Hard cheese, old Chairman!

Ian Carmichael back in his prime

Your corrospondent at the tennis court last summer

The scene in all of its cinemagraphic glory

Pride comes before a fall, but the Chairman is delighted to announce that courtesy of a spectacular piece of Chappist networking, he is to play the Ian Carmichael role in a photoshoot recreating the tennis match from the 1960 film School for Scoundrels for The Chap magazine this Sunday. The fall seems strangely apt, as that is the way in which the scene ends, but that’s the world of Chappist modelling for you. I live in hope for a front cover, but one should never be greedy. And with any luck, this escapade will be witnessed by no greater authority on the cinema than the Vice Chairman himself. Something I am sure he will very much look forward to witnessing, I’m sure.

The Captain at 40

The Captain at 40, having another 10 years put on him by the Chairman's address

A hopefully suitable commemortation of 40 years on this planet

The Campion ladies before the party, all looking delightful as ever


The Treasurer's welcoming address, as well as looking welcoming in her dress

The Chairman sticking the boot in, as custom dictates

The Captain doing a half year of neat alcohol, thoughtfully provided by his team mates at the hockey club

His wish, in the current economic climate, was probably not for world peace....

Keen readers of this blog and students of world affairs will recall with barely concealed relief that the Chairman’s 40th birthday was commemorated by the formal removal of George W. Bush from office and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. It is therefore strangely apt that on the same day as the Captain of Boats celebrates 40 years on this planet, Kate Winslett wins an Oscar at the 6th attempt for playing a concentration camp guard in The Reader. Make of this what you will.

The Captain’s birthday celebrations began last Thursday, with a visit to the Metropolis for a pre-birthday celebration, the highpoint of which was, quite literally, climbing the recently re-opened Monument, built in between 1671 and 1677 to commemorate the Great Fire of London in 1666. However, Saturday marked the formal highpoint to the celebrations, with a surprise ceilidh held at the family hockey club in Witney. The erstwhile family maid Aligene and her husband Larry made a guest appearance, as did a large tranche of the onetime Smith family, which made the affair a jolly family and hockey occasion with a goodly selection of local chums also in attendance. At short notice (thank you Madam Treasurer!), you correspondent was tempted to say a few words, which after his usual characteristic reticence, ran to seven pages. Well, there’s a lot to say when addressing the life and times of the Captain, as one might imagine. Some of a selection of the photographs taken by your correspondent and the Treasurer’s sister Claire are shown here, although for a more extended selection, a visit here (when I have uploaded them) should hopefully satisfy the curious and those who could not make it on the day.

Anyway, I am sure that I am speaking for all of the Captain’s family & friends when wishing him many happy returns of the day, and by stating that the world is a considerably more memorable place with his presence on it. If only for his occasionally extraordinary dress sense alone.

The Royal Academy : A Call for Entries

The Chair of the Fine Arts Committee exercising spatial awareness

The Chairman at the RA last year

The Chairman is pleased to reveal that the Royal Academy has recently announced its Call for Entries for the 2009 Summer Exhibition. Following on from last years theme whereby the title of the work was based on the name of a Kaiser Chiefs song (after the Kaiser Chiefs had named their most famous song “Ruby” after the Chair of the Fine Arts Committee), and taking inspiration from the from the recent heatwave in the antipodes, this years entries should work towards the theme “Take My Temperature”, a highlight of any Kaiser Chiefs live set.

In order to save on expensive framing costs in the current economic climate, all entries are restricted to A.4 size. The club has historically been generous enough to pay for one entry, which custom dictates is delivered by hand to the front entrance of Burlington House in Piccadilly, only for the Chairman to be unceremoniously sent round to the tradesman’s entrance by the frock coated RA attendants along with all of the other exhibitors. Should any other member wish to have works considered for submission, members should ensure that they reach the Chairman by no later than Friday 27th March, on which date no finer authority than the Chair of the Fine Arts Committee herself will judge any such submissions with her critical eye.

The 12th Annual General Meeting - A date is set

The WRC Loving Cup

The Vice Chairman to you, child

The Chairman is delighted to announce that the 12th Annual General Meeting of the Witham Rowing Club will be held at the Oxfordshire residence of the Captain of Boats, the Club Treasurer, the Secretary and the Vice Captain of Boats on Friday 27th February, at which the Club will discuss matters of any constitutional import that members see fit to bring to the Club’s attention. All such submissions should be received by the Secretary no later than 48 hours before we dine, this being scheduled for 8.31pm prompt (8.31 being 1900 hours plus 91 minutes, ie "1991", the year of our foundation).

Tempus Pro Proximo

Chairman 5.ii.2009.