No need to get up early, but Kaoru was back to her usual self so up bright and early. I got up and cooked breakfast and got ready to start the day.

We left about 10.30 and caught the bus in to Oxford. We then worked out the route to Glouster green in preparation for tomorrow. We picked up some bus timetables and checked prices. Some were £8 and some were £9 for the exact same place (London Victoria). So we took them with us and walked to the train station, and then to the Oxford playhouse where i used to work. It had a new paint coat and different clientele to when i was there, but looked largely the same. We then walked around Oxford to see if anything looked familiar. Very little. It was certainly much busier than either of us recalled but the streets and buildings were largely just like a new experience.

We stopped for some lunch and had a look at the drop off points for the buses, to assess ease of access. We also found what looked like a better way to get on the bus at the start, so we walked that to check it out – much easier! We walked around a Tesco express to pass the time and then met AuntyDiane at the Head of the River pub.

We bought tickets and then joined the 2.30 river boat ride to Abingdon. Aunty Diane had done this a few weeks ago, and i always wanted to experience a lock, so we thought this would be an enjoyable activity. In 2 hours we went through 3 locks down the Thames (or Isis, as it is called in the Oxford section), and had a generally enjoyable ride. Aunty Diane had bought some banana cake for a snack as well.

Once at Abingdon i got some more money out (at a much better exchange rate) and we caught the next bus back to Radley to get home. I then went next door to say hello to Eric and have a bit of a chat. I had forgotten what a card he was. So we caught up on a few stories for half an hour or so and then i went home.

Dinner tonight was spaghetti. I had never had this with Aunty Diane in the UK because of foot in mouth disease last time i was here,and a tart for dessert. We then couldn’t put it off any longer – we had to pack. It was surprising how we arrived with 2 suitcases, found very little in the roof to come back, but filled 3 suitcases! We had packed very loosely to ensure things didn’t bounce around, but still. ..

After a bit more talking and an email tidy up we called it a night.