I’m sitting in a cafe in Oxford right now, its 28 degrees in the shade, and I’m just about touristed out. I’ve seen a dozen different colleges, more beautiful old buildings and pubs than you could possibly be expected to see in a day (or week even) and I’m about ready to find a nice bit of shade under a tree to collapse under. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, Oxford is a lovely town, but we arrived last night, and we leave first thing in the morning, so it means we have to rush about and see everything we want to see in one day. I can tell you that if ALL colleges and universities looked like they do here I think I would have become a professional student many years ago.

There are some nice photos here of Christchurch, you will need to click on them to enlarge them… The Dining Room at Christchurch Cathedral is where Harry Potter eats all his meals. See the resemblance here.

Last night was the first game England vs France of the 2004 European Championship. What a brilliant game! England was the underdog, yet, for most of the game it was leading 1-0…. but during the last 2 mins of overtime, France went ahead and scored – and then in the last seconds, they scored again on a penalty! What a disaster! France 3 – England 1. We were watching in a pub here in Oxford and were ready to rush out on the street and celebrate with all the drunken Brits… but alas, it was not to be… Now, you know that being an Aussie, I usually give the English a bit of a hard time, but last night I think they really deserved to win – and I’m almost sad that they didn’t. All the same, there will hopefully be another chance to come up against France in the finals, and let’s see who wins then!

Next game, England vs Switzerland on Thursday. Go Poms Go!

We spent last weekend in Bamford visiting our friends Michelle & Barry (thanks!). Here Christine was introduced to true British TV with a lineup on Friday night that included: Big Brother 5 (this link is for you Xtine to continue watching when you go back to Montreal..), French & Saunders, Big Brothers Little Brother and a little QI – followed by DVDs of Creature Comforts and the Day Today (transcript from an episode here). Saturday night was football night. Greece vs Portugal, the opening game for the Euro championship, followed by 100 top footy moments… this gave Christine all the background she needed to be standing up on her seat last night, cheering for England and drinking pints! All of this, and a little hillwalking too! Beautiful scenery, not so hard hills and a nice friendly pub at the end of the day….

Tomorrow we’re off to Bath….