Guest post by Liz Osman, Fellow Librarian, Homerton College Library
On 27th November, Fellow Librarian Liz Osman, presented a webinar for Alumni and students on the festive theme of Pantomime in the Library where she delved into the College collection to create a fascinating insight into this much-loved tradition. Here she provides an introduction to the history of pantomime and picks some of her favourite stories from the collection.
The “only quintessentially British artform”, in which “a girl dressed as a boy, the son of a man dressed as a woman falls in love with a girl who’s a girl, helped by two people dressed as an animal.” – Berwick Kaler
From Pierrot to Puss in Boots, British pantomime has a long history. It began in part with the Commedia dell’Arte in the 18th Century, whose popular comedic sketches featuring Pierrot, Harlequin and others delighted audiences across Europe, and saw them jump from the Commedia into a wider range of stage performances.
Image of Homertonians in Pierrot costumes, Grace Dibble photo album c1922-25, Homerton College Archive
From Harlequin developed the harlequinade, a comic chase scene which became an intrinsic slapstick scene in comic plays though the 18th century, and then into early pantomime. John Rich was so lauded for his early portrayals of Harlequin that he was able to build Covent Garden Theatre from the profits of his early pantomimes.
1843 saw the relaxing of theatre laws that finally allowed plays to be performed without the ascent of the Lord Chamberlain, providing the freedom for puns, word play, audience participation, social satire and current affairs. The later 19th century also saw it become customary for pantomimes to open on Boxing Day.
The impresario Augustus Harris cast popular music hall stars in his pantomime of 1881, beginning the tradition of local and national celebrities appearing in panto.
Homerton’s collections contain may of the stories traditionally performed as pantomimes, often in their older/original forms. Some endings have been changed to make for the happily ever after that is crucial to a pantomime. Some are also missing the characters so beloved by audiences.
This Babes in the Wood from around 1903 was sold for just a penny and printed on very poor quality paper. It was an ephemeral item not intended to last, but rather be read to pieces. It contains a selection of stories including Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and the traditional version of Babes in the Wood, without the happy ending. The front cover depicts the Babes, lying dead in the woods, with the birds covering their bodies with leaves.
A similar item is this Aladdin from about 1900, also sold for just a penny and not meant to last. What is missing from this story though is any sign of Widow Twankey, a character purely engineered for the stage. Aladdin’s mother is instead, an indomitable-looking woman with 50 slaves. The Twankey we know and love first appeared in 1861 in a play by Henry James Byron, which established much of the style of the modern pantomime dame. The name derived from an inferior green tea, for a woman past her best, taken from Tunxi in Anhui where the tea originated.
To learn a bit more about the history of pantomime and see more items from the collection you will be able to view the full talk that Liz gave on Youtube shortly. In the meantime, this is one of her favourite items, another copy of Babes in the Wood, this time though, with the happy ending.
Christmas always comes a bit earlier in Cambridge than it does in the rest of the world. In previous years, before December even arrives, some students will have left College, and so traditional events such as carol services are held in November in order to allow everyone to celebrate the festive period with their fellow students. ‘Bridgemas’, celebrated on 25th November is another strange Cambridge tradition that is tricky to explain!
Access to the Library during the Christmas Vacation:The end of term is fast approaching and the Library has been decked out with decorations and is looking very festive!
If you need to access the Library during the vacation period, the Library will be open 24/7 throughout the Christmas period, including Christmas Day. Students and staff who currently have access to the Library will be able to access the building at all times using their University card.
The Library will be staffed until 5pm on Wednesday 23rd December and will be fully staffed again from 9am on Monday 4th January.
Cleaners will not be working in the Library during the unstaffed period. Students should therefore especially ensure they use the wipes provided to wipe desk spaces and keyboards before and after use, and practice good hand hygiene at all times.
Borrowing & book returns during the Christmas Vacation:All books currently on loan will autorenew over the Christmas Vacation and recalls will be switched off after 1st December so you can take the books home without having to worry about posting any back over the vacation. The drop boxes will be open for book returns as normal.
The self-issue machine will allow you to borrow items from the Library during the vacation, even on Christmas Day. Any book returns or technology issues will not be dealt with until staff return on 4th January.
Tis the season… to check out our seasonal book display:Whichever winter festival you are celebrating this December, we hope you all have chance to relax and enjoy the break. Why not come and view our seasonal display of books from our Rare Book collection in the Library?
The display cases are right by the library entrance, and the display includes favourites such as The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Madeline’s Christmas and the Enid Blyton Holiday Book, as well as less well-known books such as the Compliments of the Season by L.D. Ettlinger. A pristine copy of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May and Marion Guild (1939) is also on display, featuring a pop-up Santa and Rudolph with his glowing red nose!
Take a look next time you’re in the library, but don’t worry if it’s still much too early for you to even think about Christmas, as the display will be up until the start of January!
Whichever winter festival you are celebrating this December, we hope you all have chance to relax and enjoy the break. Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas or Joyous Kwanzaa to everyone from all at the Library team!
If you have any questions about Library services during the Vacation, please pop in and see us, or send an email to library@homerton.cam.ac.uk
We hope you have enjoyed participating in the Homerton College Mental Health and Wellbeing week events that have taken place so far. There are still plenty of events to help and support you coming up over the next few days!
More information can be found on the main Homerton College website:
https://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/mental-health-week
All events are open to Homerton staff and students and you can register either via the Staff Intranet or via Nexus. For students and staff from other colleges, please use the individual event email links below to book.
There are no limit to how many events you wish to attend. With each Zoom event, there is no obligation or pressure at all for attendees to have their camera or microphone on; contributions can be made via chat, without camera or microphone and people can leave at any time.
Homerton College Library contains an ever-growing wellbeing and life skills collection with books covering diverse areas such as mindfulness, dealing with anxiety, coping with dyslexia through to repairing your bicycle and lots of recipe books for the beginner and more experienced cook, and all possible within a College kitchen. You can find a display of these books on the Ground Floor of the Library along with colouring sheets and origami to help you relax.
Monday 9th November
10.00 – 11.00 am
Non-Homerton students please register by email
Tuesday 10th November
3.00 – 5.00 pm
Register online through Changemakers (only available to Homerton students)
Wednesday 11th November
2.00 – 4.00 pm
Register via this link
4.30 – 5.30 pm
Non-Homerton students please register by email
Regular Wednesdays 7.30-8.30 pm. The first session is on 11th November.
Non-Homerton students please register by email
With the first event of Homerton Mental Health and Wellbeing Week starting last night, here is a little insight into what is happening over the next few days (until Monday when we will blog again!).
More information can be found with links to sign up for events can be found on the main Homerton College website:
https://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/mental-health-week
All events are open to Homerton staff and students and you can register either via the Staff Intranet or via Nexus. For students and staff from other colleges, please use the information on the main Homerton College website to sign up: https://www.homerton.cam.ac.uk/mental-health-week
There are no limit to how many events you wish to attend. With each Zoom event, there is no obligation or pressure at all for attendees to have their camera or microphone on; contributions can be made via chat, without camera or microphone and people can leave at any time.
Homerton College Library contains an ever-growing wellbeing and life skills collection with books covering diverse areas such as mindfulness, dealing with anxiety, coping with dyslexia through to repairing your bicycle and lots of recipe books for the beginner and more experienced cook, and all possible within a College kitchen. As part of Mental Health & Wellbeing Week, a selection of these books will be on display and all available to borrow and we have made some similar topic suggestions below each event. You can find these books on the Ground Floor of the Library next to the small seating area.
Last night saw Poet-in-Residence Mariah Whelan lead an online evening of poetry and spoken word. The focus was to share poems and performances that help us through difficult times; either a poem you have written yourself or a piece by your favourite writer.
Why not try?
Mariah Whelan’s poetry collection ‘The love I do to You’ available at E821 WHE (LOV) in Homerton College Library.
Friday 6th November
· Introduction to Stress and Anxiety
With Euan Ambrose from the University Counselling Centre
This first workshop will be an opportunity to learn about stress and anxiety and begin to think about our own experiences. Come prepared with a pen and paper as there will be some self-reflective exercises.
2.00 – 3.00 pm
Why not try?
Anxiety relief : self help (with heart) for anxiety, panic attacks, and stress management / John Crawford. Homerton College- Library Wellbeing and Life Skills- 616.8522 CRA
· Resilience: A no BS Guide to Dealing with Chaos with Sam Martin, chaired by Dr Louise Joy
The year 2020 has been an endless source of unexpected stress, adversity and frustration for all. With ‘normality’ still far from view, it’s more important than ever for people to build resilience. But resilience is not another string on the flimsy bow of ‘positive thinking’. Instead, resilience is an attribute of substance, if understood and harnessed correctly. This talk will offer a no BS guide to resilience. It does not promise to make one’s problems or worries go away. But it will offer practical guidance on how to accept and live with these ongoing issues in a proactive manner. We will revisit some of the greatest examples of resilience seen throughout human history, learn how hardship can become an invaluable tool for personal growth, and talk specific tactics on developing this essential ability.
Sam is an ex-Homertonian who now works as a mental performance consultant and coach. He runs Lomotus Performance Consulting, a company that repackages scientific learnings from Performance Psychology into practical solutions that enable teams and individuals to reach peak performance.
2.00 – 3.00 pm
Why not try?
Resilience : how to cope when everything around you keeps changing / Liggy Webb.Homerton College Library Wellbeing and Life Skills 616.85 WEB. Available online too via IDiscover.
Saturday 7th November
· Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: A roundtable discussion
With Dr Louise Joy, Anna Glendenning, Eireann Attridge and Dr Jane Partner
It can be next to impossible to hold onto your confidence in Cambridge, especially when everyone around you seems so much cleverer than you do. Other people’s talents and achievements loom large, and your own seem small and insignificant by comparison. You are plagued by doubts: Did I get into Cambridge by accident? Everyone must be able to see that I’m just a fraud. I sound stupid every time I open my mouth; it would be better not to say anything at all.
This frank, informal, open discussion brings together several speakers who will share their own sometimes crippling experiences of dealing with Imposter Syndrome in Cambridge, and will reflect on how factors such as gender, ethnicity, sexuality and class background can affect students’ capacity to feel entitled to speak out and to participate fully in all that university life has to offer. If you too struggle with self-doubt and a feeling of not belonging in Cambridge, you are not alone. Come along to this session to learn more about how prevalent Imposter Syndrome is, and to pick up some tips on things you can try to overcome it.
12.00 – 1.30 pm
· Exploring sensitivity as a personality trait
With Dr Pauline Goyal-Rutsaert, chaired by Dr Louise Joy
An informal talk on sensitivity. Sharing facts about sensitivity as a personality trait, about highly sensitive persons, and illustrating them with personal anecdotes. Some of us are extremely sensitive and many other much less. The heightened sensitivity (i.e. more intense responses to stimuli) can relate to one or more of the 5 senses depending on the individual. At times, to be highly sensitive feels like a blessing but more than often it feels like a burden or it makes one feel weird. In this informal talk, I wish to share what I have learned about sensitivity as a personality trait. It can help highly sensitive persons to understand themselves a bit better and encourage them to learn how to navigate their own sensitivity. It can also help their ‘not so highly sensitive’ friends, colleagues and relatives to make sense of some of their actions and reactions and enrich their relationships. The information will be a mix of findings by scientists on sensory processing sensitivity in humans and animals and by psychologists on the behaviours of highly sensitive persons. Relying on my own experience as a highly sensitive person I will illustrate some of these realities with personal anecdotes.
5.00 – 6.00 pm
Sunday 8th November
· Break Free from Depression: What does it mean to be a senior member of the University suffering from depression.
With Dr Jane Partner, chaired by Louise Joy
In this session, Dr Jane Partner will talk about her experiences as a senior member of the University who has suffered severely from depression, and the recovery she never thought would be possible as an undergraduate. As part of her teaching role, she aims to advocate for a deeper understanding of this kind of mental health difficulty and to help make our community a more supportive and less stressful environment. We can all be allies in making those changes. In the spirit of solidarity with anyone currently suffering from depression or anxiety, this informal session shares the most important things that Dr Partner learned as a student dealing with depression and sets out some of the practical strategies that worked best for her. Emphasis is on simple, realistic steps, and on the possibility of transformation in spite of – or maybe even because of – the very darkest of times and experiences.
12.00 – 1.30pm
· Anti Racism
With Bilal Khan
This workshop will cover privilege in the context of race: what it is, what it affords us and how to use it positively microaggressions in a Cambridge student context: intention vs impact, what they are and how to challenge the mechanisms of racism: understanding what racism looks like at Cambridge and how to challenge it.
2.00 – 3.30 pm
· Managing the doctoral student-supervisor relationship
Delivered by Dr Melanie Keene
4.00 – 5.00 pm
Com
e and happen upon the hidden horrors that lurk inside Homerton’s rare book collection this Michaelmas term.
From classic tales of unearthly spirits like Dickens’s A Christmas Carol to Gorey’s modern American gothic, the Halloween Exhibition of the Rare Books Collection will leave you scared witless and intrigued.
Thirteen items (see what we did there?) have been selected from our special collections, featuring Victorian supernatural tales, boarding school ghost stories, a build-your-own set for the play ‘Dracula’, a book of ghoulish games, fairy tales with goblins, wolves, and witches, and the mysterious being Baba Yaga from Slavic folklore.
The exhibition is displayed in the main exhibition cases near the entrance to Homerton College Library and can be visited by anyone who has been granted access to the Library- ghosts included!
Exhibition curated by James Brigden, cataloguer at Homerton College Library
At Homerton College Library, we recognise that Black History Month is one of the most important events of the year. We celebrate this each year by continuing to draw attention to books & films that help us celebrate Black voices and educate us about Black History. It is ever changing as books are borrowed and replaced by the Library team. Spotted in this picture of our current display is a rare sighting of Taking up Space by Ore Ogunbiyi and Homerton alumni Chelsea Kwakye as it usually doesn’t stay in the Library very long!
Unsurprisingly, the Covid-19 pandemic means that relevant exhibitions and events are now mostly taking place online. Here are details about some upcoming online events:
Anglia Ruskin University is hosting some online events for Black History Month 2020. These include:
Brown Babies digital exhibition: The Mixed Museum is delighted to present this special exhibition curated by Professor Lucy Bland, based on her book Britain’s ‘Brown Babies’: the Stories of Children Born to Black GIs and White Women in the Second World War.
https://mixedmuseum.org.uk/brown-babies/
https://aru.ac.uk/community-engagement/brown-babies-exhibition
Black History is British History (28 October 2020, 19:30 – 20:30)
Join ARU graduate Asanté as she discusses her experience of how black history was taught, not only with a focus on ‘African Americans’ but also black people as slaves in which she argues ‘has created a significant misrepresentation of the presence of black people in the UK’. Asanté will explore the presence of black people in the UK, touching on the Atlantic slave trade, the Windrush generation, and black British figures throughout history such as Shirley Bassey, Stuart Hall, Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince.
This talk will also focus on those who are making great accomplishments today, such as Denise Lewis, Jacky Wright, Ade Adepitan and Sir Kenneth Olisa.
https://aru.ac.uk/community-engagement/black-history-is-british-history
Invisible walls (29 October 2020, 19:30 – 20:30)
This is a contemporary poem written and performed by Taylor Mitchell. ‘Your silence violates us with violence’ illustrates the amalgamation of British and American culture in relation to race and systemically ingrained racism that has been woven into the fabric of our western entertainment and media. The poem utilises the metaphor of heroes and villains to address the collective moral compass western society chooses to follow and how that shifts depending on the percentage of melanin within an individual’s skin.
The poem follows Taylor Mitchell’s personal account of blackness in England and Taylor’s experience of other’s stories to create this raw experience.
https://aru.ac.uk/community-engagement/invisible-walls
Herstory by Latifat Obanigba (4 October, available online for 30 days)
British-Nigerian artist Latifat Obanigba has worked with The Hug Support Group to present an exhibition titled: Herstory – celebrating black women breaking barriers and making history, which launches online at 5pm on Sunday 4 October, and will then be available to view for 30 days.
We know everything is challenging and changeable at the moment and we want to help. Contact your library team at Homerton in person or online so you can get the support you need. We are happy to answer questions about borrowing resources, referencing, accessing online material, your library account, readings lists and much, much more. Librarians love questions so please don’t be afraid to reach out by phone, email or livechat.
This week, the most frequently asked questions by students at the Enquiry desk has been about printing. Here is a brief introduction to printing as a quick reminder for when you need to print quickly and haven’t got time to ask!
“I’ve topped up my U-Pay account, can I use that money to print?”
The U-Pay system is used mainly for buying food in College and isn’t used for printing credit. Homerton is part of the ‘Common Balance’ print ecredit system (mainly known as ecredit!). You can use your ecredit to print and photocopy at lots of locations throughout the University, not just at Homerton, including the University Library and most Faculty Libraries
“How do I get ecredit?”
You can add credit to your ecredit account (minimum of £5) using a bank or credit card online at www.ds.cam.ac.uk. There is also a shortcut on the computers in the Library: Start > All Programs > Account Management > eCredit. You can also check how much credit you currently have in your account.
“How do I use my ecredit to photocopy?”
Our new photocopier allows you to use your ecredit balance for photocopying. You just need to bring your University card with you to activate the photocopying machine. It will bring up a screen which shows you your Cambridge ID number and current balance. Just make sure to log out afterwards (unless you are feeling particularly generous of course!).
“Which printer do I select?”
We have two printers in the Library located on the ground floor next to the computers. You can print either from your own computer via the wireless network or from any Mac or PC workstation located on any floor. Just select the correct printer from the print menu for either black and white (Hom_Lib_BW) or colour printing (Hom_Lib_Col).
“How much does it cost?”
It costs 5p to print or photocopy a black and white side or 25p for each colour side.
If you are still unsure, please do come and ask during staffed hours (9-5) or via email.
For more information, you can look at our IT guide or pick up a paper copy to take away with you when you are next in the Library.
We have brought together some helpful introductory induction films to Homerton College Library and other Cambridge libraries and resources, including iDiscover and e-books.
Watch our Library Assistant Gabriel walk you round Homerton Library showing you how to access the library and a brief tour of the library facilities, borrow a book and what to do if the alarm goes off when leaving the library.
Just access the new permanent page on the menu at the top of the page or follow this link: https://homlib.wordpress.com/introductory-films/
For downloadable PDF guides, check out our blog page: Library guides and leaflets.
You’ve decided that you would like to book your perfect desk or computer to work at Homerton College Library, but just how do you book? Here’s a step by step guide:
Any questions? Email Library@homerton.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to help!
For guidance on using the Library during Michaelmas Term 2020, please see our previous blog post.
If you wish to study in the Library or use a computer you will need to book a slot using our new Libcal booking system.
This is to ensure, with a lower number of seats available, students are able to use the Library fairly. This booking system will also be in place for the LCR. Only Homerton members are allowed to use the Library and LCR.
Please visit https://calendars.libraries.cam.ac.uk/spaces?lid=1460 to book a space. You may want to bookmark the shortened link- http://bit.ly/2RouEUT
You will be able to book desks and computers up to two weeks into the future. Each booking is for a maximum of 4 hours, and you will then not be able to book again for at least 4 hours.
You can change the length of booking in half hour increments from 30 minutes to 4 hours using the drop down menu beneath the grid.
You can choose which floor you wish to sit on, but not a specific desk space, these will be first come first served.
You will not need to book in at the enquiry desk but there will be random spot checks to ensure the system is being used properly.
You will be able to bring drinks with sports tops into the Library, but please do not bring any other drinks or any food at all into the Library. Any food or mugs etc. left in the Library will be thrown away immediately.
Please do not leave any belongings in the Library at the end of your visit. This includes leaving any papers or books on desks- place any items you have not borrowed on a trolley you can find on each floor. This is to promote a hygienic environment and allow for easy cleaning of the tables.
Desk wipes and hand sanitizers are available on each floor of the Library for you to use frequently whilst in the Library and masks must be worn whilst working in the Library.
Thank you for all your support and patience and we can’t wait to welcome you back!
We are happy to announce that Homerton College Library will be reopening on Monday 14th September at 9 am to staff and students for borrowing and use as a study space. The usual 24 hours opening times will also be in place. Users will be free to browse the shelves to find items to borrow at any time.
In line with the rest of Homerton 
College, one way systems will be in place for accessing the first and second floor of the Library and a face covering should be worn at all times in the Library. Cleaning stations which include hand sanitizers and cleaning wipes for desks and computers can be found on each floor and at the entrance to the library.
Library staff will be available at the enquiry desk in the Library to support library users on site but please contact the team via email (library@homerton.cam.ac.uk), phone 01223 747260 or live chat (watch this space) for any longer reference queries.
All items can be borrowed using the self-issue machine as usual. Hand sanitizer and screen wipes will be available by the machine and it is strongly recommended that they are used after using the machine. A book drop box can be found outside the Library entrance for returning any items borrowed from Homerton College. All items on the shelves will have been through a 24 hour quarantine since they were returned to the library.
Socially distanced seats and computers will be available to book via a booking system (further details to follow) to enable the use of the Library as a study space. For hygiene reasons, no food or drink (apart from bottled water) will be allowed in the Library and no items may be left in the Library at the end of a booked study session.
As library staff are only present during office hours (weekdays, 9am-5pm), we trust library users to maintain good hand hygiene and respect social distancing at all times in order to ensure everyone’s health is protected. Use of the library will be monitored and, if it is felt safety is being compromised, opening hours could be shortened or other facilities may be restricted.
The Homerton Library team are happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding accessing the library or any study materials – please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you for all your support and patience and we can’t wait to welcome you back.
Further updates will be posted on Twitter or on this blog!
Exciting news from our friends at the University Library! It is now possible for University of Cambridge staff and students to access some Special Collections and non-borrowable material at the UL through three new services.
Book a Visit – the Main Reading Room and Rare Books Reading Room are reopening for current staff and students at the University. Order items from Special Collections or our Reference collections in advance, and then arrange an appointment to come into the building to consult them. Spaces are limited.
Special Collections Scan & Deliver – current staff and students may order free PDFs of UL Special Collections items for personal research use if the material is suitable for scanning and the volume of the request is reasonable. Orders may also be placed for items including maps, sheet music, microfilms, theses and items in the Asian & Near and Middle Eastern collections.
Ask a curator – anyone with an enquiry about UL Special Collections items can engage the help of our expert curators who are returning to work in the University Library building as part of a carefully controlled plan to re-launch physical library services in line with University coronavirus safety protocols. Curators are able to discuss questions over the phone or via a video call, and may be able to check material on behalf of readers in order to answer specific questions.
Full details about these services are available on the University Library website, where you will also find information on the phased reopening of the UL and Faculty and Departmental Libraries along with frequently answered questions on reopening.
Don’t forget that you can already access borrowable material from the modern collections through the Click & Collect and Scan & Deliver services.
Follow @theUL and @theULSpecColl for further updates!
Text provided by Hannah Haines (Communications Lead) on behalf of Suzanne Paul (Service Lead).
A huge milestone has been reached today as all of the new zero contact library services at the University Library have now been officially launched to University staff and students. So much work has gone on behind the scenes so it’s great to see these services up and running so smoothly!
Click and collect, book returns and scan and deliver are now live! A brief introduction to each service can be found below with links to the University Library website for further information.
Click and Collect
In brief:
Book returns
*UL, Faculty and Departmental Library books can also be returned to Homerton College Library alongside anything borrowed from Homerton. Contact library@homerton.cam.ac.uk for more information.*
Scan and Deliver
Library users may request five scans per 24 hour period using this form: https://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/scan Please note:
The reopening of the University Library does not mean that all students are permitted to return to Cambridge; students who are not resident in Cambridge or who are unable to commute from home must make arrangements with their college, and the advice of Public Health England is clear that at present they should not return to Cambridge unless access to a laboratory is required.
Today marks International Picnic Day, unfortunately, the weather in Cambridge has decided to be wet and grey and generally not very inviting for any outdoor activities, let alone sandwiches and cakes on a blanket. Fortunately, the College Archive contains some images showing us how it should be done once the weather improves again.
Photo 1: Enjoying tea and cake on the lawn outside the Ibberson Building, early 1920s.Photo 1 shows students enjoying some tea and cake in the grounds, in some surprisingly long grass. I don’t think Homerton’s Head Gardener would be too happy with the lawn being so unkempt these days! In the background you can just make out two more students, also in their pinafores, coming outside. Perhaps they also fancy a picnic?
Photo 2: Taken from a student photo album, the last family tea, June 1929.Photo 2 is titled ‘Last family tea’ so clearly picnics were a popular and frequent occurrence through the 1920s. It’s great to see a candid shot of the students, half with mouths full, rather than a more posed shot. I wonder what they were eating?
Photo 3: Students enjoying a picnic in the garden of Kay Meltzi, Head of Art, 1941.Photo 3 jumps us forwards 20 years. The dresses and hairstyles may have changed, but the enjoyment of a picnic (and using proper china crockery) hasn’t changed. You would have no idea this was taking place during World War II.
If you fancy grabbing the blanket and heading out, why not make it a proper occasion by baking a traditional Victoria Sponge? Here’s a recipe from Mary Berry – Mary Berry’s easy Victoria sponge. We’re not so sure about taking the crockery with you though!
Homerton alumni Ivy Lowman (1916-1918) was one of the pioneering women who in the early 1920s braved considerable male opposition to participate in organised athletics competition and was among the first to compete internationally.
Figure 1: Ivy Lowman competing in the 1923 Monte Carlo Women’s Olympiad
This story emerged from a chance discovery made by the Homerton College archivist who, while looking through a College newsletter, found a newspaper cutting detailing Ivy Lowman’s achievements at the 1923 Women’s Olympiad in Monte Carlo. Ivy’s student records are kept in the Homerton archives, along with group photos of her fellow students.
Indeed, Homerton archives houses thousands of photos and documents reflecting all aspects of student life at the College over the decades, such as a 1944 image of PE lesson outside the present-day combination room, which used to be a gym.
Figure 2:Newpaper Cutting discovered in Homerton College Newsletter
Figure 3: Homerton students during a P.E lesson – circa 1944
Born in 1898, Ivy Lowman was 23 when she began her career with London Olympiades Athletic Club in 1922, the year the Women’s Amateur Athletic Association was founded, and she retired following the 1927 season. This was unfortunate timing for Ivy, since women’s athletics events were first included in the Olympics in 1928.
At the 1922 Monte Carlo Games, Ivy Lowman finished second in the 250 metres and the pentathlon, third in the high jump, and was a member of the 800 metre medley relay team, which set a world record of 1:46.0. Additionally, she was unplaced in the 60 metre, long jump and javelin. Later in the season, she came third in the high jump at the first Women’s World Games (a sort of breakaway Women’s Olympics) in Paris.
Figure 4: British Team at the 1922 Women’s World Games in Paris. Ivy Lowman is just visible third from the right
Ivy was even more successful in the 1923 Monte Carlo Games, where she won the high jump with a British record equalling 1.473m, and the 65m hurdles, was 2nd in the 60 metres and pentathlon, and helped England win the 300 metre relay. In addition, she reached the semi-finals of the 250 metre, and went unplaced in the long jump, shot and javelin.
Before attending Homerton College, Ivy Lowman studied at Tottenham High School. where she was also known to be very musical, passing her Sight-Singing Examination Grade I with honours and then gaining a Sight-Singing Grade III Junior Teaching Qualification.
After retiring from sport, she taught in India until 1939, before returning to a distinguished teaching career in Britain where she taught French, Maths and Music.
Figure 5: Homerton Prefects with Principle Mary Allan in 1918. Ivy Lowman is in the back row, third from the right
With special thanks to Mel Watman, founder of the National Union of Track Statisticians (NUTS), for providing much of the information on Ivy Lowman’s athletic achievements.
Written by Ms. Svetlana Paterson, Archivist.
Today marks Empathy Day, which focuses on ‘understanding and
listening to each other, and using books to step into someone else’s
shoes’. Empathy and kindness are traits that we all need to be displaying, now more than ever. At Empathy Lab UK, they focus on three themes- read, connect, do – and focus on how reading can help us connect and empathize, not just sympathize with others. To read more about Empathy Day, and to look at the full programme of online activities, visit the Empathy Lab:
https://www.empathylab.uk/empathy-day-2020.
Read
We are celebrating today at Homerton College Library by tweeting about the full programme of online activities hosted by the Empathy Lab; including author talks, illustrators gallery and also recommended reading.
Reading lists such as the EmpathyLab Uk 2020 read for empathy collections and this article from Books For Keeps on the 10 best books to boost empathy are a great way to start discussions. Many of these books feature in our physical children’s literature collection at Homerton or can be found online through your local public library service.
Follow #ReadforEmpathy on Twitter today to get more suggestions of favourite books to encourage empathy.
Connect
We would love to connect with you and learn what books you have read in the classroom or at home that has helped you empathize with someone else’s feelings and situation. Please email or tweet and we will update this blog post with the title.
Connecting resources is also important and at the beginning of 2018, Books for Keeps invited Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor to contribute articles examining the way black, Asian and minority ethnic voices have been represented in the English national story, through children’s literature. These articles have now been collated for the first time and make for powerful and thought- provoking reading.
Do
As stated by the Black Children’s Books and Authors in their recent blog, “Purposeful and sustained action is what effects change and educating oneself is the beginning of taking action”. The Judge Business School have put together a collection of books to educate themselves after the murder of George Floyd while in police custody and nearly two weeks of protests, uprisings, and chants of “Black Lives Matter” all across the world. All these books are available to be read by all University of Cambridge students and staff.
Support
We are here – as individuals, alongside your Tutors, and as part of the collective College community – to listen. Please contact us on library@homerton.cam.ac.uk or contact seniortutor@homerton.cam.ac.uk if you have anything to tell us, or to
ask from us.
Our Wellbeing and life skills collection leaflet gives an insight into the range of books available to help and support you during any difficult times; whether that’s providing any help with adjusting to university life, dealing with grief or learning to cook or do bike repairs. All the books listed in the booklet are also available as e-books via iDiscover.
The Little College Library , G12 MAB, also currently holds a lot of books from the wellbeing collection alongside a range of fiction and DVDS. A full list of items available to anyone still in residence at Homerton College can be found and downloaded here.
When researching an essay or dissertation, you will need to reference all of the resources you use in the finished product. Normally, you could pop into the Library and borrow some useful guides from the Wellbeing & Life Skills collection or ask a member of staff. We are still here to answer any tricky referencing questions via email but this short guide is a place to start if your enquiry is urgent and its 2 am.
Available to download as a PDF, the Homerton College Library Referencing and plagiarism guide gives an introduction to referencing styles, reference management tools (Zotero, Endnote, Mendeley) and plagiarism. There is also a worksheet to remind you remember what bibliographic information you need to record when making notes in order to create references correctly.
What referencing style am I meant to use?
This depends on guidelines given by your faculty so it is best to look at their referencing LibGuide to make sure you use the correct style when creating references and bibliographies. For example, the English Faculty specifies the use of MHRA; whereas if you are a Classics student then you can select any referencing style as long as you apply the same referencing style consistently throughout your essay. The most common styles are MHRA or Harvard.
Where can I find examples of referencing styles?
The MHRA referencing style guide is available as a handbook online. If you look at chapter 11 ‘References’, you can find examples for how to reference books, journals, e-books, social media, the Bible, manuscripts and works of art. There is a way of referencing any source of information, even a Tweet! Another popular online tool is CiteThemRight (accessed with your Raven password) which allows you to search by source type to find the correct reference for you and gives you the option to select your preferred style eg. Harvard too.
What do I have to reference?
Basically, if it isn’t common knowledge, e.g. Paris is the capital of France, then you need to reference this in your academic work. All sources of information need to be referenced if you are either directly quoting from someone or something or if you are paraphrasing someone else’s opinion. If it’s not your original idea, then you need to reference it. If you are unsure what to reference and what classes as plagiarism, there is an online quiz on the plagiarism libguide which is a useful way to reflect on your academic skills.
What reference management tools are available to help me?
The most commonly used reference management tools are Zotero (free), Mendeley (free) and Endnote. It is personal preference which one people select to use for their essays or dissertation so it is worth spending some time exploring which suits your working practice. Excellent introductory guides to Zotero (written by Libby Tilley) and Mendeley (written by the Medical Library Team) are available online.
If you have any questions, please just contact us: library@homerton.cam.ac.uk and we will be happy to help.
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