tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59501256164803132082024-03-05T04:47:35.199+00:00justthoughtsnstuffjustfranksthoughtsnstuffFrankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.comBlogger732125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-61477675229144912762020-02-20T19:38:00.001+00:002020-02-20T23:14:16.014+00:00farewell from jtns<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kuT_l7aWNCk/Xk7f9v112oI/AAAAAAAAG-A/R1WurwDkh9YwiBBPgS2TIoSohMmhyI14wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/larch%2Broses%252C%2Bthe%2Bparks%252C%2Boxford%2Bfebruary%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kuT_l7aWNCk/Xk7f9v112oI/AAAAAAAAG-A/R1WurwDkh9YwiBBPgS2TIoSohMmhyI14wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/larch%2Broses%252C%2Bthe%2Bparks%252C%2Boxford%2Bfebruary%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2274" data-original-height="2274" width="320" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quSxHX6Y8JU/Xk7gG7ZBmvI/AAAAAAAAG-I/yhhAZzbC00MX4a5gve9IVdRvWqt73aGJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/resurfaced%2Boxford%2Bcanal%2Btowpath%2Bfebruary%2B2020-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-quSxHX6Y8JU/Xk7gG7ZBmvI/AAAAAAAAG-I/yhhAZzbC00MX4a5gve9IVdRvWqt73aGJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/resurfaced%2Boxford%2Bcanal%2Btowpath%2Bfebruary%2B2020-a.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Enjoyed walking the Oxford canal from Wolvercote Green to Hythe Bridge Street this morning - along the newly resurfaced towpath! Fantastic that it is now all-weather!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The other photo shows larch roses on the tree that featured in the <a href="https://justthoughtsnstuff.blogspot.com/2010/03/nature-notes.html" target="_blank">first pic</a> I posted on jtns. When we lived in Oxford, Jess and I used to love the first sightings of larch roses on this same tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">And so farewell from jtns. As mentioned a while back, it's been my intention for some time to stop posting to this blog on its tenth birthday - today! - so that it becomes a self-contained work of life-writing covering ten years of my life.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I hope readers have enjoyed the posts and pics.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I loved writing the blog - even during the periods when it was therapy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm always surprised when people tell me they read my blog - surprised and really delighted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Thanks for reading. And although jtns is coming to its close, there might just be morethoughtsnstuff...</div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-49452562087866707952020-02-16T22:19:00.001+00:002020-02-16T22:19:32.306+00:00more gales and downpours, bright green grass, downton the movie, thames towpath from osney bridge to port meadow, overlays of memory<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6X-2fVKUA9Q/Xkm_iQsqLsI/AAAAAAAAG88/tp2AizLNXBsHJKYN7EOyAOKA_V4WDDa4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/river%2Bthames%252C%2Bnr%2Btumbling%2Bbay%2Bfeb%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6X-2fVKUA9Q/Xkm_iQsqLsI/AAAAAAAAG88/tp2AizLNXBsHJKYN7EOyAOKA_V4WDDa4QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/river%2Bthames%252C%2Bnr%2Btumbling%2Bbay%2Bfeb%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-38VpxSgpDnc/Xkm_8S6hEbI/AAAAAAAAG9I/Fe0CP2KkpxEc8LJoLXmiJAKh9oCaOHWeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fallen%2Bbranch%252C%2Bcalcroft%2Blane%252C%2Bw%2Boxfon%252C%2Bfeb%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-38VpxSgpDnc/Xkm_8S6hEbI/AAAAAAAAG9I/Fe0CP2KkpxEc8LJoLXmiJAKh9oCaOHWeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/fallen%2Bbranch%252C%2Bcalcroft%2Blane%252C%2Bw%2Boxfon%252C%2Bfeb%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="4032" data-original-height="3024" width="320" height="240"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">More gales and downpours. Got drenched cycling this morning and came across scatterings of debris every so often - even a branch across the start of Calcroft Lane (aka the Gated Road) at Clanfield. The ditches and steams were full and when we drove to Burford this afternoon, there was flooding in the fields.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">What a winter!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">On the plus side, the grass is bright green and the plants in the garden are thriving.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Have started to watch Downton the movie. Amazed to see a post van driving along the lane beside the church for what seemed an age, whereas in reality it would have taken seconds. Fascinating manipulation of time and space.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The cinematography and lighting - beautiful naturally lit interiors - are superb and, presumably, are what you get for your money when you're making a feature film, as opposed to a television series.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The top photo, above, looks rather menacing - the result of the jagged shape of the fencing in the foreground. Though the view was gentler than that in reality - and in the colour original. I changed it to black and white because I was wanted to intensify the patterns in the composition.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I remember discovering this towpath shortly before moving to our flat on Osney Island in the late eighties. I was so thrilled and imagined walking along it from Osney Bridge to Port Meadow and the Perch at Binsey at the weekend. In those days it was more of a rough track and had yet to be surfaced. The experience of walking it was in any case much more bucolic because none of the development between it and the railway line had begun and the waste land was densely overgrown.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Much has changed but the overlays of memories remain!</div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-24453326514189261152020-02-01T21:55:00.001+00:002020-02-01T21:56:09.273+00:00flooded water meadows near north hinksey, canal towpath improvements completed last friday!<div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mnhRV2duF-k/XjXzXxNmRHI/AAAAAAAAG7g/-LY9Tae2j00IdfekB6ccZ_wVuRJ3prHsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/dancing%2Btree%252C%2Bfloods%252C%2Bnorth%2Bhinksey%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mnhRV2duF-k/XjXzXxNmRHI/AAAAAAAAG7g/-LY9Tae2j00IdfekB6ccZ_wVuRJ3prHsgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/dancing%2Btree%252C%2Bfloods%252C%2Bnorth%2Bhinksey%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oD_JhzQUhqA/XjXzxQLA8mI/AAAAAAAAG7s/La6DeBy9K-cd7PaxaKegb5eR4t804uZegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/flooded%2Bmeadows%2Bnear%2Bnorth%2Bhinksey%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oD_JhzQUhqA/XjXzxQLA8mI/AAAAAAAAG7s/La6DeBy9K-cd7PaxaKegb5eR4t804uZegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/flooded%2Bmeadows%2Bnear%2Bnorth%2Bhinksey%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Pics of a walk I did a couple of weeks ago when the Thames flooded the meadows east of North Hinksey, Oxford. Stunning views that morning, though I remember worse floods in the 1990s - at least this time I could walk along the causeway between the innundated fields.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Meantime, I learnt from the Council website that the Oxford canal towpath improvements from Wolvercote Green to Aristotle Lane should have been completed last Friday. Yey!</div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-2082916816321239242020-01-29T17:54:00.001+00:002020-01-29T17:54:12.992+00:00brrrr! what's new! all-weather towpath, what's left of me is yours by stephanie scott<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r9aBBl8jL_g/XjHGwmNiWPI/AAAAAAAAG64/afx93KZbj1Q1_GN3ZjT6BRiMen5TvsQagCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/moon%252C%2Bwindow%252C%2Bdoor%252C%2Bwest%2Boxfordshire%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r9aBBl8jL_g/XjHGwmNiWPI/AAAAAAAAG64/afx93KZbj1Q1_GN3ZjT6BRiMen5TvsQagCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/moon%252C%2Bwindow%252C%2Bdoor%252C%2Bwest%2Boxfordshire%2Bjanuary%2B2020.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Brrrr! Frosty morning. But then it's soon going to be... unseasonably warm again. So, what's new this late winter!<br style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 16px;"><br style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 16px;">Haven't been able to walk the canal towpath between Wolvercote Green and Aristotle Lane for some months now, not because of the mud - which there would have been in JCB buckets - but because it's being upgraded. The work will soon finish, hopefully. True, a certain amount of rustic charm will go, but the towpath becoming all-weather is very appealing. My office carpet will be less muddy too.<br style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 16px;"><br style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 16px;">Thrilled to see featured in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/jan/26/10-best-debut-novelists-2020-paul-mendez-abi-dare-anappara-elaine-feeney-beth-morrey-douglas-stuart" target="_blank">Guardian</a>, Oxford MSt in Creative Writing graduate, Stephanie Scott, and her <a href="https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/stephanie-scott/whats-left-of-me-is-yours/9781474610902/" target="_blank">debut novel</a> <i>What's Left of Me is Yours</i>. Several years in the writing, the book's pre-publication buzz is a testament to Stephanie's unwavering professionalism, hard work and dedication to her craft. As her advice to aspiring writers illustrates: 'Persevere and believe in yourself and your project.' Can't wait to read the book when it comes out on 21st April (published by Orion)!<br style="font-family: -apple-system, HelveticaNeue; font-size: 16px;"></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-64351721444677889142020-01-19T10:38:00.001+00:002020-01-19T10:40:08.779+00:00super-frosty, good riddance to rain, veg, christmas break, brideshead revisited, first week<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q6_H8_nLHac/XiQxwdKCAGI/AAAAAAAAG58/_jHjYnGXf18r04XFAJeMGzyISQW-ZObSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sunrise%252C%2Bthe%2Bparks%2Boxford%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Q6_H8_nLHac/XiQxwdKCAGI/AAAAAAAAG58/_jHjYnGXf18r04XFAJeMGzyISQW-ZObSwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/sunrise%252C%2Bthe%2Bparks%2Boxford%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3007" data-original-height="3017" width="318" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Super-frosty morning in west Oxfordshire but I'm still hopeful of a cycle later.<br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">
<p dir="ltr">Thank goodness the rain's gone. Some downpours at the start of the week were horrendous! One evening, I got off the bus and ran to our car - only about 20m - and I was completely soaked!</p>
<p dir="ltr">Veg has kept going on the allotment but the downside of the frost is that some will probably start to rot.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Wonderful and refreshing Christmas break! Lots of long walks - taking to the high ground above the flooded Thames valley - amazing food, catching up with friends and family, and Victoria and Brideshead Revisited on DVD. I don't think I saw all of the latter when it was originally broadcast, so it's great to watch it all now - and it's fascinating to see the programme again after nearly 40 years. It remains rather wonderful.</p>
<p dir="ltr">First week of term begins tomorrow, though the working year has been busy from the start.</p></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-82886182887637089252019-12-24T15:13:00.001+00:002019-12-24T15:13:24.700+00:00waterlogged allotment, christmas veg saved from the depths, happy christmas!!!!<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wjei71j6j-U/XgIrEiCi82I/AAAAAAAAG5Y/rj2LYIiGQhkTRfTUS2OOVvxJT_bq4EnGACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/xmas%2Bveg%252C%2Bflooded%2Ballotment%252C%2Bbampton%2Bdec%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wjei71j6j-U/XgIrEiCi82I/AAAAAAAAG5Y/rj2LYIiGQhkTRfTUS2OOVvxJT_bq4EnGACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/xmas%2Bveg%252C%2Bflooded%2Ballotment%252C%2Bbampton%2Bdec%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2457" data-original-height="2469" width="318" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Really surprised how well the winter veg has done this year. The allotment has been waterlogged or flooded for a couple of months. The worst flooding has been over the last few days and it was quite a struggle to get this lot out, as I sank into the mud and my wellies sprang a leak! Still, all ready for Christmas lunch now!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Happy Christmas!!!!</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-31739557658696626322019-12-10T21:53:00.001+00:002019-12-10T22:41:09.010+00:00barrington and sherborne park walks, wigeon, end of full term, christmas cheeses!<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TOhKxY7gogc/XfAT8aPDb5I/AAAAAAAAG4c/m2c6z4CLn4AjNWiG620-X8CHH0J1cYazgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/passageway%252C%2Bburford%252C%2Boxfordshire%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TOhKxY7gogc/XfAT8aPDb5I/AAAAAAAAG4c/m2c6z4CLn4AjNWiG620-X8CHH0J1cYazgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/passageway%252C%2Bburford%252C%2Boxfordshire%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">We spent the weekend's mornings walking on the Barrington and Sherborne Park estates near Burford and yesterday morning we rambled the gated road near Clanfield. Managed to dodge the rain.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Saw wigeon on the brook below Sherborne house.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Great to have a few days off after the end of full term.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Bought slices of cheese to taste-test for Christmas from the <a href="https://www.cotswoldcheese.com" target="_blank">Cotswold Cheese Company</a>.</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-75580855190076582152019-12-03T19:53:00.001+00:002019-12-03T20:14:48.657+00:00frosty walk and views, whistling east wind<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p8ygxOHvC6w/Xea80N5tO6I/AAAAAAAAG24/RYABKtxNTG0r1W9zIuq4aHVfVQ8gwDFYACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/port%2Bmeadow%2Bfrom%2Bwolvercote%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-p8ygxOHvC6w/Xea80N5tO6I/AAAAAAAAG24/RYABKtxNTG0r1W9zIuq4aHVfVQ8gwDFYACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/port%2Bmeadow%2Bfrom%2Bwolvercote%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KarHgGRk4xI/Xea9AqAsbtI/AAAAAAAAG3A/tlBBw0awefA3zax7ILYe146a4mvCafGPACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/port%2Bmeadow%2Band%2Bswans%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KarHgGRk4xI/Xea9AqAsbtI/AAAAAAAAG3A/tlBBw0awefA3zax7ILYe146a4mvCafGPACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/port%2Bmeadow%2Band%2Bswans%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d2bXI_C-wwI/XebCNXMnOAI/AAAAAAAAG30/Og9V4QJVJSoui-Ik5AfPRCt-d0SgOe2kgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/godstow%2Babbey%2Band%2Bthames%2Bdecember%2B2019-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-d2bXI_C-wwI/XebCNXMnOAI/AAAAAAAAG30/Og9V4QJVJSoui-Ik5AfPRCt-d0SgOe2kgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/godstow%2Babbey%2Band%2Bthames%2Bdecember%2B2019-a.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cAAB9A9U6i4/Xea9PhQnpdI/AAAAAAAAG3U/skV8YRehJoMvjT39m9DxNo-bpEsO3Z0PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/thames%2Bnear%2Bgodstow%2Block%252C%2Boxford%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cAAB9A9U6i4/Xea9PhQnpdI/AAAAAAAAG3U/skV8YRehJoMvjT39m9DxNo-bpEsO3Z0PgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/thames%2Bnear%2Bgodstow%2Block%252C%2Boxford%2Bdecember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Had some time in hand before I was due at work yesterday morning but found that the canal towpath is being repaired between Wolvercote Green and Aristotle Lane, so I did the Godstow and Port Meadow route instead. Breathtaking frosty views!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Exceptionally chilly, though. Or perhaps the way the air felt was exaggerated because it's been a relatively mild winter up to now. Home certainly felt cold, as it does when the wind is in the east and whistles through, between back and front doors!</div></div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-84670849738946964522019-11-24T14:51:00.001+00:002019-11-24T21:31:02.415+00:00portugal, waterlogged veg, teaching, an imaginary interview with sir thomas bodley<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--oRQlo3lAqs/XdqaAAgIWgI/AAAAAAAAG1A/vYt2sDjQxxw9Jayz4DimKSld0ui-s-ilgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cork%2Btree%2Bbark%2Band%2Binsects%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--oRQlo3lAqs/XdqaAAgIWgI/AAAAAAAAG1A/vYt2sDjQxxw9Jayz4DimKSld0ui-s-ilgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cork%2Btree%2Bbark%2Band%2Binsects%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1257" data-original-height="1979" width="203" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--2_oSDFxNz8/XdqaGed3nqI/AAAAAAAAG1I/g76ZWg1YyVgQbJu3bkgfxg8kw_QiYoc1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wine%2Bcellar%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/--2_oSDFxNz8/XdqaGed3nqI/AAAAAAAAG1I/g76ZWg1YyVgQbJu3bkgfxg8kw_QiYoc1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wine%2Bcellar%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019a.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-en38ygDpsBs/XdqaMFG4g_I/AAAAAAAAG1U/v4zliq_HN0UjcPtMVj6Fi-b_9l9EhAVYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wine%2Bcellar%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-en38ygDpsBs/XdqaMFG4g_I/AAAAAAAAG1U/v4zliq_HN0UjcPtMVj6Fi-b_9l9EhAVYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/wine%2Bcellar%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6ZF7Xij1cE/XdqaOoOVacI/AAAAAAAAG1c/YR3k-Rj9Lo4pKIZ6YPGrfgVGsrgt2ufkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/trancoso%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6ZF7Xij1cE/XdqaOoOVacI/AAAAAAAAG1c/YR3k-Rj9Lo4pKIZ6YPGrfgVGsrgt2ufkACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/trancoso%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2560" data-original-height="2937" width="278" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cnK4YKfup_g/XdqaWNLfOPI/AAAAAAAAG1o/n8vGHbPWBN8ac6Nm4_ac46cHcnh1w7dWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/staircase%252C%2Bporto%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-cnK4YKfup_g/XdqaWNLfOPI/AAAAAAAAG1o/n8vGHbPWBN8ac6Nm4_ac46cHcnh1w7dWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/staircase%252C%2Bporto%252C%2Bportugal%2Bnovember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">A wonderful break in Portugal - staying near <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trancoso,_Portugal" target="_blank">Trancoso</a> and in Porto.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Back to an allotment that isn't as flooded as I expected, although the ground is still sodden. Wondering whether carrots, beetroots, parsnips, chard and leeks will make it to Christmas.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Last of my face-to-face teaching commitments before the new year yesterday. A full but terrific day. Really enjoyed working with this year's students.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">I was thrilled that recently two pieces I wrote in the summer were published on the Modern Languages Schools Blog, Adventures on the Bookshelf. <a href="https://bookshelf.mml.ox.ac.uk/2019/10/30/2887/" target="_blank">One</a> on the amazing Taylor Institution Library and its equally amazing Reader Services team. <a href="https://bookshelf.mml.ox.ac.uk/2019/11/06/at-the-library-door-in-oxford-an-imaginary-interview-between-a-librarian-and-a-philanthropist/" target="_blank">The other</a>, an imaginary interview with Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian Library (originally published on the estimable <a href="https://www.le-mot-juste-en-anglais.com/2019/10/sir-thomas-bodley-linguiste-du-mois-doctobre.html" target="_blank">Le mot juste en anglais</a> and <a href="https://www.clio-histoire.com/2010/10/sir-thomas-bodley-linguist-of-the-month-of-november.html" target="_blank">Clio</a> - la muse de l'histoire websites in California in English and French).</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The latter piece was an unexpected commission. I wasn't sure I had done the right thing in accepting at first but once I had completed my research and began to write, the project was incredibly fulfilling and enjoyable.</div></div></div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-44771070401938167862019-10-24T20:20:00.006+01:002019-10-24T20:28:50.967+01:00edinburgh, jisc digital leaders, cox apple, delicious<br>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpEUAMduiWY/XbH38EWMRaI/AAAAAAAAGzI/onXNGmSzN20enmQRtf06WQik9clYQ5wEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/st%2Bgiles%2527%2Bcathedral%252C%2Bedinburgh%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1418" data-original-width="1446" height="391" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FpEUAMduiWY/XbH38EWMRaI/AAAAAAAAGzI/onXNGmSzN20enmQRtf06WQik9clYQ5wEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/st%2Bgiles%2527%2Bcathedral%252C%2Bedinburgh%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" width="400"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Spent a couple of days in Edinburgh a fortnight ago and again this week.<br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was part of the <a href="https://www.jisc.ac.uk/training/digital-leaders-programme" target="_blank">JISC Digital Leaders programme</a>, which I really enjoyed. Learned so much and met great people.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Not much time to enjoy the city but some terrific circuits of Carlton Hill after breakfast each day. And just looking out of the windows upon this glorious city was a treat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Brought a Cox apple with me to remind me of home. Delicious!</div>
Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-42741244602843847402019-10-20T22:44:00.001+01:002019-10-20T22:45:20.849+01:00winter veg, bumper apple crop<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oVFWh2Ru_gw/XazVI7XhNnI/AAAAAAAAGyc/p4gkhs-b_zM5ipmLiyEOHM07SArjvIW2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/leek%252C%2Bchard%252C%2Bcarrots%252C%2Bbampton%2Bw%2Boxon%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oVFWh2Ru_gw/XazVI7XhNnI/AAAAAAAAGyc/p4gkhs-b_zM5ipmLiyEOHM07SArjvIW2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/leek%252C%2Bchard%252C%2Bcarrots%252C%2Bbampton%2Bw%2Boxon%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="4032" data-original-height="3024" width="320" height="240"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5LTFBiH83WI/XazVKYu0ibI/AAAAAAAAGyg/OnMrj_LzSAstRk9McrJGNlrsaKsTbZzOwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cox%2Bapples%252C%2Bbampton%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5LTFBiH83WI/XazVKYu0ibI/AAAAAAAAGyg/OnMrj_LzSAstRk9McrJGNlrsaKsTbZzOwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cox%2Bapples%252C%2Bbampton%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2368" data-original-height="2271" width="320" height="306"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TyWGdGQUbRk/XazVL2_xJKI/AAAAAAAAGyk/m07cUzaohXUkbUZcO7gc0fCoPqogW5bTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cox%2Bapple%252C%2Bbampton%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TyWGdGQUbRk/XazVL2_xJKI/AAAAAAAAGyk/m07cUzaohXUkbUZcO7gc0fCoPqogW5bTQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cox%2Bapple%252C%2Bbampton%2Boctober%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1411" data-original-height="1444" width="312" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Looking back at the spring and summer, conditions on the allotment were difficult, and yet it has been a rewarding year. Better winter veg - apart from parsnips (it's always, apart from parsnips, it seems...) - than ever. I think this results from being able to get started in good time, before the weather changed, giving rain when it was needed. So, great carrots, beetroot, spuds, onions, leeks and chard. Not a huge range but plenty to enjoy and keep us in touch with the land during autumn and winter.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Bumper Cox apple crop still going strong.</div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-27083417874040152532019-09-29T22:04:00.001+01:002019-09-29T22:04:04.365+01:00moonbeams, week's holiday, step by small step, best things, friendships, apples<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sHvR_2sghrU/XZEcQVWamKI/AAAAAAAAGxw/gUqMx7uofWw1ciqBXk9jFGh9xnKmBQcFACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/full%2Bmoon%2Bover%2Bwest%2Boxfordshire%2Bseptember%2B2019-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sHvR_2sghrU/XZEcQVWamKI/AAAAAAAAGxw/gUqMx7uofWw1ciqBXk9jFGh9xnKmBQcFACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/full%2Bmoon%2Bover%2Bwest%2Boxfordshire%2Bseptember%2B2019-a.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1982" data-original-height="1525" width="320" height="246" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">More moonbeams. Full, this time.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">More moonshine? That would be cruel.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">A week's holiday (amongst other things) since this photo was taken. Wonderful. Relaxing.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Not so, the political events, though no one can predict what will happen next, I don't think, and maybe it is best to take things step by small step, trying to hold on to values and friendships and the best things in one's life in the midst of the storm.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">A time for putting much of the allotment to bed for the winter, of lifting the remaining potatoes, of enjoying picking and eating apples.</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-369122732095405512019-09-14T15:38:00.001+01:002019-09-14T15:38:45.295+01:00fab moon, david cameron's memoirs, heatherdown, i remember, i remember, stowe, sorry mess<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wx0vk-3WNCo/XXz7ckJriOI/AAAAAAAAGxU/zaHHTXNi1qoqCWuhPnhXzHGL-yfDlFCWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/moon%2Bover%2Bbampton%2Bseptember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wx0vk-3WNCo/XXz7ckJriOI/AAAAAAAAGxU/zaHHTXNi1qoqCWuhPnhXzHGL-yfDlFCWwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/moon%2Bover%2Bbampton%2Bseptember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3007" data-original-height="2702" width="320" height="287"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Although the full moon isn't until tonight, the almost full moon last night was pretty fab!<br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><p dir="ltr">
I was intrigued to read in the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/david-cameron-book-the-truth-about-me-cannabis-and-eton-r3lm30r7m" target="_blank">Times</a> that David Cameron had been to the same prep school that I attended, Heatherdown. His account of the bath line ups, complete with the headmaster wreathed in pipe smoke, resonated, although I thought his recollections did sound a little worse than I remembered. Surprising, given that he was there a few years after me - one would have hoped that things had improved by then. Though from what he says, I must have overlapped with his elder brother for a term.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I've not written much about Heatherdown in this blog - just one post, if I remember rightly, called... <a href="https://justthoughtsnstuff.blogspot.com/2010/03/i-remember-i-remember.html" target="_blank">i remember, i remember</a>, which focuses on arriving at the school on the same day as Prince Andrew. In the light of later events in his life, such far off and innocent days.</p>
<p dir="ltr">I take the point that Cameron makes about going away to boarding school aged seven (eight in my case) seeming 'brutal' and 'bizarre'. But prep school, just like <a href="https://justthoughtsnstuff.blogspot.com/2014/06/stowe-memories-reclaiming-sarte-nausea.html" target="_blank">Stowe</a>, was at times for me a refuge from what was happening at home. I remember walking round and round the boundaries of the sports fields trying to make sense of all the things that had been said during the rows between my parents. Things I've only really been able to understand fully by reading the family papers after their deaths.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Will I read more of Cameron's memoirs? I dare say I will - they are living history, after all. Though I can only share his regrets about the sorry mess we are in now.</p></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-87232197881600897932019-09-13T19:39:00.001+01:002019-09-13T19:39:59.041+01:00tomatoes!, mellow, moon watching<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XWPSkbsaMPQ/XXvifGbi-CI/AAAAAAAAGxI/K_hMa1uZbeAhvnmsk7ygphVlVKYTaH6SACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cherry%2Btomatoes%252C%2Bbampton%2Bseptember%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XWPSkbsaMPQ/XXvifGbi-CI/AAAAAAAAGxI/K_hMa1uZbeAhvnmsk7ygphVlVKYTaH6SACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/cherry%2Btomatoes%252C%2Bbampton%2Bseptember%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">J's cherry tomatoes! They and the beefsteak variety have done amazingly well this year. Often they succumb to blight quite early - the blight here being much worse than it was in Oxford, for some reason - and we ripen them in a drawer with an apple. But this time, it's great to be able to pick them and enjoy them fresh as we pass by.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Some lovely mellow September days this week.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The other evening we sat at the top of the garden in the twilight and watched the moon.</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-16561559597134632222019-09-08T15:37:00.001+01:002019-09-08T20:25:11.749+01:00working in oxford, walks, cox's orange pippin, sparrow hawk<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UFtcvFE5h3c/XXUSQa2LcvI/AAAAAAAAGw8/YRo0XVXUCs0t5zcZzzqOhZtxDN6cT-koACLcBGAs/s1600/daisies%2Bby%2Bthames%252C%2Bnr%2Btumbling%2Bbay%252C%2Boxford%2Bsep2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UFtcvFE5h3c/XXUSQa2LcvI/AAAAAAAAGw8/YRo0XVXUCs0t5zcZzzqOhZtxDN6cT-koACLcBGAs/s1600/daisies%2Bby%2Bthames%252C%2Bnr%2Btumbling%2Bbay%252C%2Boxford%2Bsep2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1363" data-original-height="1360" width="320" height="319" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Worked in Oxford yesterday. Had a lovely walk beforehand, along the Oxford canal, across Port Meadow and beside the Thames. It's over eighteen years since we moved from Osney. The time has flashed by but it's great to still have the opportunity of doing the walks I loved from those fourteen years spent on the Island.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Ate our first Cox apple yesterday. Gorgeously rich sweetness. It went well with the Abondance goat's and cow's cheese we brought back from our holiday in the Alps.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Coming downstairs this morning, I was surprised to see the sunflower hearts bird feeder on the lawn. I couldn't think what had brought it down - a cat or a squirrel, perhaps. Then I found four great tit tail feathers on the patio below where it had been hanging. Later J said there had been a hawk about yesterday and she had chased it away from the bird table. The culprit, I reckon. Sparrow hawk.</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-50407378827247425622019-08-30T20:37:00.000+01:002019-08-30T20:38:29.323+01:00la chapelle-d'abondance, montreux, the late breakfasters by robert aickman<br>
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Superb short holiday, staying with friends in La Chapelle-d'Abondance in the Haute-Savoie! Preceded by a fabulously delicious and convivial lunch in Montreux, with gorgeous views of Lake Geneva.</div>
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Holiday reading was <i><a href="https://www.faber.co.uk/9780571316847-the-late-breakfasters.html" target="_blank">The Late Breakfasters</a></i> by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Aickman" target="_blank">Robert Aickman</a> (a Faber Finds reprint from the author of MR James-quality ghost stories who also happened to be one of the co-founders of the Inland Waterways Association - and who had many other talents and claims to fame). The author was suggested by an MSt student - a recommendation for which I am extremely grateful.</div>
Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-10505501314372821472019-08-24T13:15:00.001+01:002019-08-24T13:15:17.203+01:00first james grieve, scrummy veg<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iUT_k7Vw2SA/XWEqU7mUSuI/AAAAAAAAGvw/vCyCTAbSz-gbKPSmRsmRG4fAuLp5ey67ACLcBGAs/s1600/james%2Bgrieve%2Bapple%252C%2Bbampton%2Baugust%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iUT_k7Vw2SA/XWEqU7mUSuI/AAAAAAAAGvw/vCyCTAbSz-gbKPSmRsmRG4fAuLp5ey67ACLcBGAs/s1600/james%2Bgrieve%2Bapple%252C%2Bbampton%2Baugust%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="3309" width="292" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">...Meanwhile, we harvested our first James Grieve the other day. More since.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">And the allotment is coming into its own. Scrummy veg!</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-30504661003469409402019-08-24T13:02:00.001+01:002019-08-24T13:13:19.299+01:00summer dredging, erosion?, summer school - wonderful!, oxford never sleeps!<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TJJuOpbBDWE/XWEnLab4lhI/AAAAAAAAGvU/n6ZRbMHzzLMwpHdIRNuAGGNvrQptwnlEwCLcBGAs/s1600/dredged%2Bscooter%2Bbeside%2Boxford%2Bcanal%2Bjune%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-TJJuOpbBDWE/XWEnLab4lhI/AAAAAAAAGvU/n6ZRbMHzzLMwpHdIRNuAGGNvrQptwnlEwCLcBGAs/s1600/dredged%2Bscooter%2Bbeside%2Boxford%2Bcanal%2Bjune%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2313" data-original-height="3014" width="245" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vFtMVJwNCGI/XWEnPWMEKwI/AAAAAAAAGvY/O4AgjrdETzY7yj9v6L0RKQ3moXuN8ZzOACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20190804_220146_745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vFtMVJwNCGI/XWEnPWMEKwI/AAAAAAAAGvY/O4AgjrdETzY7yj9v6L0RKQ3moXuN8ZzOACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20190804_220146_745.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1844" data-original-height="2305" width="256" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mNmqMbNE83s/XWEnQlYUr2I/AAAAAAAAGvc/NlYdAwzkdIMmVyz0t8zl2IgBfR7ZZ7UVgCLcBGAs/s1600/motorbike%2Bdredged%2Bfrom%2Bthames%2Baugust%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mNmqMbNE83s/XWEnQlYUr2I/AAAAAAAAGvc/NlYdAwzkdIMmVyz0t8zl2IgBfR7ZZ7UVgCLcBGAs/s1600/motorbike%2Bdredged%2Bfrom%2Bthames%2Baugust%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1169" data-original-height="1558" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">After I saw the old laptop that had been dredged from the Oxford canal back in <a href="https://justthoughtsnstuff.blogspot.com/2019/06/toshiba-t2450ct-mind-might-boggle.html" target="_blank">June</a>, the dredging continued for several weeks and then moved on to the Thames nearby. A few of the items recovered shown above. One wonders how long it would have taken for the waters to erode the bikes.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">When I last posted, I was about to start teaching my summer school course. Lots of work but what a fabulous experience. Plenty of wonderful writing from the students and such inspiring discussions!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Much happening at the libraries also. Oxford never sleeps these days!</div></div></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-40577010921033262512019-07-27T14:38:00.001+01:002019-07-27T15:06:34.963+01:00dh@oxss, time!, creative writing summer school, pond, festooned<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Wx-HwstNl0/XTxT6tzm8pI/AAAAAAAAGuo/oK8UwWYaUTEML5FYmppLbo024wKyVDrawCLcBGAs/s1600/lily%2Bpond%252C%2Bcottage%2Bgarden%252C%2Bbampton%2Bjune%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0Wx-HwstNl0/XTxT6tzm8pI/AAAAAAAAGuo/oK8UwWYaUTEML5FYmppLbo024wKyVDrawCLcBGAs/s1600/lily%2Bpond%252C%2Bcottage%2Bgarden%252C%2Bbampton%2Bjune%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="3024" data-original-height="4032" width="240" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Really enjoyed co-presenting at the Digital Humanities @ Oxford Summer School on Thursday (<a href="https://www.dhoxss.net/humanities-data" target="_blank">Humanities Data</a> strand).</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">It was a pleasure to talk people through the images, xml encoding and digital preservation sections of Emma's wonderful Digital Editions course. (I was also pleased, it has to be said, that our slot was the 9-10.30am one - before, that is, the day reached its highest temperatures!)</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The summer school was held at Keble and I loved going back - I say going back but I spend much of my working life only about five minutes away. Even so, those five minutes do seperate me from the reality of the college.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">On Wednesday, I went over to check out the room where our presentation was to be held. On leaving I turned down a narrow flagstoned path in between the Victorian buildings and the sight of the sun on the stone slipped me back across the years momentarily. Then I thought of how much time had elapsed since I was an undergraduate. So much has happened, yet the time seemed no time at all...</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Now, preparing for the Creative Writing Summer School at Exeter College. Talking of time... Another summer school! So looking forward to seeing colleagues and meeting the students at the reception and dinner tomorrow!</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">(The picture of the pond was taken a couple of months ago - everything is rather more festooned now, and the lily pads are covering much of the water.)</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-55043014506403992472019-07-20T15:38:00.000+01:002019-07-20T15:47:56.657+01:00wiltshire deep space, relaxed, punting<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r-L9_6d7Dqc/XTMnVSKL9NI/AAAAAAAAGt4/L0_xFemzujE1UQTX9AuGqLvPDMU--1QfACLcBGAs/s1600/wild%2Borchid%252C%2Bnear%2Bchilmark%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r-L9_6d7Dqc/XTMnVSKL9NI/AAAAAAAAGt4/L0_xFemzujE1UQTX9AuGqLvPDMU--1QfACLcBGAs/s1600/wild%2Borchid%252C%2Bnear%2Bchilmark%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="885" data-original-height="1152" width="245" height="320" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RkNpOKb2sUrWcdT3Hz5psPLsgTJhw9Ia5yZwy6tuKXes-sRPj4hGtDNRTYkAO_zqfSh7hLUUgqjoFhgC8Mj5DdskEaks3_AwazNYv3Cw-_BaMe-IMLYZxT4YV1FDQTKz9ncIljg-cFQ/s1600/llamas%252C+near+chilmark%252C+wiltshire+july+2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RkNpOKb2sUrWcdT3Hz5psPLsgTJhw9Ia5yZwy6tuKXes-sRPj4hGtDNRTYkAO_zqfSh7hLUUgqjoFhgC8Mj5DdskEaks3_AwazNYv3Cw-_BaMe-IMLYZxT4YV1FDQTKz9ncIljg-cFQ/s1600/llamas%252C+near+chilmark%252C+wiltshire+july+2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1231" data-original-height="599" width="320" height="155"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQ7o3DaUMGA/XTMnXj7-EeI/AAAAAAAAGuA/xeCJvSusDVYw0Jq3wLX_U_hZpErCs-OewCLcBGAs/s1600/lunchtime%2Bvisitor%252C%2Bhotel%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQ7o3DaUMGA/XTMnXj7-EeI/AAAAAAAAGuA/xeCJvSusDVYw0Jq3wLX_U_hZpErCs-OewCLcBGAs/s1600/lunchtime%2Bvisitor%252C%2Bhotel%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="1128" data-original-height="1322" width="273" height="320"></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQYAIiWeDaY/XTMnYXDrDmI/AAAAAAAAGuE/MfiyKPdsUxAv4CRye7gaj6kOvpufaunNwCLcBGAs/s1600/moonlight%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bhamlet%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bQYAIiWeDaY/XTMnYXDrDmI/AAAAAAAAGuE/MfiyKPdsUxAv4CRye7gaj6kOvpufaunNwCLcBGAs/s1600/moonlight%252C%2Bwiltshire%2Bhamlet%2Bjuly%2B2019.jpg" border="0" data-original-width="2208" data-original-height="2944" width="240" height="320"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Had a wonderful week off, including a few nights away in Wiltshire. Deep space: thatched, flagstoned floor pub; tiny hamlet with, mostly, just the sound of the landscape to listen to; long walks through fields and along wooded hillside paths with not a soul about; delicious food and drink.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">I've not relaxed so much in a week in a long while.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Saturday, took to the river - Cherwell - in the Kellogg punt. Not the agile undergrad I might once have been but OK...</div><br></div><br></div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-36856403729104905252019-06-22T11:56:00.000+01:002019-06-22T12:12:40.309+01:00peonies!, allotment ups and downs, work then lunch<br><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a_zhool9gro/XQ4JU1RkVoI/AAAAAAAAGtQ/IcHRNULkRZ0J7kWZ-WcMdVT7BbyggxqeACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-a_zhool9gro/XQ4JU1RkVoI/AAAAAAAAGtQ/IcHRNULkRZ0J7kWZ-WcMdVT7BbyggxqeACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" border="0" data-original-width="811" data-original-height="1013" width="320" height="400" class=" imageResizeTarget"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The peonies are thriving, despite the battering downpours of the past fortnight.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Up to the allotment when the air was still cool earlier. Lots of hoeing, feeding, watering and grass cutting.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">The broad beans are looking great, as are the spuds (in flower). Some of the runners have been chomped, though, by something - bird, slug, rabbit? And there won't be as many blackcurrants as in recent years - I left the pruning too late. Still, decent sized currants. And the new gooseberry is doing well (a present from a neighbour and only planted in the spring).</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Some work - prep for the MSt Guided Retreat - then a late lunch at the top of the garden.</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-41258689065932737972019-06-18T22:36:00.001+01:002019-06-18T22:36:11.107+01:00... the flowering rush!<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j-pyNq49aes/XQlZSQKhq8I/AAAAAAAAGs4/OYg96hGfQBo4T84uCnfRMBv7H9fblC7OACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j-pyNq49aes/XQlZSQKhq8I/AAAAAAAAGs4/OYg96hGfQBo4T84uCnfRMBv7H9fblC7OACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" border="0" data-original-width="507" data-original-height="549" width="369" height="400"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">... The flowering rush is out!</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-49373763431845847692019-06-18T22:23:00.000+01:002019-06-18T22:36:35.437+01:00mosaic pond, rain-swept square, further surprise ...<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XyYfy2tM4vg/XQlWS3uIVqI/AAAAAAAAGss/azhjJl6zBO82NthtC3hrdB3oSoywJNBQgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XyYfy2tM4vg/XQlWS3uIVqI/AAAAAAAAGss/azhjJl6zBO82NthtC3hrdB3oSoywJNBQgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" border="0" data-original-width="507" data-original-height="380" width="400" height="300"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">Travelling home this evening, in between arriving at Carterton on the S2 and leaving for Bampton on the 19, I suddenly noticed a mosaic pond in one of the otherwise rain-swept, deserted squares. Its wriggles made it alive with fish, currents, ripples and overlapping lily pads.</div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="text-align: left; clear: both;">At home, there was a further pond surprise ...</div>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-39354634462535238172019-06-14T19:56:00.000+01:002019-06-14T20:35:50.686+01:00toshiba t2450ct, the mind might boggle, soaked and frozen<p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PeUwCkCfJp4/XQPtv5ZzpqI/AAAAAAAAGsQ/KKpWSi_PYT8Yy15RUw1ZVbKI7yKg2dgXQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PeUwCkCfJp4/XQPtv5ZzpqI/AAAAAAAAGsQ/KKpWSi_PYT8Yy15RUw1ZVbKI7yKg2dgXQCLcBGAs/IMG_1839.JPG" data-original-width="" data-original-height=""></a></p><p>Not as picturesque as some of the scenes on the banks of the Oxford canal but nonetheless fascinating.</p><p>A Toshiba T2450CT - from the early 1990s, I think. It appeared a few weeks ago, when dredging started. It sat on the bank for some days. Then one morning it was gone. I'd hoped it would stay there for ever, getting slowly enveloped and concealed by the vegetation.</p><p>I suppose it was just too tempting to someone - unless they returned it to the water.</p><p>Seeing it made wonder me how it got there, naturally. Was it dropped accidentally by someone on a narrowboat? Was it stolen? Or related to a more sinister crime? The mind might boggle.</p><p>--</p><p>Gosh, it's been wet these last few days! I got so tired of getting soaked. And being frozen. Still, the pond is all the better for being topped up with fresh rainwater. The flowering rush is nearly in bloom. And in the border the peony is in flower.</p><p></p>Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5950125616480313208.post-62663817057299637282019-06-08T13:55:00.000+01:002019-06-08T13:55:52.423+01:00garden excitement, incl. flowering rush, willow cotton wool, 'lucid and focused' - not, end of the academic year<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-028WoTTpEkk/XOvp3AgcjII/AAAAAAAAGr0/LP0YHzbiDJ4339Czl3qOA5wBfVS2tJtYwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_1839.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img data-original-height="" data-original-width="" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-028WoTTpEkk/XOvp3AgcjII/AAAAAAAAGr0/LP0YHzbiDJ4339Czl3qOA5wBfVS2tJtYwCLcBGAs/IMG_1839.JPG" /></a><br />
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An exciting time in the garden. Peonies just coming into flower and the flowering rush in our pond about to bloom - a rare event that we've been awaiting for five years!<br />
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Lots more happening, in the garden, on the allotment and elsewhere - see willow cotton wool above. (Willow? I think so, unless anyone knows different. This photo was taken beside the Thames near Tumbling Bay.)<br />
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Have been doing some final edits this week - hardly any, really, which is a joy. At one point I was re-reading a blog post that appears in <i>Trust</i>, in which I said that the third section of the book needed hardly any rewriting. That was back in 2015. It was, I said, 'lucid and focused'. And yet when I returned to the typescript many months later I realised how wrong I was. Although what was said was all there it was in a form that made sense only to me. It's taken a huge amount of work to get right.<br />
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Hard to believe that we're approaching the end of the academic year at Oxford. What a marathon it's been. Rewarding, though. And, of course, as far as Continuing Education goes, that never stops!Frankhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12747661796129819667noreply@blogger.com0