[imagesource: St John’s College, Cambridge]

That there above is the Gothic-style chapel at St John’s College, Cambridge, which was built in the 1860s and stands 50 metres high.

Photographer Martin Bond, who has taken a photograph of Cambridge every day for more than a decade, spotted an odd addition to the chapel on Monday.

Bond takes all these photos for his website A Cambridge Diary, where he showcases the university and surroundings in all its glory.

Recently, he had the opportunity to live up to his name’s association with everyone’s favourite spy 007 by finding out about a student prank.

He spotted at least three Santa hats, which appeared on the heads of gargoyles on St John’s Chapel on the Cambridge grounds:

Image: Martin Bond

Bond said that it could only have been the work of “a rascal student”, adding that “some people believe they were placed by a drone, but they definitely climbed up there.”

A rascal student has placed a Santa hat on the heads of figures on St John’s College Chapel – so why is it my picture of the day? Take a look at the second picture and ask yourself – how?
A portrait picture of Cambridge every day since 2010. (No 4267) Monday 22nd November 2021 pic.twitter.com/J2sz4h873i

— A Cambridge Diary (@acambridgediary) November 22, 2021

A St John’s porter confirmed to Bond that no key had been signed out, so the hats could only have been placed from the outside of the building and not the inside.

Those are some brave “rascals” who managed to climb at least 50 metres high for this seasonal prank.

Here’s more from the BBC:

A commenter alluded to the work of Cambridge University “night climbers”, or students who defy the dangers to scale the college buildings under cover of darkness.

It is not the first time an unusual addition has been spotted on the college rooftops. In November 2009, climbers scaled an 80ft (24m) external wall of King’s College Chapel to fix four Santa hats on the pinnacles.

It beats me why Bond seems to be so upset as the festive gargoyles only make for a merrier Christmas, don’t you think?

[source:bbc]