College bulletin: 3 March
This week we bring you the latest research news from St John’s Fellow Professor Amanda Sferruzzi-Perri, Professor in Fetal and Placental Physiology at the Centre for Trophoblast Research, which could lead to the potential development of future treatments or tests that may improve the health outcomes of mothers and babies, particularly in low-middle income countries. And as we wait for Christopher Gray to arrive as the Choir’s new Director of Music, his replacement at Truro Cathedral has been announced and it is former organ scholar James Anderson-Besant who graduated from St John’s in 2020. Congratulations James!
College News
Obesity changes the structure and function of the placenta – increasing risk of poor health outcomes
Other news
Access control system
A new access control system is currently being installed in College next week.
Work to upgrade the system will take up to three months to complete and existing access cards will continue to operate the new system as it is rolled-out. Note, during the change from the current system to the new one, all users will need to hold their access card to the card reader until the light turns from blue to green which can take up to eight seconds. If the light turns red, please repeat the process. This will only need to be done the first time the system is used.
What’s on
Chapel
The Meditation on the Passion of Christ – Saturday 4 March, 6.00pm
A special Service of music and readings for Passiontide, lasting around 75 minutes. There are a few spaces left, to book a seat please contact the Chapel Clerk.
Student communion – Sunday 5 March, 8.30am
Gather in the small chapel in the Ante-chapel for a half-hour service of Communion with Sermon, and then go to Hall for a subsidised cooked breakfast. This appeals to a real cross-section of the student community.
Sung Eucharist – Sunday 5 March, 10.30am
Open to all, admission free.
Organ recital – Sunday 5 March, 6pm
Alex Robson of St John’s College, will be performing Vierne’s Symphony III.
Open to all, admission free.
Sunday Evensong with Sermon – Sunday 5 March, 6.30pm
This term’s sermon series invites the preachers to help our faith learn from the past. The preachers have chosen figures from the 16th and 17th centuries in order to suggest ways in which our faith might deepen through a closer encounter with their life and work.
The preacher this evening, who draws her subject from the title ‘Past tense, future perfect? Learning from the history of faith’, is Dr Sophie Read, Senior Lecturer in the English Faculty and Fellow of Christ’s College, who will be preaching on John Donne.
Open to all, admission free.
Morning prayer – weekdays, 8.30am
Taking place in Ante-Chapel every weekday morning, lasting about 15 minutes.
Evensong – Monday 6 March, 6.30pm
Sung by St John’s Voices.
Open to all, admission free.
Compline by Candlelight – Tuesday 7 March, 10pm
One of the most popular services in Chapel: half an hour of choral music, much of it with a monastic flavour, and even a (tiny) talk by the Chaplain; followed by port and (the legendary) hot chocolate. This is the last for this term.
Open to all, admission free.
For all our other regular services, see the Chapel webpage. Follow the Facebook page, SJC Chaplain, for Chapel service updates; and Andrew is on TikTok @thedetoxpriest. 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
Greek Dialogues - Anthologising the Muse of the Greeks: Poetry Anthologies and the Cultural Transfer of Modern Greece in Britain (1821-1900) – Friday 3 March, 6pm
Room 1.11, Faculty of Classics, Sidgwick Avenue.
Professor Georgia Gotsi, Professor of Modern Greek & Comparative Literature at the University of Patras, Greece and Lewis-Gibson Visiting Fellow at St John’s, examines the extent to which collections of Greek poetic texts reflected prevailing social and political attitudes in 19th century Britain as well as the personal motivations of the anthologists. Professor Gotsi also analyses the impacts of these anthologies on Greek cultural development.
Also available via Zoom.
Open to all members of the University. Admission free. Further details
Mathematics and Mathematicians at St John's – weekdays, 9am-5pm
St John’s College Library.
Exhibition which is open to all, admission free, no booking required.
Live lunchtime meditation – Monday to Thursday, 1.15-1.30pm
Via Zoom.
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.
Open Orchestra – Monday 6 March, 7.30pm
New Music Room.
The St Johns College Open Orchestra (SJCOO) meets, usually fortnightly, on a Monday evening during term time. The orchestra is always happy to have more musicians who want to meet for relaxed and fun rehearsals, and sight read through some fun numbers from a wide variety of genres from classical to film. Brass and string players are particularly needed.
Open to all University members (Grade 4/5 minimum, no auditions required).
Further details and to register or email the SJCOO Director, Daniel Livermore.
Lent Bumps – Tuesday 7 March to Saturday 11 March
St John’s has four men’s boats, M1, M2, M3 and M4, and three women’s boats, W1, W2 and W3, competing in this year’s Lent Bumps.
The best place to watch is just down from The Plough in Fen Ditton. All welcome.
Lent Bumps division times (afternoons):
Division Tues Wed Thu Fri Sat
W1 - 16:40 16:40 16:40 16:40
M1 - 16:00 16:00 16:00 16:00
W2 16:40 - 15:20 15:20 15:20
M2 16:00 - 14:40 14:40 14:40
W3 15:20 15:20 - 14:00 14:00
M3 14:40 14:40 - 13:20 13:20
M4/W4 14:00 14:00 14:00 - 12:40
Palaeography for beginners – Tuesday 7 March, 3pm
Zoom.
Weekly ‘have-a-go’ sessions for anyone interested in reading handwriting c. 1500 – c. 1700, 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. Meetings are held online, using photographs of the documents which will be emailed out in advance along with the Zoom link.
Open to all, attendance free. If you would like to join in, please contact the archivist, Dr Lynsey Darby.
Pre-Dinner Lecture Series talk – Tuesday 7 March, 6.15pm
Boys Smith Room, Fisher Building.
Presented by Dr Ann Benson, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship, and Beaufort Visiting Fellow at St John’s. Details to be confirmed.
The lecture will last 20-30 minutes and be followed by audience questions and drinks.
Open to Fellows, affiliates and postgraduate students. Admission free.
LingSoc and MMLSoc Bar social – Tuesday 7 March, 7.30pm
St John’s Bar.
Joint social between the St John’s Linguistics Society and the Modern and Medieval Language (MML) Society.
Open to all members of the University, admission free, booking is not required. Further details
Chapel late – Tuesday 7 March, 8.30pm
Ante Chapel.
An evening of Turkish music with Kerem Mumyakmaz and Jacob Olley.
Open to all, admission free, booking is not required.
UniVox rehearsals – every Wednesday during term, 5.15pm-6.30pm
Palmerston Room, Fisher Building.
UniVox is a non-auditioned contemporary choir for students across the University run by the new Centre for Music Performance (CMP) and hosted by St John’s.
Places are limited so must be booked via the UniVox page of the CMP website.
Special collection display – Wednesday 8 March, 2pm-4pm
Old Library.
The Old Library will be open on a drop-in basis for people to view a display of items from the special collections. Every Wednesday during full term.
Open to College members and their guests, admission free, no booking required.
How Cambridge works – Wednesday 8 March, 8pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
A talk by Richard Partington, Senior Tutor.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme.
Attendance free, booking not required.
St John's College Music Society (SJCMS) lunchtime recital – Thursday 9 March, 1.15pm
New Music Room.
Alma Vink (violin), Seth Collin (cello) and Greg May (piano) perform piano trios by Fauré and Schumann.
Open to all, admission free, booking is not required.
Drop-in dissertation support group – Thursday 9 March, 2pm-5pm
Via Zoom.
Weekly online group run during term time by the Library, offering a structured study space, support and encouragement for any undergraduate student who is currently working on a dissertation.
Email Caroline for the Zoom link or if you have any questions.
Johnian Society Virtual Interview with Professor Peter Nienow (1984) – Thursday 9 March, 6.30pm
Online.
The Johnian Society is delighted to continue to host virtual interviews with alumni in 2023. Guests may participate in the event for as long or short a time as they like, staying just for the interview or also engaging in friendly conversation with fellow alumni during the Q&A session.
In this interview Professor Peter Nienow (1984) will speak with Mark Wells (1981) about his memories of St John’s, climate change and his research on glaciers and ice sheets. Peter is Professor of Glaciology at the University of Edinburgh and he was awarded the Polar Medal by Queen Elizabeth II in 2018 in recognition of his research activities in the Arctic.
Open to students at St John’s College, admission free.
Limited spaces, registration closes on Monday 6 March. The link for the session will be sent by email a couple of days ahead of the event. Further information and to register
Social tennis sessions – Friday 10 March, 3.30pm
St John’s tennis courts, behind the College playing fields.
Hour long social tennis sessions run by St John’s Tennis Club, every Friday during term time. No prior experience is needed, the games are intended for all students of all ages and all abilities. There is no need to come with a partner or tennis balls. If you need a racquet or have any queries please contact Jonny Fox.
Open to all St John’s students, admission free, no booking required.
Chapel late – Friday 10 March, 8pm
Chapel.
Max Todes conducts Bach’s St John Passion. The retiring collection will be in support of British Red Cross' DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal.
Open to all, admission free, booking is not required.
The Master’s concert series – Saturday 11 March, 8.45pm
Main Lecture Theatre, Old Divinity School.
Joy Lisney (cello) and James Lisney (piano) will be performing two sonatas by Beethoven, and a shorter piece by Arvo Pärt. Joy is a cellist of international standing: her performances have been described as ‘a musical treat of rare quality’ (The Guardian). The performance will be followed by a drinks reception hosted by the Sans Frontières programme.
Open to College members and their guests, admission free, no booking required.
Botanic Gardens tour – Sunday 19 March, 2pm
Join Professor Tim Bayliss-Smith for a tour of the Cambridge University Botanic Gardens to see the spring flowers.
Open to College postgraduate students, Fellows, Visiting Fellows and their guests as part of this term’s Sans Frontières events programme. Students should bring their University cards for free entry.
Further details to be confirmed.
St John’s Book Group for postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff – Wednesday 22 March, 5.45pm
Merton Hall Cottage.
Postgraduates, English Faculty and College staff are invited to join Vona Groarke, St John’s Writer-in-Residence, for the third book group meeting of Lent Term. This month’s book is Jenny Offill's short and whip-smart 2014 novel, Dept. of Speculation, reviewed in the Guardian as, 'wistful, sad and very funny', and in the LA Times as, 'This jewel of a book is a novel as funny, honest and beguiling as any I have read.'
If you are interested in joining this or the book group for undergraduate students, email Vona.
And finally
Congratulations to David Brown, Deputy Head Gardener, and his wife Jo who welcomed baby Noah Alexander to the world in February. He is pictured with the couple and proud big sister Emily. All the best from all of us at St John’s!
