Reunions crossing the Atlantic
I have just come back from celebrating my 25th school reunion at Eton… and what a grand experience it was. The usual trepidations, unfamiliar faces mixed with completely recognizable ones (who don’t seem to have aged one bit… ), made for great energy and sometimes executive conversations considering the limited time to get around the crowded room. This was the first event of its kind for our 1982 year and perhaps 100 old boys showed up. The Provost made a speech rekindling happy memories and the evening was a great success (as far as I was concerned anyway). I am very happy that Eton has come around to this “modern,” if American, way of managing “alumni” or OEs as we prefer to say. Naturally, there is a mercantile component, but that is to be expected in today’s competitive environment. That is way that tradition can survive.
Up next: getting the French “Grandes Ecoles” to do likewise? Now, that’s a revolution.
