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Silver and Gold medallists Richard Thompson and Usain Bolt in the final of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics 100m Sprint for Men

QRC.edu extends heartfelt congratulations to Old Boy Richard Thompson on his silver medal finish in the premiere sprint event of the the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.  The young man at the start of a sterling athletic career joins august Royalian company, including Olympic medallist Wendell Mottley and Pan Am Games Champion cyclist Roger Gibbon.

Marc Burns is not to be forgotten however.  Though not in the top three, he will be remembered among Royalians as one of the eight fastest men of the Summer Games.

We all now look forward to We Boys’ representing Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x100m relay heats on the night of Thursday 21st, starting at 8:20PM.

Former QRC Principal Bill Carter tapped institurional memory to inform that there is more than national pride to be had in Men’s 100m semi-finalists Marc Burns (IAAF Profile, Wikipedia Entry) and Richard Thompson (IAAF Profile, Wikipedia Entry).  Both are also QRC Old Boys.

NCAA Champion Thompson is son of Old Boy Ruthven Thomspon, a gentleman known for his goalkeeping exploits on behalf of the College and in more recent years for his quiet omnipresence at events in support of the College.   On Richard’s mother’s side, his uncles Gerard and Ronald Clarke were also Royalians who represented College and country in their own disciplines.  There is thus rich vintage in this promising young sprinter.

Medalist in the World Junior Championships, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Finals, Burns spent most of his secondary school days at Belmont Intermediate, but trained under the late Lawrence McDowall with the QRC team.  He repeated his fifth form year at QRC, before heading off to El Dorado Senior Comprehensive to join fellow Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Darrel Brown.

We Boys next appear in the 100m semi-final heats carded for tomorrow morning, Saturday, just after 8:00am Trinidad and Tobago time.  Marc runs in lane 4 at 8:05 against and Richard in lane 7 at 8:13.

They’ll be wearing red, white and black, but we all know that their blood runs blue.  QRC.edu on behalf of all Royalians extends undying support.

A-boom-alack!

Organiser Ramesh Ramdeen of the Quite Respectable Chaps would like to take the opportunity to thank all for their unrelenting support to the event, held on Saturday 9th August, 2008. It turned out to be bigger and better attended than one could have imagined and fun was had by all. Special mention has been extended to Gerard “Pina” Manzano for cooking the fish broth which as per norm was the proverbial bomb.

With respect to the football, the representative Old Boys lost to the training Secondary Schools’ League team 2-1. The elder Royalians were at one point we were up 1-0. However, when fitness became a problem, as is the ready excuse… This game was played in three thirds, and all the goals came in the middle third.

In a second match, the Old Boys took on an invitational eleven made up of Ricardo Carmona’s friends and liming partners. The Old Boys well represented their late team mate and won 3-1.

The objective of the exercise though was to commemorate and celebrate the life and passing of a true son of the College. He was and will continue to be missed by all.

Thanks are extended to all for coming out and participating, and for those who supported from afar. It is hoped that this year’s event is a sign of things to come, and that this momentum would carry the event strongly forward.

Photos of the event captured by Old Boys Stephen George and Willard McIntyre follow.

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By all accounts, the 2008 edition of the Old Boys’ Association flagship event Chefs Royal was quite a success.

According to the Trinidad Newsday (link), under the caption “Lovely evening at Chefs Royale” on July 30th:

The 75-strong Queen’s Royal College (QRC) Old Boys contingent showed off their culinary skills in a big way at the 12th annual Chefs Royal 2008, produced by the Old Boys’ Association, that was held on Saturday at St John’s Ambulance Hall, Fitzblackman Drive, Port-of-Spain.

And in keeping with the event’s theme “Flags of the Nations II,” the embassies of Nigeria and Costa Rica also formed part of the event via their national dishes, as well as Arabic dishes from Lawrence of Arabia and Italian cuisine from Angelo’s.

Most interesting was a “tree truck” of mouth-watering shrimps from which guests picked for consumption.

Chefs from rival college, St Mary’s, led by Roderick Ward and included Roberto Ramirez, Nestor Lambert and Richard Joseph, not only showed off their outstanding and professional chef’s attire that they used at their own dinner three weeks ago, but also their sumptuous seafood and spare ribs dishes… [more]

Former Principal William Carter also captured some excellent photos and a video for posterity, uploaded to his Picasa Web Album.

The Quite Respectable Chaps, an alumni group of more recent vintage and hosts of the year-end QRC Small Lime, also featured prominently under their own tent.  Member Gerard “Pina” Manzano took a light-hearted look at the group’s participation in a slideshow which can be viewed online.