This past weekend I was delighted to go on a trip across country to the lovely county of Somerset. Five of us girls packed ourselves onto no less than four trains to get there. On the last train we literally sat in the baggage compartment because there wasn't any room for us. How is that for student travel?
Some facts I've gathered about this place called Somerset:
-There is absolutely nothing like a home cooked meal. Whether it be a real English breakfast or a fantastic lamb roast, there is nothing as lovely and comforting as a meal cooked in a real English home when all you've been living on for the past two months is soggy chips and the occasional sandwich.
-This county hosts some of the most picturesque views in England. Rolling hills and farm pastures and many sheep. When driving through the countryside and the small towns and villages this is what a person pictures when they think of England.
-Hot Fuzz was filmed here. Do not be confused by the fact that it is supposed to be set in Gloucestershire, it's definitely Somerset. While we didn't get to visit the little town of Wells, the birthplace of director Edgar Wright himself, just being there was something like a mini-pilgrimage. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost were here! I just got chills again.
-That country accent? It's real.
-Thatched houses are cool. Literally. They are cute but apparently extremely cold.
-London fog has nothing on the kind of fog some country lanes can get in the middle of the night.
-Have I mentioned the roast dinners?
Stonehenge:
Normally I wouldn't accuse the English of sucking the magic and fun out of anything, that's a job for the French, but unfortunately they succeeded with flying colors to drain all the magic and mystery of the site that is Stonehenge. Firstly, I love Stonehenge. I've been wanting to go there since I was old enough to read the word, but getting there and having to pay £5.90 to walk around a rope meters away sucks all the fun out of it. The only people who can get near it are the people who work there and the Druids on the solstices, and if I wanted to see a whole bunch of people dressed as Dumbledore I'd go to a midnight showing of Harry Potter. Unfortunately, because they built a visitor center and roped off the site, essentially ruining my childhood dreams, they managed to make it nothing more than "a bunch of stones."
Bath:
This city is exceptionally beautiful. An old Roman town where you can see the actual, old, Roman buildings and baths that gave this city its name. Pretty much everything about this city is beautiful. The architecture, the cute little shops, the way they displayed the river, the little hills that make up and surround the city... But don't get me wrong. This place is touristic and as every traveler knows, touristic places are made to look as appealing as possible. So really you won't see a city untouched by the hand of consumerism, but you will find a city that has managed to balance it quite well.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
An English Tradition
Yesterday it was brought to my attention that I somehow had forgotten one of the most auspicious English traditions that still exists today. Because of this unnamed person *coughDawncough* I will now elaborate on the humble and noble art of the Sport Club Social.
This is a great time throughout the land of England, in particular Ormskirk, where the modern day knights of the realm celebrate or commiserate the days events. What I'm essentially trying to express to the "yanks" is that this is a really big deal. The attitude is something like this:
"We won! We are the top of the league! Let's celebrate by getting our money back on those Styles cards! Excuse me, barmaid, may I have two pints of cider and black?"
OR
"We played like a bunch of four year old school girls. We stink so much not even our mothers would cheer us on. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm going to try to forget how crap we are. Where is the bar-girl? Get me two pints of cider and black...and a double shot. Of what? Just anything."
Another aspect of the sports club social that is especially interesting is that more often than not there is a "fancy dress" theme. This means that on any given Wednesday you will see a mass of students dressed to the nines in the most various array of costumes.
Some examples include, but are not limited to:
Fairies
Gangsters (think Brando as opposed to Diddy)
Cowboys and Indians
Cops and Robbers
Army
Top Gun
Babies and OAPs (Old Age Pensioners)
School Girls
Baywatch
Geeks and Nerds
*Pub Golf - Every club will most likely do this at least once a semester. It is quite possibly the most epic and hilarious night ever.
Not to forget as well the ever famous Halloween and Christmas themes.
Once you have all your team members (and the occasional team member's friend or significant other) the social is ready to begin. The point of the social. if you haven't noticed yet, is to get as drunk as possible in as short a time as you can. This means that there will be drinking games.
Some of the most popular are:
Ring of Fire - this is the English version of the American game Kings
Dirty pint - An empty pint glass is passed around and every person pours a bit of their drink in the glass. A coin is flipped and if you guess wrong then you have to down the contents of the pint glass.
Save the Queen - Very simple and is hardly called a game. A penny or two pence piece is dropped into by some person into your cup. If it is you have to down your drink to "save the Queen" from "drowning". This is more fun to do to other people, and annoying/can get dangerous when it is done to you.
*Pub Golf - Now why is this here twice? Because it's awesome. The point of the night is to go to 9 (or in extremely rare and epic cases 18) different pubs and bars. At everyone you have to drink a certain drink in a certain number of goes, i.e. downing a pint in two goes at one pub and a spirit and mixer in one go at the next one. Whatever that might be it's par for the pub and you mark down your score just like in golf. Also this is usually done in teams of two where the teammates are tied to each other by the arm. A lottery is held and most times the teams are co-ed. This means that if one of you has to visit the little girls' or little boys' room your partner has to tag along. Literally. Some sports clubs enforce this strictly, but if you have a beneficent captain teammates are allowed to slip off the tether to use the toilet. But, there are only one of two pubs on the list called "water holes" where one is even allowed to use the toilet. Needless to say this gets everyone beyond inebriated, and that is why it is one of the most epic nights ever.
Often times as well there will be one person who will be the butt of all the jokes of the night and will probably be the drunkest by the end of it. No, it is not the captain(s), it is usually a person that did something stupid throughout the time of the previous social and the present one. This is called getting "dicked on" and it usually is accompanied by some form of humiliation, or clothing, or humiliation in the form of clothing that sets this person apart from the rest of the team. An example: Badminton has a lovely fisherman's hat which is adorned with shuttlecocks. Guess what they call the person who has to wear this? Here's a hint. **** of the week.
After all the games and all the costumes and the taxis and walking in the bitter cold, like a great exodus, all the students leave the pubs, bars, and clubs to come back to University where they congregate in the Students' Union club to dance the night away. Looking on this scene is like looking through a portal to Imagination Land, all the creatures and characters of a child's dreams and nightmares coming together to express their love of youth, life, and sports.
This is a great time throughout the land of England, in particular Ormskirk, where the modern day knights of the realm celebrate or commiserate the days events. What I'm essentially trying to express to the "yanks" is that this is a really big deal. The attitude is something like this:
"We won! We are the top of the league! Let's celebrate by getting our money back on those Styles cards! Excuse me, barmaid, may I have two pints of cider and black?"
OR
"We played like a bunch of four year old school girls. We stink so much not even our mothers would cheer us on. I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I'm going to try to forget how crap we are. Where is the bar-girl? Get me two pints of cider and black...and a double shot. Of what? Just anything."
Another aspect of the sports club social that is especially interesting is that more often than not there is a "fancy dress" theme. This means that on any given Wednesday you will see a mass of students dressed to the nines in the most various array of costumes.
Some examples include, but are not limited to:
Fairies
Gangsters (think Brando as opposed to Diddy)
Cowboys and Indians
Cops and Robbers
Army
Top Gun
Babies and OAPs (Old Age Pensioners)
School Girls
Baywatch
Geeks and Nerds
*Pub Golf - Every club will most likely do this at least once a semester. It is quite possibly the most epic and hilarious night ever.
Not to forget as well the ever famous Halloween and Christmas themes.
Once you have all your team members (and the occasional team member's friend or significant other) the social is ready to begin. The point of the social. if you haven't noticed yet, is to get as drunk as possible in as short a time as you can. This means that there will be drinking games.
Some of the most popular are:
Ring of Fire - this is the English version of the American game Kings
Dirty pint - An empty pint glass is passed around and every person pours a bit of their drink in the glass. A coin is flipped and if you guess wrong then you have to down the contents of the pint glass.
Save the Queen - Very simple and is hardly called a game. A penny or two pence piece is dropped into by some person into your cup. If it is you have to down your drink to "save the Queen" from "drowning". This is more fun to do to other people, and annoying/can get dangerous when it is done to you.
*Pub Golf - Now why is this here twice? Because it's awesome. The point of the night is to go to 9 (or in extremely rare and epic cases 18) different pubs and bars. At everyone you have to drink a certain drink in a certain number of goes, i.e. downing a pint in two goes at one pub and a spirit and mixer in one go at the next one. Whatever that might be it's par for the pub and you mark down your score just like in golf. Also this is usually done in teams of two where the teammates are tied to each other by the arm. A lottery is held and most times the teams are co-ed. This means that if one of you has to visit the little girls' or little boys' room your partner has to tag along. Literally. Some sports clubs enforce this strictly, but if you have a beneficent captain teammates are allowed to slip off the tether to use the toilet. But, there are only one of two pubs on the list called "water holes" where one is even allowed to use the toilet. Needless to say this gets everyone beyond inebriated, and that is why it is one of the most epic nights ever.
Often times as well there will be one person who will be the butt of all the jokes of the night and will probably be the drunkest by the end of it. No, it is not the captain(s), it is usually a person that did something stupid throughout the time of the previous social and the present one. This is called getting "dicked on" and it usually is accompanied by some form of humiliation, or clothing, or humiliation in the form of clothing that sets this person apart from the rest of the team. An example: Badminton has a lovely fisherman's hat which is adorned with shuttlecocks. Guess what they call the person who has to wear this? Here's a hint. **** of the week.
After all the games and all the costumes and the taxis and walking in the bitter cold, like a great exodus, all the students leave the pubs, bars, and clubs to come back to University where they congregate in the Students' Union club to dance the night away. Looking on this scene is like looking through a portal to Imagination Land, all the creatures and characters of a child's dreams and nightmares coming together to express their love of youth, life, and sports.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)