Memory Links

By Mike Coyle

To the uninformed these are a set of Cuff-Links, nothing more, nothing less.

However, as well as a functional accessory they represent a number of things:

• Rebellion against the freedoms of the ‘heady days’ of life as a student in the wild 60s & 70s
• Tradition in the form of ‘Formal’ events like the Annual B&B.
• History in the origins of the ‘Courtier’ representing Courtfield, Blackpool’s own World Class hotel school.
• Community in the worldwide membership of the Blackpool Hotel & Catering Students Society (BHCSS).
• They are a valued possession!

They were worn by members of the BHCSS and seen as a sign of worth by those who owned them. Wearing them would ensure access to places not accessible to others. Ex student Managers in hotels and restaurants all over the world knew their value and enabled students and practitioners alike saw them as an equivalent of a Regimental Tie.

I have 2 pairs, one pair owned by my Tutor who in later years became my drinking partner. To wear them evokes memories of past happy times.

As my family rifle through my possessions at some time in the future, no doubt they will end up in a skip, along with many other personal treasures. But what of the legacy of hat those Cuff-Links represent? No doubt forgotten along with Courtfield; those annual Banquet & Balls; the formal dinners and the community of members of the BHCSS.