Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Update : 22nd August

Well, just because I haven’t been sending out any e-mails doesn’t mean that the Committee hasn’t been busy with the reunion planning. It’s now time for you to show a bit of commitment to the cause, and I hope what I describe below will meet your expectations.

After much discussion on feedback from yourselves and on what we believe will make a memorable reunion, we’ve opted for a formal(ish) sit-down meal, followed by entertainment to suit all tastes, (except Karaoke, that’s a definite no-no). The reunion will be held at the BALGEDDIE HOUSE HOTEL, BALGEDDIE WAY, GLENROTHES, FIFE KY6 3ET, with a rough schedule as follows:

  • Meet at 6.30 p.m. for a sit-down meal starting at 7 p.m.
  • 2-Hour Ceilidh from 8.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.
  • Interval
  • 2-Hour Disco from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

There are quiet areas of the hotel to which you will be able to move to have a break and peaceful chat / to avoid the mad people (delete as applicable).

The hotel will be able to offer accommodation at a reduced rate, details to follow, but it’s not a huge place (33 rooms, I believe) so you may need to be quick off the mark with your bookings. There are of course plenty of budget places in the town. The website for the hotel is www.bestwestern.co.uk/hotels/balgeddie-house-hotel-glenrothes

Now, where do you come in ?

Well, obviously, even though it’s over a year away, we now need you to confirm (or otherwise) that you’ll be attending the reunion. Because of the plans, the cost per head will be £50, which I hope you don’t feel is too much given what is being provided. Just to let you know, all of the Committee have paid their money up front so that we can cover the deposits for the hotel and entertainment. Susan Paterson is in charge of the money. We have a bank account set up for payments to be made, preferably by bank transfer.  I haven't posted the details here for fear of spam so to find them email me via the blog.

Of course, there is still a lot of detailed planning to be done, and we’ll be continuing with this over the winter months. I’ll keep you posted.

I mentioned before that I’ve created a website/blog for the reunion and if you're here you've found it. I’ve had a few teething problems and I’d be the first to admit it’s a bit amateurish, but I’m hoping it will reach a reasonably wide audience. I plan to add a section where you can post any questions/comments/suggestions and which the Committee will do its best to answer. You should also be able to make comments on any of the existing pages, and feel free to send me anything you’d like added (pictures, stories etc).


I’m currently trying to set up a meeting with the school so that we can publicise the reunion in their Newsletter and also maybe find out about our old (very old) teachers, should any be a) alive and b) interested in attending.

Looking forward to hearing all the positive feedback !!!

Cheers
Nige

P.S. There are still quite a few of you (most of whom attended the reunion in 2007) who haven’t replied to any of my previous e-mails. I understand the possibility that an e-mail address is no longer used, but if I don’t get an automated reply to tell me that, I assume that it’s just a bit of laziness/forgetfulness on your part. So, can I please ask all of you to reply to me one way or another. The last thing I want to do is continue to hassle you if you’re not going to attend.

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Anybody know a place ...?

... that meets our specification for the reunion ...


1 Can cater for 60 to 80 people
2 Is around Glenrothes
3 Can provide a 'quiet' area
4 Has a bar (I'm not listing these in order of importance, obviously)
5 Can provide a disco/ceilidh area
6 Is available on 26th September 2015
7 Doesn't cost a fortune


You can guess from this that we've got a wee problem in coming up with the right place ! Guess it's all these people booking up for pesky weddings ...


Never mind, your Committee is on the case and we  might have some better ideas by the time of our next meeting on 7th August.


As always, your feedback is much appreciated - even moreso if you do it through the blog, which is not attracting the attention it needs (or deserves ???).

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Progress

Well, Charles has come up trumps ! Not only do we have a photo of the school at the top of each page, but he's also uploaded the first of the Committee biographies (yours truly) !! I'm still having difficulty doing this kind of thing (well, I was always one for lots of words and no creativity), but I'll be chasing up the Committee Members for their contributions in the next few months. You have been warned !


The next meeting will take place on 24th July at the Gilvenbank Hotel, starting at 7.30 p.m. And, know what ? Anybody can attend, we're not a closed shop !


Hopefully we'll be closer to choosing a venue and know more about costs and entertainment. Watch this space ...

Sunday, 13 July 2014

A header photo at last

Finally relenting to pressure from Nigel, Charles dug in the archive and found this. With thanks to Steve Humbert for the cranial photoshopping.


Now we're cooking. Coming next ... the sordid details about your Committee ... and maybe even some recent pictures !

Tuesday, 24 June 2014

Taking a Break

Well, our second meeting went off ok the other week. With a bit of luck, we might be able to progress the selection of a venue for the reunion in the next couple of months.


The consensus from the potential attendees was for entertainment in the form of a Ceilidh and a sit-down meal. And we know we have to provide a quiet corner for those who want to catch up with old friends as opposed to refamiliarising themselves with the delights of an eightsome reel. Did anybody ever master that one ?


I'm still waiting for some guidance on how to make this blog a bit more interesting -  you'll just have to put up with my witterings until that happens !!


Should I be bovvered that nobody has added a comment as yet ??? From what I can see, there's been a few visits, but maybe this is still just my baby ...


Anyway, me and the wife are off for a short break in Cornwall, where we met 31 years ago. How time flies etc etc. This will be an escape from the World Cup (aye, right) ... Back in plenty of time for the next meeting.


Oh, and welcome to Janet Adamson (nee Melville) who has moved from the 'Missing Persons' list to the 'Interested' one. Thanks, Margaret !

Sunday, 8 June 2014

Carol Kelly is Revealed !

Well, it's Sunday evening, the sun is beating down and I've just returned from the local pub where I managed to meet up with Carol. Plans didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped ...no surprise there, eh !


Firstly, our 10-strong committee were mostly conspicuous by their absence, being distracted by such events as Perth Races. Hope you didn't lose your shirts, Allan and Derek !


There were three of us who made it along - myself, Pat Stuart (Bell)and John 'Coosie' Broon. The first hurdle was that the nominated meeting place (the Kettlebridge Inn) had decided not to open this afternoon until 4 p.m. Wtf ??? Why would a village pub not be open on a weekend afternoon ?


Anyway, Plan B saw us do the 10-minute walk to the Station Inn (only a hop, skip and jump from Chez Duthie), where we were made more than welcome. They even put us in a separate annex and switched on the lights so we didn't have to mix with the locals (of which I am one) !!!


A very pleasant couple of hours were spent, and we managed to find out just a little bit about Carol. She lives around Jo'burg and gets back to the UK every couple of years, visiting her elderly mum who lives in Sheltered Housing in St. Andrews. Hopefully, we were such riveting company that she'll feel tempted to splash out a few thousand rand to come back for the reunion next year.


We move forward to our next Committee Meeting, this Thursday. I'm thinking, sit-down meal, Ceilidh and then maybe a band, though we'd have to check the costs and also  make sure everybody could actually have the chance to talk !!


Still waiting to hear back from Charles about how to develop this blog. For the time being, there's not a lot being posted !!

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Not Exactly Going Like a Fair ...

Well, the blog/website is now more than a week old ... and not much is happening. I've come to a grinding halt, trying to set up the first page (Committee) and am desperate for some help from my technical guru, Mr. Sutherland !


In the meantime, replies to the original e-mail are still coming in, if only at a trickle as opposed to a torrent. Enough to be going on with at our next meeting on June 12th.


The exciting news is that we're about to be visited by Carol Kelly (or Carol Prescott as she was when at school). All I know so far about Carol is that she lives in South Africa, works for DeBeers Group and has at least a daughter and grandson. Much more will be revealed when a few of the committee meet Carol at the Kettlebridge Inn some time next week or maybe even on Sunday 8th June.


Please, please, please give us some good weather so that we can sit out in the beer garden without Carol freezing !!! Scottish summers are probably a bit like South African winters.