Peter’s Hospital Diary

And indeed it is a lovely day here. I was up early this morning to take Rachael to work (Felicity is now in London, so we are ‘home alone’) and it was (and is) a lovely morning – improved by the consumption of the inevitable bacon sarnie!

However the highlight of the weekend was a visit by some old school friends! To put things in context, about 15 years ago (after a suitable lapse of time since leaving school) I joined the ‘Old Boys’ Association’, partly out of a sense of nostalgia (which isn’t what it used to be) and partly curiosity – just what were the people I grew up with like now?

The main event of the Association is the annual dinner, when we all get together at the school, reminisce about basher Bloggs and his prowess at throwing board rubbers at dozy pupils, and kid ourselves that we haven’t changed a bit, and that we are as vigorous and youthful as we were xxx years ago. At first my year was noticeably absent, but since the early 1990s, the numbers have grown and we now get a good group together.

My treatment precluded me from attending last year, so I had hoped to go this October. However after the grim news in January, it seemed that not only would I not be attending this year, but probably never again, and I sent a sad e mail to the guy organising our year table.

Back came the response “If you won’t be able to come to us, we’ll come to you” and a plan was hatched for a group to travel down to see me. Well, as things turned out, the grim news proved to be exaggerated, but the plan remained, and yesterday four friends turned up (some I hadn’t seen since I left school) and out we went. We had a great time, but one of the nicest things was that it wasn’t just reminiscences about the past, but also an exchange of contemporary life too. However the banter was still there! It was a great day, boys, thank you! (And good luck with the book, Gary!) Anyway, the photo shows Me, Steve, Bill, Clive and Gary back at my house after lunch.

Onwards and upwards!