In-spired

A flight from Florence to London City airport and then  a car transfer landed me in Oxford. It’s cold and very crowded here, bustling people everywhere and I’m feeling a bit disoriented from the transition. Notwithstanding this, Oxford is gorgeous- a university city full of beautiful architecture, dressed up for Christmas.

 I stopped for a drink in a little pub, followed by a delicious dinner at the Ivy - finely julienned zucchini, floured and deep fried (OMG so good) and then a curry. Oh yes, and a Christmas cocktail. 

My hotel is a serious downgrade from the St Regis- a dark, tiny room decorated as if someone’s grandma was colourblind. Oscar Wilde once said “my wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death” and I feel his pain. I stayed at this hotel some years ago when it was gracious and very old English luxury. The Hilton has arrived and done their worst and I’m not finding anything positive about their changes. 

In the morning, the busy night streets became quiet and serene and I enjoyed a walk around the city, albeit with a takeaway coffee to warm up my hands. Does anyone know what a “mushroom shot” is ?? It was on the menu board as an extra to order with a coffee. I had a quick whip through the Ashmolean Museum before heading off my course - about ten minutes out of the city centre in a lovely park full of autumn colour. It’s a purpose built facility of the Oxford Saíd faculty- a downgrade again accommodation wise but kind of fun to be in my own little dorm room. 

I’ve only had a half day here so far but the course, the faculty and the other attendees are amazing. Even the food and wine is really good. We had a great session on looking at the future, pulling together into a framework the way different experts see it (sociological perspectives, ecological perspectives, technological perspectives etc). This was followed by a session in a small group (five and a tutor). The others in my tutor group are from Saudi, Romania, Spain, England and Malaysia. The final session was the “Museum of Culture” where we had brought an item from home to represent our lifestyle or culture or life. They were all arranged with little printed museum tags showing the stories. There were some wonderful items, particularly from the African and Asian people, but others too - a leaf skeleton from a special Buddhist tree, a Basque iron sculpture, a box of dates. I bought chicken salt to represent the outdoor lifestyle, shared meals etc. It was a hit - the Deputy dean is going to organise chips so people can try it. 

It’s a gruelling schedule, starting with tai chi (or a 5k run) at 6.50am and finishing at 9pm each night.  I’ll aim for a few more posts but am dubious about getting to it every day.