Oxford, May 2006

slideshow here

A friend from Australia was in town, and after presenting him with a few options (Cambridge, Bath, even Brighton) insisted on Oxford, despite the promise (mine) of rain. In the end we had some drizzle (which he insisted on treating as a tropical hurricane...say you want, but only ONE of us was hiding under an umbrella!). I'll admit though, that with the May weather we are having, anywhere in England had a pretty high probability of rain.

We got the slowest train in the world there, which gave us loads of time to look at the horrendous drought that Thames Water keep saying exists. Hmmm. The green fields and overgrown, lush vegetation didn't appear to believe the media doomsayers either. Christ Church is the most beautiful university campus I've ever seen, but I'm sure the students there are just as focused on the opening time of the bar as we were.....well maybe. Had lunch in a pub near Christ Church (bangers and mash - what else?). Afterwards wandered round the Isis, watching people attempting to punt on the river. It was pretty amusing - most of them were beyond hopeless and just ricocheted from bank to bank, occasionally losing passengers under low-lying willow. Clearly not as easy as I thought. We decided not to risk it. Had a great day in Oxford, despite the drizzle, and it made me realise that I really should be heading out of London more on weekends.