The Everday Part, not so much...

Well, I had originally told myself I was going to write everyday, or at least every other day, and now I find out I haven't written since Wednesday. As I am writing now, its 9:30 in the morning on a Saturday, and I am contemplating what to do today. Tomorrow, I know, is a day out in London: see the Tower, maybe head to the changing of the guard first thing, then wander about and do some shopping, I don't know what after the Tower, but it should be a long but fun day out in the city. Today, Saturday, well it feels like a lazy day...and one in which I didn't get enough sleep. It might be because we were all woken up and driven outside at 5am by fire alarms going off. I was proud that all the students who are still here in Oxford with me (about 8 of them) crawled out of bed, half asleep, and were gathered outside. Luckily, it turned out to be a visiting advisor for another programme here who set off the alarm when they tried to heat some tea with one of those travel heaters. Not exactly the way to start a Saturday morning I must admit. Construction as well continues apace here, with summer inter term remodeling and fixing up goes on. It is, I understand, and ongoing process that any 16th century building needs done. Some of it is work to the library/bar building, and some of it is asbestos removal (from the laundry area, which makes doing laundry at the moment inconvienent. That should be done by Sunday, they said. Fingers crosses X).

So what has been going on the last few days? Well Thursday was a busy day but a very fast and abbreviated one, with class a bit shorter, because we were all headed off to see the Lion King in London that evening. It was a good play, and well put on, and I liked how they used masks and headpieces to represent the animals they were playing. Remarkably I had never seen the movie (the most I had ever done before this was go on the ride at the Magic Kingdom, which is now closed!) but it was good, and the girls next to me had seen both the movie and the play before, and they could point out what wasn't in the movie. It was interesting to see some of the topical stuff thrown in, and a few jokes that I am sure went way over the head of the kids in the audience, but it was a very decent show. Great seats, but perhaps a wee bit too close, being in the second row to the stage. But I don't think I have ever been that close before to a show, usually sitting in the nosebleed sections when I lived in NYC and was trying to do it for free, seeing plays and operas. But I do have to say Heather did a great job in getting the seats. It was magical to see some of the faces, even of our own students, who were seeing plays for the first time, and this was certainly a play for them to see for the first time.

No pictures, of course, because theaters don't allow pictures. There wasn't much time to see or do anything in London before the play, just enough time to grab a spot to eat. The local Tescos (a supermarket chain)served remarkably well for a snack. It was interesting, though, how much of London has changed even since the last time I was there in 2002. Lots more buildings whose facades were preserved, because they were either a) listed buildings, or b) council required to preserve the identity of the neighborhood, but whose interiors were complete shells as they were working on rebuilding and modernizing. I mean complete, bombed out building shells. Very odd to see two, three or four walls standing, and nothing in the interior holding up the walls, just the mortar and stonejoining fromm 200 years ago. Anyway, I am sure I will see more changes, and once I am back down at eye level, and not coach level, I am sure it will all come back to me. I know seeing the area around Euston Station, the Wellcome Institute, Tavistock Square (I staid at two hotels over the years in the area), all brought back memories and nothing much seemed to have really changed in either spot. I am sure when I go back in August and see the Imperial War Museum, it will feel the same too.

Yesterday was my first day off, so I got to do some touristy things as well as some school related work. Most of the morning, regretably, was spent grading for summer session. I managed to finish grading the final exams (I was up early) and then off to a meeting with a friend, Dave Hallett, who is married to an American woman he met here in Oxford. We chatted about all sorts of things: his work, his recent trip to Rhodes, his band, mutual interests and writing for roleplaying games (both of us are published in the field), and he showed me some parts of the 18th century Covered Market I didn't know existed. It was about an hour or so, and I managed to stop by the homemade cookie place just as the cookies were coming out of the oven. The smell was spectacular, so I picked one up and ate the gooey mess as I went to go get bus tickets for the group.

Heather had arranged for the bus tickets the day before, but you had to go to the bus depot to get them. With more than 900 GBP worth of tickets, they said we could get a ride on the depot bus back to the depot. I had to wait for the van, and then rode with a number of Oxford Bus Company drivers back to their main depot (it was the end of the morning shift I think, being about 12:45 or so by that point) and it was one of the most interesting sides of life I have ever been part of. Raunchy, telling jokes, but perfectly at home even with a stranger among them. Obviously an overweight American (I am sure the tennis shoes and shorts, plus a windbreaker, gave me away), but it was like I was part of the group and when I laughed at some of the jokes, and even told a stupid one of my own, it was like being part of a group. But when we arrived at the depot, the reserve all came back, they went back to work and I got the tickets. The return shuttle was just mean and the driver, and it was very very quiet...

After a brief return to my room to drop off the tickets, it was off to Oxford Unlocked, the museum and exhibit in the old royal prison. The prison (which it was until 1996!) has parts dating back to what archeologists now believe is pre Norman Invasion, including the main tower whose shape and location dates it as Saxon, not Norman. The prison was on the location since the 14th century, and you wander up and into a tower, then through D Wing of the prison using an audio guide, but self paced. I admit that it seemed expensive at 7.25 GBP, but the tour itself took nearly 2 hours. I left there about 4:30 (started at 2:40) and I think it was worth the money. I will probably go back again before I leave.

After that, it was back to the room, more grading to finish up, a brief pop over to Sainsbury (another supermarket) to get some snacks for the weekend (bananas, scones, diet coke), and then out to dinner with three of the students who were here with me. We wandered around for a bit: the pub we went to didn't have seating space, and eventually we ended up at a bar/pub called O'Neills on George Street. Its an Irish themed bar, but what sold the girls was that it was cheap: 3.50 was the starting price for about 6 dishes on the menu. It looked and felt like a restaurant, but it was still a pub where you had to order at the bar. I had a ploughman's lunch: meat, hard cheddar, side salad (actually a toss of greens and baby tomatoes), pickled pearl onions, relish, and Irish soda bread. I got a side of colcannon (potatoes and cabbage) and a pint, and it came out to 8 GBP or so. Remarkably, about what it might cost at Meg O Malleys. One of the girls had sausages and colcannon (which looked exactly like the same thing at Megs), one had a meat pie, and one had a cheeseburger. Four people ate and had drinks for about 30 pounds...which isn't that bad altogther if you think it was dinner.

After that, I walked around for a bit, but it was 8 oclock and still light out, so I decided to come back to my room and get some reading done on my history of Oxford. Instead I played a computer game until about 1 am, and then went to bed. Of course you read earlier about the morning fire alarm, so today is going to be lazy.

The big thing is that today is Alice's Day 2007, part of the millineum celebration of Oxford and an annual tradition to celebrate the anniversary of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, written by Oxford don, Charles Dodgson (ie Lewis Carroll). There are things to do all throughout the town, mostly free, from noon until 5, so I am off to go see the exhibits and take pictures. I am sure it will be crowded, but it should still be fun. I am not sure what the rest of the day holds in store, but that should be a good portion of the day, and it will also be an opportunity to play tourist with my camera and take loads of pictures, hopefully be able to post a bunch of them tonight.

Anyway, that's been the update...I will probably post again tonight and late Sunday, or early Monday. Enjoy the mysterious 07-07-07 and I will do my best not to fall down the Rabbit Hole!