KNYSNA NEWS - Grey College, Bloemfontein old boys recently gathered in Knysna for a traditional reunion event called the Noggin.

The old boys, from George, Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, met at a pub and grill restaurant in Old Place to hold the Noggin, held simultaneously by Grey old boys on the last Thursday of the month at venues in cities, towns and in rural settings.

It was the first Noggin to be held in Knysna, where a number of Grey old boys live, and the town was chosen as the venue to reduce the travelling time of those living in George and Plettenberg Bay, who would otherwise have had to go to either of the latter towns.

Riaan van der Merwe, who retired to Knysna from Bloemfontein in January, said he thoroughly enjoyed the local event and that the Noggins "were great because Grey old boys see each other across the country (on that day) - we're like family".

He had left school in 1980, and had attended Noggins in Bloemfontein, where he had worked in the consumer protection division of the department of tourism and environmental and economic affairs.

Food being prepared for a Noggin elsewhere.

Grey old boy Francois de Wet, who retired to Brenton-on-Sea, Knysna from Welkom, Free State, invited all Grey old boys in the region to attend Noggins in Knysna at the pub and grill restaurant, from 1730. "I started the Noggin in Welkom 20 years ago and was the branch organiser."

According to a release sent by Bloemfontein resident Stephen le Roux, vice-chairman of the National Grey Reunie, "a noggin is a small wooden drinking cup, generally carved from the burr or burl (rough knotty outgrowth) of a birch tree".

"The noggin was first mentioned in the mid-17th century, initially referring to the cup, and later coming to mean a quarter of a pint.

"As far as it is known, the origin of the term 'Noggin' in the Old Grey environment originated when Arthur Honey, hotel manager of the Protea Hotel in Pretoria and chairman of the Pretoria branch of Old Greys in the late seventies, made use of this term when the Old Greys had their monthly gatherings in this hotel."

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