Oxford - our last day in the UK

This morning was slow and relaxed. With an interesting conversation with a physicist at breakfast about fusion...it was good to see how Christian managed to draw him out to talk about his special interest.

We checked out the Pitt River museum. 

This museum tends to group things with their like kind, no matter where it's from. So all the flute like instruments were all grouped together. I didn't know there were so many cultures that had a bagpipe!

Recorders, or flutes as they are called, from every age and multiple people groups.

What to say here? There was a focus on colonialism and or coloniality. It refers to our looking at the world through the eye's of "west is best", or our culture is the best culture and therefore we should rule the other cultures.

I personally do not understand this way of looking at the world. This is not something I have been taught. This is not something I have encouraged in anyone. Each culture has a gift to give us, our task is to find that. Each person we meet has something that can teach us, our job is to find it. I know very few people who behave in a way that says they think their culture is better than others.

Some armour of different varieties.

Then of course observing their misuse of this. Making assumptions that because a woman is called by her married name, her name is not recognised. Making the assumption that the term "lady" is belittling. This is similar to the assumption made that a woman wearing niqab is having her existence denied. On the contrary, perhaps she doesn't want to be known by strangers, perhaps muslims have a different way of thinking about the body than we do. And there is much more that could be said about the current way of western women wearing sports wear as day wear, allowing her body to be seen by everyone (although she would likely be upset if someone commented on her body or ogled, except to say that she looked good).

Outside the Natural history museum in Oxford

The architecture here was gorgeous!

We started having a bit of fun in the Natural history Museum, which is attached to the Pitt Rivers museum

Copying the statues.

The Nantan iron meteorite

Not quite sure why you have to touch carefully...a stone that has managed to survive all that!?

A highlight was having a cup of tea and a pint at The Lamb and Flag (a Christian reference). We sat in the room that had pictures of Tolkien and Lewis. This pub is just opposite the famous Eagle and Child pub that the Inklings used to meet at. But on days when the Eagle and Child was too full or they wanted a change, they went across the road to The Lamb and Flag. The Inklings was an informal literary group that Tolkien and Lewis and others were a part of. They would read their stories to each other, read poetry together, and discuss life, over a meal or a pint.

Found a unique little Christmas market.

Tolkien's church

Tolkien's church...the with Nave (the front around the altar) having dozens and dozens of statues of saints, and angels above that. It really would be like having communion with all the saints from all time.

The room we sat in at the Lamb and Flag

On our way to the airport we took a diversion to drive past Windsor Castle. The royal standard was flying, so perhaps the king was in residence. It is a massive castle, with such a lovely, quaint town, with narrow streets, at the base of the hill.

Windsor Castle

Windsor Castle

There was a bit of an adventure this evening. I had been waiting for the check in email from Etihad, and getting more and more concerned that it hadn't arrived. Eventually, I went online and discovered that this was a very full flight, and we could not get seats next to each other. To be true, I panicked. I don't know, is this where "creative anxiety" comes into play? One thinks up all the possible things that could go wrong, instead of working out ways that the problem could be solved.

In the end, we were able to ask the people in our row to move so that we could be across the aisle from each other. Then I noticed that Christian had a spare seat next to him. We waited. And we waited. No one came! So I asked if we could move seats as the plane began to move so that it could taxi. We were indeed sat together, all that "creative anxiety" was for naught! God be praised, an answer to prayer for us.

As I write this, we are sitting in Abu Dhabi preparing to board our plane for Australia. We can't wait to see our children tomorrow night at the Albury train station. It's been the longest time away from our children we have ever had, but they have managed beautifully with my parents. We are so grateful for this opportunity to see the world in a way we had never thought possible. We are so grateful to God for His protection over our children, my parents and us, as we have had various adventures apart. Can't wait to see you my darling children, and sleep in my own quiet bed...and get started on my garden plans. More trees! More hedges!

Oxford - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

We began this morning in the most beautiful way...visiting the grave of C.S. Lewis, and his brother Warnie, and then walking in the C.S. Lewis reserve. This used to be a part of the land belonging to The Kilns (his home). I can see why Lewis loved this place so much.

C.S. Lewis's gravestone

This is where Lewis sat in church, no doubt where the first ideas of
The Screwtape Letter's sprung to his mind.

What Lewis saw...

Christian at the old stone bench in the C.S. Lewis Nature Reserve.

We had the most delightful hour rambling, and walking is so important for the imagination, and important in our ability to think through what's going on in our life. It was during a walk down Addison's Lane, discussing christian matters with Tolkien, that C.S. Lewis started to understand the Christian faith in a different light.

Cold, but the sun came out.

This is the sun at 10:30am! It's very low compared to Australia.

This was one of my favourite things.

I imagine C.S. Lewis walked like this here.

The memorial for those killed in persecution of the church (both Catholic and reformed)
 in Oxford University Church of St Mary the Virgin. This was an unusual church for its lack of cross. The focus was most definitely Mary.

We met up with Dr John Jarrick, brother to members in our parish, lecturer in Old Testament at Regent's Park and Mansfield colleges, Oxford. This is the Radcliffe Camera (camera is latin for room).

Dr John gave us a tour of Oxford colleges. With him we were able to go
places that ordinary folk are not welcomed.

He took us in to the largest book shop that we have ever seen

It went on and on and ON! (Christian managed not to buy a book!)

Balliol College - the same that Boris Johnson attended

Balliol chapel

This was my view most of the day...but Dr John was a fount of interesting information.

This is the dining room in one of the colleges...they meet together for a formal dinner at least twice a week. This would be a meal where people are expected to dress formally, with their robe.

The spot where the reformers Hugh Latimer (70 years) and Nicholas Ridley (50ish years) were burnt at the stake in 1555 under Queen Mary. It is reported that Hugh Latimer said: "Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England as shall never be put out". Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Cranmer, was made to watch, in the hope that he would recant the reformer's teaching. He did in fact sign a number of recantations, but finally in March 1556 he was taken to the stake to be burnt also. He was supposed to recant again publicly before he was to be burnt. But now he found courage, and spoke boldly the Word of God. When he was put to the stake, he put his "offending hand" in the fire first - the hand that signed the recantations.

The Magdalen chapel

The stained glass windows here are sepia in colour.

With Dr John leading the way...

We walked through the college

To the other side

Where they have a lovely walk beside a creek

The autumnal colours were so beautiful

The deer came close in the park.

This was such a lovely walk...see the boat in the creek

The Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings used to meet has been closed since 2020...getting refurbishments.

The college where Dr John teaches. We had dinner together, and lots of interesting discussions about the church in England, our church in Australia and history in general. This day ended with our most steps yet!

Stratford-Upon-Avon and Oxford!

 We had a bit of excitement this morning.

William Shakespeare. He lived from 23rd April 1564 to 23rd April 1616.
During his lifetime he wrote: 39 plays and 154 Sonnets (a fixed verse poetic form).

An original window that Shakespeare would have looked out of. They have had to remove it, but before they did many different people have signed it to say that looked through the window. Including Alfred Tennyson (English poet who wrote: "The Charge Of The Light Brigade"). We also saw the name of Isaac Watts (English hymn writer: "When I Survey The Wondrous Cross").

This is the "good bed" (remember yesterday's "second best bed")

Thinking of you, Tank, as we look in this larder.

Shakespeare's Garden
So much gardening to do when I get home!

The house from the outside

After leaving Coventry, we drove to Stratford Upon Avon again, because we missed Shakespeare's birthplace. It was a bit of a treat. Plenty to learn about William Shakespeare and his early life. His father was a glove maker. We had just finished with the house, and were part way through the gardens when we discovered that the bookshop (the last bit to go through) had been closed. It appears someone had left a bag unattended. It could have been their lunch. Or simply a forgetful child. But it closed the shop. 

The street cordoned off...Quite a large part of it.

So we went back through the museum and to the shops opposite the museum. We were still dabbling in the shops when I discovered the street had been cordoned off. Then on noticing that the shops had not been evacuated, they came into the shop we were in and evacuated the shop. Poor shop owners probably lost most of the day in sales.

Beautiful country roads...

We took the back road to Oxford. The roads here rarely have a verge, or a hard edge. The roads are barely wide enough for two cars to pass. And then with cars parking on the wrong side of the road...it makes for exciting driving.

This one is for my Mum...we saw gypsies. About 4 good horses too.

Once in Oxford we drove through some of the town, noticing the famous names of places.

Our first port of call after checking into our room:

The grave of Edith and John Tolkien.

Then for a walk in Bagley Wood. That was a real treat, although getting there we had to drive on a one lane (two way) road, that didn't even have enough space for a car and a pedestrian to pass!

Scary driving!

Bagley Wood

And because we are so near to home...dinner tonight was breakfast cereal that we have left over.