And Then There Was a Scepter?

Happy Monday! We're winding down from a rather eventful weekend over here, where I matriculated and went on some real nerdy excursions.  My two cents on the ridiculousness:

1.  The Outfit
     Some grey-haired long-bearded wrinkly men and matronly women (how I picture the Oxford Trustees) are probably cackling at the robes they make the students wear for Matriculation.  Let's give them streamers (alternate name: tentacles) instead of sleeves!  And make the men wear white bow ties and the women silly ribbons.  Garroff garroff (old person laughing sound). We'll just call it "tradition."  Don't they look silly.

2.  Matriculated And It Feels So Good
      They make the whole fresher population dress up for a 10 minute ceremony? Highlights: a large scepter was brought in by a spitting image of Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter.  A guy pompously bowed before the vice chancellor. Some Latin was spoken.  The wand was waved.  Haha, just kidding, or am I? (see you don't know what to think, do you, it's Oxford).

3.  Harry Potter Mania
       John Locke is buried in Christ Church.  JOHN LOCKE. THE FOUNDER OF LIBERALISM. And y'all tourists are rushing next door to see the dining hall where Harry Potter was filmed? Really? The Christ Church dining hall actually doesn't look much like it did in the films, but it is equally as spooky. There are these huge portraits of famous Christ Church alumni (William Penn, John Wesley, Einstein, etc.) on the walls, looming down over the dinner tables, whispering Be Someone, you fools! to the poor undergraduates. On the bright side I did get a nice photo in my robes in the Harry Potter Dining Hall. Hehe.

4.  Middle Earth NerdFest 2011
       I'm not sure I've ever done anything more nerdy than the two-hour Tolkien Tour around Oxford.  We saw the outside of this one house where he lived for two years. And then there was this spot where he said something once about. We did see the door of the house where he died in.  And the tree that inspired the Ents! And the window of the room where C.S. Lewis studied. Important stuff.  But we did learn a lot of bonkers Oxford traditions...

5. Duck Lore
       Every 100 years, the renowned fellows of All Souls College chase a duck around Oxford? Apparently, this is because when they were building All Souls, there was a duck that flew out of the foundation, and they said "Hey, let's make a tradition." Don't believe me? Unfortunately this happened 10 years ago, so unless I contend for the oldest women alive I will never get to see it.
       We also saw the Merton College Courtyard where they walk backwards once a year to counteract the space-time continuum, and learned about "Beating the Bounds," where small children are beaten with sticks at markers that designate the boundaries of the four parishes in Oxford (okay, nowadays they're not beaten, the kids instead beat the walls with sticks, because that makes more sense. We get to watch. There's beer).
      We've decided as a St. Hilda's group that we should find a bogus reason to start a tradition, because it's seemingly pretty easy over here.  The Merton Time Ceremony was invented by an American tourist in the 70's, it's possible.  Ideas?

That's all from across the pond! LP