#10 Canterbury Road

Misty, water-coloured... how's it go?

So, for me this qualifies as fairly run-of-the-mill given my current location (sorry Missy, I'll be boring-er next time), and really wasn't all that eventful anyway, but Jen and I paid a visit to Oxford on Saturday, my first time there since moving to London last fall. The weather was good, for England, which is sort of like saying the weather was good for the Midwest (i.e. alternating sunshine and thunderstorms). Some of the colleges were having graduations, so lots of young people in what appeared to be ermine-lined gowns (only in Oxford...) with proud parents in tow were out and about, and taking up all the tables at the Turf.

I (we) went punting for the very first time, and made the foolish mistake of renting a punt on the raging Thames, rather than the peaceful little Cherwell up by Magdalen Bridge (now, kids, remember -- that's 'maudlin'). It was all fun and games going downriver, and I felt quite the proud captain, skillfully maneuvering my vessel about treacherous obstacles like tree branches and mossy bottoms that would suck my guiding pole down into the muck. There was also the nasty goose which hissed at me, although she was just protecting her babies. However, with wind and current the way back was absolutely impossible. Inexperienced though I may have been, Ahab, or Russel 'Lucky Jack Aubrey' Crow himself couldn't have punted back in the face of such hostility. I left Jen with the punt tied to one of the boat club docks and jogged back up to the bridge at St. Aldate's, expecting to get my 'I told you so' from the wee punt man. I was pleased to discover that he wasn't the least bit bothered, and gave me two proper canoe paddles with which to row back. We really pissed off the ladies' boat teams in their sleek skiffs as we helplessly continued crossing into their path with our squirrely, rudderless boat. Luckily, the punt bloke was so grateful that we hadn't just abandoned the thing that he didn't charge us for the extra time it took to return it. We also did Ben's at the Covered Market, B&D's (B&E's? I can never remember... and I was just there), Eagle and Child, and Baggicha on North Parade after the obligatory fly by at #10 (Canterbury Lane, not Downing Street), which was cold, dark, and boarded up. Okay, everything but the last, but we still couldn't get in.

We had a great time, but I found that Jen wasn't as excited about the whole business as I wished she would be. Has anyone else experienced this on return trips to Oxford, perhaps with significant others? I guess it's inevitable for people who didn't share the experience with you, and it's probably good to go back with people like that because, afterall, (and not to undermine the purpose of this blog) we don't live there anymore. It's over, save in memory. I've been back a couple of times before, but this time around it was nice to go to Oxford and appreciate it for what it is, not just for my memories. Still, Nicole and I will have to make a trip before I return to the States at the end of July. The nostalgia part is fun too, afterall.

posted by Zack @ 5/10/2005 09:10:00 PM