So, today is Lewis's birthday. He was born 122 years ago.
He didn't reach Oxford for some time, but then he spent most of the rest of his life there, particularly in a house called The Kilns, in Headington, a suburb of Oxford.

I am thankful for his life, his faith and his work.
Read a good biography to know more, such as George Sayer, "Jack".

Good to be reminded, @coracle! I haven't read George Sayer's biography, and I have to admit I gave up on Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper's one (I know it's supposed to be "the definitive", but I just found it too dry), but I have read a couple of shorter ones which were very good. The most heartfelt and enjoyable tribute to Lewis that I've read is, unsurprisingly, Jack's Life by Douglas Gresham!

I had the privilege of touring The Kilns several years ago and would highly, highly recommend it to everyone here if you can visit Oxford some day (when we're able to travel again, of course).

I'm always very thankful for Lewis's life and work as well — if I had to sum him up in one line, I would simply call him "the man who first introduced me to God" (through the character of Aslan, that is). I can't give a much higher tribute than that!

On this day in England, C. S.Lewis died at the age of 64, one week before his 65th birthday. 

I thank God for the talents and skills this man had, and  used for explaining and convincing many people of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, alongside a University teaching career.  

It's worth reading a good biography of Jack Lewis. I recommend George Sayers 'Jack'. A simpler one by Doug Gresham is also good- 'Jack's Life', (I think !).

@coracle CS Lewis was quite a man. He actually died on the same day as President Kennedy.

Narnia has been so special in my life. I had a lot of respect for both CS Lewis and his friend JRR Tolkien in creating their universes, Narnia and Lord of the Rings.

@Coracle: On this day in England, C. S.Lewis died at the age of 64, one week before his 65th birthday.

I remember where I was on that day, in 1963. I was in a produce store, one of those places not seen so much nowadays, where people could buy anything from newly hatched chickens, older live chooks, plus their chook fodder, to letter boxes and small electric bar heaters, which I often visited in an Earlwood (Sydney, Australia) shopping centre. That was when reports of President Kennedy's assassination  came over the shop's radio. Then in the evening of that day we heard about C.S.Lewis' passing on the radio, as well. I felt so downcast. It was sad that JFK, a charismatic Western Leader, should have died. But the death of C.S.Lewis, my childhood favourite, made me feel so much worse. I was fifteen going on sixteen at the time. 

There was always some reminder of JFK at this time of year, in the media, in newspaper history items or in documentaries. One year at my request, the Telegraph's normal historic commemoration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also commemorated C.S.Lewis and Aldous Huxley, a second author and a third prominent figure to die on 23rd of November. 

@waggawerewolf27 i was seven, and barely knew what America was, when we heard about the killing of its president. I didn't hear of Lewis for another 6 years and Huxley about 8 years.

Talking of Oxford, as this thread does (so it seemed the best place to put this), I was intrigued by this new bit of news posted on NarniaWeb as of yesterday: Historic Lewis and Tolkien Pub Set for Revival from Tech Billionaire

I've visited the Eagle and Child (affectionately nicknamed the Bird and Baby) several times since I moved to England 12 years ago, but it's been about 5 years now since I was last in Oxford and I wasn't aware the pub had closed down in 2020. I'm glad to know it's been sold to an organisation that has plans to reopen it, although I'm wondering how far the proposed redesigning of the building will go... it has a Grade II heritage listing, along with its associations with the Inklings, and the talk of making "collaborative spaces" for a US-based institute of technology — EIT, which is working towards opening a new campus in Oxford — sounds a bit at odds with the atmosphere of a traditional English pub that's been on this site since 1684. To put it bluntly, I just hope they won't ruin the place.

Here are the longest articles I could find online about it, which give a few more details, although not that much more than what Impending Doom has already shared at the link above.

The Oxford Student: Historic Eagle and Child Pub to Reopen

St John's College press release: Ellison Institute of Technology secures future of historic Oxford pub

However, all we can do is see what happens — at least they're definitely planning to keep it open to the public, and with a new restaurant aimed at "improving the pub's food offering", which sounds hopeful. (The pub did previously serve meals, as most British pubs do, but not with a very extensive menu. I do remember having a delicious chicken pie there one time, though.)

I'm guessing it will probably be a couple of years before the Eagle and Child reopens, but I will certainly keep an eye out for updates and will be eager to go there and check it out once it's open for business!

I remember the food being quite good as well, so I wonder what they have planned there. I wonder if it might be more of an internet-cafe/incubator/colab space vibe than straight up IT support? I feel like the former could reconcile better with the history than the latter could.

@wren As it's a 3-storey building (there's a good photo of it here on Wikipedia), I'm thinking they could possibly renovate the upstairs to make student collaborative spaces, while leaving the ground floor — where the actual bar and restaurant are — pretty much as it was historically, with any necessary renovations or restoration. As far as I know, that's the only part of the building that was previously open to the public anyway. (I don't know what the upstairs was used for historically, but possibly the pub provided guest accommodation at one time, i.e. as a hotel, as most pubs did in the past and some still do. I don't know much about the building's history pre-Inklings!)

Wikipedia gives a few interesting details about the pub, including that the "Rabbit Room", where the Inklings met, was actually a private lounge during their time, until the pub was renovated in 1962. (At present, it's just part of the pub's dining area.) I wonder, if the new owners really know their history and genuinely want to honour the pub's famous literary connections, could they restore that area to make it a separate room again, with mementos of the Inklings? That would be fantastic, if only they could...

Today in history : 60 years ago was the first appearance of Doctor Who.(not in Oxford, except on TV screens there)

(It was the day after C.S.Lewis died, and there have been theories that Jack was actually the First Doctor.) 

Also not in Oxford, but 125 years ago (29 November 1898) Clive Staples Lewis was born in Northern Ireland.

A few months ago in this discussion thread we were talking about the closure of the Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, one of the favourite meeting places for the Inklings, and how it's been bought by the US-based Ellison Institute of Technology with the aim of restoring it. As I'm planning to go to Oxford in a few weeks' time, I decided to look online and see if I could find any updates. Here's the most recent news I can find, from earlier this year (February), on a local news website:

Oxford Eagle and Child visit from new American owners

In short, it'll be some time before the pub is open again, but it looks like the restoration plans are definitely going ahead, and the new owners sound very sympathetic to the building's history. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Modernist architects Norman Foster and Partners have been appointed to develop the [EIT] campus, due to open in 2026, and Foster is also managing the restoration of the pub.

But due to its poor structural condition and nearly four years of standing empty no date can be given yet for its reopening.

The challenge is to recreate the pub’s original features, including the alcoves at the front and the Rabbit Room where writer's group the Inklings used to meet, while making the narrow building more welcoming.

The conservatory dining area at the rear, which Ms Flashner described as “horrible”, will be demolished and replaced by a modern addition.

Key to the plans is to open up the rear garden, with access via the passageway up the side as well as through the pub.

[EIT chief operating officer Lisa Flashner] said: “We haven’t started work on the Eagle and Child yet as we are still at the planning stage, and it is in a serious state of disrepair.

"But we will restore the original pub to what it was, including the Rabbit Room, and Foster’s team are looking closely at what a traditional pub is really like.

"Our vision is to continue to have small spaces where people come together to talk. That’s what makes English pubs great, to help bring a sense of community and cross-generational conversations.

"On the upper floors, we will create spaces for our scholars to meet and get to know each other, including private dining."

Mr Myers, an architect, added: "It will be slow going reopening the pub. Our plan is to reopen it as soon as possible, but we need patience.”

@courtenay thanks, that is good news!
I live in a city with a number of old buildings still waiting for restoration (after earthquakes, in this instance), and one always hopes they don't get replaced with something ugly.
 - Oxford doesn't need ugly!