News & views for staff and Fellows of Jesus College Easter 2003 @jesus

Spring has Tying the knot SMS online! Edmund Adson What can the sprung... at Jesus. who? Nurse do for p2 p4 p2 p2 you? p4 To your chariots! A place in history awaits...

Ashley Meggitt - IT Manager 1961. Although he hadn’t trained for over a year he came through to win asked my colleagues in the IT de- and thus maintained his record of I partment if they had every heard having never lost a 1500m or mile race of Herb Elliot. Apart from Rob (an - fantastic. athletics afi cionado) the question gen- erated some interesting answers such Ah yes, this is all very interesting but as ‘wasn’t that a character from the where is it leading us. Well, the enthu- Sage Garden’ and ‘Yes thanks I’ll have siastic trip through this little traveled a cup of that if it’s going’. Herb Elliot, byway of College history, is an attempt as everyone outside the IT department to catch you in the act of wondering if knows, was the world record holder you too might join Herb Elliot in the and Olympic Gold medallist at the College archives as someone who ran 1500m. He is regarded as one of the for Jesus - so to speak. This isn’t as far fi nest 1500m and milers the world has fetched as you might think - already ever seen and, believe it or not, he was there are a number of the College staff a Jesus College student. OK, so he is an and Fellows who have achieved this, Australian as well but we shouldn’t let and they’ve done it through the annual that blemish spoil things - he was bril- Chariots of Fire relay race. liant. Amateurism at that time (1960) 1998 Chariots of Fire Team was so strict that he found it increas- In September 1998 the College entered ingly diffi cult to both train and hold 5 teams, spurred on by the Master at occasion with a big show of support down a full time job, which he needed the time, Professor David Crighton, by entering as many teams as possible. to sustain himself and his young fam- who competed in the race himself. To Although it would be great to win the our surprise the College ‘A’ team won collegiate cup again in this special year , “it is... the taking part the Collegiate Cup and received the it is - as many of those who have run in that counts.” trophy from a delighted Sir Arthur the Chariots of Fire know - the taking Marshall, who founded the race. Since part that counts. ily. So at the age of 22 he hung up then the College has entered a least his running shoes. It was at this point one team every year, although we have So why not contact either Paul Stearn that he arrived at Jesus College to read never regained the cup (came a close ([email protected]) or Phil Natural Sciences (sponsored by Shell, second in 1999). Shepard ([email protected]) his employers at the time). Herb was an and run, stagger, or crawl your way into obvious choice to represent Cambridge This year will be Sir Arthur Marshall’s history. University in the Varsity Match mile in 100th and we would like to mark this EDITORIAL

We would welcome feed- back about @ Jesus - what Spring has sprung Rob Spragg you like or don’t like about it, topics you would like his edition provides news of wildlife in before Easter. Paul covered in future issues, Tand around the College this springtime. Stearn has also spotted ideas for future articles. a Coaltit, which alighted One exciting recent development was the briefl y on the peanut If you want to write an appearance of a Water Rail (rallus aquaticus), feeder attached to the article yourself, either as in an area of Gardener’s new, three- a one-off or as a regular the Woodland tier bird table. Look contribution, please let us Walk between Coaltit out for updates and know. the cricket- pictures from the bird table in future editions. outfi eld and Email: the stream that With the arrival of spring come the returning borders Jesus migrants, such as the swifts you may newsletter@ Green. This have spotted hawking above the College. jesus.cam.ac.uk Water Rail is exciting not Incidentally, did you know that swifts spend because rails are uncommon, but because around 95% of their lives in the air, even they are very secretive birds spending most of ‘roosting’ there? Other visitors to look out their time feeding amongst the reeds, hardly for are cuckoos, chiffchaffs, house martins, ever breaking cover. Water Rails have a very swallows and spotted fl ycatchers. IN BRIEF distinctive and unusual call, often described as a pig-like squeal. The Woodland Walk is Pilkington particularly attractive Teaching Prize The Head Gardener reports that many of the at the moment, nest boxes dotted around College are in use, not with many bluebells Dr Geoff Parks has been always by their intended inhabitants – blue tits appearing amongst awarded one of this year’s have invaded a woodpecker box, for instance. the cow parsley (hay Pilkington Teaching Prizes. Since the last issue, the writer has noticed, fever sufferers beware These are awarded by the amongst other things: a Green Woodpecker Spotted Flycatcher during May when the Trustees of the Cambridge (picus viridis), near the hockey pitch; a pair cow parsley will fl ower). Foundation in recognition of Goldfi nches (carduelis carduelis), near the Also, you don’t have to very keen-eyed to of excellence in teaching. Victoria Road gate; and a Mandarin Duck (aix notice the Wisteria fl owering nicely in First and The prize will be presented galericulata), which paid us a brief visit just Chapel Courts. to Geoff by the Vice- Chancellor at a special awards ceremony in July. We offer our congratulations to Porters, porters everywhere... Geoff on the award of this Frances Willmoth grates and cleaning knives. He eventually be- prestigious prize. came Porter, with more general responsibility istorically speaking, that is – the holders of for the knives: those belonging to the students’ Hthis ancient offi ce seem to be cropping up table had to be displayed to the Steward once a increasingly often in enquiries addressed to the mPulse.NET quarter, and if students used them in their own College Archives. Some of these enquiries will rooms the Porter could charge 2d a dozen for Sending an SMS via be easy to answer in the future, as Mrs Rachel cleaning them. Catley retired to Great Chester- mPulse.NET saves you mon- Wroth has recently carried out a major study of ford in 1841 as rather a prosperous man. ey and supports the College. nineteenth-century college servants and has just presented us with a digest of the information Benjamin Diver was one of six brothers (and The College has recently she has collected about Jesus employees. Here another half dozen other relatives) who all signed up with mPulse.NET. are a few extracts: worked in various colleges. One, John Diver, For each SMS sent the Col- was Cook at Jesus, and helped clear Benjamin’s lege receives a small referral William Harvey, Porter in 1815, was paid more name when he was unjustly accused of stealing fee. Register online and you than three pounds extra each year for looking silver from the Buttery in 1839. Benjamin was can send low cost text mes- after the College’s lamps and three shillings extra Porter here by 1841; he was still alive in 1851 but sages from any PC! for providing evergreens to decorate the Hall at had died by 1854. Meanwhile, he was involved Christmas. in running the University Servants’ Sports Club, www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/ and was interested in fi shing: his copy of The fl y internal John Catley was taken on as resident under- fi sher’s entomology has recently come up for porter in 1823, with such duties as cleaning Disability Rhona Watson : IN PROFILE Discrimination Act QUINCENTENARY LIBRARIAN The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) comes into effect in 2004. The law concerns staff, Fellows, students tion. Soon afterwards we started a complete and members of the public. We are history re-classifi cation of the books and making major required to make reasonable efforts to came to Jesus College just over 10 years ago improvements to the bookstock. ensure that people with disabilities can I from the Marshall Library of Economics. visit, work and live in the College and have access to the facilities that able Coming from a busy departmental library to a present and future relatively quiet college environment was quite a bodied people enjoy. change. At that time the War Memorial Library More recently I have been involved in the intro- (on A & B staircases) was nearing the end of its duction of the University Library’s Newton cata- In the case of the College this includes life and did not have space to accommodate me or logue based on Voyager software and MARC21 my computer. An offi ce was fi tted up for me and coding. This has meant a two-year planning and • Access to and into the College the old two-pin plug was replaced so that our fi rst development process and the systems are still be- grounds ever computer could be installed. Jill Richardson ing adjusted and refi ned. MARC21 is the new • Access and parking for wheelchairs continued to run the library for six months while international standard coding language which and cars driven by disabled Members I started to prepare the library’s fi rst automated provides a means of describing anything from and visitors catalogue. a webpage to an old sock! I use this to add the • Mobility from points of entry/parking new books, videos & DVDs to the computer to College buildings and areas Plans for building the Quincentenary Library were catalogue. I have a varied working day but my • Access to key College buildings – Bar, Hall and Upper Hall, Tutorial Offi ce. already well underway though construction hadn’t favourite parts of the job are spending the Col- Accounts and Bursars’ offi ces, Chapel. yet started. I was a member of the sub-committee lege’s money in buying new stock for the library, • Access to Student accommodation planning the facilities so was able to supply some answering readers’ queries and receiving items • Signage, directions, lighting advice from a professional perspective. I have a donated for the new Light Fiction collection. graduate qualifi cation in Library and Information Members of the College’s Health Studies and completed my chartership just before and Safety Committee have recently I arrived in Jesus. As my fi rst degree was in Town time off conducted a review of all key areas & Country Planning (Glasgow University) and Much of my leisure time is spent reading books of College. The next stage is to start included a building design option, I enjoyed this and dancing. When time allows, I enjoy going implementing the recommendations opportunity to make use of the whole range of home to Scotland to walk in the hills (East An- made in the surveys. my skills. glia is not my ideal landscape). In Cambridge I teach a rueda class once a week and also help out If you have any observations or con- The library was completed in November 1995 and at a ballroom class. Rueda de Casino is a form cerns about access relating to any form offi cially opened in March 1996. By this time the of salsa performed by several couples dancing in of disability, whether physical, visual or computer cataloguing of the working collection a group – all taught in Spanish, which I hope to aural, please contact the Domestic Bur- had been completed so I was able to introduce learn properly some day. I have also been known sar ([email protected]). the users to a transformed working environment, to teach the graduates Scottish dancing for their with a beautiful building and extensive automa- annual ceilidh at the Burns Night Supper.

Porters, porters everywhere... (cont...) siderably less lucrative and Adson less than sale (beyond our budget, of course). An in- happy. He was dismissed in 1871, after a scription shows the book was presented to confrontation with a Fellow in which he him by Samuel Prince, a Fellow-Commoner did not mince his words. here, and someone – probably Diver him- self – has ornamented it extravagantly To end on a more cheerful note, I have re- with sample fi shing fl ies, feathers and silk cently received two separate enquiries from thread. military historians about our most long- serving twentieth-century Head Porter, Edmund Adson – “an austere man of few Captain Arthur Austin. He worked here words and those comminatory” – was in from 1928 to 1956, with a break during the charge during the 1860s. This period saw Second World War, when he served with major changes in the Porter’s situation: he particular distinction in the Royal Marines. was given a fi xed salary instead of levying In 1937 Chanticlere printed his photograph a multitude of separate charges and fi nes, (right). We have no portraits of earlier Por- and no longer had to pay the under porter ters, to my knowledge, but this is some out of his own profi ts. The overall effect compensation. seems to have been to make the job con- Tying the Knot @ Jesus he popularity of Jesus College as a wedding for their celebrations. decision to use Jesus College, barring personal Tvenue is growing, with the sight of wedding ties, is the variety of options provided in set- parties becoming a regular feature of the Easter Couples were fi rst allowed to marry outside the tings for the ceremony, reception drinks, wed- and Long vacations. Although religious ceremo- confi nes of register offi ces and religious venues ding breakfast and party afterwards and the fact nies have always been conducted in the College after the Marriage Act 1994 but current regula- that the entire event can be held from beginning Chapel, the College has only been licensed since tions revent marriages from taking place in the to end in the same location, cutting down on November last year for civil ceremonies. open air or in any form of temporary structure. logistical problems. The provision of parking in Ceremonies must be also be held between the a central Cambridge location has also been a de- Areas that have been licensed include Hall, Up- hours of 8am and 6pm – a rule drawn up in ciding factor for some, as has the possibility for per Hall and the Prioress’ Room, which have 1837 when civil marriages were fi rst introduced wedding guests to utilise some of the College been vetted by registry offi cials to ascertain and designed to stop people marrying the wrong accommodation. The increasing popularity of that they preserve the “solemnity and dignity” partner in the dark! Future plans to modernise the College as a unique and beautiful setting for of the wedding ceremony, as well as complying the regulations, which should come into force wedding ceremonies and receptions has meant with fi re and safety regulations. As ceremonies next year, centre on licensing the register offi - that many dates in 2004 are already booked and in the Chapel require an Archbishop’s Special cials themselves so that they can conduct wed- availability for next year is slim. If you have any Licence and are restricted to undergraduates dings at any hour and in any place that provides further queries on holding wedding ceremonies, or graduates within two years of graduation, safe access to the public. This will pave the way civil or religious, within the college, please con- current employees, Fellows or children of Fel- for outdoor ceremonies, another area in which tact Simon Hawkey or Francesca Moyles at the lows, this has provided an opportunity for other the College can provide the perfect setting. Manciple’s offi ce ([email protected] ). Jesuans and members of the community to use the beautiful College grounds and public rooms One of the key factors for many couples in their Francesca Moyles - Conference & Events Manager A d a y i n t h e l i f e o f ...

start the day by sorting through the whole, they are pretty well behaved, with TTHEHE SSURGERYURGERY I the many Job Requests (anything just the occasional slight problem. If there to do with College services, water, is anything major to be done, we can call on electricity, gas, etc.), which students Munros, with whom we have a maintenance hand in at the Porters’ Lodge. These agreement. They will look after the Corgi JJackyacky PPoskittoskitt - CCollegeollege NNurseurse jobs can be as varied as lights not side (gas) and the oil burners, checking the working, blocked sinks, dripping fuel oil in the tanks, as we use both oil and taps, fi re alarms, air conditioning gas in our larger boilers. A membermember ooff staffstaff rrecentlyecently bboughtought ttoo mmyy aattentionttention tthathat nnotot eeve-ve- units, no heating/hot water, tel- rryoneyone isis aawareware wwee aarere hhere,ere, oorr iindeedndeed ooff tthehe sserviceservices wwee pproviderovide ttoo ephones, or a door bell not working We also are trying to save electricity by in- SStudents,tudents, SStaff,taff, aandnd FFellows.ellows. in one of houses in New Square. stalling low wattage, energy effi cient bulbs The College Maintenance Staff can throughout the main College site and we WWee rrunun a twice-weeklytwice-weekly pphysiotherapyhysiotherapy ccliniclinic fforor aanythingnything ffromrom a deal with most of these requests. are hoping to see real energy saving in the ssportingporting injury,injury, toto chronicchronic backback pain,pain, oror RSIRSI (repetitive(repetitive sstraintrain iin-n- College Engineer Some days we can receive around 50 next few years. In addition, we have a green jjury).ury). WWee hhaveave oourur oownwn uultraltra ssoundound eequipmentquipment aandnd wwobbleobble bboard,oard, job requests; however, on an average policy for lamp disposal and recycling of ssplints,plints, aandnd a varietyvariety ooff ootherther pphysiohysio eequipmentquipment wwhichhich wwee ccanan llendend day there will be around 15-20. I refrigerators and cookers. You may be inter- ooutut wwithith aann aagreedgreed ddateate ssetet fforor aann iitem’stem’s rreturneturn . IItt iiss mmyy aaimim tthathat start by arranging the jobs in order ested to know that it costs more to dispose nnoo oneone shouldshould waitwait forfor moremore thanthan a weekweek bbeforeefore bbeingeing sseen.een. AAllll of importance, also making sure we of a fl uorescent tube than purchase new one, aappointmentsppointments aarere mademade bbyy eeitherither a GGPP oorr tthehe CCollegeollege NNurse.urse. have the requisite materials and that which is £1 at the moment. the students are aware when we will I aamm usuallyusually kkeptept bbusyusy bbyy GGPP rregistrations,egistrations, wwhichhich rrequiresequires a sshorthort be coming. You may say what happens when requests mmedical,edical, ddependingepending uuponpon tthehe cchosenhosen GGPP PPractice.ractice. come in for work after hours? We have been By this time, it’s getting on for running an on call system for the past year, I rrunun a dailydaily ‘drop‘drop in’in’ surgery,surgery, forfor whichwhich nono appointmentappointment isis neces-neces- 8.30am. This is when my mobile which has worked very well. This way we ssary.ary. SSeeee hhttp://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/internal/nursettp://www.jesus.cam.ac.uk/internal/nurse fforor ttimes.imes. phone starts ringing because con- can provide 24/7 cover for any problems. PETER MOORE - tractors have arrived on site. The From March 2002 to March 2003, we re- I sspendpend mmostost ooff mmyy ttimeime iinn tthehe ssurgery,urgery, bbutut I aalsolso ddoo a ggrowingrowing Porters let Maintenance know when ceived 150 out-of-hours calls, mostly electri- aamountmount ofof roomroom visits.visits. OOnene tthinghing tthathat I rreallyeally ddislikeislike iiss wwhenhen I contractors are here so that they can be taken cal and plumbing emergencies.. aamm calledcalled ooutut ttoo a ssickick sstudent,tudent, wwhoho ffailsails ttoo bbee iinn ttheirheir rroomoom aatt to where they are working, as we don’t let tthehe aagreedgreed ttime,ime, aass ttheyhey hhaveave fforgottenorgotten ttoo ccancelancel tthehe aappointmentppointment contractors on site without being supervised. uuponpon a veryvery suddensudden rrecovery!ecovery! SSuchuch a sstudenttudent uusuallysually llivesives tthehe This can be anything from reading gas or ffurthesturthest aawayway ffromrom College.College. electricity meters in our HMOS to planned maintenance by the gas board etc. I ccanan dodo proceduresprocedures ssuchuch aass rremovingemoving ssuturesutures aandnd ddebridingebriding a wwound,ound, wwhichhich ooftenften ppreventsrevents a llongong wwaitait eelsewhere.lsewhere. FForor ddiabeticsiabetics Normally, by 9am I manage to turn on my I ccanan taketake aandnd rreadead bloodblood glucoseglucose llevels,evels, aandnd ggiveive ggeneraleneral aadvicedvice pc and check my emails. We are increasingly rregardingegarding dietdiet aandnd medications.medications. receiving quite a few requests and problems by email from students, College staff and I aalsolso monitormonitor bloodblood pressurepressure onon a regularregular basis.basis. WhenWhen diddid youyou contractors. Also I tend to order materials llastast hhaveave yyouou bbloodlood ppressureressure cchecked?hecked? FForor aasthmaticssthmatics I ccanan rrecordecord over the internet, since this makes life easier ddailyaily ppeakeak fl ooww mmeasurementseasurements aass iinstructed,nstructed, bbyy yyourour GGPP UUnfor-nfor- for me, that is when I order correctly! Some ttunatelyunately I ddoo nnotot hhaveave tthehe ffacilitiesacilities ttoo ttakeake bbloodlood fforor iinvestigativenvestigative of the company’s Radio spares are ordered ppurposes,urposes, oorr toto givegive ‘‘live’live’ vvaccines/immunisationsaccines/immunisations oowingwing ttoo mmedi-edi- via an 8-digit code, so if I have a bit of fi nger ccalal llegislation.egislation. trouble anything could arrive! They are very good with returns… I aamm marriedmarried toto anan engineerengineer whowho worksworks onon thethe ScienceScience PPark,ark, aatt a companycompany whowho specialisespecialise iinn tthehe mmanufacturinganufacturing ooff llasers.asers. I hhaveave Another of my duties is to check the main tthreehree yyoungoung bboysoys MMichaelichael 99,, DDavidavid 77,, aandnd TThomas,homas, 66.. EEvenven oourur College boiler rooms, of which we have nine. hhamsteramster aandnd catcat aarere mmale!ale! This should take about an hour or so. On Pete Moore - College Engineer