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Mile Oak Revisited

A very happy re-union of old friends
By Jennifer Drury
Photo:Group outside the Mile Oak Inn
Photo:Friends revisited and reunited
Photo:Stopping at a familiar meeting place
Photo:New faces but old friends
Photo:Enjoying the chat and the sun
Photo:Time for a chat with the Mayor, Councillor Garry Peltzer Dunn
Photo:Everything stops for tea
Photo:R-L David, Mary, Tony Drury(MyBH), Mrs Chip Peltzer Dunn the Mayoress, The Mayor Garry Peltzer Dunn, Deputy Mayor Councillor Carol Theobald, Bonny and Jennifer Drury (MyBH)
Photo:Swopping stories
Photo:Smile for the camera!
Photo:Bonny takes charge
Photo:A great way to end the visit

A very special re-union, inspired by visits to the My Brighton and Hove website,  took place in Mile Oak on Sunday 27th July 2008.  As regular visitors will know, each page on the site has the facility for visitors to leave a comment about the page they have read.  The Mile Oak page which can be found here was a very popular page from its first publication, and now holds the site record for the number of comments posted. In a site of over 9,100 pages that is quite a record!

A 'kids' re-union planned
In April this year, one of the most regular posters, Bonny Cother, who grew up in Mile Oak but now lives in Florida, USA, had the idea of a re-union for the 'kids' who grew up in the area in the 1930-1950s.  In a very short space of time, and the help of Mary, Pat and David, the plans had been finalised and the weekend was booked.  We sent our trusty photographer Tony to record their walk down memory lane. We also managed to fix up a reception in the Mayor's Parlour where the group was not only treated to tea, cakes and drinks, but they were also given an impromptu visit to the Council Chamber.

The unique role of the website
The re-union was so successful and enjoyed so much by everyone that they plan to meet up again in two years.  For myself, and husband Tony who is also a member of the MyBH editorial team, it was absolutely terrific to meet up with people who had previously only been names on a page.  It also served to remind us that without MyBH, none of this would have happened.

Dedicated website
There is a dedicated website on Mile Oak which is very well worth a visit for those who would like a walk down memory lane.  There are memories and photos and also details about the re-union, it also gives details of those people who attended and names of the people in the photos.  You can find the website here.

This page was added on 01/08/2008.

Comments:

Better put some names to those faces. Maybe in two years I can make it. Lynne in Idaho.

By Lynne Abbott Neidhardt (04/08/2008)

Dear Jennifer
I attempted to answer Lynne from Idao with names, but have not seen it published, so guess I had messed up. It was a wonderful pleasure meeting you and your husband, after so long being connected via internet. Thank you again for Tony. We hope the three of you will join us when we get together in two years. Thank you for organizing the meeting with the Mayor. That was the icing on the cake.
My friend Julie Christmas Lay, who knows Carol well, has an interesting family background. Her father worked on the orginial bungalows of Mile Oak as a plumber and was invited to select which one he wanted. He chose one with pine trees behind it, in Stanley Ave. Although at that time there was a row of pine trees, the length of Stanley Ave., number 45 is the only one still with pine trees. These trees are now protected. Many years ago when a terrible storm went through Brighton, Julie's mother Phyllis fought for her trees, when back door neighbors wanted them cut down. The present owner is a tree preservist, who told Julie and her sisters on July 27th he had placed a preservation order on the trees. Julie explained that her mother had also done this, many years ago, and there had been an article in the local paper re her mother's fight for the trees. Thought you might find that interesting. Again thank you and thank you for the link. I am sitting out the down graded tropical storm, thank goodness not the hurricane predicted.

By BonnyCother/Veronica Bentley (19/08/2008)

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