Catzeye (Michaelmas 2011) [f]_Layout 1 - St. Catherine's College

CatzEye
www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk
St Catherine’s College Oxford
Michaelmas 2011

Michaelmas 2011
CatzEye
www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk
St Catherine’s College Oxford
Master’s Introduction / 02
College life
Meera Syal / 03
Finalists Farewell / 03
St Catherine’s was the best he ever did / 04
Catz Women’s Tennis Team / 04
Catz Calling / 04
Catz student scoops Oxford acting Prize / 05
Romance at Catz Ball / 05
Eric Williams Centenary Conference / 06
College Prizes / 06
St Catherine’s, Oxford: A Pen Portrait / 07
Catz Fellows
Professor Diana Jeater / 08
Professor Elizabeth Thomas-Hope / 08
Professor Mark Lewis / 08
Professor Richard Parish / 08
Alumni news
Sixty-Six Books / 09
Emilia Fox (1993, English) / 09
Femi Fadugba (2006, Materials Science) / 09
News in brief / 10
Catz Babies / 10
Catz Quizzes College Enigmatist Chris Maslanka
/ 10
Cover image: The Dean of Degrees leads new
students out of College to matriculate. Catz
welcomed 139 new undergraduate students, 147
graduates and 51 Visiting Students this October.
Journeys to College ranged from just 11.3 miles
to 11,402 miles!
CatzEye thanks and acknowledges the
following for their kind permission to reproduce
photographs: Nathan Jones, Ede & Ravenscroft
Ltd., Ditte Valente/Politiken, Chloe Wicks, Erica
Williams, The Master, BBC/Wall to Wall/Andrew
Montgomery, Rare Recruitment Ltd.
The Development Office
ST CATHERINE’S COLLEGE
Manor Road
Oxford OX1 3UJ
Telephone: +44 1865 271 760
Email: development.office@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
Website: www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk
Edited by Nathan Jones
E-mail: nathan.jones@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
Master’s Introduction
Welcome to the Michaelmas Term 2011
edition of CatzEye...
I am delighted to introduce you to another Michaelmas
edition of CatzEye on the eve of a most historic year
for St Catherine’s. In College we are busily preparing a
programme of events and celebrations to mark our
50 th anniversary and doing so with an increasing sense
of excitement and anticipation. In looking forward to
2012, I took particular pleasure in welcoming our new
students to College earlier this term and was
reminded, by their enthusiasm and the speed with
which they have thrown themselves into College life,
of the continuing vibrancy of our community.
The articles in this edition will testify to the diversity of talent which abounds at
St Catherine’s, among both its students and alumni. From characteristically
excellent student drama (Louisa Hollway recognised as one of Oxford’s leading
actresses) to sporting prowess (our Women’s Tennis Team securing a double
title win), Catz remains home to some extraordinarily gifted individuals. It is a
particular pleasure to watch as that inexhaustible desire to succeed, so
characteristic among our students, continues to flourish in the achievements of
so many of our alumni. That an exciting new theatrical production celebrating
the 400 th anniversary of the King James Bible drew upon the writing skills of
three of our alumni and Sir Tim Rice, one of our former Cameron Mackintosh
Professors, is a testament to the impact our alumni continue to make. To see
recent leavers, Femi Fadugba and Melba Mwanje, recognised for their
leadership and commitment in a House of Commons ceremony was a
particularly vivid reminder, to me, of the power of that impact.
In 1968, with Alan Bullock serving as Vice-Chancellor, it fell to Wilfrid Knapp as
Acting Master to lead our Society’s centenary. Writing in the College Chronicle,
he insisted that ‘No college can survey its past and its future with a greater
sense of continuing achievement than St Catherine’s.’ 2012 will mark another
important milestone in the life of our College, and I am delighted to report, as
Wilfrid did, that our continuity of achievement remains as steadfast and
timeless as ever. What a tribute to him, and indeed to our community, that as
we prepare to celebrate our 50 th anniversary we have a marvellous heritage
upon which to draw.
The New Year promises to be a most exciting one for the College. I wish you
and your family a very happy one, and hope to see you at one of our many
Anniversary events. ■
Securing the Future: A gift to St Catherine’s in your Will
Changes to inheritance tax rules were announced by the Government earlier this
year, giving Legators an opportunity to leave a charitable gift while enjoying a
4% cut in their Inheritance Tax. As a result of the changes, to be legislated over
the coming year, those who leave at least 10% of their estate to charity will see
their inheritance tax cut from 40% to 36%. From funding undergraduate
scholarships to helping finance the construction of award-winning student
accommodation, Legacies play an enormous role in securing the College’s future.
As we prepare to celebrate the timelessness of the St Catherine’s mission in
our 50 th anniversary year, we look to our global community of alumni and friends
to help us further our goal through Legacy giving.
For more information about remembering the College in your Will, please
contact our Head of Development, Saira Uppal on saira.uppal@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
or +44 1865 281585.

College life
3
Meera Syal named as next
Cameron Mackintosh
Visiting Professor of
Contemporary Theatre
Meera Syal has been
named as the College’s
next Cameron
Mackintosh Visiting
Professor of
Contemporary Theatre.
She took up her post in
October succeeding the
director Sir Trevor Nunn.
A playwright, actress and writer, Meera rose to
prominence for her role in creating Goodness
Gracious Me and became one of the UK’s bestknow
British-Indian personalities in The Kumars at
No. 42. She has appeared on radio, television,
film and on stage.
A recent stage role saw her play Willy Russell’s
Shirley Valentine while shortly before taking up
her appointment at Catz, she played the
grotesque June Buckridge in The Killing of Sister
George at the Arts Theatre in London. She is the
author of two novels: Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee
and Anita and Me, which won the Betty Trask
Award and was shortlisted for the Guardian Fiction
Award. She adapted both of these novels for the
screen and wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed
film Bhaji on the Beach.
Meera was delighted to accept the appointment,
saying, ‘I am honoured and hugely flattered to be
taking up this prestigious appointment at Oxford
University and wish to thank St Catherine’s,
Cameron Mackintosh and Thelma Holt for this
singular opportunity. I look forward to a mutually
creative partnership over the next year with some
undoubtedly ferociously bright students whom I
hope will enjoy the exchange and debate as much
as I will’.
The Chair of Contemporary Theatre was founded
through a grant from the Mackintosh Foundation
at St Catherine’s College. It aims to promote
interest in, and the study and practice of,
contemporary theatre. The Visiting Professorship
has previously been held by actors, writers,
directors and producers, including Stephen
Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Alan Ayckbourn, Phyllidia
Lloyd, Patrick Stewart and Kevin Spacey.
The Master, Professor Roger Ainsworth, said, ‘I
am delighted that in Meera we have somebody
who is so talented and multi-faceted. Our
students will be thrilled to have the opportunity
of interacting and learning from someone with
such a range of talent across so many different
genres. We are thrilled that she has agreed to
give us some of her precious time this year’.
Meera delivered her Inaugural Lecture in College
on Monday 14 November. There will be further
coverage of Meera’s Lecture and tenure as
Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor in The
Year. ■
‘I look forward
to a mutually
creative
partnership with
some
undoubtedly
ferociously
bright students
who I hope will
enjoy the
exchange and
debate as much
as I will’
Meera Syal
Finalists Farewell
The College sent its recent leavers a fond farewell
this summer after completing their Final
Examinations. In Materials Science, Finalists scooped
prizes for outstanding projects, a Chemist secured a
Bannister Trust Prize, while a Mathematician was
delighted to win the Junior Mathematical Prize. Two
Biologists scored Firsts, one of whom was
recognised by the Zoology Department for
outstanding achievement in zoological field work. ■
K Undergraduate leavers
gather for a final
photograph

J Tobias Jacobsen – ‘things
just poured out of him; we
should be rejoicing at that’
.
After ably seeing off some stiff competition from
Brasenose in the League semi-finals, Catz faced
Hertford in a fixture regularly interrupted by rain
storms. A comfortable victory was achieved,
despite formidable opposition from a pair of two
University players on the Hertford side.
A League win suddenly made achieving a double
title hopeful despite a tense semi-final in the
midst of exam season. Amy Johnson (2008,
Physics) and Charlotte Heads (2007,
Biochemistry) were singled out for particular
praise for taking time out from Finals revision,
while Florence Mather (2008, Fine Art) and
Caroline Phelps (2009, Physiological Sciences)
gave an excellent performance in the Final. ■
‘St Catherine’s was the best
he ever did’
Reflecting on his grandfather’s distinguished career
as one of the 20 th Century’s finest architects,
Tobias Jacobsen described St Catherine’s as
‘without a doubt, the best he ever did’. Speaking
exclusively to Politiken, Denmark’s leading
broadsheet, Jacobsen paid tribute to the College’s
stunning architecture, calling it, ‘beautiful through
and through’ and pointing out how much the
‘students love to use it’.
Jacobsen, himself a designer, told Politiken of his
commitment to keeping his grandfather’s name
and memory alive. ‘We shouldn’t forget’, he
insisted, that ‘he could do so much else than just
design chairs; things just poured out of him, and
we really should be rejoicing at that’.
He told the newspaper that, some forty years after
Jacobsen’s death, his ideas are ‘forever current,
valid and real’– a timely tribute to St Catherine’s
and its internationally-renowned architect on the
eve of an important anniversary year. ■
‘It was amazing
to realise the
size and
strength of the
community of
St Catz alumni
that I will be
fortunate
enough to be a
part of’
Helena Horsburgh
(2010, Modern
Languages)
K Catz Telethon Callers
saying ‘Thank You’
Catz Calling… Catz Telethon
Raises Over £200,000
The College is celebrating the success of this
year’s Telethon which raised over £200,000. Over
half of those contacted decided to make a gift,
while almost 40% of them were first-time donors.
It was a fantastic achievement on the eve of St
Catz’s historic 50 th Anniversary. A generous
matching gift from Mathew (1991, Visiting
Student) and Juliet Cestar (1993, Human
Sciences) doubled all gifts on the first night of
calling, raising the morale of the callers and
adding considerable value to the total raised.
Sixteen undergraduate students manned the
phones in the Library for two weeks and managed
to speak to almost 1,000 alumni. They forged links
that will last well beyond the Campaign, heard
many fascinating tales from Catz’s past, and shared
their experiences of what the College is like today.
Student caller, Helena Horsburgh (2010, Modern
Languages), thoroughly enjoyed the Telethon and
said: ‘it was amazing to realise the size and
strength of the community of St Catz alumni that I
will be fortunate enough to be a part of’.■
Catz Women’s Tennis Team
in Cuppers Win
Catz Women’s Tennis Team finished the 2010-
2011 Academic Year on a high after winning both
the Cuppers and League tournaments.

College life
5
Catz student scoops Oxford
acting Prize
This year’s Juliet Bernard Memorial Prize, awarded
to Oxford’s most promising undergraduate actress,
went to a St Catherine’s student: Louisa Hollway
(2009, Modern Languages).
Louisa is currently on her year abroad, studying at
the École Jacques Lecoq Movement Theatre
School in Paris; internationally acclaimed for its
fusion of dance and theatre. She gave CatzEye
some highlights of her time at Oxford, and offered
her best wishes to the many Catz theatrical
ventures that will staged over the coming year.
‘Oxford must be one of the most wonderful places
to be if you’re passionate about drama. With
countless opportunities to stage plays, it’s
possible to perform in numerous locations with a
rich array of people. It’s one of the best ways of
meeting people across the University, as you
create something together and, crucially, in your
own time. This is what makes any extracurricular
activity at Oxford special – the people that do it
really want to do it – they are giving up their
(often minimal) free time in order to do so.
At Catz, we have all been especially proud of
DNA, which I directed in Trinity Term. I staged it
outside, in the Catz grounds, and both my
producer and three of the cast were College
members. It also headlined Catz Arts Week which
was wonderful, enabling us to share in a festival
celebrating some of the spectacularly talented
individuals we have on our doorstep.’ ■
Romance at Catz Ball
For one couple, Catz Ball left them with more
than the traditional range of memories. MCR
President, Mark Curtis (2010, Mathematics),
proposed to his fiancée, Nadia Smith, during the
Ball’s stunning five-course Banquet. The couple
met in April 2010 on a Maths conference in
Oxford. Icelandic volcanic ash prevented Nadia,
who was born in Spain, from returning to Madrid
ensuring that they had another week in Oxford
and romance ensued! Mark tells CatzEye how he
made Nadia’s evening, and how they both added
another sparkle to a historic night.
‘I decided I was going to propose just before
Christmas, when publicity started appearing about
Catz Ball being on Valentine’s Day weekend. I
contacted the Ball Committee who arranged for
the Oxford Alternotives, the acapella group who
were singing during dinner, to perform us a
special number.
We sat down to dine and everything happened so
suddenly. The Alternotives were wandering down
towards our table with a beautiful rendition of
Elton John’s, Your Song. Suddenly, I was climbing
onto the table, guests were doing a drum roll,
and I asked the question and held my breath. She
said ‘Yes’, and the Hall erupted into cheers.
Nadia is currently completing her PhD in
Mathematics & Food Technology at the
Universidad Complutense de Madrid. The couple
married in August in Segovia, near Madrid. ■
J Louisa in rehearsal for
The New Electric Ballroom
‘This is what
makes any
extracurricular
activity at
Oxford special
– the people
that do it
really want to
do it’
Louisa Hollway
(2009, Modern
Languages)
k Mark Curtis (2010,
Mathematics) and friends
from the MCR
K Mark Curtis (2010,
Mathematics) and his
fiancée, Nadia Smith, at
Catz Ball

6
L Eric Williams (right) being
elected to his Honorary
Fellowship in 1964, with
University Chancellor, Harold
MacMillan (left) and Alan
Bullock (centre)
K Jonathon Swinard
(2008, Music)
Conference celebrates Eric
Williams’ Centenary
St Catherine’s was delighted to play host to a
special Conference celebrating the centenary of the
birth of Eric Williams (1932, History), Trinidad and
Tobago’s first Prime Minister (1956-1981). Entitled
‘New Perspectives on the Life and Work of Eric
Williams’, the two-day Conference was held in
September, to coincide with what would have been
Williams’ 100th birthday. The Conference
encompassed contributions from academics across
the world. The doctoral dissertation he completed
at Oxford, entitled, The Economic Aspect of the
Abolition of the West Indian Slave Trade and
Slavery, challenged the historical interpretation of
abolition – a theme which dominated this
Centenary Conference.
Williams is considered one of the most significant
leaders in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, and
is often referred to as the ‘Father of the Nation’. ■
College Prizes
The College’s Governing Body announced the
winners of two annually-awarded College Prizes
at the end of Trinity Term. Katrina Spensley
(2009, Biological Sciences) collected the Gardner
Prize for making an ‘outstanding contribution to
the life of the College’ and Jonathon Swinard
(2008, Music) was recognised with the Stuart
Craig Award for ‘distinction in a sporting, cultural
or musical activity’.
Showcase’, now a firm fixture in the College
calendar. Thanks to the work of all those
involved, the College now has a reputation for
having one of the best Music Societies in the
University, and rightly so, given the wealth of
talent coming through its doors. It has
been fantastic to see members of our Music
Society contributing to the wider Oxford music
scene both as performers and organisers. College
music has an essential role to play in building
students’ confidence and fostering that sense of
community which is central to College life.
Personally, it has been a privilege to work with
such wonderful and inspiring individuals; however,
if I had to pick one favourite moment, it would
have to be singing Gilbert and Sullivan with the
Master in the Summer Showcase – an experience
which remains on my CV to this day...’ ■
Katrina Spensley
‘From the moment I arrived at Catz, I’ve been
impressed by its welcoming and inclusive
atmosphere. From sports teams for all abilities, to
the friendly attitude of the students, Catz is a
college with a real commitment to involving
everyone. As Domestic Liaison Officer for the JCR,
I was able to work with the full range of nonacademic
College staff, and in doing so, got to
see something of the behind-the-scenes work
that truly enriches the student experience.
I have taken part in both the musical and sporting
sides of College life, singing with the College
Choir and rowing for the Boat Club. Singing in the
Choir at the annual Christmas Dinner will be one
of my many happy memories when I look back at
these three years. As Women’s Rowing Captain I
have enjoyed the positive team spirit whether we
were winning or losing, and, of course, the highly
dignified rowers’ nights out!’ ■
K Katrina Spensley (2009, Biological Sciences)
Jonathon Swinard
‘It has been a pleasure to be one of the Catz
Repetiteur Scholars for the last three years.
Particular highlights were: the establishment of a
regular recital series (affectionately dubbed
‘Concerts at Catz’), three excellent Carol Services
led by the Catz Choir, and the inaugural ‘Summer

College life
7
K John Simopoulos, Dean
of Degrees and Emeritus
Fellow
CatzEye previews St
Catherine’s, Oxford: A Pen
Portrait
Excitement continues to build in College
ahead of the publication of our magnificentlyillustrated
book, St Catherine’s, Oxford: A Pen
Portrait. To celebrate its impending release,
we publish one of the essays John
Simopoulos, Dean of Degrees and Emeritus
Fellow, has written for the book.
On Latin and Telephones
Latin is far too good to die completely. You can now
listen to the news in Latin, broadcast from Helsinki
as a podcast about whatever is happening, whether
it’s suicide bombing in Beirut or a pterodactyl
having been discovered in Colombia. And they
make fewer syntactical errors than Radio 4.
I must say I’ve always found Latin useful and not
just for inscriptions or college mottos. I was
working as an unpaid telephone operator in the
Rome International Telephone Exchange — it was
in the days when most calls had to be put
through manually. A call came in from someone in
the Vatican wanting to be put through to
Budapest. I tried Italian on him — no joy. I spoke
to him in French, that didn’t work either. English?
— he replied in German. So then I tried: ‘Loqueris
Latine Domine?’ ‘Ita’, he replied with relief, and
that must be one of the few cases where an
Anglo-Greek Jew puts through a call in Latin for a
Hungarian Cardinal wanting to be connected from
the Vatican to Budapest. It worked rather well.
I also had to speak Latin for prolonged periods
when I was a Special Commissioner for Oxfam
reporting on the plight of Hungarian refugees in
various refugee camps in Italy in the early 50’s
and I had to liaise with Monsignor Anisich who
was Hungarian and there turned out to be no
language that we had in common except Latin; so
we communicated entirely in that language for 3
whole days. It was strenuous as a lingua franca
but quite up to even such a modern task.
On my answering machine in London, I had a
perfectly ordinary message for weekdays and
Saturdays, but on Sunday, if you rang me and got
the answering machine, it would intone: Ave.
Machina locutrix auditrixque sum. Dominus meus
Johannes etiamnunc dormit. Sonitu electronico
audito dic aliquid: pro dis immortalibus noli
tacere! Domine vel domina vale. ■
St Catherine’s, Oxford: A Pen Portrait is a
beautifully-illustrated volume, telling the St
Catherine’s story though contributions like
the one above.
To get your
name printed in
the book’s
Subscriber List
and enjoy a £10
discount, order
before 31
January 2012.

8 Catz Fellows
Diana Jeater Returns to St Catherine’s
The College is delighted to welcome back
Professor Diana Jeater (1978, PPE). Returning as
a Visiting Fellow in History, she has described her
time as an undergraduate at Catz as ‘undoubtedly
one of the happiest times of my life’.
Recalling an ‘insatiable intellectual curiosity’ in
College, Jeater’s favourite moments were those
immediately after lunch when friends would gather
in her room to discuss, debate and challenge each
other. She studied great thinkers like Marx and
Hegel, and remembers tutorials on Kant with John
Simopoulos being amongst the most inspiring.
Experimenting with ideas has remained a
cornerstone of Professor Jeater’s work. After
leaving Catz, she hit upon a new interest: the role
of women in Zimbabwe’s independence struggle.
Conducting field work in Zimbabwe, she found a
country ‘exploding with ideas’, giving her ‘the
desire to seek answers to major philosophical
questions about culture and identity in a continent
grappling with the legacy of its colonised past’.
Professor Jeater is ‘extremely excited’ to be
engaging, once again, with intellectually challenging
Catz undergraduates, and will be examining political
violence and human rights in southern Africa. ■
Elizabeth Thomas-Hope –
Christensen Visiting Fellow 2011
Professor Thomas-Hope is Professor of
Environmental Management at the University of
the West Indies, in Jamaica, and Director of the
University’s Environmental Management Unit.
With varied research interests, Professor Thomas-
Hope is a respected adviser to governments across
the world. She recently wrote a report for the
Ramphal Commission, which examined migration
issues and their impact on Commonwealth
countries, which was to be submitted at the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in
Perth, Australia, in October 2011. In addition, she
is working with the Planning Institute of Jamaica to
support the integration of migration in Jamaica’s
development programme.
At Oxford, she will work on social integration
characteristics, particularly among Caribbean
populations in the UK. In doing so, Professor
Thomas-Hope wishes to extend our current
understanding of the dynamics of these migrant
L Professor Diana Jeater
L Professor Elizabeth
Thomas-Hope
L Professor Mark Lewis
Other College Fellows
have also published
works this term - full
coverage of the following
titles will appear in The
Year:
Seeing Through Music:
Gender and Modernism
in Classical Hollywood
Film Scores by Professor
Peter Franklin
Bourgeois Liberty and
the Politics of Fear:
State, Class and
Revolution from
Absolutism to Neoconservatism
by Dr Marc
Mulholland
The Cambridge History
of the Romance
Languages, Volume One
by J.C. Smith
communities and widen our comprehension of the
trends underpinning their movement. ■
Professor Mark Lewis (1987,
Mathematics)
This term Catz also welcomes back Professor
Mark Lewis (1987, Mathematics), who joins us
on sabbatical from the University of Alberta, in
Canada, where he holds a Research Chair in
Mathematical Biology.
His work includes constructing models of animal
movement (ranging from butterflies to polar
bears), quantitative analysis of territorial
behaviour in animals, and developing dynamical
equations for wildlife diseases.
Professor Lewis will be engaging in new research
at Oxford, involving collaborative modelling of the
growth and territorial behaviour of plant roots –
an exciting and emerging area in Mathematical
Biology. In addition to his post at Catz, Professor
Lewis is also looking forward to his Research
Fellowship at the new Oxford Centre for
Collaborative Applied Mathematics, directed by
Catz’s own Professor Alain Goriely. ■
Richard Parish publishes
Catholic Particularity in
Seventeenth Century French
Writing: Christianity is Strange
Richard Parish, Professor of French and a College
Tutorial Fellow, has published his latest work: an
analysis of the rich and varied Christian doctrines,
which were brought to light by the Catholic
Reformation in France. Drawing upon a wide array
of genres, from sermons to martyr tragedies, lyric
poetry to spiritual autobiography, Richard highlights
the exceptional fertility which hallmarked
seventeenth-century French Christian discourse.
Catholic Particularity seeks to demonstrate the
ways in which Christian doctrine was interpreted as
‘strange’ by illuminating the paradoxical, divisive,
carnal and inexpressible tensions which
were released during the Catholic
Reformation.
This challenging and exciting
account, which is based on the
Bampton Lectures delivered at the
University Church in 2009, was
published by OUP in July 2011. ■

Alumni news9 9
Emilia Fox:
Who Do You Think You Are?
Catz alumnus Emilia Fox (1993, English) became
one of the latest celebrities to trace her ancestral
roots for the BBC’s highly-popular documentary
series, Who Do You Think You Are? She appeared
in this autumn’s 8 th series.
Alumni news
Sixty-Six Books
As the College prepares to celebrate its 50 th
anniversary, three Catz alumni and an Honorary
Fellow are helping the King James Bible to
celebrate its own important milestone. Sixty-Six
Books premiered at the Bush Theatre this October
to celebrate the 400 th anniversary of the
translation. Comprising the contributions of sixtysix
talented writers from a wide array of
countries, backgrounds and disciplines, Sixty-Six
Books is an attempt to ‘produce a variety of
individual and contemporary responses to an
ancient text’. Each author was invited to write a
piece inspired by a particular book of the Bible.
Broadcast on BBC1 in September, Fox’s journey
through her family’s past encompassed the
fascinating tale of her great-great grandfather,
Samson Fox, one of the 19 th Century’s most
innovative inventors – uncovering a remarkable
dynasty. ■
Catz Alumni scoop RARE Awards
Former JCR President Femi Fadugba (2006,
Materials Science) has been honoured for his
outstanding social entrepreneurship by a panel that
included David Lammy MP and Trevor Philips, the
Chair of the Commission for Equality and Human
Rights. Recognised by RARE (an organisation that
promotes diversity in job recruitment) in a House of
Commons ceremony, Femi was commended for his
visionary efforts in assisting businesses developing
solar energy across Africa.
Femi paid tribute to the black community and his
fellow award-winners for their ‘desire to be
greater than what society has told [them] to be’
and for their ‘courage to take on seemingly
impossible challenges’. Femi is currently a
Master’s student in Public Administration at the
University of Pennsylvania.
Melba Mwanje (2007, Human Sciences) was also
recognised as the third Star on a list of ten; her
third consecutive appearance on the annual
shortlist. This year she was commended for her
ground-breaking research in Angola. ■
L Emilia Fox
(1993, English)
L Complete and
return this edition’s
termly Crossword by
Wednesday, 4
January 2012 for a
chance to win the
Who Do You Think
You Are?: Series One
DVD Boxset which
includes an episode
by our Cameron
Mackintosh Visiting
Professor, Meera
Syal.
K David Lammy MP (left),
Jean Tomlin (centre left),
Human Resources Director
for the London 2012
Olympic Games, and Trevor
Philips (right), present Femi
Fadugba (centre right) with
his Rare Rising Stars Award
Distinguished lyricist Sir Tim Rice, who was our
Cameron Mackintosh Visiting Professor of
Contemporary Theatre in 2003-04, acclaimed
novelists Jeanette Winterson (1978, English) and
Adam Foulds (1994, English), and poet Caroline
Bird (2007, English), feature among a diverse list
of contributors that includes the Archbishop of
Canterbury and Carol Ann Duffy.
Adam Foulds, whose short monologue is inspired
by the Old Testament book of Micah, explained
how his piece seeks to highlight his ‘contradictory
feelings about the Bible’– a work he described as
containing ‘sections of great literary art and
moments of profound moral and human insight’. ■

10
Alumni news
News in brief
Professor Josh Silver (1964, Physics), who was
shortlisted for the 2011 European Inventor of the
Year Award, has directed an investigation into selfcorrection
of refractive error, an error in the focusing
of light by the eye resulting in reduced vision,
among young people in rural China. The report was
published this August in the British Medical Journal.
The inventor of self-adjustable glasses, Josh’s work
has already benefited over 30,000 people now
using his glasses across the developing world.
Tony Jaffe (1953, Law) collected an Award for
making an Outstanding Contribution to the Festival
at this year’s Brighton Festival and Fringe Awards.
After discovering the Old Courtroom Theatre as a
‘disused space with endless potential’, Tony
developed the theatre into an exciting
performance venue.
Sonia Taitz (1976, English) has published In The
King’s Arms, a novel set in 1970s Oxford – and has
dedicated the book to Emeritus Fellow John
Simopoulos. Taitz tells the story of an American
daughter of Holocaust survivors who, seeking relief
from her parents’ traumatised insular world, escapes
to Oxford University where she falls in love with the
black sheep of an anti-Semitic English family.
Rebecca Munro (2008, History of Art) and Adam
Stearn were delighted to announce their
engagement earlier this year. ‘One evening Adam
insisted we take a walk along the river to see
London at night. I grumpily relented and was
dragged along the river all the way to St Paul’s.
Interrupting my complaints about how tired I was
while looking up at the dome, he got down on one
knee and asked the question! I think I spent the
whole journey home apologising for being so awful
- after I’d said ‘yes’ of course!’ ■
Catz Babies
Simon Amey (1997, Physics) and Daniela Amey
were delighted to announce the arrival of Dominic
Nicholas Mark Amey, born on 21 October 2010.
Dominic, who has recently celebrated his first
birthday, was born in the same month that Simon’s
sister, Ruth, started studying at Oxford.
Mark Krebs (1998, Chemistry) and Rachel Krebs
also announced the safe arrival of twins Helena
Maytal Krebs and Johanna Dorothea Krebs, born on
14 December 2010. Mark told CatzEye that he looks
forward to showing the twins around College and
wonders whether they might follow in his footsteps!
L Chris Maslanka
Catz Quizzes College
Enigmatist Chris
Maslanka
As College Enigmatist, Chris has been puzzling
the Catz community for over 25 years. CatzEye
asked him to review a remarkable career and
to reflect on the College’s continuing legacy
on the eve of its landmark anniversary year.
Everyday life throws up perplexities and
anomalies, and I’m attracted to them.
Looking back, reading Physics at Catz was good
preparation for my career. Physics taught me that
if you can’t see what’s going on, then change
your point of view. That flexibility is helpful in
solving puzzles and laying traps along the trail for
the would-be solver.
My Physics tutors had quite different, but
complementary styles. Harry Rosenberg was
solid and grounded; Mike Leask was inspired by
his own enthusings. He could step out of the
maths to paint a vivid picture in words that
brought the equations to life. The ability to
change one’s point of view is crucial in problemsolving.
Neville Robinson proved results in
diverse ways, many of them surprising. He left
those who wanted one canonical way of solving a
problem disappointed, but encouraged
autonomous thinking – the faculty that puzzles
test.
A little while after leaving Catz, I was rung by
someone claiming to be Alan Rusbridger. I was
about to say ‘Sure and I’m the Queen of Sheba’,

Alumni news11 11
when it gradually penetrated that it was indeed
the editor of the Guardian inviting me to write
them a puzzle column. The column wobbled to
begin with. I made lots of mistakes and spent
most of my time replying to letters beginning with
‘Dear Idiot’ and even worse. The puzzle column of
a newspaper is the one that readers feel most
critical and defensive about. They imagine
themselves locking horns with a superior being,
and it rarely occurs to them that the writer might
be just as puzzled by his puzzles as they are, but
I value this contact with readers unmediated by
agents, publishers and editors – even if it does
take longer to write!
In 1987, I published The Pyrgic Puzzler, a
collection of puzzles which owe their origins to
John Simopoulos’ trip to a Greek pyrgos, one of
the beautiful towers on the isle of Lesbos. I
dashed off a number of brain-teasers to occupy
him on his travels. One of his guests was the
prolific author Iris Murdoch, who happened to
pick up my book of puzzles. It’s not often you
find yourself being told by a novelist, especially
one of Iris’ status, that what you wrote as a mere
jeu d’esprit should be published. But Iris –
though I argued with her about everything from
philosophy to the correct way of ironing shirts –
was a generous person, and incredibly supportive,
even writing the foreword to my book.
The Gulf War brought new challenges for the
author of The Pyrgic Puzzler, who was invited
to broadcast to hostages being held in Iran.
I remember driving up to Bush House, home of
the BBC World Service, and rehearsing my puzzle
story. Although the puzzle-stories were
funny and outrageous, I took the
responsibility very seriously. For a hostage,
the only freedom is mental, and how good
it is to escape (if only temporarily) from
one’s predicament to that parallel universe
we all have access to: the imagination.
I made four broadcasts before the hostages
were eventually released. I received
appreciative feedback from the World
Service, and from Roger Cooper, one of the
hostages, who told me what an important
part exercises – mental and physical –
played in surviving his imprisonment.
‘My happiest
days were at
Catz. One
speaks
metaphorically
of a college as
an alma mater.
In my case it
was also
literally true’
Chris Maslanka
(1973, Physics)
K Chris Maslanka and
friends in the JCR bar
My happiest days were at Catz. A refugee from an
unhappy home, not only was I now fed and
housed, but also allowed, nay, encouraged to
think. One speaks metaphorically of a college as
an alma mater. In my case, it was also literally
true.
A time capsule is symbolic of the gifts that one
generation hands down to another. In de Rerum
Naturae, Lucretius articulates this perfectly. He
says that the sum of things is ever being
renewed, humans live dependent on each other
and, ultimately, quasi cursores vitae lampada
tradunt – like runners they pass on the torch of
life.
We cannot hope for immortality, but we can work
to be part of some community that will outlast
us. Catz, being more than the sum of its parts,
and so much more than a piece of architecture, or
an institution, provides one such strand of
continuity between the generations. ‘The new
spring up as the old are passing’, Homer writes.
Founding Catz was an act of the imagination and
will, for which Bullock should be lauded. But it
doesn’t end there. A college has a life of its own,
one that needs tending and nurturing. It requires
creativity and wisdom to steer it through troubled
times. But it also places faith in the future. It is
like planting a tree. You don’t know who will
gather its fruit or enjoy its shade. Investing in
people as yet unborn and whom you may never
meet is one of the most worthwhile things we
can do as human beings. ■
For over twenty years, Chris has kept Catz
puzzled. His latest offering, devising clues
as to the contents of the College Time
Capsule, has urged him to reflect on his
time at Catz, and all it continues to stand for.

FIND US ON FACEBOOK
WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/STCATZ
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Page will give you access to everything going on in our diverse and exciting community!
Dates for your diary
DECEMBER
Thursday 1
St Catherine’s Carol Service
FEBRUARY
Saturday 25
Rowing Society AGM and Dinner
MARCH
Thursday 8
Wallace Watson Award Lecture:
Thomas Mallon (2009, English):
The Ho Chi Minh Trail
Friday 23
Oxford Inter-Collegiate Golf Tournament
Monday 26
Hong Kong Sevens Drinks Reception
Wednesday 28
Singapore Drinks Reception
APRIL
Saturday 14
North American Reunion in New York
Further details are available on the
College Website: www.stcatz.ox.ac.uk/
alumni-development.
To book your place on any of these
events, please contact the
Development Office. Email:
development.office@stcatz.ox.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1865 271 760
Saturday 10
Parents’ and Freshers’ Lunch
Tuesday 17
North American Reunion in San Francisco
Prize Crossword
© CMM 2011
For your chance to win a
copy of the Who Do You
Think You Are? Series 1 DVD
Boxset (page 9), have a go
at this edition’s prize
crossword by College
Enigmatist, Chris Maslanka
(1973, Physics).
To enter the draw, send your
completed crossword to:
The Editor, CatzEye
Development Office
St Catherine’s College
Manor Road
Oxford OX1 3UJ
by Wednesday, 4 January
2012
CLUES ACROSS
1, 5, 8 In 1960 nearly 8 acres of it cost £57,690 (8, 5, 6)
14 Found in evening and morning - you’re not
born with it! (5, 4)
15 Chap in library? (3)
16 Czesław Miłosz's favourite month (7)
17 Champion rower - his letters give us stamps
in the winter (3, 7, 7)
19 It sleeps standing up (3)
20 Reversible spinner (5)
22 Live with the College porters? (5)
24 Anger? That is about right (3)
26 Rubbish ET saw on returning (5)
28 Cynics say mechanical ones make weapons;
civil ones - targets (9)
30 Fuss about a party (3)
31 Camera and guide? - It’s a piece of cake! (7)
32 Philosopher equal to two learners on the
motorway (4)
35 Greek foodstuff - it’s not half effectual! (4)
36 Just the sort of cop not to be resented by a
criminal? (4)
38 At Oxford it’s worn by both sexes (4)
41 His walk was admired by C.S. Lewis (7)
42 Novel character of Biblical Queen stripped of
first degree (3)
43 One shut up in storage place for boats (9)
47 Post of restricted length (5)
48 Watering hole and birthplace of Hercule
Poirot (3)
49 A portly sort of porter (5)
51 (S)he puts one in one’s place with two other
pronouns (5)
52 The point of a fountain pen (3)
54 Does her Deli sell more than oranges? (8, 9)
59 Charge associated with battery? (7)
60 Tree in Del Mar (3)
61 Small weight attached to wireless and early
hi-fi system (9)
63 “pEncil” in fridge magnets has the making of
geometer (6)
64 Pasternak shelters distinguished economist (5)
65 Newbies- they have their 36 (8)
CLUES DOWN
1 Not the low road from The Plain to Carfax (4,6)
2 Is life worth living? It depends on the - (5)
3 The great one is London (3)
4 Minimum to be had from Tangled Tales (5)
6 Polish- do it the wrong way, and it could
annoy (3, 2)
7 Anton and I set the musical pace (9)
9 If you have your cake you can’t do this, they
say (3, 2)
10 One in debt goes into this (5)
11 Wok recipe clumsily laboured over on by one
of 28? (9)
12 Myth of crural extremity (5)
13 European staff (4)
18 Harry’s friend joins motoring organisation
with Biblical brother (5)
21 Classical garment without a unit of thermal
insulance (3)
22 Recline oddly in Loire (3)
23 Older version of 29 (4)
25 Glowing coal seen at the end of 3 months (5)
26 Grown awkward and inaccurate (5)
27 Wines drunk by ten dons (almost) (5)
29 Took early attainment test (3)
33 Type of rock - or paper, by the sound of it (5)
34 Brahms’ drinking companion? (5)
35 e.g. Geneva and Georgia (5)
37 Current unit (3)
39 Heartless features costing the student dear (4)
40 Musical 56, sounding like tiny underground
folk? (10)
41 Thin, so you dined at 20:00 by the sound of it (9)
42 New Testament? (9)
44 Crazy person from teaching union (3)
45 TV doctor, 43, without punt (5)
46 Expression of disgust in Poughkeepsie (3)
50 To the fore - where a hospital doctor should
be found! (6)
53 99 first degrees in computer language (5)
54 You join Jedi for a day in e.g. France (5)
55 Social workers? (4)
56 Clock found in Mitre (5)
57 Dinar collapses to all-time low (5)
58 In short, the 2007 counter insurgency strategy
in Iraq War (5)
62 Little operations involving no postscript (3)