CHRIST CHURCH COLLEGE, OXFORD

I snapped the photo as I breakfasted in solitary splendor in the great hall in Christ Church. The reason I had breakfast alone is because I had the time wrong, and when I arrived breakfast was over. With a true sob story about having to take the bus to Heathrow, I asked if I could have a light breakfast of cereal and toast, and the manager was kind enough to allow it.

The Rev Richard Haggis was my personal guide around Christ Church College and Oxford, and a splendid guide he was. He should hire himself out. A delicious moment at the great Hall at Christ Church was when I called to Richard's attention that we were cutting the long queue of the hoard of tourists, and he said quite naturally and spontaneously, "This is my place." Not the most inspirational moment, but delicious, and I cherish those small, delicious moments. Nor did I pay the entrance fee, since I was Richard's guest. 

All quotes below are from Richard.

Autumn colors in the vine growing on the wall above a tunnel at Christ Church.  The entire walk was lovely. The picture is not photo-shopped but shows the true color of the turning leaves.

"The tunnel is to contain an ancient brook which passes under Christ Church and various other parts of the city of Oxford, joining the canal, I believe, a little further north. It can be viewed, covered in this splendid creeper, from the walkway through the War Memorial Garden." 

"It is, I believe, creeping jasmine, approaching the south doorway to the historic cloister of S. Frideswide's priory, which Cardinal Wolsey purloined to begin his Oxford college, which Henry VIII later purloined in turn to make Christ Church a college and a diocesan cathedral. It is one of the most ancient parts of the college."

The secret garden with the tiny fountain and a lovely weeping willow.  The building in the background is the Faculty of Music and the Bate Collection of Musical Instruments.

Statue of Mercury in Tom Quad.

"'Mercury, beckoning the tourists into Christ Church'.  Mercury was initially male, but there was an incident with a firework, and he has been re-assigned. Like Jan Morris, the college's first 'old girl'." 

DOG SHAME

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Dennis.

IT'S STILL CHRISTMAS - 8

Not eight ladies dancing maids a-milking, but six ladies all in a row.  My grandmother, Aimée, is in the center with her five daughters, from left to right, Eva, May (Aimée), Gladys, Irma, and Pearl (my mother).  Eva and Irma lived in Reno, Nevada, so they must have come to New Orleans for a visit.  My mother and my Aunt May look so young.  My grandmother always looked old to me, I'm sad to say, probably even before she  was old.  She dressed in the old-fashioned way with long dresses, lisle stockings, and sensible, lace-up shoes. 

The young lady pictured above is ready to dance.  My granddaughter was three or four years old in the picture and wears one of her costumes for her dancing school recital.  I sat through the recitals for my sister, my daughter, and my granddaughter.  As a child, I enjoyed my sister's dance recitals, but, as an adult, the recitals with performances by many youngsters seemed endless.  My sister was a talented dancer and danced through high school, but my daughter and granddaughter took dance lessons for only a few years.  Thank heaven for small mercies.

I'm running out of material for the twelve days of Christmas, with still more days to fill.  I should have stuck with the song.

UPDATE: My grandparents had seven children in all, five daughters and two sons. 

WENDY LIKES THE BATHTUB

Slurp, slurp, slurp.

So I like to drink water in the bathtub. Do you have a problem with that?

Please do not note the rings around the bathtub.  The post is all about Wendy, who lives with my son and his family. 

BEAUTIFUL AND INCREDIBLE IMAGES FROM MARS

The time for me to post pictures from the incredible Mars adventure is overdue, so here they are.

More, many more amazing pictures may be seen at the NASA website.

NASA publishes the latest pictures, news, and updates on the Mars mission at their website.

Is the photo above the incredible part of the mission? Who can say?  From a friend who can take credit or not. I chickened out and did a bit of editing to the photo, because I didn't want to offend.

BLESSINGS AND CONGRATULATIONS, BRYAN

On Monday evening, my grandson Bryan, pictured above in the red gown, was one of the confirmandi at St Matthew the Apostle Church in River Ridge. He stands with his Dad, Mom, and two brothers, William on the left and Andrew on the right. Grandpère was his sponsor. The girls wore white gowns and the boys red. Both Bryan and GP played their parts well. The mass was lovely, with the choir at St Matthew's performing and leading the congregational singing beautifully. Roman Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond gave a sermon suitable for all ages. Altogether, it was a lovely evening.



Above is Bryan with his aged (OMG, how aged!) grandparents. At a certain point in one's life the picture-taking should stop, right?

I should mention here my mea culpa for having missed my oldest grandson's confirmation, much to my regret, due to a misunderstanding on my part that Grandpère, also Joey's sponsor, was going to a rehearsal instead of the real thing. I should also mention that miscommunication in my family is not all that unusual.

In the top picture, Bryan's eyes caught the light of the flash and were blank. I shopped in eyes as best I could, but the result is far from perfect. Sorry, Bryan.



Above is the picture my daughter took of Bryan in front of the Resurrection cross. I wish I had caught him in his wicked moment with his arms stretched out. Alas....

ICELAND'S VOLCANO

Smoke billows from an erupting volcano which seems to be close to the top of the Eyjafjalla glacier on April 14, 2010 near Reykjavik.



An aerial handout photo from the Icelandic Coast Guard shows flood caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.



Melting ice caused by a volcanic eruption at Eyjafjalla Glacier in southern Iceland April 14, 2010.

Pictures from Boston.com via Doug. The Globe has more pictures.