An Unexpected Party

Oxford – the home of “The Hobbit”, “Narnia”, Alice in Wonderland”, one of the world’s leading universities, scores of historic buildings, dozens of libraries, the largest bookshop in England, and traditions so deeply entrenched that graduation ceremonies are still held in Latin. So what we encountered upon our arrival was quite surprising.

St Giles Fair can trace its origins to the consecration of the church bearing the same name in 1200. We spoke to the minister in this vibrant little church in the middle of Oxford who confirmed that the Fair had been going for “a while”! Naturally, the 21st Century version with competing loud music, helium balloons, fairy floss, hot dogs, and several death defying ways to lose your lunch bears little resemblance to the funfair of the 13th Century, or the one visited by Elizabeth I in 1567.

Away from the noise and lights of the fair, we have immersed ourselves in more traditional culture: the 9th Century Alfred jewel in the Ashmolean Museum, the 15th Century School of Divinity lecture hall, eaten our breakfast in the 16th Century Christ Church Hall (Hogwart’s dining room), viewed some magnificent college chapels, attended choral Evensong at Oxford Cathedral, and seen a collection of rare books at the Bodleian library including a Shakespeare First folio which went missing for 250 years!

Footnote: JRR Tolkien fans will recognise that “An Unexpected Party’ is the first chapter of “The Hobbit”. We had lunch in “The Eagle & Child” where Tolkien first read his new story to his literary friends who became known as “The Inklings”.