Thursday, March 8, 2012

I Am In The Oxford Vein Today

When you can't think of a good blog title, just paraphrase a line from Shakespeare. It makes you feel so much smarter. 

Speaking of the man from Stratford (William Shakespeare), I didn't see a single pub sign claiming that he had caroused there, or written a play there (like the one I saw in Windsor). That confirms my impression that Oxford is too cool for that kind of misinformation. In fact, I thought I saw an old sign on the original Town Wall that had a picture of Shakespeare on it and said "Call security if you see this man." It was dark, so maybe I'm wrong. I wouldn't want to spread any misinformation.

Even though we're back in Uxbridge, I've been gathering up some of the Oxford photos that I haven't posted yet.

Maybe "left here" means "overnight" or "more than 8 hours."

These statues are of various emperors. They surround a building that's used for a ceremony to matriculate new Oxford students.

If you study hard, you too can apply for those vacant emperor jobs.

The Ivory Towers of Academia. They're actually here.

Maria and Robin ponder the academia of the ivory towers. 

An old house on Cornmarket Street.

Lots of reminders in town that Oxford has been around for a while.

Cornmarket street again.

Not your average small town.

Entering the Bodleian Library courtyard.

In the Bodleian courtyard.

Also in the Bodleian courtyard is a bronze statue of William Herbert, oldest son of Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke. He and his brother Philip were two of the wealthiest and most powerful men in England, after the king (King James). He might not have gone in The Turf or The Bear where the lower class types were drinking, but I'm guessing he knew where they were.