No . 137 The Trusty Servant
Before publication , it was serialised in both the Daily Telegraph and Daily Express , and high-profile news stories arising from it were featured in The Guardian , Daily Mail and La Repubblica , amongst other titles . The Times picked it as one of their best books of the summer , Kirkus gave it a starred review , the Daily Mail included it in their best books of the year and the Guardian made it their book of the day .
352 pages ; Weidenfeld & Nicolson ; ISBN 978-1474612579
OW Music News Richard Cubitt ( G , 08-13 ) opened a concert in the Elgar Room at the Royal Albert Hall this March with his recent remix / vandalism ( his words ) of Shostakovich ' s Waltz No . 2 , followed by some Gilbert & Sullivan and other more modern numbers . There followed a panel discussion on Television and the Arts led by Director of Sky Arts Philip Edgar-Jones , actor Jim Murray and documentary producer John O ' Rourke . His former piano teacher Maria Lena- Lonke made the trip from Winchester to see his first performance as a soloist since 2012 in the Recital Room .
In other musical news : Dougal Gray ( D , 08-13 ), Ed Vyvyan ( A , 08-13 ), Tom Rea ( H , 08-13 ) and Jake Gidley ( A , 06- 11 ), who together make up Winchester College-born band Junodream , have just released a new album , pools of colour , and are bringing their music to an everwidening live audience as well .
OW Sport
OW Squash News
Richard Johnson ( H , 05-10 ) writes :
We are delighted to report that the OWs have won the Old Boys squash tournament , the Londonderry Cup , for the first time since 1938 .
The 1930s was a stellar decade for the OWs : E . Snell ( A , 19-25 ), J . A . Gillies ( C , 26-31 ), T . C . S . Haywood ( A , 24-29 ) and A . H . T Crosthwaite ( G , 25-30 ) all won two championships . However , it has been a barren run since then , albeit the OWs reached the final in 1952 and again in 2019 .
The 2024 OW team avenged defeat in the 2019 final to the star-studded Old Millfieldians , bringing home the generously-proportioned trophy with a 4 to 1 strings victory at the Royal Automobile Club on 22 nd March . En route to the final , Winchester beat the Old Cranleighans , the old enemy ( Eton ), and defending champions Old Harrovians .
In the final the OWs came out of the blocks fast , with Sen Man Charlie McCall ( F , 91-96 ) and recent recruit Kevin Cheung ( K , 14-19 ) both
The Final-winning side : Oliver Coulcher- Porter ; Kevin Cheung ; Richard Johnson ; Charlie McCall ; Alex Portz registering straight games wins . This meant the OWs required just one win from the remaining three matches to secure their first title in 86 years . However , drama reared its head as Trant ’ s contemporaries Richard Johnson ( H , 05-10 ) and Alex Portz ( H , 04-09 ) took to the court . With both matches going Millfield ’ s way in the first two games , it seemed as if a final string decider might be needed . But Johnson and Portz both prevailed with 5-set wins , taking the OWs to an unassailable 4-0 match score . Oliver Coulcher-Porter ( C , 19-22 ) then played a good match , which Millfield took as a consolation victory .
We owe huge thanks to the other OWs for their playing contributions during the tournament : Matt Hall ( X , 99-04 ), Shiloh Wu ( E , 18-23 ), Dylan Roberts ( A , 12-17 ). Hon . Mentions go to Charlie McCall ( F , 91-96 ), Richard Johnson ( H , 05-10 ) and Alex Portz ( H , 04-09 ), who went undefeated throughout the tournament .
Dinner after the final capped a fantastic evening for the OWs . With young talent coming into the squad this year to join the old guard of McCall , Portz and Johnson , OW squash is in a healthy place … Carpe vinum !
OW Football News
Lekan Olagunju ( F , 17-19 ) shares the OWFC Season Report for 2023-24 .
Following the 1s relegation from the Premier division and the folding of the 2s midway through last season , the OWs were keen to put the Arthurian League on notice and return to the pinnacle of old boys football . Fast forward to the start of January 2024 : we were bottom of Division 1 and had just been knocked out of the Arthur Dunn cup . Too often , we found ourselves on the wrong side of the result in narrow games . However , it is a testament to the strength of character in the team that we never let our heads drop and did everything we could to guarantee our survival .
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