Karen and I last met in August 2025 when she and my partner Emma went for a meal in Fitzrovia, London. We ended up being joined by Hannah (Emma’s daughter) and Sarah (one of mine) during the evening as coincidentally they both happened to be in the area. During the evening, Karen and I worked out that our last proper catch-up was several years back in September 2017, at a ‘Dîner en Blanc’ event in Somerset House, London.
Dîner en Blanc is a rather chic “invitation-only” event that started in Paris in 1988 and has since spread to multiple cities globally (see here for background). It’s a bit POSH…
Karen joined me and my ex for the evening.
A lot has happened to me since then: a divorce, multiple house moves, retirement, and, most importantly, meeting Emma.
Karen’s life has shifted too, and thanks to Facebook, I’ve followed the journey from a distance: her new career, children’s milestones, her husband’s job changes. But it was wonderful to finally fill in all the backstories over a glass or two. The best tales are, of course, kept off social media.
It was around 1971, at Highfield Primary School in Hillingdon, where I first met Karen (Payne, as she was then). I lived in the local council estate, she lived about a half a mile away, in the posh bit!
Apparently, although I can’t remember, one of my first interactions with Karen was to stab her with the end of a freshly sharpened pencil! This caused her mother to have words with mine! I reckon that was fake news… just look at that angelic boy, how could he have done such a thing!
We went on to join Mellow Lane Comprehensive, and even shared the same ‘A’ level classes in sixth form (Sociology, Economics, and Geography). Karen was one of only a handful of pupils from my school who actually managed to go to university back then. It was a different world in the ‘80s. Most of us went straight into jobs either at the age of 16 or 18. I went on to crash out of sixth form halfway though – See open apology!
Karen’s always been a keen writer, keeping in touch for a few years after we left school, and with no mobiles or internet, we became pen-pals, Royal Mail being was the only option for our generation! We remained in contact for a while, although I know she put more effort into letter writing than I ever did – BOYS!
Social media rekindled our friendship about 15 years ago, initially through FriendsReunited, later Facebook and now WhatsApp.
Dubai – my first visit
I visited Karen and her husband Andy back In 2011 when they were kind enough to put me up for a couple of nights after I extended a business trip to Dubai.
Looking back at the photos it’s hard to believe that Sasha is now half way through her 4 year degree course, and Lucas is now a first officer airline pilot with Wizz, my favourite airline!
Small World
In May 2026, Emma and I were on our way to Albania via a WizzAir flight when, after we landed, we heard the announcement mention the name of the First Officer – Lucas! Now that IS a co-incidence… the son of one of my oldest friends had helped fly us to our destination. What a star! He was only around 30 flights in, only having just been released into live flying (I’m glad I didn’t know that at the time 😂😂).
2015 reunion at Adam’s party
A few of the old Mellow Lane 1982/3 leavers (including Karen and I) hooked up at Adam Holman’s 50th Birthday party around 2015, which felt a little like a mini reunion. Adam was a joint friend, who unfortunately passed away in 2025, succumbing to pancreatic cancer after a short illness.
Middle picture – Me and Adam (boys on the top left), next to Irene (holding the cup) and Tracey. A long time ago….
Adam’s untimely passing reminds us of the importance of living life to the full. He and I spent a lot of our childhood together.
Karen’s 60th
We accepted an invitation to join Karen, along with her friends and family at a 60th Birthday bash in Dubai. I’ll drop the link in here when we return. We are excited and keen to see Karen again, and will spend time exploring both new and old Dubai.