Feb 072010
Today there was an organised walk of “Queer Oxford”, a topic that I’ve considered someday building a walking tour on (once I’ve completed my English Local History degree). Our friend Jim joined Garrett and I as we met up with the group gathered on Magdalen Bridge. The adorable woman in the wine coloured outfit was our tour guide:
Our first stop was Magdalen College, where Oscar Wilde met “Bosie” Douglas:
We then went to University College…
to see the amazingly beautiful Shelley Memorial, dedicated to the famous poet. Shelley briefly attended the college, and was then expelled from it for writing a pamphlet on Athiesm. The poet drowned, and it is this that is captured in the sculpture:
We had coffee at the Vaults in St Mary’s Church, which is next to the beautiful Radcliffe Camera:
We walked along the street:
Over to Jesus College, Garrett’s Alma Mater.
We went inside the chapel to see the memorial to Lawrence of Arabia who was also a student at the college. There was a small orchestra practising, very romantic and beautiful:
We walked up to the Ashmolean and the theatre district, and talked about some of the great artists and actors who had visited Oxford or made it their home over the centuries.
While the rest of the group continued on to a pub, we split off and walked back towards Jim’s college:
We passed one of my favourite shops in Oxford, Scriptum. It is filled with the most wonderful things; fine stationary, pens, Venetian masks, handmade paper, antique books, prints, and a thousand other interesting things:
We had a nice cup of tea in Jim’s room, then he gave us a tour of his college. This is an intriguing passageway at the college gardens which seemed a bit magical after the day had faded to darkness:
We went out for a lovely dinner, and as we were walking along High Street we saw a group of “chaps” out for a night on the town:
This is all very tongue and cheek, and they looked the part and looked as if they were having a great time playing it. My favourite magazine is dedicated to this type of sensibility, do check out: The Chap. Garrett said the smell of the pipes was very nice, and when asked, said that I could have a pipe if I wanted one. Hmmm. It’s very tempting.
We returned home and watched Maurice as the perfect end to a lovely day.
