Swanning around

Earlier this month, traffic on Fen Road was brought to a halt by a flock of swans. Drivers could only honk their horns in fury, as the group of white birds “stubbornly” refused to move out of the road. One van owner was ultimately forced out of his vehicle to scare away the avian squatters. This incident was not the first time swans have disturbed the peace of Cambridge. One famous swan, Mr Asbo, was known to roam the River Cam terrorising unwitting visitors, until Natural England moved him to an undisclosed location in 2012.

Trumped up

Cambridge alum Usha Chilukuri Vance, is in the running to be the Second Lady of the United States following the nomination of her husband, J. D. Vance, as Donald Trump’s running mate for vice president. Mrs Vance attended Clare College on the prestigious Gates Scholarship from 2009-2010, taking an MPhil in early modern history, before progressing to Yale Law School where she met her husband-to-be. Vance subsequently embarked on a high-flying career as a litigation expert. If Trump wins the election in November, Vance will become the first Cambridge alum to be a partner of an American president or vice-president.

Rob(ert)son College

Hollywood star Julia Roberts was spotted in Cambridge last week, trading Oceans for the river. The actor, of Notting Hill and Pretty Woman fame, has been filming her new film After the Hunt, with co-stars Andrew Garfield, Chloe Sevigny, and Ayo Edebiri, in the grounds of Selwyn and Westminster colleges. The movie is being directed by Luca Guadagnino, fresh from the smash success of the recent blockbuster Challengers. Cambridge colleges are popular sites for productions, with David Mitchell having filmed his upcoming BBC show Ludwig at Queens’ College earlier this year.

Cam-binet reshuffle

In the same month that Prime Minister Keir Starmer has appointed his cabinet, vice-chancellor Prentice’s own round table has undergone a reshuffle. Mathematics fellow John Aston has been appointed to pro-vice-chancellor for research, and will replace Anne Ferguson-Smith in September. Biological scientist Anna Philpott will take on the role of pro-vice-chancellor for resources and operations in the following month, with David Cardwell departing from the post. Before Cambridge, professor Aston taught in Warwick and Taiwan, while prof Philpott has pioneered research into the development of embryo and cancer cells.