Category Archives: Cambridge

Cambridge Alumni Event

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16th June 2023

Rosemary and I had our first campervan trip of the year to Cambridge. I had been to Cambridge in the van on my own to attend an Alumni event. Rosemary being left in hospital to have a replacement hip. I had later been to the Download festival with Selina. But this was our first Rosemary and I trip of the year.

We were attending a garden party at Gonville and Caius. I had chosen an off-grid camping pitch to test the new leisure battery. It was on grass and in an incredibly quiet area of the campsite. There were an interesting mix of people in our field. One couple from Holland were driving a Series 1 Landrover, and were taking it up North to a show. There were also a number of walking / cycling campers.

The weather was very good for the few days we were away. We managed to dodge the only rain.

Most days we caught the bus into Cambridge city centre. Friday we ate and drank at the famous Eagle pub and later sat in the sunshine outside Kings College drinking a glass of wine from the Cambridge Wine Merchants.

The garden party was on Saturday when the food was up to its usual high standard. We also visited the library where there was a special collection of old medical books on display. When you look at the surgical equipment in use in the 17th century, it doesn’t seem to have changed much in modern days. (This was brought home to us when we visited Egypt a few years ago. On one wall there were carvings of surgical equipment from the pharaoh times. They were very recognisable as surgical devices.)

It was a shame to see the Corpus Christie clock out of action. It had been removed. Some vandal had taken a hammer to the glass window which protects the clock from the elements. This glass was very resistant to attack and had not been broken through. I gather the clock is now back, so the congestion at the junction of Benet Street and Trumpington Street will be back.

Cambridge Folk Festival the Sunday

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31st July 2022

The tolilets and showers were holding up at the campsite. The new generator, and waste water pumps were working well. Today we headed in early because R wanted to do a craft course and weave some willow into a shape. When she arrived she was disappointed in that most of the work had been done already. There did not seem to be much opportunity to tailor the course to your own needs. We moved on to the arena, stopping by the wild flower gardens.

Sunday Performances

We sat again in a similar place to before, but a little further back. There appeared to be rules depending on where you were located. In the tent/marquee area you could only stand or sit on the ground. Outside the tent you could or were expected to sit on chairs. These had be aligned in rows. If you created a round circle group, you were reprimanded and had to align your chairs in a row. Further back, behind a line, you could group your chairs in circles. There was one such group near us. We heard about the rules only when this group was told to line up their chairs. They refused and reminded the usher that they were behind said line at which she apologised and moved on.

I am not sure if this group actually saw or heard music, they spent their time chatting and drinking.

Programme

We watched and listened to all the bands on this stage. Enjoyed listening to Billy Bragg and N’famady Kouyaté. The Gypsy Kings were definitely very popular. I did not make any attempt to get near the front. They performed a good rendition of the Leaonard Cohen classic of Hallelujah. After they left, the crowds significantly thinned for the finale of St. Paul and the Broken Bones. I managed to get to front of the stage to watch them.

Main Stage 1

St. Paul and the Broken Bones – Gipsy Kings featuring Nicolas Reyes – Billy Bragg – Legend Slot: Clannad – N’famady Kouyaté – The Spooky Men’s Chorale – Billie Marten Katherine Priddy

Main Stage 2

Orchestra Baobab – Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram – Sam Lee – O’Hooley And Tidow -Lilith Ai – The Mary Wallopers – The Honest Poet – Mishra – Kids Show: Jason Maverick

The Club Tent

The Mary Wallopers – Trials Of Cato – Nick Hart – Flo Perlin

The Den

Fuzzy Lights – The Drystones – The Ocelots – Siv Jakobsen – Angeline Morrison – Judy Blank – Tape Runs Out – Daisy Chute – June Road

N’famady Kouyaté

St. Paul and the Broken Bones

Gallery

Cambridge Folk Festival the Saturday

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30th July 2022

Another fine day for the festival. Today we were meeting up with Andrea and Richard again, but this time at the festival. So, we plonked ourselves outside the arena where we could place our chairs and listen to the bands in peace. Drinking, eating and several jugs of Pimms.

Saturday Performances

You can see a number of bands from the previous day performing on various stages tonight. We spent the day on the main stage, making excursions to the food stalls, the bar and the loos.

Programme

Main Stage 1

Chico Trujillo – Passenger – Afro Celt Sound System – Spell Songs – This Is The Kit – The Young’uns – VRï – The Magpie Arc

Main Stage 2

Dustbowl Revival – Elephant Sessions – Flook – Admiral Fallow – Elles Bailey – The Spooky Men’s Chorale – Julie Fowlis – Festival Session with Brian McNeill – Urban Folk Theory’s Silent Live Ceilidh Band

The Club Tent

Gasper Nali – Lady Nade – Maddie Morris – Feis Rois – Gwenifer Raymond – Eve Goodman

The Den

Bandits On The Run – Becoming Branches – Limerance – Katie Spencer – Memorial – Moore & Moss – Burd Ellen – Jodie Nicholson – The People Versus – Zoe Bestel

The Magpie Arc

VRï

This is the Kit

Afro Celt Sound System

Gallery

Cambridge Folk Festival the Friday

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29th July 2022

The toilet failure had progressed, the showers were flooded, I managed to get a shower, but as Rosemary entered the shower, the electric pumps made one last spluttering sound and fell into silence. There was a small additional toilet block in operation, but it soon failed. Lots of complaining is going on.

I watched the small caravan next to us with a degree of envy – they had a toilet & a shower, and, better still, a bacon & eggs cooked breakfast.

Today, we caught the festival bus to Cherry Hinton Park, and then waited for a bus to take us into Cambridge city. We met up with Richard and Andrea for a visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum for the Hockney’s Eye: The Art and Technology of Depiction. We were overly impressed with the images and the understanding of their perspectives. We had tea and lunch before Rosemary, and I headed back to Cherry Hinton and the Folk Festival.

After the main act we headed back to the campsite. New equipment, generators, had been installed and the showers and toilets were back in action.

Friday Performances

It was another warm, sunny, dry day. We spent much of the afternoon sheltering from the sun under a tree, with brief sorties to the stage to take some pictures. We saw all the bands from Findlay to Seasick Steve on the main stage. No pictures of Findlay. I did make some sorties to buy Rosemary refreshing Pimms.

Programme

Main Stage 1

Seasick Steve – Suzanne Vega – Dustbowl Revival – Spiers and Boden – Findlay – Show Of Hands – Tapestri – The Copper Family

Main Stage 2

Show Of Hands – The Magpie Arc – The Breath – Ballet Folk: The Tears of Jenny Greenteeth – Simon Care Trio ceilidh – The Young’uns – VRï – Stumpy Oak – Maynard Flip Flop

The Club Tent

Trousdale – Ferris & Sylvester – Brian McNeil – Jinda Biant – Conchur White – Songlines Interview with Spiers and Boden

The Den

Bess Atwell – Nati Dreddd – Bird In The Belly – Pearl Fish – Rachel Croft – Cynefin – Guise John Dhali – Ceitidh Mac – Loris and The Lion

Findlay

Spiers and Boden

Dustbowl Revival

As the evening progressed, the music became better, Dustbowl Revival were definitely worth watching.

Suzanne Vega

I said the music was getting better, seems the Cambridge Folk Festival put the headliner on as the one before the finale. So here was Susan Vega, the headliner. It was very crowded, and I couldn’t get to the front. But I didn’t like her. I really don’t like this type of music. After Suzanne, there was Seasick Steve, much better. I saw him a couple of times before. Why no videos of him. Not at all sure. Maybe I was enjoying myself too much.

Gallery

Cambridge Folk Festival the Thursday

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28th July 2022

Rosemary and I attended the Cambridge Folk Festival at Cherry Hinton Hall. This runs from Thursday through Sunday. We arrived at Coldham Common in Morrison the campervan and set up camp, parking near the boundary hedge. I had parked along this border three years before. Coldham Common is where the vans and the majority of the camping takes place. Some camping is available at Cherry Hinton. There is a free bus which takes you from Coldham Common to Cherry Hinton and back. It is a regular and fast service. Even when the evening ends and everyone is leaving, there is only a short wait for the bus.

At Coldham Common there are toilets and showers, some catering and a bar.

Once we had parked and finished unpacking, we headed to Cherry Hinton to see some performances. Thursday is not a major day, and the Main Stage 1 is not running with the technicians still completing its construction. The bars are open, food is available, and the small club stage is open. We sat in the sun, drunk a beer and watched the Morris Dancers.

After watching the bands, we headed back to the campsite. Here at the campsite, not all was well. There was a problem with the toilets. They were blocked. As a man I could take a wee, the women had loos full of poo.

Thursday Performances

On Thursday there were no big performers playing, some players were also playing on other days as well. Thursday is a low-key day, and not everyone will come to see the evening’s performances. I did want to see Beans on Toast, but other than that we dipped in an out of performances.

Programme

Main Stage 2

Spiers and Boden – Davina & The Vagabonds – Samantha Crain – Janice Burns & Jon Doran

The Club Tent

Steve Adams – Tapestri – Beans On Toast – Joshua Burnell – The English Fiddle Ensemble

The Den

Flint Moore – Hannah Lou Clark – Old Man Boom – The Mardlers – Mahogany Tales

Morris Dancers

The Morris Dancers performed outside the main bar. They actually performed throughout the whole weekend, occupying various locations on the festival site. I have not been able to identify who they were.

Janice Burns & Jon Doran

We watched Janice Burns & Jon Doran at the club tent, an Anglo Scottish duo who play traditional music. The music was nice folk music.

Beans On Toast

A must see was the musician going by the name Beans on Toast. It is rumoured he has played Glastonbury more times than Coldplay or any other band. I first saw him this year at Glastonbury where he was playing the Truth Stage. He was accompanied by a couple of guitarists.

Tapestri

Tapestri are a bilingual Folk group from Wales.

Gallery

St Neots Camping

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7th July 2022

We took the van to St Neots for five days of camping. The weather promised to be fine and did not disappoint. We managed to get a pitch on the river’s edge, with a tree for shade. There was a public footpath between us and the river and the fisher persons. It was just grand sitting there in the sun watching the world go by while sipping on our Negronis, Ricards.

Interesting to find other campers had not come far often for only a couple of nights. When we connected the electricity, we did think the point quite high off the ground. Turns out the campsite can flood. We met a Dutch chap who said it was his favourite campsite in England.

We managed to struggle into town on most days, stopping in the market square to consume coffees. We found an excellent pub; if I lived in St Neots this pub, the Pig n Falcon would have been my regular evening haunt, good selection of beers, and live music. What more could one want? We sat there on a quiet afternoon drinking our beers. There is the backside of a pig diving into the outside wall, and the head of the pig emerging in the bar. Very quaint.

On Sunday to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary we had lunch at The River Mill, on the Eaton Socon side of the river. The pub is in a converted mill which was/is owned by Jordans who make the eponymous breakfast cereal. Interestingly the mill was converted to a pub and flats when we lived in Eaton Socon in the early 1980s.

On another day we took a river trip from All Aboard Boating. We hired a small motorboat and headed downstream towards Huntington. Some good water lillies both yellow and white ones. Despite the recent lack of rain, there was still plenty of water flowing down the river to allow the locks to operate. We managed to operate a couple of locks before turning around at Great Paxton and heading back.

On other little walks we did, we visited our old home on the Great North Road. Nobody was in, so we could not look around. The hedge I planted was still there. I think now that it was a mistake planting a Leylandii hedge, especially as it was not maintained properly.

Commemoration of Benefactors

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I was invited, with guest (so thought I should take Rosemary), to the Gonville and Caius Commemoration of Benefactors. This took place on Sunday 14th November. Because of the likelihood of flowing wine we decided to stay the night. Our first choice of the Camping and Caravan club was stymied cos they were closed. We also thought of the Caravan and Camping club which was open, but the location was not good for public transport.

So we opted for an hotel, choosing Graduate Cambridge because of its free parking and the easy walk into Caius. It used to be the Double Tree by Hilton. On the site of the Double Tree, there used to be the Garden House Hotel which was destroyed by a fire on 23 April 1972 in which two guests died and before that it was The Garden House where a riot took place in 1970. Protesters against the Greek Junta, the “Colonels’ regime”, gathered outside the hotels for several days, culminating with a crowd of several hundred – mostly Cambridge University students organised by socialist groups – demonstrating against a Greek dinner for 120 guests being held in the River Suite at the Hotel from 7:30 pm on 13 February.

The company behind the Graduate operates hotels in university cities, mainly in America. The Graduate Cambridge and the Randolph in Oxford are the only two hotels they operate in the UK. The Cambridge hotel has been completely revamped, with excellent WIFI speeds far excelling mine at home. The reception area is themed with bookcases, books & college crests. The hotel has one downside – long meandering corridors which go on and on forever.

We arrived in the afternoon, got dressed in our glad rags and walked over to Gonville and Caius for four o’clock. The events of the celebration were:

  • 4.00 pm  Tea in the Fellows’ Combination Rooms
  • 4.45 pm  Lecture from Dr Arif Ahmed in the Bateman Auditorium
  • 6.00 pm  Commemoration of Benefactors Service in the Chapel
  • 7.00 pm  Reception in the Fellows’ Combination Rooms
  • 7.30 pm  Commemoration Feast in Hall

We had a lovely time starting with tea, and an excellent, thought provoking lecture on “Freedom & Free Speech”, mainly in universities. The Caius Choir performed well. The historic (1631) sermon, “Death’s Duel” by John Donne, seemed a tad sombre & bizarre, but fascinating at the same time. The reception flowed with drink and noise in the Senior Combination rooms, where the Feast provided excellent, beautifully presented food (from the newly refurbished kitchens) matched with equally splendid wines.

We ate breakfast at the hotel the next morning, after a quick walk around town, but were rather underwhelmed with the experience. Rosemary’s egg benedict had a hard yolk, soggy toast was served & luke-warm coffee! (No idea why we didn’t say anything.) You can get a better full English at any Joe’s Café.

Cambridge Benefactors Day

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The COVID pandemic had put paid to many events, last year and this year. One of the annual events was the Gonville and Caius Benefactors Day. We had missed a few, not just through COVID, but also because it clashes with the Download Music Festival. This year Caius held the Day, not in June, but in September.

We decided to attend, and to stay in Cambridge for the week. We pitched up at the Cambridge Camping and Caravan site pitch in Trumpington, on Friday 10th September, leaving again on Friday 17th. Cambridge was full of graduates attending their degree ceremonies. These had been held over from 2020. There were crowds of people standing in the street outside the Senate House. Privacy seems important these days, the railings had been covered to stop people gawking at the graduates and their families on the lawn.

The Caius Benefactors Day was on a lovely sunny Saturday afternoon. We walked in early but did not have to queue, quickly finding the waiters and the wine supplies. Lunch was good. We conversed with several different people, none from my year. There was a talk from the Master, an exhibition in the library & an organ recital. A few days later we entered Caius again. Not very welcome, the porter was not keen and told us to be quick, and not to enter any buildings other than the Chapel.

During the rest of the week, we visited the Botanic Gardens on a beautiful sunny day, eating lunch at the café. Another day was spent at the Sedgewick Museum of Earth Sciences, and the Whipple Museum of the History of Science. Of course we had coffee at St Michael’s Cafe and some wine outside the Cambridge Wine Merchants (they sell Ricard!).

Nearer the campsite we walked over to Hobson’s Park Bird Reserve, a nature reserve surrounded by the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Addenbrookes Road and new housing in Trumpington. The bird reserve is made purposefully difficult to get near with ditches and earth works. There was a useless hide; willow trees in front were blocking any view of the birds. I think the lake was full of geese, we could hear them from the campsite, leaving and arriving at dusk and dawn.

The weather was mainly good, except for the day we travelled to Saffron Walden. That Tuesday it rained most of the day. We were soaked through waiting for the bus. Saffron Waldron had a rather deserted market, which packed up while we were there. A good Turkish lunch time meal at Meze By Night. At one stage, R thought her legs might fall off cos they were so wet & heavy. I queried whether she meant her trousers, but she said she wasn’t sure. We did manage to visit the Fry Gallery, but it was in a temporary location, so few Ravilious paintings on show. Only one, I think.

Camping in Cambridge

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We took Morrison out for his first trip of the year to Cambridge, arriving on Tuesday 25th May at the Cambridge Camping and Caravan Club’s campsite. On route, we stopped at Saint Neots for lunch and parked in the riverside car park. The payment system was a new one for me, you could pay by card. No problem, you also had to sign out of the car park using the same card, otherwise, you would be charged for the whole day.

The Cambridge Camping and Caravan Club obviously had had some issues with the persistent rain of the previous weeks. Sections of the field were roped off. Thankfully our stay was relatively dry and we were parked in a dry patch. We soon set up and caught the bus into Cambridge. It was remarkable how quiet Cambridge was with the lack of tourists. King’s Parade was totally closed to traffic and all the restaurants had placed tables on the street. We stopped for a glass of wine outside the Cambridge Wine Merchants, where you could choose a glass from their menu or any bottle of wine from their shop. We had a walk around, tea at Michaelhouse Cafe and some more walking. I had booked the Loch Fyne Restaurant, believing it would be crowded, it was still the first week restaurants could serve indoors. No, it was remarkably empty and many of the menu items were off or had substitutions. No lime or lime juice for a cocktail, no mangetout peas. All rather odd.

Wednesday we met up with the UK Chapter of the Sadgits, being us two, Norman, Valerie, Simon, Richard and Andrea. We met up with some of them at the Michaelhouse Café, where we got talking to an elderly couple enjoying tea. It seems he was up at Emmanuel in 1957 when they met. We visited Kettle’s Yard where N&V and us two had the first tour. We had the museum to ourselves. Such a treat. The others had later “tours”. Somehow we ended up having a liquid late lunch at The Punter where we stayed for rather a long time. Nice pub. How come we didn’t know it? Valerie and Norman had to leave early to catch a train home, while the rest of us were going on to the Cambridge Chop House for supper. Early for the Chop House, we split into three groups, Simon and I going for a fast-paced walk along the River Cam past Jesus Green, Midsummer Common, and part of Stourbridge Common; while Richard had to collect his new Mac and Rosemary & Andrea presumably dawdled in various shops. We all met up at the Chop House for a pleasant, meaty meal. We could have dined outside, but rain was in the offing.

Thursday was the Fitzwilliam Museum in the morning to see the exhibition on Touch, and a wander around the exhibits. R did not warm to the exhibition, but was revived by a visit to a favourite painting. Afterwards, we stopped at the Cambridge Wine Merchants (again), where after a glass of different wine each, we opted for a bottle of Picpoul de Pinet followed by a constitutional walk to Jesus Green to locate the restaurant for tomorrow’s supper. Today we ate supper at the Tapas Bar, Tabanco. We had our best meal of the week here. Served by a very attentive waitress who always kept a watch on the tables, and was with you in an instant when you required her. So we were able to call for the bill, pay and promptly catch the bus home. It was a lovely evening back at the campsite with a pretty setting sun.

Friday and the campsite was looking deserted as more people were leaving. Today we were visiting the Cambridge Zoology museum. We had been before at closing time and had been impressed in the 30 minutes we were there. This time we had a few hours looking around, not so impressed. R was unhappy with the labelling and visitors did not obey the one-way system, which I must say was difficult to follow. There were also uncontrolled children on site.

Afterwards, we made the required stop at Michaelhouse Café, think we must have visited there at least once every day. Next, we walked along the River Cam towards the Fen Causeway, watching the inexperienced men trying to punt. So funny to watch, I would, of course, never be like that. Time to spare before supper, we walked up Castle Street to Castle Mound where I took a photo of Cambridge. It had now had started to rain, so we hurried to the River Bar Steakhouse & Grill. A steak place, pretty expensive, and I do prefer the steaks I cook to most restaurant ones. Asked for a rare steak and I got what I call a medium, or even medium-well-done. To me rare means some raw meat in the centre. A steak with little or no blood oozing out of it is not rare. R had “disappointing” salmon.

Back to the campsite, the rain had stopped. The campsite was now full, with lots of kids. It was the start of half term. Thankfully it all went quiet as night drew in.

Driving home the next day, stopped at the St Neots Tesco to fill up with diesel. The price of hydrocarbon fuels has shot up as we come out of the lockdowns. This was the first time I hit the £99 limit for paying at the pump. So not quite a full tank.

Cambridge Folk Festival – Monday

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The Folk Festival is over, even the breakfast van was not doing full breakfasts. The queues at the shower block were non-existent as many people had left overnight. By the time I left, the site was nearly empty. I was heading out to Balsham to an open garden event organised by Simon’s brother. He had opened his garden where there is a complex yew maze. “The maze was planted in 1993 and forms the shape of a treble clef. The maze may be completed in several ways:

  1. Enter the maze at the entrance, and explore it. Visit the raised centre area and both brick-paved French Horns, one with a centre mound and sculpture, the other with a pit and fountain. Find your way out.
  2. Enter the maze and use the Train Rule. All the junctions in the maze are like railway points. To obey the Train Rule do not go U-turns at junctions, nor turn back on yourself. Just keep going forward like a train. Get to the centre, visiting the French Horns/sculptures on the way. When you visited the French Horns on the way to the centre, you may have played them backwards. The air in the French Horns goes from the mouthpiece to the bell and that is the way you should go. So find your way out, still obeying the Train Rule and playing each French Horn properly on the way.
  3. It is possible to get to the centre, always obeying the Train Rule and playing each of the Horns once and only once in the correct direction on the way, and then doing the same on the way out. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t succeed, it is really difficult and you will have to use nearly all the paths.”
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze
Balsham Manor Maze