Two for One

Monday

We got fresh bed linen between our two lectures – one on the Art of Courtly Love and one on “Reading Oxford” as a historical text (1 of 4 – but only 1 of 2 we’ll have this semester… seems odd but there it is). I figured that made it a good day to tidy up my room again, get the little vacuum down from the common room and give my carpet a once over, put the fresh sheets on the bed, organize my books and papers, and just generally get things straightened. I’ve done all that and now I am debating if I should take a shower before I read or read before I take a shower this afternoon – both of which I’d like to have done with in time for some afternoon tea if possible.

Books won… until I found that one of them was all in middle English… in which case I switched plans to the shower and some tea – with my book in hand fully intending to read it at tea!! I ran into Lisa Rose though and she looked distraught. I guess her paper for her tutorial got rather ripped to tiny bits by her instructor and she looked like she needed a friend to have some tea and hot chocolate with. So I did that instead.

Tuesday

Busy day today. First breakfast and lectures as usual and then lunch, after which I went on the mini-field trip to Iffley Church. We had a bit of a snag meeting up with our guide though. Dr. Phillpott put us on the coach to Iffley and told us to get off at Iffley Turn stop, which we did, but our guide - who I really think is a wonderful man and scholar but whose name always escapes me - wasn’t there. We thought he might be just a moment so we waited, but as the minutes passed we started to get anxious and I suggested that three of us (as we were six in the group) go on to the church to see if there had been a miscommunication and he was waiting for us there. Lisa Rose volunteered, having been before, to lead that expidition while I continued to wait with two other girls at the stop and I gave her my phone number to call with her findings when they arrived (the church being a half mile distant up a curved road, as I was informed by a kind passerby when I inquired).

When neither my phone rang nor our guide arrived after an additional 15 minutes, I decided to lead my group up to the church to see what had become of our fellows and try to find a further course of action with them. Lisa Rose suggested we call the centre, but she didn’t have a phone so I used mine and spoke briefly with Dr. Phillpott who said he would call back after calling our guide I was unsure of my own number at that point, since all they gave me was a plastic card with a string of numbers so when he hadn’t called back after 10 minutes I called again, assuming he had tried to get me and had a technical failure. This proved to be the case and he informed me that our guide was on his way and all would be well if we’d wait patiently at the church – which we did and all was indeed well. We had a lovely tour and returned eventually to our bus and home in good order.

Upon returning I stopped up at the office to see what the trouble with my number had been – as there seems only half a use in having a cell phone if no one can call you on it (though you can still use it to call others obviously). Turns out that, even though it is the right number he dialed – and we did test it right there from the card itself – my phone doesn’t ring! I would have gone straight away to T-mobile to investigate this, since it is practically right outside our door, but as it was already 10 to 6 it was more than likely closed, so I will have to see about that tomorrow right after breakfast – because we have another trip, this one our last official big field trip to Windsor tomorrow! I am very excited, though I think I shall have to put my feet up tonight in preparation, since they are still smarting a bit at the heels and I was on them for a long time today walking about Iffley.

Off to dinner now though while the video from Iffley clears through the programs so I can have a clean camera for Windsor tomorrow!

Here's some more footage from Wells for you all