A totally mad morning
It's 8:30am and I've been up for four hours - Steve and I got up early this morning, fell into yesterday's clothes and cycled to town half-asleep to see the madness that is May Day in Oxford. And I am SO GLAD we did, it was the most awesome morning.
We got there at about 5:40, and were incredibly fortunate to reach the High just as the police started putting up barriers on Longwall St and halfway up the High, so that a few thousand people (including us) managed to gather around the base of Magdalen Great Tower while hundreds more were kept behind the barrier 100m away.
We waited around for half an hour, watching the drunk students, old ladies with flowers in their hair, young families and dons. Then the choir filed onto the tower a hundred feet up to sing, and because I love you, here it is for you to enjoy.
We pushed back to Magdalen Bridge to see the idiots jumping 25 feet into water this deep:
Saw one fantastic moment when one idiot stripped naked and sprinted for the parapet. A very burly proactive policeman tackled him and he bounced off the stone railing, but the alcohol in him no doubt made him invincible and he was unhurt.
Saw a lovely scene of a bagpiper surrounded by non-drunk just fun students Highland-flinging:
Then we joined the stream of people back up the High and stopped to watch an awesome brass band surrounded by dancing teenagers and one groovy old lady:
Then to The Radcliffe Camera to watch the highland dancers, Morris dancers and hear the insistent pealing of the St Mary The Virgin bells.
Once we were through there it was onto the Broad to see the green people and the Maypole:
Morris dancers:
and the African drummers with farthingaled dancers:
The cacophony soaring over the whole city was just wonderful - the pipes, the constant infectious drumbeat, the brass bands, the Morris dancers' jingling bells, and over it all the deep-toned College bells. You could hear it from Cornmarket to Holywell, and everyone was smiling. I can't believe how much I'm going to miss this place.
We got there at about 5:40, and were incredibly fortunate to reach the High just as the police started putting up barriers on Longwall St and halfway up the High, so that a few thousand people (including us) managed to gather around the base of Magdalen Great Tower while hundreds more were kept behind the barrier 100m away.
We waited around for half an hour, watching the drunk students, old ladies with flowers in their hair, young families and dons. Then the choir filed onto the tower a hundred feet up to sing, and because I love you, here it is for you to enjoy.
We pushed back to Magdalen Bridge to see the idiots jumping 25 feet into water this deep:
Saw one fantastic moment when one idiot stripped naked and sprinted for the parapet. A very burly proactive policeman tackled him and he bounced off the stone railing, but the alcohol in him no doubt made him invincible and he was unhurt.
Saw a lovely scene of a bagpiper surrounded by non-drunk just fun students Highland-flinging:
Then we joined the stream of people back up the High and stopped to watch an awesome brass band surrounded by dancing teenagers and one groovy old lady:
Then to The Radcliffe Camera to watch the highland dancers, Morris dancers and hear the insistent pealing of the St Mary The Virgin bells.
Once we were through there it was onto the Broad to see the green people and the Maypole:
Morris dancers:
and the African drummers with farthingaled dancers:
The cacophony soaring over the whole city was just wonderful - the pipes, the constant infectious drumbeat, the brass bands, the Morris dancers' jingling bells, and over it all the deep-toned College bells. You could hear it from Cornmarket to Holywell, and everyone was smiling. I can't believe how much I'm going to miss this place.