We began with breakfast at the Hall at Keble College. Our rooms are very nice, but I think it is the gorgeous Victorian quads and the hall that make staying there so unique.
Breakfast at the high table!
We then went across the street to the Pitt Rivers Museum— perhaps my favorite museum in the whole world. Here’s a post from last year’s visit to give you a taste. This time I dragged Tyner right to my favorite object, the silver bottle with the witch, and then we separated to wander. As happens at that museum, you can become fixated on one section — this time I became obsessed with one case full of emergency money tokens from various European countries created during World War I. I was fascinated by the variety created and by the sense of the collectors at the time — the pain and horror of that war and how that is represented in a tiny way in that exhibit.
Then there was a small, but hugely important special exhibit, “Visiting with the Ancestors: The Blackfoot Shirt Project.” Here’s the description:
What happens when museum objects go home for a visit? The Blackfoot shirts at Pitt Rivers Museum, collected in 1841, express Blackfoot culture and beliefs. In 2010, Museum staff took them home to Canada for a visit so that Blackfoot people could learn from them and strengthen cultural knowledge and identity. Blackfoot people were delighted to see these important heritage items and were inspired by them. The exhibition includes three of the shirts and quotes and photographs from the reunions with Blackfoot people.
The video and quotes from the Blackfoot people are frank, blunt, and painful. I encourage you to visit this project website to learn more.
We then picked up sandwiches and headed for Magdalen College for a stroll along Addison’s Walk to watch the deer and picnic.
After a few shops (wanted Tyner to see the venerable Marks and Sparks) we made it to Blackwell‘s where we mostly sat in the pleasant second floor cafe and simply relaxed. Once revived we took off to find a pub for dinner. Unfortunately, it was Saturday night and when none of the nearby pubs we’d thought to dine at had free tables (the Turf Tavern, Kings Arms, and the Lamb and Flag) we returned to the Eagle and Child (amusing our server from the previous night) where we were very happy — excellent veggie burgers.
educating alice 