Domestic Bursar’s Report

BY CHRISTINE HOUGHTON

It has been another busy and productive year at Lucy Cavendish.

The catering team have worked hard to entice students and College members to dine in Hall, and at Nautilus Café/Bar. The addition of a Barista coffee machine has added to its popularity. The students have organised a number of events in the Nautilus, including our renowned ‘bops’. We are committed to being as sustainable as possible, and have been focusing particularly on vegetarian and vegan meals. Formal Halls in Michaelmas were very well attended.

Due to Covid all Formal and served meals stopped in March 2020. We did continue to provide a catering service offering a takeaway lunch service for our students staying in college and they also had the ability to order meals for evening and weekends.

As well as catering provision, the Domestic Bursary is responsible for co-ordinating a lively programme of conferences, summer schools and events, plus refurbishment projects and general maintenance during the summer of 2019. Some of our clients have been with us for over a decade – this repeat business is testament to the excellent relationships we have fostered with a number of organisers and companies. We are also always looking for potential new business relationships and this year we welcomed some new clients to our portfolio. Sadly, Covid had a grave impact on conference business.

The team worked hard to keep in touch with our clients, but all events had to be cancelled from March 2020 onwards. We continue to encourage them to move their booking or event to 2021.

During the summer of 2019, we undertook a number of refurbishment projects including:

Refurbished 13 kitchens in Oldham Hall. The sets all have stylish, new, contemporary kitchens Refurbished balconies in De Brye, Bertram and Marshall House Along with Blenheim Court residents we organised a replacement roof on the building shared by six flats Created a larger office on the ground floor of College House, by knocking a small office and storeroom into one Completed new tiling on the floor in the entrance of the Porters’ Lodge.

Paris Tague joined College in June 2019 to work with the Domestic Bursary team, the Bursar and HR Manager. As well as dealing with conference enquiries coming in from MEET Cambridge and helping with all event bookings internal and external she and Katie Clarke have been very involved in dealing with all aspects of accommodation - a large task. They have both worked hard at populating modules to create an event and booking system and we look forward to using it fully in the near future. I could not have better support.

On 5th February 2020 I was delighted to attend a drinks party in College to mark my 30 years as Domestic Bursar. The guests included current Fellows, staff and SU, retired Fellows and staff, colleagues from other colleges and the University, contractors, conference organisers and family. It was so nice to see so many people from the many parts of my college life.

I was very touched by the lovely address by the President. I also have to thank Katie for the rolling picture gallery, catering and the beautiful cake.

I feel very privileged to have been part of the ongoing growth of this wonderful, inspiring college. I remember so fondly students throughout the decades from the day they arrive to the day they graduate. I have been part of the expansion of our estate when I started in 1990, when there were around 50 study/bedrooms and a dining hall that held 50. We now look after around 300 units of accommodation and have a wonderful dining hall that can host Formal Dinners for 150, as well as our recent Nautilus Café/Bar. When I started in 1990 we had very few conference bookings and before COVID hit us we were turning over almost 800 k a year and had built up a very loyal following with many groups coming back year on year.

I have worked with some lovely people over the years. Too many to mention. They made my job possible. Their dedication and loyalty never ceases to amaze me. Time and things do not stay still at Lucy Cav and I so look forward to the next chapters. I’d like to thank everyone that has made this job so interesting and exciting, and always such a delight. They do say ‘time passes quickly when you’re having fun’ and that is certainly the case here.

Covid has had an impact on all our teams. Our students have had great support from all departments in College. From March Deborah and her team in Housekeeping and Martin and his team in Catering have continued to provide services to all. We will continue to provide the very best service we can to all College members as we adapt to the ‘new normal’ and aim to keep everyone well fed whilst minimizing the risks to all.