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Year of '79 meet again in London
Neil Howie, BVetMed (1979)
Marking the 40th year since
our graduation, members of the RVC Year of 1979 and some partners, met in London
during May.
Highlights of the weekend were visits
to the RVC campuses. Our tour of Camden gave fascinating insights into the developments required to teach year groups which are now each close to the entire student population of the 1970s. While modernisation has changed the building, and created attractive social spaces, we could still recognise favourite places. The refectory is still where
we gathered, nervously, in October
1974. Time in the dissection room and demonstration theatre brought back memories of embryonic friendships which matured during the course, and have been maintained during our diverse careers. Prize winning exhibits in the bone room proved that at least two of us knew it was more than just a line in a song.
Tripping through the Beaumont and visiting the Queen Mother Hospital time warped us to the current state-of-the- art facilities in small animal care and veterinary training. What would Frostie have made of the juxta-position of the
rabbit and ferret wards? The expressions of the QMHA reception team suggested they were not expecting a herd of dinosaurs on a Sunday morning.
The Buttery, aka Wally’s Bar, looks the same. The sports fields are still superb. So, while the new library and sports hall are wonderful facilities, the heart of our time beats on.
We were superbly led by knowledgeable and enthusiastic student ambassadors, each a credit to the College. Massive thanks to the Alumni Relations team of Sam Benson, Mark Collins and Vicki Laing, who went way beyond the call in organising and hosting our days. The Royal Veterinary College is a great place in good hands.
In addition to the Class of 79’s reunions at Camden and Hawkshead Campuses in May, we were delighted to welcome them to our 2019 Graduation Ceremony at Royal Festival Hall in July.
Due to a general strike on the day of their expected Graduation, the Ceremony, organised then by the University of London, had to be cancelled and some of the class of 79 were unable to
officially graduate. 40 years on, we put that right and the alumni who were able to join us had a wonderful day.
Neil Howie said: “I have always been proud to be able to say I qualified at the RVC, London. Now, at last, I can say I graduated from there!”
REUNIONS
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