memory

many of the things they practice today here in england, and here in oxford more specifically, are based on tradition.

they conserve their way of doing things very rigoriously. and this kind of routine is not regulated by law. it is just a rule of the game that everyone must follow. from one generation to the next they pass the tradition steadily. and everyone i know is quite happy to embark this way of tradition willingly.

if one asks the logic explanation for, say, why should we wear dark suit, plain-white shirt, white bow tie, black shoes and black gown for matriculation, the answer is of course because they have been doing it for hundreds of years. so why change now? they said.

hmm...

now, imagine a professor saying this to you:

"please try to be on time, because the dinner has never been late for four hundred years."



and this is a sample picture of how the dinner table looks like. i took this picture in one of the oldest college, called "new college", dated back from around the 13th century.