Oxford–Wednesday

Above – the Hertford Bridge. Often called the Bridge of Sighs as it is thought to resemble the Bridge of Sighs in Venice….

It doesn't, as the venetian original has no windows and it was where they walked prisoners on their way to be executed.. (we once walked over the Venice one). It actually looks more like the Rialto bridge in Venice.

This one is apparently so naughty students could avoid a curfew at some point in history.

>>>>><<<<<

Its snowing!

Just a little bit in town, but heavier up north.

Here is our car at the B&B with a dusting of snow.

Well, this seem to be a great day to spend inside a warm museum, so we visited the Ashmolean.

The Ashmolean Museum (in full the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology) on Beaumont Street, Oxford, England, is the world's first university museum. Its first building was erected in 1678–1683 to house the cabinet of curiosities that Elias Ashmole gave to the University of Oxford in 1677. (Wikipedia)

Okay,, Dear Readers did you know that many of these marble statues don't have their original bits. In the past folks often replaced the heads, particularly if they didn't like the look of the faces.. so it is possible to have a marble statue with an ancient Greek body, a head relaced in the 18th century and other bits changed by the Victorians…

And below is a sarcophagus, and the hieroglyphs translate as…

He gives a voice offering of bread, beer, beef, fowl, linen, oil and all things good and pure on which the God lives, for the ka of the revered one, Meresamun the justified.

All one needs to sustain life really…

And lots of lovely porcelain…

.. and other pretty things.

This painting (below) called ‘The hunt in the forest’ is one of the museums prize exhibitions as it was a ground breaker in the use of perspective in art.

It was also in an episode of Lewis (episode - Point of Vanishing).

And Dear Readers, very importantly, it also can join my Doggies in Art collection!

But wait! Here's more doggies…

And then we took a bit of a stroll around to look at some of Oxfords landmarks, and we have booked a walking tour for tomorrow.

We had dinner in a pub called the Four Candles… Named after the Two Ronnie's sketch.

Here's Graham getting me a drink!

And for those Dear Readers under 40 years,  that don't get the Four Candles reference here is an explanation below.

The customer then requests what sounds like "four candles". The shopkeeper then takes out four candles, but the customer merely repeats his request and the shopkeeper is confused. The customer rephrases his request to reveal he in fact wanted "fork 'andles" ("'andles for forks").

Okay, it was very funny once upon a time! You had to be there.