Wednesday, October 13. 2021
Not a lucky day. Our plan was to drive to Calgary in the morning to catch a 6:30 direct flight to Gatwick. I was slightly nervous that all would proceed normally at the airport with all the COVID 19 protocols in place. I did not foresee any difficulty getting to the airport on time if we left in the morning.
As we're headed up Highway 93 to Highway 1 and Banff, just past the parking lot to Floe Lake, we came upon a long lineup of cars, pickups and transport trucks. Many transport trucks. Because the line wasn't moving, I got out of the car to investigate. A few cars ahead, a cop was out of his unmarked SUV chatting other drivers who'd congregated around him. He'd been following me while I was speeding down a hill just before the lookout west of Radium Hot Springs. He said he was from Vernon on the way to Calgary (and therefore off-duty.) After a brief discussion with me and a couple of other guys, he said he'd go up and check on what was happening and come back and report if he could. He didn't. A stout 30-something female truck driver behind us said that the chatter on her CB was that it was an accident that involved a fatality and the wait would be at least two hours.
Our flight to Gatwick at left at 6:30! We panicked and decided that we'd be better detouring through Fernie. We totally underestimated the amount of time this would take. We knew Fernie was a two hour drive from Fairmont Hot Springs but hadn't counted on the drive being another three hours from Fernie to Calgary. We figured it would be two. That meant we wouldn't arrive at the Calgary Airport until 5:00 at the earliest, possibly too late to catch our flight.
The reality of the situation wasn't made clear to us until we'd returned to Radium Hot Springs. That's the endpoint of cell service for Highway 93 to Highway 1 in Banff National Park. Nicola didn't think we'd get on the plane at such a late hour. So, the decision was to take our chances up Highway 93 and hope to get through.
By the time we reached the lineup, it had extended considerably past Floe Lake in the wrong direction. Except now it was proceeding at a very slow pace, one lane at a time in the right direction. We figured if we wanted to get to the airport by 4:30, we'd have to get past the accident by 2:30. We reached a sign warning about an accident ahead. We passed a guy with a slow sign at 3:00. Then, we were off to the races.
Vehicles from the accident were in the trees. I only saw a destroyed small green Jeep. Nicola thought there must have been another vehicle by the amount of styrofoam on the ground.
Fortunately, the traffic was light the whole way. I tried to balance speed with not getting pulled over for a ticket because if we were pulled over, we'd sure to be late. Our only hiccup was turning down the wrong road for the long-term parking at the airport.
Oh yes, we also went to wrong terminal, the domestic rather than international. That required some running which was kind of brutal as we're both in need of serious cardio training. When we finally arrived at an empty check-in desk, the clerk acted like our lateness was not a problem at all. She checked our bags and we were on our way as the lone individuals passing through security at the time.
We met Terry O'Keefe and Johnny from Slave Lake in line to board the same flight. Terry knew we were on the flight because she'd heard our names paged over the airport intercom. Terry and Johnny were on their way to see their children in London. Georgia lived there. Aiden had just done his defence for his masters and they were flying him to London for the weekend. They weren't going to pay for Conner to go over but, we found out later, they did. Terry did not think we should be missing our old town.
We arrived at about 1:00 p.m. Jordan told us to take the bus to downtown Oxford and take a taxi to their house. Jordan told us to disembark at the Westgate Mall but the driver didn't stop there. Instead, we went all the way to the bus station. The one taxi driver at the station told us he was booked but another taxi would be around shortly. We and another guy waited that short while for a taxi and then decided to walk, the guy to where he was going and us to to Jordan and Dave's. I turned on my international roaming and discovered that it was about a half hour walk. We arrived at 3:30
Jordan was still working but took time to give us a tour of their very fine house. It's three stories and was built in 1907. Dave says that it was part of a council flat were poor people lived back in the day. Many of these flats have been renovated with kitchen with extentions on the main floor. Others have not been touched so that there are people with very different incomes living on the street. The main floor has an entranceway and stairs plus a small storage area. A small entranceway leads to one large room divided in sections.
At the front of the house sits Dave's desk and chair plus a coatrack. The living room has a large blue couch with a couple of arm chairs on either side. In from of the couch is large bookcase and place for a TV. (Dave fits almost exactly in that spot.) The bookcase is filled with books with nicknacks placed in front of the books. On the one side of the kitchen are the cupboards, sink, dishwasher, washing machine and refrigerator, all covered with the clean light gray arborite or arborite like composite. Really nice.
A long table made of one large slab of wood sits in the centre of the room providing lots of room their many guests. Smaller numbers can easily be accommodated by its long narrow shape. The table fits very well with the lines of the room. At the end of the room are floor to ceiling windows that provide a lovely view of the backyard. Of course, the backyard is also long and narrow with trees and bushes planted along both sides. Dave and friends recently installed a very heavy fence.
The second floor has two bedrooms with one doubling as Jordan's office. This is where she and Winston spend most of the day. It's also where she zooms to us on Sunday. The other bedroom was where we would sleep while in Oxford and also storage for Dave's rowing machine. I suppose it's also where he uses it. A large, renovated bathroom is the last room on the floor with a large bathtub and shower with a rain-style overhead shower head and s detachable spray want. Of course, the taps are complicated that required me learning over a couple of showers.
Jordan and Dave's bedroom is on the top floor with an attached two-piece bathroom. The ceiling is sloped so they're having some difficulty finding shelves that will fit in the narrow space at the front of the house below the window. Overall, Nicola and I were very impressed.
Jordan made us coffee and sandwiches before returning to work. (She made up for time lost to complete her project night.) Later in the afternoon, we took Winston for a walk in the fields not far from their house. We strolled to the end of their block, turned right past the South Oxford Bowls Club and a small park, over a canal and train tracks and we were there; five minutes. So cool. Winston bolted after Jordan released him from the leash, bouncing through the grasses around the edge of the field and back. Run, run, run.
We do a circuit through a couple of fields making sure that Winston doesn't get through the fence to chase sheep on the other side.
Friday, October 15, 2021
With the help of Nytol (for me) and Benadryl (for Nicola) we were able to sleep in . . . somewhat. In the morning, we took Winston for a walk in the fields where we'd gone with Jordan. We were a little nervous letting him off the leash but, he was just fine bouncing around the field, ears flopping, occasional disappearing in the high grass. And he'd return when called unlike our dogs who think they know where we're walking and wait for us to get to them.
In the afternoon, we walked to downtown Oxford. The fastest route to Dave and Jordan's house is down Wytham Street, one of the main drags out of the centre. Jordan suggested that we go an alternate route along the edge of the field where took Winston for a walk and through residential areas. We passed a school where a typical older elementary teacher was preparing her students to play a game. "Jonathan and Frederick, if you want to play, you'll have to listen. Otherwise, you're going to have to sit out." What was unique about the situation is that the teacher held a leash in her hand with cocker spaniel sitting patiently beside her at the other end.
Of course, we got lost but eventually found the Oxford Museum of Oxford located right in the centre of the downtown area. To our surprise, the museum doesn't have much of a permanent collection. Most of the space was devoted to an exhibition by Anish Kapoor, a Mumbai born UK resident living in London "renowned for creating large works that explore the perception and physicality of the human body." And that's what we saw, large black, red and white paintings representing blood, viscera, orifices and wounds. Fortunately, these were mainly depicted in the abstract and they were large so it only took about 20 minutes to view.
From there, we walked to the famous Oxford Covered Market. Of note were the butcher shop, cheese shop, produce store, flower shop, art store and a number of cafes, one of which we stop of a cappuccino and snack. The place is filled with students.
In fact, the whole downtown is filled with students, many dressed casually but others, in formal black attire.
That night, we had dinner at the Arbequina Restaurant that specialized in tapas. The food was amazing. Fortunately, Dave made reservations well before our arrival as it's very difficult to get in. Of course, the meal can't be anything but delicious.
Saturday, October 16
We slept in again. How I hate the jet lag flying west. Jordan took us shopping in the early afternoon to the Westgate Mall. It's a covered outdoor mall with many higher end shops including a John Lewis where we started without much success. I did see shoes that I thought I might purchase after I'd checked out the other shops.
Nicola and Jordan both bought clothes at Uniclo, a Japanese company that sells only a few styles of relatively good quality. I couldn't make up my mind on shoes. Perhaps not that big a priority for me.
Donal and Jane showed up later that day. The six of us took Isla and Winston for a walk through the same fields we'd gone with Jordan except this time we followed a road to the Fisheries Pub. The pub is known to be dog friendly and it certainly lived up to its reputation. A guy at the next table had an older Cocker that he would tap on its hind end when he wanted it to return. Very cute.
Dave made a lamb tagine for dinner that was absolutely delicious. After, we played a game that required guessing the level a person believes a person or object fits a descriptor. My team with Nicola and Dave did not do very well against Jordan, Donal and Jane.
Sunday, October 17
We visited the gardens of the Blenheim Palace today. We entered the gate stopping at the ticket booth where the guy said it would cost 74 pounds for parking and to get into the gardens. Dave then asked how we get out.. We would park in the town and then visit those parts of the garden that are free. it took me a while to figure out that we were in fact entering a back gate where there was no security guard ensuring that we'd paid.
The grounds of the palace are huge. Queen Ann awarded John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough in 1705 for his triumphs against the French and Bavarians during the War of Spanish Succession. The baroque structure was complete in 1722 and designed by Sir John Vanbrugh.The house was completed in 1720 and would be the home of the Churchills and birthplace of Winston however he didn't live there.
We didn't actually view any gardens with flowers however the walk through the fields past ancient trees proved quite enjoyable. The dogs certainly enjoyed it although they weren't allowed off their leashes. One of these ancient trees is the whomping willow from the Harry Potter movie. It's 300 year old cedar that's hollowing out and has had to be fitted with supports.
We enjoyed lunch on benches in the idyllic village of Woodstock. We sat in benches because the there was no room in the restaurant where we'd purchased our sandwiches.
Jordan made dinner tonight and although I remember it being very good I can't remember what it was.
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