Lent 2009 - Robinson College - University of Cambridge

BIN BROOKThe Magazine of Robinson College, CambridgeLOOKING FORWARDTHE 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Looking forward to the 30thanniversaryDr Mary Stewart is one of the foundingfellows of Robinson College and hasrecently retired as a senior lecturer inGerman at the University of Cambridge.She has taught in the universities ofboth Munich and London (KCL) as wellas Cambridge. Her principal researchinterests are twofold: German Naturalism,with regard to both drama and narrativewriting, and post-1945 narrative writing,particularly modern Swiss authors and UweJohnson.Sitting in my study in No 5 Adams Road, withthe sun streaming in from a frosty gardenbeyond the bay window, it is easy tofeel nostalgic in a general way aboutthe early days of Robinson, for thisroom then formed the main partof our joint Common Room.2

The fi rst undergraduates, the Warden and Fellows of Robinson College 1979, in what is now Mary’s offi ce. Picture taken by Edward Leigh3What is much harder is to situatememories more precisely, for30 years is a long time and manyimages of people and events thatlurk in my mind could just as easilybelong to the period 1977-79,when our fi rst graduate studentsjoined us. However, here are a fewrather random jottings triggeredby arriving at the start of 2009,with to me quite amazing speed,given how new and tentative ourventure once seemed.The dominating memory is actuallythat of our shared space. Therewas something rather wonderfulabout functioning together as aunifi ed community, undergraduates,graduates and Fellows alike: weall used this room, and shared adining room too in the really quitespacious ‘Portakabin’ which wasattached to the back of the building.That, as well as our brand-newpresence as a ‘proper’ college on theCambridge scene, generated botha kind of historical consciousnessand a freshness of attitude.On the one hand we were ratherlike those small communities ofscholars with whom the Universityitself long ago began, and on theother we were bringing somethingnew and exciting to the establishedscene: a sense that we wantedin some way to be, could be, a“Robinson remains afriendly environment,relatively free of the‘that’s how we’vealways done it’attitude”different kind of institution, a morecohesive and united group ofpeople working together for thecommon good. Certainly we spenta great deal of time discussing invarious groups how the Collegemight one day look and function!Some of our hopes have beenfulfi lled, I think: Robinson remainsa friendly environment, relativelyfree of the ‘that’s how we’ve alwaysdone it’ attitude; on the otherhand our growth to a size beyondwhat was initially envisaged, andfi nancial and other pressures, haveinevitably meant a loss of some ofthat early cohesiveness – though itis wonderful to see how many staffhave remained with us over theyears, through all the changes.Eating together as a communitywas always a pleasure, not leastbecause of the infi nitely varied andresourceful meals created in a verylimited kitchen by Jean Fordham,who sadly died some years ago,and her assistant Doreen Fordham(no relation) who then stayedwith us until her retirement andbecame one of the best creators oftempting desserts any of us has everencountered! Meals were alwaysnoisy and lively; our fi rst intake ofundergraduates proved to be everybit as energetic and enterprisingas we had hoped, and constantly

challenged us with new ideas andsuggestions. Despite the fact noneof them had actually applied forRobinson and were picked fromthe Pool by Dr Alan Sharpe, theSenior Tutor, they threw themselvesimaginatively into their unexpectedroles as founding members. Thegroup was still small enough forall of us to engage in debate andexchange, and to celebrate eventsjointly – I particularly rememberan outbreak of jollity caused byDr Trevor Page (as he then was)donating champagne for all tomark the birth of his longed-forsecond child. Equally, nobody couldescape hearing at least some of thegory details of her research thatparasitologist Dr Jean Martin (nowBilbrough) loved to regale us with.If the early students were a livelybunch of characters, then so werethe Fellows without a doubt! AlanSharpe’s satirical wit often had uslaughing helplessly, though he hada brief humour-failure when I andhis assistant, Vivien Naylor, whowas occasionally the victim of hispranks, once played a trick on him.He of course was interviewingeveryone for the next roundof admissions, and found onecandidate very diffi cult; Vivien and Ithen planted a fake copy of a letterMemories Please!of acceptance to this candidateamongst his papers, and he verynearly had a heart attack beforeour scarcely stifl ed laughter let thecat out of the bag. There was a lotof laughter about in those earlydays: the seemingly unfl appableGeorge Coupe (then Warden’sAssistant) always generated goodhumour, not least in suggestingthat his lovely border colliePenny represented the simplestform of admissions test. Anyoneshe growled at was out! And ourfi rst Chaplain David Stacey couldalways be relied upon for a goodtale as well as a sharp insight; andwhen he left to head a TheologicalCollege in Bristol he was followedby John Grice, who together withhis wife Ann radiated enthusiasmand positive energy. That accordedwell with the feeling of all theFoundation Fellows, I think, thatwhat we were doing was importantand worthwhile, and of course weall had enormous confi dence in ourWarden, then ‘merely’ ProfessorJack Lewis. He engaged us allin decisions about the Collegegrowing visibly in front of us (andwe cheerfully clambered aroundthe building site at regular intervals,clad in hard hats and oversizedwellies from the contractors, andlearned more than we ever wishedto know about doorhandles andsanitary fi ttings….). One of thebest and most enduring things thatProfessor Lewis established wasfellowship in the deepest senseof the word, an equality betweenyoung and old, men and women,academics and administrators (likeBasil Shone, who with his wickedlyobservant asides, love of sport andprofound empathy with the youngwas anything but a dull bureaucrat):all were made to feel at ease withthe whole, with the result that,for instance, our gender balancestill remains pretty healthy. I hopevery much that our early studentsrecall feeling truly part of our jointventure, despite their inevitableoccasional run-ins with the Bursar,Henry Woolston, caused by overzealouspartying (plus ça change…).Thirty years on the College ‘family’has widened immeasurably, but weretain our same shared symbolslike the College scarf, based on oneof several patterns which long agoI amateurishly painted for displayand selection in the CommonRoom where I now sit. All of ussurely hope that the unity of valuesand goals that they represented 30years ago will last and thrive formany decades to come.The next edition of Bin Brook will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the College and so we would liketo collect memories or images that have particular signifi cance to YOU! Please send your memories, whetherof the last 30 or 3 years of college life, to Gregoire Hodder at gah35@cam.ac.uk at the Development Offi ce.IN MEMORY OF PETER BAKER-SMITH1943 - 2008Peter Baker-Smith died in theMichaelmas term after a brief illness,having worked in the College kitchensfrom 1980 to 2008. He was a wellknownand popular fi gure amongstthe staff and some of his colleaguesremember him here:“One of Peter’s gifts was that if youwanted to know anything in the news,he was your man. Any breaking newsstory or event, he would keep youupdated.”“He had an array of impressions whichwould have the Catering staff roaringwith laughter, in particular TommyCooper and Clint Eastwood, andeven his old boss, Bob Wicket, was inPeter’s repertoire.”We will all miss him.4

Change and continuity in theGardenGuy Fuller recentlybecame the HeadGardener of RobinsonCollege after workinghere for almost 30years. We talk to himand find out about thehistory and future ofthe gardens.So you are the Head Gardenernow!I never expected to be in thisposition. I was quite happy beingdeputy head, but I’m enjoying it.I applied to work here when myapprenticeship fi nished at oneof the other colleges; I didn’t getthe job, but was invited back later.They had kept my name on fi le andI had an interview in the FitzwilliamMuseum, of all places, because Iwas working at Pembroke and thenew Head Gardener designate,Desmond O’Grady, was at theBotanics, so it was a middle placeto meet. Des started in October‘82 and I came at the end of themonth. The college looked very,very different. It was a big shockactually, coming from one of theolder colleges, where obviously allthe plants and everything are setup, to this place where there washardly anything. To be truthful, itwas a bit bleak because at the timeit was so new.So there wasn’t much of a gardenthere?Not as such: the initial layoutwas there, some of the borderswere there and there were someplantings, but up until then a lot ofthe work had been getting areascleared and sorted, like the biglawns, under Des’s predecessor,David Brown, the fi rst HeadGardener. Des had to take it onfrom there. I worked for a numberof people over the years and he isthe most knowledgeable gardenerI have ever worked for. Everythingwas done by hand, in the early ‘80s,we didn’t have a tractor and trailerlike now, the most we had was ahand driven rotovator on wheels.We marked all the borders out,lifted all the grass by hand and allthe borders were single dug withfarmyard manure in each trench.Builders are notorious for buryingall their rubbish and when we didthe big sloping border by the dininghall, we actually uncovered two ofthe rails which the main crane forthe building had run on. Des hadbeen here while the college wasbeing constructed, so when I said“We found a rail in the border”he calmly commented “ahh, thatwill be the crane rail probably thatused to run on the inside of theCollege”.I have noticed that the Garden hasa nice balance of the wildernessand the ordered.That is the ‘Dutch Ecosystem’, onwhich this garden was originallymodeled: neat and tidy near theCollege and, as you go further out,having wilder areas. I like wild areasas long as they are a maintained wildarea, if that makes sense? We havejust planted 6,000 bulbs outsidethe front of the College, along allthe lawn edges there. That will giveit a slightly more wild effect. We are5

doing it partly because we took 12trees out and we felt we neededto create interest. Some of thetrees were only planted to makethe front look nice for when theQueen came to open the College,and were supposed to have beenremoved some time afterwards,and 25 years down the line theywere choking out the other trees,and the light levels within theCollege offi ces were very poor.Have you any major plans for yourtime as Head Gardener?There are lots of ideas. I amworking for the moment on anidea for the lake bank. It is very,very overgrown, and the shrubsare very old so it would be niceto take all that out and go back toone of the original ideas of havinga grassy bank down to the lake,making it more of a sitting area.It would allow people to sit thereand we could have a memorialbench looking out over the lake. Itis not going to be an easy job asthe access is so diffi cult, and you“because we arejust outside ofCambridge, so tospeak, it is verypeaceful, and thereis so much wildlifein the garden,”would have to bring in quite a lotof soil to build it up.What would you say you enjoymost about these Gardens?Personally, I think it is theirpeacefulness: it is hard work, butbecause we are just outside ofCambridge, so to speak, it is verypeaceful, and there is so muchwildlife in the garden, the birds, thewater life. I have seen kingfi shers,water voles, and fresh watermusselsin the lake and stream,as well as deer, grass snakes, andpheasants around the lawns andshrubs. I would also say the peopleI work with as well. Paul, Ginny andI have worked together since 1990;they defi nitely help to make thegardens a nice place. There is a lotof me in this garden. As I said whenI fi rst got here there was nothingand now it’s a mature garden,with its plants, its borders,and I hope to add to that.Whether I will improve itor not, I am not sure, butthere will be changesbecause all gardenskeep evolving. Someof the plantings noware very old, 25 to 30years old, and reachingthe end of their life.They will need takingout and replanting, whichwill be my ideas, with thoseof the team and GardenCommittee and I am surewhen I have gone anotherHead Gardener will comein and say “Good grief,why did he plant that,what was he thinking of?!”New SculpturesThree new artworks have been added to theCollege courts and gardens in the summerand autumn of 2008.Sailing into the future (opposite)"Sailing into the future" by Philip de Konig stands alongside the lake on the edge ofThorneycreek lawn.Conversing figures (opposite)Across the Bin Brook, "Conversing Figures" by Christophe Gordon-Brown nestles inthe centre of the gardens, so tantalising glimpses of the two marble fi gures appear anddisappear along different vistas as one strolls across Bin Brook bridge and around thegardens.Finback (opposite and above)The most recent addition, the bronze patina sculpture, "Finback" by Ben Barrell, has beeninstalled in Front Court and is a stunning focal point for visitors arriving in College.6

Something newoldfrom something47Rebecca Kanegraduated fromRobinson Collegein 1997 with a BAin history and thepractical experienceof running theCollege’s May Ball.I was the May Ball committee’ssecretary and the Vice Presidentin the following year. I took thelittle knowledge I had built up ofmanaging budgets and dealing withpeople and built a career out of it.Now, aged 33, I am the managingdirector of Alexandra Palace (photoof the theatre above) with a remitto restore one of London’s mosticonic venues to its former glory.I will always be grateful for the startthat Robinson gave me. My fi rst jobafter graduating was with EnglishHeritage. In my two and half yearsthere we re-opened Down House -the home of Charles Darwin - andre-launched Eltham Palace.We also forged ahead with a new

Artist’s view of ExoMars descent module.The ExoMars lander will deliver the rover toa specifi c location using an infl atable brakingdevice or parachute system.Vehicle which was used last year toferry cargo up to the InternationalSpace Station. Astrium wasalso the prime contractor fordeveloping the manned Columbusmodule which is the Europeancontribution to the InternationalSpace Station, and we have recentlybegun to look at developing a suborbitalspace plane which will bedesigned to offer ‘space tourists’ achance to travel briefl y into space,similar to what Virgin Galactic areplanning. Astrium is almost uniquein the way that its activities spanthe whole range of the spaceindustry.Astrium employs a wide range ofengineers and scientists. The spaceindustry, like no other that I haveever worked in, attracts peoplewho have a real passion for whatthey are doing and consequently“The work isvaried and alwayschallenging– spacecrafthave to survivean immenselypowerful launchand then operatein a harshenvironment”the atmosphere at work is alwaysreally positive. Walking pastcleanrooms and half-assembledsatellites on the way to my desk,or seeing a solar array deploymenttest and knowing that these thingswill one day be circling the planetat over 20,000km/h, is somethingI fi nd genuinely inspiring. I thinkthat having that passion andinspiration for what you do in lifeis really important.The work is varied and alwayschallenging – spacecraft have tosurvive an immensely powerfullaunch and then operate in a harshenvironment where, amongstother things, the temperatureswings from +150° to -150° andthere’s no chance for maintenance.Astrium recruits around 30-40 graduates every year, and iscontinuing to do so this yearin spite of the fi nancial crisiswhich fortunately doesn’t seemto have much of an effect on thespace industry. As a graduateyou can choose to either entera department directly or go ona rotational scheme where youmove department every 6 monthsfor the fi rst two years. BecauseAstrium is European companyit’s relatively easy to spend timeabroad if you want – I’m currentlyspending 6 months in Toulousewhich has been a great experience,and my previous work has involvedseveral trips to Paris and Munich.If you’d like to know anything moreabout the company, or in particularthe employment opportunities,feel free to contact me at graham.johnson@astrium.eads.net orgrahamjohnson@cantab.net.10

Accessing the Future“We welcome aboutone thousand fi vehundred visitors toAdmissions events inRobinson each year.”Dr Chris Warneroriginally joined theCollege in 2001 asDirector of Studiesin Mathematicsand quickly cameto appreciate thecare and dedicationthat goes intothe admissionsprocess. Whenthe opportunity tobecome AdmissionsTutor came up itseemed the perfectrole for him.Chris writes: I enjoyworking with mycolleagues to select thoseof our applicants who webelieve show the greatestacademic potential andcommitment to theirstudies and who willadd intellectually andsocially to the Robinsoncommunity. I also enjoythe many opportunitiesto interact with potentialapplicants, their parentsand their teachers.11We welcome about onethousand fi ve hundredvisitors to Admissionsevents in Robinson eachyear. The most high profi leof the College-basedevents are the Open Daysin July when the wholeCollege works hard towelcome prospectiveapplicants and theirparents and teachers.Directors of Studiesrun subject-relatedinformation sessions, Irun a parents’ questionand answer sessionand our students showthe visitors around theCollege and its gardens.

All our visitors get a chance toenjoy a College lunch in the Hall.The Admissions team also worksto raise awareness in schools ofthe special qualities that makeRobinson the extraordinaryCambridge College that it is. Eachyear I go out to visit schools, meetpupils, their parents, and teachersand to contribute to schoolbasedHigher Education andOxbridge events. Pupils, parentsand teachers really appreciatethe opportunity to ask a “real”admissions tutor questions aboutCambridge (and Oxford) and arealways keen to fi nd out exactlywhat we look for in a PersonalStatement and a School reference.There are still many myths aroundabout Cambridge interviews andschool visits are an opportunityto refute the most preposterous –no, we will not throw a rugby ballat you to see if you can catch it– and to describe how to preparefor a Cambridge interview.This year the programme ofraising awareness in schools hasbeen stepped up by the formingof a team of six AdmissionsAdvisers. Admissions Advisersare experienced members orFellows of the College withknowledge of College admissions.Together we have a pool ofexpert subject knowledge of manyCambridge University courses.The Advisers have already visiteda range of schools from innercity comprehensives to sixthform colleges to grammars toindependents. As more and moreschools have become Specialistschools, the subject-specifi cknowledge that the Advisers bringhas been particularly well received.Cambridge University as a wholeworks hard to promote Accessto Higher Education via the LocalArea Link initiative. RobinsonCollege’s contribution has beenwith the Wandsworth Local Areafor a number of years and fromthis year we will also be linkedwith Gloucestershire, Swindonand Wiltshire. Student membersof the Robinson College StudentsAssociation arranged a Collegevisit from Wandsworth schoolslast spring. We funded a coach tobring a group of high performingpupils to Robinson. Our visitorswere most impressed and afteradmissions talks, a college tourand lunch, a number of themcommented that they wouldconsider applying to Cambridge.We are always happy to welcomeprospective students and theirfamilies to Robinson. If you wouldlike to visit, please contact AmyWebber on apply@robinson.cam.ac.uk.Dr Chris Warner is the AdmissionsTutor at Robinson and a CollegeTeaching Offi cer in Mathematics.Robinson May Ball 2009Robinson May Ball Committee 2009 areproud to present this year’s May Ball theme as‘Phantasmagoria; Refl ections On Reality’. Wewould also like to draw your attention to theunique publicity opportunity sponsoring the MayBall could offer your fi rm. Our publicity reachesover ten thousand Cambridge undergraduates,graduates and fellows and so working with uscould really help increase the visibility of yourfi rm amongst the student body. The Ball couldnot go ahead without the generosity of oursponsors, so if you are willing to support us, wewould be delighted to invite you to attend theBall as guests of the Committee. Please emailHannah Rignell at sales2009@robinsonmayball.co.uk for tickets and further information aboutsponsorship opportunities. We hope to see youat the Ball! 12

Natasha Grayson (2000) wasmarried on 7 September 2008to Michael Rosen, a graduateof New College Oxford. Theynow live in North London.Revd Dr Philip Plyming(1992) writes: After someprotracted admin, I havenow been awarded myPhD from Edinburgh. Title:Transforming News: ATheological and CriticalAnalysis of ContemporaryNews Handling in the Light ofthe Apostle Paul's CorinthianHardship Narratives. Reliefall round, and very thankfulfor my time at Robinson in2006 when a large chunk ofthe writing up was done.Victoria Jenkins (2004) andRuss Tannahill (2005) wouldlike to announce the birth ofIsabella Grace Tannahill, whowas born on Friday 18th July2008 at St Mary's Hospital,Paddington.Rachael Minton(1999) married JamesGooding on 26 July2008 at BlythburghChurch, Suffolk, witha reception at nearbySt Peter's Hall. Herbridesmaids were allex-Robinson - JacquiWard, Olivia Thorntonand Madelaine Savage;Katriona Gaskill, (all1999) gave a reading.Other Robinsonalumni attended thewedding.Kenneth Thomson(1994) and NarellePascoe were married on20th September 2008.Many ex-Binsonitesattended including NikHolgate who was anusher, Isabel Garrood(née Stow), Anna Jones(née Parker), CatherineSherry (née Shields),Juliette Nebel (néeCoffey), Paul Kent, SteveCarroll, Ian Western,Tim Sandford, ChrisFryer, Zena Palgrave, EdCollinge (all 1994), LucyNoel, Ellie Topham, VickyHoward (all 1995), andDan Bromilow (1992).Ken and Narelle nowlive in Caterham, Surrey.A l e x a n d e rCorbishley (2002)and his wife Ailsa arehappy to announcethe birth of HarrietElena Corbishley on7th November 2008.AlumniFellowsand StaffGregoire Hodder, analumnus of Homerton,recently joined theDevelopment Offi ce asAlumni Relations andTelephone CampaignCo-ordinator afterworking with RuxBurton Associates.13Daniel Porter hasrecently joined theIT department asHelpdesk Technician;he's here to handleenquiries, help staff andstudents with their PCproblems, and pass jobson to the right memberof the team. He's a greatfootball buff- his degreeis actually in English andSports Science.Mark Pritchard (2001) married SuzanneJones in Birmingham, their homecity, on Saturday 4th October 2008.Matthias Ammon, Jill Drury, MatthewIronside, Jonathan Stokes, David Szwer,Phillip Tipton and Gem Wheeler (all2001) were in attendance, along withmany other friends from the happycouple's time at Cambridge.Catherine Leather (1999)and Mark Lowrie (Clare,1998) were married on23rd August 2008 in Louth,Lincolnshire. The day wascelebrated in a marqueeback at the family homewith several Robinsoniansincluding Lisa Colbear (néeMarley, 1999) who wasbridesmaid, many fellowvets and their dogs!