C S Lewis Centenary Group

Newsletter of the C S Lewis Centenary Group, commemorating Lewis’s Centenary in his native land

Number 3, July/August 1997

C S LEWIS CULTURAL TRADITIONS FELLOW

The C S Lewis Cultural Traditions Fellow will be Mr Ronald Bresland, from Artigarvan, Strabane, County Tyrone. He will be researching C S Lewis’s place in Anglo-Irish literature, produce material for publication and address our international Conference next August.

Mr Bresland takes up his appointment on 1st October, 1997 and be based at the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, Belfast. We wish him well.

C S LEWIS TRAIL

Mr Tony Wilson and Mrs Joan Whiteside guided the second Group Guided Tour on Saturday 5th July. Nine members of the public turned up.

Mssrs Tony Fleck and James O’Fee guided the third and final Guided Tour of the Summer on Saturday 2nd August. Mrs Joan Whiteside conducted the tour of St Mark’s as part of the Guided Tour. Twenty-three members of the public chose the Walking Tour, and five chose the Tour by Car.

THE OTHER MRS MOORE

Mrs Pat Shelley of Wiltshire writes of CSL’s connection with her grand-aunt, Mrs Alice Moore. [Mrs Catherine Hudson of Kilkeel, Co Down, writes as well. on the same subject.]

CSL visited Mrs Alice Moore in Bayview Park, Kilkeel after the death of Mrs Moore’s husband, Dr Robert Moore of Bushmills, Co Antrim. Indeed, CSL wrote a surviving letter to his friend, Arthur Greeves, from Bayview Park.

In the 1930s CSL took Mrs Alice Moore to live near him in Oxford. Mrs Alice Moore should not be confused with Mrs Janie Moore (Minto), mother of CSL’s friend Paddy Moore, and CSL’s adopted mother. This is unfortuntely easy, since the two Mrs Moores are buried in the same grave.

Mrs Alice Moore’s mother was Mrs Caroline Kennett nee Hamilton. We suspect she was a relation of CSL’s mother, Flora Lewis nee Hamilton. We would like to establish the facts behind this little-known episode of CSL’s life.

DAWN TREADER

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, in a new adaption for the stage, will run in the Lyric Theatre, Belfast from Thursday 27 November 1997 to Saturday 10 January 1998. Ticket prices: £9 (adult), £7 (concession), Family Ticket (incl at least 2 children) £28. Box Office: (01232) 381081.

In conjunction with the Lyric Theatre, the Cenenary Group will announce our Programme for the Centenary year at a press conference on or about the starting date of this production.

THE CENTENARY STONE

The Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society announces The C. S. Lewis Centenary Stone. To mark the Centenary of his birth, the stone will be placed in Addison’s Walk, Magdalen College, bearing the words of a poem Lewis wrote about Addison’s Walk. Cost will be £4,000, and the Society are appealing for donations. Write with a donation, or for more information, to: Mr Peter Cousin, Treasurer, The Oxford University C. S. Lewis Society, c/o The Kilns, Lewis Close, Oxford OX3 8JD.

LOGO

The C S Lewis Centenary Office has developed an attractive logo for the Centenary incorporating the slogan ‘100 Years of C S Lewis’.

WHEATON COLLEGE

Wheaton College, Illinois, site of the world’s most important Lewis collection, will hold a C S Lewis Centenary Celebration July 8-13, 1998. Papers, panels, speakers, drama, exhibits, concerts, designed to bring together scholars and fans in a celebration of Lewis and his work. Further details from; C. S. Lewis Centenary Celebration, c/o Lynn Maudlin, P.O. Box 394, Altadena, CA 91003, USA.

NARNIA IN LEICESTER

Leicester City Council plans to use Narnia as its theme for its Christmas lights, 1998. Clive Roberts, Development Officer, Leicester City Council, New Walk Centre, Welford Place, Leicester LE6 ZG (sic).

'SURPRISED BY JOY'

This is of couse the name CSL gave to his autobiography. But it will be the name as well of a forthcoming celebration of C S Lewis in words and music. The music will be composed by Lisburn man, Keith Getty [one of the most promising young arrangers I have worked with: James Galway], and words by Douglas Gresham [C S Lewis’s step-son]. Tours of the US and the UK are planned for 1998.. [See as well the item in our June Newsletter.]

Nick Page on (01959) 523740, the impressario, adds;

there will be two versions of Surprised by Joy;

a) a theatrical version with words and music, which will tour Great Britain from Plymouth to Inverness in Febuary and March 1998.

b) an orchestral concert version which will come to the Waterfront Hall in Belfast sometime in 1998.

These last 4 items are taken from the Internet Web site of the C S Lewis Centenary Office. The Web site is; http://www.cslewis100.com. The C. S. Lewis Centenary Information Office, 24-26 Baltic Street West, London EC1Y 0UL. Tel: (0171) 454 1172. Fax: (0171) 251 1359. Email: simonadley@cslewis100.com.

Return to Home Page