Selwyn College Newsletter 2010

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Selwyn

Issue seventeen

Summer 2010

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Selw yn is published annually by the Development & Alumni Relations Office for the members, staff and friends of Selwyn College, Cambridge. Suggestions and contributions from readers are very welcome.

A new Head Porter for Selwyn supportive Head and Senior Porter at Jesus. Prior to that, I worked for Honeywell Avionics in Basingstoke as an Account Manager. My role was to liaise between the clients and the workshop. After that I wanted to work away from the corporate world. I trained as a massage therapist and worked at Wentworth Golf Club in Virginia Water for a time.’

The editors wish to thank all those who have assisted in the production of this magazine.

Editors: Richard Bowring, Master Heather Kilpatrick, former Development Director Hannah Courtney, Development Officer Shona Winnard, Development & Alumni Assistant Claudia Anderson, Database Administrator

Photographs courtesy of: Howard Beaumont Camfed Andrew Houston Oliver Kay Heather Kilpatrick Harry Mann Clare Mohan Mark Preston Fiona Scoble Shona Winnard

© Copyright Selwyn College, Cambridge 2010

Design and Publication: Cameron Design & Marketing Ltd www.camerondm.co.uk

In the summer of 2009, Selwyn welcomed Helen Stephens as Head Porter, the first woman to hold this role in Cambridge.

Helen arrived at Selwyn from Trinity where she was Deputy Head Porter with a staff of 28.

Before Trinity, she was a Gate Porter (as porters are known there) at Jesus, having been the first woman in their 500-year history to hold the post.

‘I was at Jesus for three and a half years’, says Helen, ‘and I owe all that I know about the role and Cambridge University to the very

Helen saw an advertisement for the post of Gate Porter at Jesus and thought it might be interesting. ‘It did not occur to me that as a woman I would be breaking the mould. Once I was in post I grew to love the job and the involvement with the University that came with it. The Porterhouse Blue image of a Porters’ Lodge is not an accurate reflection of the role today – we don’t spend our time lighting fires and gas lamps, nor do we carry bags. A large part of the role is about looking after the security of the premises and the students, and in term and out of term we are a first point of contact for a large number of visitors and conference guests. As Head

Front cover: Und ergrad uates, courtesy of Clare Mohan

Ways to give

Development & Alumni Relations Office Selwyn College CAMBRIDGE CB3 9DQ

If you would like to make a donation to the College, you can do so by completing the donation form on the College’s website, or by giving by card or direct debit on-line (www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni/giving/ give2.html). Selwyn also accepts gifts in the form of shares, payroll giving, and matched gifts through companies. If you would like further information about any of these methods of donating, or would like to know about our current fundraising aims, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office at alumni-office@sel.cam.ac.uk or telephone 01223 767845.

Telephone: 01223 767844 Fax: 01223 767843 E-mail: alumni-office@sel.cam.ac.uk Web: www.sel.cam.ac.uk Selwyn College, Cambridge is an Exempt Charity (Inland Revenue number X3634)

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Those in the US wishing to support the College can do so through Cambridge in America (www.cantab.org).

If you wish to give to the University, please visit the website of the University’s Development Office (www.alumni.cam.ac.uk/campaign/).

Porter I do spend some of my time chastising students, but I see my role mainly as supporting the team of porters in their role of looking after the College and being here as a focal point for advice and guidance for students 365 days of the year.’

When not at work, Helen looks after her two Parson Russell terriers and enjoys entertaining friends, visiting the cinema and theatre and spending time with her family, including a much loved niece and nephew.

When asked about her choice of dress, Helen says ‘I wear a cravat, rather than a tie, a morning skirt and a ladies’ dressage hat (for ceremonial occasions). The Master and Bursar allowed me to make my own choice of hat, and I prefer this to a bowler. I think wearing a hat is important, though; it is a tradition, and tradition is very much a part of Cambridge life.’

Heather Kilpatrick Former Development Director

When making provision for Selwyn in a Will, this simple form of words can be provided to your solicitor: I give to the MASTER AND FELLOWS OF SELWYN COLLEGE in the University of Cambridge (Exempt Charity Number X3634) the residue / [a proportion] of the residue of my estate / the sum of £[amount] free of tax for the general purposes of the College AND I DECLARE that the receipt of the Bursar or other authorised officer for the time being of the College shall be a good and sufficient discharge to my executors.

If you are a regular customer with amazon.co.uk, you can shop on-line by entering the site through the following link (www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni) and 5% of the value of your order will go towards student support at Selwyn.

If you think you’ll forget to enter via this route, save the link (www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni) in your ‘favourites’ and re-name it ‘Amazon’. We regret that this facility is not available to those who use Amazon in other countries.

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A student’s-eye view of Cambridge Clare Mohan came up to Selwyn to read English in October 2009. In the following article, she tells us a little about the experiences of a first-year student. most attractive. I was warned beforehand that the Cripps rooms were ‘very brown’, but even so, they contrasted strangely with the romantic visions I had of oak beams and Victorian surroundings. However, harsh realities aside, I soon learned that Cambridge had much more to offer than the rather old-fashioned picture I’d built up.

My transition to Cambridge was made immeasurably easier by my College ‘Mum’ and ‘Dad’, who were on hand before I arrived to answer all my questions. These ranged from the fairly sensible ‘how difficult is the work load?’ to the relatively ridiculous ‘what size organiser should I bring?’ Essentially, before I arrived, I had very little idea what to expect.

There were the usual, slightly floaty thoughts in my head, as I imagined a Brideshead Revisited type lifestyle (only set in Cambridge, not Oxford), with rather more punting than work. This seemed to match most people’s expectations when thinking about Cambridge.

The reality was very different. For a start, my room in Cripps Court, whilst large, is not the

Cambridge today demands a lot from all its students – even English students like me are expected to work, and most of the time. Friends at other universities goggle when I talk of my two essays a week (more, if I’m lucky). To me, this sort of pace has become normal. Read the complete Shakespeare in three weeks? No problem. Clarissa (the longest novel in the English language) in two days was, however, pushing it. After a highly stressful first term, in which I learned never to use the word ‘one’ in an essay to state my own opinion, and discovered just how quickly I could race through a novel, I adapted to the pace. Now, having finished my second term and started the last of my first year, I feel like I’ve found my feet.

This has allowed me time to do far more with my life than just my Tripos work. I’ve been writing off-and-on for one of the student newspapers (causing a mild controversy when criticising the Union Society for its shocking lack of women speakers) and have also been in one play and a variety of concerts. However, although to some this might sound like a lot, at Cambridge it’s less than average. I’m constantly in awe of the people who can hold down their degrees whilst rowing, performing with college music societies and taking part in several plays

during the space of one – tiny – eight week term. There are people who can, and they amaze me.

Balancing work and play can be a challenge; some weeks it was all I could do to get my essays done on time, on other weeks I raced through. There have been a few brushes with missed deadlines, but as time goes by I’m getting better at striking the balance. A very wise third year advised me to stick to regular working hours, and not to push on into the evening. If you have a regular time at which you stop, you work better during the day. This one piece of advice has been a miracle... when I stick to it.

As for surviving on the student loan, it’s been rather a seesaw for me. In my first term, when I shyly stuck to my corridor and barely went out at all, I managed to save an awful lot.

Approaching the next term with a false sense of confidence – and wealth – I very quickly ran out of money. Next term looks to be even worse, since I must pay for a three-week visit to an Italian language school, and a five-week trip to Nepal to do charity work. I can only hope I survive. Selwyn’s quite good for me in that regard, since it’s quite a way out of town and all my lectures and supervisions are in the new English Faculty which is not more than two minutes’ walk away. This means I do not often get into town, and thus am not tempted to buy anything, which – when it comes to the end of term and scraping enough by to buy one more packet of cereal – is quite a relief.

Clare Rivers Mohan (SE 2009)

Farewell to Heather I am sure you will be as sorry as I was to learn that Mrs Heather Kilpatrick has decided to move to another job in Cambridge which will allow her to spend more time with her new, young family. Heather was at Selwyn for ten years, first as my assistant and latterly as Development Director. She built up Annual Giving and the Legacy Campaign, introduced us all to effective telethons, a parents’ lunch and created a professionally run office. As a result we have been able to reach far more of you than would otherwise have been possible. We all owe her a debt of gratitude and wish her well in her new job at Westcott House.

The College will be searching for a new Development Director as soon as it can but this does mean there will be an unavoidable hiatus. I hope you will not notice any diminution in the quality of service.

Richard Bowring Master

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A Selwyn coroner I came up to Selwyn in 1959 after doing National Service, which meant that I was two years older than most of those in my year. I read Classics for Tripos Part I, then started to think about a career and changed to Law for my last year. I enjoyed playing hockey and was a member of the Christian Union, but had broad views: I was taken to a synagogue service by a Jewish friend which I found interesting, and found Communion services in Chapel led by Owen Chadwick very uplifting.

Following graduation I served articles to a small firm of solicitors in London. On qualification I moved back to my home territory, and was offered a job with a firm of solicitors in Lincoln.

I dabbled in most areas of the law, but in the

second half of my career specialized in personal injury cases.

In 1986 HM Coroner for Lincoln appointed me as his Deputy. On his retirement in 1994 I succeeded him, and held the post until 2008. A coroner’s inquest can be a real help to bereaved relatives, and to others involved in a death, as well as performing a useful public function.

Summing up for a jury at the conclusion of a complicated coroner’s inquest (of which I had quite a number) is more difficult, in my view, than summing up for a jury in a criminal case.

In such a case the jury has considerably more to decide than simply if a person is guilty or not guilty.

A coroner obviously deals with tragedy, but it is nonetheless a fascinating job. Perhaps my most memorable cases are the more unusual; someone killed playing Russian Roulette, a helicopter crash, a van which crashed onto a railway line from a bridge which had been partially removed, a man who bled to death

after catching a protruding artery in his foot when removing his sock, and a fatal stabbing which I believed to be a copycat of one shown on television the night before.

I have been a Reader in the Church of England for 40 years, and served on its General Synod for ten. A new university started in Lincoln in 1996 and I served on its Board of Governors for nine years, part of the time as Vice-Chair. The University is now well established and it has been an exciting time to see it grow.

I am now adjusting to retirement. One of the joys is watching my children pursue their careers. My son is training for ordination at Ridley Hall (which has enabled me to see a bit more of Cambridge recently) and my daughter is a senior civil servant in the Ministry of Justice. I am afraid neither of them went to Selwyn!

Roger Atkinson (SE 1959)

Leading change for women in rural Africa Africa by educating girls and empowering women to become leaders of change. Camfed’s model of enabling young women to break the cycle of poverty works because it supports girls through school and helps them to become economically independent afterwards.

Catherine Bo yce at the lead ership and enterp rise training p ro gram m e fo r yo ung w o m en in Zam bia

I studied history at Selwyn from 1997 to 2000 and after five years of interesting and challenging work for Monitor, focusing on economic development, I was introduced to Ann Cotton, the founder of Camf ed International.

Camfed is a Cambridge-based international charity that fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in

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The young women Camfed supports through school go on to join the pan-African network, known as Cama. They receive training that equips them to set up their own businesses and to play a leadership role as mentors and trainers of other girls and young women. Since Camfed was founded in 1993, Cama members have helped to support 118,384 children to go to school through their own philanthropy.

When I joined Camfed in July 2008, my main focus was on developing a new entrepreneurship and leadership programme for young women in Zambia. The programme was designed in partnership with the University of Cambridge (Judge Business School and Cambridge Assessment) and the Goldman Sachs ‘10,000 Women’ initiative. It was a whirlwind few months, with the programme launching in rural Zambia only six months after I joined.

Over the past two years, I have been deeply inspired by the passion, creativity and generosity of the girls and young women I have worked with. I have witnessed first-hand how the combination of access to education plus business and life-skills training and microgrants transforms opportunities for these young women and helps to unlock their tremendous potential.

My work is motivated every day by young women like Esnart, whose mother died when she was just a child. Esnart was supported through school by Camfed. Last year, at the age of 18, she used one of our business grants to launch a pre-school for 68 vulnerable children.

The pre-school is still running one year on and Esnart is currently studying to be an accountant, with a future full of promise.

Catherine Boyce (SE 1997) You can learn more about Catherine’s work on Camfed’s website at www.camfed.org – just follow the links to Camfed’s film ‘The Entrepreneurs’.

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Hugh Shilson-Thomas – Dean of Chapel and Chaplain Walking into Old Court, it is hard to miss the Chapel straight ahead, and the sound of the Chapel bell remains a familiar part of College life. But for the Chaplain, what goes on inside the building, day-in dayout, important though it is, is only part of the story. ‘Much of the real work in chaplaincy is done outside the building’, says Hugh Shilson-Thomas, who has been Dean of Chapel and Chaplain since the summer of 2008. ‘In the Chapel, those who wish gather for worship. Some services are formal, others less so. Most who come are drawn from different Christian traditions.

Others come to be quiet and still, or to listen to the music, and we are enormously fortunate in our Choir. But if what we do in the Chapel is offer to God all we do outside, it is out there in the College that relationships are forged, and the day-today challenges of life in Cambridge are grappled with. The Chaplain’s role is to try to notice what’s going on and to offer support in all of that.’

Hugh grew up in South-West London, read Theology at Exeter College, Oxford and after a spell working as a lay assistant in inner-city Liverpool he trained for ordination in Cambridge, where he met his wife, Annabel.

Annabel is now Associate Vicar of Great St Mary’s and Chaplain of Michaelhouse, and they have two children – Aidan (13) and Freya (11).

After two parishes in South-East London Hugh became Ecumenical Chaplain of Kingston University for six years. It was here that an interest in inter-faith issues was forged, alongside a passion for chaplaincy work. As he puts it, ‘If the Church is going to engage with young people, and 43% of 17-30 year olds now enter Higher Education, that is where the Church must be’. A Master’s degree at King’s College, London enabled Hugh to explore the relationship between public religious literacy and ethical decisionmaking, and a move to be Ecumenical

Chaplain of Robinson College led him to focus more on pastoral work as well as ‘ministry to the institution’. In 2003, Hugh was appointed National Adviser for Higher Education and Chaplaincy at Church House, Westminster. ‘Being at Head Office was fun. It was rewarding being responsible for supporting the national network of HE chaplains (despite the intensive commuting).

I arrived as the Government published its White Paper on the future of Higher Education, introducing the so-called ‘top-up fees’. My first job was to write the Church of England’s response.

I really enjoyed the engagement with Government, and learnt a great deal about the national role of the Church in England. And it’s satisfying hearing a bishop give a rousing speech in the House of Lords when you know you have helped to draft it at fairly short notice.’

After five years, it was time for a change.

‘Life at Selwyn is different, but never dull’, Hugh says. ‘As Dean of Chapel, I’m responsible for what goes on in the building. As Chaplain, my role is to provide pastoral care to students, staff and Fellows, so there’s plenty to do.

What we do in Chapel is important, but it’s the encounters we have with each other that are the real test of a healthy community, and it is wonderful to have an opportunity as a chaplain to do some good in all of that. Outside College I am a Canon of Ely Cathedral and I’m on a few national steering groups, but it’s daily life in College that provides the focus, and it’s good to be here.’

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Future events Please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office if you would like to enquire about any of the following events. Booking forms and further details are available on the College website at www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni/EventsCalendar/index.html.

Saturday 4 September 1980 and 1990 Reunion A dinner will be held in College for those celebrating 30 or 20 years since matriculation, with a chance to meet up in Cambridge during the afternoon. Partners are welcome.

Overnight accommodation will be available in Selwyn. If you have not already received information and a booking form, and would like to attend, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office, or visit the website.

Saturday 11 September 1960 and 1970 Reunion All who matriculated in 1960 or 1970 are invited to a reunion dinner on 11 September. Partners are welcome.

Overnight accommodation will be available in Selwyn. If you have not already received information and a booking form, and would like to attend, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office, or visit the website.

Saturday 25 September Selwyn Association Annual General Meeting and Dinner All Fellows, alumni and former Fellows are invited to the Association Annual General Meeting and Dinner. Those who came up in 2000 are particularly encouraged to attend. Partners are welcome.

Overnight accommodation will be available in Selwyn. If you have not already received information and a booking form, and would like to attend, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office, or visit the website.

Saturday 16 October Finchcocks, Kent: Lunch, Tour and Keyboard Demonstration All members are invited to a Selwyn event at Finchcocks, Kent.

Finchcocks is home to an impressive collection of keyboard instruments, and part of the day will include a demonstration. Guests are welcome.

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contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office, or visit the website.

Monday 18 October Pub night, Pitcher and Piano, Holborn, London All are invited to an informal pub night at the Pitcher and Piano, Holborn, from 6.30pm. Those who graduated in the last ten years are particularly encouraged to attend.

No need to book; just turn up.

Thursday 9 December Varsity Rugby Match, Twickenham Alumni are invited to attend the annual Varsity rugby match at Twickenham. Further details will be available in October.

Thursday 10 February 2011 Reception and Dinner, the Travellers Club, Pall Mall, London A reception and dinner will be held at the Travellers Club, Pall Mall, London, for all alumni and former Fellows. Further details will follow in late November.

Saturday 5 March 2011 1882 Society Dinner All those who have made provision for the College in their Will and are members of the 1882 Society are invited to dine in College on the evening of 5 March. Partners are welcome. Booking forms will be mailed in January.

Saturday 26 March 2011 MA Dinner At the start of 2011, the Tutorial Office will be in touch with all of those who matriculated in 2004, with details about the MA Congregation and College dinner.

For further information, please contact the Praelector’s Secretary, Mrs Margaret Hay, on 01223 335897 or at mmh29@cam.ac.uk.

welcome. Overnight accommodation will be available in Selwyn. Further details will be mailed before Christmas.

Friday 8 July 2011 Commemoration of Benefactors All members who matriculated before 1960 or in 1966, 1976, 1986 or 1996 are invited back to College for Evensong followed by a reception and black tie dinner in Hall. Booking forms will be mailed in April.

Saturday 9 July 2011 Donors’ Garden Party An informal garden party, open to all donors and members of the 1882 Society, will be held in the College grounds. Live music and children’s entertainment will be provided.

Guests, including children, are most welcome. Booking forms will be mailed in May. Saturday 10 September 2011 1981 and 1991 Reunion A dinner will be held in College, marking 20 and 30 years since matriculation. Partners are welcome.

Overnight accommodation will be available in Selwyn. Further details will be mailed after Christmas.

Saturday 24 September 2011 Selwyn Association Annual General Meeting and Dinner All alumni and former Fellows are invited to the Association Annual General Meeting and Dinner.

Those who matriculated in 2001 are particularly encouraged to attend. Reservations will open in March 2011.

Chapel Choir, Michaelmas term 2010 Friday 29 October, 5.30pm Choral Evensong in Lincoln Cathedral Tuesday 7 December, 1.10pm Christmas Concert, St Mary’s Church, Bury St Edmunds

Lent term 2011 Saturday 22 January, 8.00pm The Dream of Gerontius in King’s Chapel with CUMS I and other chapel choirs Monday 21 March, 5.15pm Choral Evensong in York Minster Thursday 24 March, 7.30pm John Armitage Memorial Concert St Bride’s Church, Fleet Street

Easter term 2011 Saturday 25 June, 7.30pm Summer concert in St John’s Church, Wonersh, Surrey Sunday 26 June, 10.30am Eucharist in Wonersh, Surrey Sunday 26 June, 4.00pm Choral Evensong in St Martin’s Church, Blackheath, Surrey Saturday 9 July, 7.30pm John Armitage Memorial concert in St Leonard’s Church, Hythe, Kent

Hermes Club 90th Anniversary Dinner 6 November 2010 7.00pm sherry reception followed by dinner at 7.30pm • Selwyn College Hall

Saturday 9 April 2011 1961 and 1971 Reunion A dinner will be held in College, marking 40 and 50 years since matriculation. Partners are

Dress code: black tie or club blazers Members only (no room for guests – sorry) Invitations will be sent in September For further details contact Will Davison (wpgd2@cam.ac.uk)

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Messages from Year Reps 1971 reunion – 9 April 2011 When you have recovered from the shock that it will shortly be 40 years since we were decanted outside the Porters’ Lodge with our flared jeans, sideburns, lava lamps and Iron Butterfly or Leonard Cohen records, I am inviting you to Selwyn for a reunion in April 2011.

Reunions like this can be daunting and even a little terrifying, but we’ll get over the hairline and waistline comparisons pretty quickly. For the record, I’ve done OK on the former but not on the latter. Wives and partners are welcome but not obligatory. The main attraction of the reunion weekend will be a black-tie dinner, taking place on the Saturday night. For the lawyers among you I shall be asking John Spencer and his wife Rosie to put in a special guest appearance. For those who played in the Cuppers-winning 1972 rugby team, a special welcome. And for those who rowed with me in the Selwyn VIIth crew in the Mays in 1972, I’m trying to track down the members of the CUWBC VIII who caught us before The Plough to record the first ever bump by a women’s crew in Cambridge rowing history. I felt that we may have been a little ungracious at the time and need to put the record straight. The Hat and Feathers is about to be turned into flats, but we’ll find a venue for an informal lunch gathering on the Saturday, and perhaps something river-based on Sunday after chapel.

Tim Simmons, Year Representative for 1971

1981 reunion – 10 September 2011 Can it really be thirty years since early October 1981, when a bunch of freshers, of varying degrees of dampness behind the ears, first eyed each other nervously over biscuits and coffee in Richard Hunt’s room in D staircase? It seems unbelievable, but you have about a year to prepare yourselves for it, because in 2011 it will be the 30th anniversary for the 1981 year group, and a celebration is planned.

The main part of the reunion will be a dinner in Hall in the evening, to which partners are welcome but not obligatory, and there will also be chances to meet up during the day – more details to follow. If you have any suggestions, please e-mail me (catherine@wightwick.co.uk) or the Development & Alumni Relations Office, and we will see what we can arrange! It will be a day to bring back memories and meet up with old friends, and I hope to see as many of you there as possible. The more people that can make it, the better it will be for everyone.

Catherine Wightwick (née Carr), Year Representative for 1981

1991 reunion – 10 September 2011 Hard though it is to believe, it will soon be twenty years since the year of 1991 arrived at Selwyn and to mark this occasion the College will be arranging a reunion dinner, as well as some optional activities in the afternoon.

This will be a wonderful opportunity to catch up with one another, and notwithstanding busy schedules and varied locations (a special welcome is extended to those of you now living in exotic foreign climes!), we do hope that you will be able to come.

So please put the date in your diary and more information will follow in the coming months.

Siân Walters, Year Representative for 1991 2001 reunion – 24 September 2011 How time flies...! Here we are a staggering ten years after we were wide-eyed freshers turning up at Cripps Court.

We all thought that a decade on we would have life sorted, be at the top of our chosen careers and be proud homeowners. Instead, we are still paying off our student loans, wondering where our next career hop will be to and why we are always so busy...

Anyway, fear not, some restorative time in the company of old friends back in Cambridge is in the offing. College is planning to hold a dinner to mark our ten years. The scheduled date is 24 September 2011, which coincides with the University Alumni Weekend. We would like to get as many of the 2001 intake to the dinner as possible, and maybe roll this over to a Sunday lunch, possibly in Grantchester.

So grab your diaries and stick it in, more info to follow later in the year.

All the best, wherever you are and whatever you may be doing, looking forward to catching up...

Amit Bhola, Jack Butler and James Thompson, Year Representatives for 2001 1961 Year Group Representative sought We are looking for a willing volunteer to act as year group rep for those who matriculated in 1961. Next year marks the 50th anniversary since your matriculation, and a special event is being planned for 9 April 2011. If you are interested, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office.

Selwyn London Group

Friends of the Choir

Selwyn London Group was formed in 2009, with the main aim of organising a range of events in London throughout the year. The programme is arranged by a small committee of alumni. They receive administrative support from the Development & Alumni Relations Office. The work of the group is designed to complement the existing events programme that the College offers.

The Friends of the Choir, launched to great success in 2008, exists to keep people in touch with the progress of the current Chapel Choir, and to provide financial support for it. For a small subscription, all Friends receive regular updates about the choir, and have the chance to come back each year to sing with other choir alumni, and to dine together afterwards.

Anybody who did not sing with the choir, but is interested in joining, is most welcome. For further information, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office or go to www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni/GivingtoSelwyn/ friendsofthechoir.html.

London Group events will be advertised on the College website at www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni/EventsCalendar and by e-mail to those who have opted to receive notifications this way.

If you would like to be added to the e-mail notification list, or would like to receive the information by post, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office.

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Dr Gordon Johnson – a profile I came to Selwyn in October 1974 having been a student and Fellow at Trinity for the previous thirteen years. This was not my first contact with the College because I’d taken Owen Chadwick’s special subject on the Oxford Movement when I’d done Part II of the History Tripos in 1964, and Percival Spear, the doyen of his generation of historians of India, examined my PhD thesis. William Brock had employed me from the time I was a research student to supervise for Selwyn, so I knew something of the College and, in particular, its fine reputation in History.

winter afternoons when I should have been doing other things. I was thrilled to be asked to be a Tutor, thus joining an amazing team led by David Harrison.

When the Master wrote to me in the summer of 1974 to say ‘Come to Selwyn’, I was delighted by the prospect. I was given a splendid room in Cripps Court which took most of my books, and which overlooked the University rugby ground – well, nearly half of it: I enjoyed watching matches from the window, particularly on wet

For me the truly distinctive thing about Selwyn was its kindness. Faith and I were received with the warmest of welcomes, and we joined a society where young Fellows could enjoy bringing up their families together. A culture of thoughtfulness and generosity of spirit was part of the Selwyn ethos; but it didn’t just happen on

A good half of my teaching life in Cambridge has been spent in Selwyn. I taught a lot, and edited a journal, but was soon diverted into the world of University politics. I became Secretary and then Chairman of the Faculty Board of Oriental Studies. Selwyn put me forward as Proctor for 1977–78 (the year the Duke of Edinburgh became Chancellor), and there followed membership of the General Board, the Library and Press Syndicates, and the Council of the Senate. Selwyn’s Governing Body, so elegantly chaired by Owen Chadwick, taught me much about managing meetings.

its own – the tone was set from the top and it was always about seeing the good in a person and having the right priorities when it came to living. This extended to the care of students and the clear priority given to pastoral care in a community of friends.

I was elected President of Wolfson College in December 1993, and in 2000 took on responsibility for establishing the Gates Cambridge Trust. I continued to play various roles within the University. But as I approach retirement this September, I realise how much I owe to my time at Selwyn: the sense that an academic community does more than just encourage creativity in scholarship and independence of thought. It fosters an interest in people, is tolerant, and values kindness.

My election as an Honorary Fellow in 1994 is one of the nicest things that has happened to me. It gives me real pleasure and reminds me what I have to live up to.

Gordon Johnson (SE 1974) Honorary Fellow

God be in my head:

the choral works of Paul Edwards Early in the New Year, during an unusually chilly January, the Chapel Choir gathered a week before term to record a disc of liturgical choral works by the Bedford-based composer-organist Paul Edwards (b. 1955). Paul was a cathedral chorister and lay clerk, and has been composing Anglican choral music since he was young. He is best known for his Christmas carol No small wonder which features annually on cathedral and collegiate music lists throughout the UK. He is less known for a wealth of beautiful and well-crafted works for other seasons. This recording features a Requiem, a Magnificat and Nunc dimittis, as well as numerous anthems, and I hope it will give much-needed exposure to more of his music.

Paul has been involved with Selwyn Chapel for nearly as long as I have: a young soprano from his Bedford parish church was one of my first Choral Exhibitioner appointees, and Paul came to Evensong from time to time while the soprano was an undergraduate, presumably to ensure that she was making satisfactory progress. She has long since graduated, but Paul has continued to come to Selwyn, and when he received a legacy from an elderly auntie, he asked whether we would like to make a CD of his works.

Obviously I was delighted at the prospect (though if truth be told, I too suffered from the limitation of knowing only No small wonder!).

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Since our primary role is liturgical, we rarely have time to polish music to full ‘concert’ standard. The luxury of lengthy rehearsals, and the frequent repetition involved in the recording process, provide a welcome opportunity to work comprehensively on the music, polishing details in a way that we would otherwise seldom experience. There is also an educational benefit: members of the choir learn key transferrable-skills such as the art of silent page-turning and how to suppress hiccoughs, as well as more musical techniques like the discipline required to reproduce accurate tuning, precise ensemble, and faultless diction, over and over again – especially when a car alarm outside or a helicopter circling overhead seem intent on ruining otherwise perfect takes. The improvement both in the choir as a whole and in the individual singers is usually conspicuous after only a few days of such meticulous and concentrated work.

I hope that many readers of Selwyn will be interested in this CD: the music is exceptional, and I would like to think that the singing will match it. It is scheduled for release in October 2010. If you would like to buy a copy please do get in touch with the Development & Alumni Relations Office (details inside the front cover).

Sarah MacDonald Fellow and Director of Music in Chapel

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Selwyn’s sundial Frank King is a world expert on sundials, who regards dialling as a form of recreational mathematics. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Computer Laboratory and a Fellow of Churchill College, where he is Praelector and Chairman of the Churchill Archives.

Clocks are very good at measuring equal intervals of time but become extraordinarily complicated if, for example, they are required to indicate the time of sunrise or time of sunset.

Clock time is also surprisingly susceptible to interference by governments. Summer time is really a trick to persuade people to get up an hour earlier by telling lies about the time. The occasional leap second is another example of time being changed by decree. Establishing time zones is yet another.

It is unfortunate that most sundials are designed to indicate local sun time which is close to but different from clock time. In consequence, sundials do not appear to be precision astronomical instruments. A would-be sundial owner is best advised to choose a design that accurately indicates a time which is so different from ordinary clock time that there is no danger of being confused with it. This is the thinking that underlies the choice of design for the new sundial in Old Court, a gift to the College by alumnus Jim Dickinson (SE 1975). This sundial indicates two kinds of time: the number of hours since the most recent sunrise and the number of hours since the most recent sunset.

Sundial enthusiasts, diallists, refer to these times as Babylonian hours and Italian hours respectively. They bear only the most tenuous relationship to ordinary clock time. Today, sundials which show Babylonian hours or Italian hours are not uncommon in the Arab world and (unsurprisingly) in Italy but they are very rare in Britain. It was decided early on that Selwyn’s sundial should be executed on an elliptical slab of slate and that the details of the design, cutting, gilding and painting should be undertaken by the Cardozo Kindersley Workshop in Victoria Road, Cambridge. The slate was supplied by Ivett & Reed of Newmarket Road, Cambridge and the nodus and nodus support were fabricated by Mackay Engineering of Cherry Hinton.

As with many sundials, the Old Court dial is embellished with inscriptions and other ornamentation. In the centre of the glorious sunburst at the top of the dial are the two Greek words, KAIPON ΓNΩΘI, attributed to Pittacus, one of the Wise Men of Greece. These words translate as ‘know the time’ or ‘recognise an opportunity’. This inscription also appears on a sundial on the south side of Ely Cathedral. In the space below the summer solstice curve there is a Latin inscription, Collegio suo lactarius Eboracensis me dono dedit, which is a reference

to the benefactor: ‘To his college a Yorkshire dairyman gave me as a gift’.

There are two further inscriptions round the rim of the dial in the thickness of the slate itself. These are explanations: BABYLONIAN HOURS SINCE SUNRISE and ITALIAN HOURS SINCE SUNSET. The hours since sunrise are marked by golden lines and the hours since the last sunset by white lines. The shadow cast by the disc will lie on the central vertical line at noon (one o’clock during British Summer Time) and migrates up and down as the seasons change, sitting on the central horizontal line at the equinoxes. If you wish to calculate clock time you must add the golden hours to the white hours and divide by two, always remembering to add one hour for summer time.

The sundial sits on the wall between D and E staircases directly opposite the clock above the Hall. A quick reference to the clock time will be able to tell you how close you came to telling the time.

Frank King Fellow of Churchill College Selwyn 2010

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The year’s events The past year has seen a variety of Selwyn events taking place in College, around the UK and in the US. The year kicked off with the customary reunions in September, where groups who matriculated in 1959, 1969, 1979 and 1999 enjoyed blacktie dinners in Hall. Activities during the day included a picnic punt, a tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum, a tour of College, and alumni from 1959 had the opportunity to view film footage of the College put together by Bob Whitaker (SE 1957) when he was an undergraduate.

The London Alumni Group has held two events, with a careers evening at the end of September (see page 11 for more information), and a summer party at the Athenæum Club in June, which over 100 guests attended. Thanks are due to Jonathan Wearing (SE 1971) and

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the rest of the committee for organising these occasions.

Regional events have taken the home team to Colston Bassett (Nottinghamshire), Oxford and the US. In the US, the New York Group enjoyed drinks and canapés at their inaugural event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in September. In December members of Selwyn joined the Vice-Chancellor at the University’s 800th Anniversary Gala Ball in New York and a cocktail reception in San Francisco.

The year was brought to a close with the Donors’ Garden Party, held a day after the annual Commemoration of Benefactors. Luckily, the sunny weather held, leaving guests of all ages free to enjoy the attractions, including a bouncy castle, lawn games and a children’s entertainer, with music provided by Olly Wedgwood (SE 1993) and his jazz trio.

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Careers networking The inaugural event of the London Alumni Group was a careers networking evening for current students and recent graduates, where alumni representing a range of professions acted as advisers.

Rebecca Candy, a member of the London Group Committee, and Fiona Scoble, a recent graduate, offer their reflections on the occasion.

View from a recent graduate Lobbed into the real world clutching only your degree certificate, the graduate mind can quickly fall into blind panic when trying to cobble together a vocation. My English degree had led to a job writing for a small magazine and my brain was on the verge of exploding with questions about where to go next: should I fork out for further study?

Do I want to be a journalist, or maybe I’d be happier teaching?

Perhaps I should just flee and keep donkeys in Mexico...

Although Cambridge has an excellent careers service, which had already been a great help, Selwyn’s first Careers Networking evening offered the opportunity to speak with alumni from a wide range of occupations in a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

From an architect to an author to a priest, between them the speakers catered for a swath of graduate options.

After the speeches, informal chat allowed for honest discussions about the pros and cons of a profession and how it might fit with you, especially seeing how it might work out a few years down the line. This insight focused my choices considerably. The evening was also very reassuring; the majority of speakers confided that they hadn’t decided on a career when they were first thrown into the real world, and they seemed to have done all right!

Many speakers said they’d be happy to be contacted by e-mail after the event, and were excellent in providing further advice.

I’d highly recommend this event to any graduate or student who is unsure about what to do with themselves!

Fiona Scoble (SE 2004)

View from an adviser ‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ Alice asked. ‘That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ replied the Cheshire Cat. ‘I don’t much care where,’ said Alice. ‘Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go,’ said the Cat. - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland We all have our own idea of what a successful life might look like for us, but the vast majority of us don’t have our future lives mapped out by age 21, or know which path to take to enable our own success. One of the aims of the Careers Networking evening is for Selwyn students to explore numerous career pathways in an informal and friendly setting. It also brings together alumni and students in a proactive way, keeping those of us who left many years ago in touch with the realities of College life today, and offering current students the opportunity to explore the realities of the world of work. It allows those of us who want to give to the College, but perhaps cannot do this financially, to give in a more practical way by offering time, skills and advice.

I hope that the idea of Careers Networking will continue to grow and provide both inspiration and hard facts ‘from the coal face’ to help Selwyn students make a more informed choice about their futures.

Rebecca Candy (SE 1998)

In addition to the events organised by the London Alumni Group, we invite members to sign up to our catalogue of advisers. This catalogue is circulated to students at the beginning of each term, and allows them to contact alumni working in different sectors. Please fill in the enclosed ‘Careers Networking’ form, or go to www.sel.cam.ac.uk/alumni /Careers/careersform.html if you are interested in joining the network.

The next careers networking evening will take place on 30 September 2010.

Rebecca offering advice at a London Group careers event.

Selwyn 2010

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Year Group Representatives

Alumni services

1947 1954 1959 1960 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970

Keeping in touch We are always very happy to hear of your news and achievements, so please stay in touch by contacting us in the Development & Alumni Relations Office or by logging onto our Online Directory at http://alumni.sel.cam.ac.uk/. This directory replaces the printed College Directory and is a great way to ensure that you are looking at the latest contact information for your contemporaries and friends. All members for whom we hold valid contact details will have been provided with log-in user names and passwords. If you have not received this information, have lost your password, or are only recently back in touch with the College, please contact the Development & Alumni Relations Office at alumni-office@sel.cam.ac.uk or 01223 767844. All details that you enter in the directory will automatically be passed onto the College’s main alumni database, but please note that if you directly inform the office of changes by other means (e.g. by e-mail or telephone), these updates will not be transferred to your directory entry, since you and not the College have control over the data appearing there.

1971 1974 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

2002 2003 2004

2005 2006

2007 USA

Stan Bunnell Michael Day Alfred Waller James Trevelyan David Denton Andrew Millinger Roger Le Clercq Mike Walton John Barnard Michael Rowles Michael Folger Nick Mercer John Silk Kevan Thorley Tim Simmons Nigel Hirst Charlotte Carey Matts Malcolm Burwell Gareth Quarry Kevin Brown Peter Spargo Catherine Wightwick (née Carr) Stephen Speak Peter Thacker Vanessa Emmett (née Webster) Mark Carey Anna-Louise Brown (née Parkin) Sarah Johnston Matt Sloan Adrian McAra Francis Simons Brunel James Siân Walters Karen Knighton Graeme Daykin Mary Clegg Charlotte Dalton Liz Ross Martyn Jonathan Halliwell Matthew Cheeseman Ruth Longmaid Claire Wood Rebecca Candy (née Chesson) Dominic Ashcroft David Cockayne Amit Bhola Jack Butler James Thompson Kelly Bond Shiraz Masood Alison Dickson Tom Parks Joe Braidwood Alice Howell Nick Wright Maria Staiano-Kolaitis Heidi Gastall Emma Inkester Ray Malekout Claudia Bates Marrisa Rothkopf Bates (SE 1987) Mark Bates (SE 1987)

Tel: 020 8455 3379 daysludlow@yahoo.co.uk alfred@wallerfawley.co.uk jwitrevelyan@yahoo.co.uk tripled@fsmail.net andrew.millinger@virgin.net rogerleclercq@btconnect.com mike.walton@waitrose.com therealjb@tiscali.co.uk michael@forwardrowles.co.uk mfolg@aol.com nick.mercer@london.anglican.org johnsilk@tiscali.co.uk kevanthorley@aol.com ts205@cam.ac.uk nhirst@hadenfreeman.com ccareymatts@aol.com mcburwell@aol.com gareth.quarry@ssq.com kevin@epublish.co.uk spargosindeal@aol.com catherine@wightwick.co.uk stephen@speakfamily.com peter@pthacker.com vanessa@vanessawebster.com markzcarey@googlemail.com anna-louise@wealthbuild.com.au sarahlouisejohnston@gmail.com mattsloan@discover.com adrianmcara@tiscali.co.uk fransimons@mac.com bruneljames@orange.net walterssian@hotmail.com karen_knighton@hotmail.com graeme.daykin@mac.com marylclegg@hotmail.com charlotte.dalton@btinternet.com lizrossmartyn@yahoo.co.uk hallisax@yahoo.com egp05mjc@sheffield.ac.uk ruthlongmaid@hotmail.com claire.wood79@googlemail.com becky.candy@cantab.net dominic.ashcroft@gs.com david.cockayne@nyypct.nhs.uk amit.bhola@citi.com jack@future-foundations.co.uk james_thompson44@hotmail.com klb49@cantab.net shiraz@cantab.net alibalibee85@hotmail.com tomparks@mac.com joe.braidwood@cantab.net alice.r.howell@gmail.com nick.wright@cantab.net mariask@cantab.net hygastall@hotmail.com einkester@googlemail.com dnamoyar@hotmail.co.uk claudia.bates@cantab.net marissa.rothkopf@gmail.com

Staying in College We have a small number of guest rooms available to alumni throughout the year. These are basic single rooms and are usually in one of the hostels. To book, please contact the Accommodation Officer (details below). Outside office hours, the porters may be able to help.

Accommodation Officer: 01223 769339 accommodation@sel.cam.ac.uk Porters’ Lodge: 01223 335846 Dining rights Those of you who are MAs or who have taken any other higher degrees are entitled to dine at High Table on three evenings per year on Tuesdays or Thursdays, providing there are at least six current Fellows present. You may bring a guest at your own expense. To book, please contact the Catering and Conference Office.

Catering and Conference Office: 01223 335855 catering@sel.cam.ac.uk

Selwyn College mailing policy Selwyn College keeps in touch with members and friends with a number of mailings throughout the year.

We hope that you are happy for us to contact you in this way, but if you would prefer not to receive mailings from the College please contact us at: Development & Alumni Relations Office Selwyn College Cambridge CB3 9DQ Telephone: e-mail:

01223 767844 alumni-office@sel.cam.ac.uk