The Queen's College Record 2023

Old Members’ Activities
of pasta Bolognese that I had bulk prepared at the start of the week in the Cardo
kitchen. Then it was time to head to the bus stop to catch the X40 to gymnastics. We
trained half the time at a club out in Berinsfield with sessions finishing at 10:30pm and
with frequent bus delays I would rarely make it back home before 11pm for a second
dinner. Despite almost burning out in Michaelmas and a short stay in hospital with
glandular fever over new year, my sights were set on a BUCS all-around medal, a
Varsity Match win, and a spot in the College first eight in both sets of bumps races.
Hilary was by far my busiest term for sport with BUCS falling in 4 th week, Torpids in
6 th Week, and Varsity in 7 th week but with funding from the 650 th Anniversary Trust
Fund I managed to travel with the gymnastics club to Milton Keynes throughout the
start of the term to access equipment that we didn’t have at our club in Berinsfield.
This was vital for learning new skills to put into my routines with the safety of larger
foam pits. It also helped fund my spot on a training camp that I had organised for the
boat club over the Easter vac to Peterborough City Rowing Club which allowed me
to really dial in my technique and secured my spot for in the first eight for Summer
Eights, following our stroke man who was the University Lightweights most capped
athlete with five Blue Boat appearances.
I cannot express how lucky I feel to have managed to achieve all of this and I genuinely
don’t think it all would have been possible without the funding and support that I have
received from College along the way. University sport has let me create memories
I will never forget and meet some of my best friends, alongside providing a vital
escape from the academic stress that goes alongside an Oxford degree.
Madeleine Ridout
An account of my journey along one of Japan’s oldest
pilgrimage routes, the Kumano Kodo
The Kumano Kodo exists as a pilgrimage network
throughout the prefecture of Wakayama, Japan, as
pathways that once connected the three major shrines, or
taisha, to each other. These three taisha are called Kumano
In front of Takahara Lodge Hongu Taisha, Kumano Nachi Taisha, and Kumana
Hayatama Taisha. They are not the only taisha in Japan,
but the various hiking routes throughout the mountains in Wakayama prefecture have
been used for thousands of years to visit these respective shrine complexes.
I had known about the pilgrimage route since before I came to Japan for my year’s
study abroad, but the logistics of completing a multi-day hike through rural Japan
as a solo female traveller was intimidating to say the least. Luckily, during a period
of university vacation in May, I had the chance to farm-stay at a tea farm near
Kyoto, and here I met someone who also wanted to complete the Kumano Kodo.
74 The Queen’s College | College Record 2023