Oxford, Day 30: Leaving Wonderland and Returning to the States

The day has finally come--I am sitting blogging on my laptop, in my bedroom, back in the States.

No high teas. No last minute run to Sainsbury's for Digestives. No more Pimms.

Thankfully, living in New England--most especially Rhode Island--there will always be fish and chips. Not all is lost!

After walking to city centre from the dorm to Blackwells on Broad Street, British Red Cross on High Street, and Barclays on Cornmarket Street, it is a wonder how I made it back to the dorm on time to catch the bus. I will admit running errands was a bit stressful, but it was great to have one last down Banbury Road and remember everything on such a beautiful day.

We had plenty of time to kill in the airport once we got through check-in and customs. There were a lot of designer boutiques and last minute Duty-Free shops set up everywhere--it was like an upscale mall. Thankfully I was able to find a reasonably priced spinach and ricotta panini at Costa, as well as a water bottle and a bag of M&Ms to hold me over before the seven hour flight.

The flight went well. The stewardesses and other passengers were complaining about how small the plane was, it did not really matter to me--I rarely travel so I would not know how big an international plane should be. Also, being petite, I do not take up that much room either so leg room does not really make a difference.

Landing in Boston, it was hard to believe we were back in the States. We even passed Airforce One on the runway (I guess Obama is visiting?),  but it still does not feel like we returned. Perhaps I am still in denial, but  after finding the rabbit hole in Port Meadow, maybe I never really left.

A boat, beneath a sunny sky,

Lingering onward dreamily

In an evening of July--

Children three that did nestle near,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Pleased a simple tale to hear--

Long has paled that sunny sky:

Echos fade and memories die:

Autumn frosts have slain July.

Still she haunts me, phantomwise,

Alice moving under skies

Never seen by waking eyes.

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near.

In Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die.

Ever drifting down the stream--

Lingering in the golden gleam--

Life, what is it but a dream?

-Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll

Oxford, Day 5: Christ Church Revisited

Christ Church College was the subject this afternoon in class. I had to write a brief paper on the college and present it in class, so here it is:

Christ Church College is the oldest 12^th century collegiate cathedral and survived religious reform, The Plague, and the Civil War. The property on which Christ Church College resides has changed hands several times during the Medieval period. St. Frideswide’s monastery, the original structure, was built in honor of Margaret Frideswide, a young woman who refused the prince of Leicester’s insistent hand in marriage. Instead, Frideswide resided in Binsey and performed miracles healing the sick—Frideswide also directed the young prince to seek a higher calling and serve God.

In 1529, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey founded Christ Church College after taking over St. Frideswide’s monastery.  Wolsey was responsible for envisioning Tom Quad, the main quadrangle on the campus. He saw through most of the Tom Quad’s completion before losing his power and Henry VIII became Christ Church’s successor in 1546. Henry VIII renamed the college after himself and deemed the Christ Church chapel as the diocese of Oxford, the Oxford Cathedral.

King Charles and Parliament found refuge and residency at Christ Church during The Plague (1625), as well as the (British) Civil War (1629). At this time, Charles lived in the Deanery while the soldiers occupied Tom Quad—the college was ultimately at the mercy of the royal court. It was not the first time Christ Church had visits from the royal court—Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the college twice, on one occasion taking up residency the East Side of Tom Quad with her royal court and the tenants gave up their rooms to accommodate Her Majesty.

Christ Church College is responsible for shaping the minds of many successful poets, writers, philosophers and politicians. Sir Christopher Wren—a former student of Oxford, renowned scientist, mathematician, and architect—redesigned the bell tower in 1682 and remains a main landmark in the Oxford city center today. Other former students of Christ Church College include the father of liberalism, John Locke; religious leader of the Quaker faith, William Penn; poet W.H. Auden, and the mathematician and writer, Lewis Carroll.

Lewis Carroll—his real name, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson studied (1851) and taught (1855) mathematics at Christ Church College. He befriended Alice Liddell, daughter of the Dean of Christ Church, and her sisters. His prized works, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, are inspired by familiar people, places, and events—especially Christ Church College. For example, a green door in the Cathedral Gardens of Christ Church is said to have inspired the door to the garden in Alice. Christ Church College maintains the small village of Binsey, Oxford, near Port Meadow, where Lewis Carroll and the Liddell sisters would go to tell stories along the Isis River.

More recently, some sequences of the earlier Harry Potter film adaptations were shot at Christ Church. Hollywood replicated the college’s great hall to create Hogwarts Hall, the dining hall for the magical school of witchcraft and wizardry. 

After the tour of the college, the group ate at the Eagle and Child, where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis would frequent and have a few drinks.

The Green Door in Christ Church College's Cathedral Gardens that inspired the garden door in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland; Christ Church Meadow

The cathedral

The courtyard

The staircase leading up to the Great Hall

The Great Hall

The Eagle and Child

To learn more about Lewis Carroll, Alice Liddell, and Harry Potter at Christ Church College, please click the links below from the college's website:

Lewis Carroll and Alice

Harry Potter

Oxford, Day 3: Binsey

It does not seem like the walking will ever end...

Even though I use my bus pass frequently (it's only been less than 48 hours since I've had it), my Literature of Oxford class requires a lot of walking about town. Today, we went to Binsey, the more rural part of Oxford. When the class approached the town, it was popping out from the lush fields spotted with horses, sheep, goats, and yellow buttercups. Think of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music, dancing on the hills, swaying in the gentle breeze. It looked something like that.

The village consists of eleven (?) buildings there registered as historical landmarks. One of the buildings, St. Margaret of Antioch, is an 11th century chapel that still holds services today.  It also home to St. Margaret's Well, which is also referred to in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

In fact, there are several connections between Alice in Wonderland and the village of Binsey.

1. Alice Liddell's governess, Mary Prickett, lived in Binsey. The Prickett family owned the village, along with,
2. Christ Church College, located in the city's center. Alice's father was the dean at Christ Church and Lewis Carroll taught there.
3. Lewis Carroll would take Alice and her two sisters down the river and tell stories at Port Meadow, Binsey.

After seeing the village, hanging out at The Perch, and the boat tour on the river, some of the class went to The Anchor, a wonderful restaurant that serves the best fish and chips I have ever had. Their house lemonade was also just as spectacular.

Crossing the river canal on the way to Binsey

Walking

More walking

River boats

Buttercup fields forever

Binsey village

St. Margaret of Antioch church

St. Margaret's Well aka the "Treacle Well"

The most beautiful (and expensive) countryside restaurant

Inside 

Outdoor bar/patio

Additional outdoor dining on the back lawn

The weather has been getting on quite well still, a humid 75 degrees today. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but we shall see.