Birthday fun in Oxford--Balliol bonfire night

Pav the very moment she turned four--time change and daylight savings taken into account!

As we set out for Balliol College's sports fields last night, Scott and I serious

ly wondered if we were headed in the right direction. It seemed that everyone else in Oxford was heading the other way. The sidewalks were so crowded we had to push Pav's stroller in the street and cars were lined up filling the oncoming lane, with no one driving our way. We had slammed our dinner to have time to rush through cake, so my tummy bloated to six months pregnant and I just wanted to lie down. When we got to the Balliol field no one was there except for some security guards and a burger van. The guards told us that we were an hour early (or that is what we gathered--strong cockney accent from one and Scottish from the other). Scott knew a place to sit so we waited. Pav slept in the stroller, I lolled and Scott surfed the internet. The iphone told us the town of Oxford was also having their bonfire and fireworks that night, as well as a fair with rides, which we had watched them setting up over the last couple days. All of this was taking place just a block past our apartment. Now we were convinced we had made the wrong choice of what to do. We considered going home. We decided to stick it out a bit longer. The band started to play. They weren't bad. Then they were really bad. The crowd was thin. Then more showed up. It was cold, but some goofy people were dancing and they were fun to watch. Then a bunch of people (the women's rowing team?) showed up with torches and carried an ancient wooden boat to the bonfire pile. The fireworks started. They were good, and we were close enough to watch them being lit. For two hundred people the show was very good. The bonfire started crackling. When the fireworks ended the crowd moved over to the fire.

We loosened our coats. Mulled wine was served. It was good. The heat was great. Pav got nervous:

The Master of Balliol asked us if we were enjoying ourselves. Pav explained that she was glad they had planned fireworks for her birthday. We didn't bother trying to explain about Guy Fawkes. We reluctantly left the warmth and walked the cold walk home. A good day.