Bee-ware!

As Cambridge students lock in at the libraries for their exams, some of Girton’s residents have been taking advantage of the nice weather: multiple swarms of bees have been seen around the college. The College’s head gardener emailed students on Friday (30/05) warning them to “please avoid the areas around the croquet lawn and the pond”. This is at least the fourth time this month that a swarm has struck the college. The bees in question are part of the College’s two colonies of Honeybees in their Hazel Hurdle compound.

Cantab Keto crew-ses to GB Rowing Squad

Freya Keto, a member of Cambridge University Boat Club, has been selected to compete in the European Rowing Championships this month. Keto, a history student, helped the Cambridge Women’s team to a win in the 2023 Boat Race. She will compete in the women’s double sculls with Vwairé Obukohwo in Plodiv, Bulgaria. The European Rowing Championships mark the beginning of a new Olympic cycle, with the games set to be held in LA in 2028. Louise Kingsley, the director of performance for British Rowing said: “After a long winter of training, I know everyone is keen to get their season under way and see how we perform against the rest of Europe,” according to Cambridge Independent.

ICE Pack cracks open Welsh-inspired story collection

Fifteen Cambridge University creative writing alumni have released a book exploring the Welsh concept of Hiraeth: an untranslatable term which refers to a sense of homesickness or longing. The writers, who have dubbed themselves the ‘ICE Pack,’ collaborated to create the collection, called “Hiraeth - deep longing,” which explores the themes of bittersweet longing, homelands, secrets and dreams. Two tutors of creative writing, Dr Jessica J. Lee and Derek Niemann said: “When fifteen people from five continents met for the first time in a virtual classroom during the loneliness of the pandemic, no one could have imagined they would go on to defeat another kind of isolation. The popular cliché is of the solitary writer toiling in a garret to produce their work. This book shatters that stereotype and gives us an uplifting new model.”

Demolition sequel?

The owner of the long-disused Central Cinema has launched an appeal to try and get the building demolished. Mark Richer, who bought the property on Sidney Street near Christ’s College from a nightclub operator, wants to turn the site into office spaces and retail units. The council had refused the application in November, saying that the demolition of the “iconic 1930s Egyptian art deco style” building would cause “significant harm” to the city’s conservation area.