Last year, many were prevented from attending the now-traditional London Escalade fondue dinner because of an unexpected snowfall. This year there was no such excuse, and 33 people (a record turnout) gathered at the only Swiss restaurant in London, the St. Moritz in Wardour Street in London’s Soho district, and completely filled their upper floor. Swiss and Geneva flags were displayed, courtesy of the Alumni and Development Office in Geneva (represented in person this year by Michaelene Stack); that Office had also arranged for our Marmite to be flown in, and this year, unlike last, it arrived in perfect condition, complete with marzipan vegetables: the packaging was this year wondrous in its completeness and compactness—thank you, Marie-Christine, for organising all of that.
The staff at the restaurant were mostly mystified by Escalade, but it turned out that the Chef had actually made Marmites in the past, in Carouge, although he comes from Luzern. Some of us brought partners who were not Ecolint alumni, and we can only wonder what they made of it all, though we hope they enjoyed it (and we think at least that they were very brave to have agreed to attend). We ourselves were not mystified at all, and after a convivial dinner of mixed salad followed by fondue moitié-moitié or bourguignonne, accompanied by vast quantities of Swiss Chasselas, the "most senior” amongst us and the youngest duly smashed the Marmite, to the accompaniment of the usual recitation "Ainsi périssent les ennemis de la République”, and a few snatches from some quarters of "Cé qu’è lainô” and "Ah la belle Escalade”. After it was all over, and old acquaintance re-established, and contact details exchanged, and much mutual warmth, we shivered our way into the December London night (the local equivalent of the Bise was evident), and hoped to reconvene next year for the same occasion. Roger Murray and Simone Wieser have taken some wonderful photos of the event >> access the gallery. As you will see, we are all older, and some of us perhaps a little more stout (we are envious of those who are not), but it is to be hoped that we are possibly wiser or at least better informed, than when we were only 18, all those years ago.
The cast list was, in alphabetical order (all LGB): Harry Albright 80, André Astrow 74, Gilbert Bastyra 66, Bill Betty 80, Monica Bloch 71, Eugenia Chossudovsky 59, Agnes de Guzman 90 and her husband Antonio Borges, Robin Dormer 69, Chris Fonseka 80, Nadia Godin-Heymann 96 and her husband Terry, Data Green 93, Jenny Hargreaves 61, Michael Huttman 79, Nadine Huttman 79, Anna Maria Katterman 79, Gideon Lack 79, Carol (Ray) Lewis 69, Roger Murray 67, Mark Oliver 80, Robin Penberthy 56 and his wife Anne, Kim Perry 68, Debbie (Cooper) Poston 78, Joseph Rochlitz 74 and his guest Angela, Margaret (Morris) Spector 57, Michaelene Stack (current staff), Kelly Stelle 66, Caroline (Brown) Straessle 79, Simone Wieser 73, Liz (Ashford) Winter 61.
Robin Dormer, LGB ’69
Video from Harry Albrigth, LGB '80 Nadia Godin-Heymann and Margaret Spector (Morris) breaking the Marmite.
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