Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon (Part 3 of UK/Ireland Trip)

Today was a great day to go to Oxford and Stratford-Upon-Avon. The weather was dry but really windy, so quite cool. Our first stop near Oxford was The Kilns--home of C.S. Lewis from 1930 to 1963. Here are a couple views of it. It is not open to the public, but the public goes there to take pictures. 

The next pictures are of Holy Trinity Headington Quarry which is where Lewis attended church. He was also buried in the graveyard next to the church. 

It is difficult to read the writing on the gravestone. It was even difficult in person but this may help.

Next on our agenda was eating lunch in the Rabbit Room of the Eagle and Child. This was the favorite meeting place of the Inklings of which C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were part. I have included pictures that were on the wall in the Rabbit Room. It was an interesting place to eat. You simply go in and find your own table. Menus are on the table, so when everyone knows what they want someone from your table goes to the bar to place your order, giving them your table number so they know where to find you. The rooms are small--the Rabbit Room only holds about 10 people total. 

Sorry for the blur--I was walking and it was the only pic I took.

We didn't spend much time walking the streets of Oxford because of the crush of people. Not only was it crowded, but before we had walked 10 minutes, we had to step over a couple of homeless men who were unconscious on the sidewalk and try to avoid a prancing transvestite dressed in a short frilly pink dress. Sorry folks, no pic of that.  

The crowds of people made walking a straight path impossible. 

Here are a few interesting buildings in Oxford. 

I was happy to get out of Oxford after our great lunch at the Eagle and Child. Vern recommends the Toad in the Hole as a menu option, by the way. Just in case any of you are going to the Eagle and Child soon--(Jim and Joy.) 

The next stop was Straford-Upon-Avon and this place was amazing. No crowds! The buildings were beautiful and the streets were wide and the people were much more family oriented. We visited Shakespeare's birthplace, his place of education and his gravesite as well as a beautiful park along the river where we saw a ton of swans. The next pics are some of the buildings in the town.

Shakespeare's Birthplace

No massive crowds in the streets!

This is my kind of town. Did I mention that there were no crowds?

Town Hall

Lloyds Bank

"Cream Teas" are tea with scones and clotted cream.

Checking the Map

Shakespeare's Grammar School

The next pic is Shakespeare's Gravesite which is inside the church. As a matter of fact, his grave is in the place the altar usually is. When we got within a few yards of it, they wanted about $10 to view the box so I just settled for taking a long-distance pic. Wonder what Shakespeare would have said about this practice? 

Gravesite of William Shakespeare

A walk along the riverside park.

This is the ladies room and they were doing a wonderful job of grooming themselves.

Now they are all ready for a night on the town!

Indoor theater

I've heard good things about Barnaby's Fish and Chips!

Shopping Area in the Cotswolds where we are staying.

Our favorite eating place in the area.

We ended our day at our favorite eatery. Since we were too full for dessert last night, we decided to split an entree of fish and chips and then get 2 servings of Sticky Toffee Pudding pictured below. It was delightful! Came with ice cream too and the toffee syrup was to die for. 

That's it for another day. Tomorrow will be more restful as we wander around the Cotswolds. 

Friendship in the Body of Christ

My sister sent me a plaque for my birthday one year that said, "God made us sisters; Prozac made us friends." We laugh because we see the truth in this--we can't choose our siblings. C. S. Lewis writes about friendship between believers in a similar way. When you see his point of view, it becomes obvious that in church at least, you don't get to choose your friends. They have been chosen for you by One who put you together for a higher purpose. Here is what Lewis says:

Friendship, like the other natural loves, is unable to save itself. In reality, because it is spiritual, and therefore faces a subtler enemy, it must, even more wholeheartedly than they, invoke the divine protection if it hopes to remain sweet. For consider how narrow its true path is. It must not become what people call a ‘mutual admiration society;’ yet if it is not full of mutual admiration, of Appreciative love, it is not Friendship at all.

For a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to his disciples, ‘Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,’ can truly say to every group of Christian friends, ‘You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.’ The friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as for revealing. At this feast it is He who has spread the board and it is He who has chosen the guests. It is He, we may dare hope, who sometimes does, and always should preside. Let us not reckon without our Host. 

Seeing relationships this way changes everything. No longer can we boast about our good taste in friends. No longer can we avoid the ones we would never choose. We share a DNA that transcends all barriers--we are the body of Christ. . In the church, God makes us brothers and sisters and the Holy Spirit uses our relationships to help us conform to the image of Christ. That is the goal.