Page 124 - OO_2018

matches at Oundle in support of Sam, his third son, who finished his A levels this summer and is going into a gap year before hopefully joining his two elder brothers at Bristol University. He has enjoyed reconnecting with James Cannon (Sc 87), James Napier (G 87), Douglas Hill (Sc 87), Richard Tett (B 87) and Charles Hammon (Sn 87). It has been good for him to plug back into the UK scene after 26 years away, mostly in Asia - but he is back and forward to Hong Kong every two months or so. He feels they are interesting times to be back and overseeing business in the UK and in Europe, with Brexit uncertainty still prevailing
Jeremy Pong (Ldr 83) has had a busy year, travelling so much on business that it is starting to upset his social life! On the memorable day he and I met Richard Ellis (Sn 86) and Harry Williamson (St A 55) for dinner, Jeremy had flown in from Hohhot (Inner Mongolia) that same morning via Shenzhen for the 7pm dinner (arriving there before me and I only had to walk 10 minutes!). Despite the heavy travelling, Jeremy has managed to find time to study and qualify as a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He is now studying again in his spare time to become a fellow of the Institute. Jeremy took a long weekend holiday in Sydney in July and met up with Paul Rathbone (Ldr 84) for breakfast. They hadn’t seen each other since Oundle School days, so you could call this a half-century reunion.
Ben Dickinson (N 93) is still in Hong Kong with his wife, Sarah, and two kids, Emily and James. Emily has just completed her third year at Chinese International School and James his first. Ben had the pleasure of catching up with Fuad Abdullah (Sn 93) during a cricket tour to Malaysia in January and is in regular contact with David Williams
(Ldr 93), Oliver Quarmby and Andrew Appleby (Sn 93). He is also playing some very average tennis with Angus Slater (N 91), who is also now based in Hong Kong.
Richard Law (Sn 79) visited Hong Kong in June and was taken out by Jeremy Pong for dinner to a Chinese dining club for food that he would not otherwise have experienced. The dinner was a tad rushed, as both he and his son wanted to watch the England match that night. He spent his time in Hong Kong well, shopping (including handmade shoes) and a night at the races before he left.
Henry Pao (St A 09) is reported back in Hong Kong after spending a year in Beijing running the Moth Bar, while Gabrielle Tse (D 14) is now in her final year studying Medicine at Hong Kong University.
Ivan Yuen (Ldr 11) learned and ate a lot during his secondment to Clifford Chance’s Beijing office from September 2017 to March 2018, and enjoyed the proximity to his family in Hong Kong, as well as the travel opportunities (including a much-anticipated trip to Tibet). Since his return to London he has been seconded to the Howard League for Penal Reform and will be qualifying as a solicitor in Clifford Chance’s real estate department in September. He has also become a trustee of St Martin-in-the- Fields church.
Having taken a career break and set up a company for a different field for fun the previous year, Jerry Yao (C 89) returned to the architecture/interior design world in 2017 and joined the Hong Kong office of Hirsch Bedner Associates, the well-known American firm that has over 20 offices around the globe and is renowned for its hospitality projects. He is currently handling 10 projects, including the Hong Kong office for The Berkeley Group PLC and The
Fullerton Hotel for Ocean Park, which is set to open in 2021. He hasn’t had time to catch up with any OOs during the last year, but as 2019 will be the 30th anniversary since he left Oundle, he is sure there will be some sort of reunion in London.
We had two racing nights during this academic year, the first on 29th November 2017 and the second on 15th April 2018, with 20-plus attending, amongst them Jeff Lam (Sc 05), Ben Barton (C 07), Jeremy Pong, Jeremy Fok (B 07), Jeffrey Wong (Sc 02), James Hui (Sc 06), Andrew Burgin (C 84), Jeremy Bolland (D 79), Jonathan Garner (S 82) and myself.
However, the biggest event for us was the Oundle Gala Dinner Dance held on 14th April 2018 at the Island Shangri-La. It was very well attended, with over 200 guests, marvellous food, great mementos and a live band. Before the meal we were serenaded during cocktails by current Oundelians. During the meal Clarence Lam (Ldr 09) and James Kirby (C 83) performed several classical pieces. There was a very successful silent auction to raise funds for the Sports MasterPlan and a strong turnout from Oundle, with the Head, Sarah Kerr- Dineen, and her husband, Anthony, Deputy Head Daviona Watt, Senior Master Simon King, Undermaster Tony Burrows, Head of Music Quentin Thomas and his colleagues, Sarah Ratchford and Angus Gibbon. We had several tables of Hong Kong OOs and UK OOs, with Oundle Development Director Matthew Dear, OO Club Secretary Jane Fenton, Development Manager Michele Seymour, OO Club President Richard Ellis and Harry Williamson, a regular visitor to Hong Kong as his daughter lives here, coming out from the UK. On the Sunday after the Gala Dinner the current Oundle pupils gave a concert performance at Shouson Theatre in the Hong Kong Arts Centre.
Another memorable event was the marriage of Colin Tang (Ldr 07) to Yvonne Kong (whom he met whilst studying the Hong Kong solicitors’ qualifying exams) on 9th June 2018 at The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Afterwards there was a banquet at the Four Seasons Hotel. Julian Shiu (Sc 07) and James Choi (F 06) both attended.
Brothers James (Sc 06) and Max Hui (Sc 03) with their partners at the Oundle Society Gala Dinner in Hong Kong
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THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2017 –2018
NEWS FROM ABROAD