The first known reunion of OBs on the island of Guernsey took place on 22 February this year, in the Parish of St Saviour. This was thanks to the hospitality and, indeed, cooking prowess of OB Mark Stenner (72-79) at his Guernsey farmhouse which he and his wife are restoring. Local OBs Tim Peet (48-59) and George Oswald (67-71), plus Jane and I, gathered for an excellent lunch under Mark’s roof. This provided an opportunity to chat about old times at the school, spanning a period of some forty years. The usual staff ‘characters’ cropped up with a considerable focus on “beatings we had known” and, indeed, anecdotes on how they had been administered. Happily, other events were also covered extensively, such as the now lapsed Quadrangular Tournament, the Bedford Regatta and School Play. Tim, having just attended the Pemberley House Reunion, as he flashed through England to Guernsey after his return from New Zealand, led the discussion on just how much change there was for the better in the ambiance within Boarding Houses at Bedford today, rather than when we were there. As may be gathered, despite the fact that only two out of the four OBs present had met previously, thanks to our shared experiences of our years at the school, we gelled as a group, and all have said to me, after the event, that it was “great fun”. It was indeed and thanks to them for making it so.
This was the second reunion this month in the Channel Islands, the first of which I have reported here and, I think all attendees at both would agree, were indeed “great fun”. May I encourage other groups at home and abroad, where perhaps the COVID pandemic has rather stalled such events, to “take a chance and give it a go”?
Professor Martin Snaith OBE (53-63)
President, Old Bedfordians Club
Photos courtesy of Jane Snaith
