Class Reunion
March 16, 2004
Tomorrow is the festival of all things green and Irish and Brightspark will be closed. There are quite a few invites to various "do's" involving food and drink which is always a good thing.
On Thursday night however, I will be going to another drinks thing - this time it's a reunion for the BESS class of '93. It's not an officially organised thing, one of the girls who lives in NY has put the word out that she's home and would like to meet everyone and through the marvels of email and mobiles, I believe there will be quite a crowd.
It should be interesting to see what people have gone and done with their lives. I've kept in touch with some people and boy how they've changed. One particular group of socialist leftys made known their disgust as I kickstarted my career in a merchant bank in London. I was a capitalist and should be ashamed of myself, they said. Now their main protagonist is a writer for a very serious economics journal that is read by capitalists far and wide. Others in that group have even been known to work for certain stockbrokers around town.
The year we left college the Celtic Tiger hadn't yet hit. The IFSC was still just the Bank of Ireland and AIB's nice new offices. A lot of us left. For London, New York, San Francisco, Germany, France. Many stayed in those foreign places, putting down roots in their new homes. Unfortunately for me, my best friends are now such London girls they could never imagine life back in Ireland again.
But the good news is that many came back! Two of my good friends came back from London and opened their own gallery. It's doing very well and they have quite a name for finding very talented Irish artists. Another guy has a Belgian chocolate making factory in Kildare. Druid Chocolates, he doesn't have a website (so you can guess who'll be in his ear on Thursday!), but his choccy's are the best. Rich but not too heavy. And there are so many more.
Loads of movers and shakers from the worlds of finance and property and investments. A couple of mums and dads who probably work the hardest out of the lot of us. And more. I'll fill you in on Friday. Until then, have a happy St Patricks Day whether you're Irish or not, just make sure you salute the green!!