April Edition: The Simple Woman's Daybook

A Bird's Eye View of  Oxford
Photo: Sidharth Bhatia / unsplash.com

OXFORD: "The city is known worldwide as the home of the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Buildings in Oxford demonstrate notable examples of every English architectural period since the late Saxon period. Oxford is known as the 'city of dreaming spires', a term coined by poet Matthew Arnold." ~ excerpt from Wikipedia

In a few short days we'll be seeing this view with our very own eyes, not just as we see it on television or movies, not just imagining the historical crooks and crannies from the books I've read. In real life. Squeee.

I'll be posting photos from the 'city of dreaming spires' on my Facebook page while we are there; you are welcome to join me on Facebook.

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Since you came to read the April Daybook edition, let me begin without further ado.

Hugs,

Brenda

x♥x 

For Today...

Looking out my window... a mix of sun and cloud... with chances of blue skies. 

I am thinking... there's no time like the present to wish you a wonderful week ahead. And to tell you how much I appreciate all the really nice comments you leave here for me and all our readers to enjoy. I do hope there will be a day in heaven when we can all meet and have one big kindred party.

I am thankful... for one lovely husband who says, "Okay, let's do Oxford on a whim" and books the tickets ... all because he likes to make his wife happy. And yes, she is happy -- she likes to make him happy too.

One of my favourite things... reading in a sunny room on a Sunday afternoon. With a soft breeze blowing the curtain in a lazy manner. Something smooth and lovely to sip as the pages turn. And, a snoozing kitty cat nearby to make it perfect.

I am creating... lists as the days to Oxford count down.

I am wearing... a floral sleeveless summer dress because the sun is shining now and it feels warm.

I finished reading... The Singing Sands by Josephine Tey, the book mentioned in an earlier post. Without giving anything away here, the author puts her Scotland Yard Detective Alan Grant through his paces to uncover whether the corpse found on the train is accidental or suicidal, or maybe even murder. The plot is twisty-turny without making the reader sit too near the edge of her chair. It's a relaxing, delightful read, and I will definitely look for more of her stories. 

I am watching... Gaudy Night, the third in a detective mystery miniseries with fictional characters Lord Peter Wimsey and detective novelist Harriet Vane. Produced by the BBC in 1987, the detective series is based on novels by British author Dorothy L. Sayers. I'm watching now because Gaudy Night is a story that takes place at a fictional ladies college in Oxford, England; it was also filmed in Oxford.

Dorothy L. Sayers was born in Oxford, and as a young woman, she won a scholarship to Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied modern languages and medieval literature. No doubt her own experience of Oxford academic life created the inspiration to write her truly wonderful book, Gaudy Night. 

I am listening... to the oh-so-welcome whistles of my first robin of the season calling from a nearby roof-top. That, dear friends, signals Spring in my corner of the world.

I am hoping... for days that aren't too rainy when we get to Oxford next week. So far, the weather report bodes well for us ... mild temperatures, cloudy skies, and no sign of any sharp showers. How convenient travellers can now Google weather stations anywhere in the world -- makes it much easier to know what to pack.

I am learning... to pack my suitcase more lightly. What's that old rule -- pack everything you want to take into your suitcase, and just before you close the lid, take half of it out. Yup, it seems about right.

In my kitchen...  for our Sunday dinner, we enjoyed a small baked ham with a buttery raisin sauce, and a garden salad with fresh dill and Catalina dressing drizzled over it.

In my garden... there are tiny signs of green poking through here and there. The very first reddish sprouts of my peonies, for one, and tiny green noses of crocuses, for another. Oh joy, oh bliss. Every year I keep being surprised just how quickly things get going when it warms up. Dormant all winter, they must be most eager to get on with their work of making our world beautiful.

A favourite blog... is Carrie's very English, totally delightful Fawlty Spires. She describes herself as a 'transplanted South Dakota/Seattle girl living in the heart of Oxford, UK', and she runs a small B&B with her husband, Stuart, and her beloved dog, Jack, who I understand is her official bacon tester. I first 'met' Carrie on Twitter -- we being mutual Twitter followers of Susan Branch. So you can imagine how exciting it is that, while we visit Oxford, we're booked to stay at Holywell B&B -- click for gorgeous photos here.

So much of my yearning to visit Oxford comes from the films and movies I've watched over the years: Shadowlands (1993) starring Anthony Hopkins as C.S. Lewis; Brideshead Revisited, the 1981 television series with Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews -- total favourite; the Morse detective series with John Thaw as Morse, the follow up series Lewis, and most recently, Endeavour, the prequel to Morse with Shaun Evans as the younger Morse. To name a few.

You will imagine my delight when I learned that Carrie lives in the heart of Oxford where so many of these well-known shows and movies are filmed. In one of her posts, she talks about it: 

"Hardly a month goes by when there isn't a film crew in Oxford. Countless movies, TV series, and documentaries have all used Oxford as a beautiful backdrop. It isn't unusual to be watching a documentary and suddenly the presenter is walking down Holywell Street or through the Radcliffe Square, or some other equally familiar spot where we walk every day. It's strange to see the place you live flash on the television screen, and it's even stranger when they film outside your front door. ..."

To read Carrie's complete post, you'll find it here.

Photo: morguefile.com

A favourite author... Years ago when I first read C.S. Lewis, I was drawn to this man's gentle approach to life and life events. I wanted to learn more about the man, his life, and about Oxford, the place where he lived, worked, and studied for so many years. In truth, his writings shaped my life -- I read everything I could find by him, and about him, in bookstores and on library shelves.

I came across some notes I jotted down in an old notebook ... something I'd read from C.S. Lewis and his thoughts on what makes a literary person. I wrote his comments carefully into my now vintage common book, and looking back, I think they helped change my reading habits... I didn't want to be found lacking in this department if anyone asked or looked too closely. Up to that point I mostly read historical and romance fiction (which is fine as one item on the dinner plate, but not for the whole meal -- if you want balance, that is). My reading habits and tastes developed over time, and I think I have C.S. Lewis to thank for it, for I never really forgot his comments. Note: I typed out the short list of notes; if you are interested, you'll find them here.

A seasonal quote or two or three...

"The window is open and a warm, delicious little breeze comes wandering in. It smells of magnolias and dogwood and it whispers in our ears enticing little stories of gurgling brooks and cool woods. Yes, we have got spring fever and got it bad." ~ Country Life, June 1922

"Spring won’t let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again." ~ Gustav Mahler, musician 

"Science has never drummed up quite as effective a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day." ~ W. Earl Hall

Have you seen this... Sometimes I really am a late bloomer, for I haven't seen this movie yet. Have you? Testament of Youth is a 2014 British drama film based on the WWI memoir of the same name written by Vera Brittain. Young independent Vera abandons her Oxford studies to be become a war nurse. Yes, I will be checking for this one, and if I can't find the movie, I'm looking for the memoir.

Closing note...

"Whoever has a heart full of love always has something to give."

~ Pope John XXIII

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Linking with The Simple Woman's Daybook

April Simple Woman's Daybook (hints of Oxford)
Oxford First Glimpses, Part 1

Here in Oxford, Part 2

A Visit to Blackwell's Bookshop, Part 3