Our annual Freshers’ Welcome event took place at Mincoffs Solicitors in Newcastle on Monday, September 18, and went very well indeed. 27 freshers from the region, shortly bound for Cambridge, attended the event, along with one additional student, Mark Schuster (Natural Sciences, Selwyn), who attended last year, and five or six parents came as guests. Andrena and I welcomed them, with three other members of the Association, including solicitor Tim Gray, whose law firm generously provided the venue. I said a few words on behalf of the NCA, Mark told them what his first year at Cambridge was like, and two of our NCA Committee members, Heather Cordell and Judy Vigurs, described their first experiences of Cambridge. We had drinks and refreshments, and they spent most of the evening getting to know each other, especially those with colleges and subjects in common. The evening went with such a swing that we had some difficulty nudging them out when it was time to end! We plan to keep in contact with them, extend free associate membership of the NCA to them, and arrange a get-together in Newcastle with them just before Christmas. We are grateful to Mincoffs for all their assistance in making the event such a success.