Held in the beautiful surroundings of the East India Club in St James’s Square, London. The John Lyon School has a long association with the East India Club and this is one of several events held regularly at this historic venue.

A welcome reception was held in the Clive Room, before the guests were called to dinner in the East India Room, a beautifully decorated dining room with a very elegant atmosphere.

The guests were welcomed to the evening by Mr Ian Parker, Director of Alumni Relations, who introduced the first speaker of the evening, Andrew Paul.  Andrew Paul has been an actor for over 40 years and is a veteran of theatre, television and film. He is best known for playing PC Dave Quinnan in the long running ITV series "The Bill". Leaving the show after 12 years he went on to play Billy Boothe in the highly acclaimed Sunday night drama "Where The Heart Is" for a further 4 years. He's also a familiar face around The John Lyon School having had two of his three sons attend the school and his third son being a current member of staff and not forgetting his wife Laura, a psychotherapist, who is the full time school counsellor!

A very enjoyable speech followed with Andrew, regaling the guests with many and varied anecdotes of his experiences as an actor, but also the warmth with which he holds the School and the teachers, and the real sense of association he has, and is keen to keep as the father of two Old Lyonians.

Dinner was served and the atmosphere was most enjoyable with new acquaintances being made and friendships rekindled.

Prof. Jagjit Chadha, OL(1978-85) and School Governor then introduced the second speaker of the evening, fellow Old Lyonian Mr Marc Abraham (OL 1983-90) - Marc or ‘Marc the Vet’ as he is more commonly known, is an award winning practicing Veterinary Surgeon, Broadcaster, Author and Animal Welfare Campaigner. Marc regularly appears on BBC Breakfast, ITV’s This Morning and Good Morning Britain. He was the Resident Vet on The Paul O’Grady Show, and has also appeared on BBC Daily Politics, BBC Panorama, Alan Titchmarsh Show, The Wright Stuff, It’s Me Or the Dog, Animal Rescue Live, and My Pet Shame on Sky One. Marc qualified from Edinburgh University in Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in 1995 and his passion for animal welfare has seen him volunteer overseas for numerous animal rescue projects. Marc also campaigns extensively for animal welfare issues here in the UK, and in 2009 set up PupAid, a national puppy farming awareness campaign which was responsible for the biggest pet welfare government e-petition of all time.

Marc has recently re-connected with the School through the Lyonian Association, and during his speech he paid tribute to the teachers and the support he received during his time at The John Lyon School, and recalled the close friendships he had forged, including that of his best friend from School, who remains as such and was also in attendance at the dinner. We are delighted to confirm that Marc will be visiting the School on Friday 3^rd March to talk to the students about his life since leaving, and all his adventures.

Once the formalities of the evening were complete guests enjoyed the opportunity to network and have their photographs taken, our photographer for this event, was Mr Aakash Pattni (OL 2004-08).

All students of The John Lyon School are entitled to become members of the East India Club through the J7 programme, to find out more about this great opportunity please contact the Lyonian Office.