House and Ward Associations
Old 4’s Association
Old 4's Reunion Lunch
Old 4’s reunion lunch will be held in London on Thursday, 12th May. For details, please contact Hazel Ingram, 020 8870 5413 or email her at hazelingramh@o2.co.uk
Feb 2010 Newsletter
From Miss Hazel Ingram & Mrs. Jennifer Thompson
hazelingramh@o2.co.uk
Dear Old Four,
We have pleasure in enclosing your invitation for the 2010 Old Fours’ Reunion Tea. We realise that even more of you are now unable to travel to London, but we thought that you would still like to be kept in touch with Old Fours. Many of you write to say how much you appreciate the newsletter.
You may have noticed that the reunion is being held back in the smaller Vaughan Room, which has been redecorated and recarpeted. We’ll try to bring you up to date with Old 4’s reunions!!! It is rather a muddled story! Janet Stone, 45-51, was chatting with Jo Probert, 3’s, soon after the tea was cancelled last year, and they wondered about amalgamating 3’s and 4’s reunions. Many of you were mailed with this suggestion at the same time as the news of the death of Joan Clark, Ward Mistress 1950-90, was sent. All those who replied were in favour, if this meant the continuation of 4’s reunions. We contacted Shirley Hammond, who was running Old 3’s, and suggested that we joined together. She said that she would think about it and would ask her members. We heard nothing from Shirley, and then read in The Old Blue that Old 3’s should contact Jackie Rolf. We contacted Jackie who said that Shirley still had the list of names and addresses. When we tried to book the larger room at Christ Church we learned that it is now booked every Saturday afternoon, and so we had to book the smaller room. This smaller room is obviously too small for both 3’s and 4’s, and so we are back to just 4’s for this year!! Incidentally, we sent £80 to the BSB after last year’s finances were sorted out.
NEWS: Please send us your news to be included in the post-tea newsletter. Let us know if you have met with any Old 4’s during the past year. Several Old 4’s met at the C.H. Concert at St John’s, Smith Square this month.
Helen Petter (nee Timms, 43-52) sang with her choir in two broadcasts of Songs of Praise from St. George’s Chapel, Windsor – one in Spring and one in Autumn last year – but they were filmed at the same time!Can you spot Helen?! She is dressed in blue. >>>
OFFSPRING: 4’s ofspring have been well represented in the media again. One of Anne MacConnell’s (nee Vergette, 36-42) sons has again been showing his expert knowledge of glass on The Antiques’ Road Show. He told one amazed lady that her umbrella stand was a Lalique vase worth £5000! When the programme came from Bath’s Assembly rooms, he valued a large, communal German beer glass at £2,000. Andree Price’s (nee Evans, 42-49) daughter Clare, besides appearing in repeats of ‘Poirot’, ‘Rosemary & Thyme’, and ‘Rebus’ on TV, played Elizabeth 1 in a theatre production of ‘Mary Stuart’
NEWS FROM ABROAD: Rosemarie Eccleston, 56-62, is putting her house in Canada on the market and returning to live in the U.K. She is looking for a house in Hay-on-Wye to begin with. Last June she attended the Eastern Region Old Blues’ Reunion in Kingston, Ontario. Astrid Montford (nee Connolly, 48-56) spent a month in Hawaii last year with her daughter Robyn. The photo at the beginning of this letter shows Astrid and Robyn in front of Robyn’s photographic exhibition, in Honolulu in August, 2009. Astrid is now staying with her mother in Denmark for three months, while her niece – her brother Anthony’s youngest daughter – stays in Astrid’s unit in Australia. Margaret Nikodim-Tyrer (nee Mardy Tyrer) will be in London this month at a reunion at University College Hospital, staying at The Royal College of Surgeons.
DEATHS: It is with great sadness that we report the death of Kathleen Stewart-Smith, (nee Ffinch, 1916-25) on 24.11.09, at the age of 102.
We hope that many of you will be able to come to this year’s Tea. Old Blues Day is the following Saturday – 24th. Whether you are able to attend or not, please send us your news and photos. Please do not stick stamps to the reply slip. The Post Office is using a different glue/design to prevent the re-use of unfranked stamps, and it is impossible to remove them from the paper. Many of you have written to say how much you enjoy the newsletter, but it can only happen if you send in your news and photos.!!
With our very best wishes,
Hazel Ingram, 1950 –57 & Jennifer Thompson, nee Butcher, 1951-57
Old 4’s Association
Old 4’s meet for a Reunion Tea every April in London. Invitations are sent out in February, together with a Newsletter containing news and photos sent in during the year. A further Newsletter, with news and photos sent by those replying to the invitations, is given to those attending the Tea, and is later posted – or emailed – to those who are unable to attend.
Small groups of Old 4’s often meet for lunch before going on to the Tea. Before the last Tea – April 2005 – Emma Hough (nee Ireson) 1977–82, took her daughter, Georgina, to Tate Modern. Georgina and Emma are seen here on the right at the Tea, with, from left to right, Elisabeth Mobbs, 1946–53, and Rosemarie Varley, (nee Snow) 1948–56.
Elisabeth Mobbs ran Old 4’s for many years until she retired to live on the Isle of Arran. In September 2001, several Old 4’s went to stay with Elisabeth, and while they were there, Hazel Ingram, 1950–57, and Jennifer Thompson, (nee Butcher) 1951–57, decided to take over the running of Old 4’s.
If any Old 4 is currently not on the Old 4’s Database and would like an invitation to next year’s Tea, she should contact either Hazel or Jennifer on the details below.
30 Old 4’s attended their annual reunion tea in London on 28th April, 2007. This photo shows some of the early arrivals, enjoying the sunshine and catching up with everyone’s news, before they went inside to quench their thirst!
This photo of Alison Howard (nee Birkett, 48-56) on the left, with her School-child, Marilyn Bazely (nee Butcher, 52-58) was taken at the Old 4's reunion on 1st April, 2006: and shows how far ahead Hertford was compared with America whose buddy system was only introduced recently.
Email Hazel Ingram, telephone 0208 870 5413, or write to Hazel at: 40 Coleman Court, Kimber Road, London SW18 4PA.
Telephone Jennifer Thompson on 01491 839 562 or write to: 18 Egerton Road, Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 0HL.