The University of Reading have given up on adult education. Not that they think the adults of Reading are so full of knowledge that they don’t need educating any more (if only that were the case), but it doesn’t make them any money so they shut down all their courses.

However, The University of Oxford (who ironically set up The University of Reading just over a century ago as an off-shoot college, probably for those with northern accents like me), stepped into the gap left by Reading and now run courses in Reading, on the university campus. Which is all a bit strange, no? Anyway, aside from the politics of why my local higher educational establishment has decided to opt out of providing me with intellectual nourishment, I did notice this week that one of the courses being run by The University of Oxford in Reading from October this year is called From Canterbury to Rome: Art & Architecture along the Pilgrim Road. The blurb is as follows;

For a thousand years, English pilgrims followed the route to Rome making their small offerings along the way. Over time, these accumulated to allow some splendid examples of art and architecture to flourish.  We follow in their footsteps in order to be able to compare and contrast the styles that had developed across Europe by  the Jubilee Year 1500, paying particular attention to the artistic achievements of the Northern Renaissance in England, France and Burgundy, so that we may compare these with the art and architecture of the Early Renaissance in Italy in Lombardy, Siena and of course, the Holy City of Rome itself..

Week 1: Canterbury Cathedral
Week 2: The art and architecture of late Medieval Paris
Week 3: The art of Burgundy
Week 4: The architecture of Burgundy
Week 5: From Geneva to Pavia
Week 6: Lucca and Volterra
Week 7: Siena
Week 8: Siena and Viterbo
Week 9: The treasures of Holy Rome
Week 10: Old St Peter’s and the great basilicas.

Now I didn’t cycle the Via Francigena so the bit about Paris & Burgundy would not match up with what I saw en route but I am a French teacher for goodness sake so it should be of some interest! The rest however – Pavia, Lucca, Siena, Viterbo, Rome – I did cycle. I’m tempted… £138.

Just a pity that The University of Oxford doesn’t know what an ‘outcome’ is;