A trip down memory lane

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During my A Levels, I had to write a project based on my favourite Illustration. For me, the choice was easy. I’d always adored the detailed and jovial drawings which accompanied one of my favourite children’s books – Alice in Wonderland. It was a coincidence then, that Lewis Carroll attended Christ Church College in Oxford – the very city where I grew up and spent most of my teenage years.

Yesterday, during a fleeting visit to see my mum, we revisited the site where Charles Dodgson taught as a professor. Christ Church is a majestic, enchanting place, steeped entirely in history. References to the story of Alice are scattered throughout the tour, but one of the most spectacular is certainly the huge, colourful stained glass window in the dining hall. If you look closely, you can just make out the characters from the story – Alice, the White Rabbit, the Dodo and The Mad Hatter. It’s unbelievable to think Lewis Carroll met Alice (Liddell as she was in real life) here and it’s where their unique friendship blossomed. This window can be found in the Dining Hall, the grand hall where Harry Potter was filmed (here the geek in me burst with pride)! We also visited the Alice Shop – a tiny, wooden shop that sells everything from Alice tea pots to Cheshire Cat clocks.

Alice in Wonderland is a tale that will always remind me of my childhood in Oxford and growing up into a young woman. Much like Alice herself!