Stagnant Spring

I suppose I should not complain given what is going on in Pittsburgh weather-wise, but it is kind of amazing to me how little the status of spring has changed since January.  The snowdrops that were open as 2015 started are still open!  Although now more have joined in.  On Tuesday there was a major development in that we saw our first blooming crocus!  I read somewhere that February is actually the coldest month.  At least there is significantly more daylight.

Modern Cambridge

Our old Pong game for the tv

Moving to modern times,  last weekend we visited  the 2 year old Centre for Computing History.  It is a quirky place - in a hangar like structure in some industrial park.  It is filled with some guy's collection of old and largely working machines, many of which Mark and I were familar with being old ourselves.

This was capped off with a viewing of Shaun the Sheep. Since one of us is into sheep, seemed like a must do here in the UK. The film is from the creators of Wallace & Gromit and is based on a tv show.  Before the film, it was interesting seeing all the UK ads geared to British children.

This weekend is Cambridge's e-Luminate Festival.  Much of it was kind of disappointing, just coloured spotlights, but there was one very cool dynamic installation at the Senate House.  The timing for this exhibit seems a bit off as there are noticeably less hours of darkness these days, so we are already in a festival of natural light.

Even older (800 years for the Magna Carta), on the occasion of Emma Black Tie #2

There seems to be a black tie event once a term.  When we were here last May, it was a (formal) guest night.  This year it was the annual Gomes Lecture and Dinner. which celebrates the College's connections with the USA and Harvard and the late Minister at the Memorial Church there, Peter Gomes.

The speaker was Linda Colley (Professor of History at Princeton) speaking on "A Changing Magna Carta:  Memory, Inventions and Politics."  The talk was quite interesting, focusing on how the Magna Carta and what it means has been co-opted both locally and internationally (including by the US and our federal constituion) since it was written. The Magna Carta's 800th anniversary is this year so it is in general receiving a lot of attention.

After dinner there was a high table on steroids event.  Reception with champage in the Old Library,  dinner in the Hall (but with a seating plan, a choir singing the Latin grace, a fancier menu written in French rather than English, and fancier academic doctoral robes involving scarlet over the normal black), and then dessert in the Gallery (a totally awesome room, painted deep green and hung with portraits, with one huge long table covered in silver swag ) rather than the Parlour.

Unlike the unexpected "Black tie and gown" dinner in May (which I thought we blogged about, but looking back I guess not), I came prepared with clothes this time. Given that academics are fashion-challenged, the skirt I already owned was fine.  Mark didn't get to come to this one, so didn't have to rent a tux.  The guests were some Fellows, largely interesting alums, as well as seemingly rich and/or titled people.  A crib sheet of guests was sent out in advance.  I was seated across from an Emma Fellow who is a practicing vet and seated next to: "Mrs Edna Hunnable Schneider is a friend of Peter Gomes, the Rossanos and Professor Ffowcs Williams. Her late husband, Tom Hunnable, was like Professor Ffowcs Williams a governor of Felsted School and imported Volvo cars into the UK. She has since married Rolf Schneider, who followed his father in working for Lobb’s bootmakers in St James’s Street, where he was given charge of the Royal account and became a director of the firm."  They seemed to be of the rich variety, owning horses that compete in the Olympics and numerous residences in the country as well as London.

New Perspectives on "Old"

Hilliard Emmanuel College Charter

As part of Emma's 1584 dinner, there was a special exhibit where the College’s charter (yes, from 1584 - and Emma isn't even one of the oldest colleges), first statutes, grant of arms and early admissions register were all on display.

The charter was beautiful, all illuminated (including Elizabeth I), in Latin, and connected by silver thread to Elizabeth's seal which was quite large, several inches in diameter?  

College Arms

As for the arms, the coat was granted in 1588 and was based on the founder's but different: Argent a lion rampant azure holding in the dexter forepaw a wreath of laurel proper and above its head a scroll azure bearing the word EMMANUEL in letters of gold. Sir Walter Mildmay's (the founder) arms were, Argent three lions rampant azure.

The admissions register showed John Harvard's signature, who is associated with a university bearing his name in another Cambridge.

The exhibit itself was in a very interesting room in the library (The Graham Watson Collection) with a flora and fauna and travel and other book collection highlighting hand-coloured plates, in mahogony bookcases that each had its own name.  (Houses here often have names in the UK, but bookshelves was new to us.)

Bicycles

Bicyle parking in front of Engineering

Although we were originally concerned about crossing the streets due to the driving on the other side issue, we are instead constantly in danger of being run over by bicycles.  Bicyclists are everywhere (perhaps because it is so flat?).  But the bicycles are much smaller and harder to see then cars, particularly at night, and the bicyclists seemingly come out of nowhere really fast.  While Mark and I walk, most students and faculty bicycle, even in academic gowns! Perhaps when the weather warms up I will rent one. The last few days on my walk in I have seen what looks like a middle school PE class on bicycling.  Unlike most actual bicyclists here, the students are all kitted up with helmets and reflective vests.  They get to ride on very quiet residential streets and seem to be learning hand signals and other stuff as well.  Wish the Pittsburgh Public Schools had done this as our parental attempts to teach bicycling were a miserable failure.

Polar Museum

Dome in roof

Our walk from home to the Engineering building takes us by the university's Scott Polar Research Institute every day.  Several people at Pitt had recommended the museum, so today we went in.  It is small but quite interesting.  The first room is on native cultures of the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions in Greenland, Scandanavia, etc.  The second room is on all the expeditions, particularly to Antartica.  Having just seen Scott's ship Discovery (in Scotland) last fall, this was a nice complement.  There were lots of artifacts from the ship (including chocolate wrappers/tins as that was essential for keeping up morale).  The letters Scott and his crew wrote when they knew they weren't going to make it were particularly poignant.

Inside OLEM

Inside OLEM

On the way back home we went into the big Catholic church that we pass by every day (and where we heard change ringing once!) - Our Lady and the English Martyrs (OLEM).  It is a dramatic 19th century Gothic Revival building and we admire the outside every day.  The inside is equally impressive and includes  a 16th-century wooden statue of the Virgin Mary from the original Dominican priory that became Emmanuel College.  The church also serves the Polish community as illustrated by the Madonna.

7 for 7:30

7 for 7:30 is British invitation lingo. It means that dinner is at 7:30, but show up at 7 for drinks.  These were our instructions for this term's "Informal Guest Night" at Emmanuel College (where informal means jacket and tie, as opposed to black-tie).  Unlike normal high table dinners, fellows are encouraged to bring their partners; the evening is more socially-oriented and the food and wine more elaborate.

First snow - River Cam

This being my third variant of an Emma high table dinner, I think I am finally getting the hang of things.  The evening begins with drinks (either sparkling eldeberry juice or champagne)  in the Old Library, with fellows distinguished from the rest of the crowd by their black academic gowns. Apparently a gown is not a perk of a visiting fellow, which makes me stand out like a sore thumb at these events.  At 7:30 the pounding of a gavel causes everyone to proceed to the formal dining hall, where after the recitation of a Latin benediction,  a fixed menu of seafood/meat/vegetables/dessert and white/red wine is served to all.  Upon completion of the meal and another gavel, everyone rises for a closing benediction, then we retire to a new set of tables in the parlour next door.  Here we do more eating (fruit, cheese, chocolates) and drinking (port, sauterne, claret, coffee and tea) and conversing.  Besides the food (or probably better than the food which is quite British, i.e. note the black pudding on the menu) is the opportunity to meet interesting people. For example, the first people we met were a political economist specializing in Ukraine/Russia and his wife who is a fellow at another college in Economic Sociology and recently wrote a book about Michelin restaurants which sounds like a must-read for us: The Cultivation of Taste: Chefs and the Organization of Fine Dining. 

atest scholarly interests are haute cuisine restaurants/chefs in Britain and Germany. This work expands her interest in economic sociology with that of cultural economy and sociology of culture. - See more at: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/professor-christel-lane#sthash.GbXRLEDv.dpuf

latest scholarly interests are haute cuisine restaurants/chefs in Britain and Germany. This work expands her interest in economic sociology with that of cultural economy and sociology of culture. - See more at: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/professor-christel-lane#sthash.GbXRLEDv.dpuf

latest scholarly interests are haute cuisine restaurants/chefs in Britain and Germany. This work expands her interest in economic sociology with that of cultural economy and sociology of culture. - See more at: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/professor-christel-lane#sthash.GbXRLEDv.dpuf

Prof Lane’s latest scholarly interests are haute cuisine restaurants/chefs in Britain and Germany. This work expands her interest in economic sociology with that of cultural economy and sociology of culture. - See more at: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/professor-christel-lane#sthash.GbXRLEDv.dpuf

Prof Lane’s latest scholarly interests are haute cuisine restaurants/chefs in Britain and Germany. This work expands her interest in economic sociology with that of cultural economy and sociology of culture. - See more at: http://www.joh.cam.ac.uk/professor-christel-lane#sthash.GbXRLEDv.dpuf

Earlier in the day we awoke to the first real snow that stuck.  OK, compared to Pittsburgh  it was more of a dusting, but the locals were still out making snowballs and building snow people.