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REPORTS<br />
Head Gardener from 1982 to 1991, when<br />
he was appointed Superintendent of the<br />
University Parks (until 2017), and has been a<br />
Supernumerary Fellow since 2001.<br />
On 14 February <strong>2019</strong> Ben Simpson<br />
(Old Wolf and HMCR) gave us a most<br />
informative illustrated talk on the work<br />
and travels of one of his forebears, entitled<br />
‘Letters from America, 1865: An English<br />
Quaker’.<br />
On 9 May another of our early graduate<br />
students, Christopher Schenk (GS 1972),<br />
gave us a personal reflection on the<br />
experiences of his father Willy and his uncle<br />
Hans, who came to Britain as refugees<br />
from Prague during the Second World War.<br />
Hans Schenk is known to many Wolfsonians<br />
as one of our founding (Iffley) Fellows.<br />
Christopher has also contributed to this<br />
<strong>Record</strong> an article based upon his talk, which<br />
was recorded by his son Gabriel; the video<br />
may be accessed on YouTube at https://<br />
youtu.be/vg9fkAEOKrY<br />
One of our current graduate students,<br />
Shivangi Kaushik, worked with Ben Simpson<br />
and Christopher Schenk on book displays<br />
related to their talks, and both she and one<br />
of our Old Wolves, Mary Thomas, have<br />
been working as volunteers in the <strong>College</strong><br />
Archives this year. We are grateful to them<br />
both for so kindly giving us their time.<br />
On 18 June we welcomed back to the<br />
<strong>College</strong> Old Wolf Dr Hubert Zawadzki,<br />
with other members of the Abingdon Area<br />
Archaeological and Historical Society. We<br />
gave them an introduction to the history<br />
of the <strong>College</strong>, its architecture, and gardens,<br />
and – so far as the miserable weather<br />
permitted – a short walkabout. We are<br />
most grateful to those who assisted with<br />
this event, particularly Dr John Penney<br />
(EF), Walter Sawyer (SF) and the architects<br />
Marion Brereton and Alan Berman (HF).<br />
And thanks too to Professor Jim Kennedy<br />
(EF), who gave a quick impromptu talk on<br />
the fossils in the Stallworthy Grove, the<br />
colour and texture of which was beautifully<br />
highlighted against the drizzle.<br />
Reading Group<br />
by Jan Scriven<br />
The Reading Group was initiated<br />
by William Fiennes in 2005 when<br />
he was Creative Arts Fellow, and has met<br />
regularly ever since. Out of an extensive<br />
mailing list, a steady core of members attend<br />
our meetings which take place about every<br />
six weeks. This year we have read LaRose<br />
by Louise Erdrich; The Sympathizer by Viet<br />
Thanh Nguyen; Maurice by E M Forster;<br />
Wise Children by Angela Carter; The Ice<br />
Palace byTarjei Vesaas; Orlando by Virginia<br />
Woolf. Some may be more popular than<br />
others, but they are all books worth talking<br />
about.<br />
New members are always welcome, and<br />
we are pleased to extend membership to<br />
friends from outside the <strong>College</strong>.<br />
Romulus<br />
by Emese Végh<br />
Romulus is Wolfson’s literary<br />
magazine. There is a different<br />
theme each year, and this year’s<br />
was ‘Ritual’. It was introduced, together with<br />
last year’s Romulus, at an event in November<br />
in the <strong>College</strong> bar with live music,<br />
photography, discussion panels and readings<br />
by students from their own work. This year’s<br />
Romulus was published in June <strong>2019</strong>, and<br />
introduced at another popular event. Three<br />
members of the editorial team continued<br />
from last year, Eduardo Paredes Ocampo,<br />
Lisa Heida, and Emese Végh, and were<br />
joined this year by Rose Stair, Sofia Contino,<br />
Grigore-Aristide Gafencu and Yongchang<br />
50<br />
COLLEGE RECORD <strong>2019</strong>
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