Queen's Ergs

I had my first rowing competition Tuesday night: Queen's Ergs - an indoor rowing relay race on machines. The atmosphere was intensely competitive and exciting. Went down with a couple of teammates earlier in the evening (our heat wasn't until 9pm) and saw what it was all about, cheering on the Lady Margaret Boat Club (St Johns) boats in the earlier heats.

When it came down to it, our boat (LMBC M6: The Captain's VIII, aka "The Grad Boat," aka "Past our Prime") did pretty well. We placed second in our heat (out of 14), and came in sixth among all the lower-division boats. While we are technically M6 (the sixth men's boat at Johns), it's only because we're the grad boat, so we surprised a lot of people who never expected a decent performance out of a sixth boat. We beat three M1 boats, 14 second boats, and every third boat except our own LMBC M3.

After our own heat, and recovering with a drink in the Queens College Bar, we stayed around to support the three LMBC boats competing in the finals (W1, M1 and M2). Great atmosphere, cheering from the balcony, and I adapted a University of Florida tradition (orange/blue!) to Cambridge, leading an alternating "LM! BC!" between the two balconies. While Johns didn't take first in either final, the performances were impressive. Several friends were rowing for other colleges and did very well as well. While I didn't expect it at first, I now see how easy it is to get extremely competitive about rowing here. I can't wait to get in a few more water outings so we can get racing for Maggie on the river Cam as soon as possible.

And on that note, since I need to be at the boathouse at 7am tomorrow morning, it's time to sleep.

Solemn Sung Eucharist at Johns

Thanks to daylight savings time, I showed up for the Solemn Sung Eucharist this morning at St Johns Chapel an hour early - normally that would be upsetting, but it gave me the chance to join in chapel breakfast in the formal hall, at high table in between the 8:30 and the 10:30 services. There, chapelgoers eat breakfast (either continental, for free, or a cooked breakfast which is half-subsidized by the chaplain) together, then participate in the Johnian tradition of toast-slinging, which involves going out to the Old Bridge and trying to throw the leftover pieces of toast across the Bridge of Sighs - a feat I had previously imagined to be impossible, but after seeing two people come very close today, I think it's likely I'll see it accomplished this term.

The service itself was brilliant - the choir was excellent, as always, but the principal difference from the usual 10:30 service was the addition of incense and extra-formal attire worn by the clergy. Since it didn't take any longer than a regular service, and it was so nice an addition, I'm surprised they don't do the "solemn" mass more than once a term. As a Johnian, I wore a white surplice along with the other members of the college with whom I was attending. Some chapels may be bigger, some may be older, but in terms of overall experience and balance, so far St Johns remains unchallenged, at least for me.

This House has No Confidence in Her Majesty's Government

The Cambridge Union Society's debate Thursday night on the titular proposition was outstanding: entertaining, stimulating, and on a couple of occasions unintentionally funny. Speaking in favor of the motion were:

• Nick Herbert MP, Shadow Justice Secretary, who weakly accused the present government of hypocrisy and excessive "spin," leaving this observer with the sense that if that's the best criticism the Tories can put up, it's not surprising they've spent the last ten years in opposition.

• The Earl of Onslow, who proudly proclaimed himself a relic of the 18th century and whose anachronism was refreshing and entertaining.

• Iain Duncan Smith MP, Former Leader of the Conservative Party and by far the finest speaker of the night, who lambasted Labour for the state of the NHS, lack of promised improvement in inequality and poverty, and made it clear that a vote for the motion was not a vote for the Conservatives, but simply an indictment of Labour's failures.

In opposition to the motion:

• Quentin Davies MP, who defected to Labour several months ago and was roundly criticised by the other side for his floor-crossing, but was a very engaging and impressive speaker.

• Daniel Zeichner, current Labour candidate for the Cambridge area, who seemed a populist Labour leftist but a forgettable speaker.

• William Redfearn, Publicity Officer of the Cambridge University Labour Club, who I hear was notified just hours before that he would be replacing a local union leader on the slate of speakers and made a valiant attempt despite being thoroughly outgunned. The Earl of Onslow correctly but cruelly declared "A wise move," when Mr Redfearn indicated that he would be wrapping up his remarks.

The motion carried, 302 - 59, the opposite conclusion (naturally) from the one reached by the Oxford Union a few weeks ago.

In other news, the Union decided in the emergency debate beforehand that Facebook does not cause more harm than good. Between the "no confidence" debate and the unintentionally hilarious Qaddafi speech earlier in the week, I think I'm well on my way to getting my money's worth out of my Union membership.

College Quotable

A certain giant kiwi: "Johns people must have cold necks."

St Johns College Old Library

The Old Library at St Johns deserves an immediate retroactive post, despite my last visit having been a couple of weeks ago. The library is accessed through the new library, distinguished most by its bizarre main entrance door that pivots in the middle. Because pictures will do it better justice and because my bibliophile friend Rachel has already done an impressive job describing it in words as well ("delicious," "don't forget to breathe," and "RAPTURE omg"), I'll let her posts on the Johns library speak for themselves.

Other notes on the library include its display of a stone salvaged from the original chapel (the foundations of which can still be seen in First Court), a bust of Wordsworth (a Johnian), a very old map of Cambridge showing the locations of the various colleges at the time, and a rotating display down the center of the Upper Library which is at present showcasing "sacred texts." The Bridge of Sighs can be viewed through the stained glass windows at the front near the stairwell, and the coats of arms glazed onto the windows are those of early benefactors of the library, as are those perched on each shelf.

Clare Formal

I attended formal hall at Clare last night and came away very impressed. For graduate students, there is free pre-dinner sherry (dry, medium and sweet) available in the MCR - which is spacious and painted a light blue on the walls. As always, Cambridge is a ridiculously small place and people were run-into who were not expected.

The dress code for Formal Hall itself was dressy, but gowns-optional, even for members of the college. I appreciate the tradition of gowns-required halls, but there is something to be said for actually getting to see the pretty dresses girls wear, rather than seeing them concealed under a big black gown. The Hall itself is tall, with a white ceiling and an architectural style that belies the age of Clare itself - according to my Clarite host, the original Clare buildings were either destroyed or were at a different site. Interesting for Americans dining in the Hall, General Cornwallis stares down at you from his portrait on the wall as you dine.

The meal was kicked off by wild mushroom terrine, a departure, I am told, from typical starting soup. Main course was duck with peach sauce, accompanied by parsienne potatoes and french beans. Dessert and coffee followed, "Zabaione a la Clare" drizzled with a nice chocolate sauce. Dinner was preceded with a grace but not ended with one and for some reason there didn't appear to be any fellows sitting at high table. Perhaps most interestingly, free wine is provided with dinner at Clare - and your glasses are refilled an apparently unspecified number of times ("until it runs out"). As soon as that happens, however, we simply produced a couple of bottles we had brought in and the wine continued to flow.

Following dinner, we retired to the MCR again where it was discovered that Clare's MCR bar has an extensive (probably the most extensive for any college bar) collection of whiskey - and single malt scotch in particular - at extremely reasonable prices: £2 for a double for most on the list, and £2 for a single for some rarer and more expensive malts. Port cost an absurd £1 for a double, making Clare's MCR in my view the best value bar in Cambridge that I've had the pleasure to drink in so far - great scotch selection it would take quite a while to exhaust, at reasonable prices. Atmosphere was a little crowded, perhaps, but if it weren't Friday night immediately after a formal I'm sure it would have been less tight.

Again reinforcing the impression that Cambridge is a ridiculously small world, several Johnian friends showed up, following hall at St Johns, as well as a Kingsman. On the whole, Clare's hall was extremely pleasant but the MCR and general hospitality (ie free booze) stole the show.

Welcome to Cambridgist

After a month here at the University of Cambridge, I decided it was finally time to have a central repository for my impressions of the various college formals, bars, chapels, museums, and city sites that abound here, and which I've been trying my hardest to experience to the fullest. I hope this blog serves not just as a useful memory-saving tool for myself, but may prove useful to readers already at Cambridge or who may visit or attend in the future. Discussion about life at Cambridge in comments is more than welcome. For reference, I am myself a member of St Johns College from the U.S. working on an MPhil in Chinese Studies. Cheers!