Hilary 2018 Welcome Drinks: What a Night!

As per expectation, tickets for OxWIB's most popular event sold out quickly. Around 150 people fitted comfortably in The Varsity Club, a venue sought after for its skyline views and intimate atmosphere, the latter of which offered the attendees a great opportunity to socialise with the committee and find out about our upcoming events. The entire evening served as an opportunity to celebrate OxWIB's 2017 successes and the beginning of a vibrant new term and a passionate new committee.

Members were seen making a beeline to the sweet cart upon entry, and enjoying catching up after the Christmas vacation. Prosecco, wine, and Haribo were all free-flowing, making for an evening of true indulgence. Despite the impressive assortment of sweets, pride of place must be given to the impressive array of cupcakes and macarons.

At 8.45pm, Calypso Hetherington took to the stage to showcase her incredible voice and the room relaxed into casual conversation, and appreciation of mash-ups which managed to combine Ben E. King with Shaun Kingston! Later in the evening our President Perdita Shirley took the microphone to welcome all attendees, before introducing herself, the Vice President and President-elect. Finally, she welcomed one of Oxford’s most prestigious bands, Dot’s Funk Odyssey, who lit up the space with unparalleled stage presence. DFO were a huge success and by the end of the first song, people were up on their feet, dancing away to funk and soul.

The event was exuberant and an exciting reflection of the upcoming term; we plan to bring interesting speakers and many more events for our members as well as building heavily upon our social media presence. We thank our sponsors for making nights like the welcome drinks possible and to our members for making it truly a memorable evening. As third year Rosie Richards summarised, “This is my second welcome drinks with OxWIB, and so far it has been a night of awesome drinks and even better company”.