Here's to having internet that works. It's been a bit spotty here, which resulted in very little communication between my family and I over the past few days. It's getting a bit better and for some reason Skype seems to be the most reliable way to stay in touch (strange, since Skype tends to be more of a problem back home, but hey, I'm not complaining!). It's been a great week, guys. I'll give y'all a summary of my Tuesday-Thursday [Not starting with Monday because I covered that
here and
here] and then we can get to the exciting part (C. S. Lewis' home and Oxford), of which I have an overzealous excitement for and quantity of pictures.
Tuesday: My Lewis and Tolkien class was just as anticipated: absolutely fantastic. Dr. Hooten-Wilson related exceptionally well to us, laid down how the semester would be, shared some background on both authors, and by the end of class completely blew my mind. Fabulous class. This week we're reading the first book of Lewis' "Space Trilogy" (he referred to it as his "Ransom Trilogy". Wonder why? Read the books for yourself!).
That night, we all went to see The Magistrate. A well done show with musical interludes between the set and scene changes (I don't know what officially constitutes a show as a musical, but I'm moderately confident that this wasn't one). I learned the meaning of British Comedy from this show, which was...interesting. The best way I can think of to describe British comedy (based on The Magistrate, at least) is this: slapstick humor that is worth a smile, sometimes a chuckle, and very rarely an outright laugh. It's like classic cartoon humor in that it's simple and usually dependent on the actions, rather than the words (although there are puns as well. And I love puns.). The engineering of the stage sets were superb, with a slanted pop-out storybook kind of theme. A very well done show that was fun and outright hysterical to the British audience.
Wednesday: My longer day of classes (you see, each class meets for about three hours at a time). I had my Political Theology class in the morning, which I enjoyed significantly more than anticipated, and Christian Ethics in the afternoon. Both classes look to involve a lot of hard work, but I predict that I'll like and learn a lot from both. For lunch Emma, Jase, and I went to Shakespeare's Head, an inexpensive (by British standards) but delicious pub close to where we live. That night we went to another show. I didn't take any pictures, as I was not especially excited after the show. This show, Fair Em, was a Shakespeare wannabe. There was music incorporated here and there throughout the show, especially to set and transition scenes. This would have been much better if the writer/s had been able to make up their mind as to what type of music they'd like. There were madrigal, jazzy, almost coffeehouse ish, and other music styles which I don't quite recall. Additionally, if a show is to claim to be similar to Shakespeare, I expect wit (as this show was a comedy), of which there was a minute quantity. Despite not particularly being impressed with the show itself, the actors all did a good job. A fun night out, but many of us were tired and ready to chill when we got back home.
Thursday: I didn't have class till 1, so my dear friend Megan and I went out exploring around Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and the area between. Here's some pictures from that adventure:
Megan and I
obviously
the national gallery
a cool fountain
some statues
check out Big Ben over yonder
us with the lion
and what appears to be a Canadian flag
in the background
ever since The Lion King
lions have been my favorite animal
and also because both Lydia and Lion
begin with "L"
i was pretty stoaked
trafalgar square and i
this could be a postcard
if it wasn't so cloudy
that's St. Martin In the Fields church
That afternoon, we had our Art History/Appreciation class, which was uneventful. It looks to be a great class since we get to go to museums every class meeting from here on. Following that we went out shopping, where I got hit on by a strange Indian guy, had some great conversation and laughs with friends, and did a little shopping (the kind where you go to stores but don't actually end up buying anything).
Friday: The day trip to Oxford!!! The highlights are below, and all of the pictures are featured here at my
Oxford in pictures post, for those of you who would like to see everything I experienced (more pictures from Lewis' home and a lot of gorgeous architecture in Oxford). I was colder this day than I have ever been in my life, but it was a lot of fun!
took a few pictures on the bus ride over
i'd fallen asleep
sometime between london and here
when i woke up
it was combination
winter wonderland
and narnia
(there were more trees at that point)
the former home of C. S. Lewis!!!!!!!
it's called the kilns
no wonder he was such a great writer
look at that cute place
of course
i had to get a picture with it too
the library
and the lady showing us about the place did a great job
fun fact: it's assumed that Lewis had a photographic memory
he would ask students to pick any book
from his shelves
read a sentence from the book
and Lewis had this uncanny ability to not only recall
but recite
the entire passage back to the student
the Eagle and Child sign from Lewis' day
(that was the pub Lewis and Tolkien frequented
and where they held their Inklings meetings)
[the Inklings were a society of writers and scholars
who would meet periodically
and share pieces of whatever they were currently working on]
some time period appropriate literature
it's really a cool desk
that typewriter was an original
few things in the house were
unfortunately
that picture is of Joy
(who married Lewis)
with a shotgun
she was an American
such cute tea pots
[some owners of the Kilns in the 70's totally changed the house
since, it has been remodeled to be almost exactly the way it was
when Lewis lived there
with the exception, however, of the filth associated
with this bachelor pad]
this was like a play room for Joy's sons
in the attic
it may not look exciting
but if you were to step on that floor
your foot would go through the floor of the attic
and into the ceiling of the kitchen
true story
this was in Lewis' study
real people live and study in his home currently
thus the laptop
Lewis' room
and another nice view
trying to find Narnia
Lewis loved visiting this pond
it's something the man and I have in common
loving nature
it's pretty
blurry pic
but that's Emma
she's great
and my roommate
our tour guide, Jane, was great
and way cute
check out that great scarf/hat combo
Dr. Taylor, thrilled to be back to the town of his alma mater
the whole town basically looks like a castle
it's fantastic
made to commemorate
some martyrs
the dancing in Goblet of Fire
[Harry Potter]
was filmed in there
inspiration for the great dining hall
in Harry Potter
[they couldn't film here because
it wasn't big enough
and closing it down
would be awfully inconvenient]
otherwise known as
"The Bird and the Baby"
and this is where
Tolkien and Lewis met
as part of the Inklings,
a kind of literary discussion society
Christ's Church Cathedral
cool ceilings
the quad
at Christ's Church
Needless to say, it was a fabulous and beautiful day.
