At last! The true hero of polar exploration has been honoured with this statue outside the Scott Polar Museum in Cambridge's Lensfield Road. As the poet Les Barker explains, (and you can hear the entire poem, recited by the entire poet, here) Amundsen wasn't the first to reach the South Pole....
It was an elementary mistake
That put Roald out of the hunt
How can the man at the back of the sledge
Beat the dog he has tied to the front?
How can the man at the back of the sledge
Beat the dog he has tied to the front?
Quite so, Mr Barker, quite so.
When the poet Thomas Gray (yes, he who elergised in the country churchyard) was at Peterhouse College he found himself sharing a corridor with some frequently noisy and drunken revellers. Their late-night homecomings filled the delicate poet with dread and he imagined that they might easily upset a candle and set fire to the building. Gray therefore ordered a rope ladder "full thirty-six feet long and fitted with hooks" to be delivered. He then had an iron bar fixed outside his window from which to hang his means of escape. All this did not go unnoticed by his neighbours and early one morning a group of them assembled outside and loudly shouted "Fire!", hoping to see the poet making his escape in his nightshirt.
In the event Gray realised what was happening so the prank failed. However the story was told and re-told till the story ran that he had not only descended, but had fallen into a large vat of cold water placed there for the purpose. These lies became so widespread that they even appeared in a well-respected biography.
Gray left Peterhouse soon after and went across the road to Pembroke College. But the iron bar is still there for anyone walking down Trumpington Street to see.
In And Out Of The Eagle
The Eagle pub in Bene't Street is very old indeed. An inn has stood on the site since at least 1353 and it was certainly known as the Eagle And Child in 1525. As you might expect with a building as old as this there are many stories of ghosts. A few hundred years ago a fire raged through part of one of the upper floors and a child, unable to open the window, perished in the flames. Ever since that day the window has been left open, as you can see at the top-centre of the photo above.
But that was not what my friends and I were thinking about when we gathered there in the early 1970s. Neither were we aware that Francis Crick and James D Watson had compared notes there and even chose it as the place to announce the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA.
I do vaguely remember glancing up at the ceiling in the bar though, which was "decorated" with the names and squadron numbers of British and American pilots who relaxed here during World War II.
Pitt's Pizzas
This strange "Greek temple" in Jesus Lane is the headquarters of The Pitt Club, named after Prime Minister William Pitt The Younger and one of the most exclusive University clubs. Its aim originally was to ensure that the right sort of people got elected to parliament - by which they meant Tories.
However their precious "market forces" led them to rent a large part of the building to Pizza Express, though no commercial signage has been allowed. One can almost see the likeness of Pitt, which is above the door, turning up his not inconsiderable nose at the smell of pizza wafting from below.
Back In The Doghouse
A sand-sculptor adds the finishing touches to a hound in repose. This man was in Cambridge for several days and every time I saw him he was re-creating exactly the same sculpture. Now he seems to have moved on elsewhere.
Take care.
Great little stories! Love the dog who got there first (of course)!
ReplyDeleteInteresting post John, particularly because earlier this afternoon I read the chapter about Cambridge in Bill 'Bryson's latest book 'The Road to Little Dribbling.
ReplyDeleteAnd the noble dog that got there first got eaten for his pains...or was that his ponies? That's why they say Scott died, because he wouldn't eat his animals. Supposedly with a big S
ReplyDeleteInteresting tales for your photos. Love that the dog made it to the pole first. We visited the Eagle and raised a few pints to the men who braved the skies in WW2.
ReplyDeleteI loved all your stories! So interesting, especially the one about the poet.
ReplyDeleteFascinating stories and your photos brought them all to life.
ReplyDeleteYou have the most interesting historic buildings in your area -- nice to be introduced to them. Liked the Eagle Pub with the World War II soldiers signatures. Nice that they were left on the ceiling -- barbara
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I can blame Thomas Gray for wanting a fire escape especially in light of the second photo. I suppose the dog sculpture is appropriate, but do the dogs even care? My dogs never were after fame and recognition -they just want FOOD! Glad the soldiers signatures were preserved. They would care.
ReplyDeleteFun stories. And good you have straightened out history with the story of the real first arrival at the South Pole.
ReplyDeleteGreat variety. I got a good chuckle at the poem.
ReplyDeleteWhat interesting bits of history! Your last few posts are lovely with the churches and local fare.
ReplyDeleteA fitting tribute to the husky
ReplyDeleteYou really do get to walk around some wildly interesting places with picturesque histories. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a look at that ceiling...of course there is not a chance that I would recognize any name. Still, don't you wish you could hear their tales. Loved that the dog got there first!
ReplyDeleteYou do find the most quirky and amusing stories John. The dog before the sled :) The great Gray escape, or not! The image of a pub being in that same spot since 1353, astounding! Laughed at the thought of PM Pitt turning nose up at pizza, not very fond of them myself :) Excellent!
ReplyDeleteAh' Spot of the Antarctic ! A fine tribute
ReplyDeleteI've been away for a while. How good to read your interesting tales and see your photos again. Jane x
ReplyDeleteGreat post John, full of all sorts of things I didn't know. Interested in the Squadron ceiling, but no use looking for 170 as Cambridge was not their area of operation.
ReplyDeleteI'm smiling that the dog got there first! And I'm laughing that there's a pizza place in the Pitt Club! Haa!
ReplyDeleteThe statue immediately reminded me of Balto in Central Park NYC :)
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