May Week Highlights

All right. It's obviously been an extraordinarily long time since I last posted, though in my defense I had the overwhelming combination of May Ball-graduation-traveling-moving to keep me distracted. However, I have lots of exciting topics on which I'd like to post, if my dear readers are still there and haven't abandoned me on principle. 

First up: May Week highlights. Let me overload you with pictures of me having a great time frolicking about England. That always cheers everyone up.

May Week, to recap, if you have not yet read my post on May Week from last year (HERE!, if you're interested), takes place in June (don't ask) after exams, usually the third week. It starts with Suicide Sunday and ends the next Sunday with (for Johnians) the SBR Garden Party. The week is jam-packed with garden parties, May Balls, dances, pub crawls, Pimm's, strawberries and cream, sunshine (if we're very, very good students), and the relief that comes with being finished with exams. 

Here are some highlights from that week:

Suicide Sunday: Punt Race
Every year on Suicide Sunday there's a punt race on the River Cam. Each college can register a punt and the teams race from Darwin to Trinity. A few of our Lady Margaret rowers got a team together. A group of my friends gathered on Clare Bridge with champagne and snacks, and we watched our boys punt to victory! 

Oxford vs. Cambridge Cricket Match at Lords
An Aussie friend convinced my group of friends to attend the Oxbridge cricket match in London. Having never attended such an event, and wanting to do as many "English" activities as possible before leaving the UK, I readily agreed. I figured that even though cricket is a lame version of baseball, it would be fun. (PS: I no longer think cricket is a lame version of baseball. I have the utmost respect for the sport, and find it very fun to watch. So don't get your knickers in a twist.) 

First of all, do not be deceived by the photos. It stayed bright blue and sunny for a total of four minutes. Then it rained. On. And off. And on. And off. All day. What I discovered about cricket and rain is that as soon as it starts raining they stop the match. Which meant we only watched cricket for about ten minutes at a time, and spent the majority of our time huddled on hard bleachers, drinking warm white wine out of the bottle since we forgot cups. Despite what sounds like a miserable scenario, we had fun together. Finally we called it quits and went for Pakistani food in town.

Not a bad way to end the day. Especially since we spent the majority of it looking like this. So glamorous. Any port in a storm.

PS: Fun Cricket Tip That May or May Not Be True: In professional matches they stop the game for tea breaks. How very English!

Making Use of the Backs

With some semi-nice weather going on in Cambridge during May Week, we made sure to make the most of the sunshine and have a few picnics. During Easter Term you're allowed to sit out on the Backs (what a novelty!), and the wide expanses of untouched green make the perfect picnic location. My lovely friend, Katy, came from London to visit me during May Week, and being a big foodie herself, we put my small kitchen to good use. Then we grabbed a few more friends and made an evening of it. It also gave us a good spot to watch the Trinity fireworks later in the evening.

Out in Cripps Court we also attended the JCR Garden Party. We ate burgers, drank cocktails, and played on the bouncy obstacle course (way more fun after the cocktails) before heading into the "Boiler Room" for a silent disco.

The Backs were also the best place to see the May Ball preparations. I loved that the college would be all lit up, even before the Ball begin. Really added to the anticipation!

Finally we got to visit the gorgeous house/garden of the college Master, Chris Dobson. All graduating students get to attend a "tea party" at his house. The "tea party" was actually unlimited Pimm's and scones with clotted cream and jam. Not a bad way to spend the rainy afternoon. The Master gave a fabulous speech that warmed our hearts as his fireplace warmed our chilled ankles.

The SBR Garden Party

The May Week SBR Garden Party is one of the biggest events the SBR organizes. We pull out all the stops when it comes to delicacies. This year we had multiple casks of hand-chosen ale, endless bottles of chilled cava, and more Pimm's than you could shake a stick at. On top of that we had sandwiches galore, snacks, piles of cakes, and, of course, strawberries and cream. We had a live band, we danced, we played croquet, we laughed, and I got to say a proper goodbye to a lot of amazing friends.

A London-Cambridge Swap

Last weekend, as a reward for my hard work (I took two mock exams and survived), I spent a night in London. I went to celebrate my good friend Katy's birthday. From the first hour I was back in that gorgeous city, I knew it was going to be a good weekend: as Katy was getting beautified in a salon, I sat outside a cafe in Bloomsbury, drinking tea and writing in the glorious sunshine. Perfection. 

Katy's celebrations started at Mes Amies, a Lebanese restaurant out in Hammersmith. It was a very eclectic place, to say the least. Decorated like a Chinese boudoir on crack and about the size of a matchbox, we all got very cozy together while trying not to bang out heads on hanging umbrellas. Though the service was slow, we snacked on hummus, baba ghanoush, samosas, and pita. We drank wine out of gaudy red wine glasses and played the crazy wax sculpture that was the table's centerpiece. We talked about the London transport system, what "spicy" food really is in England, and times we accidentally set appliances on fire.

Post-dinner we taxied ourselves off to the mysterious Evans & Peel: Detective Agency, a hidden cocktail bar (not unlike the Safe House, to us Milwaukeeans). We had to buzz to get in, then descended a load of stairs before arriving the detective's office.

The "detective" was a jaunty young man who eyed us with a haughty expression and politely asked us to "state our case". After Katy explained it was her birthday, and he looked unimpressed, we jumped in with a sad tale of two missing people. Alas, he said, you have to wait 48 hours before investigating missing people. But we didn't HAVE 48 hours! They disappeared under mysterious circumstances. There was foul play! We couldn't just sit around!

The whole time we were in there, I was scoping the place out. The room was completely enclosed. The only exit was the stairs we just came down. It was decorated all 1940s-eque and I knew there had to be a secret door to get into the cocktail bar. I won't spoil it for those who want to go, but I TOTALLY called the secret of how to get in. Down to the very minute detail of which object one needed to pull to open the secret door. I should be a detective.

The cocktail was small, but lovely, packed with glamorous men and women who could have come from any era. Some women had feathery headpieces or 1920s jewelry, but most people were just there to soak in the atmosphere. We were led to a little wobbly table and presented with a plate of bread and oil. We spent a good deal of time looking at the extensive and exciting cocktail menu. (One drink came infused with butter, while others had maple syrup!) Finally we ordered and spent the night sipping our expensive, but delicious cocktails. 

The next day Katy and I slept in to our hearts' content and then had a late breakfast (practically a lunch) of homemade American-style pancakes with honey and bananas. Yum! We enjoyed them with a gorgeous view of a park outside of Katy's apartment window. The sun was shining again!

We were lucky enough that our mutual friend, John (a fellow Cantab from last year) was in London for the weekend, so we decided to meet him and his friend at the South Bank for a little Cinco de Mayo celebration! There were joyful reunion hugs, and then we attempted to navigate the headache-inducing crowds with our cumbersome luggage. South Bank had a "Streets of Spain" area which we were all excited about. Alas, it was less tapas and more stalls selling raw meat and spices (not something you can really eat in the moment). John was adventurous and got a weird dish that was basically noodles covered in garlic mayo with a single, lonely prawn on top. 

The rest of us wandered to the other areas of the South Bank to look for more palatable food. Katy settled on a burger while John and I got pork sandwiches: pulled pork with rocket, applesauce, and chili sauce. Yum! Afterwards we parted ways at King's Cross with John heading back to Belgium and Katy and I venturing to Cambridge. Goodbye for now, London!

Monday: Bank Holiday in London. Katy and I spent a bit of the morning working a Bill's cafe. The afternoon, though, was what really mattered. We joined a few friends and went on our first punting trip of the season. If you don't really know anything about punting, check out last year's post on it HERE. Katy punted first with remarkable skill. And while John and I don't really look it, we were having a great time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the punt...

Since it was a beautiful, sunny day out, the river was worse than rush hour traffic in a big city. We tried maneuvering around most punts, but we ended up getting caught in a few multiple-punt accidents. Still, it was nice just being on the water. We drank cold beer and sang show tunes and I accidentally dunked my foot into the river (ew). The best part had to be when we spied a rival punt, captained by our friend. We decided to try a bit of pirate punting. So we quickly caught up with them, sidled our punt right up to theirs, and with the finesse of a skilled pirate, I leapt onto their punt. My goal was to steal our friend's hat, but since he's 6' 7" it proved a bit problematic. After avoiding being pushed into the river about half a dozen times, I retreated back to my punt, calling it a mission mostly-successful. Until next time.

We spent the rest of the punting trip avoiding other punts, watching swans, soaking up sunshine, and talking about how much we're going to miss Cambridge. Alas! I don't want to think about it too much. It's weekends such as these that make me realize how blessed I am to be able to pop over to London for an overnight, to be able to lounging a boat on the river, floating past gorgeous 500-year-old buildings. Extraordinary. 

In the comments below, tell me your summer plans! When I'm done with work, I'm going to be spending all of my free time lounging on a little punt on the river. Ah, 'tis the life!

PS: I realized after publishing this that my blog post is lacking something very important. I forgot to mention two of my dear friends who were guests on our punting trip. First is Natalie:

Natalie is a spaniel reincarnated as a bubbly redhead. She spent the punting trip serenading us with her dulcet tones. She also shared her Starburst which was just incredibly generous (even though she only shared the blackcurrent-flavored ones). 

Then there's Chase:

Inside, Chase is clearly a stern old man from the 1890s. Most of the time though he's a kind young man from the 2010s. He contributed cheese straws and exciting banter to our punting trip. He also held my beer on multiple occasions when I was either plundering nearby ships or failing to paddle the punt. 

My failure to mention either of these two illustrious people in my blog post is a serious slight on my part and I sincerely apologize to both of them. 

Love you guys. :)