Raising the curtain on the Old Lags

Over the years, many bp society members have turned ad hoc gatherings of friends and colleagues from bp into informal groups that meet regularly to mull over old (and much more recent) times.

In a new series of articles, bps news is aiming to highlight great examples of these groups, beginning with a bunch of colleagues that go so far back together that they called the group the Personnel Old Lags Organisation (POLO)!

Members Keith Balaam, Alan Rowland and Kate Owen share the story of POLO, written in very fond memory of the first of the group they have lost, Tom Dufty.

“Don’t let Tom order the wine!” 

It was this abiding memory of our dear friend Tom Dufty who had excellent, but rather expensive, tastes that prompted us to reminisce and realise how very fortunate we have been to be part of such a rewarding and happy group that has met four times a year for 26 years. 

Tom died earlier this year, and is very much missed by all of us, so this article aims to capture the essence of our group, both for him and us, and, we hope, to amuse and engage other ex-bp colleagues who do — or may want to do — something similar.

We are a motley crew. Our shared background is a rewarding career with BP ‘remotely connected to HR [human resources]’ — though several have distinguished years of line management experience. We have all travelled widely, most have lived overseas and in many sites in the UK, done several stints in Head Office, lurked round the corridors of power and have been someone else’s boss and subordinate several times over. Between us, we have over 450 years’ service.

The beginnings

Here’s how it started…

It was 1998 and BP was going through a period of downsizing and retrenchment. Several employees took the opportunity to leave after long careers in HR. But, although it offered the chance to move on, they didn’t relish the prospect of losing contact with their colleagues. Many of them had been together since graduation and their paths had crossed at various points in their respective careers —something that is rare in business nowadays, when long periods of employment are not the norm. 

Alan Rowland, who left BP after 34 years, decided to create a luncheon group that became known as POLO. “Many of the people with whom I had working relationships became close colleagues and ultimately good friends. I wanted to find a way of keeping in touch with them.” 

The group first met in the autumn of 1998 in an Italian restaurant off Bishopsgate. At that initial lunch were just the four founder members, Keith Balaam, Alan Chesters and Brian Lawson, as well as Alan Rowland. Although all were doing different things outside BP, this was to become a regular quarterly gathering. And, as more of their cohort progressively left BP, this group expanded to what it still is today: 16 members. 

We have long had a successful formula — we start with a coffee, then a visit to a significant, interesting or intriguing London site, before enjoying a pint or glass of wine in a pub (first ensuring that the pub actually has some beer — unlike on one occasion!) and finally having lunch somewhere together.

There are few central London sites we have not visited. In the past 26 years, we have undertaken around 90 visits to places as diverse as the Royal Opera House, Olympic Park, Lambeth Palace and the London Post Office Railway. We even had an evening excursion to the Comedy Club (a necessary antidote after previous visits to the Operating Theatre and Hunterian Museums). The most recent two visits were a great contrast too — visiting the river police HQ in Docklands, where our police guide was splendidly irreverent, and in June going on an excellent, but more formal, tour of the Middle Temple. 

Responsibility for organising each occasion is shared across all 16 members, with a strict rota to determine who takes on this task. 

As befits former corporate employees, our own organisation has not been without bureaucracy, rebellion and muttering in the ranks, but it is all done with great good humour and everything is shared fairly. 

Tom was a brilliant organiser — his last were tours of Tower Bridge and the White Tower in the Tower of London, where his father was once Master of the Armouries. He was in his element in the White Tower and later, when he hosted at Le Pont de la Tour (he did order the wine and it was pretty good!). 

More than food…

And it is not all drinking and eating with a side plate of culture as the excuse. We also have a splendid offshoot: Ian Howell’s walking group, which started in 1999. As the driving force behind it, he, along with a small group of members, felt that the fine dining tradition of the London visits should be complemented by an activity involving some exercise. 

Ian has creatively organised almost 100 quarterly outings, mainly in Surrey, where all the good work of exercise is then dissipated by the pub lunch that inevitably follows. Ian explains “we started by walking about 5 miles before lunch but, as the years have gone by and our ages increase, the distance we walk has steadily decreased”. 

There is also a traditional summer event to which partners are invited, which has proved extremely popular. The most recent of these was to Titsey Place near Oxted, where we enjoyed the garden and had a tour of the house, followed by afternoon tea together.

Several of us are also keen sports fans — although it is only cricket that appeals to the majority (memorably not to Tom, who moaned throughout a beautifully hot day at the Oval). We have organised a Test match outing since the beginning. After several years at the Oval, we are now more adventurous and have been to most of the major Test Grounds. This year it is Trent Bridge, with — of course — the obligatory Indian meal and odd pub visits… 

Alan, our founder, reflects “as we collectively advance in years, perhaps some of the expeditions will have to be less demanding, but we really want to continue meeting even though some of us live far away from London. We will do so! Conversations inevitably drift to our shared times together in BP, but we all like each other enormously, have a wide range of activities and interests to share which make our get-togethers a joy to attend”.