In they came, more than 200 of them – nervous, apprehensive, excited, proud –having just left school and about to take their places at our University in the Fens. The Society’s traditional London Welcome to the soon-to-be Freshers took place on 17 September in an excellent venue in the centre of the metropolis, organised by our Committee and with helpers from Cambridge Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) and – especially valuable – current students who had just finished one or two years there already.
Once parted with the modest sum of £5, and with badges showing name, college and subject, our guests were free to mingle and to partake of liquids from the bar. Did they stand awkwardly in corners, shyly avoiding contact? They did not. Did they mutter pleasantries to each other sotto voce? Not at all. Did the evening decline into small huddles of like minds or shared colleges? Of course not! As expected the next three hours became a raucous din of a couple of hundred young people delightedly meeting as many others as they could, swapping stories and contact details, sharing aspirations and anxieties, gleaning as much information as possible from the soon-to-be second and third-years (the real experts) and generally celebrating together the joy of having secured places at what our Chairman reminded them is the best university in the world. Everyone left by 9:30pm elated and happy with this “London Welcome to Cambridge” – and what better way can the London Society encourage future allegiance to our alma mater and to its Societies around the world? Our sincere thanks go to those student volunteers and to staff from DAR who did the background admin with the Colleges and helped us during the evening. The Freshers’ Party is a firm fixture in our Society Calendar, and we do this willingly as a service to the University.
Organised by Marc Cardle, Alastair Gourlay, Jennie Hastie, David Peace and Jan Pudney