Oxford dreams
I've been spending a lot of time in fictional versions of Oxford lately: RF Kuang’s novel Babel and the last series of Endeavour among others. I have also been working in the Radcliffe Camera, Oxford’s most recognised building, which visitors to the city, and most residents, can only gaze at from the outside, letting their imagination do the rest.
Oxford does not really resemble the many tales spun from its spires. It is also, crucially, not just a university, although unless you have lived here, outside its realm of influence, you may not be fully aware of it.
But despite having shared, for many years, in the memories of a true townie, and despite my time working in historic conservation in the city, championing all local history, I am not immune to these Oxford dreams, made of books, river and stone.
The first time I saw Oxford nearly empty was one Christmas Day, at a fragile time when the gentle winter sunshine on the deserted city felt both eerie and hopeful. But it’s another walk that stands out even more, when Oxford felt like it had transformed into one of its fictional twins.
It was April 2020, the first lockdown. I’d spent the previous weeks venturing no further than the park near my home. The city had felt out of bounds. But then, someone reminded me that nothing prevented me from going for a walk in the centre, and assured me that it was safe, far less populous than our local parks.
It was strange. Other than builders and bus drivers, and the odd delivery van, I only saw a handful of other people out. Being back in the city, at this strangest of times, was comforting, its streets, witnesses to centuries of history, bringing reassurance that we would see this through, that I was not entirely untethered. It was also disconcerting, like wandering around a different version of Oxford, in that unusually warm and sunny spring, suspended in time. But there was promise in that feeling too.
For another evocative description of the city, why not order the Oxford option of my borrowed memories in a bottle?
