The planning for the event was always going to be difficult because we had little confidence in a resolution of the underlying health circumstances by November 2021 and therefore we could not make definitive plans early on.

Some statistics worth noting:

• In the case of the Class of 1970 there were 146 boys in matric, of whom:
  • 11 passed away
  • 135 potential
  • 40 not contactable
  • 96 appear to live in SA, 39 reside overseas
  • 26 are here today - 27% of those who are alive and contactable
• In the Class of 1971 the roll call consisted of 133 boys, of whom:
  • 5 have passed away
  • 128 potential
  • 75 not contactable
  • 53 live in SA, 40 reside overseas, 35 unknown addresses
  • 17 are here today - 33% of those who are alive and contactable

So, in total, 43 Old Boys would end up at the joint reunion – comprising 29% of the chaps from both years, who are alive and contactable.

Disappointing? Of course.

Yet when we thought about the myriad challenges we all had to face to be at the reunion we came to the conclusion that we hadn’t done too badly. In fact, the passionate feedback from our comrades who couldn’t attend was moving and bitter sweet. There was clearly a common and emotional feeling of regret expressed that they couldn’t make it.

We had planned activities for each day, Friday through Sunday. We later trimmed this down to the Friday and Sunday. It made sense to do so for a number of reasons, including costs, travel and Covid risks.

But what a weekend it turned out to be!

In spite of Covid-19 and the travel bans and the personal circumstances that precluded some of our class mates from attending the reunion, it has to be said that the unanimous consensus amongst those who did turn up was that it was an unqualified success!

In fact, the feedback we received was rich in emotion and camaraderie. Memories emerged and were shared in animated, excited exchanges. Acquaintances were renewed amongst guys who perhaps forgot just how much they had in common - even though their school experiences may have been vastly different at the time.

There is no doubt that there is an appetite to reprise our reunion in 5 or 10 years!

DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT - ENJOY THE VIDEOS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE WEEKEND

High-resolution Official Group photographs for downloading