Scenic walks in Oxford

The weather is just glorious at the moment so it is a perfect time to get out and about.  Oxfordshire is blessed with some spectacularly picturesque scenery. One of the great things about Oxford is that within 15 minutes walk of the centre of town, you can find yourself trailing into the heart of England’s green and pleasant countryside. Check out one of these fabulous walking locations to make the most of a dry weekend:

Within 20 minutes of the centre of town:
Christchurch Meadows 
Port Meadow
Shotover

And a little further afield:
Blenheim Palace grounds
The Cotswolds

If you are in Oxford and have a free day, then click on the image below to see some great country walking routes:

And why not listen to this song while you are planning your route: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg7KsemZGIc

The Red Letter Box

Britain's iconic red letter boxes - 'the red heart of the British streetscape' (BBC News Magazine)

One of the UK's rarest postboxes celebrated its 150th anniversary last year. But what is the future for this red emblem of the British streetscape?  Will the red postbox sadly follow the same fate as the red phone box?  And now that the privatisation of the Royal Mail has taken place, are other colours set to replace the familiar red?

The first pillar boxes were erected at St Helier in Jersey in 1852, at the recommendation of novelist Anthony Trollope - who was an employee of the General Post Office at the time. The first boxes were erected in Britain a year later.

Designs varied but in 1859 an improved cylindrical design was adopted for standard use nationwide. A Liverpool postmaster decided to rebel, and after a waging a long battle with London, the Liverpool Special letter box - with its increased capacity and chunkily cast crown on top - was born.

Andrew Young, chairman of the Letter Box Study Group, views that in a deregulated system, there could be a decline in numbers of the traditional form of the red boxes.

"There is a question over who would become responsible for the heritage," says Young. "It would take a campaign to determine who had liability."

This would be a great shame as the Traditional letter box has many fans.  For many communities, they are a reassuring presence - a cheerful, red splash that has stood out on British streets for a more than a century and a half.

Jonathan Glancey, writer and author of Pillar Boxes, sees them as miniature works of architecture, as a "glorious piece of public design", both functional and aesthetic, that has stood the test of time.

"Postboxes - like the old telephone boxes - are symbolic of democratic order and high standards. Whether you lived in Toxteth or Mayfair, there was the same standards for public design."

Lets hope the red boxes will remain.  But what are your views?  What colour would you be happy to see replace the traditional and vibrant red?

The full article can be read here.

If you have enjoyed reading about the red letter box, why not stay on red theme and read our article about The Big Red British Telephone Box

How English are you?

Is your favourite drink tea?  Do you love cricket?  Do you often find yourself apologising to those who barge into you?  Well, here is a snappy test to see how English you are!

In a recent survey it was discovered that only 40 per cent of English people were able to identify that St George's Day takes place on April 23, compared with 70 per cent who could give July 4 as the American national holiday!  Indeed at OISE Oxford we forgot to post this on St George's day (yesterday!)

A British response to ‘Dinner for One’

Last Friday a German student of ours brought up the topic of ‘Dinner For One’ during our weekly students’ lunch. Initially I wondered whether he was asking our opinion on eating out alone but after a few moments a vague memory of this black and white short film came to mind.

If you mention ‘Dinner For One’ to most Brits, they are unlikely to know what you are talking about unless they happen to have spent some time in a German-speaking country or perhaps in Scandinavia or Eastern Europe where the film is also popular. The reason for this is that despite being originally written by a British author and the dialogue being entirely in English, ‘Dinner For One’ has not been aired on British TV for over 30 years and as such is not the New Years Eve staple here that it has come to be in other countries.

Also known as ‘The 90th Birthday’, or by its corresponding German title, ‘Der 90. Geburtstag’, ‘Dinner for One’ is a two-hander comedy sketch written by British author Lauri Wylie for the theatre in the 1920s. German television station Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) later recorded an 18 minute-long performance of the piece in 1963 which went on to become one of the most frequently repeated TV programmes of all time. It has become somewhat of an institution in Germany with as much as half of the population tuning in to watch it every New Years Eve.

The film features a 90-year old upper-class Englishwoman, Miss Sophie, who is enjoying a celebratory birthday meal with 4 imaginary (presumably deceased) friends, following "the same procedure as every year" (the film's catchphrase). Meanwhile the butler serving the meal takes it upon himself to keep up the charade, consuming the 4 friends’ drinks as they toast Miss Sophie's birthday and becoming increasingly drunk with every course. The main source of hilarity is a tiger-skin rug with a large head which the butler trips over each time he goes to fetch the next course.

Now, I don’t mean to be a party pooper but from a British point of view, I can't say I'm convinced that this is the best we have to offer by means of comedy. In fact I find its popularity rather mystifying. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself by clicking the image below! 

What is the biggest Oxford College?

Kit Villiers, one of OISE Oxford's most experienced teachers and a specialist in legal English tuition, offers his opinion on the question: What is the biggest Oxford College?

As they potter off to see the Cathedral and the 'Harry Potter' Hall, tourists are told that Christ Church is the biggest college in the university, but the reality isn't quite so straightforward. Christ Church with its royal history, Eton and government connections may be in some sense the grandest, but it is not even the richest college. If one equates money with size, Christ Church is pipped by St John's, whose landholdings throughout the UK are massive, and which once owned almost all of North Oxford. (Christ Church is second on this measure).

How about physical size? This is very difficult to measure: should it include only the area covered by the original city centre buildings? Buildings for the accommodation of undergraduates (and increasingly graduates) are sprouting up all over the city, e.g. Hertford by the Thames and Lincoln near the 'Bear'. One wouldn't normally consider these modern buildings as part of a college, and certainly no tourists can or would bother to gain access to them. Perhaps the area should be contiguous: here Magdalen scores well as it claims to stretch a mile back from the High St. But a lot of this is gardens, deer parks, etc., and it seems odd to count this in the size of a college. Christ Church Meadow is contiguous but hardly part of the college. On the other hand it would be difficult to exclude all bits of green: New College for example has buildings beyond its lovely gardens, which are surely part of the college.

On the basis of core size (i.e.that clearly for college use, as opposed to commercial use such as Corpus's Old Bank Building, and contiguous) frankly I'm not sure which is the biggest in area, but I would suspect it might be St John's, which seems to be expanding ever northwards along St Giles after swallowing up the Lamb and Flag, and creating a new quad. The new quad would seem to put St John's up there also if we rate by numbers of quads, although Wadham has quite a few too.

As to number of students, this also is subject to fluctuation and to a lot of unverifiable boasting too. Does one count only undergraduates? Since postgraduates now number almost half the student population and are increasingly accommodated in college, this measure would seem to be a little outdated. The boasters are often a trifle vague as to whom they are actually counting. Having said this, Teddy Hall packs an awful lot of students into a small area, and recently I heard that St Catherine's now claims to be the biggest college by student numbers. Meanwhile St John's thinks it's the biggest, having allegedly passed Christ Church a few years back.

And the final answer? Kellogg, of course: even though it has no undergraduates and no sportsground, and most students live out, this college along the Banbury Road now has more students than any other.

British Cheese - Possibly the Greatest Cheese in the World!

Our in-house foodie, Samantha Bardsley, previously posted a brilliant piece on some of Britain's culinary specialties (click here to read 'An English Winner Dinner'). As this post received some great feedback from our readers, we thought we would narrow this subject down to the dairy delight, cheese!

The French tend to get most recognition for their cheese, but most experienced cheese eaters will agree that Britain provides even better. Included in the 700 cheeses that Britain has to offer, we have:

Bath Blue

Barkham Blue
Blue Monday (named after the song by New Order)
Buxton Blue (Protected Designation of Origin, currently not produced[1])
Cheshire Blue
Cornish Blue
Devon Blue
Dorset Blue Vinney
Dovedale (Protected Designation of Origin)
Exmoor Blue (Protected Geographical Indication)
Harbourne Blue
Lanark Blue, Scotland
Lymeswold no longer produced.
Oxford Blue
Shropshire Blue
Stichelton
Stilton (Protected Designation of Origin)
Blue Wensleydale
Yorkshire Blue

My personal favorite has to be Stinking Bishop. When you're next in Oxford, head to The Oxford Cheese Shop in the Covered Market, just below OISE Oxford, and pick up some Stinking Bishop and crackers, and enjoy!

Mispronunciation Mayhem

If you are a learner of English, you may be encouraged to hear that you are not alone in your struggle to master English pronunciation. There are many words that the British too have a tendency to stumble over or mispronounce. I for one am forever correcting my husband’s infuriating pronunciation of 'nuclear' ("nyoo-kyuh-ler") and 'secretary' (“sek-yuh-teh-ree”) and am mocked in equal measure for my ingrained mispronunciation of 'phoenix' (“fee-uh-niks”) and 'weapon' (“weh-pin”). A poll of members of the British Institute of Verbatim Reporters (BIVR), the UK's leading organisation for professionals involved in taking down speech at court and tribunal hearings, revealed 10 words that Britons consistently mispronounce:

1. phenomenon           [fi-nom-uh-nuhn]

2. remuneration           [ri-myoo-nuh-rey-shuhn]

3. statistics                  [stuh-tis-tiks]

4. ethnicity                  [eth-nis-i-tee]

5. hereditary               [huh-red-i-ter-ee, -tree]

6. particularly              [per-tik-yuh-ler-lee, puh-tik-]

7. conjugal                  [kon-juh-guhl]

8. specific                    [spi-sif-ik]

9. processes                [proh-ses-iz]

10. development          [dih-vel-uhp-muhnt]

Leah Willersdorf, of the BIVR, said: "We work with many different types of professionals and hear all kinds of voices during our work. However, when it comes to the English language it always seems to be the same few words that verbally trip people up, with the speaker having to repeat the word in order to get it right, or just abandoning their attempts and moving on."

Which words in English do you find hardest to pronounce?

Source: www.mirror.co.uk

Where do the British ginger roots come from?

What do Prince Harry, Nicole Kidman, Rupert Grint and Geri Halliwell all have in common? No, they don’t all have royal roots…they have ginger ones! Many international students are fascinated by the abundance of red hair when they come Britain and it is true that, especially amongst the Scots, gingerness is at its most prevalent here. Whilst only about 1 – 2 % of the world’s population has red hair, a whopping 13% of Scots are ginger, closely followed by Ireland with 10%. Traditionally there has been a bizarre prejudice against redheads in Britain but more recently it has become a more desirable feature with many people choosing to dye their hair red. But why are there so many more ginger people in Scotland? A recent study by researchers at the ScotlandsDNA project shows that a much higher proportion of people in Scotland carry the ‘ginger gene’ and Mr Moffat, their Managing Director, believes the origins of the gene may be an adaptation to Scotland's poor weather.

Mr Moffat explains: "I think it's to do with sunshine - we all need vitamin D from sunshine - but Scotland is cloudy, we have an Atlantic climate and we need light skin to get as much vitamin D from the Sun as possible."

Click on the image below to read more!

What are the world's most spoken languages, and which are the hardest to learn?

'The world's most widely spoken languages by number of native speakers and as a second language, according to figures from UNESCO (The United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), are: Mandarin Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, Bengali, Russian, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French.

The ease or difficulty of learning another language can depend on your mother tongue. In general, the closer the second language is to the learner's native tongue and culture in terms of vocabulary, sounds or sentence structure, the easier acquisition will be.

So, a Polish speaker will find it easier to learn another Slavic language like Czech than an Asian language such as Japanese, while linguistic similarities mean that a Japanese speaker would find it easier to learn Mandarin Chinese than Polish.

Dutch is said to be the easiest language for native English speakers to pick up, while research shows that for those native English speakers who already know another language, the five most difficult languages to get your head around are Arabic, Cantonese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Korean.'[1]

Do you speak English as a second language? If so, what do you think is the most difficult part of learning English? Please leave your comments below.

English Words with Unexpected Origins

1. Avocado

Meaning: a pear-shaped fruit with a rough leathery skin, smooth oily edible flesh, and a large stone

Origin: The word for avocado comes from the Aztec word, "ahuacatl," which means testicle. Aside from the similar shape, avocados also act as aphrodisiacs, foods that stimulate sex drive.

2. Clue

Meaning: a fact or idea that serves as a guide or aid in a task or problem

Origin: According to Greek mythology, when Theseus entered the Labyrinth to kill the minotaur (a half-man, half-bull), he unraveled a "clew" — a ball of string — behind him, so he could find his way back.

The word "clue" didn't even exist until the mid-1500s when people started to vary the spelling of "clew."

3. Assassin

Meaning: a person who murders an important person for political or religious reasons

Origin: Members of a fanatical Muslim sect during the Crusades used to smoke hashish and then murder leaders on the opposing side. They started going by the name "hashishiyyin," meaning hashish-users in Arabic which later evolved into 'assassin'.

4. Feisty

Meaning: not afraid to fight or argue, lively and aggressive

Origin: Late 19th century word from earlier feist or fist, a derogatory term for a lapdog, related to Middle English fist, meaning “to break wind”.

5. Whisky

Meaning: a spirit distilled from malted grain, especially barley or rye

Origin: Whisky is the shortened form of whiskybae, which comes from the Old English "usquebae," derived from two Gaelic words: uisce (water) and bethu (life). Thus, whisky literally means "water of life." Obvious really.

Sources: www.businessinsider.com and www.independent.co.uk

Top Tips from OISE Oxford's legendary tutor, Stephen Smith

We asked OISE Oxford’s longest serving tutor, Stephen Smith, for his top 10 tips for learners of English and these were his recommendations:

- Choose to stay with a host family. It may be a little less comfortable than a hotel, but it will give you a chance to practise your spoken English.

- If you have a television in your room, watch the news every day. (Newsreaders speak particularly clearly.) Alternatively, watch with your host family, or on your computer. (International news is, of course, easier to understand than the details of British politics).

- Don’t panic if you do not understand much at first, and don’t try to understand every word. English-speakers stress the key words in a sentence and tend to swallow the others. (Ask your teacher about weak forms and elision.) Listen for words you recognise, and gradually you will understand more and more.

- If you have one-to-one lessons, show your teacher(s) the type of emails, reports, etc. that you have to write, and explain what type of presentations, phone calls, etc. you need to make, so that you can practise these specific skills.

- Keep a notebook to note down new vocabulary and expressions. Note the pronunciation of new words. (It is easy to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet – fortunately, as English spelling is so unpredictable.) For single words, it may be enough to write down a literal translation, but for anything more complex than “engine” or “invoice” it is a good idea to write a sentence or sentences illustrating its use(s).

- Learn collocations – words which go naturally together – and common functional expressions – for requesting, thanking, asking for clarification, agreeing, disagreeing, etc. (including those you may need in your professional life). These are far more important than what some people call “idiom” – i.e. rarely used expressions such as “It’s raining cats and dogs” or proverbs such as “look before your leap.”

- A very common type of idiom in English is the phrasal verb (get on with, look forward to, make up, etc.) As these can be confusing, the student should aim at a passive knowledge of these (after the meaning will be clear in context), plus an active use of the most common ones.

- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. The important thing is to communicate. Most students find that they gain confidence in speaking after a few days, and are able in this way to activate their passive knowledge of the language.

- If you are held back by points of uncertainty about grammar, for example, ask your teacher(s) to explain them. Frequently, things which have been a mystery for decades can become clear in twenty minutes. Of course, there is a difference between understanding the correct form and always using it, but practice makes perfect.

- Naturally, constant revision is important, both during the course (with the help of homework exercises) and when students return home. Re-read notes, and take every opportunity to speak, read and listen to English. “Use it or lose it”, as they say. Even twenty minutes a day is vastly better.



Stephen Smith
OISE Oxford

Literary Quotes Gone Wrong!

Many literary quotes have worked their way into everyday conversation due to their ability to capture basic human truths or much-loved characters. But in a lot of cases it seems we are unknowingly misquoting them. Here are a few of the most common errors:

1. "Elementary, my dear Watson"

Although Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories contain a number of ‘elementaries’ and a handful of ‘my dear Watsons’, the phrase ‘Elementary, my dear Watson’ never actually appears in the books.

2. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned"

The line from William Congreve’s 1697 poem The Mourning Bride is ‘Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned/Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.’

It seems a shame to lose the first half of the couplet in the misquotation, but the addition of ‘hath’ gives it a charming Olde Worlde feel.

3. "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble"

Or even ‘hubble, bubble’ to many! Interestingly, the witches at the opening of Shakespeare’s Macbeth actually say “Double, double, toil and trouble”, referring not so much to the bubbling cauldron but to the toil and trouble that is being multiplied by their incantation.

4. "Please, Sir, can I have some more?"

In Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, the orphan rises from the table, advances towards the master and says "Please, sir, I want some more.", the same line that is used in the 1968 musical film Oliver! Perhaps we modified it to make poor Oliver seem more polite...

5. "Shaken, not stirred"

Ian Fleming’s James Bond asks a barman in Dr No for "A medium Vodka dry Martini – with a slice of lemon peel. Shaken and not stirred”. Ok, so it's just a single word that has been left out but the line “shaken, not stirred” has now been used so often in the Bond films that it's become ingrained in our image of Bond.

Source: The Telegraph

UK’s Oldest Family Firms Share Secrets to Success

Incredibly, some of Britain’s oldest family firms have been around for almost 500 years, surviving multiple wars, plagues and recessions. But just what is the secret to their success? In a new series of documentaries by the BBC entitled ‘Hidden Histories: Britain's Oldest Family Businesses’, the UK's most longstanding firms share their top business tips, some of which can be found below:

1. Butchers: RJ Balson & Son - Established 1515

Records show Robert Balson first rented a market stall in 1515 in the "Shambles" - an open-air meat market where animals were slaughtered and blood would drip into the gutter on the street. Offering personal and attentive customer service has kept shoppers coming back over the centuries. Balson says he helps sort out his customers' problems from behind the counter. "Usually if they've got a problem it's because they are not eating enough meat," he explains.

2. Construction firm: R Durtnell & Sons - Established 1591

Since the financial crash of 2008 over 7,000 UK building firms have gone out of business, but Durtnell and Sons, based in Brasted, Kent, has remained afloat since the reign of Elizabeth I. Spotting new ways of working has helped the company thrive and in the early 1800s, owner at the time, Richard Durtnell, made a crucial decision to bring together all the craftspeople he needed, such as glaziers and bricklayers, in one yard. As a result of this innovation, he became one of the first general builders.

3. Bank: C Hoare & Co - Established 1672

With two branches in London, this independent bank can trace its origins back to the reign of Charles II when founder Sir Richard Hoare began trading as a goldsmith and banker. His clients included diarist Samuel Pepys and Charles II's widow Catherine of Braganza. The tenth and eleventh generations of the Hoare family run the bank today and the company says the secret to their longevity is adhering to their core values and ethos - "to treat others as we would wish to be treated".

4. Miller: Mornflake - Established 1675

William Lea started milling oats at Swettenham Mill in 1675 in Cheshire and 15 generations later the company is still trading. Current manager John Lea says constant innovation, investment and commitment to consumers is the key to staying in business. Innovation became particularly vital during World War Two. With home-grown, sustainable food a necessity in the war, then-owner Philip Lea was ordered by the Ministry of Food to leave the RAF and return home to Britain to "feed the nation".

5. Hatters: James Lock & Co - Established 1676

Following the great plague of 1665 and the great fire of 1666, wealthy residents from the City of London moved to the west of the city in search of clean air. Entrepreneurial shopkeepers spotted the exodus and opened up businesses in the emerging West End. Choosing the right location was crucial to establishing James Lock & Co. With a shop close to St James Palace, the firm became milliners to the gentry and the military and still supply hats to the royal family today. Over the years customers included Admiral Lord Nelson, Sir Winston Churchill and Charlie Chaplin, but its most famous product was the very first bowler hat in 1850.

Tune into BBC Four at 9pm on Wednesdays to watch the programme or read the full article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25711108

Grab Some Grub in Oxford

Oxford is a lively city with many pubs, bars and restaurants to keep all the locals, students and tourists entertained. Sometimes when you're visiting a city for a short period of time, it's hard to know where to go. Of course, there are online reviews and guide books to point you in the right direction, but wouldn't it be nice to hear what the locals have to say? With this in mind, the OISE Oxford team have chosen three restaurants that they would recommend to all of Oxford’s beloved visitors.

Quod Brasserie

The Quod is conveniently located a very short stroll from OISE Oxford, along the High Street.  It is a popular meeting spot for lunch, afternoon tea, evening dinner and drinks.  It has a friendly, relaxed feel with attentive, smiley staff and the service is quick.  Thee menu choices are varied, though rather limited for vegetarians.  The scones for afternoon tea are just delicious and are a great British treat!  There is a terrace area to the back of the restaurant which is perfect for summer lunches, however as it is heated it can be a year round option for hardy diners!  


Pizzeria Verde

Trattoria Verde is a family-owned Italian restaurant on the Cowley Road situated in East Oxford. They serve excellent food and the staff are very friendly and helpful. I would recommend the Pasta Frutti di Mare (pasta with shell fish), not to mention the delicious selection of thin based pizzas on offer! There are also many other restaurants with cuisine from around the world, including Greek, Morrocan, Indian, Thai and Chinese. While this area of Oxford is not known for being the most historical or traditional, it is very multi cultural, has a lot of character and is home to the majority of Oxford's student population.


Jamie’s Italian

Jamie’s Italian, located in the restaurant hotspot of George St, is a relatively recent addition to Oxford’s food scene. Nevertheless its popularity is evident from the queues of people who can often be seen waiting for a table and its buzzing atmosphere. It is certainly a trendy place to eat with its industrial modern interior, graffitied brick walls and basement dining area. The menu, too, steers away from the traditional Italian staples, experimenting with fresh, new, seasonal dishes and wacky names. It is a little on the pricey side but there is a good choice, friendly service and in my view, it is worth paying a bit extra for the experience.

Souper Soup

As the cold weather continues, it is the perfect time to turn to a warming bowl of soup.  Soup is the perfect meal choice for those who are ready to turn over a new healthy-eating-leaf in the New Year.  It offers the perfect opportunity to inject more vegetables into our diets following weeks of festive mince pies and mulled wine.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall raves that the ‘Classic British soups more than hold their own against any bouillabaisse, bisque, brodo or borscht…We invented fire. We roasted meats. We made pots. We cooked soup. That's the story of culinary evolution in a nutshell’.

‘On a cold winter's day, soup lifts the spirits, comforts, warms. It soothes us when we're ill and keeps us going when we're broke. It raises expectations at the beginning of a meal or – with the addition of that other unshakable staple, good bread – it can be the meal’.

I will be turning to a roast butternut squash and red pepper soup to lift my spirits, following a great recipe by James Tanner.  Another good office recommendation is the warming Thai pumpkin soup, favoured by some at OISE Oxford.  What soup will you be turning to?  We look forward to hearing.

10 buildings that changed the face of England

The head of English Heritage, Dr Simon Thurley, chooses his top ten most important buildings in England’s architectural history.

1. Westminster Abbey (c.960)

Coronation church and mausoleum of kings and queens since the 960s, it was here that Edward the Confessor developed the style known as Norman and Henry VIII started a gothic refurbishment which took nearly 3 centuries to complete.

2. Rievaulx Abbey, North Yorkshire (1147-67)

England’s most beautiful ruin, built in a remote valley by Cistercian monks and one of the first built in the gothic style with pointed arches.

3. King’s Bench Walk, Temple, London (1677)

A prime example of a new type of house developed in James I’s London, first known as a “row house” and later a terrace. This housing style became the backbone of the city after the Great Fire of London.

4. The Peckwater Quadrangle, Christ Church, Oxford (1707)

Designed by Dean Aldrich, this courtyard was built to house rich undergraduates in a style rigorously faithful to ancient Roman buildings. The style was taken up by the circle of the royal court and was adopted for houses, public buildings and churches everywhere.

5. Ditherington Flax Mill, Shrewsbury (1797)

The world’s first incombustible iron-framed building and ancestor to every large building with a steel frame today, from supermarkets to skyscrapers.

6. A&G Murray Mills, Ancoats, Manchester (1801)

A&G Murray’s mills were the first in which manufacturing processes were all powered by steam and look, at a distance, like a Georgian street, but behind the iron casements, they drove the largest economy the world had ever seen.

7. Liverpool Road Railway Station, Manchester (1830)

The world’s first passenger railway station is a modest but reassuring-looking building. By blending Avant-garde engineering with reassuringly familiar architectural styles, architects managed to create an atmosphere of confidence.

8. No 6 Slip, Chatham Historic Dockyard (1847)

Naval engineers pushed the limits of technology to build and equip the Navy, and one of the most important advances was the construction of massive free-standing iron sheds called “slips”, under which ships were built. These were the first wide-spanned metal structures in the world.

9. All Saints, Margaret Street, London (1849)

It was here that architecture and engineering first fused to create a new language for the Victorian era. William Butterfield saw the possibilities of coloured and engineered brick for making modern buildings that were both decorative and functional.

10. Bedford Park, London (from 1877)

This mix of brick-built semi-detached and detached Victorian houses in wide streets with deep gardens became the aspiration of millions. Such suburbs, and cheaper imitations of them, were built all over England from the 1880s.

For the full article and pictures, visit:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/architecture/10549001/englands-best-buildings-top-ten-best-buildings-britain-english-heritage-simon-thurley-westminster-abbey.html

The Controversy of the Meadow Road

by OISE Oxford Tutor Kit Villiers

When the weather is good (it does sometimes happen even in the UK!) it's nice for workers, shoppers, students, etc., to take lunch outside, e.g. a nice sandwich in the park. Unfortunately
Oxford is a bit short of city centre parks or indeed open spaces of any kind within walking distance of Carfax.  

One of the nearest is Christ Church Meadow. This large water meadow, unspoilt since the 14th century, provides a welcome haven for office workers and tourists alike; although it's a bit short of benches and you have to watch out for geese droppings if you've time to venture as far as the river and plan to sit on the grass watching students training for Eights Week, it's still a wonderful way of getting away from the rush of the city for a few moments.

Astonishingly this oasis of relative peace was almost lost to us for ever some 50 years ago.

In those days the centre of Oxford, like most other towns along the A40, was a terrible traffic bottleneck. Cars choked the High - one of the most beautiful streets in Europe - and Cornmarket. With very few pedestrian crossings, you took your life in your hands even trying to cross the road; as for gazing in peace and quiet at the famous skyline - forget it.

The current solution is to ban cars from the city centre almost completely, as belatedly happened under the Oxford Transport Policy a few years ago. But, incredible as it seems now, the thinking of transport planners in the 50s and 60s was that the car was king: the aim of transport policy should be, they thought, to try to ensure that private cars, clearly the mode of transport of the future, should be enabled to travel as fast as possible, and blow the consequences.

The solution to the problem in the High was, they decided, to by-pass it completely by building a road from St Aldate's to St Clement's, i.e. right across Christ Church Meadow. Various versions of the scheme were put forward over a number of years, but they were all perfectly ghastly, and all based on the premise that the car was the best mode of transport to get around, even in an historic city like Oxford.

Fortunately the tide turned. Modern planners believe cities are to be lived in, and are not places that can simply be concreted over to speed up traffic. In fact the emphasis now is on slowing down the car by speed humps, etc. and encouraging people to walk, cycle or to use public transport - exactly the opposite of earlier days. In these changed circumstances the Meadow Road was doomed, and it finally bit the dust in around 1970, although there was a rearguard action for a time in favour of an alternative route through where the Four Pillars hotel now stands.

What is amazing now, looking back, is the power these planners had: Christ Church itself considered the scheme 'repugnant and offensive' and both the university and the Oxford Preservation Trust opposed the road, but despite this the scheme very nearly went ahead, such was the power of the car lobby and the general belief that the car represented modernity and everything else should bow down before it.

Good riddance, I say. Bench or no bench, rain or shine,  I'm off to feed the ducks, who quite possibly don't realise what a reprieve they had...

The Most Overused Words of the Past Year

There are some words you just can’t avoid no matter how much you might want to and 2013 has had some absolute corkers. Courtesy of BBC News Magazine, here are a handful of some of the most overused (and in many cases most irritating) words of 2013.

1. Twerk, v. Dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance.

The raunchy dance move performed by Miley Cyrus at the MTV VMAs was among the new words added to the Oxford Dictionary of English in August. Borrowed from hip hop culture, the word has become increasingly visible in the past 12 months. In Time magazine's annual word banishment poll the word earned the biggest chunk of votes in the poll's history at nearly 27%, beating the 22% vote for YOLO (you only live once) last year.

2. Selfie, n. A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.

"Selfie" was named word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries and those taking part in the trend have included everyone from the Pope to President Obama. Barely a week goes by without celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Rihanna posting selfies on their Twitter pages. But with research suggesting the frequency of the word selfie in the English language has increased by 17,000% in the last year, the word has had its critics. In a survey in Time magazine of 14 contenders considered for the crown of The Thing You Never Want to Hear Again, selfie came third with 8% of the votes.

3. Hashtag, n. Word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#), used on social media sites such as Twitter to identify messages on a specific topic.

Twitter made the hashtag big. It came third in Global Language Monitor's 2013 list of the year's top English words. But the words has wheedled its way into spoken phrases such as "hashtag annoying" as well. Buzzfeed has highlighted 14 Uses Of Hashtags That Will Make You Cringe, with some of the worst offenders - #tbt (Throwback Thursday), #yolo (You Only Live Once), #mcm (Man Crush Monday) #hipster and #ootd (Outfit of the Day) - listed in its 13 Hashtags To Leave In 2013.

4. Amazeballs, adj. (slang) An expression of enthusiastic approval.

Some attribute the boom in the word’s popularity to celebrity blogger Perez Hilton with coining the word, citing his campaign to get it trending on Twitter in 2009. Others claim reality TV shows The Only Way is Essex and Made in Chelsea broadcast the word to the masses, with participants often coupling the word with "totes" - that's totally for the uninitiated - in phrases such as "That's, like, totes amazeballs". Comedy duo Jessica & Hunter have also claimed they invented the term. Whatever its origins, the word made it into the Dictionary of Most Annoying Words In The English Language in 2012 and is now widespread on social media.

5. Fail, v. To be or become deficient.

According to Global Language Monitor, which publishes an annual list of the year's top English words, the single word “fail” - “often used as a complete sentence (Fail!) to signify failure of an effort, project or endeavour" was the second most frequently overused word in 2013.

Definitions from the Oxford English, Collins, and Merriam-Webster Dictionaries

To read the full article, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23362207

We are in “taint week”

Britain is currently in  “taint week”.  The in between bit between Christmas and New Year has been nicknamed by some the “taint week” – because t’ain’t one thing nor the other.

A typical week is on hold, with many British people enjoying a festive holiday.  For those who have returned back to work all is very quiet, with the majority of e-mails being sent receiving an 'out of office reply'.  It is a time to relax and enjoy the change in pace.  'This is a national deep breath, a communal duvet day, and a guilty pleasure that unites us all, whatever our religion. Unless, of course, you’re a shop assistant'.

A traditional activity/chore to complete between Christmas and the New Year is the 'thank you' letter, which has to include not only the initial 'thank you' for whatever Christmas gift, but also a thoughtful (and therefore rather difficult) paragraph which would make the reader feel valued.  Often, this letter writing task can be helped with a festive glass of sherry!

It is also a time for the brave and hardy swimmer to prepare for the New Year's dip.  Every year, thousands of Britons and people across the world take the plunge into coastal waters, rivers and lakes and in the case of the UK very icy waters.  Good luck to all who are going to take the plunge, don't forget your towel and maybe a hot water bottle...

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/christmas/9767609/The-week-that-unites-us-all-inone-long-deep-breath.html

Cycling to OISE

As it gets colder and darker cycling around can become increasingly an unattractive option to get around town.  Read Kit's blog post on his biking thoughts:

Recently I have fallen off my bike on black ice, had to walk up to the main road pushing the bike through snow, and got thoroughly wet from cycling through sleet and rain.... so why do I carry on coming to work on my not so trusty steed?  Well, read on....

My route is from Summertown, so I have the great advantage that it's pretty straight, and more importantly, dead flat. It's mostly along the Banbury Road. There is a kind of a cycle lane most of the way, but you have to take care when this lane suddenly gets wider as this means you are sharing with buses, and the buses have got more numerous and wider over the years. They also swoop in front of you to access their all-too-frequent bus stops. But actually if you allow a couple more minutes for the trip, you can avoid the Banbury Road and its ghastly buses altogether. There is a cycle track all the way to the University Parks from north of the Summertown shops, and then you can reach the High St through the relatively quiet science area. Speaking of Summertown though prompts me to add a note of caution: when they redid the shopping area a couple of years ago, the Council clearly forgot about bikes. When we complained, they didn't change the new layout and instead simply painted large cycle signs in the main carriageway. This means you can have great fun quite legally holding up all the traffic in the Banbury Road by cycling sedately along the middle of the road. As everybody always overtakes me anyway (despite the average age of North Oxford cyclists being seemingly about 89) I get more than my share of angry hoots whenever I try this.

There are other advantages for me too. Although there are lots of buses, by cycling I avoid a 5 minute walk to the bus stop, and another walk from Magdalen St to OISE.  I park my bike in the Covered Market, so it's pretty safe, and dry and right by the school. It's also convenient for use in the lunch hour; it's a bit far to take a sandwich in the Parks on a summer's day on foot, but using the bike I can park at the Keble gate and get in a spot of cricket too.

In short I can thoroughly recommend cycling to OISE. We've had students here for just a week who've really enjoyed the experience, hiring a bike from a city-centre bikeshop, or borrowing one from a host family.  OK, so we don't have cycle lanes like much of continental Europe, and unless you're from Japan, Thailand or Indonesia you've got to adjust to pedalling on the other side of the road. I suppose you also lose the chance of honing your conversational skills in negotiating your bus pass with the bus driver, but all of these drawbacks are minor compared with the joys of the independence of cycling. Just think - if you've got a bike you can use it at weekends too. Woodstock and Blenheim Palace, for instance, are close enough to get to even for an amateur cyclist.

Finally though you should remember that in the UK cyclists have to obey the traffic laws. You have to stop at red lights (although some of them seem pretty pointless, e.g. the lights between the Broad and George St), have bike lights at night, and not cycle along pavements; it's a good idea to wear a crash helmet too. 

Enjoy your cycling, and get fit too!

Author: Kit Villiers (OISE Oxford's specialist legal tutor)