Issue no.14
Regenerate
Pembroke Street
CONTENTS Kawsak Sacha 3 Cutting Waste for the Environment 5 Lessons from a Broken Leg 7 Guide for International Freshers 9 Regeneration of Beirut 11 My Summer of Rest and Relaxation 13 Guide for LGBT Freshers 15 Reshaping your view on success: The Happiness Advantage 17
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Pembroke People: Will Kirby 19 Rethinking Pembroke May Ball within the Context of the Climate Crisis 22 Regenerate your Working Habits! 25 Choir Tour of Thailand 27 Curtains 30 Cambridge’s Best College Mottos 31 What’s in your Stars? 33 Cryptic Crossword 35
EDITORS’ NOTE Welcome to Issue 14 of Pembroke Street: REGENERATE! We’re both excited to edit Pembroke Street this year and equally excited to welcome all of the Freshers who are (hopefully) reading this! At the start of a new year, we wanted to think about what it means to regenerate, and how to tackle the immense changes that we all face, be they the pressures of a new workload, or the anxieties accompanying the climate crisis (at Cambridge, these can often seem equally worrying!). We hope there’s something for everyone inside, whether you’re after practical tips for cutting down waste, thoughts on how to regenerate accessibility in college, or a Cambridge-themed horoscope to help guide you through Michaelmas. Alternatively, if you just want to flip through and admire the lovely design by Clarice Benney, Eliza Griffiths and Suzie Welby, we don’t blame you! Pembroke Street is such a lovely and unique addition to life at Pembroke, and we hope this edition shows that. We’ve immensely enjoyed going through all of the amazing submissions we’ve received that show the college at its best. Editing this edition has made us so excited for what this year has in store for Pembroke Street, so please don’t hesitate to contact us with any ideas for future articles or themes, we would love to hear from you. We’re also looking forward to meeting new readers and contributors this year. We want to start hosting launches/creative meetings so keep your eyes peeled on our socials – we hope you’ll be able to join us! We don’t charge for Pembroke Street and we don’t intend to start doing so. However, we’d love if you could take up the theme of “Regenerate” and consider making a small donation to the World Land Trust who plant a tree for every £5 donated. We’ve left a donation box in the pidge room next to the Pembroke Street pile, or you can visit their website at worldlandtrust.org. Have a lovely term! Dan & Tilly PS – we’re sorry the crossword is so difficult, it was designed by a mathmo! Follow our instagram @pembrokestreet for hints and answers (and pretty updates by our lovely publicity officer, Ellie Campbell) PPS – we hope you won’t be inclined to throw the magazine away, but if you do choose to, please recycle it!
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C a l l t o Va l e n c i a n s : re a d Kawsak Sacha For Gillian Tett, “the paradox of the modern age … is that we live in a world that is closely connected in some ways, but fragmented in others. Shocks are increasingly contagious. But we continue to behave and think in tiny silos”. I think this “silo” mentality is at the root of our unwillingness, or even our inability to tackle the climate crisis. Think about the fires raging in the Amazon. Across the EU, political leaders have expressed their concern about this ecological catastrophe – an “international crisis” dixit President Macron. Yet how many of them have addressed the fact that we Europeans “import deforestation” by importing soya feed for our cattle? How many have acknowledged that we share responsibility for this tragedy? This is why I urge each and everyone of us to read Kawsak Sacha. Not merely because it was written by an indigenous people living at the heart of the Amazon rainforest, but because it offers an invaluable alternative to our capitalist conception of the planet; one that I believe could remedy our harmful silo mentality and hopefully lead humanity out of this crisis.
What is Kawsak Sacha? Kawsak Sacha is a universal declaration made by the Kichwa people of Sarayaku in 2008 to propose the creation of a new legal category of protected area: “Kawsak Sacha” or “the Living Forest”. Concretely, this entails protecting the forest from destructive extractive activities such as drilling for oil. More than a category, Kawsak Sacha is a manifesto for living in harmony with the natural world, the Pachamama (Mother Earth). The Kichwa even presented Kawsak Sacha as “A Native Proposal for Confronting Climate Change” at the COP21 in Paris in 2015. Kawsak Sacha offers a radical alternative to Western, capitalist conceptions of nature as merely a source of raw materials to be exploited. The Kichwa perceive the forest as entirely composed of “living selves” and their communicative interrelations. Ranging from the tiniest plants to “the supreme beings who protect the forest,” these selves live together in community. For the Kichwa, the natural world is thus primarily a social world.
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Emma Kerr encourages us to reevaluate how we think about the environment, with an indigenous declaration from the Amazon. Illustrations by Lucy Xu
Kawsak Sacha is integral to the Kichwa’s philosophy of Sumak Kawsay (Good Living) which relies on three pillars: fertile land, living in community and forest wisdom. According to the Kichwa, the Living Forest is physically and emotionally regenerating. In fact, it is “the most exalted expression of life itself”. The Kichwa thus stress the importance of their continuous coexistence with the forest to attain a “global ethical orientation,” with Sumak Kawsay becoming a “planetary reality”.
Why you should read it Everyone would benefit from reading Kawsak Sacha. While I don’t personally believe in the spiritual relations it describes, I think the idea of a “cosmic conversation” between us and the beings of the Living Forest is an insightful way of reconceptualising how we relate to nature. Internalising the initial meaning of Pachamama as a “shared home” is definitely crucial at a time where many feel disconnected or even alienated from nature. I am convinced that we can bring change and perhaps even the “metamorphosis” advocated in Kawsak Sacha. Revolutionising our way of thinking about our place within nature is an indispensable step towards such change. I also believe in the power of our generation in driving the struggle for climate justice against unresponsive governments and irresponsible corporations, as evidenced by the #FridaysForFuture movement initiated by Greta Thunberg. We are privileged in being able to conduct environmental activism without being persecuted, unlike many indigenous people and mainly indigenous women. This is one privilege we can abuse. So read Kawsak Sacha. Now1.
1Also,
it is only
three pages long. 4
10 Easy Ways to Go Minimal Waste Lucy Xu offers some easy tips to help regenerate the world around us. As our society expands, it creates more and more waste. The UK alone produces about 100 million tonnes of waste each year, and this number is slowly on the rise. In fact, every year we produce 3% more than the previous year and most of this ends up in landfills or our oceans. The Arctic ice sheet is in decline, the Great Barrier Reef was pronounced dead, and the Amazon rainforest is currently on fire.
So what can we do to regenerate our planet? The obvious answer is to recycle right? Unfortunately, 75% of people already recycle but only 9.1% of plastic waste actually ends up being recycled. 15.5% is combusted to recover energy and the remaining 75.4% of plastic waste still goes to landfill. There are good systems in place to recycle food, glass, and metals, but plastic just doesn’t have the same ability to be recycled. Recently, China has stopped wanting to buy recyclables from other countries, meaning that all the recyclables are building up in their respective countries without the infrastructure to recycle them. This means we should change the focus to reduce the amount of plastic we consume rather than recycling what we have already consumed.
So how do we avoid waste piling up that we can’t deal with? The answer: adopt a minimal waste lifestyle! By cutting down on single use plastics, we can drastically reduce the amount of waste we create. Here are some tips and tricks you can use in your daily life to make your start at uni sustainable!
1. K"p reusable shopping bags in your backpack 2. Buy fruit and veg packaging fr" 5
3. When ge#ing coff" ask for a real mug, or bring your own travel mug 4. Start using reusable co#on rounds, ditch the single use wipes and pads 5. For those with a period, try using a menstrual cup
6. Donate old clothes to charity and shop in charity shops
7. Use a g$d quality water bo#le instead of buying bo#led 8. Use shamp$ bars and bar soap water or try making t$th powder, as these 9. Avoid products with alternatives are plastic fr" usually palm oil, forests are burned to make way for the crops 10. No impulse buys, make sure everything you buy is n"ded Sometimes it seems plastic waste is simply unavoidable though, what with it being in all our packaging. If you really can’t avoid it, I would urge you to recycle. To make the most of recycling, make sure that the items you put in the recycling bin are clean and don’t have food residue on them. This means the items can be recycled instead of being sent to landfill because they are contaminated. The philosophy behind the zero waste movement is to redesign the system so we don’t have to discard resources, and this can only happen if YOU do your part. What we need is not a few people doing zero waste perfectly, but everyone doing minimal waste as well as they can. Try making a few small changes here and there, you’ll be surprised how easy it can actually be. 6
Mairi Eyres reflects on how injury changed her experience of Pembroke and what the college can do to help. At the start of last term, an unfortunate accident with
buy me ready meals, help with the laundry, or push me into town in a wheelchair. And if they hadn’t, I really don’t know how I would have coped.
a football left me with a broken leg and a wounded
Looking back, I feel that there could have
sense of pride. Overnight, I had a whole new set of
been a more formal system in place. Having a
challenges to deal with. Now, as I prepare to return to
student with a broken leg is nothing new for a
Cambridge, I’ve been reflecting on how my summer
college, yet I had to figure out a lot of things on
term could have been less of a struggle.
my own – like how do you have a shower (on crutches) without getting your leg wet?
The morning after my accident, I naively ‘crutched’ all the way from my house on Panton Street to Pembroke. I had thought I lived nearby, but that
The College’s ethos seemed very much that I should just ask the people around me for help. My
morning felt like a marathon. By the time I arrived I
life became an endless “please could you open the
was exhausted and emotional, and I vowed never to
door?” and “would you mind carrying my tray?”.
do it again. I am incredibly grateful to Pembroke for
While I’m grateful for everyone who did these things
letting me move into a room in Foundress and for
for me, I feel that it shouldn’t be down to each person
paying for my taxis to and from lectures. Without
with a mobility issue to fight for their rights to move
those changes, carrying on would have seemed unimaginable.
around.
However, I noticed that the emphasis was very much
in the Thomas Gray Room, but it was only when I
on helping me academically – not with day-to-day activities, many of which became exhausting and
reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to it that I realised I would not be able to attend after all. I could
time-consuming. I think this put an unfair amount of
hear the chatter of students and supervisors above
pressure on my friends; they had to be the ones to
me, just out of reach. It hurt.
My Natsci subject dinner included a drinks reception
LESSONS FROM A BROKEN LEG BY M A I R I E Y R E S 7
It's clear that architects in the 14th century didn’t think much about accessibility. There are so many beautiful old doors, steps and rooms around College that their inaccessibility could be seen as justified. After all, they do paint a picture of what ancient college life was like. Yet we've redesigned so many other aspects of college life – admitting women for example – that it seems absurd to hide behind the notion that a college can't change simply because of its history. I'm ashamed to say that before I broke my leg, I never really thought about accessibility. For the first two terms we held PemArt sessions down in Old Cellars, which is perhaps one of the least accessible locations in College. After I broke my leg we started holding them in Foundress, and we intend to continue doing so. Foundress is a beacon of hope for someone on crutches. I never used to like its modern architecture, but living there with a broken leg has changed my view. It’s the only (almost) accessible accommodation block in College. I say ‘almost’ because of the heavy outer doors that are found throughout College and are a nightmare to shift on one leg. The door to the trough servery is perhaps one of the worst of these. Not only is it heavy, it is also positioned right at the top of some steps with a narrow tread. In order to open it, I had to balance (on one leg) on the top step and push with my arm. Once I had a big enough opening, I had to trap a crutch in the door and lever myself up onto the next step. This door does not seem particularly beautiful or historically significant, so why is it still there? Of course, it would be an oversight to ignore some of the major improvements that have taken place since the College was founded. The library is one of the most successful of these – a modern extension alongside the Victorian architecture combines history with accessibility. I imagine making similar changes
to the rest of College could be expensive and hard to get planning for, but surely not out of the question. In the meantime, I’d like to propose a few more achievable ideas:
1. Automatic doors! Put automatic buttons next to the doors to the Servery, Foundress, and all of the gates into college. 2. Stair lifts to rooms like the Thomas Gray Room and N7. 3. A ramp at the entrance to the Servery and the rest of Trough. It turns out that having a broken leg is a great conversation starter. During my time on crutches, I had many helpful interactions with porters, gardeners, bedders, catering staff and even strangers on the street. I’d like to thank them for making my exam term a little brighter. And, of course, my DoS, friends and the College administration teams for everything they did too. I’m looking forward to an exciting new term in Cambridge. A term of regenerated mobility and enthusiasm for opening doors. I’m incredibly grateful to be back on both legs again, but I don’t want to lose sight of what my time on crutches has taught me. My hope is that this could be the start of a new conversation about accessibility and student support in College – one that might even lead to some changes.
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A friendly survivor’s guide for international freshers Ashling Barmes shares her tips and tricks from her first year as an international student.
Hi international freshers! Welcome to Cambridge and congratulations for all the hard work that has led up to your arrival. My name is Ashling Barmes, and I’m an Irish-Australian second year who calls Switzerland home. As you can imagine, a Gaelic name, even when spelled phonetically, is not most people’s idea of fun. I have been christened Ashley by many a stranger on a night out and my accent has been most often described as an Irish person who got lost on a boat somewhere in the mid-Atlantic (I have also had people guess Cumbria, Ukraine and Belgium, which really threw a spanner in the works of my sense of identity!). Being an international student has its often hilarious oddities and downsides, but here are a few of my suggestions and words of unquestionable wisdom as to how you can make the experience fun and less daunting.
1. Homesickness and settling in Moving away from home is a really difficult feat – having to suddenly be responsible for your work as well as your welfare is a significant step in anyone’s university experience. It can feel especially daunting when home is far away, visits are difficult to organise (if they happen at all during term time) and there is little that is familiar to you. Cambridge can be a high-stress environment at the best of times and the calls or facetimes home don’t always cut it when you’re trying to fight feelings of homesickness. I often felt guilty that I didn’t call home enough last year but everything was so hectic and I was hellbent on proving that I could handle it. In fact, it is often when you try your hardest to ‘just get on with it’ that the emotions creep back stronger and catch you offguard. Allow yourself to have these feelings
Word of warning: I cannot help with the anxiety
without beating yourself up about them, and it’s
brought on by the ‘where are you from’ question.
always helpful to reach out. Not only will you have a
That one never gets easier…
college family, but talking to your friends helps. A strong network can become like a little family in your time here.
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Side note: End of term blues can be a real
of making you feel more at home and secure at
struggle. It’s stressful and lonely to pack your life in
university.
England up and put it in storage while figuring out your plane flight home, when others around you are being picked up by their parents (the end of first term was not my finest moment...). You don’t have to go through it alone. The next two terms I packed up with my friends; they helped me to take things to storage and we travelled down to London together. These small gestures can make a world of difference.
4. Emotional geography This is one of my personal favourites. One of the things that is most precious about home is that you find little nooks and crannies that are linked to happy memories, and these spaces become ‘yours’. This is emotional geography, and one of the best ways to make a new place feel like home is to develop your own special locations within
2. Societies
Cambridge. For that, I recommend lots of exploring
These are an amazing part of being at Cambridge,
in your breaks. Go on rambling walks or runs, test
and a great way to meet people outside of college
out coffee shops, pubs and museums, find a cycling
who share the same interests as you. When you don’t know many (or any) people from
route: whatever works for you. It will help Cambridge to feel familiar, and pretty
home at university, societies can help you to continue doing what you love and make connections that way. Side note: I didn’t try any of the language or nationality societies (e.g. Dutch or French society). Friends who did got to go to formals and meet people with a similar upbringing to them and
soon you’ll have a bank of first year memories to look back on.
”Word of warning: I cannot help with the anxiety brought on by the ‘where are you from’ question. That one never gets easier…”
speak the same language, which
go! 3. Get the essentials in order Even though it seems redundant, I cannot stress enough how much it puts your mind at ease to have things well set up for you at Cambridge. It seems like a lot to juggle at the beginning, but being cut off from the essential services you have at home can cause a lot of stress when you’re also trying to juggle study and rest. Making sure that you have a working bank account, health insurance and phone, along with access to health services like a GP, dentist and mental health counselling are all part
Feel free to get in touch if things are on your mind! The JPC Internationals Officer, Vineet Mudupalli, is happy to help with any queries, and of course you’re free to chat to me too!
6. Be yourself
can be a nice connection to home. I would love to try more this year, so it’s worth a
5. Get in touch
Don’t worry about standing out or saying the wrong thing! I’ve had my fair share of embarrassing stories: using a passport as ID to get into Spoons and the club; not understanding half of the things my friends were talking about (Naked Attraction was a shock); and not knowing where most places in the UK are on a map, etc. Believe me, there are plenty more... I’ve accepted my unique international status, as what makes me different also makes me interesting, and I’ve made some incredible friends here at Cambridge. Essentially, just roll with each new experience and have confidence in yourself and your exciting life experiences! 10
‘ahya Will Kirby muses on the regeneration of Beirut and the lessons on perception and conflict we can learn from it. There is a story to be told about Beirut. Only a handful of places provoke as strong a reaction by the mere mention of their name. For many, in particular the generations of our parents and grandparents, Beirut is a veritable incarnation of hell on Earth. They are, however, hardly to blame for this assumption; the western media outlets provided an infernal depiction of the Lebanese Civil War, which broke out in 1975. In the events that unfolded, Beirut became a city split into east and west along sectarian lines. There was brutal violence that lasted fifteen and a half years and by the end of the war well over 100,000
lives had been claimed in a country only around half the size of Wales. The war has left deep scars in Lebanon: the youngest generations are the only ones who haven’t lived through any of the war. A more recent, however much briefer, resurgence of violence in 2006 means many young, working Lebanese people have themselves had a taste of the pain their parents suffered. This summer, I had the pleasure of visiting the beautifully chaotic Lebanese capital and experiencing it in a whirlwind, eye-opening week. Arriving in Beirut, there is not a sense of anguish and heartbreak, as one might expect. There is no crippling hatred for one another on the streets. Instead, the Beirut of today breathes life and shows signs of acceptance. It is home to many creatives and young people with their individual hopes and aspirations. There is, in fact, very little that would suggest all of the destruction of years gone by, especially for those who do not know where to look. This idea of new life and regeneration is particularly interesting when considering Beirut. Our word ‘regenerate’ is a gift from the Normans, coming from the French régénérer. The vestiges of French rule are also found throughout Lebanese society and even in their dialect of Arabic (you are about as likely to hear merci as you are shukran in a café along Beirut’s Mediterranean seafront). Interestingly, the Arabic word 'ahya, which means ‘regenerate’, is derived from the same root as the word ‘life’ and it has other meanings, including ‘to revive’ and ‘to lend life to’. The sense of Beirut having a new lease of life can be felt around the city. There are a number of regeneration projects taking place around the port area,
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These days, Beirut is a rich cultural hub; once the ‘Paris of the East’, it is now commonly described as the ‘Berlin of the East’. As unhelpful as these comparisons can be, the sentiment of Beirut as a on land which has itself been reclaimed from the seabed and given new purpose. Modern high-rises are beginning to dominate the skyline in the downtown, the main feature of which is the Beirut Souks, al high-end, modern shopping mall on the site of the old souks. As part of the complex, there are fashion stores, restaurants, an entertainment complex with a cinema and outdoor
symbol of modernity and more liberal attitudes, despite a troubled past, in a number of ways, holds true and points to an exciting future. Beirut seems to still be growing and changing: for instance, acceptance of the LGBT+ community and support for women’s autonomy seems to be becoming more mainstream. However, the city is not
art installations.
without its modern-day problems, as economic instability and high inflation is stalling the Lebanese
Nevertheless, all of this exists alongside one of
economy and a rigid political system prevents much
Beirut’s oldest mosques in the downtown area, its
political development.
main cathedral and a section of building visibly damaged by the Civil War. The sizable bullet holes bored into the stonework by snipers are testament
How these important issues are dealt with and are overcome will, no doubt, outline the path which
to the conflict that once defined the city. What is
Beirut shall follow moving forward.
now the embodiment of the city’s future-looking vision was once the frontline of a brutal battle
What is certain is that regeneration is happening all
between warring compatriots. Beirut is in no way perfect, yet it is a city that does not mind bearing its scars — perhaps a healthy reminder for all of the fragility of peace in such a place.
around us. New purpose often takes the place of ruin. However, if we do not expand our view to these ‘hell on Earth’ places — places that are often, at a given time, defined by ruin — we will continue to be blind to it. Photos and words by Will Kirby 12
My Summer of Lucy Fairweather reflects on how her summer reading made her rethink regeneration after a year at Cambridge. One of the books I read and enjoyed the most this summer was called My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottesa Moshfegh. It tells the story of a privileged young New Yorker who, deciding that her life and job are too stressful, chooses to hibernate for a year, taking a cocktail of sleeping pills to ensure she spends the majority of each day asleep. Whilst awake, she rarely travels outside of her apartment, visiting her psychiatrist once a month in order to keep being prescribed medication, and buying food and drinks from the twentyfour-hour bodega on her street. She remains convinced that the only way she can recover from her breakup and the death of her parents is secluding herself from the world, watching films and sleeping at least eighteen hours a day. Whilst I obviously have no desire to spend a year in hibernation, it got me thinking about reactions to Cambridge, and the need to regenerate after a year of hectic eight-week terms. No matter how much I’ve enjoyed a term, I have never not reached the end of those two months and not needed at least a day of just doing nothing. Before university, I would get restless after an empty day, bored of being confined in the house and a lack of socialising. Cambridge has definitely changed that for me. Now, in the midst of
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week 5, I will long for a day spent lying in bed at home, with no impending essay deadlines or stacks of books that need reading. I always say to non-university friends that everything in Cambridge, from academic work to extra-curricular activities, is intensified compared to most universities. I’m not sure whether it’s the effect of the short terms, or the fact that Cambridge attracts people that throw themselves into anything, but Cambridge is not the type of university where things are done halfheartedly. This is great in so many aspects: you become immersed in your subject, you get the opportunity to listen to worldclass speakers, you can read professionallevel student journalism. But it can also leave you feeling a little overwhelmed. Even the end of year celebrations in Cambridge are ten-hour long endurances. At times, Cambridge can feel like running a marathon at the pace of a sprint. Summer is perhaps the ultimate period of detachment from the stresses of Cambridge; there are no looming coursework deadlines to think about next term, exams have been completed, and you know you’re definitely returning to Pembroke in October. I haven’t been completely disconnected from uni over
Rest and Relaxation summer, but I have definitely made a conscious effort to spend time not thinking about it at all. I have read fiction books for fun instead of history or politics books, I have spent time with friends from home and I have had a job that won’t further my career but required very little work. At times the summer felt endlessly long, hot days that seemed to stretch on forever. I’ve found that after three months, I’ve started to look forward to returning to Pembroke. I’ve also come to realise that I’d much rather spend a few days bored than move back not feeling fully ready.
the same amount of academic work, so that there would be a tiny bit more time to breath. Now, I’m not so sure. I think that I would probably manage to fill that time with something else, making me no less stressed during term, with holidays that would be even further away. What I now understand is that whilst a year of heavily medicated sleep is neither healthy nor desirable, a summer’s worth of rest and relaxation is perhaps better preparation for the coming year than any introductory reading list.
I used to wish that Cambridge terms could be just a couple of weeks longer but with
“At times, Cambridge can feel like running a marathon at the pace of a sprint.”
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Becoming part of the Cambridge bubble is a pretty big step in your life, and understandably this change can bring with it a fair bit of stress. For many people that stress comes from worrying about not finding your people, other students with a similar experience of the world to you. As LGBT+ officer I wanted to write a little something to reassure every LGBT+ fresher how welcoming the Cambridge LGBT+ community is!
Finding Your Place The JPC’s LGBT+ Officer, Theo Lewy, on things LGBT+ at Cambridge. 15
I came out as gay in my first week of university. At this point I didn’t personally know a single guy who was gay, and I think I’d spoken to a single trans person in my life. Since coming to Cambridge I’ve met so many incredible LGBT+ people without even trying that hard to find them, something which has changed my perception of the community massively. You’ll bump into people in lectures or around college all and there are
plenty of LGBT+ events that you can go to if you want to actively try to get to know other LGBT+ people. University wide, we have CUSU LGBT+, the queer arm of the student union, which organises bar nights and socials across all colleges. On a Pembroke level we’ll be having mingles and picnics for anyone identifying as LGBT+ throughout the year, as well as pres for Glitterbomb, Cambridge’s LGBT+ club night. Everyone at Pembroke is super friendly, and we’d love to meet you all - both freshers and anyone who’s not yet come to one of these events. In my first year I didn’t go to a single one of these events if I’m honest - I didn’t really see myself as part of what I assumed was a very
flamboyant community. I’ve since met many people who see being gay in the same light as me, which has made me realise that this community really is allencompassing. What’s so great about Cambridge is that there are enough LGBT+ people that you will probably find people who see their identity similarly to you - whether that’s because you see your sexuality as a very small part of you, or because you’d love to put yourself out there and try out drag at Glitterbomb (some Cambridge students do actually do this!) Everyone has their own way of being LGBT+ but obviously no one way is right, and what’s great about Cambridge is that there are enough of us that you’ll probably find your people somewhere!
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Reshaping your view on success: The Happiness Advantage Amelia Sadat shares how her summer reading regenerated her thoughts on happiness and success. From a young age, many of us have been led
argues that it is not worth sacrificing our
to believe that success precedes happiness,
happiness to achieve short term goals, as it
and that happiness is a final destination
helps us develop high quality relationships,
to aspire to. However, there is a myriad
think clearly and creatively, and even increases
of experimental evidence in the field of ‘positive psychology’ that argues the opposite. In his book The Happiness
Advantage, Harvard lecturer Shawn Achor shows objectively that, just as the planets orbit the sun, our success revolves around our happiness, and not the other way around. He
our life expectancy in the long run. Ultimately, being happy gives us a competitive edge. Rest assured, this is far from a delusional pep talk: decades of experimental research form the backbone of this theory. In the summer of 1976, American students entering their freshman year of college across twenty-five diverse institutions self-rated their cheerfulness. Those who reported higher ratings initially also reported higher current income and job satisfaction ratings nineteen years later. In another study of Catholic nuns at the School Sisters of Notre Dame, those with the most cheerful journal entries lived almost ten years longer than their negative or neutral counterparts. There are plenty more longitudinal studies like these that demonstrate the strong relationship between happiness and success, and the critical fact that this relationship is causal.
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Positive emotional experiences activate the
key principles to live by that allow you to
‘Broaden & Build’ response. Initially, the brain’s
experience happiness and its complementary
levels of dopamine and serotonin surge, which
advantages with a lasting permanence. Instead
then boost the learning centres that enable
of providing an exhaustive account of all of
us to consolidate new
them, I will share my favourite and supposedly
information, retain it and
the most effective principle for leading a happy
retrieve it later on. The
life: social investment.
response can even alter
Many young people I have spoken to,
the processing in the
particularly those at Cambridge, admit that
visual cortex in such
they often recoil from their social spheres
a way that enables us
at times of severe academic pressure. It’s all
to literally see new
too easy to empathise with this. Common
opportunities that we would normally miss. In
excuses are that they don’t have enough
contrast, when we feel scared or anxious, stress
time to socialise and study, regarding it as
hormones are released into our blood and the
an ‘indulgence that can be sacrificed’ or a
‘Fight or Flight’ response kicks in. Amongst
‘waste of valuable time’. This couldn’t be
other things, this response directs blood flow
further from the truth. One study involving
away from our brains to increase blood flow
Harvard undergraduates revealed a correlation
to the heart, muscles and other vital organs
coefficient between happiness and social
so that we can prepare our bodies to face or
support of 0.7, a value that is staggeringly
escape the danger we expect. It has been
greater than that reported for any other factor
shown that long-term exposure to some stress
(e.g. GPA, SAT score, family income etc.). It
hormones can cause brain neurons to shrink,
is understood that social bonding releases
potentially impairing our cognitive wellbeing.
a pleasure-inducing
This news is great for those that are (inherently)
hormone, oxytocin, into
happy, but what about those of us who aren’t.
the blood which alleviates
Firstly, what does it even mean to ‘be happy’?
anxiety, improves focus
Certainly, there is no one universal definition.
and can even lower blood
A favourite amongst researchers is the
pressure. Evidently, social
Aristotelian term ‘human flourishing’ (from the
interaction is one of our fundamental biological
Latin Eudemonia). It emphasises that happiness
needs, one that we mustn’t neglect, like food
is less so a feeling and more so an
and water.
ethos, where one seeks pleasure
I hope that in reading this article, I have
and immersion in the day-to-day
inspired you to implement at least one small
and strives to achieve it in the
change in your life to allow you to make the
future. Moreover, it acknowledges
most of The Happiness Advantage. If you’re
that we can all play an active
not convinced by my account, I would urge
role in our own happiness and,
you to read the book for yourself. Nonetheless,
importantly, that we do not have to depend on
we all deserve to be happy, whatever that may
a person or thing to make us feel that way.
entail.
In his book, Achor focuses intently on seven Illustrations by
18
PEMBROKE PEOPLE WILL KIRBY
Tilly Harrison chats to JPC Ents Officer, Will Kirby, about first year, Freshers’ Week and why Glitterbomb is the best night out in Cam.
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Will Kirby is a second-year student studying Spanish and Arabic who has
Another change for 2019 was the Frents* Team, handpicked by Will at
been the man behind PemEnts since
the end of last year to assist the
Michaelmas 2018. He’s the Ents
incoming Freshers and help make
Officer on the Junior Parlour
their first week at Pembroke as fun as
Committee, a master organiser, and the owner of the trashiest “pres”
possible. Will describes them as a “group of really enthusiastic (mostly)
playlist at Pembroke. After coming to
second years who are looking to make
the role feeling there was potential to
Freshers Week a memorable
raise the profile of Pembroke Ents, he has worked
experience for the new freshers”.
to give it its own identity in college life. Part of this has been through creating a PemEnts “brand” and increasing its social media presence whilst
As well as helping make sure
also diversifying the type of events that are
events run smoothly, the
hosted.
Frents Team will act as both a welfare point of call on nights out
Going beyond the one bop a term remit, Will has
and more friendly faces the freshers can go to around college. Will
hosted termly mingles in the JP, a college spouse
understands that the first few weeks are daunting
“date-night” on Valentine’s Day, the JPC garden party in May Week and, most importantly, a
and wanted to make sure he had a big team of people around him who could help look out for
Eurovision Final watch party. Reflecting on the
the first years as they settle in to college while
past year of Ents he was clear that he wanted
also helping Freshers’ Week to be as fun as
people to come to expect a certain quality for
possible.
Pembroke Ents and give the college more opportunities to socialise and unwind from work.
A big part of Will’s role is the organisation of Freshers’ Week, a mammoth task that he’s been tackling over the summer. This year, he’s made some changes, starting with the introduction of the Big Fish Ents wristband. The wristbands, which have been sold to freshers for £15, and provide access to six club nights during the first week, have provided the building blocks for Freshers’ Week Ents. Will has centred the week’s Ents programme around these club nights and made sure to encourage the use of the JP by hosting nightly pre-drinks and other activities there. *portmanteau of “Freshers” and “Ents” — as a languages student, Will’s creativity with words knows no bounds... 20
After a year of interesting nights out in Cambridge, he’s keen to guide freshers through the many highs and lows of Cambridge clubbing. When asked about the best night out in Cambridge, he paused for a little too long, before landing on Glitterbomb: “I recognise that it’s trash”, he assured me, “but it’s fun trash, like me”. He’s also partial to a Wednesday Cindies or a Friday Fez, and thinks everyone gives Lola’s a hard time (he’s biased though, as it was the first club he went to in Cambridge).
Reflecting on his first year, he urged the incoming freshers to keep an open mind and put themselves out there, especially in the first few weeks. He is adamant that “Cambridge is full of so many opportunities” and everyone should give the
When asked about what freshers should be looking forward to, it’s no surprise that Will had a long list – he couldn’t have spent so much of his
things that pique their interests a try. Socially, he wants freshers to be themselves: “you will always find people who want to be friends with you,
first year organising events for college if he didn’t
especially at university,'' he said, noting that there isn’t any point in trying to be someone else that
love it. He’s keen to emphasise to freshers how
you think other people will want to be friends with.
friendly it is, especially compared to other colleges, with great people who made his first year a lot of fun. Choosing to live in college again for the second year, he highlighted Pembroke’s great location and atmosphere as a lovely place to live, work, and eat. Describing Freshers’ Week as a “whirlwind”, he stressed that freshers should absolutely look forward to getting their teeth stuck in to life at Cambridge.
Philosophical reflections aside, Will has been busy putting together a great term’s worth of events after Freshers Week mayhem has died down – term card to be published on the PemEnts Facebook page shortly. After bop at the start of term, he wants to organise a karaoke night in the JP, screen the Bakeoff final, and host a Michaelmas mingle, before Christmas bop rounds the term off. Sadly, Will will leave his role halfway through the term, so he’s excited to see where the next Ents officer will take PemEnts (and, most importantly, to be able to drink at bop again).
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Rethinking Pembroke May Ball within the context of the climate crisis Verner Viisainen, May Ball Sustainability officer, balanced regeneration with tradition at Pembroke’s 2019 event.
22
2
Humans develop traditions to create continuity in their lives and bring their communities closer together. Cambridge and Pembroke are especially rife with traditions that have stood for centuries, from Matriculation ceremonies and Formal Hall dinners, to eventually marching down to Senate House for a peculiar hand pulling (graduation) ceremony. One particular tradition that many Valencians look forward to each year is the May Ball/ June Event at the end of Easter Term: an evening packed full of unlimited food, drink and entertainment held in the college grounds. For as long as anyone can recall, this event has been organized along the same lines each year by a hard working student committee who hope to put on an event that outdoes the previous ones but ultimately keeps those traditions that have been going for many, many years. This year, however, we attempted something different: to put the event through a regenerative process, with the view of making the tradition more sustainable, while ensuring that it was just as enjoyable as in previous years. We often assume that traditions which have stood the test of time must be kept the same otherwise people will be up in arms. This is a common argument that is presented when changes are proposed: that it will alter things beyond recognition and the tradition will be completely lost. However, this view ignores the necessity for traditions to change over time to
be compliant with the context of the current era in which they are held. This is why we often see such stark variations between the way a common holiday was celebrated a century ago compared to today, despite the fact that the same tradition is being celebrated. Thus in the face of the humancaused climate crisis of the 21st century, it is necessary that change occurs in the way we plan for large scale traditional events such as May Balls, which have the potential for such a significant environmental impact due to the large amount of resources involved. As you might have heard, the 2019 Pembroke May Ball this past June was rated the most sustainable May Week event across the whole of Cambridge according to the Sustain-a-Ball rankings, produced by the Cambridge University Environmental Consulting Society. This was no fluke and the whole committee worked extremely hard to make this happen. The secrets to our success were ensuring that sustainability was considered as a primary decisive factor in decision making from the beginning, not as an afterthought, and being committed to finding the solutions that worked best in our local Pembroke and Cambridge context, not those that were theoretically the most suitable. This meant we were able to implement successful sustainability strategies across numerous areas of the Ball, without compromising on the quality of the event. What sustainability means for a May Ball event depends on how you look at it, and in some ways not holding a May Ball at all
would be the most sustainable option: such an event will always use up more resources and generate more emissions than no event. However, that would go against the culture and traditions that thousands of students have worked hard to uphold. If we were to refresh Pembroke’s May Ball culture to be more sustainable, it would need to be from within, at the event planning stage. Among the highlights of what we achieved were a 70% waste recycling rate through waste sorting stations (compared to typical recycling rates of 32% at UK festivals); dedicated drinking water stations to reduce use of plastic water bottles; and no ruminant meat on offer, which has the largest carbon footprint of any food: at least twice the emissions compared to any other meats. In addition to this, almost all the decorations for the ball were obtained from secondhand sources such as the Cambridge Scrapstore and local charity shops, and then recycled as much as possible at the end of the event. In implementing all these substantial changes to such a traditional event, there were always some doubts in the back of our minds about how they would be perceived and whether there would be any backlash from the guests attending the May Ball. However, the response we received was overwhelmingly positive, with many guests noting in our feedback survey that they appreciated the commitment to sustainability they saw throughout the event and that they thoroughly enjoyed the event overall. This highlights the increasing awareness amongst Pembroke students of
the environmental issues that we are facing and the desire for the events they take part in to take these seriously. As such, it is critical that in future years, the regenerative process of this valued Pembroke tradition continues, as the reality of our climate predicament becomes ever clearer. In spite of the committee’s efforts to make this year’s event more sustainable, there are still many improvements that could be implemented to continue this sustainable regeneration process for future Pembroke events. Some suggestions, that we were unable to introduce this year, are to introduce reusable cups throughout the event (to reduce total waste volume), to increase vegan/vegetarian options further (to reduce emissions), to introduce compostable toilets (to reduce water usage) and to select less energy intensive rides (to reduce energy usage), while also seeking out renewable energy sources to power the event (to reduce emissions). We often hold traditions in such high esteem that we are scared to start modifying them – especially when they have been passed through generations – even if we might think that it is the right thing to do. However, at critical times in history, critical interventions are necessary to keep such traditions alive by keeping them relevant within the context of our times. Much like confronting the climate crisis, we must not be afraid to take decisive steps to address our beloved traditions, so that they have a justified place within the low-carbon future that we need to transition towards.
Images by Amanda Iglesias
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Regenerate your working habits! After staring at the same shelves in the Pembroke library for one term too many, I decided I needed to make a change to my working habits. In exam term I reached the point where the foreign-language AMES texts began to look more interesting than the essay I was attempting: this was a sure sign that my productivity needed regenerating!
My top five spots near Pembroke 1. Whale Café, Downing Site (6/10) A large, modern café with comfy chairs overlooking the Museum of Zoology, good to pop in to for a break. You can rely on it to have a free table (unlike the small and busy Trockel or Fitzbillies). Good for group work. One downside is that it closes quite early. 2. Trockel, Ulmann & Freunde, Café, Pembroke Street (7/10) Cosy, friendly, right on Pembroke Street and selling homemade goods, what more could you ask for?. It’s off-the-beaten-track compared to Fitzbillies which is just down the road but often packed with tourists. Don’t get me wrong, Fitzbillies is also a great spot, if not for their Chelsea buns which, in my opinion, deserve all the fame and glory they have.
3. Grads Café, top floor of the University Centre (8/10) The Grads Café is a popular spot to work and its clear to see why – the view over Cambridge is incredible and the café is tasty and affordable. I would highly recommend this if you like a bit of background noise or a chance to chat at the same time as work. Don’t forget about the other places within Pembroke that aren’t the Library! We’ve got Café Pembroke/the JP for more relaxed study and the computer room as part of Foundress’ basement, open 24/7 and practically made for allnighters. 25
King’s 4 Corpus St Catz Queens’ 2 2
Mill Lane 3
Peterhouse
In the lead up to exams college opens up other rooms such as N7 and the old finance offices in Ivy Court. The big draw of choosing to work here is that you’re allowed to bring snacks, essential for productive revision!
Eliza Griffiths shares her favourite places to work in Cambridge, once you’ve grown tired of Pembroke Library. It was certainly necessary to stop me going crazy during exam term when my already scarce contact hours dwindled. Being a first year Land Economist, I had time to go and look at what other available working spaces are near Pembroke (preferably, those that admit coffee: unlike the Pembroke Library to my dismay!). 4. Haddon Library, Downing site and SPS library, New Museums Site (6/10) I like the high ceilings and tall bookshelves of the Haddon’s old-fashioned reading room, although it hardly compares with the beauty of Pembroke’s own library. If you want a change from the likes of Pembroke’s 13th century grandeur the modern SPS library is just across the road. I like the beanbags they have hidden between the shelves for getting some reading done (but trying not to fall asleep is a risky game). Grand Arcade
New Museums Site 1
Emma
4
Pembroke Downing Site
5
Downing
Fitzwilliam Museum
Keep an eye out for the JP Welfare Team’s alternative study spaces, which are chill sessions for doing work with snacks and music provided.
5. Geography Library, Downing Site (8/10) Despite being about a 30 second walk from Foundress Gate, I doubt this library has encountered many Valencians in its time due to the lack of geographers in our ranks. It is a dated sixties build, however, it is a spacious and quiet library with big tables. Its calming and undiscovered atmosphere was a nice antidote to the waves of stress you could feel radiating off people as soon as you stepped into Pembroke library in the weeks leading up to exams.
There are many more great places for study around Cambridge that are worth going to even if they are more than a whole five minute walk from college! Cambridge has a staggering 114 libraries so it’s definitely worth exploring to find your favourite spot (putting off writing your essay to tour libraries doesn’t count as procrastination right?). The website ‘Spacefinder’ displays all of the libraries and cafés around Cambridge and it's really worth checking out.
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MYANMAR LAOS
Mae Sot
choir tour to
THAILAND July 2019
Bangkok Pattaya
CAMBODIA Ko Samet
VIETNAM
Hannah Lewis and Mabel Hoskins recount the choir’s tour of Thailand over the Long Vacation. At the end of June, Pembroke’s Chapel Choir embarked on a twelve-day tour to Thailand. We started in Bangkok, giving concerts at venues including the British Embassy and Christ Church, and leading workshops at Mater Dei School. In Pattaya, we worked in partnership with Rugby School Thailand, and led workshops there and at their partner school Wat Ko, as well as giving a charity concert at the Pattaya Orphanage. After a day’s break on the nearby island of Koh Samet, we flew to the northwest part of the country to sing with the pupils at the Noh Bo Academy, a boarding school for the children of the Mae La refugee camp. It was an incredible, insane adventure for all involved, and an experience that none of us will forget.
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MALAYSIA
Highlights Included: In Bangkok: A visibly wilting choir attempting to lead workshops in 38 degree heat, full sun and humidity
A very large monitor lizard Navigating Thai public transport surprisingly successfully, including the metro (easy), a boat (more difficult), and a very rickety bus (nearly disastrous)
In Pattaya: A very musical hornbill who took great delight in squawking every time
The children at Wat Ko school teaching the choir how to hula hoop *properly*
there was a quiet section during a performance Midnight renditions of all our concert rep by the pool
A waterpark visit in exchange for a concert – unfortunately in the pouring rain
Discovering Chang, Thailand’s cheapest (and, by general agreement, best) beer
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Swing dance lessons on the beach, led by one of our second basses on Koh Samet
In Mae Sot: Playing football with the children at Noh Bo, who were much better than any of the choir, on a pitch that had been made very muddy by the monsoons, meaning that staying upright was the main challenge
The whole 26-strong choir attempting to fit in one truck on the way to visit the border with Myanmar So much mozzie spray
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The pupils giving us their own concert of Karen [traditional] songs after the workshops Our roommates: two stag beetles who were three inches long and capable of flying, named Toby and Derek after our sadly absent basses
curtains
I, overwhelmed by the outside world Seize the curtains and pull them shut. Cloaked in mystery My sense of self dissipates into the void… I’m Schrödinger’s cat! In fact, I could be any cat Any being, Anything, A nudey lady, Curtains drawn Drawers off at dawn; While hubby’s asleep Perhaps you peer or peep A nipple, slipped Through the trickle Of emptiness That the pair leave bare. Or maybe no part of me seeks to be seen? A condescending beam of light peers in on a hopeless slumber, then the violent world strikes us awake. Can’t those bastard curtains do one fucking job?
The sly beam cruelly uncloaks the sordid and stained wallpaper from the shadows as well as the crippled and convicted existence that resides deep within the curtain’s gentle, sweet folds, a blissful refuge, beautifully patterned, beautifully opaque, embellished with fabric flowers, with sewn on stems, and garnished with hems, that indefinitely run from end to end.
Scarle! Reiners 30
Cambridge’s Best Mottos Hello Pembroke Street readers and welcome back both to Cambridge and to another instalment of my wildly successful article series in which I review strange things. For new readers, this is the section of Pembroke Street in which the editors allow an eccentric third year to ramble on for 600 words or so about a particularly niche topic that interests him. Sounds exciting, right? Well, prepare for another deluge of excitement as this time our niche topic is mottos.
Before we start, here’s an interesting aside: Galashiels, which is a town in the Scottish borders, has the wonderful motto of
’Soor plooms’ (or ‘sour plums’
for those who need it in plain English). Yes, that’s actually their official motto. If you’re wondering how I acquired such a fact, I read an article about soor plooms – it was a wild summer.
I feel that motto is going to be far better than any we’ll find in Cambridge which will make the rest of this article rather underwhelming. But if you had high expectations going into this, that’s on you.
First up on the list is Fitzwilliam’s motto:
’Ex antiquis et novissimis optima’. Now, I’ll do something unusual for Cambridge and assume you don’t speak Latin fluently. This translates to ‘The best of old and new’. I don’t want to be too harsh or to judge an entire college by its architecture, but are we really sure it’s the best of old and new? Really? Also isn’t ‘the best of old and new’ basically just a way of saying ‘the best’? I suppose having ‘the best’ as your motto might seem a tad smug…
5.8 / What’s the motto with you? Nothing, apparently – they’re ‘the best’ While most of the mottos I found were in Latin, Sidney Sussex’s one is in Middle French which is exciting. You may disagree, but when you’ve been trawling through mottos for what seems like years this is a thrilling development. It translates to
’God preserve me from calumny’ which is maybe slightly less thrilling,
31
mainly because I didn’t know what ‘calumny’ meant. However, luckily I had every English lecturer’s obsession, the OED, at hand to patiently explain to me that calumny essentially means slander. It doesn’t really make it much more exciting and may make you think that all this translating has been a waste of time – and consequently that writing an article about it has been a greater waste of time. Don’t you worry, I bear that dread every time Ido this.
Finally we have Wolfson’s motto which is – and no, surprisingly I haven’t needed to translate that. While there’s not much to it, I feel it has a certain beauty. I enjoy its simplicity and unpretentiousness. It refers to the bell in Wolfson’s crest and I just think that’s quite nice. So I’m going to give it a high score. Simple as that.
6.2 / Looks like your motto hasn’t
And I’m afraid that’s all we have time for. I know, aww indeed. I couldn’t find a motto for Pembroke so if anyone knows anything about it, I’d be mildly interested to hear, (only mildly, I don’t need pages of history). Also if you think of anything you want me to review, please do letme know (afmj2@ cam.ac.uk) – I’m trying to make this interactive, plus after three years my ideas are swiftly drying up. Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this and you have a great term ahead.
preserved you from this calumny
Onto Homerton next, with the motto
’Respice Finem’ which Wikipedia reliably assures me means ‘Look to the end’. This just seems a bit sad to be honest. I feel it would be unfair to say anything bad about it.
9 / Look
you got a good score, Homerton, it’s going to be alright, okay?
’Ring True’
9.2 / A ringing endorsement
See you around, my dear readers!
- Andrew Jameson
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Aries,
the start of a new term will provide you with plenty of activities to throw yourself into. Be wary though of letting your desire to be at the forefront of everything mean that you bite off more than you can chew- don’t burn yourself out before term has even fully begun.
Gemini,
your curious nature combined with the beginnings of another academic year will surely see you seeking to get involved with anything and everything extra-curricular. But be careful, once the elation of Freshers’ Week has worn off, you might feel a slight twinge of regret as your inbox becomes clogged up with emails from various societies.
Leo,
your love for attention might see you be tempted by the prestige that comes with telling others that, yes, you’re a Cambridge rower, or, yes, you’re the President of a brand new society. Remember, though, that these require hard work - think your decision through and don’t be persuaded solely by the seeming glamour of such titles.
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Taurus,
What's in th your Michael
- Cara R
whilst your ability to persevere is one of your strengths, it can veer into an unhelpful stubbornness, so remember to keep this in check as those late night/early morning library sessions become regular occurrences. You would do well to recognise when it might be more beneficial to call it a day and wind down.
Cancer,
whilst your sensitivity is a strength in many facets of your life, be sure not to let it overcome you as you’re faced once more with the more difficult side of academic life. Be open to feedback from supervisors or your peers, but remember to try not to take any harsh words to heart.
Virgo,
by nature you’re organised and meticulous, so you’ll no doubt be prepared for the demands of a new term. Make sure though that you aren’t weighed down too heavily by prereading and prep work; balance your time by spending it with friends and not just in the library.
the stars for aelmas term?
ra Rogers
Libra
, as you find yourself once more faced with the joys (?) of co-living with other students, you’ll have to let your diplomatic side take the reins. Lead by example in order to keep the peace, by keeping your gyp space tidy and not hogging the showers for quite so long.
Scorpio
, your fierce nature combined with the pressures of Cambridge life might lead to small flares of anger in everyday life. Be patient with cyclists who might cut you off, or those who take just a little too long scanning their items in Sainsbury’s, and learn to breathe deeply in the face of such irritants.
Capricorn,
though you pride yourself on your disciplined nature, remember to be gentle and allow yourself a few luxuries. Your “new term, new me” resolution of healthy eating is admirable, but be realistic, and allow yourself a few treats and takeaways to help ease back into work mode.
Aquarius
, being back in an academic setting will fulfil your need for mental stimulation and leave you thriving. Put all of this positive energy to good use by remembering that a new term is the perfect time to try out new approaches and ideas - make the most of a fresh start.
Pisces
, you might find that your friends rely on you more than ever this , whilst you might week. Whether it’s emotional postbe used to the freedoms afforded to you Cindies chats or a word of advice at home, the return to routine and rules about how best to tackle the demands might come as a shock to the system. of the new academic year, they will Remind yourself that, no, you cannot find themselves turning to you. Just walk on the grass, and learn to control remember to take care of your own the restless energy that might tempt you emotional needs, as well as those to do so. around you.
Sagi!arius
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Pitt explains how to tackle his crossword. Most cryptic crossword clues are made up of two components: the definition and the wordplay. Any extra words in the clue will just be there to make it read as a proper sentence so don’t worry if you can’t figure out why there are some words that seem pointless! The definition will be one or two words/ a phrase, always at the beginning or end of the clue. It gives the literal meaning of the answer. For instance, in the clue “Cancel peacekeeper’s party” (4), the definition is “cancel” which is a synonym for the answer: UNDO. The wordplay is the cryptic part of the clue, which gives you hints to solve it through a sort of puzzle - anagrams are a common example of wordplay found in clues. The type of wordplay being used will be indicated in the clue itself.
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD
*Pitt is a pseudonym
Before you start solving you need to find your indicators and figure out what type of wordplay you’re dealing with!
BY PITT*
The main types of wordplay, and their indicators are outlined on the next
Clues in blue are related to Pembroke
page.
ACROSS
DOWN
7 Spymaster’s method of starting letter to spouse (8)
1 “Dude, veal cooked is underrated” (8)
8/24 Former HSPS student crashed plane - is alive (4,8)
2 Brit has three basic school skills: How cool! (4)
9 Actress has contained Romeo in Rhode Island (6)
3 Honours to a good person, first of several (6)
10 Ash found at end of November (5)
4 Grass hugs wife, marrying again (6)
11/12 Changed thug heeds poet (3,6)
5 Politician returns to penniless college (8)
14 Physicist’s fans (6)
6 Porky pie dealer is one who reclines in conversation (4)
16 American tax authority catches duke with the French
13 Two men facing each other, filled with wonder,
drinkers (6)
brayed like asses (8)
18 Toope rashly hides musical works (6)
15 Victor, a new gnostic initially, eats eels - quite the
19 Jerk’s time in charge (3)
opposite for some Christians (8)
20 River covers an Irish poet (5)
17 Teslas refurbished into stone slabs (6)
21 Tough to swallow end of burger in manger (6)
18 Ignore odd characters in force: best one can swim by
23 I’d allow no time for comedian (4) 24 See 8 35
jet propulsion (6) 20 Bird goes to two parties (4) 22 Has snow drifted? (4)
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD 101 If you’re stuck, don’t worry: here’s some more help on the wordplay and indicators for those who are new to solving them (or if you need a reminder)!
Anagrams will be indicated by words that mean “altered” - for example, in this crossword, 11/12 across has an anagram indicator - “changed”. The clue can be solved by finding an anagram of “thug heeds” which means “poet” (“poet” in this clue is the definition, at the end).
solved by saying them aloud - as
will be hidden, usually over two other words. In this example from The Guardian, “In Scandinavia grandpa discovers potent drug” (6), the answer is “viagra”. It means “drug”, and is
Reversals, indicated usually by “back”, “return” or other words to
the answer will be something
that effect, ask you to reverse a word (or words) in the clue to get the
that sounds like the wordplay!
answer. For example, “Send back timer” (5) gives REMIT. The definition is
They’re indicated by words like
‘send’, back indicates reversal, and timer backwards is remit.
“said” or “hear”. “Expensive animal, by the sound of it” (4) is an example, and the answer is “dear”. ‘Expensive’ is the
“from” or “amid”. It means that to find the answer you will need to look in the words of the clue itself, where the word
found within the words “Scandinavia grandpa”.
Homophones are usually best
definition and ‘by the sound of
Hidden words will be indicated by words like “amongst”,
Concatenations
are two or more cryptic sections put together to
create the word, often using other cryptic devices in the constituent parts. ”Nitpicker, after sport, starts to detect insect” (6). This gives PEDANT, with
it’ is a homophone indicator, with ‘animal’ (i.e. deer) being the
‘nitpicker’ being the definition. ‘Sport’ is abbreviated to PE (as in physical education), ‘starts to detect’ gives D, and an example of an ‘insect’ is an ANT.
homophone.
Puns usually have a “!” at the end of the clue and can be quite difficult to solve directly, so you normally have to hope for intersecting letters or for a flash of inspiration. For example “SGEG” (9,4) gives “SCRAMBLED EGGS” (because it’s
Placement within clues mean you have to put one answer into another to get the final answer and are indicated by the word “in” or similar words. For example, “Attracting success in makeup” (7) is DRAWING. ‘Attracting’ is the definition, a synonym for ‘success’ is ‘win’, and ‘makeup’ is ‘drag’. Place ‘win’ in ‘drag’ to get DRAWING.
literally the word “eggs” scrambled). Often with concatenation, reversal and hidden words, words in the clue are abbreviated to either a short synonym or an abbreviation. Most abbreviations come from some context in the real world (e.g. physical education = PE), however some don’t really have a context (e.g. good = ‘g’). You can find a list of these
Double definitions are a bit different because they don’t follow the standard format. Here, the definition appears twice in the clue. For example, “Bike was blue” (5) gives MOPED which, as a noun means “bike” and as a verb means “was blue” (blue as in sad).
on Wikipedia!
If you want some more help here are some of our sources for this guide! 1. The Guardian: How to Solve a Cryptic Crossword, 12/09/14 2. Times for the Times (has most answers for all of the Times crosswords) 36
Illustration by Lucy Xu 37
Creative Team’s Note We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue, which is our first as the creative team. Having little experience, the learning curve has been steep but we’ve loved watching it develop. We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who submitted art and photos, it’s great to see the creativity within Pembroke and we encourage anyone to get involved in the next issue!
Big love Clarice, Suzie & Eliza
Thank you to our contributors: Emma Kerr, Lucy Xu, Mairi Eyres, Ashling Barmes, Will Kirby, Lucy Fairweather, Theo Lewy, Amelia Sadat, Varshika Duelas, Verner Viisainen, Amanda Iglesias, Mabel Hoskins, Hannah Lewis, Scarlett Reiners, Andrew Jameson, Cara Rogers, Pitt
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@pembrokestreet @pembrokestreetmagazine pembrokestreetmagazine.com