This year’s Old Portora Union (London branch) Annual Dinner and AGM will be held at The Army & Navy Club in London on Friday 21 March 2025.
The annual dinner offers a marvellous opportunity to meet and network with many generations of Old Portorans.
The cost of the dinner this year will be £105.00 per person, which includes a three-course meal and wine.
Starter: Homemade Country Pâté Terrine with Fruity Cider Chutney, Balsamic Onions and Toasted Sourdough.
Main: Pork Cutlet with Jerusalem Artichoke and Fennel Compote, Sage Potato Cake, Curly Kale, Carrots and Tarragon Jus.
Dessert: Apple, Raison and Almond Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream.
* If you have any dietary requirements (eg vegetarian, vegan etc), please let us know on the booking form.
There is a reduced cost of £55.00 per person for full-time students and Old Portorans under the age of 25.
Please forward completed booking forms and cheques to Ian Burn, OPU (London branch) Secretary, 2 Whitby Drive, Reading, Berkshire RG1 5HW. Cheques should be made payable to ‘The London OPU’; they will be banked on 17 March 2025, after which no refunds can be made. Please contact me [e-mail (i.j.p.burn@icloud.com) for alternative methods of payment (cash or BACS) if you do not have a chequebook.
Booking forms can be completed online and emailed; or printed out, completed by hand and posted.
To finalise arrangements with the Army & Navy I need to have all booking forms returned to me no later than 17 March 2025. A list of attendees will be put on the Old Portora Union (London branch) website, enabling Old Portorans to track contemporaries attending (https://billburn.webmate.me/OPULondon/).
Overnight accommodation will be available at the Army & Navy. We have reserved ten rooms and anyone wishing to book one should contact me: [e-mail (i.j.p.burn@icloud.com); phone (mobile) 07765 696717].
The Bursary Fund is currently in surplus, thanks to the generosity of OPs over the years. Money in the Fund is ‘ring-fenced’ and can only be used for the Bursary Prize. Our current general funds are in a rather more perilous condition. We continue to contribute to the cost of the dinners for the School Party and those OPs under the age of 25; despite adding a small levy on the ticket price we rarely recoup the full cost. We'd be very grateful if those generous OPs who normally contribute to the Bursary Fund would instead, this year, nominate their gift to the ‘School Party fund’.
I look forward to seeing many of you at the dinner.
