Hello friends, before the short month of February eludes us, I thought it was time to finally make another update to the blog!
Since the last posting, we haven't had too much excitement. Our short trip to Cambridge was very enjoyable. We met up with family friends Carol and Brian and enjoyed a pleasant lunch in their home and a relaxing tour of the town and several colleges. Brian, who is a retired physics professor (and a nobel laureate I might add), is a fellow at Trinity College, so we were treated to a bit of a private tour of the college's grounds and buildings and even got to walk across the quad grass! (a privilege reserved for fellows and their guests only). In the evening we were introduced for the first time to crumpets (a sort of spongy muffin with lots of holes in it, served toasted with lots of butter and jam!), and the Church of England, as we attending the evensong at the Trinity College Chapel. I found the service to be quite interesting. It was very similar to a Catholic church service, except the theme of the lessons and sermon were excerpts from Shakespeare, that week in particular being King Lear! The college choir sang lots of Latin songs and with the amazing acoustics in the old stone chapel with its high vaulted ceiling (I would guess the building is at least 500 years old), it was quiet impressive.
Ryan and I with Carol and Brian:
The gate at Trinity College:
After spending a day with Brian and Carol we went to stay the rest of the weekend with a fellow Marshall Scholar, Jamie, and her new husband Jessy. Jamie is a student at King's college and so the next day we enjoyed once again some campus tours, including to see the famous King's College Chapel, built by Henry the VIII. The rest of the time we spent wandering around the delightful town centre, visiting the market as well as several excellent bookshops, and examining with some interest the thousands of rusty old bikes parked all over the city! For Ryan's part, the sight of so many poorly maintained student bikes was particularly painful I think! More than one was so rusty it seemed to have grown attached to the iron railing it was leaned against!
Some pictures of the King's College Chapel:
Not sure what college this is:
A Cambridge street view:
Other than our little trip to Cambridge, we haven't been up to very much. Ryan has been working quite a lot, and for my part, I have been pretty occupied with my studies. For Valentine's day we went out for a quiet dinner at a local pub and had a night at home watching telly.
One area of news, is that after having taken some swimming lessons from my flatmate Dan, I am finally able to do a proper crawl and have been getting progressively better! Also, I am now in the full throes of training for this years' marathon, which will be May 11th on the scenic Isle of Wight. As you all know, I have been a sufferer for many years of severe and frequent migraine headaches. This year I have decided that I would like to use my running a marathon as an opportunity to raise funds for the London Migraine Clinic, which is a world class institution in London that offers medical advice and care for migraine sufferers as well as conducts important research into understanding the causes of migraine. I am a patient at the clinic, and have experienced first hand the amazing work they are doing everyday to help make life better for ordinary people like myself--work they often do entirely free of cost. As a charity the clinic relies on donations to keep afloat, and so I am hoping to use this opportunity to contribute what I can, with a goal of raising 300 Pounds. Once I get things set up with the clinic, I will let you all know how to sponsor me!!
Well, that's all for now folks. I hope life is treating you all well, wherever you are.
Wishing you all peace and joy in the month of love,
Alletta
