5. Cambridge Day 1

We arrived in the UK safe and sound after the long haul as anyone who has done it, knows. It’s a marathon just to get here.

We were met at Heathrow by my cousin, Tina and what a wonderful sight it was to see her! Mind you, we were almost the last ones through coz we had been waiting at the wrong carousel for our luggage. Like! What are the chances of 2 Singapore Air flights arriving at the same Terminal at the same time? And Murphy’s Law came in to play for us! We were waiting at the wrong place, weren’t we!?!

Today was a glorious Spring day - an azure blue sky and some warmth in the sun, so we decided to make the most of it. Tina and Graham took us into Cambridge Central for a walking tour past some of the major Colleges which make up Cambridge University.

In addition, we decided that we’d do the Punt Tour of the Backs - which is along the River Cam and past the backs of the Colleges as well as under the original Saxon bridge after which the City was named - for centuries there was only the one bridge crossing the river. This bridge has a a plethora of stories to tell and it’s like flipping the pages of one’s history books of the area.

The photo I’ve chosen is of Tina and I sitting in front of the plaque commemorating the discovery of DNA which had been worked on and finally announced from this very seat in the Eagle pub, here in Cambridge. I thought it a fitting tribute to the moment in history and that we are in fact cousins which has been confirmed by this discovery.

All in all it’s been an amazing day and our hosts, Tina and Graham, have been marvellous. The 4 of us get on so well, chatting, laughing and bantering on every hour of the day. 

By the way, Tina and I are related though our mothers with our great grandfather being our common ancestor, making us 3rd cousins. And as we chat we are discovering so many things in which we are alike but it’s interesting to note our differences, as well!