"Keep The Ship Sailing"

The invitation from the President of the GCUOBA, UK was eerily prescient.

Great Mariner,
The gods appear to be smiling on us for the BBQ for Saturday - the weather forecast is good. This has been confirmed by cowry and cola-nut oracles and powerful Met Office computers. It should be warm enough to swim so please bring swimming kit at least for the kids. This is promising to be a great occasion when we shall meet GCU old boys and their family members. For example there is a good chance I will be meeting some people I have not seen for nearly 40 years. Our Social Secretary, with the help of the exco, is presently very busy cooking up some delicious surprises for the occasion.

Sure enough it turned out to be a sweltering summer day in the UK with temperatures reaching record highs as all roads led to the country home of Lee and Rosaline Foss on the 3rd of July.   It was the perfect opportunity for guests to escape the humdrum of work, school and the chores of daily living.  So, from far and near they came; by road and rail they came and I suspect by horse back and carriage they would have come, if that was necessary, to the sleepy town of Little Thetford in Cambridgeshire.  

Some old boys met other colleagues and their families for the very first time.  It was no surprise therefore to hear old boys swap stories about their colleagues, (especially the absent ones) from the onset of their arrival well into the wee hours of the evening when most guests had left.

The younger guests not wanting to be outdone by their parents or older guests   took to lolling around the meadow, basking in the sun, enjoying the cool breeze or just taking a dip in the pool. One old boy’s determined son took to the pool like a duck to water and spent such a long time in it, that his father had to cajole him to come out of the pool and eat. There was plenty to eat and drink; accompanied by music, jokes and laughter.  The scenery was reminiscent of the good times old boys had shared back at the alma mater.

The grill was well handled by volunteer old boys, so that barbecued meats (beef, chicken, sausages) and fish was always in plentiful supply. The coolers of jollof rice and fried rice never seemed to run empty; neither did the corn and coleslaw. There was plenty to drink.  The music started off in a slow laid-back tempo and steadily became more pulsating and rhythmic as the evening wore on.  Many present began to sway in the typical laid-back fashion of old boys to the beat.

Adventure, nostalgia, reminiscences and a sense that this was one of the best times of our lives, informed the videos and photographs taken by some old boys and their better halves.

Some old boys took the mobile phone numbers of other old boys who could not attend or who were not resident in the UK. One such old boy was said to be visiting the UK from Lagos.

An immediate past official of the UK branch wore a GCUOBA cricketer’s cap, which he said he got from the Branch in Florida, USA following a visit there a few years ago. Another wore a pin spotting the GCU logo - an ancient ship. Stories to regale fellow old boys and their wives went round from one small group to another.

As the barbecue progressed well into the evening, some of the old boys and their families began to depart to their respective homes; but several remained till very late in the evening and departed for home at night. In all, it was a great occasion, the memories of which would continue to linger in the months before the next one.

When the President, UK branch asked for a few lines to be written about this memorable major event of the year, I gladly accepted; remembering what Government College meant to my life.
In concluding, I leave our readers with this modified quote:

Happy times may come and go, but the memories [of Government College, Ughelli] will last forever.

Rolic Oboh
Class of ‘70