After I scanned the 1997 Cornwall photos yesterday, I sort of somehow kept automatically going with prints of photos we took in Oxford on the same trip. My daughter and I stayed a week there also, in another flat from the
Landmark Trust, within the much larger building that houses the Oxford Union. The Landmark flat, overlooking gardens, was part of an Edwardian addition called the
Steward's House. It came adorned with William Morris wallpapers and Arts & Crafts furniture, much as it must have looked when newly built.. Below, my daughter in her bedroom making a watercolor.
While I am pretending to be a life-sized porcelain figurine occupying space in the more manly bedroom.
There could hardly be an end to the list of things my daughter learned at Oxford, but I think the skill she was proudest to show me (when I came to be shown around) – was punting.
I was afraid to try it myself because I was firmly convinced (from just watching) that the complex coordination would defeat me, especially on foreign terrain.
The last batch of photos are in fact kind of out of scope, but before I could make myself stop scanning, these were already done, so here they are. They date from the very beginning of 1997 (about six months prior to my visit) with my daughter's friends in London and Oxford. The jacket and hat were both presents from me, and I remember well the desire to find the just-perfect hat and the just-perfect jacket. The scarf is the child's official college scarf.
