Tuesdays

Come the weekend, my first thought for the past few months has been what to do with Tuesday. Earlier in the semester, I took Tuesday as an occasion to explore parts of London I hadn't yet seen, like Richmond Park, the East End, the markets, and all that. At the beginning of March, I decided to spend a few Tuesdays getting out of the city and exploring the countryside. Despite this ambition, I ultimately went off to see places I had already been last summer: Stratford-Upon-Avon and Oxford. In my defense, I really wanted to see a show at the Royal Shakespeare Company again this semester and I also didn't get to spend as much time in Oxford as I wanted to last time.

So off I went, first to Stratford. Booking tickets on National Rail is really easy, and I was really excited to see that there was a direct train from Marylebone Station to Stratford. When I got to the station early Tuesday morning, I learned that a landslide had closed off a major part of the rail line I was taking (here's proof: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-31081630). So here's how National Rail resolved the crisis: take the train from London to Banbury (where I stayed last summer for two weeks), then a bus from Banbury to Leamington, then a train from Leamington to Stratford.

That sounds like a lot but it didn't add much time to the journey, I think only a half hour extra. It all went smooth until I arrived in Leamington, where they hadn't figured out the situation yet, so I was redirected to a "minibus." My only trouble was that the minibus driver had no idea what I was talking about when I asked "This is going to Stratford, right?" He leaped from the driver's seat and accosted the National Rail staff who redirected me, shouting "You can't keep doing this to me!" After a station manager got involved, the manic minibus moved along to Stratford. (Yes, I was witness to the entire ordeal, having inadvertently caused it...)

It was a bright day and I had a few hours to explore town. I revisited the site of Shakespeare's grave at the Holy Trinity Church. Last time I was there, the place was packed with tourists all tramping around taking selfies with the tomb; this time, I was the only one in the church. I did not go to the grave itself this time since it cost £2, so I just wandered around instead.

I went from there to walk along the River Avon for a bit; there I remembered that I had walked along a different part of the same river in Bath when I visited Shannon a few weeks earlier. I had a quick lunch at the Dirty Duck, the pub in Stratford where companies go after their shows; it's a great place to have a drink (we went a few times last summer) and it's close to the RSC. So I settled into my seat for the matinee of Much Ado About Nothing. I had studied this play with my class on film adaptations of Shakespeare, so it was weird to be watching the show without taking scrupulous mental notes. It was a terrific production, set in a manor turned convalescent home during wartime England.

You might notice a camera crane in that picture. The BBC was recording the production to broadcast in cinemas around the UK; this was their test-run for the final broadcast they would be making the next day. Without making any alterations to the original folio, the wartime motif was executed quite effectively even in this comedy full of wordplay and slapstick humor.

After the show I had a few hours before my three-leg return to London (thankfully, sans minibus). I wandered around the town and the river some more. I had considered dropping by the Shakespeare Institute to take a look at some academic happenings in town, but decided to stay outside since it was such a nice day. I continued meandering around town and along the river until I had to return to the station.

(I haven't quite worked out how to take good quality photos on the iPhone when it's very sunny out; maybe I'll figure it out before I leave.)

I actually enjoyed the ride back because I was able to watch the sunset behind a reel of fields and farms. I did not take any pictures of those moments--the train was going too fast, and there are times when I think a camera can be a bit intrusive on this kind of pseudo-sublime perceptive experience.

The next Tuesday trip was to Oxford; like my trip to Stratford, I traveled alone, however I was lucky enough to be meeting up with a friend, Marina, in Oxford. This is a very easy trip to make from Paddington Station, only an hour-long direct train. I met Marina, my former English Lit compatriot at Saint Michael's, and her boyfriend Sam at the station. They showed me around Worcester College, where Marina studied last year and Sam is still a student. I had toured St. Edmund's (Teddy) Hall last summer with a bursar and its smallness amazed me; Worcester seemed larger but still - like all the colleges there, I think - very intimate and community-oriented.

At Worcester College, Oxford: the archway through which Lewis Carroll first saw Alice Pleasance Liddell

After the tour, we had coffee near Gloucester Green, then ate makeshift Tesco lunches (always a good idea).

Marina and me on St. Michael's Street!

From there, we wandered around Christ Church College, where we got in for free (the power of connections, my friends).

I appreciate all the green space in Oxford; at many of the colleges walking on the grass is forbidden, so there are many open fields beyond the quadrangles. We walked through Christ Church Meadow along the River Cherwell. Sam studies biology at Oxford so he had some interesting knowledge to share on our walk. For instance, we noticed mistletoe in some distant trees; Sam told us that mistletoe is a parasite that infests the host tree through bird excrement. So much for that romantic signifier...

Punting on the River Cherwell

Marina showed me the Sheldonian Theatre, which is an elaborate and beautiful performance space. At the top of the building we had a fantastic view of the city of spires.

We went to Blackwell's to browse the book selection there; naturally, we two English majors spent a while in there. I bought two Penguin Classics there for 80p each, and a postcard with a great picture of the artists Man Ray, Roland Penrose, and Paul Eluard picnicking with their lovers in France-it's actually a very odd photograph but it fascinated me. We also stopped into the Oxfam Shop on St. Giles, where I had some success last summer finding good secondhand books. This time I found a great used copy of Mrs. Dalloway for a pound; it's my favorite book about London and I've been looking for a good copy to carry around with me while I'm here.

Last summer I did not get to visit the Ashmolean Museum, so Marina and I went inside and it is a really impressive collection; the building is enormous and there are artworks there from almost any age you could imagine. The Natural History Museum was really fun too.

Inside the Natural History Museum; the ceiling vault looks a bit like a ribcage, right?

We sat and chatted in University Park until we met up with Sam for dinner at the Three Goats' Heads. I was really excited to go here because they have a full selection of Samuel Smith Ales. When my Dad was in London in the 80's he drank this beer and has told me to look out for it in the UK. I have found it at a few places in London but it is rare; it's brewed in Yorkshire but seems a bit selective about its distribution. Anyway, it is a GREAT beer. I had a pint with a steak and kidney pie. While we waited for our food we played Scrabble--the board was right there and we couldn't resist. It was a children's board but we still had a good round on it.

Interesting thing about kidney in the UK: during the Second World War, nobody could afford steak so most people ate kidney instead; the result was a generation brought up preferring kidney to steak, so I've heard. It's a great pie, but I would recommend any pie here--every single one I've had has hit the spot.

I am so grateful to Marina and Sam for showing me around. I did enjoy Oxford the first time I visited, but walking around with locals can really make a trip. It was a very fun day out.

With friends and family visiting the next couple of weeks, I then spent some time appreciating the wonders of the city.

Sunset on the Thames