I have no idea what the history is, but it is apparent that England has a highly entrenched culture of drinking— and particularly binge drinking. So what should us good Canadians do? Join them of course!

Here are some interesting shots of the bar trips we made while we were in Oxford.

Park End:
Park End was the first place we ventured to— this place was definitely ranked top out of all the bars/clubs we went to. It was a multi-genre, multi-level club-slash-lounge. Levels are open to below, so that you can look down to see what’s going on— similar to the now demolished I.T.

Music rocked! By the way, the English pretty much listen to the same stuff as us— there was hardly any songs we weren’t familiar with.

Still quite sober.

Tiff and me with Shawn’s favourite beer.

Tee hee. The face that was cut off is Tessa. Me and Tessa couldn’t fit in the 5-person cab that night, so we walked for a hour back home.

FUBAR @ The Venue:
Just like Waterloo, Oxford has a FUBAR— but FUBAR refers to the weekly event— aptly the venue is called “The Venue.” FUBAR, I learned, stands for “fucked up beyond all recognition” and has references from the military. I suppose this term can easily be applied to a bar setting.

FUBAR is the Fed Hall of Oxford Brookes. Beer is served in damn plastic cups— campus anal-retentive measures— which means beer is spilt left right and centre. But on the bright note, beers are £1— a Carling, which nastily resembles a Moosehead.

Us on the Brookes Bus to the bar— don’t be fooled by the picture. English kids get really rowdy when drunk. Drunkenness on the bus involves singing the Oxford Brookes theme song— unknown to us— as well as nearly smashing bus windows.

“Hey sexy lad[ies], I like you flow (wuh oh).”

Peekaboo! Matt becomes FUBAR at FUBAR.

dIs iZ mY aTemPt aT soMe AzN pRyDe.

Here we are in that neat Salsa room. There was this great salsa dancer who definitely had a handful with our ladies.

Last minute pose before we’re off for the last Brookes Bus.

Fuzzy Ducks @ The Zodiac:
Fuzzy Ducks is another themed night in a more grungy-looking venue. At night, the street setting, Cowley Road, resembles the Annex on Bloor— a lively street with a great sense of community.

The music that night was acceptable. The drinks were again cheap, probably because of the student town— £1 to £2 for beers and cocktails.

Here’s the only picture of the evening. All other pictures are censored to protect the innocent. Let’s just say it involves many planners taking off their shirts. Oh boy.

The Stumble Inn:
Do you follow the pun? Stumble Inn is the local pub in the Harcourt Hill campus— where we were staying. It’s a much quieter bar, since our campus is quite tiny— and is more seen as a pre-drinking venue. People actually purchase drinks here, bring it back to their residence to drink before they head out.

This place is also great for getting change for the laundry in the afternoon!

Jeff, our prof in green, treated us to drinks— courtesy of our late-arrival program: anyone who doesn’t arrive on time for field trips are fined £1.

It looks like Tiff is attempting to eat Fadi’s head. I could understand because she was always hungry. Look how frightened Fadi is.

Cheers to Oxford!