Andy Harter and Lily Bacon are very much familiar faces at St Edmund’s – Andy is a Fellow and Lily a Fellow Commoner – but the Master was thrilled to officially welcome them back, with Andy newly installed as High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire: ‘Andy’s installation as High Sheriff is a recognition of all the qualities St Edmund’s has benefited from for years. The college is, rightly, very proud.’

Even by Cambridge standards, the office of High Sheriff is a truly ancient one, with the sheriff (or shire reeve) predating the Norman Conquest. Historians have been able to trace a sheriff of Cambridgeshire as far back as 1066! For centuries, the sheriff was the sovereign’s chief representative in the shrieval counties, England’s oldest unit of administration, and theoretically they remain so – hence Andy’s ceremonial outfit.

The college, which it must be said is a little younger than Andy’s new office, is thrilled to be connected with such a prestigious post and we congratulate him whole-heartedly on his appointment. We feel that it is indicative of what makes Cambridge so special, that an academic who helps push the boundaries of modern computer science can also take on a such venerable post with such historic significance.