For all you cat lovers out there...

You would be in heaven if you were in my shoes...A beautiful calico cat with white paws ``owns'' Jesus College...His name is Benson (a proper English name for a chap, don't you think?) and he hangs out round the Porter's Lodge...When I check my mail in College on early mornings, I find him waiting outside the closed Plodge door wanting to get in from the early English morning cold. I gently open the door and he happily scampers in. Often I find him hunting prey (birds and leaves and the like) out on the many Jesus green courtyards...From what I heard, he is not a friendly cat...but to me he is always friendly, always beckoning for some gentle caresses behind the ears. But, always to be kept in mind, he is English and quite so independent!

Our Department has a cat as well, Muon is her name and she even has her picture up with the rest of the faculty and students. She is black with yellow eyes and four white paws and white under her neck and on her chest. She is a mighty huntress, hunting birds out behind the Hoyle building. (The IoA is right in the middle of farms and is surrounded by beautiful trees which serve as houses for future prey of Muon (namely, the birds).) We often have chats and exchange noserubs when I come in on the weekends and she likes to curl up in my lap as I do some work on the computer or at my desk. During the days one finds her sprawled out with legs everywhere on one of the plush chairs in the tea and library area. She sleeps through about everything. What a life! And she has full rein of the astronomy building and seems to coexist quite well with a bunch of astronomers.

For all you dog lovers out there...

No real encounters with the pooches, but during my morning rides to work along the English countryside, I see lots of folk walking their dogs.

To me it looks like the dogs are enjoying themselves immensely running free along the grassy pastures while their companions (the humans) just walk with their heads down. How could anyone not take in the beautiful sights of the rolling green pastures is beyond me!

For all you cow lovers...

There be LOTS of cows in dem fields! Sometimes when I leave the department late at night and fumble around to put my lights on my bike, I jump when I hear rustling in the trees. And then all of a sudden, a MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO emanates from the distance. It's quite scary to be alone at night with cows randomly about.

For all you horse lovers...

There be also LOTS of horses in dem fields! In fact on my bike rides to my department, I come across humans on a morning ride. It just is so strange to see such activity on a daily basis.

For all you car lovers...

I am about to go batty fighting against the cars in Cambridge! Not only am I at my wits end in fighting for survival (I do often pick routes that keep me far from the driven path), but the town is going to have some pollution problems...There are not too many roads in Cambridge that allow cars (most are quite narrow and only allow cycles and pedestrians) but on those that do, they (the town) has put so many traffic lights to allow ped crossing. This leads to immense traffice jams because the cars are constantly stopping and starting because the lights often go red all the time. And the exhaust from the idling cars is not something one wants to be inhalling about 80% of one's bike trip. In fact they sell masks to cyclists who have to travel on these roads. I thankfully have found a route that takes me far from the cars. There is currently a motion in Parliament to double the petrol price to 5 pounds (about 7 US dollars) per gallon to cut down on car usage...I'm not sure how that motion is coming along since it has lots of consequences in both directions (pro and con). I get along fine on bike. All the shops in town are within walking or biking distance and trips out to nearby towns can be reached by bikes, buses and trains. And, like everywhere else, British drivers like to speed on crowded streets!

Cheers,

Kimberly