Barnes on Nostalgia

"Though why should we expect age to mellow us? If it isn't life's business to reward merit, why should it be life's business to give us warm, comfortable feelings towards its end? What possible evolutionary purpose could nostalgia serve?"

                                                                                                                          -Julian Barnes

 

Cambridge

Cambridge, 2:00

A Spot of Rain

Oh Henry,  You Silly Thing!

Trinity Lane

River Cam I

River Cam II

Punting

Mathematical Bridge

Maintenance and Gawking

Head in the Clouds

Oxford / Cotswolds

We spent a weekend with our close friends, Dale and Lele. We hadn't seen them since our time in Yantai and it was great to reunite for a few days. We rented a car and ended up spending Saturday in a much-too-crowded Oxford and Sunday on a hike in the picturesque and quiet Cotswolds.

Great weekend! Thanks so much to Dale and Lele for making it so enjoyable! (and let's not wait another 5 years to see each other again, hao de?)

Fei Fei and LeLe at Radcliffe Camera

Hallowed Halls 

Arrival

Departures

Holding on for Brighter Days

Cotswolds I

Rest Stop 

We Interrupt This Program

Cotswolds II

Brighton Memoir (The Nudists are Pellucid)

I'll remember Brighton most for its Mexican street food, its overabundance of citizens with beards, gauged ears and koi fish tattoos, and the nude beach that Fei Fei and I walked 4 km to reach, only to be disappointed by cloud cover, and, well, absence of nudists.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of any of that. So I'll reminisce over this...

Room With a View - Brighton

Lap of Luxury 

Light of My Life

Mudskipper

Eye Sea Brighton

Fountain - Steine Gardens

Royal Pavilion I (The Maze)

Royal Pavilion II (Fei Fei)

Royal Pavilion III (The Onion)

Where Fei Fei Touched the Koons

Out to Sea

Pellucid

Brighton Beats (A.K.A. This Pangolin's A Dangling!)

I found Brighton to be interesting on a couple fronts. 

There is the kitschy Palace Pier and boardwalk which evoke memories of teenage summers spent at Seaside Heights or Ocean City, listening to 311, drinking 40s, and making fun of every other young person on the beach because they weren't 'authentic' enough. 

Then there's the part tucked away in the Lanes and in North Laine. Here, these ex-slums have been reborn into a gentrified labyrinth of vegan cafes, second-hand bookstores, vintage clothing outlets, and record stores. A very progressive enclave of culture and the arts tucked away in this bustling city. 

Oh, and there's street art. A lot of street art. Therefore, Brighton gets an additional post. The first one, Brighton Beats, focuses on the street art pics I captured. The second, Brighton Memoir, is more sentimental in nature.

A Sojourn in Bath

In Bath, I watched a man in a purple suit jacket chain and padlock a stuffed bunny rabbit, cram it in the bottom of a bag, weigh it down with dumbbell plates, and throw it into the River Avon. After counting to ten the bunny resurfaced and began floating slowly back down the river.

The bunny would appear again later, about 15 minutes after his plunge, riding a remote control pick-up truck into the square near Bath Abbey. Around the bunny's neck was an envelope containing a ring (which was last seen attached to a balloon and floating up over the church spires).

What happened in between is up for you to decide...

I would say this brief little tale was emblematic of our trip to Bath. But it wasn't

Or was it?

Bath Abbey

Bath Abbey II

Verdurous

Obligatory Couple Shot

Street Life

Truer Words?

The Herbs

Bathfleet Insignia

Fei Fei on the Avon

Fei Fei on the Avon II

Literary Liaison

Elongated

Behold, the Tree Carver!

Community Garden