OC EVENTS

BY RICHARD ROSSER (1955-1962) & MALCOLM ROGERS (1950-1959)

OC Wednesday Lunch Club

The OC Lunch Club meets throughout the year, except in January, normally on the first Wednesday of the month. The majority of these informal lunches are held at the OC Clubhouse in Roding Lane.

A superb meal of two courses, followed by tea/coffee, is provided by the School’s caterers. Some dates are determined by the requirements of the school and their catering needs for special events, or the school holidays. On these occasions we have lunch at a restaurant somewhere in Essex. In December we have a special traditional Christmas lunch, including wine, at the School the day after the end of the school term. The basic cost is £15 per person with drinks available from the bar. There is a slightly higher charge for Christmas and for visits to a restaurant. OCs of all ages are welcome together with family and friends. If you wish to register your interest in order to receive an invite for every occasion, please send your email/phone details to either Richard or Malcolm: richard.rosser@hotmail.co.uk or malcolm@themusickecompanye.com.

The invites go out approximately two weeks in advance. The dates for 2022 will be notified early January.

Come and join us at one of our alumni events

They are a fantastic way to reconnect with old friends, expand your network of OCs and find out what has been happening at the school. We always welcome your assistance, ideas and support to make these events as welcoming and appropriate as possible.

For more information about any of our events please see: www.chigwell-school.org/alumni-events

BY GILL PUNT

Chigwell School’s Charity Runners

For the first time, this year saw two Royal Parks Half Marathons and our teams of Chigwell School parents, staff, and OCs ran in both. The ‘virtual’ event took place in April and the team ran their own route and logged their performance with the special event app. In October more of our charity runners ran the event back in its normal location of central London. All the hard work and fun saw them raise just over £75,000 for Cancer Research UK.

This is a wonderful example of our Chigwell community rallying once more for an important cause during these difficult times and I would like to thank all those who laced up their trainers and ran or who donated to raise such a superb total.

Chelsie May, the Supporter Engagement Executive at Cancer Research UK, said, “Chigwell School truly are a force to be reckoned with and you really are a brilliant group of true fundraising heroes. The support that you provide to CRUK year in and year out is phenomenal, and it is so greatly appreciated by everyone here at Cancer Research UK. Congratulations to everyone who took part in the Virtual Royal Parks Half Marathon this year, thank you for pulling together even during such strange and uncertain times to complete the challenge and raise vital funds, which will help us to make faster progress towards our goal of 3 in 4 people surviving cancer by 2034. I have loved seeing all of your race day photos so thank you to everyone who sent some through. Chigwell School, you are a constant reminder of why I love doing this job so thank you for everything you do.”

If you would be interested in participating in this event in the future please contact Gill Punt at: philanthropy@chigwell-school.org

153rd Shrove Tuesday Event Goes Digital & Global

Shrove Tuesday has been an annual Old Chigwellian event for 153 years. This year, undaunted, it took place virtually. In what was the first truly global Shrove Tuesday event, Old Chigwellians attended online from across the world - including from Australia, Bavaria and Canada.

The online event included inspirational ideas from our Chaplain, an address by the OCA President and a look back at what we have achieved despite the lockdown, from the Headmaster and Head of School. All of this was wrapped up by the Chaplain’s blessing and the Chapel Choir singing above some stunning new drone footage of the School.

Through the power of Zoom, live reunion breakout out rooms gave Old Chigwellians the chance to reconnect with others from their houses.

“It was great to see OCs from far and wide taking the time to join the event, including Head of School 1987, Mark Chalkley, who joined us from Northern Ireland and Julian Kirkby who has never missed a reunion since 1989!” - Aegean Simpson, OCA President For those who missed the event (or want to relive it!), it is available to view below: www.chigwell-school.org/news/153rd-shrovetuesday-event-goes-digital-and-global

The 154th Shrove Tuesday will be on 1st March 2022. For more information about this event please see www.chigwell-school.org/alumni-events

“Thank you so much for your inspiration in organising this. I was just thinking how miserable to miss Shrove Tuesday so that has cheered me up - Wonderful event!”

OC Black Tie Dinner 2021

On Saturday 11th September the OC Black Tie Dinner was held at School. Festivities began in the afternoon with tours of School culminating in a service in Chapel. The drinks reception followed in the dining hall conservatory which gave all guests a chance to mingle, and a wonderful three course meal completed the events.

Speeches were given by the OCA President, Mrs Aegean Simpson, and by the Headmaster. Those who attended ranged from some who had left decades ago (including one who had not visited the School for 47 years) to others who left in 2020. There were three tables of OCs who left in 2013, 2014 and 2020. Several diners said that they had a fantastic time and it was lovely to come back to see the School. Due to the success of this event, the OC Black Tie Dinner will take place at School again next year on Saturday 10th September 2022. The dinner is open to all OCs and spouses and partners are most welcome.

For more information about this event please see www.chigwell-school.org/alumni-events

No. 6648

The Old Chigwellian Lodge

The Old Chigwellian Lodge Officers and Brethren at the 300th Meeting

Unfortunately, the pandemic had a severe impact on the activities of the Old Chigwellian Lodge with the cancellation of four meetings including the annual School visit. However, the brethren remained in touch through a series of Zoom social meetings and continued to raise funds for the Master’s Charity List which included Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the United Grand Lodge Charity Appeal.

The 300th meeting of the Lodge was held on 16th September 2021 at Mark Masons Hall, St James’, London and was presided over by the present Worshipful Master, Graham Richardson (1969-1975). For the first time in eighteen months a full meeting was completed followed by a celebration Festive Board at which the brethren enjoyed a fine single malt whisky distilled specifically to mark and toast the unique occasion.

The Lodge membership continues to grow and is attracting an increasing number of young professional Old Chigwellians. The Installation Meeting for the new Worshipful Master will take place in February 2022 followed by a return to the annual School meeting in May 2022.

New Members

Are you curious about Freemasonry or the charitable work undertaken by the lodge (such as contributing to the purchase of the latest London Air Ambulance)? New members are the life blood of our Lodge and we have been remarkably successful in bringing on new candidates in recent years.

If you would like to learn more about the School Lodge, please contact: membership@oclodge.co.uk or visit our website: www.oclodge.co.uk

The Old Chigwellian Masonic Lodge was founded in 1948.