Tag Archives: Cambridge

Posts from the road

Let The Music Begin

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(Southend-on-Sea, England, U.K.)

November 25 was my final night in Cambridge. As noted in my previous blog posting, I spontaneously bought a ticket to see a musical put on by Cambridge University students.  I knew nothing else about it.

The musical had the somewhat postmodern name “[Title of Show]”; it is “a musical about creating a musical about creating a musical”. This odd premise really makes your head spin at times, as the distinctions between performance, reality and time gets blurrier as the show progresses.

The Eagle Bar - this is where two Cambridge professors regularly went for lunch...and also where they announced that they had discovered DNA
The Eagle Bar – this is where two Cambridge professors regularly went for lunch…and also where they announced that they had discovered DNA

It was a very intimate theatre with a capacity of about 100 people (although this mid-week show attracted significantly less than that), so there was no chance of feeling distant from the stage.  In fact, the stage was on the same level as the front row of seats.

While it was not as polished as a Broadway production, the show was amusing enough and set the stage (heh) for the professional musical performances that I’ll be watching over the following 4 nights. In fact, I even made my British theatrical debut during the Cambridge musical: one scene required the actors to have an audience member film them for a YouTube video. I happened to be closest to the stage and was thus drafted without warning into the non-speaking role of “videographer”. I was handed a cell-phone and completed my role without incident.

View of King's College Chapel from the street (Cambridge, England)
View of King’s College Chapel from the street (Cambridge, England)

November 26 saw me travel by train from Cambridge to Southend-on-Sea for the Paul Carrack concert I discussed a few posts ago.   The Cliffs Pavilion in the Westcliff district of Southend is the theatre hosting the show and my cozy B&B is precisely 1 minute and 25 seconds by foot from the Pavilion.

I'm staying at the Trinity Hotel, a B&B in Westcliff-on-Sea. The waterfront is perhaps half-a-block down the street.
I’m staying here, at the Trinity Hotel, a B&B in Westcliff-on-Sea. The waterfront is perhaps half-a-block down the street.

I wandered around both Westcliff and downtown Southend during the afternoon.  It is a decent-sized city that also doubles as a seaside resort…at least during the warmer months.  Its claim to fame is having “the longest pleasure pier in the world” – it stretches out more than a mile into the North Sea.  There are rides, unhealthy food, games of chance, tacky trinkets…the sorts of things you would hope to find in a place like this.  While it is the off-season and Southend looks a little deserted in places, there are also some very nice neighbourhoods in the city.

On the waterfront at Southend-on-Sea, England
Near the waterfront at Southend-on-Sea, England

I am also pleased to report that I managed to acquire some vinyl records at a well-stocked store near the pedestrian-only High Street.  The street was full of Christmas shoppers and Christmas trees with blue lights.

High Street in Southend-on-Sea, England
Christmas Shopping on the High Street in Southend-on-Sea, England

As my B&B is so close to the theatre, I had dinner at a fish restaurant just a few steps away.  I rarely eat fish but thought that this would be the best time to have some, because this is the closest I’ll get to the sea during this trip.  It was a cut above your typical “chippy”: my haddock (and chips) was almost all fish and no batter, rather than the other way around.  I felt properly English, having upscale fish and chips with a nice cider by the sea.

Stay tuned for a review of the Paul Carrack concert!

Posts from the road

Celebration of the Eel

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(Cambridge, England, U.K.)

On November 25, I visited the very small city of Ely.  Ely (pronounced “eelie”) is located about 20 minutes from Cambridge by train but feels much further away because of how quiet it is during the colder months.

As you can see from the photo at the top of the post, they’ve got an eel thing happening in Ely.  It turns out that the name “Ely” derives from the fact that it was swimming in eels when it was first established.  It’s not an especially pretty picture for someone who is not too keen on snakes or slimy fish, given that eels are slimy snake-like fish.  At one point, you could even pay your taxes in eels.  Jellied eels were a popular treat here and it is still possible to get eel pies and eel stew in local restaurants.  When I heard that there was even a self-guided “Eel Trail” walking tour…well,  I just had to go.

Oliver Cromwell's House (and also the tourist office) in Ely, England
Oliver Cromwell’s House (and also the tourist office) in Ely, England

I picked up my Eel Trail pamphlet at the Ely tourist office.   It is located in a 13th century building called Oliver Cromwell’s House…so named because Oliver Cromwell actually lived in it, beginning in 1636.  With the tourist office only being open from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. during the winter season, I realized that I wouldn’t be seeing many other tourists in Ely.

Ely's High Street is relatively tourist-free in late November
Ely’s High Street is relatively tourist-free in late November

Ely’s claim to fame is its massive cathedral.  Work began on it in 1081; it seems terribly disproportionate to the size of the city but I suspect that Ely was probably very important a thousand years ago.  Why else would the cathedral be 161 metres long with a 66 metre-high tower?

Front of the Ely Cathedral, with a Crimean War cannon in the foreground (Ely, England)
Front of the Ely Cathedral, with a captured Crimean War cannon in the foreground (Ely, England)

I was hoping to find some eely Ely postcards for some friends but had no luck in that regard.  I continued along the Eel Trail route and took lots of photographs in the mist.  I was really hoping to see eels leaping out of the water when I made it down to the “River Great Ouse”.  Alas, it seems that eels don’t leap out of the water like salmon…or maybe there just aren’t as many as there used to be.  The only eels I saw were the many sculpted eels installed along the Eel Trail.  On the live animal front, I can only report seeing highly food-oriented ducks, geese and swans.

I came across the only other tourists in Ely, near the side of the massive Cathedral.
I finally located the only other tourists in Ely, near the side of the massive Cathedral.

While I enjoyed my walk on the Eel Trail, I ended up returning to Cambridge a little earlier than expected.  It was lunchtime in Ely but a huge breakfast at my B&B left me with no midday appetite at all.  A promising local museum was also closed, as Tuesdays are devoted solely to school groups.

Silver Street in Ely, England
Silver Street in Ely, England

Once I got back to Cambridge, I decided to look for a newly-opened record shop that was literally on the “other side of the tracks”.  I know it’s a cliché but it really was a completely different world over there:  the posh colleges and inviting restaurants had been replaced by charity shops, vacant storefronts and betting offices.  I managed to pick up some postage stamps but otherwise returned to my B&B empty-handed.

I didn’t mind the relatively quiet day – this was the start of five straight nights of musicals and concerts!  First up was the Cambridge University Musical Theatre production of “[Title of Show]”.  Yes, that’s the title…stay tuned for a review!

Posts from the road

The Colleges of Cambridge University

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(Cambridge, England, U.K.)

On my first full day here I went on a walking tour of the colleges of Cambridge University.

Cambridge University goes back to the 13th century but much of a student’s life here revolves around the college rather than the university as a whole.  There are 31 colleges within the university; some are more prestigious than others but the degrees themselves are all granted by the university.

Our tour included admission to two of the more prominent colleges:  King’s College and Queens’ College (yes, some of the colleges charge admission…and the apostrophe goes after the “s” in “Queens” because more than one queen founded that college).  At Queens’, we crossed the “Mathematical Bridge”, saw some “punting on the Cam” and saw our first Cambridge courtyard.

The "Mathematical Bridge" at Queens' College, Cambridge University
The “Mathematical Bridge” at Queens’ College, Cambridge University

The highlight, however, was our visit to King’s College.  The major landmark here is the King’s College Chapel:  it is positively ancient and looks completely unlike anything you’d see on a Canadian college campus.  “Chapel” makes it sound small:  don’t be fooled!   One can’t help wondering how the tall and narrow building has managed to remain standing for more than 500 years (and how they managed to build it in the first place).

Inside the Chapel was a painting by Rubens; when it was acquired, it was the most expensive painting ever bought.   But King’s College is impressive outside of the Chapel too; the photo at the top of this post is merely of the façade facing the street in front of King’s College.

One end of the King's College Chapel (Cambridge, England)
One end of the King’s College Chapel (Cambridge, England)

It also seems that there is a bit of a rivalry “between Cambridge and another school about 70 miles west of here.  I can’t remember the name of it,” said our guide, knowing full well that it was Oxford.  He did tell us that Cambridge has produced twice as many Nobel Prize winners as that other school…in fact, it has produced more than any *country* other than the U.S., the U.K. and Germany.

Descendant of the "Isaac Newton Apple Tree", growing below his former room at Trinity College, Cambridge University
Descendant of the “Isaac Newton Apple Tree”, growing below his former room at Trinity College, Cambridge University

After leaving the tour, I walked down to Trinity College and took a picture of an apple tree.  Why?  It is the direct descendant of an apple tree from Isaac Newton’s day…and it was an apple falling from this tree that led Newton to his groundbreaking work with gravity.  Newton isn’t the only famous Cambridge graduate:  others include Charles Darwin, Stephen Hawking, Prince Charles, John Milton, William Wordsworth, Salman Rushdie, A.A. Milne, Francis Bacon, Jane Goodall and John Cleese!   I could add many, many more; check out this link on Wikipedia for a comprehensive list.

One of the courtyards at Sidney College, Cambridge University
One of the courtyards at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University

It is possible to wander into some colleges without paying:  Corpus Christi college opens for a couple of hours each afternoon, while I managed to wander through Sidney Sussex and Clare colleges without any problem.  And after having been to Harvard (in Cambridge, Massachusetts!) a couple of summers ago, I have to say that downtown Cambridge (England) has a much more “integrated” campus: it isn’t set off from the town as much as Harvard.   If I ever decide that I need to complete another degree, I’d like to study in a place like Cambridge.

Inside the first courtyard of Clare College, with King's College Chapel in the background
Inside the first courtyard of Clare College, with King’s College Chapel in the background

After having a light take-out “Turkish Pizza” for lunch, I was ready for a more substantial meal in the evening.  I found a Moroccan placed called “Bedouin” near my B&B – it was wonderfully atmospheric inside and the meal was delicious.  I think the “bastilla” (a pastry filled with warm spiced chicken, and then dusted with sugar and cinnamon) was the best appetizer I’ve had this year.

Pastilla appetizer at Bedouin (Cambridge, England)
Bastilla appetizer at Bedouin restaurant  (Cambridge, England)

Stay tuned for more on Cambridge and a journey to a nearby ancient city!

Posts from the road

Greetings from East Anglia!

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(Cambridge, England, U.K.)

Having indulged in most of my sports interests (especially hockey and skiing) already during this year of travel, I decided that it was finally time to have a music-themed trip.

I’ve always enjoyed reading British music journalism and, as a result, have followed some prominent British musicians who don’t have as large a fan base in North America.  Alas, the economic realities of the music business mean that relatively few British musicians are able to tour anywhere near my home in Kingston.  If the music wasn’t going to come to Kingston, I would have to go to the music!

I've seen a lot of airports this year but haven't taken many pictures in them. This is the long walk from the terminal to the Heathrow baggage claim.
I’ve seen a lot of airports this year but haven’t taken many pictures in them. This is the long walk from the terminal to the Heathrow baggage claim.

London is the epicentre of the music world here in Britain and I’ll be spending some very intensive days there at the end of this trip. However, I’m easing into things by spending a few days in the famous university town of Cambridge.

I wanted to see one of the ancient universities in England, so it came down to a choice between Oxford and Cambridge. They both had a lot to offer but Cambridge was closer to the location of the Paul Carrack concert that I mentioned in my previous post. My wife and I intend to see some more of England in the future; if I enjoy the Cambridge experience, we may include Oxford in one of our future itineraries.  Or maybe we’ll come back here!

Cambridge has a historic core...but there is also an upscale shopping mall in the middle of it.
Cambridge has a historic downtown core…but there is also an upscale shopping mall in the middle of it.

I only arrived in Cambridge at 3:00 p.m. today so I didn’t have a chance to see much of it by daylight.  After a nap, I went for some Indian food…I am forever searching for a chicken dhansak that rivals the wonderful one I had in Chester, England, back in 2005 (I really like the version served up by Darbar back home in Kingston too).  Tonight’s dhansak was good but not spectacular. The search continues!

After dinner, I walked around the city a bit.  It feels safe and comfortable here; the huge university population also supports a terrific variety of ethnic restaurants.  I had assumed that I’d be eating a lot of Indian food here but I saw too many other interesting places to restrict myself to dhansak (however tempting that might be).

"The Cow" - one of many historic buildings in downtown Cambridge
“The Cow” – one of many historic buildings in downtown Cambridge

Tomorrow, I’m taking a tour of Cambridge’s ancient university colleges and will finally see the city by daylight.  I’m looking forward to sharing some daytime photographs!