Dear Old Boarzellian

One day in 1969 Richard Dumbreck put the slipper away in the bottom drawer of
his desk, adjusted his bow tie, smoothed down the corners of his moustache, and
wrote in the Boarzell Magazine:

"The fact that the year 1969 is our Diamond Jubilee seems to have gone
unrecognised, as did our Fiftieth Anniversary … The next date to remember is
2009, when it is to be hoped that Boarzell's centenary will not be allowed to
pass without fitting recognition."

Mr D died just six years short of the anniversary he foresaw, but of course he
was right – this is an occasion which really does deserve to be recognised in
some special way.

This message is to give you early notice that a plan is afoot, and that it's
about as `fitting' as it could possibly be - because in this special year the
event will be held in part at a very fitting place: Boarzell itself.

The date is Saturday 26 September.

The event will be open to all ex-pupils and staff of the prep school, and their
spouses.

The old school is now a family house again, but the owner, David Smart, has
kindly agreed to allow us access to the gardens and some limited access to part
of the house itself during the afternoon.

Here's the outline for day: those who wish will be able to attend a service at
Ticehurst church at noon. Then we'll have lunch nearby. Those not wanting to
attend the service can go straight to the lunch venue. After lunch we'll head
off to Boarzell and spend a couple of hours there reflecting on how much smaller
it is than we remember, and then we'll disperse or go to the pub.

The overall charge would be somewhere between £35-50. We will do all we can to
keep it to a reasonable minimum but planning is at an early stage and before we
can take things much further (including settling on the lunch venue) we now need
to know urgently what kind of numbers to expect. Arrangements can then be
finalised and costs calculated.

Could you please therefore contact Richard Rogers (Boarzell 47-48) by email at
richard@..., or by snailmail at Ash Tree Cottage, Eden Road,
Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1TS with an indication of whether you're interested in
attending:
- the lunch (starts about 1.15 pm) and subsequent visit to Boarzell
- the service at Ticehurst (starts at noon)
Please also indicate whether you're interested in bringing your wife.

On the basis of replies received, we'll firm up all the arrangements and write
again with full details and a formal invitation.

Finally – this message is being sent to all OBs whose addresses are on the
current database. Some of these addresses will have changed since then. It
would therefore be much appreciated if you could spread the word among those OBs
with whom you are yourself in touch in case they'd otherwise be missed, asking
them to contact Richard Rogers.

Obviously this is very likely to be an unrepeatable opportunity; we hope very
much that you'll take advantage of it, and look forward to seeing you all back
in our old haunts so we can relive a few memories.

Maybe we should organise a Grand Conker Tournament followed by a race to
Cooper's Corner and back - Drake and Sidney v Raleigh and Grenville? All ideas
(and ambulances) gratefully received!

With best wishes
Stephen Bagnold (Boarzell 1955-60)