On Thursday 27th of March, myself and four other current boys had the opportunity to travel to London for the Old Boys’ Drinks, the first event organised for those working in London. It was a very enjoyable evening, and we all received some valuable advice from those who attended, as well as sharing stories about the school.

We prepared ourselves as best we could for how we thought Liverpool Street would be on a Thursday night. With blazers, smart shoes and the like, we seemed to be overdressed to be at Slough station at 5.30pm, but we felt we were ready for the “city scene”. Well, until Tim stuffed his face with a Burger King at Paddington, nearly causing us to miss the train.

Upon arriving at Liverpool Street, we were faced with finding the specific bar. Following Google maps, we somehow stumbled into a Champagne bar in a very posh hotel, suddenly feeling very small. A quick phone call to James Ski(Chairman of the Alumni) got us back on track and we arrived at the correct location.

Chatting with the Old Boys was far easier than we first anticipated, soon realising that the bond of being at Windsor Boys made conversation very effortless. It was interesting to hear about the different paths some of the guys had followed, and tips about tackling certain issues such as university choices or getting jobs. In particular, the advice of being proactive in looking for internships, work experience and researching what occupation you want to follow stood out as something us current boys will remember for the future.

Listening to stories about different teachers, styles of lessons, house competitions and so on was very amusing, and good to see how much things have or haven’t changed at the school. It made us realise that although the guys there lead different lives to us, they were very similar to us when at the school, and it was good to hear different stories.

On a less serious note, for us it was an exciting experience to see the London bar scene, and some of the worse-for-wear city workers. Whether it was an overweight man falling asleep leaning on a table, a woman chatting up George, or Tim ordering the macho Skinny Cosmo, it was definitely a fun occasion and one we won’t forget.

On behalf of those who attended, I would like to thank James for inviting us and for the food and drinks he laid on. I would definitely recommend attending one to any old boys reading this, as it is a great opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new acquaintances and see where people have ended up.

Written by Andrew Lane, TWBS 2009 — Present