This Modern World

I know this may sound weird to those of you who live in big cities or in lands where history is less varied and visible than in the United Kingdom, but from time to time I get bored with photographing the countryside or historic buildings. I feel a need to "re-boot" my diminishing stock of grey cells in some way and point my lens at something different, something outside my usual drift of experience. One way of doing it is to examine some of the constructions and contrivances of modern architecture. Although I'm not much interested in the kind of world they represent, there's something about their sharp angles and shiny surfaces that I find compelling.

Take care.

"It's Cambridge, Jim, But Not As We Know It"

I rode into Cambridge on a brand new train. Looking out of the window it suddenly occurred to me that every building I saw had been constructed within my lifetime and some were very new indeed. I've often wondered just where they stand and which streets lead to them.

As the train halted a voice told me to be sure to take all my personal belongings with me. For a moment I pondered on how you could have belongings that were not personal but my drifting thoughts were interrupted by the same clinical voice telling me that if I saw anything suspicious I should inform a member of station staff. I promised myself that I would.

The automatic turnstile delivered me into the bright sunlight of the busy square which has recently been laid out in front of the station. Buckled reflections sneered back from the huge glass windows. People hurried in all directions and taxis came and went. 

It was mid-morning but cafe tables were occupied by people who had no work to do other than sit in the sun on  red chairs drinking expensive coffee. Nearby a smartly dressed young woman in stiletto heels smoked an e-cigarette.  A little further along green chairs and tables stood unoccupied.

Suddenly I found myself in a strangely empty space with perfect grass where nobody sat, surrounded by rectilinear buildings with plain walls and blank windows. I strolled on towards the newest buildings, pulled on by a magnetic attraction.

I entered effortlessly into their realm but there was something unexplained going on here. Or perhaps wasn't going on. Something was missing. Something was absent. Something had not been included in the plans. I pondered on the discrepancy and was met by silence.

Ah. That was it. Silence. No birdsong. No traffic noise. No children playing. Not even a car radio pumping out relentless beats into the warm summer air. And there was no litter. Lollipop trees stood with their roots imprisoned by concrete. Just a few perfectly parked cars. And no untidy heaps of locked bikes; this is Cambridge, there should at least be that.  Wherever you go in Cambridge there are always bikes. Now this is all "suspicious", but there's no station staff here for me to inform.

Signs quietly informed nobody at all that this was "Residents Parking". Quiet, though firm, and unwelcoming. But no signs to helpfully point the way and no advertising. Definitely no advertising. And very few people, though there were a few items - a plant in a window, a jacket hanging on a balcony chair - that showed there were inhabitants hiding inside.

Two Chinese girls walked together down the steps. One was wearing dainty white headphones, the other stared at a small screen that she held before her. They did not speak to each other although they walked side-by-side. Suddenly one of them laughed at some secret joke, disturbing the carefully controlled equilibrium.

I walked the clean pavements, I raised my camera, considered the angles, balanced the composition and clicked, collecting shapes and colours but not answers. The Chinese girls disappeared into an unmarked door, a plane passed overhead,  then I spotted it. 

This was Cambridge after all.

Take care. 

Thoroughly Modern Murray

"Discover the secrets of the universe" the painting says. But get too close and it dissolves into meaningless coloured splodges - try clicking on the image to enlarge it and you may see what I mean. To make matters worse the work is displayed in a students' bar. But just where is our voyage of discovery leading us today?

This is the entrance to Murray Edwards College, part of the University of Cambridge, which specialises in 'the education of outstanding young women from all backgrounds'. It was founded as recently as 1954 as New Hall. In Cambridge things can go on being called "new" for centuries but in 2008 New Hall changed its name to Murray Edwards College to honour both the founding president of New Hall, Dame Rosemary Murray, and Ros Edwards, who donated £30 million to the college.

If your image of a Cambridge college is of medieval courtyards, Gothic halls and imposing gatehouses then think again. The main buildings were designed by the same architects who were responsible for the Barbican in London. 

Some Cambridge colleges let you look around if you pay them for the privilege. Others direct you on a very strict route through their buildings. But here I just said "Is it OK if I go and look at some of the sculptures and paintings?" and was just waved through with a smile. There were no signs to tell me where to go and very few to tell me where I couldn't go.

I saw on their college blog that one of the students said that life at Murray Edwards was all about concrete, calm and cakes! I didn't spot the cakes but there is certainly an air of calmness about the place, which makes it attractive despite all that concrete. 

But I'd better look for some of those sculptures. Ah, here's one called Improvisation by Naomi Press. It's made from stainless steel and sits nicely in this environment.

In a corridor I discovered many paintings and other works. Such as Summer by Vanessa Jackson (above). Yes, all the artists are female. And (below) is Models Triptych: Madonna Cascade by Rose Garrard.

Look closely - the frame and the cascade are made up of casts of the Madonna. Even the damp running down the wall looks as though it's part of this strangely unsettling picture!

All this concrete and abstraction is softened and embellished with some lovely flower beds, sweet scents and birdsong, making for a very pleasant stroll.

And the glass, steel and concrete create fascinating patterns and reflections for the photographer.

Here we have everything - plenty of stark concrete, leaves and flowers and, sitting amongst it all, an interesting steel construction. It's creator, Annie Collard, calls it Festive Feeling. She says that the coils were inspired by the tension of an athlete about to spring from the starting blocks. I couldn't have resisted calling it "Spring Colours"!

And all presided over by the Dome, which is the focal point of the whole site and sits over the dining hall.

And there are always those floral displays!


Take care.

In Christ's Garden

....the garden and courtyards of Christ's College in Cambridge that is.

Despite being more centrally placed in Cambridge than any other college Christ's is something of a secret, seldom overrun with tourists and hardly known to most residents of the city. 

Some of the buildings are old, dating back to the founding of the college, originally called God's House, in the fifteenth century. Others are more recent having been added as the college expanded but all seem to be "off the radar" to the guidebooks.

But it's the flowers which took my eye on this glorious spring afternoon.

And you can wander through at your leisure. Everything seems to be open to visitors including the Master's Garden which is very unusual for the Cambridge colleges.

The light was very bright and clear which made some photos difficult but allowed other opportunities which, I hope, I was able to utilise to good effect.

But there are flowers in the courts too

Just when you think you've got the measure of the place - pleasant, well-proportioned courtyards with fine floral displays - you round a corner to be confronted by....

Sir Denys Lansdun's controversial, concrete construction - New Court, otherwise known as "The Typewriter". Love it or hate it, but I think I may not round that particular corner next time I go for a wander in the gardens of Christ's College.

Take care.

A Pembroke Portfolio

Pembroke College may not be top of most visitors' itinerary but it is a very old college, it's in central Cambridge, it has a wide range of buildings in different styles, it has some lovely picturesque corners and it always seems a very friendly place. This is by no means an exhaustive account, just a few pictures I took on a day of bright, low-angled sunshine which made some shots impossible but enhanced others.

Statue of William Pitt The Younger,

youngest ever British Prime Minister 

when he was elected in 1783 at the age of 24.

He was educated at Pembroke.

(Yes, roses blooming in January!)

Ridley's Walk

A picturesque path leading between college buildings.

All the above photos were taken in the vicinity of Ridley's Walk, surely one of the most beautiful short strolls in Cambridge; even in mid-winter. It was named after Bishop Nicholas Ridley, former scholar at Pembroke, who was martyred in 1555, but there's also a plaque to Sir Harold Ridley, the eye-surgeon who pioneered lens implants after treating a fighter pilot who had been severely injured by Perspex splinters from the cockpit when his plane was shot down. Ridley operated on the man 19 times and restored the sight to one eye. But he also noticed that Perspex was not rejected by the body's immune system which led him to his breakthrough. 

Modern Architecture - Foundress Court

That crazy, slanting sunlight really lifted these shots.

Three Windows

...and a staircase straight out of Hogwarts.

The Chapel

A close-up of the old Bible on the lectern

And the interior of the Chapel,

a very early work of the great architect

Sir Christopher Wren

in the 1660s.

We will be back sometime to show you more, including the outside of the Chapel and the gardens in the spring or summer. Until then.....

Take care.