Page 117 - OO_2018

Another year has flown by and unfortunately it was my last one at the University of Cambridge, having graduated this June. Alongside my studies, I have had the opportunity to sing as a scholar with my college choir and recently returned from a tour to South Africa. I have also been an active member of the college and university level orchestras and music societies, and as Co-President of the Jesus College Music Society, I was given the chance to perform a solo piano recital and a double piano concerto, as well as organise termly concerts and ensure the smooth running of the society with two weekly recital series, orchestral rehearsals and committee meetings throughout the year. Playing in a concert for the St John’s College Music Society, which included music conducted by Matthew Gibson (S 15) and saw Calvin Koo (S 15) make a special appearance on double bass, was definitely one of the highlights for me, as three members of our School string quintet were reunited in concert again. It was also fantastic to hear organ recitals by Timothy Byram- Wigfield (St A 81) in Jesus College Chapel and former School Choirmaster Alexander Eadon in Clare College Chapel throughout the academic year.
OOs at Cambridge have not hesitated to keep in touch with each other through
By Serena Shah (L 15)
various academic and social circles.
Finnian Baseley (L 15), Michael Hutchinson (F 15), James Miller (C 15) and I have continued to dine at formal events at different colleges throughout the year, and recently we also had a picnic on Jesus Green during May Week after our exams finished, which was attended by Sofia Lyall (D 15), Flora Scott-Barrett (D 15), and Lily Spicer (Sn 15) as well.
James Miller graduated this summer and is preparing to continue studying at
Cambridge for an MPhil next year, with his research focusing on a collection of medieval Latin saints’ lives from ninth- century Brittany, in which texts he will hopefully demonstrate the prevalence of local concerns and the influence of the monasteries and cathedrals at which they were written. In many ways, his time at Oundle has proved highly useful for this, not only in the practical skills which Latin, French, History and German lessons provided, but also the irreplaceable love of academic study and discovery which so many teachers at Oundle both sparked and fuelled. He looks forward to another year at university and hopes to enjoy it as much as he has done previous ones.
Edward Willey (Ldr 15) has just finished his year abroad with a final trip around China, visiting cities in the South-West, the ancient capital of Xi’an and the steppes of Inner Mongolia. It was sad for him to say goodbye to Beijing, but a return journey via Hong Kong saw him catching up with familiar OO faces Kenneth Cai (Ldr 15), Kyle Lo (Ldr 15) and Jun Ong (C 15), before coming back to the UK. Now back in the country, he looks forward to returning to Cambridge for his final year of undergraduate studies and then moving on into the wider world – perhaps back to China or remaining in the UK.
NEWS FROM HOME
Cambridge University
Old Oundelian Lodge No 5682
For our meeting in October 2017, Philip de Voil (G 86) continued as Master of the Lodge and Rob Shaw (S 92) took his third step in Freemasonry. In February, Philip presided over a well-attended meeting, where Matthew Dear,Director of the Oundle Foundation, also took the third step of his Masonic career, with Philip again conducting almost all of the ceremony himself. For our April meeting, we invited OOs to come to our Lodge room in Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London, for a presentation about Freemasonry and the Old Oundelian
Lodge. Not everyone who expressed an interest was able to attend, but those who did enjoyed an interesting presentation followed by a convivial meal in a local restaurant. As a result of this event, we have had applications both from an existing Mason to become a joining member and from someone new to Freemasonry. We will be holding a similar event in the autumn.
In June some of our members with their wives and partners attended the Public Schools Lodges Festival at Clifton College, Bristol, where we had a very
THE OLD OUNDELIAN 2017 –2018
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By Howard Allen (Sn 75)