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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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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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The Gretna Green Experience
During my second time to visit the United Kingdom, I asked my partner if we could go to Scotland. Well, my interest had been sprung after having watched numerous movies and series from Netflix depicting Medieval Europe. Like the other prominent figures in history in England, I was also eager to see the place of the famous Mary, Queen of Scots, who was also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland. My interest also includes the history and life of her son, King James VI (Scotland) and James 1 (England & Ireland) (James Charles Stuart 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625). He was the King who sponsored the translation of the…
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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…
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A Taste of Medieval England
Before I visited England, whenever asked which part of the country I would like to visit aside from London, I would always say that I wanted to visit somewhere with authentic ambiance, a rustic appeal and with medieval style. I wanted to see for myself actual places that were similar to what I saw in the movies depicting Medieval England. Luckily, my partner granted my request. He took me to the Cotswolds and to Castle Combe which to me were mind-blowing. The beautiful rural landscape, stone-built villages, historical towns and stately homes and gardens were real. It seemed to me that every corner has its own story to tell to…
