Some months before this event, I dined with the Worshipful Company of Weavers, courtesy of Mark Yeandle. There I met some of the grandees of the Worshipful Company of Saddlers, who seemed delighted to meet me in my capacity as an Alleyn’s School Saddlers’ Scholar. I got the impression that they had never met a real live scholar of theirs before.
So when, a few months later, I received an invitation to dine with the Saddlers’ at a gathering of Saddlers’ Scholars from across the years, I thought that my chance encounter at the Weavers’ dinner might have kicked something off. In any case, it would have seemed churlish and even a little rude to say no; the Saddlers had paid all my Alleyn’s School fees for seven years.
Actually I was glad I went along. I met quite a few old friends from school, in particular several who had been with me in form 1S, where I believe in those days they had congregated that year’s scholars.
Seeing those people again after all that time years made me realise that, as the years go on, I have more in common with my old contemporaries than I have with most of my staff and work colleagues, most of whom are now quite a bit younger than me.
So in many ways it was this evening that spurred me into, subsequently, reconnecting with several people from the old school crowd. Rohan Candappa is one example who rapidly springs to mind, with whom I have kept in touch since – leading to stuff like:
- Rohan previewing his extraordinary monologue How I Said ‘F*** You’ To The Company When They Tried To Make Me Redundant at the Z/Yen offices – click here;
- Chris Grant’s superb Too Cool For School Edward Alleyn Club Dinner in November 2016 – click here.
Hats off to the Saddlers’ for their part in reuniting some of us and helping to make that sort of thing happen.
Naturally it was a fine meal with excellent wine. Naturally there were lots of speeches, although mercifully not interminably long ones.
Naturally a few of us went for a quick decompress in a nearby bar before parting company that evening.