Day 10 – May 19 – Monday: C.S. Lewis sites…and strange sights

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This day of the tour was dedicated to seeing some of the sites closely linked to C.S. Lewis, whose Chronicles of Narnia were celebrated by the movie version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and just this week by the release of Prince Caspian. Even before we left, as we walked in the neighborhood of our hotel on this morning, there were unusual sights, such as this man. Maybe he was trying to check out without paying his bill.

Then, as we drove along the “motorway” (“freeway” to you chaps in America), someone in the van caught sight of a car on fire ahead of us in the opposite lanes. I grabbed my camera and got off a chance shot as we sped by in the opposite direction. The result was a very lucky photo as it was literally a “point-and-shoot” reflex response.

The first stop on the tour was the church where C.S. Lewis’s family attended.

St. Mark’s Dundela Church dates from the late 19^th century, and Lewis’s parents were married here. The record of Clive Stapleton Lewis’s baptism at entry #186 is on display in the foyer of the church.

Close by was Little Lea, where C.S. Lewis grew up with his older brother. The house is privately owned and not open for tours, so we had to stand at the gate and take pictures through the trees. The house is surrounded by a large garden (“yard” in US English).

Not last, and not least, was the visit to The Old Inn at Crawfordsburn, where C.S. Lewis and his wife, Joy, spent their honeymoon.

According to the brochure, the thatched portion of the inn has been standing in its present form since 1614.

As I like to carve, I admire the sculpted wood features found in many of these old English structures. I don’t know how old the lion is, but it caught my eye immediately when we went in.

Tea Time

We were there for “high tea”, which I guess is called that because they pile high the sandwiches, scones and cakes, accompanied by tea, as you would guess.

Brave souls, undaunted by the task set before them.

A sign on the wall reminded us that we should mind our P’s and Q’s…

Other buildings in the village were equally old. Stone walls, slate roofs, wrought iron decorations and low doors.

Low ceilings, low doors: Warning signs were everywhere, and it wasn’t a joke.

In some cases, the doors were VERY low.

The Old Inn did have a novel solution for one such passageway.

Odd sights (continued)

I mentioned Fiona, the 11^th member of our group, in a previous post. At some point we were joined by this unnamed creature, who stared at us from the front seat.

Looking much like some character out of Star Wars, it was only the back of the front center headrest, adorned with two of the orange stickers each of us received to identify our group when we entered one of the parks. Unlike Fiona, this little friend said nothing and merely stared at the eight of us in the rear of the van.

The Last Stop

There was yet another stop on the C.S. Lewis tour. This bronze sculpture grouping was set up to mark the centenary of Lewis’s birth and features a wardrobe. It was placed in the area in front of a library which stands across the street from where Lewis was born. The house no longer exists. A man, apparently representing the sculptor, peers into the wardrobe, curious about what he might find in it. On the back of the wardrobe there is a casting of a letter written to Lewis by a young girl, asking for explanations about the significance of certain characters in his Chronicles of Narnia. Also included is a reproduction of his reply to her.

What this photo does not show is the effort it took to find the statue. Fiona (i.e., our GPS) had great difficulty directing us to this location. Lack of an exact number along the street, plus the confusion between Holywood Road and Old Holywood Road, resulted in unclear directions, and we went round and round. (Do you realize it is possible to drive past a Tesco supermarket 5 times in 20 minutes and not stop to buy anything?) Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 14:7-9 of the importance of being clear when we speak of the Gospel, “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken?” May our preaching and teaching be clear, lest people be further confused and spend their lives going in circles, ever lost, never saved.