Reunion at Mary Hare School - July 2006
Weather wise, the morning of July 1st was the perfect choice. The sun was shining and all of the guests arriving had a smile on their face and after months of planning the committee was ready to go, perfect! Guests came with their family or friends, some from America, Canada and even Australia. There was an instant mix of people at the reunion, but the award for getting the most people together from one year slot has got to be the 1972 group!
The welcome speeches took place in the new 250-seat auditorium in the new Arlington Arts Centre. Joining Simone Goldberg in welcoming the guests to the very first reunion for a very long time was Mr Martin Mays-Smith from the Board of Governors and Tony Shaw, the Principal.
Following the speeches, guests were able to join tours of the schools and its facilities led by current teachers who joined us, whilst others headed off to lunch in the conservatory with marquees on the lawn. Lunch was superb, beautifully prepared by the Mary Hare catering team who, in addition, had to make food for all the pupils in school for the last weekend before the end of the summer term. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.
The rest of the day was spent catching up with long lost friends, wandering around the grounds and chatting to former and current teachers - we were delighted by a surprise visit by former staff member Mrs Clews. The day ended with tea and cake - the 60th anniversay cake was fantastic, hand decorated by Moyra Atkinson, the school's Domestic Bursar. It featured the three different logos of Mary Hare from its beginning to the present day.
We would like to express a huge amount of thanks to Moyra and her staff for making such a wonderful spread for lunch and thanks also to the staff who came in and opened their departments, led tours and supported the day in some way. Last, but not least, thanks to all our volunteers - it could not have been done without you.
For those of you that came, thank you for making the day a special one, it was a pleasure having you. The only hiccup was when one senior member of the committee left his car keys in a locked car. Anyway, that's another story....
Simone Goldberg and the Mary Hare Alumni Association Committee
Previews of photos of the day are available on the download on the left. For full size copies or further information please visit www.janeatkinsonphotography.co.uk
