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OCC Social - Events OCC Reunion Dinner 2008
Sat 23 February 2008 saw the holding of the first OCC old boys reunion dinner at Bickley Manor Hotel, and what a night it was! Being lucky enough to be invited to this event, I am sure that this date will long be remembered in the club's history, not only for being a great night in its own right, but also as the starting point for the rekindled links between the past and present OCC, which I am sure that it will.

After many months of development, it was amazing to see how a fledgling idea for a dinner had actually become a reality, thanks of course to our host Chris Hora, and his daughter Kelly. Every small detail seemed to have been attended to - the reception room alone was a great sight, being adorned in club memorabilia, along with being full of past and present OCC loving people enjoying a glass of champagne pre dinner. Needless to say it didn't take long for stories about the 'good old days' to start flowing, and it was like people had never been away from the club!

Having had our pictures taken in 4 groups [the 1970s era, the 1980s era, the current players and finally the guests of the club], the time came to sit down for dinner. We all walked through to the main room which looked stunning - club colours were on display everywhere, and a rose was left for all the ladies attending by our host Chris [charmer!].

The photographs are now available for viewing/ordering from www.vivienwoods.com and they are worth having a look at.

A three course dinner was to follow, and I am pleased to say that the food matched the décor and ambience. The wine also soon started to flow along with yet more stories of the old days of the club! Three speeches were given during the course of the dinner, the first being an introduction from Geoff Atkinson [OCC chairman], the second by yours truly [OCC Club Captain] on behalf of the club today, and the final speech from Richard Collens on behalf of the 'old boys'. Richard certainly excelled in stirring up a few more memories of individuals and things that happened in yester year, much to the amusement of the 60 odd that were lucky enough to be present.

If all of the above wasn't enough, the highlight of the evening for everyone was the arrival of Chris, just before Richard's speech. It was with great joy, and indeed relief, for us all that Chris made the evening, as we all know and appreciate the great support and effort that he had put into making this event a reality. I really hope on behalf of the club that Chris enjoyed the evening as much as I did, he certainly seemed to enjoy his arrival, was it a staged one I wonder from our host?!!!!

It was a great honour to carry out the final act of the evening in announcing that the club would like to award Chris with an honourary Life Membership of the OCC, which was duly presented to Chris by Geoff Atkinson. This is a new category of membership that has been developed to coincide with this old boys reunion dinner, and we are delighted that Chris has become the club's Life Member Number 1. It is hoped that through the creation of this membership, a number of former club members will now rejoin the club and once again become involved with us through this non-playing social membership. If you are interested in this membership then please click here.

A raffle followed the dinner and a large sum of money was raised on behalf of the club - thanks again to Chris and Kelly for providing the prizes, including a signed and framed Arsenal shirt, which Steve Bradford bought for £425. We are committed to setting aside the funds raised on the night for the benefit of the future of the club, and we will liaise with Chris and Kelly as to how best to do this. Whatever is decided there is no doubt that our colts will benefit greatly from the generosity of our hosts and guests.

So in summary, from the club perspective, the old boy's dinner was a fantastic event, one of the best evenings I have attended. The key now is to make sure that this reunion was just the beginning, and that people from the club's past do indeed become re-involved with the club. Kelly has agreed to act as a go between from the old boys to the club today, so beware you can expect to hear from her soon! The club is certainly committed to this initiative, and we are very enthusiastic that similar events can be held in the future in addition to simply having more familiar faces around the club on a regular basis.

I won't go on any longer, as for those of you that were there, I am sure that you will fully appreciate what a truly great night it was. We the club look forward to seeing you all again sometime soon, as I am sure that you all now have rekindled your interest in what is a great club. For those of you that weren't lucky enough to be at the dinner, you missed a great night but I am sure that you will want to be involved in the next event.

Finally, I would like once again to pay tribute and offer my humble thanks on behalf of the whole club to our host Chris, and to his daughter Kelly. I promise you that this night will long live in the memory, and I am confident that it will indeed be the catalyst of many things to come.

David Robinson
[OCC Sat 1s captain and Social Secretary 2008]



 
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