Following the 2011 Fiscal Reunion, I managed to catch up with Roger Flatt, the main organiser of this event to find out how it went.
ELKIE: Why did you decide to organise a Fiscal Reunion ?
ROGER: Mark Yoxall and myself had been trying to arrange a get together with Alex Morgan and Ross Brooker for what seemed like (and probably was) months and months, but for one reason or another it never got off the ground. Mark and myself eventually decided to name a date far enough away, and chose a place that was hopefully fairly central.
ELKIE How was the concept received ?
ROGER: Once we’d settled on a date, it seemed logical to extend the invites. Eventually the criterion for an invite was anyone who had ever worked on Pick, and not just Fiscal. The Fiscal code library was the basis for most of the initial names. Andy MacNeil at HSBC then did the same with their code-base, and a rather long list was born. We still need to track a few people down.
ELKIE: So did you meet up with a faces from the past or were there just people currently in the City ?
ROGER : My old boss from Suffolk came down, Peter Mills, which was a surprise. He’s a good pick guy (Reality and JBase) and I am sure he could be tempted out of “semi-retirement” – it was nice to catch up with the usual suspects, though!
ELKIE: Can you rememberany other people who were there ?
ROGER: OK here goes for some and apologies to those I don’t mention: Dave Gearing, Patrick MacNaughton, Ghassan Faour, Mark Yoxall, Aaron Israel, Dave Luke, Andy MacNeil, Dave Davis, Peter Rose, Alex Morgan.
ELKIE I saw some pictures of a TShirt ? Was this yours or did everyone get one ?
ROGER: The T-shirts are, I believe, all the work of the guys and girls at HSBC – a very big ‘well done’ is owed to someone – and I need to find out sharpish where I can get one!
ELKIE Any specific highlights / lowlights from the evening ?
ROGER : The turn out was a bit lower than I expected, but for a first effort I think we can be pleased. Next one in three months – and I’ll do a bit more ‘reminding’ this time.
ELKIE Are there any plans for a follow-up event ?
ROGER: Back end of September could be a runner – I still need to track down a few more ‘faces’ …
ELKIE Thank you for your time.
ROGER: You are welcome – I’ll keep you posted if a date firms up.
If you wish to contact Roger Flatt about the next Fiscal Reunion, you can email him on Roger.Flatt@3i-infotech.eu
