I was in Oxford last weekend and as my visit happened to coincide with Open Doors days I took the chance to visit All Souls' Codrington Library. Rarely open to the public, the library had attracted large numbers, all queuing patiently for access, entertained the while by an excellent brass band playing Sousa's Liberty Bell March, better known to a British audience as the Monty Python* theme tune. The effect was surreal.
Edited to add: I have just remembered that Matthew Clairmont is a Fellow of All Souls.
*If you've never seen Monty Python's Philosophers' Football, take a look.
~~~~~
I've mentioned my current re-read of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy in advance of publication of La Belle Sauvage, the next book in the series, in October. Today Amazon are offering all three novels for Kindle for £0.99 each - a good way to sample them if you don't already know them. The first book, Northern Lights, is the strongest, I'd say, but Pullman is so imaginative and writes so well that there's much to be enjoyed in all three.
Comments