The following news of the Florida Reunion was received from Dave Burton ...
"The extended weekend of October 16-19, 1998, saw the latest example of what is rapidly becoming an annual tradition -- the OBs Florida Reunion. As in other years, Gordon and Gill Ratcliffe graciously opened their home in St. Petersburg, Florida, to a motley crew of 1950s-vintage OBs. This year's group, pictured in the Ratcliffe's back garden, with the Gulf of Mexico beyond, was (left to right): Dave Burton (Professor of Microbiology, University of Manitoba); Dave Dobbing (Dobbing Insurance, Hoylake); Gordon Ratcliffe (entrepreneur, computer guru and motorcyclist extraordinaire, St. Petersburg, Florida); Eric Davies (Professor of Botany, North Carolina State University) and Stewart Sumpton (Marine Inland Fabricators, Panama City, Florida). An impressive group, one might say, and a testament to the fact that a Birkenhead School education not only cultivates the mind but also the body!
Under the firm hand of house-mother Gill, we worked diligently in recalling those distant times at school and at the OB rugby club. The stories, of course, became taller and the remembrance of our exploits less credible, as the golden glow of nostalgia grew in proportion to our intake of spirituous and other liquors -- in other words we had a wonderful few days.
Roll on next year."
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