May Morning - by Kit Villiers

Would we make it in time? Dawn was approaching, and our punt 'Jemima' was still way upstream of the bridge. Gradually though we became aware of other boats on the same mission: i.e., to get to Magdalen Bridge in time for the 6.00AM rendition of two Latin hymns by the choir of Magdalen College, Oxford.  Going by punt is the traditional way of celebrating May Morning. That may be fine if you are an undergraduate with a college punt moored handily nearby: you and your girlfriend, possibly with another couple or two (punts are supposed to hold 5, but 6 is OK at a pinch) might be able to embark early on May morning, but we had had to punt down from the Upper Cherwell, and had even endured a night in sleeping bags on that little island near the Dragon School in order to get to the ceremony on time.

 

At about 5.55AM the bridge, already thronged with people, loomed up in the early morning mist, and our little flotilla joined dozens of other  boats, the occupants - mostly students in dinner jackets and long dresses fresh from all-night College balls - gazing expectantly skywards. Suddenly the bells on the ancient college tower struck 6.00; the crowd, both those on the bridge and on the water heard the peels loud and clear, and we all fell silent. What followed though was unfortunately a bit of an anti-climax: the words of Hymnus Eucharisticus were rendered almost totally inaudible by the breeze and the distance from the top of the tower to the river beneath.

 

The scene I have tried to describe took place many years ago. I tend to go by bike now - when I wake up in time. We didn't really care about not hearing the music. After all, May Morning is an Oxford tradition. The choir has been climbing Magdalen Tower and singing the same music on 1 May for over 500 years. And in fact you can hear the singing now, as one innovation of recent years seems to be some sort of amplifier system on the tower.

 

Then as now, 10,000 people get up early and struggle down the High St for the ceremony. I suppose it must be in all the tourist literature, because I would say the crowd is about one third University, one third townsfolk like me, and one third visitors, including language students. I recall the last time I went I ended up having breakfast with two Japanese ladies who were in Oxford at some language school or other - I forget which. 

If the hymns were all, I don't think I'd bother to go again. But that's just the start. The bells toll for the next 20 minutes, and the crowd slowly disperses back up the High towards Carfax. The first thing you see is the Morris dancers; most tourists seem to ignore these fine old rustic gentlemen these days, but I rather like the feeling of a tradition largely unchanged through the ages, and that, the Morrismen being largely townies, May Morning provides a nice link between Town and Gown. Passing by the Morrismen - perhaps now there are Morris ladies too - I haven't been recently to check it out - many folk head for breakfast. Lots of coffee houses and restaurants open early, and from what I've seen do a cracking business for most of the morning. It's a really nice scene, and revellers throng the High for hours, the Latin hymns quite forgotten.

 

If you go  - and I recommend it even if you make it only the once - there are two things to remember. Firstly don't jump off Magdalen Bridge - it's dangerous! The Cherwell is not as deep as it looks, and you can break a leg. And secondly, for those learners who live beyond the bridge, you might experience delays as the whole area of St Clement's gets very busy. Having said that, you'll still make it on time for the News Review as the Council and the police have said the bridge is to remain open this year.

Kit Villiers

Boat Race Aftermath

By OISE Oxford tutor Kit Villiers

It's over for another year, and at least one can say that Oxford won; rather easily too - by 11 lengths. But it was a bit unsatisfactory both for the large victory margin and for the manner of it. 11 lengths reminds me of the one sided contests during my formative years, normally with poor old Oxford trailing in far behind, exhausted and demoralised. The races were so often not proper contests in those days, and therefore can't have been much fun for the public lining the banks of the Tideway.

I suppose it's impossible to know how many spectators there were, or indeed how many there ever are. The BBC estimated 250,000 in London (plus of course countless millions on TV). My impression is that interest continues pretty unflagged, and that crowd figures if anything are increasing. I'm sure this is because the standard is higher with all the internationals on board, but it probably also reflects the fact that we've had so many close and dramatic races in recent years. Oxford's victory by just 1 foot in 2003 is one such example. The 2012 race was shaping up to be another classic when it was interrupted by that rather foolhardy swimmer - but that incident itself gave the event added interest. So let's hope we're not returning to the days of boring processions again.

And so to the clash. In brief, Oxford drew steadily away from Cambridge following an overlap near Harrod's Depository  - well before Hammersmith and only about 5 minutes into the race - where the Light Blues' 2 (that's Cambridge) came into contact with the Dark Blues' 7. Unfortunately the Cambridge man  (a large American, like most of his crewmates) came off worse; he caught a crab - i.e. his oar hit him with terrific force in the chest, knocking him backwards into the lap of bow - and he then missed about 6 strokes. The missed strokes are less important than the fact that catching the crab meant that the boat had to come to a dead halt in order to extract the oar, and Oxford just went clear.

Cambridge's 18 year old cox raised his arm in protest at the finish, but the umpire  - rightly in my opinion - wasn't having any of it, as he'd warned Cambridge to stop boring in on Oxford only a few seconds before. The BBC commentator raised the question as to what might have happened if it had been Oxford in the wrong, claiming that Cambridge's protest might then have had some merit. Theoretically perhaps, but discussing the matter at home we could think of no time when a crew has been disqualified. Of greater interest to me was Cambridge's claim that 2's rigger was damaged in the clash and he couldn't pull properly afterwards. I must say his difficulty wasn't apparent, but perhaps that was just his skill. I suspect that there must be truth in the allegation as I don't think there was really 11 lengths difference between the crews.  Having said that, Oxford had moved out to a half length lead just before the incident and were about to embark on the long Surrey bend in their favour. I note the Oxford President was fulsome in his condolences in the Oxford Mail, and he - an Olympic gold medal winner - was in the best position of all to see what occurred from his position of 5; after all his eyes would always be on his No. 7 from whom he takes his time.  

Well, unlike Oxford, most of Cambridge return for another go next year. But I suspect the 2015 event will be overshadowed by the first ever women's boat race over the full Putney to Mortlake course. Up to now, the Varsity women have raced each other at Henley, far from world media, and have rowed less than half the distance.

And finally to the perennial (but rather hypothetical) question as to how would Oxford Brookes get on in the Boat Race, I can only quote the Brookes student newspaper when I was doing my teaching training there: they might struggle for a year or two, but then they'd give the old universities a very good run for their money.....

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! 

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

5 Alternative New Year’s Resolutions

If you’ve already resigned yourself to the failure of the usual post-Christmas diet and gym regime, why not resolve to do something a bit different in the New Year with one of these alternative ideas inspired by ivillage.co.uk.

1. Get your photo taken in 5 interesting places

If you’re planning to visit the UK this year, why not try and visit 5 different cities during your stay. On my list are Bath, Bristol, Edinburgh, Portsmouth and Worcester. Alternatively you could go even further afield and visit 5 new countries!

2. Make a new friend each month

At OISE Oxford there are endless opportunities to make new friends from all over the world.Why not make a conscious effort to attend more social events, chat to strangers and get introductions to friends of friends. Who knows who you might meet? It could be a future wife or business partner…

3. Learn something you never learned as a child

Whether it’s a language, a musical instrument or a skill, it’s never too late to start (except perhaps learning to do the splits!). Ignore that voice in your head telling you you’re too old and learn that thing you never learned as a child that everyone else seems to know. It might be something as simple as learning the number of days in each month, how to do a handstand or how to spell ‘conscientious’ correctly.

4. Try a new food each week

Turn the New Year’s diet on its head and add new foods to your diet rather than taking them away. If you’re in the UK, why not try traditional foods such as scones, haggis, crumble, Yorkshire puddings or toad in the hole?

5. Do a good turn every day

It might sound like a cliché but why not resolve to make the world a better place this year? Instead of just focussing on yourself, do a good turn to others – it will make you feel good as well as cheering up someone else’s day. It could be something as small as giving a compliment or something potentially life-saving like donating blood or giving some money to charity.

Happy New Year!

From all the staff at OISE Oxford we would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year! We have seen many students come and go over the year and it has been an absolute pleasure to meet you all.

Later tonight the traditional new year's song 'Auld Lang Syne' will once again resound all over the world as 2014 commences. The song's title translates into colloquial English as "the good old days" or "back in the day" and its lyrics were originally written by well-known Scottish poet Robert Burns back in 1788, inspired by fragments of traditional songs from earlier times. But it was not until after his death that the tune emerged and it has since gained huge popularity all over the world, being translated into numerous different languages. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the lyrics, take this opportunity to swat up ready to join in the sing-song and click here to get to grips with the tune. Don't worry, the first verse and the chorus should be more than enough to get by!

AULD LANG SYNE

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And auld lang syne?

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my jo,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne.

And surely you'll be your pint-stowp

And surely I'll be mine

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For auld lang syne!

Chorus

We twa hae ran about the braes

And pu'd the gowans fine

But we've wander'd monie a weary fit

Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

We twa hae paidl'd in the burn

Frae morning sun til dine,

But seas between us braid hae roar'd

Sin' auld lang syne.

Chorus

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie's a hand o' thine,

And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught

For auld lang syne!

Chorus

For more on how this simple Scottish folk song became one of the world's most popular songs and what it means, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-25402099

The Nation’s Favourite Christmas Carols

No Christmas celebration would be complete without the opportunity to belt out a few carols and this is exactly what the students at OISE Oxford will be doing this evening at Merton College’s Christmas Carol Service. If you are from abroad you may be unfamiliar with these seasonal songs, however anyone who has grown up in the UK will have had these tunes drilled into them from a young age. Why not take a look (and a listen!) at the nation’s most popular carols, as voted by listeners of the radio station Classic FM in 2012.

1. O Holy Night (Click to listen)

2. Silent Night

3. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Gustav Holst 

4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

5. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Harold Darke

6. O Come All Ye Faithful

7. O Little Town of Bethlehem

8. Away in a Manger

9. Joy to the World

10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

There’s still a chance to vote for this year’s favourite! Go to http://www.classicfm.com/discover/collections/christmas-music/nations-favourite-carol/ to register your vote.

Trip To The Pantomime?

For those of you who do not know what a pantomime is, it's a form of theatrical spectacle common in England during the Christmas season, generally adapted from a fairy tale and including stock character types who perform songs and dances, tell jokes, etc.  It is often referred to by the abbreviation 'panto'. Some of the more popular pantos include Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, Dick Whittington and His Cat, Peter Pan and Cinderella.

If you haven't yet been to an English pantomime, it's definitely worth a go! The audience is primarily made up of families with young children, but the entertainment is for all ages. Typically they involve a lot of audience interaction and include frequent calls of "He's behind you!", "Oh, yes it is!" and "Oh, no it isn't!". The audience is always encouraged to boo the villain and "awww" the poor victims.

A healthy selection of pantos will be churned out across the UK this Christmas. The most popular place to see one in Oxford is at the Oxford Playhouse, and this year they will be showing Robin Hood. If you are interested and would like to find out more, click on the image below to be redirected to the website of the Oxford Playhouse.

The Best Towns to Visit at Christmas

For those of you lucky enough to be spending the festive period in the UK, the Telegraph have compiled a list of the 7 best towns to visit this Christmas. The next few weekends have a whole host of seasonal activities in store so why not take a trip to one of the following?:

1. Best for…Christmas Markets

Lincoln, Lincolnshire -  From 5^th to 8^th December the medieval square by the cathedral is filled with more than 250 stalls selling handmade crafts and Christmas delicacies.

2. Best for…Nativity

Falmouth, Cornwall - The live nativity in Falmouth (15^th December) is played out through the main streets of this Cornish parish. Mary, Joseph, a donkey, sheep, goats and horses make their way from Events Square to the moor, accompanied by spectators, many in nativity costume.

3. Best for…Christmas Trees

Helmsley, Yorkshire -  Each December the village holds a Christmas tree festival (6^th  to 19^th December) where 30 trees decorated in a different theme each year form a trail through the town and the shop windows are decorated to match.

4. Best for…A Picture Postcard Christmas

Broadway, Gloucestershire -  Broadway certainly gets into the Christmas spirit, with hundreds of lights, horse and carriage rides, a Christmas Tree Festival and ice skating on the village green from 8^th December.

5. Best for…Folk Plays

Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire - Chipping Campden starts the Christmas season in style with a three-day Enchanted Weekend (6^th – 8^th December, 2013). Locals can enjoy reindeer petting (with real reindeer) and performances from the Chipping Campden Mummers, one of the longest standing Mummers groups in the country.

6. Best for…Horse Riders

Pytchley, Northamptonshire - The Pytchley Hunt, formed in 1750, is based around the pretty Northamptonshire village of Pytchley and despite the 2005 ban, still meets for a variety of horseback activities, with additional dates added around Christmas time.

7. Best for…Unusual Christmas Traditions

Carhampton, Somerset - Carhampton’s quirky wassailing celebrations began in 1930 and are now famous throughout the county. Each year on twelfth night villagers form a circle around a lare apple tree and fire a gun to ward off evil spirits and appeal for a good apple harvest.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/buyingsellingandmoving/10482967/The-best-towns-to-spend-Christmas.html

Eights Week, Battle of the Oxford Colleges

Another of Oxford's great summer traditions is just round the corner.  For almost 200 years the fifth week of Oxford University's summer term is Eights Week, or the annual battle among the colleges to be 'Head of the River'.

 

An eight is an 8 oared racing boat and every college has at least 2 men's and 2 women's boats. With 38 colleges competing it's a very big regatta, and it goes on every afternoon from Wednesday to Saturday with races every 30 minutes from Iffley Lock to Folly Bridge. This year it starts on Wednesday 22 May and the last race is around 6pm on Saturday 25 May when the first crew to reach Folly Bridge will be crowned head, and then get thrown into the river.

 

As the Thames is narrow it's impossible to race side by side, so a system of literally 'bumping' the crew in front has developed; the rules are a bit complex and most spectators don't understand them, but are there just to enjoy the party. Especially on the Saturday thousands head for Christ Church Meadow where they crowd the various college boathouses which line the bank just where the river Cherwell meets the Thames. There is music and many colleges offer drinks and BBQs to entertain students and townies alike.

 

Usually OISE Oxford organises a walk down to the river for the students to see the fun and soak up the atmosphere.

 

And who is going to win? Well, Oriel College (where the Queen had lunch recently and which happened to be the last college to admit women) are the current champions and thus have the advantage of starting first, are in with a good chance. They have some students who rowed in this year's boat race so I am tipping them to win again as they have so often in the last 25 years - they are the Manchester United of student rowing.

 

 

Bumping Race at Oxford, John Thomas, 1822

Oxford Traditions - The 'Must See' May Morning

One of Oxford's most unusual traditions comes up next week, and it's a 'must see' event for our students, the university and ordinary citizens alike.

 

As they have done on May Morning for hundreds of years, at 6am sharp on 1 May the choir of Magdalen College climbs Magdalen Tower, the ancient tower overlooking the High Street, and sings 2 hymns in Latin. Sounds exciting? Well, possibly not; but it is an event steeped in history, and thousands of people gather on Magdalen Bridge to listen, and then to party afterwards. Don't worry if your Latin is a bit rusty - almost nobody understands. In fact for the first 400 years of the festival the sound was normally lost in the wind anyway: these days there is amplification, and it's quite eerie when the 10,000 crowd falls silent and the choir begins to sing.

 

The best place to watch and listen is on the Bridge itself, but lots of people hire punts and watch from the River Cherwell below, and then punt off to have breakfast in a quiet glade upstream. For the rest all the restaurants  in the High open for breakfast, and people party well into the morning. There is also Morris (traditional old English) dancing to keep you amused, in the High and in Radcliffe Square.

 

The origins of this quaint event are lost in the mysteries of time, but one rather more controversial 'tradition' has sprung up in more recent years. This is the practice of some undergraduates and others to jump off Magdalen Bridge into the river. Don't do it! The current is fast, or can be, and the river is surprisingly shallow. People have broken their legs in the past, and now there are plenty of police to keep order and prevent drunken revelry getting out of hand.

 

It's a once in a lifetime event - even if you hate getting up early, go for it!