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ModLang72
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| The 25 Year Reunion (1997) | The Millennium Reunion (er.. what year was that held?) |
| 25 Year Reunion pics & docs | Millennium Reunion pics & docs |
| 30 Year Reunion (2002) | |
| The 25 Year Reunion | |
| The first Reunion - 9th August 1997. Derek Megginson reports…….. | |
| It's always a great shame when you
lose touch with old friends, schoolfriends or ex-colleagues, isn't it? Sure,
you may swap Christmas cards or even phone each other now and then, yes maybe
also send a postcard from on holiday, but as time passes the contact becomes
more and more tenuous, and eventually may break altogether. In October 1968 a bunch of innocent eighteen-year-olds from all over the country had been drawn together to form the new intake for Bradford University's four-year Modern Languages course. Throughout those four years up to 1972, many friendships were formed, and even if we weren't all exactly close friends with each other, at least we would nod and say "Hi" as we gathered in the coffee lounge or (in some cases) attended lectures together. In the twenty-five years which followed our graduation, it would seem that most of us managed to keep in touch with an average of two or three of the other students. In addition, some of us had previously been contacted by the University's stuttering Alumni department and had furnished them with our new addresses without really being sure why! If only we could forge a link to connect all these people and somehow bring everyone together for a reunion! That was how the following letter came about: MOD. LANG. 1968-1972 They say nostalgia ain't what it used to be, but cast your mind back to 1968, when Harold Wilson was Prime Minister and Lyndon B. Johnson was boss of the USA; Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was killed in a plane crash, Martin Luther-King and Senator Robert Kennedy were assassinated and Alec Rose sailed single-handed around the World; NHS prescription charges were introduced, Manchester United won the European Cup, and Bradford Park Avenue were still in the Football League. More importantly, beer was 1s 11d per pint and petrol was 6s 3d per gallon! By the beginning of October the two-tier postal system had just been introduced, the French had (again!) vetoed British entry into the Common Market, Apollo 7 was preparing for launch and the Olympic Games were about to begin in Mexico City. Top of the Hit Parade was, believe it or not, "Those Were The Days" by Mary Hopkin. Last, but not least, it was the year when you arrived in Bradford to make the acquaintance of a motley bunch of youngsters, from all parts of the country, who were to share four years of your life, hopes, experiences, joys and sadness.... and, just occasionally, a lecture on General Linguistics! Did you go to the "Freshers' Dance", where a new band called Status Quo performed (and very badly too)? Did you see David Bowie at St George's Hall? Go to the Film Society, where the highlight was usually the Tom and Jerry cartoon? Spend time in the Union Bar drinking Newcastle Brown? Go for a curry at the Kashmir (down the stone steps, past the dustbins, past the toilet)? Or, did you spend all your time working hard: Modern European Literature and Thought, Prose, Version, Simultaneous Interpreting, Posthumous Interpreting (or something like that)... .and of course, General Linguistics? Remember sitting in Wardley House library, trying to get to grips with Maupassant or pluperfect subjunctives, whilst the floor thumped and vibrated to the strains of "Sugar Sugar" and "Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes" from the Ice Rink disco? Were you in the lift that time when it got stuck at Floor N of the Main Building? Did you have to stand on tip-toes at the back of the Halls Common Room to watch Dr Who, because your fellow "intellectuals" had snapped up all the best places? And, can you remember the different places you lived - or believe it was possible that you lived in them? In a flash it was 1972. We shook hands with Harold Wilson (or perhaps just asked the University to put the certificate in the post) and went our separate ways. There were sixty or so Modern Languages graduates on 8 July 1972. You probably know the whereabouts of some of them, but do you ever wonder what happened to the rest? Well, now's your chance to find out. It's 25 years since we graduated, so don't you think this would be an ideal time for a reunion? If enough people are interested, we can make it happen. No specific proposals as yet, but in outline: meet in Bradford one Saturday in early summer, have a look round the University, then have a meal, a chat and a drink together (or, if only a few are interested, we could meet in that 'phone box at the bottom of Great Horton Lane). It all depends on you. Please drop a line or call to let us know whether you're interested. Also, if you are in contact with others, please ask them to get in touch if they haven't received this letter - the Alumni Office has only 41 addresses and is unsure how many of those are up to date. We'll get back to you as soon as possible with proposed timing and format depending on the response. We look forward to hearing from you. Mike Willcox, Derek Megginson and John Hodgson The driving force behind the reunion was undoubtedly Mike Willcox. From time to time, by letter or on the phone to John Hodgson or myself, he would tentatively put forward the idea of a get-together. "Yes, great idea, Mike" we'd say, "Why don't you try it?" And eventually, with our support (verbal, you understand, not financial), he did. The Alumni Office wouldn't, for technical reasons, give us the list of names and addresses which they had on file, so Mike managed to get the Alumni office to forward the above letter to everyone on their list. The replies were fairly encouraging, so we started making firmer plans. What about a venue? The University halls of residence were a possibility, but they're not very cosy and the price of accommodation was surprisingly high. A few hotels were contacted, and prices and details duly noted. The most promising one seemed to be the Pennington Midland Hotel, centrally situated and in a very interesting building. This hotel, built in the Victorian era, had previously closed down and had deteriorated to such an extent that its only inhabitants were a handful of down-and-outs and several hundred pigeons, with the building on the verge of being condemned and demolished. A local couple, the Penningtons, then bought the hotel and set about the task of restoring it to its former glory. Mike and I made an "inspection visit" to the Pennington Midland one weekend (he from Preston, me from Scarborough), and declared it ideal for our purposes. The "function room" was good, the buffet selection was affordable, the hotel had great character, the weekend room rates were very reasonable, and the hotel bar stayed open just as long as you wanted it to! Next step, arrange a few possible activities, let everyone know that we were actually going ahead with the idea, and wait to see how many would definitely put in an appearance. University of Bradford '68 ~ '72 MOD LANG REUNION 1997 PROVISIONAL PROGRAMME OF EVENTS Friday 8th August 1997
Saturday 9th August 1997
There were a few initial worries as to whether the reunion would be viable, but the three of us agreed to meet up whatever happened for a few beers and a curry. In the event, the replies started to trickle in slowly. SOME OF YOU LOT ARE JUST SO BLOODY SLOW AND INEFFICIENT, AREN'T YOU? Oh, sorry, got a bit carried away there. It was unfortunate that some people genuinely couldn't attend because of previous commitments, but in the end there was a pretty good turnout and a good time was had by all. Not only did we get all those ex-students together, we even attracted four of our old lecturers to the get-together. I was really impressed by Dr. Sowden, whom I went up to in the hotel bar and said "Dr, Sowden, I don't suppose you'll remember me, but……" "Derek Megginson," he butted in , "from Scarborough" Phew, what a memory! George Avis gave us a tour of the Modern Languages Faculty, now far more high-tech than in our day and of course long-since relocated from Wardley House to the main University building. The main event of the evening went pretty smoothly, with a great deal of animated chat and great quantity of beverages consumed. I don't know who the hell suggested that we had a photo-call by squeezing everyone into a tiny staircase, but we just about managed it. And by the end of the evening, lots of people were asking "When's the next reunion? "and "What about a Millennium Reunion them?" "Hmm, we'll think about it" we said. |
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Attending the 1997 reunion were: Chris Cook, Ken Broady, Chas Baker, Ross Martin, Anne Harrop, Linda Ferris, John Hodgson, Chrissy White, Julia Austen, Carole Moss, Liz Broady, Jill Gaunt, Stephen Rich, Trish Whelan, Maralyn McAlindon, Sue Baxter, Janet Fauret, Fiona Preston, Jenny Thomas, Jean Rawlinson, Denise Boardman, Kath O'Donovan, Ruth Nattress, Steve Cook, Derek Megginson, Tony Handley, Pamela Anderson, John Bamforth, Mike Willcox, Chris Boardman. |
Some Spaniards in the works. |
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Steve and the Handleys |
| The Millennium Reunion | |
| Well, we all had such a great time at the first reunion that we decided to reapeat the experience very soon. So, 3 years later ...... | |
| Minutes of the ModLang72
Reunion Committee meeting, 23rd December 1999 Venue: Midland Hotel, Bradford, Yorkshire, England Present: M.Willcox (President, Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary, Events Co-ordinator, Holder of the Gold Credit Card), J.Hodgson, D. Megginson. Apologies: none
Because the 1997 reunion seemed to have been quite a success, we didn't want to make any unnecessary changes when organising the next one. So, we reckoned we would use the same venue and that it would again take place over a weekend with the main event being held on the Saturday evening. The very latest in high-tech communications were utilised to canvass everyone about the most suitable date for the event. Well, we printed out some sticky labels on a computer, anyway! Obviously we wouldn't be able to suit everyone, but we plumped for 15th July 2000. Once again Mike risked his credit card limit by block-booking a number of rooms, and we arranged the hire of a function room and a buffet. We made enquiries about hiring a coach for a Saturday visit to the Yorkshire Dales, but this proved unfeasible. Once again we sent out full details in good time and awaited the replies. WHY DOES IT TAKE YOU SUCH A LONG TIME TO COMMIT YOURSELVES, YOU DOZY AND INEFFICIENT LOT? Sorry, but for a while it was a bit of a worry that the committee members would have to cough up fifty quid each for the function room and eat at least four portions of buffet each. Nevertheless, eventually, in the fullness of time, having given the matter due deliberation, people started to send in their reply-slips and make arrangements to get to Bradford again - some of them travelling great distances from Shipley and environs, whilst others faced a much simpler journey from Belgium, France or … Barbados. The Millennium Reunion, 15th July 2000 For those making a full weekend of it, the meeting place was the bar of the Midland Hotel (no longer the "Pennington Midland" after a takeover). Then followed the now-traditional visit (does two times constitute a tradition?) to the Kashmir curry house on Morley Street, where the plates of starters were enormous and the drinks were thoughtfully provided by Ruth and John staggering back across the road from the off-licence. Staggering from the weight of the beer (and lemonade) of course, not from the effects of it. Back to the hotel for a night-cap after that. Saturday morning saw the start of A Grand Day Out for around a dozen of us. From Forster Square station by train to Keighley, then onto the Worth Valley Railway for a trip to Haworth, former residence of the Brontë sisters. And brother. And brother, it's a steep climb up the hill in Haworth, past the Brontë Boutique, Wuthering Wool Shop, Heathcliffe Hotel and suchlike places. After a look around the lovely church, we visited the famous Parsonage which holds the Brontë Museum. Well, visited the outside of it and saw the admission prices! Phew! So we just bought a stick of Brontë rock from the Brontë souvenir shop and went to the pub instead! Several hours later we embarked on a ten-mile hike over the desolate moors - well, OK, maybe it was just a two-mile stroll along some country footpaths. And so back downhill to the station and on to a chuffing steam train back to Keighley. En route back to Bradford, most of the party alighted in Saltaire, where Sir Titus Salt once blah blah blah…. Meeting in the Midland Hotel bar was becoming a regular but very interesting occurrence, and the preliminary part of the reunion evening was so enjoyable that it took a lot of persuasion before everyone climbed up to the first floor function room for the reunion event itself. The buffet was a sit-down-around-the-tables-and-eat-with-knives-and-forks type of buffet rather than a stand-around-and-eat-with-your-fingers type of buffet, then some idiot made an attempt at a speech, and then there was a session of talking, drinking and (gasp!) even dancing - all to authentic 1968-1972 pre-Abba music, of course. Some of the conversation even touched on the scheduling of a forthcoming third reunion!!! Apparently, as the reunion event wound down, some of our number felt obliged to return to the hotel bar despite the late hour. And so to bed, as Samuel Pepys (or was it Zebedee from The Magic Roundabout?) used to say…….. |
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Those attending included: John Hodgson, Mary Philips, Ron Nield, Steve Cook, Richard Winborn, Jean Rawlinson, Rick Rawlinson, Ken Broady, Tony Handley, Mike Willcox, Carole Moss, Anne Brewerton, Chas Baker, Kath O'Donovan, Janet Fauret, Liz Broady, Anne Harrap, Edwina Moreton, Derek Megginson, Pamela Powell, Russ Brewerton, Ruth Nattrass, Chris Cook, Mark Hepner, John Philips. |
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The dreaded group photo! |
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(clockwise from left): Ron, Ruth, Kath, Mike, Derek, Mark, John P, Mary P, John H |
Go on Kath, just one more! |
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Fiona and the Broadys |
What, no spam? Richard, you've seen worse menus in Presov! |
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| Stuff from the 25 Years Reunion | Stuff from the Millennium Reunion |
If you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your PC,
click on the following links to view more pictures from the Millenium
Reunion(the files are 150-250Kb in size):
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If you have Adobe Acrobat installed on your PC,
click on the following links to view more pictures from the Millenium
Reunion(the files are 150-250Kb in size):
|
| If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, then go to our Resources page. | Tip: some of these files will appear "sideways" when you open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader. No problem! In the View menu you will find the option to Rotate View. There should also be icons for this on the toolbar. |