A Year at St Andrews...

  • Home
  • My Thoughts
  • My Pictures
    • London 1
    • London 2
    • Edinburgh
    • Freshers' Week
    • Wardlaw
    • Plastic Fantastic
    • Halloween
    • Snow
    • Raisin Weekend
    • St Andrews Castle
    • My 21st Birthday
    • Christmas Dinner
    • Christmas Ball
    • Nottingham
    • February Snow
    • Chain Walk
    • May Dip
    • Kate Kennedy Procession
    • Scotland Trip 1 (Stonehaven, Dunottar Castle and Aberdeen)
    • Scotland Trip 2 (Inverness)
    • Scotland Trip 3 (Loch Ness & Urquhart Castle)
  • Contact me
  • Links
  • Games!
 

The Begining of the End...

4/30/2009

0 Comments

 

The semester is drawing to a close; this reminds me that my time in St Andrews is ending as well. And soon I shall have to return to California. This will be a bitter-sweet time, and when the time arrives I shall dwell on it more, but for now, I shall talk about what I have neglected to do so for a while.

I meant to write about these events as they happened, but for some reason I kept putting it off. Either due to lack of pictures, too much school work or just plain laziness.

The first of these is the Kate Kennedy procession. This is organized by the Kate Kennedy Club and old and esteemed males only university club. The procession is a celebration of the history of St Andrews and involves people dressed up as distinguished members that have had a connection to St Andrews. It has its roots in a procession in honour of Kate Kennedy, the niece of Bishop James Kennedy, who was welcomed into town and renowned for her beauty. Her arrival signalled the beginning of spring.

Picture

This year,  the procession took place on Saturday the 18th of April. I went to watch it with one of my friends and it was a lovely sight to see all these people dressed up in old fashioned clothes parading through the streets. There were princes and dukes, ladies and knights and monks as well. Tradition states that "Kate" is played by a bejant (first year male student) from the Kate Kennedy Club who rides in on a horse drawn carriage at the end of the procession.  Among the characters was St Andrew (who lead the procession), Benjamin Franklin, who was awarded an honorary degree from the University, John Cleese, who served as rector and many many other characters who I didn't recognise. 


The other thing is more personal. This past Saturday, I went hiking along the Fife Coastal Path and did the Chain walk, which consists of climbing through the rocky cliffs at the edge of the sea. I went with two guys form the scouts and guides club. It was great banter and we had a really good time. It was certainly very refreshing. A nice way to break out of the bubble and get a closer look at some Scottish coastal towns (Anstruther, Elie, Lower Largo). The scenery was splendid and of course it was good exercise.

Picture


I have actually had a large amount of work to do for my classes. I always wonder why I never learn and leave things till the last minute. I will hopefully be able to get everything done in time.

 Tonight, or rather, early tomorrow morning, is the May Dip. It's a St Andrews tradition where students take a dip in the North Sea at the crack of dawn. I've heard that there are usually bonfires on the beach and loads of students. The May Dip is essential if you've stepped on the PH (initials of the martyr Patrick Hamilton set in the cobblestones on North Street), or if you've committed academic incest. Doing either of these things mean that you will fail your degree. The May Dip is the only way to redeem yourself.

I plan to stay up all night for this. I'll let you know how it goes sometime after I get back!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Search this site:

    Clarissa D

    I'm a college student from UC Davis. I spent my junior year   studying abroad at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. These are my adventures.




    The time in St Andrews is:


    Like reading my blog? Subscribe to it!

    RSS Feed


    Archives

    August 2010
    November 2009
    October 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008


    Categories 
    (find exactly what you want)

    All
    Aberdeen
    Academic Family
    Airport
    Back
    Before
    Bop
    California
    Cardiff
    Castles
    Cavities
    Celebrities
    Christmas
    Class
    Coats
    Cricketers
    Dancing
    Davis
    Dentist
    Dorm
    Easter
    Edinburgh
    Exams
    Family
    Food
    Freshers Week
    Friends
    Fun
    Garden Party
    Golf
    Halloween
    High Table
    Ill
    Inverness
    Kate Kennedy
    Lab
    Last Week
    Life
    Loch Ness
    London
    Los Gatos
    May Dip
    Mumbai Terrorist Attacks
    My Birthday
    New Year
    Nottingham
    Orientation
    Packing
    Parties
    Party
    Peace
    Plane
    Pluscarden
    Poem
    Pubs
    Raisin Weekend
    Reading Week
    Shopping
    Sightseeing
    Snow
    Spring
    St Andrews
    Stonehaven
    Studies
    Train
    Travel
    Trip
    Uni Hall
    Urquhart Castle
    Us Election
    Valedictory Dinner
    Wardlaw
    Weather



    blog search directory
    blogarama - the blog directory
    Blog Directory
    EatonWeb Blog Directory





Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.