WOW! What a weekend!

A big THANK YOU to all forty-one alumni who joined us for the reunion on Saturday 3 October. There were moments earlier in the year when organising it felt a little like “herding cats” [Alison Breese & Jan Wheater, 2026], but I was confident that all the effort would be worthwhile.

The opportunity to “freely reminisce” [Mandy Eves, 2026] was at the heart of the event. Our personal stories, Paul’s quiz and Mark V’s amazing big-screen photo gallery all helped bring those happy memories flooding back.

There were so many highlights, but what I particularly enjoyed was seeing how we came together through our shared bond of life at Willoughby in the 1970s. Many of us had not mixed all that much while we were in Hall, yet fifty years on, we found plenty to talk about. I came away feeling that I had not only renewed old friendships, but made new ones too.

My thanks once again to everyone who came and helped make the reunion such a success, and especially to all those who gave their time and energy to the planning and organisation.

Forty-one alumni, fifty year-old memories, and a weekend to remember.

Mark Lightowler

Speech form Nigel Young  (Hall President 1977-1978)

Thank you, Mark. 

Recognising that this is not a day for long speeches, you won’t have to listen to me for long – just a few minutes. 

Firstly, can I reiterate Mark’s welcome to you all, and thank you for coming along today. Everybody is making a contribution to this being a fabulous occasion. 

It is really great to see so many familiar faces. It’s a reminder of that very special time we had all those years ago. Perhaps we didn’t realise then just how lucky we were. Willoughby was a very active hall, taking part in lots of activities and with a culture passed down from those who came before us. I don’t think that happens in the same way today. 

And I’m not sure how many university cohorts meet like this. It is the third such occasion that an extended group from Willoughby circa 1976 have congregated, and this is the largest attendance so far. It’s a special day. 

During the course of this weekend we may encounter students at the university today, in 2026, and maybe let on that we were at university here 50 years ago, in 1976. Just imagine ourselves in 1976 and coming across a group of people then celebrating their 50 year reunion. They would’ve been here in 1926! To me that’s astonishing. 1926 was before either of my parents was born and the group celebrating would not have attended the University of Nottingham as we now knew it, but University College, Nottingham. The university only received its royal charter in 1948.

There are many of us present today which is fantastic, and clearly there are many we would like to have been here but who aren’t. Reasons are various: we weren’t able to track them down; they had other commitments today; some have sadly passed away. Please raise a glass in a toast to our ‘absent friends’. 

There is a second toast I’d like to propose. It is to someone who has put in a tremendous amount of work: tracking down, coaxing, chasing and coordinating us all. I think I speak for everyone here, Mark [Lightowler], that we so appreciate everything that you have done for us. You mentioned in your mini bio that being winning captain of the Willoughby Hall basketball team was one of your great achievements at Nottingham. Well, now you have another – planning and arranging this reunion. Thank you, Mark. We have a small gift to show our gratitude to you. So please raise your glasses again to Mark for organising everything this weekend. 

Thank you again, everyone. I wish you a fabulous few hours together.