The 101st Annual Dinner took place on Saturday 20th November from 6:30 pm for 7:30 pm until 11:30 pm in the Oldfield Hall, King Charles I School, hosted by President Joe Kerrigan.
The newly elected President Joe Kerrigan was in the chair for the 101st Annual Dinner of the Old Carolians Association, held in the Oldfield Hall. Principal guests for the evening were Mark Garnier, newly elected MP for Wyre Forest; Cllr Jeff Baker, Mayor of Kidderminster; Tim Gulliver, Headteacher of the School; Maurice Evans, President of the Oldswinford Old Foleyans; and David Morgan, Musical Director of St Mary's Church, Kidderminster.
Also present were the School's Head Boy, Jack Worton, and the Head Girl, Imogen Dudley.
For the first time in the history of the Dinner, the assembled members were treated to a musical feast in the shape of three pieces performed by School pupils Georgina Clarke on piano and Hannah Yapp on saxophone. The girls played 'Lost in Wonder' by Martyn Layzell, 'Jesus Shall Take the Highest Honour' by Chris Bowater and the First Movement of Mozart's 'Piano Sonata in B flat'.
This short recital was a superb way to begin the Dinner and a collection of well over £100 will enable the girls to experience valuable charity work in Romania in the near future.
Proposing the toast to the School and the Association, Mark Garnier, in a very interesting and amusing speech, commented on his experiences as a new boy within the Palace of Westminster. He remembered especially that he was expected to hang up his 6ft broadsword on his hook in the Members' cloakroom and he would always remember the nervous anticipation of his first speech in the Chamber.
Replying to the toast, Tim Gulliver said how proud he was of the improved performance of the School in the GCSE and A-level examinations. The pass rate had risen to over 70%, placing the School in the top 25% in the country. He commented that, for many schools, improved pass rates and positions in league tables were achieved on the backs of BTECs and other vocational courses. He was determined that the improved performance of King Charles I School would be measured by success in the more academic GCSE and A-level examinations. We could almost hear Michael Gove and Jim Charlton humming approval from the side lines! The economic situation of the country had led to the postponement of the School's rebuilding plans for some years, but Tim said that he was grateful to Mark Garnier for arranging a visit to the Education Ministry in London for Wyre Forest Headteachers to put their views on the postponement to Ministers.
Joe Kerrigan, President of the Old Carolians, responding for the Association, took the members through an often hilarious and interesting account of his career at King Charles I School. Particularly enjoyable were his experiences on the rugby field with Keith Stooksbury, learning to Joe's painful cost that rucking was normally an extremely painful experience, while the fact that he, as an 11+ boy at King Charles Grammar School, was often confronted by other Secondary Modern pupils. His father was determined, said Joe, that his son should always retain his heterosexual and Catholic background. There was laughter when he told of the occasions when the Tenbury bus boys arrived late and were placed in segregation at School Assembly with Joe and the other Catholic pupils. This certainly struck a chord with Tenbury boys Anthony and Keith Bunn, Robert Wood and Pat Yarnold sitting in the Hall!
Occasions such as the Annual Dinner always create special moments for old codgers to reminisce and relive the old times at the School. In our particular section of the middle row of guests, the banter was merciless. There was a candid awarding of marks for performances, such as you find in 'Strictly Come Dancing' and 'The X Factor'. Colin Lloyd received a full ten points for his secretarial organisation. There were comments that the food and Plyvine's organisation and service had been excellent, but that the wine had been nothing to write home about. Indeed, one old codger was heard to say that, for £12 a bottle, you ought to expect something better than a nose of diesel fumes and methane, and a taste of Parazone. Past presidents remembered how difficult and stressful it is delivering a speech at the Dinner, and how you have to time yourself with a stop watch, speaking into a mirror at home for a 10-minute delivery. However, it cannot be denied that a general agreement was reached on our table. After 10 minutes, the Secretary should press a button, whereupon a huge punchbag should descend from the ceiling, giving a weighty reminder that time was up!
Two highlights remain. The first is the fixed recognition in the Hall of cricketer Stephen Davies' selection for the Ashes tour to Australia; this must be the greatest sporting distinction for an Old Carolian since Martin Underwood played rugby for England in the 1960s. The other is the decision to award Honorary Life Membership to Norman Broadfield for his selfless achievements in the cause of the Old Carolians Association. Norman was totally unaware that this distinction was to be awarded at the Dinner and his modest reaction was typical of him. To a standing ovation, he even joined in the singing of 'Why was he born so beautiful, why was he born at all?' The old codgers agreed that, rather than 'He's no bloody use to anybody', Norman is a diamond, who is irreplaceable.
'Captain' Peter Vaughan, Entertainment Correspondent