Billingsley-Ely

Rob and Roberta came to the Cam just to visit me and play! The day they arrived from the States, I thought we should “take it easy.” But they rested only a little bit, and then we started walking. We ended up seeing most of the Old School sites as well as the City Centre. Roberta took account of all the shops; Robbie, of all the pubs.
It was Ash Wednesday, so after freshening up we attended evening services at King’s. I had planned to take about thirty minutes to get from Wolfson to King’s, which is normally about fifteen minutes extra. But Robbie doesn’t march double time. He promenades; no, he oozes along. Anyway, we arrived right on time though a painfully proper verger harumphed that we were “excessively tardy” as we entered.
The combined men’s and boy’s choir was singing. The introit was especially sublime; indeed, as the choir processed around the stalls, the acoustics of the chapel caused a celestial echo. Afterwards, we went to the Loch Fyne restaurant for a lovely fish dinner. . .true penance.
On Thursday, we headed to Ely. I thought we’d only be there for a couple of hours. But Roberta found all sorts of nooks and crannies I had missed. Sue, the docent at the cathedral, was especially sweet and deeply in love with her job. A quick lager down by the Greater Ouse (named after Robbie), and we headed back to Cambridge for Hall.
Formal Dinner with Rob and Roberta was the best yet even though we didn’t actually sit together. We were the guests of the English majors, and they adored the new Yanks. I warned Roberta about the never-ending wine; she’ll recover eventually. And Robbie actually wore a necktie!