Across from the Buttery and very near Narnia

 

I am in Oxford. Or, more specifically, I am in St. Edmund’s College in Oxford University.

St. Edmund’s is quite small and is the only one of the original Masters of Arts communities, called “Halls”, that survives from the very early days of this school. This little college, with its reputation for having fun and being very good at sports, is the school’s last remaining link to its medieval beginnings. There is an old Dining Hall used for special occasions, a new dining hall that looks out of place, an old chapel, and a medieval church that has been refitted as the library. It also has a Buttery (a pub), a Gate House that locks the place up at night, and the ghost of a former student who hanged himself and now wanders about in one of the staircases. I am not sure which one, but I doubt it is mine as I already have a haunted bathroom. The door keeps opening and bangs against my bed (it is a very small room) despite my latching it. I believe it is haunted by a larger man who died of claustrophobia in the shower section of the mini-potty and whose body was never claimed.

My desk looks out the little window, with its medieval latches, onto the small quad. I can see classrooms and flats across the way quite clearly. Sometimes I can see the old medieval well in the centre of the square and anyone who passes by it as they make their way to the Buttery or the passageway to the Library. I hear the chiming of the bells every fifteen minutes, voices of others in the college speaking, and the morning and evensong of the birds that live in the many bushes and trees immediately outside my window. Sound is carried in this place and scattered about, ricocheting off the stone walls and tiled gables. When it is particularly quiet I can hear the cling cling of bicycle bells warning of their approach towards a particularly sharp turn in the street just past the porter. It is very peaceful in this college, a great contrast to the bustle outside.

When I was a little boy I wanted to go to a place like this. I found the quest for greater knowledge and the challenge to excel in academics (rather than sports) very appealing. I loved the thought of the pomp, the traditions, the ceremonies and the pageantry of it all. It was so different than the world in which I lived. I have seen the graduates wondering about in their formal robes and their families in tow, constant smiles and cameras at the ready, and I admit to feeling just a slight pang of jealousy. If there are multiple universes, then I hope I am an Oxford scholar in one of them. In the meantime, I will enjoy my time here as I teach my students and the St. Edmund’s fleece jacket, tie and mug (sorry, Eric) will have to suffice. I am fully prepared to state with authority in the very near future something like “When I taught at Oxford…”

Outside of the gated passageway, the streets of Oxford heave with tourists during the day. This is the ultimate campus community with the many colleges scattered about, each with its own museum, chapel and library. The Bodleian is here, housing Shakespeare’s first folio, the Magna Carta and a Gutenburg Bible. Some of my students were thrilled to visit where some of the Harry Potter movies were filmed. I tried to convince them that there was so much to this great place but I fear they were merely being polite as I spoke what seemed like gibberish to them.

And yet it became clear to all of us how Oxford has inspired its fair share of literature. This week is the Alice’s Day festival, where the origin of Alice in Wonderland is celebrated. Literally hundreds of activities to be done and everyone dresses up as characters from the stories. I saw many girls dressed up as Alice, a few Tweedle Dees and/or Dums, one Cheshire cat and two Queens of Hearts (a pair?) walking down the street talking on their cellphones. They were very intense as you can well imagine! I even saw a rabbit who was, funnily enough, in a hurry.

It was an interesting experience, but I must admit that I have always had an uncomfortable feeling about Alice and her falling through mirrors. The thought of this terrified me as a kid. The Cheshire Cat guy, with his long pipe, sweaty demeanor, and a seemingly endless supply of pamphlets to a dramatic reading, kind of creeped me out. The little kids running down the street dressed as chess pieces was cute though. I had to smile when a black pawn helped out a white rook when he tripped over a curb. World peace at last!

Another literary influence that I enjoyed was the connection to Narnia. Having walked through St. Mary’s Passage by the Radcliffe Camera (Oxford’s famous round building) during a wintery day, C.S. Lewis regarded a lantern on a pole and was inspired to include a key element to his concept of Narnia. Fans of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe will recognize this lantern as the spot where Lucy first enters Narnia from her hiding place. It is in this scene that she meets kindly Mr. Tumnus. You will find his origins on sculptures that bracket a nearby door.

Having overcome some technical issues recently, I hope to post pictures of these items very soon. They will only be available at the blog, though, not in the mailing list.

Our stay in Oxford is for just a week. We will be seeing Stonehenge and Bath during this time as well as the Ashmolean Museum. In the meantime, classes have begun and I have found myself easily settling in to academic life here at the university.

I will pretend, for the next few days anyways, that I did, indeed, make my way to Oxford after all.