Emma becomes a "senior scholar"

Among the many strange and unusual things that go on at Trinity, Cambridge, is the election of those students who got a First to the status of junior or senior scholar. For this they receive some money, something they can put on their CV when asked if they have ever won any academic prizes, and the opportunity to attend one or two additonal "feasts" during the academic year. And if they return to Trinity as post-grads they get an elevated status room. Which is all good if you ask me.

So we depart at 2:30 this afternoon to drive to Cambridge. Within 15 miles we are in solid traffic due to an accident on the A34 just beyond the roadworks at Pear Tree. This delays us close to an hour and suddenly there is the slight possibility that we might not get there on time. It is a close run thing but we are there by 5:15 for the 5:30 event. Emma is not pleased. It turns out that the event is in the college chapel which is all rather nice. After a short speech from Martin Rees - Master of Trinity and excellent astronomer - groups of "scholars" are presented to the master by their college tutors. Names are read out and the Master of Trinity, by the power vested in him, welcomes them as scholars of appropriate level.

It has to be said that Emma is among the most glamorous of this year's scholers. Most people who get Firsts are more nerdy it seems - especially among the odder computer science and mathematics scholars. This aspect has actually put Emma off the idea of being a postgraduate, people might think she was a nerd!

After what is actually quite a short ceremony we are invited to the "Master's lodge" for drinks. This is a lovely building just across the quad from the chapel and is filled with fine portraits of Newton, Galileo, Elizabeth I and so on. A brief bit of mingling with Emma and we meet her tutor, Sachiko Kusukawa. Much to her surprise it seems, I mention that I have read her book over the last year (the excellent The Transformation of Natural Philosophy, about the educational reforms of Philip Melanchthon). She seemed surprised that anyone had read it - much less the parent of one of her students. But my other reading suggests that this book is well-cited in the literature, though I suspect now that this means that it is recognised as the definitive work of the moment on this topic, and maybe isn't studied in detail.

We have dinner at the Hotel du Vin which was ok, though I felt the service wasn't very good. By late evening I wasn't feeling very well either. Really tired, bloated, etc, my usual current symptoms. A problem back at Emma's room rather spoils the end of the evening. Then the long drive home which is truly awful - I was so tired. I am reduced to listening to radio two to keep awake. Oddly, they played a track by the Clash at one point. I was quite impressed by Mark Lamaar as a DJ - he seemed to know his stuff.