Edinburgh University and Spurgeon's Graduation

By anneethompson on July 22, 2024

After our stay at Gleneagles (see last week's blog) we drove to Edinburgh. I had an important meeting, and Husband took Meg for a walk around the city centre (because Meg, and important meetings, would be a bad combination). Afterwards he commented on how well-behaved she was. They had encountered marching bands, bagpipes, crowds of people and other dogs. Meg had walked beside him, looking very like a working dog being trained. (He told me that when asked, he said that Meg is being trained as a Royal protection animal—but I think/hope he was joking!) It was nice for me that he had a good experience, a little Meg/Husband bonding is useful.

Meg in the City

My meeting was at the university. I had forgotten how beautiful the city of Edinburgh is, and my meeting was at New College, which is next to the castle. New College is not new, it's a fairly old building, steeped in tradition. I was told to wait in the quad, and I walked through the arch and sat in a little square courtyard, looking at a statue of John Knox, and arched windows and turrets, and stone steps. There is a feeling of history, of scholars through the ages studying Scripture, testing their beliefs—and I realised that I really want to be part of that. We will see—I will let you know what happens next.

The Quad of New College

View from New College

My current studies are now officially finished, and it was my graduation ceremony at the weekend. At first I wasn't going to attend, because I graduated with my teaching degree many years ago, and have since attended the various graduations of my children, and I felt rather old to be dressing in a cap and gown and having a photo taken. But then, when my final results arrived, I found that I wanted to mark the occasion—to finish my time at college with 'an event.' I'm glad now that I did.

My MA is from Manchester University, but I have been studying at Spurgeon's College, and they had arranged for the graduation to be at a big church in Croydon. We went by train, and then tram, and then walked down a residential street and I wondered if we were lost. But the church is huge, and modern, so it was easy enough to find. Everything was very efficient. I didn't have a paper receipt or ticket, which I found very unnerving (this probably reflects my age—but honestly, what would happen if my phone lost power and all those clever QR codes were lost?) In the event, I only needed my name, and then I was directed by various members of staff (very kind of them to work on a Saturday) to the 'robing room.'

The gown was difficult, and kept slipping around, and the hood—which was a pleasing colour—tended to sit in a rather racy off-the-shoulder position rather than the neat and tidy scholarly look that was intended. I had taken safety pins to try and secure the gown to my dress, but this resulted in the front of the dress riding up in an undignified manner. As for the hat—well! It felt fine in the fitting room, but as soon as I left, I'm sure it shrunk. It absolutely refused to sit securely, and perched precariously on my head, falling off if I moved too quickly. No one else seemed to have any problem at all, and the auditorium filled up with students looking tidy and elegant, and staff members in a rainbow of universities' caps and gowns. (Actually, some of the staff graduated from universities with decidedly daft hats. I realise that before applying to do a PhD, a very important factor should be what the graduation outfit is, because for evermore, that is the cap and gown you will have to wear for every academic occasion. Some of the staff had not done their due research here. But I felt feedback would be inappropriate at this point.)

It was fun meeting all my student friends again, catching up with news, hearing what their plans are. We haven't met since before I started writing my dissertation, which is months ago. Some of my family came to support me, which was a lovely surprise.

There were group photos (the photographer tidied me up a bit beforehand, which reminded me of my mother, who always seems to tell me to comb my hair, even though I am quite old now). The actual service was very long (graduation ceremonies always are). This one was even longer, because lots of the graduates were now Baptist ministers, so there was a sort of church service, complete with extra-long sermon from Rick Warren (our Chancellor) and several hymns and prayers. But I'm still glad I went, and they gave a short bio as each student went on stage, which made it feel very personal. And most importantly, the cap stayed on my head for the whole walk across the stage (it fell off when I sat down, but that didn't matter).

I hope everything stays in place for you this week. Thanks for reading.
Take care.
Love, Anne x