Last Hurrah Part 3: 'Oh look, dear. Commoners!'

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On the train south from Darlington, I sat next to the poshest woman I have ever encountered. Her accent was the very definition of Received Pronunciation, the stereotypical uppity accent that people all over the world associate with England. It was seriously the poshest accent that ever poshed. She sounded so upper-class that while she was talking on her phone, I actually scanned the train for undercover guards, just in case.

A few people I have met over here have talked about moments like this, when they can't help but wonder whether they've encountered a member or relation of the royal family in public. It was a very 'honorary Brit' moment, and the first sign that Great Britain as an entity is saying goodbye to me.

The second sign occurred a few minutes into her conversation, when she said something that - although a stereotypical British catch-phrase in the media, although so famous that it's practically a staple of British culture according to the world - I have never heard a British person utter in seriousness in my entire life.

After arranging boring plans with the person on the other end of the line, she said, and I swear I am not making this up:

"Jolly good."

I almost exploded. It seriously took a ton of will-power to keep a straight face, and not to jump up and down in excitement, shouting "You said it! You said it! Somebody actually said it!" I reserved this for later, when I got to Cambridge and met up with the people I would be staying with for the weekend: a flatmate from UEA and her boyfriend. She being American and he being Russian, they both appreciated the seriousness of what had happened.

Anyway: Cambridge!



There is a stereotype that people in the north of England are friendlier than people in the south. Having lived and traveled in each for a significant amount of time, I feel qualified to say that it's true. In the south, especially in a city as famously stuffy as Cambridge, people treat each other with a sort of "polite rudeness". Meaning they either say nice words in a pointedly angry way (e.g. 'Yes. Thank you for the advice.'😉, or they pretend to be polite when what they're saying really isn't (e.g. the doorman at a hotel, who shut the door when we asked how to get to the 'Garden Terrace' in order to calmly inform us that it was not a Garden Terrace because there was no garden and no lawn, that it was a 'rooftop bar with food.' After we conceded to this, he let us in, and we followed the signs for 'Garden Terrace' all the way to the top).

Also, rather than student discounts, Cambridge has a 'locals discount' where people actually have to pay less for admissions, tours, or boat rentals if they can prove that they are Cambridge residents. This seemed shocking to me, that a place would be allowed to openly charge people more for being tourists. I know that they get away with it and they clearly make more money this way, but to me it's what some of my coursemates would call: 'bare-faced cheek.'



Understandably for a touristy place on a nice weekend in August, the city center was absolutely packed. Aside from the few colleges and the canal, there is a large marketplace (although we agreed that the one in Norwich is larger), a few old churches and the collection of pubs and shops that is typical of English cities.



This church is one of the oldest churches in the area. Inside is a timeline describing life in Cambridgeshire since the Bronze Age, as well as the church's role in local history.

About 2/3rds of the way through, a panel describes the Puritans in 17th century East Anglia, including their conflicts with the Anglican Church and eventual departure for the New World (where, many of us know, they nearly died off, befriended the natives, invented Thanksgiving, and eventually started hanging each other as witches). I know for a fact that many of my ancestors were part of this group, which means that the majority of the timeline in this English church was describing my ancestors too. Thinking about this was mind-blowing.

I feel like that should have qualified me for a resident discount. But here, the admissions people actually asked for proof that UEA Flatmate and Boyfriend lived in the area. Am I the only one who thinks this is ridiculous?



A few of the colleges - like Saint John's, pictured here - were close to city center. Most of them charged admission, but a few of them didn't.



For example, Christ's College, where Charles Darwin studied.



These colleges were much quieter, which was a nice break from the crowded city center.



Let me see if I can remember all this: the Rose signifies the unified houses of York and Lancaster, following the War of the Roses when Henry VI, the son of both houses, took the throne (though I don't understand why this one is a red rose and not a red-and-white one). The portico symbolizes the Royal Guard. I think. I don't remember what the goats mean.

And then, of course, what visit to Cambridge is complete without this:



Punting is a type of shallow-water sailing where one person stands at the back of the boat and uses a long pole to push off the bottom of the canal. Although completely impractical, punting is popularly associated with the city and University. You could either pay to go on a tour, where a student would do all the work while giving you a history of the University, or rent a boat by the hour and try it yourself.



Since UEA Flatmate and Boyfriend are locals, we were able to rent a boat for a lower price than we would have if, say, my coursemates and I as Newcastle residents had gone. I am not over this yet.



Boyfriend has punted before, so he started us out. We heard snippets of history from the tours as they went by, and Boyfriend knows quite a bit about the University, so I essentially got a tour as well.





For example, this bridge was built to replicate the 'Bridge of Sighs' in Venice.

At one point, we went under a bridge where people in fancy clothes were drinking champagne and looking out over the river. It would have looked like a wedding, except there wasn't a bride and groom. It was probably a University reception of some kind, but UEA Flatmate and I amused ourselves by pretending it was posh Cambridge people. ('Oh look dear, commoners!' 'Now darling, don't get too close!' 'Yes but look at them pushing their funny little boats. Aren't they adorable?' 'Listen to that one, dear, I think it's a Yank!'😉

We thought it was funny. Maybe you had to be there.



On the return trip UEA Flatmate, who has not punted before, gave it a try. She said the most difficult part is steering when there is heavy traffic, because to straighten out you keep the pole in the water for a few seconds after you push off. When there are boats on your tail and/or to either side, that's harder to do and then the 3-punt pileups happen.

Also there is the worry that you are going to lose your balance and fall into the water. I never saw anyone do that, but a coursemate told me later that it does happen.

We didn't have time for me to give punting a try, unfortunately. Which is actually fine by me. Give me a kayak over this, any day.

We also paid a visit to King's College.



Which is one of the more famous colleges, espeically because of the chapel:





(The greyhound signifies Henry VII's mother's house, and the dragon represents England. I think.)

This was another place where I had to hold my camera inhumanly still.



Which generally involved bracing it on chairs and things.













To one side, there was an exhibit on Henry VI and his successors, including how and why the chapel was built. Apparently the 'Shrine of Henry VI' was a famous thing, and visitors from all over the country would report miracles associated with it. I never realized that the War of the Roses, or its resolution, was so closely associated with Cambridge.

There was also this sign outside, which amused us to no end:



More polite rudeness...on a sign. Oh Britain. Much as I adore my coursemates, it was nice to be with people who appreciate why things like this are so ridiculous.

On Saturday afternoon we had a picnic in a park near city center. There was some family party or birthday thing going on, with what looked like several families, outdoor games and tons of food. They set up a baseball game, which was surprising and entertaining to watch. We were tempted to ask to join, as I haven't even seen a baseball game in a long time, more or less played in one. But it was funny to watch people in flip flops run around not even touching the bases, while fielders threw a tennis ball to each other, people shouted from the picnic benches ('Seriously, don't even look at the ball, just run!'😉 and the catcher sneaked an occasional sip of beer.

I say again that Britain is saying goodbye to me.

It was strange seeing UEA Flatmate in England again, as we haven't seen each other since a reunion in Long Island several years ago. It's a very different way of interacting, being with foreign Anglophiles instead of British people, and it's weird to think that while I'm nearing the end of my two years in this wonderfully insane little country, she's just starting. I'm really glad we overlapped enough to be able to meet up. And as always, I am eternally grateful to UEA Flatmate and Boyfriend for letting me stay, and showing the sights of this famously posh city in East Anglia.

Next: York and a little bit of the Moors

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Comments

[Dad]

What a riot! Your comment about our ancestors hanging each other as witches had me in stitches

[Mom]

Jolly good blog, Sarah!