Numbers with 9 weeks to go

Ticket sales amongst those "in the know"
Graduates aware of the event: 76
Tickets sold so far for the reunion on Saturday 15th July: 40

Contact to be established
Ongoing active searches for people for whom we have leads: 2
Graduates believed to have been reached, who are yet to re-establish contact with us: 5
"Lost" graduates: 7: Kathryn Bowler, Sue Donoghue, Susan Longley, Graham Metcalf, Phil Nelson, Alex Peet, Joanne Louise Sim

Jools' new friends

One minute you're sharing a seat with Tsetse Fox (see the posting from May 6th below). The next you have Felicity Kendall and Rosamund Pike fighting to be photographed with you. And then there's Jude Law after a picure too. Who will Jools be bringing as his guest to the reunion on 15th July?

Question: how far would you travel to a university reunion?

Answer: if your name is Nikki Osborne, around 7000 miles!

Yes, Nikki has signed up for the reunion and is now going to be our official furthest-flung graduate participant on Saturday 15th July. On the day we will also definitely be welcoming former class-mates now living in England, Scotland, Wales, the Republic of Ireland, the Isle of Man, France, Germany and Spain. There is also the chance that Bryan Hollamby will make it from Greece, as will Valerie Duckett from Venezuela, and Quintin Lever from China. Unfortunately it looks unlikely that Ian Calvert (South Africa) and Kirsten Lees (Australia) will be able to join us.

Reunion Saturday July 15th 2006 - latest statistics (with 70 days to go)

Ticket sales amongst those "in the know"
Graduates aware of the event: 72
Tickets sold so far for the reunion on Saturday 15th July: 35

Contact to be established
Ongoing active searches for people for whom we have leads: 5
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.

Nancy group

Jackie Stone has sent this photo of the some of the students in Nancy in third year in 1984/5: Jennifer Westwood, "little Kath" (Reading University), Dawn Sheridan, Jackie Stone and Bev Neighbour.

Helen's boys and girls

In the first photo are Tsetse Fox and Jools Garforth. The picture was taken in Sarah Coyne's room in Griffin and, if you look closely, you can see more photos on the wall behind Tsetse and Jools. These are of (1) Ant Reed and Paul Searles (German), (2) Jerry Gardner and a shopping trolley, (3) Sandy Barber, Andrew Robertson and Jerry Gardner and (4) Hazel Hall and Karen Hendry.

The second picture was taken on 12th June 1986 either just before, or just after, the year group photo. Robin Meczes and Alice Wilkins are in the foreground. Behind Robin are Gillian Clark, Mr May and Dr Cousins.

Helen's boys
Here are some photos that Helen Williams took of the boys in our year group. First all, we have Jerry (with a couple of his final year flat-mates on the photo for good measure). Then we have Jools. The last two pictures show Graham Grant.

Helen's girls

Here are some photos taken by Helen Williams. The first two were probably taken the night that we went to see the Ballet Rambert in late 1985. It was a bitterly cold evening, and we all got the giggles in the middle of the performance during an unaccompanied piece called "ink blot" (or possibly "ink spot"). In central Birmingham are Tsetse Fox, Zoe Fletcher, Jackie Stone and Alex Peet. On the bus home are Jackie Stone and Kirsty Smith. The third picture was taken at Griffin Close in final year, and shows Diane Manifold and Hazel Hall with Sarah Boothroyd, a friend made in Nantes the previous year.

Sally's photos: partying, picnicking - and a bit of studying

Thanks to Sally Beven for sharing these photos.

In the first one are Susanna Portman, Gwyneth Edwards, Sally Beven, Robin Meczes' girlfriend Armelle and Robin Meczes at the Coffee Shop in Lyon, November 1984.

The next two pictures are of a party, Christmas 1985. Here we see Dawn Sheridan, Zoe Fletcher and Claire Sussman seated at the back on the right, with Kirsty Smith and Jennifer Westwood sitting on the floor, and Andrew Farr and Robin Meczes in the bottom left hand corner of the photo. Later (we assume), Alison Fennah(?), Chris Redman, Robin Meczes and Jennifer Westwood take to the dance-floor.

After the exams in June 1986 Kirsty Smith and Dawn Sheridan held a party in the garden of their Selly Oak terraced house. In the first picture are Zoe Fletcher and Claire Sussman, Dawn Sheridan, Jackie Stone, Katherine Holroyd, Jackie's boyfriend Rupert, Carolyn Penfold, Sarah Coyne, Mark Tentori and Quintin Lever. (Who is the person in the striped T shirt?)

And just to prove that some studying did take place along the way, in the last of Sally's photos are Robin Meczes and Katherine Holroyd in the cafe in the lower level of the building in which we are all meeting again for the reunion on 15th July 2006.