13 Centenary Edition Mr Keith Thompson took up the post of Director of Sport half-way through 2002. His three main functions on appointment were: • to raise the level of coaching in all sports; • to seek and attract talented sportsmen to the College; and • to utilise all our facilities in the “down time” and in so doing, maximise returns to the College. Keith achieved these goals and scores more in his 19 years of sterling service to the College. He was a widely respected Director of Sport and considered the “Encyclopaedia” of schoolboy sport by fellow boys’ schools in the province. Keith finally retired in July this year and has attended a number of farewells in his honour. This is an opportunity for us to formally thank him and his wife Sabrina, who assisted us from time to time in a temporary capacity, and to wish them both well in their retirement. This year started off with all schools, State and Independent, locked down in online teaching for two weeks until the beginning of February. Just think of it, our new and Grade 8 boys had not set foot on our campus as Kearsney scholars and yet were expected to master the online platform in no time and attend classes mostly with boys they would only meet in person, two weeks later. All the normal introductory functions and welcome socials that countless Kearsney families had experienced as new arrivals in the past were unable to be hosted on campus. Following the return of all our boys to Botha’s Hill on 01 February, contact sport and all inter-school sport was prohibited. Little did we know in January that this seemingly haphazard environment of on-off, sport – no sport, inter-school- no inter-school, in-person teaching – online teaching, it’s on, it’s off, it’s on, it’s postponed, would be the pattern for the entire year. As I speak, this situation continues and looks like it will persist to the end of this academic year in some form or another and probably well into 2022, whichever way you look at it, 2021 was definitely the year of disruptions and deviations. Vedran Smailovic, known as the cellist of Sarajevo, is a conductor, musician and performer who, during the siege of Sarajevo in 1992, played his cello in ruined buildings and, often under the threat of snipers. He also played at countless numbers of funerals during that country’s civil war. The Sarajevo Times of 29 Feb 2020 reported that: According to UN estimates, almost 11,500 people were killed, and 56,000 wounded. Fifteen hundred children were among those dead. Hundreds of shells hit the city every day. On the afternoon of May 27, 1992, mortar shells hit a group of people waiting to buy bread in a market. Twenty-two people were killed and more than 70 were injured. Mr Bernard Kruger (Director of Music) on Cello, Mr Brett Alborough (HOD Music, subject) and Benjamin Burton accompanied the Headmaster’s story with the haunting piece of music of Adagio by Albinoni. 12 The Chronicle 2021 Vedran Smailovic saw the carnage and was deeply disturbed. The next day he came to the spot, by then covered with flowers as a tribute, and began to play his cello. He had not planned this, but he did it instinctively, and as people gathered around him, there was a sense of healing. He continued to play there for 22 days, honouring the 22 killed, playing the same piece, Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor. There were snipers on the hills and the cellist could have been killed at any time, but he played on. For another two years, he played at different places in the city, amid ruined buildings, dressed in a white shirt and black tailcoat, as if he was playing on the stage in an orchestra. Soon he became a symbol of courage for Sarajevo, and for the whole world. People called him mad, but he responded that it was the war that was mad. Inspired by him, classical and other music was composed, books were written, and other artists and musicians came to Sarajevo. His story became known throughout the world, narrated in newspapers and depicted on television. The world was indifferent to the siege, but the publicity he generated, without looking for it, and the numerous artists inspired by him led to an increased focus on the terrible conditions of the city. Vedran was a Muslim like most other Bosnians, but that was not his identity. He said, “I am a Sarajevan. I am a cosmopolitan. I am a pacifist. I am nothing special. I am a musician, I am part of the town.” In an insane situation, his was an act of sanity, of beauty and harmony, that brought hope to many. “I am part of the town.” Over the past 100 years, Kearsney has been part of the town, whether it was at Kearsney Manor, as part of Stanger and the north coast, or here at Botha’s Hill. Many efforts have been made to successfully include Kearsney as part of the town and yet we have failed in some respects too. The recent unrest in our area, which involved looting and destruction of property, has revealed that there is much work still to be done for members of all sectors of our society to genuinely feel and know that “I am part of this town”. Kearsney has made noticeable progress over decades to ensure that every boy, every employee, every parent and every visitor to Kearsney knows that, “I am part of this town” or, “I am part of this school”. We need to be resolute in our efforts to continue along this course. Progress on the Transformation and Diversity front is examining all our operations to ensure that errors and racial practices of the past are not perpetuated and that every single person who enters this campus will know that they are part of this town, part of this, their school, as much as anyone else. Sarajevo today is the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I am told the city rose from the ashes of war only to be devastated some years later by the effects of a powerful earthquake. Yet it continues its positive recovery. Kearsney looks in gratitude to God for his blessing on the College over the ups and downs of the first 100 years and we look forward to the next Century with confidence. Head’s speech continued:
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