The 139th CAOKS Annual Dinner -8 January 2005

The CAOKS Annual Dinner was again a resounding success with around 200 past pupils and patrons descending on the School for six hours of camaraderie. The Champagne Reception kicked off the evening in fine style. Upper Sixth Form Ushers individually welcomed diners to the School and a cohort of Senior Prefects were on hand to socialise with the alumni. A broad age range was to be seen with leavers from the 1930s rubbing shoulders with the 2000-2004 contingent!

Among the Top Table guests of the Association were The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor of Chester, the Dean of Chester, the Chairman of Governors, the Head of Equal Opportunities, the Senior Librarian, and the Head of School. The presence of 1541 Society Patrons and past and present members of staff added to the sense of occasion.

Following the 5 course candle lit meal Norman Harrison, a Past President and a former Hon. Secretary, proposed the toast to the School. A worried Headmaster listened intently as Norman regaled the attendant throng with a hilarious account of how previous headmasters had met their fate while he had been active in the Association. Tim Turvey responded with a highly entertaining recount of central government educational bureaucracy.

John McKnight, a Civil Engineer and native Glaswegian, proposed the toast to the Association. Following a short introduction in his native Gaelic he recounted many amusing anecdotes including how CAOKS ensured his “success” on the radio programme ‘Top of the Form’ and a true account of the building of his own bed on a visit to Chester. The President thanked the speakers for their compelling speeches and the officers of the Association for their continuing hard work throughout the year.

Everyone, including the headmaster, had finally departed in the small hours – all looking forward to the 140th on Saturday 14th January 2006!

Adrian Ackroyd has provided pdf files which show photos taken at the dinner. Click the links here to open or save the files - photos 1, photos 2, photos 3, photos 4. (These are large files - about 1.7Mb each - so realistically you need a broadband connection to download them.) Colour copies of these photos are available from Adrian - contact honsec.caoks@kingschester.co.uk

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