cambridge museum of technology

What’s on in Cambridge – December 2019

So just like that, December is here … the city is looking even more gorgeous than usual with lights twinkling and decorations everywhere. Read on for details of all types of Christmas music and services, shopping events where you’ll find those perfect handmade presents, seasonal celebrations and activities in our wonderful museums and much more. I’ll update this listing through the month so do check back and please get in touch if you’d like me to include your event.

Christmassy vibes at The Ivy Cambridge Brasserie

1st 12 noon – 4pm Museum Shop Sunday. Stalls from local suppliers including jewellery, glasswork and pottery. Mulled wine and mince pies. Free, drop in. Museum of Cambridge, Castle Street. http://www.museumofcambridge.org.uk

1st 12 noon – 4pm Studio Sunday. Practical art making workshops, no experience necessary. Free, drop in. Kettle’s Yard, Castle Street. http://www.kettlesyard.co.uk

1st 1.15 – 2pm Cambridge University Instrumental Award Holders – a performance by the very best undergraduate chamber musicians. Free. Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

1st 6.30pm Winter Cabaret. A seasonal mix of jazzy, sassy, jingly and soulful songs and music from The Lucy Cavendish Singers. Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington. http://www.lucycavendishsingers.org.uk

4th 5 – 8pm Rowan’s Winter Warmer. A festive evening where you can buy handmade gifts and cards, commission artwork and get involved in Christmas workshops. Live music, mulled wine and mince pies. Free entry. Rowan, 140 Humberstone Road, CB4 http://www.rowanhumberstone.co.uk

5th 6.30pm Murder under the Mistletoe. Heffers’ Christmas Crime Party. Festive drinks, book buying and readings from crime authors. 10% off purchases on the evening. Heffers, Trinity Street. http://www.heffersbookshop.eventbrite.com

6th 7.30pm A Jazz Suite for Christmas. Tim Boniface and Polly Gibbons. St. Paul’s, Hills Road. http://www.stpaulsartsfest.org

6th 7.30pm Michaelmas Concert: A Musical Selection Box, to include Tchaikovsky and Gershwin. The University of Cambridge Concert Band. St Giles’ Church, CB3. Tickets on the door.

7th 8.50 – 10.30am Mill Road History Walk with Cambridge Green Badge Guides. Meet at the Romsey R on Cavendish Road. http://www.millroadhistory.org.uk

7th 10am – 1pm Family Saturday. Get festive and make all sorts of Christmas decorations using natural materials. Free. Botanic Garden, Brookside. http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk

7th 10.30am – 4.30pm Mill Road Winter Fair. Live music, local crafts, art, entertainment, food. Mill Road. FB Mill Road Winter Fair 2019

7th 11.30am Bridging Binaries: LGBTQ+ Tour. Explore the spectrum of identities that exist across time, place and culture in Cambridge collections. Free. Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street. http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

7th 1 – 1.30pm Come and Sing Carols. An informal, friendly “come and sing” carolling session for shoppers, friends and visitors. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade

7th 2 – 4pm Family First Saturday. Activities and art making on the theme of festive fun. Free, drop in. Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street. http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

7th 4 – 5pm Blue Christmas. A service of jazz and prayer for everyone who doesn’t find the holidays so happy. Michaelhouse Chapel, Trinity Street

7th 7pm Messiah by Candlelight. Eboracum Baroque. A charity concert in aid of Cancer Research. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade. http://www.eboracumbaroque.co.uk

8th 7.30pm Christmas Orchestral and Choral Concert. Dvorak, Mendelssohn and Czech Christmas music. The Academy of Great St Mary’s. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade. http://www.adcticketing.com

8th 7.30pm A Christmas Concert by The King’s Men Cambridge. Trumpington Parish Church, Grantchester Road, CB2. http://www.the-kings-men-trumpington.eventbrite.co.uk

8th 7.30pm Messiah. Choir of Clare College with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Trinity College Chapel. http://www.adcticketing.com

9th 7.45pm Brokenness, compassion and identity in rehabilitation after brain injury. Speaker: Dr Andrew Bateman. Part of the Science meets Faith series. Free admission, retiring collection. Wesley Church, Christ’s Pieces

12th 7.30pm Music for an English Advent: Gabriel’s Message. Carols and estampies from medieval England. Mediva Ensemble. Emmanuel United Reformed Church, Trumpington Street. http://www.CambridgeEarlyMusic.org

12th 8pm A Winter Union. Five leading lights of the British roots scene present an evening of seasonal songs, new and old. Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington. http://www.cambridgelive.org.uk

13th 7.30pm – 2.30am Reach Up Disco Wonderland with DJ Andy Smith and XL Records founder Nick Halkes. 2648 Bar, Trinity Street. https://skdl.co/kFnLqa45X0

13 – 14th 7.30pm A Christmas Carol. Adapted and performed by Martin Prest in a one man show. The Leper Chapel, Newmarket Road. Wrap up warm as the Chapel can be cold! http://www.adcticketing.com

14th 10.30 – 11.15am Sharing Stories. Stories from around the world told, read and sung. Free, drop in. Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. http://www.friendsofmiltonroadlibrary.org.uk

14th 3 – 3.30pm amd 4 – 4.30pm Michaelhouse Candlelit Carols. Come and sing traditional Christmas carols in the candlelit chapel. Michaelhouse Chapel, Trinity Street

14th 6 – 11pm Cambridge African Network Christmas Party. Food, Santa Claus, music and dancing. Storey’s Field Centre, Eddington. http://www.cambridgeafricannetwork.org

15th 10am – 4pm Victorian Christmas Celebration. Family friendly Victorian Christmas day with craft activities, music, mince pies and more. Cambridge Museum of Technology, Cheddars Lane. http://www.museumoftechnology.com

15th 6.30 – 8pm Carols by Candlelight, accompanied by Cottenham Brass Band. Hosted by Cambridge Past, Present and Future. The Leper Chapel, Newmarket Road. Free event, donations appreciated. http://www.cambridgeppf.org

15th 8pm Music for Advent and Christmas. Josquin, Howells and carols for audience participation. Fairhaven Singers. Trinity College Chapel. http://www.fairhavensingers.org.uk

18th 1.15 – 2pm The Food of Christmas Past. A talk with Ivan Day, Feast & Fast food historian. Free. Fitzwilliam Museum, Trumpington Street. http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk

19th 7 – 9pm Mindfulness around a Campfire – Winter Solstice celebration. Guided meditations, reflections, discussions, poetry, games and toasty pre Christmas treats around a campfire. Milton Country Park, CB24. Tickets from clairethompson@mindfulness-of-nature.com

19th 7.30 – 10pm Light Up EACH Life Cambridge Concert. We Are Sound and Evelyn Glennie perform a selection of uplifting songs in celebration of the children and families cared for at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade. http://www.each.org.uk

20th 10.30am – 12.30pm GPS Christmas Treasure Hunt. Track down some special Christmas plants growing in the garden. A family activity. Booking essential. Botanic Garden, Brookside. http://www.botanic.cam.ac.uk

20th 7.30pm Celebrate Christmas with John Rutter and Bach Choir Voices. Traditional carols and works by John Rutter. Our Lady and the English Martyrs Catholic Church, Hills Road http://www.cambridgesummermusic.com

22nd 4 – 5.15pm and 6.30 – 7.45pm Carols by Candlelight. A traditional candlelit service of lessons and carols at the University Church. Arrive early to be sure of a seat. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade

24th 4 – 5pm Christmas Eve Crib Service. Carols, bible stories and an impro Nativity. For children and their families. Come as you are or in Nativity fancy dress. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade

25th 11.15am – 12.15pm Christmas Day Choral Mattins. Favourite carols, beautiful music, scripture and story. Great St Mary’s Church, King’s Parade

Cambridge Veg Fest

Cambridge Veg Fest is happening from 13 – 21 July with free events and activities across the city, bringing the whole community together to celebrate local and seasonal vegetables. For Cambridge Sustainable Food, this marks the finale to their year long “Veg Cities” campaign, aimed at inspiring us to eat more vegetables and to reduce our intake of meat and dairy.

Asparagus at Cambridge Market — Bundles of asparagus at Cambridge Market

You’ll find a wealth of veggie based events for all the family, including:

Be an organic farmer for a day! Help out on a local vegetable farm, learn about growing your own veggies and take home some free produce.

The Mini Mobile Schools Vegetable Garden created by St Paul’s Primary School and Cambridge University Botanic Garden. This will be popping up at various venues around the city. It’s a vegetable show garden that teaches about vegetable families, crop rotation, composting and companion planting.

A Geo Cache Veggie Treasure Hunt along the Chisholm Trail.

Foodcycle Community Meals A free three course vegetarian meal (a vegan option will also be available) created from surplus food that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Rock Allotments Open Morning and Abundance Bring and Share Find out how to get an allotment and grow your own veg. Bring and share produce, plants and garden tools plus find out more about volunteering in community gardens.

Veg @ The Edge: Pay as you Feel Community Meal Enjoy a meal made from surplus vegetables at The Edge Cafe, home to Cambridge’s only Community Fridge.

Farmers’ Market and Town Meal Family Day Out Celebrate the city’s diverse food scene at the Cambridge Museum of Technology.

Tomatoes at Cambridge Market — Tons of tomatoes at Cambridge Market

For full details of all the events at this wonderful celebration of all things veggie, take a look at the website and keep an eye on the Facebook page too.

http://www.cambridgesustainablefood.org

Facebook: @cambridgefood

Cambridge Museum of Technology

Cambridge Museum of Technology is set to reopen to the public on 7 June, following a major redevelopment funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund and Historic England. I went to meet Morgan Bell, Assistant Curator, for a peek behind the scenes ahead of opening day.

Cambridge Museum of Technology

It’s not hard to find the Museum … just look for the 53 metre tall chimney that dominates the skyline at Riverside. This chimney and the Victorian buildings that cluster round it formed a sewage pumping station where the city’s household rubbish was burned to create steam to fuel engines that pumped the city’s sewage out to a treatment plant in Milton. Prior to this, sewage had discharged into the River Cam, causing cholera outbreaks, so this wonderful Victorian engineering transformed public health in Cambridge. The pumping station was decommissioned in 1968, at which point a group of local campaigners saved it from demolition and turned the buildings into a museum.

Post this renovation, you’ll find improved visitor facilities and disabled access and a wealth of new displays, including an interactive model of the pumping station (complete with smell effect!). The historic boiler has been restored so that the Hathorn Davey pumping engines can run again later this year, once all testing of the steam lines is complete.

A new building houses an exhibition about Pye and Cambridge Instrument Company, with artefacts and touch screens telling the stories of how they grew to make so many innovative products and gained an international reputation for excellence and innovation. This space is also for school groups and events plus it will be available to hire to community groups.

Cambridge Museum of Technology

The Engineer’s House, just next door to the Museum, is being transformed by partner organisation Othersyde into an indoor cafe space, a bar and escape rooms. There’ll be a summer bar and food kiosk outside in the garden or you can bring a picnic to eat on the lawn at this beautiful riverside spot. Lawn games like skittles and outdoor board games will be available and there’s plenty of space for kids to run around.

Phase 1 of the development will be about 90% complete for this pilot reopening on 7 June so if you go to the Museum before 30 September, you’ll get a ticket for a free return visit in the next twelve months. All the finishing touches will be in place for the grand reopening on 1 October.

Cambridge Museum of Technology

Restoration work has been supported by corporate volunteers over recent months. The day I visited, a team from Worldpay was hard at work cleaning the Boiler House and a team from Anglian Water has been busy painting. And there are plenty of regular volunteer roles available. At the moment, the Museum is looking particularly for Welcome Volunteers and Education Volunteers. You’ll find details of these opportunities plus opening times and ticket prices on the website.

http://www.museumoftechnology.com

The Old Pumping Station, Cheddars Lane, CB5 8LD

What’s on in August

Here’s the What’s On listing for August! It’s full of all sorts of events that come to my attention and I’ll update it through the month so do check back when you can.

King's College Cambridge — King’s College with its 200 year old horse chestnut tree

1 – 25th Cambridge Shakespeare Festival. Open air Shakespeare plays in College gardens. Macbeth/The Comedy of Errors/Pericles/Twelfth Night. http://www.cambridgeshakespeare.com

1 – 31st Summer at the Museums. Fun family days out for all ages. Making and creating, hands-on history and interactive science. Low cost or free. http://www.museums.cam.ac.uk

2 – 5th Cambridge Folk Festival. Cherry Hinton Hall. http://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/folk-festival

3 – 5th 7pm Movies @ Madingley. Breakfast at Tiffany’s/Spectre/La La Land. Madingley Hall Gardens, CB23. Open air cinema with barbecue and bar. http://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/SummerFestival

5th 1 – 4 pm Riverside Tea Garden at The Old Pumping Station. http://www.museumoftechnology.com

5th 2 – 5pm Open Gardens. Christ’s College Fellows’ Garden, St Andrew’s Street. Teas, homemade cake and plants for sale. In aid of British Red Cross.

6th 11am – 3pm Tall Towers! Great St Mary’s Church. A tall tower trail and tower building activities for families. Drop in.

7 – 10th Cookery courses (half day) including Perfect Pasta for Kids, Italian for Teens, Luxury Picnic Food for Teens, Summer Desserts for Children, Parent and Child French Baking. Cambridge Cookery School, Homerton Gardens, Purbeck Road, CB2. http://www.cambridgecookery.com

11 – 28th Phenomena. Art exhibition by Sama Soltani. The Locker Cafe, King Street.

12th 2 – 5pm Open Gardens. Clare College Fellows’ Garden, Queens Road. Teas, homemade cake and plants for sale. In aid of British Red Cross.

13th 11am – 3pm Flying High! Great St Mary’s Church. Discovering flying creatures and craft activities for families. Drop in.

17th 6.30 – 10pm Summer Night Market and outdoor cinema (Paddington 2 and The Greatest Showman). Market Square. http://www.cambridgebid.co.uk/events

19th 3 – 5pm Jazz on Jesus Green. ACE Jazz Trio and Sax. Free entry. http://www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk/city-events/events/jazz-and-brass-parks

20th 11am – 3pm Cambridge Market Square Stories! Great St Mary’s Church. Complete the market square stories trail and craft activities for families. Drop in.

23rd 7pm Chinese Music Concert – Flowing Water. Emmanuel United Reformed Church, CB2. http://www.eventbrite.co.uk

24 – 26th Cambridge Cocktail Weekend 2018. Corn Exchange. http://www.cambridgecocktailweekend.co.uk

24 – 27th 6pm Movies on the Meadows. Open air cinema on Grantchester Meadows. http://www.camfilmfest.com/grantchester

25th 10.45am Cambridgeshire Cycling Challenge. Celebrate 25 years of Anglia Ruskin University by cycling from Peterborough to Cambridge whilst raising money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. Entry deadline 17th August. http://www.pieevents.co.uk/events/ccc

30 – 31st Oktoberfest Beer Festival. Jesus Green. http://www.cambridge-oktoberfest.co.uk

Linden tree Cambridge — Lime scented blossom on the linden trees along the tow path