The 2017 dinner was once again held at The Park Inn Palace Hotel. Those who are local and those who travel and need somewhere to stay for the night find it a most convenient location. If anyone knows of a venue that can cater for 300 plus then please do let the entertainments committee know. Everyone arrived in good time and 232 people sat down to eat by 7.30.
Once again Ken Holmes travelled from Luxembourg and David Townend from Maastricht. David has mentioned that flying into Southend directly from Maastricht means he can get here quicker than some of the people travelling within the UK. Sylviane Duval (Sparta, 1980-1982) travelled from her home in Canada. The effort some members go to for this function has to be commended. Members travelled from all over the UK and several came back for the weekend from University as well.
We enjoyed a three course meal consisting of Spicy warm chorizo & mushroom topped bruschetta with salad, Slow roasted shoulder of lamb in a garlic & and rosemary marinade with a dessert of Bread & Butter pudding infused with a warm chocolate & orange twist with vanilla Anglaise (custard....Ed).
Chris Sorrell our regular toastmaster made sure the evening ran to time and was regularly punctuated with various toasts. Special mention must go to Gordon Fyvie (Troy, 1935-1941), the oldest member present. After this the speeches began with our President Graham Glover who proposed the toast to the Association and the school and regaled us of stories of his time at the school from 1967 to 1974 and the various events he has attended in his year in office. Headteacher Robin Bevan then spoke about the School’s achievements over the last twelve months. Lastly, School Captain Ross Luckman spoke with enthusiasm about his time at school, his hopes for the future and how much he was looking forward to coming back next year as an Old Southendian.
The formal part of the evening concluded with the singing of the school song and Auld Lang Syne to the accompaniment of Joe Zammit (Tuscany, 2004-2011) on the keyboard. As always we finished with three cheers for the school. We then adjourned to the Bar and onward to our various locations having had a most enjoyable evening with old friends.