C.S. Lewis & His Pipes.

[Hillcrest]

It's hard to tell from the photo, but I think there's a combination of optical illusion and uneven reaming that makes it look like the bowlchamber is drilled off-center. Bet it looked a lot better when new.

I just remembered ... in the article cited above ... he used to empty it out the Oxford classroom window ... he probably damaged it consistently banging it on the fieldstone sill beneath the window !!! That would explain the damage ! Its a theory ... maybe Lewis and Hathaway can get Dr. Laura Hobson to do an analysis !! Although, maybe they have more serious pursuits ...

 

[ThermionicScott]

I just remembered ... in the article cited above ... he used to empty it out the Oxford classroom window ... he probably damaged it consistently banging it on the fieldstone sill beneath the window !!! That would explain the damage ! Its a theory ... maybe Lewis and Hathaway can get Dr. Laura Hobson to do an analysis !! Although, maybe they have more serious pursuits ...
View attachment 173102

I've second-hand-watched a ton of that show, thanks to my wife. She can't get enough of British mystery/crime shows!

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Has anyone been to the Wade Center at Wheaton? I'd like to make a stop there someday. There is a lot of Lewis's (and Tolkien's, Chesterton's, George MacDonald's, et al) stuff on display there. I believe Lewis's pipe in this thread is located there.

Marion E. Wade Center

The Marion E. Wade Center of Wheaton College, Illinois, conducts programming, issues publications, and is a major research collection for seven British authors.

www.wheaton.edu

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Here is a great video of Malcolm Guite at Lewis’s home, The Kilns. At one point the camera is on Lewis’s desk and you’ll see a pipe and an old tin of Three Nuns. Pretty cool!

 

[Hillcrest]

Here is a great video of Malcolm Guite at Lewis’s home, The Kilns. At one point the camera is on Lewis’s desk and you’ll see a pipe and an old tin of Three Nuns. Pretty cool!

Excellent and very interesting presentation !

 

[n_irwin]

Thanks for sharing this link. I’ve watched a number of his lectures and videos. Such a neat man—bright mind and a lovely personality.

Here is a great video of Malcolm Guite at Lewis’s home, The Kilns. At one point the camera is on Lewis’s desk and you’ll see a pipe and an old tin of Three Nuns. Pretty cool!

 

[Sam Gamgee]

Over the years I've listened to a lot of lectures about Lewis and his life, and I've heard more than one scholar talk about how much Lewis loved to smoke and about his love for taking walks. But apparently he never smoked while he took walks: apparently he believed it disturbed his ability to take in nature with all its smells and nuances. That's always been a curious thing for me since I love to smoke my pipe while taking a walk. Lately, during my own walks, I've been re-listening to Lewis's essays and find that they go very well with a stroll.

 

[Western Isles]

Was curious if anyone here knows of modern fantasy authors that are avid pipe smokers.

Tim Powers (Drawing of the Dark; The Anubis Gate) has spoken of great love for Latakia.

 

[OverMountain]

I’ve raised a pint or two at the “bird and baby” on several occasions. Great place to imagine the Inklings comparing stories over a beer and supper.
Happy memories.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Lately I appreciate Lewis' essays more than his fiction... This is an interesting thread. I'm going to check out some of the linked articles. Thanks!

 

[Chasing Embers]

With any of these three guys, I swear if you didn't know any better you reason they were living today with the subject mater that in all honesty is repeating itself in today's worlds going on's.

People haven't changed since the beginning. Much of the graffiti from Pompei was "such and such was here", and the oldest know joke is from 1900 BC about a woman breaking wind on her husband's lap.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

People read for different reasons, but one of the main reasons I read is to spend time with people wiser than me.

This week I was reminded of some bits from Lewis’s THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH that have helped my thinking a lot. (When I was a boy it seemed like there were older men everywhere with this kind of common sense wisdom; now they seem much harder to find.)

Here are a couple great examples of Lewis’s wisdom that he puts into the mouth of his crotchety old character “Bill the Blizzard,” a man who represented Lewis’s own personality and views on things very well:

Mark: “Well, I suppose there are two views on everything.”
Bill: “What’s that? Two views? There are dozens of views on everything until you know the answer, and then there’s never more than one.”

During the same conversation:

Bill:
“That’s what happens when you study men: you find mares’ nests. I happen to believe that you can’t study men, you can only get to know them, which is a much different thing.”

 

[OverMountain]

CS Lewis was also a combat veteran of the killing fields of WW1. He was a remarkable man. Oxford professor, author, and veteran.

 

[SBC]

Has anyone been to the Wade Center at Wheaton?

I have.
I saw St. Clive's pipe, touched the desk upon which JRR penned the first mss. of The Hobbit, and saw MacDonald's hand-written mss. of The Lost Princess (IIRC). A memorable visit.

Here is a great video of Malcolm Guite at Lewis’s home

I enjoy Guite quite a bit. Eccentric fellow.

I’ve raised a pint or two at the “bird and baby” on several occasions

I made it across the pond once, and was sure to have a pint there (although The Rabbit Room was sectioned off). (As an American, I was curious about the pile of "guacamole" with my fish & chips ... blech!)

This week I was reminded of some bits from Lewis’s THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH

I happen to be re-reading THS again right now, also. The prescience on display is remarkable.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

I have.
I saw St. Clive's pipe, touched the desk upon which JRR penned the first mss. of The Hobbit, and saw MacDonald's hand-written mss. of The Lost Princess (IIRC). A memorable visit.



I enjoy Guite quite a bit. Eccentric fellow.



I made it across the pond once, and was sure to have a pint there (although The Rabbit Room was sectioned off). (As an American, I was curious about the pile of "guacamole" with my fish & chips ... blech!)



I happen to be re-reading THS again right now, also. The prescience on display is remarkable.

THS is one of my favorite novels. Aside from all the obviously prophetic stuff, it’s just a very, very good story, and beautifully written. Example: “…great syllables of words that sounded like castles.” I mean… wow!

I recently discovered that the Eagle and Child is gone. I never got to go. Sad!

 

[SBC]

I recently discovered that the Eagle and Child is gone. I never got to go. Sad!

Don't be so sad, Friend! According to Wiki:

"The pub has remained closed since March 2020 in the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning permission has been granted to sympathetically refurbish it, with the upper floors being converted to hotel accommodation, along with the upper floors of two adjacent properties, the ground floor of the adjacent property serving as the hotel reception and the addition of a restaurant to the rear of the property. The planned changes will not affect the appearance of front of the pub, including the Rabbit Room. The business is expected to be closed at least until 2023."

You may get your chance yet!

 

[litup]

I’ve read Brave New World once and 1984 a couple times. Oddly enough, Lewis and Aldous Huxley died on the same day.

You probably know this already, but they both died the same day as JFK too. There's a novel called "Between Heaven and Hell" about the three of them meeting in purgatory and having a philosophical discussion. I read it but it was so long ago I can barely remember if I liked it or loved it.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

You probably know this already, but they both died the same day as JFK too. There's a novel called "Between Heaven and Hell" about the three of them meeting in purgatory and having a philosophical discussion. I read it but it was so long ago I can barely remember if I liked it or loved it.

Peter Kreeft, right? I’ve not read it but have heard him lecture many times. Brilliant guy.

 

[huntertrw]

The C.S. in Lewis's name stood for Clive Staples, but he was known to his friends as Jack. "Jack" came from Jacksie, a beloved dog that Mr. Lewis had as a child. He adopted the diminutive of that name in lifelong memory and honor of him.

 

[OverMountain]

Don't be so sad, Friend! According to Wiki:

"The pub has remained closed since March 2020 in the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning permission has been granted to sympathetically refurbish it, with the upper floors being converted to hotel accommodation, along with the upper floors of two adjacent properties, the ground floor of the adjacent property serving as the hotel reception and the addition of a restaurant to the rear of the property. The planned changes will not affect the appearance of front of the pub, including the Rabbit Room. The business is expected to be closed at least until 2023."

You may get your chance yet!

That’s great news. It’s closure would be a big loss. The real estate is in a prime location across from Magdeline College on a main thoroughfare. 3 cheers for the Eagle and Child. We may live to surreptitiously smoke a pipe there yet! (There is a garden out back best i recall)