Annual holiday dinner: Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California - Event report

The event was attended by about 20 alums, which included several new arrivals to the area.

For those of you who didn't grab your umbrella and make it down to the Trellis Restaurant in Menlo Park this weekend, here is an update from the annual Imperial College holiday dinner.

The event was attended by about twenty alums, which included several new arrivals to the area. The wet weather added special cheer since it persuaded our trusty treasurer to buy the drinks. After socialising over cocktails, the gathering settled into a delectable meal served in a private area at the back of the restaurant.

Somewhere between the entre and desert Jeremy Walker led us through a thought provoking series of questions concerning the environment. We were issued five green tokens (biodegradable M&M's) to start; as questions were asked, environmentally conscious behaviour was rewarded with additional tokens. At stake was a mammoth double magnum of Italian wine for first place; a magnum for second place and a regular bottle for third place. (There was some thought given to making the first prize an "Imperial" of wine, but it was dismissed on account of its weight.)

The game proceeded anything but quietly, provoking many outcries from the participants, including several poignant questions from Ian Wall. In the end, Senile Hedwig won first place with a score of 37, followed closely by Ewout Mante and Dick & CB Watts. The last place special prize of a compact fluorescent light bulb was awarded to Arjuna Jayasinha. My score wasn't too far from his!

After dinner, we had a quick Annual General Meeting at which Ewout Mante described the Association's financial health as stable, with our balances approximately the same as the beginning of the year. Ewout has been the Association's Treasurer for three years and has performed his function ably. He is stepping down this year as he and his family are sailing away from the Bay Area. We wish them a good head wind!

Finally, we elected new committee members for 2007. Mathew Willis was elected as the new Treasurer, taking over from Ewout Mante. Jeremy Walker was elected President for 2007, taking over from me. Congratulations!

Photographs from the event can be seen on Arjuna's site: http://homepage.mac.com/arjuna.jayasinha/IC_120906/PhotoAlbum3.html.

All in all we had a great evening of fellowship. Well deserved thanks go to all concerned for their help in not only making the Annual Dinner a success, but also making 2006 a great year for the Association. My best wishes to the 2007 Committee!

Nimish Jhaveri
President, 2006
Imperial College Alumni Association of Northern California
Tel: 415-867-9451