The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith

Whipplesnaith himself.

2011-12-15T02:44:00.000-08:00

Whipplesnaith - King's Chapel - c.100ft

New Tower, St John's.

2011-12-13T09:47:00.000-08:00

"Pillars rear up at the outside corners and are joined to the Tower by an arch of sloping stone, festooned on the upper side with ornamentations that should not be trusted too far."

The Photographers' Farewell

2011-12-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

The narrow line which separates the sublime from the ludicrous runs through time as well as space, and we have reached that line. No longer may we test ourselves up pipe and chimney; the days of early manhood become as out of date as those of the nursery, and we must say farewell.

The Lion Chimney

2011-12-12T02:56:00.000-08:00

"This chimney, above one of the lions at the north-east corner, is of an ideal width with vertical grooves to keep the feet (and body) from slipping sideways."

The Bridge, Trinity College

2011-12-09T10:48:00.001-08:00

"The porter stopped on the bridge for some time, scanning the landscape with his torch, but not looking over the side of the bridge."

The Fitzilliam Chimney at the Back.

2011-12-09T02:18:00.001-08:00

"The chimney at the back is about half-way along the west wall."

"Drain-pipe Chimney, St John's"

2011-12-08T09:37:00.001-08:00

King's Chapel Spire

2011-12-08T02:39:00.001-08:00

"Chapel Spire: First overhang, with clover leaf above and below. B: Second overhang, with parapet just above. C: Chess-board, at which point the stone becomes crumbly. With three simultaneous grips for the rest of the way up the climb is safe."

King's Chapel, North-East Pinnacle

2011-12-07T08:38:00.001-08:00

King's Chapel, North-East Pinnacle. Negotiating the first overhang. Note bare feet. The climber's back is dirty through having just come up the main chimney from the ground.

Dawn Ascent

2011-12-07T02:32:00.000-08:00

Daylight ascent of New Tower, St John's

Triple Trinity!

2011-06-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to bring you good news, with added good news. 1st - the good news is that the 3rd Edition of The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity from 1960 (actually titled The Night-Climber's Guide) is now available to order. It will be published on the 11th of July. It's similar yet very different to the others and includes a whole new court - Angel - as well as Trinity's Top Ten; it's an entertaining read and includes new images, quotes etc.

The other good news is that with it come the full texts of the previous editions, including Young's appendices to the 1st! On top of that you get an introduction by Richard Williams, the author of the 3rd Edition, now living in Australia. In it he reveals the true identity of our early builderers and provides an entertaining guide to the history of this infamous and historic extreme sport.

The Omnibus is a large-scale softback and is a handsome tome indeed - head over and reserve yours now. As usual, readers of this blog get a 10% discount by using the code 'TRIO' at checkout until the day of publication.

Free Download

2011-02-16T09:18:00.000-08:00

We've put together a fun 'taster' of just a few of the good bits from Whipplesnaith. We're in the process of making a proper walking guide of central Cambridge from the Night Climbers' perspective. All visitors to Cambridge get their map and a stolid, worthy guide to the lates and greats of the Uni. But the visitor armed with the upcoming Night Ckimbers' Guide will see behind - or rather above - the facades; they'll see the city through the eyes of our infamous nocturnal interlopers of 70 years ago. And here's an early, thrown-together, sneak peak - free for visitors to this blog. Enjoy :)

Now on Amazon's Kindle

2010-11-07T01:48:00.000-07:00

Get it here at Amazon UK
or here for the US store

We've eventually moved into the future with ol' Whip and made him available on Amazon's Kindle. Although I'll always be a dull old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud when it comes to books, even I have to admit that the pictures come out really well on electronic devices. Oh - and the pricing is great - especially without shipping of course!

N'old Skool.

2010-08-11T04:04:00.000-07:00

Hadn't noticed this one...

2010-07-16T04:47:00.000-07:00

"And it is in warm salutation to this long under-reported Cambridge tradition, yet one as integral as passing the port bottle to the left, that the Oleander Press have reprinted this gem of a guide..."

A rather nice review of the Trinity guide appeared back in January; thanks guys.

At last!!

2010-06-11T04:50:00.000-07:00

Eventually I've managed to sort some T-shirts. I know, it's only taken a couple of years... But boy are they worth the wait. I've created an online shop called 3 Seconds to Live and it's now open. The extremely popular postcard designs have been tweaked to work on the shirts - to great effect I think you'll agree. Each design is available on a number of varieties of shirt - just click on the 'Designs' tab and then the design you like to see what's available. The site will also carry other fun designs we come up with - some from Oleander books, some not. Go check it out!!!

"For if the signs of our times are more trustworthy than the structures...

2010-06-01T05:30:00.000-07:00

...an era is again impending when the Roof and the Wall shall be put to their proper purpose."

I'm extremely proud to announce the republication of a lost masterpiece of climbing literature. As you all know, the whole night climbing cannon was initiated by the excellent Roof-climber's Guide to Trinity, written by Geoffrey Winthrop-Young in 1900 whilst a student there. This spawned a small family of titles including two later editions of his guide, a guide to St John's and, of course, the infamous Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith in 1937.

What few people know though is that, before he started writing the legitimate climbing guides which would embellish his illustrious climbing career, he penned a remarkable tome whilst still a teacher at Eton in 1905. Called simply Wall and Roof Climbing, this exuberant book strives to map the literary history of this largely-subversive sport. Digging out references to the practice by leading authors and poets from the last 2000 years, he weaves an almost entirely believable tradition of written celebration in the sport.

Working from the author's own copy – probably the last copy in existence – and in collaboration with his family, Oleander has brought this complex, erudite and fascinatingly entertaining classic back to life. Obviously I'm going to say this but – every fan of literature or climbing, regular and roof, should have this in their library. It's an extraordinary achievement.

A Thing of (delayed) Beauty

2010-03-23T04:05:00.000-07:00

"Then care- and rope-free, we may wander hither and thither; with the collective wisdom of the ages safely locked up and trodden under our feet, with the rival auspices of Cambridge creeds and cults opening out in vistas of unreal transparency about us and illuminated only from below,and know our own heads and dreams to be set high above them among the stars."

Considering it's not a mighty tome, there seems to have been an inordinate number of bugs and problems resulting in the tardy appearance of the 2nd Edition of The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity. But then, it's been gone 79 years so an extra month is probably no great shakes. And then, it arrived the day before Oleander moved to a land sans internet for two weeks so I'm only able to tell you of it now.

Including and supplementing the information from two chapters in the previous guide, the 1930 second edition is otherwise completely rewritten and incorporates new routes, quotes, illustrations and a new format.

Although barely granted publication permission by Geoffrey Winthrop-Young, the authors of the 2nd edtion rightly noted that 'The conquest of the Great Gate in November 1927 marked a new epoch;' and that 'so many fresh climbs have been discovered in the subsequent three years, that a fuller edition of the old guide was felt to be desirable'.

Available from the Oleander website now.

Student prank ends in police dog attack and hospital

2010-03-04T02:57:00.000-08:00

"THE Night Climbers of Cambridge are famous for their clandestine forays up university colleges – but one intrepid undergraduate’s adventure ended in a bite from a police dog..."

From today's Cambridge Evening News. I'm not sure calling the police was the most expedient of moves...

By the way - the 2nd edition (1930) of The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity arrived (eventually) from the printers yesterday and is available from Oleander's site. I apologise in advance for any delay in delivery as I'm moving house/office today and tomorrow but I I'll definitely get them out to you on Monday.

Night Climbers to the Four

2009-11-28T02:58:00.000-08:00

This week saw a fair amount of activity by Cambridge's favourite secret club. Santa hats have been appearing on various parts of the University's architecture - most notably on all four pinnacles of King's College Chapel as pictured (pic thanks to avaragado, click through for more and follow him on Twitter.) The Santa hat deluge is a pretty regular occurrence at this time of year; followers of this column will know that the Night Climbers have been a part of Cambridge subculture for over a hundred years definitely, and probably a lot longer (on Gunning's Balcony, St John's College, there's an inscription carved by pen-knife: PETRUS GUNNING ELIENSIS, HUJUS COLL : ALUMNUS Feb: 19th, 1734).

Those interested can read a free pdf on the history of Night Climbing below (and on the Oleander website.)

The History of Night Climbing in Cambridge

2009-11-18T01:47:00.000-08:00

Anyone wanting to know the history of this exclusive sport in Cambridge and how and when all the various different books and editions of the night climbing titles came to be is highly recommended to read Richard Williams' piece:

Richard was the author of the 3rd edition of The Night-Climber's Guide to Trinity in 1960 - the title responsible for the resurgence of enthusiasm the sport experienced in that decade. He recently gave a talk on the subject to the Cambridge Society in Melbourne, where he has lived for many years, and this is the transcript of that presentation. His edition of the Guide is being re-published by Oleander in the new year.

The Holy Grail is here!

2009-11-11T09:04:00.000-08:00

The original night-climbing text is now in stock. The Roof-Climber's Guide to Trinity, written in 1900 by Geoffrey Winthrop-Young and the inspiration for Whipplesnaith's Night Climbers of Cambridge is here, available once more. We're very excited to see it - eventually - back in print!!

Check out a review written on publication in 1900 over here.

Read more about it below and get your own copy here.

For the climber who "seeks new sensations on the artificial erections of man."

2009-10-29T02:49:00.000-07:00

It's taken a while but we're within a couple of weeks of unleashing the Holy Grail of night climbing. This is the first recognised literature concerning this elite sport and is the first instalment of the exclusive literary genre documenting it. There are less than 10 copies left in the world of this 109 year-old treasure, and I'm delighted to bring this stegophilic standard-bearer back to life. Amazingly I've found a contemporary review:

'...the stegophilist will find a guide-book so lucid and complete as to compare with such classics as Ball's Alpine Guide and Haskett-Smith's Climbing in the British Isles. - Full contemporary review

We've worked from Geoffrey Winthrop-Young's original copy - now held in the Wren Library at Trinity:

But have created a new cover of course:

Many will notice that the picture used comes from Whipplesnaith. There are three editions of the Trinity guide - this one, a 2nd edition in 1930 and a final one in 1960. There was also a Roof-Climber's Guide to St John's. Each of these is being reproduced by Oleander in the near future and each sports a similar livery and Whipplesnaith pic. I think they look great - and hopefully so will you.

This reproduction contains the full text (including corrections by GW-Y) and two appendices of transcribed notes by the author; one set from 1902 and the other from 1948. Both shed amusing and informative light on the creation of the book, little known facts (the truth about Byron climbing the Wren Library for example) and details of his fellow climbers at the time. Read more about it over at Oleander.

Another View

2009-06-23T01:52:00.000-07:00

Check out this stencil image inspired by a Night Climbers shot -

it's from Joe Iurato and you can see more of his great work over at his website. I think you'll love it!

On the Tube

2009-06-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

I've put a vid of Whipplesnaith pics up on YouTube - Mainly because I had a couple of hours to spare and thought it would be fun. Obviously I stole the soundtrack so I'll have to take it down or change it to something free... Anyway, enjoy:

Follow and Scale the Soaring Heights...

2009-05-24T10:04:00.000-07:00

...of Twitter!

Thought it might be fun to give ol' Whipplesnaith a voice to the present so you can now get daily updates from 1937. Just click here or on the image above and soon get you'll a slice of stegophilic wisdom to cheer you up every day.

New Review from The Guardian

2009-05-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

"...as all the above quotes amply demonstrate, the book is also worth reading simply because of the excellence of its prose. It enables even those who – like me – prefer to use the stairs to get to the top of buildings to experience some of the vertiginous pleasure of night climbing; the serene beauty of a moonlit ascent of Kings College chapel, the joy of mastering a well-secured drainpipe, and the wonder of watching the dawn rise over the roofs of Cambridge. It is, in short, a book as wonderful as it is weird" Read the whole piece here.

4500 Celebration

2009-05-12T01:42:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know that to celebrate the sale of the 4500th copy of our favourite book - without a chain bookstore I may add - Oleander has a May discount of 20% going on so pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and head on over for a cheap copy of NCoC. Still, I reckon if a chain did take it on we'd be looking at 45,000 soon enough.

Check These Out!

2009-01-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

How good are these?!? I think they're fantastic! They're spray-paint renditions of a couple of the more famous of the NCoC images and have been created by Joe Iurato of Urban Climber magazine. Here's what he said about how he produces them:

“...aside from what I do at the mag, I'm also an artist (more of the street art variety) and have been recently asked to do a few nice shows. Well, I was just invited to do a major group exhibition in Berlin, and I wanted to use some of the photos from Night Climbers of Cambridge to base my spray painted canvasses on. Typically I take an image and recreate it by cutting and stenciling, with spray paint, several layers - until the image begins to form, and appears close to realistic. I am so inspired by that book and its images that I'd love to use some for this show.”

So judging by these tiny .jpegs I should imagine the show will be a huge success. Best of luck to you Joe! And, of course, thanks for spreading the Whipplesnaith word!

Pinnacle Poetry!

2008-12-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hey - how about this? I just came across a poem about our guys by Merryn Williams in 2006 - weird I hadn't come across it before. Here's a couple of stanzas, find the whole thing here

The Night Climbers of Cambridge

When all are gone, except the cats,
and the occasional, homecoming drunk,
and the world goes chrome-yellow in the tinted light –
better in the old days when the town was dead black –
they creep from vault to chimney stack,
with their climbing-tackle.

The college clocks chime quarter-hours
in tune as they ascend with care,
foot over foot on the frosty gleaming slates,
spires spread out like wedding cake,
crusted icing, hard to break.
Up here, it’s so graceful.

The Alps are heroic but this is perverse;
if caught, ...continued here

Still at it!

2008-12-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Still going strong - but it appears the university authorities have gone a bit Health and Safety crazy. Quite a ruckus - and a distinct waste of emergency service resources wouldn't you agree?

Stories:

Mail on Sunday

Telegraph

Night Climbers Grow Up..

2008-09-04T00:49:00.000-07:00

...to become pillars of the establishment and play golf?? Not quite..

Earlier this summer I came across an old book called The Art of Golf- out of print in the UK since 1892. An absolute classic of the game it's very rare and costs a fortune if you find a first edition. It's written by a baronet - Sir W. G. Simpson, twice Captain of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers - and is a worthwhile yet humorous attempt to garner all golfing knowledge to that date in one volume. Concerned with mindset as well as method it makes a fascinating effort to explore and explain the artistry of golf. I loved every page and so, following the massive success of Night Climbers last year I thought I'd republish this title too and Peter Alliss kindly wrote an introductory note for this edition. Simpson does deal with the serious aspects of how to actually play the game better but there is a lot of dry, sardonic humour throughout.

"The ‘Dynamite’ is a very powerful weapon. It is a club in the
face of which is inserted a small cartridge which explodes when
the ball strikes it. With this club a good driver has been known to
get past the long hole at St. Andrews in one shot. Loading for each
drive is, however, so inconvenient that the dynamite has not come
into general use. Besides, the trouble, the expense, and danger
connected with it are so considerable as to make it unpopular - it
would be rash to start on a round without a surgeon to carry the
clubs, and surgeons of course charge more than ordinary caddies."

"A perfectly unconscious style in a grown man is very rare. It will oftenest be found among professionals whose education does not tempt them to think."

"Between him and them is one nearer and dearer – his partner. It is not selfish to crush the enemy; it is duty – duty to the partner. What are the tears of two enemies to the joy of one friend?"

And hundreds more. I promise you, any golfer is going to love this. It's a Christmas hole-in-one ;) It's available the 20th October but can be pre-ordered here. I have a little blog (how unlike me...) featuring pics, quotes etc. just started here.

The Great Escape Shown Thus...

2008-03-04T10:26:00.001-08:00

Sorry about the fuzziness (the picture's not mine) - the actual postcards are pin-sharp. I've obviously done something Jon-like to this image somehow. Anyway - it still looks awesome if you ask me. This is the last in the series of the funky ones. I might post the others but you can see them all just by going here as you know. 'til next time - Sayanara.

The Past's Orange...

2008-03-03T08:58:00.001-08:00

Probably my favourite image in the book this one. The orange tint gives a 'seedy underbelly' feel which appeals to my rather care-worn ideals... heh. This, the fifth in the series, nearly rounds off the collection. As you know, they're all available on the website here but, again, don't forget that you can also get any of the images from the book unframed or framed for the wall - just swing by here. Back on the morrow.

Blue sky Thinking...

2008-03-02T12:32:00.001-08:00

... to steal a modern management term. You'll all know this as one of the most famous Night Climbers images given a beautiful treatment here in the fourth of the six new cards. As you know, they're all available on the website here but don't forget that you can also get any of the images from the book unframed or framed for the wall - they're pretty fantastic even if I say so myself (hats off to Hamish Symington who repaired and prepared them for the new edition). Check 'em out here. Mañana.

Seconds Out...

2008-03-01T01:49:00.000-08:00

This one's gorgeous but shows a distinct lack of rationality on our adventurer's part. I mean, he's free-climbing with over 100ft of space between him and concrete... This card is the third of six, newly designed and soon to be available all over town. You, however, can get yours from here and enjoy the privilege of an online-only offer. I'll post another tomorrow.

Nice Uvula

2008-02-29T03:26:00.000-08:00

This one's a classic. Crazy people these Night Climbers. The card is the second of six, newly designed and soon to be available all over town. You, however, can get yours from here and enjoy the privilege of an online-only offer. I'll post another tomorrow.

New Cards Coming!

2008-02-28T03:07:00.001-08:00

Some new design postcards were designed by and for a particular outlet here in the city and I think they're awesome so I'm going to make them available from the Oleander site. Give me a couple of days to get the listing sorted and then you can take your pick. There are two styles - modern (like this, all with tinted wording) and classic, each of six designs and both oversized with quotes on the back. I'll be posting each of the designs up here over coming days. All designs by the fabulous Ayshea Carter using images digitally remastered from the originals by the talented Hamish Symington.

'Quite Wonderful'

2007-12-29T02:31:00.000-08:00

- the verdict from today's Daily Telegraph - fantastic; here's the full story. How's that for a great Christmas present? The story is also featured on Jenny Davidson's blog – many thanks Jenny. All this could only be equalled in felicitous favour if Night Climbers were to be top billing in a leading national magazine. Oh wait, what's this? Out today or tomorrow, I can hardly wait. In fact - either rush off and get your own or talk amongst yourselves for a while....

2007 has simply been fantastic. This time last year Whipplesnaith was just an idle thought - one of many that I have (idlings, not thoughts...). To think that the whole project only started in June, and we had the finished tome on bookshelves for the launch on the 26th October is incredible and wouldn't have been possible without the support and efforts of Ian and Hamish Symington. Since then it's been featured in mainstream national media like The Times and Telegraph, local like the Cambridge Evening News, Agenda etc and BBC Radio but also on the fringes with shouts in buildering groups and parkour sites, Urban Exploration forums like here, here, and here, as well as being lauded by the climbing communities – regular (features next month), and urban both in the UK and internationally. These are just a few of the people and groups who have welcomed, enjoyed and promoted this awesome book. Due to them, and all of you of course, it's been an expeditious and fulfilling experience and for that I'd like to offer my immense gratitude and sincere best wishes for 2008. Happy New Year!

Felicitations or Commiserations...

2007-12-18T10:06:00.000-08:00

...whichever way you prefer at this time of year. I myself am a little of both in relation to the consumerfest manifesting itself in these weeks. But I am in decidedly good cheer on another front because in the next few weeks Night Climbers is featured in one local paper, two national broadsheets, one national magazine and one international mag. Fantastic. I'll put the links up here when they happen.

The image above I found hilarious. It was sent by the talented, inspiring and exotic Fatos - cartoonist to the stars! I'm using it entirely without permission so I can look forward to her suing me - unless, of course, you buy lots of stuff from her now...

Thanks to all of you - we've sold thousands. I'm really grateful and want to wish all Whipplesnaith fans, young and old, near and far, the most idyllic and enjoyable Christmas. And on the big day I hope we all get what we deserve ;-P

Take care

Jon

A Picture or a Thousand Words?

2007-11-23T03:03:00.000-08:00

...'cos you can now have both! People kept asking for prints so they're now available from the Oleander website - framed or as unframed 10 x 8s. They look specbl**dytacular even if I say so myself.

On the book front we've done great numbers - 400 in two shops in 3 weeks in Cambridge alone! And Sir Ranulph Fiennes was on R4 talking about Night Climbing (and the Marie Curie Delivering choice Programme of course) on the 7th (see Listen Again, Libby Purves' Midweek on the R4 website) and that produced a small avalanche (intended) of visits to the site. I sent him a couple of the numbered, signed copies for the Campaign auction.

In coming weeks look out for features in The Observer, The Good Book Guide, The Oldie, possibly The Telegraph, definitely buildering.net, freakclimbing.com, ukclimbing.com, Gripped mag, Urban Climber mag and a whole bunch more. Love this stuff.

OH! - and guess what? I've heard from a trusted source that the Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum (also the Master of Magdalene) has asked for NCoC to be removed from the museum shop, branding it 'irresponsible'... I thought museums were mandated to preserve and promote our cultural heritage - not censor it. Of course, this is probably just an unfounded and erroneous rumour. Yeah, that's probably it.

Thanks everyone and take care.

The Critics...

2007-11-03T11:48:00.000-07:00

Great piece in The Times today by Tom Whipple; he should find his missing copy - they're now worth even more as signed copies of the new edition are on ebay at £125-£145! Crazy. Anyway - the link is here.

Very nice article in Varsity yesterday although sadly they must have run out of space as they miss the opportunity to report on their chat with Nares at the launch last week. Pages 17-19 here.

And here's an interview with Nares himself by the Muswell Hill Journal. The Ham & High did one as well yesterday but I can't find it on their site. Probably just being incompetent...

Launched...

2007-10-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

Hi folks. It was a great success - what can I say but thanks to everyone. Over the course of the evening over 100 people turned up and most bought a copy of the book. Thanks to everyone who was there and to all who couldn't make it but sent their best wishes. Of course - the main attraction was Nares:

who, at 90, was fit as a fiddle and could probably have climbed St John's again - after all, he was only 20 yards from it once again! A really nice chap who spent hours talking to everyone and signed stacks of books. People had even brought their copies of the original and got him to sign that as well as the new one.

Here, he was forced to be photographed with (from the right) Ian Symington - Whipplesnaith's son, Hamish Symington great-nephew and designer of the new edition, and some weird bloke who kept forcing himself into everyone's pictures...;-p

Photography thanks to Ben Watkins.

Made it...

2007-10-26T00:05:00.001-07:00

...and without ropes! The authorised 70th Anniversary Edition of The Night Climbers of Cambridge by Whipplesnaith is out now. Just like that; an idea six months ago and here it is in my hands - all shiny and new. I've sent out all the pre-orders so don't worry, it's in the capable hands of the Royal Mail...

Still can't quite believe it... Anyway, feel free to form an orderly queue here...

Still in the Pink...

2007-10-12T01:51:00.000-07:00

...one of the Original Night Climbers! I'm delighted to report that the man seen here, innocently passing the time of day atop of the Wedding Cake of New Court, St John's, is coming to the launch next week. Now in his 90th year, Nares Craig was actually rusticated for climbing King's in '37 - an event referred to in Night Climbers and detailed below in an extract from his own memoirs. Only slightly less limber I'm sure and apparently quite fit and well, hopefully he's looking forward to recounting his exploits on the night. I'm very much looking forward to meeting him.

Tickets (free) can be arranged by contacting Heffers either by ringing 01223 568568 or emailing them. Alternatively you can walk in and get them from the cash desk. In case there's any chance you've forgotten, here for publication updates and here to pre-order your own copy.

Extract from Nares Craig's memoirs:

"In early May 1937, in connection with the coming coronation, a rash of bunting and union jacks etc, suddenly appeared in the town. Strung across the narrow streets they clashed starkly with the beautiful old college buildings, and prompted me to think of some appropriate way of mocking the whole pantomime of royalty. The idea of making use of the astonishing “publicity site” (above the East End of Kings Chapel facing Kings Parade, and visible all over the town) soon took shape. The remarkable pre-eminence of that “publicity site” is best illustrated by the reproduction of the press-cutting headed “All Cambridge saw it”, dated June 1963. I discussed the idea with my close climbing colleagues, O’Hara Murray, and Alec Crichton, and both were enthusiastically supportive; O’Hara agreeing to share the climbing with me, while Alec offered to help make the dummy, and with getting it to the site.

The dummy figure of the king was formed by a boiler suit stuffed with newspaper, wearing garish checked trousers, a red, white and blue jacket, with a football bladder for a head and a cardboard crown somehow suspended above it. A six foot length of hollow curtain rod through the two arms, with a generous length of sash cord threaded through it provided the means for suspending “George” (as he soon became named) between the two east end pinnacles of the chapel. To add to the levity, “George” carried a quart bottle in one “hand” and some kind of lightweight tankard in the other. Being before the days of plastic, the bottle was inevitably glass, which added seriously both to the weight and to the risk of calamitous breakage.

Having already climbed to the roof level, and then up one of the pinnacles, I knew what times would be required for each stage of the operation, and was able to prepare a strict timetable for both hoisting “George” to roof level, and then further, in order to finish before day-break at 5am, and this time-table O’Hara and I agreed on and memorised.

At dusk on the evening of 11th May, carrying George, we left my rooms and reached Kings without arousing suspicion. We soon got George over the gates and to the usual starting point for the climb, which was the bottom of the “chimney” (a climbing term for a vertical cleft, say, approximately three feet wide, in which the climber can “wedge” himself, with his back against one side and his feet the other and thus make his way up the 100 feet from ground to roof,(Alec remained nearby as “lookout”) while O’Hara and I made ready for the off at our agreed hour of 12.30 am. I then made a start, carrying a 150 foot length of rope, and, in due course, reached the roof. Following my lowering the rope, O’Hara attached the end to George and I was able to start pulling him up, which, naturally had to be done slowly and with great care. Having freed the rope, I was then able to lower it back to O’Hara to tie himself on so I could offer him the usual degree of protection as he himself climbed and joined me on the roof.

We were now ready to start the final phase, so O’Hara climbed the south east pinnacle with one of George’s supporting cords tied to his waist, the end of which he then attached to the pinnacle top, and then climbed back down to the roof. I then set off up the north east pinnacle with the other one of George’s supporting cords tied to my waist, and the pulley in my pocket. Following my securing the pulley near to the top of the pinnacle, I passed the supporting cord from George through the pulley and threw the cord down to O’Hara, which was the signal for him to start pulling. Then, just as it was getting light and George started rising to his appointed position – catastrophe struck! The pulley squeaked so loudly that I could actually see the porter and two or more “bulldogs” looking up and clearly able to appraise the whole situation.

The “proctors”, the main guardians of student discipline employed assistants, nicknamed “bull-dogs” (invariably ex-rugby players) specifically to chase and apprehend offenders.

Shortly before, I had taken the precaution of securing both 150 foot lengths of climbing rope and lowering them to the ground to provide for escape, by abseiling, for each of us, and we immediately made use of them, with O’Hara going first, and I following, having been delayed by the considerable difficulty of descending the pinnacle.

On reaching “terra firma”, I found at least two “bulldogs” struggling to hold down O’Hara who called out: “run, Nares, I can manage!” Unfortunately, having had no food or rest all night, I was unable to outrun one of the “bulldogs”, who dragged me from the water half way across the Cam and delivered me to the Dean, dishevelled and dripping water over his beautiful oriental rugs. Whatever protestations of regret I may have tried to make were soon rudely interrupted by O’Hara’s arrival in the clutches of at least two “bulldogs”.

His trousers had been so badly torn in his struggles that he was virtually bare from the waist down, and not a pretty sight. Further, in spite of my efforts to calm him, he was uttering a succession of oaths – probably due to exhaustion and hunger – which did little to assist our predicament. As soon as possible, we made our ways back to our respective lodgings, to await our fates. Meanwhile the Dean had asked Wilfred Noyce to take the stairs to the roof, and then climb up and rid him of the embarrassment of “George” suspended over his chapel on coronation day.

In those days we were not very “publicity conscious”, or I would have warned the local press in advance. Therefore it remains solely to the imagination to visualise what our dummy coronation must have looked like, occupying an identical position to that of the many years later “Vietnam” banner illustrated. Wilfred of course had no option but to comply with the Dean’ request. As he experienced the quite severe difficulties of climbing the pinnacles, he very probably realised that it must have been I who had “done the deed” and he may well have regretted having to cut down the handiwork of his old climbing comrade. However, he managed to lower “George” carefully to the ground and then took him to his rooms, where the Kings dons gathered to inspect him, apparently with considerable interest. We learned this later from Alec who had rightly kept well clear of the fray, but, being a member of Kings, he was able to walk around freely and assess the situation generally.

As we expected, Milner White, Dean of Kings, demanded that Trinity send me down (“rusticate” me) for good, and that Pembroke College do the same to O’Hara Murray. However, when “Jim” Butler called me before him, it became evident that, although extremely angry, he was not keen to fulfil the Dean’s demand in full, no doubt realising that he risked the permanent loss of one of his Christian Science Sunday School “flock”, and I then realised the important “insurance value” of my having been, at least from time to time, an attendee at those Sunday Schools. So, a compromise was arrived at in the form of “rustication” (dismissal) for the remainder of the current term for myself, and, in fairness, for O’Hara as well. Alec later explained that Wilfred, who was held in some esteem by the Dean, assisted nobly with pouring oil on the troubled waters, and promoting the two lesser, compromise penalties."

The Infamous Escape from M & S

2007-10-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

"Then out to street and looked over wall and saw it was hopeless. So back through door which I had luckily left open, and locked it on inside in case they had seen me. Then rushed into some lodgings and slap into screaming girls' bedroom. Apologized and told them to keep quiet and shot out again almost into the beam of the detectives' torches. Decided this was hopeless, so went into lodgings again up a flight of stairs into an empty room overlooking Sidney Street. Thought of dropping out as not many people about, but unfortunately an inspector was wandering about; also the drop was really excessive. So out again and saw that the guys with the torches had gone, so got across glass roof and then up about 4O-ft. pipe, which was tiring because absolutely smooth walls... sort of glazed bricks. At the top it seemed colossally public. I felt as though the whole town was looking until I saw every- thing going on quite normally below. There was a drop of 10ft. straight ahead on to roof of cinema, but I thought if I went down I could never get up again and there seemed to be no way off, so I went aloft higher by a ladder and walked over to where I saw the stairs below (fire escape); soon beat it down there and dropped off into passage, and walked away, which was rather an anti-climax. . . . I felt like a chase then!"

How uber-cool is this - go here, click on the magazine cover and go to p.12...

As usual, here to pre-order your own copy and here to get (free) tickets to the launch party - but until they get the details on their site you can just call to get them sent to you on 01223 568568.

The Last Step...

2007-09-29T04:16:00.001-07:00

“It had long been a theory of his that a climber should
know how to fall without hurting himself. In pursuit of
this pessimistic ideal he had been dropping from a
height every day for months.”

The book has gone to the printers. Nothing else to be done now. You will see the finished article at the launch party on the 26th. Tickets available at Heffers. So many people seem interested in this; it was originally just a small hobby project and it seems to be gaining a lot of momentum. It's a little daunting. Especially when you realise the mistake will be huge - like I've mis-spelt Cambridge on the cover or something...

The Night Climbers of Cambridge are back - hopefully with a vengeance. Here's to Whipplesnaith! Here's the blurb from the cover flap:

The Night Climbers of Cambridge was first published in October 1937 with a second edition rapidly following in November of the same year. Reprinted in 1952, the book has since been unavailable and has built up a cult following with copies of either edition becoming increasingly rare. Authored under the pseudonym Whipplesnaith it recounts the courageous, or foolhardy, nocturnal exploits of a group of students climbing the ancient university and town buildings of Cambridge. These daring stegophilic feats, including such heights as the Fitzwilliam Museum and the venerable King's College Chapel, were recorded with prehistoric photographic paraphernalia carried aloft over battlements, up chimneys and down drain-pipes. The climbers all this while trying, with mixed results, to avoid detection by the 'minions of authority': university proctors, Bulldogs and, of course, the local 'Roberts'... The result is a fascinating, humorous and, at times, adrenalin-inducing adventure providing a rare glimpse into a side of Cambridge that has always been enshrouded by darkness. The tradition, known now as urban climbing, buildering, structuring or stegophily and followed all over the world, started long before publication of the first edition and is sure to continue for generations after the arrival of this one.

This edition celebrates the 70^th anniversary of the original and features the complete text and over seventy digitally re-mastered images, half of which have been reproduced from the original negatives.

Here to pre-order your copy.

Take care guys, and see you soon.

N.

Onwards and Upwards...

2007-09-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

'The more naughty members of the party
may feel the urge to cry "boo", but they
should be restrained. Crying "boo" at people
is not consistent with good climbing.'

...hopefully. One month exactly 'til the launch and it has been sent to the printers. It is finished. We now wait. Seventy years between these pictures; spot the recent one. (Two weeks of this? I could get annoying...)

Made it Ma! Top of the World!

2007-09-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

'Cambridge brings back a jumble of pipes and chimneys
and pinnacles, leading up from security to adventure. We
think of those nights spent with one or more friends, nights
when we merged with the shadows and could see the
world with eyes that were not our own.'

Well, tomorrow I send it to the printers. Early yet. We could check it even more but by now we're just seeing what we want to see. It is time.

Bookshops are calling up and reveiwers are ready. We've started selling the first copies through the site - which is great. Can't wait for you to see the pictures - they've come up superbly. Btw - the images here are the originals, untouched - we didn't want to spoil the surprise. I'd best go check the dots and crosses once more... I'll be in touch soon - hopefully to tell you it's on its way to you.

If you're not dancing on the ceiling...

2007-09-14T10:03:00.000-07:00

"As you pass round each pillar, the whole of your body except your hands and feet are over black emptiness. Your feet are on slabs of stone sloping downwards and outwards at an angle of about thirty-five degrees to the horizontal, your fingers and elbows making the most of a friction-hold against a vertical pillar, and the ground is precisely one hundred feet directly below you.

If you slip, you will still have three seconds to live."

Tempting fate it may be but - we're on schedule. The dustcover has been finalised - we love the picture on the back but you'll just have to wait and see which one it is. Today's quote is a pretty major clue. The printer time has been booked. The paper's been chosen. The font has been selected (Baskerville). The text is being polished as we type and the pictures have been laboured over with love, sweat and some tears, and are finally resting in their allotted positions. They've been - how do they say it on the house make-over shows - 'sympathetically improved'? Whilst keeping their authenticity we've managed to improve clarity, impact and, especially, atmosphere. Can't wait for you to see them.

I've got more retailers on board and there'll definitely be a flurry from the media when it flies. I'm basically just forcing them to listen and then threatening to call them even more frequently unless they buy/promote this fantastic tome. I hope we sell enough to cover my bail...

Anyway, once the proofing's completed - not long now - it'll be with some trepidation that I send it off to the printer. If we've made a hash - sorry, if I've made a hash of it, I'll have to face a lot of people eagerly looking forward to this book gracing the light of day. Not the least of whom, of course, is Whipplesnaith's son. It's to be a nerve-wracking juncture. I will of course, like any self-respecting scapegoat, just go on holiday...

Cover Uncovered

2007-09-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

“...offers an illicit method of entry into his college. Furthermore, a genteel way which he can use without soiling his knees and elbows, should he be in evening dress.”

I am very proud to unveil the new cover. Using the same picture as on the original (in fact, using the same negative!) we've kept it simple and slightly 'modern-moody' to make a distinctive and visually arresting front for maximum shelf-appeal. Oh, and it's uber-cool too. The chap shown climbing St. John's College main gate is the original author, the pseudonymous Whipplesnaith, and I'm delighted to report that by artful happenstance his new public exposure has been designed by his great-nephew who, serendipitously, lives and works just around the corner.

The countdown ticks by, quietly gathering momentum; there's only a couple of months left and with a lot of internet interest, the first pre-orders already in, a couple of early take-ups by bookshops and at least one guaranteed broadsheet review, I'm feeling mildly optimistic that ol' Whipplesnaith may find his re-emergence into public life a well-received one. To help him scale the heights once again go here to get publication updates and visit here to be sure of being one of the first to receive a copy of the 70th Anniversary Edition (at a discount no less!)

Ten Weeks and Counting

2007-08-12T03:56:00.000-07:00

"Its hospitality is lavish and sincere, and it breeds those strong, silent Englishmen who suck pipes in the Malayan jungle but do not pass exams."

It's been some time in the re-making but, karma-conditional, The Night Climbers of Cambridge will be climbing over spikes / walls / parapets or pinnacles near you from the 26th October 2007. Watch this space for more, head here to be kept updated or even go here to pre-order your very own 70th Anniversary Edition copy...

Scaling Renewed Heights

2007-08-05T09:34:00.000-07:00

Hi - welcome to the story of the re-publication of The Night Climbers of Cambridge - the 1937 classic climbing bible. As a thank you for visiting, readers of this blog should use NCBLOG as a coupon to get 10% off the book over on the Oleander site should they want a copy.

The Night Climbers of Cambridge was first published in October 1937 and rapidly followed by a revised second edition in November of the same year. It was reprinted in the 1950s but has since been out of print. It was authored under the pseudonym Whipplesnaith by a group of Cambridge graduates led by Noel Howard Symington and recounted their courageous / foolhardy nocturnal exploits as students climbing the ancient university and town buildings of Cambridge. Their travails were impressive enough but seem doubly so when you realise that they were weighed down by prehistoric photographic paraphernalia with which they recorded their efforts and achievements – all the while doing their best to avoid detection by university proctors, Bulldogs and, of course, the local 'Roberts'.. The result is a fascinating, humorous and, at times, adrenalin-inducing adventure.

The book has now become a cult classic and is much sought-after on the web via Abe Books and ebay etc with prices frequently reaching £150 for tatty 2^nd edition reprints. It has become a bible for the buildering, free running and parkour communities – sports very prevalent at the moment.

Of the approx. 75 photographs in the book we have reproduced over half of them from the original negatives – the others have been scanned from the original prints. The negatives and prints (each print had several exposures developed and kept) were given to Oleander in the original wax-sealed and string-bound package in which they were returned to the author in 1955! Cracking that 52 year-old seal was a moment of highly prized - and rewarded - anticipation. The images were all digitally remastered and have emerged with much improved clarity and detail yet retain all the historic impact and charm of the originals.

The text has been completely re-set with the photographs placed in their contextually accurate positions – the one major change from the original. The book is available in hardback with a dustcover designed by the original author’s great-nephew.

Use the links on the right to follow the story or click here to go to the latest posts.