Photo Phriday

My wife had just returned from having spent six weeks in India. I was just coming off the road from having toured England in the musical "Godspell". It was time to take a small vacation to rest and get away from our small flat. We decided to take the train to Oxford.

It was an easy trip to remember. As we came down the stairs from our flat for our taxi to the railway station, we heard that Diana, Princess of Wales had been in an automobile accident in Paris. The thought, at the time, was that she had been killed in the accident but this was not confirmed yet. By the time we arrived in Oxford the news had confirmed her death and the flags of the nation had been lowered by half. I share this only to put things in a time.

Among the many interests that my wife and I share is a deep appreciation for the writings of C.S. Lewis. Not only his works of fantasy and science fiction, The Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy, but also his spiritual writings. The apologist works such as Mere Christianity or the Screwtape Letters. We thought, with the journey to Oxford, we would make it a sort of Lewis Pilgrimage. We'd visit Magdalen College and seek out the pub where he and the Inklings would gather. We also wanted to visit The Kilns; the home that he shared with his brother Warnie in the Headington Quarry area. Near the home is the church, Holy Trinity Church, where he worshipped and where he is buried.

Us standing just outside the hedges at The Kilns.

Our time in Oxford was very restful. We took a room at a small bed and breakfast near the Lewis home. For a few days it was quiet and we enjoyed our walks, our reading and the refreshing that comes with not being quite so busy. Then we had to return to the real world. But we did so with a greater appreciation for Lewis and his surroundings.

Note: in a few weeks, perhaps next Friday, I'll share a bit more of the visit. In particular, to a small room, in a building found on St. Giles.