On one weekend in October 2019, a group of 14 Claremont alumni from the class of 1963 (and three tolerant spouses) met in Edinburgh for their seventh reunion, that being every 3 – 5 years since 1998. We lodged in a comfortable hotel plus a few in Diana Allen’s house. We met there for two evening meals, and also had a splendid evening at the Scottish Arts Society for an dinner plus a musical recital. I guess you can imagine that it was generally rather noisy when we were all in the same place! We do always seem to fall into comfortable conversation very quickly just as though it had not been a few years since we met. Our friendships from days (and nights!) at Claremont have stood the test of time. A few of us began our days at Claremont living in the White House in 1955/6.
During the days, we split into smaller groups and visited Edinburgh sites including Art galleries, Botanical Gardens, Holyrood Palace, the Britannia, a walk up Arthur’s Seat and an open top bus ride – plus a concert by the Russian Philharmonic Society in the Usher Hall and outings to the Falkirk Wheel and the new V&A in Dundee. Wow, we did pack a lot into three days and were blessed with some amazing autumn sunshine unlike the recent rainy days.
Previous gatherings have included as many as 21 ‘claremontians’ and several partners. At those times, we stayed in converted rural barns where we could self-cater and have a large lounging area where we could be quite relaxed. Outings were countryside walks and visits to gardens and country houses, talk and more talk!
(Picture shows the group, clockwise from left around the table) - Marion Archer (Bone), Carolyn Leder (Beck ), Ros Butters (Millett), Diana Pilling (Osbourne), Diana Allen (Pope), Ruth Smith (Bennett), Angie Thomas, Jenny Bremner-Smith (Crowder), Julia Blant (Firmin), Sue Thomas (Dye), Pauline Sharif (King), Anthea Martin-Jenkins (de Vinny), Carolyn du Pon (Law), Anne Gray (Oliver) and Frances Fletcher (Brisby) – plus husbands Peter Archer, Brem Bremner-Smith and Bijan Sharif. “
