211075 Downing Record 07 - Downing College - University of ...

Next year’s PresidentI was flattered to be asked to take on the role of President of Downing CollegeAssociation for the year 2007–8, though I fear I am not a very associative sort ofperson and am not very confident about the skills I bring to the situation. Probablynot business or management sense, though over the years I have come to realisethat being a freelance illustrator is in a sense running a small business, in my casethe work at the sharp end is in the capable hands of a literary agent. So I lookforward to being guided in meetings.On the other hand I spent twenty years at the Royal College of Art workingwith postgraduate students, and I am still a visitor there, so students aren’t entirelyan alien people to me, and I hope I have the opportunity of talking to the Downingversion in the coming year. I have also retained an awareness of students’ financialchallenges and difficulties, and am particularly interested in what the Associationis doing to help them. As an illustrator I have already had some involvement inthe area of merchandise, and I hope that together we can look again to see ifthere are such ways of usefully raising money at the same time as adding an extratouch to our sense of community. Perhaps duvets and underwear in Downingcolours are just around the corner?Quentin BlakeForthcoming eventsThe Association’s 80th Annual Dinner and the AGM will be held on Saturday 22ndSeptember 2007. As last year the Association Weekend will be augmented by theCollege’s Alumni Day which includes events such as lectures and wine tasting. Bythe time this Newsletter is published members should have received a notice andapplication form. At the Annual Dinner we shall be putting up for auction thefirst of the limited print edition of Quentin Blake’s griffins which adorned thecover of last year’s Newsletter.21