As we creep towards December Oxford grows cold and blustery. The days are short - by 3pm you can sense the light is already fading. Despite this, the research students in the economics department keep their eyes locked on their lcds as they type under the unceasing fluorescent lights. They venture out from time to time to look for food in the cafeteria below, feeling their way through the stone and glass, climate-controlled building. Laughter is short, soon overpowered by the desperate need to look busy.
In an unbridled attempt to improve morale, someone has installed an artificial Christmas tree at every entrance to the department.
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Reminds me of Cambridge during exam time. Libraries are full of undergrads, staking out their territory, defending it with walls of books. Piles took on structures that I deemed physically impossible. When the college society provided tea and biscuits once a day outside the library, teh students would emerge, blinking in the light as if animals from the forrest, looking for sustenance to keep them going. I noticed the fading light in Oxford today as well. Very early. Leaving the building during midday is a new treat... B
It's almost a month until christmas! Man up!
Hi Matt!!! (Great blog). In contrast, the Lebanese owned supermarket here in sunny Accra has just installed an upside down Christmas tree... they've got a sense of humour, or maybe just no sense of Christmas at all. Eithr way, it's much more interesting!!!
Please come see the photo of it I uploaded on Holli's Ramblings.