kilquhanity House School

If you can manage to go to the celebration could you let Jane Dorner (Kate's Niece who is organising the event) know by email to jane@editor.net so that she can judge the numbers for the catering. Also, if you have any stories or fond memories of Kate which you would like to share then her family would very much like to hear from you. Jane is doing a set of posters - one for each decade of her life - with events from her life, world events and pictures. Information for the posters would have to be sooner rather than later.

Recieved from Deedee Cuddihy February 19, 2008. (Sorry I took so long to publish this Deedee, not enough time!)

A pupil at Killy from 1962 - 1965

Killy reunion at Hilton Hotel in Glasgow on Sunday, February 17, 2008 - Fantastic!!!!! I had so much fun, I was almost hyperventilating. Many, many thanks to Liz and Steve Winning for organising everything and welcoming everybody so warmly and gently pointing us in the direction of the dining room (good food) and keeping glasses topped up and making sure everyone was having a good time etc. etc.

Who was there? Well there were fewer than expected but it's difficult to speak to everyone as much as one might when it's a short afternoon event so actually it worked out well. There were 14 altogether - Liz and Steve Winning, Deedee Cuddihy, Liz Carmichael, Gordon and Jennifer Duncan, Joyce Garland, Kim and Morag Redpath, Lydia Pearson, Nigel Ross, Gary Thomson, Suzanne Dance (Toni Hancock) and Robbie Martin, What was especially good was that there were people who had been at Killy as pupils or staff over a wide period of time (‘50s - ‘80s), some with partners, and even though some of us had never met before, we were all soon chatting away and getting to know each other. So it wasn’t all Killy talk; it was also a chance to meet some lovely new people.

People came from as far away as Aberdeen(shire) in the north to West Sussex in the south.(I was waiting at the bar in the Hilton and a woman standing next to me said: “Are you having a school reunion? I can feel the excitement coming from all of you. You look like you’re having so much fun.”)

Lydia Pearson was there and brought photographs and even some letters I had written her after she left in the early 1960s. Oh my God!!!!!!!! I had no idea how obsessed I was with boys. I hadn’t seen Lydia for almost 40 years and it was so brilliant to meet up with her again. I LOVE YOU LYDIA. We spoke of, among others: Anna, Clare, Mike Critchley, Douglas Herd (Plug) . . . Maybe see you at the next reunion - if Liz and Steve can bear to organise another one?

If you would like to be included in the mailing list for future reunions/gatherings or want to offer help in organising one, please send your contact details to killyreunion@aol.com

There may well be a gathering this summer but at the moment it's looking favourable to plan further ahead for a really big event coinciding with the 70th aniversary in the summer of 2010. This doesn't mean we can't do something this summer, if there's enough interest, possibly in the south this time. As you will probably know, the school is now owned and run by the Japanese people whom John and Morag used to vist each year in Japan. Andrew Pyle, a former Killy pupil, is headmaster. We found this article on the web which gives a pretty good idea of what's happening at Killy now.

There has been a TV series broadcast recently (which was highly rated in the reviews) on CBBC about Summerhill School and they say it will be repeated sometime.

We would really like to have memories of Killy from you so we can all read them here, so get writing and emailing please!