We promised ourselves that if we moved to Dublin we would make the most of living so close to so many great countries, and we are starting the year off with a trip to the UK. One of the things I personally am so excited about is living within an hour flight (and then only a 30 minute bus ride) to Oxford. Ever since I did a summer course there in 2001 I have been hooked. Now, since we are within a reasonable distance, I can attend some classes. I am SO excited - in 2 weeks I am doing a 2-day workshop on palaeography! (yes, I am a big geek) I have dabbled in it a bit while doing my masters, but now I will actually have some formal training in it, and from a renowned institution. For those of you who don’t off the top of your heads, palaeography is the study of old handwriting, specifically in this case late medieval handwriting of England.
As English history has been a passion of mine for over 20 years, this will be a great opportunity to enjoy a closer look at some original documents, as well as adding to my greater knowledge base. Since Reeves has to be in Redmond, WA for work up until the first day of the workshop for me, he will meet me in Oxford with the car at the end of the weekend (he is taking the car ferry over from Dublin to Wales) and we will go into London for 3 days, returning West to Wales to stop at Hay-on-Wye for a day so I can load up the car with old books and then drive north to visit some of the castles built by Edward II of England before we take the car ferry home again. In all we will be gone a week. I am so excited because I have not been to the UK since 2002 and I have been aching to return.