The 1970s Decade Reunion Report
Saturday 4 October 2003
Musings of the 70s decade representative
When the decade reunions were suggested as part of the 150th celebrations I suddenly panicked. I had never been to any reunion; perhaps I had even avoided them. I am not even very good at organising parties but when I was assured that all that was asked of me as a Guild decade representative was some help in making contact with old girls I thought of Friends Reunited and breathed a sigh of relief
Approximately 250 emails later not only had I a respectable contact list but I also had identified a few men who had got onto the wrong school list and reunited some old boyfriends who enlisted my help from reading the reunion notice board!
Our final acceptance list had 344 old girls and a smattering of husbands. From a personal point of view I contacted twelve out of a possible sixteen friends from my year in Farnley eight of whom I had not spoken to for thirty two years, and eleven of whom were coming to Cheltenham. The anticipation of excitement grew hourly!
My first impression was what a noise we all made. Unfortunately I was unable to look around the room and instantly recognise faces but I noticed a lot of people studying name badges before looking up with a smile of recognition, so I think I was not alone. Some people I had forgotten suddenly looked out of my photographs at me when I got home. Others, unforgettable friends, had not changed at all!
At 10.00 the hall filled with vast numbers of first years to take us on tours of College. They were obviously keen to show us their own class rooms and the new and fashionable parts of the school including the very impressive art and technology wing but they were equally happy to be led by us and to listen to our stories. Quite who was leading who became a bit blurred but great fun was had by all. I only just had enough time to pay a fleeting visit to the archives, so beautifully laid out. It is always nice to see that your era has gone down in history even if it is a very personal history.
One of the greatest pleasures of the afternoon was the visit to Farnley Despite the refurbishment it had not really changed. There was a strong sense of belonging but I was not sure whether I felt I belonged to Farnley or Farnley belonged to me.
I have made new friends by coming along to Guild meetings and our Reunion but best of all I have regained some precious old ones too. I think, with the help of everyone in CLC today, Guild may have arrived in the 2 1st Century after all.
Anne Perkins (Thornberry)