Dear Clare Hall members and friends,

Please find below a list of events taking place this week and beyond, to which you are warmly invited.

➢ Members’ events

Clare Hall Through Your Lens: Seasonal Photography Competition |
Monday 16 February – Monday 9 November 2026

Following the wonderful response to our community photo project, Clare Hall Through Your Lens continues throughout this special anniversary year as our official 60th Anniversary Photography Competition.

We invite students, fellows, staff, and families to capture Clare Hall’s grounds, gardens, and moments of college life across all four seasons. At the end of each season, a judging panel will select the top three photographs, which will go forward to be included in a commemorative Clare Hall 60th Anniversary Calendar.

This is a chance to celebrate Clare Hall at 60, highlight our natural environment, and contribute to a lasting visual record of the College during this milestone year.

Find out how to take part on the main event page.

Clare Hall Stash Drop |
Friday 30 October – Friday 6 November 2026

Hello Clare Hall – the GSB is super excited to announce the first stash drop of the year! 🤩 In addition to the main stash collection, we will also be dropping a collection exclusively for children for the first time ever.

The stash will be available to purchase from 30 October, 12pm, until 6 November.

Main Stash Collection 

Children’s Stash Collection

There are two delivery options available: Home Delivery to your specified address or Free Delivery via Committee. For the Free Delivery option, your order will be sent to the College and will be sorted by the GSB. You will receive an email when your stash is ready to collect from the Porter’s Lodge.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to Robyn via the GSB Secretary email (gsb.sec@clarehall.cam.ac.uk).

Looking forward to seeing ya’ll in some stash of your own! 💛❤️

Clare Hall Diwali Formal |
Wednesday 4 November 2026, from 7pm

Bookings are now open for Clare Hall’s Diwali Formal, taking place on Wednesday 4 November, from 7pm.

Join us as we celebrate the Festival of Lights, transforming the Dining Hall into a glowing sea of candles and colour. All members of the Clare Hall community are warmly invited to experience the cultural richness and traditions of Diwali.

Following tradition of both the festival and previous Diwali formals, the main course will be served family-style with the full menu available here. The dinner will be followed by a Bollywood dance-along in the Dining Hall.

We look forward to welcoming as many of you as the Dining Hall allows for what promises to be a vibrant and joyful celebration.

Book your tickets on Upay. Bookings will close at 3pm on Monday 2 November, in line with the new Formal Hall booking deadline.

Masters to PhD Progression Event |
Monday 9 November 2026, 7pm

We will be holding our annual “Masters to PhD Progression Event” in the Richard Eden Suite, on Monday 9 November from 7.00-8.30pm. The event is for current Masters students at Clare Hall to learn more about the pathway to a PhD through the experience and expertise of current PhD students, the Senior Tutor Holly Hedgeland, and the former Vice-President Helen Pennant, who is also The Chief Executive Officer of the Cambridge Trust.

Annual College Photograph |
Wednesday 18 November 2026, 2pm

The annual College Photograph will take place on Wednesday, 18 November 2026, at 2.00pm in the Fellows’ Garden, weather permitting. In the event of rain, the photograph will be taken in the Common Room.

All members of the Clare Hall community are warmly invited to join us for the occasion. There is no set dress code for the College photograph, we invite everyone to come as they would like to be remembered in the photograph.

To help the photographer plan accordingly, we would be grateful if you could confirm your attendance by completing the form here by Tuesday, 17 November.

We look forward to seeing you all and capturing another moment in the life of our College community!

Clare Hall Thanksgiving Formal |
Wednesday 25 November 2026, from 7pm

Celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and family with Formal Hall on 25 November 2026, from 7pm.

Normal formal prices will apply. Book your tickets on Upay. Bookings will close at 3pm on Monday 23 November, in line with the new Formal Hall booking deadline.

New Clare Hall Books |
Buy now!

Clare Hall is delighted to share two new books that highlight the College’s engagement with art, collecting and material culture. Please follow the links below to find more information and order. There is a 10% discount if you subscribe to the publisher’s newsletter.

Collecting Dutch Golden Age Paintings: The Search for the Winterfeldt Wouwerman by Professor Alan Short, President of Clare Hall, offers a personal and scholarly reflection on the pursuit of Dutch Golden Age paintings, drawing on decades of research and collecting experience. Several works from this collection are displayed in the President’s Lodge.

Studio Potters: The Bell Collection at Clare Hall by Clare Hall Associates Professor Gordon Bell and Helen Ritchie celebrates the Bell Collection, one of the College’s most distinctive cultural assets. This book is also now available to purchase at the Porters’ Lodge at the discounted price of £39.99. Only a limited number of copies are available.

➢ Lectures and talks

Clare Hall Colloquia |
Tuesday 13 October – Tuesday 1 December 2026, 7.15pm

The Clare Hall Colloquia provide members of the College – especially (but not exclusively) Visiting Fellows and Life Members – with an opportunity to present their research, whether in its early stages or already published, in a friendly setting. They are a great way to discuss your ideas, meet fellow members and to contribute to our vibrant community. Sessions take place on Tuesday evenings during term time, 7.15–9.15pm, in the Clare Hall Meeting Room. Refreshments are provided.

The next session will take place on 10 November with speaker Professor William Hancock (Visiting Fellow, The Pennsylvania State University, USA).

Title: Life at the Nanoscale: Understanding the Inner Workings of Molecular Motors

The cells in our body are dynamic – chromosomes are separated during cell division and neurons constantly transport material between their cell bodies and distant synapses. These mechanical processes are carried out by molecular motors that move along filamentous tracks 1/10,000th the width of human hair. Understanding how these tiny protein machines work requires scaling one’s perspective down to the nanometer scale where mass is irrelevant and the thermally-driven collisions of water molecules generate constant chaotic movement. I will discuss my work over the last three decades on the molecular motor kinesin and provide a perspective for non-scientists about how life works at the nanoscale.

Please see the full Michaelmas programme here.

Public Talks “Free Will and the Brain” |
Monday 26 October – Monday 16 November 2026, 5.30pm

Clare Hall Visiting Fellow and Leverhulme Professor Peter Ulric Tse (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth) will be giving four public talks on the theme of “Free Will and the Brain”. 

They will be held weekly on Mondays starting on the 26th October from 5:30 to 7:00 in the Biffen Lecture Theatre, on the Downing Site. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Their titles are as follows: 

Short abstract: Yes, we have free will, because we have brains that evolved to internally represent possibilities and deliberate among them. Once we have chosen a favored option, we can strive, motorically and otherwise, to realize our envisioned future either in the world or in ourselves. I will talk about how volition and imagination evolved in our lineage, and how they operate in the human brain.

The Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography |
Friday 30 October – Friday 27 November 2026, 2.15pm

he Betty Behrens Seminar on Classics of Historiography offers a unique opportunity for students and scholars to reflect on some great historical works and engage in discussion with renowned experts. This Michaelmas term, the seminar will take place between the 30 October and the 27 November and will be composed of three meetings. The charming and fresh atmosphere of the Richard Eden Suite in Clare Hall, West Court, will be the location for the discussions.

The next meeting is on Friday 13 November from 2.15-4.00 pm with speaker Godfried Croenen (Honorary Research Fellow, University of Liverpool; Senior Researcher, University of Antwerp).

Find more information here. Register for the seminars via Eventbrite.

Industry & Enterprise Programme: Creating Successful Academic-Industry Collaborations |
Wednesday 4 November 2026, 6pm

Dr Nicola Wallis and Dr Helen Robinson (Industry & Enterprise Fellows) are hosting speakers Dr Simon Cook (The Babraham Institute), Dr Elena Di Daniel (Astex Pharmaceuticals), and Dr Sandra Macaskill (AstraZeneca) for a panel discussion:

From discovery to impact, great science rarely happens in isolation. Hear from leaders in academia and industry as they share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned from successful collaborations. Explore how cross-sector partnerships are shaping the future of STEM and discover opportunities to expand your network, research, and career horizons.

Open to all!

Industry & Enterprise Programme: Routes to Careers in the Life Sciences |
Wednesday 11 November 2026, 6pm

Interested in careers in bioscience, industry or drug discovery?  Join Dr Helen Robinson, Dr Chris Cooper and Dr Nicola Wallis to hear about career options in these areas, what these roles involve and detail of their own career paths. This will be an informal discussion, with plenty of time to engage and ask questions.

Open to all College members!

Cambridge Conversations: Menopause and Brain Health |
Thursday 12 November 2026, 12pm

How does menopause affect the brain, and what does the latest research tell us?

Join four Cambridge Fellows for a live webinar exploring the relationship between menopause, cognition and wellbeing. Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri (St John’s), Professor Barbara J Sahakian (Clare Hall), Dr Madeleine Lameris (Murray Edwards) and Professor Amy Milton (Downing) will share scientific and clinical insights, challenge common misconceptions and answer audience questions.

Thursday 12 November | 12-1pm | online

More information and booking are available here.

Communicating Research SIG |
Thursday 12 November 2026, 5pm

All Clare Hall members are warmly invited go attend the Communicating Research SIG meetings. The first event of this term is:

Research Beyond Papers: Where Do We Start?
Thursday 12 November, 5.00–6.00pm
King Room, Clare Hall

The session will explore what research impact can look like beyond academic publication, including engagement with policy, practice, communities and wider publics. The SIG itself will have a broader focus on communicating research beyond academia across different disciplines and audiences.

For further details please contact Dr Aneeza Pervez, SIG lead, at ap2576@cam.ac.uk.

Film & Moving Image SIG: Devi (The Goddess) (1960) |
Sunday 15 November 2026, 7.30pm

Satyajit Ray’s Devi (The Goddess) (1960) explores the devastating consequences of religious orthodoxy through the story of a young woman declared an incarnation of a Hindu goddess by her father-in-law. The film remains one of Ray’s most compelling yet often overlooked feminist works, challenging the subjugation of women in the name of religious devotion.

Join us at the ALB on Sunday 15 November, 7.30pm, for a screening of this masterpiece of Bengali cinema!

Building Healthy Societies SIG |
Tuesday 17 November 2026, 5pm

All Clare Hall members are warmly welcome to attend the meetings of the Building Healthy Societies SIG this Michaelmas term. See the full schedule here.

The next meeting will take place in the King Room on 17 November, 5pm, with speaker Professor Hugh Markus (Professor of Stroke Medicine, University of Cambridge; Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Cambridge University Hospitals Trust).

Topic: Preventing dementia by modifying our internal dn. external environment

➢ Music

Fitzwilliam String Quartet and Patrick Hemmerlé: Haydn, Osborne, Schumann |
Saturday 14 November 2026, 7.30pm

This concert brings together three contrasting works performed by the Fitzwilliam String Quartet, the Quartet-in-Residence at Clare Hall, and Patrick Hemmerlé, Musician-in-Residence.

Haydn’s Quartet opens the programme with his characteristic wit, elegance and inventiveness. A work by the British composer Nigel Osborne follows, bringing a distinctive contemporary voice to the evening. The concert concludes with Schumann’s celebrated Piano Quintet, one of the great works of the Romantic chamber repertoire, full of energy, lyricism and dramatic intensity.

Book your tickets via Eventbrite: General Admission – £25, Clare Hall members – £20, students – £5.

Clare Hall and Peterhouse Joint Evensong |
Wednesday 18 November 2026, 6.30pm

The Clare Hall Choir will be performing in a joint Evensong with Peterhouse on Wednesday 18 November. The service is 6.30pm and will be in Peterhouse Chapel. The service will include music by Thomas Tertius Noble and Samuel Sebastian Wesley. All are welcome to attend.

Pianist Patrick Hemmerlé: Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I and II |
Saturday 5 December – Sunday 6 December 2026, 7.30pm

Experience Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, 48 Preludes and Fugues exploring every major and minor key in a rare complete performance by Clare Hall Musician-in Residence Patrick Hemmerlé.

Across its 48 Preludes and Fugues, Bach explores every major and minor key, creating an extraordinary variety of character, colour and contrapuntal invention. The freer, often lyrical Preludes are paired with the astonishing intellectual and musical discipline of the Fugues, in a sequence that continually surprises and delights. Yet the sheer scale of the collection means that complete performances are rare. These concerts therefore offer not only an opportunity to encounter individual masterpieces, but to experience the remarkable coherence and variety of Bach’s conception as a whole.

Tickets on Eventbrite: General Admission – £20 (one night only) or £30 (both nights); Clare Hall members – £15 (one night only) or £22.50 (both nights); students – £5 (one night only) or £7.50 (both nights).

➢ Art

Other than Words: A Sense of Release in the Presence of Art |
Friday 25 September – Thursday 12 November 2026

Clare Hall is delighted to host Other than Words: A Sense of Release in the Presence of Art, a new exhibition of recent paintings by Jerry Scott. The exhibition will be open for public viewing Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.

Find more information here.

The Bell Collection of British Studio Pottery, 1920-1980 |
Ongoing

A rotating display of some 400 pieces of studio ceramics. Learn more at https://www.clarehall.cam.ac.uk/bellcollection/

➢ External events

Salsa Classes at Homerton College |
Thursdays, from 8 October 202

Join salsa dancing classes at Homerton College! University of Cambridge students, staff, and alumni are very welcome as are members of the public. The classes are free and open to all, so come along to learn a new skill and dance for wellbeing!

Classes are held every Thursday, starting from 8 October in the Great Hall of Homerton College from 18:00 to 20:30 throughout the academic year.  There is no requirement to bring a dance partner, because they rotate partners throughout the class. A typical class structure is as follows: 

➢ Activities and Societies

Pilates sessions |
Monday 5 October – Monday 30 November 2026, 12.15pm

We are delighted to host Pilates sessions at Clare Hall throughout Michaelmas Term. The classes will be held on Mondays during lunchtime. Pilates is a form of low-impact exercise that aims to strengthen muscles while improving postural alignment and flexibility.

A full list of dates and the sign-up sheet can be found here.

Yoga sessions |
Sunday 18 October – Sunday 29 November 2026, 2pm

We are delighted to host Sunday afternoon yoga sessions in the Michaelmas Term. Yoga is a holistic mind–body practice that combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to promote strength, flexibility, and inner balance.

A full list of dates and the sign-up sheet can be found here.

Clare Hall Book Club |
Monday 7 December 2026, 8pm

Join the College’s Book Club as they discuss Rouge Street: Three Novellas by Shuang Xuetao, translated by Jeremy Tiang. All College members are welcome to attend in-person, meeting in Clare Hall’s Meeting Room, or via Zoom. If you are not on the mailing list and would like to be, please send an email to gloria.carnevali@icloud.com, confirming your Clare Hall connection and putting the following as the email title: I would like to join the Book Club mailing list.

Learn more about the Book Club on this page.

Choir Practice |
Various Dates

A reminder that Clare Hall Choir practice takes place in Robinson College Chapel every Monday (in term-time, but not always restricted to the official Cambridge term dates) from 7.30-9pm. New members are always welcome, and no previous singing or musical experience is necessary. The only requirement is that you want to sing and have fun doing it! If you are interested in joining, please email Ben de Souza, the Choir’s Director, who is a Clare Hall Associate, freelance choral conductor and accordionist: bd402@cam.ac.uk.

Recent recordings of the choir can also be found on our YouTube channel.