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.