house spirit. He expected the maintenance of high stand ards, was stem when necessary, hut was always seen as the caring father figure with an ever present twinkle in his eye. In his tribute to Chris,Dave Pearse focused on his unique 'way' with boys and on his sporting interests: "Chris always had a soft spotfor the"rebels"in the school and over the years was one of the few masters who won these boys' respect and admiration. He obviously never had a great deal of problem with discipline hut it was in credible to see boys with no motivation and ambition sud denly find new direction under Chris's guidance.I'm sure there are a few successful Kearsney Old Boys out there today who can thank Chris Diedericks for setting them on the right road. On the sportsfields he became synonymous with the 3rd XV rugby side and the 4th cricket XI and with both these teams he claims(somewhat unsubstantiated)to hold two remarkable schoolrecords.His4th XIis said to have scored 200 runs before lunch one Saturday-obviously no Jonty Rhodes presentin the opposition fielding side-and2play ers in his 3rd XV rugby side are said to have scored 10 tries each in a match - they must have been playing Maritzburg College! His two greatest loves, however, were the Weights room and Tug O'War. The winner of the inter-house Tug O' War was inevitably the team that Chris coached.He spent hours training boys in the Weightsroom and some parents could be forgiven for worrying that their son's muscles were being developed at the expense oftheir brains." In all his school activities,Chris had the willing and active supportofhis wife Marieta.My memories of Marieta will always he of her smile, her earthy humour and her ready laughter. She involved herself fully in all aspects of the life ofthe school,notthe least of which wasthe Stud Shop which she ran for many years. Chris and Marieta have moved to Philippolis, where Chris will teach for few more years before hanging up his boots. They will readily welcome any members of the Kearsney family who are passing that way. *** The departure ofany one ofthese three menfrom Kearsney would constitute a severe loss to the school.The fact that all three of them have decided to take the option of early retirement at the same time is a loss to Kearsney ofincal culable proportions. Their combined dedicated service to the school is an incredible eighty-eight years! Their ca reers have contributed to the preservation of the positive traditions and the very special ethosofKearsney.They will thus take into retirement with them part ofthe very soul of Kearsney,but will leave behind them very special memo ries in the minds ofthousands of Old Boys. JUSTIN HALL BABE RAUTENBACH At the end of August the school said goodbye to Babe Rautenbach,Finningley's matron of 15 years.To the boys she was a wonderful caring friend and surrogate mother always there when someone needed a listening ear,a plas ter, needle and thread or to learn to waltz before the Matric Dance! She is fondly remembered by the school boys present and past. Many an old boy has called in to see her and bring her up to date on his news. She is sorely missed in Finningley,but we all wish her a long and peaceful retire ment. We also say goodbye to two members ofour ground staff who have been at Kearsney for a number of years-Jack Munien our resident plumber,and our greenfingered gar dener Kistna Chetty.We shall miss their cheerful service. StaffRetreat Mambasa 12th to 14th January During the last week of the summer holidays Messrs Roberts, Cato, De Villiers, Graves, Mack, McMichael, Nott, Shone and wives and families took part in a staff retreat led by our school chaplain Reverend Peter Crundwell.The Mambasacampsite wasan absolutely ideal settingforthe retreat being situated nextto theTugela River about 15 kilometres from Winterton in beautiful Valley Bushveld type vegetation.The river was ideal for both fa thers and sons(and four daughters)and thanks to the holi day atmosphere some strange scenes ensued.There was a wonderful "foofie" slide crossing the river which almost everybody used,but none with the swashbuckling aplomb of Mark Mack,who on one occasion,instead of pusillanimously letting go and falling into the river, managed to fall onto the bank itself, thus proving that Kearsney staff really are as macho as they look. Similarly one of Mr Roberts's lesser known accomplishments is his skill as a canoeist and,judging by the number of staff children he took on the river, should he ever wish to leave headmastering his future as aferryman will be assured! More seriously Peter worked through a series of motivations on the parable ofthe seed and the sower,and I think each one of us was touched by the spiritual rich ness of the wonderful way in which he related the gospel message to our lives as Kearsney teachers. When we left on Friday Iam sure thateverybody there had gained some thing positive from the retreat, and it was a great boost to staff morale, both spiritually and psychologically. I can speak for all of us who were there in thanking Peter Crundwell and Rod de Villiers for their efforts in arrang ing this superb retreat. J.B. McMICHAEL 4*1.i-. ly- / mr^ T. Gibson
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