oxford

We managed to get to Oxford about a week before it got swept away by the flood. We took a daytrip via coach (very inexpensive but plan to be on the bus for at least 7 hours) and I was indeed the only person under 50. Not a problem. Nice scenery and no kids made for a very peaceful journey. I really should've updated sooner as I'd remember a lot more about our trip but the batteries went dead in the camera and then I couldn't find the charger to re-charge them, etc. All is sorted now so here are some pics from our day to Oxford:



It was a truly beautiful city, steeped in history and academia. There are over 20 colleges tied in with the university (which happens to be the oldest in the English-speaking world) scattered all over the city! We took an open-topped bus tour and learned several interesting things about Oxford, not least that at Christchurch is where they film the scenes for the Great Hall in the Harry Potter movies. I didn't get to go inside but like the true fangirl I am I'm already mentally planning a return.



Our guide (between hidden swigs from his illicit whisky bottle) told us that the reason that Hitler didn't bomb Oxford is that he intended on making it his home once his empire was complete. Being the superstitious occultist that he was he was enamoured of all the cathedrals in Oxford, mostly because someone told him that they "housed the spirits of the Norse gods". So the British Army could prance about Oxford with no fear of being bombed whatsoever.

My inner bibliophile absolutely loves the idea of there being a place on Earth, and not too far from me, where there is a copy of every book that is ever written - the Oxford University Press Library.



At least I think this is where they're located. I may have gotten the building wrong but it IS in Oxford.

We also saw this tower (the name escapes me) which dates from the year 1000 and is the oldest building in Oxford. It just blows my mind that anything could be this old considering I come from a country which is less than 300 years old. It's pretty awe-inspiring when you hear from your tour guide that "the building on your left used to be known as Beaumont Castle and was the birthplace of King Richard the Lionheart and his brother, Prince John". You mean like from Robin Hood? Incredible.



We had a nice pub lunch before our tour and then made our way back to the pick-up point, only after stopping here for some scrummy homemade ice-cream. Grandmom had chocolate (of course) and although I wanted to sample one of their more unusual flavours, like green tea or Turkish delight, I opted for banana brownie chunk.



We walked the grounds of one of the colleges across the streets, St John's, and it was truly something else; as soon as the massive door swung behind you all noise from the outside was shut out. You could almost sense what it must've been like to be an Oxford student 100 years ago. I kept imagining young lads in cricket uniforms running across the green. I'm probably too influenced by what I see on the BBC.





All in all a really lovely day. We're going to try and visit Leeds Castle next weekend. This weekend unfortunately has been dampered by Grandmom's labyrinthitis - dizziness brought on by a virus which causes the liquid in the inner ear to crystallise. She's on meds now tho and is on the mend! No need to worry, she's been on a steady TV diet of a Father Ted marathon and TCM.

I'll post soon about our day in London and our day around Hove last weekend. Tomorrow we're headed to the Duke of York for a free member's screening of The Walker starring Woody Harrelsen and this Thursday my sister-in-law Alison and her fiancee Chris are coming to visit. All to be blogged in a much speedier fashion I promise!

the Millie has landed

...about a week ago in fact. You know how it is when your elderly relative comes to visit, it can take a while to settle them in and for the jet lag to wear off. I'm happy to report that Grandmom is tucked in bed as we speak, having gotten herself into a routine of going to sleep around 10 p.m. Rather respectable time to nip off to the land of Nod if you ask me.

As you can see she arrived in style, the airport providing her a driven escort with all of her luggage to the arrivals area. After having her flight delayed for 4 hours I'd say she deserved a little bit of pampering.



Stephen was going to go on his own to meet her but I knew that she would be bringing more than one poor soul could carry so I opted to go with him. Good thing I did or the boy would've put his back out.



I guess it didn't help that one bag was filled with nothing but Reese's Pieces:



Not really. But she did bring about 2 pounds of them for Stephen (because he's the favourite of the two of us as I'm sure you all know). I wonder what it would feel like to swim in a pool of Reese's Pieces. Mmmm. Candyswim.

Millie's managed to get her bearings ok and takes little jaunts off to the Library, stopping off for a cuppa at my friend Sharon's cafe along the way. She's gone to the local leisure centre to get a schedule of swimming classes and, surprise surprise, has already been to at least 2 stationery shops for cards. All while she wasn't under my close supervision of course.



For those of you not in the know, our local library is pretty new, it's only been open a couple of years and has won loads of architectural awards, not least because it's almost entirely solar powered. It's about a 10 minute walk from our flat. Too bad it's never open. Seriously tho, they need to really think about increasing their opening times, it's ridiculous to close at THREE P.M.

On Sunday we took off to our local cinema, the Duke of York, which is the oldest cinema in the country at the tender age of 97! Stephen and I are both members and suggested that Millie get one too; for the mere sum of £18 she gets 3 free tickets, discounts on all other tickets and entry to the free member screenings they put on about 6 times a year. It was one of these freebies, Moliere, that we went to on Sunday along with my friend Delphine. She's French, Moliere's French, I figured she'd like it. We all really enjoyed it and I can see why it's being compared to Shakespeare in Love.



We've managed to get to Bill's for breakfast as well. It really is such a fantastic place, so full of edible eyecandy and there are always the odd celebrities in for lunch. Not that I ever see them because I'm totally oblivious and usually mesmerized by my food.





What you're looking at there is a dish of portobello mushrooms, roasted and topped with crumbled Stilton and bacon served on lovely, scrummy toast. Grandmom had the same, sans toast of course.

I'm working tomorrow so Grandmom will be traveling solo but on Saturday we've booked tickets on a coach trip to Oxford! Neither one of us have been before and I'm almost positive that I will be the only person on the coach under 60. I have recently discovered coach tours, something which is probably not uniquely British but most definitely European and certainly un-American (unless you're over 60 and going to Atlantic City). They're great for cheap daytrips and even better you can take extended holidays that are all-inclusive of meals AND accomodation! Filled with the silver-haired I'm sure but who cares? We don't have a car and the trains are bloody expensive even with a discount card. I'm thinking 5 days in Cornwall for £149 per person isn't half bad. We'll see what Stephen thinks.

To come: Oxford, London (the British Museum and Whole Foods) and who knows what else...stay tuned!