Hatfield Record - 2009 by Hatfield Record

Getting the Freshers in line!

Hatfield Record 2009

Table of Contents The Master’s Letter

Notes from the Chaplain

Notes from the Librarian

The Common Rooms

Academic Distinctions

College News

College Sport

Hatfield Colours

University Palatinates

A Year of Sporting Success

Hatfield College Chapel Choir

Hatfield Musicians

DUCK Report

The College Archives

College Photographs

The Hatfield Trust

UK Independent Research Bursary & MCR Award

Hatfield Travel Bursaries

Viva South America!

109

Visiting Tony Laithwaite and Laithwaites Wines

112

Memories of being Hatfield College Manciple 1969/70

114

The Hatfield Association

116

Hatfield Association’s Forthcoming Events

129

Members’ News

132

Deaths

144

Obituaries

145

College’s Forthcoming Events

152

Useful Contacts

154

MASTER Professor Tim Burt, MA, PhD, DSc, FRGS

COLLEGE OFFICERS MASTER: Professor T.P. Burt SENIOR TUTOR: Dr. P.E. Widdison BURSAR: Mr. M. Clemmett CHAPLAIN: Dr. A. Bash

HATFIELD HONORARY FELLOWS Professor Robert Allison Dr. Sheila Armstrong Professor James Barber Mr. Ron Bishop Professor Sir Kenneth Calman Mrs. Cynthia Connolly General Sir Richard Dannatt Mr. Paul Engsberg The Reverend Theo Harman Professor Bill Heal Professor Sir Frederick Holliday The Right Rev. Dr. David Jenkins Mr. Tony Laithwaite Mr. William Arthur Moyes Mr. Bruce Oldfield Dr. Howard Phelps Ms Angel Scott Mr. Samuel Stoker Mr. John Timpson Mr. Barrie Wetton COLLEGE COUNCIL The Master The Vice?Chancellor & Warden The Dean of Colleges The Senior Tutor The Bursar The Chaplain The Director of the Hatfield Trust The President of SCR The President of MCR The President of JCR The Vice?Presidents of JCR The Secretary of JCR The Treasurer of JCR Rev. M.R. Armstrong Mrs. E. Bain Mr. R. Carrick Dr. P. Chazot Mr. B.M. Hodgson Dr. J. Bridge Professor R. Hudson (Chairman) Ms S. Mowbray Cllr S. Pitts Very Rev. M. Sadgrove Mr. S.J.H. Still Professor A. Unsworth

RESIDENT FELLOW Rev. T.A. Harman TUTORS

Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

THE MASTER’S LETTER When I wrote last year, it was in anticipation of the review of Hatfield College by the Colleges Division. I am pleased to report that the review went very well indeed in early June. The reviewers were clearly impressed by what they found. Of course, there is always room for improvement in any organisation, but overall, the praise was fulsome and the criticisms minor. The summary included the following statement that pleased us very much: “This is a community that thinks of itself first and foremost as a college. Despite each constituent part expressing concern that they could do more to integrate with each other, the level of integration between the JCR, MCR and SCR is enviable. The experience that collegiate life offers to its undergraduates and postgraduates, newly extended in number, is first(class (the recent increase in the postgraduate intake and residential numbers has been positively welcomed at all levels in the College). Both the JCR and MCR Executive appear to see their roles as facilitators, helping with the support of “the College”, to provide opportunities and encouragement to students to fully participate in College life but crucially all in the name of the College and in support of the College. The College is, therefore, more than the sum of its constituent parts resulting in the strong integrated community they describe.” This all comes as no surprise: I have always known that Hatfield was a strong, integrated community from the day I arrived (before that, even) but I also know that some colleges struggle to achieve the same degree of commitment and integration. None of this comes without a lot of hard work, of course. The reviewers did struggle with one aspect of Hatfield: they found it very hard to work out what was meant by the “Hatfield spirit”, although patently they could feel it. Perhaps we too have difficulty in defining exactly what it is, but whatever it is, we were asked to bottle it and sell it! It has been another busy year in College. Undergraduate numbers have remained stable but postgraduate numbers have risen a little, so that the MCR now numbers around 130. There have, of course, been the usual programme of events: particularly enjoyable for me were (in no particular order) Lion in Winter Ball, jazz and cocktails, Durham

regatta, Floreat dinner, DUCK quiz, carol service, two music concerts, MCR BBQ. College hosted a wonderful MUSICON concert on Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day featuring the work of 18th century Durham composers Charles Avison and John Garth, both of whom would have had their music performed in Hatfield College in its days as the Red Lion Inn. If you have never heard a Garth cello concerto, you should do so without delay!

Steve Crone and Tracey MacDonald have moved on to new posts elsewhere in the University We have said goodbye to a number of long(serving staff. Lynne Berry retired after many years in the College office; her work as student support officer has been greatly appreciated by a generation of Hatfielders (Dave is still in the bar!). So too the efforts of Eric Nicholson, the College gardener, who will also be much missed around the place. And literally as I write, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve just said farewell to Catering Manager, Steve Crone, and Hall Assistant, Tracey

MacDonald, both of whom are transferring elsewhere in the University as part of a restructuring of catering provision into “communities”, having done 19 and 21 years at Hatfield respectively; we wish them both well in their new roles. One of the great strengths of Hatfield College is the loyalty and commitment of our staff; whilst we are bound to lose a few each year, very many old faces remain, working hard for the students who come to the College. For me, this has been a “green” year. The Vice(Chancellor invited me to take over the University’s environmental portfolio when I gave up as Dean of Colleges in 2007. Last autumn I was given the title Dean for Environmental Sustainability, one of several new deans with pan( University responsibilities. We have appointed a University Environmental Co(ordinator (who is based with me here in Hatfield) and there is much going on in both Durham and Stockton. Recently, the University won the Evening Chronicle award for the greenest business in the north east. This time last year, our students won a “green gown” award for the college (based sustainable living action gro up p roje ct. Hatfield has contributed strongly to the various initiatives and, with Collingwood, we were the first college to issue an Eco( Code. We now recycle 50% of our waste and all sections of the College work hard together to achieve this. Litter on the riverbanks and in the vicinity of Kingsgate Bridge is a particular problem for us, so there are regular litter(picks to keep the place looking neat and tidy – many are volunteers but a few are doing a spot of community service! Last weekend, we put the external lights of the Castle Chancellor Bill Bryson with a Hatfield cotton bag

out for an hour as part of Earth Hour – cynics among the readership will wonder why we turned them on again! Returning to departing staff, Barrie Wetton gave up running the Hatfield Trust last summer. We are very grateful to him for all that he did during his 8(year stint, most especially helping to fund the refurbished tennis court and a new ergo suite in the boathouse. Barrie has been succeeded by Ian Curry, a former parent(governor, rowing coach and SCR President; if you’ve never met Ian, you will know his artwork on successive front covers of the Record. Ian’s priority has been to raise the profile of the Hatfield Trust amongst the current students. This has included a poster campaign – no one going into hall can fail to see the latest display and certainly awareness has been raised. We have also been thinking about alumni reunions and how best to run these. One of Ian’s early initiatives was to run a reunion in a pub in Clapham last September, with welcome help from Carwyn Cox and Barnie Wharton, who used Facebook to advertise the occasion, a first for the College, I’m sure! It was a great success, attracting 100 alumni. We shall be repeating the event on 25th September (see elsewhere in this issue) and our target is 150 – please put the date in your diary NOW! That was, for me, the alumni highlight of the year, but I should also mention the book launch of “Viva South America!” a few days ago, written by our alumnus correspondent in Buenos Aires, Oliver Balch – it was very good to have him back in College. It’s a good read too! The recent DURFC fund(raising dinner in London was also very enjoyable, and pretty much a Hatfield occasion as far as I could tell! Finally, on the alumni front, Bill Heal comes to the end of his five(year stint as President of the Hatfield Association in September. He has been a great supporter of College during that time and has been here very often, ensuring links with all sections of the College are strong. We wish him well, thank him very much, and will hope to see him just as regularly in the future. He will be succeeded by Samantha Mowbray, the second woman to be “Senior Man” at Hatfield ( exciting times for the HA with a young woman at the helm! Yolande Wright (née Stowell) will be giving the after(dinner speech at the AGM reunion in September so there is no better excuse for our female graduates to come back to College – they can bring the men with them if they like! I want to pay special tribute to the outgoing JCR President, Pili Christensen, He has given strong support and wise advice when needed. His Exec has been a good team, helping to ensure another successful year for the JCR. Pili and I have been on a working party, worrying about some new legislation which has, unintentionally,

meant that Durham JCRs will need to become independent charities. We are still working out the details but Pili’s input on behalf of JCR presidents has been typically sensible and robust, and very helpful to the University. Whereas the Senior Man’s term of office coincides with a Hatfield Record “year”, the MCR President changes over the summer. Both Presidents in the last year have done very good jobs too, first Lara Bogart and now Hamish Leese, both Hatfield graduates doing PhDs – in physics and politics respectively. We are very grateful to recent MCR Execs as they have taken the MCR forward into new territory; Palatine House is certainly a very lively and happy community these days. Both the JCR and MCR organised events where other college Execs could visit Hatfield to experience a formal; both were unique occasions as far as I know.

Sam Mowbray and Pili Christensen On a professional note, life continues to be very enjoyable. Apart from “green” duties and Hatfield, I have been mainly researching environmental change, in particular looking at long records of daily rainfall and river water quality. I am currently juggling with two records, nitrate in the Thames from 1868 and daily rainfall at Oxford from 1827, both of which are the longest such records in the world – exciting stuff for those of us who like such things! Elizabeth and I went out to Sri Lanka in October; I have ongoing research links there

looking at monsoonal rainfall and drought. Needless to say, we arrived to floods, there having been 175 mm (7 inches) rain the day before we arrived! On a personal note, our first grandchild, Jamie, arrived on 26th April 2008 and despite being in Seattle, we have seen him five times in his first year (Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ask about carbon footprints!). Ten days ago, our son Tom, whom some readers will remember from the bar or the football field, was married to Elsie in Scotland, resplendent in his Wallace kilt! In his speech at the January congregation at which Hatfield alumnus General Sir Richard Dannatt received an honorary degree, the Vice( Chancellor said that all was right with the world, with Durham graduates in charge of the Army and the England cricket team. He might have said Hatfield rather than Durham! With all good wishes Tim Burt

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Burt, with Jamie Garside

NOTES FROM THE SENIOR TUTOR Spring is always a lovely time at Hatfield, outside a bright blue sky, sometimes slightly chilly but often warm in the sunshine. The College is decorated with banners and ribbons to welcome this year’s Open Day visitors. Who could not be impressed by the enthusiasm of our Open Day Reps; this year we seem to have even more applicants than usual attending the two events. Open Days are of tremendous value to the College and University as they really do give candidates a chance to get a feel for what we offer. We continue to attract high calibre undergraduates with 218 Freshers in residence this year. Not only are they academically able, they bring so many other qualities and skills that contribute to the life of College. We have very talented musicians and singers participating and playing in Kinky Jeff, the Flute Choir, the College Orchestra, Chapel Choir and the Girls’ Choir to name just a few. Many of our students give their time to help in local schools and with other charitable organisations. Our sports teams do well providing many opportunities for inter(collegiate competition. Our elite sportsmen and women also do very well at University, National and even International level – I am sure particular names will be mentioned elsewhere in the Record. What is clear is that Hatfielders successfully juggle academic work with extra(curricular activities, confirming our strong sense of community and a reputation for being involved. I am about to travel to Sri Lanka as part of the Project Sri Lanka team. During this time I will be visiting the schools and villages to monitor the progress of the humanitarian aid to tsunami(hit communities. All of the villages I will be visiting already have a link with Hatfield – past and current students have already worked in the villages or will be going there this summer. Last year I wrote that the MCR continues to expand; I am pleased to say this trend is ongoing. We now exceed 100 members in our postgraduate community. Applications for 2009/10 are looking even better. Not only do we have a high number of applications from current Hatfielders but greater numbers of students from further afield are naming Hatfield as their college of choice for postgraduate places. Palatine House, has seen a variety of cultural festivals celebrated; Chinese New Year was especially exciting.

We are at the end of the undergraduate applications cycle for the next academic year; selecting the relatively small number of students for Hatfield from a very large field of applicants can be difficult. So many excellent applicants have to be referred to another college, but we welcome applications from alumni families or schools where alumni teach and, everything else being equal, we do our best to offer them a place. However, with limited quotas it is not always possible to do so. Alumni are encouraged to contact us early in the admissions cycle so we can keep a look out for particular applications.

Kinky Jeff front row! This academic year has seen changes with personnel. Lynne Berry, the Admissions Secretary and Student Support Officer, retired in August. We all wish Lynne well for the future. I am very pleased to announce Ashleigh Crampton was appointed as Senior Tutorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Secretary in November. Ashleigh joined us from the English Department and is settling into her new role very well. Hatfield Business Lions, has gone from strength to strength. Alumni offer advice on a very diverse range of careers; we welcome more of you to join. This is particularly relevant in the current economic climate: students need good, practical advice on careers. Further information on the Business Lions can be found on its own dedicated

website: http://www.dur.ac.uk/hatfield.business(lions/. If you think you can contribute to this scheme, please download and return the information sheet to me. Dr. Penny Widdison

NOTES FROM THE BURSAR As I write, the Open Day Reps are saying farewell to a group that is likely to contain a major part of our next cohort of students. For a lot of Hatfielders this is where their Durham journey starts. This year we have accommodated over 230 prospective students. One of the welcoming banners draped across the Melville Building read simply “Hatfielders get involved” and for me that sums us up. Of course, this doesn’t just apply to our students, the length of service given by many of the support staff is indicative of their involvement with and commitment to College. It is therefore with some sadness that we say farewell to colleagues. Last year Eric Nicholson, the College Groundsman, took early retirement after 19 years of valued service. Eric originally started his time in Hatfield as a porter but his real interest was gardening. An earlier Bursar was wise enough to channel this enthusiasm and the College estate has benefitted for the past 18 years. Over the years Eric became well known to many of the College “miscreants”. This wasn’t because of any natural predilection on his part, but a favoured form of community service has always been to set individuals to work in the grounds under Eric’s supervision. Eric’s good humour, calm personality and whistling can only have helped speed their rehabilitation! Like all the other colleges we now have to use the Gardens and Grounds section of the University’s Estates and Buildings Department. Whilst we benefit from their broad base of knowledge and purchasing power, we do miss the intensive day(to(day care that Eric was able to give the grounds. One of the major exercises of this past year has been the restructuring of the catering function across the University campus. This has been driven by the ongoing need to improve the quality, variety and flexibility of the catering provision; this has resulted in significant staff movement across the colleges.

Tracey MaccDonald has used this reorganisation as an opportunity for promotion, and after 21 years of service as a Catering Assistant in Hatfield she moves to St. Aidan’s as a Catering Supervisor. We wish her well in her new post. Steve Crone, our Domestic Supervisor, who has headed up our Catering Team for over 19 years, has in the restructuring been appointed Community Food Services Manager for Grey, Collingwood, Josephine Butler and Ustinov Colleges. This is a prestigious post recognizing the extensive skills and experience Steve undoubtedly has. All who have worked with Steve will miss his easy(going manner coupled with the high level of professionalism he brought to his work. Steve’s ‘can do’ attitude helped make the termly Catering Committees truly collaborative meetings where staff and students work together to the benefit of both parties.

Eric Nicholson’s retirement celebration, with Martin Clemmett, Eddie Simpson and Lara Bogart

My personal thanks and best wishes go to all three.

The restructuring in the Hatfield Community (we are grouped with University College, Hild(Bede and St Cuthbert’s Society) means that we will have a better integrated catering service, allowing us to call upon the assistance and expertise of individuals within our community as and when needed. We need also to welcome new members of staff: Jim Johnson, formerly Operations Manager at Van Mildert, joined us in September as our Services’ Coordinator. Jim divides his time between Hatfield and University College providing both colleges with oversight of their day( to(day maintenance issues and project work. The impact of his contribution has been tremendously beneficial to both colleges. I would also like to acknowledge the help we have been getting with the College Archives. As many of you already know, this area of College has been ably covered for the past 15 years by Arthur Moyes. Since his retirement Arthur has kindly given the College 2 days a week and the fact that our archives are better than any other Durham college is thanks to him. For the past three vacations Arthur has been helped by another alumnus, Adrian Allan, who up until his retirement last year was Archivist at Liverpool University. Here, once again, we see the extended family “getting involved” and, as with Cynthia Connolly’s ongoing assistance with the Trust and Association, we owe these generous individuals a huge debt of thanks. With the Master’s role as Dean for Environmental Sustainability, it seemed only fitting that Hatfield should be the home of the new University appointment of Environment Coordinator, Tara Duncan, and her assistant Stuart Morris. Having this team based in College can only benefit Hatfield. We have already made use of University funding to improve the draught(proofing of windows around College and this has included the notoriously ill(fitting metal windows of the Melville Building. The installation of water(saving shower heads, low energy lamps, more effective radiators and a major increase in our recycling activities are ways in which we are moving forward on this front. There is still much we can improve on, but student and staff participation in projects is good, and a recent University(wide survey of colleges show that we have got off to an excellent start. I am pleased to report that the Tennis Court project is at last completed. Robust, rebound fencing has replaced the old, the court is marked for tennis, football, netball, and basketball, and five(a(side goals are in place. The area, as expected, is used far more than ever

before, but the ramp leading to the court still proves to be the most used area in College. A Hatfield variation on an Australian hand(ball game is played there before and after most meals. I sometimes feel like the parent who buys an expensive present only for the box to be played with! It’s a well established tradition with, it seems, Mornington Crescent(type rules.

Competitive netball returns to the newly refurbished tennis court Continuing the sporting improvements, we now have a purely aerobic gym room. The room, named after its benefactor, John Timpson (a Hatfield Trustee and father of two ex(Hatfielders) complements the Weights’ Room that flanks the Library. The Trust has been similarly generous in purchasing eight new machines for the Ergo Room in the Boathouse. This has stopped the need for our rowers to train at St. Leonard’s School and incur the ongoing costs of this training. Once again, we are grateful for the involvement of the wider Hatfield family. Some improvements are not without sacrifice, and both the JCR and MCR Execs have relinquished the use of valued rooms to benefit the community as a whole. The former MCR Common Room is now the John Timpson Gym, and the old JCR Exec Room was part of the reorganisation of space that took place in the Melville Basement (A&B

Stairs) last summer. The basement area now has a large TV Room that isn’t a thoroughfare, the “Chocolate Room” can now be used as a meeting space, and we have a small area for games. The old toilet block in the adjoining C Stairs basement has also been modernised and reopened. Palmers Garth Common Room was refurbished last summer and Main Hall redecorated. We continue to improve our buildings on a minor scale as our resources allow but our eyes are also focused on major projects. In 2010 we will be reclaiming our Church Street property and adding to that the adjoining property that had belonged to St Cuthbert’s Society for a number of years. As a college which is successful in attracting and accommodating 2nd and 3rd year students, this will give us much needed additional bed space. However, it is 2011 that is particularly exciting: during that summer we plan a major refurbishment of Jevons and will start the demolition of the main Boiler House behind the Tennis Court. The future of that site will, of course, be the subject of much discussion and you will be kept informed as plans progress. One of the areas of College that does seem to be holding up well is the shared bedrooms in the Melville building. For the fourth year in succession they have been accredited with a four(star rating by the English Tourist Board. With the weak pound and more people considering holidaying in Britain, maybe we can tempt you back to Durham and Hatfield for a few days this summer? We do have discounted rates for our alumni and can offer double, twin and family rooms. There is also a weekend planned for September where we will celebrate 21 years of women in Hatfield, details of the event can be found listed under “Forthcoming Events” on page 129. It may be that this year is not the time for you to return to College, but I assure you that as the recent College Review noted, your old College and its support staff are in good heart, and are ever ready to facilitate the continued involvement of the “old guard” as well as the new! Mr. Martin Clemmett

NOTES FROM THE CHAPLAIN The Chapel has continued to play an important part in the life of the College. Sunday services in the chapel have continued to thrive under the Chapel’s new Director of Music, Alexander Crawford, and the Organ Scholar, Lucinda Rouse. We have a strong choir of twenty four singers, and the standard continues to be excellent. Last year’s Director of Music, Matthew Carlton, is now a final year student and has continued to lend excellent support to the choir as one of the Choral Scholars. Former choir members please note: there will be another choir reunion on 13 and 14 February 2010, with the reunited choir singing in all three Cathedral services on 14 February – if you would like details and are not currently on the choir alumni mailing list, please get in touch with me. We have produced new service books. Our regular Sunday evening service is Choral Evensong from the Book of Common Prayer. Special services have included a Remembrance Day Service, an Advent Sunday service and a Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. All were well attended. We have also held a memorial service for a former student, Simon McNamara, who tragically died last year. Our theme this year in Chapel Services has been ‘Thoughtful Christianity’. We have had a variety of speakers from a variety of Christian and academic traditions. For example, Dr. Stephen Barton, a Clinical Psychologist, spoke powerfully about the psychology of faith; other speakers have included the Catholic scholar Dr. Paul Murray and the Area Dean for Durham and Durham Diocesan Missioner, Dr. Rod Allon(Smith. We have also been well supported with speakers who teach in the Department of Theology and Religion. The Choir went on a successful tour last summer to Dublin and this summer will be singing in Worcestershire. A choir reunion will take place in May, with the current choir and returning members singing at all three services in the Cathedral. As Chaplain, I have been a member of a Working Party set up by the Vice(Chancellor to explore faith provision in the University. The report of the Working Party has now been finalised and is with the University’s Executive Committee for consideration. The report, if adopted, is unlikely to make much difference to what we do at

A frozen pitch prevented a full rugby match in memory of Simon McNamara, but a good time was still had by all

Simon McNamaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s family and girlfriend, Jen Livesey, on the new bench they presented, in Dunham Court

Hatfield, as we have anticipated its findings and proposed suggestions for the future. In October, the Hatfield College Interfaiths Forum was launched. The purpose of the Forum is to explore issues of topical interest to people – whether from a recognised faith tradition or not ( who are spiritually minded. The faith or non(faith convictions of the speakers are not relevant to the Forum: the speakers have been invited because of their acknowledged expertise and interest in their fields, and because their subject is of interest to thoughtful people. The Forum began in October with a public discussion between the Vice(Chancellor and the Chaplain on the topic, ‘Is it Reasonable to Believe in a God?’ Dr. Sarah Pearce, Consultant Physician at the University Hospital of North Durham, has spoken about ‘Prisons and Prisoners’ and explored the interplay of genetics, environment and the exercise of personal choice. Dr. Robert Song, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religion, unpacked some of the issues to do with the ethics of biomedical research and Professor Susan Lindsay, Professor of Human Development Genetics, from the Institute of Human Genetics at Newcastle University, looked at some of the moral issues raised by ‘new genetics’. Dr. Sybille Rolf is to offer later this year a comparison of ethical issues to do with abortion in Germany and the United Kingdom. This latter meeting is to be hosted jointly with the Department of Theology and Religion. If you are visiting Durham on a Sunday in term time and are near the Chapel at 6.30 pm, please do drop in for one of the services. You would be very welcome. Dr. Anthony Bash

NOTES FROM THE LIBRARIAN The library and reading room facilities continue to be well used by Hatfield students. It is a great asset to the college and student community and the financial support of the JCR is appreciated. Thanks are due to the current student librarians: Daniel Bloom, Matthew Carlton, Lizzie Coxhead, Samantha Crossfield, Jagruti Dave, Jennifer Elstone, Qingrui Meng, Lara Newman, Kate Pulford, Henry Taylor and Emma Woodwark for helping to provide an efficient and helpful library service.

The library is usually only open and staffed during University term( time but this year thanks to MCR volunteers the library has been open during the Easter and summer vacations. The limited hours have provided students with a greater access to library services. Naomi Banks, Brian Blundell, Patrick Caulfield, Grace Coleman, Jeff Cook, Therese Johansen, Hamish Leese and Qinqrui Meng have all helped and given up their time to make this a success. The library has benefitted this year from book donations from several students, past and present, and particularly from a private donation via the Hatfield Trust to allow more history books to be bought, therefore adding to this collection. I would like to encourage all students to take advantage of the library facilities and to contact me if they have any queries or suggestions to improve the service. Mrs. Judith Watson

THE JUNIOR COMMON ROOM Senior Man Vice(President (Discipline) Vice(President (Welfare) Treasurer Secretary Social Secretary Senior DSU Representative Livers(Out Representative

: : : : : : : :

Pierre(Louis Christensen James Glaysher Hannah Slevin Patrick Scanlon Daniel Jheeta David Cooper Kamala Hamilton(Brown Christopher Lane

The JCR has not succumbed to the “credit crunch.” This is a good thing. Other good things we’ve maintained/improved include: Hatfield College Spirit: As strong as ever, the JCR’s unity has been maintained by an increased participation in sport and increased opportunities for College(wide events, led by Dave Cooper’s fantastic efforts this year. Intercollegiate Relations: An increased effort has been made to improve relations between Hatfield and other colleges. The inaugural intercollegiate formal was successful, and the reduction of “Hatfield(only” nights has seen a

marked improvement in attitudes towards JCR members. Concerns remain over Freshers’ Week, but continued communication between the College Senior Men and Women should help to eradicate unwanted tensions. JCR Projects: Following remarks made on the limitations of communal space around Hatfield, this Exec has attempted to improve those areas of the college which are the most frequented (or should be!) by JCR members.

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Work space: The Reading Room (Pace building) is very crowded during busy academic periods, so a decision was made to open up the Bar as a work space during week days. After the success of this scheme during the 2008 examination period, the service has continued to be provided throughout the year. Wi(fi availability – courtesy of the Hatfield Trust – in both the Bar and the Reading Room has greatly improved studies.

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Leisure space: With support from College Officers and staff – for which we are very grateful – our largest project this year was the renovation of the communal space in A, B and C stairs. The underused coffee lounges have been replaced by the MCR and the JCR Exec room, allowing for a new TV Room, Games Room and as yet unnamed communal room. Table tennis, pool and a Nintendo Wii are now available to all members of college.

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Future projects: A “Bar Renovation Committee” is to be set up within the next few weeks: greater involvement of JCR members in bar projects will hopefully raise the profile of an area of college unfortunately underused this year. The Bar and surrounding area (i.e. the toilets) will hopefully be the focus of next year’s projects. Touch(ups to the past year’s projects are also as yet incomplete. Other improvements possible include a refurbishment of the Computer Room and green projects based on greater use of the Fellows’ Garden behind the Pace building.

Constitutional Changes: Large scale alterations to the JCR constitution have been planned as a result of the 2006 Charities Act. Although their implementation has

been somewhat delayed, it is expected that Hatfield JCR must be registered with the Charity Commission by 1st October, 2009. The only current impact of the legislation has been an introduction of the position of JCR Chair to the JCR. Tom Miller, the first ever Hatfield Chair, was elected in December’s JCR Meeting, and has been helping to shape the role since. Currently, the Chair’s role has included chairing JCR Meetings, JCR Exec Meetings (on to which they are co( opted but have no vote: casting vote remains with the Senior Man), sitting on the JCR Finance Committee (replacing VP Welfare’s inclusion on said board) and acting as the Senior Returning Officer in JCR elections. Further impacts expected include the introduction of a JCR Board of Trustees (5 students; 4 external to JCR) and greater financial scrutiny. Costs may also rise, due to indemnity insurance, possible auditing costs and trustee expenses. The Bar: Overall, the Bar has seen many improvements in service levels over the past year. The Hatfield Bar Steward (Dave Berry) has held a fantastic relationship with the JCR Exec, enabling us to implement new drinks, improve entertainment and table innovative schemes such as bar tokens. However, Hatfield Bar continues to struggle financially, and popularity has waned considerably in recent years. A growing trend of students to buy alcohol from cheaper competitors (off(licences and chain business such as Varsity) has led to an increase in “pre(drinking” in student accommodation. The JCR therefore firmly believes that a renovation of the Bar is to be strongly recommended. The Gym: The upgrade of gym facilities in Hatfield has proved popular. Thanks to the work of James Glaysher (VP Discipline) and Matthew Tickle (Gym Rep) and the generosity of the Trust and John Timpson (College Fellow and Trustee), both a cardio gym and “weights” gym have been a success over the past two terms. Improving the sound system (with due consideration for library users) and finding suitable mirrors and ventilation are the desirable next steps. Welfare Provision: The welfare system in Hatfield has changed dramatically in Hatfield this year. The loss of a Student Support Officer has placed a much larger burden of responsibility on the JCR Welfare Representatives. As

such, we have moved towards a greater integration of Junior Welfare Reps into the signposting service we offer. Hannah Slevin (VP Welfare) and Sol Slade (Assistant Welfare) have worked tirelessly to ensure students know whom and where to go to in any eventuality. We are also grateful for the proposals put forward by College Officers for a Welfare Room in College and an as yet undetailed scheme for weekly Tutor hours within Hatfield.

Upgraded gym facilities thanks to the generosity of the Hatfield Trust and John Timpson Thank you to all of the Exec team whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve covered my blunders over the past 12 months, and to the Officers, staff and other members of College who have facilitated the JCRâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s progress this year. Pili Christensen Senior Man 2008/2009

MIDDLE COMMON ROOM President Vice(President Welfare Officer Treasurer Secretary Social Secretary

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Hamish Leese Hayley Baggaley Kate Young Christopher Purdy Robert Weedon Katie Willan

This year the Middle Common Room can again boast the largest number of members it has ever had, and these members are drawn from a broad diversity of cultures. We have well and truly settled into Palatine House, and it has now become a real home for the ever( increasing MCR body. In addition to those living in Palatine House, we have a number of students living on the main college site, living out in Durham, and further afield. Despite this diversity and geographical spread, the whole MCR works to encourage a feeling of community within the MCR, and as a part of Hatfield College. The continued integration of the changing MCR into the fabric of the College has meant working closely alongside the JCR and the SCR, building on the excellent work of previous executive committees. MCR members are fully involved in all areas of college life, representing the college at sports and music, attending formal dinners, and helping to organise events for the whole of college to enjoy. Alongside these activities, at the kind invitation of the SCR, members of the MCR have been involved in book groups, walks and dining with the SCR. A key focus of postgraduate activity in college is the MCR Common Room, which, despite a change of location, remains a well used resource. This year has seen the introduction of MCR research symposia, kindly organised by James Barnard. These symposia offer postgraduate students the opportunity to give a presentation of their research to other members of the college community in a relaxed and friendly environment. This not only provides the presenter with the opportunity to gain valuable experience of giving academic presentations without an intimidating audience, but also provides fellow students with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of what their friends and colleagues are researching. We have heard presentations on politics, philosophy, physics, biology, international relations and maths to name but a few, and I for one have learned a great deal!

This year has also seen the first inter(collegiate MCR dinner, where we invited fellow postgraduate students from throughout the University to experience a Hatfield formal with us. This proved to be a great success, and very enjoyable. Students from other colleges learnt the rules and traditions very quickly and really entered into the spirit of the occasion. The event has allowed us to continue building better relationships with other colleges, and helped to foster a feeling of community between postgraduates.

MCR drinks at Kingsgate House The MCR remains indebted to the Hatfield Trust for the help and support which the Trust provides to our members. This year has seen the greatest take up to date of the MCR research awards, which are jointly funded by the Hatfield Trust and the MCR, and the Trust continues to provide scholarships and bursaries to members of the MCR. This assistance from the Trust allows students to attend conferences and workshops, present papers and conduct research, which enhance their study and make their time in Hatfield more fulfilling.

Through the hard work of the members of the MCR, the whole executive committee and the college officers, the growing Middle Common Room remains a fantastic community within which to live and study. Hamish Leese MCR President

THE SENIOR COMMON ROOM President Vice(President

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Secretary

Clive Constance Elspeth Bain Kate Boardman (from Sept 08) Elizabeth Burt

With the membership, currently 252, comprising College Officers and Tutors, members of academic and administrative departments, past and present, visiting academics and many of the great and good from the City and the region, the Common Room continues to fulfil its purpose of expressing the College, University and wider community. At the programme of frequent formal dinners we continue to enjoy the presence of distinguished outsiders and there has been a good attendance of members making these significant occasions. The SCR continues to support the Junior and Middle Common Rooms, for example by welcoming MCR members to High Table at Tuesday Formals and at the Burns Night Supper in January we entertained the members of both Executives at High Table. We invite students to perform a musical interlude at dessert on Guest Nights, and these enable guests to appreciate what a wealth of talent exists in the College. We also fund a choral Scholarship in the Chapel Choir, which is such an important part of the musical life of many students. Our scholarly function was fulfilled with an after(dinner talk by Joe Human, who worked for Oxfam GB for 20 years, on the benefits of Fairtrade and Dr. Roger Smith, Fellow of the Institute of Advanced Study, delivered a lecture in November on “Being human in Russia— freewill and psychology under the tsars”. In March we welcomed back Oliver Balch, who left us in 1998, to talk about his book called ‘Viva South America!’ which attempts to discover whether the dream of Simon Bolivar, the liberator of much of South America from Spanish rule, to establish independence freedom and equality, still

lives on. His introductory talk was lively and interesting and boded well for the book, which should be well worth purchasing. The year’s social calendar has, as ever, included termly book clubs and in May (08) Professor Brian Whitton who possesses the finest collection in private hands of pictures by the distinguished artist John Tunnard, kindly offered another private view to members, which was greatly enjoyed. The annual teppanyaki meal in Newcastle, organised by Mike Daly, Bursar of Teikyo University’s Durham base, took place in January but with the added attraction of being joined by the SCR of St. Mary’s College. Another highlight of our year was the Burns Night Supper, at which the Master recited the Ode to the Haggis and proposed the Vote of Thanks, Dr. Margaret Masson the Senior Tutor from St. Chad’s, our next(door neighbour, gave an excellent speech proposing the Toast to the Immortal Memory which judiciously combined erudition and humour; two students, Hugh Dundas and Jennifer Lawson, proposed the Toast to the Lasses and the Reply respectively and three students, Gabrielle Fremantle, Holly Fuller and Will Davies, accompanied by Matthew Carlton, sang settings of Burns poems. Sadly we had no Piper in college but were lucky to obtain the services of Philip Hatzis an undergraduate from Trevelyan, to pipe in the High Table procession and the Haggis. We also provided half the cost of the Band for the Ceilidh, which followed the meal, all in all a very jolly evening. This year our termly walks included a circular walk in May starting in Waterhead, Ambleside, with a rather expensive and tardy lunch in Troutbeck, but which nevertheless was blessed with fine weather. In the Autumn Robin Widdison led a well(prepared and informative walk in the Durham woodlands near Shincliffe, which included a stop for lunch at the Rose Tree near the Sports Centre. The food was excellent and prepared members for the second leg in the afternoon. In March we had a walk around Hawthorn Dene, a Durham Wildlife Reserve on the coast near Peterlee and although we were really about two to three weeks too late for the snowdrops which are a feature there in late winter early spring, we did manage to see one rather spectacular drift. The walk ended in Hawthorn Village where we had an excellent and very reasonably priced lunch in the pub washed down with good Jennings’ ale. Finally, Epiphany Term ended with our now customary Gourmet Guest Night in the SCR Dining room, a delicious five(course meal was prepared by the chefs, served with grace and efficiency, and the accompanying wines were well chosen by Professor John Gaskin, who

has also chosen the wines to match the menus at all our Guest Night dinners during the year. We are very grateful to him for his wise and discerning management of the SCR’s special section of the College’s wine cellar. This was the last meal to be overseen by Steve Crone who has been the College’s Catering Manager for the last 19 years. During that time he has served the SCR extremely well and is now moving to take over a wide(ranging post in the new organisation of catering within the University for the Hill Colleges. We are very sorry to see him move on and I presented him with a fine bottle of vintage port and a vintage claret (chosen by Professor Gaskin naturally), a gift of the SCR, in recognition and gratitude for all he has done to make our SCR meals and events so memorable. We trust that the successor arrangements will serve us equally well, but in the meantime I should like to thank all the staff who have served us so excellently over the past year. So, as I said in my report last year, the SCR continues to thrive and to play its full part in maintaining our unique Hatfield College community. Clive Constance SCR President

ACADEMIC DISTINCTIONS Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

COLLEGE NEWS Congratulations to Dr. Paul Chazot, College Tutor and Lecturer in Biological and Biomedical Sciences, for successfully obtaining EU funding for a COST Action in Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences. Funding for Durham is around £1.25m whilst the overall project funding is €40m shared across a large consortium. Dr. Chazot has also been elected Co(Chair for the Action at a recent kick(off meeting in Brussels. Congratulations to Mark Smith, College Tutor and third(year Ph.D. who has secured a lecturing post at Aberystwyth. This is naturally splendid news, but also fit recognition of Mark’s ability and achievements. Congratulations! Congratulations to Fenwick Lawson, neighbour of Hatfield College and member of the SCR, who was awarded an Honorary D.Litt. at the January congregation. Fenwick is a Durham artist and visionary and his life(size work, The Journey, depicting six monks carrying the body of Cuthbert of Lindisfarne, carved from elm using a chainsaw, has been turned into bronze and stands in Millennium Square in Durham city centre. The sculpture was unveiled by Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne on 26th September 2008.

Fenwick Lawson at his honorary degree graduation, sporting his Hatfield tie

The unveiling of The Journey by Princess Anne

COLLEGE SPORT HATFIELD COLLEGE MEN’S BADMINTON REPORT BY JAMES ROSS (A TEAM CAPTAIN)

Hatfield Badminton as a whole has done superbly. The women's team was promoted and the Hatfield Men’s A team have done exceptionally well in the Badminton Premiership, coming in second place. The team has benefitted from a core group of dedicated players who have been key to the overall success. Results of note came against Grey, who we defeated 5(4 in a close match that decided our overall second placing, and St. Aidan’s who couldn’t really compete against the strength in depth the team has, losing 9(0. I would like to make particular mention of a few players; Jamie Barwick, who had never picked up a badminton racquet before he came to Hatfield, Pili ‘Senior Man’ Christensen and Oli Little, the undefeated first pairing, and Daniel Andersen and Oli Marcuse, both making their first appearances in the A team this year. On the whole, the team has been very successful this year and it is certainly something that can be built upon in the future. REPORT BY TIM SMYTHEMAN AND JAMES DUNN (JOINT B TEAM CAPTAINS)

For the Men’s B team it may look on paper like an unsuccessful season, however this is not true. We were promoted last season after tremendous and well fought matches. This was our downfall for this season however, we were the strongest team in the 2nd division but in the 1st division we struggled. We have seen some brilliant play still, with the emergence of Matt Basford as a strong player for the team, as well as the comical yet potent Team 'Cock'. With reflection on this season we can conclude that we have built a strong team and we will hit the 2nd division next season, hard. HATFIELD COLLEGE WOMEN’S BADMINTON REPORT BY MARIS ELMORE (CAPTAIN)

This year has been an amazing year for Women’s badminton. Not only did we win at the Hatfield(Castle challenge, come second in our division, win 6 out of 7 matches, and managed to enter 3 teams into the league game, but the team grew in two terms from 7 girls to 14! It was a privilege to lead such a committed and talented team to victory this year.

The year kicked off in style with a 7(2 win against Cuthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s A at the newly completed Freeman Quay complex by the Gala on 2nd November, setting us up nicely for a 8(1 win against Collingwood two weeks later. Then came the surprise of a walkover awarded against Stephenson, giving us a 9(0 win in the tables. Not sure how many of us were sad not to have to trek to Stockton to play, and how many of us were glad of the rest. November and December brought lots of snow, and the Hild(Bede gym disaster which took weeks to sort out. Which gym? Where was the equipment stored? Why were we playing with invisible nets? Why could no one in Hild(Bede tell us the code to the door?

On 30th November we suffered our first and only defeat against a very strong team from Chadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, who went on to win every match this year!! Still more snow to be had in the new term, trekking up to Gilesgate to play Hild(Bede on the 15th February game which was re(

arranged more times than any other this year. After winning 5(3 we all then had to skate our way home down Gilesgate in the freezing ice and snow to the badminton social. The penultimate game was against Cuth’s A team on 22nd February, with a 9(0 win, and in our final match of the season we finished in style beating Grey B, 8(1 (on the oddest proportioned court in Durham) on a lovely warm Sunday afternoon. And a few special mentions to:

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Jenny and Harriet who won all their matches together.

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Katy, for putting up with me as a partner, and for turning up to the Wednesday practices to find out they were cancelled and smiling anyway.

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Ash, Megan and Shiny for joining half way thought the year and playing amazingly.

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Hannah, for agreeing to play in a mixed Trevs match 7 hours before it needed to be played!, and for filling in for me at the Hatfield(Castle challenge the night before!

Thank you to Gemma Galbraith, Joyce Ching, Hannah Brook, Harriet Whewell, Jenny Peacock, Julia James, Naomi Bowman, Katy Morgan, Emma Dearing, Ashild Vagene, Sohinee Sen, Megan Conneely and Tish Kriznik for:

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putting up with my constant nagging and e(mails. cancelling other commitments at the last minute to play. emailing me back as soon as possible. being generally awesome!!

Shuttlecock love Maris xxx

HATFIELD COLLEGE BOAT CLUB HCBC MEN’S SQUAD: REPORT BY STEPHEN GARDNER (MEN’S CAPTAIN)

Last winter finished with a very strong performance in the Head of the River Race in London. Hatfield 1st VIII finished 234th, as second fastest college VIII and our best performance in recent years; Hatfield 2nd VIII finished well in 376th. The summer regatta season saw some great performances, especially from our novice crews. A Novice IV and Novice VIII raced at BUSA, finishing 27th and 10th respectively; fine performances against university crews. The highlight of Hexham Regatta was the grudge match between ‘end pairs’ and ‘middle four’, the two halves of the 1st VIII. Against all predictions, ‘middle four’ triumphed gloriously.

The biggest event of the year is Durham Regatta, and the best performance was a stunning victory by the Novice VIII, taking down a quality Castle crew in the final. But the story of the weekend was the Freshmen VIII. They reached their final, but due to errant coxing by Aidan’s had to re(row immediately. The re(row was a dead heat! So they re(rowed again. This time Aidan’s steering was enough to get Hatfield disqualified: most unfortunate and undeserved, but it will last long in the memory as an epic battle.

Many great rowers graduated in the summer, so Michaelmas was about re(building. This we did, with an influx of freshers and of members of last year’s freshmen squad and Henry Chin as our new coach/rowing God. The aim for the term was to win at Senate Cup. The tribulations of Tees were overcome by hard work, leading to the 1st IV finishing as fastest college IV at both Rutherford and, more importantly, Senate Cup. The icing on the cake was an overall victory by Hatfield’s DU rowers as the fastest crew in the whole event.

The new ergo suite in the boathouse

General club business: This year has seen the completion of the ergo suite. Thanks to a generous donation from the Hatfield Trust, we now have eight brand new model D concept II ergometers in a newly renovated ergo room. This has enabled the club to make considerable savings as previous to this facility, the club subsidised the use of St. Leonards School’s equipment. Savings made are going, on a long(term basis, into the newly established boat fund.

HATFIELD COLLEGE CHEERLEADERS REPORT BY VICKI HOLLYOAKE (CAPTAIN)

During the end of the last academic year, HCC managed to secure sponsorship from Varsity. This involved staggered payments at the start of each term, provided that socials and other events were held at the local Varsity bar in Durham. In October, HCC were given £200 and spent this money on an outdoor sound system for events and performances. The rest of the first term was spent organising stash, integrating the new members, by way of teaching them lifts and stunts, and familiarising them with the basic chants and pom pom formations. During November, the squad led the support for Hatfield at the floodlit match. Due to illness of the squad’s choreographer, HCC were unable to take part in the Hatfield(Castle Challenge this year. We are currently working towards a new routine which can be used for Hatfield Day after exams, under the newly elected exec. Although the second term has not been as productive as we would have liked, this year HCC has worked hard to secure much needed funding and to explore new and exciting lifts which can be used as part of routines in the future. HATFIELD COLLEGE MEN’S CRICKET CLUB REPORT BY NEIL PRESTRIDGE (CAPTAIN)

The summer of 2008 proved both an enjoyable and successful season for HCCC. Following some promising winter net preparation, some enthusiastic team bonding on the club’s pre(season social and the emergence of some promising fresh cricketers, both A and B teams began the summer term with both excitement and anticipation about what could be achieved. However, following a hugely impressive early victory against Hild Bede in which openers Dom Crame and Jon Smith scored 85* and 45* respectively, a combination of the Durham weather and the onset of exams meant little cricket was possible during early season. When finally the skies cleared and studies could be forgotten, the team were able to enjoy a series of entertaining and high quality matches. An impressive victory over St. Cuths was followed by a narrow defeat to Stephenson in which the team’s strong top order failed to fire. The following match against Castle saw the

batsman bounce back and, led by an impressive 85 from Alun Morris, ensure a comfortable victory and an all but guaranteed place in the semi(finals. A defeat to Collingwood followed by a rain(affected draw against Van Mildert concluded the group stages, and with qualification confirmed, focus could now be turned to a rematch with Stephenson in the semi(finals. With the rain continuing to play a major role, and following several rearrangements, the game was eventually played out by a slightly depleted Hatfield team. In spite of this we were able to set a competitive total on a challenging pitch, but an inability to break the opposition’s opening batting partnership meant we soon realised it wasn’t going to be enough and our total was overhauled. However, despite this disappointment, many positives could be taken from the season. Top run scorer Dom Crame and friend Jon Smith formed a strong opening batting partnership and Alun Morris, Will Midmer and Crispin Vollers all contributed with fifties. On the bowling front freshers Chris Calvocoressi and Neil Prestridge contributed wickets and look set to feature much in the future whilst Shaun Rooke and Morris both provided valuable contributions. Roly Streatfield, Andy Pollock, Tom Southall and Rachit Patel also deserve mentions. In their second season the B team were also active but suffered even more at the hands of the weather than the A team and as a result were unable to build up any sort of momentum. Two forfeited victories ensured the team would remain in the middle league but two heavy defeats later in the season highlighted for the squad the pressure exerted by entering two league teams and the work that needs to be done next season to maintain Division 1 status. Mark Rainbow led the team well and special mention must go to the ever enthusiastic Dan Jheeta and Chris Irish who filled in for Mark as Captain when needed. The season concluded with a trip to Chester(le( Street and the club looking in good shape. With a throng of enthusiastic freshers and increased interest from other years, 2009 looks set to be a success. Top run scorer: Top wicket taker:

Dom Crame (173 runs, average 43) Chris Calvocoressi (6 wickets)

HATFIELD COLLEGE MEN’S FOOTBALL CLUB REPORT BY ALUN MORRIS (A TEAM CAPTAIN)

With a huge intake of freshers this year, we have been able to field four teams for the first time ever, and competition for places has been very strong. However, with perhaps the strongest squad in a

few years, we did not get off to the best of starts. Losing 1(0 to Trevs A put us on the back foot straight away as we aimed for a top 3 finish out of 6 in the league. A good display against Mildert A saw us come out 2(1 winners and put us in back in contention. We found ourselves playing attractive football when we put our minds to it, but late goals put an end to our championship pool ambitions. Conceding in the last 10 minutes against Hild(Bede A, saw a 2(1 defeat, along with a last kick of the game goal against John Snow A to draw 1(1 in a match where we dominated throughout. Losing against Collingwood B 3(2 in a thriller saw our fate sealed in the relegation pool. This term we have found ourselves winning 3 and drawing 2, as we have just finished top of the relegation pool, and securing our premiership status next year. We are also safely into the 3rd round of the trophy, and eagerly await the draw. Some notable performances from freshers James Birch, Will Christiansen, Andy Gould, Michael Heffernan and Will Nicholl have been very pleasing, and the long(term future of the club seems very secure. REPORT BY SAM MOORE (B TEAM CAPTAIN)

HCAFC B team got off to a flying start this season with a draw and two wins in their first three games. They were blessed with an array of new talent, with Jason Day excelling for the whole season at right back, Mike Worthington shoring things up in defence, and the rest demonstrating an abundance of flair and natural talent in midfield. However, things soon turned sour, seeing the B’s lose their next two games, which meant we were to battle it out in the relegation pool in the second term. Consequently it was important for the Bs to hit the ground running in the New Year, and they certainly did. A very good term saw them winning four out of five league games, drawing the other one on the day after a very “heavy” Lion in Winter Ball. They are also still battling it out in the Trophy, awaiting their next opponents. Playing arguably lesser opposition has allowed the B’s to show the football they are capable of, and at times, some of the best I have seen a B team play during my time in Hatfield, and if this continues into next year, I’m sure they will have a very successful season. REPORT BY TIM SHERWOOD (C TEAM CAPTAIN)

It has been a very positive season for the Samba C's. We are currently lying 2nd in the Conference Pool A table out of 10 teams.

We went out of the cup in the 1st round going down 8(0 to Collingwood A (debatably the strongest team in college football) despite a spirited performance. We have had a really good go at the title and that elusive promotion spot this year but, although we got closer than ever before, have fallen just short for the 2nd year running. We started off the season as we planned to continue with an easy 10(1 win against a weak Hild(Bede F side. Unfortunately we didn’t really turn up in our next match and lost 3(0 to Mary’s C, a result that probably cost us in the long run. We then went on a winning spree beating Aidan’s D, Trev’s C, Butler C and Stephenson C, only dropping points in a 1(1 draw against fellow title contenders Butler B. We were therefore still in the title race until our 2nd last game of the season, a title decider against Grey B which we lost 3(2 in some harsh conditions. We still have one match to play against Cuth’s D and a win in that will guarantee us 2nd place. All in all a very good season. We have played some lovely football this year, when we get the ball down and play we are a notch above almost every other team in the division. Much as it seems very unfair to single any one individual out, special mention should go to top scorer Gabriel Amalvi who has led the line outstandingly. Everyone who has been involved in the C’s this year has absolutely worked their socks off so thanks very much to them all, they can feel very proud of their efforts. HATFIELD COLLEGE WOMEN’S HOCKEY CLUB REPORT BY HOLLY BANHAM (CAPTAIN)

After winning the league last year but losing a number of key players from the starting 11, the pressure was on for HCHC women to retain the success. The year started well with considerable interest in the club at the Freshers’ fair, as well as a number of returning students joining in the training sessions. Although the first game was a 3(2 defeat to St. Cuthbert’s Society, the potential for a winning team was already obvious. The following week Hatfield recorded their first win of the season against Castle, a game that began a winning streak that lasted up until matches were cancelled in late November and early December due to adverse weather conditions. At the close of the first half of the season Hatfield had won 4, drawn 1, lost 1 and were sitting in second place on the league table. The team was back up to strength going into the second half of the season with a victory over St. Cuthbert’s Society highlighting the

continual technical improvements being made by individuals as well as the formation of a great team dynamic. The crucial pivotal role played by Vice(Captain, Becky Stewart, as centre midfield enabled the ball to be moved efficiently around the field allowing mid(fielders Kirsty Traill, Sophie Bentall and Claire Lindley to pressurise the oppositions’ defence with well timed runs towards the goal and the awaiting Hatfield forwards Katie Harris, Alison Iddon, Tor Henman and Katie Hill to achieve those much needed winning goals and league points. The matches could not however have been won without the solid defending of Captain, Holly Banham, Alice Midmer, Lily Hamnett, Amy Mulley and Caroline Pearce who worked tirelessly to prevent any game play extending past the Hatfield 25 yard line with firm tackling and excellent marking. Goalkeeper Alessandra Doyle was always there to rescue the situation should the opposition break through the defensive barrier. With only two matches left to play, Hatfield Women’s Hockey are once again at the top of the league and as only 4 points separate Hatfield from second place St. Aidan’s, the remaining games are crucial. The team dynamic has been superb this season and a continuation of Hatfield as the league winners would be an accolade the team deserves. The team, along with DUHC players Gabrielle Foster, Lauren Moors and Harriet Moore are also through to the semi(finals of the Trophy league after beating Hild(Bede and St. Mary’s 5(3 and 5(0 respectively. HCHC as a whole also managed to retain their title as winners of the Intramural Mixed Hockey Festival beating sides from Newcastle, Durham, Teesside, Sunderland and Northumbria Universities. With the Hatfield Men’s Hockey also set to do well in their Premiership and the Doxbridge Mixed Team of Holly Banham, Jack Oakshatt, Andrew Pollock, Katie Hill, Ollie O’Donnell, David Humphrey and Alessandra Doyle bringing home the Doxbridge 2009 winning trophy, the 2008/09 season could be very successful for Hatfield College Hockey Club.

HATFIELD COLLEGE MEN’S RUGBY CLUB REPORT BY JONATHAN ALLARD (CAPTAIN)

The 2008/09 season provided a very enjoyable experience for everyone involved. Once again Hatfield managed to field two teams in the college league system, providing the opportunity for over 45 members of the college to play a competitive level of rugby. The ‘A’ team finished a respectable fifth in the Premiership this year. Although slightly disappointing, due to the fact we all believed a higher position could have been achieved, it was an improvement of two places from last year and shows the club is now progressing in the right direction. The season started well with a resounding 42(12 win over Mary’s on the opening day. However, the remainder of the first term was where we lost our desired higher league position. Our league form dipped dramatically with fours losses in a row. Two bonus losing points were picked up but this was not enough to prevent us from sliding down the table. The annoyance of those losses was blown away by the game of the season at the beginning of the second term. A 19(15 win against Collingwood provided a much needed boost against one of the top sides in the college league. The first 20 minutes of the match saw Hatfield coast into a 19(0 lead. However, in true Hatfield fashion we wanted to make it a game for the neutrals and provided a nail biter of a finish with Collingwood coming back in the latter stages. This win was followed up by a narrow loss against Cuth’s ‘A’. Hatfield put in a strong performance and were on the losing end of an unflattering score line (25(5). The belief that we were a strong side was increasingly evident throughout the latter half of the season and this was shown by two resounding wins over John’s and Chad’s. These were achieved by an absolute domination in the forwards department, which lead to numerous push(over tries. This made our new coach Howard very happy indeed! We were dealt with a tough draw this year in the Floodlit competition. A brilliant win over the Queen’s Campus team (who reached the semi finals last year), kicked off our campaign. This was accomplished by very clinical team performance. Thanks must be given to the outstanding support provided by the members of the college. We were then drawn against Grey in the quarter finals. Unfortunately we came out of this game second best and will have to wait until next year to compete in this great competition again.

REPORT BY EDWARD HAMLYN (B TEAM CAPTAIN)

The B’s have had a tough season this year. The level of rugby in the Men’s Division 1 league has been very good, especially as most of the sides are College A sides. Despite this we have had a good season beating our two main rivals Collingwood B and Grey B (a great performance by the team resulting in a 33(0 victory) and at the moment of writing the B team is getting ready to play the old foe Castle. We have had a very good influx of players this year along with many of the usual stalwarts, the competitiveness of positions has resulted in a few players being called up to the A’s, one or two even starting. I think it is a testament to Hatfield and the Hatfield spirit that a relatively small college can still field a competitive B team, putting to shame most of the other colleges. It has been a pleasure to captain the B’s this year, both playing and through the friendship HCRFC and the especially the B’s creates.

Victory over Castle in the Hatfield?Castle Challenge With a great fresher turn(out this year and very few from the squad graduating, the prospect for next season is promising. The belief has been reinstalled into the team and I hope everyone involved next season is already getting excited. Thank you to this year’s Exec for

your hard work, especially to Alastair Greenfield (A Team Captain) and Edward Hamlyn (B Team Captain). Another thank you must be given to Howard Nicholson for his coaching and advice this season. HATFIELD COLLEGE WOMEN’S RUGBY CLUB REPORT BY CHAIRA ALFANO (CAPTAIN)

This season has proved to be another successful one in the fast(paced world of Women's Rugby. HCWRFC saw a large intake of enthusiastic and capable freshers who injected pace into the backs and produced pushing power in the forwards.

Weather was our main challenge at the beginning of the year with snow and rain keeping us from playing the vast majority of matches! The B's ‘dream team’ did not get a chance to play a match until the end of the first term. However, when they did play they did so with vigour. Their interminable determination and the fantastically, encouraging leadership under Annabel Stark has led to them holding their own on the pitch. Not only have they managed to score several tries worthy of the best but on 25th February 2009, the B team came out victorious with their first ever draw! With a few matches still left

to play and the words of their competitors in their ears, the assertion that they 'are much better than many A teams', a win is within their grasp. The A team has, as ever, been on a winning streak which places them 2nd in the league. Having finished in the same spot for the last few years, pipped to the post each time by Hild(Bede, we were hoping this would be our year to convert Hild(Bede into the losing team. Unfortunately, the chance to play them was denied due to some administrative confusion. However, having watched Hild(Bede play we are confident that we have the skills, the force and the courage to take them down. Time will tell but we will endeavour to play to the best of our ability and drive home a win. HCWRFC socials on the other hand have been rivalled by no one. Close relations with the local community have been maintained, free Klute entry has been consistently secured and Spagsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; meal deal has continued to be offered. This year also saw the social feeding back to the community by penetrating the North Road area of town to celebrate a faux engagement of a number of the club members. Fancy dress standards have exceeded expectations while the annual joint socials with HCRFC; the three(legged bar crawl and pub golf were enjoyed by all. We are now keenly waiting the Newcastle adventure scheduled for the end of Easter Term. We are also looking forward to entering into some sevens tournaments post(exams in summer term. It should improve our ball handling skills and fitness which will pay dividends next season when we will be perfectly drilled and able to feed dummy passes, up(and( unders, miss passes and garyowens seamlessly into our game. Overall, the club has continued to thrive this year. The current exec has done a fabulous job and we wish the forthcoming exec the best of luck. Peace and triumph. HCWRFC xxx

HATFIELD COLLEGE TENNIS CLUB REPORT BY HARRIET WHEWELL (CAPTAIN)

Although Hatfield was unable to reach top of the league like the previous year, the season was still filled with a good standard of tennis and some very closely contested matches, with final scores not always reflecting the standard of play. Great commitment to the club was seen throughout the season, despite looming finals for third years; with excellent play seen from James Driscoll, Adrian Love, Jonny Moore, Daniel Anderson, Sarah Scott, Fiona Howe and Holly Banham. With such great interest it was difficult to keep pairing consistent. However, it did mean a greater number of people were able to represent Hatfield and contribute to the final end of season position of 4th, with only a few points separating the teams at the top of the table.

HATFIELD COLOURS 2008 2009 Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

Silverware at Floreat dinner

UNIVERSITY PALATINATES 2008 Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

A YEAR OF SPORTING SUCCESS Edward (Ted) Wood former Coach to the University Rugby Club since 1974, Bursar of Hatfield College (1976(79) and Coach to England Rugby Students (1986(89), Coach/Manager of North of England 15 who beat the full Australian team 1988. On Thursday 27th November 2008 Ted Wood was crowned as the overall Local Heroes winner for 2008. (He had been awarded the Unsung Hero Award in 2004 by the Journal newspaper.) There were many stars of grassroots sports honoured at the glitzy event held at Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield. Ted was the winner of the top prize. He also won the Leading Light Award. These awards were in recognition of his 34 years with Durham University Rugby Club. He has helped to produce over thirty international rugby players and countless Durham County Players.

Ted handed his prize money of £500 to the Bobby Robson Foundation. The local Heroes Awards were launched in 2000 to recognise and reward those dedicated to grassroots sport in the North(East. TWO ALUMNAE AT THE OLYMPICS Louisa Reeve was bow in the women's pair and finished 6th in the Olympic final, an excellent result considering they had had to qualify the boat this summer. As subs due to illness, Louisa then also raced with Alice Freeman in the final of the women's VIII finishing 5th. To have two Hatfield alumnae in Olympic finals is a rare achievement and we congratulate both Louisa and Alice on their success!

HATFIELD COLLEGE CHAPEL CHOIR by Alex Crawford, Director of Chapel Music This academic year has been an interesting one for Hatfield College Chapel Choir, with our Chaplain, Anthony, still covering new ground, with two new Organ Scholars and a fresh Director of Music. However, it has also been an exciting one. The Choir has continued to provide an extremely high standard of music, offering challenging works such as Ralph Vaughan(Williams’ ‘Lord, thou hast been our Refuge’, Naji Hakim’s ‘Ding! Dong! Merrily on High’ and Thomas Tallis’ ‘Lamentations’, among many others. In the Michaelmas Term, the Chapel’s ‘Advent Carol’ and ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ services were triumphs and, along with the moving service on Remembrance Day, saw the Chapel packed right up the organ loft. Congregation numbers have continued to rise throughout the year, culminating in the stunning Epiphany Term ‘Lent to Easter Reflection’ service, and Hatfield Chapel boasts some of the highest attendance rates in the University. The Choir’s legendary social side has thrived this year, with many meals, bowling trips, pancake nights and, of course, bar crawls, organised and well attended.

A new venture this year has been to introduce a number of services in which the eight Choral Scholars sing demanding early music, often one per part. In the Easter Term, the Scholars will sing a full Latin Mass in a Roman Catholic church in Gateshead. It is planned that the Scholars will sing as a group often next year, introducing more services to the Chapel.

On tour in Dublin

The Choirâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Summer Tour will take them to Gloucester, Pershore and Worcester and will be an exciting trip. The Choir will begin in Gloucester Cathedral on Wednesday 15th July and end in Worcester Cathedral on Wednesday 22nd July (Saturday and Sunday services in Pershore Abbey); alumni are welcome to join the congregation for these services and come for a drink afterwards! For more information on the Choir or the Summer Tour, please contact Alexander (email: a.i.g.crawford@dur.ac.uk).

HATFIELD MUSICIANS It is thought that it would be of interest if former members of Hatfield who have participated in College or University music in the past, would tell the college what they are doing now in music, whether as singers or instrumentalists. Are you, for example, performing with a group? Have you any news of Hatfield friends who are involved in music(making? It is hoped that this information might be a means of links being made with other Hatfield musicians. Could there be a gathering of musical friends at some future date? If any of these ideas appeal to you, please write to Rev. Theo Harman at the College or send an email: t.a.harman@durham.ac.uk.

DUCK REPORT by Claire Henderson Howat and Becky Skellett 2008 and 2009 has seen Hatfield DUCK throwing all efforts into making this year a success, and in doubling our College total since last year it's safe to say its been an incredible year! Under the partnering leadership skills of Claire Henderson(Howat Becky Skellett, alongside an amazing executive consisting of Webb, Amy Collins, Sarah Hardy, Charlotte Palmer, Jo Parnell Marie(Sophie Schwarzer, we can safely say we have given the colleges a run for their money!

and Olly and hill

Summer term saw a mini(DUCK weekend with Jazz and Cocktails, a DUCK Formal and the required Quiz and Toasties. A roaring Hatfield Day, with donuts for breakfast and the "HATFIELD" photo proved most successful.

Michaelmas saw even more people getting involved with Jazz and Cocktails and the Paris Hitchhike, which consisted of a whopping 10 Hatfielders taking the motorways and ferries by storm all in the name of DUCK!

Epiphany Term witnessed DUCK week with an awesome Slave Auction, newly formatted for maximum professionalism, and from the aftermath of stories it appears to be a night that has not, and will not be forgotten! Big thanks to Liney for removing his beard in our honour! DUCK week, as always showed how Hatfielders like to begin their Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day by pieing their loved ones. Headed up by a mastermind of freshers, Rik Coldwell, Charles Robin, Claire Baker, Holly Stevenson, Holly Mitchell and Jo Squire, this week made a record breaking ÂŁ550, at a pound a pie that's a lot of shaving foam! Throughout the year Hatfield DUCKers have headed across the country to make money by shaking buckets. A huge thank you goes to Will Bains and Natalie Kent who have been there every step of the way, be it in Edinburgh or Sunderland in wind, snow and rain. Our Quiz and Toastie nights continue to be a success.

There is no way DUCK could have made this much money without the support of everyone in College, a special shout out goes to James Dunn, Tim Smytheman, Tom Miller and Amy Collins who have made incredible personal sponsorships that we're eternally grateful for. But everyone has done their bit through pieing a friend, buying a toastie, or dancing the night away to Kinky Jeff. As we put down our buckets and finally stop pestering you for money we'd like wish next year's Senior DUCK Reps, Natalie Kent and Charles Robin the best of luck!

THE COLLEGE ARCHIVES by Arthur Moyes, College Archivist This year major changes have been made in the storage of files of former students and this has limited the output of literary publication based on the archives. The day(to(day work has carried on, especially the tracing of former students which has given pleasure both to archivist and clients. A major effort followed the renaming of the Birley Room. The Master requested that the importance of Eric Birley should be fully explained in the form of framed notices to hang on the wall. The story of the survival of Hatfield College during the period 1926 and 1946 has now been retold and is reproduced here for the benefit of those who are unable to visit Hatfield in the near future.

THE BIRLEY ROOM The naming of this room is a tribute to Eric Birley who was appointed Vice Master in 1947 and Master in 1949 and who led the College at a crucial stage of its development. Hatfield did not have its own Master from 1940 until 1949 nor its own buildings from 1940 until 1946. The enormous task of rebuilding Hatfield's status and community life after World War II was most ably achieved by him.

He recorded his intentions:

• • • • •

to extend the corporate nature of the College to build up SCR and provide common and dining rooms to revive the Library and house it properly to fight the cause of Hatfield to the limits of human power to maintain the vitality of the college as the JCR had done through the years of exile from premises and status.

The task of fighting for Hatfield during the war years when it was under threat of closure was undertaken by a small band of supporters including the Vice(Master Canon Edward Pace, the Acting Censor Hedley Sparks and House Tutor Syd Holgate who worked assiduously for the recognition of the need for a separate Master. The newly formed Hatfield Association was able to persuade the University to make an appointment and the inspired choice was Eric Birley.

Ned Sparks

Teddy Pace

Syd Holgate

HATFIELD SPIRIT The story begins in 1926 when, in order to save money, the catering facilities of Hatfield College were closed and the College fed in Castle Hall as reluctant guests of University College. From 1940 the situation deteriorated. Hatfield buildings were rented to Durham County Council for use by students of Neville's Cross College.

Hatfield men were allocated rooms along the Bailey, in Cosin's Hall or in Abbey House. As catering and administrative accommodation was in Castle, there was no Hatfield catering or clerical staff. When Dr. Robinson retired, the post of Master was not filled, and the Master's House was used for other purposes. Only the flames of the Hatfield spirit, fanned by these three enthusiasts, kept the college alive during this period of exile and humiliation.

COLLEGE PHOTOGRAPHS Over many years, the College has built up a large collection of black and white and colour photographs ( of the College's grounds, of staff and students, of sports and other teams, of social and celebratory events, and much else.

1955 Rowing Crew coached by J.F. Willatt (centre)

To make this collection more widely available, it is planned to digitise and to make some of these available online, together with a database describing the individual photographs, on the College's web pages. But to realise this project, we need to raise the necessary funding. Appreciating that the College's photographic collection is not fully comprehensive, we would also very much welcome the offer, or loan for copying, of formal or informal photographs illustrative of life at Hatfield, old or new, that readers may have retained. Those readers who are able to help us realise this project, through a modest donation of money and /or the offer or loan of photographs, are invited in the first instance to get in touch with Cynthia Connolly, Assistant Director of the Hatfield Trust at the College (email c.a.connolly@dur.ac.uk or tel. 0191 334 2620). In later issues of The Record we hope to be able to report on the progress of what we consider a very worthwhile project.

THE HATFIELD TRUST by Ian Curry, Director I took up the post of Director of the Hatfield Trust in August 2008 on the retirement of Barrie Wetton. I am extremely grateful for all the help and advice Barrie gave me to ensure a smooth transition. My initial initiative has been to raise the profile of the Trust in the College, so that students are aware of our role “Supporting You All The Way” and how we provide financial support which enhances their “Hatfield experience”. To this end we are building a collection of publicity posters, framed and located in key positions in the College, which feature photographs of Hatfield students engaged in leisure, travel, sporting and academic pursuits. I was delighted to be asked to outline the Trust’s role in College to the freshers who started in October 2008 and also new postgraduate students. I think it is important for us to be seen as an integral part of their College experience. Not only do they benefit now but are more likely to support us financially in later years. Alumni and parents continue to be generous in their support of the Trust. Details of some of the projects which have been financed this

year by the Trust include: the equipment for the new college gym, the purchase of eight new ergos and an honours board for the Boat Club, resurfacing the tennis court and marking out for multiple ball games. The awards given for academic excellence in College continue to be highly contested. Specific awards financed annually by alumni include the Barry Northrop Award, the History Award, the Brileen Award and the Bursary for UK Independent Research.

Barrie Wetton and Richard Webster at Floreat dinner The growth of the number of MCR students, currently 130, has led to an expansion of the Trustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role in support of postgraduate study. The MCR and the Trust jointly fund bursaries in a way that directly influences the successful completion of their academic studies. These include travel costs for visiting libraries, attending conferences or seminars, library costs including ordering books, papers or journals from the British Library etc. We have seen two new awards this year. The Simon McNamara Award is a travel bursary for an outstanding student embarking on an adventurous journey which encompasses humanitarian, educational, charitable and personally challenging activities during the summer of

2009. The “Drinkwater Award” provides a bursary for any student who travels abroad on a project which involves using a language not studied at University. The Fiver Fund continues to provide financial assistance for those students who are unable to participate in extra(curricular activities as a result of financial hardship. In common with all charitable trusts, we are constantly looking for innovative ways of raising money. The current plan is to:

•

Tell the current students who we are and educate them in what we do.

•

Marketing campaign to parents about the Trust at Graduation in June/July and Freshers’ Sunday in October (through advertising with attractive brochures/AO sized poster displays/roller banners) with the option to donate then or later.

•

There are several reunions which take place each year. The Trust needs to have a strong presence and spread the word through advertising about the work we continue to do and underline the need for regular giving to support this.

•

The current message on Trust literature is: HATFIELD TRUST “SUPPORTING YOU ALL THE WAY”. We look for parent and alumni support to continue this in the future.

•

Illustrative advertising literature featuring our students involved in activities supported by the Trust included in all postings to parents and alumni.

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Regularly change the photographs and copy of our literature to keep the image of the Trust fresh.

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Introduce a section in our literature which deals in detail with how to leave a bequest to Hatfield in your will.

•

More involvement with parents in Hatfield. An example could be an associate membership at £25.00 per year which allows parents to join the mailing list of The Record. A social occasion (e.g. a Trust Dinner – with perhaps a student slide show presentation about a Travel Award experience or a musical interlude). Attend a dinner in College linked to a sporting/drama/musical event which features their son/ daughter i.e. Durham Regatta.

Sir Richard Dannatt and Ian Curry I am very keen to develop good relations with Hatfield alumni as well as forging links with the present and future students of the college. Do contact either myself (email: ian.curry@durham.ac.uk) or Cynthia Connolly, Assistant Director (email: c.a.connolly@durham.ac.uk), with any suggestions you may have to keep the Hatfield Trust at the forefront of the College’s development.

UK INDEPENDENT RESEARCH BURSARY AND MCR AWARD NAOMI BANKS: Postcard from the 49th Yeats International Summer School, 26th July 6 8th August 2008, Sligo, Ireland. As I write, I am sitting in the living room of my little apartment in â&#x20AC;&#x153;Yeats Villageâ&#x20AC;?, situated on the outskirts of Sligo town, west Ireland, where the Ben Bulben mountain range dominates the landscape to the north and the Atlantic sea, upon which Sligo's harbour opens, brings in brisk, fresh air. I have been here for a week, and have another week left of the Yeats International Summer School, which takes place here annually. Sligo is important as the home of W. B. Yeats's grandparents, with whom he often stayed throughout his childhood. He also spent great portions of his adult life in nearby Galway, and his body was returned, after the Second World War, to be buried here. This year, there are almost 100 students at the summer school, many of whom are respected academics and established writers, representing around 40 different countries, gathered to learn from some of the leading experts in the field of Yeats criticism. Over the two weeks, there are over 40 hours of teaching in morning lectures and daily seminar groups. As well as evening readings and opportunities to explore Sligo's wealth of pubs and live music venues, there are trips to local places of interest, the area having been declared 'Yeats County'. So far I have visited Yeats's grave at Drumcliffe, set at the foot of Ben Bulben, where he wished, in a final poem, to be buried; the Glencar valley and waterfall; the prehistoric Carrowmore tombs; and have climbed the hill of Knocknarea to add my own stone to the cairn at the summit. It has been fascinating to be in places which appear time and again in many of Yeats's poems. I have been able to meet a number of poets and writers, including Anne Enright, Peter Fallon, and, to my great delight, Seamus Heaney, whose work forms a major part of both my MA dissertation and proposed PhD thesis. The coming two days will be spent at an intensive writing workshop with the poet, Rita Ann Higgins, which will lead to a poetry reading for the rest of the summer school later on in the week. I have been hugely privileged to spend time with a group of people dedicated to the academic pursuit of poetry, as well as with practitioners and performers of the art, as I begin my own academic

and creative career. I have also formed strong friendships and contacts which will last beyond this summer school, and will be an ongoing source of mutual support and inspiration. I was awarded a Pierce Loughran Memorial Scholarship, which paid for my tuition fees and accommodation. However, without two generous awards from the Hatfield Trust, the MCR Research Award, and the UK Independent Research Bursary, I would not have been able to travel here, or cover the cost of my stay. I therefore grateful to the Hatfield Trust, not just for the finances that have made this possible, but for the gesture of support for my anticipated career in enabling me to have this valuable experience.

HATFIELD TRAVEL BURSARIES HOLLY BANHAM: Nepal 2008 I first applied for a place on the Hatfield Nepal Trip 2008, dare I say it, primarily for travelling reasons and without really thinking of what it would entail or how far away Nepal actually is! Before last summer I had never been beyond Spain but always knew that if an opportunity arose to broaden my scope of the world I would jump at it. Although I wasn’t chosen at first a space luckily opened up and the decision between a family holiday to America and a once in a life time experience in Nepal was not that difficult. Due to my late entrance a number of fundraising events had already taken place to ensure our overall target of £1600 was met. However, a few rag raids later and I was part of the team. All through the process, even when flights had been booked, it didn’t seem real. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like so found it difficult to imagine myself in a place completely apart from anything I’d experienced before. However, anxieties aside, 2nd August arrived and we were on our way to Heathrow. Next stop Kathmandu, via Abu Dhabi for 14 hours which was made up for by an upgrade to Business class! The differences were apparent as soon as I stepped off the plane. The dry, dusty heat; the whirlwind of people meeting and greeting; the chaotic roads; the animals and the darkness were all quite overwhelming. However, we arrived at HVP Central School to such a warm and friendly greeting that all my fears vanished as we were immediately enveloped into the HVP family.

For the following ten days our group of 6 did a whistle(stop tour of Nepal going from Kathmandu to Pokhara, a beautiful lakeside town which even looks appealing in the torrential monsoon rains. The day we left for Chitwan National Park was my 19th birthday, an unforgettable day. We ended up on a Video Coach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; resplendent in woollen decorations and brightly coloured paint, travelling at outrageous speeds, overtaking only on the most precarious bends and running over a number of parked bicycles just so we could avoid a traffic jam. Thankfully we arrived in Chitwan in one piece (after only 5 hours despite the journey usually taking 7.5!) and settled in to a beautiful safari lodge. A few days were spent here in the jungle, riding elephants and playing countless games of charades!

From Chitwan we travelled to Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha, for two nights. We then bid farewell to Anna and Sarah who travelled back to Kathmandu while the remaining 4 of us continued west to the town of Ghorahi, Dang. Our welcome was again wonderful. As soon as we entered the school gate children came flooding out of the school with flowers and gifts, shaking our hands and asking our names even

before we’d got out of the taxi! Before arriving I had been quite apprehensive about teaching as I didn’t have any past experience nor any idea of what or how we would be teaching. However, the happiness of the children at seeing us and my unexpected excitement at arriving removed all previous worries. We then travelled to the Children’s Peace Home (CPH) which was our home for the next 6 weeks but actual home to 24 children from 9(18 years. CPH is situated in a little hamlet, bounded on all sides by paddy fields but with just enough room for a good rounders field! We slept in ‘Little England’ on top of the main house which even had a western toilet, although this was shared with a friendly tree frog and gecko. The views from the roof across the valley were stunning and many a night was spent staring at the stars, watching the lightning or trying to count the number of fire flies in the ‘magic tree’. Some of the happiest days of the trip were spent at the CPH where all the children are so lively, hard working yet always in high spirits. Their joyful outlook despite the atrocities that have already affected their short lives make them so admirable that it made me realise how much I should be learning from them as opposed to the other way around. The teaching... another unforgettable experience. We along with 60 other children travelled by bus (which by British Health and Safety standards should probably only seat about 30!) from CPH to school everyday. The school day lasted from 10.45 to 4.30 and we would usually be teaching a variety of subjects for 6 or 7 of the 8 periods of the day. Although we did have set classes we also acted as supply teachers which meant we never really knew what to expect when we arrived each morning! Most of these supply sessions were fine; however, the most memorable for me was a sexual health education class for 15 to 16 year olds which, needless to say, was all very embarrassing for both parties! The time spent at CPH and in the school flew by although the amount we had experienced in our 6(week stay was enough to content me for a year! We swam in a river with buffalo; played hide and seek among the paddy fields; celebrated Teej and Krishna’s Birthday; ate fresh mangos and guavas; came into contact with various oddities of the insect world as well as feeling part of the local community and hopefully helping the children of CPH to work towards a better future. The morning we left CPH to travel back to Kathmandu was one of the most difficult goodbyes I have ever had to do. We left very early in the morning but all the children woke up to wave us off and even now

I can remember that day so clearly. My arrival back in Kathmandu was accompanied by a mix of emotions – some where I felt much more at home than I had done in our previous visit but others made me realise how tranquil CPH had been and how very few places will ever be held so close to my heart. GERALDINE COLCLOUGH: DUCK ‘Everest’ Trip 7 Aug—16 Sept 2008 I will never forget getting off the plane at Kathmandu airport after nearly 24 hours of travelling and being greeted by the smiling children of Alpha’s High School with scarves and flowers. I felt so welcomed and happy, a feeling that never left me during my six week stay in Nepal.

After months of fundraising for the charity Future For Nepal and preparing for the trip, it was amazing to have finally arrived. Having never been east of Turkey before I had no idea what to expect but any nerves I had soon disappeared as I was immediately drawn to the

colours and the ‘buzz’ of Kathmandu and the friendliness and cheerfulness of every single person I met. In the first few days we visited various charities that our fundraising has supported which was a big eye opener for everyone. One such charity was Maiti Nepal, literally meaning ‘the woman’s home’, which is run by an inspiring lady and works against the horrific trafficking of children and young women. The stories we heard were unbelievable, leaving us totally speechless and I felt really glad that we were able to do something, however small, to help.

Our donations also went to five schools in the Kathmandu Valley which were found through Future For Nepal and the Children’s Aid Centre in Nepal. The nineteen of us split into smaller groups and spent two weeks living with local families in communities and teaching in these schools: an experience that has really had a lasting impact on me. It is safe to say Monique and I were terrified as we drew up at our home for the next two weeks in Jhaukhel, Bhaktapur but we could not have wished for a kinder, more welcoming and generous family than Surendra and Sita (who we called Aama, or Mother) and their four daughters. We became one of the family and we were told we were not friends but sisters.

We completely immersed ourselves in their wonderful way of life from collecting water from the well at 6am each morning to peeling the soya beans from the garden for dinner and eating copious amounts of daal bhaat (rice and lentil soup with curry) for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all the ‘mini meals’ in between. Life here may seem simple to the western world but it is quite refreshing and liberating and provides them with everything they could possibly need. Six days a week we were dressed up in Saris and went to Shree Ajad Lower Secondary School with one of the sisters, Sandhya, to teach between 4 and 6 classes a day to 200 children from 2 to 15 years old. The school was built by a Swiss Foundation which also sponsors 70% of the kids and 2 of the teachers and everyone there is incredibly grateful as without them they would have no school. The children were such a pleasure to teach as they are all so willing to learn and approach everything with such enthusiasm, despite the initial language barrier. I remember asking one child in my first class what their name was and got a chorus of “What is your name?” back as they did not understand I was asking them a question, much of their English lessons simply consists of copying and repeating. We decided that our aim for the short time we were there was to get the children involved and actively learning be it by speaking to the class, by roleplays or writing on the board. One of my favourite moments was teaching classes 5 and 6 prepositions by getting all of the furniture out of the classrooms and constructing an assault course for them to complete by going “under the table”, “around the pillar”, “over the bag”, which turned into school Olympics with all the students cheering them on and even the teachers crawling, “along the chairs”. We ended up having to adapt this to do with every class as it had such an impact and I hope it also taught them something. Despite the happy exterior, the school faces continual difficulties not least in just trying to get the kids to come to school regularly and have some continuity in their education. Many of the families cannot afford for the kids to be at school purely because they need them to work at home, especially as they get older, and the teachers have great trouble trying to get the parents involved in their children’s education and persuading them of its importance. It was wonderful and quite humbling to meet such hard working and inspirational people such as our sister Sandhya who tirelessly works for the children as she appreciates how lucky she is to have a father who is the school Principal and appreciates the value of education. He has a very rare attitude in the village as he has always wanted his daughters to achieve a degree before having to marry (an expectation

of every woman in the society) and wants them to get the opportunities a man would have in the Nepali society which is almost unheard of. Another teacher is also the President of the Nepal Red Cross Society in the district and does a huge amount of work in the community to provide first aid training and raise awareness of natural disaster management in the valley. I was incredibly sad to leave the family and community that I had so much enjoyed being a part of and was really touched by the leaving ceremony we got from the school and the messages from the kids asking us please not to leave. I really do hope that one day I can go back and do more to help this fantastic community, I will always cherish the memories of my time there. Nepal is essentially a very poor country but it is so rich in culture and the people I met in Jhaukhel give so much in any way they can, something I think we could all take note of. The next phase of our trip did not go quite so well to plan. Our aim was to climb to Everest Base Camp over 12 days; however, after three mornings sitting and sleeping in Kathmanduâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s domestic airport from 6am to 12noon being told there were no flights to Lukla due to the bad weather there, we had to change our plans and embark on another part of the trip before trying again the following week. We took in some of the beautiful scenery that Nepal has to offer as we drove out of the Kathmandu Valley through the mountains to the Trisuli River where we were to go on a 3(day white water rafting trip. We discovered we were the first group to go down the river this season as it was flowing too fast and the rapids were intensified by the monsoon rains which really filled us with confidence! It was an amazing but slightly terrifying experience at times with a few unplanned mishaps. We camped on beaches by the riverside at night and negotiated our way through fierce rapids through the day, losing a few people over the side as we went but thankfully all ending up together at the end. For the first time in the trip so far we then left any mountain views behind and headed into the hot and sticky plains of Nepal and Chitwan National Park. Here we stayed in lodges for 3(days and got a fantastic opportunity to see the wildlife on offer. There were more elephants walking around the dirt roads than there were vehicles and it was a world away from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. We were taken in canoes made from hollowed(out trees alongside crocodiles in the river and walked through jungles supposedly full of rhinos, monkeys and even tigers, although nineteen of us traipsing through scared most of them off! The highlight was the elephant

bathing, sitting straight on its back in the river while it splashed us with its trunk and then pushed us in the water was just amazing and I never realised quite how hairy elephants are! We then went on an elephant(back safari through the jungle, not the most comfortable experience but we were right next to wild rhinos who didn’t even bat an eyelid at us being there. All too soon it was time to head back to the city and try once again to get to Everest.

Sadly it wasn’t to be, after another two mornings on the airport floor we made the decision to go on another trek in the Annapurna region of the Himalayas as we were running out of time. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed as we had been building up to going to Everest for so long and now it wasn’t going to happen but we had been told that Annapurna is often called the best trek in the world due to the spectacular views of the peaks. Above all, we were just excited to be going trekking after all the delays so with an open mind we flew on a tiny Yeti Airlines plane to Pokhara where we got on a bus to Nayapul, the starting point of the trek. Over 11 days we trekked around 200km and climbed up 4030m in altitude. I must say it is one

of the most physically demanding things I have ever done and never again will I complain about walking up stairs after the 3820 steps we did in just 2 hours. At the lower altitude the heat and almost 100% humidity provided an additional challenge but we got used to it and as we got higher the woolly hats and fleeces made a very welcome appearance. The landscape was far from the barren rocky slopes I had pictured but mainly rolling mountains blanketed with jungle and gushing river rapids on the valley floor below. One of our first views of the snowy peaks of Machhapuchhre (the fish tail peak at 6993m), Annapurna South (7219m) and Annapurna 1 (8091m) came at about 3000m up and completely mesmorised me. We were woken at 4am and climbed up through the mist to the top of Poon Hill to watch the sunrise. At first we could see nothing through the mist but as the sun rose slowly the giant peaks revealed themselves and it was truly awe inspiring, I could have stood and watched them for hours. Climbers always say that you cannot conquer the great mountains, you just have to be lucky enough for the mountains to let you reach the top for one brief moment and I really got a sense of what they mean standing staring at one of the highest mountains in the world. Throughout the trek we got glimpses of the peaks mainly last thing at night, where they were surrounded by millions of stars, clear views of the milky way, several planets and shooting stars, or first thing in the morning before the clouds covered them once again. On the 7th day, we reached Machhapuchhre base camp which had an eerie feel about it as the peak itself is now illegal to climb due to the belief that the goddess of peace inhabits it. Then, on the 8th day we arrived at Annapurna Base Camp (4130m) which was a fantastic moment. Now my images of barren rocky slopes materialised as we were surrounded by enormous old glacier paths that looked like the landscape of another planet, and the beginnings of the way to the mountain summits. Our sherpa guide, Gyaltzen, who has been to the summit of Everest and was a remarkable man, took those of us who were still feeling healthy to explore further up as we were desperate to climb as high as we would have had we made it to Everest. This was the toughest part of the trek as there were no paths, just rock and moss and a very steep climb up and for the first time I felt the altitude in my breathing. After about an hour we made it up to 4900m and were determined to make it over 5000m, so, we pushed on and eventually collapsed on the edge of a rock at 5020m with a huge sense of pride and achievement. On asking how we got down, Gyaltzen replied, â&#x20AC;&#x153;you can somersault or you can jump, you chooseâ&#x20AC;?, in the end we decided on sliding which was easier said than done.

Luckily the next morning the weather was kind enough to reward us with the view we had climbed all this way to see and we were encircled by the great peaks of the Annapurna region of the Himalayas. The vast expanse of the glacier path revealed itself and rumbles of avalanches and landslides could be heard quite frequently. Sadly the memorials to all those who had died attempting to summit were also visible and it was a stark reminder of what inhospitable and dangerous places the top of these mountains are. I left Annapurna Base Camp with a new found love for the Himalayas and feeling very determined to return and reach Everest Base Camp.

As we began our descent peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s knees were beginning to suffer, most of us were not in the best of health and it was decided that

several people needed to be helicoptered down due to knee agony and unidentifiable illnesses. It was really sad that we couldn’t all get down to the bottom together but after an incredible and unforgettable 11 days we returned to Nayapul and got on the coach back to Kathamndu. My visit to Nepal was a real eye opener and taught me a lot about a culture I knew so little about. The significant political changes make this a very interesting time to be in the country and through living in local communities I feel I got much more of an idea of the turmoil the country has experienced from the point of view of people who have lived through it. The feeling now is one of positivity and hope and I really hope that this beautiful and rich country in so many ways has seen the end of troubled times and can now look forward. I feel honoured to have met such amazing people working every day to improve the lives of the Nepali people and I hope to always keep in touch with my family in Nepal and one day return. SAMANTHA CROSSFIELD: Poland As I recount the adventures of this summer, I hope that I can instil in you, the reader, some of the excitement and optimism that I felt whilst teaching and learning so much about people from 17 countries. A four(week APASS English camp in Kalisz, Poland was a wonderful opportunity to learn about teaching and entertaining 15(18yr olds, which I now also hope to do in the future. We 15 British teachers and 150 Polish students lived in a cosy boarding school, spending all our time together with the aim of improving English skills and having great fun doing so. We split the students into academic groups which we taught on a rotation, which meant that we performed the same teaching work three times – I loved being able to make each class better, so that I didn’t come away thinking ‘I wish I’d done it this way’! We taught different topics to students of different abilities, to suit their needs. Teaching alongside a professional teacher for the first week gave me plenty of inspiration and tips that I was able to practice when I went on to teach alone, which was thoroughly stimulating and improved my initiative, flexibility and ability to enthuse and hopefully inspire. After the morning classes, the students had fun teaching and testing us on our Polish as we ate a traditional Polish lunch ( even going to the bathroom we’d meet someone who demanded we remember the

Polish word for ‘queue’ or ‘rainbow’ – what better way is there to learn! Every afternoon we would run activities such as sport and cookery; the students were enthusiastic to learn British Sign Language from me and signed ‘Wonderwall’ by Oasis on talent evening. For every evening and weekend was also jam(packed, from boat trips and karaoke to Anglo(Polish Culture Night. These experiences were offered by the school and gave many their first opportunity to try activities like climbing and to learn about the history of local cities – a wonderful experience for the teachers too! As a thank you from the school, the teachers were even taken on a week(long tour of Poland. To be given such an opportunity to learn about a proud and optimistic, friendly country was amazing, and we were taught about the history of Warsaw and stunning Krakow, marvelled at how close the sky felt on top of the Zakopane mountains, and went on raft(boats that used to ferry goods between Poland and neighbouring Czech Republic. Traditional farming methods were proudly shown to us, with mushroom(pickers making us think wistfully of our grandparents, along with soured milk from a wooden hut whilst walking in the blazing sun of Zakopane. The Auschwitz memorial sight was a chilling reminder that history can be far from picturesque, and the scale of brutality that Poland suffered between Nazi Germany and USSR was incredible compared to the consideration that English high school history lessons give to it. The bravery and desperation of the Polish people, as shown by the Warsaw Uprising was equally remembered in the hearts of every Pole we met. It may have been very sad to leave Kalisz behind, but I remain in contact with many people, as friends and also as an aid for English homework! I next met up with two friends from Durham University and we visited Krakow again, and the most beautiful city of Poznan, with cobbled streets, churches and no building taller than a church spire. We were very excited as we then met with people, mainly students, from countries ranging from Italy to Romania and Russia. Approximately 90 of us descended upon a camp(site in peaceful Mazuria, north Poland (likened to the Lake District), where Camp Zabinki took place. Sponsored by the Centre of Europe Foundation and Warsaw University, the aim was to integrate people from different cultural backgrounds, and as I study Anthropology and love meeting people, I was at the right place this summer! On this camp I was the student and this proved just as busy and mad as Kalisz, with a packed 10(day itinerary including the likes of canoeing, cycling, pottery(making,

dance classes and making rafts or racing in the forest at midnight with a map and activities!

Alongside such options there ran equally stimulating activities that aimed at a more educational integration, such as designing and performing a pretend country, Amnesty International events, multi( cultural t(shirt designing, learning each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s languages, and watching Franco(Polish films. It is really special to have friends from all over the world, this will not be the last time that we meet, and I still canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe my level of confidence, energy, or errm, dance skills!

A group of 30 from Zabinki then spent a few days exploring Warsaw, before my friend Nicky and I managed to make our way through Lithuania and Latvia to Estonia, spending 3(4 days in each country, before returning home. We spent a day or two in each capital city, each so different and stunning, and also travelled to places recommended by locals or guidebooks, and explored the suburbs. If I thought I knew little about Polish history, the struggle that these countries underwent to traditionalise and form independent nations over the last 800 years since the Christ Knights, was incredible. Wooden houses from 1850(now nestled between art nouveau and skyscrapers in Tallinn (the electronic capital in Europe), art galleries and palaces rivalled the likes of Vienna in every capital, and the peace of ethnographic museums in the forests just 10 minutes from the centre, turned even a stroll into a cultural experience. A memory particularly striking was when we managed to navigate buses and walked round numerous lakes to suddenly find what we were looking for – the fairytale castle of Trakai, Lithuania, on an island surrounded by lakes! Learning about different lifestyles and histories this summer has been thrilling, and I certainly could never have achieved this summer without the generous support of a Hatfield Travel Bursary. I have learned so much about navigating myself in new situations and have changed or cemented many of my aims for the future. I hope to encourage many people to support APASS so that Polish students can continue to improve their English, as well as for the experience that teachers gain in return. As for my future, well, I’m really excited about the option of becoming a teacher after university, and of gaining a TEFL and teaching abroad for at least a few years. I have also found a Polish language class that I can join next year! I’d really like to thank the bursary donors for having made my summer possible. Thank you very much! RACHEL GARDNER: DUCK Kilimanjaro Expedition I had never been to a developing country before and it took just seconds of being in Tanzania for the culture shock to hit me. Travelling from Kilimanjaro airport to the town of Moshi in Kili’s foothills, we passed people in traditional Maasai dress and watched children of about nine or ten years herd cattle and goats alongside the road through the heat and the dust. On arrival in Moshi, we attracted

locals to us like a magnet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; being European and wearing pristine ironed clothes at that point! Like every other city we stayed in in Tanzania, Moshi was a hype and buzz of activity and never seemed to sleep; the main street lined with people selling fruit, materials, hats, sunglasses â&#x20AC;&#x201C; everything you could think of.

It was from Moshi that we drove to Machame Gate on our second day in Africa, at an altitude of 1800 metres, where we began our trek up the highest mountain on the continent and the highest free(standing volcano in the world (as the sign on the top kindly informs!). We began our ascent at 12:30pm on Monday 30th June and hiked

upwards through the changing environment: rainforest, scrubland, dust, scree and rock, over the following three days. Once above the cloud and treeline, the sun beat down on us by day and the cold closed in on us by night. I suddenly became very thankful for my 4( season sleeping bag! Our final leg of ascent was undertaken by night, where we began walking at 11pm from 4600m upwards, as part of a snake of head(torches, extending what seemed like miles up ahead and back down to the camp behind. We hiked up past the snowline whilst the sky slowly began to glow orange and the rising sun appeared above the cloud line. I found myself having to stop every ten paces or so to catch my breath, as the altitude had caused the air to thin considerably by this point. Everyone was clearly incredibly exhausted and the great height just added to the physical pressures we were exerting on our bodies. We reached the crater rim at Stella’s Point and then had a further hour’s hike along it, until we finally reached Uhuru Peak – the highest point on the crater edge, at 5895m ( at 8am. Snow, ice and rock stretched across Kili’s summit and we could really feel the cold once we had stopped walking. A quick photo in front of the infamous sign and we began our descent, before the snow had a chance to melt and make walking conditions slippery and dangerous. We spent Friday and Saturday morning descending via the Mweka route, breathing becoming continually easier as we neared the mountain’s foothills once more. Twenty four out of the twenty five of our group made it right to the summit of Kilimanjaro, and it is a moment I am certain none of us will ever forget. Subsequent to our climb, we spent a week on the island of Zanzibar to the east of Tanzania, at our own cost, catching up on sleep and exploring the beautiful beaches and main town, Stonetown. After a relatively relaxed week, we then took an incredibly rough ferry ride to Dar es Salaam on the mainland, where we spent two weeks teaching in the city’s suburbs and staying with local families. We were the first group of volunteers to work at a Learning Centre in a suburb called Kitunda. The centre was still being constructed on our arrival, but already being put to educational use, with lessons being taught whilst the bricks were being laid, and we would spend a couple of hours each morning helping the builders with their work. The Learning Centre is intended for local children, to give them any extra help they may need with their studies after school hours. To teach, we split into groups and each group took a subject they felt most educated in. I taught Geography (my degree course) and it was amazing how many students would appear after already having had a

long day’s education, for two hours of extra lessons, and how eager they were to learn. We taught in English, which most of the children – aged twelve to eighteen – knew fairly well, and turned to our invaluable English(Swahili dictionary for any technical terms that we struggled to put across! After two hours, pages of notes, several diagrams and a fair amount of laughter at our appalling pronunciations of Swahili words, we did feel like we had helped the students to understand their topic – and hopefully enjoy themselves at the same time!

I also spent some time teaching one or two A(Level age students individually. They had been given thick textbooks, written in complex English by their school and expected to learn it for their exams at the end of two years of study. The concept baffled me; it took an hour to help a very intelligent girl understand just six or seven pages, because it was all in a language she did not speak fluently. I hope, to assist in situations such as this, the project can continue, and allow all these students the chance to realise their full potential and quench their thirst for knowledge.

We spent our final week in Africa in a town called Arusha, an hour from Moshi. From here, we spent any extra money we had taken with us on going on safari, to the Serengeti, Lake Manyara National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, all great havens for wildlife and some of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. The five weeks I spent in Africa provided some of the most eye( opening and uplifting experiences of my life so far. The trip made me see how much we take for granted in this country, and both the Kilimanjaro climb and the community project confirmed to me the importance of pulling together and working as a team, as by doing this, a real difference can be made. All the hard work I had put into getting funding over the previous six months more than paid off, with the experience of a lifetime. HEATHER LUCAS: Teaching in Kathmandu, Nepal This summer I travelled to Kathmandu, Nepal to teach in English in a school as part of a student volunteer programme through Hindu VidyaPeeth UK. The UK branch of the Hindu VidyaPeeth community helps to fundraise and raise the name of the charity that educates young children from four to 16 years old in Nepal. I was joined in my Asian adventure with eight fellow Hatfielders and as a group we successfully raised £2000 to give to HVP prior to our departure! Having heard the stories and experiences of the group who had travelled to Nepal the previous summer I was all geared up for a few weeks of high altitude, mosquitoes and serious teacher training! HVP runs three schools in Nepal but my home for the summer was to be HVP Central in Balcamari, Kathmandu. Upon arrival I was welcomed with open arms by the residential administrator, pastoral figure and real life ‘Mr. Happy’ – Mr. Gyansham Yogi. I was presented with a flower as a gesture of peace and respect and welcomed into the Hindu VidyaPeeth community. Immediately reassured and relieved to have landed into a warm and happy environment I began to settle into my new surroundings. Volunteers at HVP Central live, eat and teach in the same building. It is also home to around 50 hostel children who, for various reasons, live there permanently. Fortunately, the children are supported by numerous pastoral figures who also live in the school including Gyansham Sir, various cooks and household staff and of course Vishnu Sir, the cheery Vice(Principal. Another ever(present face was the Principal of HVP Central, Chintamani Yogi, who constantly

endeavoured to make HVP central a ‘home from home’. With such a warm and inviting atmosphere the hostel children were always happy, polite and full of energy!

Mr. Yogi pictured with Annabel Stark and David Ensor on his visit to Hatfield My usual teaching days began with yoga, lead by Gyansham Sir; breakfast and then assembly. Classes began at half nine. I had taught three of them everyday, 6 days a week! I taught Classes 3 and 4 English language and social studies to Class 7. Each class was rewarding for different reasons: I was thrilled when Class 3 learnt and sang my poem; I enjoyed acting out the stories with Class 4 and I was engrossed in the discussions about the importance civil rights duties with Class 7. After school the ‘behind the scenes’ work began with the lesson planning and marking of books! We also had time to play games (albeit terribly!) with the hostel children. Finally, in the evening we had prayers with the hostel children and teachers. This was a peaceful yet entertaining hour of Hindu prayers and Nepali or Hindi songs. Even now when I am back in England I’m still humming several of the songs I learnt when I was there. Volunteers were also encouraged to join in and sing and dance so in return we sang hymns

and well known English songs/nursery rhymes such as ‘Old MacDonald’. Incidentally, the children appeared to be most receptive when learning the routines of the ‘Macarenna’ and ‘Saturday Night’ which are now firmly established as party institutions both in Nepal and England!!! Outside of teaching I was fortunate enough to see the breathtaking beauty of the Nepali countryside that I had heard so much about. The mountains that surrounded Kathmandu provided amazing views of the Kathmandu valley and surrounding areas. I was also able to visit Chitwan national park in South Nepal and the journey itself was spectacular. The roads curled around the mountains and overlooked deep valleys and rivers which were perfect for rafting. Chitwan itself was beautiful and serene. Our hotel overlooked the river, which provided us with unforgettable sunsets at night and views of wild crocodiles bathing in the river in the mornings! I will always remember Chitwan for the elephants and the muddy jungle walks! Bathing an elephant in the river and riding one through the Nepali jungle are memories I will never forget or get bored of sharing with others. With this in mind, once I had returned back to England I visited a local primary school to share my Nepali experience with the children and staff of Ss Peter and Paul in Bolton. The school had generously provided me with text books, worksheets, pencils, apparatus (and blue tack!) to take to HVP Central. I was keen to return the favour and so I gave two short presentations and have begun a letter writing scheme between the two schools. I hope to revisit Ss Peter and Paul at the end of the Michaelmas Term to maintain its initial links to HVP Central. Nepal was entertaining, enlightening, challenging and rewarding. It was my first travelling experience and have learnt so much, both of a practical and personal nature. I am now eager to travel further, visiting new places and cultures and I am now seriously considering teaching after my degree. I would like to thank the Hatfield Trust for its generosity and interest in this trip. Additionally, I must say a big thank you to HVP UK for helping and guiding us; the Hatfield students from last year who provided us with invaluable advice and support and of course the teachers and children of HVP Central, without whom I would not have had this unforgettable experience.

SOPHIE PAYNE: Sri Lanka This summer I spent 10 weeks in Sri Lanka with 14 other students from across the University. Together we made up the Project Sri Lanka team 2008. In the months preceding our departure we spent a great deal of time fundraising, trying to raise money not only to fund the trip itself, but also to build a school in the village of Gandarawatte, a small community near the town of Matara on the south coast of Sri Lanka. On our arrival in Sri Lanka we were then guests at its opening ceremony and were able to see for the first time the fruit of all our hard work, a truly amazing sight having spent the last 8 months imagining that moment. Whilst in Sri Lanka, we had 8 weeks of formal teaching in the school we had built, with pre(school children (ages 2½ to 3½) in the morning for 3 hours, and then a variety of classes in the afternoon, with children aged anywhere from 5 years old to 20 years old. As the pre(school children were too young for formal teaching we tried to increase their English vocabulary through playing games and singing songs, and on arrival at the school each morning we would start with a medley of songs, favourites being ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’, ‘The Pirate Song’, ‘The Alphabet Song’ and ‘The Hokey Cokey’! When we first arrived the pre(schoolers were extremely shy, but by the end of the 8 weeks many of them knew the words and were even confident enough to sing the songs in front of an audience, a great achievement seeing as they knew no English whatsoever when we arrived! For the older children we were able to provide more formal classes, which they attended after their regular school had finished, like an after school English club. We split the wide variety of ages into 3 groups, and took it in turns to lead each class, covering a range of topics from hobbies, the weather, body parts, food and family. We would start by introducing the new vocabulary, often with the aid of flash cards, and getting them to repeat the words before reinforcing their learning with a relevant game or song. We would then move on to sentence structure and get them to ask one another questions such as ‘What is your favourite food?’ With the young adults (16 years old+) we progressed even further to teaching them grammar and actually getting them to write presentations on a range of topics including the differences between the UK and Sri Lanka, cricket, and Buddhism.

The project culminated in a cultural show which we put on with the children for the rest of the village, bringing together English and Sri Lankan cultures, with a range of performances including a dramatic performance of Macavity, the 3 Little Pigs, presentations in English by the young adults, an English dance performed by the Sri Lankan girls, a Sri Lankan dance performed by the English girls, a reading of the poem If, a Sri Lankan song, and a scene from Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ performed by the Durham students and which we had to rehearse for almost a month prior to the show!! Despite the obvious language barrier, the village all seemed to take great amusement from our acting skills and in particular I think they enjoyed the sight of one of the boys in drag, playing the character Thisbe and prancing round in a dress with a wig! The girls also dressed accordingly for the occasion in traditional Sri Lankan dress of sarees, which some of the villagers had been with us to buy the previous week. This show was a brilliant end to a fantastic summer in Sri Lanka, and everyone involved would agree that it was not only enormous fun to put on but that it was a great success and will certainly provide some fond memories to look back on for years to come! In addition to the formal teaching during the week, we also made the most of our weekends and travelled around the country when possible. Highlights included a trip to Pinnewala Elephant Orphanage, where we were also able to ride an elephant; visiting the Temple of the Tooth Relic and watching the Buddhist street procession (pera hera) in Kandy, with traditional Kandyan dancers, drummers, elephants and fire spinners; learning the traditional art of Batik; watching the Sri Lanka v India test match in Galle; snorkelling at Polhena reef; visiting a Turtle Hatchery and holding a 2(day old turtle; climbing the Dondra lighthouse, the southernmost point of Sri Lanka; going to the Lipton Seat tea plantation; and visiting the highest waterfall in Sri Lanka. We also had the opportunity to spend 2 weeks at the University of Sabaragamuwa, where we held discussion groups with a number of students from across all of the 5 faculties on the campus, covering topics such as the education systems of Sri Lanka and England, love and marriage, politics, economics, religion and our families. During these discussions we shared lots of information about the differences in our cultures, and in particular it provided a great chance to learn more about Sri Lankan culture. The time we spent at the university was yet again another great experience to add to the overall enjoyment of the trip, and was certainly a memorable part of our stay in Sri Lanka.

Being a part of this project was an amazing opportunity and I learnt a great deal as a result of my time in Sri Lanka. Although the teaching itself was a lot of work and extremely challenging at times (the many evenings spent planning the next day’s classes will not be missed!), the children were truly a joy to teach and the whole experience was enormously rewarding. Whenever I think back on my time in Sri Lanka it will be with fond memories and ones which I will always cherish. On that note I would like to thank the Hatfield Trust greatly for helping me with funding for this trip, and enabling me to have had such a fantastic summer, one that I will truly never forget! KATE PULFORD: Nepal In August 2008 I found myself, along with 19 other Durham students, in Nepal as part of the Duck “Everest” expedition – an impressive title, even if it later proved to be something of a misnomer! We aimed not to summit Everest, but to trek to base camp from which summit attempts commence, at an altitude of 18,370 feet. However, before we could lace up our hiking boots, we separated and went to stay for two weeks in smaller villages around the Kathmandu valley, to assist in rural schools and stay as guests in a local family’s home. Along with two others, I was placed in a small village called Kolpakot, accessible only by walking along footpaths from the nearest road, and about an hour’s walk from the small historic town of Bhaktapur. On arrival ‘our family’ greeted us with the traditional Nepali garlands of flowers and tikka, and showed us into their modest house. Whilst the house was one of the largest in the village, it was built of mud in the traditional Nepali style, with goats and chickens kept in the downstairs room next to the kitchen and few items of furniture – but an impressively large hi(fi! This juxtaposition of old and new would become a frequent observation – children would walk two or three hours to school sometimes even wearing shoes that were falling apart, but yet they would often have a relatively new mobile phone with all the latest Bollywood ring tones. While we settled in on our first day in our new home, a constant stream of visitors flocked to see us – we were the first European volunteers that the school or village had hosted, and hence were somewhat of a novelty! Each visitor appeared to be a member of the vast extended family that we had become a part of, and hence the

three of us gained numerous ‘aunts’, ‘uncles’ and ‘cousins’ over the course of the afternoon. When the older generations could not speak English, their children, even as young as 6 or 7, would act as translators, leading to rather confusing conversations at times. We had all practised our Nepali before arriving by having lessons with Durham’s single Nepali student, but whilst we struggled with the intricacies of full conversation, our various memorized phrases drew amused laughs and astonishment at our pronunciation!

The following day we were taken to school for the first time. About a ten(minute walk from our home, the school, Bal Bhushan Lower Secondary School, was a collection of corrugated iron–roofed buildings around a dusty courtyard. We were introduced to the assorted gathering of teachers and children, aged from three up to eighteen. Over the next two weeks we each took lessons with as many classes as we could, ranging from the tiny toddlers who, although one could not communicate with in a conventional sense, seemed to enjoy the numerous nursery rhymes dug up from the distant memory of our childhood, to the older, larger classes where

students often varied in age by several years and were at different levels but the school lacked the room for them all to have separate classrooms. After the first few days of initial nervousness, several teachers would corner us in the staffroom and ask for assistance with their English questions, as the school had recently gone from a local school, where lessons are taught in Nepali, to an English Medium government school, where all lessons must be taught using English. Our days filled with milking the family cow in the morning, school lessons, and visits to almost every house in the village for afternoon chai, the two weeks flew by far faster than any of us would have liked. Unfortunately, poor weather conditions led to our flight to Lukla to begin the Everest Base Camp trek being cancelled five days in a row, so we ended up doing the Annapurna Sanctuary trek to Annapurna Base Camp at just 13,418 feet. The trek took two weeks of walking, at times strenuous and exhausting, but we passed through astonishingly beautiful hills and valleys surrounded by snow(topped mountains. The feeling of achievement as all members of the group reached Base Camp was enormous, but unfortunately the excitement didn’t last for long as several knee injuries and a worrying case of appendicitis led to a helicopter having to perform an emergency evacuation back to Kathmandu and a spell in hospital for three group members! The seven weeks I spent in Nepal were illuminating and educational in many more ways than I had ever expected prior to departure. In addition the whole group raised over £20,000 for the charity ‘Future For Nepal’, set up by an ex(Durham student, Tom Wells, without whose support we would have been unable to arrange school or village placements. As a result of our group donation, ‘Future For Nepal’ has been able to fund a drop(in centre and a residential home for street children in Kathmandu, and contribute towards repairs and new equipment at each of the schools we visited. I am extremely grateful to the Hatfield Trust for the grant that helped me with travel expenses and I aim to return to Nepal during summer 2010 after I graduate from Durham. FRANCES RABBITTS: Uganda This summer, with help from the Hatfield Trust, I returned to Uganda for a third time with a UK charity called Soapbox. Soapbox runs trips

out to various countries to do mostly manual work building schools, churches or community centres. It is a Christian charity and its Uganda trip bucks the trend slightly in that it is based not on manual work but on community work. Thus, I spent two weeks this summer working with the UK team in partnership with Nakawa Baptist Church, which is situated in a slum near central Kampala. We were never short of things to do and, as will be explained, the trip was very worthwhile for me even though it was my third time. As I had been twice before, the trip was full of sameness and difference, in many ways. The team (9 strong) worked excellently together. Its dynamic was, of course, different from that of my former teams. But I had expected and looked forward to this because those you travel and work with shape your experiences. We spent most of our days with children in a wealth of different contexts. We visited primary schools in many districts of Kampala and led assemblies and classes. A common (though never less nerve( racking) occurrence was for us to arrive at a school and find that the number of classes far outweighed the number of our team. But this is Africa ( you adapt as best you can! We therefore ended up each taking a number of classes (each class numbering around 70(80 children) on our own, teaching the kids songs, stories and acting out dramas. Thankfully, we had a lovely group of friendly Ugandans on hand to help translate where needed, and fill in when we were running out of actors. We also visited a number of secondary schools. Where before we had grown used to dealing with children between the ages of 4 and 12, we now had to adapt to the linguistic abilities and expectations of teenagers. A particular highlight for me was being able to lead some songs for a crowd of over one thousand high school kids. Nerves soon melted as we realised that though they were a little more self( conscious (and so wouldn't dissolve into giggles or clap wildly at everything we said or did), they were more responsive if we slightly changed our angle of approach. I think they had a good time watching us make fools of ourselves anyway, and I know we grew in confidence as a result! When we were not out visiting children in primary schools, secondary schools and junior remand centres, we would work at the church. This ranged from entertaining community children who couldn't afford school to doing activity days for large groups of sponsored children.

The latter activity was for us perhaps the most tiring, but one of the most rewarding. Starting before breakfast, we would work through until dinner time keeping the kids busy with dramas, dance, sport, crafts, stories, colouring in, games and music, all rounded off with balloons and bubbles (two activities which work extremely well when every other avenue has been exhausted and there is still an hour left to fill!). These days were made all the more challenging by the age range of the children ( 2 to 18, all in one group of nearly one hundred. Needless to say, the team and myself were taken out of our comfort zones as we learnt very quickly how to handle new, tough, rapidly changing but exciting situations.

Another important part of the trip was visiting the community with our guides from the church. They were particularly valuable in this context because the standard of English spoken by many slum( dwellers was often much lower than that spoken by the school children. We talked to them, found out about their lives and situations, and shared about ours. I had butterflies to begin with (two years' experience doesn't make this any less daunting) but soon

settled into the rhythm of getting alongside everyday Ugandans so that both parties could learn more about each other. Most of those we talked to were women or unemployed men, as everyone else is at work during the day. This I had expected, but the change in the Nakawa slum since last year I did not see coming. It has been phenomenal. As we walked the site, memories rushed back of a lively estate thriving with men, women, children, shops and animals. This summer it was a sorry sight, quiet and in many places almost deserted. Reconciling my memories with what lay before me was hard. Many houses were padlocked and boarded up. The government has, since last December, decided to make good its threats of eviction in the name of redevelopment (the slum is very close to the city centre and near main travel links and university buildings, thus making it a lucrative site). Large and imposing fences of wood and barbed wire have been erected around the area and eviction notices have been issued. A residents' association has appealed and the case has been taken on by the Ugandan Chief Justice. She has halted the plans for a time until it can be proved conclusively whether or not the government has forced this decision on the residents without providing them with adequate alternatives. Despite these developments however, many residents have pre(empted the eviction by moving out themselves. Many have gone to stay with relatives, or moved back up to the north of the country, from where many of them originally came to escape the LRA violence. We were told by our guides that those able to leave had left, leaving behind the poorest and weakest. The change to Nakawa was perhaps the most obvious difference for me as I returned. In the light of the knowledge that those we were speaking to literally had nowhere else to go and no one to help them, I half(expected my attitude towards them to become degradingly pitiful. But as they welcomed us into their homes with such humility and dignity I could not feel this ( I respect them too much. They really are a most honourable people. For me personally, one result of this was a realisation of just how important the church is to what is left of the community. It administers and runs a centre for sponsored children giving a future to the kids of a few residents. It is playing an important part in the fight to stop the eviction. It doggedly runs weekly Bible studies and services, co(ordinates groups within the community and sends out its own members to visit those in need and show them love and encouragement. It is one of the only thriving centres left on site, and a most important source of help and support for residents.

I could talk a lot more about all the other things we got involved in, but I won't. Let it suffice to say that we led and participated in Bible studies, church services and prayer meetings. We were welcomed so warmly and loved unconditionally. We had few spare minutes when planning and preparation had been done and dusted. However, we somehow managed to make space for one day out to let off steam, visiting Bujagali Falls (impressive rapids which generate a substantial local revenue from tourism, but are soon to be destroyed by government plans to build a large hydro(electric power scheme) and the source of the Nile at Jinja. This trip is particularly important to the modules I am taking in the coming academic year, which centre on international development, politics and society. But it was more than fuel for my studies; it was fuel for my character and personal experience. I was again encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and do things I would never have dreamed I would do. I was again stunned at the warmth and zeal of an astonishing people, many of whom are seriously struggling to make ends meet. I have seen and experienced these things before, yes, but each time I go they impact me on different and deeper levels; I learn more about the people, the politics and the culture, and relationships that have been created are further invested in. For me this has gone beyond the average student summer charity work. This project and I are growing rather attached! This does not mean that I don't still look forward to exploring other areas and peoples of this world, I do, most definitely. Being able to broaden your horizons is a wonderful thing. But whilst broadening mine I don't want to fall into the trap of learning a little about many things but nothing in great detail, forsaking the possibility of greatly increasing my depth of understanding. Thus, I thank the Hatfield Trust for helping and supporting me; the money was well(spent! I can only look forward to the future opportunities and challenges that my involvement in Nakawa will bring. JAMES ROSS: Nepal Last summer I was lucky enough to travel to Nepal as part of a Hatfield organised trip, working with the charity Hindu Vidyapeeth. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure I would not be alone in saying that, along with my fellow Hatfielders, it is an experience that I will never forget!

As it was my first time outside of Europe I was certainly naïve when it came to organising myself; however, it certainly added to the adventure. Prior to my work in a school in Gorhai, Dang, in the South(West of the country, I was lucky enough to have the chance of travelling for ten days, and there is no doubt that the country’s description as one of ‘outstanding natural beauty’ is certainly not unfounded. From the cool mountainous Pokhara in the North, with the country’s largest lake, Phewa Tal, to the searing heat of the Chitwan National Park in the south, there were so many beautiful sights that my time couldn’t give justice to.

My time spent at the school, and living in the Children’s Peace Home, was by far my most treasured during the trip. Waking up each morning at 6am for yoga, and watching the sun rise over the mountains; Dahl Bhatt for breakfast, Dahl Bhatt for dinner and an evening session of prayers are some things that typify my

experience; however it is the children who made my time there feel so worthwhile. “James(sir, James(sir… Are you a break(dancer?” “Sir, Sir ( Good morning Sir!!!” Their eagerness to show us all about their culture saw us partaking in many different festivals, celebrating our brothers and sisters, husbands and wives and the birthday of Krishna. In between all of our holidays and festivals, there was even a little time left over to teach in one of the Hindu Vidyapeeth schools. Having to teach children ranging in age from 3 to 16 was definitely one of the more difficult parts of the trip, particularly having to teach sex education to a group of 16 year olds who sit patiently and silently waiting for your ‘expert’ knowledge on the matter.

James Ross, Hazel Garvie?Cook, Holly Banham & Anna Kwiatkowska On a couple of 1(day weekends, we were keenly escorted to swim in the warm waters of the nearby Rapti River, being careful to watch out where the water buffalo had just been bathing. Just one of many fond memories of the time I spent in Nepal.

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I am very grateful for having been given such a fantastic opportunity, with the funding from the Hatfield Trust travel fund. I know that in the future I shall go back to visit the family and friends I made during my last summer holiday, and I am thankful for the support of the College in giving me the chance to meet such fantastic people. RUTH SHERLOCK: Nuns, Guns and Mosques This summer I undoubtedly found myself in one of the most intensely bizarre and incongruously diverse places on earth. When one mentions Israel most people think of suicide bombs, attacks, military power, and a conflict over land that has been going on longer than most people can remember. It is perhaps unsurprising therefore, that upon telling friends and relatives that I was planning on travelling to Israel and the Palestinian territories I would receive the 'death look', that worried glance of certainty that I wouldn’t be returning in one piece. As I sat on the balcony in one of Jerusalem’s most tranquil neighbourhoods, enveloped by the scent of blossoming exotic flowers and with the Old City and the golden Dome of the Rock glistening in the distance it was difficult to conceive the origin of such concern. Yet one only has to walk a few metres before the influence of the diversity in cultures and the political tensions of this tiny region become apparent. Upon first arriving in Jerusalem, late at night, I went exploring its streets and stopped to buy some canned peaches. Coming out of the shop I was accosted by two Israeli men who unnervingly positioned themselves either side of me as they asked questions, hearing that I was English they declared to each other that I ‘didn’t understand’ and changing tack, asked me if I knew where they could buy beer. I pointed to the shop where I had bought my peaches but they replied “not there, they are Arab, we don’t buy from Arabs”. Whilst many people here are not so dogmatic, such an experience highlights the more widespread and inaccurate belief that Jerusalem’s population is clearly demarcated into ‘Arabs’ and Israelis. As few non(tour group tourists come to Israel, everybody will question your visit here in a manner that is clearly endeavouring to discern ‘which side’ you are on. Every decision you make is considered political; this is the first country I have visited where sticking to English rather than trying to speak the native language feels preferable. With such a conglomeration of various peoples knowing who to say Shalom (the Jewish greeting) or Marhaba (the Arabic equivalent) to becomes a near impossible task. Getting it wrong can be insulting to the person that you are addressing. Thus, I resigned myself to the fact that in Jerusalem at least, playing the ignorant tourist is perhaps the safest option.

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Whether one is religious or not, there is something exciting about being in biblical land, it still strikes me as bizarre that Bethlehem lies only 10km away, that Nazareth is just up north and that Armageddon as a place actually exists. The city of Jerusalem itself holds a beautiful chaotic intrigue. It is almost impossible not to get lost in the tiny stone alleyways that gleam with the market stall wares of jewelry, carpets, religious memorabilia and shoes. But only a few minutes of lost wandering and you are guaranteed to emerge at one of the world's most important religious sights whether it be the Western Wall, Al(Aqsa Mosque or the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where Jesus was laid to rest and which today swarms with religious tour groups, all intent on blessing their shopping on the holy stone. For some this is all too much, and you will occasionally see a person stood statue like and unresponsive in the middle of the city, a victim of Jerusalem Syndrome. Incredibly, this is a recognized medical condition in which the surroundings lead the victim to genuinely believe that they are the Messiah. Part of the reason for my visit was an informal work experience placement in the BBC Middle East Bureau based in Jerusalem. For two weeks I lived and worked with Foreign Affairs Correspondent to the Middle East, Paul Wood. Hearing his stories from Iraq, shadowing him on political interviews and getting inside access to the Livni and Mofaz election campaigns the day before Israelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s primaries for the right wing Likud party elections, all made for an fascinating experience. I got swept into the world of journalism, so much so that upon hearing the police and ambulance wails of a minor terrorist attack in Jerusalem my reaction was to jump up and down in an urgency to get to the scene. In this incident a young Palestinian man had driven his car at a group of trainee soldiers who were crossing the road on the border between Palestinian East Jerusalem and Jewish West Jerusalem. Two soldiers were seriously hurt, and another 17 suffered mild injuries before the commander shot the driver twice in the neck. Sneaking past the barrier that held back the crowds I made my way to the centre of the scene. The driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body was being removed from the car, and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife. Although all there was to see was a crashed car, panic was induced by the fear that there may have been a bomb planted to get the crowds. Bomb squads were everywhere, frightened civilians ran away whilst Jewish religious orthodox extremists arrived on the scene, their M(16 rifles throbbing for a fight. In comparison to the weekly suicide bombings of a few years ago, this incident was minor. However, it offered a taste of the unpredictability of life for the residents here.

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I spent much of my free time traveling through the formidable looking checkpoint at Qalandia, (just a few minutes drive from Jerusalem) and into the West Bank. The moment one crosses it becomes clear that life for the Palestinians is very different from the European living standards in Israel. Snaking around the West Bank is a giant concrete partition wall. Equipped with motion sensors, automatic rifles, barbed wire and watch towers, this project, costing around $2 billion, is being built by Israel allegedly as a ‘security barrier’. Although it is meant to be roughly constructed along the de facto borders established in 1967, its actual trajectory tends to suit only Israel’s interests, etching into West Bank territory. Cutting off farmers from their land, isolating schools and businesses, the wall is proving a disaster for the Palestinian economy and for people’s livelihoods in general. School children and civilian workers needing to cross the checkpoint are having to wake up as early as 5am to allow enough time to queue in the cattle(enclosure(like, humiliating checkpoints. Inside the West Bank, the Palestinian cities of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Jericho are all beautiful places filled with the earthy scent of spices, awash with loud prayers from the mosques, and characterized by ancient architecture and a warm and vibrant culture. However, wherever one looks, signs of the conflict are evident; in Nablus the walls are splattered with bullet holes and posters of ‘martyrs’. Bombed out houses lie in ruins, the names of those that died remembered on the walls. With one in three Palestinians having been held in an Israeli prison, everyone has stories, some of which beggar belief. It is common place for children to be imprisoned for over a year for throwing a pebble at a tank. In Hebron zealous religious orthodox Jewish settlers have sequestered the upper floors of the houses in the city. Palestinians live in small alleyways below that are roofed in barbed wire to protect them from debris thrown at them by settlers. Protected by Israeli soldiers, roads are blocked off giving large parts of the city to settler control. Many Palestinians living in these parts of town exit their homes through their ceiling and travel across the rooftops as going via the front door is too dangerous. This theme of separation and blockades is repeated across the West Bank. In a journey of 35km there can be as many as 8 checkpoints. Here one is wise to act submissively and calmly towards the young Israeli soldier as he uses the light at the end of the gun barrel to read your ID. Journeys also take longer for those Palestinians without a yellow Israeli number plate as they are not able to travel on the direct route, Israeli roads that criss(cross the West Bank. Splattered strategically across the area and connected by these roads are giant settlement complexes. Many of them have been built

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by the Israeli government who offer secular Israelis tax relief benefits to move in. Meanwhile, the 60(year old UNWRA Balata refugee camp that was built for a capacity of 2000 now houses over 5000 Palestinians who live in cramped conditions, the stalled economic climate stunting their chances of employment. Whilst politicians discuss a two(state solution, the facts on the ground make this seem near impossible. Working and travelling in this area gives one a rare insight into both sides of this conflict. Seeing the lower living standards and skewed human rights for those living in the West Bank was not easy. However, equally, spending a night in Sderot, the border town with Gaza which bears the brunt of the regularly fired Qassam rockets, and hearing the mortar shells falling only a few hundred meters from my bed was deeply disturbing. Wrongs are committed by both sides but perhaps the most dangerous discovery I made in visiting the region is people’s tendency to generalize. The plurality of factions, ethnic groups and societies living in this tiny area means that to class a terrorist attack as being made by ‘the arabs’ or to say that the nightly incursions into Palestinians homes are supported by all Israelis merely fosters a misdirected hatred. Although finding a solution seems like a mammoth task which is unlikely to be completed soon, one thing is clear: structures such as the separation barriers, exclusive IDs and roads are worsening the lack of understanding between sides. A clear first step would be to stop encouraging division and try to foster interaction; with many Israelis banned from entering the West Bank and vice a versa, how can groups be led to understand each other if they cannot even see each other? THE WESTERN WALL AND THE START OF SHABBAT On Friday I went to visit the Western Wall, futilely trying to negotiate my way round according to the map I got thoroughly lost. In my attempt to locate it I managed to thoroughly anger two Jewish men as I foolishly asked for the 'Wailing wall’…. Nonetheless I arrived just as the sun was setting and the sight was spectacular. In Judaism sun down on Friday represents the beginning of Shabbat (the Sabbath) and does not pass without celebration. The vast plaza in front of the wall was teeming with religious orthodox Jews wearing their traditional gowns. This curious male outfit is made up of black shoes and trousers, a white undershirt with long dangling platted tassles at the corners. These are covered by a black jacket and in some cases an overcoat. Large bowler style hats are worn, although many Jews (possibly those emanating from Russia) will often wear the traditional

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Russian fur hat instead. Most distinctive are the long beards and curled 'peyots' or curled pieces of hair dangling past their ears. The women's dress is less obvious; they dress modestly covering all parts of their bodies except their face. Their hair is covered by a scarf or shaven off and replaced by a wig. The wall itself is separated by a barrier, the smaller side being for reserved for women. A long staff flying the Israeli flag high and proud is placed in the centre. The last rays of sunshine that hit the large plaza in front of the wall increase the sense of reverence and awesomeness of the place but it is difficult to forget that it all came at a price; hundreds of Palestinian homes were flattened in its making of the plaza. By seven in the evening the male side of the Wall was busting with men chanting and bobbing rhythmically in prayer. A group of 50 or so Israeli soldiers arrived, their M16 rifles casually slung on the shoulder. Such guns are carried by every soldier here and can be often seen wondering around the old City, talking to fellow soldiers whilst leisurely fingering their gun. Military service is compulsory upon leaving school and as a result many of these soldiers are barely older than 18. The soldiers approached the Wall, joined arms to form a circle and began to sing perform a enthusiastic jig, albeit somewhat awkward with their rifles banging against their sides. The singing of the national anthem became louder and louder as more people joined in, oddly complementing the loudly chanted prayers. The sounds grew louder and louder in a joyous nationalistic crescendo. SDEROT—THE QUIET WAR With Paul Wood away from Israel and the BBC Bureau Chief suffering a minor aneurism every time I suggested working out of the office with another journalist I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands and leave Jerusalem in search for an adventure. Upon arriving in the small southern Israeli town of Sderot it is easy to remark upon just how unremarkable a place it is. The buildings are modern and simple, the shops functional, and the people kind and friendly speaking little English. Just regular people going about their daily lives. However, open your eyes a little wider and an alternative story becomes apparent: bus stops are made of reinforced concrete, odd looking thickly square attachments to people’s houses are common, and the innocent looking balloon that floats in the sky and is actually equipped with heat detection sensors. Lying in close proximity to the Gaza border this town has been described as the ‘beleaguered war zone’ that bears the brunt of the much publicised Qassam rocket attacks by Gazan militants.

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As part of my visit to the Sderot Media centre I was taken on a tour of the city. Just near the office is a children’s play ground. In addition to the regular tools of child play, swings, slides and climbing frames, the playground shows off a giant, thick and brightly coloured caterpillar, whose friendly visage conceals its life(saving use as bomb shelter. This new initiative is an attempt at allowing children here to have as close to normal lives as is possible. Without such measures, it might be deemed too dangerous for children to play in open spaces. Every excursion is planned meticulously to ensure that a bomb shelter is always at close proximity. This is a cat and mouse game, a place where deciding whether or not to go and buy apples from the shop becomes a life or death decision should a Qassam rocket choose to hit. ‘Fun’ coloured bomb shelters or not, the psychological impact of constantly falling rockets is severe. According to a recently published survey, one in three children here suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Hearing the residents’ stories, it is easy to understand how such survey results are tragically accurate. In 2007, the year that Hamas came to power, 2,313 rockets and mortar shells were fired from Gaza and in January 2008 the figures grew to reach an average of 12 rockets and mortars per day. Children as young as two know how to react when they hear the siren. Emitted by the heat detection balloon, a chillingly calm woman’s voice repeating ‘Tzeva Adom’ or ‘Code Red’ and interspersed by an ominous buzzer blast across the city, giving residents a 15(second warning of an incoming Qassam. With only 15 seconds to take cover every practical aspect of life is designed to allow for a quick escape. ‘Life Shield’ bomb shelters are dotted about Sderot and this is the only place in Israel where the wearing of seatbelts in cars is not compulsory. For those that have no place to take cover there is little to do but to wait and hope that they will not be the target of this indiscriminately aimed weapon. Fired by Gazan militants, the rockets are crudely made out of basic day(to(day materials. As one policeman explained, many of the rocket tails are fashioned from the metal of road signs, the fuel of the rocket a combination of sugar and fertilizer and the shrapnel a mongrel collection of anything that can inflict pain, from nails to stones. There is a difference between hearing the facts and figures of how many rockets have hit Sderot and seeing the reality. In visiting the police station, I was taken into the back yard where the hundreds of black mangled remains of the rockets, all dated and labelled, are stored. Stacked up on shelves spanning up and across two walls, the effect is sobering, especially when told that this is only a sample of what has

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been collected, another three thousand rockets had been cleared out the day before. My guide asks what my birth date is, and immediately points to a rocket that fell on the date of my 21st birthday.

The ceasefire, agreed on 21st June 2008, might have been seen as a chance to live what resembles a normal life; however, though reduced in numbers, the rockets continue to fall. Fifty have fallen since the ceasefire began, damaging or destroying numerous parts of the town. In addition to the rockets, another increasingly dangerous threat

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exists: the damage from mortar shells. I was taken to the Nahal Oz Kibbutz, lush green and replete with a swimming pool this kibbutz seems an oasis of calm, but Gaza city is clearly visible through the triple layered electric fencing barrier that separates the two sides. Through the barred gates and concrete walls I could see tanks roaming, nervous Israeli soldiers with guns, a hint of the high tensions here. Walking through the Kibbutz I was told how almost every house here has been hit by a mortar shell of some kind, the kindergarten there had an oddly shaped reinforced roof. Unlike the rockets these mortar shells are not detected by Tzeva Adom and as such hit without warning. I gained an insight into the fear of such a livelihood as I spent the night in Sderot. Taken in by Izik, the deputy manager of Sderot Media Centre I was in his house just outside of Sderot. Faintly covered by the whirr of the air conditioning fan were intrusive blast and boom sounds. Unlike anything that I had heard before, my ears pricked and heart gave a nervous thud. Izik, accustomed to rockets and mortars, didn’t give the slightest acknowledgement of the noises and continued to speak nonchalantly. The noises carried on and I found it increasingly difficult to focus on what we were talking about, not wanting to seem cowardly I tried to hide the fact that part of me was yearning to take my bedding and go to the nearby bomb shelter. Seeing my nerves Izik tried to calm me; ‘don’t worry, the closest anything has ever hit to here is 200 metres’! Gradually the booms got louder, and a helicopter whirred above, an indication that something was happening. Whatever the noises were, whether mortar shells, or fighting within Gaza, they kept me awake my ears refusing to tune them out as I tried to sleep. At one point I even felt the house shake a little. Although for the people of Sderot this was a negligible incident, if considered an incident at all, for me it was an experience I will not forget easily. The situation in Sderot is unique in Israel. The residents here are not choosing to put themselves under such fire for political or religious reasons. They are not comparable to the zealous settlers in Hebron, whose legitimacy of residency is politically contentious and their motivation religious. Were this the case, the Qassam rocket attacks might have to be viewed in a different context. The 23,000 residents of Sderot are predominantly non(political working class people whose town has the misfortune of being caught in the cross fire of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza. Many have fled the city and many of those who remain do so because to leave is not economically viable, some have stated that were the government to provide the

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funding they would gladly evacuate. In fact, much of the residents’ anger is not directed at Gazan militia men but at their own government. They highlight that were the city under fire Tel Aviv, or a richer area, this violence would not be allowed to continue. They argue that, unsure of how to deal with the problem, the government chooses to ignore it. In fact, Sderot is one of the only towns in Israel whose councillor does not have directly clear links or supervision from the national government. If they did, one resident told me, they would have to accept responsibility for what is happening here. With every Israeli incursion into Gaza, the number of Qassam rockets raining upon Sderot increases. It seems that military violence is not the answer; it simply results in a downward spiral in the livelihoods of residents on either side of the fence. For the people of Sderot, it seems that, as politicians continue to lip service peace over coffee, there is little to do but endeavour to lead a normal life whilst teaching their children to play in dressed up bomb shelters.

VIVA SOUTH AMERICA! by Oliver Balch It felt good to be back. It didn’t feel like a decade ago since I packed up my suitcase and drove away down the Bailey for the last time. But it was. The years were there in the extra minutes it took to complete my old jog and the strangeness I felt at wearing a gown again. The formalities of MCR dinner were a far cry from the cheap empanada lunches I’ve grown overly accustomed to of late. From the Bailey, I took myself off to Bolivia. A year living and working in South America’s most other(worldly nation and the dye was caste. I was hooked. It took me several years to devise a way back to the land of Che Guevara and chicha beer, of samba and sombreros. A stint in London. A pretty girl to lead down the aisle. But I got there in the end. To Argentina, Maradona’s backyard and a bridge into the latino way of life. I set myself up as a freelance correspondent in Buenos Aires. That was 2004. Still reeling from an appalling financial implosion a few years before, things were cheap and – remarkably – still cheerful. We bought a house with a shoe(box full of $100 bills and ate more steak than I care to remember.

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Yet my plan wasn’t pure hedonism. The opposite in fact. I wanted to write about the realities of South America. Not about Rio carnival or Peru’s Machu Picchu ruins. Nor about tango lessons or boat rides down the Amazon. It was the disparities that attracted me to this compelling, convoluted continent: the rich and poor, the schooled and unschooled, the black and white. Fortunately, the zeitgeist was in my favour. Come 2006, elections were happening across the region. Every month, the political map was growing redder. South America was going Left. The time seemed right to ask why. One way or other, every answer came back to one man. Hugo Chavez, the “firebrand” president of Venezuela and self(proclaimed 21st Century socialist. I first saw Chavez at a political rally in Argentina. Cramped into a football stadium below rain(soaked skies, I stood with 30,000 chanting protestors. The Venezuelan premier spoke for over two hours. Part history lesson, part political jeremiad and large part cheer (raising sloganeering, the South American showman kept us all rapt. It began to rain, heavily. As a baptism into the contemporary political scene of the continent, it felt appropriate to be getting soaked. “The hour has come for the second independence of the peoples of the Americas”, Chavez proclaimed, thumping the lectern as he quoted the Cuban revolutionary poet, Jose Marti. ‘Second Independence’. The phrase stuck with me long after the crowds had dispersed. What was he getting at? Almost two hundred years after the Liberators kicked out their colonial oppressors, had true independence been achieved? With so much poverty and inequality, could South Americans genuinely claim to be free? Armed with a reporter’s notebook and an open mind, I hit the road in search of answers. My journey took me to South America’s nine largest countries, with a stop(over at the end in Cuba to witness Fidel’s hand(over from power. In each country I chose a theme related to la lucha (‘the fight’) of the people; race in Brazil, women in Chile, human rights in Paraguay, etcetera.

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The trip took me just over twelve months in total. In that time, I’d gone into prisons and down mine shafts, met presidents and prostitutes, and travelled on everything from planes to pedalos. Two months later and the draft of ‘Viva South America!’ was finished. I was back in Durham to present the account of my South American adventures. I owe Hatfield a great deal. A course in history gave me the essential tools of my trade. A college grant granted me a taste for travel. And the general rough and tumble of undergraduate years prepared me for the ups and downs of life beyond. Pulling out of Durham train station, the fabulous view of the castle receding behind the bend once again, I promise myself to return sooner next time.

Oliver Balch read History in Hatfield from 199561998. He graduated with a First and was awarded a Baxter prize. He now works as a freelance journalist for The Guardian and other UK newspapers from his base in Buenos Aires. His book, ‘Viva South America! A journey through a restless continent’, was published by Faber & Faber in March 2009. The Master says it is very well worth reading! Quote "Hatfield" if ordering through sales@10ofthose.com and £2 per sale will be given back to the Hatfield Trust. www.10ofthose.com is a book distribution site set up and run by two Durham graduates.

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VISITING TONY LAITHWAITE AND LAITHWAITES WINES by Jack Edmondson Attending the Hatfield Reunion “Lion in Summer” Ball in September 2007 was a great experience and emphasised the strength of Hatfield through the ages. From sitting next to my contemporaneous raconteurs Ben Fletcher, Rupert Dalton and Joff Marshall(Lee, to hearing the keeper of the College Cane from over thirty years ago lead the singing in the bar, to seeing current students with all their energy; all showed that the Hatfield Spirit was alive and well. This was further exemplified to me by what that night led to: winning first prize in the raffle and a visit to Laithwaites with one of the most successful Hatfielders to date – the founder and head, Tony Laithwaite. Laithwaites was founded in 1969 and, as with many entrepreneurs, the idea started off life as a hope rather than a plan – some bottles of wine, a creative brain and a flash of inspiration. But today Laithwaites is a business with over 700,000 customers, a turnover of over £250m, a consistent presence in the profit and business growth league tables, and is one of the largest wine retailers in the world. It has its headquarters in Theale and a vast, national distribution centre in Gloucester. As part of my job I regularly meet entrepreneurs and owners of businesses, so I thought I knew what to expect for my visit. However in this case I did find myself somewhat nervous ( Tony’s business success is legendary and I wondered quite what he would make of me turning up on his doorstep for half a day with him. However, what I found was a real tribute to the connections that Hatfield can bring. The tour of the distribution centre was impressive – thousands of bottles of wine, from the popular to the rare, are stored, picked, checked and transported every minute across a huge and hi(tech operation. Furthermore, Tony was clearly a mini(celebrity in the office and his personality is essential to the business. He still writes his blog on the company website, chooses new wines and writes to his customers regularly with industry and company news. Personalities are important to many businesses, but it is rare that they remain so integral when a company grows to be so large. Branson is a rare example. Tony is too.

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Laithwaites is one of the UK’s best retail success stories, and its original concept was ground(breaking. Because of this, it would be easy for Tony to be a very different man than he is, but Tony has retained all the attractions of his personality and the passion for wine that he had on day one. He is a terribly unassuming man, so much so that he will be embarrassed that this is even being written (however the College Master has insisted and this is one person Tony will have to take orders from). Conversation quickly moved from the polite overtures of life at Laithwaites or life in the City, to laughter and instant familiarity about our own experiences of Hatfield in the 1990s and the 1960s. It is surprising yet comforting to find that college life was similar across the ages: friendships, experiences and escapades across Durham. As well as wine, another passion of Tony’s is Hatfield, one which we shared, and instantly we found a connection through an institution that is very important to both of us (Tony regularly installs himself in A Stairs for Hatfield reunions). So meeting one of the country’s best entrepreneurs for half a day was not a formal tour of a business, or the grand(standing of a life’s achievement. It was the meeting of two Hatfielders – albeit where one was one of the most successful we have ever had. I left not with a formal knowledge of Laithwaites and a business card, but instead with some great stories, half a bottle of good red inside me and two bottles of champagne as a gift for my then forthcoming wedding. Hatfield has many achievements across its alumni – academic, sporting, political and commercial. Tony is perhaps our most successful businessman and we should be proud that he has stayed a Hatfielder through and through. He is an inspiration to what Hatfield has taught all its members past and present: work hard at what you believe in, stay true to your passions and – colloquially ( ‘be the best that you can be’. Vel primus vel cum primis.

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When I look back at how I was appointed to the position of college manciple, I think that flattery must have got the better of me because there were occasions during my tenure when it felt like a full time job. Had I been duped? It was hard work but I suppose not and even now there are some lovely memories. Towards the end of my first year, I was approached by the previous year’s manciple, Steve Cox, who seemed to think that I was right for the job. It was a bit like the days of Tory leaders who were given the job by the outgoing Prime Minister without an election! I am not sure whether he had asked lots of other people who had declined his offer but somehow I was persuaded to do it and my appointment was duly confirmed by the JCR. At that time, custom was that the manciple was a second year student. It certainly seemed a grand title and I still dine out on it today. I had become an officer who buys provisions for the college! My parents were impressed until I explained that what it meant was that I had been given the responsibility for running the college bar. They appeared distinctly nervous at this development and I could see in their faces the fear that a year’s study would be compromised by a year’s alcohol abuse. The bar was a mess… sorry Steve but it was. There were only two miserable beers on draught, no optics for spirits, no snacks and a serious paucity of glasses. Suddenly there was a job to do. Our supplier was the brewery at Castle Eden which was formerly owned by Nimmos but had been bought by Whitbread. I managed to make contact with their representative, Bill Harding, who arranged for the free installation of optics and new beers, including that exotic drink of the time, Heineken lager! I made contact with Guinness in Newcastle and they installed their drink and supplied six new attractive glasses. Needless to say that these were never seen again after a week! In addition, I managed to find a local cash and carry which supplied various types of nuts, crisps and nibbles. Prior to my taking over, opening times had been infrequent. It was time for recruitment of bar staff! For the grand total of 10 shillings per shift (yes I know but it was a lot then!), a motley crew of friends

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and volunteers became reliable and expert barmen. The bar was open daily before and after dinner as well as lunchtimes on Saturdays and Sundays. One of the volunteers was Chris Tetley, who belonged to the famous brewing family. I am sure that he could have taught me a few things on how to run a bar but he was a real gentleman and he just got on with being an everyday barman. No doubt many of the bar staff helped themselves to a free drink now and again but I had no reason to suspect any major dishonesty. They can write in with their confessions now! The bar became much more of a focus and we must have been doing something right because despite offering the cheapest beers in Durham, turnover and profits increased considerably. We had visitors from other colleges, the boiler man and the caretaker (more later!) constantly sat at one corner of the bar and the men of the college seemed more confident in bringing in their girlfriends. I certainly recall a number of the barmen improving both their dress sense and their repartee which made quite an impression on some of the women. Yes flirting with the barmen became a full time occupation for some and a few romances blossomed. Bill Harding became a frequent visitor, usually for payment of invoices. He seemed happy to stay for quite long periods, drinking his half pints of beer, which he always paid for, until I reminded him that I had lectures to attend. He did us proud though in providing all of the kit, free of charge, for all of the key events including Hatfield Formal and Hatfield Day. There were, however, some guiding rules in being manciple. The first was to ensure that one of the officers in the college, namely, Jim the porter, had to be ‘kept happy’. I carried on with the previous custom which was to deposit two large bottles of Guinness every Friday at the porter’s lodge. These were, of course, free but it did prevent him from making mischief. He was a cantankerous old devil and I didn’t want him making a nuisance of himself in the college bar. Generally he didn’t but there were times when he needed assistance to get off the bar stool into the quadrangle. The second principle was to ensure that the draymen were supplied with sufficient beer whilst they were unloading the barrels. Given that more beer and spirits were being drunk, the arrival of the dray was more frequent. Jim would come scurrying around to C stairs shout that the dray had arrived and I would sprint to the bar to line up pints

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of Whitbread Tankard. I remember a few students who could drink but they were second division compared to those guys. I have never seen alcohol consumption like it. What was worrying was that they would drive away from the college gates to their next call as though they had never touched a drop. My own guiding principle was to ensure that when I was cashing up or tidying the bar and cleaning the pipes, which was a frequent occurrence, the door would be locked and the shutters would be pulled down. One afternoon, I had failed to lock the door and Neil Matthams and Tony Pretty, my two best friends, popped their heads round to inquire whether I needed any help. Their offer of course was far from convincing, given that they had never offered before! Basically they wanted a drink but given that the pair of them seemed to have lost most of their money at the bookies by The Half Moon, their ability to pay the full price was seriously in question. As a special dispensation, discounted prices were agreed and being persuaded to join them, (my weakness exposed), an afternoon of heavy drinking ensued. We did manage to stagger out before one of the barmen arrived for his evening shift and whilst I don’t remember much after that, I do remember making up the difference the next day. (I thought that your readers needed some reassurance on my honesty there!) I can’t recall the exact amount of profit the bar made that year but it was substantial and it was enough for the JCR to grant me a payment of £30. Riches indeed! What did I do next? Well I sidled up to some unsuspecting freshman, whose face I can see in my mind’s eye but whose name I cannot remember, and eloquently persuaded him to become the following year’s manciple!

2007(8 was an ‘exceptional year’ as reported in the 2008 Record celebrating the 175th Anniversary of the University. The 2009 Record repeats the trend by recording the election of the first female President of the Association, Samantha Mowbray. Samantha is no stranger to ‘high office’ in Hatfield as she became only the second female Senior Man in 1998 and is currently a member of College Council. Samantha lives in London and works in the hot(house of Westminster Council as a policy advisor! This means that she keeps

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in contact with the large number of Hatfield graduates who also work in the City whilst she continues to retain close contact with activities in College and the University. I am sure that all alumni wish Samantha well her new post in the Association. It is also appropriate ( and an accident (?) ( that we have our first woman President of the Association in the year in which the College will celebrate 21 years of women students in College. But you have not got rid of me yet! The change in our rules last year, designed to provide a smooth transition, allows one year in which the outgoing and incoming Presidents overlap. This arrangement should also provide extra support as the number of alumni increases yearly.

Katie Crawford, Rachael Hill, Laura Knowles and Catherine Russell at the HCAFC reunion The growth in numbers of alumni also provides greater opportunities and demands for Regional activities as Hatfield alumni spread round the country. I encourage the Regional Representatives to increase activities in their regions. You never know what contacts will open up, e.g., I enjoyed the opportunity, facilitated by the Master, to meet a Hatfield geographer, Emma Brewin (2003(06) in Hungary last summer. I was visiting my son and his family in Budapest and Emma

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works for a nature conservation organisation in Santander not far from Budapest. A number of successful meetings, mainly dinners! have been held round the country, organised by local alumni. London has proved a particularly lively and very well supported venue, led by Carwyn Cox, linked with the Trust. Other Regional Association dinners have been held in Perth, Durham, Cumbria, Manchester, Leeds and Cheltenham with numbers varying from 5 to 50. If you are interested in establishing a regional event, please get in touch with Cynthia or Samantha who will be able to help to explore ideas and contact alumni in your region. Finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the support provided by the Master and his staff, our Secretary Johnathan Young, Treasurer Richard Metcalfe and College archivist Arthur Moyes. But, above all, the Association could not function without the incredible knowledge and commitment of Cynthia Connolly ( we all owe her a great debt of gratitude and I encourage you all to support the Association and its activities in the coming years ( Vel primus vel cum primus!

HATFIELD ASSOCIATION AGM The 62nd Annual General Meeting of the Association was held at 10.30 a.m. in the Birley Room, on Saturday, 6th September 2008. PRESENT:

Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

APOLOGIES:

Details redacted in accordance with Data Protection requirements

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DEATHS: It was with deep regret that the meeting learned of the death of the following members since the last meeting: David Baker (1952) died in October 2007 Jack Crosby (College Tutor, 1948) died in June 2008 Robin Dix (College Tutor) died in December 2007 Ray Edwards (1970) died in April 2008 Bill Huddleston (1949) died in July 2008 Beate Jungblat (1999) died in March 2008 Alistair McGregor (1961) died in Sept 2007 Simon McNamara (2002) died in July 2008 Chris Powell (1970) died in April 2008 Philip Tate (1994) died in March 2008 David Tomlin (1970) died in May 2006 The meeting stood in silence in memory of the above(named members of the Association and in recognition of their various and valued contributions to the College and the University. 634. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING: The minutes of the previous meeting held on Saturday, 8th September 2007 were accepted as a correct record and duly signed by the President after a minor spelling emendation had been made. 635. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES: There were no matters arising. 636. PRESIDENT'S BUSINESS: The President had attended a number of regional functions held during the previous 12 months and was hopeful that these activities could be expanded in the future. The President expressed his thanks to the Master and the College staff for making the 175th Anniversary event in 2007 such a resounding success, and in particular the Lion in Summer Ball. Since the last reunion, considerable thought had been given to the identification of a suitable nominee for the post of President(Elect. Samantha Mowbray a former Senior Man had been approached and

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had agreed for her name to go forward. The Executive Committee regarded this nomination to be particularly apposite bearing in mind that 2009 would mark the 21st anniversary of the admission of women students to the College. The President noted that Ian Curry had taken over as the new Director of the Hatfield Trust, in succession to Barrie Wetton, who had made such a magnificent contribution. 637. MASTERâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BUSINESS: The Master thanked the President for his continuing enthusiasm and energetic support during the previous year, and reported that the College remained in fine fettle. 39 first class degrees had been awarded to Hatfield students in June, with over 80% of degrees being awarded in the 1st and 2.1 classes. Two former students had been selected to represent Great Britain at the Beijing Olympics this year â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Louisa Reeve and Alice Freeman. The JCR were to be congratulated on their continuing commitment over the year to charity work, environmental issues, and Student Community Action. He expressed his personal thanks to Ian Curry, a former parent governor and former SCR President, for agreeing to take over as Director of the Hatfield Trust in succession to Barrie Wetton. The MCR had continued to expand over the year, with numbers exceeding 100, including a growing component of international students. 30 of the MCR members were Hatfield graduates. 638. SECRETARY'S BUSINESS: The Honorary Secretary recorded his sincere gratitude to the Assistant Secretary who continues to undertake the administration and organisation of the Reunion weekend, as well as the bulk of the day(to(day affairs of the Association. The meeting showed its sincere appreciation with a loud and sustained round of applause. The meeting formally ratified the proposed amendment of paragraph (6b) of the Association Constitution to include a representative of the Middle Common Room on the Executive Committee.

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639. ASSISTANT SECRETARY'S BUSINESS: The Assistant Secretary reported that regional events had already been fixed for the following venues: the North(West (John Woolley) in Manchester, 7th November 2008; the Winter Dinner in Durham, 10th January 2009; and Perth (Brian Raine), Scotland, 21st March 2009. 640. TREASURER'S BUSINESS: The accounts of the Association for the previous 12 months (copy filed with the minutes) were duly accepted by the meeting. The Hon. Treasurer outlined the main features of the accounts to the meeting. 2007(08 had been a relatively quiet year. The accounts showed an apparent excess of receipts over expenditure of approximately £7,500, which had arisen largely as a result of the Association having been required to pay for both printing and postage costs of The Hatfield Record in the previous financial year. The Hatfield Trust had underwritten all the costs for the current issue of The Record. The Association had not been involved in the finances for the current Reunion weekend as these had been arranged centrally as part of the 175th Anniversary celebrations. Subscriptions for the year were up by about £500, and a total of £2,379 had been received during the year towards the Master’s portrait fund. Disbursements of £237 had been made in respect of College staff retirement presents. The increase in the balance brought forward from approximately £11,300 to £18,800 merely represents a return to the situation prevailing two years, and was a relatively modest reserve to face any exceptional or unexpected calls upon Association funds in the future. The meeting ratified the recommendation from the Executive Committee that a suitable box of chocolates should be sent to the Honorary Auditor, Mrs Sandra Ruskin in due course, in recognition for her continuing efforts on behalf of the Association.

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641. EDITORS OF THE HATFIELD RECORD BUSINESS: The Master stated that he was personally very satisfied with the quality of printing for the current issue of The Hatfield Record. The President added that in his opinion this was the “best Record ever during the 30 years he had been receiving the publication” ( a view unanimously endorsed by all members present. The meeting expressed its sincere appreciation for all the hard work undertaken by the joint editors, and the newly appointed ‘Technical Editor’, Janet Raine. 642. PRESIDENT OF JCR’S BUSINESS: The Senior Man, Pili Christensen, outlined the principal JCR activities and initiatives that had taken place over the past year. The College had continued to excel academically with over 80% graduands gaining first or upper second class degrees in June. The College had achieved a credible fourth place in the overall sports league table; the Chapel Choir had just returned from a most successful summer tour; and the College had raised a record sum for the Rag charity appeal. Judging by the fact that this year’s Hatfield Day had been threatened with closure by the Durham Police and the History Department, the event had been a huge success! The incoming JCR Executive Committee had continued to provide additional equipment and furnishings for the new TV and games room, as well as meeting the cost of the lines on the new tennis court surface. The new JCR web(site was now up and running. A College ski trip would take place in the forthcoming Christmas vacation. The JCR recycling project was in the process of purchasing separate bins for different items. The Meeting agreed a grant of £200 to the Junior Common Room to help fund the new recycling initiative

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643. MIDDLE COMMON ROOM: The Master reported that the Middle Common Room had continued to go from strength to strength during the past year. Following the change in the Association constitution, it was hoped that a representative from MCR would attend the next AGM. Members were invited to visit Palatine House to view the facilities provided there for the graduate population of the College. 644. DIRECTOR OF HATFIELD TRUST’S BUSINESS: The Director of the Hatfield Trust presented his annual report to the meeting. A new flier ‘Supporting You All The Way’, was designed to promote awareness of The Trust, as well as encouraging donations to the fund. This initiative was aimed particularly at the parents of current students. In over the past twelve months The Trust had continued to support a large number of current students with travel and academically related bursaries. Following the untimely death of Simon McNamara in July 2008, his parents had requested donations to be made to The Hatfield Trust so that a meaningful memorial could be established to their son. To date a total of £3,460 had been received. New initiatives this year included providing funds for the refurbishment of the floor and new honour boards in the boathouse; the purchase of equipment for the new John Timpson gym; and provision of new signage directing people to the Trust office in College. 645. ELECTIONS 2008609: The following members were elected to serve as the principal officers of the Association for the year 2008(09. President: President(Elect: Secretary: Assistant Secretary: Treasurer:

Professor O.W. Heal Ms Samantha Mowbray Dr. J C Young Mrs Cynthia Connolly Mr. R.J. Metcalfe

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Auditor:

Mrs Sandra Ruskin

Vice(Presidents:

Professor J.P. Barber Canon P.G.C.Brett Professor T.P. Burt Dr. B Dobson Mr. W.A. Moyes Mr. B. Northrop Dr. H.T.H.M. Phelps Mr. P. Salaun Mr. S.G.C. Stoker Mr. B.E. Wetton

Representative on College Council: Editors of Hatfield Record:

Dr. J. Bridge

Professor Tim Burt, Mrs Cynthia Connolly and Ms Janet Raine

Regional Representatives: North East: North West: Greater Midlands: South West: South Coast: Yorkshire: London: Scotland: Northern Ireland: Spain: West Indies: USA:

Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr. Mr.

Decade Representatives:

Roll call by decades:

Decade

Representative(s)

1930

No. of Members Present 0

W.A. Moyes J.C. Woolley M. Fantom, Mr. G. Hope, Mr. A. Smith O. Suddaby E. Fears, Dr. J. Smartt J.C.F. Young J.R. Buckler, Mr. T. Cain, Mr. D.B. Clarke, C. Cox B. Raine S. Galway B. Readman I. Blakie Jon Smith

Mr. H. Cullis

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Decade

No. of Members Present

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

6 13 3 4 1 0

2000

Representative(s)

Mr. S. East & Mr. J.A. Stockill Mr. D. Newton & Mr. G. Cullington Mr. D. Davies & Mr. P. Salaun Mr. G. Jones & Mr. J. Markham Mr. H. de Salis, Mr. G. Ellis & Mr. M. O'Hara Mr. A. Stroud, Mr. S. Ward, Mr. A. Williams & Mrs Yolande Wright Mr. C. Cox

646. REGIONAL REPORTS: North East: Another most successful Winter Dinner had been held in College in early January with over 30 members. Next year’s event has been booked for Friday, 16th January 2009. North West: John Woolley advised the meeting that 20 members had enjoyed the dinner held at the ‘Petit Blanc’ Restaurant in Manchester in November 2007. The next North West dinner would be held again at the Petit Blanc Restaurant in Manchester on 7th November 2008. He was keen to try a lunchtime event on a Saturday in 2009 in an attempt to attract new members. He had also tried to arrange a meet at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground earlier in the year but without success. South West: Olaf Suddaby stated that he was still actively endeavouring to arrange a suitable event in the South(West, but was still having difficulty in identifying Association members in the region. South Coast: John Smartt advised the meeting that he had arranged a number of informal bi(lateral luncheon meetings during the year, and was hoping that from these ‘acorns a mighty oak would grow’. Greater Midlands: A second dinner took place on 18th July 2008 at the Civil Service Social and Sports Club in Cheltenham, with just over 20 members and their partners attending. Malcolm King (1965) acted as local host for the evening. In addition, the Hon. Secretary also arranged a lunchtime meet at the University of Leicester for members in the central Midlands area. Although only 5 members attended, news was exchanged in a most relaxed and congenial atmosphere.

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Yorkshire: Another exclusive dinner attended by three members and one spouse took place at a restaurant in Leeds on Friday, 21st June 2008. It was voted a great success by all those who were there. Scotland: The President reported that a magnificent event, complete with Scottish dancers and pipers, had been arranged by Brian Raine in Perth on 19th April. A further event was already being planned for 2009. Northern Ireland: During the year a number of Association members had been contacted by e(mail, and Steven Galway was now confident that an event would take place in 2009. There were no regional reports from London, the South(West, the South Coast or Spain – or indeed the West Indies! 647. DATE OF NEXT MEETING It was agreed that, the next Reunion weekend would be held between Friday, 4th and Sunday 6th September 2009. 648. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Master’s Portrait ( The President reported that the Master’s Portrait fund had only reached the half(way point notwithstanding the herculean efforts made to garner contributions from Association members. A recommendation from the EXEC meeting, that the matter be referred back to Council with a proposal that the monies should be banked and kept on hold until closer to the date of the Master’s retirement from office when a new appeal would be launched to make good the shortfall, was accepted. 21st Anniversary – The Senior Tutor reminded members that 2009 would mark the 21st anniversary of the admission of women students to Hatfield College. It was hoped to arrange a number of events to mark landmark celebration. Suggestions from Association members would be gratefully received. There being no further business, the President declared the meeting closed at 12.25 pm.

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APPENDIX A: The Constitution of the Hatfield Association 1. The Association shall be called the Hatfield Association. 2. All members and Officers of the Hatfield College shall be eligible for membership. 3. The aims of the Hatfield Association shall be to further the educational interests and welfare of the College, and to support the Hatfield Trust. 4. The functions of the Hatfield Association shall be: (a)

to organise an annual reunion of Hatfield College alumni in Durham;

(b)

to publish the ‘Hatfield Record’;

(c)

to promote regional activities of its members;

(d)

to produce annually an independently audited set of accounts;

(e)

to nominate a representative of the Association to serve on College Council.

The Officers of the Association shall be: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h)

The President The President(Elect The Vice(Presidents The Honorary Secretary The Honorary Assistant Secretary The Honorary Treasurer The Honorary Editor of the ‘Hatfield Record’ The Representative of the Association on College Council

and they shall be members of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of: (a) The above named officers.

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(b) At least one Regional Secretary from each of the following areas: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (vix) (x) (xi) (xii)

Scotland Yorkshire North(east England North(west England The Midlands The South Midlands London, the Home Counties and the Eastern Counties South(west England Wales The Junior Common Room Spain and other foreign parts The Middle Common Room

At least two representatives from those students who came into residence in each of the decades from 1920 onwards. The Officers of the Hatfield Association shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting to be held in Durham. The President will normally serve for up to a maximum of five years. At the end of the President’s penultimate year in office, a President( elect shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Hatfield Association supports a magazine to be called the ‘Hatfield Record’ and elects an Honorary Editor to assist with its publication. Members of the College in residence shall achieve life membership of the Association by payment of nine termly instalments. For other members, life membership shall be achieved by means of a single payment. In the unlikely event of the affairs of the Hatfield Association having to be wound up, any residual monies and assets of the Association shall be transferred to the Hatfield Trust. Changes to this constitution shall need a two(third’s majority of those present at the Annual General Meeting, with a minimum of 20 members present, and after due notice of the proposed changes has been given in the ‘Hatfield Record’.

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ASSOCIATION’S FORTHCOMING EVENTS August 1, 2009

Midland Regional Dinner in the Civil Service Club in Cheltenham. Contact: Matthew Fantom (hatfield@violone.co.uk)

September 4(6, 2009

Reunion Weekend & AGM.

September 25, 2009

London Reunion. Tim Burt, Ian Curry and Carwyn Cox plan to hold a reunion in the Alexandria pub, Clapham. Contact: t.p.burt@durham.ac.uk

November 6, 2009

North West Regional Dinner. Contact: johnwoolley@supanet.com

January 9, 2010

Hatfield Winter Dinner in College. Contact: c.a.connolly@durham.ac.uk

TWENTY ONE YEARS OF WOMEN AT HATFIELD Meet any wife of a Hatfield man of a certain age, and they are likely to tell you that there were always women at Hatfield! Maybe so, but officially women have only been members of Hatfield since 1988 when the College went mixed. Despite strong opposition, the then Master, Professor James Barber, successfully led the campaign to go mixed, and women were eventually admitted in 1988. This was an immediate success and by 1996 Arthur Moyes could write in his history of Hatfield: “ The ‘going mixed’ debate is long gone as a serious issue and the Master was right.” It is now hard to imagine what the fuss was all about now, but debate was fierce at the time, and the first women at Hatfield were made to work hard to assume their rightful place. So, after 21 years, it’s good to find out what some of them, old and new, have done since leaving Durham. “Yolande Wright (née Stowell) attended Hatfield 1990 ( 1993. She and her family are currently living in Cambodia, where Yolande works as an adviser for the UK Department for International Development (DFID). DFID leads UK government efforts to fight global poverty.

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Yolande was lucky to be sponsored by DFID in the mid( 1990s to do an MSc on sustainable development and environment ( which helped set her off on a new career track after several years at Procter and Gamble. Since then she worked as a consultant and for DFID in a number of countries, including two years in South Africa, and four years in Bangladesh. She very much enjoys her work, which involves some thorny issues such as how to assist poor people to lift themselves out of poverty, while reducing their vulnerability to climate change. She and her husband Ken have two young children, and number three is eagerly awaited in May.” Yolande with her family “Naomi Hart attended Hatfield from 1990(94 with a year in Cameroon as her 'year abroad' for the degree in Modern Languages. She then spent two muddy but exhilarating years in Tanzania on a motorbike working for a medical charity before returning to the UK to do a degree in Art and Design at Sunderland University. Armed with new skills in welding and glassblowing, she travelled in Australia and New Zealand painting and sketching before returning to Europe, this time the south of France, to set up as a self(employed artist. 2008 saw a year of travelling and exhibiting between places in the world called Ganges (for the full story see her website www.naomihart.info) and she is due to take the exhibition to Canada in 2009. She has recently moved back to the UK and is currently based in Exeter.” Rachel Brown, a rather newer recruit writes: “I arrived through the gates of Hatfield in September 2002, quite a few years after they rightly started letting us ladies in. As an excited Fresher driving northward – the moment I saw a banner hanging from a bridge on the A1, boldly declaring: ‘Hatfield: 50 miles to home’, I knew I’d made the right choice. My time in College was punctuated by friendships, discovering gin and tonic, and a true sense of community.

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A stint on the JCR Exec as Social Secretary, was undoubtedly a highlight. In fact, so much did I like Durham, that I came back to work at the University… Although there is a distinct lack of college songs, handball, 8 before 8, and lazy summer days by the river nowadays…” Yolande was Hatfield’s first “Senior Man” and only three other women have held the post, so there’s still some work to do on the equality front. Even so, the second woman to hold that post, Sam Mowbray, will be elected President of the Hatfield Association at the AGM in September, the first woman to take on the role – another important milestone in Hatfield’s history! We are planning special events to mark the 21st anniversary and I would be glad to receive suggestions about the programme for the weekend reunion, 4th – 6th September. With Sam as President and Yolande giving the main after(dinner speech, it should be a remarkable weekend, and we want to see as many female Hatfield graduates as possible coming back to join us (men are welcome too!). Professor Tim Burt (Master) t.p.burt@durham.ac.uk Reunion details from Cynthia Connolly: c.a.connolly@durham.ac.uk

CLASS OF '59 At the Reunion in September 2006 a small but distinguished group of ex(Hatfield men were present to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of our entry to the College in 1956. We all had a most enjoyable week( end catching up on each other's careers and retirement activities, and particularly enjoyed watching the films of Hatfield Day celebrations of the 1950's at the AGM. Many happy memories were recalled. It was also good to meet up with the group of 1956 graduates, several of whom were known to us as postgrads. e.g. Mike Nicholls, Brian Shillaker and George Calvin. All too soon it will be the 50th Anniversary of our graduation year, and it would be a great pleasure if we could have an even bigger gathering of the Class of '59 at the Reunion weekend in 2009. Please make a note in your diaries for the event. It would be great to catch up with more old friends we whom we shared so much in those happy formative years. Best wishes, Neville Pinkney (1956(60)

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MEMBERS’ NEWS since the publication of the Hatfield Record 2008

Please write to, or email, Cynthia Connolly, c.a.connolly@durham.ac.uk with your news for inclusion in the 2010 Record.

Adams, Poppy (1990(93) I was a Hatfielder, read Natural Sciences, and played lacrosse for the University – leaving in 1993. My debut novel, The Behaviour of Moths was published on May 1st 2008 by Virago, Little Brown. It was superbly read by Stephanie Cole on BBC Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime. Arney, Martin (1966(70) email to Cynthia, June 2008 ( I expect that your e mail traffic will be a bit higher this week with the publication of the Record. I just wanted to send a message to Tony [Grey] via you if that's possible ( having just read his account. I was at Hatfield 1966 to 1970 including an MBA year but with no photo don't know if Tony is known to me ( unlike Marcus Balintulo whom I too remember and that is a great story as well Tony! In 1965 ( in my gap year ( I went on VSO to Qachas Nek (with a "click" in it where the Q is!) at 8,000 feet up in the Drakensberg mountains just over the border from Harrismith in what was then Basutoland, now Lesotho ( and spent a year teaching firstly Geography History and English O levels at Eagles Peak co(ed RC secondary school. I was paid 4 Rand a week (£2 then) ( and with nothing to spend it on had about £30 in my pocket for each of two six week holidays when the school closed down, the priests and nuns went on retreat and I was turfed out to go hitchhiking all over Southern Africa ( Cape Town, Durban, Jo'burg, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Botswana, Swaziland etc. I had some fantastic experiences. I was promoted to science teacher while at the school ( A level Biology, Chemistry and Physics (and I didn't even have O level chemistry!) when the teachers teaching those subjects went back to Maseru as it was too cold in the mountains for them! The white South

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Africans were very kind but all thought it was going to end in bloodshed. I travelled with black professors from Roma University in Basutoland through the Free State where they were treated with disdain. I was in Cape Town in Sept 1966 when Vervoed was assassinated. This was a month before I came back to England to travel up to Durham for the first time in my life to start at Hatfield. While I was away my headmaster did all my UCAS applications and got me five offers and I chose Durham for the Geography with Prof Fisher ( the sport (I had played rugby for England schoolboys) ( and because it was furthest from home. The point of this e mail is to say how inspired I was with Tony's story and wish him all the luck and perseverance in the world. It is a magnificent thing he is doing and I am very envious. The problems are just the same ( if not worse with the AIDS and HIV. Hopefully the students will make it all worthwhile. Some of mine went on to great things in government. From his photo at least they ARE children. Most of my boys were men as they could not start education until they had finished herding their cattle at about 14 ( then start primary. All education needed paying for so they worked in the mines for a year or two in SA to pay for a few years of education at home in Basutoland. By the time a few reached A levels they were in their thirties! ( but with good A levels they could get good jobs with the government. As the first volunteer at the school some of the "boys" were suspicious of my motives. They had never met a white man other than a priest who was not after money ( so they went on strike for a day. The Headmaster managed to convince them that I was very poorly paid ( so they went back to school the next day. Penny (my partner) and I went back in 2006 ( 40 years on and visited some of the old haunts ( the school of course, Addo elephant park, Cape Town via the garden route and whales offshore, Durban, etc. ( but our abiding memory is our first night in a rondavel with no electricity at the Masakala Guest House near Matatiele ( on the way to Lesotho ( arriving in the pitch dark miles from anywhere ( and waking up with cattle going to pasture, ladies collecting water from the standpipe, breakfast being cooked over open fires, etc. It is a wonderful country with hundreds of happy memories and deserves so much...you can only do good there Tony ( so best of luck for the next 10 months. Barton, Tom (1988(91) email to Cynthia, May 2008 ( Lucy Hannah Barton was born at 7.06am on Friday 25 April 2008, weighing in at 3.62kgs or just about 8lbs on the nose. Having got to Kingston Hospital at around 5.15am this morning, Lucy's arrival a little less

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than two hours later was rather nice; and we were all home by six that evening. Joe, who is staying with his (maternal) grandparents, is going to meet Lucy for the first time tomorrow morning ( an event that his little sister is very much looking forward to. At least that's my impression. Brewin, Emma (2003(06) email to the Master, August 2008 ( Hi Tim, just thought I'd give you a bit of an update ( I imagine you like to hear what your geographers are getting up to. By chance, I sat next to a Durham geographer at a wedding last weekend and we shared lots of happy memories. I've just finished a year working for a publisher in Oxford and am about to move to Budapest, Hungary to work for the 'Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe'. I'm going to be working on the 'Green Horizon' magazine they publish, which looks at cross(border environmental issues in the region. The freelance writing has been picking up ( I'm just about to have my second paid article published in the Asian magazine 'Property Report'. The piece is about Morocco's luxury property market ( a subject on which I have, by necessity, become an expert! The aim is to steer it towards a more geographical theme in the future. I hope you and your family are well and that you've enjoyed a good summer. Cattanach, (née Mallin6Jones) Ali (1996(2000) email to Cynthia, September 2008 ( Just thought I would drop you a quick note for inclusion in next year’s Hatfield Record. Since leaving Hatfield, I’ve lived and worked in Cheltenham, with a few overseas trips thrown in. I got married in 2005 to Stuart (who is in the RAF), but the real reason for writing is to let you know that I was recently honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. I’ve just received the invitation for my investiture which will be on 21 Nov. Unfortunately I’m unable to shop for a suitable outfit just yet, as I’m two weeks away from giving birth to our first child!! It’s turning out to be a great year! Edmondson, Jack (1996(99) married Sarah Martin on 9th August 2008 at Clearwell Castle in Gloucestershire. They met at Magdalen College Oxford. Ushers included Ben Fletcher and Reg Ennes(Borlace who, with more than a sprinkling of other Hatfield friends in attendance, brought some good Hatfield Spirit to the occasion.

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Freeman, Andy (1995(99) and Clare (nĂŠe Reay) (1996(99) email to the Master, February 2009 ( hope all is well at Hatfield and my two girls, Holly and Elizabeth are doing me proud? [Clare teaches at the Royal Masonic School for Girls and it turns out that four of her former students are currently with us!] It's funny that you get to know the girls so well and then they disappear off to Uni, never to be seen again! I hope that they are behaving themselves and living the Hatfield spirit! I am still on maternity leave after Thomas arrived on 15 April 2008 ( a little earlier than expected but at a healthy 7lb 10. He is growing very fast and already enjoys playing with his ball globe! Clearly a geographer! Gale, Charlotte (1997(2000) after six years working for an e( Marketing agency, the travelling bug finally got the better of me for a second time round (once a geographer always a geographer I'm afraid!) I took 6 months out last year to explore Africa, South America and the Middle East, with highlights including lion monitoring and biodiversity research whilst volunteering in South Africa and the Amazon Rainforest. I am now back in Harrogate and am continuing to do some e(Marketing on a consultancy basis, but have also set up a business selling framed photographs and greetings cards. If anyone is interested in seeing how I am putting my Geography degree to good use, you can find me online at www.pictur(esque.com. Gardener, Robert (1997(2000) Robert Gardener and his wife, Daisy, have moved to Abu Dhabi in March this year. Robert has joined Bell Pottinger Middle East to work with a number of government departments in the region. Anyone heading out there or already there may wish to let Robert know: robertgardener686@btinternet.com. Griffiths, Rob (1971(74) email to Cynthia ( Sorry it's taken so long to get back to you, I've been extremely busy at the end of term mainly with school football commitments! We've reached 3 finals so it's been hectic.

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I do remember you, I can remember seeing you at the Chedworth cricket match (back in 2000 which I think was the last year we played sadly). I also have vague recollections from the early 1970s in Hatfield. I must have made some reference to John Ingham in my letter, I last met him back in 2003, he'd hardly changed a bit. The time before that was at his marriage to Dorothy (ex St. Mary's) in the mid( seventies although I've always kept in touch by Christmas card each year. John is a social worker in Devon and his wife is a radiographer at a local hospital. Les Silcock (ex Shincliffe like me) is Head of Maths at Calday Grange GS on the Wirral. Last time I saw him I amazingly just bumped (not literally) into him in the south of France. Chris "Wellie" Martin (scourge of C Stairs along with Pete Davies) is teaching in France (English to French students!), last saw him at Chedworth 2000 (he married a French assistante who he met whilst in Durham) along with Clive Miller, Nick Lowther, Dave Keene, Andy Morgan, Neil Probert and others. Even Mike Lax turned up if I remember, beer bottle in hand, just like old times. Through the Dunelm website I managed to contact Maurice Whitehead (ex Shincliffe) who is lecturing at Swansea university, Pete Davies who, predictably, is building bridges in his native Cheshire. He assures me that "expensive" red wines have now replaced beer. Also I managed to contact my old mate Dave Ewart through a young, female colleague of mine (not as interesting as it sounds! She's ex St. Cuths or Chads I think). Great to see that Dave is Head of Barnard Castle school, I expect that you see him from time to time in Hatfield. He said he has various contacts with Hatfield still. I think a daughter or daughters went through Durham. I've become "part of the furniture" at Loughborough GS, now in my 34th year there (regular Mr.Chips!) I've thoroughly enjoyed a good mix of geography and sport (now Head of Football). I played a lot of football in the local Leics. and Notts. leagues after leaving Durham. My wife Kathy is a local Loughborough girl who used to work for Fisons pharmaceuticals before we had a family. Now have two teenagers, Will 18 and Annabel who is 16. Still try to spend time in the Lake District where my family (mum, brother and family, sister and husband in Edinburgh) are based. Kathy, the two children and I all like walking. Last time in Durham was 1988 when I showed Kathy around the place. If in the North East I'll pop in, it would be interesting to see how the place has changed.

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Halstead, Andrew (1977(80) Congratulations are in order for Andy’s daughter, Alice, who won the coveted title of “BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year in October 2008”. Alice is a pupil at King Edward’s High School for Girls, Birmingham and a student at the Birmingham Junior Conservatoire. This year Alice sang on TV Songs of Praise BBC1 on 22nd February. Hayes, Richard (1999(2002) email to the Master ( Well I’m in Singapore as broker working for a company called Icap Shipping. I currently head up the Asian Dry FFA desk… FFAs are a financial tool for people involved in shipping and having exposure to the commodities market (dry being coal, grain, ore, rice, cement, salt etc). To make it sound interesting would be an impossibility but it is actually quite good fun. Harman, Simon (1993(96) moved to Richmond in Surrey email address: simonharman@hotmail.com Jones, (née Gyllenspetz) Hayley (1993(96) [below] married Craig at the Moritt Arms Hotel in Greta Bridge on 24th May 2008.

Mackaness, Olly (1994(97) and Charlotte (née Curry) (1994(98) email to Cynthia, September 2008 ( Olly and I got married in 2002. The following year we gave up our London jobs and moved to Northamptonshire ( via a six(month stint travelling around the world.

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Olly works in his family business and I'm a freelance journalist, although I haven't been very busy on the work front in the last year as I've had two children in 14 months! Edward came in February 07 (Jamie Butler is one of his godparents) and Alice arrived this April. Her godparents are all Hatfield girls: Kirsty Parker (née Shepherd), Sally Wright (née Precious) and Ali Mann (now Mrs Hazelwood but I think she still goes by Mann!). Spookily enough Ali had her first baby this year ( on the very same day that Alice was born. As with most people of our vintage, children seemed to be arriving thick and fast. Jamie and Alex (née John) Butler have two, Sally Wright is having a c (section this week, Will Godfrey has a little girl who is nearly one and so the list goes on. As for me and Olly, I think we might have a "baby break" before adding any more to the Hatfielders' tally. Marsden, Paul (1996(2000) email to Cynthia, September 2007 ( I’m over in the USA now, living and working in Houston after some 7 years working in various places throughout Asia. I am still working with the same US(based engineering and construction company, but now located in their operational HQ for the Oil, Gas and Chemicals business. It’s pretty good to get into an office for a few years, and will be a change in pace from working in the field on major construction projects. For anyone who would like to stay in touch, my email is pdmarsde@bechtel.com. It would always be great to see anyone who is heading this way, and there is always plenty of hospitality. Best wishes to all!! As always, wonderful to hear from you. Look forward to the next edition of the Record! Mitchell (née Fulton) Yvonne (1996(99) email to the Master, January 2009 ( I wish I could say that it seems like only yesterday that I arrived at Hatfield as an eager young Geographer but having just celebrated my 30th birthday, I am actually feeling rather ancient! I have extremely fond memories of my time at Durham and keep in regular contact with Sarah Burgess who you may remember as being in my year. She just got engaged this Christmas and is gradually moving further North towards Scotland so I hope to see much more of her in the future. Since leaving Durham in 1999 I followed a career in events management based in Edinburgh which was great fun and a terrific opportunity to learn about all aspects of small business operations. I took a belated GAP year in 2001/2 with my (now) husband and had a phenomenal experience teaching in Peru for 2 months followed by backpacking through Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India. It

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was an exceptional time and really opened my eyes in so many ways. Several years later when I was asked in a PGCE interview how I was going to inspire pupils in Physical Geography given my university background in all things human and development(related, I replied that having seen the Andes, I would not find it difficult to convey how truly awesome a mountain range, glacier and tropical rainforest can be! In 2004, having organised enough parties, weddings and corporate days to last a lifetime, I pursued my long(held dream of teaching Geography. I studied my PGCE at Moray House in Edinburgh (many thanks to Bob [Allison] who wrote me an extremely generous reference to help secure my place!) and after a probation year at Dalkeith High School I secured a permanent job at Fettes College in 2006. It’s extremely hard work being involved in a boarding school with teaching 6 days a week and extensive games and extra( curricular activities – not to mention the weekly duty nights (I’m currently on duty in one of the boarding houses and about to put 50 girls to bed!) – but I do love the place and simply adore my subject. Geography really is a fantastic subject and I feel enormously lucky to have both studied and taught it. In addition to my work at Fettes I have spent the last 2 years acting as Conference Convenor for the Scottish Association of Geography Teachers which involves the organisation of the association’s annual conference. We are the most active and well supported subject association in Scotland and are extremely proud of our annual conference which is our flagship event, attended by over 350 delegates, speakers and publishers. In my first year our theme was environmental sustainability with key notes speakers including Sandy Tudhope of Edinburgh University. Last year we again attracted superb speakers in the form of Iain Stewart from Plymouth University and presenter of Earth: Power of the Planet etc and Mark Beaumont who recently broke the record for circumnavigation of the Earth by bicycle. It was a fantastic occasion and the pressure is now on to come up with something special for 2009! The position of Conference Convenor is usually a 3(year post, however, after 2 years I am standing down as I am expecting twins in April!

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I very much look forward to hearing from you and hope that all is well at dear Hatfield!

And the twins arrived! Saskia and Jasmine Newman, (nĂŠe Jessop) Marianne (1994(97) email to Cynthia, March 2009 ( Every year I receive my copy of the Hatfield Record and think, I must write in. Well, I have finally remembered! I married Matt Newman (Grey College) in 2003 with many Hatfielders present to outdo the Grey Army, including Eva Ferguson who was a bridesmaid and Karen Appleton who did a reading. Matt and I have two children Ella (three) and Billy (one) and live in a village near Reading. I am having a break from teaching but look forward to returning to the classroom when the children are a little older. Best wishes, Marianne Noble, Lorna (2003(07) recently raised more than ÂŁ500 at a coffee morning in her home town of Barnard Castle, to support troops suffering from wounds or illnesses in war zones. Lorna decided to raise some cash for the Help the Heroes Fund which is assisting them. Robertson, Adrian (1942(48) Adrian regrets that he was unable to be present for the Reunion Weekend 2008. He and his wife Elizabeth where celebrating his 86th birthday with their daughter and son(in(law

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in Kent. However, he says that Hatfield will not be forgotten and that the odd glass will be raised to Hatfield, the Association and to old friends. Read, (née Robson) Mary (1999(2002) married Matt (St. Aidan’s 1995(98) on 19th July 2008 in South Africa. Smith, Peter (1975(78) email to Cynthia, June 2008 ( After almost 30 years with M&S, took voluntary redundancy/early retirement in 2002. Started my own company and am now Partner in a Management Consultancy LLP having returned to Yorkshire in 2005. Recently appointed Board Chair of S. Yorks Probation Area(2 days a week on average. So enjoying a portfolio career as they say. The Record reminded me about the Business Lions so I have finally sent off my details. Smith, Jon (2006(07) is the new (first) Hatfield Association Representative in New York. Email: jonathan.smith@willis.com. Spaul, John (1947(50) regrettably had to cancel 2008 September Reunion, but sent a general greeting to members for a happy weekend and hopes to join them for the 2009 Reunion. Stark, Revd. Fr. Michael (1953(56) in April 2008 attended the 300th Anniversary Celebration of St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Rotterdam with Bishop Geoffrey Rowell (Bishop of Europe) and HRH Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands: in June 2008 attended Royal Garden Party as Hon. Chaplain to Leicester Branch of the Royal Artillery Association. Swarbrick, Laurence (1968(71) email to Cynthia, June 2008 ( I am writing this email to you from my study where I am looking at a large photograph of the University's UAU winning 2nd XV of 1971. I am sat on the front row, three places away from Ray Edwards. It came as quite a shock to read about him in the obituary column of the latest Hatfield Record. He was such a nice man and he certainly helped me out on the pitch a few times, especially when he took over responsibility from me at throwing the ball in at the lineout. I was erratic at best and being relieved of that job allowed me to relax and score tries, which I was supposed to do, allowing Ray to receive the plaudits for his new found expertise. My memories of Ray and the team remain strong and I would like to offer my condolences to his family and close friends. There were ten Hatfield men in the winning team and we beat Loughborough 14(11 after having been down 11(0 at half time. Ian Graham, Registrar, was so impressed with our

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performance that he treated us all to dinner and more than a few drinks at the annual rugby club dinner. It doesn't seem like 37 years ago and it is not easy to comprehend that one of the team is no longer with us. I suppose that this is the only way that I can offer my condolences. I was struck by the anonymous quotation which was reproduced in the Master's letter and even after all these years, I regard myself as belonging to Hatfield. I suspect that was true of all ten players. Toy, Canon Dr. John (1950(53) former Canon Chancellor of York Minster, has edited a book entitled English Saints in the Medieval Liturgies of Scandanavian Churches. For anyone with interest in medieval history, the easiest way to order a copy of the book is on( line at: www.boydell.co.uk/souk.htm. Watson, Jeff (1959(66) sculptor from Longueuil, participated as a member of the delegation of Canada at the Salon Internationale 2008 of the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris from 11th ( 14th December. For this, the 10th salon at the Louvre Carrousel, and the 4th delegation of Canada, the jury of the SNBA selected Jeff`s sculpture in Indian Serpentine, `Percer le Mur du Silence` (breaking down the wall of silence). which was awarded the Rumsey prize, one of the major prizes for sculpture awarded by the Société Nationale des Beaux Arts (SNBA). This is a great honour for him since this is the salon where Rodin, Camille Claudel, and Antoine Bourdelle, among others exhibited their works. The SNBA was begun in 1890 by such renowned artists as the sculptor Rodin and the painter Puvis de Chavannes. The SNBA has been recognized as a public organization since 1909 and receives support from the Ministry of Culture and the city of Paris.

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Each year since its creation the SNBA has organized a salon that highlights the best of international art. All forms of art are represented (abstract, figurative, geometric, naive, etc) as well as all forms of sculpture (stone, wood, glass, metal). This salon is one of the final cultural events of the year in Paris and received more than 8,000 visitors, including 4,000 at the opening in 2008. Jeff works in his studio in old Longueuil. He has been accepted as a professional artist by the influential Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du Quebec (RAAV) and the Association of Sculptors in Stone of the Monteregie (ASPM). He works mostly in stone, although he has recently incorporated stainless steel in his sculptures. For more information visit: www.sculpturejeffwatson.com. Webber, Tom (1999(2003) is teaching physics at Myton School in Warwick. He has recently enrolled on a part(time MA course, examining the ways in which teaching methods and the material used in the classroom affect the way students learn. Winch, Patrick (2003(06) enjoying life at HEFCE in Bristol as a Higher Education Adviser. He recently organised an event on environmental issues in higher education attended by the Master.

Katie Powe at graduation with her mother (Penny) and Tim Burt. Tim taught Penny at Huddersfield Polytechnic in the late 1970s!

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DEATHS Crisp, Dr. D. Trevor (1953(55) died on 1 January 2009. Crosby, Jack Lionel (Hatfield Tutor 1950s) died on 19th June 2008 aged 91 years. Gleave, John T. (1935(39) notified of his death on 19 April 2008. Hornshaw, Thomas R. (1950(53) died 1 August 2007. Huddleston, Bill (1949(52) died on 30 July 2008 a few weeks short of his 79th birthday. McNamara, Simon (2002(05) died suddenly from a heart attack whilst on holiday in Croatia, on 17 July 2008. Nutting, Tony (1948(51) died on 22 April 2009 whilst on holiday in Wales. Powell, Chris (1970(1973) died unexpectedly on 11 April 2008 whilst travelling overseas for the UN on World Health Organization business. Steward, John (1955(60) died on 20 January 2009. John resided in Calgary, AB Canada. Stockill, Jack (1947(50) died on 7 September 2008. A Service with Thanksgiving and Celebration for Jackâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life took the parish church of St. Hilda, The Headland, Hartlepool September. Jack was a very loyal supporter of the College Association.

Funeral place in on 16th and the

Townsend, Julie partner of John Woolley (1971(74) died on 17 July 2008 after a long illness. Tubb, Dr. Arthur (1949(53) died on 30 January 2009. Wood6Allum, Keith (1955(59) died on 14 October 2008. Keith joined the Kingston upon Thames school staff in 1960 with a degree in German from Durham University. He made use of his German contacts to arrange annual school exchange visits to Eutin in

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Schleswig(Holstein where the purest German was said to be spoken. In 1962 he married Irene who came to teach at Coombe Girls’ School. He is also remembered as the rowing coach who ended up in the river when the Canbury Gardens bank gave way. In 1963 they moved to Middlesbrough where he had responsibility for German teaching. Moving into educational administration with posts successively in Derbyshire, Lancashire and Northamptonshire, he retired as Chief Education Officer for Leicestershire. Johnathan Young, representing the Hatfield Association, attended the humanist service which lasted 90 minutes in total. The service was conducted by a humanist minister and there were five relatively light( hearted contributions from different stages in his life. Johnathan spoke the words of his contemporary John Boult ( Keith was his best man and they rowed together in the same Hatfield and University crew for two years.

OBITUARIES Trevor Crisp (1953656) Trevor came to Hatfield in Autumn 1953 from Sheffield and read Zoology. At 5’2”, a lightweight, but with a voice to match his strong personality he made an ideal cox for Hatfield boats. He achieved a thoroughly deserved 1st in 1956 and went on to complete his PhD on the ecology of freshwater invertebrates. This subject remained his major topic throughout his long career, supported by Diane his long term ‘assistant’ and wife. He later gained his DSc at Durham. But don’t get the impression of a narrow(minded freshwater zoologist! His first real career job was as a biologist on a whaler in the Antarctic. This required toughness and agility as he had to extract otoliths from the whales ears while they were being flensed on the bloody deck of the rolling boat! On return to UK he worked in the Lake District briefly on earthworms before returning to his first love of freshwater biology with the Freshwater Biological Association in Windermere and later Teesdale. He worked up at Moor House in the Pennines where he decided to get more information on the variability of upland river flow. So he sampled Trout Beck at Moor House at 1800m in the Pennines, every

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day in the year ( a year which happened to include the longest recorded frost in UK ( at Moor House! Trevor got his data, published the results ( and married his dedicated assistant Diane. They worked together for the rest of Trevor’s life and continued to sample the rivers and becks of northern England and Scotland.

Trevor was one of the 5 alumni who donated the boat ‘John Willatt’ to HCBC. Seen here coxing his 4 friends on the day ‘John Willatt’ was launched They retired to Galloway where they continued to enjoy two of his particular hobbies ( fishing and vintage Austin 7s, as well as his children and grandchildren. Trevor retained his characteristic enthusiasm, cheerfulness and humour until his sudden death of a heart(attack in December 2008. Bill Heal (1953(56)

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Jack Crosby appointed as one of the first tutors in 1948 Jack Crosby was appointed by D.H. Valentine to a University Lectureship in Botany during the war years and remained at Durham throughout his career, attaining a Readership in Genetics. Jack was chiefly known for two fields of research. While a research student at Cambridge, he had investigated populations of primroses in Somerset in which a proportion of individuals carried a genetic recombination which allowed them to self(pollinate and self(fertilise. Most primroses only set seed after cross(fertilization. This study led to a youthful letter to Nature (1940). Crosby suggested that the offspring of such plants would suffer from inbreeding depression, which should offset the automatic fitness advantage their parents gained from self(fertilization. Trained in the school of Ronald Fisher, Crosby used his field data to produce some of the first mathematical models ever used in the science of population genetics. This led to a much cited paper in Heredity (1949), provocatively entitled ‘Selection of an unfavourable gene(complex’. This gave rise to a storm of controversy and was attacked by, among others, a young Walter (later Sir Walter) Bodmer. Thirty years later, the Curtises revisited Crosby’s populations and showed that his predictions had been largely fulfilled. Crosby’s work on primroses was immortalised in possibly the best programme of the first television series ‘Bellamy on Botany’, Wars of the Primroses’. Crosby was also an early pioneer in the use of computers to simulate the genetics of population genetics. He was already listed as a major user of the Durham computer in 1957. When ‘Pegasus’ arrived, he would book the machine for all(night sessions, and as an undergraduate in the early 1960s I remember his haggard appearance when he lectured after one of these marathons. Today a modern PC would undertake these operations in the blink of an eye! As a statistician, Crosby was particularly interested in the role played in evolution by random fluctuations of gene frequencies in small populations, and was able to simulate these processes at an early date. This led to another influential publication in Heredity (1970) ‘Simulation of allopatric speciation’, and the publication of a seminal early book, ‘Computer Simulation in Genetics’ (1973).

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To a small coterie, Jack was a truly inspiring lecturer. Incisive and clear, he never carried a note, and his only visual aid was the blackboard which he used to great effect. He would start each lecture by addressing the front row ‘now Miss X, could you please read out the last line of last week’s notes?’, and would take the lecture from there, word perfect. This was the best possible evidence of his exceptional ability. John Richards, a former student of Dr. Crosby

Bill Huddleston (1949652) Bill attended Barrow Grammar School before entering Hatfield to read Chemistry in 1949. He did not distinguish himself in the usual Hatfield fashion i.e. academically or in sport, but in the Durham Colleges he was president of Methsoc and Social Secretary of SCM, and had a wide circle of friends, most of whom became lifelong. He met his wife Liz (née Atkins, Neville’s Cross College 1950(54) whom he married in 1957. After University he worked first for the Atomic Energy Authority and then for ICI Petrochemicals, trained and lectured in Management at Teesside and Darlington Polytechnics, and later set up his own business in management training and redundancy counselling. He eventually became a personal counsellor and therapist, mainly NLP and Hypnotherapy, being recognised by the NHS and taking referrals from GPs, and transforming many lives. He remained a Methodist and Local Preacher and held many and varied offices in his local churches. He also served the Spastics Society (Scope) and the Chartered Institute of Management on the local, regional and national committees, was founder chairman of the Cleveland Family History Society, and chairman of the International Foundation for Action Learning. Such a without insights Hatfield

varied and far reaching life would not have been possible the influence first of his family background and second the and confidence(building experience of being a member of College.

He leaves his widow, Elizabeth, three children and five grandsons.

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Chris Powell (1970673) Chris was lucky enough to experience and enjoy a range of Hatfield’s residential opportunities starting with Shincliffe Hall where we met and which we all regarded as an “elite venue”. After our second year in College, we both moved to Parsons Field Court; members of the first undergraduate body of students to move into this equally elite venue. Chris read Sociology and grew the appropriate beard which, coupled with the hair length of the era, gave him the stylish appearance required—something similar to Eric Clapton. Although he took on more of a nautical air when acting as skipper of the Shincliffe Hall raft for the annual race (battle) with B Stairs during Hatfield Day on the river, below Dunlem Bridge. Whether it was Chris’s seamanship, or our fire power (bags of cow dung supported with rotten cooking apples, versus the old cabbages fired by B Stairs) which won the day is still controversial; but Chris’s vessel was the only raft still intact at the end!

From the beginning Chris had a deep and broad interest in journalism, particularly radio, and he quickly became a disc jockey on student radio with a considerable fan base. In his first year he met Jan Burgess (Trevelyan College, 1970(73). They eventually married in

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1978 and had three children, Abigail, George and Hugo. (Abigail followed in her parents’ footsteps at St. Mary’s College, 2001(04). On graduating, Chris gained a diploma in journalism studies at Cardiff University, fulfilling his ambition to become a professional journalist when he was appointed TV reporter for the BBC’s regional news programme ‘South Today’. He went on to work for the BBC in the East Midlands and Wales and in 1988, he and his family moved to Geneva, where he became BBC foreign correspondent, travelling widely. You may have heard his reports for the Radio 4 “Today” programme or “From our own Correspondent” on such diverse topics as the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the fall of Romanian President Ceausescu and the Tiananmen Square massacre in China. In 1990 Chris joined the World Health Organisation (WHO), as Media Relations Officer for the AIDS programme. This was a major change in direction, but he wanted to move on from his role as an observer and reporter of world events to being a person who could influence policy and events. His wide experience as a mainstream journalist was fundamental to the important contribution he made to WHO. Chris particularly loved field work and was on the front line of major health emergencies during a ten(year period. In Zaire he managed WHO communications during the Ebola outbreak. He did other similar jobs for the first WHO scientific team into China to investigate the outbreak of the SARS epidemic in Guangdong Province, and again in Aceh, Indonesia following the 2004 tsunami disaster. In more recent years he tutored a wide range of executives and decision makers in communication skills, giving them the confidence and ability to communicate clearly, which in turn has helped create the WHO’s modern global image.

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Chris maintained a life(long interest in sailing and for a number of years was a reserve officer in the Royal Navy, only resigning when the move to Geneva became permanent. In Geneva he quickly discovered an ability to sing and for many years was a leading performer and producer for the Geneva Amateur Operatic Society, in a wide range of theatre productions, ranging from musical comedy to classical opera. In April 2008, Chris flew to Tunis to deliver a lecture for the WHO, but collapsed and died from a cerebral haemorrhage within 36 hours of giving the lecture. His funeral took place in Geneva on 21 April. As the hearse drew away from the Church, a group of passing Chinese tourists filmed the event and we all agreed that Chris would have appreciated that final moment of theatre. Steve Bassnett (1970(73)

Arthur Tubb (1949653) Those who remember the 1949 Hatfield intake will recall the beard, the two(tone battle dress and Cherry –Pickers beret; they will be delighted to learn that Dr Tubb, still bearded ended his days as a member of Hatfield SCR. After his 1st class BA and Dip. Ed. Arthur taught for ten years in a tough secondary modern school in Middlesbrough, introducing the then novel concept of social studies. He moved into teacher training in 1964 and became Head of the Education Department in Middleton St George College of Education until his retirement in 1980. He had already returned to live in Durham where he renewed his contact with the University taking an M.Ed and completing his Ph.D thesis on the work of Karl Popper. Arthur’s wife , Lucy, whom he married at the end of his third year at Hatfield, became a Senior Lecturer in the University. They were inseparable and never moved from Durham where Arthur continued to pursue his interest in music and chess. Lucy died in 2008 and those close to them were not surprised that Arthur went into rapid decline and died, in their daughter’s care in London, a year later. Don Young (1949(53)

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ADVANCED NOTICE OF FORTHCOMING COLLEGE EVENTS

Summer Reunion : 13 June 2009 BBQ/Dance in College. 7.00(11.30pm Kinky Jeff and the Hatfield Swingers (coincides with the Durham Regatta Weekend). For more details please contact: ian.curry@durham.ac.uk.

Chapel Choir Tour : 15 6 22 July 2009 The Choir Tour this year will be to Gloucester Cathedral (15 ( 17 July ( Evensongs at 5.30pm), Pershore Abbey (19 July ( Eucharist at 10.30am and Evensong at 6.30pm) and Worcester Cathedral (20(22 July ( Evensongs at 5.30pm). Alexander Crawford (the Choir Director) will be leading the tour. Alumni are welcome to join the congregation for as many of the services as they wish and for those wishing to join the choir for a service, please contact Alex in advance (email: a.i.g.crawford@durham.ac.uk).

Young Graduates’ Dinner : 14 November 2009 A reunion dinner for those graduating in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. Please register your interest with the Master’s Secretary (janet.raine@durham.ac.uk). Bar open at 6.30pm; dinner at 7.30pm. Dress: black tie. Cost £22.50 including wine, cheques payable to Durham University.

Geography Reunion Dinner : 30 January 2010 Another chance for all our geography graduates to join current students at the annual Hatfield Geographers’ Dinner. Dress: black tie. Further details from t.p.burt@durham.ac.uk. Cost £22.50 including wine, cheques payable to Durham University.

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BANQUETING ~ CONFERENCES FUNCTIONS ~ WEDDING RECEPTIONS For information on organizing a function in Hatfield College please contact EVENT DURHAM (Tel: 0800 289970).

Celebrating 10 years since matriculation. A dinner in College organised by Carwyn Cox and Stephen Ellis

HCAFC reunion on the Astroturf!

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USEFUL CONTACTS AT HATFIELD MASTER: Professor Tim Burt 0191 334 2611 t.p.burt@durham.ac.uk

TRUST OFFICE: Mr. Ian Curry (Director) 0191 334 2603 ian.curry@durham.ac.uk

SENIOR TUTOR: Dr. Penny Widdison 0191 334 2642 p.e.widdison@durham.ac.uk

TRUST OFFICE: Mrs. Cynthia Connolly (Asst Director) 0191 334 2620 c.a.connolly@durham.ac.uk

ARCHIVIST: Mr. Arthur Moyes 0191 334 2644 w.a.moyes@durham.ac.uk

ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: Professor Bill Heal o.w.heal@durham.ac.uk

Lucky Josh!

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“Hatfield Spirit”, by Hannah Ross. Winning photograph from 2008 Art Exhibition 156