Love Never Dies

One of the more surreal aspects of living in Oxford is that on a whim I can pop into London to see Andrew Lloyd Webber's new sequel to Phantom of the Opera. I was well aware that the reviews were lukewarm, but I figured the novelty of seeing the Phantom in Coney Island would make it all worthwhile. Indeed the plot is a little silly, but the score is catchy and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Boar's Hill Walk

About a month ago I went on a stroll to Boar's Hill, just outside of Oxford. Some of my buddies forgot that when it rains every day, it makes things muddy. Less than 24 hours before the hike, Joe O'Shea had actually purchased some brand new Wellingtons [boots] for a research trip to Scotland. By the time this picture was taken he was really regretting leaving them at home.

 

Crayfishin'

 

Pre-Dinner

 

Dinner

 

I've been pretty bad about posting lately. I have been working a fair bit, and everything seems less photogenic when it's dark and rainy. Since it's finally staying light past 6 pm again and the sun is popping out from time to time, I'm resolving to post a photo every few days. Here's dinner from a week ago. American crayfish have invaded the Thames, pushing out the British species. This means you're allowed (and encouraged) to eat the much larger American ones.

Thanksgiving

Until recently I was convinced that the stereotype of British rainy days was over-exaggerated. Oh how this last month has proven me wrong. I try to strategically time my bike rides to and from work, but every few days I mess up get drenched. Thankfully the rain held off on Thanksgiving, and more importantly during the Rhodes/Marshall football game.

Several months ago I ambitiously decided to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for the American Rhodes Scholars. After being chided as a jingoist, the event grew to include all interested Rhodes Scholars, which at the end of the day was very nearly 100 people. I wasn't foolish enough to take this on alone, so I roped Sarah Miller into doing all the hard work. After a fair bit of stress and a full day in the kitchen, we managed to prepare a pretty darn good meal with all of the real 'murican favorites - rolls, cornbread, green salad, mac 'n cheese, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potato and marshmallow casserole, quiche (for the vegetarians), stuffing, cranberry sauce, and of course turkey (9 turkey breasts and 3 whole turkeys). As always, the football game was good fun (and the Rhodies won).

Chalkboard

Somehow grungy algebra is more tolerable on a chalkboard.