More on accommodation for the weekend of 15th July 2006

The University has supplied us with information on two accommodation options for the weekend of 15th July:

(1) Hotel - £26.50 per person per night, including breakfast
(2) University conference park accommodation - £72.85 single room, £96.93 double/twin room per night, including breakfast

Cathy Gittins has kindly volunteered to check out other alternatives by going through the Birmingham tourist office and contacting hotels directly. She is also seeing whether the University has ordinary hall rooms available. Thank you to Robin for making this last suggestion.

Once we have established the range of options available, we will post them on the web log. Then individuals can make accommodation bookings directly with hotels/the University as they prefer.

Venue and catering - provisional booking made for Saturday 15th July

We have made a provisional booking for a venue and lunch, with licensed bar, on the Birmingham University campus for Saturday 15th July. Further details will be posted once we have confirmed the booking.

Numbers, numbers

This is a quick update on numbers. As of Sunday 26th February 2006, 56 members of the year group are aware of the plans for Saturday 15th July. 49 of them are keen to come along on the day.

34 graduate names remain listed in the bottom column on the right of this page. We think that some of these people may well know of the plans, but are yet to confirm this. We are in the process of tracking down the rest. Unfortunately it looks like we may not be able to reach 6 of the people whose names are listed.

If your name is listed in the second group across the page, please e-mail hazel_hall@hotmail.com to let us know that you know what's going on. Similarly, if you have clues to the whereabouts of anyone listed in the second group, please contact us. Thank you.

Greetings from Bryan Hollamby

Bryan Hollamby says "Hi" to everyone. If you would like to see what he is up to these days, he suggests that you have a look at his web pages. His site is at http://www.bryanhollamby.gr. It has a UK mirror, which will be a faster link for those in the UK, at http://www.bryanhollamby.co.uk.

French play 1986 - Godot

Andrew Farr and George Katzaros both had roles in En attendant Godot in 1986. George played either Vladimir or Estragon. Which was it? Someone else will also have to fill us in on Andrew's character. I should also say that I gave up a chance to see the Stranglers to witness George's performance.

Rabelais option group trip to Top Farm, May 25th 1986

Just before our final exams started Judy Sproxton invited her option group to Top Farm for the afternoon. Enjoying her hospitality are Linda Olding, Graham Metcalf, (Judy Sproxton) and Kate Saunders (top); Katherine Holroyd, Helen Embleton, Sue Olszowska, Bev Neighbour and Sally Beven (middle and right). In the group photograph are Linda Olding, Judy Sproxton, Kate Saunders, Howard Johnson, Sarah Coyne, Katherine Holroyd, Sally Beven, Jackie Stone, Bev Neighbour, Deb Paterson, Graham Metcalf, Judy's son Sam, Helen Embleton and Sue Olszowska.

Visitors from Rennes March 1985

Many of us kept the SNCF in business in 1984/5 visiting one another around France. Those in Nantes enjoyed a visit from the Rennes contingent: Lesley King, Val Matthews and Mat Hindmarsh.

Six are sent to Nantes

This is the Birmingham contingent sent to Nantes in academic year 1984/5: Julie Smith and Steve Hawkins above; Diane Manifold, Nichola Folley, Sarah Coyne and Hazel Hall below. 22 years later the Pooh Bear mug is still in regular use in Edinburgh!

Results day summer 1984

These photos were taken the day that exam results were published in June 1984. In the first picture are Sue Portman, Sarah Coyne, Hazel Hall, Nikki Osborne, Carolyn Penfold and Jackie Stone. Below we have Carolyn Penfold, Hazel Hall and Tsetse Fox.

Last exam summer 1984

For those of us who took Italian subsid, our last written paper in summer 1984 was the Italian literature paper. Here are Helen Williams, Graham Grant, Cathy Gittins and Sarah Coyne immediately after the exam ended.

Staff contacts

The following staff know about out event and have indicated that they may come along: Ceri Crossley, Les Brook, Ron Hallmark and Ian Pickup. Is there anyone else dreading having to admit to the tutors that their French is long forgotten?

Venue, catering and accommodation on 15th July

This week we contacted the University to ask about options for the venue of our get-together and the catering. We've also been investigating accommodation possibilities for those of us who will be staying overnight in Birmingham the weekend of 15th July.

So far we have made progress with the accommodation. Two options have been offered. So far I have rates for one. These are very reasonable taking into account the alumni discount. I am awaiting further details for the other one. The tariff is coming by post, even though the place has a web site - bizarre! I am also interested to know how many people can be accommodated in each hotel since this might make a difference to our accommodation preferences. When we have further information regarding accommodation, we'll put it online.

As far as I know, none of us has taken up a career in hospitality management. If I am wrong, and there is someone in the group who can get us fabulous discounts at the best hotels in Birmingham, please let all know by posting a comment. Thanks.

Almost half way there

Thanks to the hard work of Jackie, Helen and Bev - and with input from Kirsty, Marie-Paule, Graham G, Stephanie, Cath Johnson, Deb Paterson and Sue Portman - I am pleased that we have now managed to reach 44 members of our cohort. Just one more name and we will be half way there.

The vast majority of people contacted plan to be at the reunion on Saturday 15th July. This is most impressive given that many of us are currently based a long way from Birmingham: quite few in France (as might be expected), a couple in Spain, one in Eire, another on the Isle of Man, one in Greece, plus the long-distance adventurers in South Africa, the Falkland Islands and China.

When FriendsReunited doesn't live up to its name

We think that we have discovered something strange about FriendsReunited. It would appear that only one person that we tried to contact this way actually received the message. We have just re-posted messages to around half a dozen people using the site to see what happens next. Has anyone else had a similar experience with FriendsReunited?

Message from Glyn Aubrey

Since he is unable to make it to the reunion on Saturday 15th July, Glyn has asked me to post a message on the web log. He sends his best wishes to everyone.