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OXFORD – The City of Dreaming Spires
Oxford “The City of Dreaming Spires”. The University of Oxford in Oxfordshire, England is known and believed to have been teaching as early as the year 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world. According to the 2023 Times Higher Education Rankings, the University of Oxford stays as the world’s top university for the seventh straight year. A note to myself: “I wish, hope, and pray that someday I will be able to study in Oxford (or in Cambridge) University. Joan, do not be ashamed to announce to the world and declare your seemingly foolish wishes. Remember, some of them in fact have already come true. Amen” (That’s…
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Alice’s Shop in Oxford, England
ALICE’S SHOP IN OXFORD, ENGLAND. More than a hundred years ago, a certain sweetshop in Oxford, England was frequented by a real girl by the name of Alice. The girl was Alice Pleasance Liddell, who is known to have been the inspiration for a Math lecturer in Christ Church, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (A.K.A Lewis Carroll), to write what has become one of the most popular children’s novels “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”, commonly known as “Alice in Wonderland”. Today at the very same location, the shop is now named “Alice’s Shop” which anyone can visit to have a first-hand feel of the adventures of the young girl as featured in Lewis…
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My admiration for “Jane Eyre” a novel by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre, a novel written by Charlotte Brontë. I must confess I utterly fell in love not only with the leading character but all the more with the author herself. Charlotte has written a novel that would become one of the most famous romance novels of all time. Although I have seen movie adaptations of Jane Eyre, I did not fully realize then how beautifully the novel was composed until I read it in its entirety with the convenience of my prized Kindle. I do possess copies of the books one of which I personally purchased at a gift shop in their former home in the village of Haworth, West…
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Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
The book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is considered as the most endearing love story ever written in the English language. I have seen the BBC TV Series which stars Colin Firth as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. This version, according to some critics is the most faithful adaptation of the book (so far). Here is my take on Pride and Prejudice after re – reading the book and after watching the movie 2005 version of the same title. ******************************************************************************* “She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me…”! Seriously? Well, “what are men to rocks and mountains?” Imagining a blissful moment one afternoon tête-à–tête With Jane…
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Jane Austen – My favorite author
I have been an avid Jane Austen fan since the day I read her second book PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, and watched the different versions in the movies. My favourite is the one made in 2005 played by Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. The other famous version which is considered as the most faithful adaptation of the novel is the BBC TV Mini-Series with Jennifer Ehle, alongside my personal favorite actor – Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy. It maybe is too much but I have seen the movies several times and I even tried to memorise its significant lines as I encountered from the…
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Bronte Parsonage Museum – Haworth, West Yorkshire, England
WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Brontë and JANE EYE by Charlotte Brontë are just two of the novels that enticed me to someday visit the former Brontë family home, the parsonage situated in Haworth, West Yorkshire, England. It is where the Bronte sisters spent most of their lives and wrote their famous novels. It was such a rewarding experience for me to finally see up close and personal some of their belongings and to learn more about their personal lives. Below is a link to view the compiled photos I took during my visit. For more details about my travels to the United Kingdom, please visit my YouTube channel, and…
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Castle Combe, Stonehenge and Bath England
I have here below links to the three short video clips posted on my YouTube channel regarding our visits to Castle Combe, Stonehenge and to one of the most beautiful cities in England – Bath. Castle Combe 2) Stonehenge 3) Bath More videos will be posted shortly. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. For more details about my travels, please check my book entitled INSPIRED TO TRAVEL; TRAVEL TO INSPIRED – A TRAVEL MEMOIR.
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Norwich City Football Club – The underdogs bite back
English Premier League is back after the European games. Some of the awaited games were those of the big teams such as Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, etc… Like me, their respective fans were extremely excited wondering who’s going to score among their best players and how many goals they would get, especially when they are playing against the ‘not-so-good’ teams in the League. As if they were already banking their scores at the expense of the underdogs. It’s a no-brainer that the objective is to strive and win every game and accumulate more points and goals to compete among each other to secure the…
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Discover Norwich
It was in December 2016 when I first set foot in England via Heathrow Airport where my partner Richard met me. From London we then traveled by train to Norwich, the capital city of the County of Norfolk, in the East Anglia region of England where we spent Christmas with his family. I will be writing a separate blog about my first English Christmas experience but for this blog, I will share with you my perception of Norwich and some of the surrounding areas. Speaking of “Norwich” what initially came to my head was that it’s just a name of an insurance company but not as a place or a…
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“Do Better Now My Child”
It’s been a while that I’m listening to Ravi Zacharias’ messages on YouTube. Mr. Zacharias is an Evangelical Christian apologist and evangelist; the founder and chairman of RZIM, which is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and with several offices across the globe. I could say that I am blessed to have read some of his numerous books and hoping to buy some more of this notable works in the coming days. I would also like to take this opportunity to immensely THANK the staff of RZIM, especially to Danielle, who has been very supportive and kind enough to promptly answer my request. Thank you very much RZIM team. May God continue…
