The 2023 SVPPA Reunion took place on 8th July at the school in the afternoon and at Bradbury Fields in the evening. People started arriving from around Midday and were greeted with drinks and packed lunches in the dining room.
At 2 pm we held our Annual General Meeting in the conference room, which is one of the rooms near to the main entrance. Here the reports from the Chair and Treasurer were presented and we elected our new committee. The new committee is almost the same as the last one, except that we have lost Angela Milnes and added Donna Healey-Sharpe. We said a special thank you to Angela who has served diligently on the committee for about twenty years. Donna will be a great asset to us as she works at Bradbury Fields and has lots of connections with the school which is also part of the Catholic Blind Institute. As is customary, we also had a minute’s silence to remember all pupils and staff who had passed away over the last year.
Following the AGM people were free to wander around the school and remember the places they used to go and see what has changed. What was good this year was that most of the rooms had been unlocked for us so there was lots more to see. Also, as happened last year, some archive materials were laid out for us in one of the upstairs former dormitories. This included old Braille and audio equipment and old school annual reports, as well as some more unusual items, such as the gong which was used to summon the nuns to prayer and the dentist’s chair which used to be in the pharmacy. Some members went into the chapel and played and sung some worship songs, with others coming in to listen.
At around 5:30 pm taxis were arranged to take us to Bradbury Fields for the evening event, which included a two-course meal and a bar open until 11 pm. It was a great chance for members to meet old friends and make new ones. The highlight of the evening was former St Vincent’s pupil Ian Beverley broadcasting his Ultimate Radio Show, Saturday Night With Bevy, live from Bradbury Fields. During the show some people visited Ian in his pop-up studio in the lounge to request songs and share their school memories. You can listen to a recording of the show via the link below. We rounded off the evening with a bit of karaoke which was a nice end to a brilliant day.
SVPPA would like to thank the staff at the school and Bradbury Fields for their time and effort in making it a very special day. We would also like to thank Ian Beverley and everyone at Ultimate Radio for a great show. If you weren’t able to join us we hope to see you next year.