Reunion

A few weeks ago now I returned to Trinity hall Cambridge for a reunion and

I spent a little time wandering around the colleges - you'll find the photos here and there's an additional album on google

The Senate House's greenhouse

The Senate House's greenhouse, a photo by rajmarshall on Flickr.

There's an e-luminate festivsl going on a Cambridge at the moment and very pretty it looks - though the Senate House wasn't quite as lit up as in the link!

Teaser Tuesday - Jan 8

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

George had met Stokes once before, in Cambridge, when they'd all gone out in a punt, Cecil clearly exciting his guest by his lordly thrust and toss of the pole and the intermittent recital of sonnets. Stokes seemed not to remember that George had been of the party, and George didn't remind him, when the talk turned to their Cambridge days.

Alan Hollinghurst's The Stranger's Child for which there was an earlier teaser last week. A carefully chosen extract....

A reunion

Trinity Hall the new(ish) library, a photo by rajmarshall on Flickr.

..I've had a rather busy 24 hours - Friday was a trip to Cambridge for a 40th anniversary dinner. It was good to meet folk none of whom I've seen since 1975(!) so a lot of picking up threads and news of those who weren't there and a gentle dinner in the Graham Storey room - the remodelled JCR which back in the early 70's was a real gloomy dive! As you'll see from the pictures on flickr it is rather nicer now!
The photo is of the new college library jutting out impressively over the Cam. I was very impressed by the quality of the College gardens maybe I never saw them in September but I think it has been recently improved - these are the general gardens, unfortunately I didn't get into the fellows garden!

David Isitt

I blogged a bit back, when his death was announced, about my memories of David Isitt, an obituary has now appeared in the Church Times (a week ago), and is now available on the web, by John Nurser:

The Revd David Isitt died at home in Cambridge on 8 August, aged 81. It has been much said that “He was a good priest.” In many ways, indeed, he was an exemplar of the radical and yet traditionally grounded vision of Christian living which gained a hold in Cambridge in the late 1950s. He was reticent, open, gifted, and of fierce integrity.

go and read it! I hope obituaries remain available on that website, otherwise I shall be forced to republish it!

David Isitt

Kings Chapel
Originally uploaded by rajmarshall

From the Diocese of Ely Website

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of The Revd Canon David Isitt. Canon Isitt who was 81 passed away unexpectedly on Monday 10th August.

Canon Isitt had long term connections with Ely Diocese having served as Chaplain at King’s College Cambridge, incumbent at Harlton and Haslingfield, Assistant Chaplain at Trinity Hall Cambridge, Chaplain of St Edmund King and Martyr Cambridge, Chaplain at Fitzwilliam College Cambridge and until his death was in receipt of the Bishop’s Permission to Officiate in the Ely Diocese.

Canon Isitt leaves a widow Verity.

A funeral service will be held on the 26th August, 2.30pm at St Andrew & St Mary Granchester.

I shall remember David's contact with me with much gratitude (and I'm sure many others will too).
For his enthousiasm for many things, his making himself and his musicianship available, his sense of humour, those pianos, his down-to earth faith and spirituality encouraging growth in those he chaplained, that megaphone and the red wine - cheap but who cared when the music being made was such fun!
Not forgotten!
And then there's his love and knowledge of that building (I knew him at Trinity Hall but he was willing to cross boundaries!)

White van students

I thought I'd already uploaded this somewhere but it seems not (unless my memory and web searching faculties have now deserted me!) But thanks to Tony Nixon we have this picture of the guilty

Me, Peter and Richard and a white van which 5 of us went around Europe with. The poster we were holding I don't remember at all - maybe it was loaned by Jeffrey Archer?

Felix!

If you were in Cambridge in the early 70's and involved in Chapel or Musical circles you're didn't need the surname:

This is Felix Watts whose obituary I blogged about a couple of years ago. Here is a picture of the Dominican in full combat gear - with many, many thanks to Tony Nixon for unearthing this picture.
If you haven't read the obituary extract go and do so!

À la recherche du temps perdu

It must be nostalgia day...

Not this decade!

Don't think I'm going to be able to make the Trinity Hall college reunion this time around. Maybe in 10 years time! Posted in the remote chance that one of my contemporaries reads this and might decide to go not to go due to my absence!