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May 19, 2004
Minglin' in England
I've been in scenic Oxford since Sunday morning...and the comfortable accomodations provided through our program have been a very nice change of pace from the cramped Edinburgh hostel. Oxford is uncharacteristically hot for this time of year, so our room has been a little toasty....but everyone has been really helpful and friendly and the full-on catered meals and many coffee/tea breaks have more than overshadowed any slight discomfort caused by Carolina-style heat. We're staying in a pretty awesome location, right near the Oxford City Centre and within easy walking distance of the downtown shops and pubs and historic colleges. Given that, it almost seems criminal to be spending a significant percentage of the sunny days inside a classroom, taking in Powerpoint presentations from some admittedly very well-credentialed UK librarians. At least on Monday we got to tour the ancient and very impresssive Bodleian Library, one of the world's oldest libraries and the home of the second largest collection in all of Britain. We even got library cards, though I've yet to get a chance to use mine.
Yesterday I really started feeling the need for some lethargy-reducing exercise, so I checked my map and managed to locate the Iffley Road track where Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile almost exactly 50 years ago. Just for fun, I went down there and attempted to retrace Bannister's steps....my unofficial time: 6 minutes, 55 seconds. Not that impressive (much less record-breaking), but maybe not all that bad considering how out of shape I've been getting from the tea biscuits and English ales. By the end of the trip I'm hoping to have my mile down to 6 minutes - my own personal barrier to break.
Perhaps I'm on some strange 'famous footsteps' kick...last Saturday night, we stayed in London with the very generous father of our good friend KP. The flat was in the posh St. John's Wood neighbourhood and just a couple of blocks away from none other than Abbey Road. I doubt I would've sought this intersection out under other London circumstances, but given our proximity to rock & roll history, we eagerly walked down the road and crossed the street for a photo-op. There were only three of us and no one was barefoot....which is probably good since I almost walked in front of a double-decker bus later in the evening!
Anyway, back to Oxford....last night I went to my favourite Oxford pub for the third night in a row. The Turf Tavern is a pleasant and popular bar tucked away from the main street and hidden down a winding alley. It's got plenty of outdoor picnic-table seating and plenty of relatively cheap beers. Yes, it's almost the He's Not Here of Oxford, but cooler and more, uh, erudite than that sounds. Tuesday nights are pub trivia nights at the Turf, so of course I had to assemble a team of Americans and give the competition a shot. We flubbed some of the more British-centric questions, but the Vino Love Ballers (sic...Brits don't understand the word 'bueno'!!) scored big time on anatomy, music lyrics, and movie actors and somehow managed to win 3rd place out of 15 or 16 teams. Our prize? 10 pounds! Hmm, maybe this entrance-fee-plus-cash-prize idea will eventually catch on in the States...
Posted by Tim at May 19, 2004 10:22 AM
Comments
I can run a mile in maybe slightly under 8 minutes if I tried really hard...otherwise, it'll take me 9 minutes or maybe even 10 if I'm lazy.
When you get back, I better not catch you speaking with a British accent or anything like that. Or I'll make you watch Nascar and drink Miller Genuine Draft. Jihad!
Posted by: J. Lo at May 21, 2004 03:29 PM
Forget getting in shape- you should drink more. When I was in the UK the best way to get hammered was to order a few Snakebite & Blacks. My fellow students would get so drunk on this concotion that it was banned from many university bars in the Bristol area. Here's what it is: http://www.webtender.com/db/drink/2617
See if they'll serve you one....
Posted by: Stuart at May 21, 2004 05:29 PM
damn, you left some of that carolina-style heat behind. it's been roasty out here. i'm not sure about running miles, but we'll have to hit umstead state park on foot or bike or hoof when you get back.
oh yeah, and then there's my desire to climb a mountain. http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/pimo/home.html
Posted by: justin at May 23, 2004 07:19 PM