Cornwall round two, live musak, Teddy Hall Relays

Welcome to OxfordCunks travel agency! I'm currently packing for the Easter break between terms and have been planning for my travels for quite some time, so forgive the long gap between posts. And although the work remains steady (I have a tutorial tomorrow), I swear that the 'Shire has been more than just the RadCam and the SSL. By which I mean it has been RadCam, SSL, Alpha Bar. Or RadCam, SSL, ATS. Or RadCam, SSL, OxSandCo. Hence, in such a spirit—and in light of a conversation Peter and I had today on the walk back from Blackwell's—here's my list of the top 4 sandwiches in Oxford (bread specific and salad considered; NOTE: subject to change during Trinity Term):

1) Toasted thai chicken with sweet chili sauce on a ciabatta with lettuce and tomatoes, Oxford Sandwich Co.
2) Turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce on an olive ciabatta with lettuce and cucumbers, The Alternative Tuck Shop (as Peter aptly notes, the olive brings out the flavors in the stuffing)
3) Curried chicken with sultanas and mango chutney on a rustic ciabatta with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, Harvey's
4) Chicken with roasted vegetables and sundried tomato panini, The Alternative Tuck Shop

Of course, I'm being a bit cheeky here, since the past two weeks really have been more than just scholastic and culinary (although I've also been cooking for myself most nights—lots of pasta and rice). Indeed, the Oxford Surf crew went Cornwall at the end of 6th week for some warmer waves, and especially on Saturday the trek really paid off. First off, we were at a different beach than in early February (the famous Fistral, could've been Cape Cod), and since we could hire our own boards and wetsuits I was able to ride a fiberglass fish much like my one at home. On top of that, the sun came out by midafternoon and the water was beautiful. Check out the pics below (the crew, Fistral beach, doin' it to it, and the sunset).

Now, upon return to the 'Shire, I was striving to keep the island vibe alive, and thus what a perfect coincidence to have live reggae at The Cellar (see two posts previous). Well, not exactly reggae, more ska (all the better for Sir William and I) with its own British twist. The group's called Zion and the White Boys, and when I bought their CD the bass player apologized for having banana smeared on the case. No worries, 'Boys, I prefer to have my ska that way. Check 'em out here (and pic below): http://www.myspace.com/zionandthewhiteboys

This past Wednesday was the O.U.C.C.C.'s big race of the spring, the Teddy Hall Relays, which helps to fund the club for the upcoming year. Squads from all over Britain come (such as the Royal Air Force and Cambridge) and the event is a neat road race/relay/track race hybrid. Indeed, each leg starts and finishes on the Iffley Road Track, where Sir Roger Bannister himself became the Neil Armstrong of track in 1954 (forgive my anachronistic analogy) by going sub-4 in the mile. Yet in a way, the race took me back to A-B Indoor. Pictured below are two shots of the track, the plaque marking Sir Roger's achievement, and myself going into turn #2 before heading out onto the Oxford roads (in the white longsleeve).

Well I'm off to retire for the evening, but I'll leave you with the rough plan for the next few weeks. Not sure if I'll be able to blog on the road, but there could be some surprise posts in there. Here's the schedule:
March 15-18: harvesting pow in Chamonix
March 19-20: Oxford
March 21-22: London
March 23-24: Paris
March 25-26: London
March 27-31: surfing in Portugal chyaa
April 1: Madrid
April 2: Barcelona
April 3-April 4: Rome
April 5: Florence
April 6-7: biking around Tuscany and sipping wine
April 8: Venice
April 9: Milan
April 10: fly back to London
April 10-20: Britain with Mom and Dad!

Happy trails all!

Nick