Pulling Together

18 March 2020

In times of uncertainly, it becomes ever more important to pull together as a community. As the days roll on, the situation surrounding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and its expected repercussions seem to indicate that we are facing months of challenges and uncertainty ahead. I am sure this is becoming a major concern and I wanted to write to let you know that we are thinking of you all during this difficult time. The Old Stoic Society has members as young as 18 as well as those who have passed their centenary year: no matter our age, coronavirus (COVID-19) will have a huge impact on us all.

At the time of writing, we have over 1,400 Old Stoics over the age of 70 in our ranks and I am sure the majority are feeling extremely apprehensive to hear the news that they should self-isolate for 12 weeks. We appreciate that for those isolating this will be a long and potentially lonely time. As such, we hope to provide regular news and updates over the coming weeks to keep in contact with our Old Stoic Community. In particular we would like to know if you are living alone – if this is the case – please do call us on 01280 818349 and if there is any way we can help, please let us know.

If you are an Old Stoic who isn’t in isolation, but would be happy to help those who are with errands or simply the occasional phone call, please do let us know and we will build a team of Old Stoic helpers.  By pulling together at this difficult time, we can support each other to find our way through to brighter days.

Already this week, we have been able to help a couple of young Old Stoics who were stranded in South America by connecting them with an OS living nearby. If you find yourself in a tricky situation please do get in touch.

As I am sure you will understand, we have taken the decision to postpone a number of our events which were scheduled to take place over the coming few months. We hope to hold a number of these in the autumn term and certainly hope things will get back to normal by then.

Over the coming months, we will keep the Old Stoic Office active – from the Office itself or remotely – and if at any point, you find yourself in need of a friendly ear or help of any sort please do not hesitate to get in touch.

To end on a positive note, we plan to share a wonderful array of photographs and memories on the OS website and social media pages over the coming few month to keep everyone’s spirits high. If you would like to add to our features please do reply with your contributions.

We start with thanks to Mike Andrews (Chatham 57) of this fantastic view taken from the top of the cedar tree on the South Front shown above. A fantastic picture and one that I hope will not be repeated by any current Stoics!

Best wishes to you all at this difficult time.

Anna Semler (Nugent 05)

Old Stoic Society Director