Oxford Literary Festival

Not only were there  LWS (Lewis) signs all over Oxford this week, there were also signs for The Oxford Literary Festival which was in town for the past nine days. Today was the last day.  What a treat for book lovers!

To name just a few of the hundreds of author and thinkers who came to Oxford for the festival this year: 2013 Man Booker winner Eleanor Catton; thriller writer Robert Harris; creator of The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Alexander McCall-Smith; philosopher A C Grayling: former minister Jonathan Aitken, Born Free actress Virginia McKenna; children and young adult writers Lauren Child, Robert Muchamore and Sophie McKenzie; Margaret Atwood; Jeremy Paxman; Joanne Harris; Orhan Pamuk; Eleanor Catton; and this year's Booker prize winner Ian McEwan.

This was the 18th year of the festival which has grown to over 200 events at the various colleges over the past two weeks covering all aspects of literature and publishing. 

The festival erected a a marquee next to the Sheldonian Theatre that was sponsored by Blackwell’s Bookshop, Oxford's beloved bookstore.

Here you could hear author's speak about their latest work in soap box talks throughout the day.

There was a festival bookshop, a cafe and the festival box office in the marquee.  In short, a book lover's paradise. 

My favorite talk was given by Irving Finkel, the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of Middle East in the British Museum

I have never been more charmed and riveted by a speaker (or laughed harder during a serious lecture) than I was by Dr. Finkel. 

 

Finkel told the story of how he came across the tablet in 1985, when a man called Douglas Simmonds walked into the British Museum, with a bag that contained various artifact collected from a great uncle who served in Iraq during WWI.  Finkel instantly recognized the significance of one of the tablets, but only managed to convince Simmonds to leave it with him in 2009. What Dr. Finkel discovered was that on this tablet, dating from 1750 BC, were instructions from God to a great man to build a boat and pack in two animals of every kind. It even gave precise measurements of the vessel that would save its occupants from the flood.

Finkel has written a book about what is known about the ark story written 1,000 years before the Bible. According to the instructions on this tablet, this “ark” was circular, like a coracle boat, taking up half a football pitch and enclosed in a length of rope that would reach from London to Edinburgh. “It didn’t have to go in any direction, it just had to float and survive the flood.” 

This is a replica of the Simmonds Tablet.  Finkel said the piece took “a long time” to decode. “I read the bulk on the front more or less OK,” but he struggled with chipped sections.

 

This is a replica the the Mesopotamian map of the world (500-700BC). There are writings on this map that concur with information on the Simmonds tablet, according to Dr. Finkel. I wish I could convey how well he told this amazing story with such warmth, wit and humor.

Finkel, who describes himself as a “Jewish atheist”, says he does not believe the Ark existed, despite remains apparently being found at Mount Ararat in Turkey. He believes that the Judeans, taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar II, incorporated Babylonian mythology into the Torah, but gave the stories a new, moral dimension. In his words: “Noah is the classic Hebrew hero. Just like Doctor Who saves the world, Noah did, too. The Hebrews gave it a different slant. In the Babylonian version of the story, the people were too noisy. In our version, there was sin in the world.”

The Oxford Literary Festival is another wonderful gem in Oxford.  I only wish I could have gone to more events.  I am already looking forward to next year's festival.

For information on some of the highlights of the Festival 2014:
http://www.dailyinfo.co.uk/reviews/feature/9103/FT_Weekend_Oxford_Literary_Festivals

Filming Lewis in Oxford

"Lewis" has been filming all week throughout various locations in Oxford.  I came upon this film shoot on the Cherwell at the edge of Christchurch Meadow. 

In the two videos here Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox, who play Lewis and Hathaway, are getting ready for a scene by paddling upstream. For the actual the scene see the link below:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-NgL0uiQZE

This is how you know there is a film shoot going on -- these signs are everywhere directing the crew and technical trucks to the Lewis Base Camp (LWS BASE) or select crew to the locations (LOC)

Lewis is a British television detective drama made as a spin-off from Inspector Morse. Like that series, it is set primarily in Oxford.

Kevin Whately's Lewis is one of television longest standing detectives.  He played the assistant to John Thaw's Inspector Morse from 1987 to 2000 (32 episodes).  Then he played Lewis from 2006 to 2014 (30 episodes).   

From a BBC news article:  "The detective drama concluded last February with the two lead characters retiring, after stars Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox decided to leave the show.

However, ITV has commissioned six new hour-long episodes, which will see Inspector Lewis and his assistant Hathaway drafted back into the force."

 I have thoroughly enjoyed the series, in part because it is such a valentine to Oxford...

...and in part because I find the writing really smart and the story lines complex.  I also love the characters  and the relationship between Lewis and Hathaway 

More from the BBC article: "Since we started producing the series in 2006, Lewis has achieved a reputation for thought-provoking stories and we're determined to continue to set high standards."

 ITV's director of drama Steve November added: "Viewers have a great deal of respect for Inspector Lewis and a huge loyalty to Kevin Whately."

At the end of shooting this scene, Laurence Fox took a dip on the Cherwell.  He said it was freezing cold and his assistant said he just ruined a perfectly good suit and pair of shoes.

You could tell there is a lot of fun and affection between the actors and the crew.  They have been together for a long time shooting first Inspector Morse and then Lewis over the years.

That is a wrap! Whately gets into his car and I was too shy to ask for a photo. He graciously posed with the few other gawkers there though. Colin Dexter, the author the Inspector Morse books, serves as a production consultant on Lewis. He is 84 years-old.

I must admit I feel safer in Oxford knowing Lewis and Hathaway are back on the beat.

For more information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26121236

Cliveden House

Halfway between London and Oxford is Cliveden House,  a lovely an Italianate mansion and spectacular estate at Taplow, Buckinghamshire.    

It is set on the high banks above the River Thames with spectacular views of the river and the countryside.

There have been 3 manor houses on the site, the first two burned down, and the house that is there was built in the 1850's by the Astor family.

John and I spent a delightful day there with my cousin and her wonderful family and thoroughly enjoyed exploring the Cliveden grounds and getting reacquainted with the Fearons.  

Cliveden has been home to an Earl, three Countesses, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor.

In the 1920's and 1930's , the house was the meeting place of the Cliveden set --an upper class group of prominent individuals politically influential in pre- World War II Britain, who were in the circle of Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor. 

Later, during the 1960s, it became the setting for key events of the notorious Profumo Affair  --  political scandal that originated with a brief sexual liaison in 1961 between  John Profumo, the British Secretary of State of War and Christine Keeler, a 19-year-old would-be model who was also having an affair with Captain Ivanov, a Soviet naval attache, thereby creating a possible security risk.

During the 1970s, it was occupied by Stanford University of California, which used it as an overseas campus. I've been told that Stanford paid 1 pound rent for the estate but also had to pay the upkeep.  It turned not to be much of a bargain since the upkeep was so expensive. 

My cousin's husband was a Stanford student at Cliveden when it was used as Stanford's London Campus and he told us all kinds of funny stories about the shenanigans of Stanford students when they lived there. 

 Today it is owned by the National Trust and the house is leased as a five-star hotel.

Tucked away in the Chitern Hills and set up high on a bank of the River Thames, this estate is simply beautiful and well worth a visit.

When one lives in Paradise, how hard it must be to ascend in heart and mind to Heaven.—Lady Frederick Cavendish on Cliveden, June 1863

The Source of the Thames

My parents came for a visit this week and one day we decided to have an adventure and look for the source of the Thames. It turns out it is in a field called Trewsbury Meed just on the northern outskirts of the village Kemble not far from Cirencester in Gloucestershire.  The source is a spring called Thameshead and most of the time the spring is dry.  Water bubbles up from the ground only after a heavy rain. When we were there was no water to found – just a stone marker, and old Ash tree, and rocks and flowers that mark where that spring is. 

The easiest way to find the spot is to head to Kemble and look for the Thames Head Inn on 

Tetbury Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6NZ

Just inside the pub is a map that tells you where to walk to find the marker.  From here it is less than a mile walk to the source.

We started out about 500 yards further down the road at this marker

 then followed the walking trail through these fields. We headed toward the old farmhouse under the trees at the edge of the field.

 The path is not very well marked and the field is a bit muddy but you can see the tree and the marker from quite a distance.

 The words on the stone marker state:  "The conservation of the River Thames 1857-1974.

This stone was placed here to mark the source of the River Thames."

 This is the spot that starts the 184 mile Thames Path the the Thames Barrier in London. And these are my wonderful parents who taught me to love adventures, exploring, and walking. 

It was fun to find the unassuming and underwhelming source of the great Father Thames.  

Someday I would love to walk the whole path -- from Trewsbury Meed to the Thames Barrier in London.

Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" film shoot at Nettebed

Reprinted from Friday, September 27, 2013 

Last Saturday I went to one of my favorite places -- the Sue Ryder sale at Joyce Grove in Nettlebed.  I love this old house and have often thought it has the perfect ambiance for a film shoot.  This past Saturday I noticed some old WWII vintage cars and bikes out in front of the house and so asked about them.  I was told that a film crew was getting ready to film some scenes for a WWII movie.  That peaked my curiosity so I went back to Nettlebed later in the week learned more about the film. 

Click on the links below if you want to see a short video of the scene being filmed. And yes, that is Benedict Cumberbatch!

And a few seconds  more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSqd1dqNAlA

 This is Joyce Grove at Nettlebed. Robert Fleming bought Joyce Grove and it’s 2000 acre estate in 1903. His grandson was Ian Fleming, the celebrated spy novelist who wrote the James Bond books. Ian Fleming was also a navel intelligence officer during WWII. Joyce Grove is where he spent his summers as a boy. It is now a Sue Ryder palliative care home and a great location for a film shoot.

According to Comingsoon.net: "The film is a dramatic portrayal of the life and work of one of Britain's most extraordinary unsung heroes, Alan Turing. The pioneer of modern-day computing, Turing is credited with cracking the German Enigma code and the film is a nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team at Britain's top-secret code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II."

The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch of "Sherlock" fame in the role of Alan Turing. We were not supposed to take photos and we were also kept at quite a distance. These telephoto shots are all a bit blurry since they were hastily taken on a point and shoot camera. I must admit the crew was very nice about us being there and for a while turned a blind eye to our sneaking some photos.

 

 The scene we watched was of Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the character Alan Turing, walking up to this gate and exchanging words with a military guard.

For the minor characters and extras, there is a lot of hurry up and wait.

 The film also stars Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech (who plays Tom Branson in Downton Abbey) and Matthew Beard.

 It also stars a lot of lovely, old vintage cars.

 Do I look like a member of the crew or a film shoot gawker?  Sadly, the later.  Once we were discovered taking photos, we were kindly asked to put our cameras away and step even further away.

Too bad the gate grills were constantly in the way. It was fun to see "Sherlock" in such a different context.

  This is what I saw a few days earlier when I went to the Nettlebed sale and found out there was a movie shoot happening there later in the week. I had no idea what the movie was. All I could find out was that it was set at Bletchley Park and was about Alan Turing and the breaking of the enigma code. Of course no one mentioned it is starring the hottest actor in England.

 It doesn't take much to create a scene from 70 years ago -- all you  need to do is add some old cars and trucks 

This gorgeous old house does the rest. Such a lovely time warp!

For more information about the movie:http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/feb/04/benedict-cumberbatch-alan-turinghttp://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=109136http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2084970/

Ashley ThompsonNovember 5, 2013 at 2:58 AM

This is an extraordinary and perfect ambiance to shoot a film. Being a Residential Filming Location is also a plus factor for it is accessible to everyone.