Monday, March 2, 2009

Written on an Evening in Early Spring



Pics: Daffodils in the Parks, Me in front of Westminster, Crick kitchen, Crick living room, the outside of Crick (it's the building on the right).







































Seventh week has begun, which means that we are down to
our last fortnight before Hilary Term ends. Will I be relieved? YES. Have I been busy? The fact that I haven't posted in a month answers that question. February has been a good month though. Spring is beginning to make an appearance, in the form of flowers in the Park and coatless days. I can't wait to see all these trees get dressed again. Although they have so much character, even without their leaves. Eric took me on a surprise trip to London for Valentine's Day. We visited Westminster Abbey, the highlight of which was the grave of Charles Dickens. I stood on it. Wow. No other pilgrimage in my life will compare. We continued the day with several hours in the National Gallery, then on to an incredible Lebenese restaurant, and then concluded the adventure with "The Phantom of the Opera."

Don't be too jealous of me though. Typical days in Oxford are no picnic for us scholars. We in Crick frequently swap horror stories of all-nighters, essays gone sour, and the dreaded words of a tutor: "I know you can do better." But there are ways of coping. Supper at the pub, taking advantage of the sunshine in the Park, and gathering on Sunday afternoons for teatime are some of the ways we do it. And then sometimes, we come to a tutorial and hear these words: "This is your best essay yet!" And the world gets three shades brighter.

So, Sprink Break is rapidly approaching, and I think we can make it. Will we? But I believe it's time for supper now, so I'll have to leave you hanging. I'll let you know in a couple of weeks.