Diary is too Full

There is to be another of the enjoyable and successful pub events, this time here in London on 19th May. Alas I shall not be able to be there. It is a complicated evening for me as I have a meeting of the Area Bishop's Council at which we shall be saying farewell to the Archdeacon's PA who has worked with me for the last couple of months, but who has worked for my predecessors over many years. The I shall be hot foot up to the Haringey Sea Cadets (SCC). I am their chaplain and it is the evening of the annual inspection of the Unit. The date was changed so I am not feeling too guilty about not being there for the opening parade, but must get there for the end.

As we were in 1983. 

I was a keen member of the RN Section of the CCF at school. By and large CCF and SCC do not mix. CCF has a 'wardroom ethos,' while the Sea Cadet Corps, while not a recruiting agency, does great work among young people who, should they join, would be more likely to enter the Navy as Ratings. I have often said that had God not got me, then the Navy would and thought for a long time that I might end up as a Naval Chaplain. That never happened either, but when the opportunity to become SCC Chaplain came up I jumped at it. Here in Haringey SCC is an organization doing some significant youth work, helping young people to gain more qualifications than they would otherwise, from Duke of Edinburgh awards to NVQs, as well as teaching discipline, outward bound and many life skills, respect and loyalty.

In 1984 there was a confusion about orders for uniform for the photo.
It was very hot and those in pullovers were not pleased with those of us
in shirtsleeve order!

Anyway, if you go to the pub event, raise a toast to the CCF and the SCC; and if you have some time to give to youth work why not consider what you could do?

oips revisited

The post on oips has excited a number of memories. Hugo Bagnall-Oakeley (Ha 51.1-55.2) e-mailed to say 'when I was at school oips referred to a game of rugger/cricket which took place on Wednesdays when the rest of the school were marching about, stripping brens etc in the CCF. You had to be 14 before you could join the Corps so most boys would only have been eligible for oips for their first one or two terms. Thereafter it was obligatory to join the CCF. The blog suggests that oips meant everyone who wasn’t in the XV or XXX but this certainly wasn’t the case in the 1950s.'


This is corroborated by Will Harte (C 80 - 85) who posted a comment to say oips were Wednesday afternoon activities for Removes before they joined the CCF. By the time Will and I arrived CCF was not compulsory for Middles and Vths as it was in the generation above, but there were other activities including Duke of Edinburgh on Wednesdays for those who chose not to join. I have a feeling the lack of compulsion may have been quite a new thing.

Meanwhile George Staple (M 54.2 - 57.3), the current President of the Haileybury Society, confirms that 'hoips was (is) definitely pronounced oips, or it was when I was there. But it was cool to drop your 'h's in the 1950's. In fact the more of a toff you were, the more you dropped them.'