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Welcome to the winter 2022 issue of the e-newsletter
Christ's is in the holiday spirit! From Christmas Carols in the Chapel to Bridgemas Bops, the end of term has been packed with festive events. The holiday celebrations have capped off a busy term at Christ's--take a look at what our students, Fellows, and alumni have been up to!
   
Above: Christmas trees around Christ's.
  
Above: Snowman in First and Second Courts after our December snowfall.
Fairbairn Cup 2022
On 1 and 2 December, Christ's College Boat Club braved the fog to race in this year's Fairbairn Cup. Overall, Christ's had twelve crews participating: four novice crews, four senior crews, three alumni crews, and one mixed IV. It was great to see everyone giving it their all out on the river despite the chilly conditions. Congratulations to everyone who participated! You can see more photos from the event here.
 
Above: Two student crews racing at the Fairbairn Cup.
This year also marked a special milestone for one of our alumni crews. The Crustaceans M3 crew first entered the Fairbairn Cup in 2007, making 2022 their fifteenth year of continuous participation. To celebrate the occasion, the crew rowed down the river carrying the Christ's College Boat Club flag and they are pooling together to purchase new equipment for the Boat Club. One member of that crew, Robert Holdsworth (m. 1975), wrote a reflection about a rowing trip he and a group of fellow Crustaceans took down the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal in summer 2022, which you can read on the Alumni page of the CCBC website here.
Above: The Crustaceans M3 crew on the river celebrating 15 continuous years of participation in the Fairbairn Cup.
Christ's is in round two of University Challenge!
The Christ's College University Challenge team is through the first round of matches in this year's tournament! They defeated Oriel College, Oxford in a thrilling come-from-behind victory in their first round match, which aired in late October. This year's Christ's team are: Chris Talbot (m. 2015), studying Materials Science and Metallurgy (Captain); Hollie Wright (m. 2018), studying Political Thought and Intellectual History; Abhimanyu Gowda (m. 2020), studying Natural Sciences; Isaac Jackson (m. 2021), studying English; and Billy Howard (m. 2018), studying Medicine (Reserve). Christ's second round match will air on BBC Two in early 2023. If you want to learn more about the Christ's team before then, check out an interview with team captain Chris Talbot here. Good luck to Christ's in round two!
Above: The Christ's College University Challenge team.
Winter Drinks and Fisher Society Luncheon
Thank you to everyone who joined us for Winter Drinks at the Oxford and Cambridge Club on 13 December. It was wonderful to see so many of you and catch up about Christ's before the holidays. More photos from the evening can be found here.
 
Above: Alumni and friends at Winter Drinks.
We also enjoyed welcoming alumni who are making gifts to Christ's in their wills for the annual Fisher Society Luncheon in November. We heard a fascinating talk from College Archivist Dr Lucy Hughes on Christ's alumnus and former Fellow W. W. Skeat and had a chance to see the Skeat window in the Old Library. More photos from the day are available here.
 
Above: Alumni and friends back at Christ's for the Fisher Society Luncheon.
Giving Day was a success!
Thank you to everyone who participated in Christ's inaugural Giving Day! Over 36 hours on 2 and 3 November, we raised more than £220,000 from over 470 donors that will make a significant difference to student life in the College in many ways. We enjoyed reading the memories of Christ's that donors left on our Donor Wall and remembering the many reasons why Christ's is so important to students, alumni, and friends of the College. You can read a more detailed report about Giving Day, including the causes that the money raised will go to support, in this year's Donor Report, which will be sent out with the Lent term issue of Pieces.
 
Above left: The 'Donor Throne,' where donor messages were displayed outside the Buttery. Above right: A message from one of our donors.
Admission of New Scholars
After an excellent year that saw Christ's once again top the Tompkins Table, 76 new Scholars were celebrated for their academic achievements at the Admission of New Scholars on 2 December. Including students who received Firsts for the second or third time, this year there are over 140 undergraduate and postgraduate scholars in College. The sun came out just in time for the new Scholars photo, which was taken in First Court, and the ceremony in the Chapel was followed by tea in the Master's Lodge. Congratulations to all of this year's Scholars!
Above: The 2022 Scholars photo.
The Master at the Public & Popular History Seminar
The Master, Simon McDonald, was in conversation with Professor David Reynolds as part of the Public & Popular History seminar on 27 October in the Yusuf Hamied Theatre. The Master read history at Cambridge before entering the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, where he worked with four Foreign Secretaries during the era of Trump and Brexit. Did his background in history affect him as a diplomat? How did he and his colleagues use history when engaging with other countries? Do politicians think historically or just impose their current agenda? These, and many other questions, guided the discussion in October, which was recorded and is available to listen to here.
Above: Professor David Reynolds and the Master, Simon McDonald, in the Yusuf Hamied Theatre.
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