Bank Holiday Walk - May 2026
This year’s May Bank Holiday walk was around the outer reaches of the National Trust’s Lyme Park estate in Cheshire, ably organised by our former treasurer, Chris Hirst (Magdalen, 1964). A group of 24 members and guests enjoyed a splendid day in cloudy but fine weather.
The route of about six and a half miles took us past the Cage – a former hunting lodge later used as a prison for poachers - and the Lantern, an eye-catching folly. Avoiding the busier parts of the park around Lyme Hall, we walked through coniferous and deciduous woodlands, along steep-sided valleys and over moorland and meadows.
The first part of the walk climbed gently to a peak of about 500 feet. After that, it was downhill most of the way, before we finally walked along the towpath beside the Macclesfield Canal. Then we had lunch, joined by a small number of other members, at the Boar’s Head in Higher Poynton, an imposing example of Victorian pub architecture, built in the 1880s to replace an earlier version after the opening of the nearby railway.
Wine tasting - April 2026
During a recent committee meeting when we were considering what future events to organise, committee member Michelle Moses (New, 1995) casually mentioned that she was a trained sommelier and could do a wine tasting if we wished. It took the committee by surprise and we swiftly agreed that it would be a very good idea.
So, on a very sunny Manchester evening (yes, Manchester does get sunshine), Michelle gave us a systematic way to assess a wine. We tasted 4 wines (3 white and one red) comparing how the wine appeared by sight, aroma and flavour. For one of the white wines, it was interesting how the impression of the various flavours in the mouth was so very different from the aromas detected via the nose.
Michelle Moses (L) with our wine tasters
The group of members and guests had a most enjoyable evening, bringing together some of our youngest members along with our longer standing members. Thanks to Nathan Mattock for providing a private room for our event in one of Manchester’s newest apartment buildings in the Northern Quarter.
Tour of Aviva Studios, Manchester – April 2026
Group member, Michelle Rocha (Wadham), heads up the International Team at Factory International (they run Manchester International Festival and Aviva Studios). In April, she gave us a tour of Aviva Studios. Opening in October 2023, this is Manchester’s newest cultural venue, with flexibility being a major consideration to enable a very wide variety of events to be held.
The venue is built right next to historic listed railway arches. To overcome this and other site constraints, the studios are built at first floor level. How do you get all the heavy kit for an event up one or more floors? Well, a lift that can accommodate 2 x 40-ton trucks is quite a help!
Michelle Rocha (L) with OUSM members in the Aviva Studios Theatre space
As well as appreciating the sheer size of the various spaces, members enjoyed the chance to socialise with other members and their guests.
An online talk: These Isles - April 2026
A survey of our members last year identified an interest in on-line events. For the first of these, Brian Groom (Balliol, 1973), bestselling author, journalist and OUS Manchester committee member, gave us a talk via Zoom based on his new book These Isles: A People’s History of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Brian’s previous books were Northerners: A History, from the Ice Age to the Present Day and Made in Manchester. His latest book broadens the field to outline the fascinating history of the British and Irish isles from the first human footsteps to the present day – including the role played by Manchester and the North West. He revealed the colourful and often-contested history of the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Normans and others who have occupied these islands, along with their culture, languages and passions. The numerous questions following his talk showed the wide interest in the subject.
AGM and Informal Dinner - March 2026
Our AGM and dinner was again held at the Stockport Guildhall – around six weeks later than previously, in the hope that the weather would be a little more spring-like. In fact, the area had experienced strong winds, hail, and snow earlier in the day, preventing a small number from attending. Oh, the best laid plans…!
Rosemary Broadbent (L) receives a gift from Hilary Haworth (Alumni Office)
After a brief AGM, tributes were paid to our secretary Rosemary Broadbent, who was stepping down after more than 16 years as our honorary secretary and more than 40 as a committee member. It is to her more than anyone that we owe the development of the Manchester Group into one of the most active and thriving OUS groups. Not only did Rosemary receive a gift from the Group, but there was also a surprise presentation by Hilary Haworth, Alumni Networks Executive (who arrived incognito!), and – as an even greater surprise for Rosemary – a personally signed letter of appreciation from Prof. Irene Tracey, the Vice-Chancellor.
Our speaker, Dr Neil Buttery with an elaborate pudding bowl
Our members and their guests then enjoyed dinner before hearing our speaker Dr Neil Buttery, author, chef, food historian and former restaurateur, who gave a fascinating talk on ‘The Philosophy of Puddings’. He outlined their history from the earliest black puddings, cooked in guts using blood drained from pigs, sheep and geese by ‘pudding wives’. A Golden Age followed, with puddings cooked in cloths in Tudor/Stuart times and in moulds in the Georgian/Victorian era. Sweet puddings emerged, with plum pudding described by the Illustrated London News in 1850 as ‘a national symbol. It does not represent a class or caste, but the bulk of the English nation’. Inter alia, Neil explained how Yorkshire puddings did not originate in Yorkshire. A shower of questions at the end underlined how much his talk was enjoyed by our members.
Theatre visit – February 2026
A theatre visit to see Shelagh Stephenson’s The Memory of Water at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton attracted a group of members and their guests on a mid-February evening. The play was, oxymoronically, a comedy about grief, and it enthralled the audience from the moment the lights went down. The invitation for OUS Manchester members included pre-show drinks and an exclusive after-show Q&A with the cast and director. The event was kindly facilitated by the play’s director and OUSM member, Lotte Wakeman. Following the attendance of the play and engagement with the Q&A, it is hoped that similar theatre visits will be planned in future.
Autumn Lecture – November 2025
Our Autumn Lecture was a riveting account of what Ancient Egypt can teach about the links between climate change, health and survival, delivered by Rosalie David OBE, Emerita Professor of Egyptology at the University of Manchester. Prof David, who has been making waves in Egyptology for half a century, outlined research that she and colleagues at Manchester and Cambridge universities have conducted into how global warming during the New Kingdom (c.1569-1081 BCE) changed the plants and animals along the Nile – and how that, in turn, shaped the spread of disease and the remedies that people relied on. The research has implications for the modern day, when climate change may lead to more drug-resistant infections.
Professor Rosalie David, OBE
The research used biomedical and scientific techniques to examine mummified remains for evidence of how diseases such as schistosomiasis, a tropical disease caused by parasitic worms, developed and how Ancient Egyptians responded. It found that the Egyptians, far from relying on magic as was once imagined, had viable treatments, and that 64% of Egyptian prescriptions had a therapeutic value on a par with drugs in use over the past 50 years. Prof David said the results showed that Egypt had a viable pharmacy 1,800 years before the Greeks.
Informal drinks
In October 2025, an informal drinks session was arranged by one of our members in the Northern Quarter in Manchester. The event was open to all members of OUS Manchester and it has since become a regular monthly feature.
Freshers’ Event – September 2025
Our annual Freshers’ Meeting attracted a large and enthusiastic audience, with fifty-seven students in attendance from schools and colleges in Greater Manchester and surrounding areas. A panel of eight current undergraduates, representing a wide range of subjects, gave presentations about Oxford life and answered questions. The freshers were keen to ask about balancing work and social activities, the cost of living in Oxford and the availability of financial support, the use of AI, and note-taking and revision strategies. Advice was practical and often humorous, with a recommendation to personalise your college room with items from home balanced by a warning not to overpack as rooms must be cleared for the vacation.
Freshers' event 2025
The event was generously hosted at the Manchester Office of Eversheds Sutherland and supported by OUS members including two recent graduates, who were able to add their experience to the discussion.
Visit to Stockport Hydro and Chadkirk Chapel – September 2025
A party of members and guests enjoyed a fascinating visit to Stockport Hydro, a community-owned hydro-electric project on the River Goyt near Marple, and also to nearby Chadkirk Chapel, a little-known chapel dating from the 16th and 18th centuries, but whose location has probably been a religious site dating back many centuries.
Stockport Hydro, Otterspool Weir
Stockport Hydro, the borough’s first such scheme, began operating at Otterspool Weir in 2012. In an average year its two Archimedes screws – named Thunder and Lightning after a competition among primary schools - generate enough electricity to power about 60 homes. The plant is expected to save 4,000 tonnes of CO2 over its 40-year life. Ben Alexander, chairman, outlined the multiple obstacles that had to be overcome. Now the plant is maintained by a team of almost 50 volunteers.
Chadkirk
Chadkirk comprises a Grade II listed chapel, a walled garden and farmland managed as a nature reserve. Described as ‘Stockport’s hidden gem’ – and owned by the borough - it is a place of peace and calm, surrounded by ancient woodland and wildflower meadows, popular for exploring, walking, picnicking and visiting the chapel, which is also used for weddings and community events.
Visit to Rochdale Town Hall and Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Greater Manchester - July 2025
A party of 34 members and guests enjoyed a tour of Rochdale’s splendid, recently reopened Victorian Town Hall – whose ornate stylings are rivalled only by the Palace of Westminster, according to Historic England - coupled with a visit to Rochdale Pioneers Museum, birthplace of the modern co-operative movement.
A guide explains the town’s crest in the tiling at Rochdale Town Hall
Rochdale Town Hall is a Grade-I listed building designed by William Crossland, opened in 1871 as a symbol of the town’s industrial standing in the textiles trade. It reopened last year after a four-year restoration. Volunteer guides gave us a brilliant account of the Town Hall’s genesis and early years, including fascinating detail such as window decorations devised to stop local urchins from staring into the Mayor’s Parlour. After a buffet lunch in a private room at the Town Hall, we made the short walk to the Pioneers Museum, housed in the building where 28 working men opened a co-operative store in 1844, selling fairly priced, good quality food. We were given a lively account of how hard local shopkeepers and landowners tried to stop them.
YOUNGER ALUMNI GROUP
Several events have taken place for our younger alumni (i.e. those who matriculated in the last 20 years). After-work social gatherings continue to be the most popular.
To find out more about our Younger Alumni activities, please email the group's Secretary, giving your contact details, Alumni number, Oxford college, subject and year of matriculation, so that we can add you to our mailing list and keep you informed.
