Peter Thonemann, Tutor in Ancient History, reports on the 2024 Wadham reading party
Unexpected juxtapositions were the keynote of the fifty-first annual Wadham undergraduate reading party (16th – 23rd March 2024), the forth-eighth to be held at Lamledra House on the picturesque south Cornish coast. Tacitus and Montesquieu competed for attention with Katy Perry and Adrianne Lenker, sometimes successfully; the scent of wild garlic in the queaches accompanied the steady thump of the nocturnal sausage machine; and Eva Hayward made the momentous discovery that one can indeed dance Strip the Willow to Flo Rida’s Low. It was, in short, quite a week.
Fourteen Wadham undergraduates, studying for degrees ranging from German to History and German, made it through the demanding selection process for this year’s reading party (the number of applications this year were formidable). Alice Baldock, Peter Thonemann, and Marta Zboralska wielded latent authority as senior members. As in previous years, many of the reading party’s costs were covered by the generous bequest of the late Reggie Lennard, to whom glasses were raised with enthusiasm on the first night; we also drank a toast to the legendary Ray Ockenden, founder and long-term facilitator of the reading party, who this year provided us with an exciting new dictionary.
Seven hours of firmly enforced quiet work time each day enabled much Finals revision and thesis-writing to occur, in a pleasing atmosphere of studious calm. Harin Turrell transformed our understanding of the aesthetics of cooling towers, Lottie Fry mastered the finer details of Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right, and Yasmine Amirouch made heroic efforts to care whether lava was wet. Caitlin Russell mawthed. The afternoons saw several agreeable excursions, including a memorable walk to Mevagissey, as well more sea-swimming than in any recent year, leaving the dolphin-like Danielle Chorley in a permanent state of Shetland pony-esque lissotrichosity. Evening cuisine was of outstanding quality, particular highlights being Emily Warnham’s breathtaking range of cakes and cookies, a large apple strudel, and Grace Clover’s surprisingly crispy kale. Few veterans of the reading party have ever matched Ella McCoy’s ability to simultaneously wash up and dance like a demon.
This year’s post-dinner entertainments included Allegra Kunze-Concewitz’s brutally effective mafia-slaying; Tom McBride’s startling flair for bogus definitions; Kate Shipley’s arachnid take on a much-loved college figure; and the successful evocation of a pair of novelty socks from the underside of a blanket. Alex Kahn, controversially, was not sent home for walking mud around the house, and Rory Price demonstrated quite how many layers of meaning can be extracted from a single exclamation. One senior member’s proposed candidature for the Wardenship of Brasenose elicited widespread enthusiasm, so long as she can be kept away from sharp objects.
An outstandingly memorable and hard-working week was had by all, with moments of genuine magic: seals playing in the shallows, late-night shanties, and a single shooting star. Next year’s reading party will be advertised in January 2025.
