ASMOLEAN

by Catherine Smith (Oxford)

When I was a child, every Sunday, Dad, my brothers and me visited the Asmolean, to give Mum a rest with our new baby sister. We’d walk from Marston through the leafy parks, through the streets, up to the Museum.

Once we arrived we’d rush through the doors and up the twisting stairway to find the Guy Fawkes lamp; this wondrous object always filled us with awe. We all knew his story well; the man who’d inspired fireworks and burning.

Dad always made us stop and look at Alfred’s jewel; we gazed at history in miniature. It was magical.

As we grew older we all loved the Samuel Palmer works. Both my brothers are now artists and feel they owe a great debt to the Ashmolean for inspiring their work, And thanks, Dad, for taking us in the first place and trudging back through the parks to home and tea.

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What Catherine Smith says about ASMOLEAN:

Inspired by Johanna McNulty’s memories of the Asmolean on the museum’s website blog