The Annual Reunion Dinner, 2009 | Home | Index | Guestbook | | Home (Aston) | Index (Aston) |

Honoured Guests	Ends of the spectrum
(L. to R.): Sukhraj Batchu (Captain of Rugby), Bradley Meeson (School Captain), Taariq Ismail (School Vice Captain), Adham Naguib (Captain of Cricket)	John Castle (1929) and Vincent Byrne (2007)

Despite numbers remaining stubbornly at an all time low, a convivial atmosphere was soon established at this year's dinner. This was greatly enhanced for me by the presence of more members of my year (1950) than ever before. I had brought along the Aston 125 exhibition and a book sales stand, and arriving guests soon drifted over to see what was on display, and to browse through the archives and other items that were on sale. One AOE told me that, until seeing the exhibition, he hadn't known that Aston had a Victoria Cross winner in its ranks. That made my months of work creating it very worthwhile.

Eventually we were all summoned to our tables, where the latest editions of 'The Astonian' and 'The Record' awaited us. The latter, celebrating its centenary, was a superb piece of work by today's generation, and a great credit to them and the school. It is clearly a costly production, made possible only by the huge generosity of the Parents' Association. Their representative this evening, as a guest of the Association, was the legendary Ed Figari, more or less straight from organising the very lucrative match day car parking scheme. (Villa, at home today, had won 5-1 against Bolton!) An excellent meal then followed, though Table 1 had to assert that we had paid for two bottles of red which hadn't materialised! Two members of the 'Class of 1951' hadn't seen one another for so long that they were unable to complete their main course!

After the coffee had been served and the Loyal Toast proposed, David Roberts started a bravura performance as Master of Ceremonies with the sombre task of reading out the names of those AOEs. who will never again attend this event: Sir Edward Downes, Peter G Mason, Theo Fox and Keith Berry.

Alan Haynes, T.D., then pronounced 'The Immortal Memory' while all stood to observe a minute's silence and remember Aston's 193 victims of two World Wars.

Before the speeches a comfort break was declared, during which I was able to flog a few more memorabilia, and bring my total for the evening to a very satisfying £67.00 in aid of school funds. I had earlier been able to hand over £5.00 to Trevor Beckett for the 'Sid' Brown Memorial Trust, royalties from the sale of my Aston memoirs 'Big School'. Others spent the time less wisely, devising anagrams of 'Annual Reunion and Commemoration Dinner'. As usual, most were obscene, so the 'winner' was the sole innocuous offering. It is perhaps as well that no prize is available for this time honoured and lighthearted feature of the evening. The raffle, on the other hand, is a popular opportunity to win some of Harold Jessop's beautifully crafted cut glass. This generous donation reflects his life long commitment to the school where he taught for 32 years, becoming its deputy Headmaster. This year Colin Payne (1949), from our table, was the lucky winner.

After the renewal of old friendships, the speeches are the reason most people attend the dinner. These are interspersed with the M.C's. rapid fire jokes, which are themselves a great joy. The first speech, proposing the toast to 'The School and Foundation' was made by Allen Mitchell, currently Head Coach to AOEFC. Allen is a member of the 'Class of 1986' and an unpretentious speaker who does so straight from his very Astonian heart. The Headmaster, Colin Parker, responded with his customary quiet wit about life at school today. Its cats and dogs were relegated this year to only passing mention, in favour of the attack by three pigeons on the portrait of Mr Floyd, on the day his grandson was visiting the school!

David Roberts then introduced the Association's President, Simon Pinhey, with warm praise for his services to us over many years and in many roles. These were declared, to general acclamation, to be all the more praiseworthy because he is the first non AOE President. Simon having proposed the toast to 'The Association', Richard Meere responded.

An Old Silhillian, solicitor and son of a bankrupt, Richard then treated us to an hilarious meandering through his history and ours, interspersed with asides about the world, and life in general, from the perspective of his irrepressible profession.

The time honoured conclusion to the evening is the singing of the school song, accompanied this year by Peter Clay (Aston 1951). Peter, a professional musician, had thoughtfully transposed it into a key (G) which was more easily attained by adult voices. For some, this was the first time they had sung it since leaving school, and that in itself made for a very moving end to the proceedings, declared closed by David Roberts with the ecumenical valediction 'May your God go with you'.

The customary late hour of finishing ensures that 'old' boys disperse almost immediately, albeit reluctantly. But today's generation have more stamina, so this was the opportunity to talk to them at greater leisure, and without the daunting presence (for them) of their Headmaster and his Deputy! It is always a special delight because it is clear that Aston's values, with which we are all so familiar, are cherished by these representatives of today's Astonians and are in reassuringly safe hands.

To listen to their hopes and aspirations for the future, and their determination to attend future dinners in their own right, and not as guests, made my short drive home through the silent streets of Aston one of renewal, with a vow to keep our flickering flame burning until younger, more energetic, souls can pick up the baton.

How's that for mixed metaphors!