Over the past few weeks, I have engaged the Cambridge Rotary Club in various instances. On November 2, I attended the District 1080 Ambassador Welcome Evening, which was quite pleasant. Here, I met the other Ambassadorial scholars from throughout the District as well as the Cambridge Rotaract President, James Sheard. Each Ambassador briefly introduced themselves to representatives from the various clubs in the district As one could expect, I have a few follow-on events scheduled. After the event, I joined Alexander McKinnon from Darby, Australia, for Cruel and Tender as well as a few beers at the ADC Theater.
On Friday, November 4, I organized a resistance effort to oppose my exclusion from the graduate student formal dinner at Clare College. At Cambridge, colleges often conduct "swaps" where students at one college go to another for their formal dinners. On this evening, many of the stalwarts at Clare College could not get tickets to the event. So, I organized a revolutionary event in the Spirit of 1776. We held an informal-formal dinner at La Margherita, which was English-Italian and surprisingly delicious. I unknowingly wore a gray shirt and black trousers, which permitted me to match the waiters. After the event, we "occupied" the college bar, demonstrating our disgust with the 1% who actually received tickets.
On Saturday, November 5, I was quite glad that I shed my beard and long hair as I met the senior leadership of the 48th Air Wing Operations Group from Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath. The 48th Air Wing includes U.S. Air Force F-15 squadrons and an HH-60 helicopter squadron (rescue) that support activities within U.S. European Command. The 48th Air Wing has been operating in the European theater since 1952, but Lakenheath has been under U.S. operational command since 1948 as part of the Strategic Air Command, a critical arm of strategic deterrence during the Cold War. It may seem illogical that a butter-bar Ensign would hang around with a group of Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels from a different service; however, one of my Navy compatriots, Will Murray (USNA '10) is studying at Downing College where the senior U.S. Military officer in Cambridge is also studying. As a consequence, he invited me to a lovely 5-course meal as an extra seat became available. I found the event quite wonderful and genuinely learned a lot from these highly experienced individuals, who seemingly have been at the tip of the U.S. spear for the last 10 years. One of the interesting results of prolonged conflict is the diverse experience of individuals in all services. Many of these officers had served as individual augmentees in either Iraq or Afghanistan. The night came to an end at the Eagle, which has been a popular pub for U.S. Air Force personnel going back to World War II. In the back taproom, 70-year old graffiti covers the ceiling and U.S. military patches cover the walls.
On Tuesday, November 8, I rose early and gave a short introduction to the Cambridge Rotary Club at their breakfast meeting. Here, I met Mona who will provide me with transportation to the various clubs. Mona is an ortho-dentist, who is originally from Norway. I gave a cursory introduction, but the meeting was such that I will surely be asked to present again. The meeting also afforded me with the opportunity to learn a little more about the Rotary Club and its activities. At the meeting, the club provided funding for a charity that works to increase financial literacy, budgeting, and debt consolidation for the heavily indebted. Like in the U.S., the collapse of the housing bubble left many common folk reeling. The organization works to support 60-65 individuals who have accrued nearly 750,000 pounds silver (1.2 Million U.S. Dollars) worth of debt. The service is in high demand.
On Thursday, November 10, I attended the Cambridge Rotaract meeting at nearby Anglia Ruskin University. Rotaract in Cambridge is in its infancy, but it is really trying develop and grow itself into a social force. Currently, the body of the organization is almost entirely students. It will be unique to be part of its development in the coming years. Currently, the group is starting to volunteer with Cambridge Food Cycle. Each year, the UK food retail industry sends 1.6 million tons of food to landfills. 1/4 quarter of this food is estimated as being fit for consumption. FoodCycle raises awareness of food waste and food poverty by reclaiming good food to make delicious, nutritious meals for people in need. In addition, the Rotaract will have a booth at the upcoming Mill Road Fayre. At the event, the group will be selling homemade necklaces and bracelets to support homeless survival packages. If you know of a strong Rotaract club, I would love to talk to their leadership about recruitment and fundraising.
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