Mart

Yes, excellent! Thank you - and Pete and Jan!

My brother Pete had an excellent day with his crowd and Mum had a brief
visit from the Welches at the end of the day! A day to remember!

It was also noted how many of our number have ended up on the wrong side of
the Thames! There may be mini-reunions!

Please try to keep the magazine going. I shall try to contribute after the
elections in May and life begins to settle down.

Best wishes,

Paul

-----Original Message-----
From: marty_pinker [mailto:marty_pinker@...]
Sent: 04 April 2005 18:29
To: TBYC-REUNION@...
Subject: [TBYC-REUNION] Reunion Ramblings.....




The recent Reunion was, by all accounts, a fantastic success!

Virtually everyone from the original group, without other plans,
attended. Many travelled enormous distance to be there.
Over fifty people attended. For myself, Pete Lock and Jan
Archer, it was particularly rewarding, given that it had been over a
year in the planning.

The experience of rediscovering old friends reminded me of the
Granada TV series, "Seven Up", which I'm sure most are familiar with.
The series has followed the progress of a group of seven year olds,
from diverse backgrounds, every seven years. The most
recent update, Forty-Two Up was shown in 1998, so I guess another
is imminent. The insights into fates, sealed at an early age, have
been
fascinating to watch.

Our Theydon Bois experience has been similar in many ways.
For most of us, we were very familiar with the motley group of
teenagers,
whom we grew up with in a small, tight-knit village community.
The majority of us were from middle class backgrounds, a
few more advantaged than others. But by this time,
personalities, characters and prospects were largely set in place.
Having taken off to the Colonies, I havebeen unable to remain
in touch with most.

So, the re-assembly on March 19, forty years on, of that same group,
now largely grey-haired "Fifty (and Sixty) Up" dispersed Brits,
approaching retirement, was fascinating to witness. Most have not
changed at all, completely retaining their original early personas.
Language attributes, phraseology still intact. A few have added mild
accents from their transplanted environments.

But the comedians are still comedians. The ambitious among us have
largely achieved their ambitions, some with accolades.
The introverts and those preferring to sit in the sidelines back
then, have
largely remained so. However, among all, the achievements are
numerous. Doctors (of all kinds), a publisher, quite a few teachers,
including a few heads, librarians, structural engineers, a jeweller,
a director of a foster care agency, an anthropologist, an architect,
a head of national programmes at TheBritish Museum, a few
noted marketers and advertising executives, a photographic processing
supremo, a very renowned author...the list goes on. WeĠre all
tempered by the years that have passed, but basically weĠre the
same great group of people,
with bells on.

Mart








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