I suddenly remembered that yesterday (or was it the day before) I said I’d post something about formals (formal dinners, that is). I completely forgot. It’s not as if I’ve been doing anything, either – it just clean left my mind.
So, here we go: formals (of which I have now had two) are fantastic! They are huge fun, despite what you may think if you simply heard “traditional college formal dinner, to which gowns must be worn” (for that is a fairly good description).
Gowns and suits are indeed worn, and the doors to the Great Hall (think Harry Potter, only without the enchanted ceiling and floating candles) are opened at 7 o’clock, on the dot. The assembled student body (or as many as got places / could be bothered) troop into the hall, race to find a ‘decent’ seat, and remain standing until a Latin grace has been said by the nominated student.
The food during formal is not particularly remarkable – it is simply thrown at you while you sit, as opposed to you having to throw it at yourself – but the atmosphere is fantastic. It seems everyone knows that they are part of a tradition dating back hundreds of years… and they also know that by the time they leave the hall they will have downed most of a bottle of wine!
This is because of the tradition known as corking. Each student may bring to formal a limited amount of wine – bring too much, and it will be confiscated by the College Steward, John the Maid (who was awarded the MBE a couple of years ago – he was Steward at the college when the Master was an undergraduate here…). Anyway, once the meal is underway, students must down the contents of their glass in one go if someone puts a cork in it. Suffice to say, one only gets corked having just refilled the glass… at my first formal (Parents’ Formal – with my college parents and sister – more on them later) I was corked four times. Corking also works with gravy, custard, and in fact anything that can be downed in one.
One may not stand up until the Senior Man does so at the end of the meal; doing so before him will lead to you being ‘sconced‘ or fined. Outdressing the Master also traditionally leads to sconcing, although our Master knows this rule and tends to dress fairly flamboyantly himself, allowing students to wear, for example, green suits.
Formal dinner is great fun, a fantastic tradition, and an important part of Castle life. They take place twice a week, usually, and are an opportunity for one to have fun with friends while doing one’s best not to show who drunk one is. (urgh … clumsy sentence)
Oh, and to finish with, another Castle song – sung on special occasions… please don’t take offence!
The famous Hatfield College went to Rome to see the Pope,
The famous Hatfield College went to Rome to see the Pope,
The famous Hatfield College went to Rome to see the Pope,
And this is what he said: “F—ck off!“
“Who the f—ck are Hatfield College?”
“Who the f—ck are Hatfield College?”
“Who the f—ck are Hatfield College?”
And this is what he said: “F—ck off!“
So, once again I’m back late after Amadeus. Tonight, the show was an hour later than usual because of Formal before hand, which doesn’t finish until 8 o’clock. Oh well – the play itself finished at five to midnight, and we were all packed away and ready to go by half past. Not bad… in fact, a positively early night compared to some this week!
I am absolutely shattered. Knackered. Cream-crackered. Whatever. I’m literally falling asleep on the keyboard here. So I’m going to bed in a minute.