Friday morning at the Royal Albert Hall for Catherine’s Convocation ceremony was a grand occasion. The golden Albert Memorial on the fringe of the park opposite so reflective in the sun to be near impossible to look at, and then once inside, a kind of vibrating hazy colour - no reflected light at all. 20th Century organ compositions, three trumpeters, a slow procession of gowns and hoods and staffs and caps trimmed with gold preceded the thousand names and handshakes. Catherine somewhere near the middle. After the ceremony proper, an emotional address from an elderly looking Sir Terence Conran, (stepping down this year as Provost of the RCA) read like a call to arms for the irreplaceability of the arts. He broke down several times, each time greeted by a standing ovation, which was strangely fitting. ‘I love this college’, he almost whispered before sitting down, unable to continue. Nobody quite knew what to say after that.
