A day out

Friday, December 11th., Chiltern Court, London.

 

To Oxford today for a day out. Dorothy is away doing theatrical things and I needed a break from routine to get some fresh ideas. Also some good bookshops in Oxford!

 

Journey was simple and as I stepped out of the station the sun broke through the grey clouds which had shrouded the day until then. Bit milder than of late. Decided to have a walk about to stretch the legs before starting to visit shops. Came upon a stretch of canal in Jericho with numerous moored boats, evidently lived upon. Bit of a damp existence to my mind but I suppose it has some advantage of anonymity. Then I worked my way along a river, not part of the Thames I think, past the prison which is in the old castle. Pretty forbidding, which is as it should be. Finally came out on Folly Bridge and got onto the Thames towpath by Christ Church Common. Watched some rowers who seemed not to notice that they were cold. Then back into the city near to the Botanical Garden, High Street I think. Nice walk. Don't know if I could find it again. There seem to be a lot of waterways in Oxford.

 

Looked in at the Bodleian, but only to take a breath of the bookish atmosphere, and then into Blackwell's for a good browse. Lovely. I didn't buy anything but I enjoyed not buying things. Eggs Florentine for lunch with a good pot of tea and then into the Ashmolean. Bit overwhelming, so I confined myself to the Mediterranean sections: Mesopotamia, Crete, Cyprus, Greece, Rome. Many reminders of my sailing tour of the Med., especially the Minoan exhibits associated with Arthur Evans. Having seen Knossos I was able to make more sense of them. Cuneiform writing is fascinating: aesthetically pleasing as well as functional; as I have always aspired to. There is an excellent Cast Gallery. Makes one think about the Greek and Roman cities filled with all these amazing statues. Apparently many of them were actually painted in bright colours, not the austere marble we are used to.

Felt tired out after about two hours and in any case it was getting dark, so back to the station and home. Very good. Well worth the effort. I didn't get any ideas but I think I may tomorrow.