Dear Friends of the Harry Birrell Scholarship Trust,

It gives me huge pleasure to report that Ollie Cook, Harry Birrell Scholarship Trust Trustee,

has added a boat race win to his marvellous record of rowing triumphs. Ollie is reigning

world champion in the coxed pairs and this win will have given him particular pleasure

not only because it was against the "duck egg shell blue brigade" but it was achieved

with his younger brother as a team mate in the Oxford crew.

Ollie after leaving school 8 years ago taught at the Good Shepherd Primary school in

Grahamstown (a township school in the city) whilst a student tutor at St Andrew's college

and taught our first two Harry Birrell Scholar Good Shepherd graduates, Caleb and

Abenethi when out there.

We're hoping that the GB rowing squad will give Ollie a night off to join many of us at

the HBST Gaudy Dinner at the Long Room in Lord's on 1st June where our special guest

will be Proteas' Coach Adrian Birrell. (MJK Smith, the last England International at

Rugger and Cricket, former England captain and Harry's old Oxford team mate from the 1955 OUCC cricket side will be making a rare journey from Warwickshire to the big smoke to join us too, it will be a special night).

Well done Ollie and Jamie Cook on the great win wearing the Oxford crown which makes up half of the Trust's emblem (the other half is the Elephant of the Eastern Cape). Harry watching the Tideway up high from a cloud in the sky on Sunday would have admired your celebratory swallow dive but might have given you an extra session of slip catch practice afterwards to make sure you don't "miss-field" any more of your precious medals!! (I was relieved to read in The Times that fellow rower Hamish found it on the river bed on his Monday morning tow path run and returned it to you).

Very best wishes to everyone and thank you Ollie for making the Trust so proud.

Stephen

PS It was a real privilege to take Baba Roger, HBST company secretary, to watch one of the Oxford crews' last outings from the Oxford launch last week on the Tideway and take the #snowleopardtv cameras along too. Thank you Ollie and the Oxford team, photo above, plus photo below taken by Harry Birrell Blue Elect Keatsy at Sunday's start.