News
Reunion 2018
Reunion 2018
Every year we host a weekend where Alumni
return to share stories and learn new ones.
The College is very grateful for
the support given to us in a vari-
ety of ways by our alumni mem-
bers during the 2017-18 year. This
has been through both the work
of the Grey Association, and also
through individuals coming to
the College to give of their time
in various ways to support and
enhance the lives of our current
students.
The Annual Durham Reunion
was held over the weekend of
23rd - 25th March, when we
welcomed back members from
across the years.
It was particular-
ly pleasing to see
a large represen-
tation from the
graduating class
of 1968, whose
presence was
orchestrated by
Steve Gregory.
The Master and
Vice-Master met these alumni at
a reception, when various items
from appropriate years from the
College archives were on display.
This was followed by an excel-
lent three course dinner in the
Hall, as always extending our
thanks to Bryan Huitson (Head
Chef) and Nicola Gittins (Front of
House) and their teams for all the
hard work they put in to make
the event so memorable, before
alumni had further chances to
meet and catch-up in the bar.
Back in September 2017, we
were pleased to host a separate
reunion event for the matricu-
lating class of 1997. Much of the
drive for this event came from
Parik Chandra and Georgina
Creighton (nee Whittle), who have
written the following about it:
On 16th September 2017, 45
members of the matriculating
class of 1997 gathered in Durham
for our 20 year anniversary. At-
tendees came from as near as the
northeast itself and as far as Bos-
ton (in the USA, not Lincolnshire!)
The evening started with a few
informal drinks at the New Inn for
old times' sake, before heading
back to college to get changed
and attend the champagne re-
ception. A fabulous 3 course meal
followed (with cheese, naturally)
before we all decamped to the
bar. While a core
group wanted to
head into town, Klute
was (perhaps merci-
fully) shut that day!
Celebrations thus
carried on in the SCR
until the early hours
(ie: until the porter
told everyone to go
to bed!)
Despite many of us not having
seen each other since gradua-
tion, we all fell back into an easy
familiarity. The evening was full
of reminiscing and catching up
on 20 years' worth of news. That
said, the reunion wasn't just
"refreshing our
bonds with old
friends, the
college and the
city"
19
about the evening's activities and
many of us took full advantage
of the weekend and reacquaint-
ed ourselves with Durham - so
different to the town we remem-
ber from 1997, but in many ways
still the same. Cathedral tours,
riverside walks and lunch at the
Court Inn all served to remind us
why Durham continues to hold a
special place in our hearts.
We were delighted the Master,
Tom Allen, and Vice-Master, Peter
Swift, could join us, and special
thanks to Peter who was instru-
mental in helping to organize the
event. Needless to say, thanks are
also due to the college staff who
coped admirably with a crowd of
30-somethings who were alleged-
ly "a bit rowdy" (according to the
JCR President's feedback after the
event)!
The reunion served as a fantastic
way of refreshing our bonds with
old friends, the college and the
city, and there is already talk of
a 25 year reunion! While we may
all be connected on social media,
connecting in real life was far
superior.
If alumni would like to get in-
volved in supporting the College,
please do get in through grey.
[email protected]. We are al-
ways delighted to hear from you.