March With The Strikers

This was the message posted about Oxford for todays Public Service Strike, it was a call to the general public who are feeling the pressures of the cuts to services to march along side those who are striking today. Organisers have said that the march in Oxford this lunch time will bring not only those effected by the reduction in working conditions and entitlements, but also those who are the end uses of those services that are being cut together.

The Black Boy In Old Headington

The Black Boy pub in Old High Street Headington was built in 1937, however this is not the original pub. According to the records a pub has stood on this site for since before 1810, however back then it was closer to the road.

I have not been in to this pub and only recently stumbled on this area of Oxford. This started to get me thinking, how many pubs are within the ring road of Oxford?

Oxford United V Swindon Headline

Not taken today, but on Saturday while out for a cycle on Kingston Road. I wanted to post this photo as next years football fixtures have recently been announced, and this year Oxford's fierce rivals, Swindon are in the same league for the first time in a few years. The headline in the Oxford Mail on Saturday was to advertise that the home game to be played on March the 3rd 2012 had been moved from 15:00 to 12:00, all the other games will be played at either 15:00 or 19:45. Early kick off, not sure why?

Haris's News Park End Street

Couple of early customers at Haris's News on Park End Street this morning, this was taken at about 5:40am this morning as I was heading to the train station. Love Oxford in the early hours of the Summer months, as you get the whole place to yourself, especially on a Saturday Morning. You would expect the newsagent to be open, but not the Pizza shop next door, just noticed a guy in the store in the photo!!

The Buttery On Broad Street

The Buttery is a cafe and coffee shop on Broad Street which has an outdoor area in the street for patrons to enjoy. Another part of the business is a small hotel this is above the cafe which would be very convenient if you wanted to be in the heart of Oxford as you are so close to everything, not sure about parking?

I had a nice milkshake in here today with a friend, and watched all the tourist going in and out of the campus store.

The Bell & Compass Opens Friday Evening

Things move very quickly on New Road, I am sure a couple of days ago this was a Que Pasa Bar, when I walked this afternoon there was a new name above the door. The sign on the door of the new Bell and Compass says that the bar will be opening Friday the 24th, but when I looked in there was a lot of work to still do, so lets hope that everything goes well and that they open as hoped. I think that I might pop in tomorrow to just see what it is like, good to see that the owners have revamped this venue and not closed it, we are loosing to many pubs to the supermarkets in the UK.

Oxford Longest Day

Taken early this morning, just after the sun rise, the spire on Wesley Memorial Church in New Inn Hall. Today we are to have 16hrs and 42minutes of sunlight, with the sun rising in Oxford at 4:46am and not setting till 9:28pm which is our longest day. Now that is if we don't get any rain, which is predicted, which is why I took this photo so early this morning, wanted to have a nice blue sky photo, welcome to Summer and the Summer Solstice everyone.

Lunch At The Trout Wolvercote

Lunch at The Trout in Wolvercote can be very busy, even on a Monday. This pub , which is a nice walk North along the Thames from Oxford, has become very popular with tourists due to it's Inspector Morse connections. There is also a connection to Alice In Wonderland close to this location. Worth a walk up for a drink if you have time when you are in Oxford.

Wolvercote Horticultural Society

Out and about around North Oxford today trying to get a few jobs done when I noticed that the Wolvercote Village Hall was very busy with people, so I decided to pop in and see what was happening. I was glad that I did as the Wolvercote Horticultural Society was having it's annual Summer display and competition. There was three long lines of tabled with all sorts of home cooking, flowers and photography on display with notes and comments next to most. The roses pictured here had a very unique and strong perfume, and was attracting a lot of attention. I was told that membership to the society is just £5 per year, and as a member you are entitled to discounts at a few local nurseries, which would cover your membership cost if you spend a little time in the garden. Congratulations to all who entered in to the competitions and helped make the displays.

Queen Street After Rain And Greens Cafe

You would not know it from the blue sky in this photo but just before I took this photo of Green's Cafe building on Queen Street it was really bucketing it down. I was trying to get an angle on this building when it started to rain hard, so I decided to take cover, when I come back about 10 minutes later, the sun was out and we had blue sky. The side closes to the camera of this building must be one of the narrowest buildings in Oxford. You can sit in this space on the second floor of this cafe, and I think they have free wifi, if you are visiting.

Quiet Time At Merton College

What a nice place to just sit and think, this is what college life is all about. Having time to just get away from all this stresses of the world and think things through. Well that's what I think college is all about, I could be completely wrong, at least Merton College have provide the right environment to relax in.

The Wicker Man At Oxford Castle

Spotted this large sculpture on top of the Living Room in Oxford last week. With the Garden and Flower show on last weekend at the Oxford Castle I originally thought that it was part of that festival, but it is still there this afternoon.

I have since found out that it is a Wicker Man, and this massive sculpture will be at the Castle till the 26th of June, this is just the head, it originally had a body, and you can see the whole thing being put together here in You Tube. Very interesting project and I would have liked to have seen the whole piece.

New River Island Store In Oxford

Yesterday the windows of the new River Island store in Cornmarket had a sign, Opening Saturday, today that sign was there. The store looks like it is ready to open, so with that sign removed, I am thinking that it may open before Saturday. From what we can see on Cornmarket the new River Island store looks very impressive, considering that it was just a few months ago in March when I last took a photo of this store. Well, I guess that I will have to keep and eye out for when Oxford's newest retail outlet opens.

The Centre Of Oxford

Taken from the top of Carfax Tower, which is known to be the centre of Oxford. It is where, from the top going clockwise, High Street, St Aldates, Queen Street and Cornmarket all meet. The tower is now a local tourist attraction, as you can climb it and get a very good view of the city, the charge is £2.20. If you are new to Oxford, it might be worth the climb to see Oxford from a hight.

Fields Of Poppy's Around Oxford

Just on the outskirts of Oxford if you are coming from London and the M40, are fields of blood red poppy's. They look so dramatic but are so hard to capture on the camera, I could not do them justice, this was the best shot that I could manage, just wish I could do a little better. I don't know what they are growing them for? Poppy seeds perhaps?

Happy Flowers At The Gardening Festival

The second and final day of Oxford's Flower and Gardening Festival has been a little wet with the rain not stopping all day. However that did not distract from the enthusiasm of these two giant flowers who said they needed the water as well as the sunshine. The festival was held around the Oxford Castle with great displays, however the weather did put a lot of people, with not many people around.

Borderville Play The Jericho Street Fair 2011

Lot's of things happening in Oxford this weekend so you need to be organised if you are going to get the most out of these events. This afternoon I found myself at the Jericho Street Fair which is getting larger and larger every year. What a great community event the folks of Jericho put on each year, and the weather this year held out which was a bonus. I managed to hear a great Oxford band, Borderville play in Canal Street to a very appreciative crowd, really enjoyed the set, and I will be having a look on iTunes for this local band. Again there was plenty of food and was great to catch up with a few old faces, for those who missed out, keep an eye out for next years event, great day out for everyone. Additional Photo's

Christ Church College Regal Flag

As we all know today is the Duke of Edinburgh's 90th Birthday, and on any special Royal anniversary or date, Christ Church College always flay a different flag from there college. I can only assume that it is a flag of Royal connection to the college as it is only flown on days of Royal importance, most other days this space is reserved for the College Flag. I have tried to find out the history behind this flag have failed to do so, so I am hoping a reader will be able to help me out. Closer image here.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Your Royal Highness.

Delays Likely On Merton Street

Never seen this warning sign before around the Examination School. It is Exam time in Oxford at the moment, and they have put this sign up, because it is tradition that once you have finished your exams and come out the back of the building you are showered with food etc from your mates. This attracts a large crowd twice a day in Merton Street, with 100's of people waiting to attack the leaving students with confetti, streamers, glitter, food, any anything that will stick to you as you have your final exam.

Bath Place Oxford

One of the smallest streets in Oxford, Bath Place. It has been a couple of years since I posted a photo of this little street, see here. Looking around the internet for a little more information on Bath Place, I found this interesting page about the history of Bath Place and the little hotel that is down there. Have a look here. Any visitor to Oxford this summer, should have a wander down Bath Place, there is a great Oxford Pub down the alley, The Turf Tavern.

Anyone For A Hot Dog At The Station

I have been travelling by train a bit recently and noticed that in the mornings where has been a very friendly Hot Dog stall up by WH Smiths. The set up is on a bike, so I imagine that he can cycle to other places during the day. Not tried one yet, but one of these days I will, I think the guy is Australian? Don't see him there in the afternoons. Anyone else seen him..

The Big Lunch Arrives In Wolvercote

I like everything about the Big Lunch, the idea about getting everyone in the community to bring a plate and sit down together once a year is great, and the Wolvercote Big Lunch tops the lot. The guy's who put the Lunch together in Wolvercote do a great job, with lots of things for the kids to do, punchy castles, bands, face painting etc, great day. This year the weather started out fair, but ended with a bit of rain and a raffle with great prizes donated by local businesses. More Photo's Here

Zappi's Bike Cafe Is Open

Remember back in January I posted about Bike Zone's new store in St Michaels Street, having moved from near the Covered Markets. Well in that post I think I said that Bike Zone was advertising that the new store would be better for customers with more room for bikes and it would also include a cafe in the future. Well, today when I walked past I noticed that this sign was out the front. The cafe is not only open, but has a name, it is Zappi's Bike Cafe, I wander who Zappi is? I think there is a Zappi in Jericho is there a connection? I did not have a change to go in and have a look but I will this week, I am sure that it is a cycle friendly cafe.

Pete And His Barrowboat

I have never seen a boat so small before. Walking along the Oxford Canal this afternoon, coming towards me was this very small wooden boat, at a nice pace and completely silent. The captain of this Barrowboat, Pete, which is a very small timber boat that has wheels so that when out of the water can transported like a wheelbarrow with the use of the oars. Pete has a small electric motor on the back, which he has three batteries that will last up to eight hours, and he just motors around the canals of the UK when the weather is fine. He can put the boat into the back of his estate easily and move on to a new canal/river. I was just taken by it, a great little boat, and Pete was happy to chat about the boat and where he as been in it.

Busy River For Summer Eights

The River Isis/Thames is going to be busy for the next couple of days, while Oxford University Rowing Clubs hold there annual Summer Eights competition. This is a very important event on the University calendar, with every college trying to out beat there rivals. With the weather so good at the moment there are lots of pleasure craft on the river around Oxford, add to this all the college boats racing, it can get a little congested, so I am sure the Environment Agency's boat Evenlode was kept busy this afternoon. Photo here going between two of the college boats. The OURC's website is very informative, you can even follow the races on twitter and you can follow Oxford Daily Photo twitter here.

It's Not Friday Night?

You do see a lot of fancy dress groups out in Oxford on the weekend, in fact if you are in George Street on a Friday or Saturday evening and do not see a group of themed revellers it would be strange. Hen nights are a big thing in Oxford and you could see two or three a night going from pub to pub, so I am used to seeing this type of event. However this photo was taken at about 4pm today, Wednesday, smack in the middle of the week, so I am not sure what these guys are celebrating, or if they are just starting there weekend early.