Scotch College

‘Blind mice’ do their bit for the kids

A group of Old Boys helps out each year at the Very Special Kids fair

Some of the ‘13 blind mice’ (shown with asterisks) and colleagues at last year’s Very Special Kids annual fair. Back row: *Doug Hyslop (’58), *David Diamond (’59), *Richard Baird (’58), *Geoff Speed (’59), *Rick Aitchison (’58), Ian Law (’54). Front Row: *John Christensen (’58), *Peter Keast (’58), Rob Millis (’56), *Ray Sneddon (’58), *Peter Engel (’58), Don Mason (’58). Absent – *John Cornish (’58).

A group of Old Boys – affectionately (?) nicknamed ‘the 13 blind mice’ in their schooldays by former Geology master Bruce ‘Slugger’ Moore – gets together each November with other former schoolmates to help at the Very Special Kids annual fair. ‘Slugger’ Moore gave the group its name on a school Geology excursion sometime in 1958.

This year the fair will be held on Saturday 19 November at Very Special Kids’ beautiful grounds in Glenferrie Road, Malvern. As they do each year, the Old Boys will enthusiastically install small marquees, erect banners and directional signs, unload and place tables, chairs and umbrellas, unload and stack products for the stalls – and, tears notwithstanding, they will probably peel hundreds of onions for the barbecue. Some of the group work in the car parks, raising about $1,000.

Very Special Kids supports more than 800 families throughout Victoria. All services are available free to families who have children with life-threatening illnesses. It costs $4.7 million annually to operate the organisation, with 70 per cent of the revenue coming from fundraising, donations and other activities. GS