|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 15 May 2005 |
 |
|
 |
Magazine |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Student life in an alien world : May Morning by Jeevani Mantotta May morning is one of the pagan rituals that has lasted to this day.
Oxford students celebrate it in a big way. There are a number of balls
Hundreds of people throng along the High street and onto Magdalen bridge at 6 o'clock in the morning to stand around in the cold and hear the choir sing an invocation to Summer from the top of Magdalen tower. In my first year I stayed up the night before, along with everyone else. Since we were too broke to buy a ticket for a ball, we sat in someone's room playing monopoly instead. At 5 am we wrapped up warm and trundled down to the bridge. Even at that time of the morning people were starting to gather. I was lucky enough to get a seat on the bridge parapet so that I could see what was going on. As morning approached more and more people turned up, spreading over the bridge and down the road until all you could see in either direction was a sea of heads. Bearing in mind that this is normally a major thoroughfare it was quite an impressive sight. The atmosphere was quite convivial. People chatted to whoever was sitting next to them and swapped biscuits and sweets. Someone had brought a beach ball along and an impromptu game developed in the crowd - until someone managed to bounce the ball into the river. A lot of people there were still dressed up from the night before. A good number of the boys (girls, quite sensibly, tend to refrain) clambered onto the parapet, took a bow and flamboyantly threw themselves into the river. On the river itself, there were punts full of people watching the show. At one point a punting party performed a mock sword fight as they passed by, earning themselves a round of applause. 6 am approached. The sun struggled through the mist and people started to hush each other. By 5.59 there was the eerie silence of an enormous crowd holding its breath. Then, in the silent dawn, the voice of a lone choirboy floated down from the tower. There was a moment of timeless peace. Then a massive cheer arose and the spell was broken. May morning had arrived. The walk back along the High street, taken over by pedestrians for the morning, was surreal. Bells pealed and people danced in the street. We passed people in mud-splattered ball gowns, a Chinese dragon with 8 people inside, Morris dancers, Choirboys, Dryads, Druids and Herne of the Hunt. Very few of us made it to lectures that day. The lecturer took pity on his sleepy and hungover audience and finished 15 minutes early. "I'll put the notes on the internet," he said. "Happy May morning." Then he staggered off in search of coffee. |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
that happen the night before as well as a rave in Port Meadow, which the
police traditionally shut down at about 2 am. The real celebrations happen
at dawn, but staying up all night is part of the fun. 
