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Old Aug 20th, 2016, 09:02 AM
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all this and a crab salad too? sounds great.

Traffic-wise, Fridays are the new Saturdays but they are bad too - the A30 in Cornwall going north was chocka today at lunchtime so we had to take a big detour to get to our destination which was only 5 miles or so up the road but we did 15 to get there! Last Sunday was bad too, said someone that we were talking to at the pub to which we were heading.
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Old Aug 20th, 2016, 09:27 AM
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@ann - the trains seemed much more crowded yesterday (Friday) than today. My Worcester to Birmingham train was standing room only. Of course that might be the result of having only two carriages! Today's Birmingham to Holyhead train filled up at Chester, but there were still seats, and it was four coaches, yesterday it dropped two coaches at Shrewsbury.
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Old Aug 20th, 2016, 10:09 AM
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Hi Thursdays, I've been reading bits and pieces of your report, now catching up with the whole thing. Many interesting places for us to take not of.
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Old Aug 20th, 2016, 10:40 AM
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Hi Kathie, nice to see you. Can recommend Lyme Regis and Worcester. Avoid Oxford in August!
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Old Aug 21st, 2016, 05:33 PM
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Enjoying your report!
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 12:19 PM
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Sorry for the hiatus, have been busy traveling.... Welcome, lovs2travel.

<b>August 11-15, 2016: Overcrowded Oxford</b>

The last time I stayed in Oxford, I slept in Keble college, booked through universityrooms.com. Keble is a relatively new college, founded only in 1870, but I got a good-sized room with a big attached bathroom looking over Liddon Quad, and I ate breakfast in the impressive great hall, the longest, although not the highest, in Oxford. The college was just out of the center, but there was a bus stop nearby if I didn't feel like walking. It was April, and the town seemed fairly quiet.

This time, Keble was booked, and with a choice of Magdalen or Christ Church I chose Christ Church, although with some concerns about tourists traipsing through. While I would return to Keble, I will not return to Christ Church. True, their great hall is stunning (just look at the Harry Potter pictures), and I got to eat my breakfast sitting at the high table (I assume that the dons, if any still live in college, ate in the Senior Common Room). I had also bought dinner there the one night it was available (the food did not live up to the surroundings at dinner or breakfast). I also had the beautiful and historic cathedral all to myself for half an hour one morning. But that was the extent of the good news.

Christ Church admits visitors from 10:00 until 17:00 (14:00 to 17:00 on Sundays) and there were camera-happy tourists around every time I left the private Blue Boar Quad during those hours. Apparently the same hours are in effect during term time: it would drive me nuts if I were an undergraduate. The Blue Boar buildings were built in the 1960s, and had no view, but I'm afraid I didn't care too much for the historic Tom Quad either, huge, and all too obviously unfinished. My bedroom was a reasonable size, but furnished with a cot instead of a bed, and I had issues with the windows it took two days to fix.

But my real problem with Oxford had nothing to do with my stay at Christ Church. The place was just too popular. I suppose it has been quite some time since I visited in the summer, and now it seems to be on everyone's itinerary. Certainly the crowds on the High Street and St. Aldates were overwhelming, and the river was crowded with people who didn't know how to punt. Happily, some escape was possible, especially if you spent a little money.

Take the Bodleian. The courtyard was jam-packed. But the tour I took had a maximum of fourteen people. Or the Botanical Gardens, where only a handful of people shared the trees and flowers with me. And I had Magdalen College, with its beautiful and historic quadrangle, and it's extensive grounds, almost to myself. I also noticed that the town seemed a good bit emptier in the evening - I was able to get a table at Nandos on the Saturday night with barely a wait. Given the number of coaches I saw lined up along St. Giles, it appears that many of the visitors are on day trips.

I had four nights in Oxford, but I spent one day visiting family, so only two full days for sightseeing. I started at the Botanical Gardens, which I had missed on earlier visits, and which are mentioned in Dorothy Sayers' "Gaudy Night". I always enjoy gardens, but I felt that these had changed a good deal since Sayers' time, as some sections looked almost wild, and there were several beds of medicinal plants. I spent that afternoon at Magdalen, where I even got a look at the deer in the water meadows. The next day I visited the Bodleian in the morning, where I was pleased to get at least a glimpse of the Duke Humphrey Library, which also features in "Gaudy Night". In the afternoon I took a look at the exhibitions in the new Weston Library, which included a First Folio Shakespeare. I finished up at the very busy Ashmolean Museum, where I avoided the crowds by paying for an exhibition on underwater archaeology around Sicily. I very much want to return to Sicily, so I was glad to see the exhibition, and was also interested to learn that a pioneer in underwater archaeology had been a British woman, Honor Frost.

I had bought a copy of the Good Food Guide 2016 over the internet before I left home, marveling at how much bigger it had grown since the early editions, and as a result my splurge meal for Oxford (not counting dinner at Christ Church) was at Branca. I needed a local bus to get there, but it was worth the trek. My first course was a very good pate with ham and saucisson, and the second a correctly cooked risotto with smoked salmon.

When I had arranged my itinerary, getting from Weymouth to Oxford by train had required just one change, at Southampton. But when I checked the routing nearer my departure, I saw that the line was out between Didcot Parkway and Oxford, and I would have to do the last stretch on a bus. This was less of a problem than I expected, as Didcot Parkway had an elevator, and the "rail replacement bus" was a large and comfortable coach. I did find it a bit annoying to have to do the transfer twice more on Sunday when I visited my family. However, a notice at Oxford station informed me that the outage was to allow work on flood protection, which has to be a good thing.
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 08:35 PM
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I had the good fortune to partake of a banquet at Keble, but didn’t stay there. Wonderful setting, isn’t it?

I’m sorry your experience of Christ Church College was so off-putting: It was a highlight of my visit to Oxford many years ago.

A bit of trivia: I remember talking, many years ago, to some Magdalen College dons as they contemplated making a woman the college’s Master for the first time and, should they do so, how they would address her. I’m glad to say that they were unanimous in their belief that she should not be called the Mistress of Magdalen. ;-)

You are bringing back wonderful memories of Magdalen’s herd of deer and the Bodeleian’s gorgeous halls and the Oxford Botanical Garden’s wonderful and peaceful corners.

Thanks for keeping us posted!
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 10:38 PM
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Ah, you remind me that I should have mentioned that the Bodleian guide told us that the new Vice Chancellor of the university is a woman. And not an Oxford academic, at that.

What did the dons of Magdalen decide?
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 11:00 PM
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Still no woman has managed to become "President" of Magdalen (which of course is gender neutral, so your guide was pulling your leg)

You are probably thinking about a similarly named college in a little known town in the fens.
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 11:15 PM
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>>You are probably thinking about a similarly named college in a little known town in the fens.<<

I think not. The Master there is a certain former Archbishop whose beard is impressive enough to be on a Russian Orthodox patriarch, and he has no female predecessors. There are a fair few female Masters at the other Cambridge colleges, but Oxford seems to prefer other titles anyway. It does have one female Master.
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 11:18 PM
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Hmm, I will be staying in that "little known town" next week... I used to visit occasionally when I was growing up. I opted to stay at a "little known" - or at least lesser known - college there.
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 11:20 PM
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I don't know what the decision was, but the people with whom I spoke were not guides -- they were senior faculty with whom I had, at the time, a professional relationship. And while we spoke of the matter with humor, we were all well aware that the matter was not frivolous. Quite in contrast, it was a serious set of considerations about how to ensure that women would be taken seriously in roles that they had not, at that time, been allowed to assume (anywhere) with any frequency, and how to ensure that they would be allowed to do so without forcing them into a masculine role.
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Old Aug 24th, 2016, 11:31 PM
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Yep, 42 Presidents, no women.

[Site will not let me post the link - it's the main Magdalen site - history - Presidents]

Couple of interesting names on the list. Accepted Frewen and Bonaventure Giffard, although he only lasted a year, so not such a good adventure.
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 09:42 AM
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<b>August 15-19, 2016: Wowed by Worcester</b>

When I decided to head north from Oxford through the Welsh Marches, visiting the three cathedrals of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, my first thought was to stay in Gloucester, which was also the home of Beatrix Potter's "Tailor of Gloucester". (BTW, that is "Marches" as in borderlands, not a misspelling of marshes.) But Lonely Planet was really quite firm in suggesting that Gloucester was not a good place to stay, although fine for a day trip, and my second idea was Cheltenham, which Lonely Planet described as "the most complete Regency town in England". Then I was talked out of Cheltenham by posters here. Instead I based for four nights in Worcester, and was really pleased with the decision.

Although the docents in the two house museums I visited were loud in their condemnation of 1960s town planning, which had meant the loss of some of the historic buildings, and the erection of some monstrosities, I found the town to be a pleasant place, with a lively center, a nice collection of old buildings, and several worthwhile sights. Unlike Oxford, it was not overrun with day trippers, or, indeed, with tourists in general. I also appreciated that the station was quite central, thanks, no doubt, to the fact that the platforms were built at the same height as the bridge that spanned the main street. Fortunately, the forty plus steps needed to reach the trains were supplemented by elevators.

I started my sightseeing at the cathedral, reaching it by a walkway along the River Severn. Unfortunately, there was no shade, and I didn't fully appreciate the walk until I did it one evening, taking time to enjoy the ducks and swans. Not being a fan of King John, I was less interested in the fact that the cathedral held his tomb, than in the building itself, its architectural styles ranging from Norman through to Perpendicular Gothic, and especially the choir, with its interesting painted ceiling and nice misericords. I went back later for the lunchtime library tour. The medieval library, first organized in the eleventh century but containing older documents, held so many treasures the tour took a full hour, and I was stunned to be allowed to hold some of the early manuscripts - not full books, but sheets.

Since I am always interested in house museums I made sure to visit the two nearly opposite each other on Friar Street. The Tudor House Museum was run by a group of enthusiasts, and included information on Worcester during WWII, when the building was an Air Raid Warden's Post. Originally three separate houses dating from the 1500s, they were combined in the early 1900s by a grandson of the founder of the Cadbury chocolate firm.

Greyfriars, run by the National Trust, was much bigger, although slightly older it was also built in the characteristic black and white style associated with the Tudors. Different rooms had been furnished to represent different periods in its history, and I especially enjoyed the sitting room of the last owner, which retained his library. I had a nice chat about the books with the docent (room steward) on duty.

I then had time for only one more sight, meaning I had to choose between the Royal Worcester Porcelain works, and the historic Commandery. Considering the fact that I am not particularly a fan of Royal Worcester, I opted for the Commandery and found it an excellent decision. The Commandery started life as a monastic hospital in the eleventh century, on a site that had held a Saxon chapel. Much extended in the fifteenth century, it became the home of a wealthy merchant family, before being commandeered by Royalist forces as their headquarters in August 1651, prior to the last battle of the Civil War. It went through a number of changes of fortune, finishing up as a printing works before becoming a museum. While the building was interesting as a building, what made it a must-see destination was the audio guide, which offered six different "tracks" through the house, for six different periods. With insufficient time for all six, I mostly followed the Tudor track, with some pieces on the medieval hospital and the Civil War, and a quick bit on the printing works. I could definitely have used more time, and did not regret the porcelain.

In addition to interesting sights, I enjoyed a very good hotel in Worcester and some reasonable food. I had been a little dubious about the Crown, run by the JD Weatherspoon pub group and occupying what remained of a seventeenth century coaching inn. No need, the rooms had been beautifully redone, with an elevator, AC, walk-in showers and good beds, bedding and towels. Breakfast wasn't included in my rate, but breakfast in the pub was good and cheap. Dinner there was not such a good idea, but I ate somewhat better if not entirely memorable food at Bill's Restaurant, the Cafe Rouge and the Slug and Lettuce (half price on Mondays). Caffe Nero, just across the street, provided good macchiato and good wifi.
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 11:41 AM
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KW..you've lured me to your TR's again. Count me in...your covering some of my favorite places. Not many Fodorites have been to UZBEK SSR now Uzbekistan....Tashk(y)ent, Bukhara and Samarkand. Fascinating places to visit...probably quite more 2nd world now than the 3rd world e experienced in the early 80's.

I had to chuckle while reading your account of AA's ancient aircraft. In China during the early days when it opened up, we flew several DC-3's (now that's OLD) where more seats were lacking seat belts than those lucky flyers who had them. Flying around UZBEK SSR, the Russian "flying coffins" were no better. Sudden whiplash resulted while landings were made in sort of a nosedive pattern! The pilots were no doubt terminal sadists. Happy landings KW

If you haven't been on the Wales portion, I can recommend a handsome guest inn near the village of Criccieth and a slightly more pricey lodgings in Port Meirion. (see pix and scroll down to Port Meirion and Criccieth. The guest home in Criccieth was named "Mynydd Ednyfydd" (sp.)

Will try to share some pics with you, though I have had a barrel of trouble making the transition from Picasa to Google. (see below)
stu
Enjoy the exciting time ahead !!
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 12:11 PM
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Hi stu, nice to see you here. I'll be flying Uzbekistan Airlines from Istanbul to Tashkent, will let you know how it goes! Unfortunately I'm well behind in posting and have already done the Welsh bit. Head to Cambridge tomorrow.
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 12:38 PM
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KW:
Sorry to have fallen behind, but here is Wales (where you have already been) and Uzbekistan where you're heading
https://goo.gl/photos/Yh1Fdt6ozHwJ (Uzbekistan)
https://goo.gl/photos/XvpUgKHBcRK4 (Wales)
Look forward to your report on Uzbekistan..been about 30 years back. Takes in a good part of the refugee Jewish population all descendants of the 1000's of factory workers who were transported to UZBEK in the wake of the Nazi invasion of USSR in 1941. Heady days back then.

Let me know if you can get to these links..damn Google shenanigans. STU (my overseas traveling days which took me to 85 countries and great traveling is about over. Having lost both of my great travel partners and wives...just don't have the initiative I used to. So it's vicarious Fodors for me where I can continue to make contributions.
stu
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 12:54 PM
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Stu - sadly the links don't work... Sorry about your lossess. I travel solo, as you know, and highly recommend it.
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 02:06 PM
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KW
Took a solo trip a few weeks after my oldest daughter died of breast cancer, fighting it for 23 years. I just needed to get away, as my second wife had Alzheimers and couldn't come with me. I took a pleasant little cruise from Quebec to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor and Boston. Very therapeutic for me at the time. But now, closing in on 88, I'm ready to hang up the travel shoes.

I'll try for another Uzbekistan link.



stu
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Old Aug 29th, 2016, 02:24 PM
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KW..last shot to see exotic, intriguing Uzbekistan...until you soon see it for yourself. I wish u clean bathrooms.
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1Q...CKqJy8fh5L6QDw
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