Books

The London of new fiction

Marshall Worsham

09 Nov 2009

United Kingdom

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London’s doll-baby, Oscar Wilde, had little good to say about "The Old Smoke." But things have changed considerably since his time. For a fresh look at the London of today – hip, cosmopolitan, and inevitably multicultural – check out Monica Ali’s "Brick Lane" and Zadie Smith’s "White Teeth."

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Getting Around

That's it, one foot in front of the other

Marshall Worsham

09 Nov 2009

United Kingdom

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Oxford is best navigated on foot or cycle. You can walk easily from the train station (far west) to Magdalen College (far east) in 10 to 15 minutes. Oxford’s avenues are full of sidewalks and cross-walks, and Cornmarket Street, the city’s main commercial strip, is open to pedestrians only. Outside the city center, though, things spread out quickly. If you’re planning to be in Oxford for a while, consider getting a bike. You can hire them on daily and weekly rates from Summertown Cycles, Back on Trax, and Bike Zone. Cycle with care: as respectful as drivers are of pedestrians, they are careless toward cyclists. Also note that you’re legally required to have lights when riding at night. And do stay off the sidewalks.

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Festivals & Events

Remember, remember the fifth of November

Marshall Worsham

09 Nov 2009

United Kingdom

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Call it what you will – Bonfire Night, Guy Fawkes’ Day, 5-Nov – the fifth of November is undoubtedly one of the most raucous nights of the British year. The festival commemorates the discovery of Guy Fawkes’ 1605 plot to blow up Parliament. Most of England echoes with fireworks for several days around the fifth, and the celebration culminates with bonfires and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes. The best places to get in on the action are London’s Battersea Park and Oxford’s South Parks, where this year a 25-foot wicker effigy was engulfed in flames.

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Culture Shock

Be aware you have an accent

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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Depending on your American accent, some people might have trouble understanding you. It took me months to realize everyone thought my name (Ann) was "Ian" because I pronounce it with a little bit of an Oklahoma drawl. I convert the otherwise monosyllabic Ann into Ah-yuh-nn which thus becomes the oh-so-masculine Ian in British speak. Who knew?

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Must Do

Two for the price of one

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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Take a ferry to Greenwich to see the Prime Meridian. Dorky, I know...but how many people can say they've been in two hemispheres at once!?

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Contest

The London Monopoly Challenge and the Circle Line challenge

Marshall Worsham

16 Mar 2010

United Kingdom

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One of London’s most popular weekend activities for the competitive at heart is the London Monopoly Challenge. You have twelve hours. Get a group of friends, a Monopoly board, and a spare liver. Stop at a pub on each of the 26 streets on the board, have a pint, and get the bartender to sign the square you’re on. Again, I really wouldn’t recommend it. But if that’s not enough for you, then also don’t try the Circle Line pub crawl. The Circle Line is a fantastically unreliable London Tube line running in a closed circuit around the center of town. Take 12 hours, get off at each of the 27 stops and have a pint nearby. Last one standing wins. (Disclaimer: Don’t do it. If you must, try it first with half-pints, or orange juice, or water)

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Etiquette

Say sorry first

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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If someone steps on your foot in the tube, apologize. Brits are the first to say "sorry" even when the offense isn't theirs.

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Food

Stick with the Christmas pudding

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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Variations on pudding provided both my favorite and most despised foods in London. Christmas pudding is a delicious steamed concoction with dried fruits, and has a consistency like breaded creme brulee. Black pudding, on the other hand, is congealed sausage blood. It tastes as great as it sounds.

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Film

Play instead

Marshall Worsham

06 Jan 2010

United Kingdom

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The film industry in the UK has a hard time keeping up with its U.S. and Continental counterparts. Think of “Love Actually,” “Shakespeare in Love,” and that awful early-1990s “Moment of Truth” series, and you’ll get a sense of the purple in which British cinema is steeped. Go instead to a play. Many of England’s smallest towns have independent theaters with some top-notch actors. If you’re in London, go the tourist route and see a musical, or Shakespeare performed at the Globe. Or go underground and check out the Rose – a hip new black box company that performs above the ruins of the South Bank’s first Elizabethan theater, just down the street from the Globe. You shan’t be disappointed.

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Packing

Bring a raincoat

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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No need to pack a poncho--it rains, but not as though you're in the middle of White Water rapids. It's generally more of a drizzle, in which case a raincoat or umbrella will suit you fine.

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Religion

God save the Queen

Marshall Worsham

16 Mar 2010

United Kingdom

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I’ve been attending Sunday morning services at the chapel at Magdalen College, where C.S. Lewis was a Fellow. Most of the colleges in Oxford and Cambridge have really beautiful high Anglican Masses, usually sung by boys’ choirs that have been around for four centuries or so. They’re worth seeing for aesthetic reasons even if you’re not religiously inclined. What I’ve found really interesting, though, is how the services reveal England’s un-separation of Church and State. At the end of some services, the congregation breaks into a rousing chorus of “God Save the Queen.” It’s been fascinating, if not a little unsettling for an American liberal, accustomed as I am to having my politics and my religion served on separate plates.

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Politics

Be ready to talk American politics

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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The English are very involved in politics--especially American politics. Obama's election made front page news on all the papers, and anyone who knew I was American wanted to talk to me about the candidates throughout the election.

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Music

500 years and still singing

Marshall Worsham

09 Nov 2009

United Kingdom

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If you do nothing else in Oxford, be sure to hear a choral service in one of the college chapels. Magdalen, Christ Church, New College, and Queen’s Colleges have world-famous choirs. Most of its other college choirs are just as good, if not as renowned. Some of the most incredible experiences I’ve had here have involved the Magdalen choir singing Eucharist on Sunday mornings and Evensong weekday evenings, all by candlelight. The best part? It’s all free.

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Sports

Nothing like a Saturday soccer game

William Hardy

12 Aug 2009

United Kingdom

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There is nothing like a watching a "football" (soccer) game on a Saturday. If you think the turnout is big for Patriots' games against the Jets, wait until you see the turnout for an average British football game. The fans are die-hard and love a good rowdy time. Be prepared to come home with no voice, spilt beer on your clothes and the name of your team in colored paint across your chest!

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TV

Get your TV for nothing, your kicks for free

Marshall Worsham

16 Mar 2010

United Kingdom

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British law requires all privately owned televisions to be licensed. It’s pricey – £145.50 after 1 April of this year. The revenues go to support the BBC (notice how there aren’t any commercials on BBC stations) and telecom infrastructure projects. If you don’t want to fork over the money, don’t lose hope. You can catch the last seven days of your favorite British shows on the totally free and totally awesome BBC iPlayer. If you’re in the mood to get addicted to something, I highly recommend X-Factor, an American Idol-style competitive singing program, and Only Connect, a quiz program self-described as “the show that makes you feel like an idiot.”

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Fashion

Dress for rain or shine, mostly rain

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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Always have an umbrella and sunglasses in your bag--the weather's notoriously fickle.

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Dating

You might find someone, you might not

Marshall Worsham

09 Nov 2009

United Kingdom

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“England’s is a post-Christian society,” explained one of my college administrators before term began. “You’ll have no trouble finding whatever you’re looking for as far as dating goes.” I suppose that’s the case, but I wouldn’t say men and women just throw themselves at one another either. There are friendships to be had, hook-ups to regret, relationships to leap into, hearts to be broken. In Oxford, like in most places in the United States, there’s a spectrum, which requires the same exercise of judgment (or lack thereof). But unlike in most U.S. college towns, there are precious few people studying here to find a spouse. Except perhaps the royalty. But unless you’re royalty yourself, you probably won’t meet them.

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Health

Forget the bill, it's free!

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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Because health care is publicly-funded in London, trips to the emergency room are free--as my friends & I so bittersweetly discovered the night we got caught up in a bar fight. Not as exciting as it sounds: two guys were brawling & one threw a glass that hit my friend in the head....lots of blood and a taxi later, she got stitched up in the E.R. To our surprise, the visit was completely free.

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Slang

The Wight way to rabbit

Marshall Worsham

07 Jan 2010

United Kingdom

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Confused? Try brushing up on your Cockney rhyming slang. A linguistic anomaly in England, rhyming slang supposedly developed as an idiom of resistance in the rougher parts of East London – to confuse the cops and unwanted outsiders. The idea is to substitute for one standard English word a different rhyming word or phrase, then shorten as necessary. The “Wight way to rabbit,” then, would be “the Isle of Wight (right) way to rabbit and pork (talk).” You might also hear someone ask you to take your “plates off the Gable,” that is, your “plates of meat (feet) off the Clark Gable (table).” I’ve actually heard people use rhyming slang quite a bit in London. Try it out yourself, but only in the right company.

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Nightlife

Early drinking, dinner optional

Ann Clark

06 Feb 2009

United Kingdom

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The nightlife starts earlier--but doesn't necessarily end early. Most people head to the pubs straight from school or work, and it's OK to substitute beer for dinner. "Eating is cheating," I've been told.

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Being an American

Photography tips

Simon Bell

02 Jun 2009

United Kingdom

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I'm not sure of the rules in the United States; however we Brits have quirky rules when it comes to photography. Anyone can take a picture of anything they want to in a public place, and this includes anyone. Just don't don't harass someone if you want to take his or her picture. Also keep in mind that photography in Trafalgar is strictly prohibited. If you break out the tripods and DSLR's you can expect a hefty fine. Still, no police officer can force you to delete a picture without a warrant.

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