Chairman’s Report

Well, we certainly are in strange times! For the last few years I have been helping a friend of mine who has a wholesale coffee business supplying hotels, restaurants, coffee bars, activity centres, attractions etc. with coffee, tea, hot chocolate and machines along the south coast. I was furloughed in March and was just about due to return to work when the second lockdown happened so have been furloughed again, certainly for a month and probably more!

I hope you are all surviving as we move towards the Christmas period. It is also very strange for us on the committee as we have only met by Zoom meetings for over twelve months now. I would like to congratulate Catherine Lloyd (Director of Field Studies at the college) and her team for adapting to the new ’norm’. You will see her report elsewhere in this magazine.

Obviously, we have had to cancel the College reunion planned for last June. At the time I was hoping that by next June we would be able to reinstate. However, at this moment in time, that looks quite unlikely – time will tell. I would like to thank all those attendees who have agreed to leave their payment with us which has saved our treasurer, Mike Williams and database manager Paddy Godwin a lot of time and effort.

Last year at the end of November I attended the Bedford College Group’s Achievements evening, on behalf of the Alumni, which was held in the Bedford Corn Exchange – this year it will be by Zoom. The college group (of which Shuttleworth is a member) boasts a total student population of 15,000 of which about half are part-time.

I would like to thank, once again, all my committee members who work tirelessly on your behalf. If anyone out there would like to assist us in whatever capacity we would love to hear from you.

Finally please stay safe and may I wish you and yours all the best for the festive season. Hopefully 2021 will bring better times.

Tony Abbott NDA 1965-67