Archive of Past Dinners
A chronological record of our recent gatherings, celebrating the enduring spirit of Christ's Hospital in the City of London.
2025
Friday, 10th October 2025
Venue: Ironmongers' Hall, London
Chief StewardDiana Garnham (6s 1966–71), Governor and Member of Council
Guest of HonourHRH The Duke of Gloucester, President of Christ's Hospital
ResponderJanet Porter (2s, 1957–65)
The 2025 dinner at Ironmongers' Hall brought together Old Blues, governors, and guests to celebrate the continuing life of Christ's Hospital. HRH The Duke of Gloucester attended as Guest of Honour, and Janet Porter responded on behalf of the school community.
Highlights
- •Guest of Honour: HRH The Duke of Gloucester
- •Responder: Janet Porter (2s, 1957–65)
2024
4th October 2024
Venue: Mansion House, London
Chief StewardRichard Pearey (Ba.B, Pe.B & La.A, 1971–78)
Guest of HonourThe Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of London, Michael Mainelli
ResponderChristopher Steane, former Treasurer of CH, on behalf of BSB
Four anniversaries in one glittering evening at the Egyptian Hall: 350 years of the Royal Mathematical School, 200 years of Blues Supporting Blues, St Matthew’s Day, and the Founder’s birthday itself. The Lord Mayor proved the City still runs on knowledge networks — and Samuel Taylor Coleridge — while the school’s outgoing Treasurer bowed out with characteristic wit and a well-deserved toast to the BSB.
2023
6th October 2023
Venue: Ironmongers' Hall, London
Chief StewardMike Lloyd (Ma.A & Mid.A 1977–84)
Guest of HonourRear Admiral Anthony Rimington
ResponderMajor General Buster Howes (Ba.B & Col.A, 1972–77)
An unseasonably warm October evening at Ironmongers’ Hall drew 170 Old Blues — every generation since 1941 represented, and the 2017 leavers cheerfully decamped to the gallery with its splendid view down into Hall. The 350th anniversary of the Royal Mathematical School provided perfect cover for a Rear Admiral whose own wife had declined the top table to sit with her contemporaries, and a Royal Marines General in tartan whose closing words about ladders leaning against the wrong wall brought the house down.
2022
18th October 2022
Venue: Ironmongers' Hall, London
Chief StewardPeter Farnfield (Ma.A & Mid.A, 1965–73)
Guest of HonourJames Hooper (Ma.B, Ma.A & Gr.E, 1998–05)
ResponderDr Andrew Wood (Ma.B & Mid.B, 1967–74)
After three Covid years and a rail strike that thinned the ranks, Old Blues returned to Ironmongers’ Hall with something to prove — and Peter Farnfield, a patient Chief Steward who’d been waiting since 2019, was ready. A minute’s silence for a Patron just lost, the first ‘God Save the King’ in seventy-one years, and two speeches on the theme of Challenge sent a full room to the bar singing some of the finest chorus heard for many years.