This was a splendid reunion! Great company, activities, hotel, and weather! Amazingly, we barely saw a cloud the entire weekend. But most importantly, it was a chance to meet with former colleagues and long-time friends. Despite the prophets of doom, on Friday 13th May, some 70 plus members of the British Chapter of the 1818 Society and their friends met in Winchester, the ‘City of Kings’ and the Saxon capital of England. Members travelled from around the UK, the Isle of Man, and also Finland, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA. We stayed in the Hotel Mercure Wessex, centrally located in the grounds of Winchester’s historic Cathedral.

The first day, members enjoyed walking tours of the centre of town – including the Great Hall where King Arthur’s ‘legendary’ table hangs, the famous Winchester Cathedral grounds, the historic medieval city gates, Winchester City Mill, St Swithun’s (England’s smallest church) and Winchester College, which has been educating boys continuously since around 1382! Other members enjoyed Evensong in the Cathedral with its magnificent male choir. Listening to the choir, one can only reflect on the lives of the young choristers who are scholarship ‘boarders’ in the Pilgrims School on the Cathedral grounds and are required to sing in six services a week. On Saturday, we ventured by bus and ferry across the Solent to the Isle of Wight where we visited Osborne House, the summer home of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and their nine children. Of Osborne House, Queen Victoria said “It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot” and few would disagree.

Described as a cottage, the house is in fact considerably larger than the White House. After being donated to the nation by her son, Edward, after her death, the House served as a convalescent home until the early 2000’s and has only recently been restored to its original state and opened to the public. On entering the front hall, one faces a canon – placed there at the Queen’s behest. Victorian humour perhaps?

Then we passed by the enormous collection of paintings and sculptures acquired by the royal couple in their personal capacity, then on to the Queen’s bedroom (and bathroom), the side by side desks of the Queen and Prince Albert and the magnificently restored Durbar room with the amazingly beautiful carved wood panels by Bhai Ram Singh. Indian décor was all the rage at the time. All enjoyed the recently opened Swiss Cottage, ‘built’ by Prince Albert as the children’s play house (read substantial, detached 3 BR house with multiple reception rooms and grounds).Prince Albert wanted the children to know how to survive and so here they learned to cook and sew, entertain and even garden. Each child had its own vegetable patch and wheelbarrow and grew identical crops – under the ‘supervision of their gardener’ which they then sold to Prince Albert at market prices.

But for many, the highlight of Osborne House was the Queen’s private beach and especially, her bathing machine. Prince Albert believed sea water to be healthy and encouraged the Queen to bathe. Apparently on the first occasion, especially, her bathing machine. Prince Albert believed sea water to be healthy and encouraged the Queen to bathe. Apparently on the first occasion, the Queen was delighted by the refreshing waters but felt suffocated when she put her head under water! Unlike most bathing machines of the era which were horse drawn, the Queen’s machine was drawn into the water by a series of winches. Having been used as a chicken shed until recently, this too has now been restored.

In the evening, following welcome cocktails, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner followed by Sir Sebastian Anstruther’s talk on the trials and tribulations of the recently established South Downs National Park, on which Winchester borders.

Sir Sebastian is a committed organic farmer with an estate nearby of some 3000 acres. It would have been interesting to spend more time discussing the issues of sustainability versus local development with the peer. Sunday morning – your hard-working Board met early to review and plan the past and coming year. This was followed by a re-assuring presentation by John Gandolfo and his team from HQ on the WBG pension plan (Click here to see the powerpoint presentation)*. Following this, Nicki Marrian warmly welcomed Inder Sud, the new 1818 President who briefed members on developments at HQ and his thoughts and plans for the 1818 Society in the near future. 

Eighty eight members and guests attended the reunion held in Dublin, including members from Britain, Ireland, the USA, the Netherlands, Germany and Finland. The reunion was held in Bewleys Hotel, Ballsbridge, a short distance from the city centre. The hotel, original parts of which formed the buildings of a former girls’ school, provided excellent facilities, food and service throughout the weekend.

On Friday afternoon three groups travelled in to Dublin for a guided walk of parts of Georgian Dublin. The guides, provided by Architecture Tours Ireland, provided detailed information about the development of the Georgian squares, focusing on Merrion Square. Unfortunately, the heavens opened so the tours were somewhat abbreviated.

On Saturday, in better weather, the three groups visited Trinity College Dublin for guided tours of the campus, led by post-graduate students. Detailed descriptions of the College buildings were combined with entertaining comments about past and recent developments. The tours were thoroughly enjoyed by all members.

A coach journey then took us south to Enniskerry and the Powerscourt Estate. A soup and sandwich lunch was provided by the Powerscourt Golf Club, a spectacularly beautiful course, though even the most avid golfers were astonished by the eye-watering cost of green fees, let alone membership.

The Powerscourt gardens lie a short walk from the golf club and members spent a leisurely couple of hours there, reputed to be one of the world’s top ten gardens.

A drive through the beautiful Wicklow mountains took us to Glendalough, the site of medieval monastic ruins, with an intact round tower, an iconic feature of many parts of Ireland. The towers were places of safety for the monks as the entry to the tower is many feet above the ground and accessible only by a long ladder. Once inside the tower, the ladder was hauled up leaving the monks safe.

Drinks receptions followed by dinner were arranged on both Friday and Saturday night. The Saturday dinner was held in the Prior Hall, a magnificent dining hall that was once the school assembly hall. Following dinner, the speaker was Professor Patrick Honohan, Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland who provided insights into past and future developments in the Irish economy.

On Sunday morning the British Chapter AGM was held followed by lunch. The reunion ended at 3.00 pm.

Some members arriving early or staying on after the reunion took the opportunity to explore parts of Dublin including the Guinness brewery and Temple Bar, these days more bar(s) than temple. Some took the commuter train that runs along the coast to both the north and south of the city. Others travelled further afield to see a bit more of Ireland.

Eighty five members and guests attended the 2014 reunion in Norwich, including visitors from Australia, Canada, France, The Netherlands, Germany and the USA. The reunion was held in the Maids Head Hotel, which provided four star accommodation in the city centre close to the Cathedral. The hotel is reputed to be the oldest in Britain, dating back to the 13 th Century; fortunately, there has been considerable modernisation since that time.

On Friday afternoon four separate groups were guided by Blue Badge Guides on a walking tour of the city. The tour took in many of the historic buildings, many dating back several hundred years. The Guides also provided insights into the history of Norwich visited and fought over by kings and noblemen. In medieval times, Norwich was second only to London with wealth generated from the wool trade.

On Saturday morning, most participants took the short coach trip to Wroxham where the party boarded the Belle of the Broads, a boat that provided plenty of space for all. Boating on the Broads is not a high speed adventure as all boats are restricted to less than 10 mph, but it did provide a peaceful way of seeing this large wetland area. The skipper of the Belle pointed out some of the most interesting features of the landscape and many birds, including a family of new born cygnets, countless ducks and ducklings and two families of the Great Crested Grebe that carry their chicks on their backs.

After lunch in Wroxham the group visited Blickling Estate, a magnificent National Trust property with the house dating from the 1600s. The gardens were in immaculate condition and the whole day was blessed with fine sunny weather.

There was a drinks reception followed by dinner in the hotel on both Friday and Saturday evenings, providing plenty of opportunity to meet with friends.

After dinner on Saturday, Dr. John Packman, the Chief Executive of the Broads Authority, outlined the strategies needed to combine conservation of this unique wetland with managing the area as one of Britain’s most popular tourist areas: all this in a framework of budgetary constraint.

On Sunday morning the 26 th AGM of the British Chapter was held, followed by lunch.

The reunion ended about 3.00 pm.

Forty two members and guests attended the reunion and Christmas lunch on 7 December 2013. The event was held at the Kingsley Thistle in Bloomsbury Way, London, a recently refurbished hotel. This was a new venue which provided good facilities and a light and spacious dining area. Members and guests enjoyed a traditional Christmas lunch, a glass or so of wine and excellent service. A number of members chose to stay overnight in the hotel, taking advantage of a special bed and breakfast offer.

Eighty two members and guests attended the 2013 reunion and AGM held in Plymouth from 10-12 May. Accommodation was in the Copthorne Hotel which provided excellent food and service.

The programme was developed with the help and local knowledge of John Russell and started on Friday afternoon with a boat tour of Plymouth Sound and the Dockyards along the estuary of the river Tamar.

Over 60 members and guests boarded the Plymouth Princess and Commander Andy Coles, the Executive Officer of HM Naval Base in Plymouth, joined the group and provided knowledgeable insights about the warships in dock and some of the difficulties of manoeuvring a large submarine in the narrow confines of the Tamar. The weather was typically grey and cold but rain held off until the return trip from under the new Tamar Bridge. After a drinks reception in the evening the hotel provided an excellent dinner after which Ian Martin, for many years a plant curator at the Eden Project, gave an introduction to the origins of the Project and its development.

On Saturday some 60 members and guests visited the Eden Project, about an hour’s journey to the west of Plymouth. The Eden Project is built in an old china clay quarry, where two huge biomes house wonderful collections of rainforest and Mediterranean plants, surrounded by stunning natural gardens and a modern education centre. Ian Martin welcomed the group and provided expert knowledge and a wealth of detail about the plant life as members found their way around the huge displays.

On return to the hotel, members and guests gathered for drinks and another excellent dinner. Commodore Graeme Little, Commanding Officer of HM Naval Base, and Mrs Little were guests and after dinner Commodore Little spoke of some of the strategic concerns and the challenges faced by Britain’s modern Royal Navy. His address was appreciated by all as it dealt with issues that are not familiar to many, if any, World Bank alumni.

The reunion ended on Sunday with the AGM followed by lunch.

Date: Saturday, 8 December, 2012

Time: 12:00 Noon

Place: Thistle Euston Hotel, Cardington Street, London, NW1 2L

Fifty four members and guests attended the reunion and Christmas lunch at The Thistle Hotel, Euston. The occasion started at 12 noon with a drinks reception followed by lunch in the Brasserie. The main course was buffet style with starters and desserts served at table, followed by coffee and mince pies. Party hats and crackers abounded. The photos show some of those attending in relaxed mood.

Tim Cullen from the Isle of Man has proposed some excellent ideas for the 2023 reunion in the Isle of Man. There are so many great options that we are looking into offering a longer event than usual; all 1818 members are warmly welcome, so make a note in your diaries for May 2023 and watch this space for details.