OBA Cambridge Dinner 2017

With faint whiff of final exams looming over the University, thirty Old Crosbeians and their guests gathered in the Upper Hall of Peterhouse. Our number included those from East Anglia plus some who had extricated themselves from the demands of London to meet with school friends and a contingent from Merseyside, including our newly induced OBA President, Jeremy Myers. There was a hearty cluster from the more recent years, particularly 2008 and 2011.

After a fizzy reception, there followed good food and wine. Cries of “Most delicious – the best yet” and “The Chef has out done himself” were heard afterwards – and indeed he had. The School Song was rendered with some tuneful singing. Our former President, Dave Holroyd, Director of Music, would have been proud of the legacy that he has left behind in Cambridge or perhaps it was the high proportion of youthful attendees?

The speeches gave an update on the School and its good health. Simon Sutcliffe, History teacher and Head of Cricket, representing the Boys’ School, gave a fascinating history of the School, dwelling on the dark ages of the early Victorian period. At one point, there were only 4 pupils, all of them children of the headmaster and three of them girls! Who knew that one of Headmasters from that period had a wife aged 17 years old? Fascinating – it certainly piqued my interest in reading Luft’s history of the School!

Arthur Meadows, Cambridge Dinner Organiser, 1988 Leaver