Reunion Saturday July 15th 2006 - latest statistics

Ticket sales amongst those "in the know"
Graduates aware of the event: 68
Tickets sold so far for the reunion on Saturday 15th July: 29

Contact to be established
Ongoing active searches for people for whom we have leads: 11
Graduates believed to have been reached, who are yet to re-establish contact with us: 9
"Lost" graduates: 3: Kathryn Bowler, Graham Metcalf, Phil Nelson.

At the Brook 20th July 1996 and 12th June 1986: compare and contrast

Sarah Coyne, Jerry Gardner, Axia Gaitskell and Nikki Osborne (top), and Jackie Stone and Quintin Lever (middle), are identifiable on the 1996 pictures. In the 1986 (bottom) shot we also have Sarah, Jerry, Jackie and Quintin within view. Unfortunately the Brook is no more.

Pictures on the library steps, 20th July 1996 and 12th June 1986: compare and contrast

See how Heather Monk, Hazel Hall, Sarah Coyne, Sally Hodgson, Julie Smith and Vivienne Williamson changed in the ten years 1986-1996. For a start we gave up trousers, and our hair is somewhat flatter. Looking forward to seeing the 2006 version of this shot...

Restaged picture on the library steps, 20th July 1996: shot 3

Back row : Jenny Dawson, Marie-Paule Davies
Middle row: Graham Grant, Quintin Lever
Front row: Jackie Stone, Kirsty Smith

Restaged picture on the library steps, 20th July 1996: shot 2

Back row: Dawn Sheridan, Jayne Smith, Kevin Hamby, Steve Hawkins.
Front row: Vivienne Williamson, Helen Williams.

Restaged picture on the library steps, 20th July 1996: shot 1

Back row: Valerie Duckett, Jerry Gardner, Zoë Fletcher, Yvonne Taylor.
In the middle section: Sally Beven, Katherine Holroyd, Alison Fennah, Nikki Osborne, Axia Gaitskell.
Front row: Heather Monk, Hazel Hall, Sarah Coyne, Sally Hodgson, Julie Smith.

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: Jackie Stone, Zoë Fletcher, Dawn Sheridan and Katherine Holroyd

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: Zoë Fletcher, Dawn Sheridan, Sally Beven, Kirsty Smith, Hazel Hall, Ian Pickup, Celia Baker and Jackie Stone

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: Sally Beven and Katherine Holroyd

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: Axia Gaitskell and Hazel Hall

Here Axia repays Hazel 50p - a debt from 1986!

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: Graham Grant and Dawn Sheridan

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: preparing for photos

Here Sally Beven adjusts her camera settings in the company of Zoë Fletcher, Ian Pickup, Kirsty Smith, Katherine Holroyd, Jackie Stone, Alison Fennah, Celia Baker and Dawn Sheridan.

Gathering outside the library, 20th July 1996: group

Just check out all the smiles on this picture! In the group are Heather Monk, Marie-Paule Davies, Julie Smith, Steve Hawkins, Jerry Gardner and Ian Pickup.

Early afternoon 20th July 1996: Sarah Coyne and Quintin Lever

Early afternoon 20th July 1996: group

In the foreground of this picture can be seen Julie Smith, Zoë Fletcher Kevin Hamby and Valerie Duckett, with Sarah Coyne, Helen Barrett and Helen Williams behind the main group.

Early afternoon 20th July 1996: Nikki Osborne, Quintin Lever and Axia Gaitskell

Early afternoon 20th July 1996: Jackie Stone and Katherine Holroyd

Last time we met: the story of the 10 year reunion in 1996

July 20th 1996 at St Francis Hall, University of Birmingham: 40 former associates of the French department met for a ten year reunion. Amongst the graduates mingled members of staff including Margaret Callendar, Wendy Perkins, Ian Pickup, Yvonne Taylor and Dennis Wood.

The first arrivals were Helen Williams, Jackie Stone and Dawn Sheridan. Before long they were joined by the rest of the year group for a buffet lunch in the hall. We ate inside due to the temperature: it was an extremely hot day. After lunch couples and groups braved the searing heat for a wander around campus. Later on, clutching the 1986 photograph (see http://20yearson.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_20yearson_archive.html), Hazel Hall positioned everyone for a restaged picture on the main library steps.

The early evening found us in the garden of the Brook. Those who were staying overnight in Birmingham continued into town in three groups: Axia Gaitskell and Nikki Osborne headed off to old haunts; Graham Grant, Julie Smith, Valerie Duckett, Kevin Hamby and others ate at the Copthorne Hotel; Jerry Gardner, Hazel Hall, Dawn Sheridan, Kirsty Smith, Jackie Stone and guests revisited the Happy Gathering for a Chinese meal.

All in all it was a great day, full of laughter. It ended with a resolution to meet up again in 2006. As can be seen from the postings to this web log, we keep our promises :-)

Some photos from 1996 appear in the next few posts.