Call for peace at King’s carols

This year’s Carols from King’s emphasised a message of peace. In a departure from tradition, the service concluded with the words of Howard Thurman, an American civil rights activist who inspired Martin Luther King Jr., instead of the traditional blessing. The dean of King’s, the Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry, said of Thurman: “He’s got this lovely little poem prayer. It is kind of a dismissal, sending us out to do God’s work in the world and to be active for peace and justice.” The service, recorded in King’s College Chapel and broadcast annually on Christmas Eve, was first shown on TV in 1954, and garnered nearly two million viewers last year.

Cambridge-themed card game hits the shelves

A new card game inspired by the book The Night Climbers of Cambridge has been released. The game was designed by Emily Winslow, an educator and author based in Cambridge, who said she sought to embody “all the thrills of the books with none of the risks!” The book was originally published in 1937, under the pseudonym ‘Whipplesnaith’ (later revealed to be Noël Howard Symington, a former student of King’s), and details the activities of a clandestine group of students who scale the buildings of Cambridge by night. It has been popular with Cambridge students ever since, as has the practice of night climbing itself.

Cambridge canines not so content

A recent study examining the wellbeing of UK dogs has ranked Cambridge as the worst city for canine quality of life. The ‘Happy Place Index’, compiled by the Dogs Trust, assessed a variety of factors, such as dogs’ physical health, their access to outdoor spaces, and time spent with their owners. Cambridge received a score of 6.32 out of a possible ten, with the report citing Cambridge residents’ long working hours, which limits the time they can devote to their dogs. Nonetheless, the report concludes that the nation’s dog owners care deeply for their pets, with a majority of those surveyed saying they take more steps to improve their dog’s health than their own.

Sewing double

An artist based in Cambridgeshire is attempting to create a scale replica of the Bayeux Tapestry, in time for the arrival of the original at the British Museum in September 2026. Mia Hansson has been working on her piece for nearly ten years, and has set herself a deadline of October 2026 to complete it. The arrival of the original tapestry is of particular poignance, as 2027 marks the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William the Conqueror. Hansson told the BBC of her hopes for her completed replica, saying that her replica can replace the original when it leaves the UK. “It won’t be the original, but it will still be something really quite spectacular,” she added.