They say that inside every older person, there is still a little boy or girl.
Well, judging by all the giggling, cheek and mischief going on, all those boys and girls were definitely present when a large group of ex-pupils of the Norfolk Island School got together last night at the Castaway. And plenty of them are still displaying a great deal of youthful energy and zest for life too. Over 40 ex-pupils who attended the school in the first half of last century were there - with a few spouses - and even a couple of ex-teachers (including me), albeit from a later era. It is not difficult to gather a group like this together in a place like Norfolk - so many have chosen to live out their lives in the place where they were born - and who can blame them? And relative newcomers like myself (42 years this year) can only envy and admire the wonderful camaraderie, sense of humour and joy that comes from those wonderful shared memories!
These pictures will hopefully show you what fun we all had - but I wish I could turn on the sound for you too!
The evening began with a roll call (from ex-headmaster Ian McCowan), followed by the pledge in front of the Union Jack (all standing at attention).
Then the words of the Norfolk Ode were handed round - this is said to have been composed by a headmaster in the early 1900's and is sung to the tune of Advance Australia Fair. This was where some become quite aware of the deficiencies in eyesight that comes with age!! But having sung it repeatedly while at school, the words were familiar to most!
Next we marched in to dinner - in two lines of course - although I am sure the raggedy formation and the noise would have earned these pupils a slap or two with the ruler round the legs all those years ago.
Later in the evenings, there was a presentation of prizes, announced by Ian and actually presented by today's school principal Frank Stanton. There was a great deal of hilarity as the recipients received their certificates - "First in the 3-legged Race", " Second in Composition", "Outstanding achievement in Woodwork," "Most talkative boy in class" etc- and then unwrapped their prizes which consisted of some pretty outdated books and other amusing items obviously gathered from garage sales and the Waste Management Centre over a period of time!!
Marion and Edith model the hats that Edie Christian has made for them.
And Borry cannot resist trying one of them on too!
We even had a couple of Royal V.I.P's call in.- but I cannot say they lent a great deal of formality or dignity to the occasion!! 
Tom and Vera enjoy a dance
And Ken and Wiggy provided the music - not a tuning fork in sight!
And Vonnie accompanies them on the spoons!!
Kath pretends to be coy - but not Mera!!
Dolly's face tells it all - we had a wonderful and memorable evening in the true Norfolk spirit of fun and sharing!
Thank you Edie and Susan and those who put so much effort into getting everyone together and making sure it was a really happy time. You are wonderful examples of what a fine Norfolk Island education can produce!
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