Plane Daze

The trip from home to Oxford has become somewhat surreal. This is my fifth trip in a year - each one a 24-hour transit that feels more like a Narnian wardrobe passage: I step in on one side of the world and emerge, disoriented but somehow unchanged, at Heathrow at 6 a.m. 

This other world is strange but familiar, exciting but exhausting. It greets me with grey skies and brisk air. I’m travelling for my last scheduled face to face session of my Masters. I didn’t blog the other trips as I figured the education part is a bit dull for everyone, but will try and put up a few posts this time as there is extra travel before and after Oxford. I finally managed to extend my trip to fit in a few extra days in London, spending quality time with a very dear friend from high school. We drank coffee, walked, talked, ate, laughed and did a modicum of sightseeing in the process. The sightseeing was secondary to our time together, but of particular note was a trip to the Victoria and Albert Warehouse. It’s their storage facility for things not on display, packed on pallets but visible. Think downstairs at IKEA, but with art, collectables, furniture and fragments of other cultural memories. Amazing. Photos include David Bowie’s boot, and a whole Frank Lloyd Wright room. 

We also handed over 25 pounds for a one year pass to the Transport Museum in Covent Garden. You can pay for one day, or one year - same price, so….. Once inside, we quickly realised that it was unlikely we would ever use the other 364 days of access, but there were some interesting things and we chatted away and enjoyed ourselves. Some inspired soul included realistic accessories in the horse drawn bus display. See photo for details. 

Of course there is no rest for the wicked, so I was up at 3am on Monday to do prep work for a work meeting at 6. I haven’t managed to sleep well yet and was feeling a bit stressed and wobbly. The meeting ran overtime so it was a scramble to get from London to Oxford in time for 9.30 meeting at the Business School about my educational goals. There is drenching rain and it’s colder than expected, but Oxford is beautiful in any weather and I’m glad to be back.