On the evening of Saturday, 22nd March 2025, 158 members and guests of The Cambridge & Oxford Society gathered at the Imperial Hotel to celebrate the Society’s 120th anniversary. For this special celebration, it was not only the venue’s name that brought an imperial flair to the evening, but also the attendee list: members and guests were honoured by the presence of HIH Princess Akiko of Mikasa (Merton, Oxford 2004) and HIH Princess Takamado (Girton, Cambridge 1972).

Upon arrival, attendees were naturally drawn into the first gathering hall by the alluring sounds of conversation, champagne glasses clinking, and beautiful live music performed by a string quartet from the Toho Gakuen School of Music.

When the staff opened the doors to the main dining hall, attendees discovered that this delightful beginning was just the prelude to the evening. As if looking through a kaleidoscope, the opening of the dinner hall doors revealed the visual spectacle that is the Fuji Room. This impressive 1,200-square-meter hall adorned with two large chandeliers and a beautiful gold backdrop of its namesake mountain, would serve as the dining hall for the evening. The hall perfectly completed the black-tie dress code of the evening, creating a scene that could easily have been from a different era.

Representative Honorary Secretary Tim Minton (St John’s Cambridge 1977) opened the proceedings by reminding all of the origin and rich history of the society. Some of this history will remain a bit of a mystery, as Tim shared that the first minutes book of the Society likely did not make it through the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. What was however not a mystery was the number of attendees from each college, Tim Minton having shared an excellent overview.

Building on this theme, Princess Takamado and Princess Akiko reminded us in their speeches of how regardless of the unique achievements and experiences we all had at our different colleges, it is the common experience of attending Cambridge and Oxford that keeps bringing members together across borders, generations, and indeed even across the two universities.

Having received a feast for the eyes and ears, it was now time for one for the palette. With a toast by British Chargé d’Affaires Emil Levendoğlu (King’s Cambridge 1990/Merton Oxford 1994), speeches were closed and dinner was served.

Amidst lively conversation, diners enjoyed an excellent six-course dinner paired with wines from the collection of the Imperial Hotel. Upon completion of the dinner, Tim Minton captured everyone’s attention when in his closing remarks he announced his departure from his role as the Representative Honorary Secretary of the Society. An audible gasp could be heard through the hall, which given its size was quite the achievement. Naoko Miyazaki (St Anne's Oxford, 1992), who will inherit his role, swiftly reassured all in her speech that Tim Minton would remain active in the society as one of the regular Honorary Secretaries. Furthermore, Naoko Miyazaki shared not only her commitment but also her intention to run the Society with the help of her husband Masato Miyazaki, (Trinity Oxford, 1986) in a manner similar to that in which Tim and Yoko Minton have done over the past 25 years.

C&O 120th Anniversary Survivors Photo March 22 2025

Upon completion of dinner, 80 of the attendees, including Their Imperial Highnesses, who had chosen to join the post-dinner drinks traded the large bright hall for something more intimate, dim-lit, and higher up. On the 17th floor of the Imperial Hotel, members enjoyed digestifs in a private area of the Aqua bar. Here ample cheese platters were placed across the room to enjoy during conversations. The combination of camaraderie and cocktails meant that many stayed until all hands on the clock pointed north and the hotel had to close the private bar area.

Through an evening not soon to be forgotten, another decade in the story of the Cambridge & Oxford Society

Robert Brand (St Hugh’s Oxford 2013/Wolfson Oxford 2018)