The Bird and the Baby

As you may or may not already be aware (if you weren't, pretend you were and impress me), Oxford was once home to both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein. They used to meet as part of a group called the Inklings in the Eagle and Child pub which is literally a stone's throw from Pembroke. I managed to make my way there last night, and this place just extends FOREVER (think Diesel Cafe, but majorly oldtown). The front is filled with cute velvet green booths and creaky floorboards that make you feel as if you are on a ship embarking on a wonderful journey. The Inklings used to meet in front of the fireplace in the Rabbit Room- really a lovely place. I'm sure that in such a cozy corner even I could have dreamed up Narnia. Well. Maybe. Also, the best thing about this particular pub is it's plethora of nicknames. The Bird and the Baby. The Buzzard and the Bastard. The Falcon and the Fetus. That last one is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. The first is what the locals mostly use. And now even more importantly, me.

I also went to my first tutorial today- !!!!!! I couldn't even keep up with what my tutor was saying she was speaking soooo fast, yet everything she said was so well thought out and well put. I'm in Dickens all by myself, so it's basically a one on one with a renowned expert. They ask you really hard questions in these things, and I honestly couldn't answer half of them. We do get to design our own course though. At the end she just asked me which book I would like to do next, so it's pretty much just like independent research.

I just picked up a painting of Pembroke Square for my room. The art society lends out paintings up to 500 quid in value and all you have to do is go and pick one out. They are even coming to hang it up for me (I felt kinda bad putting my name down for that, but they offered, so hey)! My room is soooo well decorated now. Some of those paintings were pretty atrocious though, I have to say. Cannot believe that they were valued at nearly $1000.