There is no evidence that the Royal Navy press gangs, so popular in the Bristol area during the reign of George III, ever ventured to Oxford to top up their crews.
So our colleague Nigel Hanson might well be the first to be kidnapped aboard a ship from that West Country port - even if it was an airship.
It seems the height of impudence for Bristol's Capital of Culture team to muscle in on Oxford's Balloon Fiesta to publicise their bid. A present-day act of sky piracy if ever there was one.
Or is it real opportunism? Where is Oxford's balloon to press our claim? Where are we praising our city's virtues to the skies?
Too proud for that sort of thing, are we?
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