Chris & I arrived in Eastbourne on Friday afternoon to discover that our hotel room had a sea view and was really comfortable. We had time for a walk along the beach towards Beachy Head before it was time to get ready to find the home of Ann & Derek Chapman who had invited us all to pre-dinner drinks. We then drove a few miles to a lovely restaurant, Grimaldi's, at East Dean - food, drink and company were all excellent and it was good to be able to get to know fellow members before the AGM the following day.

The actual meeting was held in the Old Parsonage Hall adjoining St Mary's Church, Old Town, Eastbourne. The building is very old with good facilities. When the bus iness was over and done with there was time for an exchange of family information before we sat down to lunch provided by Jenny French.

After this excellent meal we watched a short video about one branch of the Relf family in Eastbourne. We then moved next door into the Church which was built late in the 12th century with Caen stone from Normandy. It was considerably enlarged in the 14th Century and extensively restored in the 19th Century. We could not stay too long admiring the architecture etc as there was a wedding planned for 4.00 p.m. but we did enjoy hearing a short history of the building.

Afterwards we gathered at the oldest house in Eastbourne, which used to belong to the Relf family, for a group photograph. The present owner then appeared and offered to give some members a tour of the house. Everyone said how interesting it was.

Then it was back to the hall for tea and cakes and our last opportunity to catch up with friends and finish exchanging information. We are going to the reunion next year - will we see you there? We do hope so.

Helen Relf

Reunion Photos:

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Page last revised November 2002.