Anne Skyvington
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Anne Skyvington

The Craft of Writing

  • Writing
    • Craft
      • Structuring a Short Story
      • Alternative Narrative Approaches
      • Genre in Writing
      • A Grain of Folly
        • Novel Writing
          • The Sea Voyage: a metaphor
          • How I Created My Debut Novel
          • What I learnt from writing a novel…
          • Short Story
            • At the Swimming Pool
            • The Night of the Barricades
          • Poetry
            • a funny thing happened …
            • An ancient mystic: Rumi
            • A Window into Poetry
            • The Voice of T.S. Eliot
  • Publishing
    • A Change of Blog Title
    • 5 Further Publishing Facts
    • 5 Facts I Learnt About Self/Publishing
    • Highs and Lows of Self Publishing
    • A Perfect Pitch to a Publisher
    • A Useful Site for Readers and Indie Authors: Books 2 Read
  • Book Reviews
    • A Story of a Special Child
    • Discovering Karrana
    • A Young Adult Novel: My French Barrette
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • The Trouble With Flying: A Review
  • Mythos
    • Ancient Stories from Childhood
    • Births Deaths and Marriages
    • Duality or Onenness: The Moon
    • The Myth of Persephone and Demeter
    • Pandora’s Box
    • 7 ancient artefacts in the British Museum
    • Symbolism of Twins
    • The Agony and the Ecstasy of Change
    • Voices From the Past
  • Australia
    • A Country College Residence
    • A Kit Home Goes Up in Vacy
    • A Sydney Icon or Two
    • 5 things about Coogee
    • Moree and Insistent Voices
    • Things To Do in Sydney
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    • A Tuscan Village Holiday
    • Back to Cavtat in Croatia
    • Travel to Croatia
    • 5 or 6 Things About Valencia
  • Guest Post
    • a father’s tale … by Ian (Harry) Wells
    • A Guest Poem: “First Loves” by Roger Britton
    • A Love Sonnet by Ian Harry Wells
    • “Snakey” by Roger Britton
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • A Story of a Genteel Ghost told by Roger Britton
  • Psychology
    • Creativity and Mental Illness
    • Networking and Emotional Intelligence
    • C.G.Jung’s Active Imagination and the Dead
    • Psychology as a Field of Study
    • Western Influencers Down Through The Ages
  • Life Stories
    • Adriatic Romance … Rijeka to Titograd
    • Always something there to remind me…
    • A Well-Loved Pet
    • Candidly Yours…
    • Memoir Writing
    • River Girl: An Early Chapter of my Memoir in Progress
TravelWriting

Oxford Revisited 2014

written by Anne Skyvington July 28, 2014
oxford-towns

Same reason for being in Oxford—the Oxford Dysfluency Conference that my partner helped organise—same train trip from London; same College for accommodation. But this trip, instead of visiting university landmarks and museums, I spent the time with a niece and her boyfriend punting on the Isis River, which is the Thames in Oxford. Other activities included eating and drinking in taverns, and browsing in bookshops, of which there are many excellent ones in Oxford. I returned to the Turf Tavern several times for lunch.

The Punts at Oxford

Because we hadn’t practised this activity before, Indiya, my niece, and I had to rely on Kyle to observe others doing it and to just give it a go. Being young, he caught on quite quickly and was able to pull the pole out of the mud without losing it or falling in. There is a skill engaged in steering the punt using the pole, too. Indiya tried but gave up after a little while; I didn’t attempt it, and just sat back matriarch style and enjoyed the ride.

indiya-and-kyle

Indiya and Kyle punting on the Isis River

The weather was great, sunny and not too hot. We picked wild plums and cherries from overhanging trees along the river bank, and fed some of them to the ducks, including two little ducklings with their mother. A gaggle of geese, decked out in bright plumage, met our gaze as we turned a corner, and white swans sailed royally along beside us.

It was the day that the plane was shot down in Ukraine, such a tragic event, hard to take in as we sailed along the river, back and forth for two hours. Indiya suggested that World War III might be on the horizon. Such irony!

It was a day for us to remember.

Indiya and I thought of the novel by Kenneth Grahame, “Wind in the Willows”, a favourite from childhood for both of us. We wondered if it was inspired by this river, and thought of the reference to “messing about in boats”.

I spent a great deal of time looking for suitable copies of this book to take home for grandchildren, as well as of “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, aka Charles Dodgson, who lived in Oxford.

We saw the Queen’s swans on the river, as well as lots of ducks

ducks-on-the-river

Ducks of all sorts on the Isis

Related articles

  • The real Alice in Wonderland, c.1862
  • The Real Alice in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll’s Muse & Rumors About Their Relationship
  • “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll

Oxford Revisited 2014 was last modified: July 13th, 2018 by Anne Skyvington
Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows might have been inspired by the river in Oxfordoutdoor activities to do in Oxfordpunting on the Isis River in Oxford
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Anne Skyvington

I have been a reader/writer all of my life as far back as I can remember. Blogging has opened me up to another world, where I can share my skills and continue to create through word and picture. Writing is about seeing the world and recreating it for others to see through different eyes.

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5 comments

Lynne Meadows July 28, 2014 at 12:16 pm

Sounds wonderful and relaxing. Don’t you love being round young people? I do. They are so accepting of we oldies, too.

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 23:31:57 +0000 To: lynnemeadows@hotmail.com

Reply
Anne Skyvington July 28, 2014 at 11:16 pm

Hi Lynne. Yes, it keeps you young, doesn’t it? I really missed my little boys, especially Mark junior, because I know he misses me. He calls me Gaga/

Reply
Kerry Lown Whalen July 29, 2014 at 5:15 pm

I imagined myself there. It’s a perfect time of year to idle along a river.

Reply
Anne Skyvington July 30, 2014 at 12:09 am

Hi Kerry. Thanks for your comment. We’re back home already and trying to recover from the flights.

Reply
Andrew August 3, 2014 at 2:23 pm

A lovely setting, Anne. I havn’t been to Oxford, but these scenes remind me of the Avon River in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Reply

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About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington

Anne Skyvington is a writer based in Sydney who has been practising and teaching creative writing skills for many years. You can learn here about structuring a short story and how to go about creating a longer work, such as a novel or a memoir. Subscribe to this blog and receive a monthly newsletter on creative writing topics and events.

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About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington is a Sydney-based writer and blogger. <a href="http://anneskyvington.com.au She has self-published a novel, 'Karrana' and is currently writing a creative memoir based on her life and childhood with a spiritual/mystical dimension.

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