(Also, see
here the work created as a result of this visit.)
I loved Oxford – well there seems to be so much to love about it! Ok so I was lucky with the weather and that always helps, but it really is a lovely laid back sort of place! I was on a mission to photograph and create Iconic Oxford – ideally in time for the Pulse trade show which I am taking part in, in early June. I did a bit of research beforehand (I am a pro after all!) and with street map printed from the internet, two cameras and sundry batteries and memory cards off I went.
Things did not get off to a glorious start. I made a mistake paying for my parking. I needed six hours which cost �13.30 (it’s good to dissuade car use so I was ok with that) but I accidently only put in �13 so I only got four hours!!!! I then had to return to the car park after four hours and pay a further �5.20 for the next two hours! An expensive lesson was absorbed – don’t be such a thicky Allison!
But it was a beautiful day, I was in a place completely unknown to me and so off I set!
The first nice thing about Oxford that became evident was its size. It is such a very manageable city. You can get to most places on foot in about twenty minutes. The second thing to strike me was the absence of cars. It’s the kind of place where you can wander about, stepping off into the road willy nilly without fearing for your life – handy if you are trying to take photographs and often either looking up or through a lens. The third thing is there are loads of people on bikes – which always makes me very happy! They are doing something that is good for their health as well as being good for everyone else’s too! And last but by no means least are the beautiful beautiful buildings! And Oxford is just full of them! The Sheridan Theatre,
the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian Library, the churches, the colleges . . . . you can’t move for fine architectural examples. It must be a real privilege to study in a place like Oxford – but I suppose that is very much a fifty something take on the world, eighteen year olds probably don’t look at it that way – and I wouldn’t have when I was eighteen I’m sure!
Highlights of my trip included a stroll to south Park which affords a lovely view back over the city, a stroll by the canal, and the visit to Christ church college – just wonderful! Oh yes and stumbling across the shop (not open of course – it doesn’t need to be) for (not about) the fictional characters of Oxford! Insane and wonderful.
Beautiful, beautiful Oxford . . . . your spires did make me dream.
