from the master A MAGDALENE YEA R Eighteen months into life at Magdalene, I am still waking up every morning with a sense of my good fortune; the College has proved the most welcoming of environments, relaxed, friendly and stimulating, and I have deeply valued the warmth of relationship that seems to characterise every level of life here. In July 2014, the family finally joined me, once my son’s A Levels were over – we have been living a somewhat complicated life between here and London, not unknown among Heads of Houses! And we look forward to settling fully into the Lodge and opening its doors more regularly to all our members – though we have an almost superhuman standard of generosity and warmth to live up to in our predecessors in the Lodge. It has been Photo: Paul Rogers wonderful to enter into the inheritance of Duncan and Lisa, and to have such a spectacular example of how to do this job well. One or two kind friends have enquired whether the job of cat-herding that is undoubtedly an aspect of being a Head of House is harder or easier than it was in Another Job I have done: I can truthfully say that there is no comparison, and that my new colleagues’ willingness to pull together and support each other is something from which some other institutions might learn. But welcome is the word for so many College-related events in more far-flung locations too. The lot of a Master these days includes a good deal of fund-raising for the College in the Far East or the United States; and what has struck me is the enormous commitment of our alumni to the College family, the sense of still being part of a community they really love and appreciate. It has been a great encouragement to see how and why Magdalene matters to so many, and has confirmed my own sense of commitment to the College. Thanks to a stellar team in College, the whole world of Development and alumni relations has continued to grow and flourish; the numbers who have attended events in far-flung locations like Hong Kong or Boston, or Shropshire, tell their own story. And the success of more focused networks like Magdalene in the City and the Law Association promises well for the future, as well as offering welcome opportunities for our current undergraduates to meet alumni and build relations. The percentage of our alumni who
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