You wander in, spot a load of names you recognise, then realise that these were actually educated at Magdalene. I incorrectly identified that Ussher - although it does say he was Archbishop of Armagh - as the bloke who decided the world got going at whatever time (evening) on 22nd October 4004 BC. Turns out the Magdalene one was that bloke's uncle. There you go.
Won't do the 'nostalgia isn't what it used to be' joke this time, as the only place that brought back any significant memory for me that I passed today being the Maharajah Curry House. "Mr Alex, you are a very bad man." He probably was. I spent less than 100 weeks in Cambridge as a student, followed by a year there working, and yet it has left a mark on or in me that will not be erased. Not the education itself, although that is significant, but the strange sense of belonging to something in some way historical. There's something about being part of it that appeals to that bit of all (some?) of us that wants to be part of the club. Was that membership truly significant? Perhaps not, in the grand scheme of things, but it's impossible to say with conviction. A club of 800 years of history, with some notable participants in These Matters named up there on the glass. But, as you might notice from the tag line, not (m)any women. So let's finish this brief item with a quotation: History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket. Leave a Reply. |
Andy RichardsonWhen to the sessions of sweet silent thought Archives
March 2022
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