Impressions of Old Blues Day - have your say

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else, but that's still CH related.

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Andy Friend
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Post by Andy Friend »

Didn't make it to Old Blues day but I was there in spirit. Had to take my car to be serviced in Horsham. Spent the morning mocching around town - it was strange rememebering the inane amount of time I spent there. Then popped into the jolly Wetherspoons and found out why I never used to drink coffee there............ the coffee machine was broken.

Well, those were the days. You could get a burger and pint for £3, several pints of Theakstons (a somewhat passable bitter) at 99p and still go back to school with change from a tenner! :)
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Great Plum
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Post by Great Plum »

Ah, the Lynd Creche (I mean Cross) serving alcohol only to the under 18's...
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elizabeth llewellyn-smith
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Post by elizabeth llewellyn-smith »

As an aged alumna of Hertford this was the first Old Blues Day I had attended.

I thought it was great but mainly because saved by the weather. a cold wet day would have been miserable. I agree with the disgruntled comments about the shop etc being closed - very disappointing! I don't think it is an adequate excuse that the event was on a Saturday so current school members were otherwise engaged. It would be good to have the chapel service earlier. I would very much have liked to stay but faced a long drive home and a blank afternoon watching rugby (except I gather it was cancelled!) so I left after lunch. It would have been great to have a pupil assigned to show one round (or perhaps a group) and chat about life today.

Lunch in the Dning Hall - very good food but organisation left something to be desired. Half the OBs had sat down and started eating before Grace was said.

On a positive note, I appreciated Julian's introduction to this Forum and have now signed up!

elizabeth Ll-S (3's, 1947-1953)
Andy Friend
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Post by Andy Friend »

Great Plum wrote:Ah, the Lynd Creche (I mean Cross) serving alcohol only to the under 18's...
I don't know what you are trying to insinuate......
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Post by Great Plum »

That I feel old when I go in there now! ;)
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J.R.
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Post by J.R. »

Happy wrote:Agreed Julian.

I also thought it was nice to see current pupils in housey (or 'their robes' according to my Harry Potter loving daughter).

I didn't wish to appear too negative but I couldn't find much to be positive about and I am only 20 minutes away. If had travelled from further afield, the dissappointment may have turned into offense.
What did your daughter make of the Dining Hall ?

When I took two of our Grand-Children in there 18 months ago, Ambers, face lit up as her head craned upwards and her mouth dropped open before uttering....

"WOW ! - HOGWARTS !"
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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Great Plum
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Post by Great Plum »

J.R. wrote: When I took two of our Grand-Children in there 18 months ago, Ambers, face lit up as her head craned upwards and her mouth dropped open before uttering....

"WOW ! - HOGWARTS !"
Well it was mooted that Harry Potter's dining hall scenes be filmed at CH...
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Happy
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Post by Happy »

What did my daughter think of dining hall?

Well, I told her about the Verrio and she shrugged. "The largest painting in Europe..." and all that. She wondered if she put loads of paper together and painted it, would the school hang her picture instead? When I said not, her attention turned to finding Richard Poulton's portrait instead.

She was more impressed with Big Side.
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Richard Ruck
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Post by Richard Ruck »

OK, a few observations / ideas……

So, what does everyone want from Old Blues Day?

The event should not just be an opportunity for a couple of hundred assorted Old Blues / spouses / families to watch the band and wallow in a bit of nostalgia (not that this shouldn’t be part of the whole thing), but should be an important and valued opportunity for the school to engage with the Old Blue community, and a unique occasion during which the various parts of the Old Blue community can engage with each other.

From the school’s perspective, this should be a chance to show off its achievements, and try to obtain the practical and, of course, financial involvement of Old Blues in its various activities and plans for the future.

For example, question-and-answer sessions might be arranged with the headmaster and / or other senior members of staff to discuss the Education Fund, Master Plan, etc.

Perhaps staff from the various academic departments could be available at certain times – they, after all, are ‘at the coal-face’, and could offer a valuable insight into their particular needs (e.g. the much-discussed whiteboards, funding for study / exchange trips, the requirement for certain books, etc.).

There are many and varied school societies (ranging from debating to various sporting etc.). Why not give them the chance to show what they do? Again, this might spark the interest of those Old Blues who may be in a position to offer assistance, perhaps through invitations, making introductions, provision of equipment, etc.).

Christ’s Hospital Enterprises / Quadrant Events – let’s hear from them as well. There must be many ways in which Old Blues can help to put some business their way.

The practical implications of arranging all this might indeed be better achieved by combining Old Blues Day and Parents Day – after all, these things should be of great importance to parents as well. I can’t really comment too much on this, though, as I never attended one of the combined days.

From an Old Blues point of view, why not arrange something along the lines of a mini trade / freshers fair, in which the various O.B. clubs / societies (especially the C.H.Association) can introduce themselves, explain what they do, recruit members / support, etc.? Such an interaction between O.B.s themselves is as important as the interaction between Old Blues and C.H. This sort of presentation may also be of some interest to Grecians and members of the school staff. Big School would be an ideal venue for this, and such an event could also incorporate the various school societies.

What else? Well, House / Year reunions always seem to boost attendance. Someone mentioned to me that other such reunions could be considered (e.g. Band, Scouts, various societies).

Why not have some sort of performance in the theatre during the evening? This doesn’t have to be a school production (although that would be good…). People who don’t have to face a very long journey might enjoy the chance to see the theatre in action.

A few practical suggestions:

1) Better signposting (IMPORTANT!)

2) Perhaps a minibus could meet a couple of trains in the morning, and deliver people back to a couple of trains later in the day. This would be a welcoming touch, and offer practical assistance to those Old Blues who are less mobile.

3) Refreshments / Bar facilities. Keep these available throughout the day. Perhaps the Court Room could be set aside for this as a sort of ‘Club Room’. It would provide a useful rendezvous point, a chance to sit and chat with people, and might prevent people slinking off to a pub.

4) Museum / Exhibitions to be accessible throughout the day.

5) ALL the day’s events to be clearly indicated on noticeboards, including reunions, lists of people attending, exhibitions, sporting events, availability of academic staff etc.

6) Chapel Service to be moved to lunchtime, before band parade. This might even tempt non-religious types like myself to attend.

So, for what it’s worth, I’ll try to condense all this into an outline for an all-singing, all-dancing Old Blues Day:

Morning (and throughout the day).

ï‚· Court Room open for refreshments, socialising etc.
ï‚· Exhibitions / Museum open.
ï‚· Theatre open
ï‚· Department staff available (at specified times).
 Old Blues fair – Big School
ï‚· House reunions

Lunchtime

ï‚· Chapel Service
ï‚· Band Parade
ï‚· Lunch

Afternoon

ï‚· School sporting events
 ‘Participation’ events, e.g. shooting, Sports Centre, clay pigeon shooting etc.
ï‚· School societies participate in Big School fair.
ï‚· Theatre activities
ï‚· Q & A session (Theatre / Octagon?)
ï‚· Tours of Houses
ï‚· Tea

Well, I’ll be surprised if anybody’s stayed awake to read this far, but there you go. A few bits and pieces to get the ball rolling.
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DavebytheSea
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Post by DavebytheSea »

Yes, Richard, I read all the way - and with growing interest and admiration. I agree with every word except perhaps that it is us OBs who travel futhest who very often stay the longest! (As we cannot get home, we have to stay somewhere). Which brings me to my first additional point:

1. On house reunions, recommended lodging is aften circulated to attending OBs. Could this be done - perhaps with a negotiated discount?

Other thoughts

2. Meeting the train is good. It was done on the first Mid A re-union not on the second. Although there might be some problem about charging for this service, it could be paid for by a box on the minibus for donations.

3. The OBs fair might be extended to allow OBs still in business (so many who attend are like myself geriatric and retired) to set up stall on their own account. This could serve a dual purpose

a) an interaction between OB business interests and
b) an opportunity or offering recruitment and training ideas for interested pupils

This is in addition to the main thrust of your idea inletting OB societies strut their stuff

4. More guided tours by current pupils a la the Verrio and Open Day tours. OBs welcome the opportunity of talking to current Blues. Trouble is we are all to frightened these days to initiate any kind of conversation with anyone under the age of 25 unless, like me, you have a child at the school able to make the introductions.

5. Following on from the above, would it be possible to share lunch tables with current pupils? Again I believe this has been done in the past.

6. As regards the Museum being open, driving minibuses etc, there may be a problem of staffing. Could OBs themselves help with this? I know there could be some safety and insurances issues, but they may not be insuperable. Not that I would dream of volunteering her without consultation but, for exmple, my wife is a qualified minibus driver for another HMC school and there may well be others in a similar situation who could meet the odd train or so. Similarly, manning the museum for an hour or so may require specialist skills, but I bet there is someone out there who has them.

Yes I agree that the combination of Parents Day and OBs Day (especially in summer) is probably a good idea. I attended one such day and thought it was a great success. I was stunned when informed aftrwards that we OBs did not think it was a good idea and wanted them to be kept separate!
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Post by Richard Ruck »

palgsm93 wrote:You've hit the nail on the head there I'm sure, but the school would probably only do this if they were guaranteed good numbers. That means a combined parents/Old Blues day in the summer and good advertising to everybody to make it appealing. I've never considered going to OBs day because we're not told what's going to be available etc. and as you said Richard, it should be more than just nostalgia.

Julian, I suppose the CHA will handle ideas like this with the school?
I only hope that Old Blues Day remains an annual event - once every 2 years would just be silly.

O.B.s and C.H. have to realise that if this is worth doing at all it's worth doing properly. It could produce some very good things for all concerned.

Lots of organising and cajoling to be done, but nothing impossible, I feel.
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Post by Great Plum »

I agree with all of these excellent suggestions...

I would ask that OB's Day is not in September though - as most universites are going back or are already back by that time - a number of recent Old Blues cannot easily return then...
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Richard Ruck
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Post by Richard Ruck »

Great Plum wrote: I would ask that OB's Day is not in September though - as most universites are going back or are already back by that time - a number of recent Old Blues cannot easily return then...
I agree - Summer's better in many ways.

The weather will be (a bit) more dependable, the school can demonstrate the achievements of one academic year and its plans for the following one.

I still think Saturday's a better day than Sunday (as has been suggested). If a lot of Old Blues do decide to turn up, there may be some 'socialising' required, which usually needs to be followed by a day of rest and recuperation.......

In addition, the regional societies / O.B. sports clubs etc. may find this to be a productive time for a bit of recruitment.
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Post by HowardH »

Richard, where would you like the school to go on such a day?

The need to scale down is most obvious if it were to be held on a Saturday. It is after all a working day for all of the children and employees of the school as opposed to those who work for the Foundation. If it were to be held on a relaxed Sunday I feel that more could be achieved.

I totally agree that September is a very poor time to hold such a day. I believe that the most successful ones in recent years occurred when they were combined with Parents Day on a Sunday in June towards the end of public exams. The atmosphere was relaxed; the note of intrusion was removed, and there was some excellent cross-pollination of ideas and views. The front lawn outside Peele A was a joy to behold.
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Richard Ruck
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Post by Richard Ruck »

Fair enough - from the school's point of view that would make sense. If it has worked well before, then why not?

You'll have to excuse my ignorance about this - I only remember such events taking place on Saturdays.

I suppose that, in the back of my mind, there lurks a thought that members of the C.H. community (staff and pupils alike) might be less than enthralled at the idea of giving up precious spare time on a Sunday to cope with all this.
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