Grey Coat Hospital Reunion Lunch

Me with Dorothy, Jackie, Denise, Barbara and Patricia at our 'Old Girls' Reunion'.

Last Friday I flew to England so that I could attend a reunion lunch for the girls who were in the same year as me at school. I arrived on Friday afternoon and joined two school friends, Patricia and Yvonne, for dinner at The Viceroy, an Indian restaurant in Windsor. Although Patricia and I had met quite recently, neither of us had seen Yvonne for 54 years! We had a great time catching up and reminiscing about our school days.

Patricia collected me early on Saturday morning so that I could help her and Jackie (another ex school friend) set up the venue. Our lunch was to be held at Dorney Lake, Eton's world-class rowing centre set in 400 acres of parkland. The view was spectacular! The Lake View Room, where we were, looks straight up the lake towards the Chiltern Hills.

The last time we met together (in 2005), we were entertained by the lycra-clad young men rowing up and down the lake, but this time there wasn't one to be seen! However, we had other things to occupy our minds as we hugged and kissed school friends from long ago. The lunch was a great success and everyone vowed to meet again in 2011; when it will be 50 years since we left school! Well done, Patricia and Jackie! Thank you for organising such a memorable occasion! (By the way, any man you see in the photos is an accompanying husband - boys were definitely off limits in our day!!)

On the Saturday evening, after our event, Patricia took me to South Hill Park, a centre for the arts since 1973. It is housed in a magnificent mansion which was originally built for William Watts in 1760 for his retirement from service as a senior official of the Bengal Government. We had a drink and a snack in the bistro there (couldn't manage any more after such a magnificent lunch!). While we sat and chatted, there was a continuous display of video art on one of the walls of the bistro, most innovative! We didn't stay long as I had a very early flight booked for the next day. Unfortunately, on the way back to the car, Patricia stepped into a hole in the dark and tumbled to the ground - not fun at our age. So sorry, Patricia!

As we were - so many years ago! Can you spot me?

So, here I am in Istanbul, back from an exhausting, but fun, weekend. My next trip is to South Africa to see Jane on the 23rd April - only 5 weeks on Thursday!