Return to the dreaming spires

I have made some excellent friends in England. One in particular is Pam, who gave me my first job in London and saved me from a future filled with beans on toast. Pam has an equally lovely partner called Daryl, and Lucy and I love hanging out with them.

Recently, Daryl offered to show us around her 'hood' - Bicester in Oxfordshire. Bicester is a tiny town of 28,000 and most well known for its outlet shopping mall. Fortunately, it has a lot more going for it - such as a bit of decent peace and quiet and a nice selection of pubs. It also has very close proxomity to Oxford, where we headed on a restful Saturday morning.

I'd been lucky enough to visit Oxford last year with my cool Aunt, but Lucy was having her first trip. I'm sure she was stoked that our visit coincided with some sort of Morris dancing festival in the town square. There was quite lot to watch, and I liked the relish with which these old ladies whacked each other with sticks:


This bunch were a bit more traditional, but seemed to enjoy the show as well:


After a few jingle jangles we wandered into the covered market. I had foolishly skipped this on my earlier visit. I particularly loved the deli. Not only was it fabulous in a 'remember when we were in Siciily?' kind of way, but it also had lots of Asian ingredients we just hadn't been able to find anywhere in London. We did a bit of damage there:


My other favourites were the milkshake bar (Snickers and Kahlua shake anyone? How about marshmallow and jam?), the crockery shop and the florist. These dried plants were incredibly colourful:


But, apparently, there's more to Oxford than the market.... so we wandered off to look at old things. Like the Radcliffe Camera - built in 1743 and now an addition to the nearby Bodleian Library:


Four smart women like ourselves weren't going to miss checking out England's second largest library (and the oldest, 1602!). We wandered the courtyard a bit, and Lucy took pictures of old things:


It would have been nice to do a larger tour, but we had things to do (like lunch). So, we wandered into north Oxford to find a sandwich and a grassy spot to sit. We found the sandwich alright (roasted peppers and salad - yum!), but had no luck with a park.

The Oxford planners decree that people must pay £3 to enter the botanical gardens. We didn't feel like shelling out, so sat on a nearby picnic bench. The foolishness of the policy showed in the piles of people we watched stroll up to visit the gardens and then turn right back round again. If even half of them had bought an icecream or cup of tea, the gardens would be raking in the fees.

Hopefully, by the time we visit again the policy will have changed and we can enjoy what seems to be a lovely space. This is a photo I took on jumping tippytoes from behind a perimeter fence:


After a bit more of a stroll and a case of mistaken guidebook reading on my part, we ended up back on the park and ride to Bicester. Saturday drew to a close with homemade curry and champagne. Like the four of us, it's an unexpected but wonderful combination.