This year marks the 40th anniversary of the matric year for the Old Johannian class of 1983. Accordingly, earlier this year a WhatsApp group was initiated to reconnect old classmates. Finally, approximately 40 of us were intermittently communicating from our respective homes around the world. Earlier in July, a small party met in London, and on Friday 21st July, 27 of us from around SA and as far afield as Botswana and Zambia enjoyed a lamb on the spit dinner at the Old Johannian club outside the school. What an amazing experience it was to see each other again after so long! Astonishingly, despite wrinkles, a significant change in shape, and considerably less hair, many of us recognised each other, even after not meeting for almost half a century. Naturally, there was a significant amount of time reminiscing about our boyhoods, and the plethora of antics (from both our teachers and ourselves), which would certainly not be acceptable in these modern, but perhaps not so progressive, times. Together we represented a remarkable diversity of careers and life experiences. Many of us have children who are older than we were when we left matric – some of whom have become old Johannians themselves. Each of us left with a personalised bottle of Foundation Stone Red, some of which perhaps have already been consumed, whereas others, like mine that sits on the shelf in my office, proudly remain as a reminder of an extraordinary evening. How wonderful it was to reunite with old friends, and leave, with new ones who weren’t way back then, but are now.
We extend a sincere vote of thanks to Mike Dooley and Adriaan Hefer for organising, finding our class mates, and making the evening possible.
