Stewart took over from Sally but with the proviso that, if he failed to return to do a postgraduate course after his imminent finals, Rhiannon Davies, the defeated candidate in the Presidential election, should immediately replace him without the need for a further election. Rhiannon remained very active - she planned Trinity 1989's Quest and contributed to Ceridwen's Cauldron under its new editor, Nick Brooke. The Vice-Presidency became yet more honorary, the role devolving on longstanding non-University member Lynne Elson.
Again, an experiment was tried with recruiting in Michaelmas - it was decided to start with a short talk by Stewart followed by Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with a longer talk on Arthur by Chris Gidlow the following week. Speakers under Stewart's Regency seemed to be of a more academic nature than in Sally's time, but there were still only two a term. In Michaelmas Rik Rooksby spoke on Swinburne's Tristram of Lyonesse, and Elspeth Kennedy returned to talk on 'Arthur of the Welsh, French and English: King and Husband'.
The Banquet was for the first and only time held in Christ Church Undercroft, which was sadly converted into a college bar the following summer. After the Christmas vacation, Hilary events included an 'Evening of Song', an attempt by avid folksong collector Stewart to keep the Society's interest in that field alive, which seems to have been a successful exercise. Speakers included Ceridwen Lloyd Morgan of the National Library of Wales, and Bob Stewart, bard and Merlinologist, should also have appeared, but he failed to materialise.
Excursions included North Wales in the summer and a weekend in Glastonbury in the spring. The Michaelmas day pilgrimage returned, taking in Uffington White Horse, Wayland's Smithy, West Kennet Long Barrow and Avebury. For May Morning, the Society returned to West Kennet, somewhat further out than the usual destinations such as the Rollright Stones.
The committee continued to eat with each other a lot, although there seems to have been less fondue around. There were, however, many strange utterances (many from the Regent himself) and impressions of the soup dragon, of Clangers fame.
As already mentioned, Nick Brooke edited the magazine. The editorial disappeared from the front cover and artwork took its place, and the page count increased. Sadly the irregularity of contributions meant that only two issues were produced, and separate termcards returned in Hilary and Trinity. Nick's second issue, published in Trinity, included Shelagh Lewins's 'The Yellow Minibus of Doom', in which events of previous pilgrimages were rendered in comic strip form.
Stewart's Regency unfortunately concluded with the resurfacing of the old ideological dispute in the Society, Sophia Flaxen standing for the Presidency on a moderate platform favouring a diversity of approaches, with Nick Brooke opposing her on an aggressively Mediaevalist platform...
Regent/President: STEWART GRIME (Sir Tristan) Oriel Chancellor/Secretary: SOPHIA FLAXEN (Lady Enide) Brasenose Seneschal/Treasurer: SUSAN GRAHAM (Lady Lynette) Brasenose Butler/Social Secretary:ANN HEATH (Dame Brusen) Brasenose Scribe/Magazine Editor: NICK BROOKE (Sir Kay) Balliol Marshal: RACHEL LOCKLIN (Queen Isolde) Oriel Chamberlain: RHIANNON DAVIES (Queen Morgan le Fay) St Anne's Constable: PAUL McDERMOTT (Sir Dinadan) Hertford Herald: SARAH STURCH (Lady Maledisante Beauvivante) Christ Church Vice-Regt/Vice-Pres: LYNNE ELSON (Lady Argente) Page: KAHN SODEN St Peter's Chief Adviser: SALLY-JANE HUMPHRYS (Queen Ygraine)