The Eagle And Child

Oh to have been a fly on the wall when Tolkien and CS Lewis were enjoying a pint in here!

Inklings, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and a group of NEH seminarians. Good times.

As it were. ;-) It was a treat to go here after the 1992 centenary conference for a chat and a drink, and while I won’t pretend some of Tolkien’s talent rubbed off on me, I’d like to think I got some of the atmosphere that made him most comfortable — good friends, good drink and good conversation.

Oh to have been here earlier. But to its credit, our unofficial, ex-dean of a tourguide referenced it as one of the only pubs in Oxford that still retains something of its pre-tourism existence.

It’s called the “bird and baby” by some. The Inklings (JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Owen Barfield, Dorothy Sayers, Charles Williams) used to meet here to have a pint, smoke, and discuss literature and have wild, friendly arguments about various intellectual topics. I had a pint in the back room and wished I had been there 40 years earlier…