Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

New College

　　A married couple of a psychiatrist and a family doctor- the emeritus and emerita professor of Oxford University, who kindly assisted my daughter with her life in Oxford and her learning in Oxford University, guided us around the New College where they had spent their student days. "New" is attached to its name, but this college isn't new and has a long history. As for this college, Ten-noh devoted a full two pages to the background of its foundation. It implies the significance of the college.
　　With them, we were allowed to enter every space in the college. With my daughter's translation and my knowledge about medieval Europe, I enjoyed their guidance and the scenes of every corner of the New College.
　　I read "La Peste" - the pest - by Albert Camus last year. I wanted to know how the pandemic had been in the medieval era. I knew from the memoir of Ten-noh that the pest pandemic was the background of the foundation of the New College. This college was located at the northern end of Oxford Old City which had been surrounded by stone walls. Its wall had various devices to repel the enemy.

　娘がお世話になった名誉教授ご夫妻にご自身が在籍したニューカレッジを案内していただいた。一般には立ち入ることの出来ない場所も案内していただき有意義な時間を持てた。NEWとなっているがその歴史は古く、天皇陛下もこのカレッジを特に取りあげ、留学記の中に書かれている。
　去年だったと思うが、カミュのペストを読んだ。中世のパンデミックがどのようなものだったのか気になったので。そのペストがこのカレッジ誕生の遠因となっていたことに驚いた。このカレッジは城壁に囲まれたオックスフォードの北端に位置しており、敵を跳ね返すための攻撃用の設備が点在していた。まるでお城であった。

(Vocabulary)
emeritus 《男性の名誉職に用い，「名誉…」を意味する》
emerita 《女性の名誉職に用い，「名誉…」を意味する》

Thames Path

　　I wondered what way Ten-noh reached the pub in his 20's. It was past 7 o'clock p.m., but I walked around the pub to find the way. It didn't take much time to find the gate to the Thames Path. The gate was equipped with a shabby-looking but firm door, but I saw two joggers opening the door and getting onto the path. Anyone would be allowed to enter the path. I didn't know the necessity of the door, but when I stepped into it, I understood. The path was a part of a meadow and I saw a few cows grazing. To tell the truth, I unintentionally found the other side door after a few days and I'll write about it later.

　陛下はどのようなルートでここへ到達されたのだろう。到着後、１９時を回っていたがまだ日が高いうちに周辺を歩いた。そして見つけた。陛下が自転車で走られたであろうテムズ川沿いの小道。ここには扉があったがジョギングをする二人が何のためらいもなく扉を開けて入っていったので誰でも入れるのだろう。なぜ扉があるか？中を覗いてすぐにわかった。牛が放牧されていた。実は後日、この道の反対側の入口を見ることができた。ブラブラしていたら偶然に。後日書く。

(Vocabulary)
necessity 必要(性)
graze 〈家畜が〉生草を食べる;〈家畜〉に生草を食べさせる,〈土地〉を牧草地として使う

https://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/#/

The Thames

　　It's the Thames that flew in front of us. If you put something on its surface, it will drift away to London. On the upstream you can see a lock gate. There seems to be several locks on the Thames and I was able to see some of them. I'll write about them later. Ten-noh wrote about several rock bridges and I'd like to visit some of them but the time was short.

　目の前に流れているのはテムズ川。ここにボート浮かべればロンドンに到達する。上流側には閘門が見える。テムズ川上流には閘門が何カ所もあるらしく、のんびりと川に沿って散策したいものだ、、、。テムズの中世の水運を研究された陛下の本には散策された石橋のことも書かれているのだが、今回は見て回る時間が無さそうだ。

https://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/#/

The Trout Inn 2

　　The internal details of the pub were great and its atmosphere was also relaxing, but we chose an outdoor table to enjoy the scene. At first, I ordered one of the local beers of Camden pale ale, which reminded me of the scene of Chipping Campden where I drove a rental car with my second daughter five years ago. Taking a close look at the picture, however, I found the difference in spelling. This beer was brewed at Camden town in London not the Cotswolds, but it was OK. My heart was full with the fact that my wife and I were with my youngest daughter who had successfully finished all the courses of Oxford University which has long been acknowledged as No.1 in the world. I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I forgot the name of our dishes.

　室内の装飾も見事だったが風景を楽しみたいため外の席を選んだ。
　まずは地元のカムデンビール　エールタイプのビールを選択　まずはイッパイ！
このビールを選んだのは、５年前に次女とドライブしたイングランド・グロスターシャー州のコッツウォルズにある小さなマーケットタウン、チッピング・カムデンを思い出したから。良く見ると綴りが違うし、後で調べると全然関係なかった、、、(^_^;)　ロンドンのカムデンタウンで造られていた。まあ、ＯＫ。世界ナンバー１の大学を卒業した娘とここに居るだけで何も言うことなし。写真のような料理をオーダーしたのだが、料理名はサッパリ忘れてしまった。

https://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/#/

 

The Trout Inn 1

　　I reached The Trout Inn in the end by my daughter's car. It was about 30 minutes from the city center of Oxford. I knew this pub from the memoir of Japanese Ten-noh who had studied water transport by the Thames nearly 40 years ago. He apparently came here with his guard by bicycle. Having read his memoir, I was eager to have dinner at this pub.
　　I'll show you its external appearance below. I wondered how old this building was. I should have questioned someone about that, but the waiters looked busy. A few hundreds years or more, I thought.

　娘の運転する車でついにやってきたパブ、Trout Inn。市内から３０分。天皇陛下は留学中、警護官と共に自転車でテムズ川沿いを走って立ち寄ったという。留学記を読んでいてなんとしてもここで食事をしたかった。
　まずは建物外観の写真をＵＰする。一体どれくらいの歴史があるのだろう。誰かに尋ねれば良かったのだが、店員が忙しそうで機会が無かった。数百年の歴史はありそうだ。

https://www.thetroutoxford.co.uk/#/

My Daughter

　　I saw my daughter at a bus stop of Thornhill Park&Ride. She would have gone through lots of hardship with a brave spirit in the unfamiliar country. I got an impression that she had stepped up on the next stage of life. It's a pity that she is shy and doesn't want me to upload her picture.

It was about 7 o'clock and we left our baggage at the hotel room and headed for the Trout, which I'll show you below. The Japanese Ten-noh spent 2 years here in Oxford in his 20's. His memoir was one of my travel guidebooks this time. I'm going to roam over something related to him.

My trip memo of this travel would become considerably long.

三女と再会

Thornhill Park&Ride で娘と再会した。随分としっかりした印象を受けた。イギリスで苦労してきたのだろう。逞しくなったものだ。とてもシャイで写真を載せるなと言われているのが残念。１９時を過ぎているのでホテルへ荷物を置いてすぐに天皇陛下お勧めのパブ、The Trout へ向かった。先に書いたとおり、天皇陛下は２０代の二年間、オックスフォードで自由な学生時代を送られている。彼の人生で恐らくこの二年間だけが自由な時間だったのだろうと推察する。その留学記に書かれている地名をできる限り歩いてみたいと思っている。この自分の旅行記は長くなりそうだ。

Bus named Tube and Airline

　　It was late evening when I arrived at Heathrow Airport five years ago and I stayed at a nearby hotel at that time. I didn't know exactly how to get to Oxford, and I chartered a taxi from around Heathrow Airport to Oxford. I think I could get to Oxford by buses or trains, if I repeatedly asked people around how to get to Oxford, but maybe due to my inherent laziness, I didn't. I should have been more reasonable.
　　By the way, I was going to utilize public transportation other than taxis this time. What is called subway in the U.S. is called "tube" in the U.K. I found the word "Oxford Tube" on Google Map.
　　Then the following conversation was exchanged between my daughter(D) and me(I).

I: The new subway line seemed to have been built between Oxford and London. I'm going to get to Paddington on the Elizabeth Line and change trains to the Oxford line.

D: There's no subway line in Oxford. Are you talking about Oxford Tube? If so, it's the bus service called "Tube". Don't worry! I can pick you up at the 5th Terminal in Heathrow Airport.

I: It's very helpful. Thank you.

(In the morning on the departure day)

D: I became unable to see you at the airport and booked "Airline" in place of my pick-up. I attached e-tickets for two on this e-mail.

I: By plane? Between such a short distance?

D: It's a bus service called "the Airline".

I: .... I lost words. Is there no other way to name it?(grin)

５年前、ヒースロー国際空港に到着したのは夜だったので近くのホテルに旅装を解いた。翌日、オックスフォードまでどうやって行くのかわからず、人に尋ねながら行けば行けたのだろうが、生来の不精もあり、ホテルからタクシーでオックスフォードの宿まで向かった。無茶なことをしたものだ。今回は公共交通機関を使うことにしている。

地下鉄をイギリスではＴｕｂｅと呼ぶ。そして、地図で Oxford Tube という記載を見たのでオックスフォードに住む娘に

私：地下鉄が出来たみたいだから今回は地下鉄でオックスフォードに向かうよ。
娘：オックスフォードに地下鉄はないよ。もしかしてOxford Tubeのこと？それならTubeという名前のバスだよ。心配要らない。ヒースロー国際空港第５ターミナルまで迎えに行くよ。
私：有り難い。よろしく。

羽田からの離陸直前に娘からメールあり。

娘：迎えに行けなくなった。Airlineを予約しておいた。Ｅ－チケットをこのメールに添付した。
私：ヒースロー国際空港からオックスフォードまで飛行機とは。
娘：Airlineという名前のバスだよ。
私：言葉を失う。わかりやすい名前を付けられないものか、、、、（笑）

 

Arrival

　　Ireland and Scotland are coming within eyesight. It was about 40 minutes until the landing, but a familiar "Cup Noodle" was served. I was a little bit hungry and this service was timely. I frequently pick ANA and I'll ask ANA to prepare this type of instant noodles. Looking out of the window, I identified Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and London Eye which I visited with my second daughter five years ago. I didn't think I'd come back to the U.K. at that time. I was really happy to visit the U.K. again. My plane smoothly touched down on the soil of the U.K.

　視界にアイルランドやイギリス本土が入ってきた。到着まで４０分ほどしかないのにカップヌードルが出てきた。欲しい人だけのサービスだが。小腹の空いたときに重宝する。フライト中に出されたのは初めて。いつも使うＡＮＡにもお願いしてみよう。食べ終わって外を見るとバッキンガム宮殿、Big Benビッグベン、London Eyeが見える。5年前次女とぶらぶら歩いた界隈だ。懐かしい。飛行機はスムーズにヒースロー国際空港第5ターミナルに到着した。

Iceland

　　As my plane was approaching Iceland, the clouds broke and beautiful terrain came in my eye. I took the first picture below. After coming back to Japan, I looked for this peninsula on Google Map. This peninsula is Snæfellsnes Peninsula which is located at the northwest of Reykjavik.
　　According to a guidebook, this peninsula is rich in a diverse array of beautiful scenery; beautiful waterfalls, a vast lava plateau, beaches with cobblestone, soaring magnificent mountains like Kirkjufell and Snæfellsnes glacier at the tip of the peninsula. Under the glacier, a volcano sits. Voyage au centre de la Terre (Voyage to the center of the earth) by Jules Gabriel Verne is set in this volcano. I was able to unexpectedly see the site of one of the most famous science fiction novels.
　　In addition, I was able to look down the whole view of Reykjavik. Its pictures were blurred and I refrain uploading them here. I saw the volcanic smoke going up near Reykjavik. Was that a hot spring or a geothermal power station? Anyway I wish I could visit the country some day.

　飛行機がアイスランドにさしかかると、雲が切れて美しい土地が見えたのですぐに写真を撮った。（1枚目の写真）帰国後調べてみると、ここはレイキャビクの北西に位置するスナイフェルスネス半島(Snæfellsnes)
　ガイドブックを読むと、息を飲む様な美しい景色が続く場所で、美しい滝や、溶岩の大地、丸い小石の浜辺、キルキュフェットル（Kirkjufell）など堂々とそびえる山々、そしてスナイフェルスネス半島の端にあるスナイフェルス氷河。その氷河を冠した山の下には火山が眠っています。ここはジュール・ヴェルネの書いた地底旅行の舞台となった場所でもあります。との説明を見つけた。
　また、上空からレイキャビクの街を望むことが出来た。遠くて写真の出来は悪くてここにはあげないが、肉眼ではきれいに見えた。レイキャビクの近くで噴煙が上がっている。温泉だろうか、地熱発電だろうか、　訪れたいなあ。

(Vocabulary)
Voyage au centre de la Terre 地底旅行
Jules Gabriel Verne　ジュール・ベルヌ

Greenland

　　There was no green land on Greenland. This huge island is said to have been named "Greenland" to invite people to settle there. I deeply agreed with this idea as soon as I looked down through the window. Take a look at the following pictures. I'm sure you'll feel as I did. On the other hand, the name of Iceland which I'll pass over soon is for fighting off the newly coming people.
　　Anyway I assumed that there was nothing worthy of gazing at on the ground of Greenland and I didn't look out of the window over Greenland. When the plane was about to go out over the Atlantic Ocean, I looked down and found a few beautiful glaciers. I took some pictures to know their name later, but I couldn't identify their name on the net.
　　After coming back, I visited a few websites concerning the cryogenic science and learned that Greenland along with Antarctica are the principal research objects for scientists. I learned the technical term of "ice sheet". It apparently is distinguished from glaciers.

　デンマーク領グリーンランドに緑の場所は無かった（笑）。人の移住を促すためにこの名が付いたと言うがなるほどである。反対に次に通過するはずのアイスランドは人を寄せ付けないようにするためにアイスという名前が付けられたと聞いた。もうすぐ上空に至る。どんな大地なのか、楽しみ。
　さて、真っ白の大地に見るべきものはないと思い下を見なかった怠慢が残念、ふと下を眺めると巨大な氷河が海に流れ込んでいる雄大な景色が見えた。
　帰国後調べてみるとグリーンランドは南極大陸とともに氷床と氷河の研究のメッカだという。この氷河にも名前が付いていると思うが、よくわからなかった。

(Vocabulary)
ice sheet 氷床
cryogenic 超[極]低温(貯蔵)の.
Cryogenic Research Center 低温科学研究センター

Second Meal

　　The second meal was served. I'd already changed the time of my watch to that of the U.K. at take-off, but I didn't know whether this was lunch or supper.
Anyway, I had to continue to fly at least eight hours more and ordered another kind of red wine. My choice was boiled chicken in chili sauce and my wife chose Udon noodles as shown in the following pictures. I tasted the Udon. Its taste was tailored for the western style.
　　My seat was an economy seat and cramped, but the flight was smooth and comfortable. I was going to the U.K. traveling more than halfway round the earth.

　二食目が配られた。これはランチなのか夕食なのか、良くわからない。時計は出発時にイギリス夏時間に設定しているが。家内は焼きうどん、僕はチキンのチリソース煮をチョイス。まだ８時間は乗っていないといけない。違った種類の赤ワインをオーダー。ちなみにうどんは西洋風。これはこれでおいしかった。
　エコノミーシートは狭いが、ほとんど揺れない快適なフライト。地球を一気に半周以上回ってイギリスに向かっている。

Yukon Territories, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

　　My plane flew over the northern part of Canada transversely from the Pacific side to the Atlantic ocean. I'm not so familiar with the geography of these areas. I only knew the name of Whitehorse and Yellowknife as tourist destinations wanting to view the aurora. In addition to those, I knew about Resolute in Nunavut where the Japanese adventurer Uemura Naomi got trained how to drive a dogsled. Relying on the location map, I looked for the village, but in vain. It might be because Resolute was too tiny of a village to be identified from an altitude of 36000 feet or my window was on the right side of the plane. The location of Resolute is shown in the 9th picture below. Take a look at the last picture. My plane went out over Baffin Bay and finished the crossing of Canada.

　飛行機はカナダ北部を太平洋側から大西洋側へ横断。この辺りの地理には余り詳しくない。ホワイトホース、イエローナイフを知っている程度。そしてイヌイットの地区ではレゾルートresolute という町くらい。偉大な日本人探検家が犬ぞり訓練をした場所だから。
　ルートマップでみると、レゾルートの上空を飛んだはずなのだが左側の窓からなら眺められたかもしれないけれど、僕の右側からは無理だった。9枚目の写真にレゾルートの場所が書かれている。10枚目で飛行機はバフィン湾Baffin Bayへ抜け、カナダ横断完了。グリーンランドへ向かう。

(Vocabulary)
dogsled 犬ぞり

Anchorage

　　The sea of clouds rolled below and I wasn't able to view the ground, but the screen in front of me showed that my plane was reaching Alaska in a few minutes. I'd pass over Anchorage soon. The flight between Europe and Japan was formerly this route and Anchorage was an important stopping point and passengers took a rest and the plane was refueled here. I've not been to Europe in this time, but I've heard so. The development of aircraft seems to make it possible to fly directly between Japan and Europe. The function of Anchorage as a connecting point disappears. The name of Anchorage might be from "anchor" of ships, such an idea suddenly came up.
　　This flight took 14 hours with two sets of pilots - two captains and two co-pilots - were on board accordingly. I felt that the airline ticket was considerably expensive when I bought it, but I took it in order to know this flight route.
　　I suddenly remembered a famous Japanese adventurer of Uemura Naomi, who was lost sight of in 1984 on Mt. Mckinley(Mt. Denali). I searched outside of the window for the mountain, but in vain due to the thick sea of clouds. And another thing I remembered was the movie "Into The Wild", in which a wealthy young man threw all his money away and made his way into the wilderness of Alaska with insufficient equipment. There's no way that he could survive. Why did he attempt such a reckless endeavor?

　眼下は雲海で、地上の様子は見えないが、飛行機はアラスカにさしかかっている。もうすぐアンカレッジ上空だ。かつて冷戦時代はロシア上空を避けるためにヨーロッパと日本を繋ぐ路線は全てこのルートを使用し、アンカレッジで燃料の補給をしていた。その時代にヨーロッパへ行ったことが無いが、そう聞いている。今は、飛行機の発達により一気にヨーロッパまで飛べるようである。中継地としてのアンカレッジは消滅している。
　そういえば、この飛行機には機長と副操縦士が二人ずつ乗務しているとのこと。１４時間も連続勤務はきついだろうからなあ。
　このルートを通るのなら、是非マッキンレー山（デナリ山）を見たい。日本の偉大な探検家を奪った悪魔の山。そう思ってずっと外を眺めていたが、雲に遮られてしまった。もう一つ思い出したのが映画「Into The Wild」 こんな過酷な環境の中へ不十分な装備で入っていくのは自殺以外の何ものでも無い。若者はどんな気持ちでこの厳しい環境の中に分け入ったのだろうか？

(Vocabulary)
The sea of clouds rolled....
be in order
1 〈書類などが〉 合法である, 有効である
Is your passport in order? あなたのパスポートは有効ですか．
2(フォーマル) 〈言動などが〉 ふさわしい, 適切である
lose sight of 〈人･物〉を見失う;〈人〉の消息がわからなくなる
attempt, endeavor





(July 12th) 

Flight Route

　　Having a meal, looking down through the window, I was surprised. Under my eyes, there was a vast expanse of ocean. The sea of Japan couldn't be that wide. We should have flown over the southern part of the Korean Peninsula averting the threat of North Korea. I made sure where I was on the backseat screen and found that I was flying over the Pacific Ocean. The plane was headed to the east. I knew the route should be diverted avoiding the conflict between Ukraine and Russia and I assumed that the plane would have passed over or around India. I recalled a Malaysian aircraft which had been shot down flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014. I understood this eastbound route would be the most secure way to avoid Russia and Ukraine.
　　Soon after, I hit upon a good idea. I decided to take snapshots of the screen which told the location. I've never flown east of Canada and wanted to record the route and the pictures of the ground for later consideration. I didn't know much about the northern part of Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. As for Greenland, I didn't even know its capital city. As for cities of Iceland, I only knew Reykjavik because it's the city in which a historic talk between the U.S. and USSR took place. It is said to have been the commencement of the end of the Cold War. Some journalists from Japan reported its possibilities as a tourism country at that time. Several hot spas in the land literally called "ice"land....Fantastic! People in Iceland apparently started the Spirit Boat Procession just like those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6th and 9th every year since the talk. I'm eager to visit the country just on these days some day.
　　If the plane had flown a little south, I would have been able to see the sweet scenery of Canadian mountains. I tried to change the configuration of the location map on the screen, but I couldn't find anything about British Columbia in Canada on the map. Vancouver was far away from my location at that time.

　食事をしながら下を見て驚いた。北を避けて韓国上空にさしかかっているはずが、大海原だったから。日本海がこれほど広いはずがない。前席のシートの後ろに付いているディスプレイで位置を確認すると飛行機は東へ向かっていた。ロシアとウクライナの戦争地域を避けて飛ぶとは聞いていたが、インド辺りを飛ぶのだと思っていたので東へ向かっていることを知って驚き、かつ安心した。２０１４年にマレーシア航空機が撃墜されたことを思い出した。
　位置を確認したと同時にルートを記録しておこうと考えた。カナダより東を飛んだことがなく、北部カナダ、グリーンランド、アイスランド上空を飛ぶはずだ。これらの地域をほとんど知らない。グリーンランドはその首都も知らない。アイスランドはレイキャビクだけは覚えている。東西冷戦を終わらせるレーガンとゴルバチョフの歴史的な会談が行われた場所。余り知られていないが、長崎、広島のような灯籠流しがそれぞれの原爆投下の日、８月６日と９日に行われている。知っているのはこれくらい。
　もう少し南を飛んでくれたら懐かしいウィスラーの山々を眺めることができたかもしれないのが少し残念だが、遠回りは出来ないから仕方ない。ルートマップの設定を変えながらBC州の方角を眺めて見たがバンクーバー辺りは遠すぎて見えない。

British Airways

　　My wife and I started an overseas trip after an interval of three years. I chose British Airways this time for the first time. There was no specific reason for the choice, but I just wanted to pay respect to the U.K.
　　One of the amusements during the flight was every meal. After taking-off, we were served drinks and I asked for a red wine, which will be shown below. We toasted to have fun staying in the U.K. For the meal I asked for chicken.

Travel Guidebook

　　The last visit was with my second daughter just after my youngest daughter had started living in Oxford. I was anxious about her; What place did she live in? or Could she get along well?
　　I hardly had the background knowledge of Oxford, London, and the U.K. at that time. I had just thumbed through a few travel guidebooks during the outward flight. My youngest daughter who had just started her life in Oxford didn't have any room in her heart to welcome us or guide us around the city. There was no building named Oxford University and I noticed a few dozen colleges in the city. Because of that reason, I just visited some tourist spots in Oxford on the last visit.
　　While I had been seeking a useful guidebook for understanding the history of Oxford City and the education system of Oxford University, an ad in the newspaper caught my eye. The ad said that the memoir about life in the U.K. written by the present Ten-noh would be republished with a new book design 30 years after the original publication. Promptly I uttered "That's it!" and I ordered it from Amazon. I read the memoir repeatedly taking notes, writing in the margin what came up in my mind, and attaching postits. Lastly I compiled my destination list. The memoir was one of good reference materials, though the contents were basically of nearly 40 years ago.

(Vocabulary)
preliminary [background] knowledge 予備知識
outward flight 行きのフライト
because of that reason そのようなわけで
memoir [C](フォーマル) 思い出の記, 追想録 [＋memoir about]
publication [U] 出版, 刊行

Second Visit to Oxford

　　I decided to visit Oxford City in the U.K. for the first time in 5 years to attend the Degree Day Ceremony of my daughter. She finished her postgraduate course last year and works as a physician in the U.K., but the ceremony was postponed until the end of the pandemic.
　　Last time I had difficulties listening to the English of local people. I wonder how it would be this time. I didn't utilize the public transportation so much. I didn't know about the oyster card. To tell the truth, I didn't know how to get on the vehicles. However, my daughter advised me and my wife about the public transportation and the oyster card this time. We'll fly into Haneda (Tokyo) International Airport by the last flight tonight.

 

Short Trip to Oxford

　　As the pandemic eases, the Japanese Government finally lifted its strict restriction on the re-entry requirements. I decided to visit the U.K. with my wife in the coming July. Our purpose is to attend my daughter's graduation ceremony from Oxford University Graduate School. Her thesis for her master's degree was accepted last year. Additionally, she got a medical license also in the U.K. during her graduate school and she is now working as a trainee in a hospital in the suburbs of London, though she had already finished the trainee course of Japan.
　　I learned an interesting custom about the graduation ceremony in the U.K.. In general, graduation ceremonies are held once a year and its season is March in Japan, when cherry blossoms, one of the cultural fixture of Japan, will celebrate all graduates. To my surprise, the ceremony is apparently held three times in a year in the U.K., and the graduates can choose the season of their ceremony from three options; July, November, and March. Much to my surprise, they can choose the year too. The graduates can postpone it as long as they want, even years.
　　My wife and I have been eager to attend the ceremony and see our daughter's beaming and proud face. It goes without saying, but Oxford University is one of the highest class universities in the world. We had just been confined to Japan due to the pandemic for three years. We asked her to choose the best season for the graduation and the sightseeing, and we got to visit Oxford city in July. The scenery in November and March doesn't seem so good. The latitude of the U.K. is above that of Hokkaido. I understood the harshness of its climate.
　　There are several places in the college which only authorized personnel can step in. The famous movie, Harry Potter was shot in such places. With our daughter attending, we can see inside. This sightseeing is very attractive.
　　The last visit to the U.K. was in 2018's autumn. I remember how hard it was to listen to the words from local people in the hotel in Oxford and a parking lot in Stratford-upon-Avon. I even wondered if their words were English or another language. The English which I could easily and comfortably understand was only the narration from the speaker of the Great Western Railway, which I took from Oxford to London. However, everything will be ok with our daughter this time. (Link)
　　Four years have passed since. Our daughter was to stay in Oxford for one year as a visiting scholar at first, but she was offered another year's stay with a scholarship as a scholar. Meanwhile, she was advised to go into the Graduate School, which leads to now. Additionally, she passed the National Examination for Medical Practitioners during the stay. She hopes to work in the U.K. at least for now.
　　During our stay, we'd like to walk around her life range and her workplace. It's the first time for my wife to visit Oxford and I'm thinking of revisiting standard sightseeing spots like the Cotswolds and the birthplace of Shakespeare, and London.
　　I chose ANA last time, but I found a ticket for a better price and am using British Airways this time. I'm now wondering if I should get a new suit of British taste made as a mark of respect for British culture for attendance at the ceremony. I can't wait to get on board the international flights.

(Vocabulary)
thesis (学位取得のための) 論文
a doctoral thesis 博士論文
beam にっこりほほえむ, (喜びなどで) 顔を輝かす
beam at sb/sth ＜…＞に向かってにっこりほほえむ
Which leads to now.　今に至る
life range 生活圏

https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2018/10/parking-violation.html

 

Cancellation of My Trip

　　I had a plan to visit Hokkaido this summer vacation to see my youngest daughter. She works in a hospital in Hokkaido as a resident and she is a postgraduate student of Oxford at the same time. She temporarily came back from the U.K. last summer avoiding the pandemic in the U.K., and she is going to re-visit and stay in the U.K. for at least two years. If the pandemic should cease next summer, I'm sure to visit Oxford next summer vacation with my wife, but its possibility might not be high. We'd like to see her in Hokkaido, but we had to give up the plan due to the surge of the Wuhan virus infection.

 

Delicious Fish and Chips

　　We moved to Heathrow Airport by tube, which I already felt got familiar. As we had only to change tubes once at a small station, I chose a train which stopped at every station. Its speed wasn't so rapid, but we enjoyed the scenery of the suburbs of London. The tube went out of the ground about 10 minutes from St. James Park Station. Viewing the landscape, I remembered the trip, during which we were involved in a few problems, but the trip was fun. We were relieved to see the college and its dormitory in which my youngest daughter lived.
　　What we had to do in the airport was to upgrade our ticket to upper seats. Our tickets were offered for free by obtained mileage. Moreover I tried to get upper seats for free, and... we got them. We were able to fly both ways premium economy class, which was the middle class between economy and business classes. Then, fish-and-chips! I heard that it was one of the representative British dishes and we weren't able to leave the U.K. without trying one. I visited a restaurant in the airport and ate it with a London local beer, Camden. This fish-and-chips was really delicious. We weren't happy in culinary respects during the trip, but enjoyed the British cuisine at the last minute.
　　By the way, my daughter's purse which was stolen in Oxford naturally didn't come back, but as it was expensive, I advised her on an insurance claim. She claimed for the purse on her insurance by herself, and the insurance was paid, discounting use commission. It was her first experience and she was surprised to get money back from insurance. She had to give up money in the purse, but it was a bitter but good lesson for her.
　　This is the last entry about my recent trip. Thank you for subscribing.

　
空港までは既に慣れた感じのある地下鉄で移動した。乗り換えが１回で済むので、全駅停車の鈍行を選んだ。地下鉄とは行っても１０分ほど走ると地上に出る。ゆっくりと景色を見ながらいろいろあった旅行を思い出していた。

ヒースロー空港ですることは一つ。帰りの便のアップグレード。今回往復ともに特典航空券、つまり無料のチケット。それをプレミアムエコノミーにアップグレードを依頼した、、、果たして、、、してもらえた。ＡＮＡなので機内は日本語、美味しい料理にワイン。そして最後に食べたのはフィッシュ・アンド・チップス！イギリス名物料理と言えばこれでしょう。食べずに帰れるか！ということで食べてみた。ここまで食べる機会が無かった。食べても美味しくはないだろうという気もあったし。ところが、これはかなりうまかった。ビールはロンドンの地ビール、カムデンで。

さて、スリにやられた財布だが、もちろん帰っては来ない。ただ高価な財布だったので保険請求をしてみた。すべて娘がやったのだが、手数料を引かれたもののほぼ全額が支払われ、娘は驚いていた。中の現金は諦めるしかないが、これだけ戻れば我慢もしやすい、、、と。ま、これも勉強かな

以上で旅行記は終わりです。読んでいただき、ありがとうございました。