Wishing Away

This is the time of year I miss England the most. Which is strange, because I've never actually been in England at this time of year. But nevermind that.

I have a distinct memory, one amongst many, of sitting on a riverside patio on a hazy late-summer day. Was it mid-morning? Was it mid-afternoon? The detail haze is due in part to a bout of merry imbibing the night before, a farewell evening with friends before returning home. Three of us drank tea together that next day on the back porch of a pub overlooking - what? The Thames? The Cherwell? What details I can't recall are substituted by a clear mental image of teabags and friends, bittersweet headache and sublime river view. It's not one of those bright, shining Oxford memories, those ones that have to do with tower climbing and bells ringing and benches overlooking a mass of stone and green and floral beauty. But it's a real one. I was sad to leave at the end of that study abroad summer.

I think that's why fall is such a poignant England-time for me. It was during the following autumn back in Athens that I had to culture shock myself through leaving such a lovely place behind. I read lots of Tolkien and Lewis (not least because the Lord of the Rings movies were in production at the time). Their books, so deeply steeped in the British Isles, helped me get through. So at this time of year, I always crave a taste of Surprised by Joy, and sometimes That Hideous Strength.

A few other folks this side of the Pond have hailed England lovingly on the internet lately. I direct you to them:

• Tell Me a Story by Jennifer Strange, and 
• a recent post at the Lanier's Books blog.

And of course, any time I need a hit of Oxford in my day, Inspector Lewis never fails to come through. Foggy memory tells me the Trout Inn wasn't the pub of patio tea sipping that particular August afternoon, but Lewis and Hathaway's Thames-side drinking scenes do a satisfactory job of reminding me. Wouldn't you like to join them there? Sans dead bodies, of course. And at this chilly time of year, a fireside pub table sounds just as nice.