This was undoubtedly one our most British Christmas Dinners to date. Over 90 Oxonians gathered at the Kaufmanns-Casino on 8th December for the annual Christmas Dinner of the Oxford Alumni Society in Munich. After the drinks reception, happy reunions and the first lively discussions, the doors were opened onto the beautifully decorated dinner room, which indeed resembled more a festive College Hall at Christmas time than a Bavarian restaurant or club.
This year, we were lucky to have the British concert pianist Bonny Palm with us, who played some wonderful English Christmas songs and eventually invited everybody to sing along. The blend of Christmas carols, Christmas crackers and silly crowns was reminiscent for some of their time at Oxford, when the last essays were just about to be handed in, the last bars to be “drunk dry” and the bags to be packed for the Christmas break ahead. Everybody at the dinner for sure started getting into the mood for Christmas and we joyfully rounded off the evening at the bar with the mandatory port and mince pies.
As one of our members from England said: “I actually felt a little bit homesick in this pre-Christmas time. But this evening, I really felt like I was at home.”