Reunion Report

Our reunion took place on 17 and 18 June, 2014, during beautiful weather, with the University looking its best.

We started at 1A The Square, meeting, greeting, reading name badges (very helpful!) and enjoying a convivial lunch.

Those who wished then walked, reminiscing gently as we passed well- known landmarks, to the old Nat. Phil. Department which is now renamed the School of Physics and Astronomy. Others went exploring or shopping in Glasgow.

In a new lecture theatre, with fine views of trees and gardens, Dr. Peter Sneddon treated us to a presentation on the current activities of the School. Both research and teaching had expanded and diversified greatly since our day as students. There was a lively discussion comparing then and now – still plenty of students from the West of Scotland, many living at home for reasons of economy, student numbers shooting up recently (the Brian Cox effect?) and students coming from Eastern Europe and further afield. Some of us could be heard approving of the fact that students could now rate the teaching – a definite improvement.

We then toured two optics research labs in the basement where we heard about brilliant new measurement techniques using the latest laser technology. The development of instruments to measure crucial health data, such as the oxygenation of the blood in the eye, or a wide screen view of the retina, was of particular interest to older people like myself.

After free time for a couple of hours, we reassembled on the steps of Glasgow University Union (which most of us remember as The Men's Union ). A group photo was achieved by Robert Smith bravely standing out in the roadway, after which we went upstairs for drinks in the Bridie Suite. Memories were stirred of studying there, or attending eloquent debates or wild dances…and there was time to catch up with old classmates we hadn't managed to speak to yet.

The Golden Reunion Dinner - a great success - was held in the Bridie Library. Frank Kinghorn gave the 'Glasgow Grace' and proposed a toast to Absent Friends. We particularly remembered Ronnie Manson who had been intending to come, but who sadly died before the reunion.

The catering staff produced an excellent meal (we had made our menu choices in advance from a list decided by our organising committee and this worked well). The venue, lit by candles and summer evening light, had a lovely atmosphere and from comments made it seems everyone enjoyed themselves.

After dinner Hilary Fraser wittily introduced our guest speaker, Professor Craig Buttar (“a sign that we are getting middle-aged is that Professors of Physics keep getting younger”). Prof. Buttar showed slides and talked on the theme of “Hunting the Higgs Boson” so we could marvel at the development of particle physics and associated technology since our day, from the Synchrotron in the basement of the Natural Philosophy Department to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the thousands of physicists, engineers, computer experts and technical staff from all over the world who collaborate there. Peter Macfarlane replied with a vote of thanks, pretending to wonder why he could not find these bosons in his 1960's nuclear physics textbook…

The next day many of us attended the Commemoration Day events at the University – our reunion dates had been chosen with this in mind, and it felt like a good idea to support the University and the Alumni Office. Jessica Constable of this Office had been very helpful, providing class contact details, a reunion Notice in Avenue, and performing other reunion planning tasks.

After the Chapel Service, the awarding of Honorary Degrees (with a Commonwealth Games theme this year) and the academic procession in brilliant sunlight, there was lunch in the beautiful Hunter Halls and speeches from the Chancellor, the Principal and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Kamalesh Sharma. Tables were reserved for our party and we 'took a bow' as Class of '64; a fine ending to our memorable reunion.

Report by Mary McCann

It was a great day and everything was top class - couldn't be better. I wasn't sure about the tour but it turned out really interesting and all really well presented. I enjoyed the speakers at the dinner. All were very professional and I even understood some of it.

The best was meeting the 'old' faces. I probably talked to more of them than in the four years of our course. It was a time warp seeing the Uni and Union again.
- Dale Boyd

I thoroughly enjoyed the two days but I have most commented on the fact that, a few weeks after we graduated, the 2 papers predicting the Higgs Boson were published. “1964- a very good year for physics!”.
- Anne MacKinnon

I thought the whole experience was wonderful, and possibly enjoyed us all working so well together as much as the reunion days themselves!
- Frank Kinghorn

Wasn't that a super way to spend two days - I thought the reunions wouldn't be a big deal, but they were.
- Morag Kellaway

After four years of segregated education, much in the news these days, it was good to be able to enter the Union without trepidation and I even spoke to some male physicists and they didn't bite. Of course we women were expected to sit in the front row in Maths and I can remember Prof. Dee saying that he could not get used to us not sitting in the front row in Nat. Phil. but I think we all still sat in the same row.

It was good to reminisce with old friends, some from pre-uni days e.g. Peter Macfarlane whom I got to know at Hyndland School when I went there for the sixth year. Fortunately it was another Macfarlane I was made to sing romantic duets with.
It was a pleasant surprise to discover that Ian McLaren's wife Elizabeth went to the same primary and secondary schools (Scotstoun and Victoria Drive) as me although some years later- more reminiscing!

All in all it was a great event and I hope it won't be too long till we meet again. Thanks again for all your hard work with more to come. Hope to see some of you again soon.
- Lilian Dunlop

I found that the reunion generated quite a spread of emotions in me. The obvious one was nostalgia as I literally had not visited the university since my graduation all these years ago!

It was predominantly a happy experience, however, as I thoroughly enjoyed meeting up with all those old acquaintances from my student days. At the same time, it was tinged with sadness due to the passing of Ronnie Manson, whom I regarded as a very good friend. I had attended Ronnie's funeral just the previous week and he was very much in my thoughts at the reunion.

The events organised for the reunion struck just the right note and left one with a very true impression of what Glasgow University is all about. Irene, who hails from Sydney, was immensely impressed by the splendour and tradition of the graduation ceremony. I was rather touched by the warm reception that was given to Nat. Phil. 64 at the lunch that followed!

I was particularly impressed by the examples we were shown of the research being conducted into digital processing of optical data in the physics labs. Both of the projects that we saw were, in my opinion, very worthwhile endeavours with good prospects of finding practical application. All of this bodes well for the future of the physics department and the university!
- John Cowan

My main thought is that travel is often stimulating but time travel really gets the brain going. Suddenly people in the remote past are part of one`s life again. So for me the reunion was a very big thing, and I`m hugely grateful to you and the others who made it happen.
- Doug Kean

a) Spouses/partners attending reunions often feel like "extras" ... my partner assures me that did not happen; there was a spirit of natural inclusion.

b) A big "thank you" and "well done" to the organisers from me. It was my first attendance and it was a good experience. You got the admin. e.g. timings and content/events over the two days just right... so well that I did hear voices speculating about when the next gathering might be held !!

I was too busy talking to take many photos however I did get record shots taken of the group +/- partners on the Union steps and attach them for your use if appropriate.
- George Rennie

It was good to hear from the invited speaker, Professor Buttar, that Particle Physics has made tremendous strides in the past 50 years. On the other hand, my after dinner comment expressing scepticism at being told 50 years ago that a neutrino had no mass reflected my view of that time that we were being asked to swallow some dubious “facts”. Of course, a theory holds only until it is replaced by a better one and I still find difficulty with many of the current concepts. I hope that one day someone will manage to sort out Particle Theory with readily acceptable ideas. As for Quantum Theory………
- Peter Macfarlane

It was a joy to see all those faces, recognise almost all of them, and note how well almost everyone looked; reassuring, in my (our) 8th decade. So little time for all those conversations, all of them interesting - such a variety of lives and activities, putting flesh on the biographies. We really need to meet up on some basis more often - and I know some have managed this. That seems like a vote for a 55th Reunion.

The lecture theatre was a far cry from the dull, dark memories which are still very clear, and the organisational developments in the University and the department sounded like big steps forward. The labs and their equipment also seemed a huge step forward, and how encouraging to find work in hand of such direct potential value to anyone with eyesight threats (most of us, I think).

I did find the after-dinner physics lecture spookily familiar; it's a real privilege to receive a talk (again) on such a sophisticated subject at this level (even if not quite fully comprehended ...). It did help me to have read most of "The Particle at the End of the Universe" as I trundled in the campervan through 8 European countries, as this elaborated helpfully on exactly what the lecture covered (recommended reading, which takes the story on from our degree level without a brain melt-down).

The day was memorable for all the best reasons; who could fail to have been uplifted and encouraged by it?
- Campbell Sayers

The quality of the reunion reflected the amount of careful preparation put in by in particular Hilary, Frank and Ian, and there was a feeling of real Glasgow warmth too.
- Mary McCann