Well, we were fooled again. As in Minnesota, English weather can be mercurial. We had a lovely weekend, but today it's cold and rainy, and the forecast is for more of the same. This is the real England of March.
We have already had multiple lectures from our Oxford professors, long walks all around town, a few pub visits, a bit of British telly and plenty of rest and fresh air. Some have discovered Ben's Cookies at the Covered Market, where Ben creates such amazing delicacies as orange zest chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate and cranberry cookies, and ginger and dark chocolate cookies.
Some have already attended Catholic or Presbyterian church on Sunday. (I received a nice bouquet of daffodils and fresh rosemary from several thoughtful students who were given them in church and told to give them to their mothers, since it was Mother's Day in the UK.) I was then taken out to dinner by my son, who is enrolled in the program. We ate at Loch Fyne, where I had salmon cakes and a bowl of parsnip apple soup. Delicious!
Professor Allan Chapman, our head lecturer here at Wycliffe Hall, is the quintessential Oxford professor. I wrote a lengthy piece about him in last year's Eurospring blog, which can be accessed at www.eurospring08.blogspot.com. The students love him, of course. He's dramatic and fun-loving (just like our coach driver named Allan, come to think of it!) He's also a great person. He eats lunch with us and loves to talk while he gnaws on a chicken leg with a napkin tucked into his waistcoat.
We've visited The Turf, the oldest pub in Oxford (about 1000 years old!) where Bill Clinton used to hang out. It's through a tiny alleyway behind the Bridge of Sighs. It's a higgledy-piggledy mess of indoor and outdoor areas with ceilings so low that anyone over 5'10" has to duck. Some people sit and drink quietly -- some are loud. Some even work on their laptops, although I have no idea how they can concentrate.
We have big plans -- for a London play, Easter break trips to Ireland, London and other points of interest. But for now, we're quite content to explore our immediate surroundings. I see a few movies in my future; the Phoenix Picture House has a fast-changing lineup of foreign and art films that I find intriguing.
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