Westbourne The Westbourne Grand Reunion Dinner
Obituary H Julie (Dykes) Reid (1954) 8 June 1936 – 29 October 2011 Julie Reid was born in Hyndland and, on moving to Bearsden, she started her education at Killermont Primary before she moved to Westbourne School for Girls in 1945, aged 9. Her mother wanted to make her a ‘lady’! On her first day she met Sandra Lyons (nee Hood) who - in time - became her ‘oldest and dearest’ friend.
Invitations have now been sent out for this exciting event, due to take place on Saturday 19 May at the Grand Central Hotel. Tickets are selling fast, so please do return your booking form asap if you are planning on coming along. Tables will be arranged in year groups, so the more from your year group you can rally along the better! If you haven’t received your invitation or would like any further information, please contact Joanna, joanna.wallace@tga.org.uk or 0141 342 5494. See you all in May!
Once settled in at Westbourne, she achieved excellent academic results and spoke very highly of her inspirational English teacher and Head Mistress Miss Rose Harris (later Mrs Henderson). Miss Harris told her that she had achieved the top Higher English result in Glasgow and later Julie was Dux (1953) and Head Girl in 1953-54.The replica cup always took pride of place in her Bearsden home. Her Academical father, Andrew Dykes, played rugby for Scotland and was a scratch golfer, passing these sporting genes on to Julie who played right wing for the hockey 1st XI for three years and first team tennis for two years. On leaving school, Julie went to Glasgow University where she graduated in English and History. Tennis led to her meeting her future husband, Ronald Reid, in Elie and in 1959 they were married after she had enjoyed a spell in London on the Harrods graduate management scheme. They had five sons, but unfortunately the marriage ended in October 1971. With both of her parents having died earlier, as a single parent her strength of character shone through. This, together with the support from close family and friends, saw her both ensure a happy upbringing for her five boys and a fulfilling career. After a period working for Cadburys, she retrained as an English and History teacher at Jordanhill College, starting at Douglas Academy in 1974 where she remained until her retirement. Her organisational skills, her passion for her family, her pupils, literature, history, music, theatre and the arts remained with her throughout her life. She actively participated in a wide variety of societies and community groups, generating a wide circle of friends, whom she hugely valued. To the end, Julie had an energetic thirst for reading, knowledge and learning which, regrettably, her physical health was not able to match. Her passing has left a gap for many. Phil Reid (1977)
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Gillian Sinclair (1978) Although not an official reunion, it is around 20 years since Hilary Grierson (Ramsay), Heather Hart (Marshall) and I have met up with Pamela Donnelly (Ward) and Susie Halley (Bruce) Class of 1978. However, we did manage it on Friday 10 February in the Tickled Trout in Bearsden.
Susan McAlpine (1990) In November 2010, the day after his 8th birthday, my son Riley became the youngest black belt student in ‘Soo Yang Doo’ for the Aberdeenshire Area. In November 2011, he gained his ‘First Tag’ (black belt plus one). Now I have decided if you can’t beat them just join them – and I have. I suppose you are never toooo old to learn something new. Riley is now 9 and I started the class the day after my 39th birthday.