Paperchase Store Opening On Queen Street Oxford

I have been walking past the old Evan's store in Queen Street for a couple of day now trying to find out what is going on behind the purple hoarding under Maxwells. Well today I found out that Oxford will be getting a Paperchase store, which I think is going to be great if correct. Since Boarders closed last year we have not had access to Paperchase products in Oxford, so lets hope that the information I have is correct.

Eagle Owl In Oxford Castle

Today and tomorrow at the Oxford Castle you can get up close and personal with some of the worlds greatest birds of prey, like this visitor to Oxford with the Eurasian Eagle Owl the largest owl in the world. Right next to the Unlocked Visitors centre you will find these lovely birds and there very knowledgeable keeper from Fir Tree Falconry, providing you with heaps of information about these birds of prey, well worth a look if you are in the area.

Radcliffe Camera With Scaffolding

One of the most popular photo's while in Oxford I would think, Radcliffe Camera. These Spanish tourist are having there photo taken in front of this famous Oxford University building, but there is repair work on the side of the camera at the moment, with scaffolding up one side, so it might be better taking your photo's from another angle.

Bee's In Christ Church Meadows

Boy it is busy in Oxford this weekend, I was out for a walk showing a few friends around Oxford. I have not been around Christ Church for a few months, so this was the first time I have seen the Honey Bee's that are on display. It is very interesting, they have a couple of very attractive bee hives, would have liked to have had a chat with the keeper but he was very busy with other. Worth a look if you are in the area. More Photo's here.

Opp's Is Queen Street One Way?

Please use your satnav and the road signs together! Queen Street is oneway, and it is only for buses. You see a few people every now and then entering Queen Street from the High Street in there car following what the Satnav is saying, but it is not wise, those buses don't have a lot of room to move while in Queen Street. So please take note driving visitors to Oxford, use the park and ride for a better experience, parking is a nightmare in Oxford, and Queen Street is one way and only for buses and taxi's.

Evening View Of Oxford From South Parks

Was in South Parks this evening enjoying the view over Oxford with all the dreaming spires, and a hot air balloon that did not seem to move for about an hour, nice warm evening with no wind. Not been to South Park for a while and it was nice to just sit on the bench and watch Oxford and the world as the sun was setting.

Best Cookies In Oxford - Ben's Cookies

These cookies from Ben's Cookies in the Covered Market must be the best cookies in Oxford if not the country, just look at the people lining up to get them. Ben's Cookies would have to be a must stop if you are a visitor to Oxford as this store in the Covered Market is the original store, my last photo of Ben's was in 2007, have a look here

Great Day For A Swim

I wish I was going in for a swim like these girls today, as it was a great day in Oxford, and it is always nice to have a swim on a warm day. I have never been in to Temple Cowley Pool, as I don't like indoor pools, but I should go along one day to see what this centre is like as I know the council has just spent a lot of money doing it up.

The Big Lunch Wolvercote Green Oxford

This years Big Lunch at Wolvercote was great fun, and well organised with a stage and band, the Oxfordshire fun bus and bouncy castle for the kids to play on, and the food that everyone pulled together was something else. I love the idea of meeting your neighbours in a relaxed picnic style day, with everyone bringing a plate to share. The Big Lunch should be held in every street, but the Wolvercote event is starting to gain momentum each year.

More photo's here of The Big Lunch in Woldvercote.

Visitors Everywhere In Oxford Today

Boy, was it busy in the city centre today, visitors everywhere 1000's of them. Now I know why, the coach parks where full all over the city for must of the day. The Summer is always busy for tourist in Oxford, but I think that this year has been busier than the last couple. In the coach park I saw 7 buses from the same company, that must be a large tour.

Full Head Of The River

Evening in Oxford are always great when the weather is fine, and the place to be is anywhere by the River. Combine that with all the conferences that are happening in Oxford at the moment like the TED event, these places easily fill up, like the Head Of The River this evening. I am not sure where the River Isis starts and ends, I think I will have to look this up??

TED Conference Arrives In Oxford

TED Conference hits Oxford for the next three days. TED which I have been told is the Technology Education and Design conference has a very international following bringing the brightest minds in these fields together in Oxford. This TED movement has become very popular in recent years, with the worlds best and brightest attending, however the streets of Oxford can still be confusing to navigate so the event organisers have staff on hand to direct delegates to the conference venues.

Spain Win World Cup, Carfax Turns Spanish

Just after Spain won the world cup, 100's of Spanish gathered at Carfax to celebrate the win. Hundreds of Spanish supporters gathered at Carfax to sing and celebrate their country's win over The Netherlands. Well done Spain and I am sure that there will be a few Spanish hangovers tomorrow.

World Cup Final Fever Hits Oxford

From the number of Spanish flags seen in Oxford today, I have a feeling that Spain may just win there first world cup. There are lots of language students in the city at the moment, with a majority of them from Spain, so all day I have been seeing young excited students touring Oxford with Spanish flags and chanting song in Spanish. Not many Dutch fans have been seen on the streets, this afternoon...Tim where have you been hiding?

River Cruise On Friday Evening

What a great way to end the week and also the hottest day of the year so far, it was 28.5 today, with a river cruise and drinks on the River Thames. Had a walk along the River this evening, was nice to cool down while walking along the River.

Great Time To Go Punting

Thanks Tim for holding the fort while I was away, and sorry for the break in photo's, but when I got back I when down with a virus for about 48 hours, so I have not been fit to post. Anyway today it was nice to get out and go for a walk around this great city, and I managed to get a nice photo of the punts at Madgdalen Bridge next to the college. These guys are flat out at the moment with all this great weather that Oxford is having, they even had a little TV out that the staff have been watching all the football action on.

Cowley Road Carnival 2010

This shot from Sundays procession in the midst of the carnival.

Great to have the Carnival back on the Cowley Road. Good atmosphere and plenty of music.

Let's hope there is enough money raised to stage it next year.

A little love story

In earlier posts I wrote about my attraction to Christ Church Meadow. Especially with the weather we have had during the last couple of days it's a lovely place to be. A few days ago I just sat along the river Cherwell to relax for a while. Just to see some people punting, enjoy the sun and watch a boy trying to persuade his girlfriend to take a dive into the river. While he stripped off his clothes (except from his boxer of course) she kept refusing to take some clothes off because she totally wasn't up for it. She even moved away a couple of metres from her boyfriend. Now, this is Oxford and he looked like a bright, clever student so he said "ok, if you don't like to join me then I'm going on my one". "But please do me a favour, pick up my clothes and place them on that bench over there". She agreed, walked towards his clothes and bent over to pick them up. At that moment her boyfriend quickly moved behind her, lifted her up and jumped into the water with her. Luckily for him she was only angry for a few seconds and a lovely smile from him followed by a kiss made them both laugh again. It was only at that moment I realised I wasn't the only spectator. At the other side of the river these two roe deer fawns and a squirrel saw it happen too. I was fortune enough to have my camera with me so I was able to take this shot. Unlike me our two "love birds" in the water didn't see them, they were far too busy with each other. I guess that's what people mean by loves makes us blind.....

Empty shops at Gloucester Green

Some of us are lucky to have a view on the countryside from their living room, others have a major high street or a busy pub at the front door. I don't know about yours, but mine is quite nice: a busy square with a food market on Wednesday and an antiques market on Thursday. During the day tourists and locals drink coffee, have lunch or just sit down, relax and watch young children chasing the pigeons. In the evenings we get to see and hear the people coming out of the pubs. Somehow they always make sure that everyone hears they had a good evening with lots of beer. Also, the young folks who are too young to buy and drink alcohol in the pubs hang around on the benches at the square with some cans of beer or some bottles of wine, bought in the supermarket by someone else who is old enough to buy alcohol. Earlier during the evening, somewhere between 7 and 8, I often see people on the square just sitting down and doing nothing. You don't hear them, they don't drink, they don't eat, they just sit, that's it. Now by that time the coffee shops at the square have already closed. Knowing that at least three shops are empty and available to let at the moment, why isn't there someone who opens up a business with a nice terrace at the square which is open until at least 10 or 11 pm? With the summer coming up, surely there most be enough people who like to sit at that terrace, enjoy a nice drink and have some fun during a nice summer evening? Interesting to see how long it will take before some new businesses open at Gloucester Green....

Proud to be Dutch

Thanks Percy for wishing everyone a good weekend, hope you will enjoy yours in Germany. And what a start of my weekend I had yesterday! Loyal readers probably know that i'm Dutch and what a huge surprise we've had at the World Cup in South Africa (football) reaching the semifinals by beating Brasil. Until this morning I didn't felt really proud, but when I passed Ladbrokes in the citycentre and saw the poster at the window showing that in their opinion Holland is the top favourit to win the World Cup I must admit I did. I do regret not being in The Netherlands at this moment. The country is turning into one giant orange spot on the globe. So far I haven't spotted any Dutch people dressed in orange in the city yet but I did see some animals near Christ Church Meadow. Not sure whether his mate on the background was just looking for some food under water or that he was ashamed of him taking this funky orange haircut....

Cowley Road Carnival This Sunday

This is an advance warning that the Cowley Road will be closed this Sunday for the Cowley Road Carnival, you have been warned. I am unfortunately going to be away for a few days in Germany, but there will be daily photo's from Oxford posted by Tim. Not sure what Tim has in mind but I will be watching from afar. Have a great weekend everyone, and if you are going to Cowley Road, enjoy.

Oxford City Open Bus Tours

Tickets for the open bus tours of Oxford can be purchased at a number of outlets around the city including this mobile stand that is normally outside Boswell's on Broad Street. They are a good way to see the highlights of Oxford if you are visiting for the first time. I was thinking that I might conduct a tour of my favourite spots for visitors who follow ODP?