A disrupted reunion

[andye]

All my own fault of course.

So now have a major logistical dilemma.

I need to get to the reunion (and I'd planned to be there by this time)

Most of the central London hire places are either closed or scary expensive (and Id still need to drop off prior to my departure on the Monday)

Paddington to Oxford is an easy train journey but I had planned to visit a really good friend in Sussex on the Sunday (and Oxford to Crawley is over 4 hours by train)

After sitting scrolling the phone (a bit tired and a bit hungover) outside Paddington station for over half an hour, I order a one-way from Green Motion LHR to Gatwick

Get on the Elizabeth Line again, amd catch an Uber from Hayes & Harlington

I've used Green Motion from LHR several times. Its a bit of a hike from the airport (in the grounds of Holiday Inn which now seems to be an asylum hotel) but they are significantly cheaper than the big chains. Haven't ever been ripped off by them either which is more than can be said for some of the others.

Its a Ford Puma not a Merc but it makes the scenic journey to Oxford well enough

 

[andye]

After a satnav stuff-up sends me to a dead end (made the mistake of entering the postcode rather than the address) I finally make it to the hotel

The Voco Oxford Thames is a good venue (not sure why Oxford as the Med School is in Paddington-presumably better value) Part of IHG and received Platinum benefits despite being on the organiser's discounted rate

(Stock photo above)

 

[andye]

Went for quick G&T at the nar and good to catch a few familiar faces. Most were already dressed for dinner and some had been staying from the previous night.

So back to the room. Had a good iron and board for the shirt

Somewhere in my youth, I've managed to be indoctrinated to consider ready-made bow-ties as not the done thing (possibly thinking the untied one at the end of the evening used to make you look irresistable)

Trouble is, I'm not the best at tying them. And the one I'd brought was on the short side. So, under a little time pressure, was wrestling with this titchy tie and my fat neck, with mirrors in all the wrong places and working up a bit of a sweat.

All done in the end

 

[andye]

The most common question I was asked was "Have you come for the day again?" as on our last reunion, I did just that (TR below)

Thread 'Last minute points trip to London'

Jul 5, 2019

I'd known about my Medical School 25th Reunion for about 6 months. However,leave, on-call commitments and maybe a bit of reunion anxiety made me say no to the invitation.
Still it was nagging away at me, all those old friends (almost all lost to follow up), memories of life age 18-24 and the general fear of missing out.
So on Monday I finally started checking out feasibility. As a start there were 2 MXP-HKG J fares available-maybe it was possible?

• andye
• Replies: 38
• Forum: Trip Reports

• 
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Second-time round, the pre-reunion nerves were much less.

Our London med school was not the typical uni experience.

It was a small place (110 per year) not really geographically located near any of the rest of the University and we mostly kept to ourselves. About 2/3 of the year lived in the same hall of residence in the first year. It did mean we knew almost everyone and ended up quite close-knit. There were very few secrets.

It was a pretty good show that nearly 40 (plus a few +1s from other years or non-medics) turned out.

Rugby was a big deal when I was there. Med schools were some of the oldest rugby clubs (ours founded in 1870s) and the Hospitals' Cup is (along with the Sydney Shute Shield) the oldest continually running competition.

The days when the Hospital was playing first-class games had long gone but we still had a fixture against Cambridge (5000 students vs 550) in which we were competitive when I was there.

It used to be said that they threw you a rugby ball at interview and coupled with being located at the terminus for trains from Wales, meant that there were many former team-mates at the do.

It was nice to find a pic when I was fit and had hair

 

[andye]

It wasnt just the rugby boys of course. The girls (I say girls as many of them barely seemed to have aged a bit) were all on good form too.

I had sustained a bit of good-natured teasing from the fabulous mrsandye (who had been invited and declined) that I was only attending to see my ex-girlfriend. I have chosen wisely but it was still good to catch up on each others' and our families' lives, trials and tribulations

It's the nature of reunions that the people who attend are likely to have enjoyed their time at the institution and to be doing ok in later life, but it didn't seem like the travails of the NHS were treating people too badly.

A few had become grandparents and some very distinguished in their field but everyone's personalities were all just the same as in our teens and 20s. We declared our approval for the system when we started of not needing the highest high school grades to get in and there was much talk of being glad that phone cameras were not a thing back then.

There was probably more talk than six years ago about collective mental health (and medicine can be a tough gig both as junior and senior) but maybe that was because we were more relaxed back together this time.

 

[andye]

I get a bit of kudos for making the trip from down-under (three of us did) but the real plaudits should go to the organiser who is based in NZ.

Food was decent enough..


..and you can usually fill a dance-floor in these sort of events (seems to be easier when youngsters arent around; school parents' socials are anothee one where no-one needs dragging up).

I manage to surpass my previous feat of stamina and am in the last few people going to bed at 5 am (deep in discussion with an older year +1 who also went to my school and had some very interesting tales to tell of the young Nigel Farage).

 

[andye]

But unlike last time didnt make it to breakfast (forgot to charge phone) so only got to say goodbyes online.
Reception accommodating about late checkout.
It wss a definite success with plans for another one...and possibly an antipodean one in the interim for those of us in the southern hemisphere

 

[andye]

And so to set off for Sussex.

Longish drive (by UK standards) and around the M25 with a few go-slows

Drop into Crawley to return suit and pick up some wine and flowers (no proper florists open on Sunday so not the best)

The Green Motion LGW drop-off looks like a farm but reasonably efficient. Forgot to fill up with fuel as running a bit late.

AF is one of my greatest friends, meeting at age 11. We were both from fairly modest backgrounds in unsalubrious suburbs and were in our big posh school on scholarships/bursaries. His (slightly sterotypically Irish) dad taught us how to drink and play darts in the pubs of Peckham. I try to drop in on him and his family when I can. He won't be visiting us as he has a flying phobia.

He started out work as a drug rep, trudging the GP surgeries but eventually rose through the management ranks. He and his wife then started a clinical trials consultancy business which worked out very well for them.

They now live in a wing of a country mansion (which we all call a castle), with shared acreage, lake and forest.They have converted the cellars into their main living area, presumably as the rest of the house costs so much to heat.

 

[andye]

After catching up on our families' lives and assorted ailments, take the train back to London Bridge.

There is a bit of a wait for the next bus to mumandye's so I stop off for a Guinness at one of my favourite pubs, The George in Southwark.

It's a old coaching inn originally built in the 1600s . The courtyard is a good place to be, seeping in the history

The George Inn, Southwark - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[andye]

Following day was the start of my return trip.

LCY is a pretty easy airport to depart from so I hadnt planned on getting there too early.

I was just on a zoom to attend a rather testy Medical Staff Council meeting, when I received a call from Cathay to say my HKG-SYD flight had been cancelled.

I'd only vaguely noticed any news about the typhoon but the rescheduled flight was for 2 weeks later.

I obviously wanted to get back to family and I like to think I'm quite useful at work but, more imporatantly, mstrandye3 was going to be announced as school vice-captain or captain the morning after my planned arrival date.

Tricky..

And then Qatar call to say my BER-DOH-HKG flight has been cancelled too!