It was my pleasure to host my first DVP event in Bedford at the School’s Langham Pavilion which, I’m pleased to report, was a real success! The evening started off with an introduction to the beers on show by Blackpit Brewery founders Duncan Wheeler (95-02) and Oly Whiteley (92-02). Sadly, Ben Williams (91-02), the third OB involved in the brewery, could not join us on this occasion.
It was great to welcome an eclectic mix of OBs from various eras dating back to those who had left School in the early 1960s. The evening was also supported by the Chairman of the Old Bedfordians Club, Craig Mitchell (64-74), to whom I am very thankful and also the team; Gina, Bev, Clara and Richard, who’s unstinting work behind the scenes make all of these events possible.
During the course of the evening, OBs and their guests enjoyed finding out about the beer-making process and sampling the various brews on offer. The group then moved on to a local curry house, Indiya, where we had reserved a private room and enjoyed catching up over a veritable curry feast with vegetarian and vegan options too!
The format of the evening may well be one that I repeat in the near future as Bedfordshire’s DVP in order to generate more interest from an even larger group of OBs after this very successful evening and also to draw local (and distant) OBs to similar events. Looking forward to seeing you at the next event.
Dr Jason Reddy (79-84), DVP for Bedfordshire