It was always going to be a hard act to follow the splendid celebrations which marked the Centenary of the Hywelian Guild in 2006. However, 2007 saw us again enjoying a very successful year with a range of Branch activities across the country and also the Annual General Meeting and the popular Summer Lunch both held in school.

Our AGM in January brought our Centenary year to a close. We enjoyed a fascinating talk from Kay Powell about the Hywelian trip to Seville, following in the footsteps of Thomas Howell. The success of this trip has led to the formation of a Hywelian Travel Club – for more information contact Suzanne Hudson (nee Powell) on 01962 712444.

The AGM also gave us the opportunity to mark the retirement of Mrs Fitz and thank her for her invaluable leadership, support and encouragement as the Guild’s President over the last fifteen years. We look forward to welcoming her back as an Extraordinary Vice President – I shall have to research the history of that impressive sounding title!

Our Annual Summer Lunch was held in school in July as usual. We were delighted to welcome Mrs Sally Davis as our new President. The lunch was well attended, particularly by an enthusiastic group of younger Hywelians. With their experience in mind of getting together a group of friends with whom to come back to school, we are making two Generation Calls for the Summer Lunch to be held on Saturday 5th July 2008. If you left school ten years ago in 1998 or twenty years ago in 1988, we will be contacting as many of you as possible and we hope you will be able to respond to the Generation call and come along to catch up with your peers. Everyone else is of course welcome too – tickets will cost £15 and will be on sale in May.

Our AGM and Winter meeting will be held at school on Saturday January 26th 2008 from 2-4 pm. It will include talks from two recent leavers and tea and scones.

School’s Annual Christmas Carol Service at Llandaff Cathedral always takes place during the last week of term. We do not have the exact date yet for December 2008 but Hywelians are invited to enjoy a glass of mulled wine and mince pies at school before the service. Further details will be available in due course.

More information about these events and Branch activities will be found in the Guild’s annual Magazine due out in January. (Please make sure we have your correct address details so you don’t miss out on your copy!) Alternatively please contact the Secretary, Nicola Davies (nee Salter) for details or if you have a query about your subscription status and membership. On that last point, we can no longer call ourselves an OGA – Old Girls Association.  We now have male Hywelians as the first cohort from the mixed sixth form College have joined the Guild!