Not so BIRD-BRAINED

Think you know Oxford? I mean, really know Oxford? Until you’ve spent time with its dedicated tour guides, you’ll find you’ve several dodo-sized holes in your knowledge

- Tracy Spiers

Over the past few months all of us have been forced to engage with the virtual world. But there is only so much a computer screen and keyboard can give you. We are designed for experienced, which by definition means ‘personally encountering’ or undergoing something which leaves an impression on us. So, at a point when we all craved personal encounters and longed to see people and places, in reality, Oxford offered something that not only cheered folk up but gave them an opportunity to see their city in a new light, with delicious humor.

The tonic: author, comedian and scriptwriter Richard O Smith’s Eccentric Oxford Walking Tour. Those attending Oxford during August were able to enjoy architecture and historic landmarks whilst listening to his skilfully written amusing stories.

And whilst his tour is no longer available, I can share some anecdotes and reassure readers that there are other brilliant tours which come under the umbrella of Oxford’s Official Walking Tours, available throughout the year.

One person who enjoyed Richard’s eccentricity is Annie Macdonald, Tour Desk team leader, who I meet in Oxford. “You must hear about Richard’s dodo story. That’s the part that stuck in my mind,” she tells me. So, being the inquisitive soul I am, I asked him to reveal it!

“Researching the Eccentric Oxford Walking Tour involved panning an awful lot of gravel in order to discover the occasional glinting gold fact. One such golden nugget is the story of the Oxford dodo,” explains Richard, a fulltime comedy writer, and author, who has written for hit BBC comedies such as The Now Show and News Quiz.