Rhubarb Issue 1

I s s u e I : A u g u s t 2 0 1 0

Algernon simeon

Apsley

Avenue

beehive

big school

bradley

Chapel

Christie

Corfe

Cowells

Ferguson

Field

Fisher

Frederick Fryer

hobson

hudson

Kendall

Kenneth grahame

Macnamaras

oakthorpe

phillips

segars

sing

tillys

trotman

Lost for Words

Locate all the listed names and words in the wordsquare

In the

Chronicle

of March 1885, there

is a brief report about a meeting held

at the school ‘to form an OSE Cricket

Club for the next term’. A Captain and

Secretary were elected, and ‘it was

decided to have colours quite distinct

from any of the School colours’. At

this point, no decision was made as to

what those colours should be.

In May 1885 the

Chronicle

reports

that the OSE Wanderers Cricket Club

had decided their colours should be

‘brown, pink and green in vertical

stripes’. Nevertheless, an early OSE

Cricket XI picture circa 1900 shows

a variety of blazers, with only the

gentlemen sitting on the far right

(The Reverend C. de Labat, 1883

- 1888) and standing second from

the right (R.E. Neale, 1884 - 1888)

probably wearing the Rhubarb Blazer.

The rest are wearing a variety of club

blazers – three may even be wearing

their original SES cricket blazers. This

might suggest that only certain OSE

were permitted to wear the Rhubarb.

The trail goes quiet until February

1928, when an article in the

Chronicle

revives the discussion. One OSE is

cited as recalling that the Rhubarb

‘was limited to members of the School

Cricket XI when they left’. Another

OSE had a rather less distinct memory

of a restriction to those asked to play

for the Wanderers.

It would seem that by 1895, the

colours had passed beyond the range of

the Wanderers Cricket Club, ‘which by

that time was hardly existent’. The 1928

article ends with a plea for any of the

original members of those earlier years

to come forward with information

about who was an ‘OSE Colour’ and

what restrictions there were at that

time.

However, the question of the OSE

Colours was never answered, the death

of Simeon having filled the

Chronicles

that followed. Certainly by 1900 the

Rhubarb was synonymous with the

OSE, and there are dinner menus in

the Archives beautifully embossed and

threaded with the Rhubarb colours.

I have gone through all the Society

minutes of those times and the subject

of Rhubarb, and who was allowed to

wear it, is never mentioned. It therefore

appears that Rhubarb was chosen to be

different and nothing more, something

still very evident today!

Chris Nathan

(

G 1954 – 1957, Archivist)

Teddies History

of Rhubarb

If anyone has

any idea how the

rhubarb “got its

stripes”, please let

us know. We will

accept both serious

(and seriously silly)

explanations, for

publication in

the next magazine...

Two

Rhubarb

Movies

Rhubarb

was a 1969 British

short film written and

directed by Eric Sykes,

starring Sykes and Harry

Secombe. The dialogue

consisted entirely of

repetitions of the word

“rhubarb”, all the characters’

last names were “Rhubarb”,

and even the license plates on

vehicles were “RHU BARB”.

A baby “spoke” by holding a

sign with the word “Rhubarb”

written on it.

2. Another movie entitled

Rhubarb

was a 1951 comedy

“screwball-noir” film directed

by Arthur Lubin starring

Orangey the cat, Jan Sterling

and Ray Milland. Orangey

won Patsy Awards Picture

Animal Top Star of the Year

(the animal version of an

Oscar) for his appearances in

both

Rhubarb

and

Breakfast at

Tiffany’s

, the only cat so far to

win more than once.

Two Rhubarb

Songs by Johns

b r

OSE Wanderers Cricket XI c.1900

Rhubarb Tart

by John Cleese

of Monty Python

Rhubarb Pie

by John Fogerty of

Creedence-Clearwater-Revival