Happy Friday!

It is only midday back home, but the day is winding down into evening here. I have been remiss in blogging this week. I apologize, especially with so much going on!

First, was our induction into the Bodleian library, which I always want to type Bodelian, but Mr. Bodley would not appreciate that. I won't waste your time with the full story of the Bodleian, but it is a rather interesting tale, if you are so inclined to look it up.

We waited outside until precisely 2:30 when we were led through a small court looking room with beautiful dark wood into a parliament style room with equally beautiful dark panelling. The rooms were designed as a court and a parliament when King Charles made Oxford the capital.

We were seated on the benches of Parliament and told the history of the library along with other pertinent information such as which libraries we do have borrowing rights at.

From our induction we raced off to the Oxford Union in the centre of town. It's a lovely gated area with a debating chamber and a main building. The main building houses the library, where we do have lending rights, a bar, and lovely gathering rooms. We get our Union cards next week. Hopefully, there are some interesting speakers this term.

After our tour, we raced home to get ready for the black tie dinner. I actually wore make up and got my hair curled thanks to my very kind and generous flatmates. Sadly no pictures because we were running late and naturally it was raining on our way there so our looks didn't hold.

The formal dinner was at my college - Jesus College. We managed to follow the program director up to the dining area. We hung our coats and passed through a smaller room where we were offered sherry or orange juice (Orange juice please!) on to the balcony where we waited for the dinner to begin. We were called to attention and informed that dinner was served. We filed back into the smaller room. I should mention that the balcony looked out over the dining hall, a large room, but smaller than the Great Hall in Harry Potter.

Once we found our seats, they were assigned, we were served a very fancy salmon patty with a small salad. There were also rolls that were delicious. Our second course was a chicken breast with mashed potatoes, wilted spinach in a dark sauce. Following dinner was a sherry trifle. The night ended with an hour or so of toasts during which there were biscuits and cheese served with port. I failed to mention that there was white wine with the salmon and red with the chicken.  After three long hours of small talk this introvert was exhausted.

Hope this entry wasn't too long, but Tuesday was action packed!