Find out what they have been up to each month!
To read the whole blog and see more photos click on the links, to download in PDF format, with each entry.
Mist, it said. Followed by Fog. Followed by Cloud. In other words, Cold and Glum. But when are weather forecasts ever correct? So, inspired by this website which cheerfully proclaims 'Oxfordshire is a great place to cycle' we set off on the bikes for Blenheim Palace, at Woodstock, about 8 miles from Oxford.
'Know thyself' advises the Ancient Greek aphorism.. Read More
Oxford's a bit medieval in many ways - not just the buildings - and possibly the residents - but because the year is punctuated by events or festivals which mark the passage of time.
So we arrive at one of them. The clocks have changed, dark winter nights are upon us. And it's Bonfire Night season... Read More
Our expeditions never quite work out as expected ....but then you never know what you'll come across. The plan was to cycle to Chiselhampton, a former coach (and horses) stop on the road to Watlington, walk via Stadhampton to The Garden Centre, Newington for tea, cake and a sit down, walk back to Chiselhampton and then bike back to Oxford. But it was all a bit more interesting than we'd thought.
We parked the bikes near the River Thame, and joined Shakespeare's Way... Read More
The Ghost Fest at Oxford Castle - scene of multiple deaths by hanging, re-hanging, neglect, malnutrition, trampling, suffocation, typhoid, jail fever - to list but a few ways the inmates perished... Read More
It used to be a real challenge to visit this wonderful museum - open only 2 hours a day on weekdays. I did manage it in the 70's - but only once. Then Radio 4 broadcast a short programme called 'The Pitt Rivers Museum is Shut' - because it nearly always was. That started the change. Now it's open every day, with a lift for pushchairs and wheelchairs and square unisex loos. And it's still free. But it's a strange place even so... Read More
First we saw the church spire, as we walked down the gently sloping meadow, weaving between long horn cattle munching contentedly. Then Broughton Castle itself came into view, almost unobtrusively, the sky reflected in its moat, set amid rolling green lawns.
We'd walked from North Newington, a 'typical' North Oxfordshire ironstone village built of golden stone... Read More
Well, so far I've been on 3 tours (textiles, the Anglo-Saxons and Ancient Greek pottery) - so that's about 3 galleries. And I've visited several times more. Winnie the Pooh (?) reckoned the best way to enjoy a zoo was to go to the animal you like best and stay there. Perhaps it's the same with museums and exhibits.
Since being reopened by HM Queen the Ashmolean, the world's first public museum... Read More
It's an annual event now, part of the social calendar, marking the beginning of July and school holidays, something the 'town' - and specifically Cowley - does for itself.
So what was fun?
Watching the Magnificent Machines parade, accompanied by colourful dancers.
They trundled along the Cowley Road, competing to be 'most ingenious', 'most... Read More
Well, someone had to do it so it might as well be me - beat the bounds that is. (See my 2009 Blog for Why Bother). So I chose St Mary the Virgin, cradle of England's oldest university, which still houses the University Chest (where its money was kept) and where teaching was conducted and degrees awarded. It was all very civilised. We were issued with hymn sheets and given instructions: a designated person would mark the boundary in chalk and six specified
beaters would strike it with canes calling 'Beat, beat.' So off we went to... Read More
My March Blog was about rubbish - so here's one about a rubbish dump - or rather, the remains of a rubbish dump. We'd got up at dawn (yawn) to cheer on our local morris side (Headington Quarry) and the equally ancient Eynsham Morris (except they are bright young chaps - and I mean young) whose flamboyant stick crashing and hankie waving were truly inspirational. Then we were off on 'Dawn Chorus' walk around a Victorian rubbish dump adjacent to Oxford's canal, the Trapp Grounds. Recently declared a Town Green and preserved for ever, it felt for all the world like a primaeval... Read More
It was a glorious spring day last Saturday - Oxford looking its best - all golden stone and pink blossoms in the college gardens. So it was a rush to get through the chores at home (whoever won a Nobel Prize for housework?) and set off on the bike to the city centre where a morris side was already ensconced in front of Balliol College, dancing their socks off. Oxford Folk Festival had arrived. The parade appeared, accompanied by a capering Green Man, the mysterious and amoral figure, who appears in ancient tales such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and is often depicted in churches hereabouts... Read More
The days are getting lighter and brighter and it's time for Oxford's annual spring clean, Oxclean. Around 120 groups joined in this year, co-ordinated by the Civic Society. It's all pretty well organised - they supply the kit and we suggest the location and provide people power.
So....husband collected bags and boxes for the rubbish, litter pickers and hiviz jackets - and I rallied the troops from Town Furze Allotments. We'd volunteered to... Read More
One of the best things about England is the weather, which may sound a bit odd. But it's rarely too cold, wet, hot or snowy so we can be out and about all year round - including during the ‘depths of winter' ie now.
Even in winter there are plenty of places to visit - at least in and around Oxford. One of my favourites is Waterperry gardens. Every year they welcome us to their Open Day with free tours and plant advice on offer.
It's easy for us to get to... Read More
You don't often see snow in Oxford - maybe for a day or two - time enough to find the sledge, hidden under heaps of lawnmowers in the shed - then it's gone before you can ride it. But this year it was different. The whole city was covered - spires, roofs, gardens - all but the major roads. And Oxford was transformed to a sparkling wonderland.
The snow fell thickly in the evening - and, in the darkness, neighbours and children we haven't seen for months, barely recognisable beneath woolly hats... Read More
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