The SCTE Annual Dinner, 2004

The 2004 SCTE Annual Dinner held at King's College, Cambridge on SATURDAY 3rd APRIL, 2004 The annual dinner has become the highlight of the Society's social calendar and we have gained an enviable reputation for picking some superb venues - this year is no exception. Situated in the very heart of the historic city of Cambridge, famous the world over for its architecture, the splendour of its colleges and the picturesque River Cam, King's College is a magnificent venue. You can buy pictures from the event. Click here to see thumbnails of the available photographs. You will also find details of how to order.

President, Dr. Roger Blakeway.	Set in the Great Hall of King's College, Cambridge, the Society's Annual Dinner and Awards lived up to a reputation for prestigious venues. Arriving members and guests were greeted by a welcoming drink, and the pre-dinner reception in the Chetwynd Room gave everyone a chance to renew old acquaintanceships, talk to new friends and get in the mood for the evening's festivities. The five-course meal that followed could only be described as magnificent both in its presentation and its flavour and was an excellent example of the best in mass-catering. Glittering silverware adorned the refectory tables beneath the breathtaking vaulted ceiling of the Hall, each table with its shaded candle and vase of flowers. The Society thanks Motorola for sponsoring the menu cards and to Harmonic Inc for selecting and sponsoring some particularly fine wines.

Dr Blakeway's proposed the toast to "The Society". The original idea for an Annual Dinner resulted from a "thankyou" dinner given for the late Tom Hall at the time of his retirement. That occasion proved so successful that it has been continued until this day and has taken place in a number of prestigious locations with much success, thanks mainly to the organisation from the SCTE office and particularly due to the efforts of Beverley Allgood, our Society Secretary. Thanks were also due to the continued support of Tratec, Concurrent Computer Corporation, Aurora, Harmonic, and RMS in the sponsoring of tables. To Tratec, especially, our thanks go for their constant support and our congratulations on achieving their 25th anniversary. Dr Blakeway reminded us that a significant proportion of The Society's income comes from our involvement in the IBC Show in Amsterdam every year. Mr Mike Martin's part in ensuring that the team effort that secures the success of IBC also ensures a maximum benefit for the SCTE was appreciated. Apart from the assistance this income affords in ensuring the high quality of the Society's journal CTE, it also enables the expansion of our activities into fields beyond the borders of the UK, EEBC2003 in Kiev and the setting-up of the Benelux SCTE Committee are two instances. You can see CTE in Russian on the EEBC website. This year also there is exciting potential from an initiative in Pakistan in which SCTE Pakistan is launched and the Society's certification could become a mandatory qualification for obtaining a Broadband Operator's licence. Next year the Society celebrates its 60th anniversary with several ideas forming about how this will be done. The Annual Dinner is to take place on March 5th at Woburn Abbey, a welcome return to this excellent venue. Dr Blakeway thanked the Executive Committee for their support and hard work and looked forward to a future of continuing success. For "a 59 year old", the Society is in remarkable good condition, still full of vigour and ideas.		Vice-prseident, Chris Swires

Keith Drummond becomes an Honorary Fellow Ray Seacombe receives the Tom Hall Award.	A response to the toast "The Society" was made by Chris Swires who referred to yet another year of positive leadership by Dr Blakeway and to whom he expressed the thanks of the entire membership. This was followed by presentation of the Annual Awards. The first, an Honorary Fellowship was made to Keith Drummond for a distinguished career in cable telecommunications spanning over 40 years, encompassing overseas operations and a 'first' in Pay-TV and fibre optics. The Tom Hall award was made to Ray Seacombe, now retired, but a stalwart of the Society and a true 'industry figure'. Ray had been a prominent member of companies such as Teleng, Rediffusion, and British Relay, and of BT. His writings and the transcripts of his lectures are now valuable reference publications and remain in common use. Once again the Society had found a deserving recipient for an award made in memory of a remarkable man of Cable.

Thanks to Graeme Young for this report and the pictures. Events like the annual dinner could not be held without the hard work of the secretariat headed by Beverley Allgood, National Secretary.		Dancing the night away.

	For access to larger versions of these and other pictures of this event please go to the Photo Gallery You can buy pictures from the event. Click here to view thumbnails of the available pictures. You will also find details of how to order.


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