The Ball

Saturday was an eventful day. At 9:00 Amy and I set off for the Senate House to read the boards and pick up our final result. At 9:30 we found ourselves in Starbucks waiting for the Senate House to open at 10:00. At 10:00 we found ourselves waiting for the caretaker to arrive to open the gate. At 10:30 we finally got in. And at 10:50 we finally saw what we'd been waiting for. Four-years condensed into a “J. E. Connah (SELWYN)” in a list of the other 208 final year lawyers. But it was worth waiting for.

Admittedly the rest of the day is something of a blur now. After finding all the others and talking for ages, I headed into town to meet up with Clare for lunch, before meeting Jon on his attempt to ride from Norwich to Penzance for a second lunch. After that it was time to leave College after being evicted for a security sweep prior to Selwyn's first May Ball in about ten years.

The Ball had a bit of a bad press beforehand, and I left it to the last minute before buying my ticket. After hearing people's stories from the other Balls and realising that it would be the last time to do something like this with friends, I picked up my ticket and donned my black tie attire for what I guess will be the last time for quite a while.

And I think it turned out to be the best £107 I've spent in quite some time. They did such a great job of dressing up the College and it seemed so much better than an ordinary May Ball.



Perhaps it was the people there, or the fact that there were so many familiar faces, or perhaps it was because it was Selwyn, or perhaps it was the situation and circumstance in being a lot of people's way to say goodbye as for those not graduating it was their last night in College before the summer. But whatever the reason, the whole evening was really fun and a lovely way to celebrate finishing.

Aside from the usual Ball things, there was an array of inflatable attractions including a bungee run, gladiator-style dueling and even a blow-up Lazerquest.



Clive Anderson even came back to Selwyn to be an auctioneer for the evening to raise money for Selwyn. Seriously, the money that some people apparently have, and the ease with which they seem to spend it beggars belief some time, but I guess it's all good for the College.


I even got a chance to inhale some helium balloons at about 4:00 in the morning.

So, all in all, a lovely evening and one that I wish I hadn't been so sceptical about beforehand. Everything was planned really well, and aside from a few delays, the whole evening went off without a hitch. Even if they did order in far too many croissants for breakfast.

Apparently there's talk of making the Ball bi-annual after it went so well. If they do, all I can say is, I'll be there.