tional and skiing trips on three occasions. Allister was al ways very scathing about the "rough game",and the fact that it sometimes diverted the attention ofboys away from Science. However,he was frequently to be seen watching 1st XV games. Allister waschosen to pioneer Kearsney'sPostMatric when he was appointed Director ofPost Matric in 1992.Hethrew himself into this new challenge with his customary dedi cation and thus ensured the success of this added dimen sion to Kearsney life. He was fortunately not lost to the Science department,as he continued to teach a few senior classes. In his tribute to Allister at the Old Boys/Parents farewell function in November,Rob Nathan summed up Allister's attributes: "Kearsney College, and especially those of us whom he taught and coached have been extremely privileged to have reaped the benefits of: * a truly dedicated professional, * a man of utmost integrity and the highest standards, * fiercely competitive and driven by a burning desire to achieve the best results, * uncompromising on complacency and failure, * but always fair and,above all, always consistent. Mr Thiselton, we your past pupils, will remember you for the many, many things you taught us, not only the science syllabus or the rules of the game. And just in case you've forgotten, I thought I'd take this oppor tunity to remind you of some of those things: * Firstandforemost you taught usrespect,respectfor none other than thosefamous three fingers and that one word which frightened the hell out of us"boy!" * You taught us about honour,pride and tradition. * You taught us how to seize the opportunity and to be lieve in ourselves. * You taught us the secret ofsuccess:"concentration,ap plication and dedication". * You also taught us about self control, control not only ofthe mind but also the bladder.Yes,only the very brav est would dare to crawl on all fours past your classroom to get to the loo. And ofcourse very few made it. * And last but notleast, you taught us the real meaning of fear; I mean the sort of fear associated with dropping those sideburnsjustone tenth ofan inch below the mid dle ear and the sort offear associated with camping next to your parents'letter box waiting desperately to inter cept that dreaded school report,only to open it and read these comments: "Your son is the most complacent boy: Believe me he has no reason to be complacent!" In his earlier years Allister was ably supported by his wife Avice. Her chief dedication was to Kearsney's gardens, the present nature of which owes much to her flair and foresight. Her early death left Allister bereft and lonely, until he found new happiness with Heather. She very quickly became part of the Kearsney 'team', as a support to Allister, and through her involvement in Kearsney ac tivities. Allister, we will remember your remarkable and success ful service to Kearsney.Wherever and whenever members of the Kearsney community gather, the MAT legacy will not only be recounted, but will grow into a legend. CHRIS DIEDERICKS ■ ■<r-- y A*- iait .r Chris Diedericks came to Kearsney with a pedigree as a rugby forward with provincial colours. A giant of a man, he quickly eamed the respect of the boys. Over the years it became clear that he is a very gentle giant, although, when the occasion demandedit,he couldprove to be not so gen tle. Chris's overriding characteristic, which was very evident to boys and colleagues alike, is his abiding sense of hu mour, and, with it, his ability not to over-react but to keep things in perspective. Each day Chris would read the newspaper from cover to cover, focusing his attention, inparticular, on the bizarre, the unusual and the humorous. He has the knack of find ing unusual stories and jokes, and his classes looked for ward to his daily joke. Chris was apast master at the practical joke. Over the years many an unsuspecting colleague was 'caught' by him.His speciality, while invigilating, was producing fictitious ex amination answers under an assumedname, and then wait ing for the explosion - "Who is this boy Jones - he has a filthy mind". As Housemaster of Pembroke, Chris certainly made his mark. His serene personality enabled him to ride crises without drama and always with a sense of humour. He was always one step ahead of even the most devious schoolboy. He had an uncanny ability to identify smokers and smoking venues, while boys who bunked out seldom went undetected. He kept his ear close to the ground, and usually had foreknowledge of parties in the local area which were likely to attract bunkers-out. On one occasion, he discovered that a boy had slipped out through a win dow of a downstairs room. He locked the door, and when the unfortunate boy returned in the small hours he could not make his way to bed, and spent the rest of the night sleeping uneasily on a snooker table, in the certainknowl edge of the retribution awaiting him in the morning. Pembroke flourished under Chris. He demanded, and got, a willingconunitment to thehouse andengendered aproud
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTc3MDU5Nw==