Dreaming of Freedom

Finally, after over a year of avoiding hairdressers and all things related, I braved the fear of having my locks tampered with and went to Al Couture and all my fears melted away in the hands of such professionals. I admit I usually only go to hairdressers who charge a little and cut off a lot, so it was a bit of a shock to be watered with cappuccinos, detangled, trimmed, blow-dried and curled until I didn’t recognise myself. I had to spend the walk home admiring myself in shiny surfaces and hoping I bump into people I knew so they wouldn’t recognise me.

Anyone out there nervous and in need of a haircut should definitely head to Benet Street in Cambridge and deliver yourself into the hands of Al and his team.

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It’s been a Christmassy week. I have brought and wrapped a million useful or edible items as presents and sought out a Christmas tree and carried it back on my bike to the flat where it is now tastefully decorated with fairy lights and a little baked dough angel that Rich’s mum gave me years ago.
On Thursday night to get into the Christmas spirit Tim and I went to John’s College to drink wine, eat warm mince pies and listen to ghost stories by candlelight. We squashed in with a good deal of other people into the Samuel Butler Rood and listened to four ghost stories including one written specially for the occasion and a cute poem by the grandson of the organizer. Afterwards we went to John’s student bar where a student of the college has to sign you in and we spent a happy hour discussing what we thought had actually happened in the ghost stories although not much was actually concluded. St John’s is lovely - especially on a crisp winter’s evening but the whole thing was slightly surreal as Christmas met Halloween in a long long candlelit room, wood paneled, low ceilinged with intimidating Tudor portraits on the walls.

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I braved the wind and the rain yesterday to go to the lovely warm colourful FitzWilliam with Jolien and Nils. We wandered around for an hour or so in the delicious atmosphere chatting to other visitors about the paintings and appreciating every minute of the place. After a quick drink in The Anchor we went to King’s College chapel to listen to the sublime music at Evensong. We sat out in the ante-chapel and had a most particular experience there in the slightly chilly church. Sitting on the wrong side of the rood screen we were taken hundreds of years back to a time when the laity sat away from the grace of the alter. Through the archway we could see the flickering lights and the lucky people who got to be closer to God. We could hear the signing perfectly but the voices weren’t half as clear and we heard the odd word but out there in the cold you could imagine how it must have been for the medieval laity unable to have a direct relationship with God. It really struck me how revolutionary it would have been when the Protestants started to change that. It’s a really interesting experience and well worth a visit. Evensong happens most nights from 5.30 and you can enter the chapel from 5.15. It’s free and open to everyone.

Today in the bright glare of the sun we cycled to Grantchester to visit Chris’s little cottage and have lunch at The Rupert Brooke - where the food is pretty good but the seating policy a little odd. We cycled back in the dusk to the CB1 cafe where we drank delicious lattes and warmed up.

Tomorrow there is a talk at 7.30pm in the Kennedy Room in the The Cambridge Union by Ariane Sherine talking about The Atheist Bus Campaign and The Atheist’s Guide to Christmas. It’s organized by Cambridge University Atheist and Agnostic Society but non-members are welcome although they may be asked to pay a couple of pounds entrance fee. For anyone planning to attended a few events - life membership to the group is only £10.

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K and I went and had a fika at Steinbrenner and Nyberg on Södra Vägen thanks to Karin and her money saving two for one voucher. It’s a lovely cafe with a hidden courtyard at the back. We munched paninis and sketched the brick work and bushes. Thanks Karin!

It was a day of free things and thanks to Anni we had free entrance tickets for Liseberg and perhaps most exciting of all we had free tickets for a ride. So very bravely we went on Balder and it was truly terrifying. I was clinging on for dear life as the tiny carriage plummeted to the earth leaning on its side. The pictures show me pale and frozen while K is smiling and relaxed as if he’s strolling in the park on a sunny day. It was all worth it as afterwards although my legs were shaking and my mouth was dry - I felt I’d been given a new lease of life. Thanks Anni!

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Yesterday I actually managed to play a bit of tennis with Jolien and Vanessa before heading to the Friends Meeting House to go to a Stop The War meeting on Afghanistan. The meeting was quite interesting - a chap from the National Office came down and they showed the new documentary called Timeline that John Rees has made.

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Friday was the last night of the town bumps and so I braved the rain to go out and cycle up and down the towpath supporting the race. It really is the best kind of fun. Mum and me cycled down the Baits Bite Lock assessing which team we thought was the best and then when the four minute gun went off we’d position ourselves alongside them and wait for the one minute gun and then the start. There is the sound of splashing oars, cheering supporters and the crunch of gravel underneath bicycle tyres as you speed up the path. The speed and the excitement are thrilling. It’s the best night out I’ve had for ages!

On Saturday the sun came out so we cycle down the towpath to Milton, on to Landbeach and then to Waterbeach in search of Emmaus a community for homeless people. They have a large shop there selling all sorts of recycled things and furniture. They even have new pine furniture they make there. If you’ve got stuff you’d like to donate to them you can drop it off or ask for it to be picked up. We just happened to be there for the Solidarity Sale for Emmaus International so everything was half price and we had great fun bargain hunting.
We cycled back picking plums and munching them. There are lots of plum and apple trees and apples seem to be very early this year. We’re already enjoyed plums and custard several times as well as blackberry and apple crumble this year and we now have a freezer stuffed full of plums that should last us a good few weeks.

I then popped along to the Stop The War picnic on Lammas Land near the play area before calling it a day and having an early night.

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I have been back in England now for over a week and I am still feeling a little out of my element. I caught up with Andy at the Maypole on Friday night and now have no illusions that it’s much cheaper to drink alcohol in England.

Yesterday I went into the centre and visited useful and exciting places such as the tourist information. The tourist info is a bit run down and depressing here and doesn’t not even supply tourists with free maps of the city - it’s probably easier to check them out online and print out a map of the city yourself.

I was fully intending to go and see if Cambridge Cycling Campaign had their stall outside the Guildhall yesterday but the morning slipped past me before I had a moment to grab it - so that’s a little job for next Saturday.

Of all of the heartwarming things this week my favourite is that Waitrose let you use bike trailers for free. I am definitely going to try it out and see if it’s as good as it sounds.

And all my internet search led my to a great environmental blog based in Cambridge.

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I arrived back in England last Saturday and it has been a mad whirlwind of work, moving and cycling. The weather has been wonderful in Cambridge so far. I dug my bike out of the shed rusty and ill cared for and yet it is doing me great service getting me all around the city. For England Cambridge is quite a good city for cycling but compared to Gothenburg - ah well it doesn’t really compare. To celebrate my return I spent the weekend with Mum cycling up and down the Cam and exploring the green spaces around the city. Then Monday morning hit with a bang and it was work, work, work for most of the week.
Tomorrow afternoon the weekend starts and it’s all about meeting up with Andy after months for a good chin wag in a local student pub and then getting my bearings on the city and making plans for getting involved in Life on the Cam.

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K and I got an early train to Stockholm this morning so we were here in the city by 9am. We walked through Gamla Stan (Old Town) to the island of Södermalm where our hotel is. Scandic hotels rock - the standards are great, the breakfast buffet huge and they even had our room ready at 10am in the morning. After a look around the room were heading back into the center down Götgatan and across the bridge to Gamla Stan. We stopped by Sundbergs Konditori in Järntorget to sample their coffee and cake - it was delicious of course. Sundbergs Konditori is one of the oldest cafes in the city and it was wonderful munching cakes and imagining people 200 hundred years ago doing the same thing.
Refreshed we made our way to the Riksdagen (Swedish Parliament) and although they no longer do tours during the week we were allowed into the chamber to see the MPs talking. The parliament is now in the old bank building and the area the MPs work in is modern and relatively low key.
We then rushed up to the Royal Palace to see the Changing of the Guard. It was a trifle terrifying because the guards had machine guns with bayonets attached. The whole experience was cheered up by a marching band which played a variety of songs including one by ABBA.
We stayed in Gamla Stan for lunch and then crossed the river to the new center of Stockholm and spent some time in the Kulturhuset where we had a good look at the library, the photos on display and the various cafes there. The building also houses a cinema and a theatre. After a bit more wandering we hauled ourselves back to the hotel for an early night.

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I spent the day walking around Stanwick Lakes. The ex quarry has been turned into a series of lakes and paths for wildlife and people. I spent a few enjoyable hours wandering around in the sunshine, bird watching from various huts and hides and swinging on the modern tyre swings. There is an adventure trail, adventure playground and an assult course as well as a brand new visitor center that is being constructed as I type. At the weekends and over the school holidays bikes can be hired. It’s definitely a place to go if you are in the Nene Valley area.

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