We have been in the UK for 3 weeks now. It seems like most western countries do not have a good handle on COVID19 yet. The 2nd wave had started and we are heading into winter soon. Boris wants to cancel Christmas now.
The weak was lovely initially, then the rains started and the temperature plunged the whole of this week to a low of 4 degrees Celsius and hovering no higher than 13 most of the days. I managed to do my daily runs in the old apartment in Headington, clocking up to 8km before the wet weather put a stop to it.
I moved into a new apartment in the heart of Oxford city last Sat to be nearer to my son for the remaining 2 weeks before I head back home to begin my 2 weeks quarantine in S’pore this following Sat, a week from today. The new apartment was much better than I expected, having been newly renovated. It was located in the heart of the city within a 300+ years old building that used to be a coach stop in the old days. It is just beside the famous Covered Markets of Oxford where various shops have been selling their wares for many years too.
As my son’s school term started on Monday (Week Zero), he was occupied with the various orientation programs as most students moved into the college over the weekend. While a lot of activities are confine to online now, the rule of 6 did allow them to meet up and go for the traditional pubs for evening socialization. I did not want to impose on him, hence I was off to do things on my own to discover every inch of the city over the next few days.
Took it easy for the weekend and visited some new pubs to sample the lager and ale. Good to be a lone tourist trying to take my time doing anything I fancy on the whim of the moment. Went to watch the movie “Tenet” on Monday as the weekday price was lower. Then I reacquainted myself with the city again by booking a walking tour as the last one was 3 years ago when the whole family came here to check out Oxford before my son had to start his NS.
The guide on the walking tour was a friendly Canadian and he had just completed his PhD in ancient history in Oxford! He was on a 5 years scholarship but managed to finish it in 4. He was previously from the army medical sector who decided to pursue his interest on studying the similarities of various civilizations. Oxford with the huge Bodleian library collection of old books provided him the resources to study ancient Greek and Latin history. He was very entertaining to our group, although there were only 4 of us (an Italian lady and a mother-daughter couple from Australia).
Because of Covid19, some places were not opened and hence the itinerary has to be adjusted. He introduced us to the oldest pub in Oxford, The Bear which was started in 1242 and had a tradition of cutting of ties if they were worn in the pub. He also mentioned about the origins of Alice in Wonderland and how the gardens in Christchurch Meadow inspired the author. I also learned more about the special friendship CS Lewis had with JRR Tolkien as they went on to write great books which still are being admired today.
I settled into a schedule of sorts, starting with a morning run or walk regardless of the temperature, followed by a shower before going for museum visits. The Ashmolean had a “Young Rembrandt” exhibition while it also had a rich record of various civilizations. The museum of Natural History and the Pitt Rivers museum were 2 amazing large halls packed with details to explore and read. Even the basement of the Blackwell bookshop was so large that I had to go twice to fully appreciate the books on display there.
It is only less than 25 days to the US elections but Trump never stopped surprising everyone. The month of Oct is turning out to be one of crazy shit happening every other day. He goes more unhinged and desperate as Biden widens his polls gap over him. I cannot believe how many own goals he had personally shot at himself in just the last one week. Shooting himself in the foot or putting his foot in his mouth is becoming too frequent.
First was the presidential debate that wasn’t presidential at all, then he got the virus. The emerging super spreader event where 32 White House related members also contracted it to date. Then he did some crazy videos and Fox calls while high on experimental drugs like some deranged uncle. He dropped the bomb again by saying he will postpone the relief negotiations until after the elections, then did a 180 degrees turnaround yesterday by announcing that the relief discussions should be restarted and suggesting a much higher amount than that proposed by the Democrats. Pelosi even kick started a 25th Amendment commission process to determine what they have to do if a president is suddenly unfit for office…
Even the older voters are abandoning him, either through mistrust of how he handled Covid19 or suffering from the lies he told them. Talk about killing your voters, literally. The most vulnerable group of older voters who believe in his lies are also contracting the virus by refusing to wear masks and thinking that Covid19 is a hoax.
His world is starting to unravel at a faster rate now. All his life he had been able to get out of the hole he dug via various means but this one looks too deep to get out of and time is running out. Desperate times call for desperate measures and everyone is holding their breath to hope that he doesn’t do something very, very stupid any time soon… This is the best real life TV soap opera to watch for now. SAD!
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