Unchained Melody

My original plan was to go punting, but it was a nasty old day so I decided to use the red hop on hop off bus - a great way to get my bearings, travel around the city and to pick up a few stories about the sights. It was a good choice, with the commentary so interesting that I did the full loop without hopping off.

Walking around is surprisingly tricky as the footpaths are narrow and the bicycles are silent and come up from behind very quickly. Parked bikes are absolutely everywhere there is a space to leave them, on top of walls, next to railings, jammed into gaps between buildings. They are mostly old and dodgy bikes, and many have a basket or panniers. Very few are locked up and I’m very curious as to whether there is theft. After doing the bus loop, I hopped off and managed to get entry into both Queens’ and King’s Colleges , photos included of the mathematical bridge at Queens, and the Chapel at Kings. Side note, apostrophe use is completely inconsistent on their websites and social media, so I have run with the option most common on their materials for the first mention above and am ignoring completely after that. 

I spent the afternoon in the hotel bar with a pot of tea (and then a champagne), researching Oxford and Cambridge courses. It’s a gorgeous art deco room full of light from the large windows that overlook the park. I discovered that in the bathrooms they play the audiobook of Wind in the Willows, read by Kenneth Graham. It was lovely, but I did have a giggle about people perhaps staying in there a long time to listen to the story. While I was there, a protest march (for Palestine) went by outside, it was huge and very loud but quite decorous. 

In the evening, I attended Evensong at Kings College. It was glorious. The Kings choir had the most ethereal sound and it was impossible not to be moved by the glory of it. Their first piece was performed at the entry to the church, so you can’t see them, just hear their voices fill the church. I cried. Then they file in behind the priest, all decked out in red and white for the service, which is largely conducted in song. There were about 15 young boys and a similar number of young men. It was a peak experience and I’m dying to go back and hear the carols at Christmas.