I touched down in Joburg today. But first I recap the past 5 days.
I arrived at London Heathrow on September 2 and went straight to Oxford where I dropped off my things and caught the Oxford Tube back to London for what ended up being a pub crawl. There's a quote from a French movie that describes the night (it has a deep meaning in the movie - here, not so much):
"C'est l'histoire d'un mec qui tombe d'un immeuble de cinquante étages au fur et à mesure de sa chute il se répète sans cesse pour se rassurer: jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien... mais l'important, c'est pas la chute, c'est l'atterrissage."
TRANSLATION: This is the story of a guy who falls from a 50 story building and throughout his fall keeps repeating to reassure himself: so far, so good, so far, so good, so far, so good... but what's important is not the fall, but the landing.
That night, we "landed" at Slim Jim's Pub in East London. Most would describe it as a dive and that's because it is a dive. With a 1950s juke box rocking American classics, a wide selection of cheap drinks, a mixed chic-to-freak crowd, and a 3am last call, this place is a diamond in the rough for sure ... or maybe a rough diamond. Either way, this is where we landed and it was good. Early on, somebody says, "Look, there are bras on the ceiling." I'm not sure if "bra" means something else in Aussie or British slang... so I look up ... and it doesn't. There are hundreds of bras hanging from the ceiling. Slim Jim's has a no cover/free drink policy for girls that hand over their bras. Clearly it's a popular policy. Nobody said the place was classy. Day 2 in London involved an informal St Catz MCR reunion at an excellent Aussie brunch place near Oxford Circus called Lantana, a walk through The Regent's Park, and a 120-person house party.
The next day, I head back to Oxford and start the three-day Joseph Catch-up with Friends over Food Tour. I was a rock star. Minus the money, leather, guitar, drugs, booze, celebrity and adoring fans... well, maybe some adoring fans. The grand finale was an evening at the St. Giles Fair with greasy food, un-winnable games and intense rides, including The Storm. I've been on many extreme amusement park rides, but nothing like this. Buckled into your seat on the end of a pendulum, you're flung back and forth, up and down and around, flying around 100m above the spires of Oxford's old colleges. Did I mention your seat also spins? My only thought during, "I'm too old for this."
The next morning, I caught the Airliner to Heathrow to catch my flight to Joburg. It's always a bit sad when I leave Oxford. It's really a special place. I'm comforted by the fact that I always find a way back.
I arrived at London Heathrow on September 2 and went straight to Oxford where I dropped off my things and caught the Oxford Tube back to London for what ended up being a pub crawl. There's a quote from a French movie that describes the night (it has a deep meaning in the movie - here, not so much):
"C'est l'histoire d'un mec qui tombe d'un immeuble de cinquante étages au fur et à mesure de sa chute il se répète sans cesse pour se rassurer: jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien, jusqu'ici tout va bien... mais l'important, c'est pas la chute, c'est l'atterrissage."
TRANSLATION: This is the story of a guy who falls from a 50 story building and throughout his fall keeps repeating to reassure himself: so far, so good, so far, so good, so far, so good... but what's important is not the fall, but the landing.
That night, we "landed" at Slim Jim's Pub in East London. Most would describe it as a dive and that's because it is a dive. With a 1950s juke box rocking American classics, a wide selection of cheap drinks, a mixed chic-to-freak crowd, and a 3am last call, this place is a diamond in the rough for sure ... or maybe a rough diamond. Either way, this is where we landed and it was good. Early on, somebody says, "Look, there are bras on the ceiling." I'm not sure if "bra" means something else in Aussie or British slang... so I look up ... and it doesn't. There are hundreds of bras hanging from the ceiling. Slim Jim's has a no cover/free drink policy for girls that hand over their bras. Clearly it's a popular policy. Nobody said the place was classy. Day 2 in London involved an informal St Catz MCR reunion at an excellent Aussie brunch place near Oxford Circus called Lantana, a walk through The Regent's Park, and a 120-person house party.
The next day, I head back to Oxford and start the three-day Joseph Catch-up with Friends over Food Tour. I was a rock star. Minus the money, leather, guitar, drugs, booze, celebrity and adoring fans... well, maybe some adoring fans. The grand finale was an evening at the St. Giles Fair with greasy food, un-winnable games and intense rides, including The Storm. I've been on many extreme amusement park rides, but nothing like this. Buckled into your seat on the end of a pendulum, you're flung back and forth, up and down and around, flying around 100m above the spires of Oxford's old colleges. Did I mention your seat also spins? My only thought during, "I'm too old for this."
The next morning, I caught the Airliner to Heathrow to catch my flight to Joburg. It's always a bit sad when I leave Oxford. It's really a special place. I'm comforted by the fact that I always find a way back.
It's getting close to bedtime here. I'll post the Joburg update soon.
I like that you have your name written in capital letters. I feel like a fanfare should be playing when I read it.
ReplyDeleteYou're very right about Oxford. I'll still have to go back once or twice (since I have to revise/resubmit I don't know if I'll have a second viva), and I can't believe how easy it is to fall back into the rhythm of Oxford when you get there.
Can't wait to hear about Jo'burg.