&#x27;You&#x27;re going to Cambridge - now what?&#x27;: Advice from Team Peterhouse

OP

Original post by Doones

Does that mean Fresher's at Peterhouse is longer than a week!?
:dance:

Yep!

Reply 83

davros

16

Original post by Doones

Does that mean Fresher's at Peterhouse is longer than a week!?
:dance:

They must need a week's serious drinking to prepare for the courses there :smile:

Reply 84

esquire125

1

Any recommendations for where to get a reasonably priced second-hand bike in Cambridge?

Reply 85

OP

Original post by esquire125

Any recommendations for where to get a reasonably priced second-hand bike in Cambridge?

Mmmm. Bikes are not my speciality...

If you will be arriving in Cambridge by car, I would recommend you buy a bike where you live, as they will go up in price around Freshers Week in Cambridge!

Other good sources are College JCR Facebook groups, as recently graduated students and postgrads will likely have bikes to sell. There are some bike shops in Cambridge, but I am not sure which ones are the most reputable.

@Paralove? @Doones? Any thoughts?

Reply 86

ReadingMum

18

We got one at home off a local 'buy nothing' group. Paying nothing for it means she can let loose and decorate it to be nice and distinctive. Her College are offering some money back if you present receipts for lights and helmet.

Reply 87

esquire125

1

Thanks for your replies. Do you think it would be cheaper to buy one in Cambridge now as opposed to Freshers week or not much of a difference?

Reply 88

OP

Original post by esquire125

Thanks for your replies. Do you think it would be cheaper to buy one in Cambridge now as opposed to Freshers week or not much of a difference?

Depends. If you're in Cambridge already, then maybe, but bear in mind that you'll have to store and possibly transport it (Colleges are very unlikely to store bikes for students who have not yet started unless they are already resident in College). It certainly isn't worth an extra trip.

Reply 89

Paralove

Original post by esquire125

Thanks for your replies. Do you think it would be cheaper to buy one in Cambridge now as opposed to Freshers week or not much of a difference?

Original post by Peterhouse Admissions

Mmmm. Bikes are not my speciality...

If you will be arriving in Cambridge by car, I would recommend you buy a bike where you live, as they will go up in price around Freshers Week in Cambridge!

Other good sources are College JCR Facebook groups, as recently graduated students and postgrads will likely have bikes to sell. There are some bike shops in Cambridge, but I am not sure which ones are the most reputable.

@Paralove? @Doones? Any thoughts?

The bike I had at uni we got cheap off Facebook back home and my current nice one I bought new last year! Facebook marketplace in Cambridge is a bit mixed but worth keeping an eye on. I've always heard good things of the bike ambulance though but I'm not 100% they sell bikes as well as repairs, but highly likely.

Probably not much different between now and Freshers but honestly wouldn't put it past second hand places to hike the price a little around then...

Whatever you do, absolutely get a decent lock. Heard next to nothing happen to friends in 6 years of living in Cambridge now but sooo many bike thefts and all with the poorer locks.

Reply 90

camfess

7

Original post by Paralove

The bike I had at uni we got cheap off Facebook back home and my current nice one I bought new last year! Facebook marketplace in Cambridge is a bit mixed but worth keeping an eye on. I've always heard good things of the bike ambulance though but I'm not 100% they sell bikes as well as repairs, but highly likely.

Probably not much different between now and Freshers but honestly wouldn't put it past second hand places to hike the price a little around then...

Whatever you do, absolutely get a decent lock. Heard next to nothing happen to friends in 6 years of living in Cambridge now but sooo many bike thefts and all with the poorer locks.

The 2nd Hand bike shops on Mill Road do seem to whack up the prices around now. The police auction is also good.

I had no less than 5 bikes stolen in my 20 years in Cambridge. The first 4 were when I was a student and usually came down to me leaving it overnight somewhere like the bus station (locked). The last one was mysterious as it had a very expensive D-Lock, yet vanished in minutes from outside the Lido near Jesus Green in broad daylight with hundreds of passers by.

Since then, I've started buying the oldest, ugliest looking bike I could find. Then spray painting the frame black with yellow stripes and then having the light blue bike shop upgrade the brakes, gears and tyres. The thing looked horrendous, yet cycled like a dream and survived 5 years without being touched, even with a not-so-great lock on it. I gave it away a few years ago and still see it sometimes around the city. I called it "the sleeper".

Reply 91

Darceydog

8

Do the colleges have in room safes or safety deposit boxes that the students can store valuables,
Passports, etc ? If an international student cannot fly home during semesters due to quarantine issues can they stay in at their college over the Xmas break?

Reply 92

Paralove

Original post by Darceydog

Do the colleges have in room safes or safety deposit boxes that the students can store valuables,
Passports, etc ? If an international student cannot fly home during semesters due to quarantine issues can they stay in at their college over the Xmas break?

Never heard of safes in rooms, but rooms are very secure! You usually have a lockable cupboard in there in most cases, so you could use that.

Yes, you can stay over Christmas usually! Students who are still in Cambridge usually organise to get together for it too which is cute. You obviously need to pay the extra rent, and bear in mind the hall/canteen usually shuts for a bit over Christmas so you'll need to cook for yourself.

Reply 93

Darceydog

8

Original post by Paralove

Never heard of safes in rooms, but rooms are very secure! You usually have a lockable cupboard in there in most cases, so you could use that.

Yes, you can stay over Christmas usually! Students who are still in Cambridge usually organise to get together for it too which is cute. You obviously need to pay the extra rent, and bear in mind the hall/canteen usually shuts for a bit over Christmas so you'll need to cook for yourself.

Thanks for the information. Looks progressively like my son won’t be coming home at Xmas so is reassuring they don’t just kick them out of colleges in those circumstances.

Reply 94

Paralove

Original post by Darceydog

Thanks for the information. Looks progressively like my son won’t be coming home at Xmas so is reassuring they don’t just kick them out of colleges in those circumstances.

I'd have thought the likelihood of issues with quarantine would mean colleges are expecting more students than usual to stay. Usually when interviews are in person, rooms are used for those coming for interview and sometimes students have to move rooms in the vacation (and then return to their room for the next term) but as interviews will not be in Cambridge this year that's much less likely.

Reply 95

king axolotl

14

Original post by Paralove

I'd have thought the likelihood of issues with quarantine would mean colleges are expecting more students than usual to stay. Usually when interviews are in person, rooms are used for those coming for interview and sometimes students have to move rooms in the vacation (and then return to their room for the next term) but as interviews will not be in Cambridge this year that's much less likely.

I know Queens' have shifted to a quarterly scheme meaning that students will have access to their rooms year round (pay a little more but it seems worth it!). I don't know about other colleges though :smile:

Reply 96

3pointonefour

18

Would I be allowed to bring a rice cooker/hob into my kitchen? Since my kitchen isn't provided with an oven

Original post by 3pointonefour

Would I be allowed to bring a rice cooker/hob into my kitchen? Since my kitchen isn't provided with an oven

Rice cookers are the number one cause of fires in Halls, so I doubt it very much. Fairly lights number two btw, and they aren't allowed either. You should ask the Accommodation Manager in your College you might find they are allowed, but there are regular checks of gyp rooms/kitchens for rice cookers in some Colleges.

Reply 98

OP

Original post by 3pointonefour

Would I be allowed to bring a rice cooker/hob into my kitchen? Since my kitchen isn't provided with an oven

Rice cookers are very rarely allowed. Most items of personal electrical equipment have to be PAT tested (a test of the safety of electrical appliances) so colleges like to reduce the risk wherever possible. That's why there are no ovens/hobs in the first place: the risk of fire is more than colleges wish to bear.

Reply 99

Doones