After three long years, we are delighted to be bringing back our London drinks reception on Thursday 9 March at The Mercer. This event is the perfect opportunity to catch up with your fellow OBs and hear the latest news from the College.
Director Max Elton's (Ab. 2008-10) newest production, "Yes So I Said Yes" is on at the Finborough Theatre from 23rd November until 18th December.
We really enjoyed hosting our annual London universities dinner on Thursday 28th November.
It was great to see Old Brightonians working in the Legal sector come together in London on Thursday 31st October for our annual Legal Professionals networking drinks.
Alice Best (Wi. 2010-12) is running the London Marathon for Crohn’s and Colitis UK following her father’s (Ian Best, Sc. 72-77) diagnosis in 2016.
"James Way has been astonishing audiences with his technical command and stylistic maturity." -The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2018 - Performance: Classical music
The OB London Drinks is a fun and relaxed event which takes place every year in February. This year we visited Karma Sanctum Hotel in Soho, bringing together Old Brightonians of all ages, houses and professions.
This year saw the third OB London Universities Dinner and we were joined not only by teachers from the Common Room, but also one of our governors, Andrew Cayley (Br. 1977-82) who himself attended UCL. The Old Brightonians is strongly supported by the College Governors, and it was brilliant that Andrew was able to join us.
This year’s OB Pioneers London Luncheon was held in the newly restored Ballroom at the historical Savile Club in Mayfair, hosted by Gavin Henderson CBE (Le. 1960-65).
London Academy of Excellence is the academic sixth form located in the Stratford area of the London Borough of Newham.
The Pioneers Club was once again warmly welcomed by the Savile Club for this year’s London Luncheon, hosted by Gavin Henderson, CBE (Le. 1960-65).
We are absolutely delighted to have been able to catch up with so many of our very missed OBs studying in London at our annual OB London Universities Dinner, which took place last Friday.
On Friday 13th May, we held our first ever dinner for OBs undergraduates studying in the capital. The dinner took place in the very stylish Emin Room at the 34 Mayfair in London. It was a lovely evening where OBs and members of the common room were able to catch up and find out how everyone is enjoying university life and how they are finding their studies.
Lucy Beauvallet (Nh. 2008-14), who many of you will remember came second in BBC1's Young Apprentice competition in 2013, is running this year's London Marathon for the charity Blind Children UK.
The Savile Club was a new venue for the Pioneers Club London Luncheon this year, courtesy of Gavin Henderson, CBE (Le. 1960-65), and what a beautiful venue it was.
It was a cold December afternoon when we congregated at The Jones Family Project (a restaurant owned by OB Duncan Watts (Ry. 1979-84)) to enjoy a festive feast for the 2014 Pioneers Club London Luncheon.
Max Maidment (Ryle 2004-2006), has signed a professional contract with London Scottish.
If ever a venue was most likely to draw a big attendance for one of the regular OB London Drinks evenings it was surely the Paramount Sky Bar on the 32nd floor of London’s Centre Point Tower. The attendee list was appropriately over-subscribed – a terrific indicator for the New Year.
Well, what a turn out... what a venue! Last night's London Drinks really was a cracker! Home House was a new experience for me - a beautiful spot in W1 that many might fairly describe as "swanky".
Some of these evenings atract a huge gathering, others a smaller one. This was the latter... but I cannot remember laughing so hard and so long!
The great risk of turning up early or on-time for these gatherings is that you are inevitably faced with the prospect of some time alone at the bar looking pretty sad… or worse still being stuck with some frightful character whose company quickly becomes tedious.
Le Café Anglais proved a spectacular setting for the Pioneers Club London Luncheon where Old Brightonians gathered together on Thursday 8th December. Friends were reunited for our gathering, and many a peel of laughter was to be heard over the wonderful array of photographs brought in.
The Ebury has recently become our bar of choice being so close to Victoria Station, rather charmingly planted in the leafy streets of Belgravia, Pimlico, and so terribly convenient for our London and Brighton OBs. It does have one particular problem though, in that it has a namesake around the corner, and hence some of our OBs went on a little tour of drinking establishments before finding the correct Ebury. However, this didn’t dampen our evening on Thursday 10th November, and the eclectic range of OBs that find their way to the London Drinks had a suitably good time.
A small but entertaining gathering of Old Brightonians welcomed Simon Smith at London drinks last week at The Ebury, Pimlico Road. OBs young and not quite so young joined to celebrate Simon’s inaugural event as a fellow Old Brightonian. To mark his 38 years of teaching at the College, he was presented with Pelican cufflinks and the honorary Pelican lapel badge by past OB President David Gold (S. 1986-91). Messages of good will were passed on from those who couldn’t make it, and a good time was had by all!
What an evening! Far and away the most successful and well attended London gathering we’ve had so far; several folk had come “out of the woodwork” for the first time in very many years!
It’s been a while since our last London Drinks – almost 2 years, in fact. For these first Drinks of 2010 we had returned to a favourite old haunt of the Association’s London members; The International Bar on St. Martin’s Lane. Unfortunately it appears that it may also be our last time here; the place is to close within a month – a piece of information made privy to Jack Bremer (BCJS 1990-94) before some of the bar staff (much to his and one unfortunate girl’s great embarrassment / shock).
For the first London Drinks of 2008 we’d chosen a new venue in the City, Firefly Bar at The Old Bailey – a terrific venue where we were very well looked after. The Old Brightonians had an area of the bar cordoned off where a select group of 13 of us spent a very pleasant evening.
What a terrific night - this is how the London Drinks should work! I’d be lying if I said we wouldn’t rather have a few more of you along to these things, but the turnout tonight was a decent enough size, I suppose (15 or so), and the quality of the company more than made up for it’s quantity.
A select gathering of ten Old Brightonians this evening - not the heaving throng we’ve been used to of late, but perhaps the success of the January Drinks (in terms of sheer numbers, at least) had prompted us in our enthusiasm to organise tonight’s gathering a little to soon. Nevertheless, quality more than made up for quantity, and this particular slice of alumni represented some of the most interesting OBs that I have personally had the pleasure to meet.
"Come along, it will be great!" If I have heard it once, I have heard it... oooohhh... 7 or 8 times. This time I did come along and, do you know what, it was good. Damn good. In fact the only negative about the evening was the fact that even more didn’t turn up.
The first OB gathering of 2006 was an all male affair that in terms of College attendance spanned over 50 years!
As numbers go, the evening started off slowly, but built to a comfortable throng of 25 or so Old Brightonians. When I arrived shortly after 6pm David Gold (S. 1986-91) and Adam Belson (R. 1979-84) were the sole attendees – apparently trying to convince a sceptical barman that this evening would be worth his while...
Another bar, another OB gathering for the after work set, and yet again a range of ages covering the last four decades of Brighton College leavers.
I am rarely asked by the manager to leave a public bar before closing time but I am pleased to report that on this occasion I did not disgrace myself! When I reserved a space at one of London’s newest trendy bars I saw no problem with the condition that we should make way for another party at 9:30pm. These informal gatherings usually attract just a few London OBs in search of someone to share a pint with after work and all have usually gone home by 8pm.
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