It's Monday, and time for OLLI classes to begin. We are offered three classes, and may take all three if we wish. "A Country House" explores the history of the English country house, particularly as it is portrayed in English literature. Needless to say, this appeals to me quite a bit - BUT - it starts at 8:30 a.m. That fact is a serious drawback. We decide to attend the second offering, an exploration of the architecture of Cambridge, and the third, which is completely devoted to the life and career of Winston Churchill,.
After breakfast in the dining hall, we return to our room to finish getting ready for the day, and venture forth in time to arrive at the classroom and join our group for coffee, tea, and cookies in the break time between the first and second morning classes. The architecture class is absolutely delightful. Our instructor is a most impressive young man who took his PhD at Cambridge and now teaches in Denmark. He has returned to Cambridge and we like to think it's just for us. He didn't say it wasn't, so we feel pretty special.
After the introductory lecture explaining a bit about what we are about to see, we set out to visit St. Benet's Church right next door. Originally the chapel for Corpus Christi, it is now the parish church. There is a Romanesque bell tower and Victorian "improvements." This is fascinating. There is quite a bit for moderns to learn about restoration vs. conservation. Our teacher, who is actually a medieval architecture specialist, warns that buildings erected in the 1960s in this city have as much right to preservation as those erected in 1066 - for who knows what interest they might hold for groups like ours in a hundred or so years? We love this class and can't wait for tomorrow, when we will visit the most amazing King's College Chapel.
After lunch in the dining hall, we assemble for the Churchill class. This is taught by a member of the Cambridge history faculty who isn't really a Churchill specialist, but has made a special effort to create this class for us. (Told you we're special.) He has an absolute wealth of material and makes the request that we read ahead for Class No. 2. We will do that this evening. We are already behind, of course, because OLLI folks always have so many questions that instructors can never get through a lesson plan in the allotted time! (Note to potential OLLI teachers: OLLI at FSU is truly teaching nirvana. We are students who are there by choice, who do not text or email in class, who ask questions, and who produce no papers to grade, generate no data to be reported to administration, and who always applaud at the conclusion of every session.)
Our class concludes at 2:30 p.m., and we must make a dash for the punting embarkation point, just a couple of blocks away. We have no idea what to expect; we have, of course, observed the small punts on the river with an occupant or two or three; one of whom is working very hard to pole the little boat down the river without running into another boat or the bank. However, this is a little different. Our boats will accommodate eight of us (and actually will hold up to 12 people, so we have plenty of room to lounge.) The are fastened very securely to the dock, so the primary challenge is to get in and sit down without looking silly - absolutely no danger of falling overboard. The seats are covered with thick blankets and there is an extra one for each couple in case of a chill. Today, however, is beautiful and not chilly (though also not hot), and we have no need of blankets. Our oarsman (punter? pole guy?) is a charming young man, a college student at the University of Manchester working a summer job, who has a wonderful store of knowledge about what we are passing on each side of the River Cam as we mosey southward.
On each side of the river sit the grounds of the various colleges. Access to the river along this portion is limited to those who have access to the colleges and can walk down to the riverbank, so for the most part the humans we see are actually in punts, and it's very crowded indeed. Also there are many very friendly ducks. By contrast, the back sides of the college buildings and the beautiful small bridges that vary from college to college are pretty much deserted. What a wonderful way to view a wealth of grand structures, beautiful gardens, and many contrasting architectural styles. We enjoyed this so much. What a treat!
Back at the embarkation point, we (very clumsily) disembark and head for our next adventure, a private view of the some of the priceless manuscripts housed in the Parker Library.
Matthew Parker, who served as Anne Boleyn's chaplain and later was Archbishop of Canterbury in the reign of Elizabeth I, was an avid collector of ancient books and manuscripts, and left the collection to Corpus Christi College in 1574. "The collection houses a significant proportion of all extant Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The most prestigious possession is the St. Augustine Gospels, believed to have been brought to England by the Augustinian mission sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the people of Britain in AD 598. The Gospels are still used in the enthronement of the Archbishops of Canterbury today." (Quotation from Wikipedia.)
We were able to see actual notes from Anne Boleyn and a schoolbook that was used by Henry VIII's tutor for the lessons given to the young Prince Henry. This was a truly jaw-dropping experience.
[A note here about the OLLI at FSU Travel Abroad program: This is our third experience (Florence and Barcelona being the other two). In all instances, we have been privileged to have access to experiences not afforded the typical traveler. With FSU's connections to other academic institutions in Europe and with highly credentialed instructors and facilitators on both sides of the Atlantic, we are offered an absolutely top-notch experience. We cannot praise it highly enough. This hour in the Parker Library simply took our breath away.]
From the sublime to the ridiculous: After a brief dash back to the room to offload bottles of water, class notes, umbrellas (certainly no chance of rain), and other heavy items, we set off on a pub tour. First stop is a riverside pub where we have fish and chips (me) and bangers and mash (Mike). We have had these items in previous pubs, but agree that this version is primo. So far we are batting a thousand on dinner choices in this lovely college town. We eat entirely too much.
Deciding to forego the remainder of the pub tour in favor of a stroll around the city center, we make it back to the room just as night is falling. I sit now at the desk in our room, listening to the quieter-than-the-weekend chatter from The Eagle just down the alleyway, and enjoying the cool breeze from the open window. We look forward to three more days of wonderful classes and unique (to us) experiences. We go to bed tired, but happy.
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