Megz in America, England and Russia 2003

Oxford, England

I have been based here in Oxford for the last five days. Although I have done a lot of daytripping to places outside of Oxford. It has been really nice just to get out of the city and into the countryside. The countryside around here is mostly farming so reminds me of home. Except that there's all these quaint villages and thatched roofed cottages and neolithic monuments.

The first day I was here, Tina, Wayne and I went down to Brighton for the day. Brighton was heaps of fun. It was just as I imagined it - stony beach with Brits sitting on it wearing jeans & sweatshirts (ok so the weather was overcast that day and not overly warm), seaside pier with amusement arcades and rollercoasters. Bought some Brighton Rock. Rode on one of the rollercoasters. About the only thing missing was those cardboard cutouts where you stick your head through the hole and have your photo taken. Actually there was one, but it wasn't of a semi-naked girl and dirty old man that I was expecting to see. The pier and waterfront is tacky seaside fun and really great.

The next day I got given the tour of Oxford, including Christ Church college where some of the scenes from Harry Potter were filmed (the dining hall and staircase).

Monday I went day tripping around the Cotswolds. I should mention that I have a rental car that I'm using to get about in. Driving in England isn't too hard once you get used to all the roundabouts and the naming convention of the roads. Then all you have to know is where you're going and what road numbers you have to use to get there. Except that in the Cotswolds I purposely chose to drive along the roads that are so tiny that they don't have numbers. And it was great because I stumbled through so many beautiful little country villages. I've taken heaps of photos. Everyone keeps asking me if I went to Stow on the Wold in the Cotswolds. Yes I did, but I have to say I don't know what the attraction is. Lots of overpriced gift shops and not the most attractive buildings. Chipping Campden and Bourton-on-Water are much more attractive IMHO.

Yesterday and today have been spent south of Oxford visiting Stonehenge, Avebury, the Uffington White Horse (chalk hill carving), Salisbury Cathedral and the New Forest in Wiltshire. And once again getting lost on little roads with no numbers. Often so narrow that through the villages it's only one lane so you're constantly stopping to give way. Frustrating sometimes when you're just trying to get somewhere but the road twists and turns and you have to keep slowing down. I actually wanted to go to Salisbury yesterday but arrived there at 5pm and had to turn around and go back to Oxford again. So today I went back and saw the cathedral. Very impressive, especially for something almost 800 years old.

Last night I went with Tina and some of her work colleagues to a pub Quiz Night. This is definitely a university town because the questions were impossibly difficult. If there hadn't been so many English questions I might have had a better chance. Between the six of us we got 9 out of 25. The top team got 20. Don't know how they managed it - must be professors or something. The really cool thing was that the pub we went to is the same pub that was frequented by CS Lewis and Tolkein and is where they used to discuss, among other things, their latest manuscripts. How cool is that!

So now after a week and a half in England, I've done all the museums I want to do, have seen all the ancient sites I want to see, and all the churches. Still can't get over all the quaint thatched cottages though. So next on the agenda is some dramatic scenery. Tina and I are thinking about heading down to Dorset for a couple of days. Bank holiday coming up on Monday so everywhere is going to be crowded unfortunately.

One last comment on English drivers - on the whole they're pretty good but I can't believe how fast they drive. On the M roads (major motorways), I've been sticking to around 110kph (around 70mph) which is what I do at home. And every other car on the road passes me. The only things I pass are trucks. Most cars that pass me are doing between 80-90mph. That's up to 150kph! I can't believe it. It just doesn't seem safe to me. I guess the NZ police's down with speed campaign has worked on me. Well really I drive at 109kph at home so that I don't get caught by a speed camera. There are speed camera signs up all over the place here too, but it doesn't slow anybody down...

posted by Megz @ 6:48 pm