Gramarye's Photographic Diary

(a.k.a.: How to Stalk an Immortal Anthropology Professor and
Not Be Blasted Into Oblivion, or Colin Creevey Camera Skills!)

From 7 July through 27 July of 2002, I was fortunate enough to
attend a history summer school programme at the University of
Cambridge. Now, the summer school itself was a truly wonderful
experience, but we all know the REAL reason why I was so happy
to pack my bags and head off for three weeks. Yes, I hoped that I
would be able to capture on film the elusive immortal we all know
and love. (Or at the very least bump into him on the street.)

Well, unfortunately, I didn't find him. He may have been away on
sabbatical. He may have locked himself in his office for the better
part of the month once he knew I was coming. Either way, he
scarpered, so I've no photographic evidence to show you, dear
readers. But in its place, I thought I might put up some of the
snaps I took of Cambridge and London. The cities are beautiful
enough on their own. (And Professor Will has kindly agreed to
add his own commentary on the photographs, as he can give
some information about the pictured sites that may be of interest.)

WILL: It's the least I can do.

Here, of course, we have King's Cross Station. For the curious, there IS
NO barrier between Platforms 9 and 10. They're actually on opposite sides.
I didn't take a picture of the inside of the station (why spoil the magic of it?),
but here's a shot that would bring a smile to any Harry Potter fan's face:

WILL: On a related note, the trains that go to and from Cambridge on the
WAGN line actually do terminate at Platforms 9 and 10. On my way into
London, (if I went via King's Cross and not Liverpool Street) I could take
the direct train and arrive at Platform 9a or 9b. [smiles] How ironic is that?

Two rather poor quality side photos of
Downing Street--location of Number 10,
the home and offices of the Prime
Minister--from the side. The reason
for the poor quality is the fact that
I've never liked taking snaps of places
with uniformed officers outside, and
consequently tried to stay as far
away as possible from the site itself.

WILL: One wonders if the Minister of
Magic might have office space there?
Try keeping an appointment at Number
Nine and Three-Quarters Downing
Street. That would have made for a very
interesting episode of Yes, Prime Minister.

Here is an image made famous by postcards--the Houses of Parliament,
taken in late afternoon from just outside the Westminster Tube Station.

WILL: I feel I should take this opportunity to state that "Big Ben" is
not, I repeat NOT, the clock tower or the clock face--it's the bell inside.
A small point, to be sure, but one that I feel deserves to be mentioned.

To start, a few snaps of Will's workplace (or rather, the surrounding areas).
I did not have the opportunity to actually go looking for his office in the
Social Anthropology building, but I have some pictures of the streets round it.

WILL: Though you can't see it very clearly, the sign to your left is for the
Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. I highly recommend a visit to
the museum--our curators always have fascinating exhibits for public viewing.

Free School Lane, the little side street that houses the Department of Social Anthropology.

WILL: To get into the building itself...no, wait, I probably shouldn't be telling that.

Another shot of Free School
Lane, this time looking down
the street. The entrances to
various science laboratories
(such as the Old Cavendish
Laboratory) and department
offices, including the Social
Anthropology offices, are on
the left.

WILL: To your right, you can
see the chapel of Corpus Christi
College. Corpus Christi was
founded in 1352, and it has the
distinction of being the only
college in Oxbridge (the term
used to refer to the institutes
of higher learning at Oxford
and Cambridge) to be founded
by the town's citizens.

Next are snapshots of a few of the Colleges. The University of Cambridge has 31
Colleges, and each College is an independent institution within the University.
The teaching of undergraduates and postgraduates is shared between the Colleges
and the University departments, though the actual degrees are awarded by the University.

The "backs" of the College, complete with a student punter giving a
guided tour along the River Cam. The impressive building partially
hidden by the tree is King's College chapel. (I'm particularly proud
of this picture--normally, my rolls of film don't come out this nice.)

King's College from Front Court, showing the famous chapel
and the Gothic-inspired buildings of the Porter's Lodge.

WILL: The interior of the chapel is truly breathtaking...which may explain
why tourists are willing to pay £3.50 to enter the College and have a look at it.

Will: The building directly ahead is Second Court. The gate in the centre leads
to the Fellows' Garden, which I consider to be one of the better-kept lawns in
all of Cambridge - a very peaceful place. Staircase B (which leads to my office)
is to the right, its entryway partially hidden by the tree in the middle distance.

WILL: Selwyn is one of the newer Colleges ('newer', in this case, meaning established in
1882), but the Old Court has beautiful architecture to rival that of its older fellows.

Selwyn College interior, with yours truly [right] and a good friend from my history lectures [left].
Just beyond the clump of trees behind me, you can see part of the Sidgwick Site, a collection of
buildings that is home to the Faculties of History, Divinity, and Criminology, to name only a few.

The front of the College, taken from Trumpington Street at about 7.00 in the morning.

Interior of the College,
taken from one of the
benches on the right
side of the court. I took
the first picture, then
turned 45 degrees to
take the second.

WILL: 'St Catharine's' is not to be confused with 'St Catherine's', an Oxford College of similar name.

An early morning picture
of the Master's Lodge at
St Catharine's, taken from
the window of the single
room I occupied during
the programme. I was
lucky enough to have
this view when I drew
the curtains on my (one
and only) window each
morning.

WILL: Different Cambridge
Colleges have different titles
for the person who is head of
the College. At St Catharine's
and many others, the head is
known as the 'Master'. At Queen's
College, Clare Hall, and a few
others, the head is called the
'President'. Newnham and
Homerton's heads are known
as 'Principal'. Robinson College
has the distinction of having its
head go by the title of 'Warden'--
an irony that is likely not lost
on its undergraduates.