He's not the first in our family to graduate from Glasgow (a university in the world's top 100, as the depute principal reminded us in his closing address). I did and so did his big brother.
It was a great day. Craig seemed to be busy at the university most of the day, with a rehearsal of the ceremony, getting his photo taken, picking up his gown, and afterwards going for a 'free' buck's fizz in the cloisters. (I expect someone will tell me why these are not cloisters at all but what the hey). His parents were at the university for the afternoon and the rest of us joined him later. He'd managed to get tickets for 5 of us, so his brother and his proud aunties were able to see the ceremony too. Bute Hall as always was a fabulous setting. I'm sorry to say my sister and Craig's auntie Linda let the side down by rising to their feet and cheering roundly when he got capped. But the university was keen for people to participate, so they did. The organist was the star of the show: telling the audience how to pronounce the words of Gaudeamus igitur and then giving us Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody as the exit music. Brilliant choice. Sent us all off with a laugh and a spring in our step.
I'm not putting this up to boast (well, okay, I am) but I really want to ask people who graduated along with me in 1973 - Margaret Ross, Anne Wheeldon, Elspeth Crocker, Rosemary Meechan, Jenne Gray - do you remember any of our graduation? I seem to have developed amnesia over it. I can't remember anything being organised by the university. Was there a rehearsal? I remember I had to get my own gown and hood and I arranged my own photo later. There was no video. Definitely no photos posted on the website or a Facebook page. No personalised hoodie available to buy in the cloisters. No copies of the day's Herald for sale. My aunt and uncle got extra tickets for themselves because my uncle knew the then registrar of the university. They drove my parents and me to Loch Lomond for my graduation lunch. And that was it.
I think I like the new version. But I was a bit taken aback first at the cost of all the things attached to graduation, and secondly at how many graduates were unable to attend. Is this a money thing? Even Craig, with his suspicion of events like this (we've trained you well, Grasshopper), found this occasion uplifting. It would terrible to think that people who manage to make it through university can't afford to graduate with all the pomp due to them. Is there a charity that helps students in this situation? I'm off to find out.
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