You may think Christmas is the most wonderful night of the year, but that's probably because you've never attended the St. John's College May Ball. I don't blame you for being so uninformed. Getting tickets is nearly impossible unless you're a Johnian or you're dating one or you've bribed one with large sums of cash or unmentionable favors. But certainly if you've had the pleasure of attending this event, you know that there's not much out there that can top it.
This was my last May Ball (not ever, hopefully, but for a while) and I was ready to make the most of it, top to bottom. As usual the theme was kept under wraps, even though I spent a great deal of my free time trying to pry it out of my friend, Grace, who was working the art/design subscene committee. But by the time they were painting water lilies in Chapel Court and putting up giant Campbell's soup cans on the Backs, I knew.
Needing to keep up with a my three-date ticket from last year, I brought three dates to the May Ball this year: my dear friend, Katy, and two theatre friends.
A few of us got ready at my friend Chris' place since it was conveniently located only a few blocks away from where we had to start queueing. Major props to Chris for putting up with three to four girls in his tiny room, painting their nails, curling their hair, spraying perfume, putting on makeup, hogging the mirrors and the bed and the floor and the chairs and most of the desk space. You're a trooper!
Then we all gathered for the infamous queueing portion of the night in which we stand in line, take a million photos, drink champagne, and avoid sneaky Daily Mail photographers.
Claiming our spot in the queue.
A mini Rose Tat Crew reunion at the Ball!
The boys looking dapper as ever.
L to R: Matt, Nat, Katy, Chase, Me, Mike
It was in the queue that we finally got the theme confirmed: Ars Gratia Artis. Each court was themed off of an artistic movement with corresponding decorations, activities, music, and food to match. For example: Chapel Court was Impressionism themed. There was a fountain in the middle with lily pads and Impressionistic paintings. Food included a crepe stand, espresso, champagne, and eclairs. Music was classical harp. The court had been decorated with little white metal tables covered in gingham tablecloths--out of a French painting definitely! Another favorite court was Second Court, the Surrealism Court. There was an optical illusion room, cacti (for Dali), and strange Dali-esque creatures roaming around. Creepy, but very cool!
Once in, the first stop for all guests is to collect a skewer of strawberries and their first glass of champagne from New Court (see above photo). Once there we ran off to get our first food of the night, and all of us agreed the first stop was the hog roast! However, on the way there I was distracted by a huge fruit pyramid. Most people would question my stopping there when I was surrounded by churros, donuts, pizza, mac n cheese, and unlimited drinks. However, these fruit pyramids hold a special place in my heart. Last year I wandered alone into the Midsummer Nights' Dream themed First Court to discover this pyramid under a canopy of ivy leaves. No one was around, it was secluded and mysterious. I went over, picked up a nectarine and ate it. It felt like I was in a Shakespearean fantasy world and had just eaten the forbidden fruit. Not only was it a bit magical, but fruit has always been a pricey luxury for me. I do buy it, but nectarines especially I debate buying since they're rarely good. This was a moment of pure indulgence for me, more than anything in the entire ball. So finding this fruit pyramid again was like a sign. It was going to be a good night. So while everyone went to get pork sandwiches, I indulged once more.
I DID get my pork sandwich, and had just about enough time to down it with a glass of champagne before Katy dragged me into her quest to find cupcakes, a quest not to be taken lightly. We traveled all the way into First Court where we had not only cupcakes but also churros. Yum! I also found a punt full of old fashioned bottles of Coke. This, again, is another big indulgent item for me. I couldn't resist. I gave myself the biggest sugar rush eating cupcakes that were 2/3 frosting and finishing them off with Coke.
At this point Katy hadn't eaten any substantial food so we made our way back out onto the Backs so Katy could get Mac n Cheese. During our journey I ran into a few other friends, took more photos, and attempted to survive the massive crushing mob dying for some mac. When we had just about reached the front of the line the fireworks started. While not as good as last year IMHO, they were still pretty darn impressive, all synced up to music. People came from all the different colleges to see the fireworks, a lot of them parking punts on the Cam to get ideal spots.
On my way back into college post-fireworks I ran into my college wife, Grace, and my gang of fellow undergrads. My college dad, Patrick, being the great-influence he is as a patriarch, took me over to the shots bar. Never in my life have I seen so many shots just laid out on a bar, completely free. I'm talking hundreds of different flavored shots, and you could just go up and take as many as you wanted, as often as you wanted. Talk about dangerous. Needless to say we had one or two or twelve, and by the time the guy came around passing out milkshakes, we were definitely in. I know what you're thinking: we have really tough stomachs in Cambridge.
While I don't have a picture of those shots, Chris got a photo of the Jaeger Bomb Bar which is equally alarming. I avoided that one like the plague.
Needing to walk around a bit after that fun family foray, I ran back into Nat and Matt. We toured the Buttery (massages and makeovers) and the bar (wine and light music) before joining the rest of our group on the dance floor. The music was jazzy and swingin' and we boogied down for a while.
Needing a break from those shenanigans, we went into the Impressionist Chapel Court. We ate crepes stuffed full of Nutella and candy pieces. Teeth-aching, most of us ate about half of our crepes before we gave up. On to Pimm's instead!
Overwhelmed and confused by the amount of chocolate in these crepes.
After that--more shenanigans. We court-hopped, sipping this, nibbling that--more champagne and strawberries and kangaroo burgers and mojitos and donuts. We played in optical illusion room, danced some more, lounged in my bedroom for a ten minute break, played a very scandalous game of mini golf on the Backs, ran into more friends for more photos, and made the most of the night while it was young.
Just before dawn our small group gathered from all parts of the college and congregated in the tiny, dark, and comfortingly warm Old Music Room which had been converted into a casino. The boys channeled James Bond with their shirt sleeves and gin. We girls collapsed on the floor by their feet and took off our shoes. The sun was rising.
The morning hours are the roughest. We scarfed down bacon baps slathered in ketchup and searched for hot coffee and tea to carry us until the Survivors' Photo. We sat on the New Court lawn listening to the weary Gents serenade us. Some boys drank warm Pimm's, hoping the hair of the dog would keep them until the end. I sent a bleary-eye Katy to my room as I savored the last hour of my last May Ball. Finally, we took complimentary umbrellas with us out onto the drizzly Backs and gathered, shouting and laughing into one giant mass for the photo. A few clicks, it was over. With dew in my hair and my shoes in my hand, I stumbled to my room and fell into a deep sleep that was interrupted a measly few hours later by a fire alarm. But that's another story.
PS: A big thanks goes out to Chris and John, from whom I stole 2/3 of these photos.
