HMC NEWSLETTER no. 4

"It's like creating life." HARRIS MANCHESTER COLLEGE WOMEN Celebrating #IWD | POETRY Lament of a finalist | SPORTS UPDATE Look back at Hilary | TERM THOUGHTS A time of reflection | PHOTO COMPETITION Winners of the first round NEWSLETTER MARCH 26th, 2019 | ISSUE no 4 Sourdough guru of HMC, Anton Steinø, is here to guide you through the bread making process. 03 04 10 12 14 16 18 27 from the editor Dear all, Editor's note Sourdough Revolution International Women's Day Poetry: Lament Wine Visions HMC Photo Competition HMC Sports Update Hilary Look back on term IN THIS  ISSUE Without further ado, I wish you an enjoyable read! Bianca M. Rasmussen, editor Hope everyone is enjoying the vac – especially the finalists still in college! We’re back with a vacation newsletter for you, which will hopefully be able to take your mind off things for a bit – delve back into this past term, have a look at HMC representation in the sporting world, and, most importantly, ignite your hitherto unknown passion for baking with our sourdough guru, Anton Steinø, in this special issue. Whatever catches your fancy, I do hope you get some good rest, and I’ll be excited to see y'all bouncing full of energy next term! Summer weather and croquet season can’t come soon enough. Good luck with revision, see you in the next edition in May! It’s 8:12 am, it’s Saturday. It’s most definitely morning and I’m desperately trying to convince myself that I managed to cram 8 hours of sleep into the five hours I got (yes, I was worrying about toast). A colorfully clad, broadly smiling Anton Steinø exits Wrigley to meet me and we head towards Conway Kitchen together. This morning I’m meeting with Anton to learn about sourdough. Anton has been baking his own bread for years, even before he came to the UK. “I’ve always baked, from when I was a child. My parents would bake with me, but we would always use yeast, and that’s one thing you can’t really get over here.” Anton tells me, “You can only find dry yeast in the supermarkets – and I don’t know how to use that.” A friend of his suggested he try sourdough and gave him his first starter. “It’s a good way of keeping you into the habit of baking, because you have to use it regularly, to keep it alive.” Anton says, “ Anton opens a small container and I have a peek. “This is very much alive.” Anton says with a grin, “There’s a culture in here – it’s a strong culture!”. The culture is greyish and watery, and it does not look alive. But it smells – surprise! – a bit sour and quite potent. The first thing to do, Anton explains, is to add flour and water to expand the base, so there will be enough to leave a starter for next time. “It’s really simple: one cup of flour and one cup of water.”, says Anton, “It’s like creating life!”. Anton tends to bake once a week, with a regular routine every Thursday. The average life expectancy of the starter is approx. two months; however, Anton has not tested this out for himself. “Obviously, mine hasn’t died yet so I haven’t reached that barrier. I left it in the kitchen here over winter break, so that’s five weeks without anything.”, Anton says, “I mean, it’s pretty strong. But if there is no nutrition down there, the cells will probably die.” We move on to the “real deal”. Anton has got his sourdough, with the new starter tucked away in its container. He adds one cup of water, some salt, sugar, and a splash of oil. Anton says he experiments sometimes with different seeds and flour types. Today, we are using sunflower seeds and spelt flour. “Spelt is a fashion flour.”, Anton explains, noting that it does not necessarily taste better than normal wheat, it’s simply more in style. “It’s the so-called ‘original wheat’ – some scientists have tried to recreate the pre-cultivated wheat.” An alternative method could be to use honey instead of sugar. The taste would of course be slightly different, but then again, the taste always varies, according to Anton. “It always tastes different – nobody really knows what is happening with the dough, because it’s alive.”, he says, “Sometimes it won’t raise because it’s just meager or you haven’t given it enough sugar or the right temperature.” After hitting the right consistency of dough, Anton lets it sit about an hour on the kitchen table; then it goes into the fridge for a day. “I make sure to turn it five times during the day. Not knead it, just flip it over, folding it.” Anton says, “To get some air into it, so that it rises better.” The process of raising is a bit long (see recipe for more details), but the resulting rolls are worth it – golden and fluffy. Anton even promises that if anyone at HMC is interested in giving baking a try themselves, they’re welcome to come by and get some sourdough starter from him. So, if you’re keen on “creating life” with Anton, just give him a shout and he’ll get you supplied. Please do send us your pictures if you give it a go – no more sleepless nights! Have you struggled, trying to find decent bread in Oxford? Laid awake at night wishing for something just a little more exciting in your life than toast? Well, your search is over - leave those sleepless nights in the past; HMC’s very own sourdough guru is here to show you the way. Written by Bianca Rasmussen Photos by Ser Jay Tan  Fluffy, freshly baked sourdough rolls cooling off in the morning air. Photo: Ser Jay Tan Sourdough Dreams Are Made of This "It's really simple: one cup of flour and one cup of water - it's like creating life!" Above: Anton and his spelt flour. "Nobody really knows what is happening with the dough, because it's alive." Photos: Ser Jay Tan Sourdough rolls Half of the starter from previously 2 cups of flour 1 cup seeds 1 cup water Salt, sugar, and a dab of oil Mix everything and let it sit for an hour. Put in the fridge for 5-6 hours. Remember to fold it regularly, to get air into the dough. If it is too sticky when folding, add a bit of flour. In the end it should not stick to the bowl at all. Remove from the fridge and let the dough rise, covered with a cloth, on the kitchen table overnight. In the morning, fold the dough a few times, separating it into rolls and bake for 5 minutes in a preheated oven at 250 C. Finish baking for 8-10 minutes or until golden at 220 C. Cool on a rack. Recipe: makes about 8-10 rolls Sourdough Sourdough starter 1 cup water 1 cup flour Mix all ingredients until the dough is smooth and let it sit for about an hour. Pour half back into your container for next time and use half for your rolls. WOMEN OF HARRIS MANCHESTER Tina Knowles Paula Dancer Susannah Reide is the wonderful HMC Chaplain. Susannah is a friendly face around college who's ALWAYS smiling and ready for a chat about anything. She's completely inclusive of everyone and open to try out new ideas in chapel, whether that be a pet-service or welfare-Lego, which is pretty lit.  #FreshChaplainOfHMC Susannah Reide #IWD Sue Killoran is the fantastic librarian of HMC. In the first weeks of being freshers in college she'd make us feel at home and happy by remembering our names. She always makes herself available to help with anything from archive tours to finding the book which will save your essay.  #TheFastestLibrarianOnThePlanet Paula Dancer is the HMC Dining Hall angel / assistant. Through the past 14 years, Paula has always been ready with smiles and a friendly 'hello' in the dining hall. She's so mindful of our meal requirements and takes good care of us! Remember to show Paula some love the next time you come in for meals! by Rosie Johnson & Bianca Rasmussen Vicky Lill is the HMC Academic Administrator and College Disability and Harassment Officer. Although her work is rather behind the scenes, all students experienced her kindness even before coming to college, through her help in her role as Tutor of Admissions. Vicky is super welcoming and friendly and will go out of her way to help you with anything. She's holding daffodils to celebrate her Welsh heritage. Quote from student: "Vicky Lill is my hero."  Amen.  Tina Knowles is head of Housekeeping at HMC. She has the amazing ability of doing a million things at the same time and being really friendly, helping with problems big and small; from baking to bedsheets, Tina has got you covered. Because of Tina and her team of scouts, the daily life of HMC runs so smoothly.  #TeamTina Sue Killoran As a lead-up to International Women's Day on March 8th we have been acknowledging five marvelous HMC women through the @hmcoxford instagram page. The campaign for this year's #IWD2019 was the hashtag #BalanceForBetter. Balance drives a better working world. We notice its absence and celebrate its presence - also in HMC. Vicky Lill by Sameer Farooq A Temporary Morrisonian's Melodramatic Lament As the Holywell murmur lulls,  While ancient spires yield to faint stars  And ravaged volumes cry ‘respite’  For margins defaced, corners scarred,  Every soul in existence  Petitions for Deliverance  From biting cold that interrupts  Nightly efforts at transcendence.  So I am filled with gratitude  To He Whose insulating Grace  Enveloped me in the beatitude  Of Sukum Navapan’s embrace,  For now I lie here reciting  Each litany or orison  That might bring back the heating in   The dungeon we call ‘Morrison’. My shivering bones, by Death, kissed;  Honour and dignity effaced,  Take pity on the finalist   That a conference guest displaced! "The most awesome thing about wine tasting is learning what you like and what you don't like, so you know what to pick next time you eat out." The new Wine Society president is Dr Hayley Webster. The Newsletter has spoken to her about wine-plans for next term. Term has come to an end and with that, the reigns of the Wine Society are being handed over. Josh and Oliver hosted their last WineSoc together in week 7. As of this coming Trinity, Dr Hayley Webster will be the new WineSoc President and Stewart Murphy will be taking over as Vice President. The initial vision for the society has not changed much; Hayley plans on bringing back cheese and crackers as a regular thing, and hopes the relaxed atmosphere will stay much the same: “What I would like to see for the WineSoc is that it be very chilled and laid back – not at all snobby or elitist!”, says Hayley, “I would like it to just be a place where HMC peeps hang out and just – well, drink wine.” But Hayley does plan on bringing a new twist to the society, hoping that people will not only leave the events feeling happy, but also more knowledgeable. “I’m keen to have a bit more very basic wine education going on.”, Hayley says, “What the grape is, what region the wine is from – how to taste, how to smell.” The vision over the next year is to introduce the members and guests of the society to the major grape varieties, so they will be able to identify different wines themselves. “The most awesome thing about wine tasting is just learning what you like and what you don’t like, so you know what to pick next time you eat out.”, says Hayley. As a fun activity at the events, a “price”-tasting has been suggested, where three wines from different price ranges would be put to the members’ test, to see if they can spot the difference. The next term will hopefully see three WineSoc gatherings, one of them traditionally being a sparkling wine event in the summer. by B. Rasmussen The usual, with a new twist Wine Visions Winners Hilary term 2019 HMC PHOTO COMPETITION The theme for the first photography competition at HMC was "Architecture". Many photos with interesting interpretations of the theme were sent as contributions. However, the students have voted and the following two photos received the most support. Congratulations to the winners, Naresh Manoj (below) and Wesley Zhang (right). Thank you to Yi Fong Mah for organizing the competition. We look forward to the next round in Trinity 2019! Photo credits: Naresh Manoj and Wesley Zhang Varsity Handball HMC sporting life of Hilary 2019 HILARY SPORTS TIME-LINE l l l Men’s team lost to Cambridge, but Women's team won 25-15. Jovin scored a goal, Amalie scored many goals. HMC players: Jakob Vikner, Jovin Leong, Anton Steinø, Amalie Horstmann Nøddeskou-Fink. Event where participants do different sports: fencing, swimming, “run and shoot” (normally Pentathlon includes horseriding, but not for cuppers). Lingxi Tang and Pekka Vourenlehto participated and came in 4th. Sadly, there are no pictures of this event. According to Pekka, the "OUMPAloompas" don't rarely take team photos. Oxford Modern Pentathlon Assosiaction (OUMPA) Cuppers by Marcus Tan & Bianca Rasmussen Take a look back at the HMC representation in the sporting scene of Oxford these past eight weeks of Hilary Term. WEEK 4: Sunday, Feb 3rd WEEK 2: Saturday, January 26th l l l l l l A friendly Ping Pong tournament was played in the JCR of HMC after the Chinese New Year formal. Photo: Marcus Tan. Jemma Gates participated in Warwick leg of BUTTS League Indoor Championships. The Oxford team came in top of the round, and Jemma shot a new personal best (PB). l l l WEEK 4: Monday, Feb 4th Archery Championship Water Polo Varsity Match Photos: Leonor Vulpe Albari WEEK 5: Saturday, Feb 16th Leonor Vulpe Albari represented Oxford against a strong Cambridge team, who had a Team GB player . The first quarter ended with Cambridge 2-0 up. Up to the last quarter, Oxford was still down by 2 goals, but came back to win 6-5 in the end. About the victory, Leonor says: "I am very happy." Photos: Jemma Gates WEEK 4: Saturday, Feb 9th Ping Pong Night Photos: Leonor Vulpe Albari Quick guide to Torpids: Torpids is a rowing race which runs over 4 consecutive days annually in Week 7 of HT. At the starting line, the 13 crews in a single division line up one after the other, with a gap of 1.5 lengths of a boat between them. The race has taken place since 1815, and the lineup is carried on from year to year; the goal is to become “head of the river”, which is attempted by bumping the crew in front of you. There are 6 Men’s Divisions and 5 Women’s. The days all start with the Men’s division VI lining up for their race at the end of the river (before Iffley Lock). The racing commences with the firing of a cannon. There are several ways for the crew to achieve a bump: 1) Physical contact between the boats 2) The cox concedes by raising a hand 3) A boat completely passes another The crews exchange their order for the next day, depending on which crews bump going up and which get bumped going down. The crew which ends up at the top of their division will take part in the next division’s race, as the bottom crew of that division (this is called the “sandwich crew”). Achieving a bump in every race will get you “blades” (these are often bought and displayed as trophies in college bars). If you are bumped by another crew in every race, you get “spoons” (also often awarded with actual physical spoons). “Blade blocking” means that your crew succeed in not getting bumped by a crew who, had they bumped you, would have won blades. Photo: Marcus Tan WEEK 5: Saturday, Feb 16th Photos: Marcus Tan Champions League Screening in the JCR Quick guide to Henley Head: Henley Head is a race run by British Rowing, which is open to any club to enter; typically only the 1st boat of a college will compete in an event like this. Head race is a race from the head of the river, as far upstream as you can go, to as far down stream as you can go; it’s a long-time trial race, with hundreds of crews racing over the course of the day. This stretch of river is also used for the Henley Royal Regatta, probably the oldest and most prestigious rowing event in the world, apart from the Olympics or the World Championships in rowing. Henley Head Rowing Competition WEEK 6: Tuesday, Feb 19th Drake Lawhead rowed in Wadham I boat which came in 2nd in its division and overall 9th, the fastest time out of the Oxford boats. Lingxi Tang rowed in Wadham II boat, came in 10th in its race and improved upon last year’s timing by 4 seconds; the only II boat to be sent for the competition. HMC - Wadham Results: M1 (Drake Lawhead) rowed over on all 4 days, came in 3rd, only finished behind Oriel and Pembroke who have held the top 2 positions for a very long time.   M2 (Lingxi Tang) rowed over on all 4 days, came in 7th in Div III. They “blade-blocked” Green Templeton College.  W2 (Maria Beer) got bumped quite a few times, bumped down a division. W2 finished top of Div IV.   M3 (Scott Fitzgerald Buchanan, Konrad von Boyneburgk, Stewart Murphy, Pekka Vuorenlehto, George Tresidder) were bumped every day and consequently were awarded wooden spoons. However, they finished 3rd in Div V and retained being the best M3 boat on the river.   W1 (no HMC representative) finished head of the river, top of Div I! Torpids l l l WEEK 7: Wednesday to Saturday by Ben Tucker by Ben Tucker Johan Sjöberg (#18) played in the game against Cambridge. Unfortunately, Oxford lost the game. WEEK 7: Saturday, March 2nd l l l Pool Tournament Final The pool tournament this year had 32 participants – possibly a record turnout, if I may blow my own trumpet a bit. This also means that it was a hotly contested tournament, with a nail-biting final. I was very happy with the turnout - more than 40 people joined to watch in the JCR after the Principal’s Black Tie Dinner. Especially the game for third and fourth place between Ser Jay Tan and Hin Liu was intense; at the end when Ser Jay potted the black and Hin only had one ball left, there was literally pin-drop silence. Ser Jay reportedly said that this was the most nervous he had been in his three years at Oxford. The final results were George Tresidder beating last years winner, Ben O’Brien 3-1; Ser Jay beat Hin 2-1. The final contestants were awarded with medals, and a trophy for George. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone who participated! Ice Hockey Varsity Match WEEK 7: Saturday, March 2nd by Marcus Tan M2 boat named after former Principal of HMC, Sir Ralph Waller, who came down to give a speech. W2 boat also named after batch of 1976. WEEK 8: Monday, March 4th Boat Naming l l l Photos: Joshua Riddick NANCY williams Looking back On Hilary TERm Australian Rules Football Looking back on Hilary term, what surprised me the most was how quickly eight weeks could fly by! I knew that I would be spending my last semester of law school abroad at Oxford since last February, so I had been looking forward to the experience all year, and HMC did not disappoint. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect upon my arrival for the term. I definitely did not expect to attend multiple black-tie events and weekly formal dinners or to wear a gown on an occasion that was not my upcoming graduation. Living in college was quite different from my own undergraduate and law school experiences; but through daily meals together, holing up in the HMC library, and maneuvering out of the way of someone playing pool in the JCR, I found it quite easy to become a part of the community, even though I was only around for a short time. From day one, I felt so welcomed by the HMC community, which made it so much harder to leave at the end. Thank you all for an amazing term; I already miss you!! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re visiting the US!! by Elliot Costello 2019 is the 99th consecutive year of Varsity played between Oxford and Cambridge in Australian Rules Football. Over the years, a long list of Australian Prime Ministers – even Rupert Murdoch (when he was a student) - played in the fierce rivalry! Oxford entered this year’s match as favourites after winning the National University League the weekend before. However, three players, including the Captain of the Oxford team, contracted Mumps (!) in the days leading up to the match. Additionally, the conditions were shocking; howling 28+ km/h winds, which levelled the match up! As expected, it was fierce, competitive, and bruising. The game was in the balance at three-quarter time. However, Oxford stood tall in the last quarter and kicked three unanswered goals, into the wind! Final score: 8.8.56 V 4.6.30. It doesn’t take much for Aussies to celebrate, but the day after this great victory was St Patrick’s Day, so the celebration was long, and fitting! WEEK 9: Saturday, March 16th JASMINE SAHU Hilary term, for me, was even more fun than Michaelmas, mainly because I had just about worked out what was going on, or at least pretended to! Coming back to Oxford felt like returning to my second home, made all the more perfect by the wonderful HMC family. A particular highlight of term, besides the short-lived snowman Pekka and I brought to life, was the Ambassador’s Dinner organised by the Scandinavian Society. A wonderful opportunity to mix with Scandis and Scan-fans as well as various Ambassadors at a delightful dinner hosted by Somerville’s Principal, octopus not included. I think what really made Hilary term special was how quickly everyone at HMC seemed to relax together as a group. I was told during freshers’ week by a second year student, who at that time seemed much older and wiser (this bravado was soon dissolved but that’s a different story), that Hilary term is the most enjoyable as everyone knows each other, friendships are growing stronger, and most of us are fortunate enough not to have exams (sorry to the poor souls who did). I have to agree; it was a fabulously fun term with the most perfect and caring friends - let’s hope Trinity lives up to our expectations! Thoughts on Hilary term:   " - HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- HHHHHHH. I'm okay." ANNA DONAGHY This Hilary term was somewhat unconventional. Instead of the usual treadmill of essay deadlines, lectures, bops, Wine Society events, and Union debates, I found myself cast adrift, set loose with a mountain of revision as my sole companion. The reason for this was simple: this term I sat Mods. The word inspires understandable dread in all Classics students; many say these are the second hardest set of exams in the world (after those taken for the Chinese civil service). We sat eleven papers over two weeks, all of which were three hours long. It was utterly exhausting. Nevertheless, I survived it and, on the plus side, the subsequent party was pretty epic. After so long in the wilderness of revision, I arrived at Drink the Bar Dry ready to re-enter college life with a bang. The music was perfection (thank you Milena!), the alcohol flowing, and the sense of release indescribably sweet. Most of it was a bit of a blur (after Prosecco number five), but I do recall trying to tickle people on the dance floor. For that, my sincere apologies – I couldn’t tell you why, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time… Scott Fitzgerald Buchanan Bianca M. Rasmussen Hilary was a whirlwind, much like Michaelmas, except with a lot less glitter. The glam of it all had worn off a bit; I finally accepted that I will probably never like all three of my subjects equally. Collections were a bit of a mess (so was revision, to be fair), but at the end of the day the people I’d left behind last term were just as kind and welcoming as ever. Moreover, I thought I was done making new friends; boy was I wrong! Hilary brought a bunch of new people into my life and I think the lack of glitter really helped in that regard. Somehow you feel like you get to know people so well within the span of those eight weeks, but of course the reality of it is a bit different. I felt blessed getting to know people again this term, in new ways. Also, finally getting the hang of things, i.e. how early to show up to tutes (don’t show up early), what day to do your laundry (NEVER on weekends), and what to do when you’re early for lunch (peer in through the glass with big, hungry eyes until Simon takes pity on you), feels good. Like, slowly, it’s becoming a home. {{user.email}} Editor: CONTACT Credits and thank yous. Cover photo: Ser Jay Tan. Thank you to Anton Steinø. Editor's note photo: Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash. Anton Sourdough Photos: Ser Jay Tan. Special thanks to Anton Steinø - #sourdoughmaster.. Lament: Brunel Johnson on Unsplash. Special thanks to Sameer Farooq. HMC Photo Competition: Naresh Manoj and Wesley Zhang. Special thanks to Yi Fong Mah. WineSoc Photo: Kym Ellis on Unsplash & Bianca Rasmussen. Sports Segment Photos: Jemma Gates, Leonor Vulpe Albari, Bianca Rasmussen, Marcus Tan, Joshua Riddick, Elliot Costello. Special thanks to Pekka Vuorenlehto , Marcus Tan, and Ben Tucker. Term thoughts photos: Courtesy of the individuals & Bianca Rasmussen.