High drama in the Sherlock…
Posted by Fyse on Monday, 9 May 2005
The weather in Cambridge of late has been, to put it mildly, bizarre. There’s an old saying about getting all the seasons at once, and we certainly experienced that today. I can’t vouch for the validity of the saying, since I can’t remember how it goes, but it’s similar to ‘red sky at night, shepherds delight’. Something of that ilk, anyway. Where was I going with this post? Oh yes…
Flailing wildly between dazzling sunshine and torrential hail, we were also treated to a brief but noisy thunderstorm. Not satisfied with just soaking anyone foolhardy enough to step outside, it also saw fit to strike power-lines somewhere and cut electricity to the library I was working in. I’ve been resident in the Sherlock library (one of two in college) for a week or so now, and it normally has a calm, industrious atmosphere. The thrill of a power cut is easily sufficient to dissolve a student’s work ethic, however, and a brief period of over-excited chaos ensued. Extra hilarity was provided by a fire alarm which, slightly panicked by the lack of electricity, saw fit to remind us of its predicament once every second. If I sit very quietly, I can still hear the beeping. Oh, the infernal beeping!!
For some reason water to my block was also knocked out, and discovering this, a neighbour started yelling that marshal law had been declared. He cited the sound of a police siren as conclusive proof. I assume he was joking, but you can’t be too sure with him…
Power was restored eventually, and even the fire alarm calmed down. The Sherlock library is a really great place to work, with it’s large wooden desks and shelves packed with dusty tomes. It has an old-fashioned and studious atmosphere, probably unchanged in centuries. I spent exam term there in my first year, and I’ve never worked as hard before or since. My hope is that I can get back to that level of concentration before my exams this year, and give myself a fighting chance of decent grade.
Ah, libraries. I need to get down to one myself and finish up a couple of papers that are two years past due. The big library at Penn, Van Pelt, does not have nearly the atmosphere of your Sherlock library. Perhaps that’s why I rarely stay there once I’ve gotten the book(s) I need….
Two years late with work? Wow! Clearly even I have a few things to learn from you, Oz.
Sherlock library as in The Great Detective? Or is it named for something else?
No, unfortunately it’s just named after a benefactor of the college, Dr Thomas Sherlock. Apparently the library was first built in 1675, then Sherlock gave £600 for renovation in 1756, and finally the library was re-equipped in 1947 and named the Sherlock Library. It actually forms the college war memorial, with names of members who died inscribed on each chair. I realise this is far more information than you bargained for, but I found a webpage detailing the history, and got a little carried away. There’s even an (obviously staged) photo of someone hard at work.
Rock on! But I would tell people it’s because Sherlock Holmes was actually real. Or, that it’s where the phrase “No Shit Sherlock” originated–because the library won’t accept just any shit.
Next time someone asks, I’ll be ready with my elaborate story. Sherlock Holmes was a student of St Catharine’s College, and the Arthur Conan Doyle stories were merely a front to allow him to continue his work undercover. His first case was to solve the mystery of the sentient bad-ass library which would tell him him to stop his cunning pranks.
Good grief, I’m talking rubbish. I really must go to bed…