England

Magdalen College, Oxford - from the High Street. Established in 1458, Magdalen is one of the many colleges that make up Oxford University. Each college is indepedent, has their own students, dining hall, library, chapel, and endowment. Magdalen is on the edge of the city center and adjacent the river Cherwell. Famous alumni include Julian Barnes, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer AND David Souter, Oscar Wilde, and of course, Dudley Moore...

My trip to Oxford the other day was a trip down memory lane. I spent my Junior year of college studying English History and Literature at Wadham College and lived in this city for a very memorable year of my life. I was here briefly for a wedding 10 years ago, but didn't have time to wander the streets and visit my old haunts.

An easy hour train ride from London's Paddington Station, Oxford is not far from London, but feels a thousand miles away from the (relatively) modern metropolis.

From the train window:

When I got to town, I started with my old local pub, the Holly Bush

The Holly Bush was about 50 yards from my house, and I spend a lot of time in there. Back then my drink of choice was either Guiness or Glennfidich, on this visit I had a sparkling water and a Steak and Kidney Pie for lunch.

I met a Welsh gentleman at the bar named Adrian. He normally works as a tour guide, but had lost his voice two weeks ago and was in there mid-afternoon for a constitutional. Get well soon Adrian!

After a sustaining lunch, I walked down the river - called the Isis here in Oxford, but actually the Thames just down stream - and visited the boathouses where I used to row for Wadham College in an eight man boat. We were awful, never won a race, but enjoyed ourselves. Maybe if we spent more time on the river and less time in the pub...

A bit down river from here I came across more interesting grafitti art below a bridge:

An infamous and iconic image.

The architecture found in this city is truly breathtaking - even for a country as rich in history as England. Here is the roof-line of New College, Oxford. Ironically, one of the oldest of the colleges - established in 1379. (Trivia - Hugh Grant AND Kate Beckinsale went here - I smell a screenplay!)

Parked between New and Magdalen...Yes, they really drive those things in this country...

And yes, the students do wear these gowns and mortar boards - not every day, but for special occasions and when they sit for exams. It was exam day in Oxford on Monday. I overheard them muttering about some especially difficult question on their Medieval History exam just finished...

Exams finished, students gather in front of the Exam Hall.

Just west of the city, where the Isis (Thames) winds behind the train station, there is a towpath that affords one some very pretty views. Every Swan in England enjoys the special protection of the Queen. Each of them has a little bracelet on their leg that has HM and a number...

Another view of the river

Oxford is a famous University town, but it is also the center of Oxfordshire, and a very busy center of commerce. That is Christ Church College in the background - the entrance was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, who also designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Also designed by Sir Christopher Wren, the Radcliffe Camera Reading room of the Bodlein Library is the round building on the right. By royal decree, the publisher of every book printed in Great Britain has to send a copy to the Bodlein Library regardless of "quality". Thus, they have a copy of everything, and I mean everything. That is All Souls College on the left.

Another view

This fellow is the Docent at the main entrance to Christchurch College where many of England's Political leaders were educated over the past 350 years. His job is to help tourists, but also to keep non-students out. The grounds were closed when I arrived, but he agreed to a photo to temper my disappointment.

(Famous Christchurch alums - 14 former Prime Ministers including Sir Robert Peel & William Gladstone, also - W. H. Auden, Lewis Caroll, William Penn, John Locke and Abert Einstein).

(isn't he right out of central casting?)

Hertford College Bridge. Some call it the "Bridge of Sighs" due to its similarity to the bridge in Venice. (Famous Hertford alums - Thomas Hobbes, author of "Leviathan" and Jonathan Swift, author of "Gulliver's Travels")

A view of St. Mary's Church from the High Street. I love the architectural details found in this place. Many of the colleges not only have statuary on the roof, but also collections of classic gargoyles along the eaves.

Detail of Hertford College

This is Wadham where I studied. Not as impressive as some of the colleges, but it was home for me... Next door to Wadham is Rhodes House where the American scholars of the same name are based. Bill Clinton went here for two years in his youth. (Famous Wadham alums - Monica Ali, who wrote "Brick Lane" and Sir Christopher Wren, Architect)

Just in case you thought that every building in this city is hundreds of years old, I present to you the Saïd Business School at Oxford University. This particular structure opened in 2001. Adrian told me that it was endowed by a Middle Eastern businessman and is supposed to resemble a Ziggurat, yet still preserve the stone color of many of the older colleges. Maybe he was putting me on...

The Oxford Castle - once just that, then it was used as a prison, and now...a hotel and tourist attraction. To my horror, I discoverd a Krispy Kreme Donut shop just inside the main entrance...Progress, I guess...

Before leaving town, I hiked two miles upriver to a place called Binsey. It was a pilgrimage of sorts - one of my favorite poems was penned about this place. Gerard Manly Hopkins was walking along the river in 1879 when he found that his favorite grove of poplar trees had been cut down. The poem he wrote was a lament for these particular trees, but has a broader, environmentalist theme. I was walking this same path back in 1989 and I came across a grove of tiny saplings with a small sign that said "planted in memory of Gerard Manly Hopkins". They seem to be doing well don't you think?

For those of you interested in poetic style, his work is a nice example of alliterative verse. I include it here:

Binsey Poplars

felled 1879


MY aspens dear, whose airy cages quelled,
Quelled or quenched in leaves the leaping sun,
All felled, felled, are all felled;
Of a fresh and following folded rank
Not spared, not one
That dandled a sandalled
Shadow that swam or sank
On meadow and river and wind-wandering weed-winding bank.
O if we but knew what we do
When we delve or hew—
Hack and rack the growing green!
Since country is so tender
To touch, her being só slender,
That, like this sleek and seeing ball
But a prick will make no eye at all,
Where we, even where we mean
To mend her we end her,
When we hew or delve:
After-comers cannot guess the beauty been.
Ten or twelve, only ten or twelve
Strokes of havoc únselve
The sweet especial scene,
Rural scene, a rural scene,
Sweet especial rural scene.

On my way back along the river to catch my train back to London, I caught this early evening sunset. A fitting final image I think...

"Fancy a bit of the old Ludwig Van my brothers?"

After a day in Mayfair at a storybook wedding, I was interested in seeing something a bit different... I read a book a few years ago called "Brick Lane" by Monica Ali about a woman from Bangladesh who moves to London through an arranged marriage. It is a classic tale of culture shock and slow assililation. I recommend it, although it is very heavy at times as the main character's isolation, both from her culture and her husband takes its toll...

Anyway, I did some research about this traditionally Bangladeshi neighborhood and found my way there on Sunday. The weather was very warm and since it was Market Day, the place was packed.

What I found was a mixture of immigrant AND hipster culture. As in most rich cities around the world, the hipsters often move into marginal areas - in this case, London's East End and Brick Lane.

All the street signs are in Bengali.

The entrance to the mostly immigrant section of Brick Lane.

Bangla-City Mega Market. They sell rice in 50kg bags, tins of spices, and slaughter goat in the back. I asked if I could photograph the act of rendering a goat - which was taking place just behind the double doors of the butcher section - but they politely refused...

There were bargains to be had on Brick Lane!

Shoppers out and about on a fine day.

Parts of the neighborhood have little alleys with cafes and boutiques. The food and the shopping is amazing in London, but I have tried not to buy much - because of the weak US Dollar, everything in London costs twice as much as it would in New York or Washington.

I have noticed that regardless of where you are in this city - among the well off and connected in Mayfair, or in immigrant East London, there is a great deal of cynicism about Bush/Blair Foreign Policy...

More of the Sunday Market.

A Klezmer band plays traditional Jewish Folk Music near one of the areas very good Bagel Bakeries (yep, I had one, not a proper NYC Bagel, but not bad at all...)

More interesting Grafitti Art in a vacant lot next to the curry house where I had lunch.

Shampoo, leather goods, roasted nuts, car parts, sarees, artisianal cheeses - you name it, you can get it on a Sunday in Brick Lane.

Ok, a punchline contest for anyone who has gotten this far. Best submission regarding this sign wins a package of dried goat jerkey from Bangla City - the good stuff, mind you.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Mr. Christopher Joseph Erdmann and Ms. Katrina Anastasia Lambrianou were married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, London on April 14th, 2007.

The weather was perfect and the wedding was lovely.

As most of you know, the primary reason for my trip to England was to witness this blessed event and share in celebrating the wedding of my dear friend Chris. He is truly blessed, and God has smiled on him by delivering Katrina into his life.

It was a storybook wedding in an historic church in Westminster with a complete Catholic Mass and full choir. I felt like I was witnessing something out of a film - it was so beautiful. The details of the event were impressive - Chris and Katrina did an amazing job in planning the event. I especially enjoyed the music during the service.

But, before the wedding, as is the tradition on both sides of the Atlantic, the guys took Chris for an evening out a few days before. In America we call it a Bachelor Party, in England they call it a Stag Night. Katrina's brothers - there are three (not pictured) - and all the guys who came over from the States gathered at Kettner's Steak House in Soho for a dinner.

Since the ground rules were clear - no booze, no scantily clad women and nothing that might get Chris arrested - we had to be creative to make the evening more than just an opportunity to eat red meat, smoke cigars and speak coarsly. Thus, I came up with a plan....

As many of you know, Chris is a very AMERICAN American, and when it sunk in that he had moved to London, was marrying an Englishwoman AND applying for a British Passport, I began to worry that his patriotism was in danger of erroding, so...

...we dressed him up in an extra large t-shirt dress that said "All American Girl" on the front and put a star-spangled banner USA cap on his head for the evening. In order for him to prove his undying allegience to the good old US of A, I printed up the lyrics to various patriotic songs for him to sing at a number of places in central London.

In addition to climbing on one of the lions in Trafalgar Square and singing in a loud strong voice, we headed for 10 Downing Street (the official residence of the Prime Minister Tony Blair).

Chris is singing Lee Greenwood's famous song "God Bless the USA" to the uniformed security officer at the front gate. Alas, they would not let us in to have Chris serenade Mr. Blair. For those of you not familiar with this American classic, penned during the first Iraq War and popular at Boot Camp Graduations and NASCAR races across the US, here is the first stanza:

"If tomorrow all the things were gone, I'd worked for all my life. And I had to start again, with just my children and my wife. I'd thank my lucky stars, to be livin' here today. 'Cause the flag still stands for freedom, and they can't take that away. And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me. And I gladly stand up, next to you and defend her still today. 'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land, God Bless the USA!"

Alas, no arrests were made that night....

But, back to the WEDDING!

Did I say that the weather was perfect? Here is an exterior shot of the church:

The interior was even more beautiful. Here, Chris and Joe get some last minute instructions from the Priest.

"You may kiss the bride..."

Below are Chris, Katrina, the Best Man Joe and little Charlotte.

Chris' friend Joe was everything one could want in a best man - not only a good friend to Chris, but articulate, funny and devastatingly handsome (the ladies tell me that is....)

The Wedding Party, including the parents (two sets for Chris).

Yours truly and Chris.

A recent addition to the clan sleeps peacefully after the service. The family Chris has married into is rather large, so the wedding was crawling with cute kids...

Every wedding needs an adorable flower girl - Charlotte Lambrianou was a bit reluctant at times, but performed admirably!

The boys were very excited about the idea of throwing handfulls of flower petals at the couple as they emerged from the church - we had to remind them to throw the flowers UP into the air, not AT the couple!

Alas, the Father of the Bride suffered a stroke recently and could not give a speech at the reception, but he was there to preside as the patriarch of the family. He is a Greek Cypriot and is on the right. His brother - who does not speak English - made the trip from Cyprus and is on the left.

To transport the many guests from the church to the reception site, Chris and Katrina hired suitable transportation.

The reception, dinner and dancing took place at the Chandos House, also in Mayfair. It used to be a College of Medicine - now it is a private club and available for events.

A closer look.

No shots of the reception itself - I was more interested in eating wonderful food and talking with the diverse group of wedding guests. The party went until midnight and included a cocktail reception on the back terrace, a full four course dinner with French service in the upper ballroom, and Greek dancing in the main hall. A good time was had by all!

Chris and Katrina are off to Fiji and New Zealand for three weeks - all the best to them!

"Baxter...I will take you to foggy London Town..." a free bag of crisps to anyone who can name the movie.

Actually, London is not foggy at all today

Here are how the flowers in Kensington Gardens looked this afternoon. A bit of a change from the snow and rain in Reykjavík...

I arrived in London this morning and headed to my hotel near Paddington Station and about 50 meters from the entrance to Kensington Gardens. One of the things I love about traveling is staying at unique hotels. I spend a great deal of time finding places online that look interesting and fit my budget. I decided to stay at the Shaftesbury Hyde Park. It is 120 years old, and although cozy, the sleeping rooms have been newly rennovated. The bathtubs are especially nice...

When I checked in, I realized that this place was in fact, more than unique, but downright funky. Anyone ever seen Fawlty Towers? Well it seems that I am staying at a very similar place...I have yet to find my John Cleese, but the Porter, a very nice fellow, is right out of central casting.

The Porter, named Brian interestingly enough, is particularly loquacious. I started chatting with him in the lobby and 20 minutes later I had his life story. Apparently he is from Bulgaria, but his grandmother was Greek and fled Greek Macedonia in the waning years of the Ottoman Empire - those darn Turks... Anyway, he speaks Russian, Italian, and even English. I promised to teach him the little bit of Icelandic I have been able to acquire so far...BTW, I made friends with an Icelandic guy on the flight in this morning - Siggi - turns out he went to Oxford too, so we had lots to talk about. We exchanged contact information and he promised to show me around Iceland on my next visit (which will be soon!)

After unpacking, I took a walk in Kensington Gardens and wandered over to the Albert Memorial

This famous London landmark was comissioned by Queen Victoria for her late husband Albert. She must have liked him... There are all sorts of great Victorian Era motifs incorporated into the memorial - Elephants to symbolize the extent of the British Empire, images of Industry and Agriculture, and of course, old Albert, all done up in gold and sitting right on top.

The weather was fine, so the park was full of Londoners enjoying the day.

London is truly an international city. I have never heard so many different languages spoken - even in New York - and not just from tourists, but from the diverse population that calls this city home. I found this scene especially charming - two women enjoying a picnic together on a Thursday afternoon...

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