O Is for Oxford

Our A to Z Blogging Challenge takes us to Oxford, England

Two summers ago I had a wonderful visit to England. I met and stayed with one of my blog friends in Wiltshire and then spent a few days in Oxford. It was an ideal vacation, and one I couldn't have experienced without guidance from a friend who knew the area. I was able to visit places I'd only read about and one of them was Oxford. 

The seal of Magdalen College, where C.S. Lewis was a fellow

Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, dating from the Eleventh Century. Many of the names we know from English history and literature are part of Oxford's history and traditions. The names are a catalogue of people who changed history, from John Wyclif in the Fourteenth Century to the philosopher John Locke to Edmund Halley of Halley's Comet Fame and John and Charles Wesley and right into our lifetime when C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien both taught at Oxford. It was definitely the most historic campus I've ever visited, as well as one of the most beautiful. 

I spent one afternoon visiting Magdalen College, one of the thirty-nine residential colleges that make up the University. I was part of a wonderful student led tour and enjoyed learning about the history of Magdalen and present day student life.  

When I stood in the dining room at Magdalen I felt I had walked into Hogwart's

Watching the punts on the Thames was one of my favorite times in Oxford. The punts -- small boats -- were first built in the Nineteenth Century to ship cargo on the Thames. Around 1860 the brightly colored boats began to be used for pleasure and they are still in use today. 

Always time for coffee

There's always time for coffee and my trip to Oxford was no exception. I couldn't resist this sign and the Grand Cafe was one of my coffee stops while in Oxford. 

I hope you've enjoyed our perfect summer day in Oxford and our travels in France yesterday. Rest up, we're off on an adventure tomorrow and I advise hiking boots. There will be a lot of walking, but it will be so worth it.     

Everything's going okay here. I've got my ups and downs, but the ups seem to outnumber the downs. I know New York will be the last to open up again and I don't want to get over enthusiastic about venturing out again. As my mother always said, "When it's meant to be it will be," and I keep that in mind. 

As ever, thanks for  visiting and take care. Much love and wash your hands! 

Pink Saturday Goes to Magdalen College, Oxford

  

Magdalen College, Oxford University

 

It's time to go back just a few weeks and revisit some of my favorite memories of this visit to England. For this Pink Saturday we're going to Oxford University and specifically to Magdalen College. When I made my original plans to visit Oxford I thought of taking a walking tour that included all of the colleges of Oxford University. I'm not quite sure where I got that idea or if such a tour exists, but after an initial bus ride around Oxford I realized seeing all of the colleges would be a bigger project than one I could accomplish in two days. I opted to visits to Christ Church and to Magdalen. I chose Christ Church because a friend from New York was taking a summer course there and Magdalen because it was across the street from my hotel. I wasn't disappointed with either choice.

 

Magdalen, founded in 1458 by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, is spectacularly beautiful. I had a wonderful tour with a second year physics student, Alex. I enjoyed learning about the history of the college and present day student life. Notable graduates include -- in no particular order -- Oscar Wilde, Dudley Moore, Cardinal Wolsey, Edward VIII and T.E. Lawrence.

 

The New Buildings, built in the 1730's, where C.S. Lewis lived during his teaching years at Oxford. 

 

Magdalen College is especially known for its association with C.S. Lewis. Lewis was not a graduate of Magdalen, but he taught English Language and Literature there from 1925-1954. It was also at Magdalen where he began his journey towards belief in G'd. He had been an atheist for several decades but moved away from this and began to attend the daily morning service in the Magdalen Chapel.

 

The Magdalen College Chapel

 



Addison's Walk, Magdalen College

 

But it was in this spot on Addison's Walk in the autumn of 1931, in conversation with his colleagues and friends, Hugo Dyson and J.R. Tolkien that Lewis came to believe specifically in Christianity. Lewis was a literary scholar and his work during his Magdalen tenure was greatly respected, but much of the world knows him as the author of Mere Christianity, the Screwtape Letters and the Chronicles of Narnia. I've read a lot about C.S. Lewis, but have actually read very little that he wrote. My visit to Magdalen is a catalyst to begin to Lewis' work. 

 

  The buildings of Magdalen are magnificent, but equally so are the gardens. 

 

I've enjoyed revisiting Oxford and I hope you have, too. If there are any C.S. Lewis readers in Buttercupland -- and I anticipate there are a good number -- which of his books are your favorite?

 

As ever, thanks for visiting and wishes for a great week!