According to an article in the Bayside Bulletin, the art director was looking for military vehicles for a Cambridge, England setting, just before World War II – which was filmed in Queensland, on the Gold Coast in Australia. Graham Kircher, the owner of a 1938 Bedford WLG, supplied that vehicle with a fresh coat of paint to match the proper military colors of the era, for the film.  According to the article, the scene that it’s in only took about 25 seconds to shoot, and they did this twelve times.

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The C. S. Lewis Society announces that the spring tour to England is now closed.  The Society is very thankful as the response from Narnia fans worldwide has been very positive and encouraging and the tour is moving forward anticipating the trip of a lifetime.

In the Spirit of that anticipation, Douglas Gresham (who will be guiding the Oxford leg of the tour) has been kind enough to share an essay (originally published in Silver Leaves) that provides a refreshing glimpse of the many Inklings he attended with his stepfather, C. S. Lewis. There are many books about the Oxford Inklings (J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams & others) but Douglas’ essay is from a rather unique perspective – sitting around the table with them!  Shards of Diamonds can be found at www.oxfordspires.wordpress.com.

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Darren Jacobs was kind enough to forward another update on the C.S. Lewis 2009 Tour.  The update comes by way of the C.S. Lewis Society.

We have added a new and exciting dimension to our C.S. Lewis Society’s tour, “The Path of C.S. Lewis and British Christianity.” Douglas Gresham, the step-son of C.S. Lewis, will be our special guest for the Oxford portion of our nine-day educational tour of England, May 31st through June 8th, 2009. He will personally accompany us as we visit the colleges at Oxford, tour the Kilns (Lewis’s and Douglas’s home in Oxford,) and enjoy an evening meal at the Trout Inn, where J. R. R. Tolkien ate often with “Jack.” He will travel with us as we visit the Eagle and Child Pub, where Lewis gathered with his Christian soul mates, the “Inklings.” It is an incredible honor for our society to have Mr. Gresham with us, who is co-producer of the two recent Narnia Disney films. It is gracious of him to share with us his personal life-memories of his years with C.S. Lewis.

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The C. S. Lewis Society is delighted to present “The Path of C. S. Lewis and British Christianity,” a nine-day educational tour of England, May 31st through June 8th, 2009. With its main focus on Oxford and Cambridge, the trip has been designed to touch minds and hearts –to inform and transform. By tracing the remarkable spread of the gospel in Great Britain and beyond-and C.S. Lewis’s unique role in that advance-we seek to inspire a vision of what God can do yet again, facing today’s challenges.

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Charn_Tim had the pleasure of going to the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s summer conference this year, and I asked him to write a little bit about his experience. He writes:

The C.S. Lewis Foundation held its triennial 2 week major international conference, Oxbridge Summer Institute, from July 28th to August 11th at Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. About three hundred attendees from varied backgrounds gathered at Oxbridge for a time of fellowship and nourishment of mind, body, and spirit with renowned scholars from the arts and sciences, preachers, business professionals, and literary, visual, and performing artists. Throughout the two week institute these scholars, artists, and professionals addressed this year’s conference theme “The Self and the Search for Meaning” from unique perspectives.

In addition to dynamic teaching, attendees experienced grand artistic performances, including an evensong at the ancient and prestigious Ely Cathedral, a dramatic solo version of Lewis’s classic The Great Divorce by professional actor Tony Lawton, and a full scale orchestral performance with the Institute’s choir. Also offered was a guided tour of C.S. Lewis’ Oxford home, called the Kilns, which has been rebuilt and maintained by the C.S. Lewis Foundation and has now been converted to the C.S. Lewis study center.

Even if one did not participate in Oxbridge 2008, it is still possible to experience some of the great teaching and performances, because all sessions were recorded and will be appearing on the Oxbridge 2008 website within the next month. Furthermore, original papers read in the afternoon academic paper sessions will be submitted to the C.S. Lewis Foundation’s online journal, In Pursuit of Truth, with many expected to appear in upcoming journal issues. And watch for the next Oxbridge Summer Institute, expected in 2011!

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During his life, CS Lewis has written many letters to his fans. In January, Cambridge and Joy is set to release the third Volume of Lewis’ letters. Today, The Observer has written a summary of the book, including his letters to females and wishing to meet his wife, Joy Gresham, in the afterlife.

The book will be released on January 9th.

Click here to read the full article

Click here to pre-order the book on Amazon.com

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The C.S. Lewis Foundation, which has sponsored “C.S. Lewis Summer Institute” conferences in Oxford and Cambridge, England, since 1988, is “crossing the pond” for the first time this summer with a conference at Williams College (MA), themed Love Among the Ruins: On the Renewal of Character and Culture.

The 10-day event (July 7-16, 2006) will feature internationally-recognized authors, artists, and academics such as Joseph Pearce, Malcolm Guite, Dick Staub, Armand Nicholi, James-Emery White, and many more. The conference schedule also includes a trip to see the Boston Symphony perform at the nearby Tanglewood outdoor theater, and numerous other arts performances, lectures, seminars and workshops.

For more information or to register, visit the conference website, call toll-free at 1-888-CSLEWIS, or email registrar@cslewis.org.

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Stan Mattson, Ph.D., president and founder of the C.S. Lewis Foundation, today announced that Pastor Rick Warren, renown best-selling author of A Purpose-Driven Life, has confirmed his participation in the upcoming C.S. Lewis Institute conference in Oxford and Cambridge, England, from July 24 through August 6, 2005.

Organized by the California-based C.S. Lewis Foundation, this conference is entitled “Making All Things New: The Good, the True and the Beautiful in the 21st Century. “Set in the medieval university cities of Oxford and Cambridge, Oxbridge 2005 will feature presentations by leading scholars and artists representing many Christian traditions and interests from around the world, in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences, and interlaced with music, dance, theater and worship.

Pastor Warren’s presentations will be first, in Oxford, “The Good, the True and the Beautiful-To What End?” and second, in Cambridge, an informal interview by former national radio host Dick Staub.

“Pastor Rick Warren brings a wonderful pragmatic dimension to this conference,” explains Mattson. “Our desire is that people will return home and integrate what they receive in a meaningful way within the context of their own individual vocations and circumstances. Pastor Rick helps reinforce that probability with his special talent for translating important and lofty ideals into practical, easy-to-understand, actionable principles.”

Other speakers include Susanna Caroselli, Chuck Colson, David Cook, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Richard Foster, Dana Gioia, Malcolm Guite, David Lyle Jeffrey, Bishop James Jones, Peter Kreeft, Vishal Mangalwadi, Louis Markos, Alister McGrath, Kathleen Norris, Joseph Pearce, Tony Thiselton, Dean Trulear and Kallistos Ware.

Afternoon seminars feature topics on C.S. Lewis, the Inklings, contemplative prayer, peacemaking and reconciliation, political engagement, the Christian scholar in the secular academy, the Oxford libraries, medical and business ethics, social justice, cultural apologetics, science and theology, philosophy, architectural and art history. Workshops include creative writing, theater, dance, choral performance and the visual arts.

Special events include evensong service at Ely Cathedral, a traditional English country dinner dance at Chilford Hall, performances by the Riding Lights Theatre Company of York, England, Oxford City Orchestra, the Institute Chorale, dramatic portrayals of C.S. Lewis by British actor Joss Ackland and American actor Tom Key, and a final eucharistic service of dedication at Kings College Chapel. Optional day trips include Warwick Castle, The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon, Blenheim Palace, Lewis’ beloved home, “The Kilns,” (now owned and beautifully restored by the Foundation) and an evening of Shakespeare in the park.

For more information or to register for Oxbridge 2005, please visit www.cslewis.org, or call toll free 1-800-CSLEWIS.

About the C.S. Lewis Foundation: Founded in 1986 by a small group of Christian scholars, and inspired by the life and legacy of renowned English professor, author and speaker C.S. Lewis, the C.S. Lewis Foundation is dedicated to advancing the renewal of Christian scholarship and artistic expression throughout the mainstream world of learning and the culture at large. For more information, please visit www.cslewis.org

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St. Charles the Martyr Episcopal Church will host a five-week course entitled “The Best of C.S. Lewis: Part Two.”

The course is open to the public and attendees need not have attended part one last year.

C.S. Lewis, who died in 1963, was a scholar at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. During World War II he was heard weekly on the BBC radio as a voice of comfort and encouragement. Today his books have sold more copies than any other single Christian writer. Among his most famous books are “Mere Christianity,” “The Screwtape Letters” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Attendees in this course will be reading and discussing “The Weight of Glory” and “The Great Divorce.”

The course will be guest taught by Mary Ann Lind and will meet at 7 Wednesday evenings, Jan. 12, 26, Feb. 2, 16 and 23 in the church fellowship hall. Books may be purchased the first evening of the class.

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