No Surrender at Sandyhills

Wow, it seems like Alison and have been travelling a lot recently!  It does, especially when my blogging isn’t necessarily up-to-date or in order.  This weekend though, we did a bit of time travelling for a change.  However, put your police booths and get out your DeLoreans, it isn't actual time travel: it’s more of a return to the past.

You see, we decided to visit my parents' caravan down near Dalbeattie, which I hadn't been to in something like 7 years.  So, after a couple hours driving through to Dumfries and Galloway, we arrived at Sandyhills Bay and got the caravan set-up.  Afterwards, we went for a wander around the beach (the caravan is right next to one) and clambered around the rocks for a bit: another old favourite.  I used to love playing on the rocks and remember one time I got stuck and...actually, I don't think I want to talk about that...

Then it was time to head to another old haunt.  Yes, it was a second blast from the past, The Clonyard or, as I called it when I was younger, ‘The Parrot Place’.  And yes, I called it this because it had a parrot.  I was not the brightest or most imaginative child.  Nothing like some good, old fashioned pub food…the kind that goes great with a pint of ‘best’.  I admit this was slightly different from when I was a child but close enough!  Here Alison and I did the grown-up thing and discussed accounts and finance, as I will be moving in soon!  Scary but that’s for another day.

Dinner wound down and it was off to bed.  The next day, we got up and fuelled up with some croissants before heading to Threave Castle.  Now, I love most castles but this one was particularly interesting because to access it, you have to row across to it: it’s actually on an island!  Nothing makes me feel like an old-time warrior than having to cross water to get to a castle.  Fighting the urge to take a charge at the castle, we got our tickets and explored the castle and island which is pretty uch the same as most castles.  

Crossing back over the water and ringing the bell that I missed (it’s so the boat gets you…the boatman told me to ring it before you think I was playing around…), we headed down the track to visit some resident, nesting Ospreys.  Whilst I'm no bird expert, it’s amazing and mind-boggling to find out that it was the same two Ospreys that have been nesting together in that same location for years.  The guy who was monitoring them told us that they would head to West Africa separately then come back to Threave castle to nest.  Fascinating example of how amazing evolution is.

Getting slightly lost (what’s new, eh?), we drove to Castle Douglas for some lunch in a local café, and a wander round in the sun.  Lovely little town where we were able to seem some beautiful wooden furniture (moving in, remember?), some handmade British chocolates and some craft ale from a rather hidden brewery in town, that someone may have bought a few beers from...ahem.

With the sun still shining, we headed to one final memory of mine: Kipford.  A small coastal village, I have many fondd memories of wandering around this little town looking for hidden secrets.  You see, along the pathway, there are loads of hidden people and creatures made from wood and rocks, by some secret artist.  Even as an adult, it’s magical to explore this little grotto and see what has wandered out to gaze upon you.  Following the trail, we then wandered to the cove for a bit and clambered around the rocks for the while.  I even won a roll from oink during a game we played!

Then came the star of the show; Risk!  You see, after dinner and another walk round the beach (this time to the fabled ‘what’s the time, Mr Wolf’ grounds), it was time for a board game evening.  And the chosen game was Risk!  I will be honest…when I play against Alison, I lose most board games.  Except one.  Yup, you’ve guessed it, Risk!  I kick ass at Risk.  I have won 100% of all risk games I've played (only 3) and this was no different.  I took every single country in the last game.  I spare no mercy for my enemies or my girlfriend!!!

Ahem, after my conquest, it was time to head back to present day and to Alison’s house.  Sigh, it was nice to visit my past for a while at least.

Pick of the Week

CrashCourse – Well, I think it’s time for a lesson, don’t you??  What’s your interest?  History of the Mongols?  The Oort Cloud?  US politics?  Whatever your interest is, it’s likely that Crash Course has at least one video on it!   Basically, this is a youtube channel that makes learning fun and free!  You can get ‘Crash Courses’ (ohohohoh the name is…ohohoh) in a variety of lessons, that are animated and humorous.  If you have ten minutes, check it out.  Thanks to Michael for the link!

Music of the Week

Time for another golden oldy, and an example of blatant disregard for bridge jumping: Bon Jovi - It's my life.

Off to Hogwarts, School of Magic, Oxford

Well, it's time for another Alison and Robbie trip, this time to Oxford to see Derek and check out the University of Oxford!  This was actually a trip for my Birthday, which in itself was fun.  Basically, a day filled with quirky coffee bars that raise money for the homeless; a gigantic museum; the cinema; and Mexican food from one of the best Mexican restaurants (Viva Mexico, by the way)...all on a fairly wounded foot but I survived! 

After an action filled birthday, Alison and I jumped on an early train (after some ticket related drama...there is a slim chance I lost my ticket several times – Idiot ED), and were soon on our way to Oxford.  After five hours or so, we slowly pulled into Oxford Station and grabbed a taxi to our B&B...and what an amazing B&B it was!!  We had a beautiful little room overlooking the garden with a really nice ensuite, and a wonderful bed.  And, in addition to a lovely room, we were soon brought some afternoon tea (with homemade cakes) and the room itself had homemade cookies, a welcome basket of fruit and chocolate and a bottle of wine...lovely!  I barely wanted to leave.

Having enjoyed relaxing in the room for a short while and eventually being able to tear ourselves away, we got changed into our finest suits and evening dresses, and headed off to meet Derek for dinner at his college.  After some catching up, wandering around the gardens (the college has its own river!!!) and after being introduced to Saskia, a friend of Derek's, we headed into the college for a pre-dinner drink (it's the only university I've seen that has had sherry...).  After the aperitif, it was time for the dinner.  I always new Oxford was a fairly prestigious place but this 'formal' was something else.

First of all, you have to wait for the college president to enter and say something in Latin before you can sit down.  Then, it's time for a three course meal complete with selected wine (the dessert was brilliant) followed by cheese, fruit and dessert wines and coffee with chocolate.  Seriously, it was the fanciest meal I've had in a university ever.  Hell, it was fancier than most restaurants! 

However, and more importantly, it was nice to sit down and have a meal with Alison, Derek and Saskia and to eat some good food and have some good conversation.  After dinner, we headed to the student bar to play some table football and have some drinks.  A great night to start off Oxford.

Now, normally after a night like this, we would head to bed and have a bit of a lie-in but we suddenly found ourselves getting up at 4:30am.  Why, I hear you gasp?!  Well, it turns out that the May Day weekend is pretty important in England, and in Oxford, it's especially huge.  People get up early (or in many cases, stay up all night drinking) to go listen to one of the university choirs singing from the roof of a church.  Deciding that it was worth seeing, Alison and I found ourself meeting everyone in town at silly O'clock in the morning to see them sing and it certainly was a great experience, to be part of a massive crowd (it's quite popular) listening to the Latin songs flowing from the church roof.  After the show and having passed more Morris dancers than I've seen in my lifetime, we grabbed a coffee with everyone then headed back to the B&B for breakfast and a nap.

After waking and heading back into town, we headed to the oldest church in Oxford (Saint Michael at North Gate) for a birds eye view of the city (well, a bird sitting in a church tower view of the city) which allowed us to get our bearings slightly and to see the multitude of old buildings in the area.  

As there is only so much one can do on top of a church tower (and I certainly don't have a good enough singing voice to sing), we headed to the 'covered market' nearby which holds a selection of local shops and cafes to have a look around, and get some lunch.  Now is probably a good time to apologise to Alison, as I may have took a ridiculously long time to choose what I was having for my lunch.  I just can't help it: I'm indecisive enough but add in a situation where I can have lots of different foods and I'll just melt down.

After spending a few hours deciding what to eat, Alison and I took our food to the Christ Church Park to sit and eat our lunches and enjoy the sun...until we were soon surrounded by a school trip out for their lunch as well.  Finishing quickly , we headed towards the History of Science Museum to see one of Einstein's original formulas on the chalk board it was originally written on (actually stolen by a group of lab attendees after he wrote it, with the noble intention of preserving it).

Having been caught in a rather unusual discussion with a museum curator who decided to talk to me about Scottish football (You know nothing, Jon Snow), we headed to the most packed museum I have ever seen: the Pitt's River Museum.  It was seriously packed with so many different cabinets, I actually thought it was the store room of the museum (which actually turned out to be a second museum).  It was also the most eclectic mixture as well, and the only museum that had actual shrunken heads in it.  Great wandering around but my biggest complaint was that there was too much in too little a space...it was quite claustrophobic and hard to know what to look at.  Finally, we took some time to view the first half of the museum (which was actually a second museum): the Oxford University Museum of Natural History.  What can I say?  It was filled with insects (boo cockroaches), dinosaurs and rocks: it was fantastic!  Just a shame that it was near closing and we got kicked out quite early.

The very, very, very long day was finished with a drink at a bar that smelled of sick; dinner at Jamie Oliver's Italian (this did not smell of sick, and was delicious); and a whisky with Derek at a local pub he suggested. 

Saturday was a well deserved lie-in with breakfast, before we headed to Oxford Castle for a quick look (we didn't have time to go in), before meeting up with Derek and some of his friends to experience a first for me: a vintage clothes sale.  Oh yes, I was living it up and being cool with all the retro fashion! #sorethumb.  Not quite but it was for charity, and was fun seeing some clothes from yesteryear.

Despite not buying any clothes, and having shared out all our cookies, we then headed back to Christ Church College where some of Harry Potter films were filmed (getting in free, thanks to knowing some lovely students :p) and it was certainly magical!  I can only imagine what it would be like if I was studying there and actually got to live in the place!  Sadly, we couldn't get into the actual hall itself but the grounds were magical enough.  This was then followed by some wandering around more of Oxford's magical architecture during the afternoon.

After a trip to Hogwarts, it was back to reality for us but it was worth returning as we got to visit a museum exhibit we wouldn't have known about if we didn't know people at the university.  Held in one of  the libraries, it was basically a bunch of old books.  But what a collection!  Original Shakespeare; Galileo; and Newton and a huge number of other books that have helped shape our literary world.

Then, the remaining night was a blur of food, pub and a rooftop bar, all intermingled with good company and good chat.

The next morning rushed up behind us, and knocked us on the head: it was our final day.  Heading into town, Alison and I met up with Derek and Saskia for a visit to one final museum before we left: the Ashmolean.  A nice collection of everything, ranging from Minoan culture to Egyptian artefacts to Chinese artwork.  Great for a wander around but be warned: it is massive...you need several visits or a day to enjoy it completely.  Finally, after enjoying (some of) the museum and wandering around some more, we headed to lunch in the oldest coffee shop in Oxford.  Which, as it turns out, was across the street from the oldest coffee shop in Oxford.  Talk about rivalry!

And so, it was time to leave Oxford, and what can I say?  Oxford is a lovely place to visit but it was nothing more than a bonus as it was great to catch-up with Derek and meet some new friends as well!  Before I go, I just wanted to say thank you to Derek, Saskia and everyone else for helping make it a great visit!

Pick of the Week

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze - What would you do if you ended up living in a remote city on a Chinese River for two years?  Well, that's what happened to Peter Hessler when he started teaching English over there.  This is his story, of his difficulties of living in a small city like Fuling and his triumphs.  This is a great book looking at what life was like in China before Hong Kong returned, and after as well.  A great read, if you're interest in travel.


Music of the Week

Ok, I featured Sixx: Am last week so I thought it was only fair that I feature the original: Motley Crue!!  One of their latest songs, it's Saints of Los Angeles.

See you all next week!