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NOVEMBER 2001 NEWSLETTER Roger Evans,
9 Sussex Close, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 5PA |
2001 Reunion dinner
As expected this turned out to be another tremendous night with many old
acquaintances being renewed. The feedback we got over the following few
days made it all worth while. Sadly we were let down by the amplification
and we can only apologise to those who were unable to hear Paul Forrest's
recollections of life as a coroner. But it remained a memorable evening.
The meal was excellent and credit goes to the Tudor Restaurant who have
served us so well over the last three years. And that conveniently leads
me into our plans for next year.
Dinner 2002
Change is being imposed upon us but we believe it will be change for the better. The Tudor Restaurant have purchased premises next door to their current restaurant facility (some of you reprobates will no doubt remember the old night club which was once there. Was it the Queen of Clubs?) Well, those premises have been gutted and will seat 150 diners. This gives Bridgwater a much needed venue for wedding and reunion dinners. Mike Missouri, the owner who has been good to our association, has decided to concentrate his efforts into the new premises and thus, I understand, will no longer be doing the outside catering. Hence next year we must find a new caterer or venue. That decision has almost been made for us by the lack of availability of the rugby club premises on our preferred date. So the decision has been made. Next year we will take our dinner to the Tudor Restaurant's new facility on Saturday, September 21st. But be warned, this year 140 sat down to dinner out of our 180 members. Membership is growing. Next year we will be limited for space - a situation which applied in our first two years but we managed OK. So the message is to be sure to book early for 2002.
Guest speaker
We've clinched an absolute cracker for next year. Robin Bush, famous for his TV appearances on Channel 4's Time Team has agreed to be our guest. I have heard Robin three times in the last two years and he has been excellent on every occasion. He is a tremendous raconteur and can tell many a saucy and entertaining tale of old Somerset. We are privileged that he has agreed to fit us into his busy schedule of TV commitments and chairing Somerset County Council.
Our thanks
Many thanks to those who sent letters of condolence to the family of Glyn Rees. His daughter Jenny tells me they meant a great deal to the family being so many and from so far including Australia and the USA.
Financial position
With two accountants in our organising team you would expect our financial position to be healthy and I am pleased to report that it is. Mike Dodden has reported a healthy balance which allows us to continue with no increase in the cost of membership and only a small increase in the cost of the dinner. Next year it will be £14 instead of £13.50. Established members will recognise that this is the first and only increase we have made and reflects the increased cost from the caterer. I am sure you will all agree it remains excellent value for money.
Friends Reunited
I know many of you are already aware of the website www.friendsreunited.com. This website was created by a couple of computer enthusiasts who recognised the opportunity for old school friends to re-establish long lost contacts wherever they may be in the world. For those of you with the technology, I recommend you access this site and add your name to those who have already registered as former pupils of Dr. Morgan's. There are already in excess of a hundred old boys registered and this is certainly a site to be encouraged with its world-wide access and its world-wide publicity. I shall certainly be using it to target old boys to increase our membership. Each time an old boy registers on the site, the system sends me notification so we can keep track of new potential members. Well worth a visit and please include yourselves in the list of Old Morganians.
Where are they now?
Stories to include in the 'Tales from the Crush Hall' have dried up temporarily so those of you who have a school recollection to pass on, please let me know. I know our membership finds these tales of great interest.
Meanwhile, I thought I could fill some space with some 'Where are they now' celebrities and thought I'd start with Ron Peberdy. Interestingly as I was writing this, Ron's surname was thrown up as a spelling error and Microsoft Word recommended the nearest spelling it could find - PUBERTY! Ron joined the school in 1956 and on leaving full time education joined the Metropolitan Police force where he spent many years in the fraud squad. In more recent years he has been responsible for security in the Bank of America with a European role. You can imagine the life Ron has been leading working for such a high profile American company in the wake of the New York and Washington terrorist attacks. Exciting? It's more responsibility than most of us would ever want from life. Best of luck, Ron.
Golf Day
A number of suggestions were put forward at our last dinner for fresh ideas to pursue. One which cropped up a number of times was the suggestion of a golf day. On the application form we have attached for your 2002 membership, we have included space to indicate if you would be interested in such an event. Space is also available to suggest any other events which you feel we should be promoting. One such is to gather at the Bridgwater and Albion rugby ground for one of their home matches. More of that later.
In closing, please help us to help you by returning your membership forms promptly. Remember this year we could be back to being oversubscribed - book early!
Roger Evans
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