Dennis & Oxford,14 - 15 February 2015

Dennis emailed earlier that he was coming and wanted to get together.  We checked calendars, looked at sights to see, made plans, and drove to his hotel in Reading (pronounced redding) after shift on Saturday.  He had points through the hotel he used to cover our room and breakfast, which made it nice to be in the same place, actually just two doors down from his room.  It was exciting to see one another again.

Dennis stays at the Millennium Hotel at the Madejski Football (soccer to Americans) Stadium in Reading, Berkshire.  Our room was in the white part of the building, second floor, third window from the left.  Dennis was in the first window from the left.

It was Valentine's Day and that made it a little difficult in finding a place to eat.  But, at the third attempt we secured reservations at The Moderation.  Dennis had fish, I had cheese stuffed chicken, Dad had a great steak, and we each had a different dessert.  The atmosphere was nice, although other customers were rather noisy in their celebration and we were right next to the bar.  While heading back to the hotel, we planned our strategy for the next day.

Dennis' points also included the breakfast buffet.  He educated me on ordering hot chocolate in place of their customary coffee or tea.  The buffet was lined out with a full hot English breakfast (eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, beans, tomatoes, toast, & blood pudding) as well as cheeses, smoked salmon, fresh fruits, both cut and whole, cold and hot cereals, yogurts, juices, milk, muffins, and pastries.  There certainly was no need to go hungry.

Sunday, we attended church at the Reading Ward.  We spotted a missionary that had been in the Crawley ward and said hello to him.  The chapel filled up with families, individuals, and missionaries.  A brother efficiently played the organ and the missionaries passed the sacrament.  The speakers fulfilled their assignments and we were enlightened.  The concluding speaker talked about how our actions are formed as thoughts long before we do them.  This is why it is important to govern our thoughts and keep them in a proper path.

We headed on to Oxford and our greatest dilemma was finding a parking place.  After the day was ended, Dennis said he would take the train the next time he came.  We began with seeing a very small part of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, located on Beaumont Street, attached to the University of Oxford.  It is the first university museum with the first building being built 1678-1683.

We walked through the Egyptain exhibit and was impressed to see a mummy.  I was fascinated with the artifacts and descriptions of their habits and ceremonies.

Adellae's lizard even got into the action with Dennis and Dad holding him with a mummy!

Looking from the museum straight across the street.

 From the museum we took a stroll along the streets and admired the architecture.

 The streets were teeming with people and vehicles.  It certainly had the feel of a college town.

We walked through The Eagle and Child pub.

This town was and is the home to intellects and knowledge seekers.  When we were on the Church History tour last September, Peter Fagg took us to a university in a forested area where Tolkien got his inspiration for The Hobbit, and told us about The Eagle & Child.

 We stopped at the Bodliean Library, one of the oldest libraries in Europe, housing 11 million items.

We entered the exhibit room for Dr. John Radcliffe, the royal physician, born 1650 and died 1714.  He bequeathed the money to build the Radcliffe Camera.

The Radcliffe Camera (Room) is the main reading room of the library and houses 600,000 books in underground rooms.  It was built 1737-1749.

A 13th Century Hebrew Bible.  It is in the John Radcliffe Room.

Other architecture at the library.

The square outside the library.

IT'S HARRY POTTER TIME!

The Divinity School at the library served as Hogwarts infirmary in four of the films and the very room where Professor McGonnagal taught students to dance in the Goblet of Fire.  Does it look familiar to anyone?

Note the intricate and detailed architecture in the ceiling.

I found doors:  above is the one we came through and the below was a side door in the room.

This chair, made from the timbers of St Francis Drake's ship when it was broken up, was given to the library in 1662.  The chair sits in the Divinity School.

Coming out onto the street, we saw a fire juggler.

Halie said I should try this eatery.  I got a chocolate chip cookie and popcorn, both of which were delicious!  I thought of her as I ate them.

We stopped at Oxford Castle, an old Saxon fort positioned over the castle mill stream for a defense against the Danes.  The castle has gone through periods of ruin and repair since the 12th century.  We had hoped to climb the tower but got there too late.  There is a fair sized hill next to it that we climbed and looked out over the city.  It was too dark for a picture of any consequence.

Dennis and I tried the stocks with the lizard.