More Time in Oxford and More Mayhew Time
As if I could not get enough of Oxford, which I couldn’t, I went back for a second time around. This time alone and with time to be a tourist. So, I packed up my things and said goodbye to Tring for good and rode the bus from Tring to Aylesbury to Oxford. It was a treat: the weather has been so kind to me since I’ve been here.
When I arrived in Aylesbury, I found the bay for my bus and struck up a conversation with a nice gentleman by the name of John. As it turned out later, he was Father John of a local Aylesbury Catholic 
church, heading to Wales for a week long conference with some of his colleagues. Even more interesting, he told me that he was a Pentecostal Catholic priest. Intriguing! I’m wondering if he would’ve more specifically referred to himself as a charismatic Catholic instead since Pentecostal carries other meanings. I don’t know anyway. He only road a little ways with me before I continued on to Oxford.
When I got there, I did what I thought I would never do: Yes, I paid money for a bus tour! It was actually kind of fun to play stupid tourist. It was a hop on-hop off sort of deal, so I just kind of rode around the town and listened to the tour for a little while and then every once in a while got off and did some touring :). First place I got off was near the north side of town to get a bite to eat and to check out the Eagle and Child, the pub where CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien frequented. I figured it probably wasn’t too affordable, like everything in England, so I went to local sandwich shop to eat.
So, I sat and ate my lunch while watching people walking by. I snapped this shot after I finished eating. I found it intriguing because of the presence of this homeless man in Oxford. I suppose it is particularly of notice to me because of University of British Columbia’s unique homeless population and to then see the same thing here. When I went to school in Alabama, you simply never saw the poor interacting on the school campus. Granted, Oxford is more of a town than a campus, but it is simply such a striking thing to me. On campuses like UBC or Oxford, you can see these two polar opposite classes of people cohabiting the same physical area. In the same photo, you have the poor and destitute and the rich and privileged. You have old, experienced, and suffering and then young, 
precocious, and unaware. Now, I’m making a gross stereotype in the case of the students in that they may be very aware, may have suffered much in their lives, and may be more humble about their experience. Yet, my experience of students does show that it is safe to say that many students are unaware.
precocious, and unaware. Now, I’m making a gross stereotype in the case of the students in that they may be very aware, may have suffered much in their lives, and may be more humble about their experience. Yet, my experience of students does show that it is safe to say that many students are unaware. My next stop was at Christ Church College, where John & Charles Wesley studied. The grounds of this complex were amazing. The thing I found amazing about Oxford and colleges such as Christ Church was the vastness that could be so well hidden within the city. What I mean by this is that as you travel through most of the town, things seem quite cramped and void of large green parks or whatnot, generally. Yet, you end the grounds of these colleges and you find yourself it what seems to be a hidden garden or massive field. It was wonderful, I just loved walking in a being surprised by the beauty of it all.
These two photos show the first view as you walk into the visitor’s entrance to Christ College and as you walk past the college you end up walking past this wonderful green area, where students were relaxing, studying, or making-out with their girlfriends which seemed to be a common and favorite activity :)
I would’ve gone into Christ Church, but it cost £7.50 (@ $15) to go in and the one thing that I wanted to see there was the Dining Hall, which was closed, so I didn’t bother go in. The dining hall in Christ Church College is the dining hall in Hogwarth’s School in the Harry Potter movies. Made me a little sad that I had to settle for a post card for a photo of it.
After 
So, at about 6:35p I arrived at London Bridge Station to go find Mark’s place. Unfortunately, riding a subway system invariably disorients my sense of direction because when you emerge from underground, you don’t really know the direction you came from or anything. So, I got a little lost at first trying to get to Mark’s flat. 20 minutes later, I found it and after ringing the bell, nobody answered for a few seconds or so. Then I heard Mark’s voice, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I look to the left and Mark is showing up to his flat late and I’m late as well, so happy day.
Southwark bridge is pictured here which is right next to Mark’s flat. He took me around the South Bank of London and we played tourist for a bit. Till it was time to meet a friend at the local pub, The Anchor. All these guys hosted me so well, I didn’t pay for anything the whole evening, which was a particular blessing since so much of England was so expensive for me. Mark’s friends were awesome. After shooting the breeze for a while, we went and ate Thai food with Mark’s flatmate, who was yet another awesome guy. It was thoroughly fun, ending the evening with a romantic promenade to see the Tower Bridge at night.
Monday, April 30, 2007
