Features - The Cambridge Student

TCS
The Cambridge Student
22 June 2006
Volume 7 Issue 19
All Bumped Out
May Ball Reviews
Was it worth the money?
TCS looks at the best May Week action
PAGES 7-9
Scenes of lycra covered victory as Cauis and Pembroke go
Head of the River BACKPAGE
Celebrating May Week in style
Amica Dall
Mayweek Highlights 2006: Fireworks illuminate the Bridge of Sighs as one lucky punter escapes the mayhem. Nearly sixty punts crowded out the Cam on the night of Trinity Ball. Six
Canoeist performed rolls in the water, to the great amusment of the over two hundred students perched on John’s backs, trying to get a peek of the action. Water balloons were catapulted from the banks, soaking several picnicers.There were several light-hearted attempts to breach the tight security, including one young man from Robinson streaking across the
rows of punts towards the banks, attempting to provide a distraction. May Week News and Reviews Inside
2
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
News
Graduates feeling the strain of student loans
Alice Palmer
STUDENT LOAN repayments
are becoming an increasing burden on British graduates, with an
increasing number of graduates in
arrears. Recent statistics from the
Student Loans Company (SLC)
indicates that £186.3m worth of
loan repayments were in arrears
by the end of the financial year in
2005-06. In total, students and
graduates owed nearly £18.7bn in
loans accrued over recent years,
including those not yet due for
repayment, the figures show.
The SLC published statistics
for two types of loan - the old
system of “mortgage style loans”
and the new “income contingent”
loans. Most of the loans in arrears
were for the old mortgage-style
arrangement, which was replaced
with the new system in 1998. The
defunct mortgage-style loans involve graduates repaying the debt
themselves every month, usually
through a direct debit.
For the newer, income contingent loans which are the choice of
most Cambridge undergraduates,
the repayments are usually automatically deducted from graduates’ pay by their employers.
In response to the report, Opposition MPs called on the government to address the issue of
student debt. Liberal Democrat
education spokeswoman Sarah
Teather said the government was
“This generation
faces an
unprecedented
burden of debt.”
not taking seriously the long-term
impact of its tuition fees policy.
“This generation of young
people face an unprecedented
burden of debt which is going to
affect their ability to buy homes,
start families and save for old
age,” she said.
“Today’s twenty-somethings
face serious financial problems
because of student debt that their
parents never encountered.
“This should be a timely re-
minder to politicians who glibly
talk about lifting the cap on
fees that their policies have serious long-term implications for a
whole generation’s financial security.”
Shadow Higher Education
Minister Boris Johnson also
pointed out that the figures also
showed a worrying rise in debt
cancellations.
This can happen for loans
taken out before September 2006
if a graduate reaches the age of
65, dies or becomes permanently
disabled and is unfit for work.
“These have gone up by almost
60% on last year to £5.6m,” said
Mr Johnson.
“With the variable fees coming in this year, there is a real risk
of moral hazard if students and
families believe these debts will
simply be purged by the state.
“Too much debt cancellation
will increasingly be seen as unfair
on those families that do struggle
to pay. “We must make sure that
the debt burden is bearable.”
In response, Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell ar-
Charles’ education woes
gued that student loans were a
“world away” from commercial
loans, with repayments linked
to monthly income rather than
debt.
“Student loans only charge
interest at the rate of inflation,
so graduates will not be penalised for taking longer to pay off
their loan, or for taking time out
to have a family or a gap year,” he
said.
“And, any graduate still paying off their loan 25 years after
graduation will have their outstanding debt paid by the government.
“With the reintroduction of
maintenance grants and generous bursaries, students will have
a much more generous support
system than that of the previous
funding regime.”
The Student Loans Company
has been plagued by problems in
its relatively short history. Four
years after the 1998 advent of the
current type of loan, the SLC
admitted that the way graduates’
debts are now collected means it
never knows exactly how much
an individual owes. Loan repayments are now deducted directly
from salaries, and when the Inland Revenue counts up the payments at the end of the tax year
it can take several months before
it passes the information to the
Student Loans Company. The
figures contained in annual account statements can therefore
be up to five months out of date,
and the Student Loans Company cannot update them until
the end of the following tax year.
Hugh Macadie, Head of Client
Services and Collections at the
SLC, explained that the Student
Loans Company was working on
a system to stop this happening,
but that it was not yet in place.
A pile of money. Probably not a British graduate’s.
Amica Dall
James Beavertown
Prince Charles gave an insight
into his personal vision for education during a visit to Robinson
College last Wednesday. During
his address to the fifth annual
Prince of Wales Summer School
for English and history teachers, he unveiled a new training scheme to encourage and
inspire young people to enter
these professions.
The Prince, who spoke to
more than 100 teachers announced a new partnership
with Cambridge University to
attempt to put an end to what
he has termed the “cultural
disinheritance” which has seen
certain arts subjects, such as
English and history ignored
and neglected. The main thrust
of the new initiative is a new
charity supporting the Prince’s
Cambridge Programme for
Teaching which is centred
“Teaching has
omitted to pass
on the value of
education.”
around an annual residential
course and training days for
current and potential teachers. The programme is set to
be chaired by Lord Wilson, the
Master of Emmanuel College.
Charles looking earnest. Lovely tie.
During his address, the
Prince put forward his view that
education had suffered from
a change in priorities and attitude that has led to the past
being “dismissed and devalued”.
He said that “For all sorts of
well meaning reasons, and for
too many pupils, teaching has
omitted to pass on to the next
generation not only our deep
knowledge of literature and history, but also the actual value of
education”.
The summer schools have
been used as platforms for the
Prince to air his view on education on several occasions in the
past. In 2005, he warned his audience that “Teaching must not
become a ‘genetically modified’
hybrid which cuts us off from all
our cultural and historical heritage and depends for its continuing existence on ceaseless
‘clinical’ experimentation” and
also condemned what he saw as
“voguish preoccupations of the
present” such as teaching young
children to use text messaging.
Furthermore, in 2004 he criticised new teaching techniques
and that governments policy
to send 50% of students on to
higher education, whilst the
previous year he warned that
modern education policies were
bringing about the “destruction
of our cultural, linguistic and
historical habitat”.
Some Sidney Sussex and Queens’ Students are a little overwhelmed by Strawberry Fair,
which took place on the first weekend of June. Lucky so and sos, I still had exams then.
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
3
News
Plagiarism ‘Rife’ In British Universities
Rich Saunders
A RECENT survey claims
that over a quarter of university students have copy material directly from the internet
for their essays. However,
researchers claim that a very
small minority of these are
ever caught.
Now students that plagiarise work from the internet are being warned by the
Plagiarism Advisory Service
that new software will be
much more successful at identifying copied material. A
spokesperson from the service said that the new software
was so thorough that even
if students “cut and pasted
an essay from f ive different
websites, it will identify the
exact sources”.
Although the results of the
survey show that 75% of students have never cheated, 9%
have plagiarised other peoples work on one occasion,
whilst 16% have copied work
straight from the internet
more than once. The most
common reasons for cheating
were given as being under too
much pressure and not having enough time to complete
an assignment originally, and
secondly that some students
simply found plagiarising
work a lot easier than doing it
for themselves.
Interestingly, the survey
found that male students are
more likely to plagiarise work
than their female peers. One
in f ive male students said that
they thought plagiarism to
“There is a
major
cheating are part and parcel
of university life. In the ‘customer-client culture’, degrees
are seen as something you
pay for rather than something
you have to learn. It’s the new
ethos of university life.”
H o w e v e r,
Ranald
MacDonald disagrees, saying that the problem is not
as serious as is often made
out, and that there has been
a “hysteria built up” over the
issue of plagiarism. He also
commented that some students may not necessarily be
plagiarising work deliberately,
citing the often blurred distinction between “researching” and “copying”.
conspiracy of
silence over
this”
be a “trivial” issue and that
there was very little specif ically wrong with the practice.
Furthermore, it was found,
not surprisingly that the
internet was the most likely
source for students looking
to copy work, although relatively few used websites that
sold pre-written essays, or
that provide essays tailored
to the students needs.
Some academics have
interpreted the results of the
survey as an indication that
plagiarism is rife amongst students in British Universities.
Professor Frank Furedi at the
University of Kent said that
“There is a major conspiracy
of silence over this. A culture
has been created which sends
the message that secondhand, unoriginal work and
Buy a ‘get out of essay crisis free’ card...
Strike
confusion
Alice Palmer
THE AFTERMATH of the
university lecturers’ strike is still
causing uncertainties, with the
outcome unlikely to be finalised
for at least a month. Although negotiators at last agreed a 13.1% salary rise last Tuesday, ballot papers
will not be sent to union members
until next week. In fact, the ballot on the offer will not close until
17 July. The boycott which UCU
members had been observing since
March was beginning to have an
impact on thousands of students
across the UK, whose exams and
results schedules had been disrupted, in some cases severely. But
it was suspended when the union’s
leaders agreed the pay deal.
The ballot papers themselves
hover on the fence. Although they
state that union negotiators see
the 13.1% rise as the optimum
deal, there is no recommendation
for union members to accept the
agreement. A spokesman for the
union explained that the ballot
wording would be:
“You are being asked to vote
on the revised pay offer made
to UCU by the employers’ body
UCEA.
“ T he
Transitiona l
Arrangements Committee [TAC,
the interim decision making body
of UCU] endorses the negotiators’ view that this is the best
national offer that can be achieved
by negotiation, and therefore puts
it before you for decision.
“The choice before you is to
accept the offer or to reject and to
resume serious industrial action.”
Indeed, a Times Higher
Education Supplement survey
casts doubt on the negotiators’
chances of success. The poll of
academic staff pits 47% of union
members against the deal. The
survey, conducted by ICM,
reports that a mere 42% of staff
would accept the current offer.
In fact, in the ICM poll, 81% of
respondents backed the original
claim for a rise of about 23%
and 57% favoured an exams and
assessment boycott to pursue
this.
Resuming a boycott then
would have little practical effect
in the short term.
Some local UCU branches
have denounced the deal and
called for their leaders to resign.
PROPERTY
ENGINEERING
Would you like to be involved in developing future
Engineering initiatives to enhance the Every Little Helps
shopping experience?
PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
The Property Acquisition Department plays a fundamental
role in the success of Tesco. The Acquisitions team take a
lead role in identifying and acquiring the sites we will use
for new stores and developments through to the planning
process and handover to the Construction team.
For the first time ever, we are excited to be able to
introduce opportunities in this area for graduates. The
intensive training and development programme will focus
on getting you up to speed and operational as a Trainee
Acquisitions Manager within a 3-4 month period.
To be successful in this role you will need:
•
At least a 2:1 in a Property or Commercial
related degree;
•
A passion and drive for working in a Property
Retail environment;
•
The ability to work on your own initiative and
to manage key stakeholders effectively;
•
Strong negotiation skills;
•
Business acumen.
Salary – starting from £25,000 per annum + Company
Car
For all graduate vacancies please apply online at www.
tesco.com/debut by the 7th July 2006.
Tesco Engineering is at the forefront of the industry. The
Department provides innovative Engineering support to
our stores and offices. You could be involved in delivering
state of the art refrigeration solutions, protecting our
people through effective fire safety, or customer facing
mechanical and electrical initiatives. One of our key
focuses is on environmental targets and we are leading the
way with our new energy efficient stores. For example, we
have introduced wind turbines to power parts of our stores,
installed cold air retrieval systems to keep our customers
warm in cold aisles and introduced petrol pumps that
do not slow down when both sides are in use. We are
keen to get the best Engineering graduates who can help
deliver challenging projects. In exchange we will provide
excellent development opportunities and training to shape
you into a future leader.
To be successful in this role you will need:
•
At least a 2:1 in a Building Services Engineering
degree;
•
A passion and drive for working in Engineering
and Retail;
•
Strong problem solving and numerical skills;
•
To be a team player;
The ability to contribute to new initiatives and to identify
opportunities for improvement.
Salary - £23,500 per annum
Because we have so many stores and such high expectations,
we offer some of the most exciting property-based careers
for graduates.
The Tesco Property Department covers several different
areas such as Planning, Design, Space, Merchandising,
Feasibility, Quantity Surveying and Construction. Within
these areas you could be focussing on layout and visual
appearance to make sure our stores are the best there are.
Or you could be involved in the construction of stores from
the initial concept right through to the final product, working
with our main contractors, architects and quantity surveyors
to help improve our customers’ shopping experience. This
means you will be dealing with cutting-edge construction
techniques and the latest in engineering, as well as finding
solutions for any challenges on site. Alternatively, you will
be using your analytical skills to invest our money wisely, to
either generate more revenue or delight our customers with
the breadth of range available.
On the property graduate programme you will experience
a range of different placements, which will be carefully
selected to further your development.
To be successful in this role you will need:
•
At least a 2:1in any degree discipline, preferably
Property related;
•
To enjoy a fast pace in life;
•
The ability to work well as a team with a range of
professionals;
•
A passion and drive for working in Property and
Retail.
Salary - £21,500 per annum
4
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
News
Muslim woman is landmark for NUS
Rich Saunders
LAST SATURDAY say the
election of the first Muslim
woman to sit on the National
Executive Committee as a
full time member. Ruqayyah
Collector, who is currently the
Education Officer for Leeds
University Union was elected
as the Black Students Officer
and will take up her post on
the 1st of July. However, it is
clear that there is still much
work to be done to finally
wipe out racism in universities
across Britain, and further on
in the world of work. A recent
study has found that five years
after graduation, black students, who make up 20% of
the total student population,
will on average earn 9% than
their white colleagues for the
same work.
Collector’s election is being
hailed as an important step
in the effort to finally make
Britain’s universities free of
racial discrimination of all
forms. Her past experience certainly makes her ideal for the
job; in the past Collector has
been the National Convenor of
the Student Assembly Against
Racism and has headed major
campaigns on behalf of Unite
Against Fascism in Yorkshire
and campaign which led to
Professor Frank Ellis, a lecturer at Leeds University, suspended for suspected serious
breaches of the Race Relations
Act.
After her election to the
post was announced, Collector
said ““I am proud to be taking on this post at a cru-
cial time for race equality in
Britain. The racist murders of
Anthony Walker, Kamal Butt
and Christopher Alaneme are
stark reminders that students
and young people are still at
the sharp end of racist attacks
and violence in the UK. The
“There’s more
to being an NUS
member than
getting 10% off at
Topshop”
simultaneous growth of the
BNP cannot be ignored. I look
forward to building a strong,
inclusive Campaign for all
African, Asian and Caribbean
Students’ Thatcher
death party plans denied
students that takes up the
issues of inequality in education, under-representation and
racism.”
However, it is clear that
Ruqayyah Collector’s election
is the first step in what will be
a long process. Currently, less
than 4% of all elected officers
and sabbaticals across the UK
are black, and only two of the
twenty seven NUS national
executive committee members
are black. Collector feels that
a lack of understanding about
what the Union can offer students is a major factor in the
under-representation of black
students, saying “Most people
don’t realise that there’s more
to being an NUS member than
getting 10% off at Topshop”.
But Collector believes that
the onus is on the NUS and
the universities themselves to
change this perception and
reach out to students from all
backgrounds. She believes that
“Black students get put off very
early on from getting involved
in the union. From Freshers
Week onwards the whole system is geared towards one
kind of student who smokes,
drinks and goes pubbing and
clubbing. It excludes and marginalises so many people.”
To t his end, t he N US
published a Black Students’
Campaign handbook earlier in
the year. The handbook aims
to provide a wealth of information on a wide variety of
areas, from job prospects, the
Race Relations Act, anti-racism campaigning and careers
guidance. Nevertheless, despite
the efforts of the NUS, with
a report published London
Development Agency revealing that if current trends continue it will take 150 years to
achieve equality in the workplace, it is clear that there is no
simple solution.
Careers Service
Summer Recruitment Event
Sarah Morgan
A ST U DEN T leader at
Birmingham University has
apologised after calling for
a sponta neous pa r t y on
the death of former Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher,
echoing events in Cambridge
earlier in the year. Richard
Angel l who tabled the
motion under the title “Ding
Dong the Witch is Dead” has
insisted that he has been misunderstood, and that it was
simply an attempt to stimulate debate.
Sources have revea led
that the motion described
T h atc her, w ho s er v e d a s
Prime Minister for 11 years,
as the most hated Premier
a nd ca l led for t he Gu i ld
Council to pay for a party
when she dies.
The Guild Council has
released a statement saying
“Angell tabled
a motion under
the title ‘Ding
Dong the Witch
is Dead’”
that “the motion about the
former Prime Minister was
an attempt to get students
If you’ve not yet decided what to do after studying at Cambridge.....don’t panic. Come
along to the Summer Recruitment Event in the Garden House Hotel, Granta Place,
Cambridge between 2pm and 5pm on Wednesday 28 June to meet these top 30
organisations that all still have vacancies for Autumn 2006. For more details go to
www.careers.cam.ac.uk
I don’t think she’s been invited
involved in the lively debate
and was never intended to
pass. It was in the ethos of
being provoking and stimulating”. However, the motion
caused outrage amongst
l e a d i n g C on s e r v at i v e s i n
t he r e g ion . C on s e r v at i v e
Councillor A lan Rudge
descr ibes t he mot ion as
“ beyond t he pa le…By a l l
mean have a debate about her
legacy, but this is tasteless
and shows a complete lack
of respect all too common
these days. Whatever politics, I would never dance on
someone’s grave”
Ta lk about spontaneous
parties after Thatcher’s death
is a familiar topic for many
students at Cambridge. In
February, Kings College JCR
passed a motion calling for a
“fabulous and opulent” party
to be paid for by the students union on the death of
the former Prime-Minister.
However, the motion was met
with considerable opposition,
with members of the college
describing it as “immoral ”
and “shameful”.
ACCENTURE - Analyst trainees - all disciplines
ANALYSYS MASON GROUP - Analysts and internships - numerical disciplines
AUTONOMY SYSTEMS - Software developers - compsci, maths or similar.
Marketing - all disciplines
BAIN & COMPANY - Strategic management consulting - Graduate opportunities
BAKER TILLY - Chartered Accountants & Business Advisers - Graduate opportunities
BARCLAYS BANK - International Retail and Commercial Banking - all disciplines
BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP - Graduate associates - all disciplines
BSI GROUP -Management - business, science, technical. International background a plus.
CENTRICA - General management, Finance, I S, Engineering - appropriate disciplines
CODIAN LTD Software & hardware R&D, test & support engineers engineers - computer
science, engineering, science, maths
COFRAMI LTD - 400 positions in France and 100 in UK - computer science, maths, science
DATA CONNECTION LTD - Wide range of opportunities - all disciplines
DELOITTE - Wide range of opportunities - all disciplines
DETICA LIMITED - Wide range of opportunities - numerate disciplines
DIAMETRIC LTD - Marketing Analyst - any discipline
ERNST & YOUNG - Wide range of opportunities - all disciplines
IBM UNITED KINGDOM LTD - Graduate opportunities
KBC FINANCIAL PRODUCTS - Sales/Trading, Operations/Finance/Technology - all
KPMG - Wide range of opportunities - all disciplines
MCKINSEY & COMPANY - Associates & Business Analysts - all disciplines
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS - Wide range of opportunities - all disciplines
PROCTER & GAMBLE - Full-time and internship opportunities - all disciplines
RED GATE SOFTWARE LTD - Software engineers and testers; marketing associates - all
SAUNDERSON HOUSE LTD - Graduate opportunities
SCHLUMBERGER - All areas, all locations - sciences, engineering, compsci, geophysics
SPECTRUM STRATEGY CONSULTANTS - Business Analysts and Associates - all
TESCO STORES - Property Acquisitions, Engineering, Property - Engineering, Land
Economy and related.
twentysix GROUP - Opportunities ranging from technical to campaign & account managers
WATSON WYATT LLP - Investment Practice & Human Capital - numerical .
Business – all disciplines
ZS ASSOCIATES - Business Analysts for London, Paris, Milan - all disciplines
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
5
Features
How Much Mess Does a Mayball Make?
Megham Graham dicusses making Mayweek cleaner, and the big effort to make Cambridge Sustainable.
The CUSU campaign to
make Cambridge colleges
greener has been praised in a
People and Planet report.
Published last week, the
report commends the
University’s “strong
env i ron menta l
improvement
initi-
ative”, and cites statistical
evidence of progress, such as
the 53% reduction in annual
water consumption since 1988.
It also
highlights the ‘good’ recycling facilities; this year alone,
200,000 tonnes of cardboard
are expected to be saved from
landfill.
However, the praise is not
unqualified. The
authors
n o t e
that
despite the impetus for change,
the collegiate system makes
obtaining data for the university difficult. The report also
recommends that comprehensive environmental audits
occur on a more regular basis.
The report by the not-forprofit student organisation
assesses over 60 UK higher
education institutions,
according to several
“green” indicators.
To meet the four
key “Go Green”
demands, a university must have a
publicly available
environmental policy; full-time environmental staff; support
from senior management, and a comprehensive environmental audit. Anglia
Ruskin and Oxford are
among the institutions
awarded “Go Green”
status; although this
raises questions about
the methodology of the
report, given that it voices
the same reservations
regarding the availability
of information and the
frequency of environmental audits at Oxford.
Bristol, Sheffield and
Hertfordshire were the
only universities in the survey to earn a perfect report
card. Bristol has targets for
reducing energy and water
use, landfill waste and carbon dioxide emissions, while
Hertfordshire has already
met a target to increase
recycling to 25% by August
2006. Yet none of these “green
leaders” matches Cambridge’s
record on finding alternatives
to fossil fuels; the university
now generates 99% of its energy from renewable sources.
Efforts are being made to
transmute the “strong…initiative” praised in the report into
further decisive action, predicated on hard
facts. In
Febr uar y
o
f
t h i s
yea r,
the Cambridge University
Environmental Consulting
Society (CUECS) published
a league table that ranks individual colleges according to
their environmental performance. Twenty-five colleges
participated in the survey, in
which the rankings reflect college practice in eight key areas,
including insulation, waste and
college commitment. Darwin
headed the list with 77.6%, followed by Robinson on 71.1%
and Jesus on 68.9%. Initiatives
at Darwin include using condenser boilers and reduced rent
for students who help with
recycling. Clare was at the bottom, with 33.3%. The authors
of the report argue that the
survey should be performed
annually so that “environmental issues remain high on the
university agenda”.
Daniel Chandler, Green
Officer at Pembroke College,
said the league table is “a really
good way to get the Pembroke
authorities to take green issues
more seriously”. From next
year, the college will offer a
15% reduction in rent to its
“Sustainability
is a key issue in
Mayweek, with
the massive
amounts of waste
generated by
all the lavish
events.
”
green wardens.
Sustainability is
certainly a topical issue in May
ball
season,
with the massive waste
g ene rated by
these
lavish
events.
CUSU has produced a set
of guide-
lines to help reduce the environmental impact of college
balls. The guide was distributed to every May ball committee, but organizers frequently
claim ‘budget restrictions’ prevent them from implementing
its recommendations.
Several May ball committees did take the recommenda-
“Several
Mayball
Committes did
take the advice
on board,
including Jesus,
Sidney and
Pembroke. ”
tions on board. Jesus, Sidney
Sussex and Pembroke all
worked with The Sustainable
May Ball Committee. The
Committee was organised
by Cambridge University
Environmental Consultancy
Society.
The committee recruited,
organised and managed student teams of waste collectors. The “green” staff worked
throughout the night in pairs,
separating all of the massive
amounts of rubbish generated
each night, and taking it to be
recycled.
The work was a great
success, and the Sustainable
Committee are very keen to
extend the effort to other balls
next year.
Some
other
Ball
Committee’s made and independent effort to “Go Green.”
For example, Hughes Hall
made a massive effort, hiring People & Planet to offer
advice and collect rubbish for
recycling on the night The
Ball also used glass rather than
plastic cups, and paper rather
than plastic plates, to reduce
the over-all rubbish production.
However, unlike many
other Ball Committees,
Hughes Hall did not employ
fair trade caterers. They did
not take into account environmental records when contacting companies
6
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
A feast fit for a...
Is the buttery getting a bit sweaty? Got someone to impress this Mayweek? Sam Trapon investigates the spread
available across this week’s festivities.
This
year
witnessed another
fine spread of both
food and drink across
the university. The
offerings ranged from
the delectable to the
maybe not quite so
successful.
In keeping
with
tradition,
Trinity First
and Thirds catered for
just about every palate. The oysters were
delicious, the fruit
nutritious, the champagne bubbilicious.
However, many guests
were left disgruntled
by a distinct lack of
any large range
of cocktails
and
spirits, and the
queues for food were,
at times, longer than
the guest list.
At Robinson May Ball
the classy canteen
food combined with
a cremated hog made
for a dining experience which left both
guests and their
stomachs mildly upset.
Although there was
initially a supply of
beverages, gin have
the same sensory
effect without
tonic.
It
is
also
hardly imaginable that
Hollywood’s highfliers would be found
drinking WKD. However, ‘twas not all bad
all was not lost. The
chocolate fountain,
ice-creams, jelly
beans
and
doughnuts
contributed much to
the evening.
At the other end
of the gustatory scale stood
Gonville and
Caius May Ball where
a lucky crowd found
the college sporting
a Vanity Fair theme.
Sensational salads,
cheesy cheeses
and imperial
dishes along
with candy floss,
Fitzbillies ‘treats’ and
traditional sweets left
none disappointed.
However candy is
dandy, but liquor
is quicker. Guests
were greeted by a
truly huge Grand Cru,
Methode Traditionelle
bellinis and fine single
malt whiskies.
River Bar
cocktails
raised spirits high
throughout the small
hours. Orgasmic.
Although
there may
always be
quibbles,
May Ball
Committees
across the
university have
worked incessantly
hard for our enjoyment. It has been a
week which truly has
lived up to the gastronomic expectations of
the Cantabrigienses.
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
7
Features
St John’s May Ball 2006
Ben Sillis finds that John’s has tipped Trinity into first place again this May Week
FROM THE start, St John’s
May Ball this year impressed,
delivering a fantastic night,
and once again proved that
Trinity no longer even has its
laurels to rest on by comparison.
Even from the very beginning, you could tell it was going
to be a class act. Little to no
queuing was followed by a short
walk into the expanse of the
College Grounds, where guests
were met with champagne, and
the sight of fairground rides
from helter skelters to bouncy
castles and happy punters enjoying themselves in the beautiful
setting.
The Victorian theme was,
as intended, largely quiet and
inobtrusive (including several
impressive giant paintings
hanging above the Ball), with
no pointless wandering decs,
but some clever transformations, such as the bar into a
Victorian style pub.
Before guests were even
offered the chance to explore,
an utterly spectacular f irework display began that
seemed to last (an enjoyable)
forever, and it was only got
better from then on.
The music acts lined up for
the ball were an impressive
coup. Of the big name bands,
the Mystery Jets of NME
Tour fame were up first. Like
a surreal mix of Maximo
Park, the Futureheads and
Hot Hot Heat, and one in
which it seemed every member of the band could and did
play the guitar and drums at
some point, they played to a
packed out marquee with curiously named numbers such as
“You Can’t Fool Me Dennis”.
Hot Chip, in wake of their
recent album The Warning,
filled out the marquee too.
Other tastes were well
catered for, with the Gentlemen
of John’s proving popular at the
end of the Ball. Their unusual
- and high pitched - arrangements culminated in a hilarious and touching rendition of
Take That’s “Never Forget”
dedicated to all of those graduating from the college that
year. The plenty of DJs meanwhile, playing the usual mix
of student cheese to boogie on
down to until the early hours
Food was a particular
highlight with a vast array on
offer. Indian Moghlai, chicken
fajitas, bangers and mash,
risotti, steak sandwiches, gourmet burgers, hog roast, a “Fruit
Mountain” and much much
more were on offer and most
appeared to last throughout the
night with little to no queueing after the initial onslaught.
Drinks too never seemed to
slow, with punts full of cold
booze of all sorts until the end.
There was never a chance
to get bored, with punters
ferrying happy guests along
the Cam all night, dancing,
casino, group and portrait
photographers, and for those
lucky enough to obtain VIP
tickets, there was a champagne breakfast in the swanky
SCR (With a harp player and
all) looking over the ball.
Smoked salmon starters were
followed by a deliciously massive full English, though a
sure sign of the quantity and
quality of food elsewhere was
that most could not finish it.
There were still minor
niggles of course; despite the
abundance of most foods,
some of the meats still proved
Robinson
Amanda Akass
ROBINSON PROMISED to
plunge us back into the glitz
and glamour of Hollywood’s
Golden Age replete with red
carpets, cocktails and starlets galore. Marilyn Monroe,
Cleopatra, Audrey Hepburn
and several cowboys sashayed
off the silver screen and onto
the environs of Grange Road to
entertain the queue at the start
of the evening. Black limousines
full of VIPs swept up to the entrance adding a further frisson
of decadence. Once inside, our
first experience of the red carpet
was accompanied by the cries of
the ‘press pack’ armed with huge
cameras and brassy American
accents; my own little digital
camera seemed rather paltry in
comparison. The carpet spread
Giant Oscar statuettes added to the atmosphere
down the length of the college,
boldly labelled Sunset Boulevard
and flanked by occasional palm
trees, tables of drinks, a bluely lit
chocolate fountain and the obligatory Toni’s ice cream.
The jazz tent was guarded by
an 8 ft statue of a golden Oscar.
Inside the marquee some fabulous music was performed by
a wide selection of jazz musicians; I particularly enjoyed
Photograph by Stephanie Nelson
Brosnan - well equipped to play a hitman from his previous role as Remington Steele (ask your
parents)
elusive. I’ve tried to get a
kangaroo burger at every ball
they’ve been on offer by making a dash for the queue at
the very beginning, but to no
avail. Too many diners and
priority ticket holders seemed
to have the same idea too
sadly.
But you know that a Ball
has been a success when the
only major gripe was the
weather, unusually cold and
wet for May Week (Meaning
that the Hot Air balloon had
to stay grounded), and even
then the Ball Committee
issued everyone with umbrellas at the door. Kudos to the
Committee, this was a ball to
remember for years to come.
The Orix Project and the
James Taylor Quartet, which
had people dancing around
the tables. The only duff note
was the last minute cancellation of Violentrio, a tango trio
from Buenos Aires who had
been stranded in Germany by a
delayed f light.
Robinson bar had been
at mospher ica l ly
t ra nsformed into the ‘gin joint’ of
Casablanca complete with Sam
himself playing it again on the
piano. I was very excited by the
large black and white screen
silently showing the film on
repeat and grew steadily more
emotional about it each time I
sat down to soak in the ambience at one of the tables with
their candle bearing wine bottles. Other classic films were
also showing in the ‘Movie
theatre’, although I couldn’t
help thinking it would be
rather a waste to pay to go to a
ball only to spend two hours in
a cinema.
Outside, the main stage was
always thronging with people,
dancing to an eclectic selection
of popular musical offerings,
from the appropriate Umbrella
Big Band to the up and coming GoodBooks and a packed
Ceilidh. Dawn rose to the
slick sounds of the absolutely
marvellous Capricorn who did
some fabulous jazzy renditions of James Brown and Very
Superstitious which had everyone dancing manically, especially a couple of dinner jacketed break dancers. Meanwhile,
inside, Fat Poppadaddy’s entertained with their usual style.
The only time the music stopped
was for a fantastic firework display in the gardens.
Robinson gardens were
beautifully lit, the trees shining
bright green and blue, although
the outside entertainments
were enclosed in a fairly compact area. The bouncy boxing and bungee run were very
popular, although the fragile
straps of my rather unstable
dress means it would have been
rather embarrassing for me to
try them out myself - apologies. The swing boats and
dodgems were fairly addictive,
and very useful for more energetic ball-time f lirtation than
the more relaxed atmosphere
of Casablanca. The Casino was
also very successful, and eminently suited to the theme, the
perfect arena for indulging in
Bond and Bond girl fantasies.
None of the queues were too
long; the balance between the
number of entertainments and
number of guests had clearly
been well judged by the committee.
The only niggles I had with
it were fairly minor; the huge
dodgem juggernaut was parked
right outside the entrance and
so approaching the queue from
one end of Grange Road everything looked rather like a
motorway service station. The
dodgems people also seemed to
take a rather excessive number
of breaks but perhaps I was
just unlucky. My only other
objection was with the many
crew members who were very
obviously wandering around
the ball in ripped jeans and
scruffy t-shirts, which was a
shame as it wasn’t very professional and rather reduced the
overall effect of seeing everyone else shining in their finery. But as I said, these are
hardly grand problems; in
everything that really matters,
the ball committee were pretty
much spot on. I generally had
a wonderful time at the ball;
it was imaginatively thought
out, beautifully presented, and
most importantly, good unpretentious fun, with plenty to do
and see, eat and drink for everyone. It was an £84 very well
spent; whilst costing considerably less than most of the other
balls, Robinson was certainly
Premiere.
8
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
Features
Emma Event
Jack Sommers
EMMANUEL’S BIENNIAL
June Event is small scale compared to the annual King’s one
and could easily be dismissed
as filler for the years between
the College’s larger and more
extravagant May Ball but those
so hasty to judge missed out on
probably the best Suicide Sunday entertainment there was this
May Week. The June Event’s
‘Manhattan’ theme wasn’t overdone. “Noo” Yorkers dressed in
full disco glam noisily offered
sweets and chocolate to the very
long queue to enter but after this
any evidence of Studio 54 brand
Americana was lacking. And
no bad thing that was either themes are the least memorable
part of any May Week gathering.
This event wisely favoured an
eclectic approach to its Ents and
layout. Instead of a line-up of
Chic tribute bands, the various
stages featured all kinds of acts.
When things kicked off at 9pm,
one hosted a meat-and-potatoes
indie rock band, another hosted
a hip-hop DJ, another a cabaret
duo and still another had a solo
pianist/vocalist playing sublime
tunes from movies from Hollywood’s golden age. That particular room’s walls were adorned
with old movie posters which,
come to think of it, have a lot to
do with the Manhattan theme.
Ok, so the theme was actually in
evidence quite a lot but it wasn’t
shoved down your throat and
was just a backdrop to the stuff
that had been put on. The acts
were eclectic and sometimes hit
and miss (though on the whole
hit). Some bands were better
than others but those that were
inferior were by no means bad
and those that were good stuck
better in the audience’s memory
(a particularly strong set from
unknowns Semi Royal Blood
sticks very well). The CU Dancing Society were stunning. The
Footlights performed, which
doesn’t always inspire confidence but it didn’t matter, since
they turned out to be on top
form.
It’s only a slight complaint that the crowds took
a while to get going – some
of the best acts of the night
played to half, or completely
empty halls. But this wasn’t
the organisers’ fault. To their
credit, they stocked more
than enough food and more
importantly, drink for people
to wolf down and get jovial
enough to fill the f loors, even
if it took them a while to do
so. Drink was easy enough to
get hold of, but some of the
food stalls had stupidly long
queues. When the Footlights
said they’d made up their routine in the queue for crepes, I
was only half sure they were
joking. When I first entered, I
squandered the head start the
VIP queue jump had given me
by queuing for forty minutes
for a slice of Pizza, and nearly
missed the first round of performers for doing so. Again,
this was my fault, not theirs.
The long queues may have
been annoying – but there was
too much else to see that you
didn’t have to queue for anyone to care too much.
The eclecticism and quality of the acts didn’t go downhill as the night’s final hours
rolled around. Instead of
putsch by Cheese and DnB
there was an equally great
line up at 2:45am as there
had been at the evening’s
start. Distractions from the
main goings on were also
in good supply. There was
a rodeo, gladiators and, that
May Week event stalwart, a
Bouncy Castle. Bouncing up
and down shoeless or trying
to resist a mechanical horse’s
attempts to throw you into
the air tasted all the better
since there wasn’t a queue for
either of them. There was only
a short wait for Poker with
Churchill Casino as well. This
was the event’s great strength.
So long as you weren’t set on
stone baked pizza or crepes,
you could come, go and partake in just about anything
you could think of at anytime
without having to wait ages
for it. By the (comparatively
early) time it was over I felt
like I’d consumed well over
the ticket’s cost in music,
drink, food and laughs. It
lacked the extravagant excess
May Week is famous for, but
it was a bloody good way to
start it.
Christ’s
Elaine Craig
MAY BALLS on Tuesday night
were plagued by pouring rain for
a few hours. However, at Christ’s,
where the theme was ‘Elysium’ and
the beautiful college grounds were
well used, this didn’t seem to matter
much. Yes, for a while all the outdoor activities - such as the bucking bronco, the fairground swings
and the bouncy castle were rather
redundant, but for that period the
dodgems were buzzing with activity and warm indoor hideaways
were a popular escape – amongst
them a games room, tango and
salsa lessons, and a somewhat
amusingly popular karaoke room
(hands up all those who’d never
noticed before that Cambridge
students are heavily into making a
complete idiot of themselves with a
microphone). The committee were
actually very well-prepared for the
weather, handing out umbrellas
and plastic macs at the entrance,
(which brought a whole new meaning to the claim that some people
are capable of looking good in a bin
liner) so overall nobody seemed to
mind too much if they got a little
wet - one girl huddled around the
chocolate fountain was heard to
giggle that actually, the macs were
pretty handy for keeping drips of
chocolate off dresses anyway.
Some of the earliest entertainment of the night was provided
by the England-Sweden match
shown indoors after arriving and
fortunately the rain cleared by the
time the main act came on stage.
The Automatic, (described as electro-disco-punk and who reached
number four in the charts with
‘Monster’) played to a large and
enthusiastic crowd. Most ents
of the night were well received
– on the main stage, local favourite Acupuncture provided a good
relaxed atmosphere and Kondini
the magician and escapologist was
amusing at 3am when people hit
a mid-ball bout of sleepiness. Acts
playing in the First Court played
to a smaller but appreciative audience and included the Cambridge
University Symphony Orchestra,
vocalist Jennifer Melmore and
jazz at 4am. However some
things didn’t go down quite so
well, most notably the comedy
act – mutters about which were
amplified by the fact that many
sat around waiting for quite
a long time before they came
onstage late. A Michael Jackson
impersonator raised a few eyebrows and was followed by the
Cindies Cheese DJ, which some
will always complain about but
does at least seem to get people
dancing.
Food and drink were predictably plentiful. On entering, you
were greeted with a glass of champagne and the first thing you came
to on entering Second Court after
the cloakroom (where cheese and
port was served) was an impressive selection of pizzas, fajitas, curry
with naan bread, sliced fruit, beers
and wines and the obligatory chocolate fountain, accompanied by a
cr�perie. Cocktails provided by the
Cambridge River Bar were enjoyable as were the unlimited Millie’s
Cookies although the kangaroo,
ostrich and emu burgers ran out
fairly quickly, leaving only lamb or
steak (replaced by a hog roast later
on). Food queues were remarkably
minimal for a May Ball, although
the line for doughnuts was quite
long even in the rain.
There was a good mood around
the Shisha tent (perhaps unsurprisingly) where a lot of people seemed
to get chatting to complete strangers and the cushions contributed
to what was a comfortable night all
round. The queuing list for massages (always a handy way to rejuvenate in a ball) filled up quickly,
and was a little difficult to stick to.
But other small touches helped – a
seamstress to fix zips ripped after a
ride on the bucking bronco, living
statues to watch if you were waiting
for a professional photograph in the
dining hall and a wandering caricaturist to keep you occupied if you
did have to queue for something.
This was accompanied by an easy
to follow programme, which might
seem the last thing you’d care about
(and is consequently overlooked by
some balls) but is actually pretty
vital if you’re going to manage to
not get lost in a college you’ve never
stepped inside before and also not
miss the ents you want to see.
Overall, Elysium was a success
- a good value-for-money ball (a
single non-dining ticket was £95)
with enough to keep you going all
night in a beautiful setting.
home in Middle America, complete
with stone columns.
One thing that struck me immediately was the welcoming nature
of both the college and the ball
itself. After following signs every
5 metres whereupon were written
the words ‘MAY BALL TICKET
COLLECTION! :) ’ in fluorescent green, the committee seemed
to consist of three beaming girls
writing names on tickets in biro and
watching the cricket on an impressive size T.V. The survivor’s photo
from their last ball, in comparison
with the one stuffed in the corner
of my room from 2005’s Homerton
May Ball of 700, suggests a more
intimate affair (capacity of 400), and
I’m not going to lie, I’m hoping for
plenty of mingling in order for a rich
post-grad to sweep me off my feet,
perhaps one with his own castle...
Shisha, belly-dancing, vodka
luges, a celidh band, drunken wanderings in the wisteria-filled gardens,
a casino and all the other staples of
bigger balls such as Trinity will be
readily available, in addition to what
I at first misread, with a slight sense
of shock, as ‘classy inflatables’ (the
word later revealed itself to be ‘classic’, although I remain more than a
little intrigued). Despite the price
tag of £55 suggesting that Ed’s will
be on a par with an event rather than
a ball (last year was the first year
where Ed’s made the shift to this
title), the 6am finishing time and the
general ethos suggests that you will
get more depth of variety for your
money with this ticket, and I’m very
much hoping that people will come
in the suggested ‘Arabian Nights
fancy dress’ despite the general black
tie specification. On top of this, for
diners, there will be a sumptious
feast of mezze, chicken, cous-cous
and apricots as well as ‘arabian vegetables’ and Turkish delight. Sorted.
Décor-wise, ‘swathes’ of fabric have
been promised, and with this classic theme, much like the Victorian
underworld of Kings or Caius this
year, it’s hard to put a foot wrong if
you’ve got some lanterns, incense
and deep colours.
Ed’s may not be one of the
biggest or oldest colleges, but this
does not mean that they should
be overlooked. It sounds like
attendees will be treated to the
perfect end to another perfect, if
a little overcast, Mayweek (but
aren’t we all sunburnt enough
already?). Oh, and there’s karaoke. You just TRY and keep me
away...
St Edmund’s
Megan Prosser
THE INTRODUCTION to the
May Ball website of the college commonly known as ‘Ed’s’ reads ‘Hello
Friends, As you have already found
your way to our site, you must be as
excited about the biggest night of
the year as we are!’ Well yes, friendly
committee, I am excited and found
your website a lot more easily than I
found your college.
No, no, that’s unfair. I do live at
the other end of town and seldom
venture past Magdalene, but I did
find it fascinating that after two
years of exhausting every route in
Cambridge in order to avoid people
or merely for a change of scenery,
there remains a place unsullied by
human foot. Following the instructions from the faithful online cammap, my companion and I (who,
after TCS had offered us a choice
between Emma Event, Kings Affair
or Ed’s, had thought ‘Why not?
It might be fun to be mysterious
and flit about like ethereal nameless
visitors to this post-grad paradise
for the night’... or something to that
effect) wound our way from Bridge
Street through undisturbed residential streets to finally stumble upon
what somewhat-resembled a rest-
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
9
Features
Pembroke June Event
Bel Trew finds Pembroke good value for money
A KNIGHT of fun, class and
indulgence. The inspired
theme of “chess” allowed
Pembroke to combine all the
best elements of a June event
with the old-fashioned glamour of a May Ball.
The headlining bands were
two of the best in Cambridge;
Blues Experiment and The
Angry Inch Band.
Fun was a top priority, with
original entertainments ranging
from jousting to sumo-wrestling, not forgetting the traditional late night Ceilidh. The
comedy tent and casino ensured
that nobody was bored, and the
adventurous could try the shisha tent.
The food was everything you
would expect, from hog roast
to candyfloss, but the Crispy
Kreme doughnuts at midnight
deserve a special mention.
An amazing quality and
variety of drinks impressed the
crowds. The cocktails tasted
great because no corners had
been cut and a selection of real
ales from around the world were
particularly popular.
The event marketed as the
“highest quality June Event” in
Cambridge did not disappoint
in any way. It was classy from
start to finish, and proved that
it is possible to enjoy all the best
bits of a Cambridge May Week,
for only £58.
Pembroke June Event was
cheap chic; pure style on a
budget.
Nothing was lacking from
this event, the theme was magical but not laboured and the
organisation slick. The decorations and lighting made the
already beautiful setting look
amazing.
King’s
Affair
Amica Dall
LIKE ANY good affair, it
was passionate, exciting and
for one night only.
The big name acts, Ladytron
and High Contrast got a big
crowd reaction, but the real
star of the show was the
home grown Queens’ Gurps,
pumping out smooth minimal, building into pounding,
wall shaking hard techno. His
early set, at 10, really kicked
off the event, getting all the
early birds into the mood for
the grimy, underworld night
about to unfold. Later highlights included DJ M?’s intense psytrance set, that had
all of the Cambridge’s ravers
stomping till the dust poured
from the walls of the ancient
college.
The committee went all-out
on some wonderfully theatric
decorations, the mood was
dark, the surroundings grimy,
the people dirty. Behold the
Victorian underworld and its
twisted, maddening atmosphere. The Affair certainly
lived up to its reputation as
the ‘alternative’ May Ball;
the distance between this and
other balls being marked by
the up-for-it crowd and fastpaced edge to the night. What
need for white tie when you
have euphoric, hard-hitting
drum and bass ripping into
the dance f loor? The Houdini
show was child-catcher meets
Moulin Rouge in a twisted blend
of magic frenzy.
Food and drink were plentiful and provided everyone
with much-needed fuel for
their night.
Sidney
Elly Shepherd
SIDNEY MAY BALL is up
there with the big ones. There
were fireworks, there were big
headlining acts and there was
fantastic food.
Unlike other June events
billed as alternatives, which
often feel like a ball on a
crash diet, Kings offers a serious option for those not impressed by the fantasy land
of canes and Saudi princes.
At half the price of the balls,
perhaps the future of June
partying lies hidden here,
and ents managers around
Cambridge would do well to
learn from Kings.
Advertised as “extravagant,
intimate and fun” the ball was
relatively relaxed and easy-going considering that the theme
was “The Last Night on Earth”.
It managed to be unpretentious
yet impressive, attracting a wide
range of people. Knee-high Doc
Martins were not seen as out-ofplace amongst the party-goers.
The Mystery Jets headlined
and there was a decent variety of other music incuding the
MOBO-award winning London
rapper Sway. Best-of-the-rest
ranged from Drum ‘n’ Base and
Oxford Accopella Band “Out of
The Blue”, to May Ball regulars
such as Fitz Swing Band and Fat
Poppadaddies.
It would have been very difficult
to get bored at Sidney Ball, there
were dodgems, sumo-wrestling,
shisha, a climbing wall and a
particularly enthusiastic fountain, ready to soak anybody who
wandered too close.
Despite having 1/3 of the budget
of Trinity, Sidney managed to
pull off a top-class ball. It made
the most of its beautiful gardens
and delivered a classy evening
of extravagance that didn’t cost
the Earth. It’s a ball that makes
outsiders welcome and the imaginativc organisation meant
that it lacked none of the essential elements of the magical May
Ball experience. It was amazing,
fun and just a little bit different.
10
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
The Secret Garden Bares All
Laurence Hooper unearths a gem at the Downing Dramatic Society
FIRST, A word of warning. If
you are a member of any party
to the left of the Tories, hold a
subscription to The Guardian,
have attended a Make Poverty
History march or have ever
shown more than a passing
interest in social inequality
(and no that doesn’t include
wearing a Che Guevara TShirt), then steer well clear
of this production and indeed this review. Steer clear
that is unless you are one of
those soppy types who lets
their emotions override their
views.
HOWEVER, IF you are the
sort of person who can always
muster a tear at the end of
Gone with the Wind and you
used to make your siblings
watch Bambi over Aladdin as
a kid, then no matter where
w w w.p ol it ic a l c omp a s s .o r g
places you, you will probably
enjoy this play. The Secret
Garden is a classic bildungsroman that teaches a lesson
to all those naughty children
who’ve ever been a little too
sharp with their servants.
Mary Lennox’s parents are
killed tragically by cholera
(a pesky bacterium that is no
respecter of class) and she
has to leave her home in the
Indian Raj to live in blustery
Yorkshire with her lugubrious uncle, Archibald Craven.
Craven’s diff ident disposition and long absences allow
Mary the space and freedom
to grow from a spoilt brat into
a conf ident young woman by
exploring the great outdoors
(that is to say the grounds
of Craven’s mansion). She is
ably assisted in this by two
salt of the earth Yorkshire
types, Dickon and Martha,
who have hearts of gold even
if they do speak a bit queer.
When Mary discovers Craven’s absurdly malingering
son, Colin, she cannot resist
trying to reform him by introducing him to the ‘Secret
Garden’, a mysterious place
which Craven has kept locked
since his wife, Lily, died but
which Mary has rediscovered
and has been cultivating. The
force and vitality of the ‘magic that makes things grow’
and the memories of Colin’s
mother immanent in its soil,
capped off with a judicious
recitation or two of the doxology bring the strength back
to the boy’s underused limbs
and, when his father sees him
walking, Craven realises his
foolishness in keeping Colin
shut away.
DOWNING DR AMATIC
Society’s production was carried admirably by Josie Price,
whose performance as Mary
Lennox was every bit as bold
as an outdoor show demands:
now f louncing, now winsome. Especial mention must
go to her ballet scene in the
Secret Garden at the end of
Act 1 which was, to my untrained eye, very beautiful.
Sadly, Price often showed up
those onstage with her, both
in terms of the energy she put
into her lines as well as in her
ability to project what she
was actually saying. There
were certainly some sparkling scenes with Colin ( John
Hall), Dickon (Tom Ash)
and Martha (Claire Wilson)
which tugged suitably at the
heart strings; however, there
were also some quite cringe-
worthy moments where the
cast seemed ill-at-ease with
the more spontaneous aspects
of staging a children’s story,
such as singing, which appeared to come in two varieties – lip-synching out of time
to a recording, or arrhythmic
mumbling. Blocking and cues
were also lacking in sharpness: actors frequently stood
in f lat lines or faced upstage
so their lines were lost and
a more conf idence on entrances, exits and lines would
have lent the production a much
snappier pace. Visually however
the production was largely spot
on, with convincing costumes
and props (the authentic fin de
siècle wheelchair being my favourite, although the luminous
green skipping rope did jar a
little) and a well chosen setting,
framed by two large painted
screens and complete with an
ivy-covered gate to the Secret
Garden.
what it is, namely an afternoon’s
carefree entertainment to be
enjoyed with Pimms, it doesn’t
do too badly. Assuming the rest
of the company grow to match
their leading lady in confidence
over the run, it might even convince the odd class-warrior to
overlook its imperialist undertones and simper along.
Downing Dramatic
Society
The Secret Garden
3pm,Tues 20th - Thurs
22nd
East Lodge Garden
IN CONCLUSION, this is a
far from perfect production, and
were it on at an indoor venue I
might have judged it considerably more harshly. However, for
Prometheus - Bound to Please
Herb Pearson takes a break from the Mayweek at ADC
This particular time of year is not one
where you are likely to draw large crowds to
an indoor, late-show performance of a Greek
tragedy, which is a real shame because the
ADC’s Prometheus Bound was worth a watch
and I saw it when I was feverish and in a foul
mood due to an alcohol ban set to extend into
May week. There is no denying that this is
a fairly deep and dark play – it’s a tragedy,
hey? But it was lightly and very professionally handled, both in its adaptation and by the
cast. Indeed, it could have been suitable for an
outdoor May week performance.
Jesus and the theatre don’t mix all that
well. Yet, James Topham’s adaptation was
both f luid and comprehensible. It included
deft use of Christian references: crosses, rosaries, even a few lines of the Lord’s Prayer
shuff led in, which barely made me blink.
Also, a Magnificat accompanying the opening sequence could probably only have been
made to sit more comfortably with the overall
theme if it had been in Greek instead of Latin.
All this served to identify the analogy of
Prometheus with Christ – the suffering saviour of mankind. The set and lighting added
to the atmosphere – the backlit gauze gave a
brilliant sense of space and the costumes supported the classic, ethereal theme.
A Gregorian chant though, in the opening
sequence, accompanied by some physical theatre (very well carried off ) did make me wonder
if the production would be at all pompous
and inaccessible. Topham, however, showed
his sense of humour with a cheeky use of eye-
glasses held up to a stage light to represent the
release of fire to man. This relaxed use of the
material was evident to an appropriate extent
throughout the play, shown by the easy use
of language: “Your punishments have been
but the merest of spankings administered to a
wayward child!”
Io ( Jane Iyiola) was not dressed as a cow.
Perhaps this is traditional, but it certainly
would have been ridiculous to mask such an
engaging, emotive speaker. The subplot of Io’s
story risks derailing the pace of the play, which
would be a minor disaster on such a minimalist set and theme. This did not happen – she
and the other chorus worked fantastically
together, at all stages of the play, perhaps
losing a little polish in delivery towards the
end, but never losing the very individual and
engaging style. They kept the movement and
interplay very much af loat, which Prometheus
(Léon Digard) was unable to do, being nailed
to a rock.
To me, Greek myth is about a mixture of
the ethereal and the visceral (an uneducated,
made-up opinion, but not necessarily untrue).
I had a feeling that from this production,
the visceral was slightly missing. Prometheus,
despite being a condemner of force and the
harbinger of foresight, of cunning, of culture,
is a Titan – a very primal and unapologetic
being. In many scenes, Léon Digard was
pressed into the role of martyr. He appears a
very potent and able actor, but missing some
violent anger, rage and retribution in his portrayal. Without it, Mr Digard suffers from
being a bit too good-looking to convince me
of being an Old God. I would imagine them
larger, hairier and uglier.
Above all this was a really great show, in an
unfortunate slot. The only major annoyance
were the audience members who (presumably in a May week-induced lapse of propriety) got up and disturbed other people
and who in my opinion deserve to be sat on
by Richard Griffiths and force-fed vibrating
mobile phones, but this was my only real disappointments.
ADC Late Show
Prometheus Bound adapted from
Euripides
by James Topham
11pm, Wed 14th - Sat 17th Feb
ADC Theatre
June 22 2006 The Cambridge Student
11
Footlights Keeps it Oh So Nice...
The Footlights team present thier May Week show “Niceties,” and the crowds, as always, flooded in. But was reviewer Issy McCann impressed?
THE FOOTLIGHTS touring
Show Niceties is describes as
“earnest people in odd situations
not understanding things”. Although this is, in some respects,
a very telling description of
many Cambridge undergraduates, it also shows that the piece
has no theme as such. The unifying factors in this collection
of sketches are more character
based.
Tiani Ghosh does a forthright lack of engagement with
the people around her, Joe
Thomas does wide-eyed confusion, Sam Kitchener does the
bemused straightman, Helen
Cripps does lovable madness
and Simon Bird does spiky and
sometimes bitter weirdness.
One of the flaws of the piece is
that, broadly speaking, the cast
do “do” these attributes, occasionally corpsing and injecting
their performances with little
reality check. Simon Bird is
a possible exception, and certainly the member of the cast
who comes closest to “being”
his persona while on stage.
The problem of pulling of a
personality based sketch show
is always going to be huge. I
often enjoy the Footlights best
when it is mining the uberrich Cambridge culture, with
sketches about supervisions and
the perils of investment banking. The challenge is to be
funny in Edinburgh, and this
year, the show has not chosen
an obvious angle on doing so.
There are few moments
when the brilliance of the writing leaps out and forces the
audience to laugh, so favourite characters and sketches are
quite subjective: I disagreed
quite consistently with the person I went with. Many of the
sketches were very much in the
“random” vein that Footlights
has recently specialised in.
One had people openly
addressed as “Brad” and
“Angelina” while looking
exactly as they had in previous sketches. To choose such a
style is to tread the line between
self-consciously bad and just
bad and it is risky. One set-up,
which depicted utterly arbitrary
activities celebrating the entry
of a ship into “International
Waters” had me in hyster-
“There
are few
moments
when the
brilliance of
the writing
leaps out
and forces
the audience
to laugh ”
ics, but could just have easily
been cringe-worthy if it wasn’t
pulled of with quite so much
charm. The danger is that such
sketches will appeal less outside
Prestigious financial institution based in the City of London require two
Summer interns to assist its Risk Group.
Candidates must possess the following skill set :-
Top Excel and programming skills, including strong VBA and possibly C++
Reasonable quantitative skills
Creativity and ingenuity in problem solving
Focus and attention to detail
Strong sense of initiative, can take decisions on a relatively
unsupervised basis
Enthusiastic can-do attitude
This is working for 3 months in a Financial Risk Group ( Dealing with
Bonds, Equities and Derivatives ) and could pay £ 250 per day - PC skills
paramount and quant skills less important although good to have.
For further details please contact Maria Campbell at
[email protected] or call me on 0207 448 5036. Candidates
must beable to commit to this three month assignment for its duration.
of the Cambridge bubble. That
said, although appreciation
of the Footlights is definitely
personal, some sketches were
broadly hits while others were
broadly misses. Presumably the
play will take a shorter form
on at least parts of its tour, and
showcase more of the former
and less of the latter.
A shorter version of this
piece would also diminish the
audience’s desire for greater
unity of content, while counteracting the tendency of each
actor’s “type” to become repetitive and irritating.
I’m tempted to say that the
piece would have benefited
from the cast either developing greater range or creating
definite characters and exploring them in different situations;
this might have made the show
feel merely sketch-based and
not actually sketchy. Having
said which, Niceties is good
entertainment, and I doubt that
anyone in the audience didn’t
get a few good laughs out of
“Cram-
packed with
little ideas
and slamcrammed
with
friendly
faces”
it. There were lots of great
moments and no awful quarter
hours. The piece describes itself
as “Cram-packed with little
ideas and slam-crammed with
friendly faces” and this is definitely a fair description. If there
was a problem, it was just thatan over-reliance on charm and
flashes of brilliance and a lack
of emphasis on “journey”. Too
many good sketches contained
hilarious touches but ended of
simple pay-off lines that had a
tendancy to flop. They would
have been even better if they
had told a short but real story.
More attention could have
been paid to the writing all
round. Nonetheless, Footlights
continues to often do a very
difficult thing well. It is what
is supposed to be: alternative,
surprising, and a million miles
from a tired “A funny thing
happened on the way to the
ADC…” format. For anyone at
Cambridge, this is a great night
out and definitely worth the
ticket price.
Just Too Darn Hot!
Elizabeth Dearnley takes a look at Too Darn
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY Musical Theatre Society’s
end-of-year, Too Darn Hot!
concert took its audience on a
whistle-stop tour of the twentieth century musical, journeying from the highball glamour
of Cole Porter’s 1934 Anything
Goes to Stephen Sondheim’s
1984 Seurat-inspired paintscape Sunday in the Park with
George – taking in Oklahoma!,
Guys and Dolls, Chicago and
Sweeney Todd and a whole
host of others along the way.
Accompanied by a full-scale
orchestra (dashingly conducted
by Richard Bates and Christopher Mundy), Too Darn Hot!
provided both a welcome revival of classic songs for devotees
and a comprehensive introduction to the variety of musical
theatre for neophytes. This was
always going to be the kind
of show which would appeal
to me. Growing up the kind
of girl who swooned at Ginger and Fred re-runs, raiding
her grandfather’s Cole Porter’s
record collection and secretly
being in love with Gene Kelly
in Singin’ in the Rain. Thus,
the thought of a whole evening
devoted to songs from musicals
seemed a simply gorgeous idea,
a perfect accompaniment to any
Cambridge summer night and I
wasn’t to be disappointed.
Too Darn Hot! was
represented by an infectious,
neon-bright joie-de-vivre cast.
It was performed as an ensemble piece - the whole company
remaining onstage during the
majority of the numbers, forming a chorus when not claiming the limelight themselves.
Standout moments included
the voluptuous, sizzle and slink
performance of Kurt Weill’s
‘The Story of Jenny’, from his
1941 hit Lady in the Dark, and
the joyous rendition of the title
song from that most optimistic
of musicals, Oklahoma!. The
emotionally charged interpretation of ‘Losing My Mind’
from Sondheim’s Follies, the
rollicking ‘Sit Down, You’re
Rockingthe Boat’ from Guys
and Dolls, and the tonguetwisting, quicksilver-paced
‘Your Fault’ from Sondheim’s
Into the Woods were other
stand out performances of the
evening.
This is not to say it
was without fault, for it was.
The amiable banter of the compères (who both introduced and
commented upon each group
of songs) was unconvincing.
Although the gag-heavy and
mannered delivery was presumably intended as an affectionate
tribute to the colourful commentators in vintage musicals
(the irrascible ‘RF’ in Singin’ in
the Rain, for example, or Joel
Grey’s incomparable Master of
Ceremonies in Cabaret), the
lack of costume and vagueness
as to exactly what type of commentator they were attempting to reference meant that the
tone was somewhat confusing,
and that the parody did not
quite come off.
It is a shame that
(due to licensing restrictions)
the songs could not be performed in costume. Beginning
in black tie and black dresses
for their opening number
‘Anything Goes’, the company
changed into modern-day summer clothes for the more informal sections, ending up in ball
gowns and evening wear for the
concert’s finale. Although as an
idea this works well, in practice
the styles of outfit worn (particularly the more casual summer clothes) were too diverse to
produce a unified visual motif
throughout, the show. Also, it
would have been visually more
striking if a clearer sartorial
theme had been discernible.
However, despite, these minor
irritations it would be churlish to let this detract from the
immense talent the company.
Judging by the reception they
were given by the enthusiastic,
post-exam and sun-soaked student audience, the atmosphere
in the Corn Exchange was, if
not too darn hot, pretty sizzling.
“It was a great show
to finish the year with”, said
a rather breathless Rebecca
Hutchinson (the producer of
Too Darn Hot! and CUMTS’
President for the coming year),
“We had so much fun – the
whole company has been wonderful to work with.” It is, of
course, de rigeur for producers and directors to praise the
enthusiasm, commitment and
other virtues of their cast, but
in this case the enthusiasm of
the cast and the evident enjoyment they had during the show
proved impossible for the audience to resist . Indeed I walked
out into the Cambridge summer night fighting the urge
to dance my way down Kings
Parade.
Cambridge models showing May Ball dress through the ages
14
Fashion
The Cambridge Student June 22 2006
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
15
Women Who Know What To Wear
Beatrice Wilford gives the run down on how not to look like you raided the dressing up box this Mayweek
Top hats and tutus are not appropriate gar- Striped Dress County Drama Wardrobe. Grey
ments for a woman to wear to a black tie event.
silk Dress, headress and parasol County Drama
We know this, yet have no equivalent to the
Wardrobe. Middle row left to right: Grecian
wonderfully strict rules which have governed
Dress and parasol County Drama Wardobe.
and differentiated the dowdy, the well-dressed
Blue silk dress £95 Vera Vintage Clothing.
and the fashion conscious until recent times.
Green dress slip and parasol County Drama
The plundering of our near past facilitated
Wardrobe.
by vintage costume offers some kind of false
Market Stall.
structure. But how can we know exactly what
County Drama Wardrobe. Front row left to
to wear again? The answer at these events is
right: Grecian dress County Drama Wardrobe.
to dress Up. Look at yourself properly and you
Chiffon dress and hat County Drama Wardrobe.
will look fabulous to others.
Chiffon dress and slip County Drama Wardobe.
Backrow, left to right:
White chloe dress £200 Dixie’s
Green chloe dress £200 Dixie’s Market Stall.
and hat (in hand) County Drama Wardrobe.
Top hat county drama wardrobe. Pink 40’s silk
Military jacket County Drama Wardrobe.
dress £72 Vera Vintage Clothing.
50’s dress, £76 Vera vintage clothing. Top hat
county drama wardrobe.
Tutu and Alberta
Ferreti coat Dixie’s Market Stall.
TCS is Currently
Recruiting:
Grecian dress and headress
Floral Dress
Parasol County Drama Wardobe. Hand made
Got a Feel
for Design?
Dixie’s Market Stall: Open every day, Market
Square, many wonderful ball dresses.
Vera Vintage Clothing, http://www.veravin-
Military
tageclothing.co.uk/, 07900 431216, (00)44 1223
jacket and top hat County Drama Wardobe.
300 269, [email protected], The Hive,
Red 50’s dress £200 Vera Vintage Clothing.
3 Dales Brewery, Gwydir Street.
Designers
Photographers
Graphic Designers
Ilustrators
For Michealmas 2006
No matter how much or little
time you have to spare, you can
still get involved.
Email [email protected]
to register interest
16
The Cambridge Student June 22 , 2006
Editorial
TCS
The Mayweek Photographer
Amica Dall
11-12 Trumpington St
Cambridge CB2 1QA
Imagine if...
Monday night sent shockwaves through the
Cambridge establishment and demolished years of
tradition. Trinity’s legendary f low of champagne
was left without its crusty partner-in-arms as the
acclaimed oysters failed to arrive until eight in the
morning. Revellers were left without their customary midnight snack but those who survived the
evening were indeed treated to ‘a fruit of the sea’
breakfast. A cunning if not rather contrived effort
by the Ball Committee to save face. Naturally
there has been outrage from a sizeable wedge of
the college’s Monday-night guests and the Ball
Committee has apparently found themselves bombarded with scathing letters and e-mails. “The
embarrassment seems to have been the result of a
mix-up of dates.” explained Imogen WolffgandDoppelheimer, Trinity’s food coordinator for this
year’s ball. More of an almighty cock-up in this
editor’s eyes, but nonetheless a pretty funny one
to the uninvolved observer. TCS believes the
whole affair is hilarious and rather revealing of
how Cambridge can become a wee bit insular. In
a purely theoretical sense, complaints of ‘value for
money’ and ‘expecting a service’ are understandable, but in reality the response of this newspaper
is “Get stuffed!” If a lack of shellfish can ruin
your evening then you’re either very small-minded
or you have a very bizarre (and expensive) dependency. Poor move Trinity! But you still put on a
hell of a show.
TCSUDOKU
Better value for money than a May Ball...
4
5
6
1
5 4 9
2 8
3
1 6
9
4 6
2
1
7
3
5
3 1
5
2 1
4
1 7
3 4 8
2
4
8
3
Editor-in-Chief
Ed Grouse [email protected]
Photos editor Amica Dall [email protected] News Editor Alice Palmer [email protected] Deputy News Rich
Saunders
Features Amica Dall [email protected] Food and Drink Editor Elaine Craig [email protected] Theatre Editor Robyn Hill [email protected] Music Editor
Richard Braude and Tom Higgins [email protected] Fashion Editors Beatrice Wilford [email protected] Travel Editor Samantha Pearson [email protected] Financial
Administrator (CUSU) Sultan Khokar Business Manager (CUSU) Jenny Scudamore [email protected] Services officer (CUSU) Jennifer Cooper [email protected]
Board of directors Amanda Akass, Jennifer Cooper, Donnacha Kirk, Beth McEvoy, Jenny Scudamore, Ben Sillis, Pamela Welsh
June 22 2006 The Cambridge Student
17
Music
The Mayweek Music Round Up
Tom Higgins gives his own special take on Mayweek mayhem
L ets
start
simply :
Thinkpol are an absolutely
terrible band. Peddlars of the
worst kind of sub-Fall Out
Boy whinge-rock, they introduce a song that is apparently
about ‘elitist punk rock rubbish’. Oh dear. Sorry guys
but when people tell you
you’re shit it’s not because
they are elitist, its because all
your songs are poor. Next-up
Linda’s Nephew have a rubbish name, but are at least
a bit better than Thinkpol.
hardcore, but when they stick
to the basic formula of Minor
Threat + Dexys, with horns
surging over the rudimentary
punk riffing and big shoutalong choruses they are at
least vaguely entertaining. It
certainly pleases their committed fanbase, all eager to
grab the microphone and join
in with vocalist Jamie on the
chorus chants. It all goes a
bit wrong when they start to
‘get funky’, and we are forced
to endure some truly awful
genius from unmitigated bollocks. Unfortunately tonight
it seems to be more bollocks.
On a slightly more coherent note are stoner-rock types
Sons of Merrick with a thunderous barrage of dirty metal
grooves. With their low-slung
jeans and artfully styled hair
The Legion of Doom represent the kind of semi-fashionable metal that it’s ok for
people who don’t have hair
“Any sane
human being has
to be predisposed
to hate a band
called Pickled
Dick
Their keyboard-driven poppunk is mildly diverting and
fairly pleasant if somewhat
insubstantial. Having said
that Linda’s Nephew was a
bad name for a band, at least
it isn’t Pickled Dick. Any
sane human being has to be
predisposed to hate a band
called Pickled Dick, a feeling
that can only be exacerbated
by the fact that they have a
T-shirt on the merchandise
stand that hilariously proclaims Noel Edmonds to be
a (snigger) certain explevtive.
Christ almighty. True to form
Pickled Dick are very, very bad
indeed. And so to Adequate
Seven. There’s nothing particularly original or clever
about their brassy ska-infused
Gardis the Opera
Richard Byron
Gardis the Opera had a
wonderful re-run at the Union
last weekend, brightening
up the Summer afternoon
a farce worthy of the silliest of Monty Python. Filled
with farce, frantic fumbling
and a score that stretched
rapping.
Music in Cambridge can
sometimes get you down, an
apparent endless wasteland of
bloody open mic nights with
little in the way of thrills. It’s
always nice to have something
a bit different, and that’s
exactly what the Rocksoc’s
‘Maybrawl’ provides; you
are unlikely, for example, to
hear people requesting a song
called ‘Raping The Corpse’
at Songs In The Dark. First
up are the somewhat eccentric Cats Against The Bomb.
One man, his guitar, a backing
tape and a box full of effects
pedals making the kind of
joyfully amateurish noise that
cart-wheels all over the thin
line which seperates absolute
from light opera to comedy
rock to broadway, there was
something for everyone in the
show. The swearing and sex
jokes directed the script at
an adult audience with an
immature mind, perfect for
the frivolous mayhem of May
week. The plot tells of the
evil plans of the Master of St
Cakes, who schemes to take
”
down to their waists to like
(see also Isis, Pelican etc).
However, that doesn’t detract
from the brilliance of their
instrumental riff-assault and
the phenomenal energy they
put into their live show. More
conventional metal thrills
come courtesy of self-styled
‘Welsh death metal bastards’
Desecration. Desecration, it’s
fair to say will not be everyones cup of tea, extreme
in every sense of the word,
their 1995 album ‘Gore and
Perversion’ was banned due
to its artwork breaching
standards of public decency.
If you’re that way inclined,
however, Desecration are
amazing. Not the most technical of bands, they go all
out for hyper-speed blast beat
filled brutality. At one stage
someone heckles them to play
faster, and quite amazingly,
they do so. It’s fierce, uncompromising and absolutely
awesome.
There are few things more
horrifying than the prospect
of an ‘acoustic night’ featuring only local bands. The
potential for a series of awful
I-wrote-this-song-for-mygirlfriend style singer-songwriter atrocities is worryingly
high. It helps to start out with
very, very low expectations in
the desperate hope that there
over Gardis in order to stop
the killing of ‘Little Baby
Fluffy Animals’. The subplots run across a gay student
coming to terms with his love
for Stephen Fry, an inevitable
student romance and Crazy
Christians. The music was
sublime and ridiulous, and
so incredibley wonderous in
its unpretencious joy. The
will be some kind of pleasant suprise along the way.
Tonight that suprise comes
from student three piece The
Friendly Society whose subdued, wordy indie-folk could
comfortably be described as
‘quite nice’. A couple of songs
are nicely bolstered by use
of a melodica (an instrument
whoich normally indicates
Damon Albarn-style world
music toss), generally less
good are the songs which feature joint f rontman Simon
on vocals. Overall, however, The Friendly Society are
generally enjoyable. More in
keeping with preconceptions
are Wiseacre, who are really
very dull. Every single one
of their tedious American
Indie strumfests goes on for
far too long and matters are
not helped by the fact that
their singer sounds exactly
like a pub rock version of
the Manics’ James Dean
Bradfield. At one point they
introduce a song by saying
they can’t decide whether it’s
‘really good or really shit’,
I’ll help you out boys: It’s
shit. After being so comprehensively sent to sleep, it’s
hard to work up the enthusiasm for Wild Hope. Ditching
the acoustic format of the
evening thus far, Wild Hope
should be an interesting pros-
“It’s not actively
bad, it’s just not
”
very good
pect, with shimmering, 80sish delay heavy guitar and
a female singer with golden
vocal chords. For some reason,
unfortunately, it doesn’t quite
fit, the songs just don’t grab
your attention, they start and
finish without really making
any impact. It’s not actively
bad, it’s just not very good. A
slight disappointment in the
end then, but not, thankfully,
a total disaster.
spoof Avril Lavigne and the
duet between two ex-lovers
set up on a blind date stand
thoroughly enjoyable songs
in their own right. I’m not a
great fan of Gardis, but as for
comedy opera - hand me an
extra large portion please.
18
The Cambridge Student June 22 2006
Music
Jazz at Johns - free champagne and a wealth of fun
If you wound your way
through the neo-Gothic stones
of John’s College on Saturday,
you will have heard the shrill
reverberations of horns echoing
down the corridors, through the
bridge of sighs, ringing off the
masonry. The sound would have
become louder and more trembling as you forced your way
deeper into the college depths
until, stumbling through a
break in the hedge, the piercing
and wondrous sound of Dennis
Rollins’ trombone would have
hit you with the warm force of
the sun battling through the
clouds on a close Cambridge
day.
This year the Jazz at John’s
Garden Party was indicative of
the society’s year as a whole
- a combination of music to lie
back to, dance to and get your
groove into while being thor-
oughly entertained by the selection of drinks - and in this case
all free, including the stupendous quantity of Champagne.
Some six hundred people
were strewn across the grass,
gradually standing up to dance
along with sax appeal, and by
the end of the final set there
was a throng of summer skirts
and open shirts swaying and
twisting with the band.
Sax Appeal, the opening
band, provided music of depth
and clarity, starting the party
slowly with some softer lounge
numbers and moving into their
more trademark daring combinations that can only be
achieved by a line up including
five saxophones. Easing listening and chilled out, the Sax
Appeal were followed by the
energetic, upbeat, all embracing Dennis Rollins, hailed as one
“Rollins’
backing
band funked
it up and
got into
their soulful
groove ”
And for our last number...
Dan Terrins
Acoustic songwriter
Dan tells us: “Next year
I will still be based in
Cambridge. I have no
idea what I am doing.
My album release date
has been postponed but
I think it should be out
by then. I’ll still be performing
regularly
in
Cambridge.
Hopefully
a record label will have
signed me by then. I may
also have made it on
the comedy circuit as I
am in the So You Think
You’re Funny competition
at the minute. Looks like
I’m through to the semifinals as well. My first
music video is in production and I am sorting out
how to sell mp3’s via the
internet on my myspace
The evening did, however,
have to break up early due to
complaints from resident fellows. This left the event in a
problematic position for next
year, particularly in the light
of the licensing troubles John’s
had immediately prior to may
week, which forced the committee to even think of taking
the party elsewhere. Perhaps
this may have to happen in the
future - but isn;t that the story
of jazz really? Hounded from
one place to another by people
who just don’t understand that
music can be simultaneously
enjoyable to listen to, technically proficient and danceable.
And thankfully, Jazz and John’s
is around to prove that point.
Let’s hope that next year we’ll
be back on that lawn, dancing
to a hornman high on his own
sounds. / RB
Some leaving musicians tell us of their plans
Jen Rouse
“I’ll be in Cambridge
until Christmas, at least,
paying off my overdraft.
Then I’ll be moving to
London to set up a gigging band, and then I’ll
really start to publicise
my music.This summer I’ll
be on tour in September
hopefully, with my band
“Enid Steals and the
Electric Magic”, supported
by Ralegh Long of “Songs
in the Dark” fame… we’re
heading out to folk venues and cafes for a few
weeks. I’m also planning
gigs in London, Edinburgh
and Manchester, and a
weekend special in Berlin
at the moment, and at the
moment I’m writing lots
of exciting new material
for my first album, which
I plan to be recording this
autumn, and learning to
do some music production myself. I’m still selling my debut EP “Electric
Remains”; who knows, it
might be none of it happens and I become a burger flipper at McDonalds.
Joy.”
Britain’s most forward looking
musicians of the new jazz generation. A party man from his
roots to his dreads, the one
time Jazz Warrior and NYJO
graduate delivered a limitless
level of enthusiasm and energy
to his audience. Speaking to
him after the show, he said that
its the audience that makes
all the difference, and, beaming
through a huge jazz inspired
smile, praised the dancing and
attitude of the audience.
Rollins’ backing band funked
it up and got into their soulful groove, the bassist making
some incredible leaps of technicality and music endurance
throughout. The drummer was
astounding as well for his sheer
dexterity and speed, and he
kept the beat going throughout the evening loud, clear and
refreshingly simple.
Gregor Riddel
James Traer
James ‘Jiggy’ Traer
will be leaving us for San
Diego. An ever present
force on the scene, Jiggy’s
all spinning, all head banging double bass sound has
leant itself to just about
every genre in his time
at Cambridge. While in
America, working on a
physics Ph.D., Jiggy hopes
to continue his music in
a small group. “I like the
idea of going to the beach
and just playing. Maybe
just bass, drums and a
singer. Yeah. And perhaps
a trumpet. You know, it’s
a whole beach culture
there. It’d be cool to just
play acoustically and then
also be able to work in a
gig environment if I wanted”.
“If I get everything
organised in time, I look
forward to a care-free
summer of travelling
to countries including
Iceland, USA and Spain.
The little bits of music
on the side will include
a course called Margess
which takes place in the
midst of the Alps and,
aside from pretty hardcore practice and tuition,
also involves celebrating national Swiss day
(bonfires and pagan-like
activities are curcial features of the festivities). I
intend to catch some of
the Edinburgh festival in
August and, accompanied
by my guitar and djembe,
hope to attract the attention of some lonely musicians. In the autumn I will
apply to music college
then spend most of 2007
trying to write music,
practice the cello and
rehearse with my string
quartet (Soltice Quartet).
I’m also desperate to see
Elliott Carter before he
keels over - maybe on a
trip to New York!”
Richard Low
Richard has led CUJO
to new bounds with his
talented arrangements
and gorgeous tenor sax
solos. Leaving for Bristol
to continue his education, Rich says that while
he can’t leave his music
behind him, it’s not his
chosen profession. “After
playing in CUJO for four
years, I’ll find it hard to
not play in any big bands
so hopefully I’ll join one of
the bands at Bristol. I’m
also keen to continue the
funk after four years in Pat
Sharp’s Funk House. So
I’ll probably concentrate
more on small group stuff
- I would like to get back
into jazz quartet playing,
and maybe augment this
with a trumpet.”
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
19
Music
The Soul Treat
Strawberry Fair
Si Calder
Much though Strawberry
Fair (one of the largest free
open-air festivals in the
country) has never been just
about music, Cambridge’s
Midsummer Common hosted a particularly strong and
diverse array of acts. With
Cambridge talent including
(for their long-awaited f irst
time on the East Stage) The
Modal Monks and (fresh from
supporting Baby Shambles)
‘The Shivers’, the volunteer-
run festival had punters and
performers travelling, as ever,
from all across the country.
Following great sets from
Ralegh Long and Her Daddy
is a Guru (representing the
best of Cambridge’s student
music scene), particularly
stunning this year were two
- in every sense - immense
local acts, the nine-piece altpop group ‘Free Love and the
Good Plant’ and the sevenpiece top-5-hit-in-Austriawielding Hamfatter.
Jamie Freeman (organiser of the East stage/ second
The Soul Treat on Suicide
Sunday was the perfect place
to catch up with all the bands
that have been in and around
Cambridge this year. If you
didn’t get a chance to see
them, many of them will
still be around next year in
some form or another. Simon
Calder, the night organiser
and frontman of The New
Theresas - an indie-folk seven
piece - chose a wide variety of
bands, including such likes
as the Boomslangs, a loud
bunch of debuting rocksters,
but also signed artists recently
out of Cambridge’s hold.
Horsebox’s
Cambridge
connection is their exPembroke drummer, and they
were certainly the best of the
downstairs stage, this drum
thumping, bright chorded
upbeat band had the crowd
up and dancing along to the
and off beat band sound with
a sense of humour. Unlike
the Magic Numbers, who they
supported on tour, musical
variety was their greatest asset
in such a mixed crowd and
indeed we laughed, we cried,
we head banged.
Borderville’s first gig was
at the Cambonan2a, and since
then this Oxford based band
have grown tighter and closer,
which, combined with their
propensity for energy, made
for a vivid stage show and
unusually innivotaive music.
Professional prog rockers,
these guys will soon have the
indie boys running scared
The
ever
present
Sleepwalker had an early slot,
which perhaps counted against
them, but the lead still threw
himself around the stage,
jumping up and down and
sprawling around which was
embarrassingly reminiscient
of a teenager with stadium
rock dreams.
Hugo Shepherd delighted
and hushed his audience
with Joni Mitchell meets
the Incredible String Band
with lyrics of pure poetry
and elegant musicality. His
shy demeanor and anti-ego
banter make him an endearing
character - he may not want
it, but he’s quickly growing
a student fan base with his
unpretencious folk vibe.
By the time Jen Rouse took
to the stage the crowd had
built up and her chattering
among themselves, despite
the sheer mesmerising power
of her understated talents on
the guitar. By the last song
however, there were no voices
to be heard save those joinging
Jen on the chorus, Only the
Stars Get up and Do it All
Again. With lyrics like that,
we hope that you get up and
do it all again Jen.
I had expected to take a
dislike to Jeremy Warmsley,
and I suppose I was prejudiced
by his being at CHurchill
only last year. Yet while he
didn’t blow me away, Jeremy,
the archetypal indie boy
resplendant in black jeans,
thick glasses and converse
shoes, has a Kwelleresque
quality which makes for an
enjoyable show; his strength
is really as a songwriter on
piano. Anyway, catch him if
you’re offered a ticket, but
don’t sweat it.
Anada
is
probably
exemplified by their bassist,
who was absent, away at a
drinking society meet. Metal
covers of pop songs have that
feel really, a kind of adolescent
binge drinking arrogance,
vocalist in FLATGP) having
been poisoned by a back-stage
explosion just before Free
Love’s set began, Hamfatter
frontman Eoin saved the day
by singing male vocal parts
for both bands, aided though
Hamfatter’s own headline set
was – for the f irst time ever
– by a 4-man brass section.
Hopefully minus the spontaneous combustion, much
the same can be expected on
every f irst Saturday of June
for as long as Cambridge produces enough volunteers to
keep the non-prof it-making
institution alive, so get on by
or (even better) get on board
next Spring.
“
The sheer
mesmerising
power of
Jen Rouse’s
understated
”
talents
vulgarity and ego centric guitar
twiddling; However, there are
many who are part of drinking
societies, and there will always
be those who just can’t stay
away from this band.
The Paper Dolls had
promise in their hippy
drummer, sitting and banging
on a wooden box, and their
sugar sweet vocalists. But
the bands ignorance of the
audience between songs and
generally bored demeanor
hindered any great enthusiasm
from us.
Kyla of The Paper Dolls,
however, was made to look
like the queen of chilled out
singing when compared with
Over thirty acts and six DJ’s - Richard
Braude spent the full ten hours on Suicide
Sunday with the year’s bands
the cutesy-pop tones of Molly
Beanland; you get the feeling
that even she feels that she’s
sold out and bought in. Kudos
to her for having the guts to
leave Cambridge to follow her
dream, but I don’t think this is
the dream that any wised up
student would want.
Dan Terrins played a set
of covers and originals in his
acoustic, singer song writer
manner, in which his obvious
aspiration to reach a wider
commercial audience perhaps
left his current audience
feeliong left behind.
Her Daddy is A Guru have
come a long way since their
modest beginnings and Mary
and Nick sang songs with a
rhythm and punch which is
just so satufying to here. The
inbetween song banter further
oozed confidence and warmth.
Old time folk vocals with
harmonies, finger picking and
intimate, honest stories - what
a joy to hear!
Similarly Hamfatter played
a wonderful sing-a-long set,
and it’s good to know that
there are bands in Cambridge
well known enough that the
audience requests sepcific
songs - notabley ‘John Peel on
My Phone’. With James Traer
on bass, the penthouse crowd
couldn’t have cheered more.
Paul Goodwin’s voice has
a strange, charming air, and
his folky pop lyrics kept us
in his thrall. The Radio 2
DJ Nick Barraclough played
a set of exquisite country
folk songs but perhaps
lacked the vigour needed to
keep an arriving audience
f rom leaving for the other
stage. This was particularly
relevant since Los Bandidos,
art-trendy, post-punktastic
rockers extraordinaire were
on that stage. With a new
song delving into the world
of space, as was explained
by Adam Welch’s theatrical
chat, the band explored the
combination of baritone sax,
synthesiser, beat bashing
drums, vocals and lead bass
with a touch of Ladyfuzz. All
they needed were little hats
and Nathan Barley would be
in our midst.
The
wandering
folk
of Elephant Juice had
come gorgeous moments particaulrly with the female
backing singer - but while
I really wanted to love this
band, the songs were too
long and meandering to pay
attention to, and by 10:00
the audience was certainly
restless for sonmething more
rhythmic. A more staisfying
epic stoner rock in a similar
hippy vein was Free Love
And The Good Plant minus a sitar player and an
electric violin, but with added
amplified didgeridoo.
This came eventually with
Simon Mastrantone, whose
attempts to make his audience
dance along to his indieboyangry rock were not welcome
in the Penthouse. For the guy
who started Songs in the Dark,
Simon Mastrantone seems to
have somewhat forgotten his
roots.
The best DJ sets came
f rom the ever energetic
Jackson Boxer and the retro80s king of electro, Giovanni
Menegalle. From a display of
bands to an array of DJs, the
Soul Treat creatied the perfect
atmosphere to the end of a year
of so many bands, and perhaps
signals the revitalisation of
the Cambridge music scene.
Rachel from Free Love and The Good Planet live af the fair.
Amica Dall
20
The Cambridge Student, June 22 2006
Travel
And What If There Was No World Cup?
Do fancy a bit of an adventure this summer? Are you bored of football already? Samantha Pearson is
too. She finds three ways to spend your long break that don’t involve England Shirts or stupid chants...
Munch on a grasshopper in Oaxaca, Mexico
Pitch a tent in the Brecon Beacons, Wales
According to local legend,
anyone brave enough to sample
the regional delicacy of roasted
grasshoppers is destined to
return one day to this colourful town in the mountains of
Persuading someone to go
camping is not easy. The trick
is to convince said victim into
thinking that a campsite is
essentially a hotel under canvas
with a few more sheep and
perhaps less chance of a complimentary shower cap.
Of course there is no chance so
stealing a fancy dressing gown,
either. However, with toilet
blocks piping out Beethoven,
access to the internet and free
hairdryers, the Pencelli Castle
Camping Park is going to make
your job a whole lot easier.
You’ll also be pleased to hear
that it holds the prestigious and
much coveted
Southern Mexico. Although the
story was most likely dreamt up
during a bored Friday afternoon
in the tourist office. The hordes
of new-age backpackers and
American coach tours kitted
out in Louis Vuitton queuing up
to gulp down one of these little
fellows is surely testament to the
universal appeal of this place.
As a UNESCO site, Oaxaca
has the Zapotec ruins, crumbling colonial buildings and
the oldest tree in the world,
enough to satisfy those in
search of Antonio Banderas’
Mexico. For those after the
more authentic Mexican
way of life there are also the
cash and carrys, the ballet,
the multiplex cinemas, an
impressive array of art galleries and a strip club featuring guys in luminous green
speedos not to be missed.
Getting there: Fly to
Mexico City from London
for £439 return with KLM.
Then take a luxury
air-con coach to
Oaxaca for
£21.
Ride tram 27 in Lisbon, Portugal
After a well-known guidebook
instructed its devotees to take
tram 28 from the Baixa into
Alfama as one of the obligatory
highlights of Lisbon it is hard
not to feel sorry for the bemused
local commuters who normally
take this route to work as they
are elbowed out the way on a
daily basis by mobs of impatient
tourists armed with video
cameras.
So be a
pione er,
push back the boundaries of
independent travel and hop on
tram 27 instead. Who knows
where it actually goes but getting
lost in the warren of mosaic
paved streets is part of the city’s
charm. If you end up in the
western district of Belem, then
sample one of the famous custard
tarts, marvel at probably the
only parliament building
in Europe to be
painted in pink and nod off
in the peaceful cloisters of
t he Jerón imos Monaster y.
Alternatively, if you wander
east and arrive at the Parque das
Nações then you will be greeted
by Europe’s largest Oceanarium,
a host of riverside restaurants
and more Zaras than you
can shake a coat hanger at.
With lively seaside resorts,
the chance to go dolphin
spot t ing a nd su r f ing,
and 19th century palaces
with mountain-top views
all just a short train ride
away, Lisbon offers more
than enough alternatives
to a trip on the notorious
number 28.
If all this dosn’t sound
e xc it ing enough, consider
checking out Boom Festival,
one of the hottest and hippiest
parties in Europe. Running
from 2nd-9th of August it
is a full week of sunshine,
stomping and relaxing, set
on the shores a beautiful lake
deep within the the Portugese
country side.
www.boomfestival.org, £70
(Price available until then end
of June.)
Getting there: BA and Easyjet
fly London - Lisbon starting
at £76.
‘loo of the year’ award. With
all the money you’ve saved you
can then indulge in the local
cuisine ranging from Sweet and
Sour Pork to Venison Goulash
and enough ale to drown out
the man snoring in the tent
next to yours and his screaming
kids as they try to rescue their
frisbee from under you car at
seven in the morning.
More to the point, however,
the campsite is also on the edge
of one of the most spectacular
national parks in the UK which
offers activities from golf and
fishing to abseiling and gorge
walking.
Just one piece of advice
though...
if you do decide to climb the
legendary Black Mountain
don’t plan your route the night
before with a piece of spaghetti
in an alcoholic haze of enthusiasm as you will end up half-way
up a cliff the next evening, in
flip flops, arguing over the last
prawn cracker, and wondering
why you can’t get any reception
on your mobile.
Getting there:
No Ryanair deals, but the
train is easy. See http://www.
pencelli-castle.co.uk for
further details.
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
21
“From the moment I started the graduate scheme I’ve had
real responsibilities and been treated like part of the team.”
Rebecca Wheeler
Part qualified ACA, Audit, Birmingham Office.
Studied Natural Sciences at Durham University.
Be yourself.
Be individual. At Baker Tilly.
Baker Tilly is a top 10 firm of chartered accountants and business advisers with an annual fee income of over £170 million. Our clients –
from young entrepreneurial businesses to well-established listed and international organisations – range enormously in terms of size and
industry sectors. Our particular expertise is in helping owner managed, entrepreneurial and growing businesses to achieve their ambitions.
Our business depends on the quality of our people. We choose our people for their flair and commercial acumen, as well as their
dynamic approach. Join us as a graduate on a training contract and we will reward your hard work and enthusiasm with a total
commitment to your ongoing development and responsibility early on. It will be a steep learning curve but as an ambitious
individual you wouldn’t want it any other way.
If you are interested to learn more, come and see us at the Summer Recruitment Fair
on 28 June 2006 from 2pm or to apply visit www.bakertilly.co.uk
Cambridge Student Crossword no. 19
Set by Madison
22 Small bone associated with horses (7)
23 Bourgeois network disrupter? (9)
25 The best part of one hundred and five hundred 17A’s (5)
26 Boards new relative (7)
27 Cool bees deteriorate and become outdated (9)
DOWN
ACROSS
3 Gentle food store found in a lamp (9)
8 Inferior reading material of a university (7)
9 Hood found in a tree (5)
10 Patrons tradition of the Queen (9)
11 Journey boy makes in North Africa (7)
12 Tree article produced after argument (5)
14 Indian chief (5)
15 Loren messed up prerequisite for university study (5)
17 The woman and French bedding article (5)
19 A battered automobile found in a pile (5)
21 Two men get together and diet (5)
1 Credibility value of restricted fund one finds next to a lake (15)
2 Reject personally belonging to a princess (7)
3 Instrument in monthly recitals (4)
4 Spot groups of joints and empty vessels (10)
5 End of period within American (8)
6 Animosity when a french monk has rows with a second (15)
7 & 18 Welshwoman is happy when decorating bathrooms we
hear (6,5)
10 Misfortune caused by Sucre incident (5)
13 Acts subtly beneath dramas (10)
16 Upset calm liar about tear production (8)
18 see 7
20 Unbalanced person found in Gypsy choir? (6)
21 Home Office finished a white house resident (6)
24 Without it, dogs do not smell (4)
WANTED
Wrangler, geek compsci
to help code up web 2.0
media/mash ideas this
summer for formerCambridge student, local
entrepreneur in exchange
for beer, resume-ware,
and later possible trips to
Bay Area to present the
app to Google, Apple &
eBay. 07720 047402
22
The Cambridge Student June 22, 2006
TCSUDOKU
Another one - just because it’s May Week...
4
6 5
9 7
6
3
1
5
6
8
3
4
2
4
6
9
8
2
5
4
1 8
3
9 1
Want to see your name in print?
We do.
Be a contributor to TCS in Michaelmas 2006
No experience? No problem. Anyone can write for us.
We are looking for contributors to every area of the paper.
Turn to page 16. Look at the team list. See a section you want to write for? Contact the section editor.
Not see a section you want to write for? Contact the editor and let them know your ideas! We welcome
writers of all kinds, even if that means areas we’ve never copvered before. Just let us know what you want to do.
We don’t care if you’ve never been Union President, a published author, or director of an ADC mainshow.
We don’t even care if you’ve never done journalism before - as long as you want to.
We just want talent, enthusiasm and a passion to make TCS the best it could be.
June 22, 2006 The Cambridge Student
23
Sport
Ed Farnell
Continued from the back page
FaT keen to take that title back
next year. Trinity Hall, Robinson
and Magdalene all got spoons,
while LMBC was knocked from
second place by a very fast St.
Catherine’s, and then chased ravenously by Queens’. Nonetheless,
“the mighty Cauis” are still dominant at the head of the River, and
even with St. Catherine’s’ boat
speed, their headship was never
properly contested. In a bright
yellow boat, the bright blue of
Cauis remains dominant.
LMBC’s 2nd (blade-winning)
women’s crew was the only one
in the club to go up at all (which
might explain the St. John’s boys
jumping in the River ahead of
the fastest crews on Saturday)
and all of the Trinity Hall men’s
boats got spoons. Girton’s 2nd
men’s cox set a trend on the first
day when she got around Grassy
Corner by leaning into the water.
On the next day few coxes in the
men’s 2nd Division didn’t do the
same thing, and two of those
crews crashed into a stationary
Darwin.
So, crews that failed will come
back next year eager to succeed,
crews that succeeded will hope
to repeat the performance, crews
with blades will want another to
cross on the wall and crews with
spoons will hope to make those
who bumped them eat humble
pie.
© 2006 Accenture All rights reserved.
Apply now.
Start later.
It makes you think.
Graduate careers in consulting
For all kinds of reasons, more and more
students are putting off career choices
until after they graduate. Accenture is
sympathetic to the finalist's lot. We were
one of the first employers to accept
applications all year round. We also offer
deferred entry for graduates who want to
take some time off before starting work.
We're one of the world's leading
management consulting, technology
services and outsourcing companies -one
accenture.com/ukgraduates
that helps clients become high-performance
businesses by delivering innovation. Join us,
and you'll work with the very best people,
the most prestigious clients and the latest
technology. You'll tackle complex projects
with access to superb training and support.
And you'll be rewarded well, with a salary
of £28,500 and an additional £10,000 over
your first 13 months.
We are hiring now. But you can apply when
you are ready.
All of which makes ours a proposition that's
well worth thinking about. Find out more
by visiting our website.
Accenture is committed to being an equal
opportunities employer.
24
The Cambridge Student June 22 2006
Sport
Bumping, Bumping, Bumped
Amica Dall
Cauis and Pembroke
Go Head of the River
Gopal Raul
IF YOU WERE to wander
down to the river at any time
between 6 am and 9 pm during
this term, you would almost
certainly have seen a college
rowing boat. Eight rowers, a
coxswain and a coach giving
up their free-time to get the
catches in, the finishes strong
and the splits down all in the
hope of catching the crew in
front in the tables must mean
the Bumps are upon us again.
During the four days of
racing a staggering 1500
boaties rowed, each one with
the aim of bumping up. Some
failed, some succeeded and
some found themselves at the
extremes of the spectrum –
with blades or spoons.
In the women’s races
Newnham IV got off to a
remarkable start going up 5 in
two days, only to be bumped
on Friday and Saturday.
Emmanuel IV rose fast too,
and both crews are now in
Division 4. Jesus IV went
up every day while First and
Third (FaT) III went down, as
did Homerton II. Newnham
III went up 6, overbumping Addebrookes on Saturday
to put them at the head of
Division 4.
Clare Hall, Churchill II
and New Hall II all dropped
4 while Darwin II, Corpus
and Queens’ II all achieved
the coveted blades in the 3rd
Division. Jesus and LMBC’s
second boats were the blade
winners in Division 2, while
Emmanuel II, Fitzwilliam
and New Hall all got spoons.
Christ’s tumbled 4 in the
top division, but many crews
moved 3, which could lead
to an interesting few years
of bumps where crews currently languishing in the bottom half of the division push
upwards where they believe
they belong. Trinity Hall
has already made its move,
and it’s only to be expected
that Newnham, Downing,
Churchil l,
K ing’s
and
Queens’ will come back next
year ready to prove that this
year’s successes weren’t f lukes
and that they are forces to be
reckoned with.
The happiest women on the
Cam must be Pembroke, who
bumped Jesus on the first day
then continually rowed over.
Some well-deserved headship
blades for the girls in blue, but
JCBC’s strength coupled with
its anger at being knocked off
the top spot will make them
fierce opposition next year.
In stark contrast to their
women, Clare Hall men
earned blades while Jesus V
and Addenbrookes had a tussle at the bottom of Division
5. Downing, Robinson and
Corpus’ third boats all got
spoons as did King’s II, leaving them as sandwich boat.
Corpus II climbed an
impressive 9 places and Selwyn
III went up 4. By Thursday
night, the talk of the River
was the FaT Graduate boat
– 8 big guys with an experienced cox – who had achieved
the double-overbump down
the reach. The “power of the
golden lycra” was obviously
turned up to maximum, but
had apparently been wound
down for Friday and Saturday
when they were bumped.
Trinity Hall III fell sharply
down a division and Downing
III got spoons leaving them
at the bottom of Division 3.
Magdalene II went up 6, while
Clare II managed exactly the
opposite and Trinity Hall II
fell 4.
There were no blades or
spoons in the 2nd Division
but there was controversy
over the Girton/Queens’
II/ Dar win sandwich on
Saturday. Queens’ insist that
they bumped Girton around
Ditton Corner, but the umpire
was watching the DarwinQueens’ fight and in the end
awarded Darwin the bump
on Queens’. That’s bumps
luck. Darwin will probably
see it as justice for their boat,
after some non-existent coxing from trailing boats on
Wednesday led to the Darwin
cox being hit by the shaft of
a blade and many of the crew
diving for cover.
Sidney
Susse x
got
spoons and Jesus II, King’s,
Fitzwilliam and Wolfson all
went up 3. Cauis II made the
jump to the first division leavcontinued on page 23
Ed Farnell