The Edinburgh Lunch

I’m not sure if you have ever had the chance to visit the New Club on Princes Street, how would I know after all. On the assumption that you haven’t been there, let me tell you that the Club is not new, neither is it easy to locate.

If you are lucky enough to be invited you will find it on Princes Street in Edinburgh behind the most unassuming of grey doors which normally would be taken for an entrance to an NCP car park or the type of door on the Underground that has ‘Authorised Personnel Only’ written on it. Many times have we received desperate last minute phone calls over the years asking where the New Club is by those in need of a prosecco.

And so this November we once again hosted the Edinburgh Lunch for forty of the finest people you can find in that glorious city. What I really enjoyed, and there was much to commend, was the mix of ages. We need youth as well as experience, and we had both. On a personal level I was delighted to meet people whom I haven’t seen since my school days. The warmth of human fellowship was abundant, and the general crescendo of chatter in the dining room filled our ears, telling Ben Collins and I that such events are so worthwhile to hold, and to attend.

The Headmaster, Dan Harrison, spoke about the success of the School and his optimism for the future. He was animated, his banners unfurled, his colours nailed to the mast, and whatever other idiom one might care to use to express the Shakespearean ‘Henry V at Agincourt’ that stood before us. It went down very well.

Our thanks to the New Club and in particular to Neil McKerrow for acting as our host member. And thank you to all those who joined us. We did very much enjoy your company.

Jan van der Velde

Lupton House 1977-1982

Director of Development