Woody's Retirement

Pictures of Woody (Stephen & Gillian Wood). Woody as he is known to all finally retired from Reef on his 69th birthday. We were all genuinely gutted to see him go, in his eighteen years with Reef, Woody was literally part of the furniture, Mr Reliable, Mr friendly, Mr Professional and above all Mr Bloody Lovely. Our Managing Director and Mike Frith and Woody go back far further knowing each other for 33 years and counting starting at MJN Limited (Woody started at CB Jackson, the J in MJN. Woody is literally one in a million, knowledgeable on a wide range of subjects, we are sure he will keep himself busy in what we hope will be the longest of retirements, and if that's not enough he has promised to haunt most of use when he finally moves on through some wormhole in the fabric of the known strataverse. Of course, we say all this, but our office in Kenley is literally a station, and Woody loves trains on a different level to most normal beings, so he will doubtlessly be arriving on the 44 or 04 from London Bridge on a regular basis. On a serious note, he may well do a little for us here and there in the office, we hope so, you cannot substitute experience.. Legend is a word that suffers from criminal overuse nowadays, but Woody will always be a Reef legend and will take his place in our very own hall of fame (when we get one). Thanks Woody

To celebrate Woody's retirement a few of us met at Bagatti's Italian restaurant in South Croydon. The Woodies (Stephen and Gillian) arrived in style and a fun night was had by all. We also celebrated Tom Philips and Sean Smith both reaching ten years with Reef, well done gents. Tracey, made a superb cake and her and Rich organised some very special gifts for Woody including a whisky tasting experience and an event with Professor Alice Roberts. Nicola and Steve travelled up from Devon especially for the event, and Debbie Sartoris who we also let retire two years ago came along too. Thanks to all who could come and all who contributed to the collection and the celebrations.