Ents (Entertainments)
Almost everybody's primary aim here at Peterhouse is to get a degree, which allegedly requires hard work and diligence. However, everybody also needs to let their hair down on occasion - and if that hair belongs to a massive blonde curly wig donned in honour of a crossdressing party theme then so much the better. Peterhouse Ents presents: the Bop, another Cambridge word that you will find horribly pratty for about a week before you forget and start using it as if it were English.
So what is a bop? Well, it basically involves a theme, a dance floor, a bar and lots and lots of students in various states of mad fancy dress and varying degrees of sobriety. At Peterhouse they happen in our bar and adjoined music room approximately every two weeks (though less in exam term), and they are a brilliant excuse to mingle with your fellow students while having a drink or ten and wearing outlandish costumes. Recent themes have included the "Bad Taste Bop", "Pirates, Popes and Prostitutes" and the amazing "Miss Peterhouse" pageant at which the Peterhouse men dispel all rumours regarding their masculinity and show up in drag, trying to win the acclaimed title and prize that goes with it. Of course, all colleges will have drunken parties in their bars, but what makes Peterhouse bops truly great is what makes the college itself so special - the inclusive, laid-back and friendly nature of the students, the relaxed, informal atmosphere housed in some of the oldest buildings in Cambridge and the fact that nobody is afraid to make a complete fool of themselves by draping themselves in something horrendous they nicked off their housemate and calling it a 'ghost costume'.
Yes, bops are worth going to, but Peterhouse Ents do not end there. We have music nights in which talented and/or willing students perform in the bar, comedy shows, a slave auction for charity, quiz nights, karaoke competitions - the list goes on; and your friendly College Ents officer is only too happy to listen to suggestions if your club/society/singing group/trained flock of wood pigeons wants to perform.
The best part of all, though, is the annual JCR Garden Party in May Week, towards which go most of the proceeds from the years' entertainments. On this day, practically everybody in college gathers in the Deer Park (and it's ALWAYS a beautiful day) to unwind after exam term by consuming barbecued food and alcoholic (or soft) drinks, listening to live music, playing games and maybe having a dignified bounce on a bouncy castle or a civilised sip from a makeshift beer funnel of Pimm's laced with whiskey. This year's Garden Party was a roaring success, assuming you rate success according to hotness of the weather, coldness of the drinks, number of minor injuries on the bouncy castle and the number of times the Senior Tutor had to extend the party permit because people simply wouldn't leave. Which we do. The Garden Party, again, is made so great by the Petreans that attend it - and almost everybody will be there to partake in the fun.
Our small size works in our favour at Peterhouse, for though we can't really host massive University-wide discos you can always go to those elsewhere - and the bops we do host are made amazing by the atmosphere generated from everyone knowing everyone. You need never be bored at Peterhouse, there will always be something going on!
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© Pete Davies, Sean Lip 2005-06
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