Tuesday 19 October 2021
OH in London Autumn Lunch
After a gap of 2 years, we were finally able to meet up again at our customary venue Doggett’s Coat & Badge located on the south bank of the Thames next to Blackfriars Bridge, SE1 and close to TATE Modern, known as Bankside. This particular event represented the 15th lunchtime gathering of OH’s since we began staging such reunions in 2006.We managed to reserve our usual private room called The Terrace Bar upstairs on the top floor of this Nicholsons pub, complete with its own open-air balcony overlooking the river. The reunion took place on TUESDAY 19th OCTOBER 2021 as from 11.30am and a generous buffet was served after 1.15pm. Because the weather was mild, guests were thus able to wander outside and take advantage of commanding views across to St. Paul’s Cathedral and the City environs beyond.We were initially expecting 24 people to arrive, which was quite encouraging given the problems facing Britain and the wider world as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately several had to cancel at the last minute for personal or travel reasons, meaning that we were just NINETEEN on the day. The numbers were made up of 15 OHs, chiefly from the 1950’s & 1960’s HCS era, plus one chap who was in school in the 1980’s when the late Barry Sutton was Head. We welcomed 4 ladies as guests, including Claire Morgan-Jones & Helen Pearson from the Cathedral School Development Office. We were delighted to welcome for the first time Nicholas Martyn (OH 1988 to 1997) seen here on the left of this picture with spectacles. He is a solicitor who came over from his office across the other side of the river to join us. He even won a prize in the raffle which we normally stage but, alas left his gift behind before leaving the pub!!