all it a lyme, ole talk, reminiscence or whatever, it was a pleasurable evening at Professor Rainford Wilks’ residence. The evening of ‘shooting the breeze’ took place just a week before Christmas ‘09.
In the house were: Prof. Wilks, waiting for a call from Bonner in Guyana whom he recalled was one of his teammates on the victorious Class 3 relay leg of ‘68 that played a defining role in KC’s 4 point upset Champs victory over the favourite Excelsior; the affable Mr. G sharing 50 years of Champs stories and who was emphatic that the 1964 Class 1 100m clash between Lennox Miller and Michael Fray was the best ever witnessed; Lockslie ‘Chochie’ Henry – on the verge of completing his PhD thesis – announcing the arrival of each guest as well as reprimanding latecomers.
Also in attendance was Ray ‘Chicklet ‘Fraser who had rushed in from Annotto Bay after ensuring that the Schools’ Challenge Quiz team had being safely tucked in for a weekend retreat at his Gray’s Inn chateau; Trevor ‘TC’ Campbell who confirmed having being interviewed by Hubert Lawrence for the 100th anniversary Champs booklet; HG Helps who wanted to know where the hell Basil got his accent and who kept the ladies company thereafter; Kirk Douglas who sat at the feet of the old sage youngster Goldsmith; Professor Carlos Escoffery who made a grand entry with his stentorian boon and soon thereafter had his audience in stitches; Wilko 2 who rushed from his club manager duties at Melbourne Cricket Club; Dr. Donovan Calder, who was the first to ‘sight’ the kitchen with ‘Chochie’ his wine glass in tow; the Bioethicist Derrick Aarons who was trying to work out the logistics of attending the annual gathering and getting back for his 16-year-old daughter’s birthday party; Irvin Jones trying to justify the merits of the E10-ethanol derivative; Richard Gayle who spent the rest of the evening watching the Australia vs the WI 3rd Test; and Charley Gant who kept Rae Fraser company at the bar.
Latercomers were: Slacker Brown who was reprimanded by ‘Chochie’ for allowing his specially invited guest – his 1F form teacher, Keith Patterson – to arrive earlier than he did; Stratton Palmer who nodded in approval as Mr. Patterson gave an account of his life experiences and lessons learnt during his teaching stint as an English and BK teacher at KC; and Derrick ‘Shastri’ Denniser who arrived just in time for his favourite meal of boiled? fish.
Absent were: Oscar ‘Big Youth’ Hanna who called in sick; Warren Blake and Walter Bygrave who were on island holidays with their respective families. No one could give an account for Derrick ’Bumplet’ Clark’s absence as numerous phone calls to his residence remain unanswered. And Ras Vivian Brown was reportedly at a Nyabinghi in Scotts Pass. Needless to say, those at the lyme enjoyed the good food, sparkling conversation and outstanding company.
