Gunpowder, Treason, and Fireworks

Remember remember the fifth of November 

Gunpowder, treason and plot.

I see no reason why gunpowder, treason

Should ever be forgot...

It’s Bonfire Night!

We moved to Oxford a year ago this week.  As we were settling into our first night in our then empty house, the sky around our home lit up with spectacular fireworks.  We thought to ourselves, what a lovely welcome from our neighbors!

We didn’t realize that we moved in on Bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Day, a holiday that celebrates of the enduring enmity toward Guy Fawkes, a conspirator in a plot to blow up Parliament in 1605. 400 years later, after Fawkes was caught, tortured and executed for his role in a scheme that never came to fruition, Britons still celebrate his demise each Nov. 5 by burning his likeness in effigy and setting fireworks ablaze.

This weekend towns and villages all across England lit the skies with fireworks and enormous bonfires. Though the animosity and rituals are merely symbolic at this point, the celebrations and community spirit still burn brightly.

If Tennis isn't Real Tennis, What is Real Tennis?

The game we call “Tennis” is in fact a late-19^th century variation on a much older medieval game called “Real Tennis”. Real Tennis was hugely popular among the nobility in England and Europe during the middle ages. 

Most of the medieval courts have been destroyed but there are a few that remain. The “Real Tennis” court on Merton Street is the only surviving court in Oxford.  It is the smallest court and the third oldest in the U.K.  It was built in 1798 but it was built on the site where an earlier court had been been since 1595.  Hampton Court Palace south of London (1628) and Falkland Palace in Scotland (1539) are the oldest courts still in use in the U.K.

No two Real Tennis courts are exactly alike, although they all have common features such as the kink in the main wall, the netted galleries, and, in the furthest right corner, the box-like grille. The lines on the floor are the chase line which are part of the scoring system.  They all have names such as "Half a yard worse than six" and "Hazard worse than the Door", just to name a few. 

What makes Real Tennis different is that, unlike tennis, serving only takes place from one end. A serve must bounce on the sloping roof of the hazard penthouse to be valid.  And players plays off the walls, roof, and floor.  From here is gets complicated.  It’s a fun game to watch since it is a strange combination of tennis and racquet ball with all kinds of rules and regulations that are an interesting part of this historic, fascinating and tactical game’s appeal.

Today, there are about 45 courts in use in the word and the number is growing as disused courts are being renovated and new courts are being built.  Here’s a link to what it looks like played:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYvbHCMBxuU

None of them know half as much as intelligent Mr. Toad

I was in Oxford yesterday and saw these signs in the window of Waterstones, of one of my favorite bookstores.