Downton Abbey comes to town!

About 20 minutes from Oxford is a charming little village called Bampton.  It has been used for the village scenes in the popular BBC production "Downton Abbey".  Today, the film crews showed up and started filming the fourth season.  

This is the church and little green that has been used throughout the series.  This church is where Mary and Matthew were married and where Lady Edith was left at the alter.

The woman in black is the character Anna Smith (Joanne Froggatt)  

This is Doctor Clarkson  waiting around for a scene in which he runs into Mrs. Crawley

A group of towns people dressed up as extras and waiting for their scene

There is a library on one side of the square that is converted into the Downton Hospital

I don't know who this character is but I could tell she was cold!

Mrs. Crawley (Penelope Wilton)  getting ready for her scene

Again, a lot of hurry-up-and-wait

Getting the props on their marks

Dr. Clarkson (David Robb) also waiting for the scene to start 

Me with my dear friends and fellow gawkers

Mr. Bates (Brendan Coyle)  walking during a scene -- the cameras were rolling 

This is the same little square in front of the church but from a different angle so it looks like an entirely new location. 

My partner in crime for the day -- Mary Jeanne

It doesn't take much to make this little village look like the 1920s. 

Again, cameras rolling.  I took a video of the scene but the sound didn't come through so there isn't much action: 


This is one of the reasons I love living here in Oxford -- there are all sorts of delightful surprises that come along each week, like getting to watch the filming of several scenes of next season's Downton Abbey.  Sometimes I just have to pinch myself.

Snowdrops, Flooded Walks, and Spring

Happy and I went for a walk on the canal path from Oxford north to the Port Meadow.  We couldn't get far.  The path was flooded and parts were several feet below water.  

Walker's beware!

Ducks take care.

Flooding and mud: a sure sign that Spring is coming soon

The path is usually where the trees are.

Snowdrops are now in full bloom -- another sign of Spring. Native to the west of England and Wales, snowdrops are often found around abbeys and churchyards.  They are the Roman Catholic symbol of Candlemas since they often flower around February 2nd, the date of the Candlemas festival.  

Prince Charles visits SBS and Oxford today

Look who came to the Said Business School today! Prince Charles was the special guest to unveil a plaque in honor of the opening of the new wing of Said Business School 

HRH greeting the Oxford's Chief of Police and the Vice Chancellor 

The Prince of Wales greeting the Lord Mayor of Oxford

Charles talking with Mary Jeanne and Peter Tufano, the Dean of the Business School. I asked Mary Jeanne last week if she was expected to curtsy when she met the Prince of Wales.  She explained that if she were British, then yes, she would be expected to curtsy.  But since she is an American, and he is not her Monarch, then she just had to shake his hand.

Peter and Charles entering SBS

There was a small and very civil protest in front of SBS. They are protesting the building of student housing on the edge of the 3000-year-old Port Meadow, a gorgeous common meadow in the Northwest corner of Oxford  

HRH and Mr. Said, the benefactor of the Business School

HRH leaving the new wing of the school 

The United Kingdom has tight gun control laws so compared to the U.S. there was relatively little security around HRH. I was standing about 20 feet away from him.  

Spouses and partners where not allowed at the event inside the school--just students, staff and faculty. My favorite wizard was invited, though, and got to see HRH at a special reception. He reported that HRH was very charming, funny, and more casual than he expected.
 A fun day! 

The Oxford Union

In the center of Oxford, just off Cornmarket, is the Oxford Union.  Like so many buildings in Oxford, it is one of a kind with a fascinating history and layers of tradition. It is also one of the world's most prestigious debating societies.  Last week I had a chance to take a tour of the Union with one of the officers.  Here’s what I learned.

The Oxford Union was founded in 1823 as a forum for discussion and debate, at a time when the free exchange of ideas was not tolerated much by University authorities. It soon became the only place for students to discuss political topics while at Oxford. The Union is independent of the University. As an educational charity, it relies on membership fees and commercial sponsorship. The Union is a non-profit - it is collectively ‘owned’ and run by and for its members.

Over the years the Union has hosted world leaders in virtually every field. These have included U.S. Presidents Nixon, Carter and Reagan; Michael Jackson, Clint Eastwood, the Dalai Lama, Benazir Bhutto and Mother Teresa. More recently the membership has been honored by visits from speakers as varied as Shakira, Tony Bennett, Martin Sheen, David Cameron, Sir Ian McKellen, General Petraeus, and Johnny Depp. 

The most famous rooms in the Union are the debating chamber and the "Old Library". The Old Library is best known for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones and WIlliam Morris, known as the Oxford murals.  They are stunning.  

This building hosts the bar, several meeting rooms, a dining hall, snookers room, and a lending library

Looking across the court at the Debating Chamber

The Proposition sits on one side, the Opposition on the other while the speaker stands in the middle.

At the end of the debate, the audience votes by leaving through one of these doors

The Old Library with the murals above the stacks

The ceiling and beams were designed by William Morris

The colors of the beams and murals were once very vibrant but have faded with time

The murals are about the English King Arthur legends from Le Morte d'Arthur

The ceiling is spectacular!

This is the dining hall where the guests eat before each debate

The walls of the bar and the whole place are lined with photos of Union guests

Look who is front row, second to the left  -- Albert Einstein  himself

The members, mostly students, ask whoever they want to come and lecture or debate. Hence, Shakira's photo is just above Pierce Brosnan

All the halls and staircases are lined with photos of all kinds of famous people who are either Union members or have been guests. It's like a visual who's who in the world.

Here's the programme from the debate that was held the evening I was there.  There is a formal debate held at the Union every Thursday evening during term.  

  Event name: Israel Debate

This House Believes That Israel is a Force For Good in the Middle East

Speakers in Proposition:

·       Lord David Trimble - Co-founder of Friends of Israel Initiative; awarded Nobel Peace Prize for helping secure peace in N Ireland

·       Richard Perle - Assistant Sec of Defense under Pres. Reagan; Specialist in US-Israel relations

·       Alan Mendoza - Co-Founder & Exec-Dir. of Henry Jackson Soc promoting liberty & human rights worldwide

  

Speakers in Opposition:

·       Peter Tatchell - Leading British political campaigner and supporter of an independent Palestinian state

·       Baroness Jenny Tonge - Former LibDem MP now a member of the House of Lords

·       Anna Baltzer - National organiser of US Campaign to End Israeli Occupation

·       Ghada Karmi - Frequent contributor to The Guardian and The Nation