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Radley on the Wear Jim Summerly reports on the Under 30s Durham Dinner. The first North Eastern Dinner for young Old Radleians took place in the Royal County Hotel in Durham on 3rd March 2001. Twenty eight recent Old Radleians took part. Most had attended or were attending the universities of Durham and Newcastle while others appeared from York, Cambridge (a university from somewhat south of Durham), Leeds and Manchester. The Chairman of the Old Radleian Society, Michael Van der Gucht, and a North Eastern don, Jim Summerly, were given honorary status as youngsters and drove through a promising blizzard to attend. The evening was counted a great success. Even more Radleians would have attended had not the dinner clashed with a 'Mr Durham' contest in which three of the colleges were represented by ORs. The conflict between the traditional desire of Radleians to take their clothes off in public and the prospect of eating and drinking in considerable quantities was settled by the three ORs going first to the competition and following on to the night club afterwards. Not even an ex-Captain of the 1st XV won. Back at the dinner in the Royal County wine and conversation flowed. Many wanted to hear about the new Warden: others wished simply to renew the anecdotes and banter which confirm the trust and fellowship of ORs everywhere, and then to hear about the new Warden. Michael Van der Gucht gave a gentle speech outlining the role of the Old Radleian Society and Jim Summerly tried to make the members smile. Then almost the whole party adjourned to a night club called Klute which the present writer last entered twenty years before. As ever, ORs proved to be masters of retro-chic. Many thanks are due to Mike O'Connor and Charlie Goldsmith who brought it about, and to Jock Mullard and Michael Van der Gucht for supporting a venture which will almost certainly become the first of many. Jim Summerly |
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