Apparently Balliol is... the coolest.

[prof_pangaea]

Doing various google type things when I find a page for the portraits collection of Balliol College at Oxford -- at the actual, official Balliol website. Please make a note of that important fact. And of the man in the third portrait from the bottom. Yes, the one right above John Wycliffe.

It even says "after John Singer Sargent". SO AWESOME. Though I must say, doesn't look a bit like him to me.

Comments

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

!!!

Oh, the love.

[prof-pangaea.livejournal.com]

I know. *hearts Balliol College*

Do you read Wimsey too? Because then obviously you are even more cool then I already knew.

[malograntum.livejournal.com]

Sayers is a bit of a thing in my family, actually, at least between me and my dad; he used to read me the Wimsey books at bedtime after we ran out of Sherlock Holmes. The Man Born to Be King was one of the plays I wrote about for my senior thesis, and one of our stops in England this summer will be at the DLS Society convention (my pa being a member).

That being said, I haven't read most of the Wimsey books in years, and am often embarrassingly ignorant when others bring up details thereof. Greatly enjoyed re-reading Have His Carcase recently, but couldn't give you a whit of help on your canon questions from the other day, for instance.

[prof-pangaea.livejournal.com]

That sounds wonderful!

Well, I just read all of the books last month, so you would think I at least could remember these things. Of course, I doubt she wrote the answers to any of those queries in any case; she's more into hinting for atmosphere than giving you straight facts. Which is good. I just didn't want to make any GIGANTIC continuity errors. Ah well. I probably will. I won't make one of my main characters suddenly several years younger for no reason, at least.

As it is, I know things about Peter and I can't remember how I learned them. Strange and frustrating, especially as I only own four of the books.

Balliol

[(Anonymous)]

Nice to see that someone knows about the connetion! It's not the best likeness, I'll admit (I tend to think of Wimsey as looking like Edward Petherbridge, as he was my favourite actor in that role), but we keep that portrait in the Buttery, which is convenient, as it means I can bring friends there when they come to visit.

I like to say that Wimsey is one of the main reasons I chose Balliol in the first place. (I was an undergraduate back in the day, and recently finished some graduate work there.) I'll be working at Lincoln College for the next year or so (known instead for Vivien Green, who inspired the character of George Smiley) but as far as Balliol is concerned I'm still an Old Member, so if you're ever in Oxford, look me up, and I'd be happy to take you for a drink or something so you can see the portrait up close.

Balliol

[killalla]

Oops, that was me above.

Re: Balliol

[prof-pangaea.livejournal.com]

What a generous offer! I would certainly like to accept it some time, but who knows the next time I shall be in England, let alone Oxford.

Although, you may be able to help me with something less concrete (but more interesting) than a drink. I need to do some research on Oxford (and more specifically, Magdalen College) around 1869-1871 for a Holmes fic (of DOOM) that I am writing. I cannot find books that are histories of the university, and not simply histories published by the university. I have read quite a lot online, but that only gives on so much information, without any feel for what university life would have been like, and as I am not British myself it is even harder. So, if you know of any books, histories, websities, gossip, etc. that would be useful, I would be unendingly grateful. In return, I would offer you my undying gratitude, credit, and of course advance snippets for your reading pleasure.

And of course, OMG Wimsey yay! I've never seen Edward Petherbridge as Wimsey, though I can only imagine that he MUST be better than that other chappie, Ian Carmichael, but I have heard him play Holmes on NPR (that's National Public Radio, which is an American radio institution). It was years ago, but I remember liking him, though I think he may have been a bit nasally. He played an amazing Culverton Smith for the BBC a few years ago.