College bulletin: 26 April
The achievements of the St John’s community continue to be as varied as ever – this week we bring you news of a forthcoming Netflix documentary featuring a Fellow’s research, the story of an undergraduate who has been honoured with a mural in central London, and the success of the Poulets who have made it through to the Cuppers final.
Events coming up this weekend include the popular ‘Swish’ event tomorrow (who doesn’t like free clothes?!) and the installation of The Rev'd Dr Victoria Johnson as Dean of Chapel on Sunday with seedcake and Madeira in the Master’s Lodge following the service.
College news
Netflix to screen archaeology documentary
Secrets of the Neanderthals, a documentary featuring the excavations at Shanidar Cave in Iraqi Kurdistan led by St John’s Fellow Professor Graeme Barker for the past 10 years, will be streamed by Netflix from 2 May.
Footballers aim high with place in Cuppers Final
Players from St John’s College Association Football Club will be competing in the Cuppers Final for the first time in more than a decade.
Now on a six-game win streak, the Poulets will be playing St Catharine’s in the final on home turf at St Legends (College pitches) on Friday 10 May at 5pm.
The team beat Fitzwilliam Dynasty in the semi-finals, ending Fitz’s seven-year reign at the top of the Cuppers charts, to reach the final.
Second-year geography undergraduate Ben Pearce, who is the club and first team captain, urged spectators to head along to support St John’s ‘as we battle to be champions of Cambridge’. Visit the Facebook event page for more details.
Meanwhile, tomorrow will see St John’s men’s rugby team go head-to-head with Jesus in the semi-finals of the rugby Cuppers on the playing fields at 2pm, and the ladies’ netball team will be in the quarter-finals Cuppers at the University Sports Centre from 3.30pm.
‘Birdgirl’ undergraduate honoured with mural
St John’s student Mya-Rose Craig is the inspiration for a huge wall mural in central London created to celebrate Women’s History Month in March.
The third-year Human, Social and Political Sciences undergraduate, who is known as ‘Birdgirl’ and has written a memoir of the same name, has been honoured by London-based art collaborators Global Street Art for her environmental and diversity work.
The ‘female-powered public art’ designed by Courtney Richards also features hummingbirds, which are Mya-Rose’s favourite birds, and can be visited in Euston Square.
Global Street Art
Newell Classical Event 2024
This year’s Newell Classical Event on 16 May will present award-winning poet Alice Oswald in ‘Message from a Lost Play’, a lecture based on the fragments of the Psychostasia (‘weighing of souls') of Aeschylus, the Ancient Greek dramatist.
Postgraduate appointed to global role at World Health Organization
Abel Wilson Walekhwa, a PhD veterinary medicine student at St John’s, has been appointed a member of One Health High Level Expert Panel at the World Health Organization.
One Health brings together multi-disciplinary experts in human, animal and environmental ecosystems to address global and local issues and Abel’s two-year appointment follows his accomplishments in this field.
One of 29 new expert appointments, Abel will be contributing in the area of infectious disease control with bias to modelling, a field he is pursuing with Dr Andrew Conlan, an associate professor in the Disease Dynamics unit at the University’s Department of Veterinary Medicine.
The second-year postgraduate already has a decade of experience in the field of One Health and public policy and is Senior Epidemiologist at the Science, Technology, and Innovation Secretariat in the Office of the President of Uganda.
Abel will serve on the panel until April 2026 with the role enabling him to help improve lives of humans, animals, and the environment globally.
Student vet helps Cambridge sailors race to victory
Final-year St John’s veterinary student Charlotte Watson was a member of the six-strong Cambridge team crowned winners of the Royal Yachting Association/British Universities Sailing Association (BUSA) Women’s Team Racing Nationals 2024.
Held at Spinnaker Sailing Club in Hampshire, Charlotte and her team defeated Southampton in the petit-finals to rank first – and become Women’s BUSA champions – and third overall.
Get into the swing of the Swish
Just hours remain to donate your unwanted outfits, shoes and accessories to the College’s third Swish party in the Fisher Building Foyer tomorrow.
Items should be clean and in good condition. They can be dropped off in advance to the boxes in Forecourt Lodge or to the Fisher Building Foyer at 10.30am on Saturday.
You don’t need to have donated any clothing to be able to attend and rehome some clothes, and the event is free entry. Swishing runs from 11am-noon and is open to all students, Fellows and staff, and their family and friends.
Deadline extension for student competition
The deadline for entries in the Student Art and Photography Competition 2024 has been extended until 5pm on Tuesday 30 April.
What’s on
Chapel
Student Communion – Sunday 28 April, 8.30am
Students are warmly invited to attend Holy Communion. Stick around after this half-hour service for a subsidised cooked breakfast in Hall.
Sung Eucharist with the licensing and welcome of The Rev'd Dr Victoria Johnson as Dean – Sunday 28 April, 10.30am
The Sung Eucharist includes the formal welcome and licensing of The Rev’d Dr Victoria Johnson as Dean of Chapel. The music includes the dramatic Missa Brevis by Jonathan Dove, and a setting of a College prayer that the Choir of York Minster sang for Dr Johnson’s departure last month. This was found in a manuscript in the University Library.
Those attending the service (including guests) are warmly invited to join the Master and Mr Mark Hancock for seedcake and Madeira in the Master’s Lodge following the service.
Organ recital – Sunday 28 April, 6pm
Jonathan Lee from Trinity College plays JS Bach, Boulanger and Whitlock. Organ recitals are open to all, and admission is free.
Evensong with sermon – Sunday 28 April, 6.30pm
This term, preachers will address an aspect of the future, considering what it might hold in a number of vital areas of life. The sermon series is titled ‘Brave New Worlds’. This week the Dean will preach on ‘The Future of Education’.
The music includes The Gloucester Service by Herbert Howells and Easter from one of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s most famous works, Five Mystical Songs.
Evensong with St John’s Voices – Monday 29 April, 6.30pm
Monday’s service sung by St John’s Voices includes music by Hadley and Haydn with the Canticles in G by Francis Jackson.
Compline – Tuesday 30 April, 10pm
Compline is one of the most popular services among Cambridge students and is based on the late evening service in monasteries. This peaceful, candlelit service provides a moment of calm reflection to mark the end of the day. It is sung by members of the lower voices of the College Choir and the Chaplain, lasts about 35 minutes, and is followed by port and hot chocolate.
Open to College members and their guests.
Evensong service with the Choir of St John's College and The Gesualdo Six – Friday 3 May, 6.30pm
Music includes Byrd, and Vaughan Williams’s Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge.
The Choir of St John’s College and The Gesualdo Six in concert – Saturday 4 May, 7.30pm
The Choir partners with The Gesualdo Six for a concert in Chapel. Led by Owain Park, The Gesualdo Six is an award-winning British vocal ensemble, featuring St John’s alumni Alasdair Austin and Joseph Wicks. St John’s Director of Music Christopher Gray and Owain Park will lead a programme featuring works by Byrd, Forbes L’Estrange, Gombert, Marsh, Vaughan Williams and more as the ensembles unite.
Please note there will be no Evensong service on 4 May.
The concert will last approximately 75 minutes and there will be no interval. Open to all, £5-£18: book your tickets
Sung Eucharist for Ascension Day – Thursday 9 May, 10.45am
Attended by pupils of the St John’s College School, this service of Eucharist commemorates the bodily Ascension of Jesus into Heaven. The music is by Mendelssohn and the Coronation Mass by Mozart.
The Ascension Day Carol from the Chapel tower – Thursday 9 May, 12pm
The Choir sings the Ascension Day Carol from the top of the Chapel tower (weather permitting).
For all other regular services, see the Chapel webpage
Other events
‘Swish’ clothes swap party – Saturday 27 April, 10.30am, then 11am-noon
Fisher Building Foyer.
Refresh your wardrobe while going easy on the planet. Doors open at 10.30am for participants to bring clothes to swap before ‘swishing’ starts at 11am.
Open to all students, Fellows, staff, College Teaching and Research Associates, and their family and friends. Admission free.
St John’s men’s rugby Cuppers – Saturday 27 April, 2pm
St John’s playing fields.
Head along to the Cuppers’ semi-final and support St John’s Redboys in their match against Jesus. Free, all welcome.
St John’s women’s netball Cuppers – Saturday 27 April, from 3.30pm
University Sports Centre.
All College members are invited along to support the women’s netball team in the Cuppers. Matches start at 3.30pm with the quarter-finals and the team hopes to make it to the finals to defend their title. Free, all welcome.
Master’s concert series: A string through time – Saturday 27 April, 8.45pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
With countertenor and alumnus Hugh Cutting, alumnus Leo Appel on viola, Danny Murphy on guitar and lute, and Tara Viscardi on the harp. Includes music by Dowland, Debussy and Muhly, focusing on the theme of time, and our experience of it. To be followed by a drinks reception hosted by the Sans Frontières events programme.
Open to College members and their friends, admission free, no booking required.
SJC Linguistics Society start-of-term social – Monday 29 April, 3pm
Castlereagh Room, Fisher Building.
The Linguistics Society welcomes everyone to its termly social to discuss all things language and linguistics and get to know others interested in the topic. A chance to network with practising linguists and fellow linguistics enthusiasts.
Open to all College members, admission free.
Wellness walk – Tuesday 30 April, 3pm
Meet at the Great Gate.
A weekly opportunity to get outside and appreciate nature and city sights, and enjoy companionship. The day of the walk alternates between Tuesdays and Thursdays. If it is raining heavily, it will be cancelled. For queries email Karen, Health & Wellbeing Nurse
Aquila rehearsal – Tuesday 30 April, 5.15-6.45pm
New Music Room.
Aquila is a friendly a cappella singing group for female students, Fellows and staff. It welcomes new members – no audition is necessary, simply drop in to one of its Tuesday evening rehearsals to try before joining.
Pre-Dinner Lecture Series: Diseases of our Ancestors – how do they affect us? – Tuesday 30 April, 6.15pm
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
Talk given by St John’s Fellow Dr Christiana Scheib, followed by drinks.
Open to Fellows, affiliates and postgraduate students. Admission free, booking not required.
Tour of College wine cellars – Wednesday 1 May, 11.30am
Meet in the passage between the kitchens and Hall.
Free tour led by Jim Wocha, Wine and Provisions Manager at St John’s, for College postgraduates, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests. Part of the Sans Frontières programme.
Places are now full; the Postgraduate Administrator will advise if any become available.
Old Library opening – Wednesday 1 May, 2-4pm
Enter via E staircase, Second Court.
Every Wednesday afternoon in term time (except for 15 May; that week's opening will be on Tuesday 14th), 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
Open to College members and their guests. Admission free, no booking required.
Public talk, Being Dead Otherwise – Wednesday 1 May, 5-7pm
Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
Talk by Professor Anne Allison, Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Duke University in North Carolina, United States, and author of the book, Being Dead Otherwise.
This talk examines a surge in end-of-life planning (shūkatsu) in Japan since the early 2000s, of seeking alternatives to the family grave and of others (other than kin) being caregivers of the dead.
Organised by College Research Associate Dr Sally Raudon, ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Social Anthropology. Open to all, free entry. For more details, email Dr Rauden.
Public reading, An Explosion of Words: Writing the Troubles after the Troubles – Thursday 2 May, 5-7pm
Old Divinity School.
Twenty-six years after the Good Friday Agreement, there is a new wave of writing about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Leading Irish writers Louise Kennedy (novelist, Trespasses), Martin Doyle (non-fiction, Dirty Linen) and Scott McKendry (poet, Gub) will read from their own works set during the Troubles. A Q&A will follow.
Hosted by Cambridge Group for Irish Studies and St John's Writer in Residence Vona Groarke.
All welcome, free entry, reception to follow.
Palaeography for beginners – Friday 3 May, 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 Fridays at 3pm and take place online using photographs of the documents. If you are interested in joining, please email the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby
Open to all, admission free.
Save the date
Short Book Club – Wednesday 8 May, 6.15pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
Paul Yoon’s short 2013 novel Snow Hunters will be discussed at this first club of Easter Term, led by Vona Groarke, the College’s Writer in Residence.
Open to all students, College and English Faculty staff. Free to attend, refreshments available. Email Vona if you wish to attend.
Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 8 May, 7.30pm
Hall.
Open to College postgraduates. Attendance at Postgraduates Dine with Fellows events is restricted to one per academic year. Free, limited places, register via Upay.
SJCAFC Football Cuppers Final – Friday 10 May, 5pm
St John’s Playing Fields.
Head along to support the players from St John’s College Association Football Club as they compete in the Cuppers Final for the first time in more than a decade.
Open to all, admission free.
Conference: Philosophy of Art and Aesthetic Normativity – Friday 10 May and Saturday 11 May 2024, 9am-7pm
Lightfoot Room, Old Divinity School, and online.
Annual conference of the Society for German Idealism and Romanticism co-organised by Gerad Gentry, St John’s and University of Mainz PhD student, and Professor Angela Breitenbach, Professor of Philosophy at Cambridge University, sponsored by DAAD Cambridge research hub for German studies.
The conference brings together established and junior scholars from around the world. Gerad will be chairing some sessions and giving a talk, Kant and the Problem of the Idealism of Art.
Admission free. To attend all or part of the event, submit the registration form.
Real Tennis Event – Wednesday 15 May, 5-7pm
Cambridge University Real Tennis Club, Grange Road.
Starting at 5pm with a 45-minute ‘have a go’ session. Players should wear sportswear and trainers and can turn up any time during the session. All equipment will be provided. There will then be a short introduction to the courts and the game by Dr Victoria Harvey, Tutor for Undergraduate Admissions, with authentic refreshments.
At 6.15pm Cambridge alumni and recent UK amateur champions Jamie Giddins (St John’s, Economics) and Ed Kay (Emmanuel, Engineering) will play an exhibition match.
Open to College postgraduates, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières programme. To participate, email the Postgraduate Administrator by 8 May, indicating how many sessions you wish to attend.
Newell Classical Event: Message from a Lost Play – Thursday 16 May, 7.15pm
Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.
The Newell Classical Event 2024, celebrating the classical world, proudly presents award-winning poet Alice Oswald, Oxford Professor of Poetry 2019-2023, in Message from a Lost Play, a lecture based on the fragments of the Psychostasia of Aeschylus.
Open to all, admission free.
Talk: The History and Development of Cambridge University – Tuesday 21 May, 6pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
A presentation by the Senior Tutor, Richard Partington, for College postgraduates, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests. Part of the Sans Frontières programme.
Admission free, no booking required.
Cheese and wine tasting – Wednesday 29 May
Wordsworth Room.
Open to College postgraduates, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests. Part of the Sans Frontières programme. Further details to be confirmed.
Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 5 June, 7.30pm
Hall.
Open to College postgraduates. Attendance at Postgraduates Dine with Fellows events is restricted to one per academic year.
Free, limited places, register via Upay.
Tour of the College gardens – Wednesday 12 June
A tour of the College gardens by members of staff from the gardening team. The tour will focus on sustainability.
Open to College postgraduates, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests. Part of the Sans Frontières programme. Maximum 15 people. Further details to be confirmed.
May Concert – Monday 17 June
May Ball – Tuesday 18 June
And finally
Wisteria is one of he first harbingers of warmer weather to come so we are very pleased to see the purple flowers that adorn the Master’s Lodge starting to bloom.
