St. Catharine's May Ball

There are a few fancy events in Cambridge which seem to be integral parts of the University and College culture. The common ones are punting events on the Cam, College formal dinners, and Evensongs. These all pale in comparison to the uncommon ones, the May Balls. These are extravagent affairs which last all night long and have live entertainment, games, food and drink.

The St. Catharine's May Ball was no exception. The theme was Narnia this year and there were people in character to greet guests as they arrived. There were 5 main stages on the Catz grounds with live music running on all of them for much of the evening. Some of the other notable things included: belly dancing, ice skating, fresh donuts, fire juggling, mechanical bull riding, unlimited drinks, lots of music and dancing, and a huge variety of foods from pizza to pig roasts to ice cream.

Some of the highlights for me included the tarot card reading (not that I believe in that, but I wanted to try it, I got a princess of swords card which means I need to cut out something, possibly obeying laws, I forget), the acapella band from Oxford (great show), the chocolate fountain (yummy), and the juggling where I got to participate and had a bread stick knocked out of mouth (and I was not even hurt). We whimped out and left around 3:30 am but the ball continued until 6ish at which point the survivors picture was taken (or so I hear). I was sad to miss that but Becky was not feeling well so we will have to catch that next time. It was certainly a night to remember and one of the many bonuses for students at Cambridge University.

Wicked in the West End

We watched 2 fairly big West End (this is the London equivalent of Broadway in New York) shows recently. Phantom of the Opera and Wicked. Of the 2 I have to say that Wicked was my personal favorite. It was a bit of a tough choice though since Phantom has fantastic production values and better music. I liked the story for Wicked better. It was actually an improvement over the original Wizard of Oz story in many ways.

Seeing a major West End show is something that anyone visiting London and the UK should strongly consider. I have not yet seen Les Miserables or Mousetrap but these are on my short list. The shows will probably run you around 50-60 GBP for decent seats and skimping on good seats when you are visiting is probably a mistake.

We grabbed a bite to eat in the nearby station so if you are watching Wicked or whatever show is playing in the Apollo Theatre there are plenty of nearby food options in Victoria Station. This is also a major underground station so transport is not a problem either. I recommend seats in the center of the forward half of the stalls or the forward half of the circle. They cost more but are worth it.