This morning Zac and I arrived at the train station 15 minutes before our scheduled departure at 07:00.
One of the unusual sights today was the number of people dressed in formal clothing. Especially students. We saw hundreds of high school students taking the train to school, and not only were they all in uniforms, they were all wearing coats, too. They looked really spiffy!
The pub frequented by C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and their "Inkling" friends. Lewis and Tolkien referred to the pub as the "bird and baby."
Oxford U. is comprised of 38 colleges. These pictures are of the outside and inside of Balliol College, including the chapel.
I turned around 180° from Donkey and took the following pictures.
A famous section of the Bodleian Library.
What a wonderful, inspirational day. Although I did not have nearly enough time to see everything, and never did find the ghost of C.S. Lewis, I am determined to find a way to return (and to bring my sweet wife with me).
Answer: "Because Hounslow has two train stations."
Question: "Why can we not find our train on the schedule?"
We hustled 15 minutes down the road to the other station and watched "our" train leave without us. No problem-- we caught the next train at 07:31.
One of the unusual sights today was the number of people dressed in formal clothing. Especially students. We saw hundreds of high school students taking the train to school, and not only were they all in uniforms, they were all wearing coats, too. They looked really spiffy!
Oxford was no different. University students and profs wearing suits and ties walked the sidewalks.
To begin the Oxford visit, Zac had some cinnamon rolls with his hot tea. I think most world crises could be solved if the meeting started with a couple of cinnamon rolls.
I will share a few Oxford pics and captions then end with my favorite image of the day.
The pub frequented by C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and their "Inkling" friends. Lewis and Tolkien referred to the pub as the "bird and baby."
Oxford U. is comprised of 38 colleges. These pictures are of the outside and inside of Balliol College, including the chapel.
During the English Civil War, mid 1600's, Balliol College supported the wrong side, investing heavily in King Charles. The king lost his head, and the college lost its money, ultimately causing the college to shut it doors for 150 years.
During that time, someone from Trinity College, literally a stone's throw away, wrote about throwing a rock at Balliol Chapel and knocking out the remaining window pane. That historical moment spoke to both Balliol's desperate financial situation, and the ongoing rivalry between the two colleges. In the picture below I am photographing from the Balliol quad, and you can see Trinity College towering in the near background.
Picture number one below is part of the clock tower at University Church. I like the expression of the woman who is getting crushed underneath the representative of the church. In a strange way, she seems to be enjoying the pain. If she were a character in The Crucible, she would be saying, "More weight."
After seeing the character in the second sculpture, I started looking around for Shrek.
I turned around 180° from Donkey and took the following pictures.
A famous section of the Bodleian Library.
Pictures simply cannot do justice to the scope and grandeur of Oxford.
The following two pictures I took through glass at the Bodleian Library rare collections. The first is one of the pages from the score of Handle's Messiah. The second is from Shakespeare's first folio.
Zac and I were drawn to the Blackwell bookstore, where if you spread the books out in a single row, they would cover 2 miles.
And now for the best part . . . .
What stands out to you in the picture below?
When I walked past the cross on the street for the first time, I thought it was an incomplete construction project.
The cross marks the spot where in the 1550's, Dr. Ridley and Dr. Latimer were burned at the stake. They were two of the three high profile religious/political prisoners of Queen Mary. The third was Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Ridley and Latimer were the first to die. Latimer seemed more peaceful with the prospects of impending death, but Ridley was struggling. Dr. Latimer encouraged him with these immortal words:
"Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out."
As I listened to our tour guide today, telling the story with pride in her voice, I realized that Dr. Latimer's prophecy continues to ring true.
And now for a more tangible reminder of the story. Cranmer died months later, because the queen could not kill the Archbishop of Canterbury without the Pope's permission.
Cranmer went to the stake and burned. However, the wind was blowing so hard that day (21 March 1556) that the flames around Dr. Cranmer actually ignited one of the doors on Balliol College. The burnt door is still hanging.
What a wonderful, inspirational day. Although I did not have nearly enough time to see everything, and never did find the ghost of C.S. Lewis, I am determined to find a way to return (and to bring my sweet wife with me).
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