On August 22nd we marked the 60th anniversary of the commencement of our SRN training and despite the disappointment of cancelled plans to celebrate with a lunch at Barts, 11 of us managed to master the intricacies of Zoom and gather together to mark this momentous occasion (see photo section). What a joy to see so many old friends, all of us looking as young and bright as ever! However, being in that certain age group, in recent months many of us had been feeling rather isolated and a little starved of our usual contacts and companionships, so to be reunited with so many old friends was a wonderful tonic for us all. Of course, we missed those who were not able to join us but enjoyed messages sent by some for us all to share.
Memories, many distant from our time at PTS caused much laughter; being asked on arrival for one and sixpence for the studs, told to take off all make up and discovering that the huge pile of uniform in our room was our individual allowance and not the general linen cupboard! That only an inch and a half of hair was allowed to be seen at the front of our caps, and of course those horrific black lace-up Daniel Neal shoes!
There was also a lot of heartache as we remembered those who were with us then but who have sadly since died. Family news was shared, some sad but much joyful. We shared antics and achievements of children and grandchildren, some of whom had kindly helped those of us less techno-gifted to master Zoom. All of which reminded us of the privilege of being part of the Barts family, enabling us to rekindle so many friendships forged over those 60 years. Plans for another Zoom meeting are in hand and firm hopes remain for a re-scheduled gathering at Barts next year. Our very own Revd. (Jane Cowan) closed our happy meeting with a lovely prayer. Margaret Finch.
