Idiosyncratic Observations

[Lisa in Ottawa]

I've been in Oxford for a month with 2 more to go. The following are a few of my observations in no particular order.

Is there a baby boom? Tons of young families with 3 and 4 young children. In Oxford they pile their children on bikes with all manner of carrying contraptions. Not quite as I remember how families travel in Asia but almost.

Everyone is so helpful from shop and café/pub staff, to the greeter at the library to folks going out of their way to ensure I get to where I need to go. In fact, I hardly have a chance to look moderately confused before I’m approached with offers of assistance. This is not how I have experienced France, Spain or Italy. It seems akin to American behavior.

Favorite words “brilliant” and the opposite “rubbish” to describe all manner of things.

BBC radio 4 is wonderful.

Oxford has way too much happening for 1 person to track.

They love their tea and cake. Many good cake, tea and coffee shops. I think cake may be more beloved than tea. Espresso based coffee drinks are popular especially with the under 30 crowd. As I don’t drink tea but adore good coffee, this makes me happy. And I get to sit among young people intensely studying their mobiles or laptops. I feel right at home.

Oxford is even more beautiful than I imagined. The bonus being all the green spaces.

Drivers are mindful of cyclists. It must be because most drivers are also a cyclists.

Off the main arteries, cars are parked on both sides of the street facing either direction. And cars go down the middle. Makes it a little confusing. Is it a 1 way street? Nope.

It’s a myth that it always rains in England. In fact, my experience is
the sun always shines. (lol)

Shop local seems popular. From pubs to supermarkets the emphasis is on "grown in Britain" and "sourced locally". This only applies to fresh food items.

 

[Kathy]

I'm so glad you're having a wonderful experience Lisa! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

 

[artnbarb]

<sigh>

 

[Pauline]

Interesting observations @Lisa in Ottawa !

One thing that makes it easier for locals to approach tourists to offer advice is that it is most likely that we all speak the same language. In France or Italy, they may assume the tourist does not speak their language. On our recent trip I had to stop hikers a few times to ask if we were on the right trail (or how far left there was to walk uphill), and we all went through that language dance where you figure out who speaks what in common.

Another reason may be that Brits are great travelers, so know what it is like to be confused in a new place. But, I agree, Brits like talking to tourists.

No baby boom in Painswick But in Stroud around 4pm when the schools let out, the streets are flooded with young people.

It took me awhile to get used to brilliant and rubbish, and I still don't use the words myself.

I love Radio 4 too. The 6:30pm time slot has good comedy. Monday is Just a minute (my favorite). The Friday night comedy is very good.

The Stroud area has too much going on also! I imagine it is 100 times more in Oxford.

Drivers are considerate here - to pedestrians, bikes and other drivers. It is rare to find an asshole driver and when I do, I just say "they must be from London", because the driving gets more intense the closer you get to London.

Steve calls that the driving "slalom" where you swerve back and forth around the parked cars, avoiding the oncoming cars. It took me about a year of driving to get used to it.

The autumn rain started today.

Locally sourced is a big deal here. Artisanal food production is popular too for beer, cheese, ready meals, etc. Some household items, like dinnerware (I am looking for new plates and noticed that only some of Denby's are produced in the UK) and furniture, also let you know they are made in the UK.