SCARA Essex Curry Lunch 2025

The second annual Essex reunion curry lunch took place at the Panahar restaurant in Stanford-le-Hope on Wednesday 21 May 2025. 23 had attended in 2024 so it was impressive to see the number of attendees increase to 32. It's amazing what happens when good people and good food come together!

Many of those who attended had worked locally for the company (perhaps at Barking, Hainault, Orsett, orTilbury to name but a handful of the locations in Essex). Some from the previous year sadly couldn't make it this time, but we also had a number of new faces which was a real plus for SCARA, and a positive indication for future events.

The food at the Panahar restaurant was as good this year as in 2024. Those of us who worked for OCL, P&OCL and PONL do seem to like our curry, and dishes such as chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, lamb bhuna, vegetable samosas, Mumbai aloo (AKA Bombay potato!) were soon emptied...

John Able

John Adams

Dennis Black

Stephen Bligh

Les Catling

Mike Chapman

David Cross

Jane Cross

Sandra Davy

Carol Fielding

Margaret Foley

Steve Gawler

David Hall

Yvonne Hall

Jackie Honour

Bob Ingram

Sandra Issacson

Bob James

Martin Johnson

Tom Johnson

Tricia Johnson

Adrian Malupa

Stewart Moult

Robert Ney

Paul Nixon

Debbie Rizbridger

Dave Salmon

Stefan Sheriden

Mike Shoesmith

Sheila Shoesmith

Mike Starling

Paul Summers

After the lunch, SCARA chair David Cross thanked everyone for attending, and congratulated (and thanked) Paul Nixon for organising another excellent and well attended event. SCARA celebrates its '20th Birthday' this year (the first SCARA London lunch being held in 2005), and this year we have regional reunions in Leeds, Liverpool and Southampton as well as Stanford-le-Hope.

John Adams then took the floor, running through the multitude of offices, container bases, ports and depots in the south east operated at different times by OCL, P&OCL and PONL. John also listed some of the senior management who had started their careers at one of those locations. John went on to a senior role in DP World in early 2006 and pointed out the significant number of our ex colleagues he introduced into London Gateway, just a few miles from our lunch venue, to build the team in developing and opening the terminal in 2013.

Both speakers spoke about how incredible it is that people are still coming together (for work as well as pleasure), 19 years after the company ceased to exist. Long may that continue.

We look forward to meeting up again in 2026 😀