A rare visit to Oxford yesterday...it's not the Oxford it used to be, though admittedly if you are in need of sustenance you are well served, since as soon as any shop closes (usually due to the high rents the council demands) it is replaced by some form of nosh-shop. In fact, in George street, it is hard to find any outlet which is not some kind of eaterie chain. But I digress...this journey, taken by our rural bus service, takes a whole day. Living where we do, with only a couple of basic shops, a Trip to Town demands that you fit in all the errands you've been saving up for months. Starting with the 9.35am bus, (in my best corudory trousers) and changing at Witney, getting off at PC world for essential computer repair stuff, waiting half an hour in the wind for the next Oxford bus, and finally reaching journeys end at lunchtime, where I discovered Broad Street had been taken over by a visiting French market. The bustling air was saturated with savoury whiffs of cured meats. Tempting...
But first things first. An appointment at Bravissimo, where I spent nearly two hours being 'fitted'. Ladies, if you live in the UK, and your front bit feels like you're carrying a small rucksack, I cannot recommend Bravissimo enough. Never mind going to M & S, where you will be severely measured with a cold tape, and sent forth after five minutes - this is An Experience. I knew other people who had been through this initiation, and their accounts have been evangelical...they were right. I have had an epiphany. No tapes, just a cubicle and a nice young lady who surveys you with expertise, and then utters the magical words 'you have a tiny back'. Much later, I emerged a different bust size, with the same shining light in my eyes and a completely new set of 'over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders'. And went forth to inspect the French market. By now my pocket money had run out, so I restrained myself to one wild boar salami. But it was an orgy of deliciousness, and a welcome change from the dour catchpenny atmosphere of the regular Oxford market.
After this, a cursory browse round the city center - I always feel I have to make the effort, but get overwhelmed by the cacophony and visual noise. I was also terribly sad to see the closure of yet another old Oxford bookstore closing, no doubt to be replaced by a ubiquitous sandwich bar.
As usual, I fled back to the bus stop, and made a stop-over over in Witney - more errands - before catching the connecting bus back to the peace of the village and arriving home at 6.30pm, wrung out and with a rare headache. Jobs done, and relief at it being over for another few months.
