The Osher semester is in full swing and I have some good classes this week. Monday I had a class on “The Architecture of Medieval English Cathedrals” – the second of three classes, and I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the differences in architectural styles for various cathedrals. This is particularly enjoyable because the instructor focuses on some cathedrals we visited during out trip to England a year ago. Today, for example, she spent about 10 minutes on the history and architecture of Lincoln Cathedral, where we spent a nice afternoon on September 7, 2022.
After this class, I walked from the School of Education down to the Wren Building on the main campus of William and Mary (about 1 ¼ miles) to meet with two women who will be leading a Campus Tour for the Osher program this Wednesday. Tim and I planned and organized this tour for the Spring of 2023, and it went really well. This semester, we wanted to offer it again, but we didn’t want to lead it. I successfully recruited tour guides for this semester, and Marjorie and Martha (the two WM alums who will be leading Wednesday’s tour) wanted to do a walk-through one more time before Wednesday’s tour. Marjorie graduated in 1967 and Martha graduated in 1978, and they have lots of great stories to tell about their time at William and Mary and their Williamsburg lives beyond their college years. I think they’ll have a great time and the people on the tour will enjoy it thoroughly.
On Tuesday (today) I’ll be attending the second of three classes on “The Disappearing Islands of the Chesapeake Bay.” Last week’s class featured a lot of background information – including the geography and geology of the Bay. Today, we’ll be looking at some of the 400+ “disappearing” island – in some cases, “disappeared” islands. It’s always interesting to learn things about the place I live.
So that’s all for Osher this week. But that’s okay – this leaves me with lots to think about, and that’s the goal after all.
Continue thinking. And writing!
Stay tuned, today, for tales and information about the island, Tangier, in the Chesapeake Bay. Rex took me there as a surprise for my 70th birthday. Nancy and Dick Drury took a ferry from their side and met us (with Champagne and treats) on the island for lunch. They were struggling to get money to put more bulkheads in place. The crabbing industry was alive and well. The boardwalks were squishy at high tide. A huge house was for sale, for an unbelievably low price, next to the lodging where we stayed overnight. We wonder if the island still has inhabitants.