September 2014

Links

The Association www.theora.co.uk

Cricket www.oldrutscricket.org.uk

Football www.oldruts.co.uk

Rugby www.oldrutsrugby.com

Dates for your Diary

Old Rutlishians’ Association

Orbit Newsletter

the flooring & décor was still to be

completed.

One initiative we launched at the

event was 'adopt-a-chair' at the club.

When the club makeover is finished,

our furniture will go back in the

bar....it will look shabby. So we are

asking members to give a gift of £50

to re-furbish a chair as we as an

Association, are not flushed with

money. We had four chairs adopted

on the day.

If you are interested contact Mike

Stallard (rstallard@btinternet.com)

or Donna Trimmings

(donnatrimmings@blueyonder.co.uk).

Lastly, my President’s Charity Dinner

Dance will now show off our

clubhouse makeover in January. So

you have plenty of time to contact

me for tickets please on 07934131343

or at peterstokes1947@gmail.com.

Peter Stokes

Fri 10 Oct 7.30pm

Cheese & wine party

Sat 11 Oct 12.30pm

Senior members’ lunch

Sat 1 Nov 7.30Pm

Hallowe’en Rutsfest

Tickets on sale behind the bar, just

£8 pp

January 2015

BHF Charity Dinner Dance

Next Edition

w/c Monday 20 October

Send contributions to oraorbit@hotmail.com

by Thursday 16 September

Our President writes

It has been a good month at the club,

weather-wise and success-wise.

First congratulations to our cricketers

for winning the 1st, 2nd & 3rd team

leagues. A great effort by all.

So in a way, to bring them down to

earth, it was nice for the President's

XI to thrash the Club side by 45 runs

in a Twenty/20 game on 12

September. I wish to thank all who

helped make it a memorable day...

that includes Chas Cooper & Wally

Morgan for umpiring, Ryan Patel for

his innings, Gary Forge for starting

the Club's collapse with the first ball

of the innings and Adam 'Scuttle'

Chandler for his remarkable 4

wickets.

The next day was the re-union of

those who left the school around 50

years ago (starting years 1956-60). It

was very well attended, with Pat

Keene and her team giving us a

veritable feast at lunchtime. There

were about 80 old pupils and their

partners, several not having been to

the club for many a year, three

domiciled in Canada & one in

Australia. A great thanks must go to

Malcolm Griffin & Ian Newton for

organising the event along with Ian

Lambert for getting the memorabilia.

There were many comments about

the clubhouse makeover, all

favourable. This was despite the fact

The President representing the Association at the recent beer festival at Olympia flanked by two past presidents Dave Fisher & Steve Simpson [He makes these things look easy, but that’s because he puts the hours in - Ed]

In 1973, Lee Hurst started playing rugby at Rutlish school and bought his first rugby book - Rothmans Rugby Yearbook 1973-74. For nostalgic and historical reasons, he wishes to build a collection of material relating to this particular season.

He would be grateful if anyone can supply scans or photocopies of rugby fixtures, results, reports, etc. for the school from that season.

Please contact lee.hurst18@hotmail.co.uk

Our Chairman writes Finch & Co. ORA Sponsors

Nestled amongst the John Innes designed Merton Park conservation area, Finch & Co enjoys a unique position. ‘Green flag’ awarded spaces, tree lined avenues and beautiful Edwardian houses occupy the surrounding roads. The area feels rural despite its proximity to London. In the late 19

th century, John Innes, of

compost fame, together with his brother James, turned one of London’s original garden suburbs into a semi rural suburb for the City businessmen of the time. Now in the 21

st century, we can fully appreciate

the quality and style of these 1920s and 1930s homes that were not destroyed during the war. The homes designed by Quartermain and Brocklesby remain highly sought after.

The Finch office team are enthusiastic, exuberant and excited. They speak with great affection for the area, especially Beryl who has been with the company for 23 years. Her local knowledge is invaluable, thanks to her super memory. With Manager Katharine; Stefan, David and Beryl provide a service to the community which is unique. Sponsorship and links with Old Ruts sports club demonstrate that the ‘village’ spirit is alive and thriving. The area is now home to all combinations of housing stock, from flats and cottages to large detached homes, all carefully designed to complement the locality.

Another month has flown by as our

builder friends still beaver away to

get the Clubhouse refurbishment

finished. As I write the floor in the

bar is almost finished and Mike

Stallard hopes to get the Bar re-

opened again in time for the evening

session.

Despite the enforced closure, to

enable the completion of the

decoration and floor laying, last

weekend when the bar temporarily

re-opened for functions – ably

reported elsewhere – the actual

takings for the week over the counter

exceeded all expectations. If this is a

sign of things to come after final

completion then the future is bright

indeed.

I attended the Tri-reunion on

Saturday 13 September, where the

guests – especially those who are less

frequent visitors – were most

complementary about decor of the

redecorated hall. Together with the

new round tables and chairs, it

certainly is now becoming a first

class venue for functions.

The new scheme to “Adopt a Chair”

was launched with some immediate

takers so I hope that there will be

many more to come in the new few

weeks. This scheme is explained

elsewhere but any Committee

Member would be willing to point you

in the right direction. I do hope that

you will be able to support us in

replacing, refurbishing and increasing

the bar furniture.

The bar kitchen has also been

stripped and re-fitted together with

a new oven. While doing so it was

found that the gas supply pipes were

badly in need of replacing and as a

result these have been replaced to

both kitchens.

Finally I overheard a conversation

from two gentlemen at the re-union

about “50 Shades of Grey”. I thought

this was a comment on the new

decor but it turns out that it’s a

book!

Geoff Aldis

[As you’ll see on the sports pages, we

have some new (monochrome) murals

to decorate the clubhouse too]

Rutlish Year 11 GCSE results

recognised the hard work put in by

all staff and all students. For 5

subjects, including English &

Mathematics, 70% of the students

achieved either an A*, A, B or C

grade. This is up from 64% last year.

As has been identified in the press,

examination marking is getting

tougher and results nationally overall

are slighter lower this year. The

national average for a boys’ school is

now around 50%, compared to Rutlish

achieving 70%. A very good

performance indeed.

With regards RR6 (Ricards & Rutlish

sixth form students) the 65 students

who took their final examination

achieved the following results:

19% achieved A*/A;

74% achieving A* to C; and

98% A* to E grades.

Of the 50 students who applied to go

to university, all will go, with our top

students gaining entry to the top

prestigious universities.

The A/S examinations results at the

end of year 12 were at the upper end

of expectations and the best so far.

From year 11 across both Rutlish &

Ricards, 145 students have entered

RR6 which is the highest number of

students since the 6th form was

reintroduced five years ago.

At Rutlish, the Year 7 just started

was full in terms of student entry

with the majority of new students

making Rutlish their first choice.

The school under the leadership of

Alex Williamson and his committed

staff continue to perform to a very

high standard where significant

progress has also been made on the

PE and sporting competition side and

also in the performing arts and

drama.

Peter A. Norrie

Chair of Rutlish Full Governing Body

Rutlish School results 2014

Rutlish School rugby season 1973-74

Seventy former pupils and their

wives enjoyed the Reunion Lunch at

the OR’s clubhouse on Saturday 13

September. Forty made a nostalgic

tour of the school thanks to Peter

Norrie & Graham Mills, after which

they joined the other thirty at the

clubhouse to enjoy an excellent four

course lunch provided by Pat Keene

and her team in the newly decorated

upstairs hall. Donna and her team

also kept us well refreshed as we

tripped down memory lane.

Thanks go to Donna T who captured

the reunion on camera, ready to be

added to the Rutlish Reunions

website and the now infamous Ian

Lambert Dropbox. The Club and

School memorabilia Ian set out to

view on the day was very popular,

with many becoming lost in

memories of the late 1950’s & early

1960’s. We hope the photos will be

available by the end of September.

Colin Hicks (1957) did a fantastic job

tracing people to invite to the

reunion and fellow 1957 intake

Derrick Pope generously produced an

enlargement of the 1961 Rutlish

School photograph. Enlargement is

an understatement, it had to be

displayed along the balcony as it was

23ft x 3ft (sorry we all went to

school pre metrication). Mike

Stallard printed and kindly donated

the programme to the Reunion.

Peter Norrie in his capacity as Chair

of School Governors gave an

interesting speech on Rutlish School

Today which was followed by an

equally interesting speech by ORA

President Peter Stokes. Both

mentioned the need for extra sports

pitches as the junior sections are

large and continue to expand.

On the day I arrived at the clubhouse

building site at 9am and my

immediate concern was how 70+

people would feel about having to

lunch wearing hard hats and hi-viz

jackets. But the strength of our club

1957-60 reunion

With great sadness we report that

David Leeds Greene passed away on

14 August 2014 aged 77 from cancer,

diagnosed three months earlier.

He taught modern languages and

ceramics at Rutlish from 1962 to the

late 1970s (if anyone can remember

when he left Rutlish his daughters

would like to know) rising to Head of

Modern Languages. He also set up the

pupils’ allotment club.

He was a passionate teacher, very

much involved with the school. In a

speech he wrote to be read at his

funeral he talked of his love of

teaching and the important role

of inspiring teachers in his life.

He ended his days in France, near

Bordeaux where he taught the locals

English and the ex-pats French.

He is survived by his French wife

Jacqueline and his two daughters

Pascale and Claire.

Pascale Greene

David Leeds Greene

OAPs’ lunch

The OAPs’ lunch (formerly the

pensioners’ lunch) will take place on

Saturday 11 October 2014 in the main

hall at Poplar Road.

Invitation is open to any person who

attended Rutlish School in the entry

year of 1960 or earlier.

I look forward to welcoming all the

eligible personnel to the lunch where

I will update the attendees on the

school’s progress over the last year

and our President Peter Stokes will

update us on the progress at Poplar

Road over the last year.

Please keep the date free. If you

would like an invitation form please

email me on Peterapan@aol.com

Peter A. Norrie

Chair of Rutlish Full Governing Body

Reunions

Rob & Wendy’s Ballroom Dancing

Monday and Friday evenings 20:00 — 22:30 At the Old Ruts

Private lessons by appointment Beginners very welcome

For more information please phone

0201 8287 0518

Rob Mobile 07979 345 184 Wendy Mobile 07747 704 718 www.comedancingnow.co.uk

Walking your way to Fitness!

A friendly local group

All welcome

Meet at ORA sports ground every Tuesday - Thursday - Saturday

10:00 to 11:00

£5 per session

Contact: Anne de Silva

0208 540 0752

execfit1@btopenworld.com

Best Foot Forward

Michael Moss

came through when Gordon Cuthbert

and a team of volunteers turned up

and set about the task of making the

clubhouse presentable and usable so

the reunion would start on time,

both of which they achieved.

The whole event was a success

thanks to the fatherly advice &

guidance of another of the 1957

intake, Ian Newton, whose previous

1957 events experience with his

measured control of the sometimes

‘hot–headed’ organiser ensured the

whole event went so smoothly. His

work behind the scenes and on the

day was immense.

Mike Lambson (1959) gave an

impromptu vote of thanks to

organizer Malcolm Griffin and

amusingly recalled the day Mr Dennis

(of whistling teeth fame) taught his

class about the different parts of the

male and female body.

A very passable rendition of the

School Song was also performed by

all who lunched before “Spot the

Face” was held on the balcony with

the 1961 photo.

Thanks to everyone who attended

and helped with the reunion. It made

me very proud to say ‘I am an Old

Rutlishian’

Malcolm Griffin 1959-1964

Hallowe’en

Rutsfest

Saturday 1 November

This year’s Hallowe’en Rutsfest will,

once again feature your favourite

local bands, plus fab fireworks…

The line up of great bands includes:

Escapists

Roy and the Old Boyz

The Marmalades

The Eddys

Ryanne and Billie Cox

Crossroads

Rocheii

Rob Lever and friends

Los Paralyticos

Bengal Lancers

Emma Ryan and

Endless Summer

Tickets on sale behind the bar,

just £8 pp.

Get them now before it sells out!!

Seniors

Following a very good pre-season the

seniors kick off their new campaigns

against Metropolitan Police (home)

and Old Walcountians (away).

After two wins (Sutton & Epsom

seconds and Woking) and a loss

(Streatham & Croydon) in the pre-

season fixtures, the seniors are full of

confidence ahead of the opening

weekend.

On 27 September the 1st XV play

Metropolitan Police at home and the

2nd XV play Old Walcountians away.

We have retained our excellent

physio from last season, Kate Jones

who, along with Sarah Turpin will

help keep the lads on the pitch

instead of the sidelines.

We have some new and exciting

players along with some old heads

returning to Ruts. Training is going

well, with a number of our plays

coming together nicely. The regular

players are showing signs of

confidence and we hope to bring

back two wins in the first weekend.

As ever your support for the Seniors

is needed more than ever this year,

following a difficult last season.

The coaches (Gary Douch, Sam

Keohane & Brendan Robinson) are

looking forward to the challenges

ahead and hopefully the hard work

on the training ground will pay off on

the field of play.

Gary Douch, Head Coach

Juniors

On Friday 26 September, Old Ruts

juniors unveil their new squad kit. ,

Peter Cox shared this exciting sports

fashion news in an exclusive for Orbit

(and Facebook).

RUGBY

CRICKET A championships winning season!

2014 was the most successful season

the Club’s history. The First, Second

and Third XIs all won their respective

leagues titles while the Fourth XI

narrowly came second in theirs.

For recreational cricket, like we

play, success is not merely defined

by league titles (although if it was

we’d be doing fairly well) but also by

the number of players who turn out

to play for the club. It is pleasing to

report, therefore, the club is in rude

health on this side of things as well.

We regularly fielded six teams on a

Saturday and three teams on a

Sunday. Meanwhile, the colts section

continues to go from strength to

strength developing and engaging

youngsters with cricket from inside

Merton Park and beyond, from under

8s all the way through to under 16s –

many of whom this year turned out

for the senior sides.

First XI

The First XI stormed to clinch the

league title in convincing fashion

with three games to go, eventually

finishing 42 points clear of the

second-placed team. It would be

unfair to single out performances in a

team where every single member has

contributed significantly somewhere

along the line to achieving this

success. However, Dan Wood

deserves a mention for his 639 runs

this year and his uncanny ability to

claim catches on the half-volley. So

do Alex Barnicott (33), Perry Colyer

(32) and James Shackleton (30) who

all managed to bag over 30 wickets

for the season. Newcomers Chris

Mude and Russell Bryan slotted in

extremely well to the club and to the

team and have helped push us onto

the next level. Our overseas, Perry,

deserves a thanks for his efforts on

the youngsters have contributed an

inordinate amount to the success of

the side. I think we have found an

ongoing theme here…

Fourth, Fifth, Sixth XIs, plus

Sunday sides

The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth XIs and

Sunday sides also played a big part in

the club’s success, nurturing the

talent that we hope will be making

up our senior sides for the years to

come. While it’s great to enjoy the

recent success, it’s also good to

know that this is sustainable and

should last for years to come –

something the club is working hard

to secure.

Planning for next season has already

started and we are hungry for more

success. OK, it hasn’t yet started,

but it will do soon…

I’ll leave you with the statistic of the

season: out of the 66 players who

represented the Club on one

Saturday this season, 40 of them

either came through the colts

section or went to the school. It

appears the hard work of those

operating the colts section (you

know who you are) is paying off.

The Cricket section would also like

to offer its support to both the

Rugby and Football sections in their

forthcoming seasons. We hope to be

down as much as possible to watch

matches and support any social

events.

Joe Riches

[somewhere in the front row—Ed]

and off the field. He’s been a

fantastic asset to our team, even

more so to our bar, and we wish him

all the best in the future. Hopefully

we will see him again next year…

Second XI

The Second XI were in the tightest

league of the three of our

championship winning sides as they

crossed the line on the last day of

the season. The team is filled with

youth, with a few older heads in the

mix (no names, no packdrill) which is

extremely pleasing given the fact

that its main purpose should be a

haven to develop players for First XI

cricket. The fact that they are

winning titles at that age, and in

such a strong league, should help

ensure the Club’s the long-term

success. Under the consummate

captaincy of Peter Day, and with the

likes of Rob Lever and Stephen Cheek

[how deliberate was that typo? - Ed]

in the mix, there is no reason why

the Seconds can’t go forth and clinch

the Division 1 title next year.

Third XI

The Third XI secured their second

successive promotion and will be

mixing it with some of the big guns in

the Premier Division next year. Led

by Nasir Syed, the consistency

displayed by the team alongside the

strong commitment and work ethic

has paid dividends. The fluid nature

of team selection (the Thirds are

most often hardest hit by losing

players to the Seconds) is further

testament to their success. Again,