Today we visited Christ Church College Library which was my favorite to date. Each library becomes more and more spectacular each day. The Christ Church Dining Hall was where the Hogwarts Dining Hall scenes were filmed.  Christ Church College is also the Lewis Carroll's college and was the inspiration for many of his scenes in Alice in Wonderland.  Laurie knows  a lot more about this so I will let her explain.

The afternoon we are attending a presentation by David Benedictus on Winnie the Pooh and the next generation. I have been told that Benedictus is the leading authority on Winnie the Pooh.  I'll let you know how it goes.

I just returned to my room from what was slated as a poetry reading.  I honestly was ready to skip it - poetry, I'm sorry to say, is not my thing.  Dr Helen Kidd is a poetess but she also teaches creative writing at Oxford. It was great.  Not only does she write great poetry that is meaningful to me but she also inspires her students to find the right words.  We worked individually on a list of words and phrases around a central theme and then put the poem together.  It was fun and I learned that maybe poetry isn't all that bad. I was definitely out of my comfort zone but that is good.

Laurie and I just attended a fascinating lecture on dictionaries presented by Professor Lynda Mugglestone. Look her up on Amazon.  I will need to buy some of her books! Dictionaries are not just a long list of words and definitions. Mugglestone made the case that all dictionaries are very partial and are very selective - and they reflect the social and cultural norms of the time in which they were written. Dictionaries can be very controversial – should a word be added or should it be left out because the word is too “common” or too new. She is currently writing a book on Samuel Johnson and it was wonderful that I was able to visit Johnson’s London house last Saturday. It made the lecture so much more meaningful.

This has been an amazing trip.  Thank you USM!

I never dreamed Oxford University would be so beautiful.  It is a spectacular medieval walled city containing a maze of 38 different colleges. Each college has its own personality, its own traditions and of course its own library.  You can imagine my excitement.
Laurie and I arrived yesterday and I was overwhelmed thinking I would never find my way around.  Today we took a walk to High Street and actually found our way back to Mansfield College without any difficulty.
I'm going to post two pictures - one of the Mansfield College Library.  When I walked in, it reminded me of another library very dear to me.  Guess which library! The other picture is where we spent the evening last night.

Yesterday, we had allowed one hour to visit the British Library. We ended up spending five hours visiting exhibits and touring the impressive building. In the center is a massive glass tower of rare books. From my understanding they were books belonging to King George III (the reigning king during our Revolutionary War). It is quite spectacular in itself but the tower is also amazing in that it blends modern library technology and an appreciation of the traditional library format. We visited the permanent rare book exhibit displaying a Guttenberg Bible, Magna Carta, rare 11th century bibles, etc. There was also a special exhibit called Writing Britain, Wastelands to Wonderlands (http://www.bl.uk/writingbritain). Included in this exhibit were drafts, notes, etchings from some of my favorite British writers including JRR Tolkien: original artwork for The Hobbit, JK Rowling: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone manuscript John Lennon: draft for ‘In My Life’, Daphne Du Maurier: early notes for Rebecca, Charles Dickens: manuscript for Our Mutual Friend, Robert Louis Stevenson: manuscript for Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Charlotte Brontë: manuscript for Jane Eyre, Lewis Carroll: manuscript of 'Alice's Adventures Under Ground', and one of the earliest manscripts for Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Hannah would have spent 4 hours just visiting this exhibit. A large part of the exhibit was dedicated to England's literary response to the Industrial Revolution. Fascinating.To see these original books and notes was truly a privilege. Last night we took a break and had dinner at a British Pub. My feet were worn out. The pub in itself was a great introduction to British life. I believe we were the only foreigners, it was packed and loud. The pubs patrons also flow out onto the sidewalk surrounding the building. They have shelves under the windows where you can place your pint and gather and meet your friends. At one point it statred raining and all the outside people came inside. It was wall to wall humanity. This is what we chose to eat: fish and chips, deep fried mushrooms, and fried Brie. All washed down with a mixture of hard cider and black current juice. I loved it all... Fried Brie - is that an insult to my French heritage? I need to watch out, I am having my cholesterol checked a few days after I come home : )

Last night, after dinner, we took a walk along the Embankment. Olympic fever has definitely taken over London. I'll post pictures. The sites and sounds were truly magical. The Thames, the London Eye, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey were all lit up. It was a perfect evening for a stroll. We bought our Oyster Cards and we are learning how to use the Underground. No problems there. After a few near misses, I have learned to always look right when crossing the street. Now before stepping off the curb I remind myself to look right. This works great when it is not a one way street! Today it is off to The British Museum!

After all our months planning for this trip, we are finally in London. We arrived yesterday morning. Our room was not quite ready so we took the opportunity to walk a few blocks to visit Kensington Palace and Gardens. Just what we needed after our trip. Kensington Palace has a special exhibit on Queen Victoria. Outstanding.