May morning

Lissy emailed from Oslo earlier this week: 'we've got a long weekend this weekend. What are you up to and can I come over?'. Some hasty phone calls were made to check arrangements, and suddenly, she was winging her way over.

'Oh, you're off to Oxford,' her English housemate pronounced, with a hint of envy.

'Nowhere in England does May Day quite like Oxford'.

I don't know if that's true, but it's a tradition everyone should experience at least once. This year, I headed into town to see the Morris and musicians, arriving by 7am to find the party in full swing, seeking out familiar faces in the crowd before we headed up to the Victoria Arms in Old Marston for breakfast baps and pints, songs and tunes, and more friends' faces. Kim and I had been down at the Half Moon til nearly 2am the night before, but I had to keep my wits about me, Lissy wasn't arriving 'til Midday. Darren and Jim hadn't been to bed at all, and their lucidity was nothing short of mirculous. Not long before then, things wound down at the Viccy, and headed down to the Rose and Crown in South Parade, a place I'd often heard of and never seen. Lissy arrived just after a walking Jack in the Green, and was enthralled by the site. One of the things I love about travelling with this woman is that she retains a childlike wonder at the new and unfamiliar, fascinated by every detail. From pork rolls to the morrisman who chased me for tipping his hat off, we laughed and drank and chattered until we ached.
Then we actually made it into the pub.

Did I mention that it was a day of blinding sunshine? The Rose and Crown has a sizable beer garden and the place was packed. We stood near the middle, and the sound of rising voices, in countless harmonies, soaring skyward, was rich enough to permeate skin and soul and made us both cry. We led songs, we carolled choruses, we sat in rapt silence as new verses began. We trooped off for all you can eat chinese at 7pm and caught the bus back to Witney, for one more cider before crawling into bed. We have an early start tomorrow.