Morning break time on Wednesday 20 April and a group of boys were seen excitedly huddled around an easel in the Bell Room. It was not until the bell rang to mark the start of lessons and the crowd dissipated that it became clear what the excitement was all about. 
It was, of course, the table plan for the Boarders’ Spring Dinner, which, now in its third year, is a highlight in our boarders’ school year.
Over 250 boarders, along with staff from their boarding houses, donned their dinner jackets and bow ties for this special event to celebrate a wonderful year of boarding ahead of the busy exam season.
The Great Hall looked splendid set up in cabaret style, with tables stylishly dressed in black linen – something a little bit different for the boys to experience. They enjoyed a sophisticated three-course fine-dining meal cooked and served by our in-school caterers, Chartwells. On the menu was pork and apple terrine followed by roasted chicken with fondant potatoes and a delicious chocolate torte for dessert. Food was respectfully served at 6.20pm, three minutes after sunset, to allow our Muslim boys observing Ramadan to eat with everyone else.
Of course, all good meals are followed with an after-dinner speech, and this year the boys were lucky to hear from OB Riki Msindo (07-17), who attended the dinner with his best friend and business partner OB Jasper Williamson (12-17), who he met in his boarding house.
Riki gave an inspiring speech, explaining how you should never let yourself be limited or pigeon-holed and that it’s okay if you want to take an unconventional path, because that could lead you to doing what you love. Riki studied medicine at Bristol University and is now a qualified doctor. However, this is just one of his three jobs! Riki supports his friend Jasper in running a luxury wine company as well as being a stand-up comedian, even touring with Russell Howard and winning the title ‘Best Young Comedian 2023’.
“Life is huge and for all of you in this room your opportunities are immense. You literally could be anything. Bedford gave me the chance to try everything and enjoy it. You have so many sports, activities and interests at your fingertips, especially as a boarder. Make the most of your time as a boarder at Bedford because I promise it won’t last forever.”
After the speech, the boys were able to mingle and capture the evening on film in a 360° photo booth complete with silly glasses and dress-up accessories. This was followed by a superb DJ set courtesy of Upper Sixth Formers Charlie Faulkner and Jacob Foster.
Lower Sixth Former Pui Lam Ng explained, “These events are very important because they allow the boarding community to gather together, to be away from our robust school life and enjoy a relaxing evening with our friends, which will be a good memory for all of us to remember and makes us cherish our school life.”
Lower Sixth Former Jameson Liang said, “Events such as these are very important in terms of the tradition of our school. The boarders’ singing, for example, has been held for at least 30 years, and these traditional activities have become part of the boarders’ identity. We can talk to someone who graduated 20 years ago about their house singing and who won, which provides us a sense of belonging and a sense of being a Bedfordian.”
