On Thursday 21^st. August 2008  the Ukaramcons kicked off their 2^nd. Reunion to coincide with Saudi Aramco’s 75^th. Anniversary at the Holiday Inn Maidenhead/Windsor, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. The weather was once again hot and sunny and for most, would have been a pleasant journey to the hotel but for the traffic. This year it was particularly bad with lots of delays on the major roads especially for those travelling from the north of England.

    Altogether 19 people arrived in time (as did the arranged transportation!!) to go to dinner at The Beehive - a local Pub/Restaurant in White Waltham not far from the Hotel. The setting was ideal with the sun shining low across the village cricket green. The service was fast and the food excellent with plenty of choice for everyone. It was a very pleasant evening allowing all to catch up with events of the past year – returning by the same transportation to the Hotel at 10:30pm.

    The following morning after breakfast 7 golfers  headed for The Huntswood Golf Course near Taplow Village. Again the weather was like the course, perfect in all respects. The greens were immaculate and once the morning dew evaporated, became fast. Due to the lack of Golfers there was no proper competition held but the winner of the round with a 71 net was, to his embarrassment, Tom Henderson, the Reunion Host.

     While the golfers were enjoying their morning others had arranged transportation into Maidenhead and Windsor sight-seeing and the inevitable shopping. Enough activities for everyone  –  trips around Windsor and Eton on the open top Buses -fantastic views of Windsor Town and the Castle from the Big Wheel – a trip on one of the Pleasure boats along the Thames and of course Windsor Castle in all its splendour. Photographs were being taken at every turn.

    As on the Thursday evening everyone assembled in the Hotel lounge. 61 people had booked for evening dinner at the Toby Carvery, Old Windsor in Old Windsor Town about 12 miles from the Hotel. Again the pre-arranged transportation was on time!! On arrival we were warmly welcomed by the staff who were well prepared for the invasion!!! The choice of Gammon, Turkey or Beef  with a variety of succulent vegetables was delicious. To top off the meal there was the choice of a variety of desserts.

Again everyone was safely taxied back to the Hotel at 10:30pm.

Another successful evening much to the relief of the Hosts.

    Saturday morning 23^rd. August 2008, the final day of the reunion. Nearly everyone went sight-seeing around the area. The weather had held for the 3 days and people were going out to enjoy it along with friends they had not seen for years. During the day the last of the people arrived to complete the company of 103 Ukaramcons. Unfortunately due to a variety of reasons there were some cancellations leading up to the final day.  

     The Reunion dinner was held in the Hotel’s Berkshire Suites starting at 6:00 pm. Everyone was greeted at the entrance to the foyer by the hosts, Eileen & Tom Henderson, and given a welcoming drink of Bucks Fizz or a soft drink.

    Once everyone had arrived group photographs were taken and at 7:00 pm the doors to the Berkshire Suite opened. On taking their seats at their tables the Host, Tom Henderson, welcomed everyone to the 2^nd. Ukaramcons Reunion with ‘Salem Alekcom’.

He went on to explain that last year’s Reunion was the forerunner to test the waters and as it was a great success it was decided to open the Reunion to all Ukaramcons as the name suggests. With the backing of Aramco Overseas Company, Leiden, Holland, it is hoped to continue with the Reunion every 2 years. Last year the Reunion was reported in the Arabian Sun, Overseas (AOC employee paper) and in Al-Ayyam Al-Jamilah Magazine.   

A show of hands was taken to acknowledge which of the Aramco Camps in Saudi Arabia were represented - Abqaiq, Dhahran, Ras tanura and Udhailayah. This year the Ukaramcons came from the England, Holland, Ireland, Orkney Isles, Scotland, Switzerland and one from Bagdad, Iraq.

    The oldest attendee was Michael Brown who along with his wife, Drena, celebrated their Emerald Wedding Anniversary

(55 years) on Sept 5^th. 2008.

          Congratulations Drena and Michael.  

    A quick update on the Ukaramcons Website was given stating that in the eleven months the site had been on line it was visited by almost 3,000 people looking at 30,000 pages. To keep the site active personal articles and photos of Family Weddings – Graduations – Births – Mini-Reunions etc. were required to keep it interesting and up to date. It was also explained that as it costs money to keep the site on line sponsorship was needed to maintain it. The response was immediate and those who showed interest were asked to sign up on the sponsorship form in the Foyer.

    Messages from friends who could not make the reunion this year were passed on and this years sponsors of the Reunion, the Holiday Inn,  Etvideo and the main sponsor Aramco Overseas Company B.V. were sincerely thanked.

   The Host then introduced Martin Wingrove, Regional Oil Spill Response Coordinator & Special Projects for AOC who in his official capacity came along to say a few words on behalf of AOC.

  Martin began by thanking the Hosts for their tireless work on organising the event and by stating how much he and Ann enjoyed last year and were pleased to be back and to see so many from last year back again.

  Although Martin was representing AOC he also stated he was a Bona Fide Ukaramcon who, like most, had spent many years living and working in Saudi Arabia during what many regarded as the best years of our lives.

  He reminisced about the days in the 80’s when certain items were removed from the shelves – followed by the Pork Store being closed and how we developed a taste for turkey bacon – then there were the days we drove across the causeway to Bahrain to be in the longest and slowest line of traffic at Customs & Immigration.

   There was shopping in Khobar in the evening  - closing for Prayer and many other things that made working for Saudi Aramco an experience that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

   In closing Martin talked about the Community Spirit built up as Expats in Saudi Aramco and how it has stayed with us and is now part of the Ukaramcon family. He hoped there would be many other such occasions and finished by reading out a letter addressed to the Hosts, Tom & Eileen Henderson, from Salah A. Al-Masoud, Director Industrial Relations Divison, AOC. in which he thanked them and intimated his support for the next reunion in 2010 allowing the necessary advance plans to be set into motion.

   The Host on behalf of everyone at the reunion thanked Martin and Salah for their continuing support and was able to announce the venue for the next reunion as Edinburgh 2010 possibly late July or early September.

  Martin’s full speech and the letter from Salah can be read in full by clicking on the following links.

                                    Martin’s Speech                   Letter from Salah.

   After the speeches dinner was served at 7:35pm. Later in the evening each attendee received a commemorative gift from AOC and there was a prize draw (Ladies only) for the floral displays on the tables and in the Foyer and a few bottles of wine for the men.

   Bouquets of flowers were presented to Carmel Philp, Rita Gunshon and Joan Adams for helping with the decorating of the tables and putting together the Aramco packages. Last but by no means least a bouquet of flowers for the Hostess whose help was invaluable to the Host while organising the reunion.

    The Reunion closed at 1:00am

     Sunday morning it was breakfast and last minute farewells before heading back home with lots of good memories of the Reunion – a great time had been had by all.

See Reunion 05 for photos

and there are more photos on http://share.ovi.com/channel/jpwb.ukar2