The colleges of Oxford University invite their alumni every few years to a dinner. The invitations are issued to those who joined the College in a particular year and a number of year groups are invited at once. The dinner is called a "gaudy", for the Latin gaudere, meaning 'to rejoice'.
This year it was the turn at my alma mater, Pembroke, for those matriculating in years 1974 to 1976 to get merry and have a chance to sleep it all off in College accommodation, which has seen considerable improvements in comfort since the 1970s (although the music was better back then, of course). It was indeed merry and I greatly enjoyed catching up with some of my closest friends as well as the challenge of recognising less familiar faces beneath the accumulating patina of age. The last such dinner for my year was in 2009, so by the time the next invitation comes round (and God preserve) the challenge will have become more demanding.
Here are some shots of Pembroke, taken before I caught the train back to Twickenham, where the rugby crowds were swarming past my door to watch England defeat Ireland.
This year it was the turn at my alma mater, Pembroke, for those matriculating in years 1974 to 1976 to get merry and have a chance to sleep it all off in College accommodation, which has seen considerable improvements in comfort since the 1970s (although the music was better back then, of course). It was indeed merry and I greatly enjoyed catching up with some of my closest friends as well as the challenge of recognising less familiar faces beneath the accumulating patina of age. The last such dinner for my year was in 2009, so by the time the next invitation comes round (and God preserve) the challenge will have become more demanding.
Here are some shots of Pembroke, taken before I caught the train back to Twickenham, where the rugby crowds were swarming past my door to watch England defeat Ireland.
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