125th Anniversary Lunch
On 12th March 2022 Aldeburgh may have been rather surprised when an invasion of more than fifty ladies descended on the Wentworth Hotel and from noon onwards there was an extremely animated and pleasurable gathering of Old Felicians. The reason for choosing Aldeburgh was the fact that Saint Felix School started there in 1897 in a family house belonging to Margaret Isabella Gardiner before the move to Southwold – something that not all Old Felicians were aware of.
Old Felicians travelled from all corners of the country, many staying with friends or at local hotels and soon there was much chatting and laughter as OFs who had not seen each other for quite a number of years remembered playing lacrosse on those cold and windy playing fields, morning assembly in Gardiner Hall, never being allowed to put foot on the sacred grass of the cloisters, emerging from evening chapel to find the sky alight with stars, school dinners (remember Matron’s Leg, otherwise known as roly poly pudding?) and walking the school bounds in two’s and three’s and during hot summer months disappearing to Paris and the buzzing of the bees and smell of golden gorse. Happy days.
The Old Felicians’ grace which had been written by Canon Fitch was said and a delicious three course lunch commenced. Fran D’Alcorn gave an inspirational history of the founding of the school in Aldeburgh until it moved to Southwold and finally all stood to sing the school song which had been composed by laureate John Masefield. It may not have been an entirely high-quality rendition of the school song but was certainly sung with great enthusiasm.
We owe many thanks to Margaret Angus who arranged the venue and especially Fran D’Alcorn for the most interesting talk, Lizzie Strowlger for arranging the tables, labels and menus and Caroline MacMillan for keeping an eye on arrangements.
It was a really lovely time to renew old friendships and also make new ones and an encouragement for Old Felicians to continue arranging get-togethers and to keep the Club alive for another 125 years.
