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Every five years or so, since our 25th anniversary reunion in the Lake District in 1991, the team that spent the last complete winter at the original Halley Bay base (Halley 1) has been meeting up to share memories of those splendid but now long-gone times. Often we are also joined by one or two Fids from 1965 or even 1967 too and have also welcomed 'Barney' Barningham who helped keep us updated with Halley but inevitably these events have gradually got smaller as the years go by. We have recently sadly lost Doc Ron Lloyd, Andy Williams and Dick Stokes, for example - but the inclusion of Peggy Cuthbertson, Julia Izatt and Tor Stokes, together with wives and partners at the reunion helped swell our numbers. So it was only a small group of just 10 of us that shared our traditional Midwinter Dinner at the Lion Inn in Malpas, Cheshire, on 21 June, 2026. All but one of us had been at that original Midwinter meal in 1966, and we were joined by Phil Cotton (1964/1965) and his wife, Wendy, who have become honorary members of our group over the past few years. Our weekend started with a welcome barbecue gathering on Saturday evening. On Sunday a Zoom session linked in Dave Brooks, Col Read and Kate Lloyd in Canada. Col Wornham's anniversary slide show was followed by a showing of the 1957 film 'Holiday' featuring Chris Barber's Jazz Band, which was a perennial favourite of many early Halley Bay wintering parties. Our traditional Midwinter Dinner still included Turkey and Christmas Pudding and was enjoyed by all together with the usual toasts and messages from absent friends which perhaps kept us all up later than we have recently become accustomed to! The staff at the 'Lion' gave us all a fantastic weekend, with splendid meals and accommodation, so that Monday's departures came around all too quickly. Where next or even when - is the next question for us all to think about!
13 Aug 2026 1966 index page Z-fids home page
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