The Origins of Alice

Since this blog is partially inspired by the curious, inquisitive nature of Alice, I felt that it was appropriate to devote a post to the area where the Alice in Wonderland Stories were conceived. 

While teaching at Oxford University, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson- commonly known as Lewis Carroll, made the acquaintance of a young girl named Alice- and the rest is history.

The distinguished Dodgson

Alice and her two sisters were the daughters of Henry Liddell who was Dean of Christ Church, Oxford from 1855-1891. Carroll much enjoyed the company of the three girls, and would spend long afternoons with them while wandering the grounds and surroundings of Oxford. During these outings, Carroll would often tell fanciful stories to the girls that were inspired by people they met and places they went. Carroll decided to compile all of the stories into a book, and presented the handwritten manuscript called Alice’s Adventures Underground to Alice as a Christmas gift in 1864.

As I mentioned in a previous post (see here if you missed it), I was very disappointed that I was not able to view that original manuscript at the British Library (sigh…).

The first published edition of the book was released in 1865. This version was titled Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and was famously illustrated by John Tenniel. View it here!

I imagined myself as Alice, gazing up at the grand walls of Oxford University in the year 1862. Our photography focus for the day was to use a unique feature of our camera. I took this photo in sepia tone for that 1860’s vibe.

Later, while sitting in the stunning Oxford Botanical Gardens, I did my best impression of Alice daydreaming. I could practically see the Caterpillar sitting on his toadstool, smoking hookah amidst the wildflowers.

We saw plenty of other amazing sites while in Oxford today. Here are the highlights:

 The Eagle and Child Pub was the rendezvous point for a group of authors called The Inklings, which famously included C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The pub looked very old fashioned, but unfortunately it was crawling with other tourists, which made my experience slightly less authentic. Even so, I imagined eavesdropping on a friendly debate between Lewis and Tolkien while eating fish n’ chips and sipping down a Pimm’s Cup (I did the latter two things in real life, not just in my imagination. It was delicious and decidedly British).

The Eagle and Child Pub 

 The Bodleian Library was phenomenal. I wish I could come up with words to describe it right now but none will do it justice.  

The Divinity School at Bodleian Library- also the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts

The Dining Hall at Christ Church, Oxford was the inspiration for the great hall at Hogwarts. The scenes were not actually filmed at this dining hall, but it was still quite a sight to behold. I managed to sit at one of the long tables even though we were not allowed. I know, I’m I rebel.

This face represents a mix of glee and the feeling of "I shouldn't be doing this right now".

Saint Paul's

Saint Paul's Cathedral was absolutely phenomenal. We took a guided tour which can sometimes be great and sometimes be terrible but today the tour was excellent. We were not allowed to take photos inside of the cathedral, but I enjoyed that because it really allowed me to focus on what I was looking at and really soak in everything first hand rather than looking at it through a camera lens. I learned some interesting facts about the cathedral that you may not have known.

• Saint Pauls was the first ever protestant cathedral.
• Christopher Wren planned and executed the creation of the cathedral, he was highly regarded and planned many of the famous buildings in London.
• The cathedral was constructed in a mere 35 years, this was quite the feat during a time when cathedrals typically took about a hundred years to complete. 
• It was decided to completely rebuild the cathedral after the great fire of 1666, the cathedral was completed in 1710. 
• Saint Paul's houses two famous bells. Great Paul is the largest freestanding bell in the country- weighing 17 1/2 tons. Great Tom is the bell that chimes hourly. 
• In 1937, the final two people to be buried in the crypt of Saint Paul's cathedral were Admirals Collingwood and Nelson. The two Admirals were buried side by side but actually hated each other during their lifetimes. 

We were extremely lucky to have visited on this day because our tour finished just as the orchestra was beginning to practice. I walked up to the Whispering Gallery and listened to the orchestra from high up in the cathedral. The acoustics were absolutely phenomenal and it was an incredible experience to gaze at the frescos on the ceiling while letting the music surround me completely.

Our photography focus today was architecture. We were supposed to think of unique ways of focusing on architecture. I took this photo after I walked up to the very top of Saint Paul's. 

Treadmills and Silent Treatments

While exploring an Oliver Twist guided tour in London today, I came across a few curious sites indeed. The tour, created by the Guardian and available here: Oliver Twist Tour, was filled with awesome historical places- some that still exist and some that have long since been changed into modern establishments. One of these sites was the The Harlequin on Arlington Way. The Harlequin is now a pub but was once a theatre which greatly influenced Dickens' work. Joe Grimaldi, a friend of Dickens and the man who is credited as the world's first clown, is memorialized inside the pub.

The Harlequin

Later, I came across the Mount Pleasant Sorting Office- the Royal Mail's main sorting office, which is the former site of a prison that was famous for experimental treatments to reform prisoners. This prison first implemented the Silent Treatment, where prisoners were strictly forbidden to speak to one another. This prison was also the first to implement to treadmill to give prisoners a pointless task to keep them busy, and to wear them out to help prevent mutiny power. The treadmill was created for this exact reason in 1818 by Sir William Cubitt. This fact will definitely make me second guess myself the next time I hop on the treadmill for self inflicted punishment. 

Mount Pleasant Sorting Office

Finally, we stopped at the One Tun Pub, which is located next door to the former site of Fagan's headquarters- The Three Cripples. When my friends and I walked into the pub, there were a few patrons but no bartender. Three guys at the bar said to us "Oh, the bartender is outback, just yell for him". We feebly called out "Hello?" to no avail. The guys said "His name's David", so we feebly called out, "Uhh, David?". No David. Finally, one man yelled, "OY, DAVID, SOME GIRLS NEED SOME DRINKS!". David came ambling up and served us- he was delightful. 

Macro Focus

Today's photography focus was macro focus, where you focus on a detailed item and let the background blur. My favorite shot from the day was this lovely little snail:

I thought the daisies were pretty as well.

Curious London YouTube Playlist

For my class, we need to create a YouTube Playlist with videos relevant to our blog topics. My topic is  strange and curious travel destinations.

Welly Wanging and Hampstead Heath

I spy the London Eye

Every four years, the UK hosts the Commonwealth Games which are similar to the Olympics but include only nations that belong to the Commonwealth of Nations- primarily countries over which the British once reigned. To go along with my theme of curious places and activities, today I attended the Alternative Commonwealth Games, which are a bit of a spoof on the real games. The Alternative Commonwealth Games are hosted in Hampstead Heath, a beautiful, sprawling park just north of London that has sweeping views overlooking the city of London. I participated in a few games including Jukskei- a South African peg-throwing game similar to darts, and "Welly Wanging", a game where participants throw wellies, or rain boots. Out of our group I was the winner of Welly Wanging, I'm so proud. This was a fantastic and very curious day trip.

As you can see I have great form.

White Cliffs of Dover

What an adventure we had today. After failing to book a trip Glastonbury, Jen, Sarah, and I decided to venture out to Dover. We took a 3 hour bus ride (almost missed the bus), but made it to Dover. We put our feet in the ocean, where the rocky beach punished our feet while we pretended to be having a grand time, then we hiked up the cliffs which was amazing and well worth it. They are composed of soft, white chalk and they are a symbolic guard against invaders. The hike was about three hours round trip. Afterwards we stopped at the pub where I got bangers and mashed! We almost missed the bus back and had to run through town wearing our backpacks. We lost our pride but we made the bus.

Painful rocks- but I put my feet in the English Channel!

Used my tripod for this one- thanks, Morgan.

Coastal cliffs