The Varsity Snooker Match held in Paris on 9th April 2008 was declared a close draw after lengthy battles and extraordinary dexterity on both sides, but dinner took priority due to the late hour! A result will have to
await the next meeting planned for the Autumn.Mention should be made of the sterling assistance given by our advisers from Eurosport- Bruno Jean Le Prat and Roland Tchertoff.
Let's keep in touch and keep our ears and eyes open for more players and other locations.
A Word of Thanks from the Chairman
As many will know, after five years as Ambassador, Sir John Holmes has left Paris. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Sir John Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Relief Co-ordinator. John and Penny Holmes did a great deal for the British community here and especially for the OUS. They hosted the Memorial Service for the late Chancellor, and the splendid dinner with Chris Patten, then Chancellor elect, as well as the Annual Garden Parties with Cambridge and selected Grandes Ecoles. We are all extremely grateful and wish Sir John success in what is certainly the very arduous task that faces him.
We would like to take this opportunity of welcoming Sir Peter Westmacott, another Ambassador from Oxford. He was, till recently, Ambassador in Ankara and had been First Secretary here in Paris from 1980 to 1984. Arthur Hohler (New College)
She opened very graciously by saying she considered Oxford to be an outstanding university institution which put us all into the right breakfast spirit. She continued by talking about how to practice ethics as a defence lawyer, how she ran her own small firm and answered lots of questions.
Everyone has a right to be defended however serious the crime of which they are accused, be it rape, murder or racist attacks. She finds it easier to defend a person if she can feel a glimmer of goodness or light somewhere in their psyche. In her small practice of six barristers she makes sure she works on every case with the barrister concerned and thus knows much of what is happening in very different areas of the law. This is quite the opposite of larger law firms which tend to have narrowly specialised
departments. She is thirty-seven years old.
When someone asked her about the use of technical weapons such as 'vice de procédure', she made it very clear that she considered that every party involved should do their homework thoroughly and so she felt totally justified in using whatever she could lay her hands on to defend the accused. Sometimes when the police do not do things properly this gets much public attention but in her experience, for serious cases where it really matters, the police and other parties usually do their jobs properly and thoroughly.
During the conclusion, she said very charmingly that for her, appearing on television or giving a talk was just 'une distraction', but certainly not real. For her what was real was the act of publicly defending a brief in a court of law.
Interestingly, two nieces were present, both barristers:
George Oks's niece and Maître Solange Doumic herself who is
the niece of Ann Cooke-Yarborough, married to an Oxford man,
On 24th June Col. Oliver Warman (Balliol), late Welsh Guards, led a joint party of the Paris Branches of the Oxford Society and of the Royal British Legion to the sites of the battles around Arnhem. Conceived and planned in haste by the Allies, following the Normandy landings, the parachute and glider-borne troop assault behind enemy lines on 17th September 1944 had been designed to accelerate the advance on Berlin by securing bridgeheads over the Rivers Maas and Ijsel. If its conception was imaginative and its execution bold its failure, while tragic, needed putting into perspective. This was Oliver's mission, and no-one better qualified, since this Battle was the subject of his thesis while at Oxford.
He dwelt on the politicking between the Allied commanders, not least between the British generals. Field Marshal Montgomery, having succeeded in convincing General Eisenhower of his strategy, then found that tactics on the ground were difficult to orchestrate in a fast-moving situation against stiff opposition. In our day-long visit Oliver treated us to a series of cameos of the action, and this gave us a real sense of the drama in the heat of battle. We saw some of the dropping/landing zones; and we followed the routes of some of the units as they set out towards their objectives. In the decisive phase, the street fighting in Arnhem, we penetrated the back alleys taken by the British troops; we saw the house where Major-General Urquart was forced to hole up, trapped by a German self-propelled gun at the front door. We saw the killing ground where almost the whole battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment was annihilated as they attempted to reach the Arnhem Bridge. Oliver's commentary was so vivid that we immediately felt the spirit of place. Nowhere was this more evident than when we followed on foot the escape route taken at the dead of night from the centre of Arnhem by the encircled allied troops. We set out across manicured parkland reminiscent of the outskirts of Dorking, belying the deadly drama of that night in September 1944. This route then led through woods to the banks of the Lower Rhine, across which those who escaped swam in whatever kit they could carry, many drowning through exhaustion resulting from the lack of sleep and food. We learnt that Montgomery had at that moment been only five miles to the rear - what a contrast to his experience as a 2/Lt in the Royal Warwickshires in the First World War trenches, when he had complained that he never saw a General. There on the banks we stopped for sobre reflection before making our way by coach to the main Arnhem Oosterbeek cemetery. Those of us who regularly visit these military cemeteries, beautifully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, were not surprised to find the usual beauty of the site. But what was particularly poignant here was the fact that all 1,758 graves commemorate the fallen of one single battle. As with last year's visit with Oliver to the Somme, for some members of the party this was also a pilgrimage. One Member remembered her late husband's participation in the glider landings as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force. She told me she had been widowed at 23. At the cemetery we gathered round in a circle to hear the Exhortation, those haunting lines from Lawrence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen": "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old .......". There I noticed one of our number standing some distance away, outside the circle, clearly lost in her own thoughts. I learnt only later that the father whom she had never known had fallen in the Western Desert. At the cemetery Oliver quoted from the very moving address of the Parachute Regiment Chaplain at the ceremony to open the cemetery in 1950. The Chaplain, seeking to define the significance of the Battle, had himself quoted from a contemporary Dutch commentator. He had said that the Dutch would never forget the fallen, since their action had given them hope in the middle of a particularly repressive occupation. "We will remember them", as Binyon concludes.
Salute to Nelson
One thing we can always be sure of at any OUSP event is that it will turn out unexpectedly. This was certainly the case with the invitation to breakfast at Le Procope – Rue de L’Ancienne Comédie – the oldest restaurant in Paris and a veritable cornucopia of Louis XIV memorabilia.
About 15 of us had risen early for the 8 o’clock petit dejeuner, several of the party perhaps not quite clear what they should expect.
The mist cleared a little as Chairman Arthur Hohler explained that he had met our honoured guest at a recent reunion of Le Rosey alumni and had invited him to speak to the Society.
So where does Nelson come in ? It is the Christian name of our guest who in his professional life is one of the star commentators of sport on France TV. Nelson Montfort can be seen at every TV sport event interviewing the players and athletes from Stadia around the World. Skating ? Nelson is there. Rugby Final on Saturday, Nelson was there. Roland Garros in the coming weeks, Nelson will be everywhere.
He is a handsome fellow in his middle age, slim, bronzed and curly haired with a ready smile. His provenance is surprising. American father, Irish mother, yet 100% French for all his viewers. This diverse background sets him apart from the generality of Sports reporters, not known for their intellectual range. Nelson speaks French and English of course but also Spanish and decent Italian and he is hoping one day to learn Russian so he can read for himself the great works of Gorki and Chekhov. He is strongly Protestant in a Catholic society.
By now you will understand that his audience was discovering a very unusual kind of Sports reporter. In fact one could say that there is probably no other TV reporter on the planet who behaves in the way Nelson approaches his work, least of all in his father’s native land.
He came up the usual way for reporters. Local papers then a chance with local Radio. Becomes Editor then leaves for bigger job. Finally finds his way into TV and develops his own career. His fluency with languages, so significantly missing in both the French and British TV systems, steers him into a hitherto unexplored role of interlocutor between the world’s great athletes and the public. He builds a close and diverse relationship with the likes of Carl Lewis and Plushenko, the skater from Russia; Amelie Mauresmo and the National Rugby coach. But what is so interesting is that he is keen to make them sound and look good, not himself. Unlike many sports front men he avoids inflating his own ego, but instead tries to find the soul of his interviewee. He finds intelligent ways to bring out their personalities. He makes them feel he is on their side, even when he has to ask the difficult questions that the public is waiting to hear.
This scrupulous behaviour also applies during his live commentaries behind the camera. For instance, it is mandated that in Ice Skating, the results for each performance are shown electronically to the Judges for 15 seconds before released to the public. They are however shown to the commentators. How easy then for Nelson to remark that the couple having skated may just squeeze past the current leaders. He knows they have because he has seen the result, but his ethics cannot allow him to smudge the issues. He reacts at the same time as the public.
Nelson cheerfully and accurately answered all the questions from the floor as even those who have little interest in Sport were fascinated by this look behind the screen. Two or three questions involved Soccer, a sport that he no longer reports on. It was clear despite his cautious replies that he believes Soccer, in France and also throughout the world, is highly corrupt and manipulated. He deplores the chicanery from the top down and regrets the corrupting effects of the massive sums of money which keep Soccer alive. He had to laugh when reminding the audience that even as a high profile TV personality, the top soccer players earn 100 times his salary.
So the time slipped quickly by. All the questions were answered with humour and courtesy. He certainly appeared to enjoy this unusual breakfast. And his audience must have come away from the event feeling that they have met an honest and attractive man, a man of humility and humanity not often found in the media.
And when they see him translating the Spanish and American tennis players at Roland Garos in a week or two’s time, they will be supporting a real friend.
Dear Nelson Montfort; the OUSP salutes and thanks you.
The Varsity Snooker Match was held in Paris on 9th April 2008. Result: a close draw.
Click on the picture for the full story.
19th March 2008 More Lives than One
Thanks to a generous offer by the Ambassador, sponsored by KPMG and Clifford Chance we had a very successful and enjoyable evening at the Embassy Residence when we raised just on €10,000 for Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford alumni and friends were more numerous so Oxford has a donation coming of just on €7000. Our committee would like this donation to go once again to the Ashmolean, following our successful dinner last November.
Les Clack has produced a brilliant and well-researched One Man Show of the life of Oscar Wilde, which he has called More Lives than One.
The audience particularly appreciated a scene when Les acts Lady Bracknell interrogating young Worthing about his antecedents and then Worthing replying about how he was found in the cloakroom.
Saturday 29th March 154rd BOAT RACE ANNUAL EVENT at the Bowler Pub
The Bowler in the rue d'Artois, Paris 8 was the scene of mass hysteria when Oxford came from behind to beat Cambridge in the 154th Boat Race between the two universities on Saturday 29th March 2008!A strong contingent of younger graduates from both universities were present for the event.
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Pétanque (September 2007)
For this third annual match, Oxford prevailed and took back the cup which it lost in 2006. More on this event soon.
Recent events
Past events
The 2008 annual dinner: speaker, Frances Cairncross
After the elegant dinner, Michael Likierman introduced our speaker, Frances Cairncross, Rector of Exeter College. She and her father were the only father and daughter to be heads of colleges at Oxford, and among other distinctions she is the only journalist ever to be appointed to that position. Frances Cairncross spoke about the situation of universities to-day and said that they are the only institutions still fulfilling their original function. The number of students is booming, particularly in places like Korea and Singapore, where higher education is crucial in the process of development. The most important aspect to encourage is creativity, teaching students to think for themselves, which leads to innovation, the key to prosperity. The winner in this sphere is the U.S.A. which represents the gold standard for students all over the world. Compared to this, European universities are, in her own words, in a mess. The drop-out rate is excessive, they are working with a deficit, academics don’t move around enough, they are too much under the thumb of central government.
Universities outside the U.S. have problems in attracting foreign students (a good gauge of the level of success) and in both Europe and Japan the universities have empty places and should obviously adopt a different approach. Should everyone enjoy a right to free further education? In the U.S.A. fees are high but students still pour in. So what needs to be done? There should be freedom to charge according to the cost of actual education. There should be diversity in the various stages, as in the U.S.A. where programmes of study - starting with the option of Community Colleges - are far more flexible than in Europe. The approach to philanthropy should be cultivated, as in the U.S.A. The next generation of graduates must face up to their responsibility to contribute to their colleges, and not just leave them to rely on governmental help.
This talk provoked some interesting comments and questions from the floor: it’s important to provide education for older people (50 year-olds for instance). How can more efficient education be given for the same money, or less? What can be done about the lack of candidates for maths and science degree courses? Young people are allowed to choose their subjects without sufficient background knowledge. One applicant was quoted as remarking ‘maths makes you rich’. And a young graduate from a French ‘Grande Ecole’ pointed out the differences with Oxford where he had studied for some time... at Exeter College.
Finally, Frances Cairncross reminded her audience that ‘Oxford prizes concision’ and as time was getting on she had to put an end to the questions. It was proof of the success of the evening that the guests, old and young alike, were stimulated by her speech to stay on for quite a while to continue their discussions.
Ilona Wicker (L.M.H.)
18th April, 2008
Annual Dinner
In spite of a splendid view of the shimmering Eiffel tower from the UNESCO restaurant, the diners' attention was focused on the speaker, Frances Cairncross, Rector of Exeter College. She and her father were the only father and daughter to be heads of colleges at Oxford, and among other distinctions she is the
only journalist ever to be appointed to that position. Frances Cairncross spoke about the situation of universities to-day and said that they are the only institutions still fulfilling their original function.
Click on the picture to read the full account.
Friday 18th April, 8 p.m., the drizzle has begun to turn to a downpour. Going through the turnstile at U.N.E.S.C.O. and confronting the security check gave the impression one was boarding a plane. But once in the restaurant on the top floor of the buidling, we felt quite at home, with spangle-lit Eiffel Tower winking at us outside the windows.
We had a long wait before moving to our tables (shades of Terminal 5?) but there the analyogy ends, as the wait was made considerably more pleasant thanks to the champagne and delectable canapés, while we circulated and chatted. Topics of conversation overheard en passant: how being President of the J.C.R. was good training for leadership in later life; and what were the best ways of climbing into college in the good old days. This proves how old some of us are, but our guest speaker remarked on what a wide range of ages was covered by the members present; at one table alone it went from 32 to 82 (that was in fact the Exeter table).
Les Clack gives a glimpse of Oscar Wilde, the man and his works, through selected texts.
September
12th September - The Annual Oxford-Cambridge Pétanque Match
from 7.00 pm at “Les amis des Gones”, 10, rue Gaston Boissier - 75015 PARIS, Porte de Versailles
Oxford now leads the series 3 to 1, having won a new title in the fourth meeting in as many years.
The evening was organised around the following plan:
apéritif méridional
first round of qualifying matches
barbecue dinner
final round... out of which a winner will be crowned.
The pessimistic weather forecast - preceded by a downpour the previous evening - turned out to be a false alarm as the evening lent itself to a leisurely contest in which Cambridge surprised the Oxford teams with strong play in the qualifying round before succumbing to the superior strength of our final threesome, which, it must be said, included the French husband of one of our members.
23rd September, 7.30 pm - - Oxford wine tasting
Oxonian Paul Tracy, specialised in the wines of the world offered the Oxford Society an evening of wine tasting at the Cercle Suedois, 242 rue de Rivoli.
6th April 2009
at Ladurée, Champs-Elysées
Louis-Serge Rela del Sarte, Director of Global Equities Europe provided us with an insider's view of the social networks and their growing importance in the business world. He informed a captive audience about the different types of networks, what they can bring to those who learn how to play the Social Web game, how best to use them and the potentially costly mistakes to avoid.
This particular insider information concerned the Social Web itself... not the equities market, which is Mr Real del Sarte's actual trade. But as a major player in the practice and development of professional social networks, he proved to be an excellent informant. He was recently named Xing's "French ambassador".
Louis-Serge Real del Sarte at Ladurée
Business Breakfast: Lous-Serge Real del Sarte on the social networks in the professional world
Stilettos in the Key of G: Jacqueline du Pre Music Building
Whimsical, sensual, witty, intriguing . . .
Pia de Richemont’s Stilettos in the Key of G, which premiered last Friday, is all of these things, and the result is a powerful, gripping and extraordinary drama. Described as a “play within a concert, a concert within a play”, Stilettos in the Key of G explores the memories and emotions aroused when a musician and a sculptor meet by chance at a concert. The sculptor becomes enthralled by the musician, who becomes her new muse; meanwhile, the musician finds that the encounter takes his own creativity to a new level. The piece largely takes the form of a monologue, delivered with style and precision by Pia de Richemont, who successfully engages the audience’s attention by taking on a variety of different personae and ensuring that the pace never falters for a moment. Blending in seamlessly are musical numbers such as the Dance Russe from Stravinsky’s Petrouchka, Mussorgsky’s Pictures from an Exhibition and various sonatas, nocturnes and impromptus by Haydn, Chopin and Schubert, all played with passion and energy by pianist Bobby Chen. In fact, much of the joy of this production lies in the sheer quality of Chen’s musicianship. Tying in with the production is an exhibition of Pia’s sculptures and paintings, which reflect the passionate and sensual nature of her play, while demonstrating her extraordinary range of techniques. Stilettos in the Key of G: The Exhibition is on until July 29, 10am-4pm; admission free.
