Our final visit today was to Jesus College.
The Chapel has a huge number of windows, carvings and other works of art. I took photos of only a small proportion of them and only a small proportion of that small proportion is included here.
This lectern was designed by Pugin and is to be restored in the near future.
Detail of Lectern (St.John and his Eagle)
Adam, Enoch, Noah and Abraham
David and Goliath (no detail is spared!)
King Solomon overseeing the building of the Temple
The Nativity
I particularly liked this depiction of Mary and the baby Jesus.
The twelve-year-old Jesus discussing theology with the priests in the Temple.
The ceiling is completely decorated.
Looking up into the tower.
We again went to Evensong at both King's and St.John's.
There were thousands of people in the city because of the fireworks (more on those later) and many of those people decided to attend the 5:30pm Evensong at King's. The line to get in was very long. Luckily, we got there early and were rewarded with quite a good spot. The music included an introit, I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes by Ledger, the responses by Rose and the canticles by Tavener (a modern composer who was influenced by the music of the Russian Orthodox Church - very evident in the very low notes sung by the basses). The anthem was The Beatitudes by Arvo Pärt (another modern composer). The choir sang very well but we both felt that the singing lacked the finesse and intensity of the St.John's Chapel Choir.
We were a little late getting to St.John's for the 6:30pm Evensong, arriving just in time for the psalm. Once again, there were comparatively few people at this service. The standard of the music was "top notch". The Responses were by Ayleward, the canticles were Stanford in B flat and the anthem was Sheppard's The Lord’s Prayer. The Organ Voluntary was Parry's Fantasia and Fugue in G.
Guy Fawkes Night (November 5th) is still BIG in England. We have seen signs advertising public fireworks displays in almost every town we have visited. It was no different in Cambridge. We were told that around 20,000 people visit for the fun fair, the market stalls and the fireworks display. Knowing that we would be too late to get to the common by 7:30pm, we had booked a spot on the rooftop of the Varsity Hotel. Within five minutes of arriving, the fireworks began. The display was on a par with what we see in Melbourne during Moomba and on New Year's Eve - it was great! I took some photos but they didn't turn out very well and some movies. You can get a very good idea of what we experienced by going to this article in the Cambridge News.
But wait.... there's more!
Unlike Victoria, fireworks are still legal in England. I used to love fireworks night and have missed it since fireworks were banned back in 1985. So... we bought two boxes and let them off in the back garden of our accommodating(!) hosts. This delighted not only us but our host's special needs teenage son who declared that our fireworks were the "best ever"! It brought back lots of happy memories for me. Satoshi had never experienced "at home" fireworks before - he was surprised to see how high the rockets went and the general quality of the display. Such fun!!
Another very full but wonderful day!