Tales from the Riverbank

It is May Ball season here in Cambridge, which is a bit of a misnomer as we are quite obviously almost at the end of June.

Cambridge is probably most famous worldwide for its university, the third oldest university in the world in continuous use, narrowly beaten only by its rival Oxford and also the University of Bologna, which is the oldest. Founded in 1209, Cambridge is a collegiate university currently with 31 independent colleges located all over the city, although none of the colleges is actually as old as the university itself.

Back in the 19^th century many of the colleges began to hold May balls in the week preceding the year end exams, during the month of May. The first to be held in 1866 was ‘The First and Third Trinity Boat Club May Ball’ better known simply as the Trinity May Ball. It was a low key celebration of the May Bumps, which to the casual observer are a series of spectacular, somewhat chaotic boat races on a section of the River Cam not really suitable for boat racing. This first Trinity ball was held at The Lion Hotel and was attended by 38 guests. Today there can be up to 2500 guests attending the Trinity Ball which is a lavish and extravagant affair with ticket prices starting at well over £200. Despite the price, tickets sell out in record time. Nowadays the balls take place after exams have finished generally in the middle of June, but they have retained the name of May Balls. Different colleges have different ways of celebrating involving Ferris wheels and fairground rides, entertainers and musicians as well as lavish multi course feasts with wine pairings. Trinity College, which spans the River Cam, is famous for its exceptional fireworks and flame displays.

Of course all this extravagant celebrating is only available to students, alumni and those with connections to the college. But those of us belonging to the ‘town’ half of the ‘town and gown’ can get to see the fireworks without having to buy tickets to the ball. Punt companies put on night-time tours so that people can actually watch the display from the river, and this is when it can help to have connections.

My son Sam was a punt chauffeur for many years. It was his full time job, all through the year, both summer and winter and in all weathers, he would push punts full of tourists along the River Cam treating them to entertaining commentary about the City and its inhabitants. There was always plenty of history and fact, paired with a smattering of myth and legend and an occasional sprinkling of fabrication invented by Sam. The trick was to separate the fact from the fiction. I was never fooled by his claim that the man on the ride on mower in the gardens of Clare College was the Dean of Horticulture, but I have no doubt there were plenty of unsuspecting tourists who were taken in by some of his tales. Interestingly we had a tour guide when we were in Germany last year that reminded us of Sam. Not in appearance as she was a short, somewhat stout grandmother, but her ability to tell a fascinating story held many similarities to my son’s, with the twinkle in her eye that suggested they might not all have been 100% true. But I digress.

Through his punting connections Sam was able to procure spaces on a boat for him and his family on Monday and was kind enough to ask us along. We set out in the early evening sunshine and Sam’s friend pushed the punt treating us to a river tour along the college Backs. The water sparkled and the light gave a beautiful warm glow to the old bridges and buildings. Eventually we turned around at the Mill Pond and headed back down the river to find a suitable mooring by the banks of Trinity College gardens, which span the river on both sides.

Whilst we might have been in a prime position to view the fireworks under no circumstances were we to set foot on the private property of the riverbank. Throughout the evening security guards were patrolling to issue warnings to ‘get back on the boats please’. As we sipped Prosecco and tucked into a delicious, shared picnic more and more punts joined us until the entire river was a gridlock of punts each one moored to the next. It was possible to cross from one bank to the other by simply walking across the boats, that is assuming you were allowed to actually set foot on the bank, which of course we weren’t.

As the light faded to near darkness the excitement mounted until eventually all the lamps in the trees went off and the crowd cheered in anticipation. We were not disappointed and what followed was twenty minutes or more of the most spectacular fireworks combined with flaming torches that danced and blazed in time with the music. It was one of the best displays I have ever seen.

Once it was all over, you might be forgiven for thinking we were going to be stuck in a traffic jam of river boats for hours, jostling for position to get free, but no. What followed was equally as exciting as the fireworks, as each punt unmoored itself from its neighbour and almost as one they moved at speed along the dark river in a thrilling ‘punt race’ flotilla to get back to the quayside mooring. Sam took over the pole to push us back in record time negotiating obstacles such other boats that had come adrift horizontally across the river. We went home tired but exhilarated, feeling fortunate to have experienced such fun.

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Now after all the excitement I need to focus because in just over two weeks I’m going to be taking part in another Cambridge event, Open Studios, for which I feel totally unprepared. It is an annual event taking place during weekends in July where artists in Cambridge and the surrounding villages open their homes and studios to the public. I first participated in 2005 and have only missed a couple of years but I am pretty certain this year will be my last time. The first time I took part I was making preparations for months beforehand never mind weeks, but I’m being very laisse faire this year. I have plenty of art to display, especially as I didn’t take part last year, but my studio is in chaos, and I have done absolutely no advertising, so here I am spreading the word. If you live close enough to come and visit me over the weekends of 12/13 or 19/20 July I would truly love to see you. Visitors are pretty thin out in the villages compared to central Cambridge, so it really is a joy to meet those who take the time and effort to come. All the details of times and where to find me can be found on the COS website or I am number 165 in the brochure.

And on that note that’s it for this week, because with studio prep, keeping on top of the allotment, and visiting Mum, as well as all the usual day to day stuff, trying to squeeze in time to write as well has been a bit of a push to say the least. I’ll be back next Sunday.