Oxford Double Win At Boat Race!

That time of the year again, when students, alumni, tourists, locals and people caught in traffic jams watched the Oxford v Cambridge boat. This annual sporting contest watched by millions around the word saw Oxford's women's and men's boat complete a successful trouncing of Cambridge, It was an event made historic by the women's crew competing on the same part of the river as the men. Though the defeat was clear (and strangely similar for both races, 19 seconds, around 6 boat lengths), Cambridge still leads in the overall tally, with 81-79 wins.

More information here. 

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Turning point for democracy in England and Oxford's involvement

As the world gets ready to celebrate the Magna Carta and the 800 years since it was issued, another equally important, if not more, event is in danger of being over looked.

750 years ago an extraordinary parliament was held, one which was far more progressive and inclusive than the elitist gatherings prior to this. Usually a meeting between the King and his chosen advisers, this parliament included representatives from counties and boroughs, dealing with wider issues such as taxation.

This was, impart, a response to the efforts of Simon De Motfort after a meeting in Oxford when he demanded the King follow a programme of reform. The resulting council which would share power with the King would help to shape our first shoots of democracy.

Want to see the room in which this revolutionary meeting took place? Check out our Oxford University Tour. 

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A Black Day

A day of mourning has been declared for the whole of Oxford today as it emerged today that Oxford University had been beaten once again in the QS world university rankings by its arch nemesis: Cambridge.

As the mist cleared this morning onlookers in Oxford city centre were treated to a scene of utter devastation: Crying undergraduates in sub fusc littered the streets, as dazed and confused academics wandered, lost, through the dreaming spires.  The news that Cambridge has risen from 3rd place to 2nd in the world whilst Oxford lingers at a lonely 5th position was shocking, and proved too much for many people to bear.

To add insult to injury, Imperial College London has risen above Oxford in the rankings to lie in joint 2nd place with Cambridge, causing some naysayers to call for the age old term of "Oxbridge" to be replaced with an updated version of "Impbridge"! Needless to say Oxford University will fight to the death against this upstart newbie taking Oxfords place, with war cries echoing from the innermost chambers of Christ Church to the wide expanses of Port Meadow.

Who can say where this latest blow will leave the delicate minds of Oxfords greatest students, perhaps a mass exodus to deepest darkest London? Even, dare I suggest, to the Other Place? Probably not. Courage through adversity and all that....

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Oxford ninth in International University rankings

The latest ARWU University rankings have place Oxford University 9th in the world, 3 places behind it's biggest rival Cambridge. Oxford students have been quick (as always) to defend their university, pointing out that the ARWU rankings place much greater emphasis on science subjects rather than humanities, with 20% of the overall rankings being generated from the number of Nobel prize winners in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine and Economics.

A glimmer of hope was found in the ranking of "Broad Subject fields" where Oxford ranked above Cambridge in both Social Sciences and Computer Science.

Oxford students have rallied to their university with typical Oxford fighting spirit and, as one student historian put it, "I would still rather be at Durham than a boring nerd at Cambridge!". No love lost between these two once again. Want to find out more about this ancient rivalry? Take our historical walking tour to find out! More information about these tours can be found here.

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Crowdfunding an Oxford Degree

A postgraduate student at Oxford University has found a new solution to the problem of funding an extortionately expensive postgraduate degree. Crowdfunding!

Emily Eastop has proven that you really don't need Wonga but entirely funding her £26 000 masters in cognitive anthropology using the crowdfunding site Hubbub.

While some people have referred to her as a "posh brat", Emily has been quick to point out that if people are willing to fund making a potato salad, why should they not fund her degree? And if it works then why not! So far she has received money from bigwigs in the cognitive science world as well as £1 donations from people who think she's a worthwhile cause.

Source

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A cappella version of "Hips don't lie" gets Shakiras attention

University students in Oxfords famous a cappella group "Out of the Blue" have shot to fame after a video of an a cappella version of Shakiras "Hips dont lie" brought the the popstar herself to tweet the group. 

In one of Oxfords more hip moments the students charity version of the song went viral after Shakira retweeted the video to her 26 million followers along with the caption: "Hey @ootboxford, we LOVE your a capella Shak medley!"

The boys have been donating all proceeds from the single to a childrens hospice in Oxfordshire and have been modest about their new found stardom, despite over 4 million views of the video on youtube, describing the choice as the group going for the "unexpected vibe". 

Full video of the group moving their hips can be viewed here

Source

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List of Oxfrd bad performing students made public, by accident.

In what can only be viewed as a blunder, or some form of medieval humiliation equated to an academic version of the stocks, an email was sent around University College (a college at Oxford - one of the oldest, but let's not open that debate), listing the 50 worst performing students of the pre-christmas exams. This was an administrative blunder, one perfectly understandable in our view.

 But rather than brand names at Oxford, it's academic performance which really influences the social standing of a student. One student notes "I was pretty gutted after my results last term, but didn't realise I would be publicly humiliated. I can't even go into college any more". Perhaps slightly over the top, but not to be outdone, another student quips, "They may as well have gone the whole hog and just released all health records of students whilst they were at it- or maybe just those with STIs".

Source Image

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"Twerking" and "selfie" added to Oxford Dictionary of Enlgish

Lost in a wave of modern lingo? Allow Oxford Dictionary of English to resolve this problem. "Twerking" and "selfie" are the latest additions to be added to this authoritative collection if English words.

Twerking has seen a meteoric rise in its uses, with Oxford Dictionaries Online (ODO) saying the word, borrowed from hip hop culture, having been present for nearly 20 years, had now find itself into everyday conversation. Selfie refers to the pouty self-portrait normally taken with a smartphone. Taking a selfie while twerking? That's just obscene.


Twerk
Pronunciation: /twəːk/
verb
[no object] informal
dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance:
just wait till they catch their daughters twerking to this song
twerk it girl, work it girl
Origin:

1990s: probably an alteration of work



Selfie
Pronunciation: /ˈsɛlfi/
(also selfy)
noun (plural selfies)
informal
a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website:
occasional selfies are acceptable, but posting a new picture of yourself every day isn’t necessary
Origin:

early 21st century: from self + -ie

Source

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"Studying at Oxford just became worth it after seeing John Mayer at the Union today! "

On October 25th the Oxford Union played host to John Mayer. The list of people invited to speak at the Oxford Union is not just reserved for those academics with their breakfast firmly stuck in their long beards. Oxford has a great reputation of having modern celebrities speak to the students; including Michael Douglas, Martin Sheen, John Bon Jovi and even Barry White!

Other leading figures from around the world to have addressed the Union include Senator Robert Kennedy, Malcolm X, Richard Nixon, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein and the Dalai Lama.

While admission to the Union is not available to the general public, with a private tour of Oxford we can easily incorporate the Union, visit it's location and provide more details, including a debate which lead to international outrage.

For more information on previous speakers, please click here.

Image source. 

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Balliol College and It's Female Co-founder

One of the oldest colleges at Oxford has a rather interesting history behind it's creation, which is just coming to light. While it's true, John De Balliol was spurned into establishing the prestigious institution in 1263 after insulting the Bishop of Durham, the lesser known character in this story is Dervorguilla of Galloway, his widow.

Perhaps of more interest than her rather peculiar name is that after her husband died, she kept his heart in a silver casket. Yes. In a silver casket.

She managed to out live John by 20 years, during which time she made sure that the intentions of John De Balliol were realised, and the college began to blossom. Originally set up for 20 students studying philosophy and mathematics, it would go onto be a beacon of light at the center of the University and its development over the centuries.

Your probably wondering, what happened to John's heart when she died? It was buried with Dervorguilla in Sweetheart Abbey in Scotland. For more tales of intrigue take our Oxford walking tour!

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Tolkien's Hobbits drawings published

To note that 75th anniversary of the publication of the book, around 20 illustrations done by Tolkien are being published. When the publishers HaerperCollins started the project they found over 100 illustrations buried in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

"That was a surprise. I thought there might be 40-50 in total," said publisher David Brawn. "But there are 110 Hobbit pictures, about two dozen of which haven't been published before."



Some real Tolkien fans might remark that The Hobbit was actually first published in 1937, however Tolkien delivered the manuscript to his publishers in 1936, so this has allowed HarperCollins to start the anniversary celebrations.






For more information about Tolkien, take our Tolkien & C.S Lewis tour of Oxford which currently includes visiting the Magic Books exhibition at the Bodleian Library, which has some hand illustrations currently on display!




via The Guardian 

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Want to be a billionaire? Try Cambridge.

Cambridge University leads Europe and Asia in the number of billionaires among the university's alumni, a new report claims. 

Like stats? Dig into these: the combined wealth of Cambridge's billionaire alumni comes to $48 billion. Of note, Lord David Sainsbury [King's College], $1.1 billion and media magnate David Thomson [Selwyn] (otherwise known as the richest man in Canada), $20 billion. 

Though it's not all champagne and caviar for Cambridge; Harvard Universality with 52 billionaires, reaches a combined wealth of $205 billion, more than four times that of Cambridge. Having had the co-founder of Facebook Eduardo Saverin there, ($2.2 billion) helps. What about Mark Zuckerberg? Didn't graduate (sorry Harvard).

However, the same report from Wealth-X, shows Cambridge as 19th in the world for the number of ultra high net worth alumni, with 361 equating to $93 billion. Oxford comes in has only $51 billion with 401 ultra high net worth alumni. Yes, "only". 

We are now putting together a plan of how Footprints can include those 361 ultra high net worth individuals from Cambridge University on our free Oxford walking tour , and those 401 ultra high net worth individuals from Oxford University on our Cambridge walking tour! 

Source here. 

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Oxford Win THE Race

Oxford University won the 2013 University Boat Race after a battle with Cambridge University which lasted over  four miles, on a cold part of the River Thames. If  you’re familiar with the debate and controversy of last year's race, there was no repetition this year. Oxford were the first to every timing marker, in their boat, named Acer after the university's three-time Boat Race cox Acer Nethercott, who died in January from brain cancer , aged  35. 

“We answered everything they threw at us all the way round the bend,” said Cambridge president George Nash. “It was only in the last bit they managed to crack the race open and seal the deal.”

“It was harder than I thought it was going to be,” said Oxford president Alex Davidson. “I wasn’t happy until I could see Oskar’s hands in the air and knew we had done it. It’s such an incredible feeling. I’m so proud of the guys. It’s all been worth it.”

Source here. 

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Homeless man caught sleeping in Cambridge University library, after SIX WEEKS!

If you ask some students, they may think that sleeping in a library is actually the best thing to do. However, the authorities at Cambridge, took a different attitude. After tailgating students who were entering the library for late night study groups, a homeless man would then pretend to look for a book. Unfortunately, the jig was up after they soon realised he always wore the same clothes...and proceeded to snore. He did manage to last 6 weeks though.

Oh well, whether it is in indictment on the boring books, or of the terrible support to homeless people, we know that no one will be sleeping on our Oxford Literary Tour!

More information about the story here. 

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Hidden manuscript from 1598, published

Hidden Manuscript From 1598, Published

The Bodleian Library in Oxford has a new addition to its impressive collection. Deep in the bowls of Burford Church some of the first works by Elizabeth Cary were found in 1970s. Finally this manuscript has no been published. The piece, which is translation from French of Orelius, a world atlas, is now being kept in the Bodleian Library.

Dr Lesley Peterson notes that it "is very fragile. It is being preserved in a climate-controlled space". The magic of the Bodleian seems like a suitable environment for the work of a woman who is credited for having written the first original tragedy in English by a Woman. Dr Peterson has a deep knowledge of the writer, having spent 10 years researching the writer, and factors which influence her writing.

Find out more about Oxford and it's literary connections on a private Oxford literary tour!

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Oxford Magic and Mystery

Oxford Magic and Mystery

People come to Oxford to see the Harry Potter film locations and hear eerie tales of ghosts and weird and wonderful goings-on in past centuries. But fans of magic - the Hogwarts variety and others - might be interested to know that Oxford has links with real magicians, alchemists and mystics of the past. In the 13th century Roger Bacon, philosopher and early scientist, practised alchemy in his laboratory at Folly Bridge, and is supposed to have invented gunpowder and the telescope long before anyone else in Europe. The renaissance scholar and mystic, Giordano Bruno, came and lectured in Oxford in the 1580's, trying to convince the learned doctors of the university of his theories about the universe and his idea that there was an infinite number of worlds inhabited by intelligent beings. Unfortunately they weren't impressed and didn't offer him the teaching job he was after, so he went back to Italy - a big mistake, as he was tried and burnt at
the stake there for heresy by the Catholic church.

Elias Ashmole, founder of the Ashmolean Museum, was a fan of alchemy  and astrology, and if you go into the Old Ashmolean (now the Museum of the History of Science) and turn left at the entrance, you will find a cabinet with some strange magical objects in it that belonged to Doctor John Dee - famous astronomer, astrologer and occultist in the reign of Elizabeth I, including his 'magic table' and crystal ball with which he conversed with spirits and angels in his search for ultimate knowledge. His skills helped him choose the most auspicious date for Elizabeth's coronation - clearly very successfully, as she reigned gloriously for many years and survived assassination attempts and invasions - but unfortunately they didn't work for himself as well, as his house with its great collection of books was ransacked by a mob while he was away in Europe seeking the Philosopher's Stone, the Queen never gave him the plum job he was hoping for, and he ended up broke and destitute, living on into the time of James I and possibly ending up as the model for Shakespeare's Prospero, in 'The Tempest'.

 Which just shows that magic doesn't always produce the results you expect - be careful, all you Harry Potter fans! Why not take a Harry Potter Tour of Oxford, to find out more about the Oxford magic and mystery?

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Oxford in the Snow

Oxford in the Snow

After a summer and autumn of massive rainfall and flooding, Oxford is now under a thick blanket of snow - a bit of a relief, really! It does make daily life a bit more of an effort, but the kids love it! The other day on Port Meadow, the huge water-meadow by the river north of the city, they were all out with their sleighs, toboggans, bits of plastic and skateboards (!) hurtling down the slope by the railway, falling over, getting covered in snow and soaking wet, and having a whale of a time! Also, of course, the snow greatly enhances the beautiful architecture of our city - all the ancient Gothic college buildings and majestic churches have many nooks and crannies for the snow to lodge in, which brings out the detail, the gargoyles are crowned with icicles, and the whole effect is somehow even more ancient and timeless than ever. Fantastic for photography. More snow is forecast for the next week, but through it all the dauntless and intrepid guides of Footprints Tours will be soldiering on with the daily free tours, plus Harry Potter tours, literary tours and other delights, regardless of blizzards and tempests! So dress up warm, bring your crampons, skis, sledges etc. with you if you like, and you can come and join us!

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Heart Drug Makes People Less Racist

This is a rather interesting story concerning Oxford University researchers, who state that after giving 18 people propanolol, they became less racist.

Of course, like any study, it isn't as simple as that. It relates back to the subconscious racial bias, less noticeable than any concious racial bias. However, the grading system (Implicit Attitude Test) found that other given a placebo effect showed no such affect.

Researchers note that it cuts the racial bias because it blocks the non-conscious fear responses on which racism is based.

More found about this here , along with image source. 

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Student rejects Magdalen College, in a humorous way..

A story that has received a lot of press in the UK, is about Elly Nowell, who decided to reject Magdalen College at Oxford University. While that might sound like a bizarre set of events, after making her application, she decided to pull it. On doing so, she wrote a rather humorous letter, satirising the standard Oxford rejection letter, received by thousands of students:

"I very much regret to inform you that I will be withdrawing my application."

"I realise you may be disappointed by this decision, but you were in competition with many fantastic universities and following your interview I am afraid you do not quite meet the standard of the universities I will be considering."

She goes on to note, "while you may believe your decision to hold interviews in grand formal settings is inspiring, it allows public school applicants to flourish... and intimidates state school applicants, distorting the academic potential of both".

She does say the email was not to be taken too seriously, much like the interview process. Not sure if we agree with the latter part of that idea...

More on this article can be found here.

Image source here.

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First Gay Pride Flag Flying Over An Oxford College

Wadham College was the proud supporter of "Queerweek", which is an occasion for talks and social events, hoy flying the rainbow flag above the 17th century college. This reportedly makes it the first Oxford College to do so, which is a good sign of Oxford moving with the times. The lights in the college's front quad were also turned pink. It was done so with the full support of the college dean and governing body .

Article and photo source (Ross Brooks) here

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