This shot is of Clare College Bridge with the college behind and the Cam below. Today I wanted to draw attention to the slice left out of the first decorative ball - that is of course, the bit the photograph doesn't show well but I think if you look closely you can see the (unmottled) wedge-shaped hole on the right. There are two common tales that explain this (but in reality no-one knows the truth):

1. The bridge's builder was not paid in full due to the college's dissatisfaction of its construction. The builder thus took his revenge by committing a small act of petty vandalism.
2. A college fellow removed the quarter-sphere to ensure another fellow could not win a bet with him as to how many spheres there are on the bridge.