Day 68: The Master of Mathematics

01/10/2021

It was a slower start to the morning as this exploring is catching up on us. A couple of video calls back home and we were lucky to meet the newest addition to the family. Lachlan is looking forward to running amok with them when we return.

After Eloise had successfully sprinkled her croissant all over the floor at Starbucks, we were off to explore Cambridge for the second day. We were expecting another cool day so headed to Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences. There was a vast collection of dinosaurs, minerals, rocks and all things Earthy. Once we made it past the large Iguanodon it was colouring in time.

We looked through all the shelves and cases of diverse rocks. We did not trust this Charles Darwin bloke, so gave Australia’s leading geologist, uncle Kochy, a call to discuss all things Earth Science. Sadly, he was busy herding chickens and missed the call.

The Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences, is the geology museum of the University of Cambridge. It is part of the Department of Earth Sciences. The Sedgwick Museum is the oldest of the eight museums which make up the University of Cambridge Museums consortium. The Sedgwick has a collection of around 2 million rocks, minerals and fossils, spanning a period of 4.5 billion years. They are an important international resource for research, learning and enjoyment.

After Eloise did a bit of rock analysis, she had figured it all out and provided an informative tour. She will catch you up to speed in next week’s class Kochy, exam Friday.

Eloise then triggered another Victorian earthquake, so we figured it was time to move on.

The next stop was the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, ideal for a fast and loose almost-two-year-old. Another phone on the wall, another opportunity to ring Becca, but she also did not answer.

After learning more about the University of Cambridge yesterday than we had planned, we found out that Stephen Hawking completed his PhD at Trinity Hall College, separate from Trinity College. When in Rome, plus the weather turned out better than predicted.

Window tax was a property tax based on the number of windows in a house. To avoid the tax, some houses from the period can be seen to have bricked-up window-spaces (ready to be glazed or reglazed at a later date). In England, it was introduced in 1696 and was repealed 155 years later.

We continued our aimless walking around in circles when we stumbled upon Cambridge Gin Laboratory. Currently hiring Grandpa Nicholls.

We passed the unusual Corpus Clock. We must have walked past it multiple times before but not noticed somehow.

The Corpus Clock, also known as the Grasshopper clock, is a large sculptural clock at street level on the outside of the Taylor Library. It was conceived and funded by John C. Taylor, an old member of the college. It was officially unveiled to the public on 19 September 2008 by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking. The clock was named one of Time’s Best Inventions of 2008. The clock is entirely accurate only once every five minutes. The rest of the time, the pendulum may seem to catch or stop, and the lights may lag or, then, race to get ahead. According to Taylor, this erratic motion reflects life’s “irregularity”.

We observed the clock twice today and it was correct both times. Coincidence?

We passed Cambridge SU, Pembroke College and The Old Schools. Our legs were starting to slow down, Lachlan insisted we pushed on.

We went to Clare College and was again disappointed we could not get past the security guards at the second gate…

… Until cousin of the blog, Tim, appeared. He literally just appeared, flying out of Radelaide yesterday and arriving in Cambridge an hour ago. He sounded like he had a good flight and no issues getting through Heathrow, although he had no sleep due to the excitement. It was great to have another person to complain about VFS Global that understood. Tim is here to do a second Masters of Mathematics before he goes on to solve all of the world’s problems. It was also his first time meeting Lachlan.

Tim went into Clare College to pick up his student card. It is amazing the places you can go if you say your name is Chris and Monika. Admittedly, Eloise passing off as Tash was a big stretch. Lachlan stayed very quiet and we were all in. Now, where is the Fellows lounge?

There were many proud parents taking pictures of their children starting at the University of Cambridge, so I resumed the role of Chris, but with better jokes. It was much busier today, not only are students arriving from all over the world for semester one, but the University of Cambridge are also completing graduation ceremonies from last year, delayed due to COVID-19.

Once we were in the sacred walls, we walked through the Old Court and then between the Scholar’s and Master’s garden until we got to Clare Bridge.

Tim mentioned why one of the bridge spheres had a wedge missing. There are many tales, he had clearly done his preparation.

At this stage, we were impressed Tim was still awake. Tim happily joined us to continue blindly walking around in circles, but Lachlan was done with colleges. We passed through the Grand Arcade, sadly the Disney shop was closed. Eloise noticed a piano and decided to play for her audience.

We then all had an early dinner with the hope of shifting bedtimes earlier. Eloise ploughed her way through her Spag Bog.

Initially, we were worried Eloise would fall asleep on the bus ride home and then not sleep all night. There was little chance of that happening though, the highlight of her day again.

We then got back to the hotel with no luck of an earlier bedtime.

In other news. ScoMo announced “international border will reopen next month for states that have reached 80 per cent vaccination rates”. We will get our Hotel FIK booking page set up shortly.