Osaro Odemwingie, a Media and Communications Officer for Oxfam GB in Nigeria, joined us at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, through the Ford Foundation’s support for an OII Civil Society Practitioner Programme. Despite a productive few weeks at the OII, Osaro also had some wonderful cross-cultural experiences — one of which he recounts in this delightful piece, entitled ‘In Search of a Parking Space in Oxford’, which is posted on the Web site entitled Leadership Nigeria.

He begins … “Oxford is perhaps one of the best known cities in the UK. History has it that Oxford was founded in the 9th century when Alfred the Great created a network of fortified towns called burghs across his kingdom. One of these was at Oxford. No one is sure if a village already existed there or Alfred may have created a new town. But there is more inclination to the likelihood it was a new town given that the streets were in a regular pattern. Oxford was a flourishing town in the 10th century and a fortress. In the event of war with the Danes all the men from the area were to gather inside the burgh. But the Danes succeeded in burning down Oxford in 1009; an easy task since all the buildings were of wood with thatched roofs. However Oxford was soon rebuilt… ” (More)