Anarchists take their Places

These are five of ten anarchists who are taking their places for a celebratory dinner.

They are members of a society called the Hinshelwood Club. The group came together in the early 1970s, ostensibly to oppose the conceit of a newly arrived Head of Department that he would tell his staff what to do. We thought this concept preposterous. To plan against the unwarranted interference with our activities, we used to gather at least once a week in a local pub, on the afternoon of official meetings of the full department (which was itself preceded by a one-hour seminar).

Now we occasionally meet together, as we are doing this evening, to relive past glories. This is what the assembled company looks like now. Perhaps not so anarchic, after all. And, forty years on, it seems possible that the beer taken before the long seminar might make its presence felt in various untoward ways.

As I said, there were ten guests present. There are, in fact, eleven members of the club. But one is in a wheelchair, and could not make it. I have referred to his plight in a Blipfoto entry for 5 April last year. Still, a turnout like this on a cold December evening is pretty impressive, I think. We are all really good old friends, and good colleagues, who have cooperated and collaborated with each other successfully throughout our working careers.

Our dinner was a truly splendid affair. I'll just show the menu and the list of accompanying wines, both of which were spectacular. The 'chamomile smoked octopus', for example, was served on individual plates covered by a glass dome that trapped the very aromatic smoke within, which escaped as the cover was lifted off when his dish was in front of each guest.

Our little club is named after Sir Cyril Hinshelwood, OM PRS. The PRS signifies that he was President of the Royal Society, an exceptionally distinguished post, and he won the Nobel Prize, which speaks for itself. In addition to his scientific achievements, Hinshelwood was fluent in seven classical and modern languages, and was at one time President of the Classical Association. He was the first Head of our Department (1937 to 1964), and we chose our club name as a mark of respect for, and to commemorate, this remarkable former leader.

For those interested, here are a few more photographs taken at the dinner.