UNITED KINGDOM BRANCH REPORT August 2000 saw the start ofa new generation ofKearsney College Old Boys in the UK. With an injection ofyouth into the committee, the aim of the club has been to attract as many younger old boys into the club without losing the loyalty ofthe older and more reliable Old Boys. As was discovered this year, communication between old boys is paramount to the success ofthe club and with improved and less laborious means of keeping in touch, we are now able to reach all corners ofthe UK. In two successive years we have managed to run well-attended and highly enjoyable AGM's. Our 2000 AGM held in Waterloo London,was the election ofChris Bryan as chairman and re election ofJustin Hughes and Jason Liebenberg as club secretaries. Various issues were discussed including the lack of a suitable venue to hold meetings and the need for a website to house an old boys' database. After the AGM formalities were completed, the party shifted across to a boat which was waiting to take 55 old boys and their dates on a 30-hour cruise up and down the Thames. A full bar was provided on board and spirits were high as on the return leg of the cruise, the men moved to the bow of the boat, leaving the ladies listening in admiration, as Kearsney 'war cries' resounded up and down the Thames. Such was the intensity ofour war cries that Such was the London Func intensity ofour war cries that encores were shouted outfrom people on passing bridges who had stopped to view the spectacle. meeting. Dave was able to enlighten us on recent and forthcoming events of the college and, on behalf of the school, kindly presented the club with a Kearsney College plaque. We can now look forward to our Christmas function, which, if AGM attendance is anything to go by,promises to be another cracking evening. TT tionJan 14th 2002 Front left to right: David Boyce, Keith Bester, Keith Durret, John Barnes, and Alan Kinsey encores were shouted out from people on passing bridges who had stopped to view the spectacle. This year's AGM was carried out in similar fashion with attendance levels being lower but enthusiasm equally as high. It also saw the resignation of the entire committee and the election of myself, Andrew Mowatt,as the new chairman. During the meeting, a minute's silence was held in memory of the late Sir Ian Mcleod who had passed away earlier in the year. He will be sorely missed for his outstanding contributions to the club. We were also lucky enough to have Dave Goldhawk attending the RECENTDEVELOPMENTIN THE CLUB The Committee As mentioned before, there have been changes to the committee, with the entire 2000/2001 standing down and my being appointed as chairman. Chris,Justin and Jason have put a lot ofhard work into the club over the last year, and we thank them for their dedication. Website The KCOBC UK website is the latest and most promising development in the club. Users are currently able to keep up to date on forthcoming meetings, view past meeting minutes, search through a list of old boys currently registered with the club and submitan email to the KCOBC UK mail box. Although at the moment the website it purely informational we plan to make it more interactive in the future. Our thanks go out to those who bave helped develop the current website. Finance The decision to charge annual membership fees no longer has proved quite successful. Due to the fact that many of the old boys in the UK are merely 'passing through'the country,it has been in the past difficult to collect membership fees. This has enabled us to cut down on administration costs and allowed our members more flexibility. Currently profits are made on each event, which are then used to subsidize future events. 169
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