2 December 2017
On 2nd December 2017, the BVSc Class of 2007 had their 10-year reunion. This was the weekend when “Stormgeddon” was forecast to hit Melbourne, and the main part of the reunion was going to be a BBQ brunch in the park at Kew! After 48 unsuccessful hours of scrambling to find an indoor alternative, the consensus was that squeezing into my 2-bed house in Armadale would still be preferable to standing outside in who-knows-what kind of storm!
As it happened, the “mother-of-all storms” didn’t eventuate, but it was still a pretty cold and dreary day. All together about 30 adults and 10 children/toddlers came to the BBQ. I managed to rearrange the house to make some space, and the buffet breakfast station was a big hit!
It was agreed that we should cancel the brewery cruise (between Kew and Parkville), as it didn’t fit into the day anymore (and some of the out-of-towners had more pressing commitments, such as a visit to Ikea!)
We reconvened at the refurbished Naughtons hotel in Parkville for dinner. Twenty-one people made it to dinner, with a hardcore fifteen seeing the whole day out! We were delighted that Bruce Christie and his wife, Helen could join us. Bruce came up with the idea of us saying what our highlights (and lowlights) of the ten years had been.
It was interesting to hear a common theme of highlights being the ability to travel with the profession, but also several people mentioned employers who had supported them through having children, travelling or had given them flexibility in their employment. Lowlights were varied, but several seemed to hinge around the career not having been what people expected, and it was unanimously agreed that for our cohort the tragic losses of Briony Field and Rose Pincini are something that none of us could ever forget, but must always acknowledge. It was particularly lovely to see Ash Grembka, Rose’s fiancé at the BBQ.
I think I can say that a lovely day and/or evening was had by all, and several of us committed to ensuring we catch up again in 5 years’ time, if not before.
Jo Coombe