On Saturday 10 September 2022, 26 Bedford College alumni reunited in Regent's Park to celebrate 50 years of meeting.

By Patricia Mathieson (Geography, 1975)

I wondered whether to cancel because of the Queen’s death, but decided to go ahead on the grounds that people could choose whether or not to stay away. I also wondered whether London would be packed with sightseers and people taking flowers to royal locations, making travel unpleasant. But I found a seat easily on the train and sailed through on the underground, picking up the ingredients for my picnic on the way through.

Regent's Park has hardly changed. As I crossed from Baker Street into the Outer Circle and then over the bridge into the park itself, time seemed to go into a reverse spin. I was back in the early 1970s, cycling through the park from Hanover Lodge to college, passing what could have been the same people messing about in the same boats.

Fifty years, almost to the day, from when we first met for Freshers’ Week at Bedford College, 26 of us converged on the Rose Garden for a celebration picnic.  There was a core of geographers, but also people who studied geology, physics and modern languages. Some had seen each other in the intervening years, others not at all. Concerned whether we would all recognise each other, I tied my old Bedford scarf (now a bit moth-eaten) to a tree. I didn’t need to worry: nobody had changed very much. 

It was a glorious, relaxed afternoon. Passers-by must have thought it very strange to see a bunch of oldies sitting on the grass or benches beside the pool talking as if their lives depended on it. Someone commented on how appropriate it was, two days after the Queen had died, to be in a royal park.

Lunch over and photos taken, we trooped across to what is now Regent’s University, where we received a warm welcome. Once through security, we were able to explore our old haunts: Herringham Hall, the refectory, Tuke Hall and even upstairs to some of our old tutors’ rooms. Almost best of all were the library and the grounds at the back of college. It was quite reassuring that the place had changed very little, apart from some cosmetic improvements. The refectory has been brought up-to-date and a very high-tech lecture was going on in Tuke Hall. The shop has gone and the portacabins have long since gone from the main quad, which now contains a well maintained garden.

After a magnificent day, the general feeling was that we must not leave it so long to meet again. So perhaps a suitable date would be in 2025, celebrating 50 years of graduating.

In the meantime, for anyone who visits central London, it could be very useful to know that Bedford College alumni are considered alumni of Regent’s University because of the connection with campus. All you have to do is fill in an online form. This will allow you to keep in touch with Regent’s activities and events, and to use the public spaces and library. Anyone who is interested or wants to find out more can get in touch with the alumni office by emailing alumni@regents.ac.uk.

Photo

• Back row: Keith Marchant, Corinne Marchant (Jones), Peter Hammonds, Chris Lawrence, Phil Corcoran, Keith Buchanan, Sally Buchanan, Roger Lowry, Kevin Bramley
• Middle Row: Diana Lowry (Ling), Mary Dunn (Midmer), Paul Ebberson, Rosemary Corcoran (Holliday), Steve Dunn, Jenny Harkison (Gilbert), Sue Bramley (Keep), Patricia Mathieson
• Bottom Row: Joan Bullivant, Liz Jones, Lesley Yapp (Marklew), Barry Harkison