Cambridge Society of Paris

Why innovation matters, and why it is so hard to do?
2023-06-13 19:00 - 20:00 (Europe/Paris) | Virtual GoogleMeet event, France
Tuesday 13th June at 7pm (CET – 6pm BST)
On GoogleMeet
The Cambridge Society of Paris invites you to join us for a virtual lecture
Innovation improves our lives. For all organisations – large and small, public and private – innovation drives growth and productivity. For nations, innovation is a key driver of improvements to quality of life, and underpins vibrant and resilient economies and communities. Innovation is clearly something really important for all of us. However, it is incredibly hard to do well, and getting it wrong can have huge consequences. This talk will explore some of the issues on why innovation is so hard to get right, and what organisations and nations can do to improve the chances of success.
The lecture will take place on Tuesday 13th June from 7pm to 8pm and will be hosted on GoogleMeet. There is no charge for this event. A meeting link will be sent to all registered attendees two or three days in advance of the event. You can of course participate from wherever you may be in the World!
Our Speaker – Professor Tim Minshall – Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation & Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM)

Tim is the inaugural Dr John C Taylor Professor of Innovation at the University of Cambridge, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), Head of the IfM’s Centre for Technology Management (CTM), and a Fellow of Churchill College. His research, teaching and engagement activities are focused on the links between manufacturing, innovation, and skills.
Tim is a member of the board of directors for IfM Engage Ltd, St John’s Innovation Centre Ltd, and the Møller Institute Ltd.
He is a recipient of a University of Cambridge Pilkington Prize for Teaching Excellence and a Royal Academy of Engineering/ExxonMobil Excellence in Teaching Award.
He is Chair of Trustees of the Foundation for Young People’s Mental Health (YPMH) (https://www.ypmh.org/).

UK Alumni Network in Paris - Monthly Drinks
2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-01-26 19:00 - 20:30 | The Bombardier, 2 Place du Panthéon, Paris, 75005, France
The UK Alumni Network in Paris will meet for the give you the opportunity to meet other UK and Irish graduates in Paris. These gatherings take place on the fourth Thursday each month, during the Pub’s “Happy Hour” from 7pm to 8:30pm.
Please find below the dates and locations for the UKAN pub events in Paris which is an opportunity to meet fellow alumni in addition to other UK and Irish graduates in Paris on the fourth Thursday each month in a casual and friendly environment. Pop in for a quick afterwork drink or for long leisurely evening.
26th January – Bombadier
23rd February – Galway
23rd March – Bombadier
27th April – Galway
25th May – Bombadier

If you plan to come, please let us know if possible the numbers per university as we should give the pub staff a rough idea of numbers.
Addresses:
Bombardier (2 Pl. du Panthéon, 75005 Paris)
Hope to see you there!

Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
2023-05-22 18:00 - 21:00 | Salons Hoche, 9 Avenue Hoche, Paris, 75008, France
Join the British in France to celebrate the coronation of their majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the terrasses of Les Salons Hoche on 22 May 2023 from 6pm to 9pm.
Her Excellency Dame Menna Rawlings, the UK’s Ambassador to France, will attend and give a short speech.
A British Community Committee of France event – all members of the Cambridge Society of France and their guests are welcome.
Tickets €45 (including Champagne, wine, soft drinks and canapés)
Please pay by 11th May 2023 using the following link:
Purchase your tickets
Les Salons Hoche, 9 avenue Hoche, 75008 Paris

Grand Fete to celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III
2023-05-06 11:00 - 19:00 | Standard Athletic Club, Route Forestière, Meudon-la-Forêt, 92360, France
To celebrate the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III on Saturday 6 May, the Standard Athletic Club, in conjunction with the British Community Committee of France, will be holding a GRANDE FETE with lots of fun and activities for members and non-members and all their families. Activites start at 11am and will continue until 7pm. As the Cambridge Society of Paris is a member of the BCC, all members of our Society and their families are invited to take part at the member rate.
The “Entente package” is €45 per person (€17.50 for the under 14s) for members of the SAC or any member association of the BCC (which includes the Cambridge Society of Paris). This includes a three course lunch provided by the Entente British Brasserie as well as access to all the games and other fun events.
You can also just come along for the activites, with the “Entrance only” ticket at €10 per person (€4 for U14s) for SAC and BCC association members.
PLEASE NOTE: these prices apply for bookings made up to 29th April after which a higher price will be charged.
Please get your tickets using this HelloAsso link: https://www.helloasso.com/associations/standard-athletic-club/evenements/grande-fete-coronation
The event takes place at the SAC’s sports ground in Meudon, Route Forestière Du Pavé De Meudon, 92360 Meudon-La-Forêt.

UK Alumni Network in Paris - Monthly Drinks
2023-04-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-23 19:00 - 20:30 | Galway Irish Pub, 13 quai des Grands Augustins, Paris, 75006, France
The UK Alumni Network in Paris will meet for the give you the opportunity to meet other UK and Irish graduates in Paris. These gatherings take place on the fourth Thursday each month, during the Pub’s “Happy Hour” from 7pm to 8:30pm.
Please find below the dates and locations for the UKAN pub events in Paris which is an opportunity to meet fellow alumni in addition to other UK and Irish graduates in Paris on the fourth Thursday each month in a casual and friendly environment. Pop in for a quick afterwork drink or for long leisurely evening.
26th January – Bombadier
23rd February – Galway
23rd March – Bombadier
27th April – Galway
25th May – Bombadier

If you plan to come, please let us know if possible the numbers per university as we should give the pub staff a rough idea of numbers.
Addresses:
The Galway top floor (13 Quai des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris)
Hope to see you there!

UK Alumni Network in Paris - Monthly Drinks
2023-03-23 19:00 - 20:30 | The Bombardier, 2 Place du Panthéon, Paris, 75005, France
The UK Alumni Network in Paris will meet for the give you the opportunity to meet other UK and Irish graduates in Paris. These gatherings take place on the fourth Thursday each month, during the Pub’s “Happy Hour” from 7pm to 8:30pm.
Please find below the dates and locations for the UKAN pub events in Paris which is an opportunity to meet fellow alumni in addition to other UK and Irish graduates in Paris on the fourth Thursday each month in a casual and friendly environment. Pop in for a quick afterwork drink or for long leisurely evening.
26th January – Bombadier
23rd February – Galway
23rd March – Bombadier
27th April – Galway
25th May – Bombadier

If you plan to come, please let us know if possible the numbers per university as we should give the pub staff a rough idea of numbers.
Addresses:
The Galway top floor (13 Quai des Grands Augustins, 75006 Paris) or Bombardier (2 Pl. du Panthéon, 75005 Paris)
Please read the address in detail.
Hope to see you there!

A dinner talk 23 February 2023 7.30 PM at the BRASSERIE BOFINGER
2023-02-23 19:30 - 23:00 | BRASSERIE BOFINGER, 5-7 Rue de la Bastille, Paris, 75004, France
A dinner talk 23 February 2023 7.30 PM at the BRASSERIE BOFINGER

We are delighted that Professor Robert Lethbridge will be our speaker at a dinner on Thursday 23 February 2023 for 7.30 PM at the BRASSERIE BOFINGER

Coupe de Cremant at 19h00, followed by a seated 3-course set dinner : cost 60 €
– vegetarian options will be available on request
The BRASSERIE BOFINGER is a ‘gem’ located in the Bastille area (Metro lines 1 , 5 and 8)
Further information : mail to events@camsocparis.org
‘Mastering Oxbridge‘, Professor Robert Lethbridge, former Master of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge will share with us the role of the Master in changing times giving us all an intimate view of the position.
A stimulating topic exploring what that role entails in modern Cambridge and how it is changing with the current increase of non-academic Heads of House. Most former students would be hard-pressed to define that role even during their own College careers!

Professor Lethbridge was Master of Fitzwilliam from 2005 – 2013, and Provost of the Gates Cambridge Trust from 2010 – 2013.
Professor Lethbridge was educated at the University of Kent at Canterbury (B.A., 1969), McMaster University (M.A., 1970) and St John’s College, Cambridge (Ph.D., 1975). His first academic post was as Leathersellers’ Teaching Fellow in French at Fitzwilliam College. He was Senior Tutor for the decade 1982-92. In 1994, he was appointed to the Chair of French Language and Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he was successively Head of Department, Dean of the Graduate School and Vice-Principal. He has been a Life Fellow of Fitzwilliam since 1994. Before his return to the College, he was Director of the British Institute in Paris, now renamed as the University of London Institute in Paris. He has held Visiting Professorships at the University of California at Santa Barbara and at the University of Melbourne.
He is Emeritus Professor of French Language and Literature in the University of London. His current research and postgraduate teaching is now in association with Cambridge’s Department of French, where he was a University Lecturer until 1994 and is now Honorary Professor. His work is focused on late nineteenth-century France and, in particular, the relationship between literature and the visual arts in that period. He was made Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques in 2013 for services to French culture and scholarship. He has written several books.

DINNER FOR THE NEW YEAR WITH MILES YOUNG, WARDEN OF NEW COLLEGE
2023-01-21 19:30 - 23:00 | L’Alsace, 39 avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 75008, France
“Through a spoon darkly”
Thoughts for a New Year from Warden Miles Young

Miles Young read history at New College from 1973 to 1976.
After a business career in advertising and marketing , spent largely in China and North America with Ogilvy and Mather, Miles returned to Oxford in 2016 as Warden of New College.
He has served the University chairing the Conference of Colleges as well as contributing to policy on Disability, Development and Donations reviews.
Outside the College he is involved in Enlightenment Studies as Chair of the Voltaire Foundation https://www.voltaire.ox.ac.uk/, as well as music (Oxford Bach Soloists) and education (English-Speaking Union), and he retains a strong interest in the issues facing developing countries especially in Asia.
An accomplished speaker, he will be our guarantee to a thought-provoking New Year as we enjoy a cocktail and 3-course dinner at the Alsace Brasserie.
Tickets are are €65 per person and are available through the OUSP website.
The venue is L’Alsace, 39 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 75008 Paris and you will be welcomed at 7h30pm.

Carols at the Travellers
2022-12-12 18:30 - 20:00 | The Travellers Club, 25 avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 75008, France
This event is fully subscribed – a waiting list is in place and you can add your name using the ticket section below – please apply for only one waiting list place even if you would like to bring a guest. The attendee details will ask for the number of tickets wanted (maximum 2) and the name of your guest if you are inviting one.
After a rather prolongued Covid gap, we are pleased to invite you back to our:
Annual Carol Singing at
“The Travellers”
25, avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris 8’eme
From 6:30 PM on Monday, 12th December, 2022
Vin chaud and mince pies will be served prior to the singing
Numbers are limited to 100 in total. Places will be allocated on a “first come, first served” basis.
Please add your name to the waiting list by booking through the “Tickets” section below. Only select one ticket – guest information, if applicable, will be requested within the attendee information. You will be contacted when places become available. Cost per person is €20.
NB: Please note that the Travellers Club
requires gentlemen to wear jackets and ties

The Wells Consort - Christmas Music in the Heart of Paris
2022-12-11 16:00 - 17:30 | Eglise St-Denys-du-St-Sacrement, 68bis rue de Turenne, Paris, 75003, France
The Wells Consort emerged from the English Cathedral Choir of Paris, with its unique repertoire of music sung in England’s prestigious cathedrals and colleges. They’ll be singing carols and other festive music for the Christmas season in the heart of the trendy Marais quarter, conducted by Christopher Wells. Christopher Wells is a member of the Cambridge Society of Paris and went to Magdalene.
Church of St Denys du St Sacrement, 68bis rue de Turenne, 75003 PARIS (metro St Paul or St Sebastien-Froissart).
Free entry, retiring collection on behalf of “Esperanza Joie des Enfants”.

Casual Debate while Dining in Paris
2022-11-23 19:00 - 22:00 | Carmine Café, 73 Avenue Suffren, Paris, 75007, France
On Wednesday 23rd of November we invite you to join our first “Casual debate while dining in Paris” event. For 35€ you can enjoy a lovely two-course dinner + wine in the company of fellow Cambridge Alumni from 7pm onwards at the Carmine Café. A casual debate will be organised with details provided closer to the date, it will be designed for fun and open to all!
3 options will be proposed for the main dish:

Filet de bar, tian de legumes et purée maison
Bavette à l’échalotte, frites maison
Risotto de légumes à la crème de cèpe (vegetarian)

2 options for dessert:

Crème brûlée vanille de Madagascar
Mi-cuit chocolat et glace vanille

To register and select your menu, go to the ticket section below.
Casual debate organisation
At the start of the evening, following a quick “ice breaker”, we will vote and select one of the following topics:

Democracy is dead
Decarbonisation should be top priority for all companies and all people
One global cryptocurrency should replace all traditional currencies

After 5-10min to mingle and reflect on the selected topic all those with arguments in favour of the statement will be invited to share their thoughts. Then the main dish will be served and all those with arguments against the selected statement will be invited to share their thoughts just prior to deserts being served. At the end of the evening, we will wrap up and elect the winning side.
Please note that the last registration for this event will be on November 16th as final numbers have to be communicated to the restaurant the following day.

Monthly Entrepreneur Mixer
2022-11-21 19:00 - 21:00 | Frog & British Library, 114 Avenue de France, Paris, 75013, France
CAMentrepreneurs in Paris
Get involved!

Dear Entrepreneurs,
Following the launch of CAMentrepreneurs in Paris on Tuesday 18th October at La Felicita, we are delighted to announce that we will be henceforth running a monthly entrepreneur mixer. The launch was a brilliant success, drawing together both aspiring entrepreneurs as well as those deeply embedded within the ecosystem already. There was an even split of Cambridge alumni and guests (with some in attendance from the other place).
Our November CAMentrepreneurs Paris Pub Mixer will take place on Monday 21st November at the Frog & British Library, 114 Avenue de France, 75013 Paris.
Please scan the QR code on the poster which will take you directly to Eventbrite – or click on this link – where you can sign up (spaces are limited). Any questions, just ping me! –
Olivia A. Halsall
CAMentrepreneurs
Paris Chapter Lead

INVITATION FROM THE ENGLISH SPEAKING UNION
2022-11-14 18:30 - 22:00 | Senat, 15ter rue de Vaugirard, Paris, 75006, France
Dear Friends,
We are delighted to confirm our dinner-debate with:
Professor Vernon Bogdanor
It is a great privilege to welcome the outstanding Professor of Government at King’s College London, formerly Professor of Government at Oxford University. After publishing books which include Beyond Brexit: Towards a British Constitution, in 2019, and Britain and Europe in a Troubled World, in 2020, Vernon has written Politics and Power before the First World War: The Strange Survival of Liberal Britain(2022). He will talk about:

How to choose a political Leader in the United Kingdom
A timely subject after the election of the Leader of the Conservative party following the resignation of Boris Johnson. Liz Truss was elected by a short majority of members against her opponent Rishi Sunak who was the favorite candidate of the Conservative Members of Parliament in the Commons.
Once again Senator Joëlle GARRIAUD-MAYLAM has kindly accepted to host the ESU dinner at the Restaurant du Sénat:
Palais du Luxembourg
15 ter rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris
Monday 14 November 2022 at 7 pm
We will meet at 6.30 pm, with our ID papers.
We are looking forward to meeting you again and hope you will come with friends. Answers requested before 7 November 2022, as we are required to send the list of participants to the Sénat.
Luce Loussouarn President of the ESU Paris branch
Participation 60 € per person
Send the tag with your cheque payable to ESU Paris before November 7 to:
Luce LOUSSOUARN 8 Villa de Ségur 75007 Paris

Freshers' Welcome drinks
2022-09-24 14:00 - 17:00 | Fondation Goodplanet, 1, Carrefour de Longchamp, Bois de Boulogne, Paris, 75116
The Cambridge Society of Paris is again taking part in the University’s world-wide program of events for those students who have recently been successful in gaining a place at Cambridge, whether as an Undergraduate or a Graduate.
The aim is to give them an opportunity to meet other new students coming from France and to chat to Society members about their experience in Cambridge so that the Freshers are better prepared on arrival in their College at the start of their first term.
We will be returning to the Fondation Goodplanet, which is an outdoor venue and so we hope will suitable and safe even if the level of Covid infections creeps up again. The venue is in the Bois de Boulogne and for those without a car, there are three buses running about every 10-15 minutes:

line 43, which has a stop at Pont de Neuilly (metro line 1) and goes to Longchamp-Goodplanet
line 241, which leaves from Porte d’Auteuil (metro line 10) and goes to Les Moulins-Camping
line 244, which stops at Porte Maillot (metro line 1 or RER line C) and goes to Longchamp-Goodplanet

Entry is free and attendees are welcome to wander around the Fondation before or after the event.
There is no charge for the event. Freshers will be offered two complementary drinks, while Society members can purchase their refreshments at the Clairière’s bar.

Commemoration and Thanksgiving For Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
2022-09-17 16:00 - 17:30 | St George’s Anglican Church, 7 rue Auguste Vacquerie, Paris, 75116, France
The Rev’d Mark Osborne, Rector of St George’s, Paris

Has the pleasure of inviting the members of the Cambridge Society of Paris to a service of Choral Evensong
of Commemoration and Thanksgiving For Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In the presence of
the Ambassador of the United Kingdom
Her Excellency Dame Menna Rawlings

Saturday 17th September 2022
16h00
St George’s Anglican Church,
7 rue Auguste Vacquerie, 75116 Paris

Followed by a reception

RSVP: office@stgeorgesparis.org

Presentation by Solange Manche and Annual General Meeting
2022-05-25 19:00 - 21:30 | Maison de la Vie Associative et Citoyenne du VIIe, 4 rue Amélie, Paris, 75007, France
Solange Manche, a beneficiary of the Trevor Brown Bursary in 2020 to support her change year at the Ecole Normale Supérieur, will give a presentation on “Finance’s Phineas Gage: Thinking Financialization and Subject Formation with Contemporary French Thought”.
In this talk, Solange will present how the thought of Stiegler, Malabou, and Lordon can shed a new light upon the way we think about the relation between individuation and financialization.
After the 2007-2008 financial crash, it became clear that finance is not limited to the screens of the stock exchange. Finance has now become so entangled with our daily existence that theoretical and philosophical considerations of financialization have declared the emergence of a new subject, starting with Michel Foucault’s entrepreneur of the self.
Since then, a number of subjects have been added to the list: Randy Martin’s financialized self, Paul Langley’s Foucauldian uncertain subject, Maurizio Lazzarato’s indebted man, Rob Aitken’s bodies that are turned into objects for financial income, Michel Feher’s rated agents, and most recently Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou’s homo speculans.
Whereas these accounts remain primarily Foucauldian and Deleuzian, Solange will argue that the new milieu that finance gives rise to is also the background from which Stiegler’s, Malabou’s, and Lordon’s ontologies have developed, thereby offering theoretical tools that are more appropriate to our times.

Solange Manche is a PhD candidate in French, working on the thought of Bernard Stiegler, Catherine Malabou, and Frédéric Lordon. She in particular explores how their ontologies inform their critique of contemporary capitalism and brings their perspective to financialization studies.
The talk will be preceded at 7pm by the Society’s Annual General Meeting. The “formal” notice of meeting and other papers relating to the AGM will be sent to members in early May.
Please register your attendance at the talk and the AGM using the booking section below – just click on the “+” button to the right of the quantity field in the tickets box and then click on “get tickets” and proceed to checkout.
Guests are welcome, although of course they will not be able to vote at the AGM so they may prefer to arrive at 8pm just for the talk.
Tickets are free and light refreshments will be served.

The invisible world of life - a talk by Pascale Cossart
2022-05-09 18:00 - 20:30 | Amphitheatre Marie Curie, 1 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, 75005, France
EVENT CANCELLED
with apologies from the Cambridge Society of Paris
PROFESSOR PASCALE COSSART
The invisible world of life (bacteria, fungi, archaea…and viruses)
Or
A trip in the country of microbes: a lot of friends, few enemies!
Monday 9th May 2022
Amphithéâtre Marie Curie
11/13 rue Pierre et Marie Curie
75005 Paris

Hot Topics for Top Minds
2022-04-28 20:00 - 21:00 | Virtual Zoom meeting, Your location, France
The Society’s quarterly virtual meeting to debate topics considered to be of interest by the participants, proposed in advance, will be held on Thursday 28th April 2022 from 8pm to 9pm. Places will be limited to a maximum of 20 so everyone is able to have their say on each topic.
The critical thing is to have a range of interesting topics, which is down to you please. The topics can be on almost any subject – topical, scientific, philosophical, serious or amusing, it is up to you to suggest what you would like to discuss. Having thought of ideas, please include them in your booking form, or if you come up with an idea later, you can send your contributions directly to the Society’s President, Terry Quinn, on president@camsocparis.org. Terry will then compere the event.
This event will be hosted on Zoom. A meeting link will be sent to all registered attendees two or three days in advance of the event.

Cambridge Society of Paris Annual Dinner
2022-04-13 19:30 - 23:30 | Maison de Polytechniciens, 12 rue de Poitiers, Paris, 75007, France
Bookings for this event have now closed – sorry if you have missed out

The President and Committee of the Cambridge Society of Paris are delighted to invite the Society’s members and their guests to the Annual Dinner on Wednesday 13th April 2022 at the Maison des Polytechniciens, 12 rue de Poitiers, 75007 Paris
Our Guest Speaker will be Sir Mark Walport (Clare College), FRS FRCP FRCPath FMedSci FRSE.

Sir Mark chairs the Kennedy Memorial Trust and the Imperial College Academic Health Sciences Centre. He is a Trustee of the British Museum.
For members, the price for aperitif, dinner and drinks is €70 per person. One guest can be invited at this price. For members under 30, the price is €50 with again one guest at the same price. Additional guests and non-member Alumni are also welcome, although their ticket price is €80 each.
Members will have received an invitation by email which indicates whether or not their subscription needs renewing so that they can take advantage of the Members’ ticket rates.
For any questions about this event, or your membership status, please contact Tony Banton, Hon. Secretary, on admin@camsocparis.org.
Please note that cancellations could only be refunded if they had been communicated to the Society’s Hon. Secretary by 11am on Friday 1st April 2022.

The Gemini Boat Races
2022-04-03 15:00 - 17:00 | The Bowler, 13 rue d'Artois, Paris, 75008, France
The Gemini Boat Race
will return to the Thames this year.

Come along to cheer on the Light Blues at The Bowler, 13 rue d’Artois, 75008 Paris.
We have arranged for both the Ladies’ and the Men’s races to be shown on the Bowler’s big screen so that we can meet up with our friends from the Other Place. The stakes are, of course, getting higher for Cambridge as we are on an impressive run of victories in both races.
The Ladies’ race starts at 15:23 French time, with the Men’s race one hour later, so reserve your afternoon to come along and show your support. The Bowler serves reasonably priced pub meals, so why not make a full afternoon of it and have lunch before the rowing starts.
Although there is no need to book, we will appreciate it if you let us know by email that you intend to come along so we can confirm approximate numbers to The Bowler.

Dinner-Talk at the Sénat
2022-03-15 19:00 - 22:30 | Senat, 15ter rue de Vaugirard, Paris, 75006, France
TICKET SALES FOR THIS EVENT HAVE NOW CLOSED
We have an excellent opportunity to find out about the challenges relating to political opinion polls from Mr Henri Wallard, CEO France and Group Deputy CEO of Ipsos. More information about the topic of the talk will be provided shortly.
We have also been fortunate to be able to secure an appropriate venue for such a topic, the Sénat. 15ter rue de Vaugirard, Paris 6eme.

There will be a welcome aperitif from 7pm, followed by a three-course dinner starting at 7:30pm. We have selected a fish menu, but do request that you indicate any dietary requirements you have in your booking form as the Sénat’s restaurant can provide a vegetarian or vegan option as long as we inform them in advance.
Due to the security conditions at the Sénat, it is essential that you arrive between 7pm and 7:45pm – the doors will be closed at 7:45pm sharp so any late arrivals will, unfortunately not be able to join the dinner.
Tickets are €55 per person, with a discounted ticket available at €40 for those of you under 30 years of age. To book, please use the booking section below, and click on the “+” sign to the right of the appropriate ticket category
We are required to provide a nominative list of participants, including date of birth, four days before the event and no changes to that list can be made. This means that you must book your places no later than 8th March, and no refunds for cancellations will be given after that date. You will need to show a photo-ID document to be allowed into the Sénat, together with a valid pass vaccinal.

CamSoc Paris - Jean Khalfa talk 11 March 2022
2022-03-11 18:00 - 20:30 | Amphitheatre Marie Curie, 1 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, 75005, France
Jean Khalfa is a Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge who specialises in the history of philosophy, modern literature (in particular contemporary poetry and writing in French from North Africa and the Caribbean), aesthetics and anthropology. He is also a member of the Council of the Ecole Normale Supérieure.

Jean will give us a talk on Wifredo Lam and XXth century livres d’artiste at the Amphithéâtre Marie Curie, 1 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 75005 Paris (RER B Luxembourg, Metro line 7 Place Monge, Metro line 10 Cardinal Lemoine). This is the lecture hall where Marie Curie gave her lectures in the first decade of the 20th Century and it retains much of the format and atmosphere from that time. Jean’s topic would follow well the current Picasso exhibition (https://www.palais-portedoree.fr/fr/node/109187) for those who have been or are planning to go to that – it runs until 13th February at the Palais de la Porte Dorée.
The Wren library at Trinity College has one of the greatest collections of XXth century artists’ books. A set of books by the Cuban/French painter Wifredo Lam has recently been added to the collection. Lam was a protégé of Picasso before WWII and became one of the greatest painters of the second half of the century.

His painting La Jungle is usually displayed in New York’s MoMA next to Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. His work as a painter was considerable and is on display in countless museums, but what is less well known is that Lam produced some of the greatest books of the period, in dialogue with the most significant poets.
This talk will be an opportunity to discover this artist, to better understand the genre of the “livre d’artiste”, and to learn how I managed to get these extraordinary books to Cambridge.
To find out more about the collection:
Wilfredo Lam: Livres d’Artiste – part one of article published on 29th May 2018
Wilfredo Lam: Livres d’Artiste – part two of article published on 4th June 2018
Participants will be welcomed with a coffee, available from 6pm, and the lecture will begin at 7pm. Tickets are €25 per person and can be booked using the link below (click on the “+” button to select the number of tickets required).

Oxford & Cambridge Poetry and Prose Reading
2022-03-01 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom meeting, Your location, France
We are pleased to announce the next Oxford and Cambridge virtual prose and poetry reading on Tuesday 1st March at 7pm. It will take place on Zoom. This event is open to members of both Societies.
The topic chosen is “Rich and Poor” which we hope gives you plenty of scope to select readings that are pertinent. Each reader should plan to come with two readings, which can be either poetry or prose, each of 3 to 5 minutes (maximum) long.
Thus, in the 90 minutes available, you can expect to read both pieces. Paul Tracy (Oxford) will again act as moderator for the evening.
There is no charge for this event. To book, click on the “+” sign in the booking section below and enter the information requested on the way to checkout.
Registered participants will receive the Zoom link by email two or three days before the event.

PADFAS - Zoom Lecture on Paul Strand
2022-02-17 14:00 - 15:30 | Virtual Zoom meeting, Your location, France
PADFAS (The Arts Society Paris) invites members of the Cambridge Society of Paris to join their Live online Zoom lecture on Thursday 17th February, 2022 at 14.00.
Deborah Jenner will present Paul Strand’s “Straight Photography”.

Paul Strand’s sharply focused Straight Photography elevated this Machine Age tool – a camera – to a medium of Fine Art through exquisitely composed images in highly contrasted tones of black and white. His 1915 shot of “Wall Street” extracted the ready-made (yet hidden) symbols of J P Morgan’s bank façade to reveal parallels with Di Vinci’s Last Supper mural. It suggests the misplaced sanctity of modern financial institutions. Strand’s 1922 article on The New Trilogy (making “God, Christ, and the Holy Ghost” into “the machine, materialism and science”) clearly criticises the Industrial Age’s worshipping of false gods. His and Charles Sheeler’s chillingly still and vacated views of Henry Ford’s River Rouge automobile plant portray it as a soulless cathedral.
Strand was always there at the cutting edge from Gallery 291 and NYC Dada to documentary filmmaking in LA & Mexico. Banished from the USA during the McCarthy Era, he travelled the world’s political hotspots to finally settle in France compiling photo-book portraits of place. Ever shooting iconic views, his objective, mechanical recording of reality ironically reveals the subjectivity of all human vision.
Deborah Jenner is an American-born art historian; member of College Arts Association. Residing in Paris since 1990, she has worked at the Ecole du Louvre, the Sorbonne, the Catholic Institute and the British Council. Her Doctorate thesis proved non-western influences in Georgia O’Keeffe’s art. Her publications include catalogue essays for Musée d’Orsay (New York City et l’Art modern) and Centre Pompidou (Les Traces du Sacré), scholarly papers with the research laboratory S.A.R.I. and Gallery critiques in ArtAsiaPacific, and PerformArts: Artvisuel-Artvivant. She gives public talks, guided walks and museum tours for ex-pat organisations and study-abroad programs and volunteers as an Al Gore Climate leader and JCF Round Table coordinator. She is a member of The Arts Society Paris.
Please book your free place directly with PADFAS by using this link.

Discovering the Peculiarity of the English - a talk by Alan Macfarlane and Fabienne Bonnet
2022-02-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Zoom meeting, Your location, France
The watercolour of the White Cliffs of Dover is by Richard Andrewes (Trinity)
This event is on Zoom
Alan Macfarlane (Worcester Oxford (MA & PhD), King’s Cambridge (Fellow), London School of Economics (MPhil), SOAS (PhD).) was born in Shillong, Meghalaya, India. Alan is an anthropologist and historian, and a Professor Emeritus of King’s College, Cambridge. He is the author or editor of 20 books and numerous articles on the anthropology and history of England, Nepal, Japan and China. He has focused on comparative study of the origins and nature of the modern world. In recent years he has become increasingly interested in the use of visual material in teaching and research. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Historical Society.

How did I become interested in the English? My colonial background and birth in India; my schooling in English boarding schools and training in history at Oxford; my anthropological investigations in Nepal, Japan and China; my interest in grand social theory and particularly in French commentators â€“ Montaigne, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Tocqueville, Taine and Marc Bloch among others. And what are the peculiarities? Some outlined in”Understanding the English A-Z”, and others, which I will briefly sketch in, in a sequel “The Peculiarity of the English” – Games, Humour, Class, Education, Empire and more.
Society Member Fabienne Bonnet, the translator of “Understanding the English” will also talk about the process of translation of the book into French.

Fabienne’s background is St Thecle, Chamalières (73), American Field Service scholar, Waukesha WI. (74) MPhil Montpellier (79), Lectrice King’s Cambridge (90-94), Bye-Fellow, Homerton (2011-2016), Faculty of English, affiliated supervisor literary translation (1994-2014) (Franciscan. Life vows. 2001)

Hot Topics for Top Minds
2022-01-20 20:00 - 21:00 | Virtual Zoom meeting, Your location, France
The Society’s quarterly virtual meeting to debate topics considered to be of interest by the participants, proposed in advance, will be held on Thursday 20th January 2022 from 8pm to 9pm. Places will be limited to a maximum of 20 so everyone is able to have their say on each topic.
The critical thing is to have a range of interesting topics, which is down to you please. The topics can be on almost any subject â€“ topical, scientific, philosophical, serious or amusing, it is up to you to suggest what you would like to discuss. Having thought of ideas, please include them in your booking form, or if you come up with an idea later, you can send your contributions directly to the Society’s President, Terry Quinn, on president@camsocparis.org. Terry will then compÃ¨re the event.
This event will be hosted on Zoom. A meeting link will be sent to all registered attendees two or three days in advance of the event.

Concert given by the Wells Consort "Motets and Christmas Carols"
2021-12-12 16:00 - 18:00 | Eglise St-Denys-du-St-Sacrement, 68bis rue de Turenne, Paris, 75003, France
Directed by Christopher Wells (Magdalene), the Wells Consort presents carols, motets and other festive music for the Christmas Season.
Entry free, with a voluntary contribution towards costs

Carols at the Travellers
2021-12-07 18:30 - 20:00 | The Travellers Club, 25 avenue des Champs-Elysées, Paris, 75008, France
All tickets for this event have now been sold
However, it is possible to register on the waiting list and if there are cancellations the tickets that become available will be allocated in the order of receipt of waiting list applications.
After a one year enforced Covid gap, the Oxford Society in Paris and the Cambridge Society in Paris are please to invite their members and guests, together with the members of PADFAS and the English Speaking Union and their guests, back to our:Â
Annual Carol Singing at
â€œThe Travellersâ€
25, avenue des Champs-ElysÃ©es, Paris 8’eme
From 6:30 PM on Tuesday, 7th December, 2021
Vin chaud and mince pies will be served prior to the singing
Numbers are limited to 100 in total. Places will be allocated on a â€œfirst come, first servedâ€ basis.
You will be required to present your “pass sanitaire” at the reception desk upon entry.
Please apply by booking through the “Tickets” section below. Cost per person is â‚¬20.
NB: Please note that the Travellers Club
requires gentlemen to wear jackets and ties
