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| Balliol College behind the Christmas Market |
I wasn't really sure what to expect from the first week of winter break. On one side, week 8 was absolutely lovely and I was starting the break with the "right" foot forward. On the other side, most of the students would have returned home, and I wondered whether the drop in activities would make me a bit blue about not going home for Christmas this year. Over the break, there would be no more choir rehearsals, no more evensong, none of the delicate structure I managed to built over my first term. What is more, I was supposed to have a supervisor meeting on Friday, which always adds a bit of anticipation to my week. Like I said, I had no idea how everything was going to go.
Well, I am happy to report it actually went great. There was no choir rehearsal on Sunday, but I dropped by the chapel anyway, and used the time during which I would be at rehearsal to write instead. I love writing at the chapel. It's a good atmosphere - specially with the "monuments" lights on - and there is usually nobody around. This Sunday a small group of tourists dropped by at one point, though, and I overheard their guide saying that "because of its Welsh connection, Jesus College actually has the best choir in Oxford". Had to exercise all my Vulcan self control not to smile at that and add: "that's right, we do".
The big event of this week was my second trip to the Sheldonian, last Thursday. I spent the day at the Library, leaving at around 18:30, in time to drop by the Christmas Market, on broad street. The market was lovely, with a huge Christmas tree - a real tree, I believe - and an assortment of different stalls, selling everything from food, to socks and Christmas decorations. It actually felt a lot more like a Christmas Market - or at least my idea of what a Christmas market should be - than the Leicester Market we visited in London last week. I had a German bratwurst for dinner, with onions on top, and I couldn't have asked for anything better.
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| Huge Christmas Tree on the Market at Broad Street... |
Then it was time for the theatre. The programme was as follows: Mozart, Piano Concerto No 21 in C Major and Bethoven, Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op 55, 'Eroica". I was at the lower gallery, in the back, at a spot with a really good view of the cellos.
I actually went to watch the 'Eroica", because I have listened to recordings of this symphony many times, but had never had a chance to watch it live. But I was very impressed by the Piano Concerto. The piano player was the maestro himself, Marios Papadopoulos, and he sort of conducted the orchestra with his piano, which was something I had never seen before. The lid of the piano had been removed, so people could see him, and all the instruments gathered around him in a way that felt almost like a group of friends, sitting around a fire, making music together. The cellist in the first line watched the maestro with the most sincere of smiles. It was rather lovely.
During the break, the piano was removed, and the instruments assumed their standard positions. It was amazing. Nearly an hour long, I'm sure of it, and gripping throughout. Once again, my eyes naturally drifted to the cellos, and the first pair - a man and a woman - were an absolute delight to watch. It seemed like they were talking to each other at times, albeit not so much with words as with looks, and they seemed to be having a great time. At one point she played, he didn't, but he made a sort of gesture with his hand, almost as though they were dancing instead of playing the cello. And later on, after it was all over, when the maestro was giving flowers to his musicians, that playful cellist indicated his companion deserved a rose. I had a blast watching those two.
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| My view from the lower gallery... |
Eventually it was all over. Since my spot was at the very back - and the Sheldonian is a cramped up building - I thought it best to wait until everyone else had left on my side. One of the other spectator, however, a white-haired gentleman, who also seemed to be by himself actually stopped and gestured that I might leave ahead of him, so as not to have to wait for the entire line. It was sweet of him. A kindness from a stranger, and the type of small moment that makes me smile and sets my mind in motion with thoughts that sound a lot like: "I really should put that in a book".
As far as work is concerned, the first week of the break went great. I hurt my foot, unfortunately, so I have been limping to the library and back since Monday, but working in the library all day is exactly the sort of thing I feel I was meant to do with my life. This week, because of the foot injury, I chose my College Library, which is really starting to grow on me. Because the college is empty - with all the undergrads away - the college is a quiet heaven for study and research, and it's close to everything - meaning I can go easy on the foot. My favourite spot is at the gallery of the Upper Meyricke, at a round table in the Sociology/Economy session. I wouldn't expect the books in that particular session to be of particular interest to me, but I did take out "The Right to Sex", by Amia Srinivasa, which I am currently reading, and there's another one named "Peoples and Plagues", or something to that effect, on which I've been meaning to take a look.
Talking about books, I finished two Star Trek novels this week: "Children of both worlds" and "Autobiography of Captain Janeway". It would take too long to go on about my thoughts on these though. Both were loans from the Oxfordshire county library, and I am glad to actually be reading and finish books from the many libraries in the city (my room is full of them :P)
All things considered though, it's good that I chose a spot with few distractions, next to a window overlooking third quad. I had time to watch several sessions from an online Oxford Nanopore conference, and I could work on a literature review that is critical for my current project. It was a good routine for me. Wake up, pick up a hot chocolate on my way to college, get to my spot and work all day, breaking only for lunch at Hall, around 12:15. Hall is looking lovely, with a Christmas Tree and some decorations here and there. I just wish they would light up the fireplace, because the days are really starting to get colder now. My meeting on Friday went well, and I have a really clear idea of what to focus on for the next couple of weeks. Let's just say I see more days at the library in my future. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas indeed.
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