Winter in Oxford

A long-awaited life-update

Dear friends,

It’s difficult to summarise a December and a January since they are such disparate months. Whilst December is all cheer and bright lights and good company, January just seems to be bleak mornings and never-ending work and dark nights but without gezelligheid.

But still, here we are. December was all cheer and bright lights and good company for me. After graduating in St Andrews at the end of December, I took a train south to spend the rest of the month in Oxford, working at Pusey House. My time there can best be summarised by the fact that the first evening I arrived at Pusey House, I ended up helping in a carol service and somewhere between the incense, the music and my sleep-deprived self, I was vaguely aware of having entered heaven. My parents visited me later in the month, and we had a delightful tea at C.S. Lewis’s house, the Kilns, where a friend of mine is currently living.

tea at the Kilns

By the time I left for the Netherlands for New Year’s with my cousins, I was wondering if I should delay my planned return to the Netherlands and instead stay in Oxford for a bit longer. January then turned into making that a reality. So, for the next few months, you can find me in Oxford, splitting my time between work at Pusey and independent research in theology and the arts.

stepping out into the streets of Oxford

What I’ve Been Thinking About: The Future of This Substack

If you all remember my first post, I started this newsletter to update my generous donors on my life and learning in St Andrew’s Theology and the Arts programme. Though my time in St Andrews has come to an end, I’ve found writing the newsletter to be an enjoyable enough endeavour to continue regardless.

In the coming half-year, I’ll split my time between work at Pusey and independent research. I’d like to continue sharing my own research or that of classmates from Theology and the Arts, and will likely share a fair bit about the various conferences I have the pleasure of attending as well.

Beyond sharing my research, I’m hoping to include a bit more on travel in this newsletter. I travel around Europe a fair bit, and would like to write more about this. A newsletter could thus focus on a recent destination of mine, including tips on places to see/things to do, but with a cultural emphasis, e.g. a long list of books to read about this place, music to listen to from this place, films to watch about this place, etc. I’m excited to see what this section will turn into!

I’ve also been playing with some ideas for one-off thematic posts on topics which likely carry less readership but are worth writing about nonetheless (I really, really want to discuss fashion/clothing!)

I’d love to hear from you what you’ve enjoyed reading about and would like to read more about. Let me know in the comments, email me, text me, call me - just reach out and I’ll see what can be organised!

Recommendations

Babette’s Feast, by Karen Blixen

This short story is mentioned a lot in theology & the arts circles, but I only got around to reading it over Christmas - we had an hour to rest whilst cooking a large Christmas dinner at Pusey, and I sneaked away to read the story in one go. The story centres around two pious old ladies in a small village in Norway and their French cook, Babette. To commemorate their deceased father, the ladies organise a dinner for his congregation, which Babette turns into a magnificent feast. This feast has wonderful spiritual effects, which are detailed best in a speech given by one of the guests of honour. I found this story to be completely enchanting, and I intend on reading aloud the speech at the heart of the story at dinner parties I host in the future. Highly recommended!

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Extravagant Earl Grey, by Whittards of Chelsea

As I was first introduced to this tea in Oxford a few years ago, it seemed a good idea to mention it here. I love Earl Grey in all its varieties, from Lady Grey to a classic London Fog, but this white Earl Grey is my all-time favourite blend. It has the classic bergamot flavouring, but instead of black tea, this Earl Grey features a white tea, giving a far lighter and sweeter flavour. I buy this tea from Whittards, but you can find white Earl Grey at other shops as well.

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The Man Born To Be King, by Dorothy L. Sayers

I read sections of this radio play on my own whilst studying in Austria, but recently I had the pleasure of reading aloud the first broadcast, focusing on Christ’s birth, with some friends in Oxford. Sayers is a fantastic writer, and she rewrites classic scenes from Christ’s life so that they are viewed from a totally new light. As we enter into Lent and then Holy Week and Easter, it can be a great idea to listen or read along with Sayer’s story. The audio of this play can be found here, but I would highly recommend reading it aloud with friends as well.

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It’s time for me to get to work -

Greetings,

Maria