Japanese Surgeon's Daily Life

Parking Violation

　　As soon as we reached the parking lot, I found a slip of paper on the windshield. It was a parking violation notice. We didn't examine the information of the town beforehand and parked our car without thinking enough at a parking lot which I had happened to find.
　　I caught someone who seemed to be responsible for this matter though he was just about to leave the parking lot, and I asked him what the slip meant. The slip was written in English and I spoke to him in English, but we weren't able to communicate with each other. I even suspected he might not speak in English. I've watched a news item handling the topic about the independence of Scotland before. I noticed and wondered at that time that some people who were interviewed were talking in a certain language other than English. The U.K. is recognized and handled as a single nation in Japan, but I felt that the U.K. wasn't a solid nation. I re-recognized the meaning of "United" of the U.K.
　　This man, who looked to be in the latter half of his 60's, had such a strong and ugly accent. I barely understood that he told us to read the description on the slip. It said the fine was 85 GBP, but if I paid the fine in two weeks, they would give me 35 GBP discount. I didn't need to present myself to the police station and was able to pay online. I gave the money up for a lesson fee for the experience of listening to an obscure and ugly English accent. I saw parking passes on the dashboard of other vehicles around us. This parking lot was apparently for vehicles which got a parking permit in advance. I understood why there was no fare collecting machine there.

イギリスに来てまで駐車違反とは、、、トホホ

さて、街を散策しながら駐車場へ戻った。するとフロントガラスに何かメモが貼ってある。駐車違反切符だった。この町の下調べしておらずたまたま見つけた駐車場に駐めたのが良くなかったようだ。

周りを見渡すと切符を貼り付けたと思われる人がいたので、意味を問いただしたが、言葉が全く通じない。貼ってあった紙には英語が書いてあるので英語で話したが、もしかしたらこいつの話す言葉は英語ではないのかも？と思ったほど。少し前にスコットランド独立騒ぎがあった頃、地元民にインタビューしているニュースを見たことがある。彼らの話す言葉は英語ではなかった。日本ではイギリスと一つの国のように呼んでいるが、この様子を見て、イギリスは決して一つではないと実感したことを思い出した。イギリスの正確な国名を見れば確かに"United"といくつかの国の集合体だとある。

この係員、年齢は６０代後半くらいだろうか。訛りが酷い。何を言っているのか全くわからないが、どうも、チケットの説明書きを読めと言っているようだった。読んでみると、駐車違反８５ポンド、すぐに支払えば５０ポンドにしてやると書いてある。出頭義務はなくオンラインでＯＫと、、、まあ便利ではあるが。仕方ない。５０ポンドは、このおっさんの英語モドキ言語を聞けたことに対する授業料と考えることにした。後で周りに駐めてある車を見ると、中に駐車許可証が置いてあった。駐車場に料金の支払場所がなかったのは、あらかじめ許可をもらった車だけの駐車場だったと思われる。大きなわかりやすい看板を設置して旅行者にもわかりやすいようにしてもらいたい。クソッ。

Shakespeare, the Symbol of Stratford-upon-Avon

　　By the way, where is the Avon River? We saw a river on which a few boats were slowly moving just before our arrival in this town. Is that it? While walking in the town, we came across several sightseeing boats, which we call "Yakatabune" in Japanese, at the pond-like mooring. It looked like a pond, but it was a mooring connected with the Avon River by a short narrow canal. I understood that when I happened to stand on a bridge over the canal. The second picture was shot on the bridge toward the mooring, and the third one was taken toward the river. The 4th and 5th pictures show the serene atmosphere of the river. Dinner was being prepared in a boat. Then we found a statue of Shakespeare. He was looking down from 5 meters high, surrounded by his-made characters; Falstaff, Prince Hal, Hamlet and Lady Macbeth. According to my travel guide, there apparently were several Shakespeare-related tourist spots in the town, but we missed even the principal one, the house of his birth. I hope I will visit the town again.

ところでエイボン川はどこだろう？到着前にボートが行き交っていた川があったがそれか？とにかく水辺へ歩いて行くと、池のような場所があり、何艘もの観光船、日本では屋台船と呼ぶ船が係留されていた。どうやらこの場所はエイボン川と短い運河でつながっていて水位調整が出来るようだった。横付けされているボートの中を覗くとディナーの準備中。ボートのたまり場を一周すると、シェイクスピアの銅像があった。彼の作り出したキャラクター４人に囲まれたシェイクスピアの銅像は数メートルの高さから街を見下ろしていた。この街にはシェイクスピアゆかりの場所が多くあり、観光にはあまりにも時間が足りなかった。再訪したいと思っている。

Stratford-upon-Avon, Birthplace of Shakespeare

　　When we were enjoying English tea and cakes in Burford, my daughter told me that we would be able to reach Stratford-upon-Avon during the daytime. I was nervous about driving in the U.K., but the traffic conditions were just like in Japan. I was able to drive around some roundabouts successfully. We decided to skip a few tourist spots to save time on the way, and arrived at Stratford-upon-Avon before sunset. We parked our car at a parking lot which we happened to find. Then we visited the house in which Shakespeare had been born, but the house was closed five minutes before. We were late by five minutes. So sorry!
　　The following pictures are the house in which Shakespeare was born, the adjacent souvenir shop and a nearby street. Though the rain stopped, it was a little bit dark. Most people would be melancholic, but I was excited to be at the Birthplace of Shakespeare. I knew about this place some time after I started learning English in my junior high school. My visit to Stratford-upon-Avon was an unexpected thing in those days.

シェイクスピアの生誕地　ストラットフォードアポンエイボンにて
　
Burfordでお茶しているときに、この分ならストラトフォード＝アポン＝エイヴォンまで足を伸ばせるなと思いついてやって来た。イギリスで初めて運転するので多少緊張していたが、Burfordまで走ってみて日本での運転と変わらないことがわかり、予定していた立ち寄り場所をいくつかキャンセルしてここまでやって来た。なので予備知識は殆ど無い。シェイクスピアが生まれた場所だと言うだけ。そして着いたときには１６時を回っていた。たまたま通りがかった駐車場ががら空きだったのでそこに停めて生家まで向かった。徒歩で１０分もかからず到着。しかし、１６時３０分で生家は閉館だった。５分遅れた、、、、で、そのあたりを散策することにした。
　
写真はシェイクスピアの生家と隣の土産物屋、そして通りの雰囲気。雨は上がったがどんよりとした天気で夕方。普通ならあまり快活な気分にはなれないが、自分は違って興奮していた。中学時代、英語を学び始めて間もない頃に英語の副読本でこの町の名前を知った。イギリスのどこかにあるという程度の知識だった。まさか自分が訪れるとは思いもよらなかった。

Chipping Campden

　　We arrived at Chipping Campden. The travel guidebook said that there were several spots for visitors, but I just drove in the town to save time. Lots of elegant buildings which had been built from 14th to 17th century were still alive in a district called High Street and I really wanted to enter one of them, but we thought that it would take time to find a parking space and gave up seeing inside of the buildings. I didn't even take pictures, but we were lucky to see those honey-colored traditional buildings. The color would be due to the locally produced limestone.
　　I found very unique appearances of the houses on the outskirts. I pulled over to take a short walk. The Audi in the first picture is our car. I wondered how much labor would be required to keep those gardens and roofs in that way. I understand that the British are fond of gardening, but these gardens were great!

チッピング・カムデンにて

チッピング・カムデンに到着。ガイドブックにはいろいろと書いてあるが、ストラットフォードアポンエイボンへ急ぎたいので、車で町を散策。ハイストリートと呼ばれる地区には１４～１７世紀のエレガントな建物がまだ保存されていて、建物の中へ立ち入ってもみたかったのだが、駐車場探しに時間が掛かりそうで駐車はは諦めた。写真も撮れず。観光客が多かった。でも美しい街並みを見ることができただけでも幸運。特筆すべきは、建物の色がこれまで見てきた町とは異なり、蜂蜜色。この近くでとれる石灰岩なのだろう。

中心街から少し離れたところを走るとこれまた屋根に特徴のある家々が並んでいた。ここでは他の車に倣い、路上に停めてしばし散策。1枚目に写っているアウディＡ１が今回借りている車。ここにある家や、庭の管理にはいったいどれだけの労力が必要なのだろう？イギリス人はガーデニングの好きな人たちだと聞いてはいるが、それにしても立派な庭に、屋根。

Bourton-on-the-Water

　　The River Windrush was flowing through the town of Bourton-on-the-Water and the town seemed to be literally floating on the water. The appearance was of more elegance than that of Venice, though I've never been to Venice. I found more people along the river than in other towns which I had visited before in the Cotswolds. Just walking along the river was fun. According to my travel guidebook, the Motoring Museum on the riverside seemed to house several classic cars and lots of toys and the Model Village, a ninth scaled Bourton-on-the-Water sounded also fun, but we gave up seeing them as we wanted to visit the birthplace of Shakespeare. The time was really limited.

バートン・オン・ザ・ウォーターにて

村の中心をさらさらとウィンドラッシュ川が流れ、名前の通り『水の上』に浮いたようなそのたたずまいはヴェニスの小型版。これまで見てきた街に比べ人が多い。川沿いに散策を楽しんだ。川沿いに立つクラシックカーの博物館には車のおもちゃを集めた展示があると旅行ガイドブックに載っていて、また村の１／９の模型が見られるモデル・ビレッジなど観光施設があったのだが、シェイクスピアの生家を訪ねたくて時間の都合で入館・入場は諦めた。

Bibury

　　The pictures of a tiny village of the Cotswolds, Bibury, would be surely on the pages of the travel guidebooks handling the U.K.. The following pictures which I had taken show you the symbolic sites of the village. The rain was continuing, but this village was also well-matched with the rain. My daughter in a tiny plastic raincoat, leaving her umbrella folded, was walking lightly. If the Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head by B.J.Thomas was being played, she would have started dancing. You'll know "Time flies" or "Time and tide wait for no man", but the flow of the time in Bibury looked slow to me. I found a trout farm nearby and I wondered what the principal industry was. The water and air was really clean. I wished I could have stayed at the Swan Hotel just in front of us even for a few days. The trout steak seemed to be very famous and popular.
　　Take a look at the third picture in which my daughter was shot in a prim and proper manner. The barn-like house behind her was used even now. We didn't look into the house, but happened to see a person watching the T.V. inside. How long ago was the house built? The last picture is the Swan Hotel. Don't you feel its long historic background?

　
バイブリーはおそらくイギリスを扱った全ての旅行ガイドブックに載っている場所。ここを外すわけにはいかない。雨が降っているけれど、ここもまた雨の似合う村ではないだろうか。娘は傘を差さず、合羽を着て身軽に歩き回っている。B.J.Thomasの『雨にぬれても』がかかれば踊り出しそうだった。時間がゆっくりと流れている、そんな気のする街だった。すぐそばにはマスの養殖場があったが、この村の主な産業は何なのだろう。時間さえあれば一泊してゆっくりと散策したい気分に駆られた。目の前にはスワン・ホテル！スモークトラウトが美味しいらしい。娘がすまして写っている３枚目の写真の家には人が住んでいた。覗いたわけではないが、中にテレビを見ている人が見えた。ここで生活しているんだ！いったい何年前に建てられた家なのだろう。

Burford

　　A cafe originated from Burford is getting known and tote bags of this shop brand are popular in Japan. The shop's name was HUFFKINS. We dropped in at Burford to enjoy cakes and tea at this cafe. The following pictures were taken in the street which the shop was facing. I didn't want it to rain today, but the rain might suit this street. I loved this atmosphere. While we were having cakes there, we checked the prices of tote bags on Amazon's shopping site and knew that they were considerably higher than those of tote bags around us displayed in the shop. There was their souvenir shop next to the cafe and we bought several tote bags there for souvenirs for our friends.
　　By the way, when I ordered something at the cafe, I had a hard time again. The shop person understood me, but I wasn't fully able to understand him. Why didn't they speak slowly to a Japanese who was not familiar with English? It's natural, I thought, to care about non-English speaking people. Was it difficult to speak slowly? However, he was kind enough to explain their products again and again, and to advise us which to pick up.
　　The around 10 minutes' walk to the parking lot was also fun. The typical British street, just as I had imagined before, entertained us.

　
バーフォードではある喫茶店に寄るのが目的だった。名前はHUFFKINSという。写真はHUFFKINSの前の通り、この街のメインストリートの雰囲気を撮ったもの。雨が残念だが、雨がこの街には似合うかも知れない。さてこのHUFFKINSだが、日本でそのトートバッグが人気が出てきているのだとか。調べてみるとアマゾンでも入手できるようだが、ここでお土産用にたくさん購入。日本の価格に比べるとかなり安かった。

写真にある一番人気のケーキと紅茶を注文した。これはウェイターのお勧め。美味しかったが、彼の英語がまた早口で聞き取りにくかった。こちらの言うことは理解してくれるのだが、リスニングがしんどかった。英語に不慣れな日本人に対してゆっくり喋ってくれるという配慮があっても良いのにと思うが、ゆっくり喋るのが難しいのだろうか？まあそれは置いといて、この喫茶店の隣がお土産屋でいろいろな種類のトートバッグが置いてあった。娘はしばらく居たかったようだが、先を急ぐので１０分ほどで店を出て街を歩く。歩くだけでも楽しい街だった。

 

Cotswolds Drive

　　The Cotswolds, which had been admired as the most beautiful rural area in the U.K. by William Morris, was one of the places which I had been eager to visit for a long time. To tell the truth, however, I didn't know where it was in the U.K., but when I was looking around Oxford on the map, I happened to find it. I was very happy to know that the Cotswolds was really close to Oxford. I decided to fit the Cotswolds drive in our trip schedule. It was not the first time to drive a car abroad, and the U.K. adopts left-hand traffic like Japan. The driving would be ok, except roundabouts.
　　It was raining today. So sorry, but we started for the office of Hertz, the car-rental company. We wanted to walk to their office, but we took a taxi due to the rain. The taxi driver was a nice guy and apparently from the Mid-east, though I didn't ask him. We were designated a KIA car at the booking, but an Audi car was actually ready for us. The car was still new. Really lucky! However, as soon as I drove the car, I found that the fuel level wasn't full. I pointed the fact out to a company's staff and he checked it out, but it caused a failure in transaction and I'll write about that later. The rental-related procedure looked rough compared with that of Japanese.
　　It seemed that the automatic transmission wasn't popular in the U.K. and I asked the car rental company to prepare a car with it in advance, and I also heard that the navigation system was rare in rented cars due to the increasing number of thefts, so I made a route map up before the rental and my daughter guided me to follow the scheduled route. I missed the route a few times, but I was able to notice my failure within five minutes. If you don't have the navigation system in your car, it would be a really helpful way. Actually though, our audi car was equipped with a navigation system, but we used my smartphone as the route map.
　　The first destination was Burford, an hour's drive from Oxford. The following pictures show the parking lot and the streets around. When we were going out of the car, the rain became heavier. Oh, no!

 

ウィリアム・モリスがイギリスで最も美しい田舎の風景と讃えたコッツウォルズは一度は訪れたい場所だった。どのあたりにあるのか知らなかったが、娘が留学したことで図らずも訪れることになったオックスフォードを地図で眺めていてコッツウォルズを発見した。オックスフォードから１時間程度だという。これは訪ねてみなければなるまい。ということで今日は終日コッツウォルズドライブ。海外でのレンタカーは初めてではないものの不安はある。が、日本と同じ左側通行。なんとかなるかな。ラウンドアバウトだけが少し心配だが。

しかし、今日は雨、、、泣けてくる。レンタカーはハーツを利用した。営業所まで２ｋｍほどだが、タクシーを利用した。ドライバーは感じの良い人。尋ねはしなかったが多分中東出身。予定ではＫＩＡ製の車だったが、貸し出されたのはアウディ！まだ新しく、幸運だったのだが、出発直前に気がついた。ガソリンが１／４程度しかない。すぐに係員に指摘したが、後々、トラブルの元になった。これもまた後で詳しく書く。日本で車を借りるのに比べると随分手続きがラフな感じがした。

イギリスではオートマはまだ少なく、盗難の恐れがありレンタカーにナビは少ないらしい。それで、あらかじめドライブコースをグーグルマップ上で作成しておき、娘がスマホでマップを見ながら案内することとした。時々コースをはずれたが、５分ほどで間違いに気づくのでこれは実に便利な方法だと思う。

まずはＢｕｒｆｏｒｄに立ち寄った。写真は駐車場とその周辺の街並み。車を降りようとした頃になって雨が強くなってきた。なんてこったい。

Merton College

　　My daughter looked disappointed to have her favorite purse stolen and seemed to need a change of mind. We visited Merton College. The entrance fee was 3 GBP per person. Buildings were what I had imagined and didn't let me down. I was very happy to be there where lots of intelligent students from past centuries had spent their youth. What's more, the Japanese Crown Prince had studied there about transportation on the Thames.
　　Passing through the gate, there was an isolated bench, which is shown in the left lower corner of the 2nd picture below. Judging from its description, the bench seemed to be donated to the college in memory of a donor's father who had been enrolled in the college. I'd seen similar benches in a park in Toronto and I wrote about them here (Link). I like this custom, though it's rare in Japan. Mr. Theo Gadian on the description plate would have been a good father. We were able to walk around the grounds except private areas. Every building had its unique solemnity and I was overwhelmed.
　　We saw a few squirrels and my daughter was into shooting them for some time. The last building was the Cathedral, which was smaller than that of Christ Church, but the magnitude of the pipe organ was great. I uttered, "What sound does it make?" The last picture shows a plaque hung on the wall near the entrance. It was the list of the successive wardens of the college. I'd like to pay my respect to the endeavor to keep or protect their tradition even through the change of dynasties and big warfare.

 https://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2012/07/on-algonquin-island.html

  


 




お気に入りの財布をすられて落胆している娘を連れてマートンカレッジへ。気持ちの切り替えが必要。入口で一人３ポンドを支払い入構。建物は期待を裏切らず、中世の建物そのもの。過去数世紀にわたって若者たちがその青春時代を過ごしたこの場所（日本の皇太子殿下もそのひとり）に立ててとても嬉しい。

エントランスを抜けると中庭があり、ベンチが一つ、ぽつんと置かれていた。かつてここに在籍した父親を思って子供達が設置したものと思われた。同じような椅子をトロントで見かけたことがある。市民が利用できる公園にいくつも置かれていた。このような習慣をちょっと気に入っている。この椅子に書かれているTHEO GADIANという人は良い父親だったのだろうなあ。構内では立入禁止と書かれていない場所は自由に見て回ることが出来た。どの建物も重々しい。伝統の醸し出す雰囲気に圧倒された。

娘はと見ると、野生のリスに夢中。可愛いと言って追いかけ回していた。３～４匹ほど見かけたが、３０分くらいはリスの写真を撮っていた。野生のリスの話はロンドンの記事の中でまた。最後に入ったのが大聖堂。クライストチャーチカレッジの大聖堂に比べるとこじんまりしているのだが、圧感はパイプオルガン。どんな音が出るのだろうか?最後の写真は大聖堂の入口横に掛かっていた銘板。じっくりと見て欲しい。学寮長の一覧だ。王朝が変わり、大戦争があっても、伝統が守られてきたことに敬意を表したい。

Pickpocket

　　Then we took a walk around Merton College. The streets had emitted a very relaxed and traditional atmosphere. We moved to the city center on foot. We are good walkers and didn't mind a long walk. We visited Bodleian Libraries and around it, only the outer appearance of which we saw the previous day.
　　When we dropped in at a pub to have lunch, my daughter noticed that she had had her purse stolen by a pickpocket. That purse was one which I had bought her at Haneda Airport. It was her favorite one and her driving licence and about 300 GBP were inside.
　　It is said that there are lots of pickpockets in Europe, but my daughter had never fallen victim to pickpocketing during her one-year stay in Germany. Did she relax her mind with me? She was always holding her shoulder bag in front, but when she was targeted by a pickpocket, her hands were full of nylon bags of souvenirs and her shoulder bag was hung over her right shoulder. We were going to pack those souvenirs into my backpack at lunch time. It was a very short time from purchase to packing that the pickpocket did his/her work.
　　Our appetite disappeared and we headed for a police station without having lunch. When I took her to the Thames Valley Police Station, she asked me why I knew its site. I had happened to find it while she was shopping in the Alice's Shop. I didn't even imagine such an incident at that time.
　　My daughter told a policeman about the situation. I expected that an official certification would be issued, but we didn't receive any document from the police. We felt a little bit uneasy, but went out believing his comment, "If something problematic occurs, I'll send you an e-mail". However, we had nothing to testify our visit to the police station. I thought we should have received something like his business card. During the police interview, a drunken homeless man came to the station and he was instantly repelled by a few policemen. I tried to listen carefully to their conversation, but I wasn't able to understand their words, maybe including several slang words and unique accents. Where are people who speak the BBC's English?
　　This incident had an influence over our sightseeing plan. I advised my daughter to continue sightseeing, saying that if she stopped sightseeing, our regret would be more intense though we had to give up visiting Blenheim Palace in which Sir Winston Churchill had been born.
　　After coming back to Japan, my daughter reported the incident to the insurance company and also reported that the police interview had been done at the Thames Valley Police Station in Oxford. The sum of money after a 3000 yen (about 25 US$) deductible was reduced from the price of her purse was paid into her bank account. I was so sorry to doubt the exact work of the nice daddy policeman in that police station.

アリスショップを出て皇太子殿下の留学先、マートンカレッジの周辺を散歩。美しく伝統を感じる街だった。そして中心部へ移動。小さな町なので健脚の二人にとっては交通機関は不要。そして昨日概観しか見ていなかったボドリアン図書館とその周辺を見て回った。

そして、昼食のために立ち寄ったパブで娘が財布をすられたことに気がついた。羽田空港で出国後、ターミナル内の免税店でこの旅行の記念に買ってやったもの。選び抜いて買ったお気に入りの財布。中には日本の運転免許証と現金が３００ポンドほど入っていたらしい。

スリが多いと言われるヨーロッパ。娘はドイツに１年住んでいたが、その間は何も無かったのにと涙を浮かべて悔しがっていた。親が一緒だったので気が緩んだのか。いつも前に抱えていたバッグが、お土産を買って両手が塞がり、後ろに回ってしまっていた。昼食時に整理して僕のデイパックに詰めるつもりだったのだが、それまでわずかの時間にやられた。うっかりとはこういう事を言うのだろう。
結局食欲は失せてしまい、注文した昼食を食べずに警察へ向かった。娘を警察に案内すると、『なぜ警察の場所を知っているのか?』と娘が問う。たまたま見かけて覚えていたからだが、こんなことになるとは思いもしなかった。

警察署で事情を説明した。盗難にあったことを示す証明書が発行されるかと思ったら何もくれない。何かあったら連絡するということだけ。少し不安になったが、そう言われて警察署を出た。これでは警察署を訪れたという証拠が残っていないのであの警察官の名刺だけでももらっておくべきだったと思った。この間、酒瓶をぶら下げた酔っ払ったホームレスがやってきたが、警察官に署から追い出されていた。この数名の会話が全く聞き取れない。いやはやＢＢＣの英語を喋るイギリス人はいったいどこにいるのか。

これにより予定が大幅に狂った。観光気分が失せてしまった娘に、これで観光をやめたら余計に悔しくなると諭して、観光は続けた。チャーチルが生まれたブレナム宮殿は諦めざるを得なかったが。

帰国後、所定の手続きをし、またイギリス警察テムズバレー署に届け出た旨を保険会社に伝えたところ、財布の購入金額から免責金額３０００円を引かれた額が帰ってきた。警察のあのおっちゃん、きちんとやってくれていた。疑ってゴメン。

Alice's Shop

　　We were going to visit principal tourist spots in and around Oxford. However, our schedule was totally upset due to a happening, about which I'll write in a later entry. We headed for an "Alice in Wonderland"-related shop at my daughter's desire. The shop was said to have existed already in 19th century and a young girl who was modelled on "Alice in Wonderland" apparently dropped in at the shop. We enjoyed walking to the south along the main street of Oxford. After a 2km walk we saw a college in which my daughter was studying. I found a historic-looking monument in front of the college, but I was sorry that I had no time to delve deeply into its description. A Lebanese stall was at its side and their food looked delicious. I wanted to try one, but I was afraid to have some stomach problems. I gave up.
　　A variety of street performers were a delight. We went down to the south and found the shop, "Alice's Shop," in front of Christ Church College. Passing the shop for a few meters, I took some pictures of the shop and the college putting both in one picture. An open-top double decker bus passed by me at that time. I would have gotten on it afternoon, but.... then when I looked back to the south, a police station caught my eye. I wondered what it was like inside the British police station, and how about go-and-seeing inside for sightseeing? I thought that we'd be seriously scolded and refrained from visiting without the least idea that we would have to visit the station a few hours later.
　　Alice's Shop was very small and its capacity would be less than 10 customers. I became bored quickly and went out of the shop leaving my daughter in the shop. Crossing the road and seeing the college, a cluster of Japanese women showed up and disappeared into the shop. Their number was about 50! The shop would have been in confusion.

(Vocabulary)
delve into sth 徹底的に調べる

　


　






１０月５日、今日は主だった観光地を巡る予定。ただ、ある事件により大幅に予定を狂わされたが、これについては後述。娘の強い希望でまず、『不思議の国のアリス』のモデルとなった女子のがよく通っていたという店に向かった。ホテルから街の中心まで約２ｋｍを歩くと、もう一人の娘が学ぶカレッジが見えてきた。その正面に立派な塔があったが、銘板をしっかりと読む時間は無かった。今日は欲張ってあちこち観光の予定。本来ならじっくりと読みたいところだが。そのすぐ横にレバノンのファストフードの店。移民が経営しているのかな？食べてみたいと思ったが、万一腹を壊すと今後の予定に影響するのでやめた。興味はあったのだが。

大道芸を見ながら街を南へ縦断。昨日立ち寄ったクライストチャーチカレッジの向かいにその小さな店はあった。少し通り過ぎて店と向かいのカレッジを写真に収めた。ちょうどこのとき、２階席がオープンになっている観光バスが通り過ぎた。午後にはこれに乗りたいと思っていたのだが。さらに南の方角を眺めると警察署。イギリスの警察署はどのようになっているのだろうか、ちらっと観光がてら入ってみるのはどうかなと思ったが、多分叱られるだろうなと思いやめた、、、まさか数時間後にここへ来ることになろうとは、そのときは露程も思わず。、、。

アリスショップは客が１０人も入れば一杯になるほどの小さな店。僕はすぐに飽きてしまい、お土産を選んでいる娘を置いて一人店の反対側（クライストチャーチカレッジの側）に渡ってカレッジを眺めていたら日本人女性の集団がやってきてどんどん店に入っていく。５０人くらいは入ったろうか。中はとんでもないことになっているだろう。。。

 

Oxford Half Marathon

　　I arrived at the Best Western Linton Lodge, in which we would stay three nights. I received our luggage at the front desk - it wasn't carried to our room. When we entered the room, I found a slip of paper on the table. It said that the Oxford Half Marathon would be held on Oct. 7th and the access to the hotel would be restricted from 8 am to 2 pm. I was supposed to return my car, which would be rented on the previous day, at 10 o'clock on 7th. Would I have to check out by 8 am and kill time until 10 am?
　　I searched for the detailed information on the route on the net and found that we would be able to go out of the area of the marathon until 9:15 am. I asked about the marathon route at the front desk in detail. Then, to my surprise, the detailed route map, which I found on the net, was already delivered to the hotel. I told the hotel person, "If you had known the information, you should have told us the correct and detailed information in advance." She arrogantly and with a heavily thick accent answered that she wouldn't be responsible if I could go out of the route or not. I didn't want her to be responsible for my escape from the marathon area, and just wanted to know the accurate announcement from the organizer of the marathon. Was she an idiot?
　　I'll show you the slip of paper from the hotel and the route maps (overall and localized ones) below. Our hotel was located on Linton Road and within the loop of the route. According to the map, we should be able to go out of the loop at F point from 8 to 9:15 am and 11:15 onwards. In spite of this notice, the hotel told us that the traffic would be regulated from 8 am to 2 pm. Their poor and rough service was unacceptable.
　　We took dinner in a restaurant in the hotel. The taste was awfully terrible. You might not think so from the following picture, but the medium-roasted beef steak was hard and sounded like it was made from oily clay. What's more, a large amount of plain-tasting potato. I didn't want to make leftovers for the chefs, and ate them, but needed much water to wash them down. Digestive drugs from Japan were helpful. The dinner price was more than 20 GBP and almost criminal. The chefs should come to Japan and try Japanese beef steaks.

(Vocabulary)
thick 〈言葉のなまりが〉 強い
He spoke with a thick accent. 彼は強いなまりで話した．
clay 粘土

三晩投宿するベストウエスタン・リントン・ロッジに到着した。フロントで荷物を受け取り(部屋に運んでくれていなかった)部屋に入ると、1枚目の写真のチラシがテーブルの上に置いてあった。なんと、出発の日にオックスフォード・ハーフマラソンが開催され、8時～14時までホテルが封鎖されてしまうらしい。この日は前日に借りる予定のレンタカーを10時に返却することになっているのだが。食事を済ませて8時前にはホテルを出て10時まで時間を潰さなければならない？

すぐにネットで調べると、9時15分までは出られるとのこと。フロントでこの件を尋ねると、僕がネットで見つけたコースマップがフロントにも有り、9時15分までは出られると書いてある。わかっていたのなら正確な情報を教えてくれるべきだとフロントのスタッフに話すと、8時～9時15分の間に出られるかどうか責任が持てないという。それも訛りの強い英語で。一番年配に思えた(それでも若い)高慢なスタッフが言うのだが、僕はホテル側にそんな責任を負わせるつもりはなく、大会運営者からの正確な情報を伝えてくれさえしたら良かったのだが。マラソンに関してのクレームをホテルに言うわけないではないか？この女、もしかしてアホ？

夕食はホテル併設のレストラン。非常にまずかった。写真を見たらそうは見えないかも知れないが、硬い、合成したのか思われるような不味いステーキに大量のポテト。残すともったいないので全部食べたが、吐き戻しそうだった。念のため持参した消化剤が役に立った。日本円で２０００円以上の料理なので、この味では犯罪的だと思った。シェフは一度、日本のステーキを食べてみるべきだ。

 

Away from Downtown

　　My daughter and I were thinking of having dinner in downtown with another daughter, who had been staying in Oxford since September, but some urgent business came up for her and the dinner was cancelled. Then we decided to come back to our hotel and receive our luggage which was still kept at the front desk. We walked about 2 km to our hotel. It was not hard work for us, but rather a fun way to look around the streets in Oxford. During the walk, I found that today was a weekday. I wondered that people in downtown were mainly visitors, for I felt the number of young people increased toward early evening. We dropped in at a supermarket on the way to see the local food. I was concerned about what my youngest daughter would eat in the U.K. as her father. There were lots of young people, who I thought had come from other countries judging from their skin color. I really envied them studying in Oxford.
　　Being away from the city center, the atmosphere of the streets had remarkably changed into that of the academic world. I saw several signboards of various institutes as I'll show you below. I understood from those institutes that Oxford University was made up of several dozen colleges and institutes.

街中で三女も交えて夕食を摂るつもりだったが急な予定が入って不可とのこと。ならばホテルに帰り、フロントに預けたままの荷物の整理をしようと言うことでホテルまで歩いた。と言っても２ｋｍほど。歩き始めて気がついたのだが、今日は平日。街中に大勢いたのは多くは観光客だったのだろうと思った。というのは夕刻になって若者が増えたような気がしたから。途中でスーパーマーケットに立ち寄り、地元の食材を見て歩いた。三女がどのようなものを食べるのか、父親として少し気になった。スーパーマーケットにも学生と思われる大勢の人たちがいた。街を離れると寂しいくらい静かで学究都市の雰囲気が伝わってきた。そして、次々となんとか研究所という看板があった。オックスフォード大学が小さな大学や研究所の集合体だと言うことが理解できた。それら研究所の看板の写真も何枚か載せる。

（１枚目の写真は皇太子殿下の留学されたカレッジの前で日本人の修学旅行？の生徒にガイドが説明してる）

Great Hall and Cathedral

　　Leaving what I wrote in the last entry aside, I admired their historical and continuous endeavor to maintain ancient buildings and hand their traditions down to their descendants. I found lots of memorial plaques for staff members of the college who had worked in the 12th to 19th century. Can we not say that the very effort to consistently preserve their own culture shows the level of the nation's civilization.
　　The first picture shows the stairs to the Great Hall, which is the mess hall of this college. The ceiling had an unique design, but I wasn't fully able to understand the college staff's explanation. The Great Hall is said to be utilized for reference in shooting the film, "Harry Potter". The attendant's comment reminded me of several scenes in the movie. Some staff members were busying themselves with doing the dishes in the adjacent kitchen. It seemed that the lunch time had just finished. The time schedule for the students would be strict.
　　As you see in the picture, lots of portraits were on the wall. I felt that the eyes of all the persons in the pictures were staring at me. I wondered how they felt to have every meal in front of those portraits. Anyway, I saw some visitors taking pictures of a portrait, but I didn't know that portrait and passed it. For my later consideration, the portrait might be of Lewis Carroll who wrote "Alice in Wonderland". A shop which the young girl who was said to be the model of the story had often visited apparently remained. I would visit it later. I'll show you the pictures of the Cathedral, which was the biggest one in Oxford. The place for prayers, anthems, its atmosphere was really solemn.

それはそれとして、８世紀から続くこれらの建物を見ていて思うのは、文化を後世に伝えていこうとするこの国のたゆまぬ努力である。これだけ古いものを保存していることに敬意を表したい。また、１２世紀～１９世紀に亡くなったカレッジのスタッフを記念する銘板がそこかしこにあった。文化を育て、伝えていく努力は文明の程度に比例するのではないかと思う。

階段はこのカレッジのいわば学食であるグレートホールへ登っていく階段で、天井に特徴的なデザインがあるらしい。そして学食に入る。ここはハリーポッターの撮影の参考にされたという。確かにこのような場所が映画に出てきたなあと思いだした。隣の厨房では食事の片付けに追われるスタッフが忙しく働いていた。少し厳格な気もするが食事の時刻がきちんと決まっているのだろう。

壁に多くの肖像画が掛かっていた。毎日の食事をこれらの肖像画の前で摂っているのはどんな気持ちだろう？そのうちの一枚で観光客が立ち止まり撮影をしていたが、何のことかわからなかったので無視。後で思ったのは、Lewis Carrollの肖像画だったかもしれない。このカレッジで数学の教師をしていた彼は学長の娘のために書いたのが、『不思議の国のアリス』だった。モデルになったと言われる女の子がよく出入りしていた店がまだ残っているらしい。後で行ってみよう。次に入ったのが、大聖堂。賛美歌を歌い、祈りの場所。荘厳な雰囲気の場所でした。

 

What I Thought in Christ Church

　　A tour guide was talking about this college, or was boasting about it. It's archaeologically proven that the basis of this college was established by the 8th century. It's amazing, but I wondered, "Does she know the fact that Christianity or the U.K. had produced lots of ugly scenes in our history, in spite of early starting studies. I'm skeptical about Christianity. Christianity is completely convinced of its own greatness or righteousness and isn't generous to others at the same time. They tried to separate the globe into two parts in a self-serving manner. They divided the world by the Treaty of Tordesillas and the Treaty of Zaragoza, destroyed the Japanese Buddhism facilities, and what's more, took several thousands of Japanese away as slaves. It was natural to be locked out of Japan in 17th century. A funny story was handed down to us. An ordinary Japanese asked a missionary, who came to Japan in the early stage of their missionary work in the 16th century, such a question: A Japanese man's father had died before their missionary work and so he didn't know about Christ or God. "Can't he go up to Heaven? If so, God is unfair, isn't he?" The missionary was said to be in embarrassment. This man's opinion is totally acceptable. A noted missionary's official letters to the governor-general of the Philippines are preserved and they say that the Japanese were too intellectual to conquer.
　　Then they crossed the Atlantic Ocean and slaughtered numerous native colored people. Manifest Destiny? What's that? Are the brutal acts of the crusaders justified? Knowing the behaviour of the crusaders, I can understand the terrorism by Muslims, though I don't agree with them at all. The U.K. is responsible for the racial strife in present Myanmar, India, or some other Southeast Asian countries. The instability of the present Mid-east countries is put down to the policy of the U.K.'s triple-tongued diplomacy: These mutually exclusive agreements are abhorrent.

1. Hussein-McMahon agreement (against Arabs Oct. 1915)
2. Sykes-Picot Agreement (against France May 1916)
3. Balfour Declaration (against Jews Nov. 1917)

　　Suddenly I recalled that Lawrence of Arabia studied archaeology and history there and graduated from Oxford University. Listening to the comments that a tour guide made in boastful terms, I vaguely thought that the U.K. would never have prosperous times like 19th century. The empire on which the sun never sets established at the sacrifice of colonies would never revive. One thing, however, I'd like to observe The City after Brexit.

 (Vocabulary)
righteousness (フォーマル) (道徳的な) 正義, 高潔さ
self-serving [形](けなして) 利己的な, 身がってな
Treaty of Tordesillas トルデシリャス条約
Treaty of Zaragoza サラゴサ条約
put sth down to sth [句動詞] ＜…＞を＜…＞のせいだと思う
put it down to experience (いやな出来事などを) いい経験だったと思うようにする
triple-tongued diplomacy 三枚舌外交

クライストチャーチで思ったこと
　
中庭で団体を率いているガイドが話している、というより自慢している。紀元８世紀にはこのカレッジの基礎が出来上がっていたことが考古学的に証明されていると。それは凄い！しかし、それほど古くから勉強をしてきた割にはキリスト教が、イギリスがやってきたことは酷いことが多いのでは？僕はキリスト教には懐疑的な立場である。キリスト教は唯我独尊。他の考えを認めない。トルデシリャス条約、サラゴサ条約などと勝手に世界の分割支配を試みたり、日本の文化を破壊し、数万の日本人を奴隷として売買してきた。１７世紀初頭に日本から閉め出されるのも当然だ。神を知らずに死んだ親父は天国には行けないのか？神様は不公平ではないかと一庶民に追及されて返事に窮したという話が布教開始初期に日本へ来た宣教師の話として残っている。民度の高いこの国を支配することは無理だという内容のフィリピン総督への手紙も残っている。
　
そしてアメリカ大陸～太平洋を渡って日本まで、無数の有色人種を殺し続けたマニフェスト・デスティニーなどくそくらえだ。十字軍による虐殺もあった。十字軍の記録を読めば今のイスラムのテロは、同意はしないが理解は出来る。そして現在のミャンマーやインドの民族間の争い、中東問題の原因もまたイギリスにある。２０世紀初頭のイギリスの中東に対する三枚舌外交は許しがたい。
　
１．対アラブ
フセインーマクマホン協定（1915年10月）
オスマントルコに対して反乱を起こせば、アラブ人国家として自治権を与える。
２．対フランス
サイクス・ピコ協定（1916年5月）
第一次世界大戦に勝利した暁には、オスマントルコが支配していたアラブ地域の領土を割譲させ、シリアやレバノンはフランスの統治にゆだねる。
３．対ユダヤ
バルフォア宣言（1917年11月）
パレスチナの地にユダヤ人国家の建設を承認する。
　
そういえば、アラビアのロレンス(イギリスのスパイ)もオックスフォード大学で歴史と考古学を学んでいたんだった。このカレッジの中を歩きながら、自慢げなガイドの話を聞き、イギリスにはもう１９世紀ほどの繁栄はこないだろうと思った。植民地での搾取の上に成り立ってきた日の沈まぬ国はもう再興しないと思う。とはいえ、シティがイギリスのＥＵを脱退後、どうなるのか、見ていきたい。

 

 

Christ Church

　　Christ Church, in which Albert Einstein used to be a student, is said to be the biggest and richest college in Oxford University. A scene of the story, "Alice in Wonderland", was filmed at this college and the shooting of the film, "Harry Potter", used this college as a reference. Christchurch on the South Island of New Zealand was named after this college. Such a description made us visit this college.
　　Common visitors weren't allowed to enter the college through the main entrance and we got into the grounds from another entrance. The following pictures were shot walking from the gate to the entrance for visitors. The well maintained garden and meadow implied the richness of the college.
　　The Great Hall, in which the students of this college have lunch, was open to visitors at 1400 hours after the finish of their lunch. The senior's discount was accepted in this tourist spot. The center of the building in the 8th picture is the main entrance and I took this picture from inside the college. The big scale of the yard amazed me. It looked like Harry Potter could fly on a broom. The tower over the entrance is the famous "Tom Tower", which was built in 17th century. We got into the Great Hall next, and I recalled and thought about lots of good things and bad things. I don't mean to accuse the U.K., but I'd like to write about what I thought there in the next entry.

クライストチャーチは、あのアインシュタインが在籍していたカレッジ。オックスフォード大学で最大、かつ裕福なカレッジだという。ルイス・キャロルの不思議の国のアリスの舞台、ハリーポッターシリーズの撮影で参考にされた場所。ニュージーランド南島のクライストチャーチもこのカレッジに因んで付けられたというと聞けば、訪れないわけにはいかない。

正門からは一般観光客は入れず、裏口からの訪問となった。写真は裏口からカレッジの入口までに撮ったもの。清掃が行き届いており、カレッジの裕福さを実感。

午後２時、カレッジに在籍する学生達の食事、片付けが済むのを待って観光客に開放された。このクライストチャーチでも調子にのってシニア割引を依頼。２割引だった。８枚目の写真の真ん中が正門で内側から撮影している。中庭の広さにも驚く。ハリーがほうきで飛びそうな中庭だ。その上にあるのが有名なトム・タワー、１７世紀の建造物。

Landscape from the Top

　　The visitors were allowed to climb up the stairs 5 to 6 people at a time and every 5 to 6 minutes in the way that about the same number of people as that of coming down were sent to a dark small room which was the starting point of 127 steps of winding stairs. I understood immediately that such a strict control of visitors was due to the narrowness of the stairs. The staircase and observation deck were really narrow so that even passing each other was difficult. I admired the masonry work and the earthquake-free country at the same time. If even a middle-class earthquake jolted this church, it would be reduced to ashes.
　　I'll upload pictures taken from the lookout. Enjoy them. There were no high mountains around and we were able to get an unobstructed view of the U.K.'s peaceful terrain. This landscape reminded me of a scene in Shakespeare's "Macbeth", though the play was based on a king in Scotland. Shakespeare wrote the expression, "if the wood moved", in that play. This description would have come to him seeing this characteristic scenery. His birthplace was Stratford-upon-Avon, which wasn't far from Oxford. I became eager to visit his hometown. Take a look at the last picture. I didn't know if it's ok to park bicycles like that, but bicycles suit this old city.

(Vocabulary)
masonry (建築物の) 石造［れんが］部分、石工（術）

塔へ登るのは５人ずつくらい、５分くらいの間隔で許可された。下りてきた人数分だけ登るという具合に。理由はすぐにわかった。階段も通路も実に狭い。すれ違うのが困難なほど。階段は明かり取りの小さな隙間がなければ真っ暗だろう。そして石積みでよく造ったなあと感嘆。そして地震が無いというのは良いなあとも思った。もし地震が来たらこのような構造物はすぐに灰燼に帰すだろう。

人一人すれ違うのも大変な通路から撮影した写真をＵＰする。周辺に高い山はなく、遠くまで見通せる。のどかな町である。遠くの山並みを見ていてふとシェイクスピアのマクベスを思いだした。劇中、「森が動く」という表現がある。このような地形だからこそ生まれた表現に違いない。そういえばシェイクスピアの生誕地、ストラットフォードアポンエイボンはここから近い。最後の写真、自転車をこのように停めてよいのかどうかわからないが、この町には自転車がよく似合う。

 

The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin

　　We traveled to Christ Church without having lunch. Buildings along the route were emitting a historic dignity and I envied my daughter her youth and opportunity to study in Oxford. I wanted to step into some narrow old paths, but I didn't have enough time to do so as I was able to spare only one and a half days for sightseeing in Oxford. Her college was located in the center of Oxford and we went down the main street of Oxford to the south. The street was regrettably not clean. What's more, I saw more than 10 homeless people within about 500 meters. Most were young and white. The atmosphere on the street was far from what I expected of Oxford. Is the British financial situation worsening?
　　When we reached Christ Church, there was yet some time until the opening so we decided to visit The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin first. The first picture was shot on the way from Christ Church to the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. This building was Merton College in which the Japanese Crown Prince studied concerning water-transport on the Thames.
　　The church is shown in the 3rd picture. I heard that you could climb up to the handrail over the clock hung on the wall, and went up. I tried to tell my age, 60, to the ticket booth person, and got a senior's discount!

 (Vocabulary)
travel　 [自](米)(インフォーマル) 速く歩く
The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin 　聖メアリー教会

身軽になってまず向かったのはクライストチャーチ。お昼も食べずに観光開始。歩いてみるとほとんどの建物に歴史を感じる。こういうところで勉強に没頭できる娘を羨ましくも思った。細い路地にも入ってみたいが時間が無い。オックスフォード観光は１日半しか時間を割けないので有名なところを見て回る。娘のカレッジが街のほぼ中心に位置しており、南に向かってメインストリートを歩いたのだが、街は汚れていた。そしてホームレスが多い。それも若い白人のホームレス。驚いた。聞いていた様子とは全く異なっていた。イギリスの経済事情が悪化しているのだろうか？

クライストチャーチに着いたものの午後の内部の開放まで時間があったので、聖メアリー教会へ先に行ってみることにした。１枚目の写真は移動の途中で見かけた建物。見事だなと思って撮影したが、ここが皇太子殿下の御留学先、Merton Collegeだった。手前はその運動場。

３枚目が聖メアリー教会で、良く見ると時計が掛かっている。すぐその上の手すりの部分まで登ることが出来ると聞いて登ってみた。教会に入って奥の方に進むと階段があり、その手前で入場料を支払うのだが、シニア割引が効いた。言ってみるものだ。「シニア」とか「ペンショナー」で通じるようだ。もちろんペンショナーではないのだが。歳を取るのも悪くない。この後、娘にからかわれつつもあちこちで高齢者割引を利用した。(^o^)

 

College

　　The taxi driver, who might get merrier with a long distance drive from Heathrow Airport to Oxford or might get happy with a tip, took us to another daughter's college as a favor to us. His offer was really helpful as we had to carry two suitcases.
　　I imagined that Oxford University must have been enormous and its entrance would be huge and magnificent. However, Oxford University is just a complex of several dozen colleges and institutes. I didn't know that. FYI, the Japanese Crown Prince studied in Oxford and he was in Merton College. The entrance of my daughter's college was small and discreet. Though we passed by the entrance a few times, we didn't notice the gate until a local woman pointed it out.
　　I pushed the button on the intercom, but no reply. I tried several times, but no one answered. When we were in trouble, a college student came and pushed the door. It was not locked and the intercom was out of order. We looked at each other with a laugh. A kind student guided us inside as a favor to us. The college building was considerably old and majestic, but the dormitory facing the inner court had been apparently re-built recently. It looked modernized. As she was out, we placed two suitcases in the common kitchen which my daughter utilizes and put their keys into her pigeonhole. Our Mission was Complete! Pictures show the entrance of the college, the inner court and the dormitory.

さて、タクシーの運転手、ヒースロー空港からオックスフォードまで長距離を走ったことで気をよくしたのか、チップを喜んでくれたのか、ホテルのフロントに荷物を預けた後も三女の大学まで送ってくれるという。厚意に甘えて三女への荷物であるスーツケース２個も積んでもらってカレッジまで移動。

三女が言うには、講義中は出られないから、門番に荷物を預けてくれたら良い、、、、？！日本の一般的な大学を想像していたのでこの言葉には驚いた。守衛が一学生の荷物を預かるか？オックスフォード大学はあまりにも有名だが、大学の正門は存在しない。巨大なキャンパス、荘厳な正門を期待していたのでこの事実に驚いた。実は小さなカレッジの集合体なのだという。因みに皇太子殿下もオックスフォード大学に留学されたと聞いたが、それはマートンというカレッジ。娘のカレッジの正門は小さく目立たずその前を何度も行き来してやっと気がついた、というより教えてもらって、、、「ここ？」と驚いた次第。(しかし、中へ入ると別世界だった。)

門の前でインターホンを押し続けるも返事なし。そのうちにこのカレッジの学生がやって来て笑いながらドアを押すと開いた。インターホンは壊れているのだとか。顔を見合わせて笑った。中へ入ってウロウロしていると、親切な学生が構内を案内してくれた。大学はかなり古い建物だったが、中庭に面した学生寮は最近建て替えられて近代的。娘が利用するキッチンに荷物を置いて荷物の運搬ミッション完了！写真は大学の正門ドアから入り、内側から撮影した大学、中庭、そして学生寮。

 

To Oxford

　　I forgot to write a topic about British English in the previous entry. I don't have opportunities to write or talk in English in my daily life, and it's why I keep writing this blog. If I didn't do that, I wouldn't be able to keep my English skills, nor improve it. I sometimes listen to the news program from the BBC as a listening lesson and I can understand more than half of what the casters say. Therefore, I didn't have any concern about communication with local people. However, I wasn't able to understand the words of the front desk person of the hotel. It was a huge discouragement to me.
　　My daughter often kiddingly tells me that she forgot English during learning German, but she was better at least at listening to the front desk person. She was surprised at the fact more than I. She was in Freiburg in southern Germany when she was about 20 years old. Was that helpful? Anyway, I was often annoyed at communications in the U.K..
　　The breakfast was included in the hotel fee. It looked gorgeous at first glance, but the variety of vegetables was poor. I felt that the breakfast was so simple, but it would be the standard in the U.K.. The content was the same as other hotels which I stayed at later, Best Western in Oxford and Conrad London St. James. I was a little sorry about breakfast. I remembered that my wife had put retort bags of rice and miso soup into suitcases which we brought to the daughter who lives in Oxford. It might be a good choice.
　　I asked a concierge to calculate how long it would take from the hotel to Oxford by bus. It was considerably longer than we had expected and we didn't want to move to the bus stop with four suitcases on the reverse route of what we moved the previous night. Then we decided to take a taxi to Oxford. This concierge and the taxi driver were nice and friendly. The first impression of the U.K. recovered, which had gotten worse by the English of the front desk person last night. Surprisingly, the receipt of the taxi fare came to me by an e-mail. I'll show you that below.
　　These are the ideas which I thought after coming back Japan: we should have put up at a hotel near Paddington station, which is one of the principal stations in London. It would take about an hour from Paddington to Oxford by train. One thing, however, it was a first time visit to the U.K., the first time on the tube and the national railway of the Great Western Railway. It's doubtful if we were able to successfully use that transportation, but it wasn't so hard to utilize transportation like above. On the other hand, I think it's hard for the first-time visitors to Tokyo to use public transportation. I believe that the authorities should improve this situation before the Olympics.

昨日の投稿で書き忘れたこと。それはフロントスタッフの英語。聞き取れず。日頃ＢＢＣのキャスターの英語を半分くらいは聞き取れるので英語に何ら心配していなかったのだが。まだ娘の方が理解していた。１０年くらい前に英語圏ではないドイツに留学していたことが役に立ったのだろうか？「なぜ聞き取れるのかわからない」と、僕よりも本人がビックリしていた。このイギリスの英語にはこの後、あちこちで悩まされた。

ホテルの朝食。一見豪華に見えるのだが、日本のホテルに比べて野菜が極めて貧弱。非常にシンプルに感じたがこれがイギリスの一般的な朝食なのだろう。この朝食の内容はこの後泊まったベストウエスタン、ロンドンのコンラッドでもほぼ同様。イギリスの朝食の定番なのだろうが、毎日これだったので少し辛かった。カミさんが留学中の娘にレトルトの米や味噌汁を詰めていたが正解だったかもしれない。

ヒースロー空港からバス移動した場合のオックスフォードのバスターミナルまでの所要時間を計算してもらった。さらにそのバスターミナルからホテルまでタクシーを必要とするので、費用と時間を考慮して、ホテルからタクシーを頼んでもらった。このコンシュルジュの英語は比較的わかりやすく、感じの良い人だった。タクシードライバーも感じよく、ホテルのフロントの話す英語で悪くなった初イギリスの印象が改善された。（笑）タクシーの領収書は、なんとメールで送られてきた。参考になるかなと思い、ＵＰする。

帰国してからの考えだが、前夜のうちにパディントン駅まで移動しておけば良かった。電車ならオックスフォードまで１時間だったし。ただ、初めてのイギリス、初めての地下鉄、はじめての国鉄。スムーズに切符を買って移動できたかどうかはあやしい。あくまで帰国してからの考えとしてそう思った。また一方で日本の国鉄、地下鉄は多分外国からの旅行者にとって使いこなすのはかなり難しいと思う。オリンピックまでに改善すべきと感じた。