Last week the three of us took the train up to Oxford. We stayed in the Visiting Fellow’s snug one bedroom apartment at Corpus Christi College, curling up in front of the fireplace during the crisp cold evenings. Early on Thursday morning we had a tour guide from Oxbridge tours take us on a personalised walk through the colleges. It was really fascinating, so different compared to my university experience in Australia, from the climate to the buildings to to the admission procedure to the academic structures.

Our guide Jonathan emphasised that Oxford is more a collection of colleges rather than a single unified entitiy. A student must be accepted into a specific college to take classes. Although the lectures and the final exams are shared between all students, the individual tuition and tutors are each determined by the college of the student. There are large and small colleges, right-wing and left-wing, modern and ancient. As I read through the history book that was left in our apartment, I learnt that Corpus Christi College was founded in 1352. New rules in 1573 required that Latin was spoken at all times, on the pain of being beaten at the buttery hatch. In 1906, in order to bring in more funding, the admittance policy is broadened to include lay students, not just clergy. In 1960 women were allowed into the college to dine, and in 1983 the college admitted its first female matriculates, causing quite a furore.

Jonathan told us of some of the hundreds of academic traditions. Academic dress is worn during dinners, during exams, during chappel, during progress reports, and during formal lectures. Students are often given a white carnation by friends to wear in their buttonhole for their first exam and a red for the final exam of the semester. If one does very well during ones exams, one wears a fancier academic dress the next semester. Interestingly, we were told that when professors attend graduation ceremonies, they wear the academic dress of Oxford, not of their alma mater, a practise that is very different from most everywhere else.

I was scolded by a custodian for entering Christ Church through the exit, and ate at The Bear on Bear Lane. We visited The Eagle and Child pub where J. R. R. “Tollers” Tolkien, C. S. “Jack” Lewis, and other members of the Inklings read their work out loud to each other. We had lunch at the Turf Tavern, where Australian ex-Prime Minister and Rhodes Scholar set the 1953 world record for drinking a yard glass (1.4 litres) of ale in 11 seconds. We finished up of exploration of Oxford by walking through many of the areas used in the filming of Harry Potter, including the grand stair-well, the dining room, and the the cloisters at New College where an ersatz Mad Eye Moody transfigured Draco Malfoy into a ferret.

Our friends Luke and Shyla took us to see the Guy Fawkes fireworks during our trip to England last weekend. It’s been years since I’ve seen fireworks up close enough to hear the music and enjoy the atmosphere of being surrounded by a crowd of other people enjoying the display. We were also delighted to see how much Hayden also loved watching the explosions. I was a little worried that the sounds would be too loud for him, and he did often jump, but he spent most of the time with his little eyes wide open in amazement. Eventually his dummy fell out of his mouth and he waved his arms around as if to say “this is the most amazing thing I have ever seen”. He was entranced the whole time, sometimes gurgling along with the music, other times simply silent with wonder. I loved watching his smiling little face. I think that this is the first event that we have both enjoyed together at a similar level – the pretty colours and spectacular lights. A super fun night for everyone.

Thanks to Grant for taking the photo.

We spent the weekend in Cambridge with our friends Michelle and Grant. We asked Michelle to be Hayden’s marraine – his secular godmother. We chose Michelle because she has been a great friend to us since we were all researching immunology back in Australia, and we were thrilled when she accepted the role. She is full of fun and wisdom, and is also a brilliant scientist and intrepid traveller.

We were all suffering due to the heatwave – unbearable highs of 28 both days. Hayden did not make the best first impression, and while all three of us turned up at their home sweaty, dehydrated, and cranky, only one of us was screaming. Yet they took us in and fed us delicious and locally sourced meals – quiche with spinach from their allotment, pancakes with home made wild berry jam, pizza with home-grown capsicum, and stewed apples picked the day before.

We spent most of the weekend outdoors, with a barbeque by the Cam one day and a long walk along the river the next. We walked from Cambridge to Fen Ditton, past cows on the commons, dozens of rowers, and families at home on their houseboats. Cambridge is such an idyllic town, with the energy of the university and the tranquility of the countryside synergising into a dynamic yet peaceful place.