OLD SHIRBURNIAN SOCIETY
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Publications STEPHEN BOYS SMITH (a 64) Thomas Sandwith: A British Consul in the Levant, 1855-1891 Publisher: The Isis Press ROBERT HANDS (b 92) Puddings, Bullies & Squashes: Early Public School Football Codes Publisher: Sunnyrest Books CHARLIE HOARE (b 02) Man Down Publisher: Summersdale Publishers Ltd ROB KITSON (g 82) Exe Men: The Extraordinary Rise of Exeter Chiefs Publisher: Polaris HUGH POPE (a 78) Dining with al-Qaeda Publisher: Lion of Lycia Press EDWARD POSNETT (c 03) Strange Harvests:The Hidden Histories of Seven Natural Objects JOHN RIGBY-JONES (h 73) Tintawn and Bailer Twine Publisher: Fonthill Media JOHN RUSSELL (d 70) Theirs the Strife Publisher: Helion & Co LAWRENCE SAIL (c 61) Accidentals Publisher: Impress Books Guises Publisher: Bloodaxe Books TOM TYLER (a 57) Slavery and Freedom Publisher: Jack of All Trades Publishing
Pilgrims After mid-March, Pilgrims sport has had to go into cold storage, hence the much abbreviated report this year and the reason for there being no annual Pilgrims booklet this summer. The future for sport, both professional and amateur, remains uncertain but for a club such as the Pilgrims, with little fixed spending and commitments, the storm can be weathered. It is to be hoped that once the winter is over, and perhaps the pandemic beaten back, the panoply of Pilgrims sport can resume.
Because of the extraordinary circumstances, the usual procedure for joining the Club for the 2020 School leavers was unable to be followed. I would emphasise that the door is always open to any OS, whether sporting superstar or not, to join the Pilgrims – and not just immediately after leaving the School. The Club operates a subsidy system for younger members – please get in touch with Jonathan Powe (h 76), the Hon Secretary, at jonathanpowe56@gmail.com if you are interested. I would particularly urge all of this year’s leavers to consider becoming a Pilgrim if you haven’t done so already. It is an outstanding way of keeping in touch with your peers and meeting new OS friends, as well as enjoying some often surprisingly competitive matches.
In the absence of action, I will suggest a book for your Christmas stocking. In October, a book called Puddings, Bullies & Squashes was published. It is a collection of essays about the emergence of what we now call football and rugby into codified form, drawing on the different strands of football played – often remarkably creatively – at 20 schools in England, Scotland and Ireland. Sherborne is one of them. If you can bear to read more of my prose, the easiest way to get hold of it is via Amazon. I hope the unusual title will make it easy to find by the search function – it is edited by Malcolm Tozer (no relation, we believe, of Bob). I’ll whet your appetite with a question. What is the link between Sherborne School and the Bledisloe Cup, played for between Australia and New Zealand’s rugby union teams? The answer is in the book.
ROBERT HANDS (b 92)
