Post-exam highlights

For any readers who actually want to know something about my life not just inside my head but outside it, feel free to skip the previous post. Especially for you, I will try to summarise some of what I've done since exams. I have sometimes been afflicted over the past week or so by a feeling that I haven't really accomplished much since I finished exams. Apart from the fact that I need some recovery time and am allowed just to rest, I realised, looking back over the past couple of weeks, that I've actually had an interesting and eventful time in a variety of ways.

Here are a few highlights:

Last week the Queen visited my college to mark its quincentenary - see the college website or the university website for further details of her trip to Cambridge. She also "opened" the salmon-coloured English faculty building which has been one of my homes for the past year. She was accompanied to Christ's by her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and Chancellor of the University, who stopped to have a brief chat with me and two friends of mine. There isn't anything particularly salacious to sell to the press, since it was a fairly run of the mill enquiry about what we were doing with ourselves now exams were over. You can see me in this photo, third from the right, though not especially distinctly. Apparently we are also in the Cambridge Crier, the free Cambridge newspaper, but I haven't yet seen this.

Last week we had a picnic on Jesus Green (which I am seeing a lot of at the moment) to see goodbye to Chris Rice, the student pastor at Holy Trinity. This was a good occasion, which hit the balance of silliness and sincerity which characterises Chris really. I had some moments of vicarious nostalgia, reading the scrapbook so wonderfully put together by Xanthe (or looking at the pictures), and feeling emotional about things that happened when I wasn't even at HT. One day I might inflict some Chris Rice humour on you, but that might be a sign that I am running short of inspiration. You would have thought with a leaving party and all that, we would have paid him off to leave Cambridge ;-), but, as for so many, the Cambridge bubble is retaining its grip on him for one year more (at least). Anyway, the boy's done a good job (and took me out for coffee on Thursday).

Last Friday, I took Martin and Jingjing (both from China) round King's. It's nice to be able to enjoy the special atmosphere of Cambridge without the pressure of work. We also had a picnic on Jesus Green after Harry's, where I led a Bible study on John 20. There's more I could say about how I've spent my time, but I ought to go to bed now since I have a busy day tomorrow. (Two garden parties - oh the effort :-).)