Family History with Fiona Chesterton

Fiona Chesterton on family history

In March 2024, OUSC member Fiona Chesterton gave an absorbing talk on Bringing Family History to Life at Wolfson College. She described how an unexpected inheritance prompted her to research into family history, using not only traditional genealogical records but also a wide range of resources such as old photographs and personal mementoes to develop her book Secrets Never To Be Told. She described its long road to the publication, including as an audiobook version. The talk was very much enjoyed by the 30 people who attended, with many contributions to the discussion following Fiona’s talk. All copies of the book Fiona brought with her were sold out to her enthusiastic audience and she went away with further orders to fulfil.

Talk on the making of medieval manuscripts

Patricia Lovett, professional scribe and illuminator specialising in medieval illustrations,gave a talk on Gold on Parchment: How Manuscripts were Made. Illustrating her talk with slides and short film clips, in a lively talk Patricia explained not only how mediaeval manuscripts were made, but also the tools and materials used. Her packed and appreciative audience included some current Cambridge students, and we learned the difference between parchment and vellum, how a quill is cut, how gold is attached in miniatures Illustrating her talk with slides and short film clips, in a lively talk Patricia explained not only how mediaeval manuscripts were made, but also the tools and materials used. Her packed and appreciative audience included some current Cambridge students, and we learned the difference between parchment and vellum, how a quill is cut, how gold is attached in miniatures.

Sue Griffin

OUSC Profile

Sue Griffin has compiled some statistics on the profile of OUSC members. You may be interested to know that there are 145 alumni on our current mailing list. Of these; 87 have been to an in-person or Zoom event. The matriculation profile is as follows:

1940s 2

1950s 18

1960s 22

1970s 32

1980s 17

1990s 8

2000s 14

2010s 16

2020s 7

Volunteers for the committee

We are a committee of six people at the moment. There is room for more volunteers to attend meetings every two months and take part in developing new areas of action. Meetings are now held in person at members’ homes. If you would like to volunteer, please contact us.

Poem from the ‘smoker’

Somerville

‘tutorials’, ‘quads’, the plash of punts
mist on an autumn evening, biking round
the sheldonian, invisible in fog
the libraries’ air as still as sleep
halls full of talking students, comfort, food
portraits of faces more familiar than living dons
whose liberal care was mild as oxford’s spring
sub-fusc was deadly dark, like tutored ants
and schools a marbled monument to hope
contrast it with our shabby, cheap, warm house
of seven undergraduates and friends
three years of searching study and hot soup
from friars on st giles on winter afternoons

Linda Appleby