Kirtlington, Oxfordshire

Hello, everyone! We are essentially settled in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire, now, and will be staying here for the next three weeks or so. We're still jetlagged, but we're alive and well. 

Attention: do not try to text my NZ cellphone number. I have a new UK phone and it is no longer valid. 

This is our fireplace at Rose Cottage, Kirtlington. Isn't it cute? We haven't actually had to use it, since the temperatures are not too bad. The central heating has been enough. 

Because you knew he had to make an appearance. Don't worry, Milk Bottles will not be hogging this blog if I can help it. 

This photograph was taken in Oxford. For some reason, the inhabitants of England's finest university town seem incapable of understanding English.

Oxford, by the way, is gorgeous. I don't have many pictures, but the architecture is stunning. It's mostly brick, which I don't usually like, but the styling is pretty enough that I don't mind. Definitely Google it and look up some photos. 

Kirtlington, which is near Kidlington and Kiddington. Yes, you read that right. English names are adorably dorky. 

I'm afraid most of the Kirtlington photos are very dark, as they were taken just before sunset (which, unbelievably, is around four in the afternoon - that's going to make Fridays interesting). 

Rose Cottage, where we're staying. It's semi-detached (your mums will know what that means), three bedrooms, and of stone construction. That rental car is a Vauxhall, which is essentially Holden by another name. Fear not, Ford fans, we are considering buying one. 

Uh-huh, there's a pond. There are ducks. 

I shall not say anything else about this. 

Kirtlington Post Office, which is literally the only shop in the village. It sells basic food supplies as well, and is also a tea room. 

These are going to be the last photos for a while, as this technically isn't my internet connection and these photos take a lot of bandwidth. 

The Joys of Jetlag

Despite the ominous title, this post is merely to point out that we are now safely in Oxfordshire. My jetlag hasn't kicked in yet. I'd say that I might be lucky and not get massive jetlag, but I know that if I do it will come back to bite me tomorrow.

First impressions of Kirtlington (I think I spelt that right) coming up soon!

Travel Plans

Don't you just hate it when you get asked the same question over and over again? Every time you speak to someone - family, friend, foe - they all come out with exactly the same query. It's usually perfectly sensible, obvious, and something that you can understand that they'd want to know, yet as you roll out the well-rehearsed response you can't help but seethe under the smile you've taken great pains to plaster on.

The point of this being that I'm leaving on the twenty-third of January. That's 23/01/11, or 2011-01-23 for computer scientists. Got that, everyone? Good. Now let's talk about something more intellectually stimulating, like the weather or the state of the roads.