060922: Claverton Down, Osborne House,

Here's a picture of my house, Osborne House, next to the former Vice Chancellor's Mansion (my ears perked up at that one too). Her newplace in Bath Centre cost over 1.4 million pounds. There's no common space but it has room for a small garden, but nothing grows there. There are some gardens across the street and some very nice houses.I'm right next to the bus stop; however, I have yet to see the bus there.

The vice chancellor position is the equivalent of the "Fran" in the States. The chancellorship is an honorary position held by an archconservative Belgian confectionery giant, Lord Tugenhat, who only visits the city annually for a charity benefit tea and luncheon at the incredible fan-vaulted Abbey, where they hand out our diplomas on the side.

Regrettably, I don't have a mailbox. I have a little old lady who slips the posts under my door whilst I sleep. It's not at all creepy since I imagine her humming merrily as she makes her rounds, silently mouthing a "sleep well" to my locked door.

I can't say much else. To a large extent, when conversing on their mobiles, British men sound like women and British women sound like men. How many people live on "The Avenue?" Even though the university looks and feels like a large state school with nearly 10,000 students, I'm living at the edge of the campus in the scenic English countryside. The one drawback is that I'm across the street from an "RSPCA," which must be like an "ASPCA," except that here the dogs are violently whipped and tortured every morning at six. I imagine it's
like a rooster at a farm, except that these are vicious hellhounds that rightly sound as if they are outside my window.

Cheers!

Photo: 060923.02