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Newnham's Sidgwick Avenue facade was lit blue on the 28th May to say thank you during the weekly Clap for Carers. Picture: Martin Bond, A Cambridge Diary.
 
Dear Alumna,

With the virtual term in College now thoroughly underway and students undertaking a reimagined exam season, we are pleased to bring you a new monthly iteration of News from Newnham, to entertain, distract, inspire and inform our valued community wherever they may be through these uncertain months. On Thursday 28th May we had the pleasure of seeing, via photographs, Newnham's Dorothy Garrod building lit up blue to celebrate the carers who are working so hard to keep us all safe and healthy. 

In this month's edition you will find updates from across the reaches of what is our newly nebulous and far-flung community. From a Porter's reflection on our College with its decidedly different physical presence, the head of the Roll Committee's studious 'Treasure of Newnham' to a Hong Kong perspective and a student writing about her experience in lockdown, we hope you will find warmth, connection and optimism in this month's edition of News from Newnham

With best wishes, 

The Roll & Development Office
Newnham Roundup
Newnham's Artist-Researcher Collaborator, Luciana Rosado has created five art-as-wellbeing activities for all those in need of a boost. | Margaret Drabble explores the work of Mathilde Blind, poet and Newnham benefactor. | A mysterious portrait hanging at Royal Holloway was discovered to be our very own co-founder, Millicent Fawcett. | Newnham students were able to virtually participate in an online Pub Quiz thanks to former Development Director sponsor, Penny Hubbard. | Award-winning artist Juliette Losq reflected on her career and working methods, including memories of her time at Newnham. | Georgia Ruth's third album, 'Mai', was described by The Guardian as ‘cheering salute to the incoming season’. | A fascinating Twitter thread highlighting the work of a pioneer in epidemiological modellingHilda Hudson who studied at Newnham 1900-04. | Memories and photographs were shared by Gryphens on Twitter to celebrate rowing, despite the season of cancelled fixtures. | Former Fellow Dr Diana Lipton blogs for The Times of Israel | Jasmine Charles, current student, explored the pioneering genetic research done by women at Newnham in its early decades. | Dr Georgia Billing was interviewed about her pivot from a PhD in human nutrition to hospitality
Newnham College Gardens team featured in one of the Vice-Chancellor's latest video messages, at 1 minute 22 seconds!
Student Stories - a first year Historian writes about using her time to reconnect.
"When I applied to Newnham, I don’t think I ever envisaged that my final term of my first year would be spent in the sleepy village where I was born.  Tales have been written about the bustling Cambridge summers that are sweltering with tourists; dripping with academic sweat; melting with exams; but most of all, bursting with joy in the final fanfare of May Week. Despite those stories fading, my life back at home has not been the antithesis of fun, rather this has been a time where I can reconnect with the people and things I have neglected in the intense eight weeks at University. It occurred to me in the first week of, what my History supervisor has termed, ‘the Great Lockdown’ that this may be the longest period unbroken of time I may ever spend with my parents, a fact that has made me feel very old indeed. Although I certainly haven’t missed some of their strange quirks, their care and affection has made these past two months truly rejuvenating.

In the same vein, this pause has given me the space to implement wisdom and practice that I will carry through into the future at University and beyond – doing yoga in the morning, meditating at lunch or making sure I appreciate the world around me at least once a day (yes I have become the quintessential vegetarian new-age hippy, but I love it!) Surprisingly enough, because of the time I have given to myself, the work that continues online, and the weekly essays that are still being pumped out, have become far more enjoyable – even if trawling through ‘iDiscover’  has become the bane of my existence. My parents must be sick to death of me throwing out new ideas for essays on the long eighteenth century over the dinner table, or exclaiming random facts about law and order in the 1700s and their relevance to the politics of today (and there are many).

What I have missed, but it is a small price to pay for the safety of our whole community, is the inspiration I felt everyday in the grounds of Newnham. I picked this college for that very reason, as I walked the halls of buildings named after such inspiration women, I do feel like I am standing within a monument to female power and resilience. But, that being said, we are all showing our own form of resilience within the ‘unprecedented’ times we find ourselves, and as a student I am privileged to have such an amazing home waiting for me just opposite Sidgwick site. So until then, I will keep the memory of Newnham close to my heart, but for now, I will carry on smiling as the season changes into summer, and I get to witness history being made (a rather exciting prospect for a history student!)."

- Roshni Parmar-Hill
Porterhouse Blues - an update from our Porters' Lodge
Photo from @NewnhamCollege. A "weekly highlight" of the Porters' - the College flag is proudly flying each Monday as a sign of our pride in our College community.
"Easter Term is usually a hive of activity in the Porters’ Lodge calendar; from welcoming a steady influx of visitors and guests to providing friendly reassurance to our students as they begin to prepare for exams, or sharing in their excitement as they look forward to the June Event, Congregation ceremonies—and the future. Sadly, the current situation means that these traditions will not happen as the norm this year. Extraordinary times, indeed.
 
Yet, despite the lockdown, the ‘Plodge’ continues in its frontline role—albeit in a scaled-down capacity—of maintaining the safety and security of the college, supporting other essential staff, and acting as a lifeline for those students who have found themselves stranded in Cambridge (both living in and out of college) during the COVID-19 crisis. However, amid the periods of eerie silence, a semblance of normality prevails—postal deliveries continue, and very occasionally a resident student will attend the Plodge with the minor emergency of having run out of loo roll, or locked themselves out of their room.
 
Meanwhile, a standard issue two-metre rod (a length of wooden dowel kindly supplied by our colleagues in the maintenance department) ensures that the porters adhere to social distancing guidelines—while also proving useful for gently prodding a colleague when it’s their turn to make a brew. A weekly highlight occurs each Monday when the Newnham flag is proudly hoisted—a symbol that life at Newnham carries on."
 
- The Porters
RESEARCH
Fellows, alumnae and current students respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fellows, alumnae and current students have been undertaking research into the profound sociological and psychological effects the response to COVID-19 is having on people's lives. 

Fellow, Professor Claire Hughes has been looking at how sibling relationships have been affected by measures put in place to combat the spread of COVID-19. It was reported by CNN, here and you can be part of the study by filling out the online survey here if you have a child/children between 4-7 years old. 

Current PhD student, Kate Howlett is beginning research into the impact of lockdown on kids' access to nature and green space with researchers at the University of Cambridge Museum of Zoology and you can also participate if you're a parent of primary school aged children, here

Dr Terri Apter - has been conducting research into the effect of the pandemic particularly on women and has been publishing her thoughts via the British Psychological Society, 'The Psychologist' website with an addendum added on the 27th May about work-life balance.

Are you conducting research relating to COVID-19? We always love to feature the work the Newnham community is doing far and wide so do get in touch at roll@newn.cam.ac.uk.
The View from my Window - Hong Kong
Image sent to us by alumna Joyshan Kung, by her brother W. S. Lam.
"Rare moments of peace and quiet in Hong Kong amidst the fight against Covid-19 and political protests."

With thanks to Joyshan for sharing. If you have a photo of 'The View from my Window', with or without some words, we would love to continue to share where and what situations our alumnae find themselves in. Do email roll@newn.cam.ac.uk.
Treasures of Newnham 

"The fact that I remember (and love) Newnham’s library ceiling so well is, presumably, evidence of the hours I spent in the library staring not down at my books (or through the glass floor below my chair) but gazing idly upwards!

I’d like to hope that the ceiling’s beautiful intricacies taught me the importance of attention to detail, to pride in producing the highest quality of work. Jean Gooder, my Director of Studies, can maybe attest to whether it succeeded.

The quiet light (celestial, if that’s not too poetic?) of the Wedgwood blue and white mouldings somehow instantly created an atmosphere of peace and calm as soon as one entered the library – particularly important in exam term when every seat was taken by an anxious and sleep-deprived Newnhamite.

I didn’t know anything about the ceiling until I was asked to write about it as one of my favourite ‘Treasures of Newnham’. I am so pleased now to learn its history. I’m not sure that a ceiling design comprised of current publisher’s marks – perhaps Random Penguins and the Faber and Faber ‘ffs’ would be nearly so inspiring."

- Dr Jo Burch, President of the Roll Committee (NC 1983) 

Stay in Touch
During this difficult time it is important to stay in touch. If you would like to contact the Roll & Development Office you can always email the Roll & Development Office at roll@newn.cam.ac.uk, and follow us on our Twitter and Instagram pages.
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