Oxford: Manic world of morris dancers

Last weekend the boy and I travelled to the lovely city of Oxford. Although British Rail caused us to spend longer at Didcot than anyone should have to, otherwise it was a great day.

The first thing that struck us about Oxford was the bikes. As soon as you leave the station you see a bike park big enough for about 500 bikes. Not only was it provided, but it was full.

As the day continued it became apparent that everybody cycles in Oxford, and why wouldn't they? It's not only flat but bikes are so well provided for. As a cyclist myself I gazed at the endless bike parks, cyclist lanes and paths with great envy.

Admittedly my hometown of Bath is extremely hilly and as such deters some people from cycling, but many aren't fazed by the seven hills surrounding the city and don their helmets regardless. Why do the council in Bath not make provisions for cyclists even half as good as those in Oxford?

Troops of dancers
Another thing that soon demanded our attention were a load of people dancing around in feathers, bells and materials that wouldn't be fit for second hand curtains. I'm talking of course about Morris dancers who for some reason seemed to be filling every vacant square metre in Oxford.

We didn't so much walk down the high street but squeezed down it trying to avoid the troops of dancers and bewildered onlookers. This literally went on all day and we saw the same groups dancing at 11am as were still dancing when we left at 5pm. Those are some hard core Morrisers.

Of late no trip to Oxford is complete without a visit to Christ Church of Harry Potter fame. It's where they film the dining hall scenes and some outside work and it's not hard to see why they chose it. Christ Church is a beautiful building set in even more beautiful grounds. It also bares some link to the girl who inspired Lewis Carol's Alice in Wonderland books.

Its steeples sprawl
While we were there were hundreds of people walking around the grounds of Christ Church and it's not hard to see why. Simply by turning into Christ Church you suddenly find yourself in the middle of the countryside as it is surrounded on one side by farmland, whilst Oxford city and its steeples sprawl out on the other side. It's lovely.

The best thing about Oxford is easily the architecture. Much like Bath, every turn leads to another beautiful building be it a college, a pretty house or a church, of which there seem to be hundreds in this small city. Thankfully this means that you can enjoy Oxford without having to spend a single penny unless you really want to.

Now those are the sorts of places I like.

More Oxford photos

History of Love, Cold Mountain and Harry Potter

Back in the land of normal time zones thankfully. Only a couple of things to write about this week due to the fact that I've been travelling load. This week I watched Cold Mountain and read The History of Love.

Cold Mountain was ok. It had loads of big names in it (Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Renee Zellweger and Natalie Portman) and was a good story. However it was too depressing for my liking.

History of Love on the other hand was brilliant. It was beautifully written, a great story and very inspirational for the writer within me.

It's right in the vein of Time Traveller's Wife and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoyed that book. Plus a film is being made of it so it's best to get in there before they ruin the story.

One very exciting thing about this week is the fact that the release date of Harry Potter was announced. I really can't wait.

I know it's a bit sad but I booked the Monday after it's release off work so that I can make sure I finish it before someone ruins it for me. It'll be three days of solitude for me.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Hot Fuzz. It looks brilliant plus it is filmed in a village near where I grew up. To be honest there are far better places they could have set it but never mind.

Hope you guys are all ok. Let me know what entertainment stuff you're rating at the moment.

Best wishes,

Lauz