Friday, July 12, 2019

A Flanneur Around Christ's College Cambridge

I was heading down to Cambridge to do an event 'What's Your Poison' at that great bookshop Heffers.
That didn't go exactly to plan but more about that in another blog.

It was a beautiful two days the sun split the sky and although the universities were having their open day, they were closed to visitors... if you see what I mean. I have always preferred Cambridge to Oxford. It's more open, has more greenery, the air seems fresher and it has retained a sense of its history. or so it seems as the outsider walks through the city.

The wallpaper in the bedroom was interesting. I did have a go at multiplying out the bracket but then had a cup of tea.

The inside lawn at Christ's College. We walked very close behind somebody else's teenager and got in!

The ancient library.

A map of GB/UK before anybody really knew what it looked like. There's a monster lying off the Irish coast.

a model of Darwin's boat.

New study areas underneath old, old buildings.

Imagine strolling through this to go to a tutorial.

Or sitting here and discussing an essay with your tutor.

Having a swim in one of the oldest outside swimming pools in Europe.

In the library. This is a research table that enables you to look at four or eight books at the same time, simply by swivelling  the pyramid.

and everywhere bikes, and more bikes...

Charles Darwin attended this university as well as Edinburgh.

And here he is, with a pile of books waiting to be read.
Mine is on top.

The beautiful gardens.

This was being set out in readiness for a reception of some kind.

So we went to the institution that is Harriets.

And read the ode to the Afternoon tea.
Afternoon Tea is a terribly, terribly English thing.


And they do some very nice cakes that we had to sample, in the course of research!

2 comments:

  1. Like you, Caro, I have always preferred Cambridge as a setting. Oxford is certainly beautiful, but Cambridge is the better for lacking the bustle of a big city. Thanks for taking me on this visit. It’s been too long since I saw it in person.

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  2. Sorry for taking so long to chime in Caro, but I've been hard at work trying to decipher the equation on your bedroom wallpaper. I found it almost as complex as deciphering a royalty statement.

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