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| River Cam from Jesus' lock |
Two weeks ago, I returned to Cambridge, to participate in
CamCos3. The visit was not the first in the thirty years since I graduated (June 1984), but it was symbolic nonetheless: my first invitation to give a theoretical talk at my
alma mater — I had previously given L2 acquisition/processing talks at RCEAL before the merger with MML, but never stood before an audience on the Sidgwick Site, beside the Raised Faculty Building, and within shouting distance of the UL, the places where I spent the better part of my study time. More significantly, it was the first time since 1984 that my mother had visited Cambridge: we spent a great day before the conference, catching up and wandering through the Italian and French collections in the Fitzwilliam museum. (The things that one can do without bored children in tow...).
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| Cam from Garret Hostel Lane Bridge |
The visit was also an opportunity to stir old memories, or finally lay some to rest: I'm still not sure which. At least, I was able to revisit some of the sites I loved then, and still do. In part, my two Cambridges are summed up in these two pictures of the Cam: the first, the Cam below Jesus' lock, where the boathouses are and where I spent more time—trying to become a mediocre rower—than in lecture halls or libraries; the second, the tourist's view of the cam, at Trinity punts—the view that met me every evening walking back to College over Garret Hostel bridge. Happy Days.
PS. I'd like to think that this is the re-launch of the blog, but there have been so many failed restarts lately, I won't make myself hostage to fortune...
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