N o .125
LGBT OWs – aka the Cornflowers:
on a dank night in early February, a
group of 20 OWs congregated in central
London for a hearty dinner and drinks.
Perhaps nothing very remarkable in that.
But this was the latest gathering of the
Cornflowers – the network for LGBT
OWs (named after the school flower,
not the gift shop on College Street!).
Cornflowers was established in autumn
2016 out of the realisation that our
famously progressive school had been
beaten by both Eton and Harrow in
establishing an LGBT alumnus network;
and Radley has since followed suit.
The purpose is to foster a like-minded
community, to establish new friendships,
and to provide an additional avenue
for networking. The enthusiastic and
Thai OW Annual Dinner 2017:
Charlie Garnjana-Goonchorn (I, 94-99)
reports that on 12 th December 2017, a
group of OWs in Thailand attended the
annual OW dinner (which in recent
years has always been a curry night).
Other participants, plus a handful of
spouses, were: Thuchakorn Vachiramon
(I, 97-02), Nara Decharin (A, 92-97),
Jak Cholvijarn (D, 95-00), Vorachuck
Bunthuwong (D, 96-01), Arnold
T he T rusty S ervant
supportive reception by LGBT OWs
– including some who lost touch with
the school decades ago – has shown the
real appetite for the creation of such a
society.
Any Old Wykehamists who would like
to join the Cornflowers are invited to
register at www.owcornflowers.com/
register. Privacy and discretion are taken
extremely seriously. Any suggestions for
future events, including unusual venues,
would be warmly received. The next
event will be a summer drinks party –
on Thursday 7 th June 2018 – in central
London. It will be a joint event with the
Eton Dragonflies, the Harrow Byronics
and the Radley Wildebloods. Register at
the website to receive an invitation.
Phatraprasit (D, 07-12), Tiya Sosothikul
(F, 10-12), Visaya Sosothikul (F, 12-14)
and Saran Kiratibutr Wanglee (I, 95-
00). A hot was held right on the street
outside the Indian restaurant. We would
also like to inform other OWs that our
2018 dinner will be held on 2 nd Aug.
Please feel free to contact Charlie at
[email protected] if you can attend or
would like more information.
Lotus Flower Trust
In July, Win Coll is once again sending a
team out to northern India to work with
the Lotus Flower Trust, which we have
supported for almost ten years. The aim
is to help build hostel accommodation for
disabled children and adults in Leh, the
regional capital of Ladakh. There are
over 3,000 neglected disabled adults and
children in Leh and very few facilities
to support them. One exception being a
meeting point in Saboo Ayu which the
Lotus Flower Trust has helped turn into a
Skills Centre Workshop. The 2018 team
has a target of £30,000 and, in order to
raise money to build the hostel, William
Saunders (K, 14-) has decided to sell
Winchester College printed canvas
bags. These bags are extremely high-
quality and would be perfect for carrying
heavy items or simply your shopping.
Minimum price of £7 each but any extra
donations will be gratefully accepted.
£4.80 from every bag will go directly to
the Lotus Flower Trust; the rest is to
cover the production costs.
Please email [email protected]
for further details.
MDW’s pizzas:
Mike Wallis has this winter visited six
universities to hand out free pizzas to
113 starving OW undergraduates in
Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh,
Oxford and York.
38