Meeting at the Anchor Pub

This afternoon I ventured over to the Anchor Inn, an upscale gastropub located near Spencer House.  Before I go any further, I know some of you are saying “Gastropub, what the hay????”

Well, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, a gastropub is a public house which specializes in serving high-quality food.  To give you an idea of what kind of food a gastropub serves, here’s a sample list of the Anchor’s main dishes:

·         Highland Venison Sausages with Beetroot Mash, Mustard Sauce

·         Spiced, Smoked Haddock Fishcakes, Leaf Salad, Ginger, Lime & Coriander Mayonnaise, Chips

·         Steak & Kidney Pudding, Mash & Greens Ballottine of Rabbit with Apricots & Bacon, Celeriac Mash, Red Wine Sauce

·         Grilled Centre Cut Rump or Bavette Steak, Tomato & Thyme Butter, Creamed Spinach, Chips

In other words, not just cottage pie and burgers and chips. 

The Anchor’s food is very good, but it’s not cheap.  The dishes mentioned above run from about 12GBP to 16GBP (that’s about $20 - $26).  Today, I went to the Anchor at 2pm; I had just eaten so I only ordered a Diet Coke – 2.30GBP (about $3.60).  

I went to the Anchor to meet with a women’s research group.  These are some folks that Amanda, my predecessor at Spencer House, got together with last fall.  They meet once a week at the Anchor to chat and discuss their research projects (most are academics). 

There were only two women there today – besides me:  Suki, who is British and is doing research on the concept of property (she’s a political scientist).  The other woman was Robin, an American who is on sabbatical investigating the University of Oxford’s learning technologies.  There are about 3 others in the group, but they weren’t able to make it today. 

Of course, my research focus in Oxford is genealogy.  I’m trying to trace the descendants of Christopher Wren’s uncle Matthew – to see if any of them could have gone to Virginia (my Wrens were there by 1750, and they were teachers).  However, I’m also working on an article for Muscogiana on Basil Hall, a 19^th century Scottish aristocrat who ventured to America in 1828, and during his 14-month journey in the eastern states, managed to visit Columbus, Georgia, while it was being laid out.



Robin and Suki



Restaurant side of the pub.



Anyway, we each talked about our projects and set goals for next week.  It was an interesting afternoon and I really enjoyed making some new Oxford acquaintances.  I hope I’ll get to meet with them on a regular basis.  The atmosphere at the pub was nice too – although I wasn’t too keen on the high-priced coke!



The outdoor patio at the Anchor; too cold to sit out there today.

 



On the way to the pub, I pass by the boyhood home of
T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)