Auckland dinner by sunset

Sunday 23rd February

At the end of a beautiful sunny day the Auckland OMs dinner was held a the Sails restaurant overlooking Westhaven Marina and so offered a superb view as daylight turned to dusk.

Those attending were:
Nick and Jill Howe-Smith (Nick: 78-83)
David and Debbie Duggan (David: 65-70)
Brian and Caroline Jones (Brian: 83-88)
Tony and Ann Smith (Hon OM)
Peter Mensah (80-85)
Gordon and Angela Mizner (Gordon: 65-69)

It was lovely to see David and Debbie attending their first NZ reunion, particularly so as David was a contemporary of mine – indeed we played in the same tennis teams. David and Debbie have retired to NZ where they have family.
We were also delighted to be joined by Tony and Ann Smith who had recently arrived from the UK to stay with their son Nick. Tony and Ann are well known to many OMs for their involvement and support of school and OM reign you over many years. In fact Tony was made an Honorary OM some years ago.
I was also delighted to meet Peter of whom I had heard so much and to hear about his successful life in NZ.

Peter and Brian have been in NZ for over 15 years and seem well settled, and Nick has over 25 years. This seems to confirm NZ is a place where people come and stay, and I can quite see why. Indeed, Auckland seems to be growing fast with significant development in many areas.

The Auckland group are always welcoming of the OM President and we're delighted to hear some of the news during a very relaxed, informal evening – the Kiwi way.

Unfortunately John Sievers had to pull out on the day as his wife had suffered a fall. I managed to make contact with John and have a chat the following day. John is an OM who was at Cockermouth and St Bees as well as MHS and has been in NZ since the early 1960s.

Auckland dinner 23 Feb 2020
L-R: Ann Smith, David Duggan (65-70), Gordon Mizner (65-69), Caroline Jones, Angela Mizner, Jill Howe-Smith, Tony Smith (Hon OM partly hidden), Debbie Duggan, Peter Mensah (80-85), Nick Howe-Smith (78-83), Brian Jones (83-88)

The OMs
L-R: Brian Jones (83-88), David Duggan (65-70), Gordon Mizner (65-69), Nick Howe-Smith (78-83), Peter Mensah (80-85), Tony Smith (Hon OM)

Our partners
L-R: Angela Mizner, Debbie Duggan, Jill Howe-Smith, Caroline Jones, Ann Smith





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