Friday 27 June 2008

The Most Gargoylish Friday Ever

In my manic final days in Oxford I raced around trying to do all the things I'd never found time for in the previous 10 months. I bought a pair of brown brogues at Ducker's on the Turl. I read a book in the Radcliffe Camera, the circular, light-filled reading room that is one of the Bodleian Library's signature elements. And I climbed to the top of the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. This is the church:



This is the steeple:


Open the doors and see all the...gargoyles:








Finally, here's my favorite shot:


I wonder: Does that pigeon dream of being a gargoyle? Or does that gargoyle dream of being a pigeon?

And Finally...
I'm slowly lowering my body into the sitz bath that is The Washington Post. Alice Reid, my colleague (and Oxford alum; who knew?), is ably handling this summer's Send a Kid to Camp campaign. That's The Post's annual fund drive for Camp Moss Hollow, a summer camp for underprivileged children. I hope you'll consider making a donation to this worthy cause.

And if you're in the D.C. area, help me out: My columns don't write themselves, you know, so if you have any ideas for when I start columnizing later this summer, drop me a line: kellyj[at]washpost.com. I'm especially interested in questions for Answer Man.

Thanks, and have a great weekend. I think I'll be mowing the lawn again.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

why do fools fall in love?

Candadai Tirumalai said...

During my years in Oxford the Radcliffe Camera was largely used by undergraduates in English, Theology, or History --and the occasional don. Those who continued in Oxford for a further degree moved to the main Bodleian Library. I think the arrangement goes back many years, as things in Oxford tend to do.

Phil said...

Welcome back, John. So are you, Ruth and the girls sporting hints of a British accent now?

Sarah Laurence said...

LOVE the gargoyle fest! I'm all for a Friday of gargoyles and no sketchy Daily Mail story.

I keep thinking this it the last post and then the RSS tells me it isn't. Voxford is now like an 80's tribute band. Nothing wrong with that!

Anonymous said...

OK, now it's hot!

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