This morning, word from Oxford that I have been assigned to Christ Church College among Oxford University's 30 "colleges." And further joy ensues because this is the one I wanted.
They are known for their literary scholars & literature focus with a library filled with original manuscripts & 160,000 books second only to the Bodleian library of Oxford proper. Lewis Carroll (actual name Charles Dodgson), John Locke, Einstein, and others we've all known of & read the works of studied and taught here. Looking through the images & descriptions of Christ Church, come to find out, this is where Harry Potter was filmed--the dining hall is utterly grand & I am "required" to eat there each evening at one of the two times dinner is served in formal dress. Allowed to bring a 9 year old side-kick to dinner--if she dresses pretty?--don't know yet.
The buildings & grounds are beautiful & grand, completed in 1532. It is the closest "college" to Naya's school and our house. They have the famous Christ Church Cathedral Choir which is being aired on the BBC Dec. 20/21 for Christmas. They have their own punts, sporting grounds/complex, meadows, rivers passing by, original Michelangelo, Leonardo Davinci, Durer, Raphael, Rubens, Tintoretto, Carracci, and Filipinno Lippi paintings and drawings. Ay, me.
Feeling very glad for those fineries & heels recently purchased for this endeavour...the ones that mostly get left in the closet while I am in Whitefish, left behind for fleece, goretex, and polypropylene (which I adore when on the side of a mountain, don't get me wrong). But soon silk, wool, lace, and prettiness will be my daily dress. You'll think me daft & silly but heels under flying buttress hallways on marble--love that sound. Feeling very glad too for my insatiable drive this year with my studies & my leaning into the manic hours of overachievement--I feel sure that these heels and this exacting gaze will serve to offer me further fervor for life in the hallways, aisles, & rooms of Christchurch.
I humbly, most gracefully accept the offer of admission. (Insert deep Elizabethan-style bow here.)
Just found out that students of Christ Church are allowed to bring one or two guests to dinner each evening. Vegetarian options always available. All of the tutors (ie professors & dons) attend the 7:20 formal dinner. Could it get any better than this? And is this all for real?
ReplyDelete& who's coming for dinner?! What's a little flight across the Atlantic?
omg - what a spectacle of pomp. i think i might have to hop the pond and take it in. just once. i am sure you will outshine them all montana girl!!
ReplyDelete