Feeling guilty about my lacklustre 365 performance of late I roused myself to head into town this evening in search of some May Ball action. I was worried that I was too early but I needn't have worried. This lot are waiting for a typical traditional May Ball at Pembroke. All the balls have different characters ranging from the uber posh white tie Peterhouse Ball (£400 dining ticket, for two (no singles)) to the completely mental King's Affair ('Beats not Bollinger', £74 per ticket fancy dress). I have loads of fancy dress photos that will appear during the week. If it didn't go dark so late I'd go out and get the Chapel all illuminated and pretty. These girls are going to be very cold by 3am - you need a party cardy for a May Ball. The only ball I have a hankering to go to these days is Clare - it's such a pretty romantic setting. We can set our clocks by firework displays this week - they start at 10.45pm on the dot and finish at 11 - 15 mins of furious barking!!
@fueast Don't know where you'd go for that - it was Tom Robinson when I went to St John's in 1988 (already yesterday's news) ...not bad though... I believed they've moved on to Jayzee.
@bpaquette Funny that - for me I think you pay a lot for a ticket and there's a big build up and you spend the evening wondering if you're really enjoying it enough!! At the big balls like St John's you either stick to your friendship group like glue or lose them for the whole evening - I enjoyed the garden party in the afternoon before it started better.... Mind you I'll put the fancy dress pics up - that is going to be a good party!!
How much, still a fool and his money, seeing its June and not May :D
Tell them there is a Christmas Ball next week, tickets 5 grand a pop and all you get is a Louis Vuitton Christmas cracker, when I say LV, it is onfact a Tesco extra value cracker with LV written on it :D
The tickets sound so expensive..how do students afford them? Lovely ball gowns though & interesting seeing all the different styles! Doesn't sound too late a night though if they are finishing after the fireworks! Ooh no just read it again & a 3am finish , that's more like it!!
I like this =) And I share your feelings about darkness when it comes to night photography. I would really like to try but can't be bothered to leave the house again with tripod and everything.
This is the fanciest "street" shot I've ever seen, but I feel out of the loop! Is this a series of balls at the end of the school year - called May Ball even though it's June Is it maybe something like our senior prom where a boy asks a girl out to a fancy dance at the end of the school year and everyone gets dressed up in fancy clothes? I do love the way that everyone is looking in a different direction!
@happypat Oh no - I think breakfast is at about 5.30 - 6.00 am - there were plenty around in the pouring rain when I took Adam to the bus at 7.45!! I don't know how they afford the tickets - some just save up and got to one ball, some have loads of money and go to them all and some, like me, have a kind dad that buys them a ticket! I lived on less than £200/ month when I did my PhD so a £150 on a ball ticket was out of the question - good old dad stumped up twice and my mum made me a dress.
@sparkleplenty1 It's upsetting @fueast that the May Bumps and Balls are in June!! In Oxford May Week is is May but the celebrations in Cambridge got moved to be after the exams so that means June. I don't know how big a prom party is but these are on a grand scale - funfairs, mini golf ranges, champagne fountains, food of various kinds all over the place and quite often big name acts providing the music as well as alsorts of smaller entertainment. They are post exam parties rather than graduation balls and they range from decadent (breakfast in Paris) to reasonably accessible. Blog to follow!
Very glam, i love that white dress on the girl with her back to the camera....i would be crippled in those heels though, id have to wear my converse with it =)
Saw this yesterday but spent too much time looking up May Balls and the colleges of Cambridge U. in the interwebs, which lead to researching some British history, which lead to starting, belatedly, to read Wolf Hall. I'm back now as I love this photo. There's something a bit cinematic about it. Looks almost like an arty shoot for a fashion magazine - until you see the shoes the girl in pink is wearing - like she forgot to change into her party ones. A great shot for sure.
I seem to have missed your posts completely lately....Found this, read all the comments and I was way back in memory land..........lol I went to a teacher training college linked to Oxford and we had fabulous Balls for about £5 a ticket! A lot way back when...... we had Genesis before they hit the big time, Desmond Decker (lol) and yes, through the night and into breaksfast, then swaying back to rooms with the latest fella on your arm! LOL Happy days! This is like a film shoot as someone remarked, a great catch but the cost......wowowwwweeee!!
@cgould That's outrageous nicking your party cardy just because they didn't plan ahead - its like stealing the plastic bag for your bike saddle when it's raining! I must admit I didn't feel jealous - glad to get home to my warm bed
Tell them there is a Christmas Ball next week, tickets 5 grand a pop and all you get is a Louis Vuitton Christmas cracker, when I say LV, it is onfact a Tesco extra value cracker with LV written on it :D