Schools Visit and Lots of Reading

I helped out with a schools visit today. The kids were from St Edmund's Arrowsmith School and they were mostly around 16 I think. Toju, Sam Longair and Kimberley were also helping out - Kimberley had just gotten in that morning and it was nice to see here back. It was the usual schools thing - a talk and Q&A session, followed by a tour of the college and a treasure hunt round Oxford where they had to look for the answers to various clues. There was also an interesting activity where they were given information about a crime and had to act variously as either the prosecution or the defence which was quite challenging I thought. The bonus in helping out was of course a free dinner in hall. Later on, went to Wine Rack and bought three bottles of wine on 3 for 2 offer and a bottle of port for just 5 pounds. Was sorely tempted to get a nice bottle of Whisky and I probably will, once the wages at the lodge comes through.

The previous day was spent reading for the most part. I read through Robert Harris' book Archangel, set in comtemporary Russia and featuring a startling revelation having to do with a diary that Joseph Stalin kept. It was an enthralling and spellbinding read. The author was really able to create a superbly authentic feel of contemporary Russia and how it has not fully exorcised its past. It definitely stirred my interest in many of the great figures of the Soviet cold war era - Lenin and Stalin most of all, but also Krushchev, Molotov and Brezhnev. It was fantastic stuff, with another brilliant ending, something to rival Fatherland. Indeed, I had enjoyed Fatherland so much that I went straight out and bought this one and finished it that night. I also bought another Wodehouse book - Something Fresh - which was the book in which Blandings Castle and all its various inhabitants were introduced. So much for my resolution to buy less books.

Among other literary pursuits, I have started on Dr Strange and Mr Norrell by Susan Clarke. It caused quite a stir when it came out with the general conscensus that it was the 'literary Harry Potter' but I resisted the hype before finally deciding to get it on the recommendation of Douglas who seems to be enjoying it immensely. It is quite a hefty book - all 900+ pages of it, but after getting through the first 200 pages or so I must say I am enjoying it a great deal. It has a very English late Victorian kind of style to it and a very subtle humour which is really wonderful. I also read through a short biography of Abraham Lincoln called Out of the Wilderness, and I am in the process of starting a much larger one by David Herbert Donald. Lincoln is a figure I have always greatly admired and I consider him to be the greatest of all the American Presidents - definitely a far cry from the Presidents of today.

I had a nice dinner with Sinead - pasta - in exchange for wine. I brought up two half finished bottles which weren't particularly good and were clearly the worse for wear in having been opened for awhile. I was apologetic and promised to do better and buy some good wine (which I have since done). It was nice chatting with her about all sorts of random stuff. Emma her roomate joined in for a bit. It seems everyone is returning - Toju, my roomate arrived back today, as did Damien and many others are expected back soon. Its nice to see the place fill up with people - College is rather quiet otherwise.