A great time in Oxford

Oxford is really interesting. A very cool place. We got there around noon, after a very short tube ride and a very pleasant bus ride. I'll blog some photos and details later, but before I go pack my bags, I just want to say what a great visit we had with Robin's former Oxford tutor, Lynn, and her family, husband Neil and son James. We met Lynn around 5pm near Regent's Park, the college where she teaches. After showing us around, we took a bus to the Park & Ride, then she drove us to her village, Long Hanborough, for dinner at her house, which Neil had prepared (minced meat and potatoes, his specialty). Delicious. Loved it. Better than any meal so far. In addition to the great meal, we had a great visit, and reluctantly said goodbye. Neil was supposed to drop us off at the bus stop so we could catch the bus back to Hillingdon, then catch the tube to Uxbridge, then walk from Uxbridge to Brunel. Once in the car he informed us he was driving us all the back to Brunel, with some lame excuse that he wanted to show us where he works, close to Uxbridge.

You're a prince, Neil. We owe you one - or several. I hope we get to even up with you. Thanks for a memorable evening - and everything else.


Lynn. A friend and sweetheart.


Henry (another sweetheart) and Neil.


James. A super nice, cool guy, and fun to talk to.


Henry, a Mastif-Golden mix, loves his family.

Wheeeee!

We're on the Oxford Tube, a double-decker bus with free WiFi, heading to Oxford. I'm using my iPhone to write this post. I've removed the sim card from my phone to ensure I don't rack up unexpected data and roaming charges.

More later

London to Uxbridge, The Seahorse, and more

After the Globe, we headed back to the nearest tube station, but decided we should visit The Sea Horse. The Sea Horse is in the exact spot that used to be The Mermaid Tavern, a famous place where the greatest writers, artists, & thinkers of Shakespeare's day would gather on the first friday of every month (there's no record that Shakespeare was ever there). The gathering was called The First Friday Club.

The Mermaid Tavern was on the corner of Friday Street and Bread Street, a triangular property in which these two streets meet at an angle. And that's where the Sea Horse is located.








The Sea Horse is small, with contemporary decor, but you can sense the ghosts of Ben Jonson, Thomas Dekker, John Middleton, etc. Especially Ben Jonson.


Oh look. I've caught a great artist or thinker or something going inside.


The current owner doesn't even realize that great artists and writers are still hanging out here.


After a cider at the Sea Horse, we made our way to a tube station and Uxbridge. Lots of people going home after work.


By the time we got to Zone 6, the train wasn't crowded.


Return to the Uxbridge Station.


Moonrise Over High Street (in Uxbridge)


When we got back to the Brunel campus, another dance class was being held on the third floor of one of the buildings.

Tomorrow we go to Oxford!

The Globe Theater and Loves Labors Lost

We saw Loves Labors Lost at The Globe (the only structure in London allowed to have a thatched roof). A very good production. Enjoyed it. Directed and acted to be more of a comedy than I thought it to be. Unfortunately, the last scene (which is serious and has some of the most serious lines) got the biggest laughs. The main characters are merrily frolicking around on stage (having a food fight with small bread rolls, in this production) when the Princess learns her father has died. The mood turns somber. Then, as the main characters are giving their final, serious lines, pigeons, one by one, begin swooping down from the stage roof, onto the stage (barely missing the actor's heads), and gobbling up the bread crumbs that litter the stage. The audience (lots of young people) erupted in loud laughter every time a new pigeon swooped down, paying more attention to the pigeons than the actors or dialog. It pretty much ruined the moment as planned, but it did become a memorable Globe moment - for me at least.


A Globe poster.


Waiting for the play to start.


Groundlings jockey for position at the stage edge. No sitting allowed for groundlings after the play starts.


Musicians mean the play is starting.


At the Globe, the play is always followed by the actors doing a dance (based on the tradition in Shakespeare's time of the actors dancing a jig after a performance).


The actors take multiple bows, then acknowledge the musicians.


As London an afternoon as one can have.

Another trip into London, Zone 1

We walked to the tube station in Uxbridge and took the tube into London. Zone 1 is the London Underground designation for the heart of London. As you move out from the city, the zone numbers get higher. Uxbridge is in Zone 6, the most distant zone. The Piccadilly and Metropolitan Underground lines end here. The farther out you get, the more you're actually above ground, rather than underground. Calling the London train system The Underground But Sometimes Above Ground just never caught on.


The Uxbridge Station. Access the Metropolitan or Picadilly lines here. The Metropolitan line color is a dark red, sort of a reddish maroon. This is important, because the metal poles inside a Metropolitan line train will always be this color of red, so you'll know what train you're on. The Circle Line trains (they make a big oval loop around Zone 1, have a yellow color scheme, etc. All the tube maps are color coded with these colors. A brilliant system.


Robin weaves through the escalator traffic.


The Embankment tube stop put us right on the Thames. As we walked across the pedestrian bridge, we noticed lots of skateboards without wheels laying on the pilings. Along with some tennis shoes laced together. Art? Alien abductions? Don't even ask, just keep walking.


On the south bank is the Royal Festival Hall. Next week there's a concert featuring one of my favorite composers, Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad, The Ugly; Once Upon A Time In The West; For a Few Dollars More; Duck You Sucker!).


We went to the Tate Modern, and were just getting ready to buy exhibit tickets when Robin remembered the Globe (not far from here) had an afternoon performance of Loves Labors Lost. So we headed that way, along the south bank walk. I took this picture of some guy (blue shirt) being chased by another guy (white shirt). Crazy town, London.


Musicans playing in one of the pedestrian tunnels.


Friendly drummer.

Random scenes

As Robin and I walked to our residence hall from her night class, we passed a dance class in progress.


As I waited for Robin to get out of class, I started seeing double. I'm OK now.


An iconic UK symbol strolls through the Uxbridge town center. The iconic symbol on the left, not the right.


Reading a historic marker.


If you're gonna try this, at least come at it straight on, not at an angle. Oops. they've spotted me videotaping them.


The Uxbridge Town Pump. In 1800 it was installed to replace the old wood timber pipes that brought water to town. The pump is located on Windsor Street (the Uxbridge main drag for many centuries), next to St. Margaret's Church.

The Metropolitan pub, Magners Irish Cider, and Texas BBQ Chicken Burger

We walked to downtown Uxbridge today to (all together now) buy some items and look around a bit. Robin's new classmate, Amy, said her favorite pub in Uxbridge is The Metropolitan, so we decided to try it. It's one of the first places you pass on the way into town, just half a block past the spot where three men were burned at the stake in 1555 (I'm going to have a hard time forgetting that).


Nice typography is always a good sign (hmmm, is that a pun?).

This was a great tip from Amy. Amy, by the way, has never met an American before. Robin asked her "Do you like Americans?" Amy thought for a second, then said "I don't know, I never met one, but I like you." Fair enough. I said, "Don't worry, there's plenty of 'em I don't like." Lucky kid, we get to set the bar for what she thinks is American. Bwahahahaha.

Back to the pub: Friendly place, good food, lots of good sounding stuff on the menu. I had a Texas BBQ Chicken Burger. Really tasty. We both had Cider. Robin had a pint of Magners Irish cider (pronounced "Mahgners"), I had a Strongbow cider. The Magners is a little sweeter, so it's served to sweeter people I guess.


Enjoying that last sip of Magners. I might turn this image into a canvas, titled "Glass, Pearls, & Cider."


The Metropolitan entrance.


Patrons enjoy an afternoon in the Metropolitan. Maybe the evening too.