Category: past-posts

What a brilliant event we had at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg on Monday, 20 April, 10:00-14.15

A full group of Oxonians and friends from our sister societies met up in the spring sun at 10am in front of the Court. We were met by a lively and experienced guide who took us through the ground floor areas and the judges gallery. We learned that the ECJ library holds 364000 books and other printed material and that it is the largest legal library in Europe, that there are 2300 people employed of who, a thousand translators and 500-600 lawyer linguists. They have 54 judges, ten chambers and around 900 cases a year. So it is a busy place! After the tour, we had a talk by the Irish judge, C. Mac Eochaidh, Judge at the General Court. He gave an insightful and personal talk which catered both for all the legal minds amongst us, and all of us who knew little of the workings of the court.

Then followed a delicious lunch hosted by Judge Elisabeth Tilly-Fisslberger at the judge’s restaurant on the 27th floor.

Thank you all for coming, for being so engaged and posing so many questions during the tour!

Birds & Buffalo at Menster Brill Nature Reserve

We had a great group for the guided nature tour organised by Louise Benjamin (Cambridge) and our member Philip Birget (Oxford).

We met in on Saturday morning 18 April, at 9am at the Munsbach football club car park and have the chance to observe at close quarters the careful work of monitoring and recording local birdlife including bird ringing.

Later, the visit continued to the nearby buffalo hide in Mensdorf (5-minute drive) and ended with lunch at Louise’s place.

Below are some of Rakesh’ photos from the day.

Sign-up: Louise Benjamin at: l.benjamin@benjamin.lu cc, chair@oxford.lu, or via Louise’s WhatsApp: +352 621 288 484. 

Participation: the event is free of charge.
However, a small donation of €25-30 to Fondatioun Hëllef fir d’Natur would be greatly appreciated. 
Iban: LU89 1111 0789 9941 0000 
Reference: Schlammwiss 18.03.26 visit 
Registration: Places are limited to 30 participants.  

FABULOUS NEWS LADIES: The Oxford Women’s Team won!!

Once again we were so fortunate as to be invited to watch the Boat Races together with Camsoc in front of the multiplex home cinema at the home of Laurent and Cathy Frideres. There was a good group from both Oxford and Cambridge and we are grateful to the Frideres for their wonderful hospitality.

The procedure was the same as last year, with punters encouraged to bring cakes or other goodies – and this we did!

Date: 4 April 2026
Timings:
Cathy and Laurent welcomed us from 14:30. The television coverage, this year on Channel 4, started at 14:30 CET with the first Race, the 80th Women’s Race scheduled to start at 15:21. AND WE WON!!! Sadly, the dark blue men will have to do a few more push-ups before the next race, but we are still so proud of them!

We followed up on last year’s success of introducing a New Members’ Drink, meeting on the 1st. floor of Atmos Bar.
We had a great show up of new members who covered all sorts of fields – from law to languages.Over a glass of bubbly and with lots of amuses bouches there was lively chatting across different jobs and ages. Thank you new members for coming and thank you ‘old’ members for joining in to make this a truly convivial meet-up.

We are delighted to be invited to join a St. Gallen Symposium which will be introduced by H.E Ambassador Benno Laggner and Carlo Thelen, Director General, Chambre de Commerce.

The event begins at 18h and takes place at 7, rue Alcide de Gasperi, L-2981 Kirchberg.

For more information, see invitation below

We met again for our monthly drink with ‘the other place’. These evenings are totally informal and a great way to enjoy a chat over a drink – or even with a small meal on the side.

Date: Thursday 12 March at 19h.

Venue: La Reserve., 23, Avenue Pasteur, 2311 Limpertsberg, Luxembourg.

Sign-Up: Kindly register with Norry Welch with cc to Mette Ahlefeldt-Laurvig.

We were a select group of almost half and half Oxonians/Cantabrians for yet another congenial meet-up at La Reserve

We were invited to a talk (in French) on Lord Baden-Powel organised by BLS, Conférence St Yves and the Scouts movement. The Introduction will be given by H.E. Madame Joanne Olivier, Ambassador of the United Kingdom. A panel of speakers reflected on Baden-Powell’s educational model based on service:

​”The DNA of Scouting with Robert and Olav Baden-Powell” by Philippe Maxence, author of Baden-Powell (Perrin, 2016) and Olav Baden-Powell (Artège, 2020).

​”Baden-Powell and Luxembourg: Legacy and Future” by Assist. Prof.
Jean-Marie Weber, member of the “Archives & Recherche” group of the LGS.

Date and Time: Tuesday, 3 March, 2026 at 18h30.

The talk is in French.

Venue: Room CL-BSC BS 0.03, Limpertsberg Campus, University of
Luxembourg.

We were fortunate to have been allocated some tickets by Cambridge for a panel discussion between Prime Minister Luc Frieden, H. E. Joanne Olivier, British Ambassador to Luxembourg and Lord Smith of Finsbury, Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.

Event: Camsoc-arranged Conference on the topic of
‘The Future of Education in the Age of AI’
with Prime Minister Luc Frieden, HE Ambassador Joanne Olivier, and Chancellor of the university of Cambridge,Lord Smith of Finsbury. Camsoc writes:  Our distinguished guests will share their views during a panel discussion moderated by Mithu Storoni. Education remains on the forefront of government policy and societal advancement.

The discussion was introduced by Emel Tulun, Senior Legal Advisor, Corporate and M&A at A&O Shearman and Justine Yansenne, Associate, Corporate and M&A at A&O Shearman, both Cantabrians.

Then followed a lively and thoughtful conversation with the panelists, H.E. Ambassador Joanne Oliver, Lord Smith of Finsbury and Prime Minister Lux Frieden. By the time this AI conversation was terminated there was still a large show of hands from the audience who really engaged with the subject.

The event concluded with a cocktail kindly sponsored by A&O Shearman.

Venue: A&O Shearman, 5 Avenue John F. Kennedym 1855, Kirchberg, Luxembourg.
 

The RTL wrote:

After an early barrage of tries, RCL found themselves 21-0 down to the visitors. However, once the initial storm had passed, they steadied the ship. Spearheaded by their fly-half Eamon Reily, they began to gain territory and momentum, eventually opening their account through a well-worked try by Federico Inciarte.

Unfortunately, the scrum and some individual errors were RCL’s downfall in the first half which meant Oxbridge were able to win the ball back on numerous occasions and ultimately extend their lead with a couple more tries. 31-7 at the half time.

The second half started in a more balanced fashion with RCL attacking deep in opposition territory. They finally scored a well deserved try after a sustained period of pressure. Winger Dorian Terrou pounced on a stray pass and kicked the ball deep, managing to regather before offloading to Inciarte for his second try of the match. 14-31.

Antoine Alric’s men were a different side in the second half, both in attack and defence. In possession they were structured and driven, carrying with a purpose that had been absent before the break. After sustained pressure deep in the Oxbridge half, Denis Logelin hit a sharp line close to the ruck and powered over from close range.

After the game head coach Alric was quick to highlight the positive attitude his players had after falling behind early on. “Overall the combativity after conceding five tries in the first half. It shows good spirit. The scoreboard doesn’t count and I’m very happy.”

The boys in blue and white were left to rue their slow start as the game finished 31-21 in favour of the Oxbridge selection. There were plenty of areas to improve upon, but it was nonetheless a positive first outing after the long winter break.

The Rugby Club of Luxembourg were invited the Oxbridge Alumni Rugby Team to Luxembourg, and they arranged a friendly match on Saturday 21 February at Stade Josy Barthel at 13h.
Click on Rugby Club Luxembourg for info and contact.

Oxonians were well represented as we met with ‘the other place’ for our Oxbridge drinks at La Reserve at 23 Avenue Pasteur, L-2311 Luxembourg.
We gathered at the bar that is tucked away from the main room, and as always it was great to mingle and chat in a completely informal way.

Well met and looking forward to the next Oxbridge drink!