Oxford Canal Walks

Eastern flavour on a housboat's roof

Before I go back to the city guide, I have to tell you that I have been looking for a job from the first day since I was here.I sent a couple of resumes out every day, and left my resume or filled in the applications of businesses who were looking for staff. Until now I got only one answer and an offer that still does not mean too much. I went to a coffee booth at the train station in the last two days but no one has mentioned a contract or anything yet. It would not bother me if there were not that Worker Registration Scheme what means that I have to register with a form and send my passport somewhere up north. It only bothers me because I want to spend the Christmas at home, although who knows, probably the burocracy here is the same as in Germany...

The canal through one of the hundreds of bridges

Anyway, I shouldn't worry about little things, because everything here is going perfectly otherwise. I went to the Newcomers' Club, which is for the homesitting wives of temporary Oxford scholars. I had to throw my perceptions away since every organizer were very supporting and friendly, and not at all snobby, and the other newcomers were as shocked as me. Only the mums had constant activities without being lonely, so I really have to think about this opportunity. But if I really think about it the fruit of this thought would be tangible only when we leave Oxford. I have to forget it as a way to be occupied at the Newcomers' Club.

The "ancient Celtic wayside cross"

One of the nice organizers lead a walk the day so I joined in an easy walk. Leigh and me have already strolled along the Oxford Canal in the direction of Wolvercote, a village on the northern limits of the city. It was amazing to see the houseboats, how people de facto live on the boats. There are powerpoints alongside the canal, but I cannot imagine that there is enough room and it is environmentally friendly to have a washing machine on the boat. Nearly all the housboats are personalized with names, painted decorations or plants grown on the roof. We also found a stone which is described by Leigh as a wayside cross from celtic times. The Oxford Canal was built at the end of the 18th century to give a direct connection to the Thames because of the growing industrialisation in the area (Midlands).

The lock at Wolvercote