I got my first glimpse of the brand new 21st century Ashmolean Museum yesterday, but on my journey there were several reminders of the past.

As I strolled towards the Botley Road railway bridge, I could see Clan Line 35028, the Merchant Navy class steam locomotive, waiting to pull out of Oxford station.

The locomotive, which makes frequent runs on the Orient-Express route, had just dropped off a large group of national newspaper journalists.

They had been invited to the world-famous museum in Beaumont Street to see the £61m refurbishment and some of the new exhibits.

There are lots of white walls and high ceilings and 39 new galleries which are crying out to be visited when the museum reopens after 10 months on November 7, and I recommend you go along.

After a very brief glance at a few displays, including one about the origins of the museum, entitled Ark to Ashmolean, I headed for the rooftop restaurant where all the other hacks were assembled for coffee and cake.

One kind chap was serving up slices of Battenberg, so I took a couple of slices before the Food Standards Agency voluntary ban on food colourings comes into force at the end of the year.

Before I had time to sit down, Christopher Brown, the museum director, announced that the press conference would take place in a lecture room on the floor below.

I packaged up my remaining slice of Battenberg, introduced to the nation in 1884 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria's grand-daughter, and foolishly attempted to eat it on the run.

As I reached the doorway to the restaurant, a heavy plate glass door appeared from nowhere and swung slowly into the side of my head.

As I was scoffing Battenberg at the time, I was unable to reach out an arm to defend myself, and my discomfort was witnessed by the world's press, including Newsweek, The Guardian, and Bloomsberg.

The embarrassing incident reminded me of the occasion at Oxford Brookes University a few years back when I slid down a 30ft grassy knoll. Only Jeremy Clarkson getting a pie in the face from Green campaigners helped me to forget it.

One book at the Ashmolean stood out. It was the catalogue of drawings and prints by Weimin He, the Ashmolean's artist-in-residence, who has produced a colourful account of the museum's transformation in ink drawings, pen sketches and woodblock prints, and I would love to have a chat with him.

Other tomes I am enjoying at the moment include A Line in the Sand by Gerald Seymour, The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Beacon by Susan Hill, and a book of Batman comic strips from Abingdon Library.