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.

The annual Spring Reunion and AGM were held this year in Llandudno, North Wales, established by the Mostyn family as a Victorian seaside resort. Sixty nine members and guests attended, including visitors from the Netherlands, France, Germany and the USA. The reunion was held at the St. George’s Hotel, located on the esplanade and overlooking a wide beach; it was one of the first hotels to be built in the town and boasted of a new invention – a lift. Today, the recently renovated hotel has elegant function rooms and comfortable bedrooms and provided an excellent venue.

The programme of activities was developed with the help and local knowledge of John and Monica Peberdy, who live in Anglesey not far from Llandudno. On Friday afternoon, after check in, a group of about 40 took Britain’s only cable tramway to the summit of the Great Orme, a rocky promontory rising to about 500 feet (150 meters) above the town. Blessed with a fine afternoon there were clear 360 degree views from the top. There is a Bronze Age copper mine on the Great Orme and the more energetic stopped to explore the mine before walking to the summit. Members who did not take the tram had a guided walk around the town with a very knowledgeable guide, who not only pointed out buildings of interest but provided a good summary of the development of the town.

On Saturday the sun shone all day so the weather for a visit to Bodnant Gardens, a nearby National Trust garden, could not have been better. Rhododendrons and azaleas were a blaze of colour providing a stunning contrast to mature trees that opened vistas to the background of mountains.

Members at Bodnant Gardens

There was a brief stop for lunch in Betws y Coed, a town famous as a base for climbers preparing for the high peaks in the Himalayas. Most members took the opportunity to view a short film of a flight over Snowdonia as seen by a peregrine falcon. The coach then took us over the Llanberis Pass, a narrow route through the northern part of Snowdonia.The next stop was at the National Slate Museum. Slate was an important industry in the 19 th century, with Welsh slate exported all over the world. The museum sets out some of this history but the highlight of the visit was a demonstration of slate splitting, done by hand in the traditional way. The demonstrator was not only remarkably skilful, but had an entertaining sense of humour.

Receptions and dinners on both Friday and Saturday nights provided plenty of opportunity to catch up with news of old friends. On Saturday night Dr. Robert Jones provided a programme of magic, illusions and mind-reading that kept us all amazed. His expertise as a magician has been recognized by the British Magic Circle, all the more amazing because Dr. Jones’ day job is as a dentist.

The more formal business of the weekend was discussed at the AGM, held on Sunday morning. Mick Nightingale stood down as Chairman of the British Chapter and the meeting applauded his many years of service to the Society. For the next year his place is taken by Alan Roe. Two new Board members were elected: Evelyn Watson and George Faillace.