London / South Sections
Report on July Kent COBS Meeting
Click here to read the report of the July Kent COBS Meeting
July Kent COBS meeting
The next Kent KOBS meeting will be held on Wednesday 13th July 2011 at the Falstaff Hotel, St Dunstans Street, Canterbury CT2 8AF Tel (01227 463525) from 12:00 noon through to 3:00pm.
The meeting format will be similar to those of our last three meetings in Maidstone - Upon arrival at the Falstaff Hotel, go to the bar and ask for the special menu which will provide a limited range of sandwiches / snacks. Order your food and beverage, pay for it and then proceed into the dining room where the meeting will be held. Please can attendees wear identification tags showing their Name, House and School dates.
Holding this meeting in Canterbury will hopefully enable those members unable to travel to the west and centre of the county to join in. The venue is not far from Canterbury West Railway Station and approximately 10 minutes walk along the High Street, from the bus terminal. I thoroughly recommend using the Park and Ride system currently running in the city, it is reasonably priced and relatively hassle free. The Hotel car park can be accessed from North Lane near its junction with St Dunstans Road, but it should be noted that there is limited room in this car park hence the recommendation to use the park and ride
Kent C.O.B.s 3rd Meeting Report
Dear KOBs
I am presenting here an account of our third meeting held at the White Rabbit, Maidstone on the Wednesday 9th of March 2011.
The format was the same as before and the meeting was well attended by 19 OBs and I had received 8 apologies for absence. Unfortunately I heard the sad news that Tony Bent (MaA 47-55) who attended our first two meetings, sadly passed away in mid February, naturally we extend our condolences to his family.
I am pleased to report that Andrew Hobbs, a CHA board member, also attended and offered some very constructive input to our deliberations.
Fortunately the weather was pleasantly spring-like albeit a little on the cool side. At least for those enduring the privations of public transport it would have made their journeys more bearable.
Again this venue proved very popular. Favourable compliments on the drink, food and prices were made.
Those attending came from Ramsgate, Dover, Canterbury, Greenwich, Dartford, Tunbridge Wells, basically from all over the county. It was this extensive and diverse range of locations that brought home the immense size of the county of Kent. This in turn drove the tone of some discussions to focus on how we can best “spread” our meetings to the various areas of the county.
In tandem with this topic, discussions were directed at how to produce a meeting schedule and venue program that will include our younger working members who cannot get the time to attend meetings in the current format. The fact that the vast majority of KOBs are of working age is definitely not represented in those able to attend weekday lunches. In an effort to overcome this “generation” problem I propose that we have a Friday evening meeting in late June to take advantage of the extended daylight and at a time that will take the pressure off working people’s weekends. Obviously this meeting would not be exclusive to working OBs, everyone is welcome and that also includes spouses, partners and children. All I have to do now is come up with a venue! Suggestions please particularly from you OBs of the working generation.
The venues for our quarterly meetings were discussed and members have suggested a few alternatives ranging from the Meantime Brewery at Greenwich, the new Turner gallery at Margate, St Augustine Grange Ramsgate, Folkestone Roman Villa at East Cliff and the Falstaff Hotel in Canterbury. I am proposing that our next quarterly meeting will be held at the Falstaff Hotel Canterbury. The format will be the same as our current meetings and it will give those in the far east of the county a better chance to attend. The date is Wednesday 13th July 2011, time – 12:00 noon to 3:00pm. I shall confirm this within the next 4 weeks after having given the place a serious once over with Eddie Hardy, whose idea it was.
Another issue we discussed, albeit fairly briefly, was “Is there an appetite for a more formal evening meeting?”. The consensus was not an overwhelming support for the idea. This then lead into a discussion about other venues being used and a change in format for our meetings. One scenario put forward was for a venue to be chosen in such a location that people could attend the meeting and use parts of that day for local site seeing. Apparently this has been done in the past where members have very generously offered the use of their private gardens as a limited gathering point. The idea was that people could gather at the premises at pre determined times like 10am to 12 noon for morning coffee and possibly 3;00pm till 5:00pm for afternoon tea. The intervening period could be used to visit local places of interest or hostelries. Last August, Gilly Wilford suggested the garden format, however neither of us have had the opportunity to follow it up.
Other suggestions have been to meet up or have organised outings at places of interest some of which included the odd brewery (thanks Keith Mills). These venues sound great but what we have to bear in mind is transport and access.
Andrew Hobbs reminded the meeting that CH itself could be used as a meeting point and Trevor Knapp suggested possibly marrying an event up with founders day.
What seems to be coming out of our discussions is a plethora of ideas all of them very good and constructive. Combining these ideas with the logistics of accessing each location seems at first to be as daunting as knitting fog. However the fact that you, the members, are responding to my requests for suggestions and ideas spurs me on to achieving our goals.
Whilst this report has been dominated with our discussions relating to meeting venues, the main aim of our get together, a unique type of social event, was a great success. People got together at tables and conversed vigorously on all ranges of subjects and it was great to witness the uninhibited social interaction that was present throughout the room.
At this point I should like to take issue with one remark I received. When I stood up to speak to the meeting I used a wooden spoon as a gavel and gave three sharp knocks on a table top to bring the meeting to order. Three gentlemen immediately said “Grace” however another said “Pongo - Littlefield”. Those of you from Horsham and of a certain era, I think will understand my ire!! Thankfully the CH sense of humour is definitely still with us.
Please accept my thanks for your attendance and support and don’t forget to keep coming up with ideas.
Until our next meeting
Regards
Richard Briggs
Report of the second meeting, 4th November 2010
Dear KOBs
I am, at last, producing an account of our second meeting which was held on Thursday the 4th November at The White Rabbit, Maidstone.
I should at this point make it clear that I was unable to attend the meeting as a last minute business commitment prevented me attending. However I am extremely grateful to Susan Savva who stood in for me at very short notice and carried off the organisation of the event in brilliant fashion.
We had a total of 22 attendees with some of those present being first-timers however that does not diminish the efforts of those who attended for a second time. As was the case for our first meeting I had about 15 communications from people who were unable to attend but wished us all the best.
The venue of the White Rabbit, once again served the meeting extremely well.
The meeting point venue became a discussion point in itself. The venue, whilst located adjacent to a prime public transport network in the centre of Kent is causing difficulties for some people to attend, notably for those living either in the far east of the county or those in the southeast London area. Offers were made by some attendees to identify possible venues in the two areas of the county most remote from the centre. I would like to take this opportunity to ask everyone to get involved in this and please get back to me ASAP with possible venues. I don’t know the areas concerned so local knowledge is going to be essential. I’m happy to investigate suggestions – I don’t need much of an excuse for a pint!!
The meeting discussed differing formats of venue and I have already received offers from Gilly Willford re the use of her garden and also John Howe has offered us the use of his Turkey farm. I want to explore these offers further as I have concerns relating to catering and access. However neither of these factors should preclude us from developing these ideas. Again offers of a “private” venue, from any KOB, will be much appreciated.
Discussions relating to holding meetings at times more convenient for our younger working members took place. Suggestions relating to a Saturday meeting or alternatively an early evening meeting in a pub / restaurant early in the week were put forward. No decisions were made at the meeting so again can I appeal to those of you who are working and would like a meeting timed with you in mind come back to me with suggestions.
There was considerable support for us to do as some other sections, and have an outing. Fortunately we have amongst us David Paten who has kicked things off with the suggestion of a visit to the Roman Villa at Folkestone. There is a strong CH link here, as the site was first excavated, in 1924, by Samuel Winbolt, a CH classics master. Susan has passed to me some of David’s literature and I shall be linking up with David to explore this opportunity. The most likely time for a visit would be late September. Another suggestion would be a visit to CH as an outing venue. Anyway if there are any other suggestions it will good to hear from you.
There was discussion re the timetable for our 3rd meeting and a speculative date put forward was Wednesday 9th March 2011 at the White Rabbit. Susan tried to make a provisional booking then & there, unfortunately that was not possible as the venue have not yet obtained a 2011 diary. Please note that just because we have identified a provisional next meeting date at the same venue, that does not preclude us from changing it, particularly if someone comes up with an alternative.
Even though I was unable to be at the meeting I am pleased to note that it was a success. Certainly my optimism of last July where I hoped for 50+ attendees did not materialise however I am not using that as the sole bench-mark of our achievements thus far.
Please continue to communicate your thoughts and ideas and I look forward to hearing from you over the winter.
So I shall wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Regards
Richard Briggs
First meeting, 27th July 2010
Click here to read the report and here to see the photographs
Dear Old Blues (COBS),
I am writing to you as the new Secretary of the Kent Section of the CHA (COBS). I have agreed to take up the baton passed to me by my predecessor Geoffrey Tillotson. I hope that with your approval and help, together we can revive this section of the CHA.
Perhaps I should introduce myself.
- I originally hail from near Arundel in West Sussex.
- I was in Housey from September 1960 through to July 1967.
- I started in Prep A and in 1963 went up to Peele A.
My time at CH as not crowned with any academic prowess in fact to the contrary, my performance was so limited, that I left before being “asked” to leave.
However I am proud to have been at CH because it taught me a great deal about the attributes of life particularly in the areas of self discipline, consideration of others and the projection of ones self as a contributing member of society.
My immediate post-CH time saw me finish full time education and then drift through a number of jobs until I joined the Scientific Civil Service (MoD) in 1973.
Ironically this posting was to a base just north of Horsham at Langhurst.
I joined as a Photographer and underwent intensive vocational training and external education. This path eventually lead me into a formal science based role, which I still hold albeit within a now privatised arm of the defence industry.
I, along with my family, moved to Kent in 1977 when the Petroleum Warfare Establishment at Langhurst closed, and have been based just outside Sevenoaks ever since.
I am married to Stephanie and as we approach our 38th wedding anniversary are the proud parents of three and grandparents of a further three.
My personal interests include photography, fly fishing, walking and foreign travel.
I would welcome any contacts with Old Blues from Kent and its surroundings and am open to suggestions and ideas on how to proceed with the revitalisation of this section of the CHA. We have recently conducted a postal survey of members and have received over 50 responses. This is a very encouraging start. I see COBs as being there to respond to members wishes and can only do so with your input.
I can be reached directly by email (above) or via the CHA centrally.
Yours sincerely,
Richard I. Briggs
