ISSUE NO. 34 - JULY 2010

Keeping Up AppearancesPembroke Sofa-d

The Life of The Damon Wells Chapel – A Secret Heart

Ignorance of Bliss

Pembroke’s Hidden Treasures

Pembroke’s Productive Producers

Contents

Refurbishment of the Hall, kitchens and Forte Room is now well

underway with completion expected early next year. Under fl oor

heating will replace the old central heating pipes in the Hall and

serving counters will be hidden away in our new servery. A lift will

provide much needed disabled access and there will be a brand

new bar in the crypt. The contractors have uncovered many hidden

treasures including lovely stonework and brick arches which the

college aims to keep. In the meantime we are able to offer visitors

to Pembroke a unique experience of private dining in the SCR. This

charming room will seat a maximum of 26 and is the perfect setting

for a private dinner. Menus and wine list are available on request

and accommodation can be booked during the vacations. Please

contact Heather Earwicker on 01865 276484 for more details.

Unique Dining Opportunity

Keeping up appearances 3Pebroke Sofa-dAndrew Seton

Gallery 5Catering for Change 6John Church

Pembroke Revisited 8Sue Mortimer (1986)

Tales from the Telethon 9Catherine McMillan

The Life of the Damon Wells Chapel – 10A Secret HeartAndrew Teal

Change and Continuity 13Andrew Kirk (1988)

Byrd, Bairstow and Banter in Barcelona 13Sam Baker (2009)

Anything But Clothes: 14Pembroke Arts WeekRamya Arnold (2008)

Ignorance of Bliss 15Robin Wilson

Life as an Undergraduate 1930-1960 18Jo Church

Pembroke’s Hidden Treasures 20Amanda Ingram

We Ain’t What We Ought To Be 22Stephen Tuck

One Small Step – Nothing is impossible 24Toby Hulse (1985)

Crystal Clinical Scholarships 26Aravinthan Varatharaj (2004)

There is such a thing as a free lunch 28Juanita Hughes

A Jordanian Perspective on the Pivotal 29Role of the Central BankDr Umayya Toukan (1980)

Pembroke’s Productive Producers 30Juanita Hughes

2

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Last year, we drew our public’s attention

to our wonderful green spaces. This past

12 months, we have had to put on a brave

face while living with the extensive building

refurbishment in the Hall and kitchens.

I think we are feeling a little smug about

this, because most of the green spaces have

been unaffected by the gutting operation

going on and much of life continues as

normal. Although the College now provides

a temporary home for a family of portakabins,

bolted together and occupying the North

Quad, this charming ensemble does not, as

you might expect from its appearance, serve

as a place for builders and decorators to relax

over a mug of strong tea: it is our dining hall.

You may gasp when you see that picture of it

being hoisted into position, hovering perilously

close to the roof of the newly-named Samuel

Johnson Building, but we have managed to

use it successfully so far for a memorable

Gaudy and this year’s Tesdale Lunch. Our

thanks to all who came and enjoyed the lunch

in spite of this setback to our appearance,

obviously trusting us to provide more than a

fry-up or cling-fi lm wrapped sandwich. Indeed

I believe those intrepid folk who showed up

will agree that the food was entirely out of

character with the interior, which one guest

commented made him feel he was on a cross-

channel ferry – except, he conceded, for the

works borrowed from the JCR Art Collection

which adorn the walls (we could scarcely

hang the old portraits of former Masters and

benefactors in a place like this).

Talking of the JCR Art Collection, I am minded

to call 2009/10 the “Year of the Bullfrog”,

with apologies to our sinologists, present and

We continue to try, in our Development Offi ce’s twin tasks of ‘hosting’ and ‘communicating’, to display the best of Pembroke to the best of Pembroke.

By Andrew SetonStrategic DevelopmentDirector

KEEPING UPAPPEARANCESPEMBROKE SOFA-D

3

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

past, who know very well that we should be

talking tigers this year. Pembroke’s beautiful

bronze mascot made a triumphal return to

the Emery Gallery from its own refurbishment

at the hands of its creator at the end of last

academic year. Since then its presence has

been celebrated more than once: fi rstly, as a

centre-piece in the launch party for a brilliant

new initiative of our undergraduates called

FOPA (Friends of Pembroke Art) which aims

to promote the Collection and fi ne art more

actively, getting these the attention they

deserve throughout the College; secondly, as

the inspiration for the launch of a remarkable

new student publication going by the same

name. There have now been two editions of

the new Bullfrog, a revival of a Pembroke

student magazine which fi rst saw the light

of day in the 1960s and had as much heavy

intellectual content as humorous. This Bullfrog

is colourful, well-produced, rich in subject-

matter and thoroughly readable – a worthy

successor to its earlier namesake and a

stunning complement, or even dare I say it,

competitor to the Pembrokian. Long may it

continue. That FOPA’s objectives have taken

hold is evidenced by the prominent place

occupied by art in Bullfrog’s pages.

While the work goes on to restore our Hall

and kitchens, we have continued with our

events in London. On top of a memorable

Reception at Lord’s Cricket Ground, and an

English Subject Reunion at Dr. Johnson’s

house (where else could we go for this in

the great man’s tercentenary in 2009?), City

Breakfasts continue to lure traders, bankers,

lawyers, consultants and journalists from their

desks at an ungodly hour. After continuing

with the meltdown theme early this year, the

latest Breakfast featured our extraordinary

reserve of alumni and friends with direct

exposure to matters Middle Eastern: Dr.

Umayya Toukan (1980), Governor of the

Central Bank of Jordan, was joined by Prince

Khaled bin Bandar (1996), Chairman of

Dayim Holdings in Saudi Arabia and Edward

Oakden, until recently UK Ambassador to

the UAE, on a panel of speakers moderated

by our own new Senior Research Fellow in

Arabic, Lis Kendall (1989). Dr. Toukan writes

more in these pages about his work as

Governor in a country which seriously values

the independence of its banking regulator.

And since 7:30 a.m. is not everyone’s glass

of orange juice, we also tried something

completely different in the shape of “Pembroke

on the Sofa”, a live evening chat-show hosted

by Tanya Beckett (1984), she of BBC World

Business, at the front-line Club in Paddington.

Tanya’s guests were Tim Richardson (1986),

he of last year’s Pembrokian feature on our

gardens and the UK’s leading historian of

sweets, Gordon Rayner (1988), political

editor of the Telegraph and an expert on

MPs’ expenses, as well as Daniel Jewel

(2000), whose short fi lm Sidney Turtlebaum

was nominated for an Oscar. Not bad as an

evening’s entertainment. The discussion with

the audience concluded with some fascinating

exchanges about what Oxford had done for

everyone, as if that wasn’t obvious from the

astonishing mix of talent seated on the sofa.

These pages will once again reassure you

that life goes on here, even if big changes are

afoot and we have to endure some discomfort.

We celebrate the rich life of the Chapel with

a piece by Andrew Teal, our Chaplain, while

historian Stephen Tuck writes on his book

about civil rights in America; you can read

more about what is going on in, and under,

the Hall while there is more unearthing going

on elsewhere - in our archives - and yet more

in the series on our 18th century luminaries,

in the shape of a piece on astronomer royal

Nathaniel Bliss (1716).

Finally, you were right to give a sceptical

chuckle when I described our role in

Development as just “hosting” and

“communicating”. We have been doing the

other thing too: we held our third successful

annual telephone campaign in March

(see Catherine McMillan’s Tales from the

Telethon), raising well over £200,000 for the

Annual Fund. And it is with a mixture of pride

and intense gratitude to all those incredibly

generous alumni who have so far contributed

to early-stage funding of the new buildings,

that I remind you that our Governing Body

gave the project a green light in May and we

will be choosing our contractors this autumn.

There is a second more public phase of fund-

raising ahead of us but its shape can now be

better defi ned and those who participate will

be able to enjoy the parallel sight of buildings,

quads and bridge all going up as their

contributions roll in.

What more can I say than: see you at the

Launch of our Campaign– and sofa, so good!

4

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

1 English Reception at Dr Johnson’s House

2 3rd City Breakfast at Walbrook Club

3 Pembroke on the Sofa at the Frontline Club

4 Forty Years On Reunion in College

5 Alumni Reception at Lords’ Cricket Ground

6 Gaudy (1992-1994)

7 1959 Reunion Dinner

8 Varsity Rugby at Twickenham

9 Gaudy (1985-1988)

10 2nd City Breakfast at the Walbrook Club

Gallery

1

2

4

7

9

8

10

5 6

3

5

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

The College’s exciting expansion plans are now underway with the major refurbishment of the Kitchen/Hall Building.

By John Church Bursar

CATERING FOR CHANGE

6

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

The Hall dates back to the mid nineteenth

century, and this will be the fi rst major

refurbishment ever undertaken. Although the

kitchens were updated in the post-war period,

and maintenance has been ongoing, we had

reached the stage where a major upgrade was

required. However, we decided to go much

further to improve the facilities on offer and,

most importantly, to enable us to cater for

much higher numbers of students and visitors

in the light of the College’s plans for new

buildings in Brewer Street.

Working with our architects Berman Guedes

Stretton, and consulting closely with the

relevant College staff, plans were developed

and agreed with the City Conservation Offi cer

which incorporate a number of important

changes to the layout of the building. A

servery will be created in the area between

the Hall and the College’s boundary on St

Ebbe’s, which will be accessed through Screens

Passage with diners then entering the Hall

directly by way of a new doorway, which will

be created from the existing panelling. The

servery will include the Kitchen, which means

that food will be delivered much more quickly

and piping hot! All this will improve the

service for both informal and formal halls and

we will also be able to have two sittings in

one evening, should the need arise.

Every effort has been made to preserve the

main Hall with little change except that under

fl oor heating will be installed and the original

tiles, which have been carefully lifted and

individually numbered, will then be restored

and reinstated. The new arrangement also

means that the cumbersome and rather

unsightly serving trolleys which have been

used in recent years will no longer be

needed, removing a lot of clutter from the

back of the Hall and Screens Passage, which

will now become a very elegant entrance

area. The Forte Room will also be upgraded

and expanded.

Below the Hall, the layout will be changed to

provide a modern food preparation area with

the necessary store rooms together with a

brand new College Bar. This will extend under

the whole length of the Hall and will have

the style of a cellar bar. It will be much larger

than the current bar, and this will also help to

accommodate the larger number of resident

students on the College main site, once the

new building has been completed.

There will be a number of further improvements

to the facilities in the building, including two

lifts, which will greatly improve the access for

everyone and wheelchair users in particular.

As the work required the whole building

to be closed down, the first step was to

think about the ways in which the College’s

catering operations could continue. A

number of options were considered but it

was decided that the best way would be to

install a temporary Kitchen/Hall facility in

North Quad. This was no trivial undertaking

as the facility was made up of 11 units,

each of which had to be lifted by a giant

crane from the front of the College over the

Samuel Johnson Building and then bolted

together in situ. We decided to have the

facility installed in the first week of January

2010, before the start of term, and to add

extra spice to the enterprise, our chosen

dates coincided with a major snowfall.

However, to their credit, the team shrugged

off this inconvenience and the installation

was completed as planned, with relatively

few heart-stopping moments for the on

looking Fellows and staff!

Attention then turned back to the main

project. The College sought competitive

tenders from a number of construction

fi rms and, at the end of this process, a long

established local fi rm, Benfi eld and Loxley,

was chosen. Work started in March and, at

the time of going to press (early June) steady

progress is being made. To our relief, once it

was opened up, there were no major nasty

surprises in the condition of the building,

although with a refurbishment of this kind,

issues can always arise at a later stage.

One pleasant surprise was that a number

of features dating back to the original

Victorian building were revealed, and we

are now looking at ways in which they can

be incorporated into the design of the new

College Bar area.

Inevitably, the closure of the Kitchen/Hall has

presented challenges on a day to day basis.

All credit must go to the Home Bursar, Daren

Bowyer, and his team for stepping up to the

challenge of providing the existing catering

operation in a much smaller and temporary

facility. College members have also been

tolerant of the temporary arrangements, but it

has worked out well that the project will

straddle two academic years, so no one fresher

year group will miss out completely on the

dining experience in the main Hall.

All being well, the building will be re-opening

with all its new facilities during Hilary Term 2011.

Up and over – the temporary dining facility

is installed in North Quad

New bar under construction Temporary Dining Facility

7

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Returning to Oxford for a college reunion some twenty years after graduating proved to be more of an emotionally charged experience than I had been expecting.

As my coach rumbled slowly through the city-centre

traffi c before disgorging me outside Pembroke, I

began to feel mildly nervous. This angst increased as

I checked into college and stepped into my old room.

Despite its makeover - most rooms are now en suite,

no more open showers and foot fungus for today’s

students - I was instantly transported back 24 years

to my fi rst day, when after my kind parents had bid

me goodbye, I sat in my room, sad, lonely and scared,

contemplating my next move.

There was of course little to worry about today as I was

soon hailed by a voice from the past in the lodge, and

a wonderful long-lost friendship was instantly revived.

We scanned the list of names and were delighted to

see that some of those from our old circle of friends

would be there. Looking as serious as candidates for

death row but with 1980’s big hairdos, our photos had

been dug out from an archive dating back to our Oxford

applications and prominently displayed on a notice-

board. Things could only get better...

The afternoon was spent mooching around coffee

shops with a couple of lively little reunions, and then

a brief foray into the recently rejuvenated premises of

the Ashmolean Museum. I then slipped into something

a little less comfortable but much more elegant and

joined a group in the Chapel for a fest of divine

singing, liturgy and reminiscence which focused the

mind and elated the soul.

A fi ne April evening meant that the champagne

reception could be held against the backdrop of old

buildings and beautifully tended gardens in Chapel

Quad. The hall is being refurbished so our delicious

three-course meal, accompanied by copious liquid

refreshment, was served in a temporary facility in North

Quad, or a ‘Portakabin’ as a few remarked. As the

lights were dimmed we soon forgot our surroundings

and focused on each other.

Seeing so many familiar faces from a previous

era felt like we had passed into an after-life, our

imagination no doubt fuelled by a vapour of port.

We were all still the same, but somehow different.

Our time in college seemed so sheltered now as we

looked back before life in the outside world had

begun. Some of us were bankers, others television

presenters, journalists, high-ranking civil servants,

and there were positive stories from all walks of

life. There were plenty of photos of young families,

and one participant was heavily pregnant with her

third child. It seemed that mercifully few of us had

encountered real tragedy in our lives.

After the meal and an entertaining speech from one

of the Fellows, the group retreated for more drinks

and banter to the Junior Common Room, where we

chatted until late into the night. Breathing in the

evening air in Chapel Quad, we talked of privilege, a

theme echoed over breakfast the following morning.

We were from a wide variety of backgrounds, ranging

from top public schools to state comprehensives,

yet our lives had been touched by the same wand.

Despite reminiscences of drunken antics, essays

completed in a rush, turning up for tutorials still

attired in black tie after a long night celebrating, we

were all struck by how privileged we had been to

spend our student days in this ethereal place. We

briefly sat together in the timid spring sunshine,

humbled by the sense of interwoven beauty and

tradition, and buoyed up by the camaraderie of

shared experience. A quick glance at our watches

confirmed it was time to move on.

Roll on the next Gaudy!

By Sue Mortimer (née Berrie)Modern Languages (1986)

Pembroke Revisited

8

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Reminiscences shared about sneaking back into College after curfew through windows and over walls. Stories exchanged of Tutors, past and present – and of Porters. Memories recalled of “The Who”playing Pembroke Ball in the early 1960s.

By Catherine McMillan, Deputy Development Director

Comparisons made of interview processes –

more formal now than in the days of a glass

of sherry and a chat about boxing. Stunts

recounted – abseiling down the front wall

of Staircase 9 and target practice using King

James’ nose. Advice for life relayed – the

dangers of rhododendrons and the plague of

the squirrel. Unlikely friendships struck up

with partners of alumni who work late and are

tricky to get hold of. These are the tales of the

average Pembroke telethon!

Of course there are many reasons for holding

our Annual Fund telethons, but the stories

which the student callers hear from alumni

across the globe and spanning all ages are

why they enjoy it so much. The discovery of

the diversity of what “life after Pembroke”

can mean is the other oft-cited appeal factor

for taking part. It’s amazing how much

useful careers advice and networking can

take place in our humble call room in the

fortnight of the campaign…

In March 2010 another twelve intrepid

students took to the phones in an effort to

contact as many as possible from a list of

1,600 alumni. This year many of those we set

out to speak to were based overseas – from

Croatia to China, South Africa to Singapore,

Norway to New Zealand. There were a few

language barriers along the way, and we

fl ushed out quite a few wrong numbers, but

in the end 560 conversations took place.

The students were able to give an update

of current news and events at Pembroke,

and to answer questions about what their

experiences at College are really like these

days. The telethon was also about explaining

and raising money for the Annual Fund.

This supports the full range of Pembroke

activities, from the large amounts needed

to provide tutorial teaching and maintain

our infrastructure, to the small grants made

to set up the Dance Club and relaunch the

Pembroke Bullfrog magazine. All of our

student callers have been helped by Annual

Fund donations, and they were sincere in

their message of “every little helps” when

asking for contributions. It was wonderful to

see 60% of those contacted giving something

– from those who could afford £100 a month

to those who could afford 50p a month! All

these gifts combined together to give a total

amount pledged of £214,310. This fabulous

generosity was further enhanced by a group

of matching donors who have made a gift

equivalent to the fi rst year of contributions

from all those who agreed to give a regular

monthly or annual donation.

This matching gift of £46,000 gives another

tremendous boost to this year’s Fund, and

reminds us all of the importance which our

larger donors place on seeing everyone

making a contribution on a regular basis,

regardless of how much.

So a huge THANK YOU to all who made an

Annual Fund gift during this telethon. And also

to those who were not in a position to support

with money this year, but who took the time to

chat to a student and to help them with advice

or amuse them with stories. And to those

who we disturbed at a bad time, in the middle

of bathing your children, baking your bread,

roasting your chicken, attending your weekly

Tranmere Rovers match, conducting your latest

archaeological dig in Qatar or attending your

cousin’s wedding in Australia… our apologies –

we will try again another year!

Tales from the Telethon

9

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

THE LIFE OF THE DAMON WELLS

CHAPEL A Secret Heart

10

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Walking into College from St Aldate’s is like stepping into a different place and time from a modern city centre. The warm Cotswold stone, as well as soaking up sunlight to radiate back onto the gardener’s plants in the micro-climate of the quads, also acts to block out the bustle and noise of the town. By Reverend

Dr Andrew TealChaplain

Even on the grimmest or busiest days, those

who work here know that it’s a fantastic

privilege to be in this place. The short progress

around Old Quad, leads to the arch which

frames the vision of Chapel Quad. But it’s

the Hall that dominates the view – and looks

far more ecclesiastical than the Damon Wells

chapel. Set on the margins, set back from the

view, on the left, is a sober rectangular building,

whose exterior seriousness evaporates when

one enters the chapel… if you can fi nd the

lights! Then there is a cascade of decoration:

the exuberantly carved wonderful organ, dark

paneling, cornucopias of stucco fl owers, dark

stained glass with kings, biblical fi gures and

church fathers, gilded statues of Old Testament

prophets and New Testament Saints, all

contribute to an intimate, slightly exotic place,

far from the processes of modern education,

from the laboratory or the on-line Journals, from

Higher Education policies with complex funding

issues, accountability, and transparency. You

might be forgiven for thinking that the chapel

actually stands for the heart of the College,

a secret heart where there can be shadows,

echoes of other ages, inarticulate connections

with generations of other students and teachers,

part of a stream of persons. All very romantic

and spiritual, perhaps, but palpable in stone and

wood, light and shade.

Rarely is this more evident than when there

are Gaudies, or weddings, or baptisms of those

connected with the College across different

decades – and that is always a celebration

of the College, and an epiphany of what

the chapel signifi es: it inspires many people,

and means a host of different things, as a

recent Gaudy night revealed when a former

Organ Scholar had arranged a choir of former

choristers, and sang superbly.

One can’t really make sense of the chapel

without admitting that it is a manifestation of

the past – an architectural and liturgical re-

construction of an idea of Christendom. In fact

Oxford’s architecture, its sights, sounds, and

feeling reach back to Christendom’s height,

and each college had a chapel until and after

the Reformation. Pembroke’s formation under

James I initially didn’t have a chapel building

within the campus, but used St Aldate’s

Church. I’m grateful that a former chaplain,

the Revd Dr John Platt, has collaborated with

Brian Wilson to produce a short guide to The

Damon Wells Chapel building, translating the

ubiquitous Latin mottos, and exploring and

explaining the architecture for the modern

visitor. The building of the Damon Wells Chapel

in its present site, albeit with much simpler

11

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

interior decoration than now, made Pembroke

like other colleges in that regard. So the

chapel is now a magnet for visitors, offering

an insight into another age’s expressed values,

of faith, mystery and transcendence. It’s also

the location for students to drop in for a bit

of peace or perspective, a place for music

practice and performance, and a place which

can inspire, a place in particular that a lively

and growing

Choir have made their own.

The construction of an idea of the past is

what draws visitors to the City and University,

but many assumptions of that history would

be diffi cult to justify today – one cost of

that was the exclusion of non-Christians

as students or teachers, and after the

Reformation and Settlement, non-Anglicans

were not matriculated until the nineteenth

century. The University still admits students

to the MA with a bible in the name of the

Holy Trinity. One can reasonably wonder

how a case could possibly be made to

protect the exclusive Anglican emphasis of

most Oxford Colleges; the justice of many

new-atheists’ objections that this can’t be

fair seem self-evident – witness the strong

arguments of Richard Dawkins and powerful

prose of Philip Pullman. We’re not in

post-war England, many students are

from other faiths than Anglican Christianity,

or indeed not religious at all – the pattern

of a chaplain simply to continue the model

of a public-school chaplain can’t be viable.

The chaplain is part of a team of trusted

people, the Welfare team, available to

everyone, staff and students, he also teaches

Theology (and Greek), but these aren’t

distinctively priestly tasks – ‘Why have a

priest?’ one may justifi ably ask.

Were chapel life exclusive in a sectarian sense,

there would indeed be serious objections, which

the chaplain himself would voice. As it is, the

main College service has speakers from world

faiths and a variety of traditions pepper the

termly services – Jewish, Hindu, Quaker, Catholic,

non-Conformists, next term a Muslim Imam –

the chapel hosts debates between atheists and

Christian Apologists (this year between Professors

Atkins and Swinburne), it hosts concerts and

services, with the aim of contributing to a culture

of tolerance and attentive respect to the religious

and social differences which are part and parcel

of a multi-faith college. Religion does very bad

things to some very good people – but there are

others who model a healthy religion, or whose

service and life are inspired, directly or indirectly,

by streams of wisdom nurtured by faith.

That’s why, in a world where ideologies are

always viewed as suspect, where religions can

be the source of human suffering and hurt

as much as conveyors of the hope of human

fl ourishing, there is a place for a chapel, on the

sidelines, modeled on different values, provoking

us to consider that one day, the assumptions

and conventions which steer our lives may be

judged as archaic or eccentric. Marginal might

be not just refreshingly different, but have an

authenticity and honing power, steeped by

centuries of stillness, music, exploration and

spirituality, at home with shadow, nurturing

patience and tolerant openness. This - I think -

is why people have been and remain very open

to the Chapel, very generous in their support

of it in time and money, because the Collegiate

University has to know and celebrate its heart,

even as it crowns its celebrated head.

12

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

What comes to mind when you think of

Damon Wells Chapel? Perhaps it will be the

outside view of the building in Chapel Quad,

with the classical style stone exterior of 1732.

Perhaps it is inside, with the extravagant

Victorian decoration and kaleidoscopic stained

glass? It might also be memories of attending

a religious service or concert, the sound of the

choir or organ scholar practising? It could be

silence and stillness?

At a recent 1984-88 Gaudy, a small alumni choir

of eight singers was formed to sing at the service.

Many of us who were present at that service

could recall how pivotal the Damon Wells Chapel

was to our student lives. The Chaplain, Andrew

Teal, kindled fond memories in his homily - that

sense of fellowship and deep friendships which

have endured. Revd John Platt led the prayers

and gave us a sense of the continuity of worship

in the chapel over the years.

In his excellent post dinner talk, Dr Mark Fricker

spoke about the changes and continuity of

student life at Pembroke over the past twenty

years – in the late 80s there were no student

mobile phones, few computers, no en suites,

not much CCTV or any security keys for the

doors but we were allowed to make toast in

our rooms! Many central aspects of student life

have endured – the intense eight week terms,

friendships, networking, the College buildings in

their attractive surroundings. How privileged we

were to share in this Oxford experience.

The Damon Wells Chapel too reveals the

change and continuity. When I started as

Organ Scholar in 1988 we had boy trebles

singing the top line in the chapel choir who were mostly pupils at New College School (see photo). This initiative was started in 1968 when the then all male college choir was able to expand its repertoire. Due to a number of factors, not least that we had a large number of talented sopranos, the boys choir was disbanded in 1990. This was the end of an era but the musical tradition at Pembroke continues to fl ourish to this day with its mixed voice choir, its tours and recordings.

For ten years we secured the services of Mr Terence Carter MA FRCO as Assistant Organist whilst his three sons sang in the choir. Terence returned again on Gaudy night to accompany the choir – just like old times! The superb new pipe organ from Canadian fi rm Letourneau was installed in 1995 after an organ appeal. A generous anonymous benefactor offered half the money towards the costs. The lighting of the chapel has improved but in essence, there is a timeless quality about Damon Wells Chapel which those of us who participated in the Gaudy Service were able to recall with affection. The Chaplain told us that we were the fi rst choir in recent memory to sing at a Gaudy – I wonder if other year groups might be able to share in making this a Pembroke tradition?

Andrew Kirk was Organ Scholar at Pembroke from 1988-1991. After graduation, he spent 2 years in Perth Western Australia as Assistant Organist at the Cathedral before returning to the UK. He enjoyed nine years in Sheffi eld before moving to Bristol in 2003 to be Director of Music at the historic church of St Mary Redcliffe. The famous pipe organ there is nearing the end of an £800,000 restoration programme.

Change and Continuity...

Pembroke College Chapel Choir 1991

– recording session in Mansfi eld College Chapel.

Pembroke College Chapel Choir

– 1990 Just before Boys Choir was disbanded

By Andrew KirkOrgan Scholar (1988-1991)

Byrd, Bairstow and Banter in Barcelona Pembroke Choir Tour 2010

By Sam Baker,Organ Scholar 2009-12

The whirlwind tour of the College Chapel

Choir this year happened in the fi rst

weekend of our Easter vacation in sunny

and beautiful Barcelona. Thanks to our

Barcelona resident Oriol Valenti-Vidal

(Erasmus ’09-10), we were able to sing for

Mass services at the two most prestigious

places of worship – Gaudi’s monumental

church of the Sagrada Familia and the

magnifi cent gothic Cathedral. The choir

also gave a concert of English Choral Music

at the St Just-i-Pastor, a stunning Basilica

in the central gothic part of the city.

Our epic English programme, offered the

Mediterranean-Catholic ear a taste of some

highlights of our Island’s choral musical

heritage, from Byrd to Bairstow, via Tallis and

Tavener, without forgetting Purcell, Stanford,

and the Vaughn-Williams Mass in g minor.

Every voice contributed to the success

of this most brilliant adventure. The

choir is going from strength to strength.

Our achievements are measured by the

sheer enthusiasm and commitment of

our members, without whose voices,

personalities and banter, the choir would

simply not exist.

The Choir are extremely grateful to the

College Annual Fund and the JCR for their

support fi nancially.

13

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Every Trinity Term, the JCR music and drama

reps along with the entz reps organise a

fun-fi lled week of artistic activities as 3rd

week is deigned Arts Week. This year we had

to work with a few constraints in terms of the

hall renovation, but thanks to the gorgeous

weather we were blessed with all week long,

this was not too problematic and there was

no need to call upon our contingency plans!

The week kicked off with a salsa display and

workshop which saw 2nd year Polly Jarman,

who is also the women’s captain of the Oxford

University Salsa Team, show off her latest

routine and enlist some of her Salsa Team

partners to teach a group of undergraduates

the basics of salsa. The keen students

managed to pick up 3 classes worth of moves

in just an hour and a number of them came

away bitten by the salsa bug!

In order to infuse some creativity into our

fortnightly college bops, we set a theme of

‘Anything But Clothes’. This meant students

had to make an outfi t from any material

apart from standard clothing, spawning

costumes of newspaper, bubble wrap, duvet

covers and more. The bop was one of the

most well-attended of the term and will now

be immortalised on the JCR notice-board

as 2nd year Adam Lindley kindly captured

professional photos for us.

We took advantage of the afternoon sun

to bring students out on the quad for a

‘Crafternoon’ which involved making mini-

sculptures from willow and tissue paper and

on Thursday the welfare team laid on a ‘kid’s

tea party’ at the sports ground with both a

bouncy castle and circus skills performers

providing hours of entertainment for all.

On the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday,

the JCR was transformed into a theatre as

the stage was set for the Chess Under-21

National Tournament, the backdrop of ‘The

Lonely Grid’, a play written and directed by

Ellie Higgins and Jenny Crane. The play saw

the young protagonist, played by our very own

JCR secretary and self-confessed geek Matt

Bird, rekindle his love for the ancient game of

chess as he tried to win the heart of a fellow

chess-loving teenager, played by 1st year Izzy

Whitting. The comedy certainly went down

a storm, with no end of chess puns and the

requisite group dance pleasing the crowds as

they saw their friends make cameos in entirely

unexpected roles! So great was the reception

that there have been calls for ‘The Lonely Grid

2’ in the near future.

The annual art competition, run by the JCR Art

Fund committee had some wonderful entrants

this year, ranging from a video loop to abstract

landscapes. The winner of the competition

was judged by the artist Revd. Toddy Hoare

who admired the precision of fresher Matilda

Smith’s pencil use in the portrait of her father

she produced. The photo competition equally

received a wide range of submissions, which

were displayed outside Len’s bar and judged

by the man himself.

The culmination of Arts Week this year was

a ‘Sensory Feast’ on Saturday night. The JCR

committee pulled in as many favours as they

could to provide a night of free entertainment

on Chapel Quad. We garnered outstanding

musicians from within Pembroke as well as

comedy acts and a cappella groups from

across the university, as students gathered

on picnic baskets to enjoy the barbecue and

cocktails on offer including Moscow Mules and Mojitos. This was the fi rst time such an

event was held on this scale in Pembroke

and judging by the positive reviews - we

were even unexpectedly mentioned in the

Cherwell student newspaper for the wonderful

atmosphere on the night - we hope to have

started a new Pembroke tradition.

Anything but Clothes Pembroke Arts WeekBy Ramya Arnold (2008), JCR President

14

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

If you go into the Samuel Johnson building at Pembroke College you will see on the left, just past the door, a tiny etching of a bewigged reverend gentleman, over the inscription: ‘Nath.l Bliss A M. Professer of Astronomy at Oxford. F. R. S Obit 1764 a’tet 64.’ Around his head is the assertion:‘This sure is Bliss, if Bliss on Earth there be.’But who was Nathaniel Bliss, where did the engraving come from, and is this description of him correct?

Ignorance of

BLISSBy Robin WilsonStipendiary Lecturer in Pure Mathematics

Portrait of Bliss (from the National Maritime Museum)

15

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Nathaniel Bliss was born on 28 November

1700 in the village of Bisley, near Stroud

in Gloucestershire, the son of a clothier.

He matriculated at Pembroke College on

10 October 1716 at age 15 (not an unusual

age for the time), and received his B.A.

degree in June 1720 and his M.A. in 1723.

In 1736 he became Rector of St Ebbe’s

Church in Oxford.

Passionately interested in mathematics and

the sciences, and especially in astronomy, Bliss

was appointed to Oxford’s Savilian Chair of

Geometry (not Astronomy) on 18 February

1742, following the death of the previous

geometry professor Edmond Halley (of comet

fame), and was elected a Fellow of the Royal

Society in May of the same year.

For the last twenty-two years of his life,

Halley had also held the position of

Astronomer Royal at the observatory in

Greenwich. Oxford’s Savilian Professor of

Astronomy at the time was James Bradley,

who then succeeded Halley as Astronomer

Royal. Bradley knew Isaac Newton, and his

version of the gravity story (possibly gleaned

from Newton himself) was:

The Manner of its being discovered was thus, Sr. Isaac Newton sitting in his Garden saw something, probably a Leaf, fall from a Tree, which described a curved line . . .

– not an apple in sight!

Bliss attended many of Bradley’s science

lectures at the Old Ashmolean (the oldest

university museum in the world, and now

the Museum of the History of Science) in

Broad Street. Over the coming years Bliss

and Bradley worked together on a number

of projects at Greenwich, and Bliss carried

out observations of the transit of Venus on

6 June 1761 when Bradley was too ill to

do so himself.

In Oxford, Bliss established his own astronomical

observatory by attaching instruments to part of

the old city wall which extended from the New

College cloisters to his Savilian professor’s house

(which still exists) in New College Lane; his

meridian mark was on All Souls College.

At part of his professorial duties, Bliss gave

lectures to small groups of scholars at his

house in New College Lane; these covered

a range of topics on mathematics and the

sciences, as outlined in his advertisement on

page 17. But not everyone was enthusiastic

about Bliss’s efforts: as Jeremy Bentham,

the future philosopher and social reformer,

then a 15-year-old commoner at The Queen’s

College, reported to his father:

We have gone through the Science of Mechanics with Mr. Bliss, having finish’d on Saturday; and yesterday we begun upon Optics; there are two more remaining, viz: Hydrostatics, and Pneumatics. Mr. Bliss seems to be a very good sort of a Man, but I doubt is not very well qualified for his Office, in the practical Way I mean, for he is oblig’d to make excuses for almost every Experiment they not succeeded according to expectation: in the Speculative part, I believe he is by no means deficient.

Following Bradley’s death in 1762, Bliss

was appointed Astronomer Royal. Both

of his predecessors at Greenwich (Halley

and Bradley) had carried out series of

measurements over a twenty-year period, but

Bliss survived for only two years. On 1 April

1764, he observed and recorded the annular

eclipse that was visible from London. He died

on 2 September of that year in Greenwich

(according to the College history) or in Oxford

(according to some other sources). His grave is

near to that of Edmond Halley in St Margaret’s

Church, Lee, in south-east London.

But where did the etching originate from?

The copy in Pembroke is a photograph of

the original in the Bodleian Library and,

apart from an 18th-century portrait by

David Martin in the National Maritime

Museum at Greenwich, this seems to be

the only surviving image of Bliss. Described

as ‘From an engraving on an old pewter

fl agon’, it was apparently scratched during

dinner by the astronomer George Parker

F.R.S. (later 2nd Earl of Macclesfi eld)

and turned into the above image by the

distinguished engraver James Caldwell.

But it remains a mystery as to why Bliss is

described as Professor of Astronomy when

he was actually Professor of Geometry.

Engraving of Bliss (in the Samuel Johnson building in Pembroke College)

16

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

ReferencesJ. Fauvel, R. Flood and R. Wilson (eds.), Oxford Figures: 800 years of the Mathematical Sciences, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Anita McConnell, ‘Bliss, Nathaniel Bliss (1700–1764), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200.

Douglas Macleane, A History of Pembroke College, Oxford, Anciently Broadgates Hall, Oxford Historical Society, 1897..

17

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Life as an Undergraduate

1930-1960The College launched its fi rst oral history project in1983, when questionnaires completed by alumni captured the circumstances, views and impressions of a sample of those who matriculated before 1936. A summary of the results was then published in an article which appeared in the 1983 edition of the Pembroke Record.

The second phase of the Project was launched in January

2010, when those who matriculated before 1960, and

for whom College held addresses, were asked to respond

to a series of question prompts. These have provided an

additional set of vivid and detailed accounts of life at

Pembroke between the years 1933 to 1960. A response

rate of just over one fi fth meant that we received

124 replies, some relatively succinct but nevertheless

useful, and others more copiously expansive. We

remain indebted to alumni who have provided their

time so generously to what is a rich investment for the

College Archives and the social and academic history of

Pembroke. The short synopsis below can only serve as a

taster for a more detailed analysis to follow in this year’s

edition of the Record.

The period covered was one of larger than life

characters, and little changed at Pembroke for the span

of time from the 1920s to the 1950s. Master Homes

Dudden was in offi ce throughout the period until his

death in 1955, having handed over his active role in

College to his deputy in 1953 due to ill health. Until

their retirements in 1950, Vicegerent Drake and Bursar

Salt were the other key players who formed a strong

triumvirate of power which dominated a College which

numbered only a total of eight Fellows in 1933, and

which had increased only to eleven by 1950. It was a

regime resistant to change until the new innovative

Master Ronald McCallum began to introduce reform.

However, the whole period was one where youth

was expected to be “seen and not heard”, and the

majority of respondents reported that prospective

undergraduates had little or no say as to where to apply

to university, even sometimes no choice as to subject,

as schoolmasters, headmasters or parents entered them

for a scholarship exam or procured them an interview at

Pembroke, often on the strength of good School General

Certifi cate exams or personal connection. The exception

was for those who applied to a group of colleges, and

those who did compulsory National Service who were

often able to exercise greater independence of mind.

Once here, the scout was an indispensable institution

to an undergraduate, often wise and worldly, he was a

source of counsel and advice to the young, especially

with regard to the rules, regulations and rituals of

College life. Conditions were most often described as

“primitive” and “spartan”, and the unheated bath house

was a long walk across two quads from most rooms.

Throughout the period, scouts woke their charges with

hot or tepid water for washing in the mornings and the

old traditions were continued well into the 1950s by

ageing College retainers, as far as their powers allowed.

The undergraduate was addressed as “Sir” and scout

was called by his surname in the hierarchy of College

life and manners. Many recall that Scout Hector would

polish any shoes left outside rooms overnight, including

the muddiest of football and hockey boots.

However, once war had started in 1939, the war years

in College were drab and artifi cial. The College was

requisitioned by the Government and all tuition was

outside, with no sports clubs or societies or dining

in Hall and was populated only by the very young,

disabled or foreign students. College began to refi ll

with returning war veterans from 1945 onwards, but

the continued deprivations persisted with one coal fi re

By Jo Church

18

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

a week lit in an otherwise unheated room, and whale

meat on the menu once a week. However, for those

returning veterans to have running hot water at all was

a luxury, and they and those who had done two years’

National Service saw the austerity of College as an

improvement on conditions in the military.

Tradition dictated College life with compulsory dinner

three times a week for those who lived in. Whilst 1930s

matriculands record regular sconcing, for those of the

1950s, it was more talked about than practised. Chapel,

of course, was compulsory until 1954, with attendance

required three times a week for the fi rst year at 8.00 am

for 10 minutes, then reducing by a day as years went on.

Names were ticked off by Mr Ponsford, the Head Porter.

Gate closing times varied slightly during the period from

9.00 pm to 11 p.m. but ingenious ways of returning to

College were found to circumvent the rules.

For those who had sat their fi nals as the Dunkirk

beaches were evacuated or celebrated V E Day in

Oxford and lived the privations and horrors of war

with the slow and diffi cult return to some form of

normality, such hard times were only to be replaced

by new fears and uncertainties as the Cold War took

hold. Suez divided opinion in the Oxford community,

and many undergraduates lived with the threat of

call up ever present, as another war seemed on the

horizon. These were the times of Korea and Malaya,

in which some Pembrokians served, and the

excruciating tension of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

It was a different and almost unimaginable world

from that of the undergraduate today. Debt of any

kind was eschewed, and many deprived themselves

of opportunities to join clubs and societies for fear

of exceeding the budget. Whilst it can be argued

that the simplicity of life in an all male environment

meant that the focus was college-centric, and brought

compensations in the strong bonds of friendship and

long discussions during evenings behind closed gates,

for others the petty rules grated, especially as many

were nearly 30 when they returned from war, or had

already wasted what they regarded as fruitless years

doing National Service.

The 1950s were the fi rst tentative beginnings of a

loosening of social control of undergraduates, and

what some have remarked as a greater shift towards

the acceptance of such things as regional accents.

Others did feel acutely that they did not fi t and found

that the stiff upper lip mentality with its view of a

problem as a sign of weakness as insurmountable

barriers, for counselling and guidance were virtually

unobtainable at the time. There is mention of interface

between public school and grammar school, returning

veterans and those who had done National Service

with fresh faced schoolboys, but these are rare

inclusions among the refl ections of a Pembroke

which gave ready acceptance and where “all were

equally valued whatever their background” and this

remains the dominant theme for the majority of

respondents to the questionnaire, who value lifelong

friendships and regard their formative years as well

spent, and which prepared them well for life beyond

the gates of Pembroke.

Eights Week Dance 1952

19

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Pembroke College has a number of ‘treasures’ in its library and archive which many of you will be familiar with, for example its foundation documents, Samuel Johnson letters and artefacts and its many rare and illuminated manuscripts.

By Amanda IngramArchivist

Pembroke’s Hidden Treasures

However, as well as its documentary collection of

College records, the archive also houses material of

a more unusual nature, some of which can only be

described as quirky!

Whilst the Library has a large collection of rare

and antique manuscripts, this volume, a Gezza

(Treasury) of the Assyrian Church c.1721

from the Riley collection, is the only

one to be bound in elephant hide! A Gezza is

a service book, giving the variable parts of the

Church Service for all Saints’ days.

Close-up of the elephant hide binding.

The barrister’s wig of Lionel Edgar Salt, Bursar at

Pembroke 1922-1950.

This small volume is an original log-book from

the H.M.S. Victory, Nelson’s fl agship. It dates

from January to May 1805, the year of the Battle

of Trafalgar, and contains the records of position

and water consumption kept by the Master,

Thomas Atkinson.

This item is the seal of Bishop John Mitchinson,

Master of Pembroke College 1899-1918, from

his tenure as Bishop of Barbados 1873-1881.

This Japanese sword was presented to the College

in 1932 by the Rt. Hon. Sir Conyngham Greene

(m.1872), Ambassador to Japan 1914-1919 and

Honorary Fellow from 1917.

George Birkbeck Hill (m.1855), writer and

editor of Boswell’s Life of Johnson, left his

library to Pembroke College in 1902. Hill was

an avid collector of autographs and published a

miscellaneous volume, Talks about Autographs, in 1896. Most of his surviving papers held in the

College archive consist of two albums of family

correspondence and collected autograph letters,

donated to the College by his granddaughter

in 1980. These letters are from a wide variety

of individuals and include such famous names,

seen here, as Winston Churchill, Charles Dickens,

Elizabeth Fry, William Gladstone, William Holman

Hunt, Henry Longfellow, Dante Gabriel Rossetti

and John Ruskin.

The Benefactors’ Book or “Liber Benefactorum

Coll. Pemb.” is a beautiful volume recording

the names of College benefactors and their

benefactions from 1699-1808. Its illuminated

capitals and calligraphy are by William Sury and

the Oxford binding in gold-tooled red morocco,

is possibly by Richard Sedgley.

Sir Bernard Miles, actor, writer and director,

was an alumnus of Pembroke College and the

archive holds a small collection of his papers,

amongst which are three fascinating scrapbook

albums. One contains photographs of various

early 20th century actors together with letters,

both to Miles and to the director Adrian Brunel,

from numerous luminaries of the stage and

screen including Noel Coward, John Mills, Ivor

Novello, Robert Donat and Laurence Olivier.

The other two albums also contain photographs,

many of them autographed, of late 19th and

early 20th century actors together with theatre

memorabilia and letters, including one from the

actress Lillie Langtry, the ‘Jersey Lily’.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

20

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

3

4

6

7

8

3

6

5

1

2

21

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

It was fun. We set up a segregated bus – only

those wearing green were allowed to sit up

front. We re-enacted the moment when a

defi ant Rosa Parks (played by my six year old

daughter) faced down the mean bus conductor

(me). (As an aside, the look in her eyes made

me shudder in anticipation of teenage years to

come). Then we moved on to pictures of King

leading nonviolent marches, being attacked by

brutal sheriffs, giving remarkable speeches and

winning the full rights of citizenship, making

the recent election of Barak Obama possible.

The children asked interesting questions –

why did the politicians spend more money on

white schools than black schools, why didn’t

the police help the protesters, and why did

Obama’s opponent’s wife want to kill all the

penguins (clearly a slightly confused anti-Sarah

Palin household). Incidentally, most of the

children, including my own, thought Obama

was President of England.

But for all the fun, I felt uncomfortable. The

story the teachers expected to hear, and,

frankly, the story I felt compelled to tell, was

utterly different to the history I was writing.

It would have been much less exciting to

point out that black women had often

refused to sit on the back of the bus, that

Parks was simply tired rather than hoping

to launch a movement, that the boycott

first sought to get rid of rude bus drivers

rather than end segregation, that the victory

resulted from a court decision rather than

the company’s capitulation, and that no

major protest followed for some four years

after the boycott ended. It would have been

too complicated to explain that most black

Americans thought better jobs and housing

a higher priority than an end to segregation,

that many preferred racial separation to

integration, and that a large minority

had long since given up on the American

dream (less than half the respondents to a

wartime poll in Harlem wanted America to

beat Japan). It would have been too risky –

especially at a multi-ethnic school – to have

told them about the night I had dinner with

the former head of the Klan, and found him

to be a far cry from the ignorant, irrational

redneck of caricature. And it would have

done nothing for school discipline if I had

told the children that black Americans often

Last year, my local primary school invited me to talk about Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King to mark Black History Week. I was just fi nishing a popular history of the civil rights movement at the time, and I reckoned teaching Key Stage 1 couldn’t be that different from lecturing (not now that we use power point presentations in Exam Schools, anyway), so I was happy to accept.

By Stephen TuckFellow and Tutor History

22

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

made the most gains through violence, or

at least through self-defence, as much as

non-violence.

Still, the contrast between my research and

school assembly expectations prepared me

well for the fi rst review of my book, which

reckoned “Tuck takes a cleaver to a herd of

sacred cows.” I suppose any historian should

be pleased to be a “revisionist,” even better

a ferocious cattle-slayer, but I doubt many

historians intend to do anything other than

tell the story that they fi nd. It’s just that the

history of what happened, and the stories

about the past that societies choose to tell,

often serve different purposes.

My research questions were very simple:

I wanted to know what people had wanted

to do, how they tried to do it, and when they

were successful. So I cast my net widely,

looking at everyday people as well as the

famous, from the end of slavery until Obama,

and found countless stories of protest: from

a slave girl putting on her mistress’s make

up during the Civil War to a black boxer

who taunted his white opponents; from

black soldiers turning their guns on white

policemen during World War II to Malcolm

X’s appearance at the Oxford Union in 1964;

and from the rise of hip hop to the journey

of a black Louisiana grandmother to plead

with the Tokyo directors of a multinational

company to stop the dumping of toxic waste

near her home (they did).

Putting the stories together revealed that

there was no single heroic generation, but

a long running battle (across the whole

country) between those seeking a better

world for black Americans and those intent

on preserving white privilege. The many

twists and turns in the story refl ected the

changing balance of power between those

involved – thus the success of Martin Luther

King’s fi ght against segregation was not result

of better leadership or braver footsoldiers, but

a consequence of the new strength of black

Americans in the mid-twentieth century and

– for all the pictures of gun-toting sheriffs –

the new weakness of old-style supremacists.

In other words, the story of race protest was

inextricably intertwined with the shifting

currents of politics, ideas, culture, economy

and the very many other arenas of power in

American society. Thus the civil rights story

confi rmed what we know from histories of

other social movements, namely, that the

oppressed invariably rise up when they have

the resources to do so, rather than when

oppression is at its greatest.

Can historians present such history to a wider

audience, when the public prefers heroes and

villains, when society needs a narrative of

progress, and when teachers in school want

to encourage nonviolence. I think they can.

A more faithful history doesn’t need to be a

less riveting story – quite the opposite, in fact.

The fears and mistakes of everyday people,

and the constraints they fi nd themselves

working within, are every bit as gripping as the

triumphs of the brave. A broader history also

includes a wider cross section of society that

the reader can relate to: from businessmen

to welfare mothers. And a frank history still

has important lessons to tell in our own time,

not least a reminder to the powerful to listen

to those who lack the resources to get their

voices heard, as well as to those who can.

As I refl ected upon the story we seek to tell

on race, though, I began to wonder, why is

Rosa Parks the subject of British Black History

Week anyway? (And why do numerous

Oxford students write black American history

dissertations, yet virtually none write about

black Britain). So I’ve decided that if they invite

me back next year, I’ll speaking about a new

cast of characters -- Claudia Jones (a Trinidad-

born, American-raised Communist leader of

London’s black community), Kelso Cochrane (an

Antiguan immigrant murdered by Teddy Boys),

Fenner Brockway (an MP who campaigned for

racial equality) and Oswald Mosley (who did

not). And if I tell the story properly, they might

at least learn that Barack Obama is not our PM.

Stephen Tuck’s book, We Ain’t What We Ought To Be: The Black Struggle for Equality from Emancipation to Obama (ISBN 9780674036260) was published by Belknap Press in 2010. A companion website of audiovisual material supporting the book, put together by students, can be accessed at www.weaintwhatweoughttobe.com.

Lib

rary

of C

ongre

ss

23

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

One Small Step

Nothing is impossible

Photo: Charlie Field

24

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

When I was at Pembroke in the mid to late eighties

the Oxford Playhouse was most resolutely shut.

Constant rumours circulated in drama hack circles,

about the possibility of us reopening the auditorium

for the most original reimagining of a neglected classic

ever, performed by the student acting legends of our

day, but, as far as I can recollect, the three years I was

in Oxford saw only one such production (possibly

Richard III with Piers Gibbon – or was that just a late

night plan made with alcohol fuelled enthusiasm that

never actually happened?).

The small studio space attached to the theatre, the

Burton-Taylor Studio (BTS), or Burton Rooms as they

were then known, was, in contrast, very busy. It housed

some ten or so productions a term, provided a semi-

permanent home for the Oxford University Drama

Society (OUDS) and represented one of the highest

pinnacles of achievement for the would-be thespian

– this was, after all, a venue equipped with technical

equipment and the legally required number of fi re

exits. My own personal introduction to the BTS was

in the form of Cuppers, the inter-collegiate one act

play competition for freshers organised by OUDS.

I organised and directed one of Pembroke’s two

entries that year – the Mechanicals’ scenes from

A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I still remember with

great pride the feedback from the assembled panel,

all of whom were at least a year older than me and

therefore infi nitely wise: ‘it is impossible for us to

judge this piece of theatre. It was appallingly bad,

but we really have no idea whether it was meant to be

this bad.’ This set the tone for the rest of my career…

Returning to Oxford 20 years after graduating, having

fi nally laid to rest the curse of Finals, was a wonderful

experience, especially to fi nd the Playhouse so vibrant,

busy and resolutely open. I had been invited to pitch

for the job of directing David Hastings’ documentary

play about the space race One Small Step. The script

was extraordinary – page after page of meticulously

researched and gloriously crafted scientifi c and historical

information, tracing, in every detail, humanity’s path

to the moon from the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957.

My challenge was to suggest a way of staging it with

two actors and a modest budget in a small studio space

– luckily the Oxford Playhouse believed me when

I reassured them that putting the impossible onstage

was my speciality.

The piece was created through play: we filled the

rehearsal room with 50s and 60s junk, a treasure

trove of brown and orange plastic gleaned from every

charity shop in the Oxford area; with audiovisual

technology of the period: a Dansette record player,

a Kodak carousel slide projector, a reel-to-reel

tape recorder, a Super8 projector; and with every

cardboard box that The Works could spare us. The

resulting show is a delightful collision of childlike

play, puppetry and deeply moving human moments –

for example, we see Neil Armstrong, played by a man

with a bucket on his head and a cardboard box on

his back, climb down the drawers of a filing cabinet

on to a moon surface made of polystyrene chippings;

extraordinarily, audience members weep at the

emotional charge of the moment.

The success of the show has been phenomenal and

rather humbling: a short run in the Burton-Taylor

Studio followed by fi ve weeks at the Edinburgh

Festival, led to a tour in the UK and EIRE, followed by

more time in Edinburgh, leading to a world tour.

As I write this the show has just returned from

Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, and I am getting

ready to join them in Damascus. One Small Step

returns briefl y to Oxford in July as part of a short UK

tour before leaving for America, where dates include

the Kennedy Space Center!

I am delighted that this has led to other work with

the Playhouse. I am just about to start rehearsals for

a show for very young audiences called Bath Time –

two men share a big bath and play all the bath time

games you play with your own children or remember

from your own childhood. Very sweet, very silly and,

I imagine, very soggy. I have also just completed a

research and development week on David Hastings’

sequel (prequel?) to One Small Step, which tells the

story of the Wright Brothers, Kitty Hawk and the fi rst

powered fl ight. More impossibility: it’s a good thing

that impossibility’s my speciality…

By Toby Hulse(1985)

Toby Hulse (English 1985 – 1988) is a freelance theatre maker, writing and directing plays for theatres across

the country, and teaching acting at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He specialises in work for young and family

audiences. In 2008 he directed for Oxford Playhouse One Small Step, which tells the story of the space race

from Sputnik to Apollo 11, and is returning to the theatre in June to create Bath Time, a new piece for very

young children inspired by the games we play in the tub.

25

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

The Crystal Clinical Scholarship fund was endowed by Ben Crystal (Law 1998), son of Michael Crystal, QC who lectured in law at Pembroke in the early 1970s, to commemorate the work of his grandfather, Samuel Cyril Crystal, MB, ChB, a general practitioner of medicine in Leeds who was honoured by an OBE for his work. The fund is available to assist clinical students studying at Pembroke College with the costs associated with their fi nal year elective period and can be used for travel and subsistence. Aravinthan Varatharaj was a recent recipient of a Scholarship.In February, still buoyant only two days after

completing finals, I retraced the footsteps of Sir

William Osler and left Oxford for Quebec to begin a

month-long placement at the Montreal Neurological

Institute. Immediately I was in medias res in one of

the most prestigious international centres for clinical

and academic neuroscience. The breadth of cases was

simply an order of magnitude removed from anything

I had previously seen, and the specialist experience

and resources available meant that the investigation

of each case was fascinating to be part of. In

Canadian neurology there is no equivalent of what

we would call the ‘house officer’ (ie. the ‘dogsbody’);

therefore I was able to take up this role and play a

useful and educational role in the team. I experienced

a wide range of cases making up the bread-and-

butter of modern neurology, together with many rare

conditions never seen outside of such a specialist

centre. Condensed into a month I gained much

experience that otherwise would take significantly

longer. My schoolboy knowledge of French was

not hindrance, rather a base on which to expound;

luckily most of the neurological examination can be

conducted through mime with a liberal sprinkling of

‘faire comme ça’. The Neurological Institute is a close-

knit community, and I received great teaching, tips,

and tricks from renowned specialists who were happy

to share their experience. Most memorable, however,

was the range of patients seen, many of whom taught

me lessons that I shall use throughout my career. The

city of Montreal was a beautiful and snowy backdrop

to this great educational experience; it is a unique

and charming mix of New World dynamism with

Gallic-infused Old World history. Living and working

in the city I became immersed in its character (and

cuisine), and I look forward to a return trip.

By Aravinthan Varatharaj (2004)

Crystal Clinical Scholarships

26

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

After experiencing super-specialised and high-

technology medicine in Montreal, I moved on to

the Caribbean island of St Vincent for a month-long

placement in paediatrics at the Milton Cato Memorial

Hospital. With little tourist industry compared to

surrounding countries, St Vincent is one of the poorest

in the region, and the Milton Cato is the general

hospital for the whole island. Inevitably it is the usual

story of over-crowding, under-staffing, and lack of

equipment. In paediatrics, the usual slew of childhood

infections are common as in the UK, though

rheumatic fever and sickle-cell disease are also

extremely common, neither of which I had previously

seen back home. My particular interest is in infections

of the central nervous system, and I saw many cases

of meningitis, tuberculosis, cryptococcosis, and others.

These infections are much more common than in

the UK, partly due to the geographical distribution

of certain pathogens and vectors, and partly due to

the high proportion of HIV-positive patients in this

region. More so than the differences in pathology,

however, it was eye-opening to see a different kind of

medicine, so alien from that which we practice in the

UK. Investigations are limited to simple blood tests,

X-rays, and ultrasound. Most prescribing is dictated

by what is available in pharmacy at that time, rather

than clinical need. I could not count on both hands

the number of times I would diagnose a particular

infection, prescribe the most effective antibiotic, only

to be called by pharmacy and told ‘that drug is not in

stock, but we have a lot of out-of-date ampicillin from

the WHO, you could use that’. The emphasis is wholly

on simple, common, treatable conditions –

as I very quickly learned, there is no point in making

a complicated diagnosis when the treatment is

unavailable. And yet, despite the differences, I learned

many generic clinical skills that I will incorporate

into my practice in this country; as well as gaining

a practical knowledge of working in a developing

country, an area which I hope to revisit later in my

career. Outside of the hospital I had a great time

enjoying the natural beauty of St Vincent, largely

unspoiled as it is. Climbing La Soufriere, the (active)

volcano which makes up the centre of the island,

was a highlight.

On this elective I experienced many contrasts,

both inside and outside the hospital. However, a

common thread ran through it all, and that was

the people. Healthy people, happy people, sick,

dying, laughing, crying people; I was privileged and

humbled to experience so many facets of the human

condition. In the study of medicine our heads are

filled with facts and figures and often it is easy to

lose sight of the reason for it all; it all comes down

to people. With this simple fact refreshed in mind,

I am happy to be moving on to the next stage of

my career, and I am very grateful to College and to

Mr Crystal for making this trip possible.

27

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

You may, or may not be aware that for the past few years we have been running a very successful mentoring scheme which we refer to as the “Take a Pembroke Student to Lunch”.

By Juanita HughesAlumni Relations Manager

The way it works is that we invite students to complete a form indicating the career fi eld they would be most interested in fi nding out more about.

We then aim to match the student with a volunteer alumnus working in that fi eld. Once the match has been made by the Development offi ce both

parties are encouraged to arrange a mutually convenient time to meet, normally at the Offi ce of the alumnus who will offer an insight and give advice and

guidance. Over that last year about 12 students have taken advantage of this opportunity. If you would like to help us with this scheme please get in touch!

Harry Biddle (2007) and Jonathan Batson (1976)I arrived an hour early in the Starbucks opposite Richmond Park

station, but it was not until five minutes before that I realised my

carefully prepared sheet of questions was still enjoying the ride

around the London Underground. I was to meet Jonathan Batson,

a lead consultant with IBM Business Dynamics: “Business Strategy

with an analytical twist”. In essence, he applies mathematical

models to the world of business; a field with the memorable name

of ‘Operational Research.’ This seems to me to be a great mix of a

mathematical background and the ‘real-world’, and is something

I have researched before. But I didn’t know how big the field

was, and how active it was today. It turns out it is alive and well:

Jonathan’s group is the largest in the UK, and they work with a

wide range of big-name clients. We talked about the extent that

mathematics is used, about the progression a graduate can make

through the company, how the industry looks at qualifications,

and so on. Jonathan certainly enjoys what he does, and was a

great source of information to give me some perspective on

the industry. Certainly I would never have met him without the

scheme, and for this I offer my gratitude.

There is such a thing as a Free Lunch

Rose Payne (2008) and Imogen Fox (1993)As there are no Oxford subjects with a direct relation to fashion

I assumed that the Development Offi ce might not be able to

fi nd anyone working in the fashion industry, but they found

me a perfect match. Imogen Fox, the Deputy Fashion Editor

at The Guardian.

I went to the Guardian offi ces in London over the Easter Vacation

and Imogen was so lovely and told me so much about the industry

that it is impossible to fi nd out in any other way than by speaking to

someone with experience. She helped me clarify my ambitions for the

future and reassured me that I was unlikely to feel out of place. It was

such a valuable experience and I’m so glad that our College helps

undergrads in this way.

28

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Pembroke is today strengthening its ties with countries in the Middle East due to its longstanding reputation as a college which specialises in the teaching of Arabic and Islamic studies at undergraduate level, as well as a centre for research into the region’s rich history.

A Jordanian Perspective on the Pivotal Role of the Central Bank

The College’s academic resources devoted

to study of the region were strengthened

this year by the addition of a new Fellow,

Senior Research Fellow and contemporary

Arab literature specialist, Lis Kendall.

The region was also the focus for our

third City Breakfast held at the Walbrook

Club in London on May 14th. Lis, a

Pembroke alumna (1989) moderated

the session. One of the panelists was

Jordanian Dr. Umayya Toukan (1980) who

studied development economics while at

Pembroke at the same time as his wife,

Lina (1980), then went on to take his

doctorate at Columbia University. Since

then, he has become the Governor of his

country’s Central Bank ( a role for which

he won the award Central Bank Governor

of the Year from the Banker magazine. Dr.

Toukan had some carefully chosen words

for our Breakfast audience on the role of

regulators and developments in his part

of the world…

My remarks were an attempt to highlight the signifi cance of what central banks really do and suggest that the most

important role of central banks is that of a true custodian of public interest. Central banks are technical institutions and have no political agenda. Central banks are not concerned with being popular. From this perspective, central banks compensate for the excesses of politicians who like to be popular, in particular, compensate for excessive government spending. Central banks do this by maintaining the right confi guration of interest rates, infl ation rates, and real exchange rates and/or managing the volume of liquidity in the banking system. It is mostly for this reason that central banks should be independent. The case for the independence of central banks in their role as bank regulators is equally important.

The model used at the Central Bank of Jordan, as an illustration, ensures that our prudential regulations are conservative and consistently in line with international standards such as the Basel Accords and Good Governance principles. Similarly, this model maintains that our monetary policy adheres strictly to our mandate by law, namely, price stability. Furthermore, an important component of this outlook is the strong belief that a healthy banking system is essential for the conduct of an effective monetary policy.

The remarks further suggest that the biggest development in the Middle East economies in the past 25 years or so has been the adjustments in the price of oil. This brought about vast fi nancial resources to the region

and a boom in economic activity, in particular, in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. This new unprecedented level of economic activity spilled over to all countries in the region and presented several challenges to monetary policy, including the constantly rising asset prices, in particular, real estate and equities’ prices. The remarks further suggest that the Middle East region will continue to be robust in terms of economic growth and consequently attractive to FDI fl ows provided the policies of opening up and the process of integration into the global economy continue to be supported by governments in the region.

Finally, what central banks do matter because a sound monetary policy and a sound banking system would help minimize uncertainty or the “risk premium” investors attach to their investment decisions. Investors would attach a higher risk premium i.e. they would ask for a higher price or a higher return on their investment if they think monetary policy may lead to infl ationary pressures or if the currency of their investment is undervalued or overvalued or extremely volatile. Similarly investors would ask for a higher compensation if a country is politically unstable or there exists regional instability. Central banks cannot do much about the latter risk. Politicians and other relevant authorities in the region should do a better job at minimizing the risk premium due to the slow pace of political and social reform, political instability, and a host of other uncertainties. The Palestinian Israeli situation will continue to be the major source of uncertainty as well as a major source of human suffering in our region. Nevertheless, the Middle East region is very promising as it stands today. One could imagine how inviting the Middle East would be in the absence of

the Palestinian Israeli confl ict.

Dr Umayya Toukan (1980)

By Andrew SetonStrategic Development Director

29

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Daniel Jewel (2000)

is a London based Producer and Director through his Award-winning

Production Company Third Man Films. Having graduated with an MA

in Modern History from Pembroke College, Daniel went to Prague to

attend an intensive Directing course at the Prague Film School where

his graduation fi lm won ‘Best Film’ in his class. Returning to London,

Daniel directed a series of documentaries for Channel 4’s prestigious

‘Three Minute Wonders’ strand about London’s Arabic community. He

then went on to direct three further documentaries for Al Gore’s Current

TV, including a fi lm about the banned Iranian Hip Hop movement, which

was shown at the Brit Doc Festival in Oxford and at a special screening

at the British Museum. Off the back of the success of the documentaries

Daniel was taken on as a Directing client at the Curtis Brown Agency.

Also active in drama and theatre Daniel produced the Oscar-short listed,

BIFA Nominated and LA International Film Festival Prize winning short

fi lm ‘Sidney Turtlebaum’ starring Derek Jacobi (I Claudius, Gladiator) and

Rupert Evans (Hellboy). He also produced ‘Allegiance’ a hit play at the

Edinburgh International Festival starring Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Inglorious Basterds) as Michael Collins. He is also a graduate of the

Producer Training Scheme in the UK where he worked for companies

including Focus Features, Paramount Pictures, and the UK Film Council.

Through Third Man Films Daniel has a diverse range of short and feature

fi lm projects in development.

Michael Berliner (2004)

left Pembroke in 2007, with a 2:1 in PPP. Alongside a day job as

Projects and Development Assistant at arts agency B3 Media, he is

now a fi lm producer. His short fi lms have won many awards. This year,

Michael won the Grand Prix du Jury for European First Short Film at

the prestigious Angers Premiers Plans fi lm festival in January (for a fi lm

lovingly entitled Whore), and he picked up both short fi lm prizes at

London East End Film Festival (Best Short Film for Whore, Short Film

Audience Award for My Dad the Communist).

Through the Pembroke network two young, vibrant and successful fi lm producers have come across each other. Here is an insight into their working lives.

Pembroke’s Productive Producers

‘Sidney Turtlebaum’ ‘My Dad the Communist ‘

‘Whore’

30

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

What are your fondest memories of Pembroke?(Michael) The Pembroke College Music Society! I was an all singing and dancing Shark in West Side Story in 2005 when we transformed the hall into 1950s New York. I then directed Grease! the following year. So glad to hear that the summer events are still going strong! Also: the brilliant College ski trips. Amazing friends. McCoy’s. (Daniel) My fondest memory of Pembroke has to be the people. I came to Pembroke as a graduate to read an MSt in Modern History from Bristol University where 99% of the students were from London. Pembroke at graduate level by contrast attracted a hugely international group of people from all backgrounds and cultures which made for a really lively and stimulating social mix. I also loved Pembroke itself, it is tucked away but it has a really special atmosphere and the quads are beautiful.

What does a producer do?(Michael) Basically, you’re the non-artistic director – you organise everything, from getting the funding, hiring the cast and crew, juggling locations and contracts, and control the fi lm’s post-production and distribution.(Daniel) The short answer is everything. It’s basically a producers’ job to take an idea, a book or a script and get it up onto the screen and out to an audience. It’s very challenging as you need to understand everything from script development, to casting, to working with directors, to raising money, making sure all your legals are in place, through to marketing and distribution. So during a day you can easily go from a meeting with your lawyer into a casting session, have a meeting with a writer about a script and then into a budget meeting. So you defi nitely need to be able to multitask - but the sheer variety of the work makes it exciting and each project has its own set of challenges - so it’s never boring

What made you want to do it?(Michael) I wanted to be a director – and was involved in directing short fi lm and theatre at Pembroke. But, a friend with far more industry experience and contacts than me asked me to produce his short fi lm – I jumped at the chance, and found it tiring but amazingly fun and satisfying. I’m now on short number 7, loving it and always looking for the next challenge!(Daniel) My parents are classical musicians and growing up they used to take me to their concerts where they played live music to old silent fi lms like Charlie Chaplin’s ‘City Lights’ and D.W.Griffi ths’’ Intolerance’. The fi lms had a really powerful effect on me and from that moment on I was hooked.

What kind of fi lms do you make?(Michael) All sorts – although I’m into storytelling, not experimental stuff. I’ve made a three minute short Looking for Marilyn which is a gritty take on fame and celebrity which was shown on Channel 4 and during the Cannes Festival 2008; The Beachcombers which was a love story of two young people on opposite sides of the Thames falling in love through binoculars. I’ve also done a full blown comedy called Big Tingz (which needed a crane and two stunt dogs) and fantastic spooky period drama In Passing starring Sean Pertwee, Lesley Sharp and Russell Tovey. I even restaged the Tiananmen Square Massacre (in Brixton) for a wonderfully poignant fi lm called My Dad the Communist.(Daniel) I think the most important thing when you are choosing a project is that you have to love it. The amount of time, energy and commitment it takes to make any fi lm means that you will be living with each fi lm for a minimum of a year, so its has to be something that really grabs you. More specifi cally I’m a London fi lmmaker so my projects are often set in London and in London’s huge variety of communities and cultures. I’ve made documentaries about London’s Arabic cafe culture for Channel 4, a fi lm about an Iranian hip hop artist banned by the Iranian government for Al Gore’s Current TV and recently a comedy-drama set in London’s Jewish community in Golders Green. So I am really interested in making stories that are both local and international and you can do that all within the M25!

What is your proudest achievement?(Michael) Winning the Grand Prix du Jury for European short fi lm at the prestigious Angers Premiers Plans fi lm festival this January. It’s led to great exposure for my winning fi lm, and more people knowing my name! The fi lm, Whore, is a gritty urban drama about a communication gulf between a boy and a girl. We fi lmed in a comprehensive school on the Isle of Dogs one very hot summer week and I cast my mother as a teacher who gets punched. We’ve recently started talking again…(Daniel) My proudest moment defi nitely came this year where I was Shortlisted for an Oscar for my short fi lm ‘Sidney Turtlebaum’ which stars Derek Jacobi. The fi lm also won Best Foreign Film at the L.A International Film Festival and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, so the success of that fi lm has been really fantastic.

What are you currently working on?(Michael) I’m in post-production on my seventh short fi lm, Skateboards and Spandex. The fi lm is a comedy that I’m billing as a cross between the fi lm Napoleon Dynamite and the TV show Glee. I’m developing several feature projects with the directors I’ve worked with, and I’m also part-way through raising fi nance in a bid to produce one of them.(Daniel) Following on from the success of ‘Sidney Turtlebaum’ we are currently developing a feature fi lm version of the project with Derek Jacobi attached to star again. I also have a U.K-set Science-Fiction feature fi lm which has been shortlisted for a fi lm fi nance competition. And this Autumn I have an exciting new short fi lm project set in China which I am going to Direct and Produce, also with feature fi lm potential, that I am just starting to raise fi nance for. So fi ngers crossed it should be a busy year!

Where do you see yourself in fi ve year’s time?(Michael) At the moment, my producing is great fun and opening doors, but is largely unpaid. I’d like to move from my day job as a projects and development assistant at an arts agency promoting ethnic minority talent into full-time producing. My passion is in story-telling – so I’m leaning away from the commercials and music videos end of the industry, and towards feature fi lms!(Daniel) In my wildest fantasies I would like to have set up a fi lm fund within 5 year’s time. As a producer you do spend a great deal of your time chasing after fi nance, which often comes with strings attached, so to be able to have a modest fund from which to produce fi lm projects would be the ultimate producer’s dream! Either way I would like to be in a position in 5 years time where I am regularly producing high quality feature fi lms for an international cinema audience. Producer’s like Scott Rudin, who produced ‘No Country For Old Men’ and James Schamus, who produced ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and ‘Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon’ are great models of producers who make intelligent fi lms that fi nd large international audiences and who have both created sustainable fi lm companies. So to take my company, Third Man Films, to somewhere close to that level within 5 years would be amazing.

You can read more about Michael and his fi lms at his website, www.picopictures.co.uk and Daniel ‘s at www.thirdmanfi lms.co.uk

31

T H E P E M B R O K I A N

Contacting The Development Offi ceThe Development Offi ce, Pembroke College, Oxford OX1 1DWE: development@pmb.ox.ac.uk | T: 01865 276501 | F: 01865 276482

Contact details for individual members of the Development Offi ce, and details of the areas each member of staff handles, are available on the Pembroke Alumni website:

www.pembrokecollege.org.

Alternatively, please feel free to call the general offi ce number above, and our Development Assistant will be pleased to connect you with the right person to

handle your enquiry.

The Pembrokian

Editor Juanita Hughes E Juanita.hughes@pmb.ox.ac.uk

Design www.fortioridesign.com

EVENTS

Future EventsDates for your diary. Full details for all of these events will be sent to you in due course.

2010AUGUST 5-6 Pembroke Choir at Westminster Abbey, 5pm in the Quire6 Fri Gaudy for matriculation years 1995-1997SEPTEMBER 3 Fri Twenty Years On Reunion for

matriculation years 1989-199124-26 Oxford Alumni Reunion

Weekend25 Sat Pembroke Alumni DinnerOCTOBER 14th New Bulding Campaign Launch

UK at The Wallace Collection22nd New Building Campaign

Launch USA at The British Ambassador’s Residence, Washington DC

NOVEMBER 26 PPE Subject Dinner at Royal

Institute of British Architects2011JANUARY 29 Annual Meeting Gaudies for the following matriculation years will be held during 2011:1965 - 1967, 1980 - 1982 (this will be a30 year reunion to include partners), 2005 - 2006. Full details will be sent out three months before the event.

All future events, including some still in the planning stages, will be posted on the Events section of our website www.pembrokecollege.org. We also highlight all events in our monthly email newsletter. If you are not receiving these newsletters, please let us have your current email address.

T H E P E M B R O K I A N