Fear and loathing in suburban Auckland
So... I’m in Auckland. Yep, Auckland. Aaand that’s about all there is to say about it. I was doing something today and was suddenly lost in a piercing memory of Oxford - the night that we went to the Christmas concert at the Sheldonian. It was utterly freezing, and I remember how painful it was because I couldn’t feel my toes. A crystal-clear night, the Broad with pools of streetlight, ancient stone walls rearing up out of the darkness, the air like ice-water. In the warmth of the glittering Sheldonian, the composer announced that they’d play something he’d just written, called “Silver Bells”. I don’t know how it’s possible for music to evoke a clear picture, but the moment they started playing, there it was - a horse-drawn sleigh cutting through deep snow in dark woods, snowflakes fluttering down. That was the picture that assailed me as I stepped out onto Great South Rd to do the shopping. Yes. Talk about opposites.
I woke up the other morning from a dream of Port Meadow with its scampering bunnies and vast spaces and thought vaguely, “I’ll ride out there today.” Then I remembered it was on the other side of the world. Which is CRAZY. It’s home. How can it be there and I be here?
It has been lovely seeing friends and family again though, and last night was particularly fun. I went out with Nikki and Sam, both of whom visited me in Oxford and could therefore comprehand the depths of my misery. What was NOT fun was spending a solid hour in traffic to go about 8km. In fact, I calculated today that in the last two weeks I have spent as much time driving as I would in about four normal Oxford months - simply to do usual day-to-day tasks. I do hate it after the freedom of my bike and walking everywhere. I also miss Oxford friends hugely (special helloes to Laura, Jess, Mary, Karina and Zoe, if you’re reading!) and lovely St Ebbes. Thank goodness for their online sermons - I try to save them up and listen on Sundays!
But all that aside, this is home. We’re back in our house, and books are on shelves, and Steve goes very happily off to work every day. (Looking rather gorgeous in his Oxford coat - although some loser loudly suggested from a car the other day that being so pulchritudinous, he must prefer the company of gentlemen. Putting Kiwi sentiment in Oxonian language does make it so much more palatable.) I am in turn employed in stripping wallpaper and trying to decide how to spend my life. (The wallpaper is pretty recalcitrant, so perhaps I have found my life’s work.) Anyhow, that’s it for now. Hold onto your seats, dear readers, it’s clearly going to be a wild ride. What with all the wallpaper stripping... and things...
I woke up the other morning from a dream of Port Meadow with its scampering bunnies and vast spaces and thought vaguely, “I’ll ride out there today.” Then I remembered it was on the other side of the world. Which is CRAZY. It’s home. How can it be there and I be here?
It has been lovely seeing friends and family again though, and last night was particularly fun. I went out with Nikki and Sam, both of whom visited me in Oxford and could therefore comprehand the depths of my misery. What was NOT fun was spending a solid hour in traffic to go about 8km. In fact, I calculated today that in the last two weeks I have spent as much time driving as I would in about four normal Oxford months - simply to do usual day-to-day tasks. I do hate it after the freedom of my bike and walking everywhere. I also miss Oxford friends hugely (special helloes to Laura, Jess, Mary, Karina and Zoe, if you’re reading!) and lovely St Ebbes. Thank goodness for their online sermons - I try to save them up and listen on Sundays!
But all that aside, this is home. We’re back in our house, and books are on shelves, and Steve goes very happily off to work every day. (Looking rather gorgeous in his Oxford coat - although some loser loudly suggested from a car the other day that being so pulchritudinous, he must prefer the company of gentlemen. Putting Kiwi sentiment in Oxonian language does make it so much more palatable.) I am in turn employed in stripping wallpaper and trying to decide how to spend my life. (The wallpaper is pretty recalcitrant, so perhaps I have found my life’s work.) Anyhow, that’s it for now. Hold onto your seats, dear readers, it’s clearly going to be a wild ride. What with all the wallpaper stripping... and things...