Each year on the Wednesday after the end of Trinity Term the Chancellor and dignitaries of the University of Oxford gather in the ceremony of Encaenia to award honorary degrees to a small number of worthy recipients. You can read about the history of the ceremony here. I went down to watch, not least because one of the people receiving an honorary degree was the Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

It’s a colourful ceremony as full academic dress is worn. The dignitaries, guests and honorands gather in one of the colleges – Exeter this year – for peaches, strawberries and champagne (thanks to a bequest from Lord Crewe) before walking in procession to the Sheldonian Theatre for the formalities and speeches.

There were plenty of people gathered at my vantage point where Brasenose Lane joins Radcliffe Square, with bigger crowds and TV crews in Broad Street. The woman in front of me had a birthday card for Aung San Suu Kyi and was delighted when Daw Suu accepted it personally. I took few photos of the procession and a short video without Aung San Suu Kyi unfortunately but showing the main part of the procession. The University’s account of the day is here.

After road repairs the speed bumps in Dunstan Road have been criticised for not being bumpy enough. What did my road-test show? Read it here.

We bought a picture this week: an original oil painting, framed. It was by a local artist (local to where we were, not here in Oxford) and was one of a dozen by the same man on display in the bar of a hotel. We both liked it but went away to think about it.

The next day we both thought we would like to buy it, but I felt as a matter of principle we shouldn’t pay the ticket price. I phoned the hotel and asked if they could do a better price. The young woman on the phone said she’d check and call me back – which she did, saying the price was negotiable. I said we’d call the next morning to sort it out.

The following morning there was a young man in charge at the hotel. He didn’t seem to know anything about our interest in the picture but was willng to sell it. “How much do you want to pay?”, he asked. I said I’d really like it for nothing but would be willing to do a deal. “I don’t know anything about paintings, so I’ve no idea what it’s worth”, he said, adding “I’ve been here a couple of years and I think we’ve only ever sold two”.

Remembering all I’d learned first as a trade unionist then as a management negotiator, I named a figure which I thought was just about acceptable as a starting position. “Well, if the ticket had said £xxx we’d have bought it then and there.”

“OK, I’ll check with the owner”, he replied. It wasn’t clear who ‘the owner’ was – the hotel owner? The artist? A few minutes later he came back. “OK”, he said.

And that was it. I’ve no idea whether we could have bought it for a huge amount less. Maybe ‘the owner’ was happy to sell at any price, though I doubt it because the same artist has work in a proper gallery nearby, and even in a gallery in Woodstock, and the asking prices are much the same as in the hotel.

I actually felt a bit deflated. I’d been looking forward to a real negotiation but it was all over so quickly. But the good news is that we’ve got the picture home and it will look great in the hall!