The lass is back in town

Chimneys, chimneys... And more chimneys. Rigorously red.

Welcome to Jericho! It took me a while to come back to this blog - namely, it took me a busy month of September, a frantic month of October... And a too-fast-to-describe month of November, it seems. Also, moving to a new house with no internet connection (now solved, clearly) did not help. Yet one day - one sunny day, rare and precious! - I took some time off, brought my camera out for a stroll and explored a few streets here in Jericho. The result is in these photos - take a rest and enjoy the autumnal colours!

Close to St. Barnabas Church - I like the way this photo looks like it's B&W... Although it's not! Such a nice contrast of light and shade.

... Would you dare knocking on this door? Behave... Or beware. (*)

When I saw this wall and its bright, intense colours, I thought I had to grab my camera and come back to this spot!

The "Rickety Press" on Cranham Street around 3pm. "Cask ales, fine food" - what else should I say?

I like the way a few leaves stay on some trees (especially on sycamore trees, did you notice it?) - dots-dots-dots.

Ladies and gents, here is Wellington Square in all its glory!

(*) Do you know where the quote "Behave or beware" comes from? If yes, nothing to add - if not, here is the answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nanny_mcphee.jpg. ;)

Would it be possible to have a look around?

The title of this post is often my first line when visiting new places (including the ones I am not even sure I have access to) - usually it is useful it when, unavoidably, a porter of some kind appears, clearly eager to know the reason of my presence.

Here in Oxfordshire it turns out that it is possible to collect an astonishing number of different answers to this somewhat simple and harmless question - "I was wondering, is it possible to have a look around?". First, the sentence that leaves no alternative at all: "I am afraid not, miss". Fair enough - "private property" and "restricted access" - these expressions are part of our modern world... Whether one agrees or not. Then there are hybrid answers, with a range of relative intensities for the "yes" and "no" components: "Yes, it is possible to visit the premises - please go that way", or "Yes, the estate is open to visitors but I am afraid you can only access it on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 10am to 5pm". Sometimes there is an interesting twist, an addendum to one of the above answers such as "... except for next Saturday, however, as the premises will be closed for a private event". Once again, fair enough.

To give a specific example, Oxford colleges can be quite puzzling; some of them seem as difficult to enter as a fortress. When one finally manages to go in, still one has to face the "Private" signs that appear here and there - sometimes closing the way to what look like the loveliest bits of the garden... Ah!

Besides the Oxonian collegiate system, a couple of recent episodes were the starting point for this post - I hope they may highlight less well-known sights of Oxford and its surroundings. About a month ago I was told that the Rhodes House, whose entrance is on Parks Road, can be visited quite easily if one shows a University Card (no great surprise here). Still its opening times are rather peculiar: Monday to Friday from 1pm until 4pm, if I remember rightly. A few days ago I took advantage of a sunny spell to have a quick lunch and then walk to the Rhodes House to have a look at the gardens, if possible. No problem at all - I showed my card and entered. A hint: have a look at the tapestry displayed in the corridor leading to the wooden door that gives access (finally!) to the garden: the drawing is by William Morris. :) I expected the gardens to be neat and flourishing, and so they are. There is nothing exceptionally distinctive about the Rhodes House, I would say; yet it is definitely worth a visit, if you chance to walk by it and are looking for a quiet and colourful place.

As I went back to the department after my short visit to the Rhodes House I glanced at the notice board of the Museum of Natural History. There was an advert which mentioned the Wytham Woods - I thought I had never heard of this place, and thus decided to find out more as soon as possible. So I did, and with great surprise I discovered that it is not possible to walk in and stroll around, as one would do when visiting the Botanic Garden or the Harcourt Arboretum. No - a permit is required. Precisely, a letter shall be sent to the conservator of Wytham Woods, if one has an interest in visiting the area. Which I did, of course - please refer to the photo above. In my life I have sent letters to relatives and friends the world over; I wrote to Santa Clause, to a couple of private companies and to a music band (well, I was sixteen...). Sending a letter to the conservator of an "area of ancient semi-natural woodland" in Oxfordshire is a completely different story!

A few links that might be of interest:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Morris - William Morris on Wikipedia ;)

- http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk/index.htm - Oxford University Museum of Natural History

- http://www.wytham.ox.ac.uk/index.php - Wytham Woods website

- http://wildcru.org/wytham/ - one of the first websites I found when I looked for information about the Wytham area

An Oxford promenade

I finally managed to scan some photos that I took around town with my camera (yes, one that works with films!) between June and September 2011. Some of them show bits of the city that are now undergoing major changes, which is why I thought it may be interesting to upload them on the blog. :)

One comment: I am not at all sure that the word "promenade" in English can be used in this context - probably not. ;) Here is the trick though: I am referring to the French noun, that indeed means "walk". Languages are amazing.

... Believe it or not.

The British... and milk.

Such a friendly and welcoming (literally!) mural...

I hesitated with this photo - I thought, perhaps I wound't fancy having my children photographed and then appearing online if I were their parents. I hope I didn't make the wrong choice.

On the field #2 - Recent discoveries

Did you know that Oxford has a "Story Museum"? If yes, well done. :) If not, you may wish to check this link: http://www.storymuseum.org.uk/the-story-museum. I took this photo a few days ago - I guess I was enticed by the poster, which has a picture of a window on it, and which happened to be visible from a window, too. A window through a window. Hehe.

There is a small problem though: clearly, the website is a bit out of date. Now, I can confirm that the museum is still not open to the public (I went there thinking that it would be ready and running - not really), but it looked like there will be an exhibition in May. So it may be worth heading to Pembroke Street to have a look - a suggestion. ;) There is an undeniable relevance - and art - in telling stories, and collections of such pieces of wit and creativity - every human population has one, I believe - should be taken care of. I particularly liked this Siberian proverb that is quoted on the website: "If you don't know the trees you may be lost in the forest, but if you don't know the stories you may be lost in life." Comme quoi...

On a different - but rather related, actually - note, if you happen to be in Bloomsbury, London and have some spare time, I would suggest you to visit the Foundling Museum (previously known as the Foundling Hospital): as advertised on their website, it is "Britain's first home for abandoned children and London's first public art gallery" - http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/. I came to know it in the occasion of a specific event: http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/events/view/back-to-front-weekend-by-yinka-shonibare/. It was with great pleasure that I discovered this tiny museum and its incredible collection of memories, tokens and more.

Unexpected events

Happy St Patrick's Day! I am not sure I want to go to the pub tonight - I like to talk to people, and being forced to shout at them because the place is so crowded that there is a "wall of noise" hardly bearable may not be my cup of tea. This said, yesterday evening I went to the Folk Club on Abingdon Road; it was a lovely evening, and part of my way of celebrating St Patrick's Day!

Yesterday I also bumped into a very interesting series of YouTube videos. Initially I was driven to the first one because of this odd title: "Tiny Desk Concert"... I started with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and ended up listening to about ten of these short concerts all set in the same place - an office. Brilliant! I am so glad I discovered this new source of interesting music. For this reason I prompty added the corresponding "official" website of the radio station (NPR) among the few ones listed in the side menu bar. :)

On a different note, today I went for a walk with my camera and ended up birdwatching: I spotted a wee tit (great tit or blue tit? Not sure...) on a beautiful almond tree (prunus dulcis). Who knows if one of the many attempts to take a picture of it was successful?

On the field #1 - A performance in central Oxford

Today after lunch I went to Broad Street to have a look at a performance I had read about on the very nice website of Modern Art Oxford - "Musica Practica". For some more official information I would redirect you here: http://www.modernartoxford.org.uk/whats-on/musica-practica/about/

Here are a few photos I took at the beginning of the performance. I must admit, I was probably more interested in how passers-by would react to this unusual presence than in the performance itself. This said, it was fascinating to see how the conductor moved his arms and hands (and sometimes his entire body) - I have always thought that these are very graceful movements. I stayed around for half an hour and saw tourists taking photos as well as "locals" (what does this really mean in a town where there are so many students arriving from almost every part of the planet?) acting as if nothing was happening. Suddenly a man wearing a white shirt stepped in, clearly trying to establish a dialogue with the performer. I suspect that this person is the artist and writer who is mentioned on the website (see above); I am not entirely sure that his entrance was an advisable move. Then I took this photo with the two of them, conductor and spectator (or second performer?), and when I looked again at the picture (here the third one) I thought: this is pretty much how any form of communication or attempt for popularisation of a given topic works. Often the "expert" may be regarded as someone standing on a pedestal - therefore difficult to interact with.

 

Yet here comes a "translator", here represented by the man wearing the white shirt: I can imagine he stepped in to make the meaning of the performance clearer (he would pass in front of the conductor intentionally varying the pace of his walk) and show that communication is possible and successful. "If I open a channel with the conductor then these people who keep on staring at him - without even approaching sometimes - may also start trying to query and engage with the performer."

Of course there is no guarantee of success, just like when one learns a new language; when one attempts at testing their knowledge by interacting with native speakers the comunication may be difficult and at times not very satisfactory. Still it would be such a pity not to try!