from Ben's mom
18 November 1994
On to Oxford which I enjoyed more than any other English city. It fit my preconceived mental picture of England. We had a guided walking tour by a lady whose husband is a tutor ("professor" for you Yanks) at Exeter College, one of 36 colleges in the Oxford system. I am fascinated by the education system; I talked to Jane who is a student at Oak Hill (my college) and who formerly attended Oxford. She said she turned in two essays a week to her tutor and met with him twice a week. Lectures are attended by students from all the colleges who are specializing in that area. At the end of three years, students take a comprehensive exam in order to graduate. We toured Exeter, Lincoln, and Jesus colleges.
...Then we went to "The Eagle and the Child," the pub where C.S. Lewis met his friends to discuss literary themes once a week. Tolkien was a member as well....Everything from the architecture to the rain and mist, books and bicycles, shoes and caps was as I imagined Oxford would be.
2 comments:
Ahhh . . . Oxford. I've been twice and echo your sentiments. Last time while there, I took a whole roll of black and white film. I haven't been able to develop it yet because it's not "standard film" (it was purchased somewhere in England) and I have to go to a speciality shop to get it developed. Someday I'll do that . . . and re-live the memories.
We went punting while there, which is an Oxford tradition. It was 10 pounds for an hour but we only had 5 pounds to our name. Fortunately, I was able to talk the punting-rental place into giving us a half-hour for half the price. :) Good memories!
Oxford was such a charming, sleepy little town. I remember walking by the canal (I never thought about bargaining for the punts!) and crossing a rustic bridge, and looking back at the city and seeing the towers and steeples rise against the sky across a quiet cow pasture - so idyllic and peaceful. I bet if we'd grown up in such a setting, we could have written poetry and classic novels too, eh? =) My happiest moment was buying a smashing black hat - complete with chin strap and netting - at a dusty little antique store for L2.50p.
I loved wandering through the colleges, too - each college with its own little chapel and square on the green.
~Rose
Post a Comment