College bulletin: 25 February

A message from Heather Hancock, Master of St John’s

In a dark and sombre week, our thoughts and support are with the people of Ukraine, their loved ones, and with Russian citizens who have also been plunged into conflict against their will. As always, College Tutors are on-hand to help students who need support and a new College Counsellor is now working as part of the Health and Wellbeing team for anyone who wishes to speak to her.

College news

The Inaugural Sir Roger Penrose Lecture

Nobel Laureate and Honorary Fellow Professor Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS will give the inaugural Sir Roger Penrose Lecture on Wednesday 9 March 2022.  

We are immensely grateful to Sir Roger for agreeing to the College’s request to establish a biennial lecture series in his honour. The Penrose Lectures will address the interplay between Mathematics and other disciplines which has been such a distinctive feature of his research life.   

Sir Roger’s inaugural lecture is entitled: Visual Artistry for Mathematics and ScienceThe interplay between the visual arts and mathematical science has a long history, dating back to the ancient Greeks with the introduction of Euclidean geometry and the basic ideas of perspective, through the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, the works of Kepler, Galileo and others, and, in modern times, particularly through the remarkable prints of Maurits C. Escher. In this talk it will be shown how some recent ideas of mathematical physics and cosmology have been profoundly influenced by such visual representations of mathematical and scientific concepts.

The Lecture will begin at 5.30pm in the Palmerston Room, followed by a drinks reception in the Foyer of the Fisher Building. If you would like to attend, please register for your place: https://bit.ly/3JWDZg0

The closing date for registration is 9am on Tuesday 1 March. Confirmation will be sent ahead of the event.

Literary event showcases work of creative writing award-winner

Poet and author Madeleine Pulman-Jones, current holder of the Harper-Wood Creative Writing and Travel Award at St John’s College, will be reading some of her new work at a special free literary event on Thursday 3 March.

Read more

Covid-19 updates

There is currently one person with Covid-19 in College. Everyone is asked to note the changes to Covid-19 mitigation measures being taken in College circulated via email on Wednesday, in light of the England-wide lifting of restrictions that came into effect yesterday. The coronavirus information pages of the website have been updated, so do refer to these for further details, and please continue to respect the wishes of others as we navigate this phase together.

Change to Library opening hours

From 5pm today (Friday 25 February), the Library will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The mezzanine floor has been reserved for people who would prefer to wear a face covering and to have those working around them doing the same.

Other news

New College Counsellor

A new College Counsellor, Jennifer Cooper, has joined the Health & Wellbeing team in the Education Department today. Her working days are Wednesdays and Fridays and her office is in C1A Chapel Court.

Steps to reduce your carbon footprint

Did you know you can easily reduce your carbon footprint by making simple things part of your daily routine?

  • save energy by turning off electronic appliances at the wall when not in use. Phone and laptop chargers, microwaves, washing machines, tumble dryers and electric ovens all eat electricity when left on standby;
  • turn lights off when leaving a room;
  • use your heating controls: turn down the thermostat or Thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) rather than opening windows. Read how College heating works;
  • turn your PC monitor off when not in use and ensure your computer is switched off at the end of each day. Leaving a computer on overnight for a year creates enough CO2 to fill a double-decker bus (The Carbon Trust);
  • turn photocopiers and printers from standby to off overnight. A photocopier left on overnight uses enough energy to produce more than 1,500 copies;
  • let food cool down before putting it in the fridge or freezer;
  • only fill the kettle with the required amount of water before boiling;
  • wash laundry on a cycle of 30 degrees C;
  • use recycled paper; compared to virgin paper, each ton (1,000kg) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy and 7,000 gallons of water.

 

If you have ideas and feedback about how College could be saving energy, please send them to the Domestic Bursar’s Office.

Parking views

The Greater Cambridge Partnership has launched a four-week period of public engagement on parking issues in Cambridge, closing at midday on Monday 21 March 2022.

Full details, including interactive map

What’s on

Chapel

Morning prayer – weekdays, 8.30am

Taking place in Ante-Chapel every weekday morning, lasting about 15 minutes.

Evensong – daily, 6.30pm.

Choral services continue as listed on the website.

Student communion – Sunday 27 February, 8.30am

Student Communion takes place every Sunday at 8.30am, followed by a subsidised cooked breakfast in Hall.

Organ recital – Sunday 27 February, 6pm

St John’s own Herbert Howells Organ Scholar, George Herbert, will be performing works by Vierne, Boulanger, Semple and Pott.

Full programme

Open to all, free admission.

Evensong sermon series: Doctors and the Divine – Sunday 27 February, 6.30pm

Every Sunday this term a Fellow of the College is speaking at Evensong about whether their academic subject in any way connects to the human search for God. This Sunday’s preacher is Professor Peter Johnstone, whose field is Mathematics.

Open to all, free admission.

More details

Chapel Concert – Tuesday 1 March, 8-9.30pm

Camilla de Rossi, Instrumental excerpts from ‘Il Sacrificio di Abramo’, Anton Arensky Variations of a Theme by Tchaikovsky and G.F. Handel Dixit Dominus.

Open to all, free admission.

Holy Communion – Wednesday 2 March, 8am

A communion for Ash Wednesday, one of the holiest days in the church year. The service will include ‘Imposition of Ashes’, a traditional ritual where we are marked with ash to mark our human fragility and mortality.

Open to all, free admission.

Ash Wednesday Evensong – Wednesday 2 March, 6.30pm

The service will include Allegri’s Miserere mei, a stupendous baroque choral piece written for this day, as well as Byrd’s Civitas sancti tui.

Open to all, free admission.

Evensong with timpani and music by Tim Watts – Thursday 3 March, 6.30pm

A service with music sung by the lower voices of the choir, which will feature Echoes by Tim Watts, Fellow and College Associate Lecturer in Music at St John’s. The work was commissioned for the College Choir in 2014. The choir will be joined in performance by timpanist Alex Pullen.

Open to all, free admission.

Memorial Service for Dr Peter Linehan – Saturday 5 March, 12pm

College Chapel.

A Memorial Service is taking place for Dr Peter Anthony Linehan, MA, PhD, FBA, Fellow and former Dean of St John’s College. Kindly note, ticket-holders only, all now allocated.

A Lent Meditation – Saturday 12 March, 6pm

A service of readings, poetry and music is taking place for Lent and Passiontide.
Please note all tickets have now been allocated.

The Sixteen Choral Pilgrimage 2022: Cambridge concert – Friday, 18 March, 8pm

The critically-acclaimed UK-based choir and period-instrument orchestra The Sixteen, conducted by Harry Christophers, will be performing a concert in the Chapel including Hubert Parry’s moving Songs of Farewell, three short pieces by Campion, a selection of medieval carols and a new work by Cecilia McDowall.

Tickets £15-£35 (booking fees apply).

Full details

Follow the Facebook page, SJC Chaplain, for service updates; and Andrew is on TikTok @thedetoxpriest.

The Chapel is always keen to hear from more volunteers to read in services or assist in other ways (e.g. carrying a processional candle at Sunday Evensong). Please contact Andrew if you’d like to be involved.

Other events

Live lunchtime meditation – 1.15-1.30pm Monday to Friday (online)

Spend 15 mindful minutes relaxing or meditating with the University’s mindfulness practitioner, Dr Elizabeth English, in these weekday sessions, free to students and staff.

Full details

St John’s Feminist Society Women in Academia Panel Discussion – Friday 25 February, 6pm

Central Hall, Old Divinity School.

Come and join us for an interesting evening of conversation with our panellists, Professor Helen McCarthy, Dr Jessica Gardner and Dr Ann Kennedy Smith.

All welcome. Admission free, no booking required.

St John’s Ultimate Frisbee team vs Frisee Rascals – Sunday 27 February, 2pm

St John’s Playing Fields.

Having been undefeated all season so far, the St John’s team is playing the second place team in the league, the Frisee Rascals – a win will mean placing top of division one. All welcome.

St John's 2s vs CCCC – Sunday 27 February, 2pm

St John’s Playing Fields.

A home game against Cambridge Chinese Community Centre football team. All welcome.

St John's College Music Society Quiz Night – Sunday 27 February, 8.15pm

College Bar.

Hosted by Scarlett Clemmow and Richard Decker and featuring questions spanning all musical genres and styles. Prizes for the top three teams of Amazon vouchers and drinks in the College Bar.

Teams should be up to five people, participants can either sign their team up here or turn up on the night.

More details

Creative Careers Festival – Monday 28 February to Friday 11 March

The University Careers Service is holding a further careers festival this term covering ‘green’ careers. The festival is an extended event that includes various careers panels, skills sessions and resources.

Details of Career Essential workshops for the second half of term, including the Green Careers Fair on Tuesday 8 March. To see the full range of support available, including CV and interview resources, you can visit the website.

Make sure you’re registered with the service’s careers platform Handshake to access these events and its other resources.

Lent Bumps – Tuesday 1 March to Saturday 5 March

St John’s has three men’s boats, M1, M2 and M3, and two women’s boats, W1 and W2, competing in the Lent Bumps – and possibly more, depending on the getting-on race results.

The best place to watch is just down from The Plough in Fen Ditton. All welcome.

Lent Bumps division times (afternoons):

Tues     Wed      Thu       Fri        Sat

M1        -            4.40    4.40      4.40      4.40

W1        -            4.00    4.00      4.00      4.00

M2        4.40      -            3.20      3.20      3.20

W2        4.00      -            2.40      2.40      2.40

M3        3.20      3.20      -            2.00      2.00

W3        2.40    2.40      -            1.20      1.20

M4/W4  2.00    2.00      2.00       -           12.40

How the Bumps work

Palaeography for beginners – Tuesday 1 March, 3pm

Weekly online sessions for anyone interested in reading handwriting from c.1500-c.1750, 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. Photographs of the documents will be emailed out in advance.

Open to all College members, admission free.

To register or make further enquiries, contact the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby.

Lent Bible study – Tuesday 1 March, 8pm

Venue tbc.

The first of three Tuesday sessions, meeting to discuss a Bible passage which is traditionally read in Lent: such as the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness. College Chaplain, The Rev’d Andrew Hammond, will advertise the venue on the student Facebook page the day before.

Open to all, admission free.

St John's College Music Society (SJCMS) lunchtime recital – Thursday 3 March, 1.15pm

Lightfoot Room, Old Divinity School.

With Emily Trubshaw on violin, Seth Colin on cello and Madeleine Brown on piano.

Open to all, booking is not required.

Drop-in dissertation support group – Thursday 3 March, 2pm

Weekly online group run by the Library, offering a structured study space, support and encouragement for any undergraduate student who is taking on a dissertation next academic year.

Email Rebecca if you have any questions.

Harper-Wood Literary Reading: Madeleine Pulman-Jones – Thursday 3 March, 5.15pm

Wordsworth Room.

Madeleine Pulman-Jones, current Harper-Wood Award holder at St John’s College, will read from some of her recent work.

The reading will be introduced and chaired by poet and translator Sasha Dugdale, Writer in Residence at St John’s. She will also chair a discussion after the reading.

The event is free to attend, and all are warmly welcome. Drinks will be offered.

More details

International Women’s Day celebration event and Hall – Tuesday 8 March, times tbc

Join St John’s Feminist Society to celebrate International Women’s Day in collaboration with Cambridge University Women in Business, starting with speakers and performances in the Palmerston room.

Open to all. Hall tickets available on UPay. No booking is required for the events earlier on in the day. 

Aquila concert for International Women’s Day – Tuesday 8 March, 6-7pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

Head over to the Old Divinity School for a selection of songs performed by Aquila, the St John’s College all-female vocal group.

All welcome, free admission, no booking required.

The Penrose Lecture Wednesday 9 March, 5.30pm

Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.

The inaugural Penrose Lecture will be given by Nobel Laureate and Honorary Fellow, Professor Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS.

Sir Roger’s Lecture is entitled: Visual Artistry for Mathematics and Science.

The Lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in the Foyer of the Fisher Building.

If you would like to attend, please register your place here. The closing date for registration will be 9am on Tuesday 1 March. Confirmation will be sent ahead of the event.

For more details, see full notice under ‘College news’, above.

Newell Classical Event talk The Black Sappho – Thursday 10 March, 7.15pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

A talk by Professor Emily Greenwood on The Black Sappho, a recurrent presence in the work of African American women writers, using the figure of the Sappho to examine intersections of gender, sexuality, and race in the modern reception of Sappho. Emily is Professor of Classics at Princeton University and a Cambridge alumna.

Open to all, admission free, no booking required. Can also be attended via Zoom.

More details

Castalian Quartet – Sunday 13 March, 2-4pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

Internationally-renowned ensemble presents an exciting and eclectic programme of 19th-, 20th- and 21st-century quartets

Tea and biscuits in the Central Hall after the concert. Free admission, all welcome, though booking is recommended.

Lecture: The Challenge of Decarbonising Heating: Insights from St John’s – Tuesday 15 March, 6pm

Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.

St John’s Fellow and Chair of the College’s Energy Working Group, Professor Andy Woods, will speak about decarbonising heat using examples from the work being undertaken by the College.

One of the most challenging aspects of decarbonisation for the UK is associated with domestic heating systems, with more than 23 million houses using gas boilers. This challenge is mirrored in St John’s where the dominant source of carbon emissions arises from the heating system. In this talk, Professor Woods will explore some of the options for reducing the energy used for heating the College, and for eliminating the associated carbon emissions. Given the nature and variety of the College buildings, and the variable usage patterns, this is a formidable challenge, but a plan is being developed to decarbonise the heating system.

This is your chance to learn about the potential solutions, given the relatively short 

time-scales required, which involve a combination of ground, river and air source heat pumps, together with gradual upgrades to the fabric of the College. 

Open to all, priority will be given to Fellows, students and staff of St John’s.

Dr Lauren McHugh’s Lecture for the Pre-dinner Lecture Series – Tuesday 15 March, 6.15pm

Castlereagh Room, Fisher Building.

Dr Lauren McHugh’s Pre-Dinner Lecture, which was due to take place on 24 February, has been rescheduled for Tuesday 15 March. Details and Zoom link to be circulated closer to the time.

Open to Fellows and Affiliates.

And finally

In more storm related ‘and finally’ news - a yew tree located near the footbath by the Cha Stone has been damaged by the high winds this week. It was checked and cordoned off by the gardening team today and a specialist arborist will take it down next week. All of the trees on the College site are regularly checked by qualified tree surgeons.

Photo credit: Zoe Cullen, gardens team.

Damaged tree, photo by Zoe Cullen