Ali, Marilyn, and Cryptic Tea

Before the end of the first quarter of 2012, the delightful Ali decided to pay us another visit. Although we couldn't guarantee the weather, it actually turned out okay in the end.

Friday night saw us visit Pierre Victoire's restaurant and have an amazing French meal. This was followed by a meet up with the girls (it was actually 3 guys to about 20 girls, so we weren't complaining).

We got up early on Saturday to get the train down to London (or is that up?) where we headed towards Oxford Street. Not for any shopping, mind, but rather to visit the Getty Images exhibition of Marilyn Monroe. There were photos of her during filming, plus private photos shopping, visiting London and relaxing. Also on show were the costumes from some of her plays, photos of which you will see below.

After the exhibition, we went down Regent Street so the girls could do some shopping in the big stores. After a light snack for lunch, it was off to the theatre to see Absent Friends, which was very enjoyable.

Of course the hunger came back after we  came out of the theatre, so we went to St Martin on the Fields for a spot of afternoon tea in the crypt which was very atmospheric (and quite tasty too).

On returning home we unwound on the sofa watching the latest episode of Inspector Montalbano. What a full day !

Sunday was not quite so early, but as the sun came out we headed off to Witney where after walking around for a bit we returned to the Hollybush for our Sunday Lunch. What a meal it was! This place is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in Witney one day.

After all that, it was time to say goodbye to Ali as on Monday morning she left for Mainz again. I'm sure it won't be her last visit though, so better get planning already...

You can see the rest of the photos here...

Oxfordshire Cycle Trip #2

Yesterday afternoon the sun was out, and after a light shower had gone away, it was perfect timing for getting out on the bike again and enjoying the fresh air.

Unfortunately this time the internet had just stopped working at home, so I was not able to plan any routes. Instead I just head off towards Islip and from there took any roads that looked interesting. Of course there were some hills along the way, yet again I was caught out by a long slow climbing hill, which once around a corner, turned into a very steep hill.

This time though, the only moments needed to stop were to check where I was (although this doesn't help when the phone signal is also lower than one bar). After passing some nice villages with funny names like Noke, and woodland on both sides of the road, I decided it might be time to head back towards home before I get too lost (and didn't really fancy going back up some of those hills I had just descended).

At this point I realised that I was in fact pretty close to Headington, so the return route was going down the Headington Hill, passing the mosque, and then through St. Clements and between the university buildings until hitting the usual Oxford Road back to Kidlington.

So here's the map for those interested:

View Larger Map

After a relaxing shower a siesta of a couple of hours was in order, and I awoke nice and fresh in time for a Madras and an Old Crafty Hen whilst watching the latest installment of Inspector Montalbano.

Now it's just started snowing...c'est la vie...

It's all about the double drop

On Sunday we set off towards Witney in order to claim the spoils of the Oxford Ale Trail (see earlier post).

The day started out lovely and sunny, and it really was a nice day to go out on a local trip. After meeting up with Diego, Hannah and Francesco, we caught the bus across the Oxfordshire fields, passing through some really typical little villages, and arrived at our destination in good time.

 

The Wychwood brewery was a little difficult to find (we should have followed our noses) but we made it in time for the grand tour. This consisted of being given a swift half before entering the premises (point to not - we didn't pay for the half, so I remain free from having ever bought a half pint). We were then shown around the different areas of the brewery, explained how the process takes place, what (and why) ingredients are used, and what the difference is between the various hops. We were then explained about the famous "double-drop" method, used by Brakspeare, before being taken back to the tasting room.

 

We tried the draught Hobgoblin first, then the bottled version (which tasted much fizzier and stronger in comparison). We then tried the draught version again, this time noticing that it seemed to taste like water. This is the reason why if you start on the bottles, you have to keep doing them for the rest of the night. Next up was a paler ale, which was quite refreshing. We then went on to the 6.75% ABV bitter, which was surprisingly very tasty (but I wouldn't want to have to drink a pint of it). In order to take away this taste so that we could go back to some of the more 'normal' ales, we had a mouthful of the Ginger Beer, which was very tasty indeed.

  

We then continued to finish up the bottles and pitchers that were started for our tasting, until we were called away by the ladyfolk for dinner. This was taken at the Hollybush, which was recommended by a local couple who were also on the tour. We had a delicious meal, with extremely friendly staff and good ambiance. Definitely a place to come back to!

If you are wondering where the photos from the brewery are - there are none. I had my hands full with all that beer...

Cheers !

Science and Technology Roundup

After the fallen snow of recent times (I kept on saying we would get the proper winter in February...) one ends up reading a bit more of the news. This has actually led to me being impressed by a few things I've found recently.

Google's search algorithm has been used for a much better purpose - to find molecular links that would work better for medicine. This seems such an amazing use of an until now controversial bit of maths, and if you think more along these lines, you should be able to do a lot more investigation in a chemical model. In fact, think a bit further, and you can probably use it for physics too.

3D printers. I never thought much of them. If someone had invented a printer that could produce any object, then surely it would change the whole world around. Well, they do exist, and they have been recently used to do something miraculous. Instead of having to go through a lot of microsurgical reconstruction, not being able to talk or swallow for a good few days, a new jaw was printed for this 83 year old, and she was using it just like normal within a day. Think about this a moment. Something printed, from your computer, and replacing a part of your body you use for many daily tasks...very impressive!

Sometimes technology can also go wrong. We all know what bad things can happen when you end up losing control of vehicles and other potentially dangerous objects. This time it was a lot less damaging. Those captions that appear at the bottom of the screen when someone is being interviewed. When these system get things wrong, they can also cause a few chuckles, like here, where a young girl was labelled as a recovering alcoholic...

And to leave you with an interesting link. Ever feel like your eyes are tired and hurting, and the screen too bright in the evenings? Well, that's because the ambient light changes in tone through the day and especially at night, when it's all artificial. Try this program on your computer to change your display to be more natural to the surrounding light. Great idea !

Here's hoping for many more good scientific advancements...

Kung Hei Fat Choi

Last Sunday marked the end of Chinese New Year celebrations in London for the year of the dragon. Tens of thousands of people descended on London (well, those that didn't already live there) to see the festivities around Chinatown, Shaftesbury Avenue and Trafalgar Square.

The procession went around Chinatown, with the streets packed with crowds vying for a spot to see the dancers and musicians go by. Once they finished the route, people headed off towards Trafalgar Square to see the main stage for the firecrackers, dragon dances and other shows.

The main event was scheduled to start at 12 o'clock (midday), but as people started arriving from Chinatown, it was obvious that if you hadn't got there by 11.40, you weren't going to get a spot where you could see anything.

Luckily we managed to get spots on the stairs, which were elevated from the main floor and the many heads. It must be said that the weather was freezing, definitely below zero, and felt like about -5. Everyone tried to keep themselves warm and busy whilst waiting for the clock to strike 12, and on the dot the presenters came onto the stage.

They then started to introduce the festival committee, which consisted of about 15 people from the UK and China, each with relatively long titles. As each one was introduced, they came to the front of the stage and started to thank every one of the others standing up there with them ,never missing their titles as well.

Once everyone realised that we were in for a long wait before we would actually see anything, people started to leave the area. Not only had they introduced themselves, but then they had to do the painting of the dragon eyes, each minister at a time...

By the time the dragon dances started ,people had been waiting in the freezing cold for over an hour. As you can imagine, they weren't too pleased (those that had stayed - many had already left by now).

The dragon dances were very colourful and skilled, and were great to watch, it was just a pity that the day was let down by the amount of waiting before seeing anything. Next time maybe they will do an introduction between each show, so that at least people can see something before they got frozen and had to leave for home.

Spam, Burns and Retirement

We all hate those emails that arrive in our inboxes selling various pills and financial services. The fact that around 90% of all email is now spam, doesn't help matters.

However, this is not what I am wanting to talk about today. No, this is a much more favourable topic, namely SPAMALOT. Yes, we went and saw this theatre production last week (specially discounted tickets made it well worth it).
Based on Monty Python sketches, this production had us in fits of laughter many a time. A musical production, it still managed to keep non-musical lovers content by the sense of humour that MP brought to the world. As such, young children, OAPs, and everyone in between were in the audience enjoying this show.
Heartily recommended!

The 25th of January is celebrated throughout Scotland, but not many people outside of this area actually know the history of Burn's Night, so click on that link to find out more. South of Hadrian's Wall we don't normally celebrate this day, but you do see some related changes around you. For instance, at the local Cornish Pasty shop, they were offering Pasties with Haggis in them. Now this is a weird combination, being a mix of the far north and far south, but it worked surprisingly well.

Also a local pub was offering the traditional Haggis with neeps and tatties, which we just had to try yesterday (didn't we Diego?).
We didn't go the whole hog, however, and left the whisky on the side and opted for a more refreshing pint of Scottish ale. After eating we were accompanied by Eva, Kyle, Elena, Clea (+1), Gaia, Simon, and Irina, filling up the Swan and Castle (ok, just one area of it) and being able to say goodbye to Diego in style before he leaves these shores for those of a French nature.
See you soon !

For those of you who read my last post, went and watched The Artist, and loved it, you will be sad to hear that the dog (Uggie) is set to retire. Yes, after the tiring life of a movie star, he has decided to go off to Florida and spend his days relaxing on the beach, apparently :)
Rumours that he might come out of retirement for a sequel are unfounded, as he has not been offered the amount of dog food that he is demanding.

Bogota reached the news spectacularly the other day, as it was amongst the top 15 cities for business according to Fortune Magazine. Some positive publicity like this definitely does wonders for th country's image, so lets hope things keep on going this way. Well, celebrations tomorrow in London for the Chinese New Year, so hopefully have some great photos to put up soon.

Always look on the bright side of life !

Now for something different

Sometimes it's difficult to find the time and possibility to get out of the run-of-the-mill day. Over the past week we made the effort, and had the luck of having interesting opportunities turn up on our door.

We saw The Artist the other day, which although I believe it's a great film, well thought through, and interesting throughout, I don't think we're going to see an emergence of lots more silent black and white films in the future, there's too many people brought up on just computer generated films that they won't be seeing this film, unless it's shown at school. But for the rest of you - go and see it, well worth the visit, even if you haven't liked silent or black and white films in the past.

 

Last Sunday we headed off to London with a short list of things we would try to do. We wanted to see if we could get in to see the Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery, get discounted tickets for an afternoon performance of Cirque du Soleil's Totem, and depending on the weather, go around some of the famous sights taking pictures with my new camera (see previous post "Oxford Shooting").

 

The weather couldn't have been any better. Slightly fresh, but very sunny and not a cloud in the sky. We got on our early train to find that it's heating system wasn't working, so spent the whole journey (luckily only an hour) with hat, coat and gloves on. Arriving at the National Gallery at 10.30am we went to the ticket desk to ask about tickets to the Leonardo exhibition. The lady was a bit surprised that we would ask such a question at this time of the day (the box office had only been open 30 mins). Apparently people had been queuing since 5.30am to get a ticket for later in the same day. Pleased that we didn't freeze for four and a half hours outside to see pictures on tiptoes in a huge crowd of people, we set off to some of the other works in the gallery, which were also quite nice.

 

Exiting the building onto Trafalgar Square, it was the perfect moment to start taking some photos of such landmarks as Nelson's Column, Westminster, and the fountains around the square. We also happened across a gentleman that had a bird of prey he was showing off flying above us, hopefully scaring some of those pigeons away.

 

Working our way down towards Westminster, crossing the river and then taking a bus from the South Bank also gave some picturesque opportunities to try to capture. Arriving at Covent Garden we had a warming snack of a Ben's Cookie and Hot Chocolate drink whilst walking around the market stalls and shops.

 

We then set off to Leicester Square and after not finding any tickets for Cirque below 70 pounds per person, decided to pop into the Prince Charles Cinema where they were just about to show Melonchia. This is not a Hollywood film, so can be considered a bit weird, but sitting back in those leather chairs, we enjoyed it all the same.

 

With hunger starting to set in we headed off to Chinatown where we sat down and had dumplings, duck with pancakes and lemon and chili chicken. A quick walk to help digest, and then we caught the train (this time with the heating working) back to Oxford.

Later in the week we went to the Oxford Playhouse to see "Flamenco - Rafael and Friends". This was a great mix of Rafael on the guitar, with different types of drums / bongos, and lots of tap dancing (sitting down as well as standing up). The speed of those feet, and the mixes of voice, music and tapping really made for a great night.


What a great set of experiences to have enjoyed...

(more photos can be found here)

Oxford Shooting

Don't worry, it hasn't suddenly become some violent crime hotspot (well, not to my knowledge anyway). Last Saturday, after finally receiving the last part of my self-given Christmas present, and with lovely sunny weather, I went into town in order to test shoot some photos.

So, walking around the grounds of Christchurch, along the high street, and around the Radcliffe Camera, we had a few opportunities to frame some of the typical architecture and tourist sights of Oxford.

Christchurch of course being famous for being used in the Harry Potter films most recently. Unfortunately nobody from the films was here to pose for the shot, so I got a local to pose instead (see photo above).

Not all of Oxford is old stone-coloured buildings, as you can see below, there are also nice examples of pastel colours being used for external walls in amongst the other church-like structures:

 

And just to stop you thinking everything is square here, we also have fine example of cylindrical buildings, which are the perfect shape for storing all the books that are published in the UK (admittedly, most of them are in the underground cellars...):

There are also some unsavoury sights and stories around town. To find out all the details you will have to come visit, but I leave you with one example of what you can expect to find:

So what are you waiting for? Come and book your place to visit now :)

If you are still undecided, take a look at the rest of the photos here, and see if they can persuade you...

Revisiting 2011 Goals

As mentioned in my previous post, there was a bit of a goal to achieve by the end of the year. The Oxford Ale Trail from Brakspear involved 19 pubs dotted around Oxford, whereby one had to drink a pint in each one to receive a stamp in the booklet. Once 10 stamps were collected you are given a t-shirt, and once all have been visited you get a tour around the brewery in Witney.

When you start on this quest (booklets are given out in October) you have all the time in the world. Three months to get 19 pubs done, easy !
Of course, as you get further on in time, you realise you don't actually have many free nights when you can go to some of the out-of-the-way pubs.

As December looms, you start to panic, with still 10 pubs left and needing to do your Christmas shopping, you can't seem to find the time to collect any more stamps. This is when the logic thinking comes into play, and you ascertain that you will have to do a good few pubs in one night.

So on December 30th we set off to visit the Cape of Good Hope, Hobgoblin, Chester Arms and finished at the Royal Oak. Despite the weather trying to put us off, the fact that the Chester Arms was well hidden, and that we'd heard many a story about the Hobgoblin, we actually made it to all of them, having the last pint at the Royal Oak just before closing time.

What a great end to the year, and I'm sure we'll revisit many of these pubs again as we did not have chance to taste all the different ales, nor the food that we often saw being served whilst drinking our pints.

So 2012 allows us to prepare ourselves for completing this trail with more time to spare hopefully.


Cheers !

Old Year's Goals and New Year's Party

The last three months has seen some very dedicated concentration in order to achieve a certain goal before the end of 2011. Finally on Dec 30th we succeeded. Yes, 19 pubs later, The Oxford Ale Trail was completed, and with one day to spare, no less.

The work towards this goal saw us visiting many a drinking house within the confines of the city which we would not normally have seen, let alone entered. With the t-shirt collected, just have to organise the tour of the brewery in Witney some time soon. What a good feeling having achieved that goal of goals in time for the new year to start with new ones.

Following on from the party we had in Oxford last year with Ali, Luigi and Roberto, New Year 2012 was seen in with Doug and Gem. A 20s theme was on the cards (although we didn't know about this beforehand) which meant the bar staff were dressed very fancy. Great food was consumed (the 9oz steaks and Bailey's Creme Brulee were of note) and afterwards the disco in the marquee picked up the spirits too. A very good time had by all, and a great reunion.

So now it's 2012. A new year with new resolutions. I wonder what yours are? In any case, here's wishing you all the fun, enjoyment and success for the coming twelve months, and hoping all your dreams come true.

More pictures can be found here.

To a healthy and prosperous year !

German Christmas Market Meetup

The Christmas days were spent this year as well celebrating in the surrounds of Wiesbaden in Germany. Unlike previous years, there was no snow on the ground, no freezing temperatures and no chaos at the airports. However, Lufthansa still managed to make us wait an extra hour in the plane before take off because "...there are a lot of people on board". Yes, without the annual excuse of poor weather conditions to blame, they resorted to telling us that they were not prepared for a plane to be nearly full during the festive season.

In Mainz we were able to meet up with Mar, Ali, Roberto and Mamen. A visit to the Christmas market also was not forgotten, but the poorly laid out stalls (like every year) meant that one was forced to squeeze between people to get to where the drinks were being served, and then try and squeeze out again without spilling your drink over anyone nearby. This is where the Hyde Park and Oxford xmas markets do have their advantages.

It was then off to the villages of Wiesbaden to see Friedi, Marc, Julianne, Christiane and the rest of the family. Much was eaten, drunk, and many a sudoku filled in during this time. The usual walk in the snow was of course slightly altered to being a quick walk in the surrounds of the house, as it's not as much fun without the crisp crunchy stuff to tread on.

Back to Mainz to see Vera and Kiani (what a lovely drawing I was given) and then afterwards we met up with Britta, Johannes and Maya. Great to catch up with all the news since we last saw them, and to see that they are still doing well.

Finally time to fly back, and this time the flight actually left on time (although did arrive 20 mins late).

Since then, have met up with the parental people for a late xmas meal (next time we'll reduce the number of carafes of wine I think...) and hopefully get to meet up with more come New Years Eve.

Good luck in the sales !!

Winter Wonderland @ Hyde Park

What with Oxford's Christmas Market not quite standing up against the ones of Germany, the week afterwards we decided to go and have a visit to what London has to offer.

The plan was to take a leisurely stroll through the markets of Hyde Park, South Bank and opposite the Tower of London. A visit to Oxford Street to see the lights was also on the todo list, as was a possible visit to some of the big department stores.

Arriving at Hyde Park Corner, we noticed straight away that something was happening. The tube was a lot more full than usual, and as we came out to ground level, we saw the mass of people before us. However, looks could be deceiving, as at a slightly slower walking pace you could actually get to where you wanted without having to push past many people (a far cry from the (Mainz Christmas Market).

In Hyde Park, they have erected many stalls selling Christmas gifts, handicrafts, food and drink. There was a German village area with German beer, sausages, music and Gluehwein; there was a helter-skelter, lots of other amusements, as well as an ice rink.

Walking around this wonderland really did impress us. Not only did it take two and a half hours to return to the beginning again (this place is huge!), but the selection of food was great (Christmas Dinner in a bap anyone?), the glow juice was also very tasty, and you didn't feel cramped, sticky or dirty (adjectives that I would often use when in the Mainz Christmas Market).

After enjoying all Hyde Park had to offer (ok, we didn't try something from every stall...) and looking at what time it was, we decided to give the other markets a miss, and instead head off to Harrods.

Looking around this huge store, with all the festive lighting and decorations was definitely a good choice. Amongst the noteworthy things seen was a throne for a dog, a Christmas pudding cat bag, and a leg of ham costing 1500 pounds (they didn't give us a tester of this though)...

Next up was Oxford Street, where, to our surprise, all traffic was blocked, and the streets were taken over by pedestrians. This really made a difference to getting down this road that would normally be packed and difficult to maneuver. Whilst consuming a belgian waffle, we were delighted to see that a firework was just beginning, which we watched from the middle of the road.

Once the light display was over, we moved down to the Liberty store, which was also nicely done up for the Christmas period. From here it was time to head back to Paddington to get the train back to Oxford.

A very nice Christmas trip to London to finish off 2011.

More pictures can be seen here.

Oxford Festive Market

Also a bit delayed, but at the Oxford Castle there is currently the Oxford Christmas Market. Not that big, but still has a stand with the German sausages, another with mulled wine, one with Fruit Punch (Feuerzangebowle) and a selection of handicraft stalls.

So, as the first market we had visited this winter, it was pretty good, and gave a god taster for what was to come.

To see more photos, click here.

Mainz Meetup and No Christmas Markets

A couple of weeks ago we were back in Mainz and managed to meet up with many people still there (although just missed Luigi, who arrived a week later). It was much colder than in the UK, which meant I had a whole week to catch a cold as I had forgotten how the weather there can feel a lot worse than the thermometer says.

So Carlitos, Roberto, Ali, Mamen, Patricia and Valentin were there and with Olgui and myself we managed to fill up the long table again. Food was the usual staple of Flammkuchen, Quiches, Salads and a big piece of meat (yes, that was Carlitos).

A good evening was had by all, and it was great to meet up again, despite it being just one meal.

The Sunday was spent at Friedi, Marc and Juliane's place, with Christiane playing the aunty. It was very good to see the whole family again, and see Juliane grow up so quickly (next time she'll be able to clean more than the sofa table).

And as predicted, by the time of the flight home, the cold had fully hit and so I arrived back in the UK with my ears blocked. Not the best way to experience the change in pressure of an aircraft.

Next time will hopefully give the opportunity to see everyone for a bit longer and we'll be better prepared for the cold weather...

(more photos can be found here)