June Newsletter
The Corpus ducklings make their journey through the College and across the
road. Then we hand them on to the care of St Catharine’s college as they head
towards the river
From the Master
Dear Alumni
This is the time of the Cambridge year which we all remember all too vividly –
students walking or cycling with distracted and sometimes harassed expressions
to their exam locations, occasional pops of champagne (or more likely prosecco)
corks when a group of them have finished, and other atmospherics of the exam
season. Behind the scenes, but very much the topic of conversation at High Table,
Fellows are burning late-night bulbs in order to meet deadlines for marking
scripts. Then all will be done, and we move into May Week. I spent a happy day on
the river bank yesterday, watching our Men’s 2nd Boat catch a Caius boat on a
brilliant over bump, and the 1st Boat bumping Sidney Sussex. Still three days of
racing ahead. Next week, among other celebrations, Corpus has a May Ball, for
which elaborate preparations are of course being made. Will the Master be among
the “Survivors” in the photo at 6.00 am? I hope so!
Stuart Laing
Corpus Christi Day, Thursday 4 June
Since the foundation of the College in 1352
Corpus Christi Day has been kept as the most
important day in the College year. Various
celebrations take place in the College Chapel.
On Name Day morning there is solemn
celebration of Holy Communion, following the
liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. This
service has been the principal celebration of
the day for centuries. Following the service the choir sing anthems in New
Court. There is a lovely tradition of staff and members of the College opening
their windows, or stepping out into New Court to listen to the anthems. It is a
magical moment. Choral Evensong is preceeded by a procession following which
Fellows, their guests and College guests gather on the New Court Lawn for drinks
before going up to Hall for the Name Day Feast. Listen to the motet.
Final Choral Evensong of the year, Friday 12 June
All members of the College community are warmly
encouraged to attend final Choral Evensong of the year, on
Friday at 4pm. The service, which marks the end of the
academic year, gives the College an opportunity to reflect
on the past year, accompanied by exquisite music from
the choir and organ. Music to be sung includes Finzi's
achingly beautiful Lo, the Full Final Sacrifice - surely the
only choral work to feature a pelican - which is a setting of
poetry by Richard Crashaw, Vicar of Little St Mary's in the
early 17th Century. Solos will be sung by Alastair Benn,
Reuben Oreffo and Isla Cowan, with our graduating Senior Organ Scholar James
Speakman tackling the virtuoso organ part.
May Week Concert, Wednesday 17 June
Many of the College's finest musicians
come together for the traditional May
Week Concert, to be held this year on
Wednesday June 17th at 5.30pm in
the Hall. The concert, to include
works by Handel, Britten and others,
as well as a piece by first-year music
student Paul Newton-Jackson, will
feature Helen Mckeown (Clarinet),
Csaba Hartmann (Accordion), Seb Johns (Piano) and many others, alongside
rousing singing from the College Choir. The concert will be followed by drinks in
the Master's Garden, accompanied by madrigals sung by members of the choir.
Tickets are available free of charge from the College Secretary by emailing collegesecretary@corpus.cam.ac.uk.
Event in Corpus as the University launches its biggest ever
fundraising campaign
The weekend of October 16-18 sees the launch of
the University’s biggest ever fundraising campaign
to raise a combined total with the colleges of
£2bn. On Friday October 16 each college will host
a reception or dinner to celebrate the launch.
Corpus, however, is going one better and planning
a challenging and fascinating programme for
guests, alumni and members of the College and University. In the afternoon
Professor Chris Andrew will give a lecture on Cambridge spies in the McCrum
Theatre. Chris is well-known internationally for his ground-breaking research into
spies and the history of MI5 and his lectures are always revealing and enthralling.
At 5.30pm we will be holding a fictional enactment of
decisions taken in the event of a possible incident of
national security, played out by a panel of the experts
who would, in office, take a crucial part in the
decision-making process.
The event will be hosted by TV journalist Tim
Sebastian who is joining the College as Fellow
Commoner. Tim will introduce and mastermind the discussion, question the
decision-makers and invite the audience to pose questions and at the end, vote on
the outcome. The panel is likely to include some very senior figures from the
world of politics, the armed forces and security services. It promises to be an
evening of entertainment, provocative thinking and challenging discussion. The
students will be part of the audience and some of them will be involved in helping
with the planning and running of the event as will Fellows. Following the debate
we will have High Table dinner with guests, Fellows and students.
Dinner at the Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, London
Wednesday 4 November
This dinner is open to all members of Corpus, whether or not
they are members of the Oxford and Cambridge Club.
Further details will be available next month.
Taste of Corpus
Corpus Christi will open its doors to the public for a shared dinner event on the
11th September 2015. The evening will start off with a drinks reception on Old
Court lawn, followed by a delightful three-course meal with tea and coffee in our
wonderful dining hall. Previous years have been a huge success and have sold out
so we are hoping the menu, which has been put together by different members of
the team, will ensure another sell out occasion!
Tickets are available at £36.00 per person from the Conference Team now.
Promotions
The College is delighted to congratulate the following members of Corpus Christi
whose promotions have been announced in the University Reporter, with effect
from 1 October 2015:
Dr Nigel Simmonds, Fellow, to be Professor in the Faculty of Law
Dr Barak Kushner, Fellow, to be Reader in the Department of East Asian Studies
Dr Andrew Moore, Research Associate, to be Reader in the Computer Laboratory
Dr Keith Seffen, Fellow, to be Reader in the Department of Engineering
Dr Jonathan Morgan, Fellow, to be University Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law
David Pickard m 1979 appointed Director of the BBC Proms
Glyndebourne boss David Pickard has been
appointed director of the BBC Proms. David, who
is 55, will take up his new role later this year,
reporting to BBC Radio 3 controller Alan Davey.
Davey said Pickard would “bring a whole host of
fresh ideas” to the three-month classical music
festival. This year’s Proms, which begin in July, will continue under the leadership
of Edward Blakeman. Read more here.
Jo Thompson wins Silver Gilt for the M & G show Garden at the RHS
Chelsea Flower Show
The M&G Garden features a two-storey oak-framed
building inspired by Vita Sackville-West’s writing room
at Sissinghurst, a large natural swimming pond edged
with water loving plants, a woodland of river birches,
acacias and acers, and a garden with tumbling roses
and peonies. The design draws on Jo’s local
influences, from the vernacular architectural features
synonymous with the Sussex and Kent countryside where she currently lives to
the use of Purbeck stone from her childhood in Dorset. Further information can
be found here.
Parker Library – History by the Month
This is a late thirteenth-century French manuscript of
the Chronique de Reims, an adventurous history of the
third crusade. It belonged to the poet John Skelton
(c1460-1529), who used it for instructing the young
Prince Henry, whose tutor he was from c1495 until
about 1502. In that year, Henry’s elder brother Prince
Arthur died, and Henry himself unexpectedly became
heir to the throne, to which he eventually succeeded as
Henry VIII in 1509. Skelton afterwards gave the
manuscript to the new king in the unsuccessful hope of
reinstatement in the court. Henry VIII was crowned in
Westminster Abbey on Sunday 24 June 1509. [MS 432,
folio 32r]
Parker Library’s blog here.
Cambridge University Press Offer for College Friends
Cambridge University Press has extended their 20%
discount, which is already available to all University
Alumni, to “Friends” of the Colleges. This means
that if you are not an alumnus of Corpus but have a connection to us, you can also
take advantage of this discount. Details of how to do this are available here.
John Caperon Former Teacher Fellow 1978
We have heard from John who writes:- “You may be interested to know that
during my time as Director of the Bloxham Project, the Christian educational
charity for which I worked after retiring from secondary school headship, I
undertook the first empirical research into chaplaincy in schools. I subsequently
wrote my doctoral thesis through the Cambridge Theological Federation/Anglia
Ruskin University professional doctorate in practical theology programme, and I
am pleased to record that my book on school chaplaincy is now published by SCM
Press. It is A Vital Ministry: Chaplaincy in Schools in the Post-Christian Era by John
Caperon. It is in a kind of way an outcome of my tenure of the Schoolmaster
Fellow-Commonership in 1978!”
University of Cambridge Alumni Festival 2015
Help us celebrate 25 years
of looking forward this
September at the Alumni
Festival with an exciting
programme of lectures,
tours and events. Friday, 25
September 2015 to Sunday,
27 September 2015.
Further information here.
Intern Network
Thank you to everyone who responded with offers of
internships and work experience. There have also
been many offers of careers advice and mentoring
via the update form included with the most recent
edition of the Pelican. We are currently compiling a
directory of offers which will be disseminated via the
JCR and MCR in due course.
Can you help?
The Letter – call for alumni news 1990 to 1993 and 2002 to 2005
Each year The Letter concentrates on the groups invited back to a reunion dinner
the following year. So, if you matriculated between 1990 and 1993 or 2002 and
2005 then please let us know what you have been up to since you left Corpus,
especially any recent news you may have. Just send a few sentences to Professor
Peter Carolin (pc207@cam.ac.uk) and your news will feature alongside your
contemporaries in the next Letter.
EVENTS
June 2015
Bene’t Club Lunchtime Recital
Saturday 13 June 1.30 pm
CHRIS LLOYD
A skilled and experienced concert pianist, Chris Lloyd recently completed study at
the Royal Academy of Music, London, where he graduated with a Master of Music,
having been awarded a Bachelor of Music (1st Class Hons.) from the Elder
Conservatorium of Music, Adelaide. He has performed throughout Australasia,
North America and Europe, winning several awards along the way. Chris will be
performing a selection of spectacular works by Wagner, Chopin, and Ravel.
http://www.chrislloydpianist.com/.
May Week Concert
Wednesday 17 June 5.30 pm
See information above.
July 2015
Corpus Association Dinner
Saturday 4 July
Emails have been sent to all members of the Corpus Association inviting them and
a guest to the Association Dinner. If you have not received this invitation but
would like to attend please complete and return the booking form to Elizabeth by
15 June.
August 2015
Much Ado About Nothing
Tuesday 25 – Sunday 30 August
As in previous years, Globe on Tour will be
presenting Much Ado About Nothing in the Master’s
Garden. Further information can be found on the
Arts Theatre Website here.
September 2015
Taste of Corpus
Friday 11 September
See information above
Golf at The Gog Magog Golf Club
Friday September 25th
Mike Spencer writes: This will be the third time we have held this meeting. The
form is that we meet for brunch mid morning, play 18 holes and then return to the
College. The President has kindly agreed that we may take up our High Table
dining rights. This date is the day before the MacCurdy Dinner. For those
attending, it is a great opportunity to make a weekend of it! I hope you will be
able to join us.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN JOINING US, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
Mike Spencer Email mikespencer747@talktalk.net Tel 01892 655057
MacCurdy Dinner
Saturday 26 September
Old Members who matriculated before and including 1961 will be invited to this
dinner.
October 2015
Event in Corpus as the University launches its biggest ever
fundraising campaign
Friday 16 October
See information above
Teacher Fellows/Fellow Commoner Lunch
Sunday 25 October
Invitations have been sent to all those on our database for whom we have an
email or current postal addresses. For further details, please contact Elizabeth
Stephan on saintjohns@hotmail.com.
November 2015
Dinner at the Oxford and Cambridge Club
Wednesday 4 November
This dinner is open to all members of Corpus, whether or not they are members of
the Oxford and Cambridge Club. Further details will be available next month.
University of Cambridge Alumni pages
Details of events arranged by the University can be found here.
Their May 2015 e-Newsletter can be read here.
And finally, Corpuscles RIP
1949 Noel Bailey 13 April 2015
1953 Dewi Bridges 19 May 2015 (see obituary from the Carmarthan Journal here)
1956 Olumuyiwa Awe 3 May 2015
1956 Michael Tubbs 30 April 2015
Jonathan Dickens m 1971 has sent the address given at John Michal Mills’s m 1946
Memorial Service in Oundle School Chapel by his son John Peter Mills m 1978. It
can be read here.
The next issue of the Newsletter will be sent during the week starting 6
July. Items for inclusion to be with the Editor, Jane Martin, on
jmm56@corpus.cam.ac.uk by 3 July.
To update your email address or postal address, please contact
development@corpus.cam.ac.uk.
If you no longer wish to receive emails from Corpus Christi College, please notify
Sarah Gordon on serd2@corpus.cam.ac.uk or Jane Martin on jmm56@corpus.cam.ac.uk