goes to Harper Adams Agricultural College in

September.

P. M. Schilizzi has just returned from U.S.A. having finished at Manchester University.

(Article).

D. C. Davies is reading Engineering at Manchester University.

J. C. Davies has four 'A' levels. Two A's, a B and an S.I. in English. He has been doing some

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teaching in a primary school and will read English and French at Leeds University in September.

M. S. Rosoman has finished at Cardiff University and is no w readin g Law at Chester.

R. J. Rosoman is on a Catering Course at Middlesex Polytechnic.

N. A. McCulloch won an Exhibition to Exeter College Oxford to read Medicine.

I.M. W. McCulloch was in the Under 15 XV at Rendcomb.

I. N. Edwards has eight 'O' levels and is taking 'A' level Art in the summer.

J. F. Edwards played cricket for Malvern College Colts.

W. D. Lead was in the XV at Allhallows; they won their last nine matches.D. R. Elt was in the XV at King's, Worcester. He i s going to join the Merchant Navy.

J. J. A. Hughes played in most of the Under 15 matches at Lucton.

J. Munns has left St. Joh n's Lea therhead, with three ' A' le vels a nd is now at Guy's Hospital

Dental School.

R.M. Manning was in the Under 14 XV at Wycliffe.

S. J. D. MacLaren has seven `O' levels at King's, Worcester and Grade V on the clarinet.

D. Edwards was in the XV at Kingham Hill.

S. N. Goodwin has nine 'O' levels at Wycliffe. (Article).

S. R. Green-Pr ice came f irst i n a series of Unde r-16 cros s-country runs at Gordonstoun.

A. P. Moore shoots for the school VIII at the Gordon Boys' School.

JUDGE R. SEATON

Reggie Seaton, who died in April, came to Aymestrey only two years after its foundation .

Going on to Epsom and thence to Downing College, Cambridge, he was called to the Bar

in 1924, and rose to be second Senior Prosecuting, Counsel a t the Cent ral Crimina l Court.

He eventually became Chairman of London Sessions , and though he was downright and

somet imes considered severe, he took a rea l in teres t in the mer its o f every case and

exercised compassion when he felt it was called for. Only twice was be successfully appealed

against on conviction, and he was held in the greatest esteem and affection by those who

worked with him.

W. E. SPEIRS

Edward Speirs, who came to Aymestrey at the same time as Seaton, was one of the prime

movers in the formation of the O.A.A. in 1935 and took the Chair at its first meeting. In 1944he was awarded the George Medal while serving in the R.A. F. When an expl osion took place

in a bomb dump, fires spread in all directions and bombs continued to explode at intervals.

Though suffering severely from the blast, Speirs helped an injured man to safety, and not

only dire cted operations but personally examined the remaining bombs with complete disregard

for his own safety, until the situation was brought under control. After the War he continued

to be active in the affairs of the O.A.A. for many years, and will long be remembered for the

warmth of his essentially lovable personality.

J. S. PETTIGREW

John Pet t ig rew, who d ied in Apr i l 1977 , was perhaps the school ' s mos t in tel lec tual ly

d is tinguished Old Boy of the las t 40 years . A Canadian by b ir th , he went to Ashbury

Co l lege , where he was Schoo l Cap tain and won the Governo r Genera l 's Meda l . Hi sstudent career was one long succession of scholarships and prizes, at Toronto University;

at King's College, Cambridge, where he took a double first in the English Tripos; and then

back in Canada. After teaching for 10 years at Toronto, he became the first Registrar of

Tren t Univers ity, Ontario , where he was head of the Engl ish facu lty, and where he

continued, with an interval of two years at McMaster University, until his death at the age of 47.

Devo ted to the Thea t re , he was in timate ly connected wi th the S t r at ford (Ontario)

Festival and wrote the history of its first 25 years. Other books included an editi on of Brown ing

in the Penguin series, and a work on Tennyson which has been called the best account of the poet's

development.

Remarkable as was his career , he would have been outs tanding without i t , simply as a

person. At Aymestrey, besides fizzing bewilderingly from form to form as he got through a year's work in

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a term, he fizzed also through school life in general with twinkling eyes and unquenchable gaiety.

From all that has been written about him in Canada it is clear that he was a great teacher, an

administ rator passionately devoted to the highest standards, and above al l a magnificent friend.

Knowing for some time that his illness was incurable, he remained not only serene but evenenthusiastic. Perhaps his contemporaries here will remember that as a small boy he had a pet catch-phrase

'brave and courageous.'

MISS M. WORTON

Miss Worton died in January. She was Caterer and Cook at Aymestrey from 1943 to 1961, and few

people have spent 18 years contributing so much so directly to the well-being and pleasure of the

boys. Being herself one who worked with consuming energy to the limit of her endurance, she

was not always tolerant of the shortcomings of others, and in her hatred of anything second-rate

she was not above interfering outside her province. But no-one would deny that she did her own

job superbly. Nothing was too much trouble if it was done for the boys; and not content with

producing routine meals to the highest standard, she was constantly working to all hours to provide

some extra treat. Her complete loyalty and devotion were beyond question and beyond praise.

GIFTS

We are very grateful to the following for their presents to the School:

Mr. and Mrs. Brandram Jones Adana Printing Press.

Mr. and Mrs. Trove Planks for Assault Course.

Mrs. Goodwin Tent.

Mr. and Mrs. Partridge Cricket Stumps.

Mr. and Mrs. Paske Cassette tape recorder.

Mr. and Mrs. Godsall for potatoes for November 5th.

D. F. Butterworth Two cases of stuffed animals.

Mr. and Mrs. Snell Cheque for chemicals for Science Lab.

The Hon. William and Mrs. Wallace Starter pistol.Mr. and Mrs. Tainton Re-covering cushions on billliard table.

Mr. and Mrs. DavisChess Set.

Many parents and friends for gifts of fruit and vegetables. Cheques given last year were spent:

Mr. and Mrs. Manning Abseil equipment.

Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Brown Ropes and pulleys for the Assault Course.

Mr. and Mrs. Simpson Mechanical Lift.

Mr. and Mrs. Green Price Gym Mat.

BRINTON PRIZE

The Brinton Prize was won by S. N. Tudge.

KINGSTON PRIZE

The Kingston Prize was won by G. Paske.

EXHIBITION

Congratulations to G. Paske on being awarded an Exhibition at Wycliffe College.

MUSIC

In September we welcomed Mr. Jones, St . John's College, Cambridge, to the staff to teach Music and

Singing.

During the year the following Associated Board Music Exams were passed:Ratcliffe Grade I Piano.

Paske, G. Grade II Piano.


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Blair-Oliphant, D. Grade III Trumpet.

Nelson Grade III Trumpet.

Tyler Grade III Clarinet.

Phelps Grade III Clarinet.

Blair-Oliphant, R. Grade IV Trumpet.

Edwards Grade IV Trumpet.

MALVERN PREP SCHOOLS MUSIC AND ART FESTIVALIn March 1978, the Choir jo ined the Choirs of 10 other Prep Schools and sang in the Malvern

College Chapel.

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Coley and Kimpton supplied two thirds of the Trumpet section in the combined Prep Schools

Orchestra, and many boys contributed to the Art Exhibition. Goodwin's picture was chosen as

one of the three best by the Malvern Director of Art.

FETE

The fete this year was held in July in aid of the Asterley Appeal. It was nobly supported by parents andold boys and 500 plus was handed to the Treasurer of the Appeal.

Our grateful thanks are extended to the many parents who brought produce, cakes, etc. for the

stalls and helped to man them. In particular we are most grateful to Mrs. Paske who brought a

marvellous selection of home made cakes, Mrs. Evans who spent many hours making corn dollies, Mrs.

Phipps whose fancy goods helped to make a most profitable stall run by Mrs. Stallard and Mrs.

Turner. Mrs. Barnett, Mrs. Edwards and Mrs. Wood, for their hard work all afternoon running the

Produce Stalls, Mrs. Packman, whose secondhand books and record stall did a thriving trade and

Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, who not only ran the Bottle Stall but also supplied many of the bottles,

and at the end of the afternoon auctioned the left-ovens in a truly professional manner.

Our special thanks go to Mr. and Mrs. Coley once again for their most generous gift of

strawberries which were sold both on the Produce Stall and with ice-cream and cream.

Mr. Pember very kindly donated a pig or its money equivalent for Bowling for the Pig, Mrs.

Bearcroft brought a pony over and gave rides untiringly all afternoon and Mrs. Martineau put on a

remarkable Dog Obedience Show. Mr. Cash and Mr. Driver ran an imaginative remote control bombing

range.

The boys ran many interesting and amusing side shows. The Ghost House this year was more

elaborate and proved a popular entertainment. Tea was brewed over a camp fire and was served

with Date and Walnut breadthe recipe for this was sold by Mrs. Phipps who made 9.40!

We are also very grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Harris who acted as Treasurers for the day and who did

the arduous work of counting and sorting the money when everyone else had gone home.

SPONSORED WALK

In aid of the Appeal, Mr. Cash undertook to walk the full length of Offa's Dyke during theSummer holidays. Many parents and friends sponsored him most generously. He achieved the 168

mile walk in 11 days and, though his target was 100, he raised over 200 for the proposed new gym.

The School is very grateful to him and to all those who supported him.

SONG RECITAL

On November 26th we were delighted to see Miss Bennett again. She came to give us a song

recital in aid of the Appeal Fund. She was accompanied by Mrs. Holt who had kindly brought over her

own Harpsichord.

The recital was divided into two parts with a long interval for tea.

Many of the songs were not in English and Miss Bennett gave an explanation before each one

which added greatly to the audience's apprecia tion of this delightful recital.

Over 100 was raised for the Appeal and we are very grateful to Miss Bennett, Mrs. Holt, Mrs.

Black, and all those who gave so generously.


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ASTERLEY APPEAL

As a result of these events the Fund now stands at 5,000.

PRINTING

Mr. Brandram Jones' Printing Press has been installed in a corner of the Science Room where

Mr. Driver and his assistants, Fox and Martineau, are at work most winter evenings. The standard oftheir output has steadily improved and includes many different letter-heads, the invitations for Miss

Bennett's song recital and Mr. Cash's Sponsored Walk. The printers are full of ideas to increase

their range as they gain experience. A smaller press was produced by Martineau and this too is in

action.

RUGBY 1977

The season's statistics viewed on thei r own would seem to paint a dismal picture of the XV's rugby.

Despite the lack of games, however, the absence of victories, the loss of experienced p layers through

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illness and the change of coach, the spirit and drive of the squad increased as the term progressed.

The two props, Bearcroft and Tudge, S., and the scrum-half Coley, continued to put a

maximum effort into their game and by their example gave a great deal of confidence to the

less experienced members of the team. At the same t ime they were ready to take the

responsibil ity of playing 10-man tact ics again st the opposition when the situation demanded. All

three were picked for county trials,

I t was encouraging to see the newcomers in the team, many of whom had never played

alongside 14 o ther p layers before the f ir s t match of the season , t ry ing to make up inenthusiasm what they lacked in skill. Turner particularly added a devastating tackle, and a

powerful shove to the pack.

The forwards , by the end of the season , were beginning to explo i t the advantages of

thei r s mal l phys ica l s t atu re by pack ing low and even tua l ly r eal i sed thei r ab il i ty to

unsett le larger opponents in this way. When they combined this tact ic with the policy of

arriving 'fastest with the mostest ' they also began to dominate their mauls, although they

gene ra ll y showed a st range reluctance to seize on the opportunity to ruck.

The backs suffered severa l pos i t ional changes and in cer ta in cases were unwill ing ,

wherever they p layed , to commit themselves comple te ly to the tack le . When they d id

ma nage to ru n th e ba ll ou t to th e wi ng th ey en ab le d Wallace to show some useful turns of speed.

It should never really be necessary to praise individual players as it is their contribution to

the whole team's performance that is important. In the more specialist positions, however,Kimpton 's steady hooking and Phelps' partners hip with Coley deserve mention for their constant

supply of good ball.

Fortunately the general impression that remains of the season's rugby is not one of

individuals excelling themselves at the expense of the rest of the team, but rath er a n att empt by

the whole squad to play and enjoy a fair game no matter what the score, the conditions, or

what crude spoil ing tact ics were empl oyed against them.

If the same spirit of enjoyment that accompanied the thinly populated practises of November

is shown next season, then the team will continue to find their rugby rewarding.

SOCCER

We only managed to win one match of the five played; several fixtures were cancelled due

to rain or frost and more than once we played in appall ing condit ions , so this was an

unsatisfactory season. The main trouble was due to the fact that only four boys played

throughout in the same positions and the rest had to be shuffled around without ever really


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f inding a good combination. Jones at wing half and Stal lard at full back, were the most

consis tent and Coley and Wallace played well on the wings. No good inside forwards

emerged except Johnson and he was too much of an individualist to become a permanent

member of the side. Tudge seldom produced the slickness and punch that he showed last y ear

a t cen t re- forward , though he p layed wel l in goal when Kimpton was in jured . Kimpton

made some good saves but was of ten asked to do too much because of our mid-f ie ld

positional weaknesses in defence. Bearcroft was a strong centre-half but he is clumsy and

inaccurate when passing. Potentially, the best player in the side was Phelps, but he has yetto learn the knack of not be ing caught in possess ion . Puffer J ., Tainton, Turner and

Ratcliffe, all made some contribution. Six of those mentioned will be here next year and

could make the foundations of a better side. Coley, Wallace, Stallard and Kimpton, were

awarded their colours after our best performance in beating Seaford Court 4-3.

Greens won the colour matches with Greys second.

CRICKET

After last year's successful season we had hoped that the combination of Jones' slow left arm

orthodox bowling and Tudge's aggressive wicket-keeping would be a very strong weapon.

Sadly Tudge broke his arm at the s tar t and did not play in a s ingle match. This made a

tremendous difference and the whole side became much less effective. Kimpton and laterJohnson, deputised as wicket-keeper with more enthusiasm than skill. The batting depended

mostly on the Captain, Coley, who started promisingly with a neat 24 in the first match but that

and 23 against Moor Park were his only good scores. His habit of opening the face of the bat

takes nearly all the power out of his otherwise good off-side shots. Jones had some very respectable

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figures, the best of which was 5 for 8 against Moor Park. Wallace promise d w ellwith the bat

but he ha d no lu ck an d it wa s no t un ti l the last match that he made a good 44 against Winterfold.

Phelps bowled well at times and as the term went on became faster and more aggressive but

he is not yet in Moore A's class. His best performance was 5 for 9 v. Elms.

Kimpton and Stallard batted stubbornly without making any big scores but they developed

into a sound opening pair.

Partridge bowled well in practice and Tainton used the long handle with effect. Turner should

be useful next year as he is very agile and quick in the field. Only four members of the team

wil l be here next year but there a re many keen and promising juniors coming on.

SWIMMING

The weather was so bad that the time spent on swimming was limited, but enthusiasm was

great. The emphasis this year was on endurance and survival and for the first time we used the

Amateur Association Swimming Awards. Mr. Dobbins from the Worcester Pool came out to

see that our standards were high enough. He came one bitterly cold evening and was most

impressed to see the enthuisasm with which the keen swimmers went in to the icy water.

Pulfer, J., Bearcroft, Tudge, S., Collis, Packman, Tudge, R. and Pulfer, N., were awarded their

colours. Pulfer, J , had his Gold Survival and Tudge, S., his Silver before the beginning of

the term, but the others who were awarded colours gained their Silver Survival Awards .

Stallard, Tyler, Nelson, Fox, Martineau, Turner and Sanderson, M., gained their Bronze

Survival Awards. In the Distance Awards Pulfer, J., Bearcroft, Stallard, Collis, Tyler, Nelson,

Pulfer, N., Packman and Martineau did particularly well.

ATHLETICS

We now take part in the National AAA Five Star Award Schem e and this means, amongst


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other things, that we have 'gone' metric. 100m. will only just fit in and has to be run the

opposite way to 100 yards or the boys would be impaled on the barbed wire fence behind the

pavilion!

One advantage of the scheme is that some events, notably the walks, can be done at any

time , as they do not requi re the mark ing out of a t rack . Anot her is that there is such a wide choice

of events that there is something for everyone.

The following did particularly well: Blair-Oliphant, D. won his 4 star in the three A's

Under-11; Blair-Oliphant, R., 4 star in three A's Under-12; Edmonds, E. and Turner 4 star inthree A's and Penthath lon Under-12; Stal lard, Fox and Phelps 4 s ta r in three A's and

Penthat hlon Under-13 and Joh nson who won his 5 star award in three A's, Pentathlon and Decathlon

Under-11.

ASSAULT COURSE

On Open Day in March 1978, most of the school volunteered to go round the Assault

Course. Since then, led by Mr. Cash, with help from Mr. Driver, the boy's have built several

mor e obst acl es and the cou rse is a popular alt ernat ive to games, when the weather prevents us using

the fields.

RUA' FIOLAIn the Spring holidays 1978, Mr. Cash and two boys, Collis and Searle, joined up with a

group from the Elms to spend a week doing Adventure Training on the island of Rua' Fiola, near

Oban.

They learned to abseil, canoed, cl imbed rocks , f ished and walked. They saw deer and

golden eagles. They were marooned, deliberat ely, for one night on an uninhabited island. They

fished for lobsters and caught a monster.

The courses are run by the owner of the island Torquil Johnson-Ferguson, who ca me down in

the winter to give us a very interesting slide lecture. The first course was so successful that

this Spring Mr. Cash is going again with a group of 12 boys.

RUGBY: 1978

`Lick the grass' is a phrase that rarely, if ever, appears in the R.F.U.'s many and splendid

coaching manuals. However, when you are playing your third game of the afternoon, against a

team with a similar style of play, it makes an effec tive counter to the opposition's, 'take them low,

chaps.'

The Aymestrey Seve n began the a fternoon against Bromsgrove 2nds on a pitch that was exposed

to strong cross winds and a sudden, sharp, fierce shower. Bromsrove began in a rumbustious style

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that suited their height and wei ght an d forced some defensive touch kicking from withintwo or three yards of our try-line. Their early territorial gains were exploited in the third

minute by Stallard who, picking up a loose ball, caught the opposition by surprise and ran

the length of their half to score. Jones, after taking a good deal of care in placing the ball,

converted. The second-half began with Aymestrey two points clear and the game was in the

balance until the forwards won possession inside the Bromsgrove 25 and Phelps, after beating

several pla yer s, drew the opposi tion' s wing inside, leaving Pulfer, J., to crash over to make the final

score 10-4.

The second game was dominated by a forward contes t in which Kimpton hooked well ,

ably supported by his props; Turner demonstrated to his opposite number in the Moor Park

2nds. that height can be a disadvantage when you are forced down to turf level. Eventually

forward pressure and good positional play by the back-line enabled Pulfer to intercept and

sco re. Jones converte d t o level the scores at 6-6.Abber ley 2nds scored an early t ry in the f inal game and made i t c lear that we were

matched against a team with similar ideas on fast flowing rugby. The Forwards, however,


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managed to counter in the scrummages and good runs by Wallace at scrum-half, that were

well supported by the rest of the team, enabled us to break down their defence. Phelps took

ad va nt ag e of th is an d scor ed a hat-trick of tries to make the final result 12-4.

To remain unbeaten in three games is a pleasing achievement, especially when all seven

players thoroughly enjoyed every minute and realised that they owed their success to

playing as a complete team that relied on each other's skills to produce the results.

The main season began wi th a spe l l o f weather tha t made i t a joy to specta te and an

effor t to p lay. As the c limate deter iorated however, the rugby improved and af ter thenucleus of the team had proved their skill and determination at the Sevens' competition the first

XV of the term was selected.

In the f i r s t game, against the Elms , we were comprehensive ly defea ted , inexper ience

and slack handling proving our downfall. The next game, against Winterfold, was also lost,

but by now the pack was begi nnin g to beco me an entity and work well, particularly in the set

scrummages.

When assembled and pointed in the r ight d irec tion the XV presented a somewhat

unconventional a spect. With the exception of Pul fer, J., who made himself into a very useful

flanker, the forwards were particularly diminutive. The real height came with Richmond, a

newcomer, at full-back, who quickly adapted to a new game, and Fox, who when given the

chance did some fine running on the wing. Using the potential of a small but determined

pack and upsetting the opposition by shortened line-outs, stage-managed by Kimpton, who

also found time for some dialogues with his opposite numbers in the enemy front rows, the

ball began to find its way into the centre of the field where Wallace at scrum-half, Phelps

outs ide him, and Jones at centre, began to develop into a useful tr io. With the help of

Richmond on the burst they found confidence to switch the direction of attacks and confuse

the enemy forwards, especia lly when the latter were slow to break.

After narrowly los ing to Seaford Court , Jones again showing his al l- round abil i t ies by

converting Phelp's try as well as defending well with some finely timed tackles, we gained

our first victory by beating Winterfold in the return match. Unfortunately the game was

mar red by Sta lla rd' s unfortuna te acc ident in which he broke his arm.

As if to emphasise the gloomier aspects of the game, our next match at St. Richards was

played in conditions more familiar to the special effects department at M.G.M. than real life. Weappeared to lose.

The match agains t Moor Park probably summed up the team's a tt i tued bes t. I t was a

closely fought game all the way through. As always we were trying out people in different

positions and Johnson's entrance as a winger, bouncing off large props, and putting them

into t ouch, w as sympt omatic of the team's spirit. The pack held its own against much heavier

opposi tion and the invent iveness of the halves and centres provided two fine tries, Jones again

converting.

It is always unfair to single out individual members for particular praise as they could not

exist without the support of their fellows, so perhaps it is better t o divi de the tea m into the

veterans and newcomers . The former, a s t he Sevens ' report makes clear , always gave their

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all . Kimpton hooked well and deserved his selection for the County s ide; he was well

supported by Stallard and Turner at prop, Pulfer, J., soon learned to break early, and Collis

provided his usual determined and robust second-row contribution. The halves' partnership

has already been mentioned and although their intricacies did not always work they were

usually entertaining.

The newcomers tried their hardest to fit into the pattern of play. Some, such as Ilsley,

played in at least three posit ions , while others such as Packman and Blair-Oliphant, R. ,

worked hard in practice and were prepared to f ill gaps where necessary in the side. Tudge,

R., Pu lfer, N. and Tyler a l l worked hard a t the i r fo rward p lay and a l l made a va luable

contribution to the pack's determination.


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Once again, however, this season the most pleasing attitude to note has been the spirit in

which the games have been played. Whenever possible Phelps tried to keep his side moving

the ball abou t amo ngst the msel ves, and even in the heaviest defeat made sure that the XV out-

cheered their opposition.

CAMP

On Thursday, 13 th Ju ly, a party of f ive boys and Mr. Cash se t o f f fo r Mr. and Mrs .

Bywater 's farm near Presteigne. Travelling in Mr. Griffith's car were Kimpton, Bearcroft,

Goodwin and Paske, G., and Coley went in his mother 's car wit h Mr. Cas h. Bot h cars were

lo ad ed to th e br im an d ha d th ei r ty re s specially inflated to take the extra load.

When we arrived at the camp we pitched the two tents. The smaller one was used for the

food and we were soon eating our f irs t meal, accompanied by thousands of small brown

flies which stayed with us till the end of camp, though they gradually thinned out.

After lunch we went to have a brief look at Offa's Dyke, and Mr. Beard arrived with our

water supply. He and his wife had a caravan nearby and were a great help to us throughout our

stay.

The next morning, we set off for Offa 's Dyke. We walked a route used by hundreds of

hikers every year. When we arr ived back at camp we had a welcome swim as i t had been

hot al l day. We had a s l ight accident over 'spil t milk ' later on that evening so had to useour res erve of pow der ed milk in order to entertain Mr. and Mrs Beard to cocoa.

On Saturday, after the usual chores, we started for an unknown destination, which turned

out to be the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Green-Price, with whom we s tayed overnight. They

kindly let us use t heir chicken house to sleep in. They had moved the chickens elsewhere, but

one had stayed behind and made us jump out of our skins when she flew out later.

The Green-Price's took us round some sheep pens next morning and afterwards drove us to

the site of the Battle of Pillech. After hearing all about the battle from Mr. Cash and seeing

some of the landmarks we walked back to camp. We would have liked to swim but the presence of

fishermen made this impossible.

Next day, in fine weather, we climbed some nearby hills and reached the highest point in

our stay. When we returned t o camp we noti ced that the fire had been built up and our wood

supply had been replenished. Our mystery visitor had arrived. He was a policeman, an explore rfr iend of Mr. Cash 's called Tony May. He is a leading scouter and proved to be a very

enter ta in ing per son who , a s we ll a s s howing us how to make a f i re wi th we t wood ,

regaled us with ghost s tories round the camp f ire . We then went round to Mr. and Mrs.

Beard' s caravan for hot dogs and cocoa.

The next morning we struck camp early and returned to school in time for lunch.

Guy Paske.

(Ed. Our grat eful than ks ar e due to Mr. a nd Mr s. By wat er, Mr. an d Mr s. Beard, Mrs. Coley,

Mr. and Mrs. Green-Price and, of course, Mr. Cash).

RADIO STANDISH

A couple of years ago a senior boy at Wycliffe College discovered that there was a system at

Standish Hospitalabout two miles from the schoolthrough which i t was possible to

broadcast records and messages via the patients' headsets. These were normally used to relay

BBC radio. He obtained permiss ion from the hospital authori t ies to produce a weekly

programme of Record Requests for the patients via this system. After a few weeks he had

trouble with the technical side of broadcasting and started looking around for an

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engi neer. Sadl y, he had to make do with me. I had achieved a certain notoriety for repairing

things electrical and nobody else was prepared to walk up and down the steep hill to the hospital,

loaded with equipment, every week. As time went by I started speaking 'on the air' and so I

finally acquired a programme of my own. This consisted of Local News, Interviews with local

celebrities and music.

At this stage I should explain the principle of Hospital Radio. If you are stuck in bed for eight

weeks or more, time passes fairly slowly, and, especially if you are ill, you tend to brood and get

very depressed. By broadcasting a personalservice around Standish Hospital we keep the patientsinvolved in life: they listen to their requests and hear their contributions read out. We can broadcast

everything that we receive, and because the patients actually know each presenter, face to face, as we

go around the wards before each programme, cheering people up and collecting ideas, they really

enjoy the broadcasts. By relaying local news we keep the patients in touch with the outside world

and involved in what goes on.

This Spring I took control of the service at Standish which now broadcasts four to five hours each

week, with a very active response from those in the Hospital. Our studio was literally falling to

pieces, so this summer I carried out a marathon sponsored broadcast, which I presented non-stop

for the entire time, to raise money. It contained News, Requests, Interviews and all kinds of feature

material, and response to it was stupendous. About 50 was raised, with which we hope to start re-

equiping. Radio Standish is an entirely voluntary organisation and our programmes have to be

financed from our own pockets, with some help from the Hospital League of Friends, but in most

European countries Hospital Radio, produced in the hospitals, is entirely state supported--an

indication of its value.

Simon Goodwin.

AMERICA

I spent six months in America, travelled 10,000 miles and only set foot in 25 of the 50 states. As I

travelled I began to realise just how vast America is: to go from Los Angeles to New York is

equivalent to going from London to Baghdad, and the distance from North to Sou th is best

illustrated climatically 1 threw snowballs in October and surfed in December. Thus after a while I

began to see America for what it is: a col lection of States rather than one country.Another lasting impression I received was the stress that was laid on money and the speed and

quantities in which it was circulated. Wages tend to be high --I saved 1,000 from three months work

selling ice-cream and later on cactibut this is balanced by the compulsion of commercialism to

spend it just as fast. I saw a sign proclaiming the fact that there were only four months to go until

Christmas and on the television there are commercial breaks before, during and after, the weather

forecast.

The violence we see in American films is to a certain extent prevalent in the cities out there

especially in the downtowns the centres which are nearly always the poorest quarters and

have the highest crime rate. The car chase is not as common as we are led to believe either, but I

witnessed the end of one after a stolen truck had ploughed into a hedge 15 yards from me and, by

the time the driver had climbed out of the cab, two guns were trained on him. On my travels I also

had a gun drawn on me in a bar-room brawl and was on the receiving end of half a dozen rotten eggs.However, I must finish by adding that for every bad moment there were numerous good ones,

like the many people who brought me meals, gave me a bed for the night and drove miles out of

the way to show me pl aces they thought I would like to see. A couple I worked for decided to take

me to the theatre straight after work one day and, since I was wearing only a T-shirt and a dirty old

pair of jeans at the time, stopped on the way to buy me some more respectable clothes.

The kindness and generosity I received is perhaps best illustrated by a Park Ranger who, seeing me

crawling out of my sleeping bag after spending a night under the stars in a small town park, came

over and apologised for waking me up with the noise of his motor mower and told me to come

and stay at his house the next time I was in town.

Peter Schilizzi.

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Documents

Aymestrey Magazine 1979