Oxford Canals

It's was a gorgeous spring morning for a run along the canal today. Lucky to live in a pretty part of town!

Promotion Assistant

The first weekend I was in Oxford last July, I had been trolling the Internet for things to do and came across an advert for a free Oxford walking tour that afternoon. Sounded good to me so I called up my friend Olena, the only person I knew in Oxford at the time as she had interned for my team in Chicago.

Olena and I arrived at the meeting place and our Scottish guide explained he was trying to get his new tour guide business, I Love Oxford Walking Tours, off the ground. This free tour was for promotion and he was hoping we would write up a review in Trip Advisor. Fair enough.

Along with us on the tour was a photographer that was going to take photos that may be used for his promotional materials and for a journalistic entry on this new start up business. We all had to agree that our photos could be used.

Well in the end the tour itself was not good. The guide rambled and it was difficult to follow his stories as he jumped around in topic and I didn't retain anything he said. Not only that but the photographer followed Olena around and was rather creepy asking for her email address to send the pics he had taken.

We did not fill out a Trip Advisor review.

A while later I realized that our photos were on the I Love Oxford website. And months later I teased Olena because a picture prominently featuring her had been blown up into a poster displayed on Broad Street.

Last weekend I was buying a coffee at Coffee Republic and looked down next to the register and saw my face. I have apparently made it onto a business card. Guess I can't tease Olena anymore. This photographer didn't get me on a "model day" and now my face is all about town associated with a tour I didn't even like!

The Ugly Side of Oxford

Oxford is one of the most beautiful cities in England. Historic. Inspiring.

I'd imagine if you haven't been here you're thinking all of the buildings are majestic and the aura is like I said before, "Academic Disneyland". Well they are... and it is.... sometimes.

I literally cringe everytime I drive down Banbury Rd and see this eyesore - the Denys Wilkinson Building. 

Or drive along this beauty...

A few blocks from my home you find Oxford's Administrative building - University Offices in Wellington Square - home of the University Chancelor, Vice Chancelor, University Admissions Department, Development Office etc... one long block of beautiful 2 story cement facade. Quaint, isn't it?

I've been reading Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island", which is snort out loud funny and chock full of spot on observations. As an American writer that lived in England for more than 2 decades, Bill has an uncanny ability to unravel his surroundings and put them into words that make you think - Wow, I've definitely noticed that but have never put my finger on it quite like he does.

In Notes from a Small Island, Bryson sums up Oxford's architecture....

What sort of mad seizure was it that gripped the city’s planners, architects, and college authorities in the 1960s and 1970s? [...] Just look at the Merton College Warden’s Quarters – which is not by any means the worst building in the city. What a remarkable series of improbabilities were necessary to its construction. First, some architect had to design it, had to wander through a city steeped in eight hundred years of architectural tradition, and with great care conceive of a structure that looked like a toaster with windows. Then a committee of finely educated minds at Merton had to show the most extraordinary indifference to their responsibilities to posterity and say to themselves, ‘You know, we’ve been putting up handsome buildings since 1264; let’s have an ugly one for a change.’ Then the planning authorities had to say, ‘Well, why not? Plenty worse elsewhere.’ Then the whole of the city—students, dons, shopkeepers, office workers, members of the Oxford Preservation Trust—had to acquiesce and not kick up a fuss. Multiply this by, say, two hundred or three hundred or four hundred and you have modern Oxford.  - Bill Bryson

Seems the post war era led to many monstrosities dotted around the city with some of these buildings looking like they could be prisons.

I have to say, that my university town, Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University and founded to model after the real deal - Oxford University - has done a better job of preserving the consistency of the architecture with those red brick buildings.

I never appreciated it much while I was there, but its clear what 1000 years of history and nouveau building ideas will do to an institution!

The Parental Visit

My parents made it to England last month for a short, yet action packed visit. We made the most of the days and did a ton of walking so I think I may have wore them out but they were troopers and post knee surgery Dad made it through.

The first full day, we took a quick loop on the open air bus sightseeing Oxford tour because my parents had some free tickets from their hotel.  For lunch, I brought them to one of the most famous and oldest pubs in Oxford, the 13th century Turf Tavern.   For Americans, this pub is etched in infamy as the place where Bill Clinton supposedly/maybe/possibly "Did not inhale". That's right, the Turf Tavern, down a discrete alleyway, nestled in between centuries old university buildings and the original city wall is where Clinton may have done a little experimenting in his Rhodes Scholar days.
 
After that city and pub orientation, we decided to hop on a bus to London for a bite to eat and a show. Rock of Ages won out over the others, and we had fantastic seats.  It was a really fun, energetic show and I was glad we picked it (even though Mom and Dad had already seen it.)  ;-)

After getting home very late from London, we were up early again to drive to Stonehenge and Bath for the day. Stonehenge really is right off the road in the middle of nowhere. I have to say from the pictures I've seen, I thought it would be much bigger, but it was impressive nonetheless.

In Bath, I had purchased a package with the Roman Bath tour, Pump Room lunch and Thermae Bath Spa 2 hour admission.  A perfect way to spend the afternoon. After lunch, we toured the Roman Baths where the 2,000 year old ruins have been preserved fantastically, and you really get a sense of walking in their footsteps.

After the tour, we soaked in the Thermae Bath Spa for a few hours. The roof top view was amazing and there were several pools to chose from, scented steam rooms and waterfall type jets to sit under. I think I need to go back sometime soon...

I had decided Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill, just outside of Oxford should be on our itinerary long before my parents came. I was happy to find out however, that the weekend they were here was the Blenheim International Horse Trials.

A decidedly English event, we headed to the palace to see the cross-country horse trials and take in a new sport. The spectator uniform was clear: we weren't wearing tweed coats and wellies, and we forgot to bring our dogs along, but we did have a good time checking out the competition. For some countries, this was a London 2012 Olympic qualifying event and it was interesting to watch the jockeys in action.

Blenheim Palace's grounds are massive and after a few hours of watching the trials, we headed over to the palace to see the Winston Churchill rooms and take in the grandeur. They have a deal with the ticket purchase that you can enter the grounds for 12 months after buying a day pass and people will bring bikes and picnics and go for runs and walks around the lake on the palace grounds when the weather is nice. I'm hoping to get back there sometime soon and take advantage.

That night, we were back in Oxford for Bill Spectre's Ghost Trails tour. This guy was entertaining and quite the story teller with a few tricks up his sleeve (literally). Highly recommend his ghost tour, you won't be let down!



The last day we took in Oxford Castle, and took advantage of Oxford Open Doors. Once a year, Oxford opens up its doors to the public with a weekend of activities and free tours and access to the historic buildings. With some colleges and activities only available at certain times, we were only able to see a few things on Sunday but it was a nice leisurely end to our long weekend. We also were able to see some gymnastics and fencing demos (Dad loved this one) at Oxford Town hall. Most colleges are open where you would normally pay to visit, and others are open that are otherwise always closed to the public. It was nice to see beyond the street front of some of these colleges, as most have hidden gardens and courtyards that you can't see from the front of the building.  I learned that not only does Oxford have an open doors weekend, but there is also English Heritage Open Days country wide, which I'll have to keep in mind for next year.

   

It was a great visit! Two months until I'll see everyone again at the holidays. Anyone else want to hop a plane to England?

The Flat

 I realized I haven't posted any photos of where I am living, so here you are! A modern 2 story little duplex in a neighborhood a 10 minute walk from the city centre. There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and the living area is upstairs with the kitchen/ lounge/ dining table. I am living in the bedroom below currently, but moving into the larger room with an ensuite in a few weeks. We have interviewed potential new flatmates and a new girl will be joining us soon. Living in a houseshare has to be thought of as a business transaction rather than the post college living with your friends! All has worked out for me, but I have heard some odd flatmate stories!

My Bedroom

The Kitchen: Yes, the refrigerator and freezer are built in under the counter. There is an extra small refrigerator on the end that didn't come with the place!

Kitchen 

 Front porch outdoor area

 The living area and a bedroom are upstairs, my bedroom is on the ground floor.

Living Room/Dining Area

Port Meadow is a 5 minute walk from my house. Local farmers have been allowed to graze their cows and horses here since 1086 and is considered the oldest "site" in Oxford.

Academic Disneyland

Everyone buddy up now...

Fall is nearly upon us and the university students have returned to Oxford. This summer, however, there were all kinds of students here… all under 18, all foreign, all here to practice and learn English. Groups of teenagers were either bussed in every day or were staying locally and you couldn’t walk 2 feet without running into them.

I spent my mornings walking to the bus stop in the city centre dodging masses of 16 year olds from Spain or Hong Kong. On Saturday afternoons, they milled around eating candy bars, clogging the stores, tossing frisbees back and forth on the pedestrian streets and basically doing all they could to block the flow of the traffic… not a care in the world. These kids were probably away from home for the first time and they were loving it. They’d stand (or sit) in the middle of the pedestrian streets in groups of 20-30 with everyone else forced to navigate around them.

Needless to say, the Oxford residents weren't thrilled, including me. I already felt like I live in this sort of academic Disneyland with these surreal, almost fake looking surroundings, but throw in the mass crowds and you’ve got the atmosphere as well.  

The Oxford citizens are quite fiesty about this, as evidenced by the scowling and scolding letters written to the Oxford Times ranting about the inundated streets. (Note - Letters to the editor are addressed "Sir -". What if the editor were a woman?)
Oxford Times Letter to the Editor - Hectic Scrum
Oxford Times Letter to the Editor - Pedestrian Overload
Oxford Times Letter to Editor - Theme Park Oxford

My life, in a theme park.

Oxford Softball League

Back in July, about 2.5 weeks after I moved to the UK, and a few days after settling into my new flat, I was looking on the Oxford http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/ website for things to do and see, and stumbled across this ad.

New Players Needed! (Especially Ladies)

Oxford Globetrotters are a team drawn from University Departments and several nationalities. They are keen to recruit some additional players to plug the holes appearing in their line-up now that the University term is drawing to a close.

Softball? In England? I decided to join. Apparently, it is actually a pretty big sport here and people from everywhere participate. Players in the league seem to be any age from 16 to 60 years old and my teammates were mostly Americans but we had players from Germany, Venezuela, England as well.

The Oxford Softball league has 10 teams and the some of them are really quite good and play in tournaments all over the UK. About Oxford Softball

The Globetrotters ended the season 3-10 (5 forfeits due to not enough players). I played the last 4 games of the season and we won 3 games. Coincidence? I think not. ;-)  But really, the team recruited about 5 new players to finish out the season and I met some new friends on the team.

Games are played at the Rover Sport & Social Club, next to the BMW Mini plant's test track. Occasionally we watched all the new Mini models speed down the fenced in road behind our field and then slam on the brakes!

Lost on the Flipped Side

One thing about living in a city founded in the 8th century is of course that it's streets can be quite narrow, winding, claustrophobic, and overall, pretty confusing.

For a brief history lesson...Oxford grew up around a priory with its settlement name "Oxenaforda". This city is a place where the Oxen could ford the river Thames. And some of its streets are still about as wide as they were back then. Yet, this is to be expected.

What I didn't realize before actually living in England is how common it is to name a street something different every few blocks.

To the foreign visitor, the city centre can be so unnecessarily confusing. Pick a name and stick with it!

• George Street becomes Broad Street turns into Holywell St.
• Abingdon Road turns into St. Aldates, then Cornmarket, then Magdalen which turns into St.Giles which splits and becomes Banbury and Woodstock roads.
• Parks Road is Catte St is Magpie Lane is Merton

I know it isn't just me. I've passed tourists standing on corners with maps in front of them and have eavesdropped on conversations such as: "Wait. We are going the right way. Look - George Street is the same as Holywell over that way."

Last week I wanted to cut through the center of Oxford via Marston Ferry Road. I had been on the road before, but hadn't driven it myself and had apparently only paid attention to the street name when entering it starting from the west. Coming from the east, I drove down Headley Way because it looked like it might turn into Marston Ferry and it looked familiar but then I wound up turning around when I couldn't find it. I should have known better. Headley Way becomes Marston Ferry in the middle of the Marston neighborhood, halfway through.

I'll admit, that once you do know all of these short street names and where they are, it is convenient to know which "section" of the street you need to go to.

The other thing is that while the city centre has decently labelled street corners, if you are elsewhere in Oxford and you come out to an intersection, half the time you will not see the name of the major street you have come across. You may need to walk a block or two either way to find a street sign telling you which road you're on.

Sigh. I miss you, grid system.