Last weekend Ginger came out on the train to Reading where I picked her up – it is a lot cheaper to stop at Reading and it is about 40 minutes or so getting from that train station back to my house. I think that it adds a little time to the overall journey, but saves a LOT of money. Ginger bought her ticket minutes before getting on the train, and the round-trip was £19. I think it was officially off-peak. The next day my friend Greg took the train from Swindon into London during peak times, and it was £100 – and he went and came back on the same day. Outrageous. I still haven’t taken the train.
On Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Oxford. We had a list of things to see, but really just wandered. Parking was tricky to find, and had time limits. So first we parked on the east side of the town center and walked up to High and Broad Streets (where all the action is).
There are a lot of walls to walk along in Oxford – all of the quads (quadrangles) are walled – and many are private to members only. 
On the tops of all of these walls are gargoyles of every kind – scary, silly, bizarre. Lots of postcards feature the faces of Oxford – so I guess this is a well known thing. We found an “attraction” called Oxford Story on Broad Street, but didn’t have the 45 minutes it would take left on our parking, so we got yummy Mediterranean chicken(me) and falafel(gin) wraps and walked back to the car. Then we took a very round-a-bout way back to the west side of town center – basically we had to go out, find a bridge over the Thames, drive west, and then back into the city. 
Most of the city center is pedestrianized during the day – so it was impossible to take the direct route that Kate wanted us to. We parked very close to Christ Church (Cathedral & College). We took the self-guided tour – imagined Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. The cathedral was small, the quad huge. 
Then we wandered back up to Broad Street to Oxford Story. We had no idea what we were in for. First we saw a 10 minute film about the life of a contemporary Oxford student – very cheesy. Then we were loaded onto a ride. Our cars were a very old type of desk called a caddle (sp?). It was like a VERY slow Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through the history of Oxford from the 13th century forward. It was all narrated over headsets. I think it would have been kind of creepy to do alone, but with someone else it was mostly funny. And I did learn a lot about Oxford – and there was a smooshed penny at the end. Ginger was so inspired that between sessions on conference on Saturday night she looked up all sorts of details on Oxford University and subsequent colleges. All very interesting. We had a little time after Oxford before conference started, so I drove Ginger up to Avebury. The sheep were back grazing with the stones, so she got the full effect.
General Conference was fantastic. We watched online via BYU-TV instead of driving 45 minutes to the Stake Center in Cheltenham. So the first session was from 5pm-7pm, and the afternoon session from 9pm-11pm. It was weird eating dinner in the middle of the Saturday morning session. On Saturday my favorite talks were 1) Richard C Edgley about being an instrument to lighten the burden of others – I liked his comments about the “benefits of living in the communal microscope of a ward.” 2) Mary N Cook about Strengthening the Home and Family. 3) Elder Wirthlin’s talk on Charity – although it was sad to see him shaking so much at the end and needing Elder Nelson’s support. I also really like Elder Ballard and Elder Holland’s talk regarding how to discuss the church with non-members. I definitely have a lot to read again – to make sure that I really get the most out of conference.
Between sessions I made the Sour Cream Twist recipe that is on Natalie’s Cookbook Junkies blog (look in my links). I ate more than I should’ve, they were yummy. I took a lot to friends as well – I think they were enjoyed. The dough was really really soft and sticky, but it worked out. Here’s a picture.
Ginger and I were debating between Bath and Salisbury for a Sunday morning outing. We decided that we’d probably feel rushed in Bath, so we headed to Salisbury. The cathedral has services on Sundays, which we decided not to attend. So we were able to walk through the cathedral after morning services – with no charge – they don’t collect money on Sundays. I saw the world’s oldest working clock, the “finest” remaining copy of the Magna Carta (it was misfiled for many years so it was preserved from the air), and a very very large cathedral. We were lucky both days with dry weather – although it was supposed to be sunnier than it was. After the cathedral, we stopped by the Salisbury Waitrose – it is huge down there. I found canned pumpkin – even Libby’s. So I bought 6 cans and we came home. Now I feel much less stressed about Trunk or Treat and Thanksgiving – I needed pumpkin for both and now I have it. Yay.
We decided to make a side trip to Stonehenge after Salisbury - it is about 10 minutes away, an dit is on the way home. We just walked up the fence on the outside of Stonehenge - you get basically as close as you can when you pay - you just dn't get the audio tour. You can see - it was quite a cloudy day.
On the way home I made a wrong (it could be debated that it was an inspired) turn. It would still get us back through Marlborough, but just meant going through a few more villages, and over several 1 lane roads. It was a happy accident that led us directly to the Alton Barnes Horse – one of the hillside chalk drawings in the area. I’m not sure I would have ever found it if I looked for it – so it was good to stumble onto.
Sunday Conference was excellent – of course. I like Elder Bednar, Elder Hales, I thought that Elder Scott’s talk about the Scientific Method was brilliant and novel, and I really enjoyed a couple of the talks from the Seventy – Octavio Tennorio with his chanting of “Shower, Shower” from the pulpit was great! The choir was especially beautiful in the last hymn – Sing We Now At Parting – the men were incredible. I love conference. I can’t believe that President Hinckley will be 97. He is so amazing.
Yesterday I got the good news that Rebecca’s sister Pam is moving into the 3rd bedroom in my Hillsboro house. I hope that works out for the best for everyone. It is certainly an answer to my prayers and concerns regarding finances. It will help my stress level a lot.
On Friday I am driving into London, where my colleague Jo and I will stay the night with Ginger. Then early Saturday morning the 3 of us head to London Stansted Airport to our Ryan Air flight to Shannon, Ireland. I am so excited. We’ll be seeing the Southwest of Ireland – Cork, the Ring of Kerry, Limerick and then Galway on Sunday in the NW. There is a Jazz Festival there, hopefully it is a good time. We’ll fly home on Sunday night. Just a quick trip. I imagine another will be planned to see Dublin.
Then, a week from tomorrow, Rebecca arrives. We’ll be spending a solid day in Bath – maybe even having some spa treatments at the roman bath. Mmmmm. We’ll also be in London for the weekend – attending the single’s ward on Sunday. I’ll be working some of the days while she is here, and Rebecca plans to see some of the countryside on a borrowed bicycle – she is so brave! Rebecca and I are both suffering from colds right now – so think good thoughts. She doesn’t want to be the “Typhoid Mary” of her flights, and I want us both well for our adventures in England.
On Saturday morning we woke up and drove to Oxford. We had a list of things to see, but really just wandered. Parking was tricky to find, and had time limits. So first we parked on the east side of the town center and walked up to High and Broad Streets (where all the action is).
There are a lot of walls to walk along in Oxford – all of the quads (quadrangles) are walled – and many are private to members only. On the tops of all of these walls are gargoyles of every kind – scary, silly, bizarre. Lots of postcards feature the faces of Oxford – so I guess this is a well known thing. We found an “attraction” called Oxford Story on Broad Street, but didn’t have the 45 minutes it would take left on our parking, so we got yummy Mediterranean chicken(me) and falafel(gin) wraps and walked back to the car. Then we took a very round-a-bout way back to the west side of town center – basically we had to go out, find a bridge over the Thames, drive west, and then back into the city. Most of the city center is pedestrianized during the day – so it was impossible to take the direct route that Kate wanted us to. We parked very close to Christ Church (Cathedral & College). We took the self-guided tour – imagined Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. The cathedral was small, the quad huge. Then we wandered back up to Broad Street to Oxford Story. We had no idea what we were in for. First we saw a 10 minute film about the life of a contemporary Oxford student – very cheesy. Then we were loaded onto a ride. Our cars were a very old type of desk called a caddle (sp?). It was like a VERY slow Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride through the history of Oxford from the 13th century forward. It was all narrated over headsets. I think it would have been kind of creepy to do alone, but with someone else it was mostly funny. And I did learn a lot about Oxford – and there was a smooshed penny at the end. Ginger was so inspired that between sessions on conference on Saturday night she looked up all sorts of details on Oxford University and subsequent colleges. All very interesting. We had a little time after Oxford before conference started, so I drove Ginger up to Avebury. The sheep were back grazing with the stones, so she got the full effect.General Conference was fantastic. We watched online via BYU-TV instead of driving 45 minutes to the Stake Center in Cheltenham. So the first session was from 5pm-7pm, and the afternoon session from 9pm-11pm. It was weird eating dinner in the middle of the Saturday morning session. On Saturday my favorite talks were 1) Richard C Edgley about being an instrument to lighten the burden of others – I liked his comments about the “benefits of living in the communal microscope of a ward.” 2) Mary N Cook about Strengthening the Home and Family. 3) Elder Wirthlin’s talk on Charity – although it was sad to see him shaking so much at the end and needing Elder Nelson’s support. I also really like Elder Ballard and Elder Holland’s talk regarding how to discuss the church with non-members. I definitely have a lot to read again – to make sure that I really get the most out of conference.
Between sessions I made the Sour Cream Twist recipe that is on Natalie’s Cookbook Junkies blog (look in my links). I ate more than I should’ve, they were yummy. I took a lot to friends as well – I think they were enjoyed. The dough was really really soft and sticky, but it worked out. Here’s a picture.
Ginger and I were debating between Bath and Salisbury for a Sunday morning outing. We decided that we’d probably feel rushed in Bath, so we headed to Salisbury. The cathedral has services on Sundays, which we decided not to attend. So we were able to walk through the cathedral after morning services – with no charge – they don’t collect money on Sundays. I saw the world’s oldest working clock, the “finest” remaining copy of the Magna Carta (it was misfiled for many years so it was preserved from the air), and a very very large cathedral. We were lucky both days with dry weather – although it was supposed to be sunnier than it was. After the cathedral, we stopped by the Salisbury Waitrose – it is huge down there. I found canned pumpkin – even Libby’s. So I bought 6 cans and we came home. Now I feel much less stressed about Trunk or Treat and Thanksgiving – I needed pumpkin for both and now I have it. Yay.
We decided to make a side trip to Stonehenge after Salisbury - it is about 10 minutes away, an dit is on the way home. We just walked up the fence on the outside of Stonehenge - you get basically as close as you can when you pay - you just dn't get the audio tour. You can see - it was quite a cloudy day.
On the way home I made a wrong (it could be debated that it was an inspired) turn. It would still get us back through Marlborough, but just meant going through a few more villages, and over several 1 lane roads. It was a happy accident that led us directly to the Alton Barnes Horse – one of the hillside chalk drawings in the area. I’m not sure I would have ever found it if I looked for it – so it was good to stumble onto.Sunday Conference was excellent – of course. I like Elder Bednar, Elder Hales, I thought that Elder Scott’s talk about the Scientific Method was brilliant and novel, and I really enjoyed a couple of the talks from the Seventy – Octavio Tennorio with his chanting of “Shower, Shower” from the pulpit was great! The choir was especially beautiful in the last hymn – Sing We Now At Parting – the men were incredible. I love conference. I can’t believe that President Hinckley will be 97. He is so amazing.
Yesterday I got the good news that Rebecca’s sister Pam is moving into the 3rd bedroom in my Hillsboro house. I hope that works out for the best for everyone. It is certainly an answer to my prayers and concerns regarding finances. It will help my stress level a lot.
On Friday I am driving into London, where my colleague Jo and I will stay the night with Ginger. Then early Saturday morning the 3 of us head to London Stansted Airport to our Ryan Air flight to Shannon, Ireland. I am so excited. We’ll be seeing the Southwest of Ireland – Cork, the Ring of Kerry, Limerick and then Galway on Sunday in the NW. There is a Jazz Festival there, hopefully it is a good time. We’ll fly home on Sunday night. Just a quick trip. I imagine another will be planned to see Dublin.
Then, a week from tomorrow, Rebecca arrives. We’ll be spending a solid day in Bath – maybe even having some spa treatments at the roman bath. Mmmmm. We’ll also be in London for the weekend – attending the single’s ward on Sunday. I’ll be working some of the days while she is here, and Rebecca plans to see some of the countryside on a borrowed bicycle – she is so brave! Rebecca and I are both suffering from colds right now – so think good thoughts. She doesn’t want to be the “Typhoid Mary” of her flights, and I want us both well for our adventures in England.
1 comment:
Sounds like a great weekend! I'm glad the twists worked out for you. I have yet to try them....Matt's out of town & I'm afraid I'll eat them all if I make them now :)
Post a Comment