Oxford

Saturday, 6 October 2012

Another Saturday...
Another University organised trip...
Another £18...

Told you I was a 'trip junkie'!!

An ominous thing happened the evening before the trip. When told of my impending visit to Oxford the following day, Dan, my Russian flatmate said Oxford is...fornicating boring. Not his exact words but something to that effect.

Well, like all good junkies, I disregarded the advice...



Oxford Castle.





Carfax Tower:
tower of the 14th century church of St Martin.

Hertford College's Bridge of Sighs:
built in 1913/1914, it was named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The Venetian bridge connected the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace and it was thought that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the windows, before being taken down to their cells...



Radcliffe Camera:
Built between 1737 and 1749, it houses two reading rooms. It's essentially a library for Oxford undergraduates.





Tom Tower of Christ Church College:
perhaps the most famous of the 38 colleges of Oxford University, whose Great Hall inspired the Hogwarts dining hall in the Harry Potter movies.

Meadow Building:
another part of Christ Church College.




Christ Church Meadow:
A scenic park just beside Christ Church College.



So...that's Oxford.
And my Russian flatmate is beginning to look like a wise man...

To be fair, Oxford has really grand and beautiful buildings with wonderful architecture. Perhaps, if I had not had to spend seven hours on the bus (2-way)...leaving only six hours (five actually, if I discount the hour spent queueing to get in and having lunch at a Japanese restaurant whose spicy ramen tasted Thai...) to explore the city , and had the opportunity to really see and 'feel' the city at a more leisurely and intimate level, I would have felt differently.

To my dear friend who went to Oxford...apologies Howe.

Stratford-upon-Avon

Saturday, 29 September 2012

 

On another one of many Leeds University Union "Give it a Go" trips, I visited the beautiful town of Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of...Bill.

Bill who? Bill the Bard...William Shakespeare.



The Gower Memorial:
presented to the town by Lord Ronald Gower in 1888, in appreciation of Shakespeare.

Located along the bank of River Avon...the beautiful and serene Bancroft Gardens.
On a Saturday, the gardens is busy with visitors. Very fittingly, there are buskers entertaining with music. I sat here for almost an hour enjoying a leisurely lunch, listening to a man playing on the electric violin...poetic.

The pedestrian friendly streets of the town, resplendent with traditional English buildings and shops.

The entrance to Shakespeare's birthplace.





















Bought these books at the gift shops. Sad to say, these are the only works of Shakespeare I had read...and only because I did English literature in secondary school and they were among the set text. 



The place where it all began...



Tricked you didn't I? No...then you are probably too cynical for your own good : )

                                                                                                                                                          
Confession: I stood outside Shakespeare's birthplace contemplating if I should spend £12.50 to see a 16th Century house... I decided that if I'm willing to spend £50 to see Manchester United play, I can afford the dozen quid to go in.

For a person who does not particularly have leanings towards things 'cultural', I have to admit I rather enjoyed the visit to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare birthplace included.

Somehow, for me, the town of Stratford-upon-Avon embodies what English towns should be like...traditional, warm and a little laid back.


Scarborough

Sunday, 16 September 2012

 

I visited Scarborough on my first weekend at the University. It was organised by the University Union. Aimed at giving students the opportunity to see more of the country, the Union puts together regular weekend day trips to various places of interest throughout the UK as part of its "Give it a Go" series.

 

I'm a self-confessed 'Union trip junkie'...I NEVER miss one if I can help it. Period.

I'm here alone, more than 14,000km away from family and friends...what else is there to do on a Saturday?

 

Anyway, Scaborough is a seaside town on the coast of North Yorkshire about 2 hours by bus from Leeds... 



 

The more peaceful North Bay, on the way up to the castle.



South Bay, from the castle.
(You can see the pier on the left of the picture. There'll be a 'reverse' photo from the pier later)

And finally...Scaborough Castle, or more precisely...the ruins of Scarborough Castle.



The castle was built by Henry II in the 1150s.



Another view of the castle.

Trying my hand at being 'artistic'. Successful?...you be the judge.

 The castle viewed from the pier.
(The 'reverse' photo mentioned previously)



The busy South Bay with its cafes, amusement arcades, theatres and entertainment facilities.
At the top of the hill, you can just about see St. Mary's Church, where English writer Anne Bronte is laid to rest in 1849.






The serene and stately interior of St. Mary's Church.
It's an ideal place to seek respite from the chilling winds outside and have a cup of afternoon tea...oh lovely, how very English!

The Grand Hotel seen from the pier.

The only thing significantly missing from the series of photos I had taken...Fish & Chips!

 

Due to its coastal locale, Scarborough is known for its fresh fish & chips. There's even a Harry Ramden's at Scarborough. For those of you 'old' enough to remember, there used to be a Harry Ramsden's Singapore at Kallang in the late 90s. It was just behind the MacDonalds/KFC drive-through. When I was still teaching at, now defunct, MINDS Guillemard Gardens School, I used to go there for late lunches after work...when the place would be deserted...and seats aplenty...such nostalgia, sigh.

Anyway, I did have fish & chips in Scarborough, but it wasn't at Harry Ramden's...because by the time I spotted my old buddy, Harry...I had already 'whacked' a large portion elsewhere. There'll be another time Harry...there'll be another time.

Maybe it's just me...the ones in Harry Ramsden's Kallang tasted better.

Leeds City Centre

Friday, 15 September 2012

Located in West Yorkshire, Leeds is the UK's fourth largest city after London, Birmingham and Manchester. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Leeds was a major centre for the production and trading of wool. During the Industrial Revolution, the city developed into a major industrial centre. Today, it is the UK's largest centre for business, legal, and financial services outside of London.



Leeds Town Hall:
made from Millstone grit, the Town Hall was opened by Queen Victoria in 1858. It is named 'Town Hall' because Leeds was then still a Town, becomming a City only in 1893.



Leeds City Museum.



Leeds Art Gallery:
opened in 1888,  it houses England's best collection of 20th century art outside of London, including collections of contemporary British sculpture, prints, watercolors,drawings and French post impressionist paintings.



Henry Moore Institute:
named after the greatest British sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986), a Yorkshireman. Set up in 1977, the institute hosts a year-round programme of exhibitions, conferences and lectures.



Briggate:
The main pedestrianized shopping street and heart of the City's shopping area.



King Edward Street:
another pedestrianized shopping street perpendicular to Briggate.



Victoria Quarter:
one of Leeds' many shopping arcades that run perpendicular to the Briggate.

County Arcade:
another one of Leeds' shopping arcades.



Leeds City Kirkgate Market:
a covered market that sells things any 'wet' market would. There is also a open-air market outside and it's here where Michael Marks first opened his Penny Bazaar in 1884 which eventually lead to the founding of Marks and Spencer in 1890.



Leeds Corn Exchange:
designed by Cuthbert Brodrick and completed in 1864, Leeds Corn Exchange is one of Britain’s finest Victorian buildings.
In recent years, the Corn Exchange has undergone a major redevelopment into a fabulous shopping mall.

Leeds Train and Metro Station.




                                                                                                                          

These are again but some of the places in the City Centre that I had visited.

 

The City Centre is actually quite compact and you can pretty much walk anywhere, even at a leisurely pace, within 15-20 minutes.

 

In fact, it takes no more than 25 minutes to stroll from the University, at the northern end of the City Centre, to the train station, at the southern end.

 

The only thing you have to bear in mind is that the topography of the City is on an incline, starting with the train station at the bottom, all the way up to the University at the top. So, walking from the University to the train station is going to feel relatively easier than the reciprocal journey.

 

It's actually quite ideal for people like me, ones who are never disciplined enough to get in any 'real' exercise. I get a considerable work-out simply by walking to and from the Morrisons in town to buy bottles of 2-litre drinking water once every few days.

 

...who needs gym membership?

 

 

 

University of Leeds

Firday, 14 September 2012

 

The University of Leeds started life as Leeds School of Medicine in 1831. Later, due to concerns by the wool and textile industries that the rapid development of new technologies in Europe posed a threat to the local cloth trade, the school became the Yorkshire College of Science in 1874.

 

Finally in 1904, after King Edward VII granted the University its own Charter as an independent institution, it became the University of Leeds.

 

My home for the next 12 months...

 

Parkinson Building:
iconic building of the University housing the Brotherton Library, one of several libraries on campus.



Edward Boyle Library:
another one of the University's libraries...one I use most frequently.

Hillary Place:
home to the School of Education...where I have most of my classes.



Baines Wing:
the 'prettier' route from Parkinson Building to the Union.

The Great Hall:
part of the University that dates back to the 1870s.



Leeds University Union:
everything students need under-one-roof. Cafeteria, cafes, mini-mart, bank, pub (yeah!), hairdresser, optician...you name it. There's even a disco on Friday nights!



The little oasis of greenery between the Union building and Charles Morris Hall. Early morning on weekends, there are squirrels scampering near the trees...nice.

Charles Morris Hall:
my hall of residence...catering included (thank god!)



My humble abode:
small but cosy...and yes! it is usually neat.



The view of Parkinson Building from my room...if I stick my neck out far enough and look sharply to the left.

 

The campus is of course way bigger that what I had shared, with lots more interesting places and buildings. The sampling happens to represent my 'entire universe' at the moment. Well...on weekdays at least.

 

Should anyone be keen to find out more about the University, here's the link:

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/