FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

your energy and drive, and then life and work become a joy. It is not about the money. It is about that sense of fulfilment which comes with doing your best for people and the Earth. While boys in Group 1 were in their solitude on the third C Block Journey in 2013, I penned a few thoughts which perhaps give some insight into this sense of purpose. “So why do we do this? Why give up the comfort of a soft bed for a patch of hard earth beneath a groundsheet? Each of us will be different men when we return. We will all have crossed some of life’s rivers and have a better understanding of ourselves. It is hoped that this time in the wilderness will equip each of these young men with a new resilience, tenacity and passion for Mother Earth, which nurtures us all. Perhaps, as a result of this Journey, when my days are done, some of these young men will carry my spirit, like the regimental colours, along with their own passion as they work to resuscitate our ailing planet. Maybe they will be better equipped to convince their generation that the Earth needs to be protected from the greed and avarice which is damaging it beyond repair.” I would also like you to hear a recent post by John Roff, who will be a visiting teacher here at Michaelhouse next month, which echoes so eloquently my thoughts in 2013. “Life grows hard. Across the world, people are challenged, at multiple levels. Ecologically, our Earth community is strained. Socially, relationships are pulled in many directions, and often broken. Spiritually, there is a growing dissatisfaction with the status quo, and at the same time a deep longing for the genuine. Nature is where we live, and intimately part of who we are. Nature is source and home, and messenger of spiritual source and home. When we notice nature, when we pay attention, when we really see, feel, receive and experience, change happens. Nature experiences make people happier and fulfilled in many ways. There is a sense of homecoming, intrigue, delight, discovery and wonder. Curiosity is usually part of this. And heightened curiosity carries with it a sense of hope – that there is a deep joy around and within us, and we can participate in it.” It is my wish that all of you will be recognized for your lives and achievements in the future. In years to come, some of you will be celebrated with your own St Michael Award. Whatever the case, I’ll be cheering you on from above.

In addition to the above, Paul served on the governing body of Nottingham Road Pre-Primary from 1990 to 1994, and of Nottingham Road Primary School from 1996 to 2000. He then served on the board of Clifton Prep from 2003 to 2013, where he chaired the academic subcommittee, and more recently of St Anne’s Diocesan College from 2023 to the present. His election to these roles emphasises, once again, the fact that he is held in high regard and that he is prepared to serve without expecting any financial reward. ACCEPTANCE RESPONSE FROM PAUL FLEISCHACK embers of the board, Old Boys, Rector, staff and guests, and young men of Michaelhouse. It is a real honour to be here this evening, and it is with a deep sense of gratitude and humility that I receive the St Michael Award. It is also a privilege to share the stage with Keith Begg, who I taught so many years ago and whose work I have followed from a distance with great interest and pride over the years. Keith, I hope I can lay claim to just a little responsibility for your success. Receiving this award would not have been possible without the support, sacrifice and hard work of many people. The men and women who gave up their time and comforts to share my passion and my joy at seeing boys grow into young men. The people who help plan expeditions and then leave home and families to lead boys on camps, hikes, journeys. And, of course, the families who hold the fort in their absence. I am thrilled that some of you could be here tonight to share my gratitude. In thanking you, I pay special tribute to my wife, Laura, who has been my rock and support for decades. I know she feels this is worth at least an honorary Rectorship. It is a huge surprise when that congratulatory email arrives in your inbox. To be honest, when I opened the email from the Rector I actually thought he was being courteous in copying me in on the note to Keith Begg. And it took a while for the reality to sink in that it was actually for me. For a while I was quite speechless and wondered if it could be possible that I could join the ranks of those significant men who have gone before me. I doubt anyone sets the St Michael Award as one of their life’s goals. The reality is that you let your passions direct M

Thank you.

KEITH S BEGG

B orn in Zimbabwe in 1970, Keith Begg was schooled in South Africa, initially at the Drakensberg Boys Choir School, then Clifton Prep and then Michaelhouse. He subsequently embarked on a three-year diploma in nature conservation in Cape Town before doing three years of research in South Africa’s Kruger National Park on the “big six” birds – the saddle-billed stork, pels fishing owl, lappet faced vulture, kori bustard, ground hornbill and martial eagle – under the auspices of the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town. It was while

volunteering at Kruger’s Satara camp during Michaelhouse school holidays that Keith had seen his first honey badger and started developing a lifelong fascination with these feisty creatures, leading to research, a conservation project, a National Geographic film, articles and images. It was in the Kruger that Keith met his future wife, Colleen, who was working on vultures at the time. In 1994, Keith moved to Mana Pools, Zimbabwe, to initiate his first study of honey badgers, while Colleen completed her research on cheetahs also in Zimbabwe. 39