Who knew finding a place to study in Oxford would be so hard? I spent the afternoon in search of the perfect place to read my book (Jude the Obscure). First I tried a pretty spot under a tree in the Christ Church meadows. It was a beautiful location – the perfect mixture of shade and sun. Then some punk kids showed up and started playing a pick-up game of soccer and shouting to each other in Italian – loudly. (Is there a way to shout in Italian OTHER than loudly? Probably not). This is the view from that spot... so pretty... sigh. Stupid punk kids. =)
So then I moved to a bench on the River Thames (I was on the River Thames! But Dick Van Dyke didn’t show up to go punting with me). Since no one else was around, I reclined on a bench and started reading. Then I heard shuffling… and hissing. I turned my head to the right and saw… geese. English geese. Oxfordian English geese …not nearly as charming as they sound, let me assure you. I had a crowd of these things staring me down! With their bobbing heads and hisses, they were strangely reminiscent of a herd of preying raptors from Jurassic Park . They were on the prowl for a good snack and either Jude or I were about to become the equivalent of a late-afternoon scone! I sat up and tried to shoo them away with my book… and they tried to lunge for the book as if it were a tasty morsel. Stupid geese… they aren’t nearly as intelligent as raptors. Raptors can at least open a door! At least the elderly couple sitting in their lawn chairs on the meadow got a good laugh at my expense as I played shoo-fly with a gaggle of waddling fowl. =)
Finally I got up from the bench and, walking gingerly to avoid the goose poop (good idea, right Les?), made my way back to the Botanical Gardens. I hadn’t been there since my first day in Oxford (you can reference “Day 1” if you like) because it has rained EVERY DAY since my arrival. But yesterday and today were absolutely gorgeous and rain-free! I sat for a few hours on my bench basking in the sun until I caught my bus home. (Here's the view from my bench in the gardens)Notes from lecture: Have you ever thought to connect the poetry of John Keats (19th century) with Philip Larkin (20th century)? Nor had I. But this professor did and I found the connection fascinating. Now I’ll look at "Ode to a Grecian Urn" a little differently! For those of you who do not care in the least about all this English major stuff, you still may recognize part of a Keats poem. The last line is the most classic, of course: ‘Beauty is truth, truth beauty,’ – that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. Those Romantics… they were all about beauty being the ultimate truth (and truth being the ultimate beauty!). I wonder what Keats would say about the 21st century perception of beauty involving a whole lot of facade (and therefore, not a lot of truth)? Hmmm... something to ponder.
In Austen, we discussed Pride and Prejudice (my favourite novel!) so I was quite happy. I am now even MORE convinced that it is my most preferred Austen novel of them all. For a while, I wavered on the fence with Emma, so I hope our discussion of that one next week doesn’t ruin my decision! P&P has always managed to remain Queen of the Mountain, as it were, so hopefully it will continue to do so. =)
So today I got to talk about my favourite book and read in a beautiful spot… it was a good day.
Date: 11 July 2007
Location: Oxford
Highlights:
- seeing the grounds of Christ Church (thanks for the recommendation, Emily!)
- seeing some filming paraphernalia of the next Harry Potter movie (more about this tomorrow!)
- beautiful sunny weather (more of this, please!)
- chatting it up with Roth (LOVE gmail chat!)
Street Name of the Day: Crumps Butts – I’m not even kidding. I’ll take a picture if you don’t believe me. It’s not as good as the one we saw in Scotland a decade ago, though (you folks who were on that trip, remember Butts Wynd?) It's sad that I’m so amused by these things, but it is a LONG bus ride! =)
