September 13th

September 13th. 2003 the quaint and quiet village of Butley, in the County of Suffolk, England came alive. No the villagers didn't get in an uproar. They were invaded by approximately 300+ alumni students and guests from the Butley Secondary Modern school years of 1959 through 1975.

The kids of the 60's and 70's returned in style for a reunion never to be forgotten. As the hall opened at 2pm in the afternoon. A few familiar faces began to arrive, Pat Smith and Alexandra Simmonds were among the first. Immediately the chatting and laughter began, memories were being remembered and photos viewed. As the afternoon progressed, more people arrived.

Hugs, handshakes, smiles and laughter could be seen and heard throughout the village hall. The Butley Oyster pub opened up the bar, and our guests supplied an abundance of food. By early evening the crowd grew larger and larger, until one could barely move around the hall.
During the evening, we had a DJ playing 60's and 70's music for our dancing and listening enjoyment. Some managed to get in a dance or two, although it was hard to hear the music over all the chatter. Everyone was so enthusiastic about seeing old friends and school mates again, there was no way the chatter could stop.

I could go on for hours talking about this fantastic event. But I'll stop now and post photographs of the event. I do not remember names of people in many of these photos. (they say age has something to do with it, haha) If you recognise people, please drop me an email at butleyschool@yahoo.com and I'll gladly add names.

I cannot thank Terry Friend enough for all the work and support he put into planning this event over the past two years. Along with Phil Shimmon and myself (Rita Caley), we'd talked, emailed and planned for months. We were sorry that at the end of our planning, Phil and his wife Rene couldn't make the trip from Michigan.

I would also like to thank John Gardiner for all his help and support during the weekend, and Paul Cousins for showing up early on Saturday to help us decorate the hall, and for being my 'make a cuppa tea' guy that night.

To Terry, John G. and John Miller (my husband) a big thank you for working hard on the Friday and Saturday to prepare tents and the hall. You were greatly appreciated, and it was nicely arranged so that we could take a walk up to the Oyster for a pint before the festivities began.

This was definitely a weekend that I know many will remember for a long time. It was an overwhelming feeling for me to stand at the village hall and think back to happy childhood years spent at our School. Thank you all for participating...

Important Update - Terry has notified me that with the funds left over from our reunion, a showcase was made for the school trophies, and they are now on show in the Butley village hall. And the remainder of the money was donated to charity. The two charities that received the funds are for Breast Cancer and Prostrate Cancer. Both extremely important causes. Again our grateful thanks to Terry for all his hard work.