Llewellyn Jones (1983)
Do you remember the days of the old school yard?
Well - at least Cat Stevens seems to, and I’m sure most of us have our own personal recollections, although memory can be a funny thing. We might remember certain significant moments, but so much fades into the background until something comes along to trigger it back into the front of our mind. Maybe you bump into an old school mate you haven’t seen for a while, or maybe like me – you have a child who is at the school and just being back at the 'old school yard' makes you remember people, feelings and events.
For a couple of our Old Scholars who came back to speak at Founders Day in February, Oriel Morrison (1991) and Josh McIntosh (1989), they were both delighted to learn that their old Headmaster, Dr Carson Dron, was in the audience. Each spontaneously remarked that Dr Dron seemed to have this uncanny knack of knowing every student by name. There was a nagging fear that he might call on you by your name at any moment. What could be more embarrassing for an adolescent school kid?
This triggered my own long-suppressed memory. They were right! This happened to me too, at a most inopportune time. A moment of high jinks outside the boys dormitories and for some reason I was chasing one of my friends with a wooden chair leg, when I was stopped in my tracks by a stentorian voice booming out my name. How did he know my name when there were 1,000 other kids at the school? – most of whom were much naughtier than me. I’m sure.
Luckily for me, Dr Dron had the hint of a smile in his voice as he continued jogging down to the oval – probably to check on the situation with the 1st XV. He didn’t break his stride. I lost the chair leg. Nothing more was said about it, until this day.
Dr Dron - a major character for so many of us over his decades at the school – shared some of his thoughts at the Founders Day morning tea, including his trade secret for remembering students names. If you get to see him one day, perhaps he will share it with you!
We will be holding a Cocktail Function at the school on Friday 17 September for all our Old Scholars. We would love to see you there. Let’s celebrate 75 years of experiences and spark some good memories of the Old School Yard.
Llewellyn Jones
