Christ Church MattersI S S U E 2 8M I C H A E L M A S T E R M 2 0 1 1

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“When a blind beetle crawls over the surface of the globe he doesn't realize

that the track he has covered is curved. I was lucky enough to have spotted it.”

Albert Einstein (Ch Ch 1931-33)

Members probably don’t believe they abide “in an Earthly Paradise” given thepresent world outlook but perhaps some do look back wistfully at their years atthe House and think those pre-commitment times were pretty close to it!

The days of closed gates and the need to climb in and out of college are gone;comings and goings, though monitored, are unconstrained and the internetpenetrates even the thickest walls. Perhaps Christ Church is less insular now,although that is not always obvious. There were many prejudices apparent inthose educated at the House in previous eras, yet great men were educated whoran the Empire well and fairly according to the standards of the time, and ChristChurch took in many refugees in the 1930’s, not just Einstein but also PaulJacobsthal, whose archive the Oxford Institute of Archaeology is working on atpresent. Furthermore different forms of discrimination can beset today’sgeneration unless care is taken.

As the Dean suggests there is a wonderful medley of nationalities within thecollege, and especially the Graduate community, producing a lively, reciprocallearning process. For surely that is one key reason for education: to give alternativeviews of the world and encourage the exploration of those views. Like theimaginative photograph of Meadow Building on this page should not our worldview be orb-like?

This edition of CCM seeks to shed light on Christ Church’s involvement with theworld; to illustrate that “nature makes the whole world kin”. Thus the archivistwrites of historical connections with foreign climes, the Tutor in Music describesthe choir’s international presence, we hear of a generous gift from AlonzoMcDonald and we also seek to continue our support for Wells for India. Attemptsto strengthen connections with Christchurch, New Zealand are examined in thearticle on the Wakefield scholarship and in Association News Members livingabroad are our “own correspondents”. Prof. Roger Davies encourages us to openour eyes to foreign travel and expand our minds, and graduate students illustratehow overseas trips have given them knowledge and understanding. The article onScanning History shows that “language is the archive of history” and the topicalsubject of free speech is explored in the Christ Church/Gorbachev Lecture series,named after the architect of “glasnost”.

Sarah Jones, the new Alumni Relations Officer, and I hope that this issue illustrateshow Christ Church hearts and minds are open to many outside influences,creating new relationships and opportunities for its Members. Perhaps it is nottoo strong a wish “to seek a newer world”. There is truth in history, and ingeography too; but should a few degrees of latitude or longitude determine whatthat truth is?

Simon OffenChrist Church Association Vice President and Deputy Development Directorsimon.offen@chch.ox.ac.uk+44 (0)1865 286 075

Editorial Contents

Sarah JonesAlumni Relations Officersarah.jones@chch.ox.ac.uk+44 (0)1865 286 598

DEAN’S DIARY 1

CARDINAL SINS – Notes from the Archives 2

CATHEDRAL NEWS 4

FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY 6

THE CHOIR AT LARGE 8

THE MCDONALD CENTRE/WELLS FOR INDIA 10

CHRIST CHURCH/WAKEFIELD – New Zealand Graduate Scholarship 11

BOAT CLUB REPORT 12

OXFORD ALUMNI TRAVEL PROGRAMME 14

ASSOCIATION NEWS AND EVENTS 15-23

THE RETIREMENT OF PETER CONRAD 24

DEVELOPMENT MATTERSTutorial posts and the Oxford Teaching Fund 25

STEWARDING CHANGES 26

CHERNOBYL, 25 YEARS ON 28

TWO GREAT ASCENTS IN GREENLAND 29

SCANNING HISTORY 30

CHRIST CHURCH/GORBACHEV LECTURES 31

WRITING A LIFE OF KING ÆTHELSTAN 32

BOOKS WITH NO ENDING… 33

JUBILEE CONCERTS 2012 34

THE CHRIST CHURCH JUBILEE BALL 36

EVENTS LISTING inside back cover

FRONT COVER: © James Trickey (2010) www.flickr.com/photos/jtrickey

BELOW: Meadows 360 degrees photograph by Jake Galsonwww.jakegalson.co.uk/

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‘You are nowe in an Earthly Paradise, if you havethe grace to knowe it’: William Trumbull onsending his son to Magdalen in 1622. Sentimentsof that kind rather play into the hands of thosewho imagine us in ivory palaces where nothingmuch comes within spitting distance of reality. Ilove the Union speech by Raymond Asquith (thewitty son of the Prime Minister, killed in the battleof the Somme) in which he urges the assembledcompany to avoid parochialism: ‘Let us ratheremulate the wide-ranging and refulgentgenerosity of that magnificent orb, the sun, whichas all good Balliol men know, has for all humanityand from time immemorial risen over Wadhamand set over Worcester’.

The only answer to the charge that Oxford is aworld unto itself is to agree. Then, however, to addthat the real world is an elusive concept. Toimagine that one is in it or even the soleproprietor of it, flies in the face of the mostelementary insights of the sociology ofknowledge. We are conditioned (not determined)by our social context; awareness of how and towhat extent we are children of our time and placeis step one en route to a wider world view. Wethink and speak from where we are. That does notimply that we set out to deceive others, only thatwe may deceive ourselves.

I suppose that step two is then to makedeliberate efforts to complement one’s limitedhorizon with the vantage points of others. In mytrade, there is a tendency to take pilgrims to Israelin order to visit holy sites. I have never done thatand could not do it unless the trip were to contain

careful time reflecting on the West Bank andGaza. Tourism can narrow the mind.

Here at the House, we have old membersspread throughout the world. And if they are saidto be rather an elite corps, then a variety of peoplealso ebb and flow through Oxford. And easycommunication kind-of helps. While writing thispiece, emails slipped in, questioning theUniversity’s investment policy when it comes tocompanies which produce illegal arms.

One of the happiest aspects of Christ Churchis the community which is here already. The imageof the Senior Common Room may be of old sweatsdrinking port and irritating each other. Yet actuallythe SCR has many young and contains Dutch,Polish, American, Indian, German, Italian,Hungarian, Greek, Belarusian, French and Britishfull-time members. Add to that a GraduateCommon Room in which 57% come from outsidethe United Kingdom (25% EU and 32% frombeyond the EU) and a Junior Common Room inwhich 11% do, we go in for variety.

I am not sure quite how all this mix helps usto ‘get real’, but my experience suggests it does. ■

Christopher LewisDean

L Reflections in LordHalifax’s portrait in Hall

I Students atMatriculation 2011

K ‘Earthly Paradise’; thedreaming spires of Oxford.© Tejvan Pettingerwww.oxfordlight.co.uk

Dean’s Diary

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Judith Curthoys Archivist

Cardinal SinsNotes from the archives

In 1793, the town of Halifax in Nova Scotiaapproached the Dean and Chapter foradvice on stocking their new publiclibrary. Dean Jackson responded with along list of titles that they thought wouldbe useful for the town’s proposed publiclibrary. A good library was evidentlyconsidered essential for a place on the up,and Halifax was rapidly becoming a vitalRoyal Navy stronghold. George III’s fourthson, Edward Duke of Kent, resided therefor much of the 1790s and wasresponsible for not only rebuilding itsdefences but also for developing thetown’s social and economic prosperity.

The list of books would have looked veryfamiliar to the young men who studiedat Christ Church at the time. Includedwas a large number of classical texts onall subjects: Homer, Hesiod, Theocritus,Pindar, Aeschylus, Aristophanes,Herodotus, Suetonius, etc. – all worksthat were read during the four yearslabour towards a BA. Theological works,concordances, polyglot bibles, sermons,and the one text that no man couldescape, Pearson’s Exposition of the Creed,were all advised. Scientific textsappeared in small numbers, includingworks by men as far apart in time andunderstanding as Hippocrates, Galen,Euclid, and Isaac Newton. And right atthe end, subjects which still had toappear on the Oxford curriculum, werelisted: geography, law, and modernhistory.

The Dean and Chapter made a habit ofhelping scholars and universities all overthe world, rarely with as much diligenceas they showed Nova Scotia, but usuallywith donations. In the 1660s, studentsfrom Piedmont were given a few poundseach term probably to help themthrough a very unstable period at theUniversity of Turin when the area was

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L Halifax Harbour© Natural Resources, Canada

K Record of Donations, 1659

L Citadel Hill, Halifax © Province of Nova Scotia

j Christ Church Almshouse

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plagued by disease, famine, and war.Closer to home, in the same year, adonation was given to the University ofAberdeen when the two colleges in thecity were re-establishing themselvesafter the Restoration.

Charitable giving of all sorts, not just foracademic purposes, was enshrined in theearly covenants by which Christ Churchwas run, and the Dean and Chapter tooktheir responsibilities seriously. Thebeneficiaries often reflected the politicsor the fashions of the day. During theCommonwealth period, although fewrecords survive, those that do indicatethat not only that paperwork was keptdiligently but that the covenant to helpthe poor was followed stringently. In oneyear alone, 1659, small donations weremade to the wife of a poor minister, for asuit and hat for a Mr Coleman, for theburial of a man who had drowned andwas found on the Meadow, to a prisonerin the castle ‘who was like to famish’, andto a blind scholar at Magdalen Hall.James Egerton, a religious exile fromAustria, was given the relatively largesum of 13s 6d, and a poor Irish womanwho had been robbed by the Turks wasgranted 2s 6d. It was not uncommon forconverts from Judaism or Catholicism tobe given donations, almost as rewards itwould seem. Before the days of thewelfare state, those who were sick andunable to work were entirely dependenton the care of others; GoodmanCarpenter was granted 2s when his madwife broke his arm, and Goody Bew whowas very sick received 2s 6d.

What the canons of the CromwellianPuritan years would have thought of theJCR’s ‘naked’ calendars, one hesitates tothink, but it is good to know that ChristChurch still works hard to support thosewho need help in all walks of life. ■

Beagling Jacket

2012

Christ

Church

Naked

Calendar

The 2012 Christ Church Naked Calendar is for saleat £7 each or £12 for two (plus P&P). Each month features a different society or sportsteam, in different areas of the college – rangingfrom the GCR playing chess to the Alices playingpoker to the rugby team performing a haka. Allproceeds will be split equally between the Raise andGive (RAG) Oxford Charities: Helen and DouglasHouse, Pathway Workshop, Emerge Global, andShelter.

The calendar was organised by the RAG reps ChloeMills and Andrew McLean, with photographersShaun Thein and Rupen Hargreaves.

Dinner jacket worn originally by thePresident of the Beagles, dating from1911, made by Forster and Sons of GraftonStreet, and kindly donated to the archiveby Nicolas Tate (1952). With two huntinghorns, used by Mr Tate during the 1953/4beagling season.

The archivist would be pleased andgrateful to accept in to safe keeping anysuch artifacts from members of theHouse. ■

I JCR President Oluwatosin Oyetunji (2010)

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Education and music play important roles in thelife of the cathedral. Over the past couple of years,the cathedral has been looking at ways to improvefacilities for its educational work and for itsmusicians. The Sub-Dean, Edmund Newell, gives aflavour of what is currently happening, as well asplans for the future and ways in which oldmembers can play a part in supporting an excitingproject to develop an education centre and a choirmusic library.

Cathedral EducationCentre and ChoirMusic LibraryNot surprisingly, the cathedral is already heavilyinvolved in education - but there is scope to domore. In terms of adult education, we currentlyrun a series of public summer lectures and a studycourse during Lent, we host and arrangeoccasional lectures, and are closely involved withthe university’s theology summer school. Everyother year, the cathedral also takes the lead inrunning an educational conference for the clergyof the 80 or so parishes across England connectedto Christ Church.

The cathedral is also a popular venue foreducational visits from schools. Over the past tenyears the average number of school visits per yearwas 24. In 2010-11, the number increased to 47.

This is due partly to the appointment of a part-time Education Assistant, funded by the Friends ofChrist Church Cathedral, and the establishment ofa team of guides and advisors who ensure thatvisits are tailored to the National Curriculum. Thecathedral also recently held a successfulOxfordshire schools day, which culminated withChrist Church being presented with a set ofgospels handwritten and illuminated by childrenfrom across the county to mark the 400th

anniversary of the King James Bible. An importantinitiative is the Sixth Form Seminar, involving theCanon Professors and other cathedral clergy whocan offer schools input in their specialist areas ofteaching and research.

While a lot is already happening, we are looking todevelop our educational activities in two key areas.First, we would like to build on the success of ourwork with schools by increasing the number ofvisits and enhancing their quality. Second, we areseeking to become a centre of education forministry. The latter has been made possible by theappointment of the Reverend Angela Tilby as theDiocesan Canon with special responsibility forclergy training in the Diocese of Oxford. Angelabrings with her a wealth of experience as a formervice-principal of a theological college, and alsofrom her distinguished career as a BBC producerand broadcaster.

To enable these developments, the cathedral is inurgent need of dedicated educational space. Thismay seem surprising, but while Christ Church has

Revd Edward NewellSub-Dean

K Oxfordshire Schools’ Day.The presentation of theBibles.

L Bibles were handwritten and illuminated by the childrento mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

CathedralNews

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a lecture theatre and several teaching rooms, theyare in constant use during term for universityteaching and outside term by conferences. Tosolve this problem, we are looking to create acathedral education centre in the building in theCathedral Garden known as the Bethel.

Currently, the Bethel is used as a general store forcathedral items, including the choir’s music. This isfar from ideal, particularly as the cathedral has asignificant collection of music which should bestored under library conditions. To free up theBethel for educational use, we are therefore alsolooking to provide better storage facilities,including the creation of a music library in whichthe music can be stored in the best conditions toconserve it for the future.

Christ Church’s Architect, Jane Kennedy, hasproduced an exciting proposal to convert theBethel into a flexible space for school groups andadult education and a scheme to convert a derelictbuilding into a choir library. The estimated costs forthese projects are £225,000 for the educationcentre and £125,000 for the choir library.

We would like to begin work on these project assoon as possible, and are about to beginfundraising. Old members who are interested inhelping to fund them and who would like to beassociated with these important additions toChrist Church are invited to contactsimon.offen@chch.ox.ac.uk for furtherinformation. ■

The New GuidebookMembers may be interested to know that a splendid new Guidebook has beenpublished. As you can see from this photo of Bishop John it is a great read withan introduction by Jan Morris and superb photographs by The Chaplain RalphWilliamson, K T Bruce and Bi Scott amongst others. It is available from theCathedral Shop, Tom Porters’ Lodge and the Meadow Gate. Price £5.00.

L The Bethel

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Christ Church, like so many colleges in Oxford, isfull of secret passages and spaces, nooks andcrannies in which wine, books, or even treasure aresaid to be hidden. A few years ago I found such aplace or, rather, I was informed of such a place verynear to the cathedral where I had worked forseveral years. I was photographing the cathedral’smedieval windows and, chatting to one of themeadow men, I heard that there was a coalbunker in the garden containing fragments ofglass. In his opinion it wasn’t worth botheringabout but – after much arm-twisting – Ieventually got there. On first impression the glasslooked like piles of slate and anyone would beforgiven for not giving them a second glance. Iremoved one of the fragments and took it out intothe cloister where I could hold up it up to the lightand what I saw astounded me! I was holding animage of a man’s face. I knew immediately itsimportance as the style was very similar to theimage of Jonah depicted in a window in thecathedral. I immediately called the then Dean’sVerger, Edward Evans, and he confirmed what itwas - glass that dated back to the 1630s. Over thenext few weeks I carefully extracted thefragments and moved them to a room near thecathedral. It seemed like a giant jigsaw puzzle, butthis was a jigsaw puzzle without the lid and, as Isoon discovered, without all the pieces!

Various experts were summoned to inspect theglass and we then began the task of researchingthe story behind the windows and how thefragments came to end up in the coal bunker.What we have discovered is that the majority ofthe glass fragments come from windows paintedin the early seventeenth century by the celebrated

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Sarah Mortimer and Matthew Power

Fragments of HistoryI Jonah’s window

Various expertswere

summoned toinspect the glass

and we thenbegan the taskof researching

the story behindthe windowsand how the

fragments cameto end up in the

coal bunker.

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Dutch artistAbraham VanLinge. Thewindows werepart of a largerestorationcommissioned byDean Duppa inthe 1630s, theperiod just beforethe Civil War. Duppachanged the appearance of ourcathedral completely, with this new scheme ofstained glass and also a new altar and newflooring. Although we don’t know much about thewindows themselves, there is a poem whichpraises the beauty of the glass and tells us whatthe windows depicted. Apparently there werenineteen windows, so this would have been thegrandest scheme in England after King’s CollegeCambridge. Duppa must have had a lot of supportfor such an expensive project, but he also wonhimself enemies among the Puritans, for theyfeared this was a dangerous step towardsCatholicism. According to the diarist John Evelyn,the windows were famous throughout the land –many people admired them, but to others theywere Popish, and even Anti-Christian.

Glass like this did not fare well after the civil war,when the Puritans took over Oxford. A chapterminute dated 2nd June 1651 orders ‘all images ofGod, Good or bad angels & saints to be removedfrom our church windows’. Perhaps this was tosave the glass from vandalism, but if so it was invain. Indeed, Henry Wilkinson, a newish and veryPuritan Canon, was so incensed by this kind ofPopery that when he saw the glass lying on thefloor he tried to destroy it, ‘furiously stamping upand down on it’ according to his contemporary,Anthony Wood. Although most of the windowswere lost, some survived, but only to fall later intodisrepair. We now have just two completeexamples of windows from the 1630s: Jonah inthe north aisle and Robert King in the Chapel ofRemembrance – both of which show howimpressive the original scheme would have been.

What might the future hold for our long forgottenfragments? A similar haul was found in 1919, andplaced high up in the north transept windows.There you can see fragments depicting Christdisputing with the Doctors, the destruction ofSodom and Gomorrah and Christ’s entry intoJerusalem. This time, though, we want to use theglass differently, and give people a chance to seesuch beautifully detailed painting properly. And wehope also to use the fragments to help tell the storyof the Cathedral – especially in some of the mostexciting decades in its history. The Friends of theCathedral have agreed to pay for a few pieces of theglass to be cleaned and mounted in a clear pane,and if we can create several such panes we willdisplay them in the picture gallery and then theCathedral. We hope this will be a lasting monumentto the skills of Van Linge, the energy of Dean Duppa– and the role of the glass in the civil war. ■

‘all images ofGod, Good orbad angels &saints to be

removed fromour churchwindows’

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The entire repertoire ofthe Cathedral Choir’slatest CD, Treasures ofChrist Church (seeopposite), is by Englishcomposers, and there isno doubt that this hasmassive world-wideappeal to devotees ofchoral music. In fact,every few months Ireceive a list of the

countries in which our CDs have been bought ordownloaded. As you may imagine, this includesnot only most of Europe but also Korea, Japan,Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, South Africaand many South American countries. Ourinternational profile is stronger than it has everbeen, and this, coupled with our appearances ontour, has meant that in cultural circles, the Choirof Christ Church is known throughout the world.

Some of the tour highlights have includedconcerts in Sydney Opera House, the Triphony Hallin Tokyo, the Teatro Carlo in Sao Paulo, WashingtonNational Cathedral. In 1990 BBC TV filmed us inconcert in St. Jacob’s Church in Prague in thepresence of the new President Havel: anextraordinarily powerful moment of history in acountry which had just thrown off the shackles ofcommunism. An extract from this concert wasincluded in the recent 50th anniversary broadcastof BBC ‘Songs of Praise’. In recent years, we havebecome more and more involved in collaborativeprojects in other countries as well as the UK. Themost elaborate of these was in Porto in 2006when we recruited local singers to form a choirwhich, in combination with our own, gave a seriesof concerts in the famous Casa da Música.Kingston, Jamaica was the scene of anothersimilar project, as was Bermuda, where the choirgave a number of concerts in the BermudaFestival including local choirs.

An exciting aspect of the choir’s internationalactivity is that we are often engaged to sing musicwhich is non-English. Invitations to an Englishchoir to sing (in German!) J.S. Bach’s music in the

L The Choir abroad;Sydney, Washington,Duisberg, Bermuda.

Stephen Darlington (1971)

The Choirat Large

Leipzig Bach Festival or Haydn’s Die Schöpfung inDuisburg, or Janáek in Prague (in Czech!), or Fauréin Paris, are incredibly rare and indicate the level ofthe choir’s artistic reputation.

And what of the future? Soon, we hope to be in aposition to enable all those with access to acomputer to listen to choral music from ChristChurch through webcasts, wherever they are inthe world. We are even developing a plan toestablish a virtual choir school on the web forchoirs in Toronto and Charlotte. As for tours, thechoir has received an invitation to go to China in2012, and are planning a return to the US in 2013.Look out for information on the choir websiteabout this and other events: www.chchchoir.org

All of this costs money of course, and the need forfunding for international performances is acontinuing one. Our ultimate intention is toestablish sufficient endowment for the choir to doa major international tour every other year, and todo at least one new recording in the alternateyears. This fund will need to be in the order of $1 million and has been launched with a generousdonation from the President of the AmericanFriends of Christ Church, Peter S. Paine Jr. Alldonations, of whatever size, are welcome.

It is easy to make the claim that music has thepower to transcend international boundaries andthere is plenty of evidence to support that view. Ican vouch for this from my own experience,witnessing with my own eyes the astonishingreaction to music-making in communities forwhom it is a new experience. I am determinedthat we should continue and develop this aspectof the life of Christ Church. Music is an area inwhich we can make a real impact world-wide! ■

K The Choir recording aBBC broadcast.

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IN SUPPORT OF

The Christ Church Cathedral Music TrustWe are seeking a Sponsor forthe Cathedral Choir’sChristmas Concert at St.John’s, Smith Square in 2012and beyond

For five years this wonderful Christmasconcert, kindly introduced each year byHoward Goodall (1976), has delightedhundreds of Members of the House andothers with a magical programme ofmusic. However its continuation willdepend on finding sponsorship to helpunderwrite the costs. If you or yourcompany may be interested and yourequire more information please contact:simon.offen@chch.ox.ac.ukChrist Church, Oxford. OX1 1DP01865 286325

Treasures of Christ ChurchThe Cathedral Choir’s newly recorded CD features a special collection spanning 500 years of Englishchoral music, performed from original manuscripts. Treasures is unique in that all the pieces have anassociation with Christ Church, revealing the history of music at the college from John Taverner toTallis, Handel, Purcell, and Byrd, and including premiere recordings of works by John Rutter and HowardGoodall.

The Choir maintains a special and distinctive place within thegreat English choral tradition, and Treasures capturesthe Choir’s vibrant sound and artistic versatility.Additionally, the packaging of this recording featuresstriking visuals of the original manuscripts on pristinelypreserved parchment and leather-bound, gold-embossed scores.

Treasures was the highest new entry in the classicalcharts on Monday 26 September and will be Radio 3'sEssential Classics featured CD in the week of 12 December.

To order a copy of this special collection, contact Sarah Jones in the Dev. & Alumni Office:sarah.jones@chch.ox.ac.uk or see the choir’s website:www.chchchoir.org

9999

Another TreasureIn September 1971 a young organ scholar walkedthrough the gates of Tom. Stephen Darlington hasthus been associated with Christ Church for 40years.

Professor Jonathan Freeman-Attwood (1985),Principal, RAM, says of Stephen:

“I admire his remarkable pride in the distinctivemusical ethos of Christ Church and his open-mindedness in recognising how individuals canthrive within it. Key, I believe, is Stephen’s respectfor musical craft and academic accomplishmentwithout inhibiting his relish for excellence inperformance. The reason why so many of hisstudents feel liberated to follow their ‘muse'(literally it would seem, judging by the variety ofmusical lives now pursued) comes down to hisgenerous and un-prescriptive nature.” ■

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In 2008 the Hon. Alonzo McDonald, former CEO(Worldwide) of McKinsey & Co. and Staff Directorin President Carter’s White House, made abenefaction of £250,000 to fund the McDonaldCentre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life for afive-year period. In the first two and a half years ofits life, the Centre held four academicconferences—on human rights, politicalforgiveness, theology in public discourse about theethics of genetic engineering, and the ethics ofPeter Singer.

In addition, the Centre has sought to contribute tothe shaping of public life by collaborating with theOxford Reuters Institute for the Study ofJournalism in mounting a series of seminars on“Journalism and Public Responsibility”; and withthe Royal Institute for International Affairs(Chatham House) in London in running colloquia

The McDonaldCentre Endowed!

for senior civil servants on “Getting our Way: TheEthics of National Interest” and “The Ethics ofIntelligence-Gathering”.

By May 2010 Mr McDonald was sufficientlyimpressed by the vitality of the McDonald Centreto decide to endow it in perpetuity. In February2011 he signed an agreement with the Universityto endow the McDonald Post Doctoral Fellowshipin Christian Ethics, together with annual projectfunding, in the sum of £1,412,055; and on 1 April heagreed a benefaction to Christ Church of£650,000 to endow a McDonald GraduateScholarship in Ethics, which will alternatebetween the Faculties of Theology and ofPhilosophy.

The McDonald Centre’s 2011-12 programmeincludes a further colloquium with ChathamHouse on “The Ethics of Humanitarian Interventionafter Libya”, a May conference on “Christianity andthe Flourishing of Universities”, and collaborationwith the Mackinder Programme at the LondonSchool of Economics in staging a major event on“The Persistence of the Nation-State”. ■

L The Hon. AlonzoMcDonald (second row) andPeter Singer (front row, right).

Wells for India

Wells for India is a UK registered charity foundedby Christ Church Old Member Nicholas Grey (1955),and Mary Grey. In the run-up to its 25th anniversary,the charity is making a special appeal to helpsustain and extend its vital work.

The organisation supports development andemergency relief in the poorest villagecommunities in rural Rajasthan, the most drought-prone state in India. Sustainable water andsanitation bring wide-ranging follow-on benefits

that transform people’s lives. Health, education,livelihoods, community organisation, resilience inthe face of climate change, and conditions forwomen and girls, all improve.

The work has grown to the point where a millionpeople’s lives have already changed for the better,and 70,000 people are involved in projects eachyear. The charity has established a solid reputationin India, notably for its expertise in community-managed rainwater harvesting. With the impacts ofclimate change becoming harsher, and India’s rapideconomic development threatening to leave thepoorest people more vulnerable than ever, Wells forIndia believes this is a crucial opportunity to expandits successful work within Rajasthan and beyond. ■

To find out more, or to make a donation, pleasecontact Julia Seal at the office on +44 (0)1962832692, or visit www.wellsforindia.org

Nigel BiggarDirector

Jos GarbettWells for India

All images © Dieter Telemans

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The Edward Gibbon Wakefield NewZealand Graduate Scholarship was set upin 2011 at the instigation of HaydnRawstron (1968), the Wakefield Trust andChrist Church.

Christ Church launched a concertedeffort to raise funds for graduatescholarships in 2010 to coincide with the50th Anniversary of the GCR’s founding.When reflecting on how best to securethe evident successes of graduates at theHouse it was decided that thefoundation of more scholarships was theway forward; to maintain incentive andinnovation in research, to secure thebasis of post-graduate interaction in thelife of the college, to inspire theacademics and teachers of tomorrow,and to contribute to Christ Church’s andOxford’s high standing in theinternational field.

Over the past eighteen months Membersand Friends have contributed to newgraduate scholarships in Law, Medicine,History, Engineering/Green technology,and Ethics. All this of course in additionto the wonderful work the AmericanFriends under Peter Paine’s guidance

continue to do annually in raising moneyfor American Graduates to come toChrist Church. There is also a generalscholarship fund for unrestricted gifts.

Following the awful earthquakes inChristchurch New Zealand, Members ofthe House, Friends, and worshippers inthe Cathedral raised the splendid sum of£53,500 for Christchurch Cathedral, andOxford University also took in over fortyCanterbury students to help. Howeverthe aftermath of the earthquakecontinues to present Christchurch andCanterbury University with immensechallenges, thus the House has thoughthow best to help further its sisterinstitution and strengthen andperpetuate its historical bonds withChristchurch.

Those bonds go back to 1847 when JohnRobert Godley, a member of ChristChurch, Oxford, and a brilliant youngcolonial reformer, teamed up with EdwardGibbon Wakefield, the doyen of 19thcentury colonial reform, to set-up acolonising society, the CanterburyAssociation. It arranged for 3,500 settlers(“Canterbury Pilgrims”) to sail to NewZealand to found a model colonialsettlement to be called Canterbury afterthe Archbishopric, and whose capital wasto be called Christchurch after Christ

The Christ Church/Wakefield New Zealand Graduate Scholarship

Simon Offen (1986)

The stunning 2007 Limited Edition publication - Godley Gifts – from which these pictures are taken, is a fascinating three-volume set,in a beautifully crafted presentation box, containing the story “Seadrift”, a selection of Watercolours, and a collection of essays byDavid McPhail, all relating to the founding of Christchurch, New Zealand.www.godleygifts.co.nz

Church, Oxford. At the heart of the newsettlement was the cathedral, designedby Sir George Gilbert Scott who did muchwork in Christ Church and Oxford;Canterbury College, now the University;and Christ’s College, a public school. A realhome from home! Half the managementcommittee of the Canterbury Associationwere Christ Church graduates — and 48of the original 50 members of theAssociation were Oxbridge educated.

The Edward Gibbon Wakefield NewZealand Graduate Scholarship is ChristChurch’s answer to perpetuating the link.With a generous gift of £150,000 fromthe Wakefield Trust to launch thescholarship endowment fund in thiscountry, Christ Church will welcomeWakefield scholars in the Humanitiesfrom Canterbury University. The collegewill tie in with a fund already set up bythe Trust in New Zealand and aim toincrease the number of graduates whocan come to study in Oxford to at leastone per year, thus ensuring that both thelink and the Wakefield name arepreserved in perpetuity.

Dame Kiri te Kanawa’s concert at theJubilee Music weekend in June 2012 (seepages 34-35) will be used to highlight thescholarship and help with fundraising,but we also hope that the idea will strikea chord with Members of the House whomight like to contribute, either in thiscountry or in New Zealand. Graduatesstudying at Christ Church need yoursupport. ■

For further information please contactsimon.offen@chch.ox.ac.uk

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Taken out ofcontext the resultsof last Trinity Termfor the ChChBClook rather poor;after all, it was thefirst time thatthere had been adownward trendwithin the Club for

some years, and having no boat to burnafter racing for the first time in six bumpscompetitions came, inevitably, assomething of a disappointment.

However, we had known all along thatTrinity was going to be a hard term for theClub. With Oriel back up to strength withthree Blues and an Isis man (two of whomhad been rowing over Head for the Houseone year before!) and with our own crewthus much depleted, the prospects fromthe outset were somewhat bleak. The 1st

VIII did its best – but was predictablyunable to hold-off Oriel’s hirelings andwent down to them on the Wednesday,succumbing also to a stronger Pembrokecrew on the following day, but holding itsplace thereafter and remaining Third onthe River. The 2nd VIII was also dangerouslyexposed rowing off 10th in Division II – butdid astonishingly well, considering itsrelative lack of experience, to lose only twoplaces to the first eights it had bumped in2010 and to remain in the Second Division– and still the highest 2nd crew by somedistance. The gallant 3rd VIII also held itsplace and remains likewise the highestboat in its class, well ahead of any other 3rd

crew. The women’s side saw a similarpattern, with the 1st VIII rowing over on theWednesday – but then losing a place eachsuccessive night to finish ninth; theproblem was not so much a lack of skill asof size, compared with their opponents.

The women’s 2nd VIII, however, did ratherredeem matters and retained their title ashighest in their class for yet another year,losing only one place and rowing overthree times.

Overall, then, something below the usualstandard of results set over the last fewyears and retained successfully into Torpidswith the third successive Headship. Thisview, however, is to ignore the underlyingstrength of the ChChBC, which at once setabout recovering from the setback, withthe men (in alliance with Lincoln) narrowlyfailing to qualify for the Temple Challengeat Henley and with a very activeprogramme of rowing over the summer forboth men and women that saw a total offour regatta wins in various combinations.

The start of Michaelmas Term has alreadyseen a real resurgence; two men’s eightsarrived back over a week early to begintraining under our new Head Coach, NewZealander James Armitage, and AssistantCoach Helen Popescu, who had kept up anactive summer for those resident inOxford. There are also five triallists withOUBC, which augurs well for Eights 2012,while the girls also look forward toavenging last year’s defeats. We are alreadysetting about the business of restoring theClub’s position to the place we havebecome used to – and wish it to be.

It is mainly through the generosity ofmembers of the Society that the Club isable to prosper. Thus we are seeking bothyour continued membership subscriptionsand capital support. The launch of theappeal to celebrate the 200th Anniversaryof the Christ Church Boat Club in 2017begins with the publication of the appealdocument and a gathering in London inApril, followed by the Boat Club Dinner in

Oxford on Friday, June 15th 2012. This year2011/12 is the 30th Anniversary of the firstWomen’s racing eight competing on theIsis, and we hope for an excellent turn outfrom the Ladies to mark the occasion. Overthe next five years we intend to ensure theongoing long-term success of the Club.Our aims are simple - and targeted at whatwe know from experience to work best.

Firstly, we aim to support the college inendowing the costs of the Boat House andthe Boatman. This basic infrastructuremust be secured in perpetuity. Secondly,we wish to ensure that we have aminimum, ring-fenced sum available eachyear for professional, high-qualitycoaching. Thirdly, we want to encouragethe best oarsmen and women attendingOxford to choose the House - and byhaving bursary support available to attractsuch quality we can help achieve that aimtoo. It is our firm belief that the successfulraising of an endowment fund of £1.25million and the securing of these threepillars of the Boat Club will provide thesecure base for continuing victories on theriver for many years ahead.

I hope that you will join us over the nextsix months at events in Oxford, Henley andLondon to celebrate all that the Boat Clubhas achieved in the past two hundredyears - and support us in creating a fund tosecure its continued success for the nexttwo hundred. ■

Jon Carley(1980)

Boat Club report

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The Boat Club and the Society hold a numberof events each year and it is always gratifyinghow many Members turn up. Since the Trinityissue of Christ Church Matters we havegathered at Eights week; where theAssociation holds a drinks party on theSaturday; we had a splendid Boat Club Dinnerin Hall and we enjoyed a sunny Henley withthe traditional Pimms party in the car park onthe Saturday evening. All members of theSociety are welcome to these events as wellas to Torpids and the Varsity Boat Racegathering. ■Jon Carley (1980)

Boat Club Events

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Roger Davies, PhilipWetton Professor ofAstrophysics, and Dr. LeesReader in Physics atChrist Church, often actsas a trip scholaraccompanying tours andgiving lectures for theOxford Alumni TravelProgramme.

He has already led twosuccessful ‘Polar Nights and Mystical NorthernLights’ tours for Oxford alumni and the next tourwill take place in February 2012. He will also beleading two unique tours in 2012 to observe solareclipses; one to the Grand Canyon (18-25 May 2012),and one to Australia (5-16 November 2012). Asidefrom experiencing different types of eclipses, thesetours will also offer magnificent views of the nightsky, and the opportunity for sightseeing andexploring the local areas with expert guides.

The Oxford Alumni Travel Programme offersapproximately 25 exclusive academic tours per yearto every corner of the globe. Each tour isaccompanied by a trip scholar, and groups areusually small. All Oxford alumni are welcome to jointhe tours, along with friends and family. ■

For further information about the Oxford AlumniTravel Programme, visit www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/travel, email: travel@alumni.ox.ac.ukor phone +44 (0)1865 611617.

For an itinerary of the eclipse tours, visitwww.solareclipsetours.com, email: taunya@betchartexpeditions.comor phone 001 408 2524910.

Oxford AlumniTravel Programme

LL Northern Lights© Hurtgruten

L Grand Canyon© Betchart Expeditions

I Australia© Betchart Expeditions

(Background image)Northern Lights in Norway© Hurtgruten

Prof. Roger Davies(2002)

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Robert Hanrott(1959)I was born in Londonand ran a companythere for many years.I sold the business topursue otherinterests. “Otherinterests” turned out,shortly afterwards, tobe a most charming lady from WashingtonD.C. I met my wife in a ploughed field, inthe pouring rain, on an organised walk inItaly. So after a romantic chase, whichinvolved creating an album of what werereally love songs (with expert help from aformer pop guitarist), I moved toWashington to be with her. We now spendfour or five months of the year in London tosee our family, but otherwise live inGeorgetown.

Faced with retirement, we decided,with no prior music education or trainingas instrumentalists, to learn to write musictogether. We treated it as a job, takingcourses in music theory and composition.Since we started we have written threemusicals, songs, a story with musicalaccompaniment, piano pieces, and latterly,chamber music in 19th Century Romanticvein. We are currently planning, withtrepidation, a piece for chamber orchestra.

EditorialSince the last edition ofAssociation News I’vehad my Gaudy (1977-1981). It really is anexperience Alice couldhave related to,stepping through theMeadow gate andtumbling back in time, the old familiar historyof the college now intertwined with the(relatively) recent record of one’s youth.Everyone was looking just a touch older andwiser but we soon picked up our friendshipsagain and didn’t mention any grey hairs. Itmust be something about the revisiting of oldpossibilities in intimate and resonantsurroundings that has made the gaudy anirresistible setting for dark deeds, fromDorothy L Sayers to Inspector Morse. But I amglad nothing untoward happened on thisoccasion. Nothing was found floating inMercury, not even the remnants of the rowingclub get-together. Instead we had great food,a brilliant speech given by Marcus Scriven(History, 1981) and a packed buttery, always agood sign.

In addition to the gaudies, there havebeen a varied selection of events for oldmembers. They have danced the night away(or most of it anyway) at the Commem Balland dined at Howth Castle in Ireland, in theshadow of Finnegans Wake. There has been asixties reunion and a fusion of the ninetiesand noughties generations at a chic Soho bar.From louche to lush surroundings, the collegeand its gardens played host to a variety of oldmembers and their families at the annualAssociation day.  

Our international theme this issue allowsus to hear from seven old members who liveand work outside the UK. They describe theirtime at the House and how that hasinfluenced their subsequent careers.Meanwhile, Alexander Faris (1940) gives us aglimpse of wartime Christ Church in Prank’sCorner when the gowns in college alldisappeared before Collections. Call for LordPeter Wimsey. I am looking forward to sharingwith you over the next few issues the manypranks I have been sent for this regularfeature.

Fiona Holdsworth (1981), Editorfiona.holdsworth@btinternet.com

All this we do for love, not for money or anyform of recognition.

The connection with the House (I readHistory) is first a love of learning, acontinuous use of tutorials from competentand successful pianists and composers, anda general feeling that you don't know whatyou can do until you try it. In my case, thishas included painting, drawing, ceramics,acting, singing, poetry and light verse. Notto mention an earlier number of businessventures, which wereexciting challenges intheir own right.

Second, The Housestimulated independentthought and thecourage not only toquestion the wisdom ofthe pundits, politicaland otherwise but todo so with as muchtongue-in-cheek irony and humour as onecan muster. I have latterly spent timewriting commentaries on modern lifeunder the banner “Mild Subversion”, a namewhich gives a flavour of the content.

I have thus kept my brain ticking overand have avoided getting fat. I commendthe spirit of enquiry fostered by the House.I doubt I would have developed it to thesame extent on my own. ■

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Stephen Nicholas Walker(1973)I arrived at Christ Churchin the autumn of 1973.Aged 19, I had limitedexposure to the worldoutside Yorkshire. Mostfamily holidays had beenin Scotland, I might havevisited London twice (Joan Baez concertand the movie Easy Rider), a week in St Ives,and the previous summer my only tripabroad, six weeks in Montpelier. I had donenothing but study for the four years up toOxbridge exams motivating myself withpromises of the worldly delights to beconsumed if I succeeded.

The House did not disappoint. Itraded Bulls Blood of Eger for ChateauLynch Bages, Sekt for Pommery etGreno. I met so many fascinatingpeople from all types of backgrounds,a good number of whom I am close totoday and many whom I miss. Wetalked, investigated,debated, learned,experienced. There

was a lot going onoutside the walls in theearly ‘70’s-there always iswhen you are young. Imade frequent trips tothe Cambridge Unionwith Miss Bhutto in

In this issue we hear from seven old memberswho live and work outside the UK as theyreflect on their time at the House and theirsubsequent careers.

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support of her campaign to win thepresidency of the Oxford Union. Life atChrist Church had a dreamy quality. This ismy most abiding memory of life atOxford.

My quest for worldly delights waspartially constrained by the scout system.Charlie, the Chinese Cuban scout on BlueBoar, was far too diligent for my taste,unlocking and entering my room every8am, peering into my wardrobe and undermy bed in search of evidence of rulebreaking.

Since graduating I have spent twoyears in the City, twenty on Wall Street,five in Normandy and the past six in Riode Janeiro. I specialise in a type ofinvesting known as “global mergerarbitrage”. My partners and I are enteringour sixteenth year as an independentfund management company. ■

David Joyner(1981)When I was atOxford, if youhad asked mewhether I mightultimately endup living inNorthernCalifornia Iwould havegiven you a funny look and thought youwere trying to make a joke. Yet, here I am30 years later living in Tiburon, a smallcommunity on San Francisco Bay manymiles from Oxford and Christ Church. Ihave never lost my love of England, ofChrist Church, of green hills andhedgerows, of old country pubs, of history,of tradition, of culture, old friends andfamily, but California has brought much tome also. Living on the edge of the Pacifichas brought me a wonderful climate, theoutdoors on my doorstep, careeropportunities, openness to change,optimism about the future and newfriends and my own new family.

Right after Christ Church I joined Bainand Company, the managementconsulting firm, in their London office.While I found my degree in Chemistry fromOxford had taught me to think andanalyze complex problems, I needed to getan education in business, so I moved toPhiladelphia to study for my MBA at TheWharton School of the University ofPennsylvania. During my time at WhartonI had the chance to visit NorthernCalifornia and found a place that was verydifferent from my expectations. I expectedsmog, crime, awful traffic, palm trees,beaches and fast food. What I found was

After 30 years in Brussels, I have justbeen granted early retirement, alsofollowing a merit-based competitiveprocess! I will now be devoting more timeto research and writing in my field ofexpertise, the history of photography. Ileave the EU in the knowledge that I have"made a difference" and proud of theachievements that I have lived through:consolidation of the internal market,stabilisation and democratisation ofCentral and Eastern Europe and yes, eventhe creation of the Euro, despite its currenthigh-wire act. Ah, EU Realpolitik… plus çachange. ■

In retrospect, reading ModernLanguages was a wise choice for a career inthe European bureaucracy. Selection, bycompetitive examination, takes placeexclusively in candidates' second languageamongst the three working languages(English, French and German). BuddingEurocrats won't advance very far if they failto communicate clearly and precisely, bothorally and in writing, in English and inFrench. And a third EU official language ismandatory for promotion. So French andGerman were a good combination to easemy career path. It is no coincidence that mytwo closest British colleagues also readmodern languages at university.

On graduating, I had the choice of goinginto banking or taking a masters in businessadministration. A scholarship saw methrough two years in the internationalstream of a French business school. On thestrength of an internship with the Germanchambers of commerce in Bonn and adissertation in non-tariff trade barriers inthe European internal market, I wasrecruited to Brussels in 1981. I started onApril Fools Day, and was promptly teargassed when caught up in a riot by revoltingFrench farmers. That was my rudeintroduction to the hurly-burly of EuropeanRealpolitik.

I spent the first part of my career as anadministrator on scientific researchprogrammes. I was an "English pen", calledupon to draft (or redraft) policy documents,position papers and committee minutes.This is where my weekly essay crisis stoodme in good stead. Being able to identify thecritical facts in complex issues, structure a

convincing argument, and deliverwithin tight deadlines, were some ofthe "portable" skills I was able tobring to my job.

In the 1990s I moved into humanresources management within theEuropean Commission. In 2002, Itransferred to the EU's newly createdHR selection body, the EuropeanPersonnel Selection Office, a one-stop shop for EU employment

opportunities. I have acted there as a"change agent", instrumental in designingand implementing a root-and-branch reformof the HR selection process, including theintroduction of computer-based testing, ageneral competency framework and systemof assessment centres. EPSO is now beingcited as a model of administrative reformwithin the international public sector.

Stephen Joseph(1974)As a sixth-former in1972, I recall feelingkeen anticipation,almostexhilaration, whenthe Heathgovernmentsigned the UK'saccession treatywith the CommonMarket, as it then was. So I could becounted a Euro-enthusiast from day one.

After I came up to Christ Church, toread Modern Languagesunder the unforgettabledouble act of A.J.Krailsheimer and F.D. Luke, Ibecame more active inEuropean affairs. Icampaigned vigorously for ayes vote in the 1975referendum on thatseemingly perennialquestion: "Do you think theUK should stay in the EuropeanCommunity?" In student politics, I rose tothe giddy heights of secretary of an interestgroup called the Young EuropeanFederalists. Headquarters were in theNational Liberal Club and I attended manya conference "on the continent", therebycombining an early exposure to Europeanissues with a goodly amount of tourism.

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spectacular natural beauty, open spaces,redwoods, great food and wine, and lots ofsunshine. After graduating from WhartonI moved to San Francisco and stayed withBain for another five years. Since Bain Ihave worked in healthcare, most recentlyfor Blue Shield of California where I run a$2BN revenue business unit supplyinghealth insurance to large employers. Ihave not yet become an American citizen,but will likely do so at some point in the

future. My wife isAmerican and mytwo children areAmerican born, butwith British as wellas US Passports.

I recommendto anyone theexperience ofliving (andworking if you

have to) in another culture, it opens youreyes in different ways. I see Californiathrough a different perspective, and thesame is true when I come home toEngland. As my children grow up mygreatest hope is that they mightexperience the wonder and privilege of anOxford Education and perhaps one daymight consider themselves as muchEnglish as they do American. ■

CHRIST CHURCH ASSOCIATION NEWS

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Anna Despotopoulou(1991)Before starting towrite this piece forChrist ChurchMatters, I wasprompted by anunexplained hunch tolook through my pilesof papers and

certificates having to do with my formereducation and employment for a type-written, now faded, photocopy of thepersonal statement that I sent to Oxfordalong with my application for graduatestudies back in 1990. Yes, embarrassingly, itdid contain that unashamedly ambitiousstatement that I am certain that anOxford degree will help me towards acareer back in Greece, as an Englishprofessor at the University of Athens.Happily, I am now an English professor atthe University of Athens, and my ChristChurch experience as an MPhil student

has everything to do with who I am now.Not unexpectedly, it opened doors: yearsafter the MPhil, and after a PhD not atOxford, at my first job interview ata US university, the first wordsuttered by my interviewer were,“So, you were at Christ Church, howwonderful!” But, moreextraordinarily, Christ Churchoffered a unique life experience: itnourished intellectual curiosity andencouraged academic freedom; itcombined intensive research andstudy with a dynamic, andimmensely entertaining, social life. It isthis balance of academic seriousness andnon-academic fun that I remember mostwhen I am asked to counsel students onwhat to look for in graduate studies. Mystudents marvel when I describe thesetting, the format, and the atmosphere ofthe seminars with Christopher Butler thatI attended; or when I try to make themvisualize high table or special guest

dinners in Hall, garden parties in theCathedral or the Dean’s Garden, and Balls.They marvel even more when I explain to

them that despite the rigourof the academic programme,there was still enough time toattend all these socialfunctions and even planthem; I was GCR socialsecretary for a year, and Ivividly remember feverishlyhelping to organize bigevents but also silly-themeparties. The memory of

lounging in the beautiful GCR rooms,home to both Lewis Carroll and AlbertEinstein, has stayed with me throughoutmy travels in academia, and while I cannever recreate those years, I hope that inmy approach to education, my studentsmay recognize, and be inspired by,something of the academic and socialtraining that I received in my two years inthe House. ■

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financially fortunate colleges told me thatwhat they called a tutorial could be on a four,five or even six to one basis. The willingnessof an institution to devote the resources thatChrist Church did (and I presume,does) to its students is arare and special privilegeto enjoy. I probably did nottake as full advantage of itas I might have - post-midnight essay crises seemto have been a recurringpattern in my studies - butthe foundations weredefinitely laid.

I currently work on the Asia-Pacific deskof the Agence France-Presse news agency inHong Kong, overseeing coverage andhandling stories from a region that stretchesfrom Pakistan to Fiji and North Korea to NewZealand. Before that I had stints inJohannesburg, covering southern Africa, andBangkok, the base for south-east Asia, forThe Daily Telegraph. The ability to talk toanyone, from prime ministers and CEOs todisaster recovery officials and guerillacommanders, about anything, andimmediately evaluate and respond to whatthey are saying, has probably been moreuseful than anything else.

Even if the finer points of Wittgensteinhardly ever come up. ■

Sebastien Berger (1990)“Good point, wellmade.” It’s a usefulphrase in discussion, away to acknowledgethe superiority ofsomeone’s argumentwithout entirelyabandoning your own- and one that is always nice to hear.

Admittedly it’s not a line I could claimto recall having had addressed to me in myphilosophy tutorials, but for me the mostenduring legacy of my time at Christ Churchis the way one learns and develops criticalreasoning, how to think, not what to think,the ability to instantly assess what you arehearing or reading and dissect it for bothsignificance and flaws. Being surrounded bypeople of like mind and temperament,coupled with sometimes radically differentpoints of view, means, of course, that it isnot just cultivated academically but honedover coffees in rooms, dinners in hall, anddrinks in the Undercroft.

Looking back, it is truly astonishing thatsome of the finest brains in the world aremade available to students in their late teensand early twenties for an hour a week on aone-to-one basis. Even 20 years ago, therewere concerns that the system could comeunder pressure – and friends at some less

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Caroline Rowe (2000) Having spent the better part ofthe decade since Oxford outsidethe UK, I suppose it’s fairly safeto say that I am a prettypermanent world citizen.Moving straight to Shanghai,China, I rapidly moved awayfrom what I thought was oneof the Oxford careers of choice,M&A Consultancy, to work for a luxurylifestyle destination, Three on the Bund,doing expansion strategy for them, andeventually falling into the role ofCommunications & Marketing Director.Career wise, that’s pretty much the area I’vestayed in since. After Three on the Bund, Iopened a Japanese restaurant, Pure, anddessert parlor cum bar, cum club, Sugar. Wewere in Time Magazine the week we openedand swept the award ceremonies that year.Rather than a sushi conveyor belt we had adessert ski lift on the ceiling, and sofas whichlooked like Chanel handbags. We had hugeamount of fun, and the “extra-curricular”activity of being Ball President at ChristChurch certainly helped me to pulleverything together. Next I set up my own

CHRIST CHURCH ASSOCIATION NEWS / EVENTS

company, Rowe Publicity, and setabout battling the red tape ofchina and spending most of mytime with lawyers and accountants.At the same time, I becamePresident of the Oxford andCambridge Society of Shanghai. Iwas also one of the founders ofSmartShanghai, the number oneEnglish language webzine in

China and somehow foundtime to become the officialproofreader for the Englishteaching books now available inall Chinese secondary schools,and to ghost-write a book onbread!

After almost six years inChina, I decided that this wasnot going to be the country inwhich I would spend the rest of my life, andheaded to California for what was essentiallyto be a year of R&R. There I consulted onrestaurants in San Francisco and Napa Valley,but less than a year on realized that Asia wascalling again.

I have found my true home in India andam opening the India office for QUO, an

innovative global travel, tourism andhospitality consultancy. I also write for anumber of national newspapers andmagazines on all food topics. I adore my lifein India, and revel in lavish and colourfulholidays such as Diwali and Holi, andregularly take off to Rajasthan or the foothillsof the Himalaya for long weekends.

Oxford taught me, I suppose, to try tostudy and understand, rather thanrely on pre-formulated opinions.That has been the single mostuseful tenant to bear in mind whileliving within and working besidesother cultures and peoples. One cannever say “gosh, it’s strange andwrong that these people do this”One has to learn to say, “well, thismay be odd to me, but let me findout the reason that people do this,

what it means to them, how it isrepresented as a part of their history andwhat it could mean as a part of theirfuture.” This flexible attitude has allowedme to fit into my chosen homes around theworld, and to actively be enlightened everysingle day, which is the greatest joy onecould wish for. ■

between Old Members, the Association andthe House. This started initially with YearReps and has now grown to includeRegional and Sports Reps. All are designedto be “Friend Raisers” rather than “FundRaisers”, with their primary role simplybeing to nurture links with the College,their year group and wider collegeconnections. The workload for a Rep isvariable and entirely at each person’sdiscretion - with the Development Officedoing nearly all of the “donkey work.” It isnot the Rep’s job to ask for money for theHouse.

There are currently 95 Year Rep’scovering 1958 to 2009, plus Sports Reps, andRegional Reps from as far afield as HongKong and the USA. However, the Associationis looking for more Rep’s to fill in the variousgaps and to build up the number for eachyear. If you are interested in representing aYear, Sport or Region, please contact SimonOffen simon.offen@chch.ox.ac.uk or PaulGalbraith paul.galbraith@chch.oxon.org .Please also contact your relevant Rep, Simonor Paul should you wish to find out moreabout the Association and its activities, re-establish links with ‘lost’ contemporaries,

Christ ChurchAssociationYear Rep’s.All Association Year Reps were invited to adinner and meeting at the House inNovember. It provided a great chance tomeet each other, catch up with old friends,discuss the past, present and future of thecollege; and of course enjoy a splendidMcKenna Room dinner and some fine wine.

The evening started with a meeting todiscuss issues such as how to improve onvarious past events, how well the Bursaryappeal and Tutorial Funding is going, ourcareers help for students, and event plansfor the coming year. Later, after dinner, weended with a lively and wide-rangingdebate over port about social media andthe various options for the Association inthat area.

The ‘Representative’ Scheme was set upby the college and the Association in 2003to improve the channels of communication

and/or make suggestions and comments.The Christ Church Association is anunrivalled alumni group amongst OxfordColleges and it remains very proud of itsdedicated and on-going work fosteringconnections between all Members, andbetween Members and the House. We verymuch look forward to welcoming more Year,Regional and Sports Reps in the comingmonths and of course, at next year’s annualdinner, which in 2012 will be in London. ■Paul Galbraith (1995 Year Rep & AssociationCommittee Member for Year Rep’s)

Please see the website for the full list ofYear Rep’s. www.chch.ox.ac.uk

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A Christ Churchweekend inIrelandWhen asked why the Christ ChurchAssociation should have a weekend ofevents in Ireland I was tempted to replythat it was because only Irish coffeeprovides in a single glass all fouressential food groups: alcohol, caffeine,sugar, and fat. However, the real reasonis that we have some 90 Membersliving in the Emerald Isle and we wantedto continue our programme of taking theHouse to our supporters and not justexpecting everyone to come to Oxford orLondon.

Add to that the fact that a number ofMembers were being extremely generous ingiving us access to some wonderful venuesand it was an obvious choice. Julian GaisfordSt. Lawrence (1976) and his wife Christine setthe pace for the weekend with dinner inHowth Castle library preceded by a splendidtour. The castle dates back to the 13thcentury but was much altered in the mid18th century and in 1910 by Lutyens. Julian isa direct heir of Dean Gaisford and we sawsome splendid artefacts with a ChristChurch connection including books, lettersand pictures, some by John Ruskin. We knewit was summer as the rain was warm, butwe still managed a quick group photo onthe front terrace.

I regret to inform you that Christine diedon the 1st November. We all send our love toJulian, Thomas and Alix.

The Hon. Desmond Guinness (1951)kindly arranged for us to visit theremarkable Castletown; saved from ruin bythe Irish Georgian Society which he founded.After taking in the splendour of this

Palladian masterpiece we were treated tolunch at Desmond’s home, Leixlip Castle,which originated in the 12th century. Pennycooked a wonderful lunch and the wineflowed. It was not the only time during theweekend that we realised the truth of thesaying that Ireland is great for the spirit butbad for the body!

The final event of the trip was a superbconcert and supper at Birr Castle organisedby the Earl of Rosse, Sir Brendan Parsons(1957). Following a drinks reception in thehall we enjoyed a concert of Chamber Musicentitled Beethoven’s ‘Archduke Trio’, andsome foot tappingly infectious traditionalIrish music in the stunning gothic drawingroom. Supper in the impressive red diningroom was masterminded by Lady Rosse withplenty more liquid refreshment.

Those of us lucky enough to have beenable to attend the weekend owe a hugedebt of gratitude to all those who openedtheir homes to us. Thank you also to themany other Members in Dublin who helpedorganise the weekend; for your support forthe event, for driving people around, forgetting us lost(!) and for your irrepressiblesense of humour. ■Simon Offen (1986)

L Birr Castle.

l Desmond and Penny Guinness.

K Gathering at Howth Castle

29 September:Gaudy 1977-1981Images may be seen at: www.chch.ox.ac.uk/development/events/gaudy

K On the Castletown stairs

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The CommemBall 2011Returning to Christ Church for this year’s ballwas an awe inspiring experience: Tom Quadwas transformed by circus acts, men on stiltsand a wonderful champagne reception – itwould be hard to imagine a more beautifulsetting. In all the times I crossed Tom Quadas a student I would never have imaginedthat one day I would be seeing fireworkserupting from the Canonry roof tops in timeto Holst’s “Jupiter”. If you missed it see thewebsite under “Past events” where there aresome photos as well as a You Tube link to thefull spectacle.

Perhaps the most notable part of theevening was the impressive musical line up– I was particularly taken by ‘The Cutaway’,who are all Oxford students, and with the acapella group ‘Out of the Blue’, togetherwith such thoughtful details from the ballcommittee as blankets artistically placed inhampers available to those of us listening.It would be hard to write about the musicalline up without mentioning the headlineact of the evening, Tinchy Stryder!

When I was up at Oxford, Christ Churchtraditionally held a much smaller ball butthis year’s Commem Ball rivaled any of the

balls I enjoyed during my time there; themeadows were transformed into a fun fairwith a Gypsy caravan complete withfortune teller, an enormous ferris wheeland a merry-go-round, while the cathedralgardens had a casino, caricaturist and yetanother impressive music venue! From thevodka luge sculpted in the form of ChristChurch to the marvelous fireworks it was anight to remember.

A very many thanks to the entire ballcommittee and everyone else involved forall their hard work. ■Freya Howard (1998)

30 June: Gaudy to 1955

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interior had been beautifully restored. We allmarvelled at the detailed cataloging and crossreferencing work that was being carriedforward. This now covers bindings andannotations as well as the contents of the

books – a labour that willtake many years tocomplete!

Then all of usassembled in the Deaneryfor some convivial preDinner drinks, followedby Hall, which looked

wonderful with the low evening sunlightadding to the twinkling of the table lamps.We were treated to a splendid meal, up towhat I am sure are the finest restaurantstandards, and enhanced by an excellentselection of wines. I simply don't recall thatcollege food was like this fifty years ago!

After the Dean had informed and amusedus with news and anecdotes from morerecent college history we decamped to theButtery, where many of us re-met colleaguesfrom long ago, and probably misremembereddeeds and disasters from the 1960's. And so(late) to bed.

On Sunday morning we were treated toan illuminating guided tour of the kitchensand the gardens. I am sure that most of usvisited parts of the college, both inside andout, that we had never been to before. Icouldn't help thinking that a performance of"Alice in Wonderland" on a summer'sevening in the garden to the north of theCathedral would be magical. Especially if wehad Lewis Carroll overseeing it from the rearwindows of the Library, and maybe with theodd Cheshire cat in the trees at the back ofthe garden!

Finally we wound up in the Butteryagain, for more meetings and greetings. Iam sure we all enjoy Gaudies, but they covera range of years and, inevitably, many ofone's fellow diners are folk who one knewlittle whilst at the House. To have just one'sown year group served to intensify theexperience, I think. There simply wasn't timeto talk with everyone. But if the sign of asuccessful event is that it leaves one wishingit could have gone on for a lot longer, thenthe 50th Anniversary of the "Class of '61"certainly was a success. Roll on our 100th! ■Bob Pynegar (1961)

1961 ReunionDinner – Fiftyyears on!This year an early September weekend sawnearly 100 of us visiting the College – thereturning "Class of '61", together with ourspouses and partners. We were there tocelebrate together the 50th Anniversary ofour coming up to Christ Church.

We were reasonably fortunate in theweather. It wasn't the balmy late summercouple of days that I had beenhoping for, but in 2011there have not been alot of those. We wereinconvenienced over theweekend by a couple oflight showers, but mainlyit was dry and mild.

Saturday afternoonsaw a crowd of us down by the river to watcha coxed four assembled by Mark Baker "rollback the years...". Bearing in mind that therewas about a third of a millennium of thoseyears in the boat they performed splendidly.Coxed by Charles Tucker, Anthony Saunders,Mark himself, John Edwards and Fred Hultonrowed a great deal further than thespectators had expected, and did so with astyle and efficiency that we all admired.

Later in the afternoon a large party of uswent to the Upper Library, where members ofstaff were kindly on hand to show us how the

The Nineties and Noughties alumni drinkswere held on Friday 11th November atZebrano, a chic bar located in London’s Sohoarea. There was fantastic attendance acrossover 20 years of alumni and the private bararea was soon packed with revellers enjoyingthe drinks and food platters. Meeting fellowalumni I was struck by the many variedpaths that everyone had taken, fromcoordinating and flying display planes toworking for NGOs, founding charities, sportsmanagement, forensic science as well as ajournalist and a couple of entrepreneurs toname but a few. All in all the evening was fullof reminiscing and a few business cardsexchanging hands. What better way tospend a Friday night in the city? I concluded

that the night was a huge success whensomeone asked, "When is the next one?"

Time to getplanning, watch thisspace….. ■Camilla West (1998)

The Nineties and Noughties

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Christ Church Association Day 2011Rarely has so much been packed into oneday by so many. 130 members and familyenjoyed good company, a splendid lunchand numerous events on a sunnySeptember Sunday.

The Cathedral services were joined by agood number but some did penance ofanother form and suffered the AssociationAGM and Committee meeting. Members ofthe 1546 Society were then invited to drinksand canapés in the glorious surroundings ofthe Deanery whilst those of us who have notyet indicated a bequest to the House drankbubbles in the Buttery and the Ante Hall.

Lunch was traditional fare and none theworse for it: Smoked salmon, Roast beef,Apple crumble, all washed down with somedecent St. Veran and Vacqueyras. Then,following a state of the House speech fromthe Dean, which drew incredulous gaspsfrom the assembled Members that we weresecond in the Norrington table and only thirdon the River, the afternoon events began.

The Curator of the Picture Gallery, MsJacqueline Thalmann, drew her group around

her and spoke on the Hall Portraits, and theprevious Dean’s verger, Mr Edward Evans,gave an illuminating tour of the Cathedral’sstained glass windows. Jim Godfrey, theEducation Officer for the Cathedral, with ahelping hand from the Archivist Ms JudithCurthoys and Reader Services librarianRachel Pilgrim, took some 50 eager Alice fanson a trip through the looking glass. Theyended up in the Upper Library where MrsJanet McMullin, the Senior AssistantLibrarian, had already presented anexhibition of library treasures to anothergroup. Finally twenty lucky people pouredinto the Lee Building for a Vintage Porttasting led by Jasper Morris (1976) of BerryBros. The 1966 Taylor’s was voted the best,beating the 1963 Dow’s by a nose.

Tea and cake in the McKenna room gaveeveryone the chance to meet up againbefore braving the outside world and thejourney home.

At 5pm there followed a Library Donors’reception in the Dean’s Garden and theground floor of the Library, which gave Christ

Church the chance to thank all those whohad made the restoration of the Librarypossible. It really is looking spectacular at themoment so please, if you were not able tomake the reception, be in touch and we willendeavour to organise a visit.

Finally a big thank you to all the staff, inso many departments, who made the daysuch a pleasure and success. ■Simon Offen (1986)

Board of Benefactors’ ReceptionAll Board of Benefactor members (thosewhose gifts to the House amount to £20k ormore) were invited to a drinks and canapésreception at the impressive Savile Club inMayfair on 9th November so Christ Churchcould express its gratitude for their ongoingsupport.

One hundred benefactors and guestsenjoyed a talk by one of the Oxford/BBCEconomics’ mafia, Hugh Pym (1978) Pointingout that unlike Stephanie Flanders, EvanDavis and Robert Peston he went to a propercollege, Hugh showed real professionalismin handling the rather temperamentalmicrophone, and gave some amusing yetchilling reflections on the state of the worldeconomy today. Peter Oppenheimer wouldhave been proud.

The Savile Club looked splendidfollowing its recent renovation work andlooked after us magnificently. We are verygrateful to Philip Wright (1972), the Clubtreasurer, who made the introduction.

The Dean welcomed everyone andintroduced Hugh. Most importantly though,whilst thanking those present for theirmunificence, he stressed the point that theHouse depends not just on the significantlarger gifts which are received, but on thevery many smaller donations too.Participation is an important mark of thehealth of an institution’s fundraising and hewished to encourage everyone “to give, evenif only the cost of a pint of beer a month” insupport of Christ Church. ■Simon Offen (1986)

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Da Capo Al Fine A Life in MusicWhen a life has seemed like a series ofchapters it is tempting to write a bookabout it.

Hence Da Capo, From the Beginning:Birth in Caledon, Co.Tyrone, seat of the Earl ofCaledon, father of the young HaroldAlexander (later Field Marshal Alexander ofTunis) whose early steps I was to emulatetwenty-three years later as a lieutenant inthe Irish Guards, commanding a tank fromNormandy to the Baltic. After the sad earlydeath of my father, I moved to Belfast andwent to school at the Royal BelfastAcademical Institution (‘Inst’) in Sir JohnSoane’s elegant early 19th century building.Once in the city, I had the chance to attendconcerts in the Ulster Hall, where my firsthearing of the Enigma Variations wasconducted by Sir Edward Elgar a monthbefore he died in 1934. Then onto Oxford andthe House, where, thanks to the policy of

Book reviews mingling youngsters of different socialbackgrounds, I was catapulted into thecompany of  wealthier folk than I had knownhitherto, which encouraged me to apply for acommission in the Brigade of Guards. 

After four years in the war, I had eighteenmonths in peacetime Germany.  I now hadthe pleasant, if minimal role in theresuscitation of German opera houses (inthe State Opera in Cologne there was grassgrowing in the footlights).  Later, on aSadler’s Wells European tour, I was toconduct in several of these opera houses.

1947: a year at the Royal College ofMusic.  I won two prizes, one for conducting.Then my first professional job, as chorusmaster, later conductor, with the Carl RosaOpera Company, until they went bust, when Iended up in the West End with twosuccessive musicals, Song of Norway (pseudoGrieg) and Lilac Time (pseudo Schubert). AHarkness Fellowship brought a rewardingyear in New York, then back to London withBernstein’s Candide, a cult success, but ashort run. The Sixties were my happy yearsat Sadler’s Wells, mostly onoperetta, Orpheus in the Underworld etc.,then, opening the day after the copyrightexpired on Gilbert & Sullivan, Frank Hauser’sdelightful production of Iolanthe. In 1972 thetelephone rang.  It was my old friend TVproducer John Hawkesworth.  Would I like tocompose theme music for an Edwardiantype series?  72 episodes later Upstairs,Downstairs was a world-wide name. By now Ithought I had arrived al Fine. But there wasto be a Coda.  The BBC sought a name for thefinancial item in their PM programme.  Alistener suggested Upshares, Downshares.Presenter Eddie Mair, enjoying the pun,decided to accompany the item with the

Pranks CornerGowns in PeckIt is July 1941, Trinity term. I am doing myweekly two-hour stint of firewatching onthe roof of the House Library. As usual, noGerman planes overhead. In ‘the Baedekerraids’ the Germans had bombed Exeter,Bath, Norwich, York, Canterbury, Bury StEdmunds and Cambridge. So far Oxford wasuntouched, and I was enjoying the beauty ofthe dawn rising over the city’s dreamingspires. Suddenly, as I looked down on the18th century Peckwater buildings, I had the

tempting vision of a string of gownsstretching end-to-end across the quad.Gowns across Peck! Next day a group ofus conspired to put a plan into action.On the last morning of term the Houseawoke to a drastic shortage of gowns,only the few that we hadn’t pinchedbeing available for undergraduatesattending the ritual of Collections in Hall.

I was the one called for disciplinebefore the Junior Censor, the Rev. RobertMortimer. I remember him now withaffection and respect for his humanity andhumour in letting me off with a reprimand.I had feared being sent down. ■Alexander Faris (1940)

Upstairs, Downstairs theme.  Unexpectedly,listeners began to send in their owninstrumental versions of the music, of ahilariously wide variety.  A CD made of theirefforts was sold for charity, making £80,000for Children in Need. ■Alexander Faris (1940)

A Diamond in the SkyMargaret Pelling’s second novel, A Diamondin the Sky, £8.99, was recently published byHonno Press, a small Welsh press with agrowing reputation. If the title makes youthink of the nursery rhyme, you won't be farwrong, but the astronomically-inclinedmight also find something of interest. Thenovel is something of a psychological thriller,as was her first, Work For Four Hands. Detailsmay be found at www.margaretpelling.co.ukor www.honno.co.uk. ■

‘A rich and imaginative work with apowerful story’ Jane Jakeman

Margaret Pelling is the wife of ProfessorChristopher Pelling (1970).

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Oxford graduates who fill in the right forms areentitled to write MA (Oxon) after their names.Some wear college ties, or display blades on theirwalls.

Those who read English at Christ Church in any ofthe last 38 years don’t bother, on the whole. Werecognise each other by our adverbial ambitions,our effortful epigrams, our imitation Tasmaniandrawls and wry archings of the eyebrow - thelegacy of hours spent in Peter Conrad’s clutteredstudy in Tom Quad.

What else did we learn there? Perhaps the bestpicture can be formed by reading a new bookcompiled by 28 former pupils, now all “professionalspinners of words and meeters of deadlines” (as thepreface states), and published privately in honour ofMr Conrad, who retired in the summer of 2011.

Where We Fell To Earth: Writing for Peter Conrad isan exuberant picnic of lightly worn learning, an apttribute to a don who shunned High Table andopenly despised the warmed-over leavings of thefaculty lecture-halls.

Giraffes, Simon Cowell, Shakespeare’s Pericles andEllen Terry’s beetle-wing dress all feature, as doesthe nipple-count in Bournemouth’s municipal artcollection, the difficulty of conducting Bach’s Massin B Minor and the folly of ripping the genitals froma bear in Montana without first scanning the smallprint on your hunting permit. There are poems,short stories, a scene from a play, the openingchapter of a comic novel set in the Ardennes in 1944and some engagingly wobbly dog doodles. Best ofall, there are (almost) no footnotes. Mr Conrad, awriter of incandescent erudition who came toChrist Church via the All Souls prize fellowship atthe age of 25, does not hold with footnotes orindeed with any of the conventional scaffolding ofdry-as-dust scholarship. His friend and formercolleague, Christopher Butler, quotes him as

The Retirement of Peter ConradWhere We Fell to Earth:Writing for Peter Conrad Susannah Herbert

(1984)

l (Left: top to bottom) Andrew Clover, Vanessa Jones, JamesWoodall, Christopher Butler, Sasha Baveystock

L (Above: clockwise) Henry Hitchings, Lachlan Mackinnon

L Peter Conrad

writing: “Ideas are the least of what a teacher givesto students; the more valuable gift is a convictionthat the desiccated texts are still sappy with life.”

The book, a year in the making, was sprung on itsunwitting inspiration one night in late October inLondon by editors James Woodall and MichaelDobson, who coaxed the work into being withenergy, tact and vigilance. With the help of SimonOffen of the Christ Church Association, theysomehow persuaded Mr Conrad not to bolt for thedoor on realising what they had done in his name.He may have winced as, to an assembly of about 40ex-pupils (covering House matriculees from 1973 to2007), Mr Dobson made a brief speech about non-sexual reproduction, and might even have bowedhis head and groaned when all present weredescribed as “Peter’s children”; but he recovered intime to weave Coriolanus, Joan Collins, a blonde MPand at least three slanders into a sadly unprintablethank you.

Sappy with life, indeed. ■

The book is available, in limited numbers, fromthe Christ Church Development Office for £25plus p&p. sarah.jones@chch.ox.ac.uk

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The Development approach at ChristChurch has been, and remains, to addressthe needs of the House as a whole, ratherthan identifying individual stand-aloneprojects. The In perpetuity document,published in 2008 broke down an overallendowment target of £44 million into bite-sized parts that reflect the different areasof interest to which Members can dedicatetheir support.

Recent external developments, both atnational and university level, have meantthat this holistic approach is no longerquite so straightforward; and it may nowbe tactically advantageous to direct gifts tospecific parts, most notably tutorial posts.

The issue has arisen as a result of amassive retraction in research funding, inparticular to humanities, but also to socialsciences and even, to a lesser extent, themore protected STEM subjects (Science,Technology, Engineering, Medicine). In thefirst instance, this has had a direct impacton the faculties rather than the colleges;but there is a serious knock-on effect forthe future of the joint-funded tutorialposts.

These are the tutors most of us willremember, who have both a tutorialfunction within a college and a research/lecturing role at the faculty. Tutorials aredelivered not just on a one/two to onebasis, but also by an academic who is atthe cutting edge of research anddevelopment in their particular field; thatis the gold standard.

Different levels are offered below the goldstandard and all colleges employ these tosome extent and to great effect; but the

balance is heavily weighted towards thejoint-funded posts, which also offer thecontinuity and total involvement in collegelife and administration.

The retraction has meant that the facultiesare cutting back on posts as and whenthey come up for retirement, it leaves thecolleges with a stark choice. They musteither replace the tutorialside with a peripateticstipendiary lecturer (orequivalent) or face thereality that the only way tosecure the gold standard isto fund the faculty side inaddition to their own.

This means that the firstfunding priority may nolonger be to endow whatwe are already doing, butto endow what the facultyis doing just to keep thequality of the post. So it hasnow become a priority toraise money into specifictutorial pots, and wellahead of any pendingretirements.

To ameliorate the damage,however, the centraluniversity has recentlydiverted £60 milliontowards supporting thefaculty side of jointfunded posts (The OxfordTeaching Fund). Becausethe sum can only endowseventy-five (£800,000each), three have beenallocated to each college.

Additionally however, an incentive hasbeen built into the scheme such that thefunds will only be released when acollege has raised £1.2 million from itsown members to endow their side of thepost. If this target is achieved, then thecollege can be assured that, when thatpost becomes vacant, the faculty willhave ring-fenced funding to secure its

continuation in perpetuity.

The aim is to raise our side ofthe commitment quickly; andahead of others competing forthe post. Due to the generosityof a small number of Members,our initial quota of three hasalready been achieved inClassics, Music and Politics.

It is clear, however, that therewill be more money available forthis scheme and that we needto accumulate funds intotutorial pots ahead of thegame. We already have projectsrunning for History, PPE, Law,English, Classics, Music,Geography and will shortly beproducing a brochure forModern Languages.

Two non-specific funds havealso been created to assisttutorial posts; one for sciences ingeneral and another as afighting fund to assist anysubject which may needpushing over the line, either topay the faculty contribution(£800,000) or to qualify forOxford Teaching Fund money(£1.2 million). ■

DevelopmentMatters;Tutorial posts and theOxford Teaching FundMarek Kwiatkowski

Development Director

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Most members of the House seem toretain striking memories of their firstarrival at Tom Gate and first entry intothat magnificent quadrangle. Of coursefor the majority this experience takesplace in one’s late teens whereas myown debut was some 25 years later. Butthe common entry memory that linksmany House members is, no doubt, thatfirst interview. Courteous formality and aquiet tension were in the air in theDodgson Room, with its long greenbeize-covered table, the steadily tickingantique clock, benignly observantportraits, and the faces of the largecommittee, in those days all gowned, aswas then de rigueur in the Dean’spresence. A High Table dinner completedthe process.

One measure of the years that haveelapsed since then is the effect oftechnology on the way in which wecommunicate with each other. It was alate eighties postal strike whichencouraged the new Steward topurchase the institution’s first faxmachine — an innovation quicklyadopted by the wider community. Thenan innovative ‘University telephonenetwork’ replaced individual GPO

phones. Though quite soon telephonecalls (and, sadly) conversations began tobe replaced by the bombardment of e-mails.

Probably the job of Steward is not theonly one where the content bears onlypassing resemblance to the jobdescription. The Steward’s principal roleis to provide a responsive domesticenvironment in which the academiccommunity can carry out its purposessafely, effectively and comfortably. TheSteward also plays a part in raising theincome, to ensure that this primary taskis not a drain on the endowment, ratherthat it makes a respectable contributionto the House’s finances.

The Steward is also in the position ofrepresenting two communities to eachother. There is, on the one hand, thatlightly structured academic community:the sole-trader mindset with a loosecorporate edge. And the staff who serveit: necessarily functioning in a morehierarchical management-basedstructure, with unambiguous lines ofresponsibility and often seeingthemselves as the true guardians oftradition.

It is in its relationship with college staffthat Christ Church has accomplishedmuch beneficial change. A grace-and-favour approach to employment and itsrewards has been replaced by respectablepensionable salaries, professional trainingand a participative culture. My work withthe Steward’s management team of tenfine professional people (all still in post),and the many staff who report to them,has undoubtedly been one of the mostrewarding elements of my years asSteward.

Another is the professional scope andfreedom that comes with the post,freedom to innovate and to be creative,always the best part of any good job.Christ Church is necessarily a public place,with hundreds of worshippers visiting thecathedral daily. To this, in recent years, areadded the thousands of tourists wantingto marvel at the fine architecture andhistory of this unique joint foundation ofcollege and cathedral. And to pay arespectable fee for the privilege. So thecommercial development of that businesshas proceeded (with the assistance ofHarry Potter) and with proper regard tothe need to mitigate a potentiallydisruptive touristic/academic clash. Tothis we can add, with some pride, thecareful, discreet but effective extension ofaccessibility for people with disabilities,until quite recently unable to reach keyareas such as the Hall.

Tourism does not, however, fully meetinterest in deeper access into Christ Churchand its mysteries, nor fully exploit the

Stewarding Changes

John HarrisFormer Steward of Christ Church

1986-2011

K Former Steward John Harris, Helen Smith and Sylvia Harris at John’s retirement tea

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report that the Spring Special Interestevent The Crusades and the Emergence ofEurope is now fully subscribed and with awaiting list.

In September next year the House isoffering a further conference in itsestablished Conflict Series. Ten years afterthe inaugural Enigma and the IntelligenceWar we turn our attention eastwards. Theprogramme, entitled The Chinese Century,will trace the extraordinarily stormy andconvulsive events that have marked thatvast country’s progress since the fall ofChina’s last Emperor, Pu Yi, as well aspondering the unfolding of the yearsimmediately before us. Speakers, fromBritain, China and the USA, include LordPatten, who will speak on his role as thelast Governor of Hong Kong. Details are onthe Christ Church website atwww.chch.ox.ac.uk/conferences/chch-events. A hardcopy programme will gladlybe mailed in response to an e-mail toconflict@chch.ox.ac.uk.

So here is yet a further benefit ofworking for, and being a member of, ourfine institution. Membership is for life. Itdoes not end when going down, norwhen retiring. It has always been aprivilege, and almost invariably also apleasure, to serve the House over manyyears. And it is very pleasing that evenold Stewards are given something usefulto do afterwards! ■

The new Steward, Ms Pauline Linières-Hartley was the first female Manciple atAll Souls, the first female DomesticBursar at Wadham and is now the firstfemale Steward of The House. “Manyyears ago” she did a B.A. in French inMontreal and her name in part comesfrom having a French father who was inthe Free French Air Force and married anEnglish woman in the war. Hartleycomes from her husband: David Hartley,who recently retired as Professor ofEducation at Birmingham University.Pauline has one daughter, Charlotte, whois studying for her second Masters atWarwick. ■

scope for further opening the communityon the basis of fruitfully enlightened self-interest. This has emerged from the SundayTimes Oxford Literary Festival, now heldannually, and from our own spring andsummer conference programmes. Theseare designed for, and open to, members andnon-members of the House alike.

It was a conference entitled Spies, Lies andIntelligence which yielded an experiencewhich one might not immediatelyassociate with the Steward’s traditionalrole. The presence of presenters ‘with linksto’ the CIA and the British security serviceswas not especially difficult to arrange. Therecruitment of a Soviet specialist wasmore problematic – but ultimatelyachieved with the electrifying testimonyof an ex-KGB defector. Afterwards thisextraordinarily impressive speakerdeclined the offer of dinner, pleading aprior domestic engagement with anAgatha Christie movie, but asked theSteward to provide an escort, on foot, tothe railway station via a pub serving goodBritish beer. This was the pre-poloniumworld, providing in retrospect anadditional frisson to an unexpected duty.

Although I have now handed over theduties of Steward to my admirablesuccessor, Christ Church has generouslyprovided one further year of conferenceresponsibility in 2012, with a spring andan autumn programme. It is pleasing to

Twenty years ago,when there was noAlumni orDevelopment Officeand the Associationwas taking its firstbaby steps, John wasthe man whoactually made thingshappen. Aided by his

excellent staff, it was he, rather than theAssociation Committee that made all thearrangements for our first garden partywith 600 turning up. We had no fundsand little expertise but John made it allnot only possible but a tremendous

success. As the first Secretary of theAssociation it was I who was thankedand congratulated, but it should havebeen John.

It was a considerable number of yearsand many more events before theAlumni and Development Office cameinto being and gained any resources andthroughout that time it was John towhom we turned time and time again tomake our vague ideas real.

Through those years and since I have neverseen John rattled or put out but alwayscalm and in control. Staging events of any

type always has its last minute hitches,some of them major, but John soaked it allup and sorted it all out whilst neverdisplaying any cause for anxiety to thosearound him.

It was always a great pleasure to work withhim and he will be sorely missed. He leaveslarge shoes for the new Steward to fill.

On behalf of the Association, and of all itsmembers, I would like properly to thankJohn for everything that he did to get us upand running and to make so manyoccasions the pleasure and success thatthey were. ■

John Harris: The Steward

Our newSteward

Nick Alexander1973

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Andy, Nicholas Howarth and DominiqueHenri travelled to Chernobyl this May,with the aid of the Pereira fund of ChristChurch.

The reactor explosion, on April 26th, 1986at Chernobyl reactor 4 in northernUkraine, shook both Soviet and Westernrealities. The accident, caused by anexperiment intended to improve existingsafety mechanisms, went catastrophicallywrong, and the resulting fallout caused ahuge human and economic loss. The maintoll was borne by the liquidators, nearly amillion men involved in the cleanup andhasty construction of the Sarcophagusthat now surrounds reactor 4. The totalfinancial cost crippled the Soviet Union.Even today, 25 years later, costs associatedwith the disaster still amount to about 6%of Ukraine and Belarus’s governmentincome, and will continue to do so foryears to come.

Today, it is possible to visit the area aroundthe reactor, as I and two fellow ChristChurch students did this last spring. Wevisited the abandoned city of Pripyat,which contains little left to show of thedaily lives of the 50,000 who lived in thecity before the disaster. We were also luckyenough that our guides knew some ofthose still living near to the reactor.Permanent residents are not officially

allowed inside the 30km exclusion zonesurrounding Chernobyl, yet some remain.The Samosely, an official label whichtranslates as “Self-settlers” or even“Squatters”, number a few hundredscattered across villages within the zone.We met the Semenijuk family, who havelived in the southern area of the zonesince the explosion, which did not see asmuch fallout as areas near reactor 4. Theylive in a small yet prosperous farm andIvan, the father, tells us that he used towork as a security guard before theexplosion. He has since retired, and spendshis time tending to his farm with his wifeMaria. The village, which once had 111residents, now has a population of 8, allhaving remained there after theexplosion. The couple, and their neighbourElaina, all agreed that they are happierstaying in the zone than those that movedout after the accident. They prefer life inthe tranquility of their village. Access tobasic provisions, however, is poor. A mobileshop with a few necessities comes byevery two weeks, but long trips out of thezone by Ivan or into the zone by his sonare needed for many necessities. With thefinal shutdown of Chernobyl reactor 3 in2000, many basic facilities, such as thelocal pharmacy, have closed. Thisparticularly affects the Samosely; all areold, and many are in need of regularmedical assistance, and find it hard to livewithout the infrastructure that onceexisted in the zone.

Globally, even after Fukushima, Chernobylremains iconic of the pitfalls of nuclearpower, and is the banner around whichthe anti-nuclear movement rallies. Theaccident was a tragedy, but the effects onhealth are often overstated. The 2005Chernobyl Forum, consisting largely of UNagencies, concludes around 4,000 deathsare attributable to Chernobyl, largelyamong those who were involved in thecleanup. What is clear, however, is thathundreds of thousands of lives were andare affected by the disaster, and theSamosely are certainly not the onlyexample of those whose lives are nowworse off. The legacy of Chernobyl willlikely affect Ukraine and Belarus for theentire 21st century, and must continue toserve as a reminder of the importance ofsafety in nuclear power. ■

Chernobyl,25 years on

Andy Brown.(2007)

K Maria at her farm.

K Andy, Nicholas and Dominique.

K Hospital operating theatre.

L The Sarcophagus.

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however, making the best of a spell of goodweather they finally reached the summit. One ofthe purposes of the expedition was to raise fundsfor a Russian charity ("Gift of Life"). The banner ofthe charity was raised at the top of the mountain.

Second, another mountain of 3150m has also beenscaled by the expedition - that was previously

unclimbed peak in the vicinity ofMt Gunnbjorn at a tributary

of the upper Woolley glacier.The mountain had

previously beenphotographed and attempted

by an expedition led by Paul Rose afew years back. He, however, had to abandon thesummit attempt, due to unstable snow conditions.The decision was reached to name the peak afterAugustine Courtauld, a hero of the British ArcticAir Route Expedition in 1930-1931, and a member ofthe party of British geologists who were the firstto climb Mt Gunnbjorn back in 1935.

A fruitful joint-effort of the expedition highlightsand underlines the necessity of internationalcooperation in the Arctic for the success inexploration of the region. ■

Andrey Pogudin (Christ Church, 2007) and MaximBouev (St.Antony's, 1999) took part in a jointBritish-Russian expedition to the WatkinsMountains in Greenland in May 2011. They havecompleted two remarkable first ascents.

First, the Oxford Alumni became the first Russiansto reach the summit of the highest mountainwithin the Arctic circle - Mt Gunnbjorn (3694m).The start of the expedition was marred byinclement weather, so the participants had topostpone the first in the season climb of MtGunnbjorn for a few days. On the 24th of May,

Andrey Pogudin (2007)

Two Great Ascents in Greenland by Oxford Alumni

j Top of the Couloir StAugustin.

J Gift of Life at Gunnbjorn.

Background image:Gunnbjorn Field and thecamp.

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30

Features absorb light at different wavelengths onthe spectrum; for example, iron-gall ink is revealedonly under ultraviolet light. By scanning documentswith the full spectrum of light, the scanner finds all‘lost’ features. ‘The technical leaps the team hasmade mean many documents that were previouslyunreadable can now be scanned and read,’ says DrObbink.

This multispectral imaging analysis was originallyperformed by a high resolution camera. However,the camera was expensive, cumbersome, andconfined to a dark room. The evolved, portable andcompact scanner developed by Dr Kovalchuk is asuperior device that is a breakthrough inpapyrology, among other disciplines in thehumanities, art history, and archaeology.

And it has other applications too. The scanner canbe used to analyse counterfeit documents such asbank notes and passports and a variety of types offorensic evidence.

Dr Obbink and others involved in the scanningproject have founded Oxford Multi Spectral Limited(OMS), a spin-out company of Isis Innovationwithin the Faculty of Classics Oxford University’stechnology transfer arm, which helps researchersin the University transfer their findings to thecommercial sector. The company has received a£250 000 grant form Changsha YaodongInvestment Consulting Co and UK-based partnerRTC Innovations and a £47 600 grant fromUniversity Challenge Seed Fund; with these grants,OMS will put the scanner into commercialproduction by the end of the year. The scanner willsurely continue to uncover secrets of the ancientworld while the impacts of this technology will befelt beyond the realms of Classics and thehumanities. ■

Dr Dirk Obbink has been revealing secrets of thepast. As head of a Faculty of Classics researchgroup, he has spearheaded a project that allowsclassicists to read ancient manuscripts oncethought illegible and lost.

Dr Obbink is a University Lecturer in Papyrologyand Greek Literature and has taught as a Fellowand Tutor in Greek at Christ Church since he cameto Oxford from the USA in 1995. He is also thedirector of the Oxyrhynchus Papyrus Project and,together with Dr Alexander Kovalchuk, a physicistand mathematician, has developed a scanningdevice that reads faded or erased documents andother surfaces. It was first designed by DrKovalchuk in 1999 to read papyri manuscriptsfound in Herculaneum, a village subsumed by theeruption of Mount Vesuvius. It has successfullydecoded the Oxyrhynchus Papyri found in anancient rubbish dump in Egypt, an epic poem byArchilochus written in the 7th century BC, andpart of a 5th century BC tragedy by Sophocles, aswell as countless other ‘lost’ documents.

The scanning device is similar in appearance to adesktop scanner. However, it scans documents atvarious wavelengths of light, from infrared toultraviolet, and captures a series of images ateach frequency. The images are then combinedusing computer software to reveal faded orerased features of the documents. Dr Obbinkexplains, ‘We can set the equipment tointerrogate a feature we are interested in: thesurface structure, fibres, stains, watermarks,fingerprints, or alterations. We can detect an artistor writer’s signature under multiple layers of paintor the pencil sketch under a watercolour.’

Scanning History

Dr Dirk Obbink (1995) Tutor in Greek Literature

K The scanner using multispectral imaging to readancient papyri.

By scanningdocuments

with the fullspectrum oflight, the

scanner findsall ‘lost’features.

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The Christ Church /Gorbachev lectures onPress Freedom

A series of Lectures onPress Freedom was heldin Christ Church duringTrinity and MichaelmasTerms of 2011. Thelectures were in honourof Mikhail SergeevichGorbachev, the lastPresident of the SovietUnion and architect of‘Glasnost’, a concept

which had the media at itsvery heart. The lectures were supported by theLebedev Foundation and were organised by Dr.Galina Miazhevich, currently the GorbachevMedia Research Fellow at Christ Church,University of Oxford. They were well attended bymembers of the House, the University and thegeneral public.

The seven lectures on the importance of pressfreedom were given by distinguished mediafigures and constitute a timely and necessarycontribution to the current discourse. Thespeakers addressed the issue of press freedomfrom a number of perspectives and attempted topredict its future developments in light of therecent media transformations such as the growthof new media technologies, the ongoingeconomic crisis, the phone hacking scandal, etc.The speakers mostly represented variousnewspaper and broadcast media, as well asdiffering viewpoints within the public and privatebroadcasting media spectrum, which ensuredplurality, continuity of dialogue and rigour ofdebate. Gorbachev’s embodiment of themovement for democracy and change werementioned by a number of speakers (John Lloyd,Sir Christopher Meyer and Adam Boulton), whohad a chance to work in the Soviet Union duringthe fall of the communism.

The first three lectures were held in Trinity Term2011. The series commenced with a brilliant talkby the owner of the Independent and EveningStandard, Evgeny Lebedev, who contextualisedGobachev’s legacy for freedom of speech in thepost-communist bloc and beyond. The talk

outlined major dilemmas for freedom of speechand provided an all encompassing framework forthe debates. John Lloyd (the contributing editor atthe FT and the Director of Journalism at theReuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)outlined a complex relationship betweenjournalism, the general public and those who arein power. He examined the shifting private-publicboundary in the current globalised networkedsociety and what impact it has on the media. LukeHarding (the Guardian) explicated the promise ofrenewal and change in the media and societyusing the case of Russia whilst referring to hisremarkable journalistic experience there.

The second set of lectures recently held inMichaelmas Term 2011 commenced with a lectureby Mark Thompson, the Director-General of theBBC. Thompson focused on the role and thechallenges of investigative journalism. He raisedquestions regarding the regulation of the mediaand warned about possible limitations imposedon its democratic function. Sir Christopher Meyer,the former head of the Press ComplaintsCommission (PPC), highlighted the issues faced bythe PPC, its strength and limitations. Max Mosley’stalk provided a counter-argument to the stance ofthe PPC, and drew our attention to problems withthe remit of ‘public interest’ and the right forprivacy. Lastly, Adam Boulton, the political editor ofSky News, framed his talk within reference to JohnMilton’s 1644 speech “Areopagitica” on the right ofpress freedom. His final lecture provided acomprehensive summary of the series by cross-referencing previous speakers.

The lectures were followed by question andanswer sessions, which provided an excellentopportunity for the public to assimilate andinterrogate the speakers’ views. Overall, thishighly successful lecture series has stimulated acritical reflection on the interaction betweenmedia, politics and culture in the UK andworldwide. The Christ Church website has thetexts of the majority of the talks;www.chch.ox.ac.uk/general-information, andsome podcasts are available on the University ofOxford website. ■

Dr. Galina Miazhevich

L Max Mosley (1958)

L Mark Thompson

L Adam Boulton (1977)

31

L Sir Christopher Meyer

L Evgeny Lebedev

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King Æthelstan’s name resonates in few places incontemporary Britain and finds little recognitionbeyond these shores. Yet during his own reign (AD924-929), Æthelstan’s contemporaries regarded him– in the words of a Breton abbot – as ‘one of themost excellent and illustrious among the earthlykings of our own day’. Æthelstan was the firstAnglo-Saxon king to have united all the Englishpeoples under one rule, which he did by conqueringNorthumbria in 927. Thereafter all the other nativekings in the British Isles submitted to his rule. Heenjoyed a deservedly high reputation at home andabroad, recognised as a successful warrior, apowerful administrator, innovative law-maker, anddevout supporter of the Church. A later Englishchronicler deemed Æthelstan the most powerfulruler in Britain since the Romans, in whose days ‘thefields of Britain were consolidated into one’.

Æthelstan also played a central role in the royalpolitics of tenth-century Europe, becoming,through the marriage alliances he arranged forsome of his many sisters, a pivotal figure aroundwhom the dynastic strategies of other royal andnoble houses revolved. On his death in 939 scribesacross Europe honoured his memory in generousobituary notices; an annalist in Ulster called him‘the pillar of the dignity of the western world’.

Since Æthelstan clearly possessed many of theattributes most prized among early medieval kings,he would seem a good subject for a biography. Yetnot only does no medieval life of him survive, untilnow, no modern scholar has tried to write one. Themost serious problem I faced as his biographer,related to the nature of the sources; it provednecessary to piece together a narrative from a

range of disparate types of evidence: a fewchronicle entries, two letters, six law-codes, about75 documents granting land and privileges,manuscripts once owned by the king, andreferences in non-English sources as well as reportsof post-Conquest chroniclers.

A conventional biographical form, tracing the life-story of the man from birth to death, could not beattempted. Instead I chose to explore the king inthe context of the different spheres in whichhe operated, seeing him through the variouslenses of the several environments in whichhe lived and worked. That design took theenquiry outwards in a series of ever-widening circles, beginning with the mostintimate, familial contexts in which, andprogressing ultimately onto the widestnational and international stages. Abiographical portrait of the king createsa series of interconnected images of acomplex man who grew out of adifficult (perhaps rather unhappy)childhood to become one of the mostpowerful rulers in the Europe of hisday. It does not pretend to show whatthe man was ‘really’ like. But it doesdemonstrate that one cannot reduceÆthelstan to any single stereotypicalepithet. Through my study Æthelstan stands revealedin more than one dimension, a king worthremembering, whose life we can celebrate. ■

Sarah Foot is Regius Professor of EcclesiasticalHistory and a Canon of Christ Church. HerÆthelstan: the First King of England, is published byYale University Press.

Writing a life of King Æthelstan

Professor Sarah Foot

32

You can listen to an“In Our Times” episodeon Athelstan, producedby Tom Morris (1995),in which Sarah Foot isone of Melvyn Bragg’sguests, on BBC IPlayer.

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Hugh Williamson, Regius Professor ofHebrew and Librarian

Common Room friends know that, alongwith scholarship, I enjoy gossip. This isfrequently misunderstood as necessarilymalicious, but it need not be so. I preferto define it as an interest in the humanelement of any endeavour. It can inspireor warn, amuse or elevate; it all dependson the subject.

It fits, I suppose, that my favourite formof off-work reading is biography, and it isa poor Christmas or birthday that doesnot bring one or two recent examples aspresents. From the lengthening shelvesin my downstairs study (seriouswork is done upstairs!) I have justpulled off a selection of the lastcouple of years’ worth and beeninterested to see that, quite withoutplanning, they fall into three clearcategories.

First (and the majority) there are lifestories more or less related to some ofthe heroes in my field of study,which embraces not just ancientHebrew language but also thehistory and literature which isrecorded in it and which stretches alsoto archaeology and all we have cometo learn in recent decades about thelife of ancient Israel’s surroundingneighbours. Top of the pile by somedistance has to be Janet Soskice’sSisters of Sinai, which tells theremarkable tale of the two wealthyScottish Presbyterian sisters whounearthed many manuscripttreasures in the Near East and whoshowed me that some of the moreorthodox leaders of the field in lateVictorian times were not aspleasant as their learned articleshad led me to suppose. Others, in

Books with no ending...Reading for pleasure

pioneered anthropological study ofancient religion and died aged 48. I can’tmatch that.

Then there is politics, from which youmay detect my perverse leanings: ShirleyWilliams, Ming Campbell, and WilliamGladstone (from which I learned more

about the essence of the reform of ChristChurch than from any formal history).Finally religion, from which you canguess nothing: Rowan Williams on theone hand (known since student days)and J. N. Darby on the other—less wellknown until I say that the ExclusiveBrethren trace their roots back to a twist

in his otherwise sometimesinsightful ecclesiological insights.

At present, however, I am readingabout some one completelydifferent, Bobby Fischer. His single-minded dedication to the pursuitof excellence in his chosen field ofchess inspires imitation in one’s

own, but I hope very much that Ibehave better in the Common Roomthan he did in his equivalent. ■

no special order, include John Allegro’sdaughter’s account of her father, an earlyeditor of Dead Sea Scrolls but who wenton to gain notoriety through writingabout sacred mushrooms and otheroddities, the life of the American EdwardRobinson, who, by way of somedangerous travels in the earlier part ofthe nineteenth century, first came toidentify modern places with sites fromOld Testament times, and the career ofDame Kathleen Kenyon, leadingPalestinian archaeologist of remarkablecharacter who also became principal ofSt Hugh’s (good name, that). And I shouldnot forget to mention a recent biographyof one of my all time greats, William

Robertson Smith, a ScottishOld Testament Professorwho was tried for heresy,became successivelyeditor of the EncylopediaBritannica, UniversityLibrarian in Cambridge,Professor of Arabic there,

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34

Jubilee Concerts 2012

Celebrate in Tom Quad,

Christ Church, Oxford

We have reason to celebrate 2012 and we hope you will join us. It is theQueen’s diamond jubilee year and Her Majesty is the Visitor of Christ Church ina personal capacity (our founder was her predecessor Henry VIII). 1812-2012makes it the bicentenary of the Battle of Borodino, the inspiration forTchaikovsky’s 1812 overture. Those of a certain age may remember the thrilling1961 concert, in Tom Quad, when the 1812 was also the centrepiece. Add theOlympics, our close links with New Zealand (Christ Church led to Christchurch)and our position in the wonderful county of Oxfordshire and the programmeis hardly a matter of choice.

The Very Revd Christopher Lewis, Dean of Christ Church.

The Programme:

Friday 22nd June: Dame Kiri te Kanawa and the BBC Concert

Orchestra,

Conductor: Julian Reynolds.With a programme to include: Mozart, Handel, Strauss, De Falla, Canteloube, and Puccini.

In aid of the Christ Church/Edward Gibbon Wakefield New Zealand GraduateScholarship Fund.

Saturday 23rd June 2012.Oxford Philomusica re-enact the great concert of 1961.

Conductor: Marios Papadopoulos Dvorák: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95: From the New WorldWalton: Coronation March: Crown ImperialVerdi: The Grand March from AidaTchaikovsky: Overture 1812

In aid of the Christ Church Cathedral Music Trust.

Sunday 24th June 2012.The Oxfordshire County Music Service

Present a Gala Concert of British Music, featuring young people fromall over the county performing choral and instrumental music fromthe British Isles with a rousing finale of ‘Land of Hope and Glory.’

Featuring the‘Oxfordshire Youth Brass Ensemble’; ‘Oxfordshire Youth Big Band’The Christ Church Cathedral choristers with Children’s choirs from 6Oxon Primary schools; The Oxfordshire County Youth Orchestra.Conductor: Dr John Traill.

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Normal tickets:

Tickets for the normal alfresco seats inTom Quad may be purchased throughTickets Oxford at the Oxford Playhouse:www.oxfordplayhouse.com/Ticket Office: 01865 305305

Opening Times:

Monday - Saturday 10.00am - 6.00 pmThe Ticket Office is not normally open onSundays or Bank Holidays

Concert Early NormalDate Booking Prices

Prices (Dec to Feb) (Feb to Jun)

Friday £19, £29, £25, £35,22 June £39, £49 £45, £55

Saturday £18, £22, £20, £24, 23 June £27, £33 £29, £35

Sunday £5, £10, as Dec to Feb24 June £15, £20

Special Packages:

Christ Church is offering some special hospitality packages for the Jubilee weekend toMembers of the House in advance of them going on sale to the public. For full detailsand to book go online at: www.chch.ox.ac.uk/conferences/jubilee-concerts-2012

Ticket Type Includes

Diamond Package Champagne Reception in the Deanery Garden Programme and GuidebookBanquet in HallCovered Grandstand SeatInterval Champagne Reception in the Cathedral/Cloisters

Gold Package Pre-concert Butler Service – Champagne and Smoked Salmon Sandwiches

Programme and Guidebook per personCovered Seating (for up to 8) in Private Marquee Box Interval Champagne Reception in Hall

Silver Package Champagne Reception in the Upper LibraryProgramme and GuidebookCovered Grandstand SeatInterval Champagne Reception in Hall

Bronze Package Champagne Reception in the Upper LibraryProgramme and GuidebookTop Tier Alfresco Seat in Tom QuadInterval Champagne Reception in Hall

35

To whet your appetite this is the chosen menu for the Friday evening:

Gazpacho with Oak Smoked Roast Salmon and Bloody Marie SorbetMacon Villages Cave de Lugny

Fillet Steak with Herb and Pepper Crust, Girolles, Truffle Sauce, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Asparagus and Baby CarrotsChateau Meaume 2006

Summer Pudding with Vanilla Crème Brûlée and Strawberry Sorbet

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THE HURLINGHAM CLUB, LONDON | Sept 21st 2012, 8pm to 2am

Includes: DRINKS, DINNER AND PROMISES AUCTIONFollowed by: DANCING AND ENTERTAINMENT

tickets: £150 (Tickets limited) Inquiries: sandra.harrison@chch.ox.ac.uk . 01865 286325

SAVE THE DATE, RESERVE A TABLE AND BRING YOUR FRIENDS

a celebration of the House

THE

CHRIST CHURCHJUBILEE BALL

Following the Jubilee Concerts celebrations from the 22nd-24th June 2012, when the House commemorates the 60th yearof the reign of Her Majesty the Queen, Visitor of Christ Church, the Jubilee Ball brings our celebrations to London,

offering a splendid occasion, for a landmark year, in the beautiful surroundings of the Hurlingham Club in Chelsea.

This evening’s festivities will include dancing and a range of entertainment supported by a promises auction onbehalf of the House.

Funds raised from the auction will be split between graduate and undergraduate support, the tradition of music(including the Cathedral Choir) and enhancement of the tutorial tradition at the House.

Above all, this is an occasion to be enjoyed by House men and womenfrom across the generations, a one-off for this decade, not to be missed.

(Please see enclosed card for further information)

36

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FORTHCOMING EVENTS

MAY 2012

23-26 MayEIGHTS WEEKChrist Church

Christ Church Association Drinks onthe Saturday at the Boat House

JUNE 2012

15 JuneBOAT CLUB SOCIETY DINNERChrist Church

21 June1961-1965 GAUDYChrist Church

Contact: Helen Smith, Steward’sSecretary +44 (0)1865 286580helen.smith@chch.ox.ac.uk

22-24 JuneJUBILEE MUSIC WEEKENDChrist Church

A three-day open air music festival inTom Quad to commemorate theQueen’s Jubilee. See pages 34-35 for details.

Event booking forms are available to download at www.chch.ox.ac.uk/development/events

Unless otherwise stated, please contactThe Development Office for bookingsand queries: Development Office +44 (0)1865 286325development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk

JANUARY 2012

7 January2000-2002 GAUDY LUNCHChrist Church

A reunion lunch for all those whomatriculated in 2000-2002.

MARCH 2012

10 MarchFAMILY PROGRAMME LUNCHEONChrist Church

An opportunity for family members ofcurrent students to meet tutors andother parents over lunch in Hall.

13 MarchANDREW CHAMBLIN MEMORIALCONCERTChrist Church

The sixth annual Andrew ChamblinMemorial Concert will be given bySusan Lansdale HonFRCO who willperform an hour long programme ofBaroque organ work in the Cathedral.Contact: The Cathedral Office +44(0)1865 276155cathedral@chch.ox.ac.uk

18-21 MarchSPECIAL INTEREST WEEKEND:CRUSADES. Fully BookedChrist Church

24 March – 1 AprilOXFORD LITERARY FESTIVALChrist Church

The Sunday Times Oxford LiteraryFestival reflects the great literarytraditions of The University of Oxford,and its Colleges, as well ascontemporary scholarship andresearch of its Departments andInstitutions.

APRIL 2012

7 AprilXCHANGING OXFORD-CAMBRIDGEBOAT RACEPutney Bridge, London

Boat Club members will be informedof arrangements nearer the time.

13/14/15 AprilUS REUNION IN NEW YORKNew York, USA

Members of the House living in NorthAmerica will be contacted nearer thetime.

27 June- 1 JulyHENLEY ROYAL REGATTAIncluding, on Saturday 30 JuneBOAT CLUB SOCIETY DRINKS

JULY 2012

7 JulyLONGLEAT HOUSE VISITLongleat House, Warminster

See back cover for details.

AUGUST 2012

31 August1962 REUNIONChrist Church

A reunion dinner for all those who willbe celebrating the 50th Anniversary oftheir matriculation.

SEPTEMBER 2012

2-7 SeptemberAUTUMN CONFLICT SERIES: THECHINESE CENTURYChrist Church

See below.

14-16 September2012 OXFORD ALUMNI WEEKENDOxford

Join fellow alumni for three days oftalks, lectures, walks, tours and manymore activities.Contact: Oxford University Societyalumniweekend@alumni.ox.ac.uk +44(0)1865 611610 or sign up for emailupdates atwww.alumniweekend.ox.ac.uk/

16 SeptemberCHRIST CHURCH ASSOCIATION DAYChrist Church

All members are invited to the ChristChurch Association Family Dayincluding talks and tours of the House,Sunday lunch in Hall, and AGM.

21 SeptemberTHE JUBILEE BALLThe Hurlingham Club, London

See opposite and enclosed card fordetails

2-7 SeptemberAUTUMN CONFLICTSERIES: THE CHINESECENTURYChrist Church

The 8th Autumn ConflictConference Series isdirected by ProfessorRana Mitter from St CrossCollege, and will discussthe last 100 years ofChinese history, with aview to the next 100years.

Contact: The Steward’sOffice +44 (0)1865 286580conflict@chch.ox.ac.uk

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Join the Christ Church Association in being welcomed by Lord Bath (1953) for a day atLongleat House and Safari Park including a special behind-the-scenes tour and lunch

at his stunning stately home.

The event includes a day pass to all Longleat attractions, two-course lunch with wine, a special tour of Longleat House, and tea.

Tickets are £47.50 for adults and £37.50 for children (age 3-14)

Please contact The Development Office for bookings and queries+44 (0)1865 286325 . development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk

Longleat House Visit

7 July 2012

Development and Alumni OfficeChrist Church . Oxford OX1 1DP . United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1865 286325 . Fax: +44 (0)1865 286587 . Email: development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk

designed and produced by baseline . oxford . photography by kt bruce and ralph williamson, unless otherwise acknowledged

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