Freshers' Event, September 2024
Our eighth annual Freshers’ Meeting was held in September. It was once again generously hosted by Eversheds Sutherland in their Manchester Office. Over the years the size of the event has doubled, and in 2024 over sixty freshers arrived to meet one another and ask questions of a panel of undergraduates.
There was plenty of practical advice, from managing your work-load to drying your washing, and also time to connect with other freshers destined for the same course or college. The event was ably chaired by Sarah Herdan, and supported by OUS Manchester members and Oxonians from Eversheds Sutherland.
It is very rewarding to see problems answered and apprehension dissolved in the nervous weeks leading up to the first term at Oxford.
Walking Tour of St Peter’s Square, Castlefield, and St John’s, Manchester, September 2024
Thirty-five of us thoroughly enjoyed a walking tour – enlightening and amusing in equal measure – of St Peter’s Square, St John’s, and Castlefield. Our guide Jonathan Schofield combined his great love and knowledge of Manchester with an irreverence entirely appropriate to a city with a history of cocking a snook at the establishment. And he managed to speak above the noise of the raucous crowds enjoying the warm Indian summer sunshine.
Highlights included the benefits of assertive press independence at the time of the Peterloo Massacre; the seven bees on the seven seas carved atop the former YMCA building, signifying Manchester’s past pride in its busy global trade; the innovative use of wooden sets to dampen the noise of carriage wheels outside a hospital; two bollards that started life as canon barrels in Bonnie Prince Charlie’s army; a pub named after a variety of potato; the intimidating railway arches that featured so aptly in Peaky Blinders; and the utter disregard for the oldest Roman stone in the city, hidden out of the way and not even labelled! We finished with an uplifting reminder of the successful return of residents to the city centre, both in the Georgian terraces of St John’s and in the new blocks towering over Castlefield.
The instant, spontaneous applause that greeted Jonathan at the end of the tour showed how much everyone appreciated his ability to bring local history to life.
Tour of Bramall Hall, Stockport, Greater Manchester
Thirty-two of us – members, partners, and friends – enjoyed a fascinating glimpse into the history of Bramall Hall, a local manor house whose delights are not widely enough known.
Its owners since the 14th century have included some of the great landowning families of Cheshire, a local Victorian entrepreneur, and – since 1935 – the local council. Fortunately, most have taken good care of it, in many cases sympathetically adding new elements or converting existing rooms in contemporary style. As a result, we saw prized 16th century wall paintings, exemplary ceiling plasterwork, Arts and Crafts era decorations, and so much more, all within a mainly Tudor exterior. Stockport Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund deserve considerable credit for continuing to maintain this fine property.
Our two tour guides did a great job, as did the café staff in providing a rather fine sandwich lunch.
May Bank Holiday Walk 2024
A party of almost 20 members and friends enjoyed our traditional May Bank Holiday walk, this time in the White Peak of Derbyshire near Tideswell, north of Bakewell, ably organised by our former treasurer, Chris Hirst. Once again, the weather was kind.
In a walk of 6.5 miles, we climbed gently up to Litton, a neat little village around 1,000 ft above sea level. From there it was downhill through Tansley Dale and along Cressbrook Dale to the village of Cressbrook, which overlooks the eponymous textile mill, now converted into a block of flats.
After walking up through the village, we descended to Litton Mill, another one-time textile mill, which had a particularly unsavoury record for the treatment of its workforce. After a walk along the river Wye, we returned to Litton Mill and then walked back up Tideswell Dale.
Then we had lunch, joined by a small number of other members, in the splendid Anchor Inn at Litton, which has been an alehouse since 1699. A popular calling place for carriers and pack horses, it became a principal coaching inn.
AGM and Informal Dinner February 2024
Our year got off to a strong start with our AGM on February 21st, followed by a two-course meal and a lively talk on ‘The Secret Medical History of JFK’ by Alan Silman, Professor of Musculoskeletal Health at the University of Oxford and Senior Research Fellow at Green Templeton College. For the first time the event was held at Stockport Guildhall.
Alan is a former government adviser on chronic disorders and hugely knowledgeable about famous people’s illnesses. Alan contended that John F. Kennedy, a war hero and the youngest president in US history, had health problems so severe as to make him unfit for office, if the public had known about them. Among these was a back problem stemming from a football injury at Harvard which involved three operations, including having a metal plate fused to his spine. He wore a brace and spent the rest of his life in agony.
He also had Addison’s Disease, a disorder of the adrenal glands, causing fatigue and weight loss, plus other diseases such as osteoporosis, bowel problems and inflammation of the prostate. His problems may even have played a part in his assassination: after the first bullet struck his shoulder, his back brace meant he could not dodge the second bullet to his head.
Autumn Lecture 2023: Martin Sixsmith - Lessons of the Cold War.
Our autumn lecture was by author, journalist and Russia expert Martin Sixsmith on ‘Lessons of the Cold War’, based on his research into the psychology of leaders and the public during that traumatic era – a topic of direct relevance today as war rages in Ukraine.
While people tend to think of the Cold War as a clash of ideologies and political systems, ‘the main battle was the human mind’, said Martin to a packed lecture theatre. ‘The aim was to control not just territory and resources, but loyalties, beliefs and the nature of reality. Both sides used psychological tricks and fake news to shape thinking.’
Using contemporary TV clips, he examined the mental stresses of leaders such as Khruschev, Stalin, Brezhnev, Nixon, Reagan and Gorbachev. He also described the times when the world came scarily close to nuclear war during decades of mutual incomprehension. ‘Both sides were convinced that the other was bent on world domination and both insisted that their own intentions were peaceful and that their massive arsenals of guns and missiles were defensive, but neither was willing or able to accept that that might just possibly be true of the other side also.’
Martin pointed out that nuclear missiles are still pointed at our cities and ‘our lives still depend on the quirks, paranoia and anxieties of the men and women who lead us’.
YOUNG ALUMNI GROUP
Following a survey around our younger alumni (those who matriculated in 2000 or later) several members recently met for an informal evening at a central Manchester eatery. A walk and another eat and drinks meet-up have subsequently taken place and further social events are being planned.
To find out more about our Young Alumni group, please email the group's Secretary, giving your contact details, Alumni number, Oxford college, subject and year of matriculation, so that we can add you to our mailing list and keep you informed.
