So, I am completely in love with Oxford.
There. I said it.
It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight, as Doug can attest to, but it’s happened. My eyes were a bit clouded when we moved here by the day-to-day inconveniences, like having to hang everything to dry, walking or cycling everywhere (rain or shine), communal living (which I still hate, for the record), and leaving friends, family, and my beloved Toby behind. Don’t get me wrong, I very much look forward to being back in my Midwestern comfort zone. But ohmygoodess, this place is incredible.
Last weekend, Doug, Kate, and I went on an 8 mile bike ride through Oxford. We grabbed some cash at an ATM across from a building that dates back to the year 1040, stopped for breakfast in Jericho, rode through horses and cows in Port Meadow, stopped for a pint at The Perch in Binsey, continued along the River Thames, then partook another pint at The Trout in Wolvercote before heading home. Kate’s happy as a lark riding on the back of my bike and loves playing in the gardens of the local pubs. Win. Win.
Tonight, Doug jogged while Kate and I followed on the bike. We rode past J.R.R. Tolkein’s house - which is where the masterpieces “The Hobbit” and ‘The Lord of the Rings” were written – then past the former home of Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize Winner), and past several colleges of the University of Oxford. Do I really live here?
I am amazed at the great minds that have walked these streets. As the University of Oxford put it on their website, “Oxford has produced men and women in every sphere of human endeavour who have studied or taught at the University.” These people are called “Oxonians” and they have changed the world we live in. We’re talking 26 British Prime Ministers (including the current David Cameron), at least 30 international leaders, 49 Nobel Peace Prize winners, at least 12 saints, 20 Archbishops of Canterbury, and some 120 Olympic medal winners (not including London 2012!)
Wow.
Here are some of the better known names:
*Tony Blair, Former UK Prime Minister
*Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web (not Al Gore, as you may hav heard!)
*Bill Clinton, President of the United States (side story: supposedly he “didn’t inhale” at the Turf Tavern, our favorite pub here in Oxford)
*TS Eliot, Poet
*Indira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India
*Hugh Grant, Actor
*Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Peace Prize Winning Chemist
*Edwin Hubble, Astronomer
*Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana
*T E Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia
*Nigella Lawson, Chef
*C S Lewis, Author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”, amongst others
*Dudley Moore, Actor
*Rupert Murdoch, Media Mogul and phone hacker
*Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister
Shall I go on?
*J.R.R. Tolkien, Author
*Lewis Carroll, Author of “Alice in Wonderland”
*Oscar Wilde, Playwright
*John Locke, Philosopher
*James Oglethorpe, Founder of Georgia
*William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania
*Sir Walter Raleigh, Explorer
*William Tyndale, Translator of the Bible
I could go on. The list is ridiculous. But I won’t. I think I proved my point.
If the streets of Oxford could talk, they would tell the stories of magnificent men and women that have made incredible contributions to the fabric of our world spanning over 2,000 years of history.
There. I said it.
It wasn’t necessarily love at first sight, as Doug can attest to, but it’s happened. My eyes were a bit clouded when we moved here by the day-to-day inconveniences, like having to hang everything to dry, walking or cycling everywhere (rain or shine), communal living (which I still hate, for the record), and leaving friends, family, and my beloved Toby behind. Don’t get me wrong, I very much look forward to being back in my Midwestern comfort zone. But ohmygoodess, this place is incredible.
Last weekend, Doug, Kate, and I went on an 8 mile bike ride through Oxford. We grabbed some cash at an ATM across from a building that dates back to the year 1040, stopped for breakfast in Jericho, rode through horses and cows in Port Meadow, stopped for a pint at The Perch in Binsey, continued along the River Thames, then partook another pint at The Trout in Wolvercote before heading home. Kate’s happy as a lark riding on the back of my bike and loves playing in the gardens of the local pubs. Win. Win.
Tonight, Doug jogged while Kate and I followed on the bike. We rode past J.R.R. Tolkein’s house - which is where the masterpieces “The Hobbit” and ‘The Lord of the Rings” were written – then past the former home of Aung San Suu Kyi (Nobel Peace Prize Winner), and past several colleges of the University of Oxford. Do I really live here?
I am amazed at the great minds that have walked these streets. As the University of Oxford put it on their website, “Oxford has produced men and women in every sphere of human endeavour who have studied or taught at the University.” These people are called “Oxonians” and they have changed the world we live in. We’re talking 26 British Prime Ministers (including the current David Cameron), at least 30 international leaders, 49 Nobel Peace Prize winners, at least 12 saints, 20 Archbishops of Canterbury, and some 120 Olympic medal winners (not including London 2012!)
Wow.
Here are some of the better known names:
*Tony Blair, Former UK Prime Minister
*Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web (not Al Gore, as you may hav heard!)
*Bill Clinton, President of the United States (side story: supposedly he “didn’t inhale” at the Turf Tavern, our favorite pub here in Oxford)
*TS Eliot, Poet
*Indira Ghandi, Prime Minister of India
*Hugh Grant, Actor
*Dorothy Hodgkin, Nobel Peace Prize Winning Chemist
*Edwin Hubble, Astronomer
*Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana
*T E Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia
*Nigella Lawson, Chef
*C S Lewis, Author of “The Chronicles of Narnia”, amongst others
*Dudley Moore, Actor
*Rupert Murdoch, Media Mogul and phone hacker
*Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister
Shall I go on?
*J.R.R. Tolkien, Author
*Lewis Carroll, Author of “Alice in Wonderland”
*Oscar Wilde, Playwright
*John Locke, Philosopher
*James Oglethorpe, Founder of Georgia
*William Penn, Founder of Pennsylvania
*Sir Walter Raleigh, Explorer
*William Tyndale, Translator of the Bible
I could go on. The list is ridiculous. But I won’t. I think I proved my point.
If the streets of Oxford could talk, they would tell the stories of magnificent men and women that have made incredible contributions to the fabric of our world spanning over 2,000 years of history.
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