Duke Of Cambridge In Oxford

Well continuing on with the Royal theme of the last few days, I have decided that todays photo will have a connection with the Royal Wedding if only in name. The Duke Of Cambridge is a cocktail bar close to the city centre, right opposite yesterdays photo strangely, I have been there a couple of time in the last month or so and love there Martini's. Prices a little on the high side, but if you go at happy hour you do get a very good reduction of the standard price.

I am not sure if there is a house cocktail, but with the announcement of the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge I am sure this bar in Little Clarendon Street will try and cash in on the new appointment.

Royal Wedding In Charity Shops

The United Kingdom is in Royal Wedding mode at the moment, everywhere you look you can see references to Union Flag, Kate and Will, everything has a Royal connection. Even in the charity shops this window has a feature with Kate and Will highlighting the fact that they have a range of second hand suits and wedding dresses at good prices. This photo was taken this morning in Little Clarendon Street it is the window of Sobell House Hospice Charity shop, not sure where they got the cut out faces, but they do the job.

Quentin Bryce On An Oxford Walkabout

Australia's Governor General, Ms Quentin Bryce was in Oxford this afternoon and is photoed here walking with Christian Thompson who is a Charlie Perkins Scholar, and the University's first Australian Aboriginal student. They walked from the city centre to Rhodes House for a function with fellow Australian's connected to Oxford University. Ms Bryce is the the UK to attend the wedding of Kate and William tomorrow and was using the time before the wedding to connect with Australian's living and working in the UK.

Additional Photo's of the arrival to Rhodes House here.

Earl Of Wessex At The Oxford Playhouse

Oxford is having it's own Royal Visit today, The Earl Of Wessex was at the Oxford Playhouse and a couple venues around Oxford, including another theatre which he opened in Cowley, the new Pegasus Theatre. Not many people around to welcome HRH Prince Edward to the theatre, hope that he had a good visit to Oxford.

Anyone For Ice Cream At George and Danver

Oxford's very own locally made Ice Cream George and Danver was very busy when I took this photo with visitors sampling this very delicious Ice Cream. They must have one of the best places in Oxford to sell this local product, right opposite Christ Church College. Note that apart from Ice Cream this store can get very busy as it has a range of other food items to eat in the cafe.

RAAF Flight Sargent R.A.Groves

Today being ANZAC Day, and not being able to get to France where I have been going for a number of years to attend the ANZAC Service at Villers Bretonneux, I went to the Commonwealth War Graves in Botley.

Wandering around the headstones of the war dead I found RAAF Flight Sargent RA Groves with a couple of Australian Flags next to it, I had taken my photo for the day, a general shot of the whole Cemetery. As I was signing the visitors book I started to look back and found an entry from October last year from RA Groves, "Little" sister who had visited his grave from Bendigo in Victoria, Australia, and I would imagine placed the two Australian Flag next to the headstone. Reading this I had to go back and take a new photo for todays ODP.

Oxford Jazz Festival At The Malmaison

Having seen BigBangMax's tweet about the Oxford Jazz Festival at the Malmaison this afternoon I decided to take a walk down to the Oxford Castle and see the open air performance for myself. What a nice setting for a small jazz concert, at the back of the Malmaison Hotel with people enjoying the concert in the sun on the steps and also laying on the lawn, very casual. The artist playing was Zara McFarlane who was wonderful and towards the end she performed one of her very own original pieces live for the very first time, did not catch the name but it was very nice with audience participation.

Marston Street In Spring

Look at this house on Marston Street in Cowley. You can tell it is spring around Oxford with all the flowers out, but this place in Marston Street is just over run by Wisteria. Not much more I can say that this, apart from I bet during Summer this Wisteria help keep this house cool.

Royal Wedding Hit's Oxford

Taken today while out on a bike ride around the city, yesterdays Oxford Mail headline, an 84 page Royal Wedding Souvenir. I have been racking my brain all day, I can not think what you call this flier that newspapers use to grab your attention to the paper? Can anyone help me please? Anyway this time next week we will be well into the Royal Wedding, what's happening in your area?

Apparently the Royal Wedding has it's own hashtag on twitter #rw2011. Oxford Daily Photo has just started a new twitter account, follow us @OxfordDailyFoto

Michael Sailstorfer At Modern Art Oxford

Modern Art Oxford hosts recent work by Michael Sailstorfer in his first solo presentation in the UK. Through the transformation of everyday objects and materials, Sailstorfer creates sculptural interventions, both in the gallery space and the public realm. His work often explores flight, movement and displacement, and is infused with a poetic and humorous sensibility. Well worth a look, Modern Art Oxford right in the heart of Oxford and all the exhibitions are free, so if you have a free hour this is one place that you might like to visit,. Apart from the gallery space there is also a very good cafe that is often over looked by both visitors and locals alike, more relaxing than the other big chain cafes around the corner during busy periods.

Oxford Tourist Tip - Vaults and Gardens

With all the tourist visiting Oxford at the moment as we move into the busy tourist period I have decided to post a tip. This tip is about one of the best places to relax outside or in, right in the city centre and also get a very good meal and drink. It is the Vaults in Radcliffe Square, under University Church. You are about to relax in piece and quiet just a few steps from the best of what Oxford has to offer. Look at these guys relaxing surrounded by all that history, well worth a stop on your next trip to Oxford.

Out For A Paddle On The Thames

What a glorious day for a day on the River. Out along the River Thames near The Trout at Wolvercote this afternoon, and I spotted a family out on there canoe. I was originally trying to take a photo of the not so Narrow Boat, one of the wide ones that I was told are three time as wide as a normal Narrow Boat when this family paddled past.

These wide boats have to stick to the Rivers manly as the canals are a lot narrower, I would love to have been able to have a look in, one day I might get a little look.

ShakeAway Becomes Shakespeare's

I was very surprised when I was walking through the Golden Cross a couple of weeks ago to see this sign hanging in the window of my favourite Milk Bar, ShakeAway. It was the first of this type of Bar in Oxford making custom milk shakes, the places was always fun and the staff had an edge about them that set them ahead of the competition. Apparently the parent company had financial problems forcing them to close. However I am pleased to see that this week a new store with what looks like to be a few old faces behind the counter have opened in it's place and they have names it Shakespeare's. Not too sure about the name or the branding, it looks alittle dull, but I will try them out this weekend and hopefully get a photo to post and let you all know.

Bubble Feet? What's This About?

I am sure this going to be just a passing craze, Bubble Feet which I spotted today in the Clarendon Centre. If you have not seen this before, as I hadn't, you place your feet in a fish tank and the fish are attracted to the dead skin on your feet and nibble at them. The fish are called Doctor Fish and only nibble dead skin cells, apparently this is common in Turkish Spa's, however this treatment is banned in the US and Canada. Was interesting seeing the reaction from those having the treatment done, let me tell you not everyone enjoyed it.

Morris Dancing Day Everywhere In Oxford

Morris Dancers where all over the city centre today. I saw them in the Castle, Cornmarket, Broad Street and I am sure other places around the city entertaining visitors and locals alike. I am not sure if it was a competition or just a day to perform to the masses, but they all looked very colourful and very musical. Many where having there photo's taken with visitors to Oxford, as this form of dancing is very unique to this part of the world.

Christ Church Vines

The wiry old vines and branches on a wall in Christ Church College grounds are so interesting I just had to get a photo of them. These vines just appear to be hanging on in the most incredible way, and soon they will be covered by all there foliage, out of sight to the hundreds of visitors to this famous college.

Do We Need Another Baguette Shop In Oxford?

Just opened today, a new Baguette/Sandwich Bar on George Street, where Wine Rack used to be. Didn't go in today, but I will over the next few days, but really Oxford do we need another Sandwich shop in the city centre?

Skate Boarding Behind A Bus

WOW, these guys know how to take there lives in to there hands. There are quiet a few people who would not cycle the Oxford HIgh Street with all the Bikes, Buses, Cars, People on it, but today I spotted two skate boarders hitching a ride behind a bus down the Oxford High Street. Had to be quick to get this shot, and it was the only one I managed before I nearly was run down myself. What you think if these guys? Mad or just Bonkers?

Heading Out For A Days Punting

With the weather being so lovely today one of the best ways to spend the day would be to hire a punt for the afternoon and explore the water ways around the city. The Cherwell Boat house would be my choice to start, as you can explore up to the Victoria Arms at Marston stopping off for a drink, or head in towards the city and stop off at University Parks. Guess which way I went?

Samples Of Gin And Tonic

Around the Oxford Literary Festival this afternoon enjoying the sun and Christ Church Meadows and a couple of the samples that were being promoted, including Hendricks Gin and Tonic, served with cucumber, which I have never seen before. Noticed these used shot glasses on the promotional bike and just snapped a photo to capture the day.

Early Morning Over Abingdon Road Allotments

As in the Elton John song Best Part Of The Day, this photo was taken just as the sun was starting to appear over Oxford this morning. I was on the Abingdon Road on the way to work, when the the first rays of sun light appeared on the allotments along the Abingdon Road. Love the mist in this photo, and the light. What a beautiful day today turned out to be, not a cloud in the sky all day.

Great Day For Busking

What a great day to be a busker in Oxford. Just look at that audience gathering in Cornmarket on a lovely Spring day in Oxford. These two guys had the crowds in Cornmarket captive for about 30mins with there covers of popular current tunes, not sure how financially rewarding it was at most of those listening were language students.

Oxford Hub Window

On the corner of Ship and Turl Street this afternoon I noticed all these posters on the building that used to be QI. They are all linked to Oxford Hub which is the focal point for charitable activity at Oxford University, connecting students with causes - whether local, national, or international. It’s the place to go to get involved in charitable, volunteer and social environmental issues. It appears that in the near future this will be a shop front for the organisation. I have never heard about this body before, but I am very interested in it and would like to know more, might go along to an event once the students are back in Oxford volunteer and socially entrepreneurial activities, and for training and information on a range of social and environmental issues, events, and careers

Exeter College Antony Gormley Statue

I have not taken a photo of Anthony Gormley's Naked Man that was put up on top of Exeter College about a year ago since first seeing it shortly after it was installed. This time I managed to take in from Turl Street managing to just get in the shot the window of the student lodgings.

I have just looked at my previous postings, here and my first photo of Naked Man was in February 2009. How time flies when your having fun!

Reflections From Ship Street

Reflections, always hard to capture. I take alot of snaps into glass but they never seam right. Anyway today I was in Ship Street and could see nice reflections in the window as well as being able to look thought and see more reflections, so I hope to managed to get them all with this shot.

That is Austin Reed's store on the right, I have never been in there. I think I should have a look when I am next have a couple of minutes.

The Chocolate Festival Oxford

Did not know about this Festival in Broad Street until I heard the Town Crier at Carfax shouting about it. It was not a large festival, and it was the first time I have seen it in Oxford. About 8 chocolate stalls, and a couple of other food stalls at the end of Broad Street, looked very busy when I walked past this afternoon. Just in time for both Mothers Day and also Easter.

Leopold Street Cowley

One of the more interesting houses on the Cowley Road. This place just fits into the area, and the art is very well done. Not sure if this was a community mural or just something the own did themselves, I would like to know how long it took to paint it?

Westbury Crescent Rose Hill

When I was out on my cycle at the start of the week this quiet street really appealed to me, as a very typical English street. I know that it is hard to say what I typical "English" street is, however this street felt very loved, the houses and gardens in good condition even for there age. From my 5 minute cycle around, I think I would like living in this street. From the photo, do you think it looks English?