The end of all things
I should absolutely be asleep, seeing as I only got to sleep at 1:30 this morning, but here I am in Summertown Brown (our friends’ name for their apartment), overlooking a quiet Oxford street, decorous Victorian houses all around me. We finished the last of the cleaning and moved out of the flat yesterday, jettisoning rubbish every which way (even a sneaky skip-dump in one of the colleges!). It wasn’t remotely sad for me to leave the flat, even though I’ve loved living there. Strangely enough, I think Steve is feeling sadder than I am at all the last things, perhaps because he has more friends and colleagues to leave and hasn’t been able to soak up Oxford as I have.
He had his last day as a registrar on Friday, then we and some friends drove out to Iffley to the Isis pub, walking along the river for a while then back for epic lamb burgers and beer. He’s a bit freaked about becoming a consultant, but is more than ready for it. It’s been amazing to see the respect his colleagues have for him and how highly regarded he is, he’s going to be a great boss and teacher.
Hot-air balloon over Oxford, viewed from the Isis:
On Saturday we jumped in the car and drove for four-ish hours to Cornwall - the last place in England I desperately wanted to see that we hadn’t yet reached. We stayed in a quiet little village called Lostwithiel, making day trips to either side of the Cornish peninsula. Honestly, it was like New Zealand in high summer - blazing sun, no wind, people everywhere eating endless icecreams. Except the water was bone-achingly cold, although that didn’t stop the kiddies.
Dartmoor National Forest - wild ponies having a chat in the road. The fog was insanely thick, and animals kept rearing out of it like smoke then dissolving back into it again:
St Ives:
The Lizard (southernmost point of the UK)
Great excitement - we also went to Port Wenn, home of Doc Martin! It’s actually a tiny fishing port called Port Isaac, and is just as gorgeous and ancient and vertiginous as it looks on TV.
Yesterday we had a bit of a walk around Oxford, where I saw this thing of beauty, fluttering off the basket of a random bike:
Then we had coffee at the Missing Bean and read the papers (one of my absolute favourite things to do, alone or with people)
And last night we went to a ball at Blenheim Palace! Full masks and everything! I wore a Donna Karan dress I got in a charity shop months ago (which I mentioned a while ago) and regretted it shortly after stepping out of the car. It was only because I found an ancient safety pin in the lining of the vintage bag Zoe lent me, and by rigging a halter with my mask elastic an hour into dinner that I actually managed to preserve my modesty. But the dress didn’t fall off (a very real possibility) and I had a great dance with my friends, so all ended well.
And now, in an hour, we have to go to the flat for the final inspection, and then our last responsibility is discharged. (The other one was getting rid of the dryer, but we just put an ad on Gumtree saying it was on the road, first come first served, and it went by the time we got back from the ball!) Tomorrow one of my good friends from NZ is coming here from London for a day, and I can't think of a better way to spend the day - showing a good friend round my city. Then there’s the last dinner at the Magdalen Arms with friends, last visit to the Kilns, last service at St Ebbes on Sunday, our at-home day at the Victoria Arms on Sunday afternoon/evening, a last bike ride/punt on Monday morning and off we go to Heathrow on Monday evening. Can’t believe our Oxford time is coming to an end.
He had his last day as a registrar on Friday, then we and some friends drove out to Iffley to the Isis pub, walking along the river for a while then back for epic lamb burgers and beer. He’s a bit freaked about becoming a consultant, but is more than ready for it. It’s been amazing to see the respect his colleagues have for him and how highly regarded he is, he’s going to be a great boss and teacher.
Hot-air balloon over Oxford, viewed from the Isis:
On Saturday we jumped in the car and drove for four-ish hours to Cornwall - the last place in England I desperately wanted to see that we hadn’t yet reached. We stayed in a quiet little village called Lostwithiel, making day trips to either side of the Cornish peninsula. Honestly, it was like New Zealand in high summer - blazing sun, no wind, people everywhere eating endless icecreams. Except the water was bone-achingly cold, although that didn’t stop the kiddies.
Dartmoor National Forest - wild ponies having a chat in the road. The fog was insanely thick, and animals kept rearing out of it like smoke then dissolving back into it again:
St Ives:
The Lizard (southernmost point of the UK)
Great excitement - we also went to Port Wenn, home of Doc Martin! It’s actually a tiny fishing port called Port Isaac, and is just as gorgeous and ancient and vertiginous as it looks on TV.
Yesterday we had a bit of a walk around Oxford, where I saw this thing of beauty, fluttering off the basket of a random bike:
Then we had coffee at the Missing Bean and read the papers (one of my absolute favourite things to do, alone or with people)
And last night we went to a ball at Blenheim Palace! Full masks and everything! I wore a Donna Karan dress I got in a charity shop months ago (which I mentioned a while ago) and regretted it shortly after stepping out of the car. It was only because I found an ancient safety pin in the lining of the vintage bag Zoe lent me, and by rigging a halter with my mask elastic an hour into dinner that I actually managed to preserve my modesty. But the dress didn’t fall off (a very real possibility) and I had a great dance with my friends, so all ended well.
And now, in an hour, we have to go to the flat for the final inspection, and then our last responsibility is discharged. (The other one was getting rid of the dryer, but we just put an ad on Gumtree saying it was on the road, first come first served, and it went by the time we got back from the ball!) Tomorrow one of my good friends from NZ is coming here from London for a day, and I can't think of a better way to spend the day - showing a good friend round my city. Then there’s the last dinner at the Magdalen Arms with friends, last visit to the Kilns, last service at St Ebbes on Sunday, our at-home day at the Victoria Arms on Sunday afternoon/evening, a last bike ride/punt on Monday morning and off we go to Heathrow on Monday evening. Can’t believe our Oxford time is coming to an end.