Freshers' Guide - Playing and Eating

Mertonians love to relax of an evening in the JCR – just don’t point cameras at them while they’re doing it, as this unlucky photographer discovered...

Fun Facilities

The true centre of the College is of course our bar (we are students, after all) – not just for drinkers, but for everyone, open every day from 6.30, with last orders at 11 (and late opening – ‘til midnight – on Fridays). You'll find our amazing bar staff, Dave, Natalie and Tony, a free jukebox, cheap drinks, and of course, the famed Merton toasties (ideal for when you forget to book dinner – or need an extra boost to get you through the last bit of your essay). You will not be surprised to learn that the bar is also the location for the Bar Quiz, every other Sunday, with £25 in bar tokens for the winning team. Just across from the bar is the games room, featuring a quiz machine, several other games machines, table football, and one of only four free pool tables in Oxford. Upstairs is the JCR itself with very comfy sofas, various newspapers delivered each day, table tennis, and the Nintendo Wii (you could be forgiven for thinking several Mertonians are studying for degrees in “Guitar Hero”. See the Technology section for more details). Next to the JCR is the TV room with a literally ginormous television (and Sky), whilst just outside is the Fellows' Garden, a wonderful place to relax and/or pretend to do some work. In Trinity (summer) term, meanwhile, the college allows students to play bowls on Fellows Garden, and croquet on the Chestnut Lawn (outside Grove).

Other Facilities

We like to think that we're a green bunch at Merton. We have a keen interest in recycling (such as this Freshers' Guide – and I'm not talking about the paper). There are recycling bins behind the Rose Lane 1 building, in a garage on Merton Street, and in the JCR Kitchen. Other facilities include bike sheds (behind the OWL library and in front of North Lodge) and the music room, which anyone can book out the key to. There's also the beautiful College chapel, which holds services during term time, and is often used for other musical or dramatic productions.

...Mertonians, meanwhile, are generally much happier about being photographed when they have good food and wine in front of them!

And, most importantly, Food

Merton's food is reputed to be among the best of the Oxford Colleges. For £7 a day, you can eat three good meals in Hall. At breakfast, you can pick and choose from cereals, fruit, croissants etc. At lunch there's soup, a main course, dessert and plenty of salad on offer. On most days, there are two possible evening meals. There's Early Supper, served at 6, which is a main course and dessert, and there is also Formal Hall six days a week, which costs the same as Early Supper but is a full three-course meal, served at table, with gowns worn. If you’re a veggie, don’t worry – there is always a vegetarian option available at lunch and dinner; having said that, we carnivores do enjoy the full benefit of the Merton chef’s mysterious obsession with meat. Brunch, served late Sunday morning, in place of breakfast and lunch, and many Mertonians' favourite meal of the week, is a cooked breakfast, with unlimited bread and newspapers – absolutely delicious (the cooked breakfast, that is, not the newspapers. Top tip: don’t eat the newspapers at brunch). Meanwhile, if the day's menu doesn't take your fancy, the JCR Kitchen (through the TV room) is always available, or if you have a friend in North Lodge, you can use theirs. Unlike some Colleges, which operate a bulk-booking system whereby you pay a fixed amount for the term's meals, we operate a swipe card system, using our University Cards (a.k.a. “Bod cards”) – you top up your account at the Bursary and then only pay for the meals you actually eat. You simply swipe your card at breakfast and lunch, and book in for evening meals via the online booking form at http://epos.merton.ox.ac.uk. The online system is very easy to use, and allows you to view the menus for about a week in advance, as well as lists of everyone who’s booked into that particular meal – very handy for checking which days your friends are going to formal on. You can also book in up to three guests for dinner, and check your account balance and transactions.