School House Lunch 2023

Thank you so much to OV Tim Wadsworth (S 56-61) who not only arranges the School House Lunch, but also provided this wonderful overview of their most recent reunion, held on Monday 2nd October 2023:

“The annual School House Lunch for the “70-ish”, was held at the RAF Club in Piccadilly, made possible by David Murray (S 45-61), a member of the club, who very kindly hosted us,. We were 17 of us in all, which, although several first-timers attended, was fewer than usual.

“We were able to welcome again two Hon OVs, Rory McTurk and Galen Bartholomew (former KSW Bursar), and two friends of School House from Creighton (the lunch is not exclusive) Malcolm Joyner (Cr 44-52) and Mike Page (Cr 60-65). Others attending were: Martin Lorenz (S 45-50), George Beckmann (S 49-51), Robert Spier (S 45-55), David Gregory (S 50-58), Brian Jones (S 49-58), Arthur Brazel ( S 56-60), Tim Wadsworth (S 56-61), Christopher Hodson (S 55-65), and, for the first time, Mike Spencer (S 50-60), Graham Wright (S 52-61), Roger Coulter (S 60-64) and Stephen Coulter (S 57-66).

“Many had sent their apologies and best wishes; a frequent reason for not being able to attend was infirmity – we are now 80-ish rather than 70-ish! – combined with, in these times, the lottery and difficulty of travel. We remembered those who were unable to attend for various reasons, and also, sadly, Jonathan Raban (S 53-58), the acclaimed author, who died earlier this year.

“Before we sat down to our excellent meal, we sang the School House Grace, ably led by David Murray; a crib was supplied for those whose Latin was a little hazy after 60 years. During the meal, Christopher Hodson proposed a toast to School House and Dan McTurk; Tim Wadsworth proposed a toast to Absent Friends; and Rory McTurk graciously thanked the organiser of the lunch.

“As ever, it was pleasure to reminisce about shared youthful experiences of over 50 years ago and to catch up on whole lifetimes.

“The new venue proved to be excellent, with a first-class menu, and we are very grateful to David Murray for enabling it. Many thanks to Martin Lorenz for many photographs, and we are also grateful for the support of the KSW Alumni Office.”

Photos courtesy of Martin Lorenz and Stephen Coulter