Having A Ball of a Time
The highlight of the summer definitely had to be Trinity 450th Anniversary Ball. They say that attending a ball is an Oxford prerequisite. The glamour, the madness and the excess is something that has to be experienced at least once, never mind the cost, and that it would be something that is wholly unforgettable. The fact that this ball commemorated the College's 450th Anniversary was even more cause to expect an even larger and grander celebration.
Certainly the day was approached with a great deal of anticipation, and no small amount of cost. The dining ticket alone was almost 150 pounds, and decking myself out in white tie added another 50 pounds or so to the bill, although to be perfectly honest, by that stage one had more or less ceased to count. So it was with a great deal of expectation that I stood in the queue outside Trinity's large blue iron-wrought gates awaiting entry to a night of spectacular entertainment.
First of course, came dinner. The dining hall was indeed decked out in spectacular fashion, with candelabra and decorations and the college silver all making this the stuff of fantasy. As the candlelight cast its soft glow and spilled out of the stained glass windows, one could imagine oneself in another day and age. The food was not less wonderful, 4 courses done to magnificence, with the highlest being the scallop, serving complete on a giant shell. It was a wonderful start to the evening, made all the merrier by the champagne reception beforehand and the copius amounts of excellent wine being poured for us.
There of course a limitless amount of things to do: chocolate fountains (of which I did have some), food stands, more drinks, a champagne stand in the middle of garden quad, acrobats, comedians, dancing and lots more besides. There were bumper cars, which I decided to forsake due to the fact that I did not quite fancy a 45 min wait, as well as the huge live music tent where Supergrass were fronting the gig.
If there is one virtue of being small, it comes in large packed tents with people trying to force themselves to the front. Supergrass was very popular indeed, but I managed to squeeze myself through right to the front, where they had set up a fence to prevent people from getting too close to the stage. It was my first real experience of this kind of live gig atmosphere in what was an area equivalent to the proverbial mosh pit, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the pure abandon of just letting yourself go completely. It was exhiliarating and completely crazy. The only problem was, after about a half hour or more of being squashed against the fence, I decided that it was best to leave, only to find it impossible to get back out. A security guard seeing my difficulty came up with a rather quicker solution - he lifted me right over the rail and let me leave through a side exit. Just mildly embarrasing to say the least, but quite expedient nonetheless.
There is one important thing at a ball you must remember, and it was something that I should have realized from the start. It is simple really - faced with such excess, there is a temptation to do everything, to drink without pause and to basically sucuumb to a kind of wild abandon. The important thing is of course to pace yourself, particularly when it comes to the alcohol. After all, you can't do all that much in a semi-coherent state. In my defence, I had queued at the Champagne tent for some bubbly on behalf of myself and my friends. Of course, you could order an unlimited number of glasses at no charge, so people stood in line ordering ridiculous amounts as they and their friends took turns to queue while the rest continued to enjoy the revelries. I was in the queue on behalf of a number of friends, and after quite a long wait I ordered 8 glasses or so and brought them out to where I thought they were waiting, only to find that 5 of them had left. So me and the one remaining guy shared the 8 glasses between us, and what with the accumulation of all the champagne and wine before dinner, the rest of the evening was a bit of a blur.
I do recall one thing late in the evening. The tent near the library had a band playing traditional scottish and irish reels, and I somehow found myself there dancing arm to arm in a mad whirl. By the end of it, there was just me and another guy dancing a kind of half Scottish half tap dance with the band playing faster and faster, and lots of people looking on. It was probably the craziest and most fun moment of the night, and one I will never forget for the rest of my life.
It is to my credit that I was one of the 'survivors' - those who stayed the whole night for the morning photo. In a fitting end to things, we had a couple of Scottish pipers with a snare drummer leading a procession of sorts of those that remained down the familiar gravel paths towards the College gates and out into the middle of the Broad Street where things finally reached their conclusion.
When it comes to balls there is always a question that you will be asked: was it worth it? It is a difficult one to answer. There is no denying the fact that a ball is prohibitively expensive. You are looking at an outlay of 150 to 200 pounds at the least, including finding a suitable outfit. There is no doubt either that they are huge numbers of people, and they tend to oversell tickets. And of course it is physically impossible to consume in one night 1oo pounds worth of anything, be it food, alcohol, or fun. Yet, in many ways, it is truly a unique experience. Wearing white tie for the first time was incredible - seeing thousands of people decked out in the same was even more exhilarating. I really do think that it is something special, an experience that will truly last a lifetime, though working a month afterwards to pay off that one night of fun does put a huge downer on things. Is it worth it? Maybe not. Should you attend a ball? Most definitely! Part of it all is putting all practical considerations aside, to forget everything, to revel in excess, to dance till the morning, and that is after all, exactly what an Oxford ball is about.
Certainly the day was approached with a great deal of anticipation, and no small amount of cost. The dining ticket alone was almost 150 pounds, and decking myself out in white tie added another 50 pounds or so to the bill, although to be perfectly honest, by that stage one had more or less ceased to count. So it was with a great deal of expectation that I stood in the queue outside Trinity's large blue iron-wrought gates awaiting entry to a night of spectacular entertainment.
First of course, came dinner. The dining hall was indeed decked out in spectacular fashion, with candelabra and decorations and the college silver all making this the stuff of fantasy. As the candlelight cast its soft glow and spilled out of the stained glass windows, one could imagine oneself in another day and age. The food was not less wonderful, 4 courses done to magnificence, with the highlest being the scallop, serving complete on a giant shell. It was a wonderful start to the evening, made all the merrier by the champagne reception beforehand and the copius amounts of excellent wine being poured for us.
There of course a limitless amount of things to do: chocolate fountains (of which I did have some), food stands, more drinks, a champagne stand in the middle of garden quad, acrobats, comedians, dancing and lots more besides. There were bumper cars, which I decided to forsake due to the fact that I did not quite fancy a 45 min wait, as well as the huge live music tent where Supergrass were fronting the gig.
If there is one virtue of being small, it comes in large packed tents with people trying to force themselves to the front. Supergrass was very popular indeed, but I managed to squeeze myself through right to the front, where they had set up a fence to prevent people from getting too close to the stage. It was my first real experience of this kind of live gig atmosphere in what was an area equivalent to the proverbial mosh pit, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the pure abandon of just letting yourself go completely. It was exhiliarating and completely crazy. The only problem was, after about a half hour or more of being squashed against the fence, I decided that it was best to leave, only to find it impossible to get back out. A security guard seeing my difficulty came up with a rather quicker solution - he lifted me right over the rail and let me leave through a side exit. Just mildly embarrasing to say the least, but quite expedient nonetheless.
There is one important thing at a ball you must remember, and it was something that I should have realized from the start. It is simple really - faced with such excess, there is a temptation to do everything, to drink without pause and to basically sucuumb to a kind of wild abandon. The important thing is of course to pace yourself, particularly when it comes to the alcohol. After all, you can't do all that much in a semi-coherent state. In my defence, I had queued at the Champagne tent for some bubbly on behalf of myself and my friends. Of course, you could order an unlimited number of glasses at no charge, so people stood in line ordering ridiculous amounts as they and their friends took turns to queue while the rest continued to enjoy the revelries. I was in the queue on behalf of a number of friends, and after quite a long wait I ordered 8 glasses or so and brought them out to where I thought they were waiting, only to find that 5 of them had left. So me and the one remaining guy shared the 8 glasses between us, and what with the accumulation of all the champagne and wine before dinner, the rest of the evening was a bit of a blur.
I do recall one thing late in the evening. The tent near the library had a band playing traditional scottish and irish reels, and I somehow found myself there dancing arm to arm in a mad whirl. By the end of it, there was just me and another guy dancing a kind of half Scottish half tap dance with the band playing faster and faster, and lots of people looking on. It was probably the craziest and most fun moment of the night, and one I will never forget for the rest of my life.
It is to my credit that I was one of the 'survivors' - those who stayed the whole night for the morning photo. In a fitting end to things, we had a couple of Scottish pipers with a snare drummer leading a procession of sorts of those that remained down the familiar gravel paths towards the College gates and out into the middle of the Broad Street where things finally reached their conclusion.
When it comes to balls there is always a question that you will be asked: was it worth it? It is a difficult one to answer. There is no denying the fact that a ball is prohibitively expensive. You are looking at an outlay of 150 to 200 pounds at the least, including finding a suitable outfit. There is no doubt either that they are huge numbers of people, and they tend to oversell tickets. And of course it is physically impossible to consume in one night 1oo pounds worth of anything, be it food, alcohol, or fun. Yet, in many ways, it is truly a unique experience. Wearing white tie for the first time was incredible - seeing thousands of people decked out in the same was even more exhilarating. I really do think that it is something special, an experience that will truly last a lifetime, though working a month afterwards to pay off that one night of fun does put a huge downer on things. Is it worth it? Maybe not. Should you attend a ball? Most definitely! Part of it all is putting all practical considerations aside, to forget everything, to revel in excess, to dance till the morning, and that is after all, exactly what an Oxford ball is about.
posted by Caleb Liu | 7:27 AM
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