College bulletin: 20 October
PhD student Paras Vadher was the first to submit his suggestion for the name of the College’s new intranet – Intra McNetFace.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, it didn’t go quite as far as a public vote and undergraduate Dénes Buzafalvi’s suggestion of 4thCourt has now been chosen as the name for the intranet, which will be launched later this academic year.
Jack Glossop, Deputy Fellows’ Butler, also suggested 4thCourt but it was Dénes’s name pulled out of a hat as the lucky winner of a College scarf.
There were lots of Lady Margaret Beaufort themed ideas including MagNet (already the name of Magdalene College’s intranet) and BeaufortSupport. Folly, the Master’s dog, was much aggrieved to hear her name was not selected but she quickly forgot about her dismay when a ball was thrown for her.
College news
John is there, and John has won! Look! I told you! Here's the sun!
Graduands sheltered from the rain in the Old Music Room this morning before they processed to the Senate House to formally graduate from the University of Cambridge.
Today’s group of students were mostly, but not exclusively, postgraduates and they did not let the quintessential English weather dampen their spirits as they celebrated with family and friends.
More photographs are available on Facebook and Instagram @stjohnscam
Sustainable fashion ‘Swish’ returns to St John’s
St John’s is holding its second ‘Swish’ clothes swap party this term after a hugely successful debut event earlier this year.
‘Swishing’ is a popular sustainable fashion activity that enables you to donate your own good quality, unwanted clothes to swap with others – so you refresh your wardrobe while going easy on the planet.
The next Swish takes place in Hall on Saturday 18 November.
Underground colonies of fungi could help us grow stronger, more plentiful food crops
Professor Uta Paszkowski, Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics, Head of the Cereal Symbiosis Group and Fellow of St John’s, writes in The Telegraph about how climate change and booming fertilizer prices are prompting scientists to look at natural alternatives, with help from genetic modification.
Full story (paywall may apply)
Vatican’s ambassador to Great Britain welcomed to Chapel as two College martyrs remembered
A special Evensong was held in Chapel yesterday to mark the birth of St John Fisher in 1469 – the man who was instrumental in the foundation of St John’s College.
A special guest at the service was the Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía. Friends from Fisher House, Fr Paul and colleagues, and other friends from the Catholic community in Cambridge also attended.
Yesterday was also the feast day of former John’s student St Philip Howard, who also died in the Tower of London on 19 October - 60 years after St John Fisher’s execution for treason in 1535.
Buttery architects win industry prize
MCW Architects, which was behind the design of the College’s new Buttery, Café and Bar, has won Building Design’s Higher Education Architect of the Year 2023.
The Cambridge practice’s submission included the St John’s Buttery, which was shown on screen as the winners were announced at Tuesday’s awards ceremony in London.
New sensors will help identify College's energy needs
Sensors and smart controls are being installed in offices and residential spaces across St John’s to understand how the fabric of the College buildings perform thermally, and how to better control heating when occupants are away from their rooms.
The new project will expand on trials held in a Cripps staircase last year and recent monitoring in some student hostels. The equipment, which will only be installed with occupiers' permission, will enable the College to design and test upgrades to the infrastructure and management of the heating system as it moves away from fossil fuels in line with its net zero commitments.
Staying warm in your College accommodation
With autumn definitely now upon us and winter fast approaching, the Maintenance Department has some top tips for staying warm while living and working in our historic College buildings.
Chance to explore computational biology
The College is gauging interest for a St John's Computational Biology Club that would discuss topics related to computational/mathematical methods in biology, career pathways, and ethics of AI in healthcare. Participation from students and Fellows of any field is welcomed and encouraged.
Please contact Dr Michael Boemo with any queries.
What’s on
Chapel
Student Communion – Sunday 22 October, 8.30am
Gather in the small chapel in the Ante-chapel for a half-hour service of Holy Communion (aka the Eucharist) with Sermon, and then go to Hall for cooked breakfast (which is subsidised). This appeals to a real cross-section of the student community.
Organ recital – Sunday 22 October, 6pm
Alex Robson (St John’s College) will be performing works by Bach, Brahms and Wallen.
Open to all, admission free.
Sunday Evensong with Sermon – Sunday 22 October, 6.30pm
This term’s sermon series is ‘Who do you say that I am?’ – preachers have been invited to offer their own perspective on Jesus Christ: how they understand him, what he means today and what we might learn from what we know of Jesus and how he has been portrayed in the last two millennia. This evening our own Dean will be preaching on Jesus the Preacher.
1823/2023: A service inspired by the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Anti-Slavery Society – Friday 27 October, 6.30pm
Advent Carol services – Saturday 25 November, 6pm & Sunday 26 November, 3pm
The Sunday service will be recorded live for broadcast by BBC Radio 3 the following Sunday, 3 December (Advent Sunday).
College members are given priority, admission free. As these services are usually heavily oversubscribed, tickets will be restricted to three per application.
The closing date for applications is Monday, 30 October 2023. Tickets will be distributed to applicants during the week commencing Monday, 6 November.
For all other regular services, see the Chapel webpage
The Chapel team is always keen to hear from more volunteers to read in services or assist in other ways: please contact Andrew.
Other events
St John’s College Picturehouse: Oppenheimer – Sunday 22 October, 7.15pm
Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.
Credited as ‘the father of the atomic bomb’, American physician J. Robert Oppenheimer is appointed to work on the top-secret Manhattan Project. As the director of the Los Alamos Laboratory, responsible for the research and design of an atomic bomb, Oppenheimer finds himself confronting the visceral realities of his own creation.
All Picturehouse films are shown using a cinema grade DCP projector and the venue is wheelchair accessible with space for up to 10 wheelchair users. Seating is padded.
Open to all University members, tickets £4: buy tickets
Careers Fairs – throughout term
University Student Services Centre, Bene’t Street, New Museums Site.
Further details and to register
Visit the Careers Service website for more information.
Drop-in dissertation support group – Monday 23 October, 2.30-4pm
Library Seminar Room.
Weekly group run during term time by the Library, offering an informal setting for students to come along and work on their dissertations and other pieces of coursework alongside other students going through the same thing. There is support, encouragement and the opportunity to ask questions about study skills such as researching, referencing or time management.
Email Harriet if you have any questions.
Meet the brewer – Monday 23 October, 6pm
Wordsworth Room, First Court.
Local award-winning Ivo Brewery will be holding a tasting of its local ales and lagers, hosted by brewery founder Charlie Abbott.
Open to all College members. Tickets £6, limited places, register via Upay.
Physics for Everyone: Energy and Dynamics – Monday 23 October, 6pm
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
The third in a series of eight lectures by Fellow Prof Nick Manton, giving an overview of the world of physics for everyone at St John’s. Physics investigates the observable phenomena in our Universe, from the very large to the very small. Elegant theories have emerged, accurately describing a broad range of these phenomena.
These lectures will cover the key concepts of space, time, particles, matter, energy, forces and fields. This week’s lecture explores different types of energy, motion and forces, energy conversion and conservation, and mass as energy.
Open to College members and their guests. Admission free, no booking required.
Cambridge citizens: Wintercomfort visit – Monday 23 October, 7pm
This term The Rev’d Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Chapel, will be leading two short evening visits in town to help students get to know Cambridge beyond the University. The first visit is to Wintercomfort for the homeless, next to St John’s College boathouse.
Wintercomfort provides meals for those who have no home, three times a day, and is also an information, advice, training and support centre for homeless men and women. You will hear about their work, and have the opportunity to learn more about homelessness in Cambridge and what might be done in response. If you’d like to go along, please email Dr Oakley.
Open to students, no charge.
College Bar quiz – Monday 23 October, 8.30pm
Bar.
Open to all, admission free.
SBR yoga – Tuesday 24 October, 8.30am
Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.
Hour-long class every Tuesday and Thursday, suitable for all abilities. Please bring your own mat and arrive promptly. Last class of the term will be on 2 November.
Open to SBR members plus their guests. Members will be charged £3 to their College bill per session. No booking required. Email Dommy with any queries.
Paleography for beginners – Tuesday 24 October, 3pm
Via Zoom.
Weekly sessions for anyone interested in reading handwriting from c1500-c1700, using documents from the College’s institutional archives. Sessions are informal and aimed at beginners, or those with a little experience who wish to practise their skills.
Sessions are held on Tuesdays at 3pm and take place online using photographs of the documents. If you would like to join the first session, or have any queries, please email the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby.
Open to all, admission free.
The Really Popular Book Club – Tuesday 24 October, 7.30pm
Via Zoom.
The Really Popular Book Club is Cambridge University Libraries' book group and is an opportunity to discuss a really popular book with the group, library staff, and an expert on the novel. Join St John’s research scientist, social entrepreneur, cultural heritage preservationist and oral historian Darold Cuba to discuss the novel The Sellout, by Paul Beatty.
Open to all, admission free: further details and to register
Tour of the College wine cellars – Wednesday 25 October, 11.30am
Meet in the passage between the kitchens and Hall.
A 30-minute tour led by Jim Wocha, Wine and Provisions Manager at St John’s. Please note that no large bags or coats are permitted in the cellars.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free. Places are now full.
Upper Library opening – Wednesday 25 October, 2-4pm
Enter via E staircase, Second Court.
Open every Wednesday afternoon in term time, view manuscripts and rare printed books from the collections in the Upper Library. Requests for material to be exhibited can be emailed to Special Collections and they will do their best to accommodate these during the term.
Open to College members and their guests. Admission free, no booking required.
St John’s Book Group for postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff – Wednesday 25 October, 5.45pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, will host her first book group meeting of Michaelmas Term. This month’s read is Roy Jacobsen’s The Unseen (2016).
Newcomers welcome. If you are interested in joining the group, email Vona.
Big Band Roulette: A Night at the Movies – Thursday 26 October, 7-8.30pm
Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.
Big Band Roulette is an 18-piece jazz ensemble that has a brand-new, randomly selected band consisting of student musicians for every gig. The first gig this academic year is A Night at the Movies and is formed of epic themes and songs from famous Hollywood hits. Tonight’s band features several St John’s students, including one of the Big Band’s permanent MDs, rhythm section specialist Tim Hargreaves.
Open to all, tickets from £4. Further information and to book tickets
An evening of jazz with the winners of the Reinstein Prize – Saturday 28 October, 8.45pm for 9pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
As part of the Master’s Concert Series, there will be a jazz performance by Serika Siriwardhana (voice), Judah Daniels (piano), Wynn Tasker (drums) and friends. It will be followed by a drinks reception.
College members and guests welcome. Admission free, no booking required.
Summer with Monika – Thursday 26 October to Saturday 28 October, 9.30pm
New Cellars, Pembroke College.
St John’s student Daisy Shaw directs a series of vignette-style poems by Roger McGough. An exploration of what it means to love, be loved, and subsequently experience a loss that is in some ways inevitable, but no less painful.
Open to all, tickets £5: further information and tickets
Tour of the Fitzwilliam Museum – Saturday 28 October, 1.45pm
Meet promptly at the Museum’s public entrance at 1.45pm, for a 2pm start.
Led by Prof Patrick Boyde, St John’s Fellow and Emeritus Professor of Italian.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free, no booking required.
Guided walk through the College gardens – Sunday 29 October, 2pm
Meet outside the Buttery.
Nabil Ali, Artist-in-Residence at Cambridge University Botanic Garden, gardener and dyer, is leading a guided walk through the College gardens to discover how its plants were used to create natural colours. Nabil is currently collaborating with St John’s Fellow Prof Ulinka Rublack to find out more about how clothes were and can be sustainably dyed.
Open to all College members, admission free, no booking required.
St John’s Book Group for undergraduates – Thursday 30 October, 7pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
Join Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, for the first undergraduate book group meeting of this term. This month’s book is Saba Sams’s 2022 short story collection, Send Nudes, winner of the 2023 Edge Hill Prize.
Newcomers welcome – you don’t have to be studying English and you don’t need to bring anything along except the book. Just read the book in advance and go along to share responses to it with other undergraduates. If you are interested in joining, email Vona.
Tour of the Chapel windows – Wednesday 1 November, 2pm
Meet in the Ante-chapel.
The story of St John in the College’s stained glass, presented by Prof Patrick Boyde, Fellow of St John’s.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free.
Poetry reading – Friday 3 November, 6pm
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
Three leading Irish poets will be reading from their work at this event hosted by St John’s. Nick Laird, Tara Bergin and Colette Bryce are among the most acclaimed, innovative and intriguing contemporary poets, with work regularly appearing in publications such as The LRB, Poetry Review and the New Yorker.
The reading will be followed by a wine reception and a chance to meet the poets.
Open to all, admission free, no booking required.
Beer tasting – Wednesday 8 November, 6pm
Wordsworth Room, First Court.
With Prof Michael de Volder, Fellow of St John’s.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme.
Booking and payment details to be confirmed.
Tour of the Scott Polar Research Institute Museum – Friday 10 November, 2pm
Meeting place to be confirmed.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free.
Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture 2023 – Tuesday, 14 November, 5pm
Meeting Room 2, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WA.
The 17th Andrew Chamblin Memorial Lecture, entitled Illuminating the Dark Universe with Gravitational Waves, will be given by Professor Alessandra Buonanno, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics.
The lecture will also be livestreamed on YouTube.
Admission free, booking required via the Faculty of Mathematics Events page.
Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 15 November, 7.30pm
Hall.
Open to College postgraduates. Attendance at Postgraduates Dine with Fellows events is restricted to one event per academic year.
Free of charge, limited places, registration details to be confirmed.
‘Swish’ clothes swap event – Saturday 18 November, 10.30am, then 11am-noon
Hall.
St John’s College is holding its second ‘Swish’, a clothes swap party that helps you to refresh your wardrobe while going easy on the planet. Doors open at 10.30am for participants to bring their clothes to swap before the ‘swish’ starts at 11am.
Open to all College members and their guests. Admission free.
Dramatisation: Berenice – Wednesday 22 November, 7.30pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
With Prof Patrick Boyde, Emeritus Professor of Italian and Fellow of St John’s. Details to be confirmed.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free, booking details to follow.
Ghost walk – Thursday 23 November, 5.45pm
Meeting place to be confirmed.
With Dr Mark Nicholls, Fellow of St John’s.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free.
Ghost stories – Wednesday 6 December, 8.30pm
Combination Room.
With Prof Patrick Boyde, Fellow of St John’s. Details to be confirmed.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free.
And finally
College is not just home to Fellows, students and staff, it is also the playground of a menagerie of animals.
This gang of four was spotted enjoying the wet weather this morning with the ducks particularly enjoying the newly formed College swimming pond.
