We’re on Oxford Time

Monday, we took the train out to Oxford and met Jake for lunch. The train ride from Paddington to Oxford was about an hour.

We had a fantastic tour led by David of Oxford City Walk (highly recommend! http://oxfordcitywalk.co.uk) who kept us entertained with poetry, song and funny diddies while we traipsed around the streets of the second-oldest university in the world (the oldest is the University of Bologna in case you’re curious).  There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and college buildings date back to the early 1200’s.

Along with its fascinating history and unique academic atmosphere, Oxford’s stunning architecture, gardens and parks make this one of our favorite day trips from London.

Unlike American universities, Oxford is more like a federation: 38 independent, self-governing colleges. Our son, Jake, is finishing his Master’s Degree from Kellogg College. Christ Church College is one of the more famous colleges; it has produced thirteen British prime ministers.

The Great Hall of Christ Church became the inspiration for Hogwarts Dining Hall for all of the Harry Potter films.

Alice in Wonderland has Christ Church roots. In 1851, Charles Dodgson, pen name Lewis Carroll, came to Christ Church to study mathematics. Here Dodgson first met the daughters of Henry Liddell, then Dean of the College, one of whom was named Alice. On an afternoon outing on the Thames in 1862, Reverend Dodgson told the girls a story that featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an adventure. The girls loved it, and Alice asked Dodgson to write it down for her. The book was published in 1865.

They removed the ‘No Girls Allowed” signs beginning in 1878, though women couldn’t earn a degree until 1920. All of the colleges have now changed their statutes to admit both women and men.

Bells in Oxford still ring on “Oxford Time”, 5 minutes past the hour. This is a throwback to the days when time was set locally based on the movement of the sun (noon was when the sun was directly overhead), and since that was 5 minutes later in Oxford than GMT, Oxford Time is GMT + 5 minutes.

We stopped by Jake’s room – small and hot, just like he had been saying. He’s ready to spread out a little in Dallas for awhile. He’s States-bound as I write. Welcome home, Jake!