Our next stop on 5 June 2010 was Oxford.
The famous Oxford University is actually made up of 39 different colleges, with each college having its own unique culture. Some of the colleges we visited are , Christchurch and St. Hildas. The College council consists of the Warden and 55 Fellows and about 550 juniors members, most of whom live in the College Buildings or College houses nearby. Women were admitted as junior members for the first time in 1979.
At nine in the morning, Mick drove us by coach to our next destination of the trip where we were guided through the college grounds by the lovely Nuala Young. As we explored the grounds, she told wonderful stories about writers such as Lewis Carroll and Jonathan Swift whose works were influenced by their experiences at Oxford and the people they met there. For instance, Lewis Carroll's Alice was based on a real 10-year-old Alice whom he met when he took the photograph of Alice and her two sisters - the children of Oxford's Headmaster at that time. His stories started when he had to entertain the three children as they posed for their photographs. How wonderful to learn about the inspirations and influences Oxford had on such talented writers!
We were also told about the students who studied at Oxford who come not just from UK but from Germany, France and Singapore as well. In fact, there are about 140 Singaporeans who currently study at Oxford. The courses of study cover a full range of subjects but what is special about Oxford and makes it one of the top universities in the world is its individual tutorial system. This system ensures that students are independent learners who work closely with their tutors each week to enrich their learning.
During the walking tour, we were in awe at the sight of the historic buildings, such as the Radcliffe Camera. There was also an underground library, where a copy of each book published in England had to be submitted. Imagine the plethora of books housed there!
Radcliff Camera
Entering the campus, we noticed that the Dining Hall was closed and there weren't many students moving around as everyone was sleeping in on the Saturday morning.
We then entered the Chapel, which was a small church that students had to visit to say their prayers as early as 5:30am in the morning in the past. However, it is not compulsory now for students of the colleges to be Christians and it is no longer compulsory for all to attend services.
Next up, we headed towards the city centre and entered a market where we saw a cute and unique cake shop. The designs of each cake was extremely eye catching and attention grabbing. Our guide narrated the story of the owner of the business who was discouraged by her family in her ambition of decorating cakes as a career, but she persevered and worked towards her dream. Many customers appreciated her works and thus bought cakes from her. Eventually her shop became too small for the amount of orders she received. As a result, she opened one with more space and employed helpers to manage it with more ease. Her story was inspirational and encourages one to pursue one's dream with determination.
We were allowed an hour of free time to venture around the city centre, where we could buy our lunch. Most of us had our 'retail therapy' at the shops there and finally, the group met up to return to the coach. We travelled up North towards Manchester on a 2h 15mins ride. We had our dinner at the Hungry Horse Pub which was nicely decorated and had a great time chatting and savoring our delicious meal. The size of the desserts were jaw dropping as they seemed larger than the main course itself!
After dinner, we headed to Burnley where we are spending the night :)
Written by: Priscilla
