May Morning Festivities 2008
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This year, May 1st falls on a Thursday (click here to get one of our free Year Planners for keeping track of important dates such as this). Singing from Magdalen Tower will be at 6.00 am for 7 minutes, as ever. Click here to see where you can get champagne breakfasts and sausage butties. This year, Magdalen Bridge will be officially closed from 4am - 8.30am, although the police will hope to reopen it sooner if all is well and calm after the choristers have finished. Check local radio for last minute details. This closure usually includes the area from the east side of Magdalen College Tower to the Plain. This is due to people having jumped off it into the deceptively shallow water in previous years and broken themselves rather horribly. There’s usually access (from the city centre end) for 8000 people to a “Controlled Zone” (probably Magdalen Bridge - Longwall Junction) within earshot of the choristers. This tends to be getting full by around 5am. Longwall Street, the High Street and Merton Street may be closed to vehicles for any portion of the time between 4am and 8.30am. St John's College Choir will sing Madrigals from the tower in Front Quad, St John's, St Giles, "somewhere about 7am ". This year's Morris Dancing will begin about 6.10am in Radcliffe Square, then will move, when the bell-ringing starts in St Mary's, to the end of New College Lane and to Broad Street. At about 7.30am there will be a further move to a spot outside St John's, where dancing will continue until about 8.30am. There will then be a break until about 12.30pm when dancing will resume in North Parade. For May Ball details, have a look at our Balls, Festivals and Gigs events pages. You can list your own - it's free! |
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Places open bright and early
for breakfast and drinks on May Morning:
5.00am |
Quod, 92 - 94 High Street, 202505 Queens Lane Coffee House will also open at 5am, for normal service. |
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6.00am |
The Anchor Inn, 2 Hayfield Road, 510282 The King's Arms, Corner of Parks Rd & Holywell Street, 242369 The Turf Tavern, down Bath Place, off Holywell Street, 243235 FREVD, Walton St, Jericho, 311171 The Big Bang, Walton St, Jericho, 511441 G & Ds, Little Clarendon Street, 516652, St Aldates and Cowley Road, 727111 The Grapes, 7 George Street, 793380 St Giles Café, 52 St Giles, |
| 6.30am |
The Corridor, corner of Princes Street and Cowley Road, 247519 |
Browns (9.00am), and Maison Blanc ("7.30 or 8.30am") will not be opening outside their usual times. |
If you’re doing something interesting for May Morning you can list
the details instantly and for free by clicking HERE,
or, to be listed on this very page, call us on 01865 241133, or email dailyinfo@dailyinfo.co.uk
Events (or simply late openings) taking place the previous evening (Wed April 30th) with a May Day theme:
Thirst Lodge, Pennyfarthing Place, St. Ebbes has a May Day Ball / Live funk from Q.T + The Reservoir Dogs + 3 floors of DJ's / 9pm till 3am, £4
The Regal, 300 Cowley Road, (the old Bingo Hall), 241261, offer The Official May Day Ball / Utah Saints headline / details here / 9pm til dawn, £25 adv.
Purple Turtle, Frewin Court, 247007, present May Eve Mayhem with Oxford's legendary worldpunkfolkskiffle acid-cabaret collective, Inflatable Buddha
www.myspace.com/inflatablebuddha 7pm. Free
