Our Annual Freshers’ Party was a triumph! At our secret location in Marylebone 200 teenagers (mostly) were let in upon payment of the princely sum of £4 and then proceeded to engage joyfully with each other for three hours, refreshing their enthusiasm with the occasional glass of water or juice or wine. The hubbub was interrupted for a short time by a would-be teenager, our sexagenarian Chairman, who congratulated them on their success in going to the greatest university in the world and then briefed them on the support they can get throughout their lives from the various Cambridge Societies around the world and also from CARO, the Cambridge Alumni Relations Office. Our Committee, who organised the event for the University, tried to maintain order (not difficult – the freshers were well-behaved though remarkably noisy!) with the extra support from Jan and Anna from CARO and who had already given us great help in liaising with colleges and providing the attendee details. But the greatest experts were in fact the half a dozen or so volunteers who had enjoyed themselves so much this time last year that they had come back after their first year in college to be the wise old men/women with the real lowdown on “What Life Is Like In Cambridge Today”. It all started at about 6pm, and we ushered them out at around 9pm. Everyone seemed really pleased and excited. We cleared up, mopped our brows, and went off for an Indian. It was over for another year – but tremendously fulfilling. We are proud of our young students and of the work that CARO does, and we in the Cambridge Society of London are delighted to host, as we always do, the largest Cambridge Freshers’ Event in the world.
Organised by Rupert Considine, Alastair Gourlay, Anna Kay, Sylvia le Comber, David Peace and Jan Pudney