Annual Dinner 2024 - Friday 10th May
Invitations to the 2024 Dinner have been posted to all registered members. If you have not received an invitation, please contact us so that we can check we have the correct address for you. If you would like to attend and are not a member, please send us your name, contact details and Year of Entry to the School and we will happily add you. There's no cost for membership and no obligations. We can than send you a dinner invitation and booking form. If you are planning to attend and are yet to book, please do this ASAP!
The dinner will be held at our new venue, the Royal Maritime Hotel in Queen Street, Portsmouth, where we will have our own room, the Trafalgar Ballroom, with its own bar. Our wives/partners will, as per usual, be able to dine in their own room, the Quarterdeck. Catering will be our normal 3 course dinner, with wine, followed by cheese and biscuits and coffee or tea. Incorporating a subsidy from our funds, this year’s charge will be £40 per head. As is our established custom, our more senior members, this year YOE 1951 and before, will continue to be treated to a free dinner. We’d love to see more of you senior gentlemen attend. For this year we have decided to revert to our old method of tipping, a cash in the glass whip round. Many of us no longer carry cash, so can everybody make a special effort to have some change on them, £1/£2 coins, fivers preferred. Please note that as per usual, no tickets will be issued, receipt of your form will be sufficient.
There is parking a hundred yards or so down a road opposite the hotel in a nice clean multistorey car park. Do not use the other rather tatty car park in a side street, down nearer the Hard. It’s likely to close before our evening concludes. Overnight hotel guests will receive a parking discount from hotel reception.
We want to see as many of you Old Secundrians as possible at our exciting new venue. Circumstances have forced a change, but let’s treat it as a refreshing opportunity, make an effort, and let’s have a great time at our new venue.
Dress Code A change here, it’s now suits and ties optional with smart casual as an alternative. The choice is up to you. Having made this change, we hope to see more of our younger old boys attending. Ties to the new design remain available. Advance orders would be appreciated; please see the booking form. You will be able to pick them up on the night from John Shaw. Alternatively, you’ll be able to buy for cash only on the night.
Evening’s Timetable Meet from 5.00pm to allow plenty of chatting time before our group photo just before 7.00pm. The dinner itself will start at around 7.30pm after the welcome, year groups’ parade and in memoriam silence. There will be a comfort break around 9.30pm, followed by our speaker and general notices, finishing by 10.30pm, or a little earlier, and then to the bar.
Speaker This year our speaker will be Russell Finch, who will be enlightening us on more interesting aspects of his involvement in the legal profession.
Ladies Dinner Please indicate on the booking form whether your wife/partner will be attending. We very much welcome our partners; they always have a very enjoyable evening.
Accommodation Rooms are being held for us at a discounted rate. Classic Double for 1 person B&B - £103.95 per room per night, Classic Double for 2 people B&B £129.60. Please book directly with the hotel reception (Tel: 023 92 98 2182), quoting code GA000521. No deposit necessary, pay on arrival.
Donations Many, many thanks to those of you who have made donations each year. Please keep it up. They continue to be the life blood of the Association, enabling us to cover our outgoings and keep our bank account in the black.
