Nostalgia

(This is actually last week's post - which for various reasons (crabs, work, Robben-pickup-run) I failed to write up.) 

Graduating or getting new post docs, it's a transient life

I have been feeling nostalgic this week. I suspect it is related to a sneaky trip up to Johannesburg and the wedding of a friend I have had since Grade 1 in 1989! (And subsequently thinking about all the people that I have known since then and even before, and how much they impact my life). Or maybe it was bumping into the guy a friend of mine dated in our first year at UCT, or maybe it is the thought of saying goodbye to my office mate (today) and some of my favourite, closest friends in Cape Town that are returning to their home countries in the next couple of months, who have, over the years, wormed their way into the very depths of my heart and are more family than friends. Or maybe it is the thought of my eventual departure from UCT - but who am I kidding - I have been preparing for that for years!!!

UCT Jameson Hall - place of graduation and exams

It is inevitable that when you have lived somewhere for a long time just driving down a random street can take you down memory lane (when you are in a nostalgic frame of mind). Some things I am happy are just memories - seeing Hartleyvale stadium all lit up made me shiver with memories of the icy cold wind that had to be endured while watching hockey games (that I still don't understand fully - despite having played hockey at school). I am glad I won't have to do that again (the ex had many good qualities but I just could never get too enthusiastic about hockey - the really cheap wine at Western Province Cricket Club - yes - drinking it with lovely ladies while pretending to watch - yes - but hockey, not so much). Some of my most special friends have moved away from Cape Town, and driving down Queen Victoria Road, or the turn off to Pinelands (I have no reason to go in to the maze they call Pinelands anymore) brings them close to me through a myriad of happy (occasionally slurred) memories.

National Monument - but of course

Or maybe my sense of nostalgia is because last week I offered to give a "heritage" tour of UCT to a group of visiting Norwegians. (Any excuse to hang out with Norwegians!) Although the tour ended up being a fairly informal affair, I did do some research on UCT beforehand, and it was inspiring to learn about the long history of this institute I have been at for such a large proportion of my life, but such a tiny proportion of its history. I still am not sure who most of the buildings are named after and keenly remember getting a pub quiz question about UCT incorrect.




There is an official "UCT Heritage Trail" which you can explore although it seems to focus on the statues on campus, some of which are just plain bizarre! All this information is on the UCT website - which I am not currently on so am hopefully not plagiarizing too badly. Also see this site for an armchair tour. 

This is from Facebook so who knows
how authentic it is

 UCT originated as a tertiary education offshoot at SACS (South African College Schools - there is a joke: "How can you tell if someone went to SACS?" To which the answer is: "They'll tell you!") SACS has been around since 1829 and was the first school in South Africa (for boys only, of course!) and retains a certain prestige.

The tertiary section began to grow from about the 1880's and right back in 1887 the first women were allowed to register (it is a little annoying that it is phrased like that - even though it is me writing - but such were the times). The chemistry Prof who advocated the inclusion of women has had the chemistry building named after him - PD Hahn. Approximately half of the students currently at UCT are female. Some of the more famous ones also have buildings named after them: Cissy Gool was the first black woman to graduate from UCT (in 1932).

Some of the more bizarre art work
displayed on campus. (Keep in mind
I am a scientist and possibly breaking
all sorts of rules saying that)

Original 1918 design by JM Solomon
(1884 - 1920) with domed roof. 

UCT officially became a thing in 1918 and UCT as we know it, on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the 1920's. Jameson hall is named after a previous Prime Minister of the Cape that incidentally had been imprisoned for leading the Jameson Raid on the old Transvaal. It was meant to have a domed roof, but supposedly the money ran out (it still happens!)




In the apartheid years, it was nicknamed: "Little Moscow on the hill" because of its opposition to apartheid. It has 1/4 of the countries A-Rated scientists, 3 Nobel Laureates among the alumni and is the best rated university in the country (and won this years rugby intervarsity cup with a truly dramatic ending). There is no doubt that UCT has a lot to be proud of and yet the official heritage tour still includes some really weird pieces of art.

"The Skull Series"
by Neels Coetzee

"Hoerikwaggo"
by Gavin Younge

I think the most bizarre is "Hoerikwaggo" (the Khoisan name for Table Mountain) but I only see that (unless taking Norwegians around) at graduation and I think it looks a little like someone in a graduation cloak so that's pretty cool actually. The one that is in the heart of the John Day Building is the skull series. I have never really understood what is happening in this statue, but it was a useful platform for squishing us all together for our BSc graduation photos (which are pre-digital)

BSc graduants in a pre-digital age!

The Oracle
by Bruce Arnott

I do quite like the water feature "The Oracle" which has layers of symbolism associated with the "I CHING trigrams on the Taoist sun disc" but I just find it calming and pretty particularly since it has been empty and dirty for so many of the years that I have been on campus. And of course I love campus for its ivy, symmetry and amazing back drop... but you know that already!