Oxford 2011 Freshers Chat Thread

Join the Oxford University Company of Archers and you get kitted out with an offensive weapon capable of punching through plate armour. I worry about us sometimes.

Haha, must it only be called a weapon or a rifle?



I think challenging a Cantabrigiensis (Oh I HAVE been reading the glossary in my Fresher's booklet) to a duel would be a brilliant way to kill one. Dressed in white, prancing back and forth.

I worried if I called it the L85A2/L86A2 DeFos (Can I call you DeFos?) wouldn't know what I was on about

Besides, everyone knows its true name is 'shooty stick'...

I think challenging a Cantabrigiensis (Oh I HAVE been reading the glossary in my Fresher's booklet) to a duel would be a brilliant way to kill one. Dressed in white, prancing back and forth.

I worried if I called it the L85A2/L86A2 DeFos (Can I call you DeFos?) wouldn't know what I was on about

Besides, everyone knows its true name is 'shooty stick'...

A what now?

Yeah, deFos is fine. Oh I know that would mean a rifle, I spent years reading about guns when I was younger. It's paid off. At least I remember that British Army rifles tend to begin with 'L'.

I've been revising them all for my Army application, it's so complicated. I actually have my initial interview tomorrow morning...

I've been revising them all for my Army application, it's so complicated. I actually have my initial interview tomorrow morning...

Best of luck!

Oh, nice. Are you enlisting so they pay for your degree? Don't know if it's a good thing, or not, but Patrick Hennessey's book has made the idea of being commissioned really bloody exciting.

Very good luck to you!

Thanks I am hopefully going for the Undergraduate Bursary, but if not I want to join up for a bit after university anyway. I have the rest of my life to do Law, so I can do something different first.

I could join both and become Rambo...

Can't beat Mensur, which is German 'academic fencing'.

'Tab' is more pronouncable and people will have a clue what you're talking about.

'Tab' is the usual spelling, yes. Plus you get to sing "Oh I'd rather be a leper than a Tab" to the tune of 'If you're happy and you know it'

Spearing something metaphorically is cool, but doing it for real is immensely more satisfying

Join the Oxford University Company of Archers and you get kitted out with an offensive weapon capable of punching through plate armour at 100 yards. I worry about us sometimes.

Just sang it. GENIUS.

I think you misunderstood me: it's 'academic' because it's done by Studentenverbindungen, but as far as I understand it the actual process involves standing your ground while attempting to cut the exposed areas of your opponents face and bear your own injuries stoically (see Wikipedia). Much as the idea of being able to show people the scar "from a duel" for the rest of my life, I would probably wimp out in reality though.

Unless the archery soc runs paintball-style battle archery, that could be fun.

Is it really called the Oxford University Company of Archers?

The sometimes-second-to-last line (if you're feeling risque) is "I'd rather be a leper 'cos I hear the sex is better"



Ouch No, we don't do that - we got in enough trouble with heath and safety for having only the one metal-wired curtain over the gallery of the sports hall... Labelled "this will not stop an arrow", amusingly enough.



Yes it is, OUCofA for short, so as to not be confused with the... infamous OUCA. Check us out.

Company of Archers...

For a medieval history/fantasy fiction nerd, that sounds like a dream come true.
I'm even more sold than I was before!

Yeah, we get quite a few people like yourself, and they usually end up quite good I'll have to introduce you to our longbowman...

Yeah, we get quite a few people like yourself, and they usually end up quite good I'll have to introduce you to our longbowman...