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Annual Dinner: 20th November 2010 at Galpharm Stadium
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2010 DINNER
The 2010 Annual Dinner of the Old Almondburians’ Society will take place at the Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield on Saturday, 20th
November 2010. Tickets cost
£25.00.
2009 DINNER
The 2009 Annual Dinner of the Old Almondburians’ Society was held in the Banqueting Suite at the Galpharm Stadium on Saturday,
21st November. We possibly suffered a
‘hangover’ as a result of last year’s fantastic gathering of 400 Almondburians to celebrate 400 years of our Royal
Charter, because this year
’s attendance was a very disappointing 85, the second lowest attendance for very
many years. Those who did attend included an excellent turnout of 12 members of
the Class of 1947, so come on you other years! Those attending travelled from
as far away as Germany, as well as all over the United Kingdom, and they
spanned over sixty years at the school, from entry in 1936 right up to those
who left in 1996 plus, of course, the current Head Boy, Head Girl and Deputy
Head Boys and Deputy Head Girls, as well as nine former and current members of
staff.
We dined on cream of leek and potato soup with chopped chives, honey and thyme
roasted pork loin steak with grilled apple, sage gravy, Dauphinoise potatoes
and roasted vegetables, toffee and pecan nut cheesecake with fruit coulis and
white chocolate fondant and tea or coffee and crisp mints. The food was
excellent and a number of people remarked that they thought this was the best
meal that we
’d ever had at an Old Almondburians’ Dinner.
Following the meal, the Chairman gave the answers to the table quiz that he had
set and this was won by the 1950-55 table. The toast to the School was
proposed, as entertainingly as ever, by Jack Taylor, and the excellent response
came from the current Head Boy, Akash Bhalla. This year
’s dinner was a break with tradition in that we had only two speeches instead of
the usual four. However, this meant that the formal part of the evening was
concluded by 9.45 pm and there were two hours afterwards for people to mingle,
chat and reminisce, which is what the evening is all about really, and it
seemed to work really well. As a result, despite the poor turnout, this year
’s Annual Dinner can safely be regarded as one of the better ones, indeed, as a
great success and it was enjoyed very much, I am sure, by everyone who was
there.
The current Deputy Headmaster, Patrick O’Brien, has indicated his intention to retire in the summer after 38 years of
loyal service to the school, as has Walter Raleigh. Both will be guests of
honour at next year
’s dinner and I am sure that there are many of their former pupils who will want
to attend to wish them well. The 2010 Annual Dinner will take place at the same
venue on Saturday, 20th November, so please put the date in your diary now to
make sure that you don
’t miss out on a great evening.
FOUNDERS’ DAY 2009
At 11.00 am on Sunday 22nd November, a hardy group of Old Almondburians gathered at the School under the
traditional drizzle to continue the revival of the Founders
’ Day practice of walking up St Helen’s Gate for a service at All Hallows Church. Commemoration of Founders’ Day had lapsed in recent years but was resumed as part of the 400th anniversary
celebrations in 2008.
The School was represented by the Head Boy and Girl, Akash Bhalla and Alice
Dewhirst, and their deputies, as well as by Patrick O
’Brien; and Jack Taylor and Dave Bush were also there to relive an experience
once such a regular feature of their annual routine. Readings from the Bible
were given by the Head Boy and Girl, and your Chairman had the opportunity to
read prayers from the School statutes preserved by Harry Taylor in a notebook
in his own handwriting. The Rector of All Hallows, Rev Dennis Handley, in his
address noted that a happy and sound schooling, such as has been and is still
provided by King James
’s, is an advantage that lasts a lifetime. The service ended with the traditional
renditions of
For All the Saints and the School Song.
The Church provided refreshments afterwards, and just about everyone stayed to
talk. Writing as someone who always thought Founders
’ Day a bit of a burden and would have got out of it as a schoolboy if I’d dared, I was surprised how heartening and enjoyable I found the experience. My
old friend and contemporary Nicholas Ainley, forced into attending only by the
fact of being my house guest at the time, felt the same about it, as did
everyone I spoke to after the service.
The Society’s thanks go to Rev Dennis Handley and his team, who readily agreed to put on
this extra event in addition to their normal Sunday morning Matins. We hope
that more Almondburians will wish to attend the 2010 service on 21st November,
the day after the Annual Dinner as usual.
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