Sunday in the park with King Arthur and his knights.

It took two whole years (during which everyone else I know has seen him multiple times, and he apparently lives in my neighborhood), but today, while walking in University Parks, I had my first Thom Yorke sighting. He jogged past me, inches away, wearing royal blue shellsuit-style trousers and what looked like a royal blue football jersey. He was red-faced and sweaty, and seemed to be a good foot shorter than I am. But I finally saw him! I have also seen the actress who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter films in my neighborhood, in case I haven't mentioned it before. Quite remarkable that I noticed her, given that I'm usually too oblivious for celebrity sightings. You know who else I would like to see? Kirsty and Phil from Location, Location, Location (and Relocation, Relocation). They're all over the country ... it's bound to happen sooner or later!

January is almost over, which is a good thing. Here, the payback for too-early sunsets and rising damp all winter long is that in February you start to get those spring flowers out. In fact, because it's been fairly warm here, the flowers started to come up a few weeks ago. Crazy to one morning be in a land where it's -25 Celsius and your plane wings need de-icing, and the next be in a land where winter never seemed to have happened. But the rains have been unrelenting, and many parts of England are under water again. High ground is not something I would ever have worried about in buying a house, but it's on my list of criteria now!

Nothing exciting happening here ... just waiting for sunnier weather. Hoping to plan a bit of travelling, have a few more visitors, and spend a lot more time in beer gardens (at least on the nice days). Had a chance to take the wellies out for a spin in the completely flooded Port Meadow last weekend. I can't believe I haven't had proper wellies since I was a kid - they're so much fun. And we needed them just to get into the meadow, as anyone without sufficiently tall boots had to be carried or else turned back.


This is as close as I could zoom in, given that there was an ocean of water between us, but this lump in the distance is, according to a kindly local, one of the Roman burial mounds I'd been trying to find out in the meadow for ages (there is apparently also an Iron Age earthwork out there somewhere, but while you can apparently see them from the air, they're nearly impossible to spot when the meadow is dry and grassy).


And this weekend it was sunny and glorious, and everyone was out, including the Oxford University Medieval Battle Recreation Society. At least, I'm guessing that's what they would be called. I see them out there a lot. I love that they are not at all embarrassed to be mock swordfighting in ragtag faux medieval armour in a public park where they would likely be spotted by their peers. Where I'm from, membership in the Medieval Club wasn't exactly a badge of honour, not as far as social standing, anyway.

Crocuses!

Beer in the sunshine ... the end to every good Sunday afternoon.