Retirement dinners are obviously special occasions, but the one which my wife and I attended a few days ago was more than usually special. It was arranged to mark the retirement — after 30 years of service — of the Executive Chef of Wolfson College, Ray Palmer. What was particularly special about it, however, was not the length of service that we were celebrating, significant though that was, but the nature of the occasion.
Those taking part included the current President of the College, Professor Sir Richard Evans, and his wife; his immediate predecessor, Dr. Gordon Johnson, and his wife; and Lady Williams, widow of another previous President. The Vice-President, Professor John Naughton, was there (also with his wife), and three of his predecessors (Dr. Don Macdonald, Dr. Rudolf Hanka and me, also accompanied by our spouses). Ruth King, widow of the Bursar who played a key role in the development of the College, attended, and so did the present Bursar, Christopher Lawrence.
The 30 plus people who were present included a number of Fellows in key positions, and some key members of the senior College staff.
Why do I think it worth mentioning this kind of detail, knowing that for my readers the names will probably have no particular significance? The reason is that what I have been describing provides a significant indication of the “flavour” of the College, and a truly significant reminder of an important way in which Wolfson differs from traditional Oxbridge colleges.
I can think of no other college where those taking part would include this kind of mixture of senior Fellows and senior staff at a gathering “on equal terms”. The really crucial point about it is that at Wolfson, no one thought it surprising or unusual. One major feature of the college — one of the youngest in Cambridge — is that from the start it has had very much a flavour of its own. I have mentioned in previous articles that Wolfson is unusual in never having had a high table, separating Fellows from junior members. It is unusual also in having from its foundation included both men and women students — not unusual in Cambridge now, but certainly unusual in 1965 when the College was created.
When I came to Cambridge three years later, in 1968, to a senior University job, I was absolutely delighted to be offered a fellowship at University College, as it then was called. My university background was Oxford. It had been a great experience, but the flavour, and the separation of senior and junior members, as in pretty well all colleges, was totally different from the Wolfson flavour. The change was something that I found stimulating and encouraging, a good reminder that the world was changing and that it was good to belong to an institution that reflected that change.
One of the really important aspects of Wolfson College is its international nature. We have had fellows and students from all over the world, including, of course, many from India. Being international is one of the great strengths of the College, and it is a strength which I believe is much appreciated by its present and previous members. I am confident that for many of those who have attended the college, including obviously many Indian former students, the name of the guest of honour at the retirement dinner, Ray Palmer, will ring bells of memory. He has been, for many years, very much a part of the College, making a great contribution to its success.
Given all this, it is of course not surprising that the retirement event was arranged in this particular way. Certainly, none of those present saw it as being at all surprising.
Standing back, and considering the event from “outside', as it were, I did not have much difficulty in reminding myself that for a great many people, it would have been seen as most unusual. It was, in fact, an excellent demonstration of the special nature of Wolfson College, and an excellent reminder of how significant that nature is.
It will be apparent that my wife and I greatly enjoyed the event, and it will, I hope, be obvious why that was the case. It was privilege to be present, and a privilege to be able to be one of those noting the great contribution which the Executive Chef had made to the College. Thank you, Ray, for all that you have done, and thank you for being the focus of such an important occasion.
Email: bill.kirkman@gmail.com
