Graduation in London at Last!

| From the University of London |

| My college: Goldsmiths, a part of the University of London. |

2015 England Trip Travel Journal Entry

Wednesday, March 11

Logistics: 

1. The Tube from Stockwell Station to Moorgate Station on the Northern Line
2. The Tube home from St. Paul's Station to Oxford Circus Station on the Central Line
3. The Tube [continuing] home from Oxford Circus Station to Brixton Station on the Victoria Line

(12:05 PM) This is the day! "The day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!" As one of my favorite John Rutter songs sings. :) That is the song for today. For I am rejoicing in all the miracles God performed to bring me to this graduation at last! It wasn't easy... And I know, looking back, that there is no way I could have made it through my courses without Divine intervention. :) We're on the Tube, hoping to arrive at the Barbican on time. I think an hour and a half will give us enough cushion time... Our flat and the Barbican are in the same city, after all. But one never knows what delays can occur when using public transportation. Thankfully, London's transport system is overall very efficient and reliable!

This is the day! Entering the Barbican Centre.

There are three different Tube stations that are equally distant from the Barbican Centre, but I chose Moorgate because it seemed like the stop with the most direct route from Brixton. The walk wasn't long, although we did go through a sort of interesting tunnel with lots of cars and crowds of business-people - it would be a bit scary at night, but we were happily there at the height of the day.

The Barbican Centre is huge! There are conference rooms and halls and restaurants and any number of amenities in it's multiple-block radius. The entrance we needed, however, was not at all difficult to find! Where we were supposed to go after going in was yet a different matter.

There were hundreds of people, and most of them attired in the sombre, stately garb of the college graduate - or, should I say, university graduate. This isn't America. :) We wandered around the various levels, among the various graduates, looking at the various signs and banners, with no idea of what to look for. At last we discovered the ticket counter on the lowest floor, and they kindly directed us to the robing area. But before being bedecked in my official robes, I had to replace my jeans with some lovely lilac silk. Alas, finding a ladies' room to change in proved to be no simple task. That is one downside to interestingly intricate architecture: it becomes somewhat more difficult to find things.

I think we're in the right place!

The cafe tempted us inside with its array of delectable pastries spread out all over a table sitting just inside the door, and after wandering past all the soups and salads, tables and chairs, and people, we at last found a place to change in, tucked away in a back corner. One of my fellow graduates had also discovered this hidden place, and she happened to be an English major, too! Except we differed slightly in that she was a bit older than Mom and from England. :) Once my makeup was done we headed straight to the the robing area, and for once we knew where we were going. A very pleasant older man found my cap, gown and hood after being given my name, and helped me figure out just how to put them on. The hood actually had velcro that matched some on the robe to keep it from hanging off of your neck - which is a smart idea, really, even if it doesn't seem like the most sophisticated method that would be used by the tailors who are official robe makers for the Queen and parliament. Speaking of the tailors Ede and Ravenscroft, the robe was a tad bit disappointing, being as it was made of something synthetic and not something natural and expensive like rayon. This fact did, however, make me glad that I hadn't bought it!

Bedecked in my graduation robes.

I had to exchange my hat at the hat station, as it turned out to be a bit large. After that we had just over an hour, so we joined the line to get a picture in front of the official background. We met a family from Hong Kong with a daughter graduating from the law degree program. She was very polite and sweet, and her dad very kindly offered to take a picture of my mom and me together.

There was a slight hitch when she was about to go up for her photo because a large group of students with all of their families didn't realize there was a line, or something, and just ran in front of the background and started taking picture after picture! It was quite a vivid example of cultural differences. The group was from some country that must have been completely un-influenced by English culture, if their volume and fearless disregard of "the queue" are anything to go by, and, by contrast, this young lady from Hong Kong, which was an English colony for many years, was quiet and very queue-conscious, in total accord with the English influence on her country's culture.

Picture time! For all University of London International Programmes students and their families.

After some lunch in the cafe to assuage our gnawing hunger, it was time to take our seats in the auditorium! Also known as Barbican Hall. I had rather a time of it trying to find where I was supposed to go in. Typical, as I couldn't find anything in that building without wandering around for ten minutes first! But after going up and down the stairs two or three times, I finally found the entrance number that was closest to the one on my ticket, and it turned out to be the right one, thank goodness. I joined all my fellow English degree students on the left side of the ground floor, where we were allowed to entertain ourselves for twenty minutes before the ceremony began. There was an introductory video that told a little of the history of the University, which was interesting the first six times, but got rather redundant for the remaining ten... Fortunately, two of the graduates behind me were having an interesting conversation that I couldn't help overhearing. One was from Washington and the other from Canada, which in itself was interesting, knowing that I had a compatriot in my graduating class.

Inside the Barbican Hall.

At last the ceremony began with much pomp and circumstance, as befits a graduation. :) We all rose, and it began with the entrance of the Vice-chancellor and the heads of the various programs and professors, all in their bonnets and robes of various colors and trims. After an address by the Vice-chancellor, Professor Sir Adrian Smith, FRS, and an honorary degree given to Sergey Lakovlev, the walking began! Not all five hundred graduates were there, but there were still rather a lot of us. Many people had degrees in law, accounting and finance, which surprised me, but what surprised me more was the fact that there were only thirty six of us in the English program. Apparently, it's not the most popular degree. But I wouldn't have chosen anything else! It covers not only literature, but culture, history, philosophy, religion and whatever may influence history's most memorable authors. Covering so much ground made it quite a challenge, but what I learned was worth it all.

All of our distinguished professors.

When our row finally rose, I at last felt that thrill of nerves that always attacks a person whenever they will be facing an entire auditorium from the stage. At the bottom of the stairs there is a person with a clipboard, asking you your name (making sure they know how to pronounce it, I'm sure, as well as confirming that everyone is in the right order), while there are about four people ahead of you. My heart was beating rather harder, now, for I was wanting to perform my part in the most graceful way possible, while fearing that I would probably trip instead... Every graduate was instructed to walk to the Vice-chancellor, who was seated in the middle of the stage, remove their hat if they are a gentleman, stop, and make a slight bow, before continuing on to shake hands with the head of their department. I wanted to make a nice and dignified bow, especially after thinking that most everyone else had rushed theirs a bit, but once they called my name and I stepped on to the stage, everything turned into a blur, and I hardly knew what I was doing! What an end to all my plans of dignity! :) I think my cap even started to fall off when I bowed...

An official graduate at last!

The ceremony passed relatively quickly, rather to my surprise, although my hands were rather tired from clapping for every single graduate. My fellow graduand sitting next to me - the one I'd met earlier, in fact, after changing - said she was impressed that my hands hadn't given out on me after all that clapping. :) (They were actually quite tired! But I couldn't not clap for anyone, while wanting applause myself.)

After finding Mom in the lobby, which was surprisingly easy, considering she was up in the balcony, together we found our designated reception point for refreshments. It was quite a nice spread with several different sorts of hors d'ouvres, drinks like water and orange juice, and cupcakes! Our table didn't have the chocolate cupcakes that were being eaten by many other graduates and guests while we looked on in envy, so after getting some sort of caramel cupcake from our selection, we became aware that there were plenty of left over chocolate ones at an adjacent reception point! So we nabbed one. :)

There were nearly no places left to sit down, but a very nice lady offered to scoot over on one of the large ottomans in the reception area, making just enough room for both of us. She and her husband were over from the island of Jersey to watch their daughter graduate. They definitely had a regional accent! But hers was mixed with something else, which confused me at first. Once we discovered she had come from Scotland originally, all became clear: it was a Scottish Jersey accent. :) She was another example of a very friendly English person. She and Mom just chatted away for quite a while.

By that time everything seemed to be wrapping up and we realized we needed to scatter if we wanted to get our copy of the ceremony on DVD. We had a job of it trying to find that, too, and by the time we asked someone, the booth had closed. Wonderful. But thankfully someone was able to inform us that the DVD would be mailed to us automatically!

We wandered around the Barbican Centre for a while, getting some pictures, and then it was time for me to stop limping and shivering, and to change into something more suitable for a brisk English Spring evening. Since we were near The City, we decided to wander around whatever was nearby - because you can wander anywhere in London and you will find something worth seeing. Our plan was to see Bart's (aka St. Bartholomew's Hospital) and St. Paul's Cathedral, as they are both especially close to the Barbican.

St. Bart's Hospital. No Sherlock...

Because we approached Bart's from a completely unfamiliar side, we had to wander around the entire outside, equaling two blocks, at least, until we found that all-too-recognizable front... Thankfully, there was no Sherlock on the roof or lying on the pavement. (Of course, I wouldn't have minded if he was walking nearby.) :)

St. Paul's looked enormously regal - very Christopher Wren - as always. It was the tallest building in London until 1962! Which would seem hard to believe if I hadn't seen its enormity with my own eyes.

St. Paul's Cathedral looking gargantuan!

The famous St. Paul's dome at night.

We walked past the Museum of London, which was of course closed, as everything is after 5:00, and made a quick stop at our little Sainsbury's Local after hopping off the Tube in Brixton.

It was such a special day, albeit a blurry one. :) Having Mom there was an absolutely necessary blessing because to me it was really as much her day as it was mine. I wouldn't even have been there if it hadn't been for her! She did teach me to read, after all. :)



© Anna Morton 2015