There is something exciting and unique about September in England, not least in Cambridge, where the imminent Michaelmas Term fosters highly charged anticipation and expectations.
Behind the walls of St John’s College, while the new intake of undergraduates has not yet arrived en-masse, as the month progresses a steadily increasing trickle of giant four-wheeled suitcases will be heard rumbling through the Courts while preparations for their welcome are in full swing.
The academic year not only dictates departures and arrivals from seats of learning at schools, colleges and universities throughout the country, but also the annual influx of new employees taking up positions in a variety of employment sectors. Consequently, ‘man and van’ or family estate cars are seen loaded to the gills with all the accoutrements of domestic comfort needed to set up home in a new (and most likely startlingly expensive) rental unit or house share.
As summer nights begin to draw in once more and the focus begins to switch from the great outdoors – however water-logged it was in 2024 – to more internal entertainment experiences, friendship groups typically begin to reconnect and make plans for the season ahead. At St John’s the annual Johnian Society Day takes place at the end of the month and is always the impetus for making those reconnections with old friends.
What are your memories of arriving at St Johns as a new undergraduate? Was it nerve-wracking or were you quickly immersed in the student experience? Do you remember matriculating and your first formal Hall? And do you remember moving on from College and starting your first ‘proper’ job after graduating? How did you go about establishing yourself in new accommodation and making new friends? Are you still in contact with other Johnians?
And perhaps at some distance from those experiences, do you still look forward to the renewal and expectation of September? What do you have planned for the ‘Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness’ even if you live in another climate zone where you are about to enjoy a different season altogether? Do share your thoughts or memories on Johnian Hub.
