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| Sunday, 26 June 2005 |
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The public house by Jeevani Mantotta Pubs are important to student life in England, and Oxford, for all it's pomp and ceremony, is no exception. It's a sad fact that most English undergraduates regard alcohol as an integral part of having fun and spend about as much time (if not more) in bars and pubs as they do in libraries.
"I think I'll switch to coke now." Is usually met with a bit of cajoling at least, or an unwanted drink popped down in front of you at most. The only people who escape this are people who are teetotallers (provided you're consistent!) and anyone who's driving. After may years of government campaigns a few young people in England now drink and drive - those who try are usually dissuaded by their friends and bundled into a taxi. There's a peculiar tradition of buying rounds - where people take it in turns to buy everyone's drinks. This works quite well if you're in a small group and everyone is drinking the same sort of thing. If you're drinking cola (which is cheaper than alcoholic drinks) you end up feeling like you're subsidising everyone else. All this may sound alarming, but you're usually safe enough if you're in a college bar where the staff know the usual suspects and can maintain a modicum of discipline. Pubs in Oxford are heavily polarised between 'Town pubs' which are full of people from the local villages and 'Town pubs', which are full of students and university staff. The Town pubs are probably best avoided on Friday and Saturday nights - they're usually the ones with the music thumping out of them. The Gown pubs tend to have a bit more character too - like the Turf, which is only accessible via two obscure alleyways, and is lovely and quaint (and serves good beer too, apparently). Pub quizzes are good fun too - you pay to enter and whoever wins gets the collection. In Oxford, these can get quite competitive with some people getting all the answers (unless of course, there are questions on pop music - hah!). As you get further along in your educational trajectory pubs take on a different role. Most of the world's greatest ideas were born in pubs (or in college common rooms over the after dinner drinks). The Lamb and Flag is a Scientists pub (it's the closest pub to the labs) and many a thesis had been formulated over a pint whilst the experiment was stirring away in the lab. Pubs are also great meeting places where contacts are made, companies are started and books are written (Tolkein and friends met weekly in the Eagle and Child). Some pubs do good food too. On Sundays most places serve a roast lunch that is usually good value. Groups of friends and families turn out and the same pub that was full of smoke and alcohol on Saturday night is suddenly full of food and laughter and children running around. |
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For anyone who believes in moderation, the pressure to drink is often
quite high. 
