No. 95 Magazine 2014-15 Hertford College College Hertford The The The Hertford College Magazine 2014-15 No. 95 HERTFORD COLLEGE MAGAZINE No 95 – 2014-15 Contents Contents EDITOR’S NOTE .....................................................................................................................................4 PRINCIPAL’S WELCOME .......................................................................................................6 HERTFORD REPORT Genetics in Medicine – Kay Davies ...........................................................................................................14 Wildlife in the Anthropocene – Jamie Lorimer ........................................................................................16 Celebrating 40 years of co-education at Hertford: reflections on the portraits – Emma Smith ...........18 Celebrating 40 years of co-education at Hertford: why I’m proud to be on the wall of my Oxford college – Sarah Crompton (1976) .................................................................................................21 The Tanner Scheme: view from a colleague – Robin Devenish ..............................................................23 The Tanner Scheme: view from a student – Martin Lipton (1985) .........................................................25 2015 John Donne lecture: On Liberty – Shami Chakrabarti ...................................................................28 HERTFORD YEAR Reaching out to present and past – Catherine Redford, Career Development Fellow and Editor: Charlotte Brewer Outreach Officer .........................................................................................................................................36 Sub editor: Claire Blake Travel & research fund awards ..................................................................................................................39 Design: www.dougdawson.co.uk The living wage – James Lazarus, Bursar ..................................................................................................46 Produced by: Refurbishing Hertford – Andrew Beaumont, Home Bursar ....................................................................47 Development Office Development update – Julia Thaxton, Director of Development ............................................................51 Hertford College The Library – Charlotte Brewer, Acting Fellow Librarian ........................................................................55 Oxford OX1 3BW Life in the kitchens – Ben Gibbons, Head Chef (maternity cover) .........................................................60 01865 279428 Student life: .................................................................................................................................................62 [email protected] JCR – Holly Redford-Jones ....................................................................................................................62 www.hertford.ox.ac.uk MCR – Mustak Ibn Ayub .......................................................................................................................64 Music – Madalena Leao .........................................................................................................................65 Sport – Helen Strain ...............................................................................................................................66 Subjects & research ....................................................................................................................................68 LIFE AFTER HERTFORD Bushmaster – Dan Eatherley (1992) ..........................................................................................................90 Three months in the West Bank – Emma Pritchard (2010) .....................................................................95 Remembering the 1975 Chapel Eight – Alan White (1973) ..................................................................100 Births ..........................................................................................................................................................102 The Hertford College Magazine is published for members and friends of the college. Marriages ...................................................................................................................................................103 The opinions expressed are those of the writers and not necessarily the official views of Hertford College. News ..........................................................................................................................................................106 Obituaries ..................................................................................................................................................110 Hertford College is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1137527 Letter from the Chairman of the Hertford Society ................................................................................114 Editor’s note Editor’s note Editor’s note The Editor thanks all those who have contributed to and advised on this year’s issue. 4 Hertford College Magazine Hertford College Magazine 5 Principal’s welcome Principal’s welcome of the photographs, wrote powerfully round we are in pretty good shape. 38 of A model of Hertford in Lego, on display Principal’s welcome about the effect of both the old and the our undergraduates achieved firsts this during the July 2015 Open Days new display (her article is reproduced year and several won university prizes, 014-15 has been year two in a hat later in this issue, as is an article by the notably Benjamin Dawes in Computer trick of Hertford anniversaries. 2013 fellow who came up with the idea in the Science and Philosophy, Matt Dixon 2was the 100-year anniversary of the first place, Professor Emma Smith): in History and Politics, Elliott Gordon completion of the iconic Hertford Bridge, “I never went to hall much in my time in Mathematics and Statistics, and the marked in particular by the Bridge to at college—the food was grim, and the redoubtable Rachel Hunter, who walked Bridge bike ride raising an astounding prices high. But when I did, as one of away with three university prizes in £344,000: the year ahead is the 50-year only the third intake of women, it always Law. Nor do our undergraduates devote anniversary of the launch of the Tanner felt overwhelmingly blokey, and that themselves to academic work only. The Scheme, the college’s great contribution impression was reinforced by the faces on JCR (thanks in particular to President to promoting access to Oxford. This year the walls. Holly Redford-Jones and Ellen O’Neill) was the 40-year anniversary of the college …It is certainly true that we women do organized a first “HART fest”, a weekend being among the first five Oxford colleges change the feel of the place. For one thing, in early May celebrating all things creative to admit women. Don’t worry: as far as I we all appear pretty happy. We look as if in Hertford: music, life-drawing, films, know there are no anniversaries in 2017! we might actually have enjoyed our time talks on youth in literature and even a I feel blessed to be Principal during this at university and gained something from short story competition, opening with trio of anniversaries: in many respects it. We gaze gently down on the diners; jazz in the quad on a late Friday afternoon together they represent key constituents none of us is the slightest bit stern. In the in the pouring rain. Hertford’s music of our college’s DNA. Certainly our short statements we were asked to write continues to be outstanding: the Hertford celebration of Hertford’s women by to accompany our pictures, we all express College Music Society is the largest non- hanging photographs of a select 21 in a sense of honour and surprise at being auditioning society in the university. The our hall became a national story. When there.” men and women first eights registered the gallery was unveiled last September Sarah Crompton is right. The photos a Hertford first by both achieving blades it was reported on the BBC and covered have become widely admired—and the in Torpids, while James Ross won a in newspapers and internet sites around idea has begun to be copied by others. The swimming blue for 200 metres freestyle the world, even triggering a question on university and its colleges should and must in another overwhelming Oxford victory “Have I Got News for You”. honour our women: the Chinese proverb over Cambridge. JCR sports rep Naomi The Daily Telegraph quoted an says that men and women co-equally Vides supplies further details of sporting anonymous alumnus: “Are any of these hold up the sky. Men and women co- prowess in her report below. Encaenia, 24 June 2015 women, in any sense of the phrase, up equally support Oxford, and our pictorial Our fellows continue to make their there with [the temporarily displaced] celebration reflects that truth. Now, as we academic mark. Chemistry fellow Claire Donne and Tyndale? I wonder.” take the photos down to be replaced by Vallance won a professorship in the Background harrumphing of this sort 21 new portraits of the men and women recognition of distinction exercise last year, rumbled around over the first few weeks, who were admitted to Hertford under and she has been joined by English fellow but very soon everyone became a convert the Tanner scheme, there is sadness at Emma Smith, awarded a professorship in to what has been a