To perk us up a bit after the sombre feel of Liverpool DVD, I put on A Bit of Fry and Laurie. We actually didn't end up watching any of ABOFL but instead watched the extra feature that was all about the Cambridge Footlights which gave us the additional talent of Tony Slattery, Paul Shearer, Penny Dwyer and Emma Thompson. There were some hilarious sketches- my favorite being the Stephen Fry Vampire Story. I'm sure you can find it on youtube- it's got some of the worst puns ever. My favorite being:Count Dracula: What blood type are you?
Doctor: A.
Count Dracula: I said, what blood type are you?
Doctor: O. B.
After ABOFL we popped out to the shops during a break in the rain and picked up some groceries for Shepherd's Pie. We made wayyyyy too much, an entire pan, and also some chips to go along with it but it was so yummy! Pretty easy to make although our pans were a little too small but it smell delicious while it was cooking up!
And of course, you can't have Shepherd's Pie and chips without some British drink- Carlsberg and Strongbow to the rescue (I still hate beer!)
While we ate our dinner and watched Jeeves and Wooster- the first three episodes- also starring our favorite Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, we both had the England v. Turkey match on our computers. A great end to the night!
Sunday morning dawned cloudy but the sun burst through the clouds on my way home from St. Andrews and we had a beautiful day for our tramp through Port Meadows. We walked down to Walton Road, crossed over the train tracks and the canal and trekked through the meadows and the yellow flowers that shook in the wind. A beautiful clean Thames wound through the meadows and there were geese and ducks and cows in our path as we wandered.
We neared the Trout, one of the little locals pubs in the area that I went to on Friday night with Heather for a little bit. The Trout is now in this old stone building right on the river in between a canal lock and a small bridge that leads to a Narnian style garden (I've been thinking a lot about Narnia lately). Ironically, or symbolically, I guess, the garden was closed off by a black iron gate. There is a large garden in the back where people were eating their Sunday lunch. When I was there with Heth, there weren't too many lights outside and it was so peaceful to sit and sip drinks in the near dark with only the sound of the river next to us. I definitely need to get back there for a real meal or at least another drink before I head state-side.
Roni's sharp eyes led us into the Wolvercote Community Orchard. There was a sign on the entrance that explain what every single tree was (they were all different fruits and nuts) and each tree had an identifying sign. Since it's springtime, all there was on the trees were small buds and flowers and some early cherries and apples but I really hope that I can be back in the fall when the trees had bearing fruit. I miss picking apples like we used to when we lived in New Hampshire!
The last thing we stumbled upon on our Port Meadows walk was the Godstow Nunnery. It was now in ruins but we were still able to see where the church had been in the corner. Six months in Oxford and I had no idea that was fifteen minutes walk away from my house. The things you learn- I would love to go back on another sunny day and have a picnic there. Perfect location.
Of course, our English weekend wasn't over. We came home to some leftover Shepherd's Pie (you saw how big that pan was- we're gonna be eating this for a good month) and some England National Team. Right now they're tied 1-1 with Japan and their goal was a Japan own goal. Not too fortuitous with the World Cup in two weeks. Come on England. And of course, our usual Sunday night tradition- a little bit of Doctor Who.
I'm gonna miss these England weekends! At least tomorrow is a Bank Holiday- that means we're off to the Isle of Wight!
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