French Frog in Oxford

Today we took the train from Paddington Station to Oxford and spent the entire day. We toured the Bodleian Library, and even got to go down into the basement and see the stacks there. Once upon a time all the books were kept on the second floor or higher because of the rising damp between the rivers of Oxford. It wasn't until someone figured out how to stop the dampness from creeping up that books could be put downstairs. Today there is a tunnel under the street from one part of the library to another, and books are sent across on a conveyor belt. Our guide told us that there has been at least one murder in the stacks -- investigated by none other than Detective Morse. Later on we went to the Oxford Central Library to have a look 'round there. This is the fourth busiest library in England.

Our emphasis for today was unusual signs, and we discovered quite a few, as you will see from our Facebook postings. We weren't quite sure what some of them meant, but we had fun taking photos of them anyway.

I was looking for a church with a cemetery for some graveyard shots, and I located a number of headstones in front of the Aldgate Church. On my way back to our rendezvous point, I stumbled upon a full-fledged cemetery right in the center of town. Later on, when we visited C. S. Lewis' church, there was another cemetery outside, where he was buried. This was truly a library and cemetery day.


The Eagle and Child Pub where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkein spent time. We dined here. I ordered whichever fish and chips tasted least like fish, and the barman eventually settled on the pollack. During the afternoon we toured Lewis' house, the Kilns, and saw his typewriter, his map of Narnia, and the rooms in which he spent much of his time, and the church he attended. The wonderful woman who gave us a tour of the church was also a school librarian!



Paddington Station

French Frog in C. S. Lewis' Garden at the Kilns

A sign on a street corner in Oxford. I was advised by a local lady that there are unusual street names all over the city, including Logic Lane and this one. I saw one sign for Catte Street, which was rather ironic because the very next sign I saw, on the side of a rubbish container, said, "Litter."

Five headstones at the Aldgate Church. While I was taking this photo, a lady who works at the church, who was sitting outside having her lunch, invited me to come inside and have a look 'round the interior. It was quite a lovely and peaceful place, far from the ostentation of Westminster Abbey or St. Paul's.



French Frog Dining at the Eagle and Child. He loves French fries.

This was a sign at the Bodleian Library. Let us hope that it does not portend what it seems to proclaim.

French Frog Fell in Love with Laurie's Bag