3rd July 2009

Return on the bad boys (and girls!)

ALMOST 50 former Woodroffe School students described by organisers as “not entirely the prefects nor perfect pupils of their era” flew to Lyme from across Britain and from as far as Australia for a secret reunion.

Many of the school’s former “usual suspects” organised the en-masse return to Lyme and effectively took over the Royal Standard beer garden before moving camp to see in the Solstice sunrise with fires and fireworks on Monmouth Beach.

The event was initially devised as “a little do” to welcome back Kenny Oldfield, returning to Lyme for the first time in 25 years.

But as news of the event was spread friend-to-friend on the social networking site Facebook, pals who had not all seen each other in 35 years joined the group from across the UK and Europe to relive the Seventies.

Erika Roe, famed for her streak at Twickenham, flew in with her sister Philipa from Portugal and Sharon Gill, daughter of Lyme’s famous lifeboating family, made the trip from Madrid.

Co-organiser Geoff Baker explained: “A number of us had been to official Woodroffe reunions where we discovered that we had not exactly fitted in anymore than we did when we were at school.

“So we decided to organise our own event aimed more specifically at a number of us who were, shall we say, no real strangers to invitations to visit Miss Green or the headmaster’s study.

“We did not go public with the event because we suspected that might encourage the attendance of people who might tell us [a] off and [b] to grow up. But it was such a thoroughly enjoyable night that we may not be so clandestine next year”.

Among the old pupils who came together with wives, husbands and children were: Andy ‘Heddy’ Hedditch, Alex MacLennan, Bob Baker, Martin ‘Arthur’ Rowe, Justin Tunstall, Marcus Dixon, Mark Rawlins, Nick ‘Tax’ Williams, Rob Wheeler, Andy Hercock, Sue Turner, Sue Lanzon, Sue Tolley, Robert and Tilly Harris, Jane Thomas and Steve Jones, Jill Ilbrahim, David Austin, Dave Emmett, Paul and Jilly Lynch, Sharon Gill, Lynne Turner, Ian Forth, Phil Hodder and Kenny Oldfield.

“It was a what we used to call a good laugh”, said a spokesman for the group, which has been founded under the tongue-in-cheek title The Woodroffe School Usual Suspects Association.

“As you might imagine, a responsible amount of alcohol was sipped at the Standard until midnight before the hardercore set up camp of blankets and dozens of candles, fireworks and chocolate cake out on Monmouth Beach – where we were characteristically told off by sleepless grockles for making too much noise.

“So we watched the sun come up in a respectful state of suppressed giggling and shushing – just like the old days”.

Organisers say that another, bigger beach party event will be held in Lyme next year.

“We held this trial event in secret because clearly there is no more likelihood of us getting official permission for this now anymore than the fat chance we would have had if we had asked when we were sixteen.

“But it was all in the best possible taste and next time we’ll move to a spot where sleeping grocks can’t hear us in their chalets”.

Return on the bad boys (and girls!)

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