St Cross College, Oxford

6 –7 September 2003

If the number of emails and letters thanking College for arranging the Gaudy is anything to go by, the event must be judged a great success: all seemed to go very smoothly and pretty well to plan. Guests began arriving at around 3.00 p.m. for tea and to hear the Master's speech of welcome on the Saturday afternoon. The Vice-Master, Dr Nick Mayhew, then spoke about The College, Past, Present and Future. He laid particular stress on the way the College had developed under the Mastership of Dick Repp, both in terms of buildings and in terms of its growing numbers and excellent academic reputation. The hope was that we would be able to sustain the momentum on both these fronts not least by building a new west wing and by funding more scholarships. Whilst recognising that, as a young college we had not yet built up an alumni membership studded with millionaires, he hoped that all who could do so would consider contributing to the college fund.

Also displayed in public for the first time was the Achievement of Arms as granted by the Royal College of Arms to St Cross in the year 2000. Resplendent in purple and silver and bearing three massy seals, the vellum scroll announced "To All and Singular" the College's right to arms and detailed both in words and by illustration their precise nature. Following the speeches of welcome, there were a number of optional tours, each led by a member of college expert in their particular field. Thanks are due to Helene la Rue, Derek Roe, Nick Mayhew and Charles Mould for their lively and hugely successful introductions to (respectively) the Pitt Rivers, the College paintings and art treasures, the Ashmolean and the University colleges. There were several requests for more of the same on other occasions.

The dinner in Hall was a memorable occasion and the kitchen staff excelled themselves. Founding Fellow Fred Hodcroft spoke entertainingly of the College and its early years. Speaking of more recent times he stressed the part played by Dick Repp with the support of Cathy in making the college the thriving and happy place it is today. He ended by proposing a toast to Dick and Cathy. Thanking him, the Master went on speak of the role of the postgraduate college in the university and of the importance of establishing a college identity. He proposed a toast to St Cross and its members.

The dinner over, Isabelle Ryder played piano to a mellow and appreciative audience. The bar remained open until the small hours and the floodlit gardens provided a pleasant place to walk and talk. At Brunch the following morning a jazz quartet played in the Common room. The weather remained brilliant and warm, so most guests spent time in the sunshine on the parched college lawns. A number of college members had brought their children and it was a lively and appropriately familial gathering.

Peter Benton

40TH ANNIVERSARY GAUDY 3-4 SEPTEMBER 2005

To mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of St Cross College in 1965 we are holding a Gaudy on 3-4 September 2005 to which all alumni, current, former and Emeritus Fellows, Honorary Fellows and friends of the College are invited.

The programme will include Saturday afternoon tea, a selection of tours around College, the University and Oxford, a black tie Gaudy dinner, and brunch on Sunday morning.

Partners and families are welcome to all elements of the Gaudy apart from the dinner which is restricted to former and current College members because of space. Some overnight accommodation will be available.

Please complete the booking form enclosed with this Record and return it as soon as possible, as places for dinner and accommodation will be limited.

If you have any queries about the Gaudy weekend, contact Joëlle Hoggan in the Alumni & Development Office (details on page 48).