Farewell to Cambridge

Classes ended this morning and we'll have our Closing Dinner tonight at 7:00.  It has been an amazing two weeks!  I've gotten a great deal out of my courses and even more from the plenary lectures including, since I last posted, a lecture on diplomacy and another on changing influences in the Islamic World.  I also learned that nasty King John, under interdict from the Pope, seriously considered making England an Islamic country rather than bow to Rome -- he could have beaten Henry VIII to it and invented the Church of England instead (but then John wasn't known for a particularly keen intellect).

Ellen, Joan, Sigrid and Pat at the Orchard

We've all had great fun discovering pubs (I particularly like the Anchor and the Eagle) and tea shops (Fitzbillie's and Harriet's) and the extraordinary Fitzwilliam Museum.  On Wednesday afternoon, we went to Grantchester, about 3 miles south of Cambridge, to have tea at The Orchard.  For fans of the BBC show of the same name, the church in the series is right there in the village.  We sat under trees laden with apples,  as the Bloomsbury Group used to do when in Cambridge.   The swoopy canvas lawn chairs are a bit uncomfortable (one sinks into rather than sits on them) but the atmosphere can't be beat.  We walked through the meadows and fields along the Cam to get home.  It was quite an adventure as we were sharing the fields with some cows who didn't always want to get out of the way.

Which brings me to the inevitable conclusion of this excursion.  Cambridge is rich in history and old buildings, but also charming eccentricities.   The names of many of the colleges are tricky -- for example, Gonville and Caius (Keys), Emmanuel ("Emma"), and Magdelene ("maudlin", which is exactly what the mood of the place must have been when, last of all the colleges, they accepted women in the late 1980s!).  In the meadow along the Cam behind King's college one often finds several big brown cows grazing (prevented from reaching the beautifully mown back lawn by a haha) and there is evidence of bee-keeping in several of the back yards of the colleges -- a rather smart move, actually, in view of the abundance of flower gardens in the University.

Since Cambridge was founded before wrist watches -- or even time zones -- there are time pieces on towers and above gates practically everywhere.  While most toll the hours of the day, some track months or seasons -- and they really are beautiful, however doubtful their accuracy may be.

Queen's College

Gonville & Caius College

 We leave for London tomorrow.  Two nights at the Landsdowne Club and then home on Monday.  I plan to visit the Tate Britain, which I haven't seen in years, and take in the revival of Gypsy starring Imelda Staunton, who has gotten rave reviews.  I'll also have time for lunch with an old high school friend who has been practicing law here in London for her entire career.  Much to catch up on as I haven't seen her since our 50th reunion 5 years ago -- and not for 50 years before that!

I'll be able to catch up with all of you in person very soon.  It's wonderful to travel, but so nice to come home too!

Emmanuel College