Oxford – Day 3 of 2025 England Pilgrimage

Sunday 9/21/2025

Ahhh, we slept wonderfully last night,  snuggled under a duvet with the fresh cool air coming in the window.  I woke up when the alarm went off at 7:30, rolled over, and snoozed another half hour or so. 

When I finally got up, a parody of Neil Sedaka’s song, Breaking Up is Hard to Do” popped into my mind…. WAKING Up is Hard to Do! I wonder it Weird Al Yankovic has written that song yet.  

Steve had the same problem so we went to church without him. I was running too late to get a cup of tea. A few extra winks was worth it though. 

So far, I feel like the No-Jet-Lag pills we took while flying have helped with the time difference.  I just need to catch up on a bit more missed sleep. (The homeopathic pills state that they are not for sleep deprivation, just circadian rhythm.)

Jennie and Steve regularly attend Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford. We joined them there last year. It was an amazing experience.  AND, there are so many old churches in the area, we wanted to visit a different church today.

After suggesting a short list of churches to choose from, we decided on Saint Mary Magdelen Church in Oxford. It is an Anglo-Catholic Church, meaning it is Anglican while their style of worship more closely follows the Catholic traditions. https://stmarymagdalenoxford.org.uk/

Jennie drove us 20ish minutes to Oxford where we parked along the street and then strolled another 15ish minutes into the heart of Oxford. Our route took us past the historic Eagle and Child Pub where The Inklings met – a writing group including JRR Tolkein and CS Lewis. Gregg and I met Jennie there when we toured England with Cathy and Erika after Hungary English Camp years ago. The pub has been sold and closed down for “refurbishing” for a while now. It doesn’t look anywhere near being ready to reopen.

As we neared St. Giles Church (another option we could have attended), we could hear the joyful peel of the change-ringing bells. They were playing them again when we passed on our walk back to the car. Delightful!

The St. Mary Magdelen Church 10:30 service was “High Mass.” The processional included incense which was used at other various parts of the service. Much of the service was sung or chanted,  including the gospel reading. And the choir sang many beautiful liturgical songs. 

Gregg and I were curiously watching the Chalice Bearers.  They held their chalices high when they walked. Two served at the center rail (there were also rails to the left and to the right.) They served side by side, so two people received the cup at one time, then they moved down to the next two. 

The wine was a white wine. I don’t know if that is typical of Anglo-Catholic churches, or the Vicar’s preference. It would not be our choice (but they didn’t ask. )

After service, we stopped by a deli, Taylor’s, and selected sandwiches to take home for lunch.  Jennie heated them up and they tasted so good! Mine and Jennie’s had goat cheese on it. Gregg had salami and cheese. Steve had a Mediterranean samosa with lamb.

After lunch,  Gregg and I were “on the road again.” We have reservations on Lindesfarne (Holy Island) for Monday and Tuesday nights.  There is a road to drive onto the island during low tide so we want to arrive tomorrow before 1:50 pm. 

It would take almost 7 hours to drive from Jennie and Steve’s. With potential traffic surprises, we all agreed it would be best for us to drive at least part way today. 

So we got a Hilton Garden Inn hotel room in Sunderland, next to their football stadium (Americans would call it a soccer stadium.) It is “boring” to stay in an American brand hotel in Europe, but we used points so, Hilton it is!

Going to our room, we were reminded that we are back in the land of “lifts” (elevators), “Fire Doors” (which must stay closed, sometimes resulting in tricky navigation with luggage), and the “First Floor” being up one flight of stairs. Got to love the subtle differences in our similar cultures.  ♡

Well, time for bed. One last note  – it appears my website once again neglected to send out a blog email this morning. I thought I had fixed it but apparently not. 

The next way I know to try to fix it may send you copies of older posts.

I apologize in advance if this happens. It “should” only happen once.

Cross paws the other direction. Here’s hoping!