Good News Column, Week Five: Edible Cambridge landmarks, student charity initiatives, and more animals!

Week five blues are bad enough when you’re stuck in Cambridge; at least then you have the respite of friends to complain to, trips to Grantchester to look forward to, and a chocolate bar in your pidge from your college parents if you’re really lucky. But somehow being in the middle of a pandemic and stuck in your childhood room, where your only social interaction is over zoom and no prospect of when life will return to normal, means week five blues hit that bit harder than usual. Which is why we are here to provide a respite from your essay crisis with a catch-up of all the good news this week. 

Wildlife is out in full force around Cambridge

Just because you haven’t left your house in a number of days doesn’t mean others haven’t! This week blue tits have been seen (or rather heard) at Jesus College, whilst a vixen and cubs have been sighted at Trinity hall. At least someone is enjoying the beautiful gardens in this week’s hot weather. 

More buildings light up blue for the NHS

Week five blues have been taken literally at a number of colleges around Cambridge, as more and more colleges have lit up blue in support of the NHS at 8pm on Thursday. This week St Catherines’, Queens’, and Churchill were amongst other colleges spotted turning blue in solidarity with the #clapforcarers. 

Cambridge students supporting the NHS

And it’s not just buildings showing their support for the NHS: Wolfson medic Dan Zahedi is experiencing frontline on the frontline of the NHS despite being only halfway through his graduate course in Medicine and we are so grateful for his dedication. Meanwhile, two Caius postgraduate students, Marion Perrin and Carolin Sauer, have been hand-stitching scrubs for the NHS as part of the City Scrub Hub initiative in Cambridge, who have been providing health care workers with scrubs, bags, masks and other PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find out more and support the initiative here.

Caius’ students have been busy sewing scrubs for NHS workers | photo credits Marion Perrin

Cambridge students or chefs?

Elsewhere, Cambridge students have gone cake mad in an attempt to distract from the woes of online exams and the results have definitely sweetened this week. At St Johns, Becky Pickering won their weekly back-off for this incredible recreation of the Bridge of Sighs, and I’m not sure if it leaves me craving cake or Cambridge more! And if you’re missing your staple doughnut from Keith’s cafe fear not! Downing’s green officer, Georgie Jackson, has recreated a Downing favourite from their Chaplain’s weekly welfare event and published the recipe for Downing students to make at Home.

Not sure if this makes me want to eat cake or return to Cambridge | Photo credits Beccy Pickering

If sweet treats aren’t your thing, Churchill has launched their very own Masterchef competition, where you can cook any dish you fancy to showcase your cooking skills as part of their ‘Food Fridays’. 

Not sure what Churchill would’ve thought of my cooking skills

Activities for Mental Health Awareness week

This week has been Mental Health Awareness week, and many JCRs have embraced this by providing multiple sources of support. From Pembroke’s Lockdown library sessions to help motivate students with Exams, to college-wide Quizzes at Robinson and art projects at Girton to put the fun back into exam term. The Linguistics faculty are even arranging a ‘secret santa’ style care package system to bring some joy into people’s lives, and if that doesn’t make you smile amidst the week five blues, I’m not sure what will. 

Stay tuned for more good news next week!

Featured image: Pixabay