Sunday 7 August 2011

Behind the scenes



On one of the busiest Saturdays in summer,
with Cambridge full of tourists,
but colleges closed to visitors
for restoration and decoration,


we slipped past a barrier,
(by special dispensation)


under the archway where King Henry VIII
clasps a table leg instead of a sceptre,
(removed by student pranksters and never replaced),
into Great Court,




scene of the famous run in Chariots of Fire,


then followed a porter into the silent Neville's Court.


That's the Wren library,
including among  2500 other manuscripts
 A.A Milne's original Winnie the Pooh.


We looked into the vast hall with its
hammer-beam roof and lantern


and emerged rather hastily due to a fire alarm
(toast probably)


onto the Backs.





I feel a theme tune coming on.

10 comments:

  1. Ha Ha, very amusing end! How deliciously naughty to sneak in and have peace and quiet... that's what I put in my post about William Morris' Kelmscott, when I sneaked back to be alone with Janey & Rossetti, after everyone else had gone! Looks like you had a lovely day among the dreaming spires. The Time Sculptor

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  2. Oh I am green with envy!! How I miss England. And my husband and I love Chariots of Fire!! How I hope to return--& I shall add this to my to-see list. ;)

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  3. You have given me a lovely start to my day with this post. Love the roof in the hall and of course, the music will now be with me all day............

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  4. How lovely to enjoy the college on your own - what a treat to be able to take all those lovely pictures without other people getting in the way!

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  5. You have taken me back to my youth, when I haunted those places. Word at the time was that Trinity refused permission to film, so that it was done in Caius instead - not sure if that is true? I went back for a wedding in Trinity recently, and it was still as beautiful as ever - but I am sure that I didn't appreciate quite how beautiful at the time. In the ignorance of youth I think I just took it all for granted, and only appreciated it truly in hindsight.

    Pomona x

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  6. I've always wanted to see inside and now I have, thank you. It all looks very serene.

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  7. Pomona: yes I think that it is true that Trinity didn't allow the filming. My son says it was filmed at Eton.

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  8. what a magnificent, peaceful place ...

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  9. Wonderful photos, brought back memories of a visit I had to Cambridge many (many!!) years ago.

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  10. Oh, that makes me homesick! I've walked there and seen that so many times (but so long, long ago). Lovely, lovely.

    And I do love Chariots of Fire!

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