Oxford & Christmas Parties

Let no-one say again that Melbourne weather can exhibit 4 seasons in one day. When we visited Oxford a couple of weeks ago, the day started off clear and cold. As we went on the walking tour, the sun came out, as the tour finished the rain started to fall, after lunch it was pouring and then it cleared to a cloudy sunset.
Oxford is so steeped in history, of great minds (we kept saying, 'Didn't know he/she went to Oxford!') and learning that it was exciting to just wander the streets and listen to the guide tell stories about the place. I hadn't realised that all the colleges offer the same courses with varying specialisations and that the students only really have classes with people from their own college. Therefore, the classes are small and intimate and there are one-on-one tutorials. I think I would have enjoyed uni more if I had been in such an environment than in classes of 500.
Photos of Oxford buildings & me huddled under my umbrella at the Bridge of Sighs at the usual place.
Had 2 Christmas dinner/parties this week - one for the 'Away team' at the project and one for our company. The Away team dinner was at a lovely old restaurant/pub called 3 Acres, which overlooks the area. During the dinner, a brass band came in to play some Christmas carols. It was a average performance from the famous breeding ground of brass bands of Yorkshire. After they left, I was told that one of the guys at the plant worked at the Grimethorpe Colliery, the place that Brassed Off! was modelled on. How fascinating!
The company Christmas Party was at Pembroke Lodge, an old mansion in the middle of Richmond Park in Surrey. 2 turkey dinners in one week. : ) On the way home, the taxi driver and I talked about the varying states of the Australian and sub-continental cricket teams. As a Pakistani, he was very disappointed with the national team, who he likened to the Bangladeshi team - the most unpredictable nation in world cricket. He also went so far as to say that Tendulkar should be knighted(!) He wants the Brits to lay off Murali, which I agree with.
I am now looking forward to the next few weeks. I will be visiting Harry and Jenny tomorrow at their place up in High Wycombe, which featured in the weather report the other day as one of the places with the highest wind speeds last week. I am going to Turkey for Christmas (always makes me laugh), back for New Year fireworks and am then heading to Edinburgh and Stirling for a few days to see Stirling castle.
The tally is now up to 8 colds...