England 2016

After a great car-filled morning, we're heading to the famous town of Oxford, England!

John had identified the several different famous museums that we're going to target, including a vast collection of very old musical instruments that will appeal to Andrew.

When we get into the town and park, we walk past a very-oddly-named and signed pub - The Eagle and Child. The sign has a very graphic representation of the name ... quite odd, but worth a photo! I found out, after this visit, that this particular pub is very old (1650s) and VERY famous (C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien used to frequent the pub, along with other famous writers!). As per other British pubs, it's also been referred to as the "Bird and Baby", "Fowl and Foetus", etc.

Moving on, we pass such Oxfordian mainstays as the Blackfriars Hall, the Martyr's Memorial, and the world-famous Ashmolean Museum. We didn't have enough time to spend on everything, so the Ashmolean would be left as a target for a future visit!

Our first target, though, is the Oxford History of Science Museum!

They have a current exhibition of very old astrolabes, originally used by astronomers for celestial measurements or by sea-faring navigators, before the creation of the sextant! They have two massive display rooms full of various solid brass interworking discs and more delicate-looking, but every bit as intricate, brass ring astrolabes (connected with various telescopes).

One of the most beautiful, though, was the full-sphere 3-D floor-mounted astrolabe. This had a planetary-movement bit in the interior that really really really was calling out to me to touch.

But I was not forcibly removed from the museum for falling prey to my "wanna touch the astrolabe" impulses.

Poking around a bit more, we find an old wooden-framed (but portable!) telescope and an amazing (and large!) "Zenith Sector" device from 1773, used for measuring stellar aberrations that confirmed the movement of the Earth.

By this point, a large crowd of (noisy!) schoolchildren have made their way into the museum, so it's the perfect time for us to exit stage right and find a pub! 🙂

Leaving the museum and heading past other intriguing buildings (including an Oxford version of Venice Italy's famous "Bridge of Sighs"), we luck into finding a GREAT old classic Oxford pub - The King's Arms, Oxford.

Getting a pint and a pie sounds PERFECT after the morning car viewings and the strolls through historic Oxford, so we settle into a great old oak table near the pub and enjoy our lunch.

Above our table on the wall is a pair of photos showing the Queen Mum enjoying a pint and Prince Charles pulling himself one from the bar just a few feet away. Funny stuff being around all this history... makes you thirsty! 🙂

With our hunger and thirst sated, we walk back towards the car - stopping of course for a souvenir t-shirt or three and some gawking at the old buildings.

It's time to head off for what will turn out to be Andrew's favorite part of the day.

Once parked and hiked to the location, the Oxford College of Music has an extensive collection of musical instruments from the early days of formative music. The Bate Collection website has lots of details about the collection online.

This is a working collection, with ancient instruments that can be viewed by the general public but also loaned to Oxford students and faculty for various lessons/events.

After being buzzed in and introducing ourselves to the museum docent, Andrew gravitates immediately to the "wall of saxophones"! He starts pointing out the different early precursors and an original Adolphe Sax model.

They have a small assortment of instruments available on a table to touch and play, so we convince Andrew to actually try out the "serpent horn", a precursor to the modern tuba.

It's amusing, but he gets a pretty decent sound of it for never having played an instrument of such an old design!

We wander about looking at the different displays (nicely grouped into various brass and woodwind families), with Andrew pointing out more and more instruments that he's seen only in photos or books.

After a short while, the museum docent recognizes that Andrew's the "expert" in our group and strikes up conversation with him while pointing out some of the really fascinating histories on some of these exhibited pieces.

I think he's impressed at Andrew's knowledge, as I catch him nodding vigorously up-and-down when Andrew recognizes and comments further on some of the items the docent is pointing out.

As a father, it's another in a series of proud moments. 🙂

So many instruments are on display, including some herald trumpets that had been borrowed from the collection and used in the 2011 royal wedding of Prince William and Princess Kate and numerous instruments that Andrew recognized quickly as medieval cousins of more modern instruments that his band uses today.

There are great collections of keyboard instruments as well, including various harpsichords from across the European continent and famous former owners. Upstairs, the string instrument collection was actually somewhat depleted, as most of the instruments were currently on loan to the Oxford string faculty for some event - but they had a great collection of very old bows, including an excellent German bow, similar to the one I used to use when I played Double Bass myself!

Humorously, in the clarinet display, is a fully-functional clarinet made from a carved-out toilet plunger. Andrew chuckles and says something about how it probably sounded better than some others he knows... he wouldn't name names. 😉

After a sincere "thank you" to the museum docent for a great afternoon, we walk up the street to enjoy a nice tea/scone break (this needs to catch on here in the States, please and thank you), Andrew and I leave John to rest his feet while we head across the street towards the VERY impressive Christ Church structure.

Unfortunately, the actual Christ Church chapel is closed for an event, but we're able to walk around the exterior on our way to other sights. It's really clear that this (and various Oxford locations) have been used in movies over the years - including a lot in the Harry Potter series.

Another thing we learned was that, while Oxford is a large University town, it's made up of a number of individual "colleges", with each having its own dining hall, bar, common room and library, and lots of college groups and societies. While American Universities have individual "colleges" within their organization, it's not as obviously segmented as it is in Oxford, with high walls, unique buildings, chapels, etc.

We walk into the entrance (guard station!) of one of them, Merton College, and speak to the very friendly guard stationed there. While the actual visiting hours had just ended, we explained that we were visiting for the day from Texas, and a big smile broke across his face and said that, as long as we were quiet and only stayed a short while, we could go right in! I promised him 20 minutes and we'd be back - and he was happy with that.

Stepping into the Merton Chapel, it was a spectacular sight - the stonework, the rows of deep mahogany pews, the stained glass, the pipe organ, and the inlaid tombs in the floor all combined for an almost overwhelming sense of history, purpose, and solemnity.

We walked through several courtyards - appropriately four unique quads (thus the names, duh) - that were all equally impressive, before returning to the guard station. Since we had only taken 15 minutes, a friendly wave (and a Texas keychain as a thank you gift!) and we were off to the next college down the road that had a massive spire rising over some of the lower closer buildings.

Heading through the narrow and winding streets, we lose sight of the spire from time to time, but it's all part of the adventure! It's a good thing Andrew and I both have pretty good senses of direction, so we don't worry about getting lost, but we are doing a *LOT* of walking... so fortunately, I think we've worked off the pub lunch by now. Ha!

We finally arrive at Magdalen College, and find that this one is a bit more "commercial" than the others - actually charging and admission fee! It's totally reasonable, and we gladly hand over a few pounds and walk through into a great courtyard with surrounding college walls and buildings.

Unfortunately for us, the actual chapel is closed to the public for a choir practice (which would have been AWESOME to listen to quietly from the back), but we make due with other beautiful buildings and various lovely flowers and a fantastic walk along the River Cherwell, which flows directly into the nearby Thames (yes ... same one!).

It's nearing sunset as we trudge our way back through the winding Oxford streets to where we left John. Perfect timing, as he's had enough sitting for awhile. 🙂

As we return to the car park and head back to Charingworth, Andrew and I recognize that, as with most things we do in England, we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what Oxford has to offer. Another visit for another time - Kathy and Liz would love it here!

Exhausted, but not too tired for this traditional English treat, we stop at the Edwards' favorite local "chip shop" for a great meal of authentic Fish & Chips!

After dinner, and regaling Marianne with the tales of the day, we finally break into the 20-year-old bottle of scotch that we had brought John from our Day 1 London adventures.

To say it was smooth would insult the word. It was a shame to leave it, but we know (from evidence!) that they enjoyed it quickly the next week after we our eventual departure... ha!!

Back to Charingworth and a much-needed sleep, as our final two days in England this time will revolve around Premier League soccer!!!