Chutes & Ladders

[anarchist_nomad]

Haven't played this game in a while, gentle readers. Here goes:

• CHUTE: Am writing this entry on the Oxford Tube, during the trip that never ends. Leaving London after 22:00, we immediately got stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the A40. Not exactly what I would expect at that hour. After finally making it through the jam, we seemed to be moving along well... until the motorway (M40) got closed off. So we are now diverting through High Wycombe -- whee! Eventually I will return home. I think.
  
  
• LADDER: Yesterday, I went to Cambridge. There, I presented a high energy physics seminar on the first results from T2K at the Cavendish Laboratory. It went rather well, I think... with some post-talk discussions that may prove rather fruitful in the future. So now I have spoken at both Oxford and Cambridge -- spiffy!
  
  
• CHUTE: I have just learned that one of our darling kitties -- probably The Boy -- has puked all over the bed. Feh. So on my arrival home, after midnight, I will need to strip off the sheets and put clean ones on. Irksome. I love him dearly, but I wish that his walnut-brain were keen enough so that he knew better than to vomit where he sleeps.
  
  
• LADDER: The reason that I am coming back from London so late is that I had a very nice dinner in South Kensington with my high school history teacher. She is one of only three teachers that I actually liked in my high school (and only two of those are still alive). We last saw each other in October 2007, when I dropped in during a visit to NYC. However, she is now living in London for a year and looked me up online. I was rather pleasantly surprised, and it was a lovely evening of chatting and catching up. We have tentative plans for her and her partner to come visit Oxford next month, where I will treat them to one of my now-famous tours.
  
  
• CHUTE: The new Muppets movie -- which comes out next week in the United States -- will not be released in the UK until February! What the...?!? I have no idea why some films are released concurrently in both countries, whilst others have an enormous lag. The latest cinematic adaptation of Jane Eyre, for instance, had a whopping six month delay -- coming out in March for the US and September for the UK. I very much hope that this Muppet movie will still be in the US theatres come late December, because I really don't want to wait three more months!!
  
  
• LADDER: Quite by surprise, I appear to be headed to Berlin in March! Apparently, I am taking a five day holiday with the lovely faerierhona (plus one other). Rather excited about this, as I have not yet been to Germany properly... and Berlin is very much on my list of European cities to visit. As an added bonus, it looks like she has found us a splendid apartment for the trip -- located right on the Ku'damm! Excellent -- couldn't ask for a better location than that!!
  
  
• LADDER: Speaking of plane tickets and March, the ever-exuberant tawneypup and the fabulous jadesfire55 have now purchased their tickets to come visit us in Merry Olde Englande! Huzzah! Looks like there will be much happiness and excitement in Oxford (and beyond) during the last week of March!

Additionally, there is one more ladder. It is a sooper sekrit ladder that I cannot talk about in this space... yet. If things go well, all shall be revealed in time. Stay tuned, true believers!

Comments

[anarchist-nomad.livejournal.com]

I am somewhat torn. As somebody else who would love to see the monarchy disbanded, I tend to avoid the public fascination with the royals. For instance, I spent the week of the royal wedding in Prague and Vienna. So the idea of heading abroad next June is rather appealing. Hence the road trip through Ireland that I mentioned above. Thus far, I have only been to Dublin and a few outlying sites nearby (e.g., Hill of Tara, Newgrange, Knowth). I like the thought of taking ten days to explore more widely.

On the other hand, as a history buff, the second Diamond Jubilee is a much more tempting event than just another royal wedding. I still think I will leave the country, but this time I don't feel the same repulsion to get the heck out, the way I did earlier this year with the wedding.

Sounds like you have a nice year of travel lining up yourself! I look forward to trading travelogues and photos with you once more! :-D