Wolfson and Cambridge

I'm not really in the mood to write much today, mostly because I've started reading Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights (aka The Golden Compass) and I really want to get back into it. But I'll give you all a quick rundown of the latest events and also some pictures.



This first shot is of the facade of W block at Wolfson College. You go in with an access card, down a hall, round a statue that's in a circular room from which three separate hallways run at different angles, straight on, and then immediately left to our room - 105. It's the newest wing of one of the newest colleges at Cambridge so it doesn't have the grand, churchly feel that the other colleges in the city have. Wolfson caters almost exclusively to post-graduate students and has the largest number of international students.

And here are two shots of the room itself. The first one is taken from a position just inside the doorway, at a 40 degree angle or so. You can see the wide desk, the bench over the radiator in the bay window (which overlooks a little garden/yard) and the bed. The second is taken from the same position, just facing straight ahead. The door is obscuring the built in cupboard and there is a slight recess where you see the coat rack. There's a blue tub chair in the nook. We mostly just chuck our excess clothes on that one. (Don't tell my mum I said so!)





The bathroom is really oddly shaped - like a rectangle with a clipped off corner. The toilet is to the left of the sink you can see, on the clipped part of the angle. The shower is on the short end of the rectangle. There's no cubicle or anything, just one screen preventing water from sputtering out into the bedroom. The fixtures are quite new. They're Grohe, and they let you adjust the water to exactly the temperature you want with a little twisty knob. I've decided that I like my water at a warm 45 degrees. :) Anyway, (I know I'm going on about this quite a bit but it was quite intriguing when I first saw it) the oddest thing is that it's really a shower-room. The entire thing is tiled, top to bottom, and there's a drain in the middle of the floor. So when you shower, water goes every which way, splashes on the toilet seat, on the sink, all round the floor. Anyway, it's quite messy coz you tramp the water all over the place and I really wish I could mop! But I don't think there are any implements for that. We got some disposable toilet wipes at Sainsbury and I tried using those but they're not very good. The cleaning lady only comes in to clean once a week. And right about now the dirty shower-room floor is starting to work on my nerves...

Moving on swiftly. So, yesterday, Sameer went off to meet with his supervisor etc and left me to my own devices. So I grabbed my map and wandered off into town. And that's where I took this lovely shot of (wait for it) a bridge, over the River Cam. This one was from one building in Queen's College over to another on the other side of the Cam. :) It was lovely.

So I walked along there and tried not to get run over by all the bicycles. I found my way into the historic center of town, where the only cars allowed are for residents or deliveries. There were students everywhere and - whether walking or cycling - they were all motoring somewhere. After a while I realized that they were all rushing back to their colleges for lunch or to nearby restaurants and coffee shops. Oh and tourists - there were many many tourists.

One funny thing that happened was a girl and a boy were walking along the road in front of me. And they were so obviously hot for each other. He kept putting his hand on her arm and saying arb things and she kept giggling. Anyway, they were so high on love or whatever that first she walked straight into a car (amusing) and then he inexplicably dropped his baguette and spilled all the toppings off (very amusing). Both times, they were embarrassed, tried to laugh it off and made apologetic/sympathetic noises. But as a random person on the street, it was really funny to me. I wonder if they've even admitted to themselves that they like each other. ;)

Anyway, that was mostly how I spent the morning, wandering around the little streets, looking into shops, and hearing snatches of conversation from people going by. I can't remember exactly what people were saying but I just remember thinking how strange it all was.

So, anyway, I found myself right in the center, on Trumpington Street, which becomes King's Parade, and that's where you find King's College, the oldest college at Cambridge. It was a real wow moment. I had to stop and take pictures. But I didn't go in because it costs £5. On the other hand, they have a choral mass on a Tuesday evening which is free and I intend on going one evening. Apparently, the inside is even more lovely and they say the singing is fantastic. So I hope to do that.



After that, I came across a little market type thing (like the one between Cavendish Square and the Link) and I stopped to look at the books on sale. Nothing interested me until I got right to the end -- the full Dark Materials trilogy for £5! Now that was worth £5 so I bought it, then went into a cafe (Aunt Tattie's) and started to read over lunch. (Feta, tomato, and red onion baguette - tasty!)

Then Sameer called and said the MBA guys wanted to go to the mall. I walked back across town (took me about 15 minutes) and then we went off. Some of the guys had tried out their bikes and we decided to go hire one for me at the train station, where there is a big bike rental place. It was flippin expensive but beat buying a second-hand bike because it came with insurance and free repairs whenever needed. (Apparently bicycle theft is huge in town and also, people often vandalise your bike just for kicks. I believe it too. As I was walking around I saw loads of bikes that looked as if they'd been jumped on or hit with a sledgehammer.)

Anyway, off we cycled to the mall. Then I dropped the bike and broke the front mudguard. (Yay insurance...) I am such a clutz these days. There were quite a few big shoe sales but I didn't see anything I liked. Beside, my feet are in between a four and five for some strange reason and most shoes I try seem to be either too small or too big. Weird! So we went to Boots to buy some soaps and things and then, for additional supplies, we cycled to Sainsbury's. In the dark. On the road. With cars. Through circles.

I survived.