Old Ignatian Association

Newsletter – Autumn 2008

President’s Introduction

Changes I’d like to start this newsletter by thanking our outgoing President, Rob Lowry for his exemplary three years’ service. Significantly, those three years have seen a piece of scrubland transformed into a magnificent headquarters and sports facility. While Rob didn’t don tool belt and build it himself, he certainly played his part and I’m sure you’d all like to add your thanks to mine. Also at the AGM, Mick Collins stood down after an 8 year stint on the committee (armed robbers get less time), and we thank him also. Headquarters Last time we spoke, we were taking delivery of the keys to the Loyola clubhouse and planned to stage a few low-key ‘get-to-know-the-place’ events prior to a more formal opening. Well...we have done that, but the formal opening has not happened yet due to the delays in our energy supplier building the necessary substation for the electricity. The idea of holding an opening where the generator could break down or run out of juice was not one we were prepared to entertain! So, on the basis that good things come to those who wait, we have held fire. At the time of writing, the permanent electricity supply is a matter of a week or so away. This has not, however, stopped us from enjoying our new facility. We held the AGM there, we organised a pre-season internal 5-a-side competition, the football club held an extremely successful end of season party there and the association hosted an AFA league representative game recently. In addition, now that the new season has started, the association are hosting the footballers and their opposition every Saturday.

Links with the School It is hoped that the proximity of the new headquarters will lead to stronger, deeper links with the college. Myself and the two John O’Briens (long story) attended the extremely impressive college leavers’ dinner before the summer break, and were gratified to see that, not only had Mr. Morrision and the college sent another fine crop of young men out into the world, but that a healthy proportion of them were already involved in the association via the football and rugby teams. This bodes well for the future. Other News The association held their regular dinner at the Bonnington in May, and again it was a great success. Our thanks go to Jack How for organising again, and to our speaker Tony Sheen (an Old Ignatian), who shared some of his experiences of working with Cafod. A great time was had by all. So much so, in fact, that some just didn’t want to stop. Long after our official evening had ended, several senior Old Ignatians were spotted in the hotel bar pretending to be aeroplanes while singing “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver! Jim, when will you act your age? I leave you with an appeal. If you have any news, memories or other points of interest that you would like to share with us, please send them to our new secretary: John O’Brien at the address below: 84 Courtlands Close Watford Herts WD24 5GN I look forward to hearing from you, and I hope to see you at the Loyola Clubhouse in the very near future. Kind Regards Stephen McNicholas - President

Family Mass

This Mass is very much a family social gathering and we encourage adults and children alike to come along and join in the occasion.

Refreshments

Refreshments will be served immediately after

the Mass at the Old Ignatian Association

Loyola Clubhouse, which is adjacent to the College.

This venue is a change from tradition, but the committee

feel it presents an ideal opportunity for members to experience the new headquarters.

News from the College

St. Ignatius College goes to Tanzania

On the 18^th of July at Heathrow airport terminal 4 the 13 pupils and 4 members of staff met at 7.00am, ready to depart for Tanzania. 9 hours and 2 flights later we arrived at Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. Unfortunately, Liam McDermott had realised on the second flight that he had lost his passport and wasn’t allowed entry into the country. We lodged in a place called the Msimbazi centre. Surrounded by mosquitoes and far away from home, I don’t think that there was a single pupil who forgot to pray that night; Stanley Osuagwu claimed that despite the heat he shivered himself to sleep.

The following day we played a football game against the team of Loyola High School. The gruelling game under the blistering sun concluded with our 4-0 defeat although the score would have been worse had it not been for our superb goalkeeper Martin Yardley. Afterwards we were treated to a very entertaining dance competition.

Later in the evening we had dinner and a very informative question time with the British high commissioner for Tanzania. In our third day in Dar es Salaam we were guests at mass. It wasn’t too long into the mass until we discovered that we were in fact sitting on the women’s side of the church! All of us were invited to stand before the congregation and shook hands with the choir. The choirs in Tanzanian churches were very lively and vibrant and really brightened up masses.

Our next stop in Tanzania was the capital, Dodoma. After a 6 hour coach journey we were warmly received by the Jesuit community there, led by Father Sosthones. The day after our arrival we visited St. Ignatius primary school for the first time, and received a whole welcome parade from the children! The welcome was like nothing we had ever received before and made us truly feel like guests of honour. Our first time in classes it felt like we were more of a hindrance than a help, as the kids continuously asked us questions. On that same day, due to the perseverance of the staff, we were finally reunited with Liam. For the rest of our stay in Dodoma we no longer stayed in the Jesuit lodgings but we stayed with families of children who went to the school. Just like every other Tanzanian we met, our host families were incredibly hospitable. Everyday we made the journey on the school buses with the children hosting us. A ‘lucky’ few of us received visits in our families from the teachers, just to see how we were doing.

At the school we taught some classes, Matthew Kimberley and Martin Yardley’s science lessons especially went down a storm with the St. Ignatius pupils. During our time we visited the site in Dodoma where the St. Ignatius secondary school was to be built and Father Sosthones showed us the school’s blueprints so that we could share in the vision he had for it. We gained the experience of climbing a ‘small’ mountain with our host children who in many cases showed us up with their courage, and it was on the mountain that we met Old Ignatian John Tate. After our little expedition we got our first taste of haggling at the local market

At mass in Dodoma we were all privileged enough to meet and shake hands with the Prime minister of Tanzania whose gift of a Stephen Gerrard shirt from Father Byron was quickly snatched away by his security. The unfortunate death of an MP the day before our visit to the parliament meant that activity was suspended and therefore our visit was shorter than expected, this gave us more time to sort and label the books donated to the library. The library was also adorned with some paintings, under artistic direction from Stuart Sadler.

Our group was in a sense pioneers as we oversaw the school’s first ever sports day, complete with awards ceremony, which turned out a success but still had room for improvement.

We made a visit to a Cheshire home for mentally handicapped children and we were filled with admiration for the great work that was being done for these children.

The parent’s day celebration which took place on the 2^nd of August also marked our last day at the school, and for our contribution of time and effort we were rewarded with t- shirts with the St. Ignatius primary logo of ‘education for life’ on the back, the gifts were well received by us all.

After a farewell mass we took a 14 hour coach journey to Arusha, the journey was made this long because our bus broke down. At Arusha we stayed with some Jesuit novices who recounted their experiences to us, all of which were very interesting. While in Arusha we also went on a safari which was enjoyed by all as we saw a family of elephants, baboons, hippos and a few more animals.

For the final leg of our trip we returned to Dar es Salaam where we visited the British council in Tanzania and were reunited with some of the school children and teachers. At the council the sister school programme scheme was explained to us in more detail. Back at the Msimbazi hostel we discussed the future of the relationships of our two schools, everyone was very optimistic about what the future held. Finally from Dar Es Salaam we boarded the flight back home after a very enlightening three weeks that I’m

sure none of us will forget.

Difu Ilobi Vice Captain 2007-2008

Golf

Ignatians v Aloysians

Last year, we reported an end to the 6 year Aloysian dominance, and tentatively hoped

that it might be the start of something big. Well.....we might be right!

At the time of press, no official report exists of the day’s action, but you can get a flavour of the satisfaction that exists from the following email, sent the morning after by Trevor Duane, one of the Ignatian heroes....

“Morning gents.

Just to let you know, the boys brought the bacon home again on Friday by hammering Old Aloysians in the Shinpad Challenge - 7 ½ to 4 ½

That now evens up the overall number of wins with each team having won it 7 times a piece and one halved match.

There was a lot of talk about the match format and the fact that the older boys are not physically able for the full 36 holes, but that is more of an Old A's issue, as we now have a good influx of 'youth team players', as the old boys refer to us!

There may also be scope to extend the size of the teams from 12-a-side to 14 or 16 if the numbers exist to warrant this. Everyone who attended had another great day so it is highly recommended. Any further discussions had I will forward onto you all.”

As you can see, it’s good to beat the Aloysians at anything!

The triumphant team that day was (with handicaps):

P McCreesh 18/18            A Delahunt 18/9                   M Weinert

E Sebastian 17                  E Jordan 20                         N Newman 22

S Fricker                           D Piper 18/9                         P Stephenson 18/9

J Renn 18                         T Duane                               W McSweeney 18/18

Old Ignatians Football Club Annual Golf Day

Being only the second time the footballers have swapped boots and drinking for clubs and drinking, this just about qualifies as an ‘annual’ event. It is also fair to say that the first one was ‘experimental’. Organised by David O’Brien, it was always going to be flexible. That first year we were late teeing off due to confusion about who would pay, we had no confirmed numbers, no format, no competition and no trophies. This year was different. This year we were late teeing off due to confusion about who would pay, we had no confirmed numbers, no format, no competition...but the rumour of trophies added a zip to the bacon buttie and tea exchanges.

Overall winner on the day was Brian Percival who bagged the trophy, made apparently from ‘real metal’, in what has to be the least formal ceremony I have ever seen – it was handed to him as he put tomato ketchup on his ham and eggs. He was lost for words, as you can imagine.

The real highlight of the day, however, was the keenly contested longest drive competition. Dave Percival walked off with this honour by virtue of the fact that he was the only one of the party to hit the fairway on the designated hole. Well done Dave, you saved us the embarrassment of having to return one of the trophies unused.

I won’t bore you with details of the post-match entertainment – just have a look at the picture below and make up your own version.

Thanks to David O’Brien for organising; I didn’t really mean all those things above

To end with a cliché, there was only one winner on the day, and it wasn’t golf. It was Brian.

Old Ignatian Football Club

Once again, the OIFC fielded 60+ players each week, ranging from old duffers to current boys from the college. We are hoping that the Association’s new facilities will further strengthen the club’s position and continue to attract new players and supporters.

Interested in joining ? For further information visit www.oifc.co.uk

“It’s a grand old team to play for . .

. . if you know your history . .”

Old Ignatian FC 1st XI Report

Having just missed out on promotion last year we were determined to make it this year. Starting a week later than the rest of the league our lack of games told as we crashed to a 3 – 0 defeat. Determined not to let our poor start get to us we then went on to win two and draw one of our next three games. We were then faced with premiership Parmatarians in the AFA cup. This was a chance to test our self at a higher level. We acquitted ourselves admirably coming from a goal down to win 3 – 2. This however was the highlight of our cup campaign as we crashed out of all three cups. With eleven teams in our league and Matt O'Sullivan's involvement in the league rep team we found ourselves missing a lot football. This meant by Christmas we were bottom of the league. However, despite losing our star striker, Tom Cahill to injury, we went on a great run of seven wins in ten games that saw us rocket up the table to second. With plenty of points still to play for we knew promotion was in our own hands especially as we still had to play all of our main rivals.  Unfortunately, two draws and four consecutive defeats in our last six games saw us finish a lowly sixth, four points from promotion.

Stephen Franklin, OIFC 1^st XI Captain

Old Ignatian FC 2nd XI Report

The 2nd team started the season with high hopes, Some decent pre-season results and a host of new faces meant we were well placed for the forthcoming season.
Despite the high hopes the season started with a draw and then a loss. Although the games were close we were not taking our chances when we should have been killing games off.
Soon the team started to gel better and results picked up and with the league being a closely fought contest everyone was taking points from each other.

We did not have much of a cup run but we did get drawn against Wake Green in Birmingham and although on the day we struggled for players due to unforeseen reasons we managed to get a team out.

The game did not go how we planned and we ended up losing the game significantly 7-1.

Back to the league we picked ourselves up and did not take the cup defeat with us and by New Year we found ourselves up there challenging for the title. I think having that pressure on us proved too much especially with a few youngsters in the team and results did not go our way with referee decisions and a last minute goal to stop us taking the win against Wood Green meant we ended the season on 26 points yet only 3 points from the top of the table.

All in all our season was an improvement on the season before and we are looking at going one step further next season and taking the league title.

We have some very talented players at our disposal and I am certainly looking forward to the new season.

Pat “The Power” McEniry, OIFC 2^nd XI Captain

Old Ignatian FC 5th XI Report

After a challenging start to the season, which saw the 5th team All*Stars draw their first three matches, lose in both cup competitions and struggle to get 11 players on the pitch at times, the team just got stronger and stronger.  From the middle part of the season onwards, the team was showing 'league-winning form'.

I am pleased to say that we did eventually win our league, with it all coming down to the final match (as Edmontonians also had a very strong season).  The All*Stars won 13 out of the last 16 matches.  Of the other three matches, two were drawn and ONLY one was lost.  The two key clashes were against the league leaders - at the time (Edmontonians) and a very strong Leyton County side, who had bolstered their ranks from the first match we had against them, earlier in the season (and included a few ringers and a few thugs!).  We put in the performance of the season against Ed's and ran out impressive winners 4-0.  Leyton was more of a battle (or a war, as some might say), but we held our nerve and won a close encounter 3-2.  The last three games could not come quick enough, as confidence was high and everyone wanted to play.  We won 6-0, 10-3 and 9-1, to round off an exciting season (which also included an 8-8 draw!!). 

With a fantastic mixture of youth and experience, we formed an unbeatable team sprit.  The banter, both on and off the pitch, was the best I have known and I sincerely hope that the youngsters now stay at the club for many years to come, as they are the life-blood and the future of our club.  To win the title on the last day of the season, was a bit of a fairytale ending.  It was, however, fully deserved and was watched by a large and supportive crowd.  There was plenty of champagne flowing at the 'aftershow party' and the trophies won, could not have gone to a more deserving bunch of players.  I would like to mention John Lowry in particular, who is only 17 years old, but deservedly won both the Player of the Season and the Top Goal Scorer awards.

I am extremely proud to have won the title in my first season as captain and I would also like to thank Brian Percival (vice-captain) and Connor McGirr (club captain), for their invaluable support throughout!

Now to next season, where we'll certainly give it our best shot to do the club proud again.

Gareth Fosberry.

Enfield Ignatians Rugby Club

To finish last season first…

The Firsts made it to the final of the County Cup. It very nearly didn’t happen though as a freak snowfall had to be cleared on the morning of the game by an emergency task force, led by man-mountain Kevin Linnane. Several hundred spectators watch the biggest rugby game held in Enfield since Saracens played at Enfield FC’s old stadium, and certainly the biggest game in Old Ignatian Rugby history. The Mayor turned out, as well as the Press, the County RFU President. Headmasters of schools were invited and Sponsors. Unfortunately the opposition also turned up. Civil Service, two divisions higher, and benefitting from a bunch of pacific island mercenaries proved too much for our valiant lads who went down 41-8. Still it was a tremendous achievement for a club that previously had not got closer than quarter-final stage. The Firsts finished 5^th in their division, again their highest ever finish.

The Seconds won their merit table, as did the Thirds, and the Fourths came second on theirs. So a uniquely successful season for the lower sides also. We jointly-hosted the end-of-season Cup and Plate competitions, with Harpenden, for these merit tables. Our Seconds went out in their final to Ruislip 26-3, and our Fourths went out in theirs to Hendon Twos 26-10. As with the Cup-Final day we were congratulated by the County bigwigs on our organisation and hospitality.

So to this season

The Firsts were transferred to London 3 North East this season, involving trips to Sudbury, Norwich and Mersea Island. It has proved to be a tough baptism as, although the pre-season friendlies went well, to date only one point has been garnered out of a possible six in the League. Injuries have led to makeshift back lines and the problem has trickled down to lower sides also who are not having it all their way this season as compared to previous ones. The Twos have won one out of four. The Threes are two out of four, and the Fours are one out of two, but struggling to get a team out when some many players are taken up to higher sides. Check the website for reports and fixtures.

The Youth Section on the other hand is going from strength to strength culminating in a tour for the Colts to Barcelona led by Kevin Linnane and Phil Sanders. We want them to have happy memories of the Club as they go off to University so that they will want to come back and play for us instead of drifting away forever.

The Website has proved problematical. It is currently being rebuilt but the old one has been re-vamped pro tem so results and details of president’s lunches are all there.

Socially we have just had another Elvis night, and we look forward to our President’s lunches the first of which is happening this Saturday when we welcome Brentwood. Paul Keogh and Mick Frost will again be our guests for this, as will be Hugh Fallon of The Inn on the Green, Palmers Green, our new lead sponsor. We plan to have a grand ball for our 60^th Anniversary in June 2009. At the moment the plan is for a marquee on the QEII stadium pitch but when details firm up the information will be again on the website.

Finally, and on a sad note, I have to report the death, after a long battle with cancer, of Brian (Taffy) Harris. Brian came to the college as a third year in 1970, leaving at 18 in 1974. He played for the School as well as the Old Boys and was also Club Secretary for a time in the late 70’s. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sian and his two fantastic kids Rhodri and Bethan.

Mick Collins

Your Newsletter Needs YOU ! Please do communicate with us. We want your news, snippets of information and any old memories you may like to share with us. This is your newsletter, please use it.

Association Secretary	Membership Secretary
John O’Brien	Michael McNicholas
84 Coutlands Close	6 Kenilworth Crescent
Watford	Enfield
Herts WD24 5GN	EN1 3RD
secretary@oldignatians.co.uk	membership@oldignatians.co.uk

Old Ignatian Ties

Please complete this form and send it with your cheque to:

Jack How, 88 Upminster Road, Hornchurch, Essex RM12 6PR

Tel: 01708 475448 email john.how@ntlworld.com