No River No problem. You can still punt to the ball….

Sidney Sussex students used their ingenuity to full effect at this year's May Ball to ensure that being land-locked didn't mean no punting at the party. Engineering students at Cambridge have a bit of a reputation for getting up to odd stunts. In 1958, in the small hours of the morning, a group of them manged to carefully perch an Austin Seven van on the apex of the Senate House roof using scaffolding poles. On that occasion, the police, fire service and civil defence units were called out and the clever, nameless miscreants went to ground, their identities only emerging some time later. Happily the ingenious team responsible for the transformation of Sidney Sussex into a watery quasi-Venice for this year's May Ball were working with the full knowledge and blessing of the College, and therefore did not need to hide their talents. The team was led by engineering student Rob Weatherup and natural scientist Adam Lawrance-Owen. The idea was actually first put forward ten years ago, by student of the time, Roland Trim, who now works for an international firm of consultant engineers.