How are you today?

[alx5962]

Oxford, you mean, or my town? I don't live in Oxford, I'm about 20 miles away. It's easy for me to get to though, just a bus ride. I'd love to meet up there next time you're over, if you can spare a day!

My mistake, I think you wrote Oxford was your city.

[sound world]

I worked in Oxford for a couple of months in 2003,building a bamboo structure in the botanic gardens, and loved it-beautiful city with big young student population,lots of things to do.
(If I hadn't been so wet behind the ears and such a shrinking violet at 18,I might have gone to the University-I passed the exams. But that's another story,...and non,je ne regrette rien!)

Meanwhile Alex,(or Beth or anyone),if you're ever near Bath,well,so am I and I can give you the guided tour-another beautiful city (as much as cities can be.)

Around where I live is beautiful,out in the country 10 miles from Bath,and today my partner and I took the opportunity to go and check the trees in the woods surrounding our house. We've each noted signs of elm trees (now terribly rare in England) on our separate walks,so we made a point of going out today and recording them while they're just starting to blossom and more easily identifiable among the canopy-and we found quite a few! It was quite exciting,especially when it became clear that they followed the course of an old track,suggesting that elms may have been planted long ago along the track and the present ones are grown from seeds of elms long lost to the disease which ravaged the UK in the 50s and 60s. Next step is to alert the Woodland Trust etc so that they can be properly protected.

[blue]

Oxford, you mean, or my town? I don't live in Oxford, I'm about 20 miles away. It's easy for me to get to though, just a bus ride. I'd love to meet up there next time you're over, if you can spare a day!

My mistake, I think you wrote Oxford was your city.

No, I live in a deeply horrible market town in the next county. I'd invite you over, but there is absolutely nothing to do here except drink and fight, apparently.

I went to the Wiki page for my town today, just to see what it said. I had to laugh at the description of 'lively nightlife'. I think that must be a reference to the stabbings and murders in the local binge-drinking/junkie population.

[blue]

I worked in Oxford for a couple of months in 2003,building a bamboo structure in the botanic gardens, and loved it-beautiful city with big young student population,lots of things to do.

I love love love it there, I go over quite a bit as it's cheap and easy to get to on the bus. I lived in Headington for a while when I was a teenager, and spent a lot of time in the city during the late 80s when a good friend was at St. John's College. Happy times.
I'd happily work there if I could find something, I wouldn't mind the travelling to and from every day. We have a branch in the Westgate Centre so you never know!

Is your bamboo structure still there? I'll have to have a look next time I go over.

(If I hadn't been so wet behind the ears and such a shrinking violet at 18,I might have gone to the University-I passed the exams. But that's another story,...and non,je ne regrette rien!)

Oh wow Dave, you passed the entrance exam and didn't go? I suppose it must have seemed quite intimidating, but lordy. What an opportunity. Mind you, it doesn't suit everyone.

Meanwhile Alex,(or Beth or anyone),if you're ever near Bath,well,so am I and I can give you the guided tour-another beautiful city (as much as cities can be.)

Thank you, and I'll take you up on that at some point, definitely, I'd like to see Bath. All that Georgian architecture.

Around where I live is beautiful,out in the country 10 miles from Bath,and today my partner and I took the opportunity to go and check the trees in the woods surrounding our house. We've each noted signs of elm trees (now terribly rare in England) on our separate walks,so we made a point of going out today and recording them while they're just starting to blossom and more easily identifiable among the canopy-and we found quite a few! It was quite exciting,especially when it became clear that they followed the course of an old track,suggesting that elms may have been planted long ago along the track and the present ones are grown from seeds of elms long lost to the disease which ravaged the UK in the 50s and 60s. Next step is to alert the Woodland Trust etc so that they can be properly protected.

I actually just had to go and check google images for pictures of elms, I couldn't immediately remember what they look like! I'm really bad at identifying trees, which is ridiculous considering I live in one of the most wooded counties in England. I recognise beeches and oaks and birch and ash and poplars, we have lots of those around here. Elms have to be protected, then? I know they're vulnerable to disease, but I'm curious as to how they are protected. Anyway, good find.

Your house sounds positively idyllic.

[sound world]

Is your bamboo structure still there? I'll have to have a look next time I go over.

I doubt it-being an instrument it's probably been well battered.Also they were talking about moving it to their other garden (can't remember where that is).Anyway,this is what it looked like in 2003 :-

Oh wow Dave, you passed the entrance exam and didn't go? I suppose it must have seemed quite intimidating, but lordy. What an opportunity. Mind you, it doesn't suit everyone.

I passed the exams but failed the interview-I had a really horrible experience. It's a long story but it was basically a travesty and I wouldn't allow such a thing to happen now. But in any case I felt like a scared rabbit,out of my depth and social station.The first thing anyone said to me was 'how much land does your father own?' (I kid you not).At the time my Dad had been dead for 10 years already so you can imagine how I felt.
As I say,no regrets.I was better off being a bigger fish in a smaller pool.I would have sank without trace at Oxford,I just didn't have the social/emotional equipment.

I actually just had to go and check google images for pictures of elms, I couldn't immediately remember what they look like! I'm really bad at identifying trees, which is ridiculous considering I live in one of the most wooded counties in England. I recognise beeches and oaks and birch and ash and poplars, we have lots of those around here. Elms have to be protected, then? I know they're vulnerable to disease, but I'm curious as to how they are protected. Anyway, good find.

Ours are actually wych elms-just as endangered.The easy way to spot them is the very light-coloured clumps of leaf-blossom,high up.The Woodland Trust are in the process of making an inventory of ancient trees,so if you have a big old tree nearby,let them know.They don't necessarily know about it.Also if they have a record of where elms are,it can only help.

Your house sounds positively idyllic.

The house is largely 60s/70s bungalow-ugly,but the setting is gorgeous.I give thanks every day of my life,I still can't believe how I got here.

[paul-pgss]

Hello all, I'm just returning from a two week break from work and a lovely holiday in Turkey. Been there last year, doing pratically nothing else than reading in the sun, next to the pool. Very lovely. Tomorrow I have to return to work and I don't feel like it. I still have to do a lot of conversations about results with the people in my team and that usually is really intensive. Might need a vacation again after I finished talking to them all.

Beth, I'm thinking about planning a weekend in London in the last weekend of july or the first weekend of august. When I can get the days off from work, I'll let you know. I'd love to meet you after that phonecall a couple of years ago.

[blue]

Tomorrow I have to return to work and I don't feel like it. I still have to do a lot of conversations about results with the people in my team and that usually is really intensive. Might need a vacation again after I finished talking to them all.

It's horrible going back to work after some time off. I went in today to discover I'm working the next ten days in a row. Ah well, we should be grateful for having jobs at all, in this economic climate.

Beth, I'm thinking about planning a weekend in London in the last weekend of july or the first weekend of august. When I can get the days off from work, I'll let you know. I'd love to meet you after that phonecall a couple of years ago.

You still remember that phonecall? I remember your Serious Young Professor voice.

Weekends are a problem for me Paul, I work every weekend as I was taken on to do them initially, it's in my contract. I'd have to persuade my boss to cover a weekend for me if I asked for it as holiday. I shan't approach her with it right now, she was in a foul mood today because her girlfriend lost her job on Friday - I'll broach it when things have settled down, and see how the land lies.

I can get in to London very easily though, the train goes into Marylebone Station in the west end which is a convenient place to meet up. From there we can proceed to run rampage through town, the Young Professor and the Mad Scotswoman.

[blue]

I passed the exams but failed the interview-I had a really horrible experience. It's a long story but it was basically a travesty and I wouldn't allow such a thing to happen now. But in any case I felt like a scared rabbit,out of my depth and social station.

Ah, yes I can totally believe that. My friend who went to St. John's was an academically brilliant girl (she eventually left with a First in Classics, which is not an easy thing to achieve at Oxford), but she found the interview absolutely traumatic. She was quite a sensitive person and was distraught afterwards, convinced she wouldn't get in. Ridiculous that they put people through such an intimidating process when what matters, or should matter, is that they have the academic acumen to do really well. She was convinced it was partly because she came from an ordinary working class background - that they were maybe deliberately trying to put her off? Which is extraordinary.

As far as the social stuff goes, she was lucky going to St. John's. It's known as the workhouse of the University, or at least it was then, in the late 80s. I remember there being some obviously posh/well-off kids in her house, but the majority seemed to be decent middle-class sorts, nice people on the whole. We had some fun.

[RobB]

Now settling in again at home after my four day break on the Isle Of Wight.
I had a great time with mainly sunny weather over the weekend,In fact it ddin't rain until yesterday but as i was travelling home it didn't really matter.
The hotel in Sandown was nice and comfortable.Spent Saturday at Ryde,going around the shops, and walking along the pier. Also watched the hovercraft coming and going as they provide a ferry service to Portsmouth.
Also has a good walk along the beach.
Back in Sandown later,I took a walk along to Shanklin and back,via the coast path just above the beach.
Sunday wa sa busy day taking it the lovely botanical gardens at Ventnor, the pearl centre, a craft centre and also a viist to Waltzing Waters,an indoor 40 minute show/display of 50 ft water fountains lit by coloured lights,to the music of abba,enya,disney and the classics.Kind of like a firework display without the noise.

Now back catching up on my emails and stuff....oh,and checking out my next holiday of course.

[sound world]

Yes it pissed down here yesterday-I got drenched cycling to get a lift to a Special school in Swindon where I was working in the morning,and then boiled alive cycling back later in the day-a quick change of bags and then off to my local Primary to teach 9 piano lessons,pissed on again. Sunny again now.
Glad to hear you had a good time,Rob.IOW is one of the few places in this country I haven't been,but everyone says it's nice.It always makes me think of the Pete and Dud sketch-do you know the one?-where they sail to the IOW,get lost in fog,and end up in the USA but still think they're in the IOW-a classic.

[RobB]

No,I don't know that sketch,Dave,
The IOW is very picturesque and old worldy in parts with the thatched cottages but that applies to a lot of England once out of the developed cities/towns. Some of the properties with views of the sea and highed wooded hills to the rear were quite nice though. Apart from the ferry crossings I wasn't conscious of being on an island. I could easily have been in Dorset for most of the time. Its a lovely place for a short visit but I wouldn't want to spend a fortnight on the IOW let alone live there.
I prefer the Isles of Scillies.

Sorry to hear you got a soaking yesterday....you'll have to strap a brolley to your handlebars next time.

[blue]

Spent Saturday at Ryde,going around the shops, and walking along the pier. Also watched the hovercraft coming and going as they provide a ferry service to Portsmouth.

Oh, hovercraft! You'll laugh, but I was completely obsessed with hovercraft at one point when I was a kid. I'd seen a news report about them - it might well have been the IOW one, actually, I'm not sure if they operate anywhere else in the UK? - and they just seemed like the most amazing thing ever. I've always wanted to go on one.

[blue]

Yes it pissed down here yesterday-I got drenched cycling to get a lift to a Special school in Swindon where I was working in the morning,and then boiled alive cycling back later in the day-a quick change of bags and then off to my local Primary to teach 9 piano lessons,pissed on again. Sunny again now.

It's been weird today here, too - heavy cold mist first thing, really chilly in the morning, everyone was in winter coats/boots/heavy clothing. Come lunchtime my customers were complaining how hot it was outside, slinging the winter coats over their arms and wishing they'd dressed more lightly. Early afternoon it was freezing again, I had to put the heating on in the shop, and by the time I left work at 4pm it was blazing sunshine and blue skies. I was melting as I walked home.

Weather. We get a lot of it in the UK.

[RobB]

Oh, hovercraft! You'll laugh, but I was completely obsessed with hovercraft at one point when I was a kid.

Beth,just for the kid in you...

[picsou]

Allo!
A l'huile!
Was in London April 6-10, with my daughter (her name is Iona). My wife (her mom) had to stay home because of a big f..k at work.
London is...exhausting!!! We were lucky with the weather. The Eye was not a success, Iona does not like heights. Shopping was a success!!!
Best moment, for me: Kew Gardens! A friend works there. Lovely to be in a quiet, not smelly place for a couple of hours!