Reunion Report From Larry Smith
| Terrific weather, good company, good food and the chance to see an old mucker after 40 odd years, what more do you want. Once again Junior Leaders, Permanent Staff and their wives and partners made it safely to Barmouth for the 4th annual reunion over the weekend 31 March. The Myn-y-Mar Hotel was packed to the rafters and unfortunately several members had to be accommodated a few minutes away from the reunion venue. The full list of those who attended will appear on the Reunion 2007 page on the website - there was a mixture of those who had attended all four, the last three and several first timers. Friday night was the usual meet and greets and "bloody hell you haven't changed a bit you just look 40 years older" echoed around the bar. A few warmers into the bank was followed by a Carvery meal that was enjoyed by all, in fact the standard of catering was once again very good through out the weekend. |
| Saturday's weather was superb with plenty of sunshine. A walk along the sea front, a coffee in the harbour cafe, a ramble with Sherpa Johnny Thompson (JT) for the fitter members, a trip up the coast to Harlech and a pilgrimage to the Camp were the order of the day. A special "Cader Idris" attempt on the summit was achieved by a determined Richard Rothwell. His guide was Rene Dee who has conquered not only the Welsh peaks but many around the world – well done to you both! There was plenty to offer in Barmouth with all the attractions of a typical seaside town - even the fairground was buzzing! JT assembled his troops and they set off to walk across the Railway Bridge and the hills on the other side of the estuary - a good time was had by all. A party went by train from Barmouth to Tonfanau catching the 1049 – the journey taking 20 minutes. You had a choice of trains for your return 1130 or 1330 and all opted for the 1130 ……30 minutes was enough time to stand at the entrance to the camp and reminisce. We missed the smoke that used to greet us with the steam trains notably the Cambrian Coast Express. |
| Members gathered in the dining area for the Annual AGM at 1700 hours. Although the minutes will be posted onto the Reunion 2007 page, a couple of items are of interest. Firstly it was decided that the 2008 reunion would be held on the 5th April at the same venue and secondly it was decided that the current Comrades Association committee would continue in post for the foreseeable future. Thank you to John Wiseman for donating £50 to kick off the Charity appeal for Combat Stress. Sadly Tom Silverside a former Platoon Instructor is poorly and as he and Brenda live close by a contingent of Permanent Staff friends went to se him and passed on our best wishes. |
| Sixty plus members attended the evening function, which included a sit down buffet, raffle and cabaret. The food was plentiful and well served by the staff. A toast to the regiment was followed by absent friends and finally a toast to the ladies. There followed a humorous sketch by Brigadier Inge (JT). A "blind" raffle was conducted and a vote of thanks must go to Dave Truelove's lovely wife Val who was a master at selling tickets. It was decided at the AGM that the proceeds (£215), this year would go, half, to Ken Hart, our webmaster, to offset the cost of managing our website and half to the Combat Stress charity. Sadly we run out of tickets for the raffle and one or two members could not purchase them. Next year they will be on sale on the Friday evening as well as the Saturday and there will be plenty of tickets. |
| Reminiscing about our time in Tonfanau, Towyn, Barmouth, Cader Idris and Menai Bridge Camp went on until the early hours. The CRAFT (Can't Remember A F….. Thing) was in abundance but after a hearty breakfast members departed in a better state promising to return in 2008. Well done to Chris the hotel manager who masterminded the weekend and has already taken bookings for next year. He is hoping to accommodate more in the hotel by asking the single chaps to share Twin rooms. He is also asking the overspill hotels/B&Bs managers to change their rules to allow guests to return to their hotels at anytime and not the midnight restriction. |
| Thanks to Mike Owsley for putting it all together, to Richard Abraham for his treasurer and search line bits. Thanks to Stan Green for once again providing the memorabilia table decorations a big thanks to all those that made the trip and I look forward to seeing you all and others next year. |
| Larry Smith |
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