An afternoon at Trinity

One of the jobs that I had when I worked at the school was Assistant to the Exams Officer.  It was one of my favourite jobs and I worked with a lovely lady who, in her spare time, played 1st Horn in a brass band.  I kept saying that I would go and see them when they were in concert locally but am ashamed to say it never happened.  We've kept in regular touch since she left the school and earlier this year she mentioned that it was the 50th anniversary of the band and they were having a celebratory concert in the building where she now works.  That building is Trinity College, Cambridge.   {A far cry from the local High School where we met!}

So the date has been in the diary for many months now and even though I'm not a huge fan of brass band music, I was looking forward to actually seeing her perform.  Paul and I met up with two other couples {us wives had all worked at the same school together} for lunch before the concert - a slight mix up in an offer the restaurant was offering meant that we were given one whole bottle of prosecco and 4 extra glasses free - I'm still not sure how that happened but I'm not one to turn down a free glass of fizz! 🍾

Anyone who has ever seen the film Chariots of Fire will know about Trinity College.  To this day students compete to see who can run around the Great Court within the time it takes the college clock to strike the hour of 12.  It's a distance of about 400 yards and the clock takes about 44 seconds to chime.  Apparently the clock sticks each hour twice, one low tone and one high so that gives you a little extra time!

So much history about this place,  it was founded by Henry VIII in 1546 and famous alumni include Isaac Newton, Lord Byron, Lord Tennyson, several British Prime Ministers and A A Milne, whose original manuscript of The House at Pooh Corner is housed in the library there.  

You may see from the photos that there is no one walking across the grass - that is absolutely forbidden unless you are one of the 190 Fellows of the College, there is a very strict looking man in a bowler hat keeping an eye on you at all times just in case you felt the urge to take a short cut between the buildings!  

It was a fabulous afternoon and I feel so privileged to have been able to see inside such a prestigious and historical building.  The acoustics in the chapel were brilliant and they played a wide variety of styles of music, finishing on Crown Imperial which sounded so majestic in those surroundings.

There is also a remote possibility that I may have found another photo to tick off the list - although Paul thinks I am pushing the boundaries a bit to think that the organ in the chapel could constitute  2 - Stripes.

And guess what?  I still didn't get a photo of Cambridge cyclists for Pedal Power!