Thursday 7 June 2012

Some More Pictures of LMH in October.


 All Oxford Colleges are gated; the gates close around 7:00 PM, so you need your fob to get in.


Porters Lodge has pidges (mail cubbyholes).





Christ Church regatta is the novice race in the Autumn; a bit of fun and nobody takes it too seriously (that comes later). Our first race didn't turn out so well cue the picture below...


Wednesday 6 June 2012

I had the opportunity to visit Northern Italy in November. The weather was surprisingly fine!


Sirmione is a lovely peninsula on Lake Garda, way up in the North of Italy. It is well-known (at least to Classicists) for Catullus' poem 31. It's a celebration of the beauty of Sirmio and the joys of homecoming after a stressful year in Syria. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0006%3Apoem%3D31


Verona was a city with a wonderful mix of Roman and Medieval architecture. About a meter below the Medieval buildings and roads lie Roman roads. The large amphitheater still hosts operas. This blend of the modern living out of the ancient was fascinating. Drinking a late night coffee under the Roman Gate, a gathering spot for local Veronese, was a particular pleasure. On the outskirts of the city are fortifications and government buildings built by the Austrians (I think) around the time of WWI.


I flew ryanair out of Bergamo.

Lady Margaret Hall quad in October. The weather was beautiful when I arrived! Oxford colleges have a no-walk policy regarding the bits of well-groomed grass on the front quads. Only Finalists and Professors can (at certain specified times) stroll on the verdure. This ignorant American made the mistake of walking over it within an hour of arriving. Twice. Result was getting shouted at by some third years and the Porter (who had a megaphone)!