College bulletin: 26 January
This week, undergraduate applicants to the University of Cambridge found out whether they have been made an offer for 2024 entry.
In December at St John’s 1,150 online interviews took place over 10 days with 110 academics meeting more than 800 prospective students. This week our Admissions team offered places to 223 applicants.
Offer-holders soon become students and students win prizes – don’t miss the story below about this year’s impressive recipients of the Larmor Awards. We’ve also got the tale of the return to St John’s of a long-lost variety of apple tree and detail of tonight’s Evensong Unwrapped – when you’ll get a special insight into this historic Chapel service, accompanied by music sung by the world-renowned Choir of St John’s.
College news
‘Outstanding’ students win Larmor Awards for studies and community work
A powerlifter and a charity campaigner are among five graduates of St John’s to be honoured with 2023 Larmor Awards for their exceptional academic work and contributions to College life and beyond.
Did the Black Death change our genetics?
In an interview with The Naked Scientists, St John’s Fellow Dr Christiana Scheib, Group Leader at the Department of Zoology, discusses new evidence from a DNA study that suggests the Plague did not alter people’s genetics, as has been commonly believed.
Albrecht Dürer and the commercialisation of art
Professor Ulinka Rublack, Fellow of St John’s, gives insights into the commercially-minded German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), who died a rich man – unlike many mentally-tortured and penniless artists through history.
Sustainable sportswear project attracts £6.5m European grant
A European research partnership including St John’s Architecture and Design Fellow Dr Darshil Shah has won €7.5m (£6.5m) in funding to create sustainable, high-tech sportswear and equipment.
Horizon Europe has granted the money to the four-year UPWEARS project, which aims to develop sustainable, circular-economy solutions for smart, functional and protective wearables and e-textiles and equipment in sport. The researchers will use EU biomass resource – a clean, renewable energy source from natural materials.
Dr Shah, Research Leader at the Centre for Natural Material Innovation, and Associate Professor in Materials Science and Design, is one of 13 partners from seven countries to be involved in the project, set up by France’s National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment.
He said: “At Cambridge we will focus on biomimetics for e-textiles. We will soon advertise for a post-doc position with interest and expertise in biology – biomimetics; textiles – fashion; and AI – machine learning.”
Lost apple tree puts down fresh roots at St John’s
A local variety of apple tree named after a former Head Gardener at St John’s has been brought back to the College after its rediscovery by a visiting academic.
The original tree was discovered in 1949 by Ralph E Thoday, who was College Head Gardener from 1928 to 1960. Ralph found the tree at Reedground Farm, Willingham, near Cambridge and it was named Malus domestica – Thoday’s Quarrenden’ – after him.
The tree is a dessert apple and the fruits have a tender, creamy white flesh with a subacid flavour. The apples are medium-sized and very attractive with a bright scarlet-coloured skin.
It was rediscovered by former Beaufort Visiting Fellow Dr Ann Benson – a writer and lecturer on garden and architectural history – during her recent research into the College’s gardens.
Dr Benson arranged with local nurseryman Ray Manning for a number of specimens to be grafted using original tree material and has donated a couple of the young trees to the College. The first tree was planted during a ceremony on Tuesday in the gardener’s compound.
David Austrin, Head Gardener, said: “It seemed appropriate to me that it was planted in front of the current Head Gardener’s office and will be visible from my window.
“It’s wonderful that Dr Benson’s research has led to this variety being returned to St John’s.”
May Ball 2024 tickets release
The first batch of tickets are now on sale for the 2024 St John’s May Ball, which takes place on Tuesday 18 June.
Open to all St John’s students, staff, Fellows and alumni, this priority access tickets release will be available until midnight on Friday 2 February. To buy a ticket, login using your CRSid, otherwise register with an email account – staff should use their joh email addresses if possible. Payment must be received before the ticket release closes.
A further general release will begin on Monday 5 February, providing access to more tickets. This release will be open to all Cambridge students and alumni, and will be operated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Buttery, Bar and Café nominated for construction award
The College’s Buttery, Bar and Café project has been shortlisted in the Greater Cambridge Design and Construction Awards 2024.
The social spaces, which officially opened one year ago next week, are nominated in the category for Best Conservation, Alteration, or Extension of an Existing Building (over £2m construction costs). The awards ceremony takes place on 4 March.
LGBTQIA+ Fellows invited to join panel discussion
The SBR is inviting Fellows to take part in an LGBTQIA+ panel and discussion event in February.
It is one of several activities the postgraduate committee is planning to celebrate LGBT+ History Month. The panel discussion will bring together College members to share experiences, reflections and ideas.
LGBTQIA+ Fellows or anyone who has done work in the area of LGBT inclusion, are being asked if they would like to participate in the event taking place on 28 February, 7.30pm-9pm in the Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
To participate as a panellist or to attend, or for more information email Rhiannon Jones, SBR Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer.
Book sale donations reach almost £400
Tuesday’s sale of books and other items donated from the library of Professor Sir Chris Dobson, former Master of St John’s, raised £397 in aid of the JCR’s Medical Prescription Scheme. The scheme enables the JCR to reimburse undergraduates for prescriptions they may have to buy during term time.
Cameron heads for the hills – on a bike – for charity
Cameron Walker, a College Gyp, will be cycling 296km – nearly 184 miles – across South Wales in the Dragon Devil Ride on Sunday 23 June in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. Donate to his JustGiving page to give Cameron a boost to pedal up those Welsh hills.
What’s on
Chapel
Evensong Unwrapped – Friday 26 January, 6.30pm
College Chaplain Andrew Hammond explains the centuries-old tradition of Evensong and The Choir of St John’s College will sing world-class choral music under the direction of Chris Gray.
If you've ever been curious about what happens during a service, tonight is the perfect opportunity to experience Evensong at a slower pace with brief explanations throughout.
All are welcome, no need to participate, just go along to listen. College members are invited to remain after the service for a drink in the Ante-Chapel. Watch a short video clip with Andrew, Chris and the Choir.
Bach Cantata Evensong with St John’s Sinfonia – Saturday 27 January, 6.30pm
This special Evensong will see St John’s Sinfonia team up with The Choir, featuring brilliant baroque music by JS Bach, Telemann and Durante.
Bach’s festive cantata, Nun danket alle Gott (Now thank ye all our God) is a cheerful and lively piece that provides a wonderful opportunity to hear the Choir performing with a small orchestra of specialist period instruments led by Musician in Residence Margaret Faultless.
This service is expected to finish around 7.35pm.
Student Communion – Sunday 28 January, 8.30am
This Sunday and next, gather in the Ante-Chapel as Andrew Hammond, College Chaplain, explains the various elements of the rich and meaningful service of Holy Communion. Stick around after this half-hour service for a subsidised cooked breakfast in Hall.
Organ recital – Sunday 28 January, 6pm
St John’s College Organ Scholar Tingshuo Yang plays JS Bach and Langlais. Open to all, admission free.
Evensong with Sermon – Sunday 28 January, 6.30pm
This term’s sermon series Three Epiphanies and Four Laments begins with a sermon by Andrew Hammond titled, ‘This voice has come for your sake’.
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 the Chaplain, Andrew.
Tuesdays after Dark – Tuesday 30 January, 10pm
Wind down at the end of the day with Compline (aka night prayers), sung by the Chaplain and lower voices of the Choir. This peaceful, candlelit service provides a moment of calm reflection to mark the end of the day, and there is port and hot chocolate afterwards. Compline is only open to College members and friends.
Other events
Skylines – Friday 26 January and Saturday 27 January, 7pm
Corpus Playroom. St Edward’s Passage.
Last chance to see this new play, written and directed by St John’s student Isabella Bottle. It is London between the wars and Archie and Lily live in one of the city’s first ‘skyscrapers’. They navigate an existence that places them increasingly further into the sky and deeper into the ground.
Suitable for all ages. Buy tickets (£9.50-£11.50).
Arcadia – Friday 26 January and Saturday 27 January, 7.30pm
ADC Theatre.
Production of Tom Stoppard’s play of chaos and order by the Lady Margaret Players – St John’s College’s theatrical society – and the Fletcher Players. Buy tickets (£13.50-£17)
Master’s Concert Series: An evening of opera – Saturday 27 January, 8.45pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
Two rising stars of opera, soprano Licia Piermatteo and baritone Giulio Riccò, will perform arias and duets accompanied by Edward Picton-Turbervill on piano. The music will mostly be Mozart but also feature Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
The concert will be followed by a drinks reception. Open to College members and their friends, admission free, no booking required.
Exhibition, St John's College Old Library 1624-2024: A Celebration of 400 Years – Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm
Library Exhibition Area.
View rare archives on display to mark four centuries since the Old Library was built.
Runs until 19 April.
Drop-in dissertation support group – Monday 29 January, 2.30-4pm
Library Seminar Room.
Weekly group run during term by Harriet Edwards, Library Graduate Trainee, offering an informal setting for students to 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 and time management. The group is mostly for undergraduate students but postgraduates are also welcome if they think it would be helpful.
Email Harriet if you have any questions.
Buttery, Bar and Café first birthday – Monday 29 January, 8.30pm, and Tuesday 30 January, 11am
Bar and Café.
Join in the celebrations with a Birthday Bar Quiz on Monday 29th and cake cutting ceremony in the Café on Tuesday 30th.
Open to all College members, admission free, no booking required.
Wellness walks – start Tuesday 30 January, 3pm
Meet at the Great Gate.
A new weekly opportunity to get outside and appreciate nature, the city sights and some companionship. The walks will go to Stourbridge Common, along the Backs and around Lammas Land and will be at a steady pace for about one hour.
The day of the walk will alternate between Tuesdays and Thursdays. If it is raining heavily the walk will be cancelled. For queries email Karen, Health & Wellbeing Nurse.
Open to College members and their guests, free to attend, no booking required.
Aquila rehearsal – Tuesday 30 January, 5.15-6.45pm
New Music Room.
Aquila is a friendly a cappella singing group for female students, Fellows and staff, led by Music Director Dr Chloe Allison. It welcomes new members – no audition is necessary, simply drop in to one of its weekly Tuesday evening rehearsals to try before joining.
For more information and events, visit Aquila’s Facebook or Instagram @johnsaquila
Johnian Society virtual fireside chat – Tuesday 30 January, 6.30pm
Via Zoom.
Join alumnus Mark Wells (1981), President of the Johnian Society, in a fireside chat with Dr David Williams (1982), Associate Lecturer in Veterinary Ophthalmology and St John’s Fellow. Hear about David’s time at St John’s and at the Royal Veterinary College, and how he became a lecturer at Cambridge.
Open to students and alumni of St John’s, admission free, further information and to register. If you have any queries, email the Development Office.
Old Library opening – Wednesday 31 January, 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.
Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 31 January, 7.30pm
Hall.
Open to College postgraduates. Attendance at Postgraduates Dine with Fellows events is restricted to one event per academic year.
Free, limited places, register via Upay.
St John's College Music Society lunchtime recital – Thursday 1 February, 1.15pm
New Music Room.
Kirsty McLachlan; voice (alto), guitar and stompbox.
Open to all, admission free, booking not required.
Paleography for beginners – Friday 2 February, 3pm
Via Zoom (link below).
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 practice their skills.
Sessions are held on Fridays at 3pm and take place online using photographs of the documents. To join, or to make an enquiry, email the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby. If you aren’t sure until the last minute, join anyway.
Open to all, admission free.
What’s On in the coming weeks
Lecture: The Life and Work of Paul Dirac – Tuesday 6 February, 6pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
With Dr Peter Goddard, Emeritus Professor, IAS, Princeton, and Fellow of St John’s. In his PhD thesis, alumnus Paul Dirac established the fundamentals of quantum mechanics. Soon after he predicted the existence of antimatter, winning a Nobel Prize when he was just 31. Although famously taciturn, he was a life-long friend of Kapitsa, Heisenberg and Oppenheimer. The talk will give a non-technical account of the life and work of the man whom Niels Bohr described as having the greatest scientific mind since Newton. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception in Central Hall.
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.
The chemistry of wine and wine tasting – Wednesday 7 February, 6pm
Wordsworth Room, First Court.
A 45-minute talk by Dr Paul Wood, College and University Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry, Director of Studies in Natural Sciences (Physical), and 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. Maximum 30 people; 20 places for Postgraduate Students and nine places left for Fellows and Visiting Fellows.
Cost £10. Booking opens approximately 8.30am on Monday 29 January. Postgraduates can register via Upay, Fellows and Visiting Fellows should email the Postgraduate Administrator.
Visit to the Old Library – Wednesday 14 February, 2pm
Meeting place to be confirmed.
With Dr Adam Crothers, Special Collections Assistant.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Maximum 30 people. Admission free, no booking required.
Linacre Lecture 2024 – Thursday 15 February, 5.30pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
This year’s Linacre Lecture, TRACERx – insights into cancer evolution, immune evasion and metastases, will be given by Professor Charles Swanton, Deputy Clinical Director of The Francis Crick Institute. The lecture will be followed by a drinks reception.
Open to all University members. Register your place by Friday 9 February (early registration is advised). More details
Short Book Club for postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff – Monday 19 February, 5.45pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
Join Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, to discuss February’s book, My Name is Lucy Barton (2016) by Elizabeth Strout, who the Sunday Times described as ‘masterly, fierce, urgent, clear. One of the best writers in America’. It’s a nuanced, unsettling and surprisingly tender story about family, and about the lives and relationships that succeed in climbing clear of a troubled rural childhood.
Newcomers always welcome. If you are interested in attending, email Vona.
Short Book Club for undergraduates – Wednesday 21 February, 7pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
In a break from the usual discussions of only books published since 2000, and to celebrate LGBT History Month, this February’s Undergraduate Short Book Club will discuss Jeanette Winterson's groundbreaking and much-loved memoir, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, (originally published in 1991).
Newcomers always welcome. If you are interested in attending, email Vona.
Dramatisation: David and Absalom – Wednesday 21 February and Thursday 22 February, 7.30pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
With Professor Patrick Boyde, Emeritus Professor of Italian and Fellow of St John’s. Subtitles will be projected onto a screen to translate the Hebrew into English.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières events programme. Admission free, booking required. Details to be confirmed.
Postgraduates Dine with Fellows – Wednesday 28 February, 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, register via Upay.
Final round of the annual Winfield Moot – Saturday 2 March, 1pm
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
Watch the final round of the St John's Winfield Society annual moot; a mock court hearing, where participants analyse a given legal problem, research the relevant law, prepare written submissions, and present an oral argument.
Open to all University members, admission free, no booking required.
Tour of the Chapel windows – Saturday 2 March, 2pm
Meet in the Ante-Chapel.
The story of St John in the College’s stained glass, presented by Professor Patrick Boyde, Emeritus Professor of Italian and Fellow of St John’s.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières programme. Admission free.
How Cambridge works – Tuesday 5 March, 6pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
A talk by Richard Partington, Senior Tutor at St John’s.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières programme. Admission free.
Graduate Symposium – Saturday 9 March, time tbc
Lightfoot Room and Central Hall, Old Divinity School.
Details to be confirmed.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières programme.
Short Book Club for postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff – Thursday 14 March, 5.45pm
Merton Hall Cottage (behind the School of Pythagoras).
Join Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, to discuss the 2020 debut novel by Elisa Shua Dusapin, Winter in Sokcho, originally written in French and set in a resort town on the border of North and South Korea. It’s an atmospheric novel about ‘shared identities and divided selves’. With a gripping and quizzical film-noir quality, it depicts a relationship between the French-Korean receptionist in a run-down guesthouse and the French graphic novelist who visits out of season in search of inspiration.
Newcomers always welcome. If you are interested in attending, email Vona.
Master’s Concert Series – Saturday 16 March, 8.45pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
With Annemarie Federle on the horn and Marie-Noelle Kendall on piano. To be followed by a drinks reception.
Open to College members and their friends, admission free, no booking required.
Tour of the University Botanic Garden and spring flowers – Sunday 17 March, 2pm
Meeting place to be confirmed.
Professor Tim Bayliss-Smith, St John’s Fellow and University Emeritus Professor of Pacific Geography, will lead a two-hour walking tour of the Botanic Garden.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of the Sans Frontières programme. Students should bring their University cards for free entry. Maximum 25 people. Further details to be confirmed.
And finally
Stephen Stokes, Chapel Clerk, captured the splendour of last weekend’s two candlelit Epiphany Carol Services, which were attended by 900 people. The Choir of St John’s College premiered Refugee, a powerful new piece by British composer Joanna Marsh.
