I’ve been pretty busy here in England. Most of the time I get to the office between 8:30 and 9:00 AM, take a break for lunch, take a break for dinner around 6:00, then come back to the office to work for another couple of hours.
I’ve been going to a small baptist church (I couldn’t find reformed evangelical churches nearby) about a 10 minute walk from where I am staying. I have enjoyed the preaching and the fellowship there. Two Sundays ago, a family from the church invited me over for Sunday dinner. The names of the couple are Charlie and Esther, and their youngest son is still with them. His name is Nathaniel. Charlie is an elder in the church.
Esther asked me if I cook, and answering in the affirmative, I went on to add that I had hoped to make some granola while I was here but that the kitchenette where I am staying does not have an oven. Now they want me to make granola for them, and Charlie said that I need to come back to England every once in a while to visit my “granola parents.”
Last Sunday, another one of the elders, Paul, invited me over to his house to eat. Then, along with some other people from church, we went to a retirement home for people with dementia and sang a few songs for them. The guy who organized the event shared the gospel. Afterwards, we spent some time talking to the local residents and staff on an individual basis. The lady I spoke with was very talkative and spoke clearly, but I had a hard time making sense of what she was saying. Her speech was almost like stream of consciousness. She could understand me, though, and responded to questions I asked her.
Last Saturday I visited Oxford, which is where C.S. Lewis spent most of his working life. The architecture of the old buildings is quite impressive. I especially enjoyed the college where C.S. Lewis worked, Magdalen college (Oxford University is divided into a number of colleges). I also went and visited his home, which is called The Kilns. It is now being used as a place to encourage Christian scholarship, but tours of the place are given a few times a week.
Below are some pictures of my stay so far.
Charlie is on the left, and a university student that was staying with them is on the far right. Nathaniel is the one in the middle with the striped shirt. He is feeding mealworms to their chickens
A picture of the back of Charlie and Esther’s house. The room surrounded by windows is called a conservatory. This type of room is quite common in England.
A courtyard in Magdalen College
One of the halls along the perimeter of the courtyard
The “Hogwarts” dining hall.
I was really there!
The stairs in this picture lead to the room of C.S. Lewis at The Kilns. The inside door to his room was locked and Lewis lost the key. So, for many years, to get to his office on the other side, he would walk down the stairs, go half way around the house to the front, go inside, and go back up stairs. When he married Joy, that routine changed. Joy got a locksmith to make another key.
One of the pubs where the Inklings often met.
Another part of Magdalen College
A picture of a different college (Balliol College)
At the train station, I saw this sign. I was tempted to change my destination. Can you read the top line?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks! Very Interesting.
Wow, that college looks beautiful! I’m glad to hear you were “adopted” by some of the church family there. 🙂
Does that sign say Penzance, like the Pirates thereof?
This looks like England alright! We had a conservatory.
Looks like u r having a great time. So glad u have been invited to homes! That us not really that common!!
Thanks for the update. Great pictures.
I believe it was a part of Oxford College where they were in need, some years ago, of replacing the wood ceiling in a dining hall much like the picture of Hogwarts. The wood was a special type of wood. The architects wanted to replace with the exact same wood, so they searched throughout England, but to no avail. They found the wood in another country (India, I believe). But there was some sort of issue importing or exporting it. They found it one other place in the world but the trees were still too young to harvest. They put the renovation on hold for some months while they pondered the alternatives. Meanwhile, a janitor founds some documents in the basement near or in the boiler room. They were drawings and other design documents from when that part of the university was built in the 1400’s. The documents suggested that the wood might need to be replaced in about 500 years. Even in the 1400’s, the wood was of a particular, rare type. The original designers made plans for the replacement of the wood by planting a number of trees of the type needed… right outside the window of the building… in the quad! If only we had that kind of long-term worldview today.
I loved hearing about your adventures so far. I love the story about C.S. Lewis and the key! Oh, and I WANT a conservatory! 🙂
The story about the rare wood is quite interesting, Uncle David. I am not sure what the dining halls at the other colleges look like. I’ll have to look into it. Foresight does seem to be lacking nowadays.
Yes, Emily, the sign says “Penzance”!
Thank you for the update. You have been in my prayers.
So cool, Seth! It looks like a beautiful area! How long did it take you to go to Oxford? I heard from a British person I met here, that Surrey is a “posh” area 🙂 Or at least their accent is Have you noticed that?
The train ride to Oxford was about an hour and a half. Surrey is a posh area. I’ve been told that many rich people who work in London live in this area. I don’t know about the accent, though. I don’t think I could tell at this point.
Cool! I’ve visited Cambridge but never Oxford. And I still want to go to the Bird and the Baby someday!
So James, when do we get pictures of Iceland?
Glad people are inviting you over!