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| Sidney Cobb ('19) |
I will always remember the first time I walked into a medieval English pub–the dark wood, the low ceilings, the ambient lighting. I felt as though I was I stepping backwards through time into a place surrounded by history and magic. As a Kentuckian who had never stepped out of the United States, I had never touched walls that old or stood on a floor where so many of my idols had walked.
I truly felt like a part of history. Therefore, when talking with our host in Oxford, I felt distressed when I learned that pub culture was slowly dying with the newer generations. The younger crowd was more inclined to stay at home and watch movies rather than sit around a table with friends in the snug backroom of a pub.
In America, I had never experienced anything quite like a pub, and, even now, I am struggling to adequately describe the experience, as it is not easily compared to anything in the States. When you sit in an old pub, surrounded by old friends or new acquaintances, you are almost involuntarily compelled to put away your phone, grab an ale, and engage in deep and meaningful conversations. You are drawn back to the experiences of the people who had sat there before, people like C.S. Lewis and Tolkien who sat around tables just like you, discussing their writings and philosophy. To be able to do something similar, and gather around a table at a pub, reading aloud to each other and giving a toast every couple of pages made me realize that today’s culture was missing something: the joy and necessity of truly conversing deeply and working together with a group of people.
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| McConnell Scholars in front of the Eagle and Child, a favorite pub of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. |
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Connor and Bridget enjoy drinks at a British pub.
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| Scholars discuss readings and travel plans at a British pub. |
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I learned many things while in England–I saw beautiful churches, plays, and the roots of American government–but the things I will remember the longest and will hold most dear are the conversations I had around the table at the Eagle and Child and The White Horse (and pretty much any other random combinations of adjectives and animals) and the people that made those experiences meaningful.
Sidney Cobb, of Frankfort, Ky., is a member of the McConnell Scholar Class of 2019. She studies political science and history at the University of Louisville.
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