incredible day - oxfordshire

Literally one of the craziest but most fun days yet in England

^this is a new friend! get to that at the end :)

Today I decided to go to a "house sale"/auction out in the middle-of-nowwhere Oxfordshire - about an hour outside London by train - to see what one of these Christie's house sale ordeals was like. I was quite nervous to be honest - not sure my $25 train ticket was worth it, not sure how far the house (read:mansion - like a mini Downton Abbey) was from the train station, not sure if I would be let in as a spectator not really willing to bid on pieces...etc. 

I got off the train and walked into the quaintest little village in the countryside imaginable - a place called King's Sutton

...where I did not find a taxi. None in sight. SO I walked until I saw a sign, which informed me the place I was going was 2 1/2 miles away. I thought it might be a nice walk until I headed that direction and realized the road turned into a highway of sorts with no shoulder - not an ideal place for walking. 

Went back to the closest pub and asked if there was a taxi service and one nice old man offered to drive me! How lovely of him! Got to the place and this is what I found...

here is the driveway looking out from a second-story window

The place was full of people looking around as well as Christie's staff - I chatted with some of them and admired the incredible place (Mick Jagger's daughter was married here a few weeks ago - no big deal or anything...they rent it out for parties and weddings routinely)

Anyway, the guy that owns it now made his money in the '80s with throwing raves - now, he has an interesting collection of Greek and Roman statues, contemporary photos, modern furniture, and taxidermy-ed animals...and he has a sense of humor in displaying them. Here is just a small sampling of the animals...

Almost all of them had some kind of accessory. 

Here was the view from an upstairs window looking out into the country

and that figure on the ground? that is just this guy...resting

There were 450 lots for sale (apparently that's not even close to everything he owns - he's just downsizing to make room for some new stuff) but here is one of my favorites - a photo of Helena Bonham Carter, TAKEN EXACTLY IN THE SPOT WHERE IT HANGS! (note the books in the bookshelves!)

and here is a Raphael in an incredible frame...cool!

Afterwards, I had no idea how I was going to get back to the train station, seeing as my ride there was done out of goodwill. I asked around and got the number of a taxi company who took me back for 10 pounds to the train station. Only problem was that the train didn't leave for another hour and a half...so of course I went to the local pub...with 4 pounds left in my wallet I bought a pint and sat by myself for a bit.

After just a little while I started talking to a group of three people and ended up making amazing friends! Brody, Zowie, and James are from King's Sutton and they let me join them for another pint...and then another...and three hours later I was still at the pub with all of them and let two trains passed before I jumped on one back to London and promised to come back for Zowie's birthday in a few weeks. We'll see if I actually do it but they were so cool I very well might! Zowie gave me a quick historical tour of King's Sutton, showing me the stocks that are still there...

and the church/graveyard that was right outside the pub

Clearly it was meant to be that I had EXACTLY enough money for a ride and a pint. It was literally one of the most fun days I've ever had thanks solely to the amazing people I met in King's Sutton. The greater the risk the greater the reward I suppose...thinking back I probably should not have gone alone and probably should have planned my journey more carefully but ended up being such a fun day.

aaaaand on the way home I sat next to a professional rugby player who plays for Worcester, one of the most successful teams right now.

incredible day :-)