We had some free time in Oxford before we went to the Kilns. Some people went to the Boldleian Library and saw original copies of Tyndale's Bible and Paradise Lost. Instead I got to see quite a bit of Oxford while trying to find the Natural History Museum and a post office so a friend could exchange her money and buy stamps for one of our professors. When we found the museum, I immediately saw a stuffed cheetah that I was encouraged to touch. I was also allowed to take pictures of everything, all for free. They had a complete dinosaur skeleton and other stuffed animals. In the back was the museum of archeology and anthropology. I especially enjoyed the models of ships, the weapons and the armor. I feel it was a good starting point for researching that sort of thing for my novel.
The Kilns
After that we went to the Kilns, aka C.S. Lewis's house. One of our tour guides is Vince Rediger's cousin and her husband is studying theology at Oxford (Harris Manchester College.) To become an Oxford student, you apply to the entire university first, then if you are accepted, and a college is interested in you, they'll contact you. Each college has 100-500 students
Lewis lived half his life here. He bought the property for 3,300 pounds, and named it for the firebrick kilns nearby. Dons usually lived on their college campus, and until 100 years ago, they didn't even get married. Harry Potter gowns are similar to the gowns Oxford students wear during exams. Only two pieces of furniture were actually Lewis' but they tried to find replicas or similar fixtures and furniture for every room. I think it's so cool that it was purchased and restored by fans of Lewis, many who were from America.
Joy Davidman is one of my newest heroes. She was smart enough to debate with Lewis and was fierce enough to really stick out in the England of her time. Joy was an American, Jewish, Atheist, and Communist before she started reading Lewis' work. Then she converted. She graduated from high school at age 14,She suffered from cancer and nearly died, so Lewis married her on her hospital bed, only to spend three more years with her at home. Joy died at age 45 of bone cancer. While she was in remission, Lewis suffered from osteo-perosis. He believed that God answered his prayer to give him her sickness She had a rifle to scare people off their property. One time a boy aimed an arrow at Lewis, and he tried to stand protectively in front of Joy. She shouted "Damnit Lewis, you're in my line of fire!" I didn't know that her son David was till a Jew, thought I knew that Douglas produces the Narnia movies.
Lewis and Tolkien were part of the Inklings, along with Dorthy Sayers (though she may have been an unofficial member.) Tolkien persuaded Lewis to become a Christian using their love for mythology as premise. However, Tolkien never gave Lewis positive feedback on his writing because Tolkien's mythology was a lot more rigid than that of Lewis's.
It's amazing to think that Lewis lived and died in that house. The ceiling is painted yellow as a reminder of the color the white walls had turned from all the tobacco tar. During the war, four young girls came to stay with Lewis. One didn't realize for a long time that Uncle Jack was actually C.S. Lewis. He was very frugal, always fearing that he was about to go broke. Tom Cat was Lewis' pet cat. He was very found of him, and bought him fresh fish for food every day instead of putting him down in his old age. Lewis called Tom Cat his "pensioner."
Holy Trinity-Headington Quarry
Next we went to the parish church that Lewis was a part of, as well as the parish cemetery he is buried in. On the way I saw two teenage boys who were swearing at each other, and one of them carried a rose. At first we thought he was on the way to a date, but they were on their way to the same cemetery, to visit someone who had recently passed away. My camera died inside the church, but it revived when we visited Lewis' grave. Granted, the batteries probably got too warm, but it's still worth writing a poem about. Our guide at the church remembered seeing Lewis in the church, and she knew his brother very well. She still attends that church!
The church is Victorian, though it looks medieval. It was built near the quarry that provided the stones for Oxford.
High Tea at the Randolf
We finished our official tour with high tea. I'm glad I asked for advice on what to get, because my fruity tea was amazing. I could barely taste the tea. And, contrary to popular belief, the portions did make for a complete meal. I could see why Lewis often took his students out to tea here.
For dinner a few of us went to the bowling alley by the Oxford United stadium, next to our hotel. It had a dance floor, and a mini-restaurant. We heard lots of Europop, and some Backstreet boys. People of all ages filled the place. It made me wonder if Oxford doesn't have much night life.
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