The special enjoyment, which ‘Open’ events afford, is that children and grandchildren are welcomed. I brought my two youngest grandchildren, who understood much more of the Harry Potter tour than I did. But Alice’s elements of that tour were fascinating.

I had never before seen the tangled green spaces behind the Cathedral’s high altar. So the swollen, twisty ‘Jabberwocky’ tree was a revelation. So, too  the specially constructed arch and door through which Charles I had passed when on his way to see his wife, Henrietta Maria, when housed in Merton. The arch is a low one, reflecting the king’s stature. As an undergraduate I had never known that during the Civil War, Charles I’s court had been housed in the College!

I was thrilled to see Cardinal Wolsey’s red hat as an exhibit in the library’s celebration of his founding of the House. David Lumb (1963, English), a Christ Church contemporay of mine, whispered that the hat’s provenance was insecure.  I’d rather he’d left me in happy ignorance!

My grandchildren enjoyed their lunch in Hogwart’s hall, and table football in the JCR, while I and my daughter. Emily, and her husband Simon (St Hughes 1980s), drank tea. I recalled a more homely room with colourful paintings (replaced by sporting groups) and sagging sofas (replaced by severe button-backed leather ones).

We then played croquet in the Masters’ Garden (shades of Alice, minus the flamingoes). My youngest grandaughter, Stella, played with the small mallet used to knock in the hoops.  The patchy grass added to the uncertainty of our game, which was punctuated by the sound of Magdalen’s bells.  The rain obligingly held off until Simon had won the game, closely pusued by his daughter, Amelia. A memorable day was ending.

Photos of the enjoyable event are available here.