Evensong - By Kit Villiers

Just as in the previous 900 or so Octobers, Oxford University is back for another academic year. Full term (Michaelmas term that is - not Christmas term as everywhere else - Oxford always has to be different) commenced on 12th October, and one of the many activities which has begun again is college chapel. Perhaps surprisingly in this secular age all 38 major colleges are not only nominally still Christian establishments but maintain Anglican (Church of England) chapels, complete with resident chaplain (like a priest or rector in a local church), and, usually, a choir.

 

Finding out which colleges invite the public to Evensong (generally the main church service held in chapel, normally around 6pm) is a subtle ploy not only for those who like to listen to good music but are frustrated that the beautiful ancient colleges are so often closed to the public: at least they can't stop you going in to pray! Seriously though, most of the colleges do welcome visitors to Evensong, whatever your religion or lack of it.

 

Here are a few pointers.

 

The 2014/15 University of Oxford Pocket Diary (a must have for anyone living here I would say) now lists 5 colleges - as well as the University Church - in its 'Times of Services' section. Three of these have always been there, the colleges with the so-called 'professional' choirs. These three, Christ Church, Magdalen and New College differ chiefly from the others in that they still maintain a male only tradition. Boy trebles sing the high bits instead of sopranos, who are usually female undergraduates in the other college choirs. Even these three have developed quite differently over the centuries....

 

Christ Church's chapel doubles up as Oxford's Cathedral; this is a big advantage for OISE as it means our students can listen to Evensong there almost every night of the year, while Magdalen and New College have services only during the University's (extremely short) terms. Careful though! As nobody can sing 365 nights a year, Christ Church runs a 'B' team in the vacations - you might not get the proper choir at all.

 

Magdalen is notable in that all the male voices are so-called 'Academical Clerks', i.e. they are all undergraduates with music scholarships. It's also notable in that the school that provides the choirboys, Magdalen College School, is these days almost as famous as the college. It's a secondary school as well as primary, and, judging by A level results, one of the best in the country.

 

The oldest is New College, founded in 1379. The founder, William of Wykeham, also established New College School in the same year to provide the choristers, and services have been sung - in term time - ever since. Unlike Magdalen the male voices were all professionals, called Lay Clerks, until recent times; now though about half are Academical Clerks. New College probably rates highest in ability - or is it just the wonderful acoustics?  In any event a father of a current chorister told me the other day that the standard of music was so high that he feels he is at a concert rather than a church service. A sort of back-handed compliment, I suppose!

 

The other two colleges are Merton and The Queen's College. The latter has choral evensong at 6.15pm in term time on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, while Merton's evening services are on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. I know Merton has been expanding its choir's scope and activities a lot in recent years, and of course they've got a lot going for them with that wonderful chapel which has now held services for almost 750 years. Merton is now the Evensong of choice for my brother when he comes visiting from Devon, even though he went to New College School as a boy.

 

Finally I wouldn't write off the other colleges just because they are not in the diary: Worcester College for example runs two choirs, one with all students and one 'borrowing' the boys from Christ Church Cathedral School, and the public is welcome to all of their services.

Running In Oxford

I once read an article about how business people try to keep fit on a business trip. Hotel gyms are normally boring affairs. Usually you are the only person there, and there isn't much to raise the heart rate except for those mind-numbingly boring running machines. So the article went on to talk about going for a run in a strange city. There were a few do's and don'ts, like not taking your shirt off in case the locals were offended, but the main part consisted of suggested jogging routes for various cities. I remember Singapore was one - it told you that everybody goes to the MacRitchie Reservoirs and to avoid running on public streets (of course I ignored that when I was there).

Oxford was unsurprisingly not included in the article, but it is an especially good place to go running, almost wherever you are, or wherever your hotel or host family is located. It's not too big, and has plenty of green spaces. Some might say it's a little lacking in hills, but others will be glad to potter along on the level.....

Let's take some of the key areas:

CENTRAL OXFORD.
Although there's no park right in the city centre, there are two fantastic running places within very easy reach of even the unfittest jogger. But first I suppose we need to decide what's the difference between a runner and a jogger. Some years ago when they used to have the 'Sunday Times Fun Run' in Hyde Park in London, I heard it said that anyone who couldn't complete a marathon in under 3 hours 40 minutes could consider themselves a mere jogger. I'm definitely a 'mere' jogger then - especially nowadays! All the suggested routes in this article suit the jogger as well as more serious runners.

Back to the two fantastic places. First there is the University Parks. This lies between the Banbury Road and the River Cherwell; you can't do a lap (about 10 mins at my pace) without seeing stacks of other runners - mostly female, whether in term or out. Very scenic and safe, and you can run on the grass as well as the paths; in this respect the Parks differs from the other popular run, which is around Christ Church Meadow , and where you do stick to the paths. It's slightly shorter than the Parks, but you get tremendous views of both of Oxford's rivers: in fact the Cherwell (famous for punting) meets the Thames (famous for rowing and motor boats) in the Meadow. The Parks at the moment close at 9.30pm while the Meadow just says 'dusk' - about the same time, I suppose. Both of them give instructions to the runner who accidentally gets locked in - you needn't worry - you won't have to spend a night there clad only in your sweaty shorts.

NORTH OXFORD
For those of you lucky enough to live amongst the so-called 'North Oxford Toffs' there are two areas where you can go for quite decent runs. First there's Port Meadow: this has access points from lots of places such as Wolvercote or Jericho. It's a lovely run along the Thames north-west of Oxford. But be warned - it's quite far and there aren't many bridges, so don't try to be too ambitious! Then there is Cutteslowe Park, the largest public park in Oxford, located just outside the ring road, to the north of the city. You can get there easily from the Banbury Road roundabout. Cutteslowe Park also hosts Oxford's Parkrun, an international organisation which puts on 5k runs; these are free and start at 9am every Saturday morning: it's just a case of getting out of bed on time!

Fellows, Dons and other Oxfordisms

Look out of the OISE windows any time now and you'll see Oxford undergraduates wending their way down the High towards Magdalen Bridge and (no doubt with some trepidation) entering the august portals of the Examination Schools to sit their 'Finals'. They're easy to recognise because they're in 'sub-fusc' - black suits and gowns, bow ties, etc.

It isn't perhaps not quite so easy to recognize a senior member of the university. Apart, that is, from the traditional image of the untidy eccentric professor who dashes out of the lab shouting "Eureka" and gets awarded a Nobel prize for some scientific breakthrough or other.... Actually this kind of brilliant scientist, while many undoubtedly exist in Oxford, is these days more likely to be dressed quite conventionally and be indistinguishable from any other man or woman in the street. Also it must be said that this image is more redolent of Cambridge than Oxford, as Cambridge is more science based than Oxford, where 70% of students are studying (or' reading')  non-scientific subjects.

Apart from professors there are lots of types of senior members. These range from Readers through to Lecturers, and include Dons, Fellows, Deans and Proctors. If we include the so-called 'Heads of House' (i.e. the bosses of the 38 colleges) there are many more, as it seems each college is determined to bestow a unique title on its leader: so Corpus has a President, The Queen's College a Provost, Balliol a Master, Exeter a Rector, and so on.

 

The situation is made more confusing by the fact that some titles relate to the university and others to colleges. For example, the proctors are the university police, although these days undergraduates have to reckon with the Thames Valley Police as well if they step out of line.

 

Traditionally a professor was the head of a department, e.g. chemistry: it was therefore a university appointment. But many professorships are linked to colleges - after all there is no building called 'the university', and professors need a college hall to dine in!  Another change - brought on I believe by Oxford in the past having very few professors, and if you weren't a professor it was harder to get a good job in an American university - is in the number of professors. I was in the inorganic chemistry building the other day and counted a dozen or so professors in that department alone. So there's been serious inflation amongst Oxford professors in recent times.

 

Another basically university position is Reader. These rank immediately below professors, and generally work in a university department rather than teaching in a college - but of course they nearly all have college positions too, like the professors. Tutors, on the other hand, are generally employed by a college, and conduct 'tutorials' (like 1 to 1 lessons at OISE. This is the hallmark way Oxford and Cambridge undergraduates are taught, as opposed to a lecture system as at most universities.

 

However, just to complicate matters, there are lectures too to supplement the tutorial system; these often take place in the Examination Schools, but sometimes in faculty buildings, such as the Law Library. So there are lecturers as well as tutors, and these are paid by the university generally although often they have college positions too.

 

How about fellows? These are 'incorporated' senior members of a  college. They are usually tutors who after a few years tutoring get elected to a fellowship; in a way they are like the directors of a company - their job being, apart from their academic duties, to run their college. Some may not teach at all: some may conduct research full-time, and the fellowship may include the burser, who manages the college's finance. The fellowship normally selects the next college President, Principal or Master, as the case may be. By the way I haven't forgotten Dean: he is the boss of Christ Church, and has this special title because he also runs the Cathedral.

 

A horribly vague term is 'don'. The dictionary just says that, apart from being a Spanish gentleman, a don is a 'university teacher, esp. a senior member of a college at Oxford or Cambridge'. Pretty much like a fellow then, officially; but in general usage I would say that the term 'an Oxford don' is generic and refers to any senior member of the university as well as of a college.

 

Slightly baffling,eh? And I haven't even got on to scouts, chaplains and no doubt many others. Anyway there is little need to worry who is what at the moment, since the university is about to depart on its mammoth 4 month summer vacation.

By Kit Villiers

The Four Minute Mile - Kit Villiers

Lots of things happen in May in Oxford. With the university disappearing on its endless Long Vacation in early June, May is the month for summer balls, Eights Week (28th to 31st), exams, and of course the traditional start of spring with May Morning at Magdalen Bridge (see earlier article).

More by way of a one-off occurred at the Iffley Road running track on 6 May 1954. On that windy afternoon, at 6pm to be precise, one R.G. Bannister, running for the Amateur Athletic Association against his old Alma Mater, Oxford University, made history. He became the first person in the world to run a mile in under 4 minutes, achieving the feat in 3.59.4. About 2,000 spectators were at the track that day, although if all those who claim they saw Bannister breasting the tape were speaking the truth, there would have been approximately 10 times that number! I'm almost one of those fibbers. I was actually about one mile away, assiduously doing my 'prep' at New College School in Savile Road when the epic event took place, and heard about it only the next morning.

Why was it such a big deal? Before it was broken, the 4 minute barrier was held in some mystique; some doctors said that the human body just wasn't capable of running so fast. But Bannister (a doctor himself) thought it only a matter of time before someone did it. The Swedes had got awfully close during the wear when not much athletics took place, and now John Landy in Australia and one or two others were threatening too.

So the AAA put together a fantastic team for this normally fairly low key match in Oxford: Chris Brasher (the founder of the London Marathon) would set the pace for the first 2 laps, then Chris Chataway (later the Mo Farah of the day, and an MP)  would take over for the third, leaving Sir Roger to make his bid for life time fame over the fourth, and final, lap. The rest is history.... and Bannister is a household name and will be for the rest of his life for this one achievement, now 60 years in the past.

I suppose Sir Roger is particularly well-known in Oxford: he was an undergraduate at Exeter College, much later Master of Pembroke College and still lives here.  But, judging by my asking a few of our learners at OISE and some other non-Brits, he seems to be almost totally unknown abroad. I suppose this might be because the mile is now a rarely run event, as we've all gone metric now. 1500 metres is the equivalent Olympic distance, and it's quite easy to run that in under 4 minutes - or so I'm told!

On the other hand great crowds showed up at Iffley Road for both the 40 and 50 year anniversaries, and even this year (the sixtieth) the Oxford Mail was reliving the whole event yet again; it also gave great prominence to Sir Roger's recent announcement that he has Alzheimer's and sadly has difficulty in walking. Certainly for English people of a certain age, whether they are runners or not, Bannister is a household name, but perhaps less so for younger people. I read somewhere that Bannister has the unusual distinction of having a road named after him in Oxford while still alive. They've changed the name of the track too.

In fact, despite the fuss, Bannister's world record didn't last long: it was broken by Landy shortly afterwards. But it's still Bannister whom we remember, at least for now. But perhaps when he and his generation are no longer with us, the four minute mile will just fade into history. After all, who nowadays remembers the awesome breaking of the 6 foot barrier in the high jump, which took place in Marston in the 19th century? Answer - almost nobody!

By Kit Villiers

Oxford University - Kit Villiers

Those of you who saw or read about the Boatrace a few weeks ago will be aware of one of the things the University does - as opposed to the individual colleges -  is organise sports teams or crews to take on ancient rivals, Cambridge. Oxford and Cambridge try to beat each other in every sport they can think of, from American Football to darts. Team members must belong to the University in the sense that they must be undertaking a full-time course of study; this means (see previous blog) that they are all members of a college, though they may be graduate students or undergraduates. Apart from studying towards a degree the only other stipulation is that they are within a certain number of years of matriculation.

 

Since the end of National Service and the rise of professionalism in many sports, the general level of team sport in Oxford and Cambridge has relatively declined, but the Rugby team as well as the rowers is still of a high standard, although I couldn't say the same about tiddlywinks or croquet.  In cricket, as mentioned in an earlier article, Oxford has been forced to join up with Brookes in order to maintain its first class status. If you represent Oxford against Cambridge you are a 'blue', and there is a special blues' club called Vincent's in St Edward's St., near OISE.

 

But the main thing that the university does is award degrees. You might say, for example, "I read law at Pembroke (College). I got an upper second and am now B.A. (Oxon)." 'Oxon' is the short form of 'Oxoniensis', i.e. Oxford in Latin. Degrees are awarded in a very formal way in the Sheldonian Theatre in the Broad, usually in the presence of the Chancellor. You have to wear gowns, etc., both to get your degree and to sit the exams. This formal attire, known as 'sub fusc', is also required for matriculation, which is the ceremony all new undergraduates attend in their first term, also in the Sheldonian.

 

Most first degrees at Oxford are three years, although Classics, known as 'Greats' - perhaps the most famous degree course at Oxford - is four years, as is Chemistry. However as school exams have become easier, more and more subjects are finding that four years are now needed to bring students up to the required standard. An example of this is physics which has become a four year course in recent times; undergraduates now have to complete a new first year - mostly in maths - to reach the standard of freshers of earlier years.

 

Generally the Oxford system is that you have only one exam to determine your degree. This is taken at the end of the summer term of your last year. It's called 'Finals' (although in my day it was called 'schools' - shows how traditions even at Oxford can change).  This means that one's course is continuous - you study throughout the three (or four) year course, including vacations. OISE learners are always surprised at how short the Oxford terms are: just 3 eight week terms a year; i.e. the total vacation time  - 28 weeks - is longer than term time - only 24 weeks. But don't be fooled - tutors give undergraduates piles of reading for the vacations, and then test them on the first day of the next term.

 

Although teaching continues to be a college activity by the weekly tutorial, the university does have a lecture programme to support the work of college tutors. These mostly take place in the Examination Schools building in the High, where most people also sit finals. But law lectures for example take place in the Law Library, near New College sportsground.

 

The university also provides facilities that are too big for individual colleges, and to avoid duplication. Science laboratories fall into this category, but of greater interest to a wider public, I suppose, are the world famous Bodleian Library and Oxford University Press (OUP). These are worth separate articles. Finally the university runs several museums, of which the Ashmolean is the best known.

 

So, here is a question: who organised May Morning? The university or the college (Magdalen, for those who failed to read the earlier piece!). Answers on my Twitter account only, please.

By Kit Villiers

Oxford University - the colleges

"At last!  I've found the University!" my learner announced one Monday morning. Since he'd been at OISE at least two weeks by that time, and I knew he'd already visited Harry Potter College (sorry - Christ Church), I was a little puzzled by this opening sally. I thought I'd subtly enquire somewhat further before proceeding with the topic of the day, the Second Conditional.

 

"Congratulations!" I responded. "Er - where exactly did you go?"

 

"Oh, it's a little bit of a walk," he said, pointing vaguely in a northerly direction. "I don't recall the road names, but I was walking around on Saturday, and suddenly discovered all these laboratories and I think there was the University Museum as well."

 

It transpired that in his quest to discover England's most ancient university he had dismissed the whole of the City Centre and the colleges, assuming that 'college' meant the same as in France, i.e. that the colleges were for the education of English schoolchildren, and therefore they could not be anything to do with the university.

 

In fact the 38 or so colleges are an integral part of the University of Oxford. If you've got some good 'A' levels and  want to study, say, English at Oxford, you must apply to a college in order to do so, not the university itself. This is because the great majority of teaching is done at the college level, generally by means of a weekly meeting with your 'tutor' (teacher) who will expect you to have researched and written an essay on a topic he or she gave you at the previous week's 'tutorial' (one to one lesson, usually of one hour). Your essay will be read out by you and criticized by the tutor. Tutors are employed by your college. It's because of the college teaching system that the individual colleges compete in the BBC TV quiz University Challenge, and not Oxford University.

 

To clear up another commonly held misapprehension, the colleges do not specialise in any particular subject: one can 'read' - i.e. study - history, for example at any college, although it is true that certain colleges get a reputation for excellence in something, and this can be self-perpetuating as better students try to get there.

 

Colleges are not just 'dorms', as one learner I taught recently thought. Colleges are self-governing entities. They have their own traditions and, very often, extensive land holdings. St John's College  - where Tony Blair studied - is one of the largest land-owners in the UK, and used to be even richer until the Leasehold Reform Act in the 1960s resulted in much of its holdings in North Oxford being sold to its tenants. The Queen's College owns most of Southampton Docks, or so I heard the other day, and the shops on one side of Cornmarket are owned by Jesus College.

 

Apart from teaching their undergraduates, colleges also provide accommodation and, in their famous dining halls, meals too. They run sports teams, having (mostly) their own sports-grounds and boathouses. All of the colleges are, officially at least,  Anglican; they have a priest or rector (called a Chaplain) and, usually, a beautiful chapel. Music plays a big part in college life; almost every evening in term-time one can attend a concert or chapel service in one college or another.

 

Although it wasn't true for the university's first 800 years, all colleges are now mixed; another fairly recent trend is that there are almost as many post-graduates as undergraduates these days.

 

Even before Harry Potter, Christ Church was the college most visited by tourists. Its links with Eton (a great 'public' school where many leaders of British society were and are educated), its famous Hall where one can see portraits of several Prime Ministers, philosophers and other distinguished old boys, including Lewis Carroll, the creator of Alice in Wonderland, saw to that. Second most popular is Magdalen, the grounds of which extend a full mile back from the famous Tower and Magdalen Bridge, the scene of the May Morning celebrations.

 

And what does that leave for the University to do? That'll have to wait for another time.....

Kit Villiers

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.

OXFORD THEN AND NOW

Oxford in the sixties was pretty much a male dominated place. There were the five women's colleges, but none of them were in the city centre and female students were in a distinct minority. Here I digress slightly to relate that almost my first day I met an attractive young lady who couldn't find the Examination Schools where university lectures (then and presumably now) take place. I assisted her, but in a gruff public school male superior manner, and to my chagrin saw her later around our college as the girl friend of one of my more savvy colleagues. Missed out there then!

Looking back, we did take ourselves pretty seriously. We abhorred the word 'students': we were 'undergraduates' and thought of ourselves as adults. College notices referred to us as 'Mr.' plus initials, never by our first names. We wore sports-jackets and ties generally about Oxford, and deplored the blazers apparently favoured by chaps at Cambridge. There seemed to be a lot more dining in Hall than nowadays, perhaps because you were charged for it unless you signed out, and it reminded us of school.  There were entrance scholarships (leading to league tables showing which schools got the most - usually Manchester Grammar), and scholars wore fuller gowns than commoners. Classics was the 'top' subject, and the ultimate achievement for an aspiring schoolboy was to win a classics scholarship to Balliol.

Although my fellow freshmen were almost all around 19, male, British and from nominally Anglican schools, apart from one polite tea party I had little to do with the college chaplain, and rarely went into the chapel. Today my old college (Corpus Christi) has a flourishing (mixed) choir which makes CDs and goes on tours - things which only New College, Magdalen and Christ Church - with their professional all-male choirs - did in my time. Talking of Christ Church reminds me that meritocracy had hardly taken hold in the 60s - Christ Church's Peckwater Quad in particular was packed with young Peers of the Realm. Once I got a note in my pigeon hole (no mobile phones then) summoning me to a set of rooms in the said quad to meet a brace of youthful aristocrats, Lord Irwin and Sir Percy ffoulkes, regarding the setting of the trail for the Oxford University Drag Hunt. (I agreed, and ran the trail, but that's another story). Certain schools were linked with certain colleges: Winchester and New College, Eton and Christ Church were two, while Balliol had a lot of Scots, and Queens' boys (or 'men' as we had it) hailed largely from the North.

I recall that approximately 8% got 'firsts at 'Schools' in my time (I understand this word has dropped out in favour of 'finals') while today the figure is far higher. My old philosophy tutor tells me that the difference is not from dumbing down, but stems rather from the fact that today's students work harder, and that entrance to the university is far more meritocratic: no longer is Christ Church full of toffs, and being good at sports or having had a brother (or sister) at the college helps not at all (so they say).

I have omitted the main difference to last. Students now wear different coloured carnations for exams along with their sub-fusc (formal dress).  I can tell you that this is not an old Oxford tradition.  Undergraduates in the 1960s and 1970s very definitely did not sport carnations- nor did they daub themselves with paint after exams: a quiet glass of champagne was however acceptable behaviour for a young gentleman outside the Examination Schools.

- by Kit Villiers

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...

"Afternoon Tea" by Stephen Smith

If you consult an English Dictionary, you will find that "tea" can be a drink or a meal.

High Tea is a (usually cooked) meal served in the early evening, when the children come home from school, in place of a somewhat later dinner or supper.

Otherwise, "tea" means Afternoon Tea, normally taken in the late afternoon, consisting of cake and a pot of tea - most often the black English breakfast tea. Popular cakes include crumpets and teacakes - the latter containing dried fruit. Both are eaten hot (the teacakes sliced), with butter.

The Queen, however, of Afternoon Teas is the English Cream Tea, a cornucopia of scones (small, round cakes made from flour, milk and a little fat), jam - most commonly strawberry jam - and thick, clotted cream (ideally, the famous, rich Devonshire clotted cream), again with a pot of tea. You slice the scones, spread a thick layer of jam on each half, and then a thicker layer of clotted cream on top of the jam. Two scones per person will probably suffice. On balance, this mini-feast probably excels even the Great English Breakfast as Britain's finest contribution to the pleasures of the table.

There are tea shops (or Olde Tea Shoppes) in many of our villages, so you can combine this delight - perhaps enjoyed in a typical English garden on a hot summer's day - with vigorous country walk, to burn off any extra calories absorbed.

Although we live in an increasingly global market, good scones, crumpets, teacakes, clotted cream, lemon curd, rhubarb crumble and other English specialities are usually difficult or impossible to find outside their country of origin - so make the most of them whenever you have the chance.

Rhodes Scholars

In a recent front page article regarding the identity of his father (the choice was apparently between Frank Sinatra and Woody Allen) 'The Times' said that Mia's son Ronan Farrow was a former 'Rhodes Scholar', without any further explanation as to what that might be.

It perhaps says something about 'The Times' that the paper assumed we all knew what it was talking about. Well, perhaps we did concerning Mia Farrow and her family's goings-on, but what is a Rhodes scholar?

The Rhodes Scholarships were established just over a hundred years ago by Cecil Rhodes. Rhodes had made a lot of money in South African diamonds. Not only did this bring him power - he became Prime Minister of South Africa - but it gave him the idea that all future world leaders should receive the same kind of education that he had enjoyed.  Rhodes had been an undergraduate at Oriel College (which also educated that other swashbuckler Walter Raleigh), so his thought was why not bring these future leaders to Oxford?

To administer his scheme, Rhodes set up the Rhodes Trust to pay for his scholars to come to Oxford.  It is run to this day from Rhodes House in South Parks Road.  If you in the area, it's worth a visit. It remains a meeting place for current Rhodes Scholars, and has lovely gardens.

From his late 19th Century viewpoint, Rhodes believed that the important people who needed an Oxford education were young men who might rise to power in the British Empire, the USA or Germany. About 100 scholarships are still awarded a year. America has about 30, and the six Australian states one each.

Although selection is left to the countries of origin, the Trust laid down certain criteria they were supposed to follow. These included in particular that the applicants had to be good at sport, that they should have demonstrated some leadership skills and that they should be good academically. This meant that almost always they are already graduates in their home countries. Scholarships generally last for 2 years, after which the scholars normally take a (second) undergraduate degree. The idea is that they will have broadened their experience of life rather than be mere academics.

Bill Clinton is the most famous recent scholar, while the election of Tony Abbott in Australia the other day makes him the second Rhodes Scholar to be Prime Minister there.  So it seems to work.....

Kit Villiers

Famous Oxonians

Throughout its history, Oxford Univeristy has produced gifted men and women who have studied or taught at the University.

Among these are 26 British Prime Ministers, including the current one, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP; at least 30 international leaders; 50 Nobel Prize winners; 7 current holders of the Order of Merit; at least 12 saints and 20 Archbishops of Canterbury; and some 120 Olympic medal winners.

A selection of famous Oxonians:

David Cameron MP - Brasenose College

Tony Blair - St John's College

Margaret Thatcher - Somerville College

Rowan Atkinson, comedian - famous for his role at Mr Bean - The Queen's College

Sir Roger Bannister, neurologist and athlete - Pembroke College (Master) & Exeter College

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, chef and broadcaster - St Peter's College

C S Lewis, writer and scholar - Univeristy College & Magdalen College

Sir Matthew Pinsent, four times Olympic Gold Medal-winning rower - St Catherine's College

Aung San Suu Kyi, leader, Burmese National League for Democracy and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize - St Hugh's College

J R R Tolkien, author and academic - Pembroke College and Merton College

 
Source: http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/oxford_people/famous_oxonians/index.html

Views on the Great British Brew (AKA tea)

For centuries, tea has played a pivotal part in British culture. We are the largest consumers of tea in the world. We love it. Sip here, sip there, sip everywhere. But why do we love it so much? We ask four experienced OISE Oxford tea drinkers what the fuss is all about?

So Will, why do you love it so much?

"Personally, I never have a cup of tea by myself. It's not just about the cup, it's about the company. Drinking tea is a fantastic communal activity from which a great little chinwag can be created."

And Sam, what is it about tea that floats your boat?

"Tea, sweet-lovely-kind-tea, I love a cup of tea! I love tea at any point of the day, anywhere! I love a cup of tea first thing in the morning with my muesli, I love a cup of tea with cake, I love a cup of tea on a long train journey. I love tea. I love the way it is so comforting and so perfectly joyful."

Jo, I know you're a massive tea drinker. Why do you like it so much?

"There is nothing like a cup of tea to get me up in the morning and to keep me going at regular intervals throughout the day. It’s irreplaceable – a coffee or a glass of water just doesn't have the same effect! I particularly enjoy it accompanied by a slice of cake or a biscuit (or two)."

Last, but certainly not least, Stephen Smith, what are your views on the subject?
"The cup that cheers but not inebriates!" Ok, thanks Stephen!

5 Hot Spots of Oxford

1)      Christ Church College and meadow

Picture yourself, a nice sunny day soaking up the sunshine and the architectural wonder of Christ Church – one of Oxford’s most famous colleges.  Simply sublime.



2)      Ben’s Cookies

Picture yourself, hungry and pining for a bakery treat.  This is the place for you!  Conveniently located just under OISE Oxford.  Perfect for break time snacks.  This place is known by many to be one of the 7 wonders of the world.



3)      Port Meadow

Picture yourself lying amongst the grass with cows and horses in Oxford’s large open common land by the river Thames.  Bring a fishing rod, a dog and catch some cod (perhaps!).  A countryside idyll in Oxford city.



4)      Bodleian Library

Picture yourself as a young wizard learning the tricks of the trade with Oxford’s local hero Emma Watson.  Visit the Bodleian where you will be transported to a scene from JK Rowling’s famous magical books.



5)      OISE Oxford

Picture yourself learning English amongst fellow ambitious students from a team of experienced and dedicated English tutors.

Oxford presents... Carnival!

Are you in Oxford this Sunday? If so, grab a friend and head to the Cowley Road, where Oxford will be hosting one of the UK's most exciting carnivals... a celebration of the diverse communities of East Oxford.  

Free and open to all, from midday 'til 7pm, Cowley Road and the surrounding streets will be filled with local enthusiasts, tourists and entertainers.

The big highlight of Carnival is the Procession which will kick off at 2.15pm outside the East Oxford Community Centre. It will last approximately one hour, ending at the SS Mary and John. It will include schools and community groups who have spent weeks and months creating their colourful costumes and dance routines.

The theme, 'Wheels of Change,' celebrates 100 years of car making in Oxford, William Morris and the Cowley car plant.  Supported by MINI Plant Oxford and Oxford University Museums, the procession will include the giant Nicaraguan puppet, Leonora, and her baby, celebrating Oxford's twin city of Leon.

For more information click on the image below.

Pick your cutlery carefully..

Presentation can make all the difference to how appealing a plate of food can be. Something that has noticeably taken a while to prepare, whether it be the food itself, or how it is presented, always seems more enticing than a slap up meal.  A group of Oxford University students have recently revealed that it is not only the presentation that makes a difference, but that food actually tastes differently depending on type of cutlery that is used, be it the material, shape and/or colour.

'Cheese tastes saltier when eaten from a knife rather than a fork; while white spoons make yoghurt taste better, experiments show.' '"Even before we put food into our mouths our brains have made a judgment about it, which affects our overall experience", said Prof Charles Spence and Dr Vanessa Harra.

Fascinating, don't you think?

Click on the image below to read more:

Source: bbc.co.uk/news

We need Inspector Morse?

Last week, Wadham College, hit the news with the discovery of bones within the college grounds.  The Oxford University college was cordoned off after builders dug up a human skeleton a day after a bullet casing was also found nearby.

The intact skeleton was found in Wadham College last Wednesday (23rd January) lying in a burial position close to 400-year-old buildings.  College staff contacted the police, who in turn taped off the site as a potential crime scene.

However, the case is not being treated as suspicious.  Thames Valley Police said it was believed the remains are at least 100 years old and the bullet casing was unconnected.

Archaeologists have been excavating, recording and removing the human remains.  It is thought the remains may be linked to a medieval Augustinian priory that occupied part of the site where the college now stands. A college source told The Independent: “The provisional assessment is that the bones are very old. Certainly, they appear to be so – they are very yellowed and crumbly. The contractors found the skeleton lying lengthwise as if it had been placed in a shroud or a coffin..."

A day after the first skeleton was found, bones from a second skeleton was discovered.  Again, these bones are thought to be connected to the medieval priory.  Not quite a case of Oxford's famous detective, Inspector Morse.  

Sources:

Telegraph

Independent

The Oxford Times

The Falkland Islands - Who Should They Belong To?

Most of our blog posts until now have been rather lighthearted. We have written at great lengths about British food, the weather, English language learning and a touch of sport. While trying to keep the British theme in tact, today's blog is about a slightly more sensitive subject that is very close to the hearts of many - the Falkland Islands (also known as Las Malvinas).

The Falkland Islands are located in the South Atlantic, 350 miles off the Southern tip of Argentina. The weather is cold and the Falkland Islands are quite barren, supporting more sheep and penguins than people, with around 2,300 inhabitants.

The Islands have been colonised many times since they were first sighted in 1500 by a Portuguese voyage, but they have been under British ruling since 1840. Argentines claim that the British abandoned the Islands in the 1770's, and are, mainly due to their close proximity, part of Argentina. This debate has caused much tension between the two countries.

Simmering tensions between Britain and Argentina reached its climax in 1982 resulting in the Falklands War, but the debate of who the Islands should belong to continues to be very topical in the British press. According to the British government, as well as being rich in oil and having an excellently positioned military base, it's the fact that the island's inhabitants themselves feel British and do not want to be governed by Argentina that makes them reluctant to hand them over.

Argentine Oxford University lecturer, Esteban Hubner, expert in International Relations and Political Science, asked his students their views and whether they could think of a solution. The majority argued that the British people living in the UK do not feel passionate about the Islands and simply see them as a distant far off land. Some felt that 'the Argentines have as much right to reclaim the land as the Romans have to claim back England'1, while others were adamant that they should be returned. 

After the students had discussed a number of different solutions, there was one that was narrowly voted as being the best. That was to make the land autonomous, for it's inhabitants to have two passports and three flags.


What are you views on this debate? Do you think there is a better solution?

Monumental Day, Monumental Men..

Today is a monumental day in American politics. Obama has successfully been re-elected as president of the United States. This was met with a very positive reaction by all of the staff and students at OISE Oxford. Of course, here at OISE Oxford, we are extremely interested in political leaders. After all, 26 of Britain's Prime Ministers were educated at Oxford University. Interestingly enough, 50% of Britain's 26 Prime Ministers attended Christ Church College, a stone's throw away from our school (see map below):

But if you're thinking it's only British leaders that were educated at Oxford, think again. Bill Clinton also studied here, along with leaders from India, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago among other countries. And let's not ignore the fact that several of OISE Oxford's legendary tutors studied among the great world leaders at Oxford University. 

It's not rocket science, it's just irritating!

1 - At the end of the day

2 - Fairly unique

3 - I personally

4 - At this moment in time

5 - With all due respect

6 - Absolutely

7 - It's a nightmare

8 - Shouldn't of

9 - 24/7

10 - It's not rocket science

These are all phrases listed by Oxford University as being extremely irritating. According to Mr Butterfield, an Oxford University researcher, and author of "Damp Squid", a book on the English language, named after the mistake of confusing a squid with a squib: "We grow tired of anything that is repeated too often – an anecdote, a joke, a mannerism – and the same seems to happen with some language." 

Are there phrases that really get on your nerves? If so, why do they rub you up the wrong way?

Click on the image below to read the full article: