Trinity College, Oxford

Here are some of the pictures I took of Trinity College.

I love the gardens and architecture of all these colleges.

These 3 are of the entrance area

Trinity Chapel with the beautiful ceilings

Many more Oxford posts yet to come

Amazing Grace History/

This brought tears to my eyes. It is nearly 9 minutes long, but well worth it in my opinion.

Oxford Colleges

A few photos of 3 of the Oxford Colleges. St. John's, Balliol and Trinity.

(More to come later)

Scholars were attracted to Oxford from the 12th Century. By the 14th Century there were 3 Colleges. In the next 600 years a further 32 Colleges were added. Each one is a seperate community which together make up the University.

A few of the famous literary people that attended different Colleges.

All Souls College (1438) Christopher Wren

Balliol College (1263) Hilaire Belloc, Aldous Huxley, Neville Shute, Graham Greene

Christ Church College (1546) Lewis Carroll

Hertford College (1740) Evelyn Waugh

Magdalen College (1458) Oscar Wilde, John Betjeman, C.S. Lewis,

Merton College - J.R.R. Tolkien

Somerville (1879) Womens College. Vera Brittain, Dorothy Sayers, Iris Murdoch

St. John's (1555) Philip Larkin, Kinglsey Amis

I wish it had been a brighter day as the colours are much more stunning than those here.

History of Oxford

At last I am beginning to get some Oxford pictures and history together.

I have made a start with some general pictures of Oxford.

I will follow with pictures of some of the colleges.

They have the most beautiful architecture and beautiful gardens.

I will also post on the Bodleian Library and the University Botanical Gardens.

I think you may also enjoy seeing the lovely place where we stayed amongst other things.

So stay tuned

The origins of Oxford are not actually known with any certainty, being as they are, shrouded in the mists of time, but various ideas have been submitted (and disputed) regarding its genealogy.
Medieval historian, John Rous wrote in his 1490 work, 'Historium Regum Angliae', that Oxford was originally King Mempricius' city, Caer-Memre, built on the River Thames somewhere between 1400 and 1500 BC. However, other historians from Rous' time were more inclined to support the popular legend that Oxford was in fact founded by the Trojans, after they landed on British soil in around 1100 BC.
Archaeological EvidenceWhilst there may be no definite historical basis for John Rous' claims or for the Trojan story, there is some evidence of a settlement in Oxford possibly as early as 4000 BC.
Archaeological finds of Neolithic arrowheads and other remains from that period have been discovered in the city, and although no specific or more detailed evidence exists of an actual settlement at this time, it is known that a large Neolithic population once resided in Oxford.
In addition, a more permanent settlement between 2000 and 700 BC is suggested by evidence of Bronze Age barrows in the area.

Oxford, The City of Dreaming Spires, is famous the world over for its University and place in history. For over 800 years, it has been a home to royalty and scholars, and since the 9th century an established town, although people are known to have lived in the area for thousands of years.
Nowadays, the city is a bustling cosmopolitan town. Still with its ancient University, but home also to a growing hi-tech community The centre of Oxford is dominated by the University colleges, the most famous being Christ Church, Trinity, and Balliol (from a total of thirty six).
.At the south end lies the recently restored Martyrs' Memorial which commemorates Archbishop Cranmer and Protestant Bishops Latimer and Ridley who were burnt at the stake in Tudor times by the Roman Catholic Queen Mary. A cross in the road outside Balliol college marks the actual spot of the execution.
As early as the 11th century Oxford was the largest city outside of London.

Taken from the City of Oxford Website

The Bridge of Sighs

The Sheldonian Theatre

Some of the hundreds of spires

The High Street

Churchof St. Mary the Virgin

A College door

Gate to All Souls College

Magdalen Bridge

Many bicycle scenes like this

The City's buses as far as the eye can see

Brown's Restaurant where we ate lunch

Oliver is 1 year old

Yesterday we went to Oliver's 1st birthday party.

To me it was not only a time of celebration, but a time to give thanks for this little boy.

When born he was a very sick baby as seen here just 12 hours old and in intensive care.

I will not say more as that is Janie's story, not mine.

At the time we had people praying for him in many places in America, France, Africa and many places in England.

The second picture showns him as he is today. A beautiful, lively and very bright little boy.

We know we have a faithful God whatever the outcome but it is extra wonderful

to be able to thank God for this renewed life and the medical staff who spotted, intervened and treated within minutes of birth.

At the time I took the picture in intensive care I prayed over Oliver that he would have no lasting memories of his trauma and the numerous tests he had to go through.

Thanks for your Concern

So many of you have been asking about my garden after our recent storm, and in view of the horrendous flooding in the UK at present, many have asked if we are OK.

Yes, we are fine, thank you. We are not in a flooded area and we do feel so for those who are. Hundred's of thousands are without running water and have no electricity. Thousands of homes severely flooded.

There are still flood warnings out for towns along the Thames river to the West of London as the water drains down from higher ground and the water surge builds up on the river and more heavy rain is forecast on Sunday.

The Red cross have been handing out food parcels and the Army has been delivering water to specific locations. Apparently nothing like this has been seen since war time.

So our prayers go out to all affected.

As for my garden, I have had to severely prune some shrubs. The damaged leaves are beginning to curl up and turn brown so I imagine this will affect the Autumn colours.

Even though the leaves are badly damaged on some of the roses, they are coming into their second bloom of the year.

Also there are parts of the garden that were not damaged by the flooding and hail storm.

See here the pink and blue Hyssop in the herb garden. Hyssop was used in Biblical times to paint the the doorposts in blood.


Looking through the Fennel

Second flowering for a Rose that was sheltered

I Phoned a Precious Blogger Across the Pond

On Sunday evening I telephoned Susan of Penless Writer

I was excited to call and Susan was blown away at receiving a call from England.

Susan and I have E-mailed back and forth but how was I going to get hold of her telephone number without her knowing so that it would be a surprise.

I managed to do this and couldn't wait to pick up the phone.

Susan has given me permission to copy here the post that she wrote on her blog.

She has expressed so well my sentiments that I could not do it any better.

So curtesy of Susan's blog I pass on the following.

Sunday afternoon, after church and dinner, I decided to lay down on the couch and take a nap. Something I rarely do during the day. The phone rang and Mickey answered it and said "Honey, it's Barbara from England". Now talk about waking up fast!!!!


Sweet Barbara called me. WOW!!!

NO DOUBLE WOW!!!!


This totally knocked me off my feet and thrilled me beyond belief. Almost speechless, which for me you know is rare!!


Barbara and I have e-mailed back and forth quiet a bit but I never expected a phone call from "across the pond".

Barbara and I have a lot in common. We are both in our late sixties, both have long, successful marriages, both mothers, and grandmothers and both have worked outside the home extensively. We both have done extensive traveling and love to travel.


The truly amazing thing is that we both worked for the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association in the 60's!!! Me here in Tulsa and Barbara in Liverpool, England.

Now I ask you what were the chances of that?

We share our strong Christian faith and heritage having served Jesus for years.

We adhere to the belief of Victorious Christian Living, that we truly are "more than conquerors through Christ Jesus our Lord".


Barbara had such a sweet, very British accent of course. I love that!! I have always found the British accent to be so proper and impressive and she certainly was.

Be sure and go check out Barbara's blog if you haven't. She has one of the most lovely English gardens. Oh, how I would love to sit and chat and share a cup of tea with you there Barbara!! I told her I thought the chance of her coming to America again (she has made many visit here) was better than the chance I would ever come to England.

Thanks again, Barbara for blessing me so with your sweet call.

I was v ery blessed to read these comments of Susan's and it made it all so worth while to know how much she enjoyed the call.

N.B. Barbara has only worked outside the home on a voluntary basis