Reunion news

CLASS of ’88 REUNION by Paul Slater

 

A few years back 3 or 4 of us thought it would be nice to head back over to HK & take in the Rugby Sevens. We thought about '06, '07 and finally decided on '08 as it would be 20 years since we all finished Upper 6.  This was around the same time that Facebook began to appear on our horizons as more than just a gimmicky web tool. I created a KGV Class of 1988 group, invited a number of known friends as well as raided the emails from the KGV Alumni website. Within a few weeks we had grown to a membership of around 30-40 people.  Needless to say peoples' enthusiasm spread like wildfire. Old classmates not seen or heard of in 20-25 years came out of the woodwork - it was simply amazing! We had folks from the UK, US, Oz, NZ, Singapore, as well as a strong contingent who remained in HK.

The next stage was to try and put together an agenda.  Adam Longworth and I - the chief instigators - were both in the UK.  We had a fair idea of what to do and places we wanted to visit. The KGV school term & the Rugby 7s coincided very well with school reforming on Monday 31st March following the Easter break.

So there we were everyone at different corners of the world but all eager to head for HK. For some it was the first time at Chep Lap Kok airport on Lantau! It was a real mix of giddiness & excitement since we had all spoken online with each other for months and chipped into the web blogs but nothing can really prepare you for meeting face-to-face after such a long absence.

The majority of us arrived on Thursday 27th March and the unofficial first night was at the Felix Bar on the roof of The Peninsula - what grander place to start the Reunion! I must admit the nerves were jangling whilst we crossed the Harbour on the Star Ferry to Kowloon and we arrived trendily late as we were starving so had to stop for some char siu fan at Star House. Walking up those twisted stairs at The Pen and all of a sudden the faces came to life, the memories returned, the hugs, the kisses, the backslaps and the more than often "Damn, you look good!" We filled the bar from wall-to-wall and it was a wonderful "start" to the evening. Peter Hindes & Roger Muscroft attended as well as Eleanor Sackett. We finished there about midnight when the night was still young and carried on to HK Island to continue the

reunion until the early hours.

Friday was more of a re-acclimatizing to HK day. Lots of sight-seeing and shopping but the evening began with a meal for about 30 of us at one of our old regular haunts, Chung King Mansion, for a curry feast arranged by Ravi Sujanani. Needless to say that the night didn't end there and far too many of us saw the early morning sunrise!

Saturday & Sunday saw us at one of the main events of our week’s agenda -  the Rugby 7’s.  I find it difficult to capture or describe the event to anyone who has never been and experienced the occasion. There are so many pictures and memories from the 7s it would be impossible to place them in words (look at the Facebook pictures & videos for proof). NZ went on to beat South Africa in the final with France winning the Plate & Russia the Bowl, if my groggy memory serves me right.

 

Monday 31st March was the 'Official Reunion Day', since this incorporated both the arranged trip to KGV as well as the evening function at Yumla in Lan Kwai Fong. We all arrived at school at differing times - my excuse was the Cross Harbour Tunnel traffic is terrible at that time of day, others may disagree - but we were all seated by 12 noon in the 6th form common room. As in traditional days, we sat boys to the left and girls to the right with a few needy cups of strong black coffee. The new (to us) headmaster Ed Wickins gave us a great insight into the current standing of the school and what had occurred in the last 20 years. Questions arose like” What happened to the running track?” and “What, no curry fishballs - the staple diet of every KGVer!?” I do recall we even broke into a shortened chorus of Honestas Ante Honores. Adam provided Ed with one of our official KGV 20-year Reunion T-shirts and then who should turn up but none other than our old chemistry & rugby teacher, Phil Arnold! It was great to see him again. We continued our school tour, still reminiscing and commenting how young the present students looked, as well as posed for some infamous group photos on the KGV steps. What great memories! After that it was rest until the evening's events began..........

Monday night began at Yumla at 9pm which Eamonn Fitzpatrick had graciously arranged with the management to be our own personalised closed party. Adam, Eamonn & younger brother Sean Fitzpatrick spun the tunes and DJ'd the whole evening till 3am before we moved onto Insomnia in Lan Kwai Fong to check out some more live music. Never have I seen so many almost 40 year something’s letting loose and acting like teenagers all over again! Up to this point during the week, we had probably had in the region of 50-60 ex-KGV students & staff attend the events, which say plenty about the group as a whole.

The rest of the week involved a number of different activities including: Dim Sum at the City Hall; Peak Trips; more late nights; Chinese Banquets; 10-pin bowling at the KCC; multiple foot & body massages to name a few.

Big thanks go to Amrit Sethi, Charmaine Michael, Ravi Sujanani and Carol Yau who were our eyes and ears on the ground in Hong Kong. Looking back over the trip, it has to rank as one of the most exhilarating holidays I have ever had. But that’s not the end of it, since we are already talking about our 25th Anniversary in Hong Kong in 2013 - older, greyer, fatter (and that’s just the girls - joke!).

 

We are already planning our own 'local' Class of 88 get together in London & Sydney this year to keep the memories burning.

 What more can I say except…………

Honestas Ante Honores!