At The Tower in the Dark

Ta-da! The Tower Bridge in it's all it's nightly Victorian splendor.

2015 England Trip Travel Journal Entry

Friday, March 13

Logistics: 

1. The 133 bus to the Monument stop
2. Walk along Lower Thames St./A3211, going left at the fork to get on the A100 to find The Kitchen@Tower
3. The Tube from Tower Hill Station to South Kensington Station on the District Line 
4. The Tube home from South Kensington Station to Victoria Station on the District Line
5. The Tube [continuing] home from Victoria Station to Brixton Station on the Victoria Line

The Brixton neighborhood.

We had just the half hour we needed to find The Kitchen@Tower restaurant by our 4:30 reservation. What lovely ladies work there! And the food is beyond lovely. We were given seven of the most delicious homemade cakes, including scones with real clotted cream, and even an extra plat of sandwiches after we'd run of the first batch. It was a comfortable friendly atmosphere. Loved it.

 

Mom is excited about our abundance of dessert.

My second cup of tea to assist in devouring my scone.

The Kitchen@Tower gets five stars from us! Delicious!

Loved the windows and the eclectic furniture.

 Then we had one of those "*gasp* Look! Another old famous building!" moments once we walked out and simply turned to our right. It was the mighty Tower of London! It is beautifully menacing, even in the dark. We walked around it's perimeter, running into the Tower Bridge while we were at it, looking like the fairytale Victorian creation that it is. :)

The regally infamous Tower of London.

Daffodils can even make the Tower look more cheerful.

The Tower and its Bridge.

 

It was COLD! But it's impossible to not enjoy yourself when you're in a moment like this.

 

With our old pal the Tower Bridge. :)

The south bank of London glowing in the dark.

We shivered our way onto the Tube, making for the Victoria and Albert Museum, which was happily open til 10:00 on Fridays! Well, open except for all of the European galleries, of course... At least the fashion gallery was open late, which fully made up for it. It was fascinating. Another surreal experience of going back in history. They had real pieces from the Georgian era, Regency, Romantic, early, mid- and late Victorian, Edwardian, roaring twenties - then the fashions go downhill until they crash in a wreck of 1980s style. :) 
 

One stunning dress from about 1820.

I love the 18th century fashions!

A very smart Edwardian frock.

Anyone for tennis in 1920s style? Me, please!

The workmanship is the most impressive thing to see, with tiny stitches and intricate working of trims and buttons and fastenings on luxurious silks, wools and muslins. A historic costumer's delight!

The great entrance hall of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

We looked at a bit of sculpture, but it was getting late, so we headed home to get ready for Stratford! Between putting food together, buying tickets and passes and doing laundry, it was nearly 1:00 when we turned the lights out.



 © 2015 Anna Morton

A Sunny Spring Day in London

 

| The Houses of Parliament from the Eye |

2015 England Trip Travel Journal Entry

Thursday, March 12

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

Our first time on the Eye!

The day started with ham and cheese croissants, which Mom invented because we'd run out of eggs and we were in a slight rush to get on the London Eye. We made it in good time, and had no trouble picking up our tickets, since they could simply type in my confirmation number from my email that I'd taken a screenshot of on my phone. It was precisely the bright and glorious day we'd hoped for! I didn't put on a coat until lunch ended. Back to getting our tickets: a smartphone is a marvelous tool for the traveler, making practically everything available at your finger tips. I couldn't travel without one now!

We hopped into line and hopped almost all the way through it, it went so fast. There were seven people in our pod with us - happily, nice and quiet ones. :) And what a ride! Spectacular views from every angle and in every place on the wheel. I think I got at least twenty pictures of the Houses of Parliament, between the camera and phone.

 

On our way up.

The north bank with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

Looking east down the Thames.

Further down the Thames with a view of St. Paul's Cathedral.

 A view to the south west down the Thames on this glorious day!

London County Hall, which also houses an aquarium.

Our first ride on the Eye was simply lovely!

The only downside to a sunny day is one's reflection in the glass... especially if one is wearing red and white stripes. I know from personal experience.

Having lunch under the Eye.

We had such a pleasant lunch by the river just under the Eye! I had grabbed some cheese and bread at the last minute before we left the flat, in hopes of finding a grocery store with fruit and meat of some sort. And we did! A dinky little place a quarter of a mile away. The guy in there almost charged us nine pounds for an apple, a pear and salami, but he caught himself. He made sure Mom didn't forget her glasses on the counter, but he joked that if she had left them he would sell them with his other glasses. :)

We sat on the stone wall edging Jubilee Gardens to begin feeding our bodies with food and our fancies with people watching. My favorites to see and hear are the kids out with their parents or on a school field trip. We saw a couple of classes walking in disordered lines or gazing over the bankside railing in their uniforms and neon reflector vests. They're so sweet! There were also lots of older, less adorable, kids in large groups, and we were serenaded by a French bunch behind us.

Relaxing by the Thames.

Ice cream! If it's a sunny day in England, it's time for ice cream.

London + ice cream = a definite win.

Westminster Bridge, and the first of many pictures...

It was just what a sunny March day in England should be, with a carousel, kids playing in the park and us eating Magnum ice cream bars - vanilla ice cream covered with creamy chocolate! We wandered across Westminster Bridge to the Tube station and at last arrived at Holborn, our old stomping grounds during our first trip. It was like going back in time to walk around Bloomsbury Square and look down Bedford Place to see the Lancaster Hotel, our first abode in London six years ago. 

The British Museum - I have to say it - has not lost its charm. :) We took a picture in front for and of a family that was from Canada. They had just arrived that morning on their first trip to London, so they asked if we had any recommendations - which means that immediately at least a dozen things come to mind, which in turn silences us because we can't decide which to share first. 

Back at the British Museum!

The unforgettable entrance court at the British Museum. It never gets old.

The world-changing Rosetta Stone.

We decided to look more at Egypt this time, as it's ruins are in the great corridor that houses the Rosetta Stone. My favorite of that lot is actually the Assyrian winged creatures. Those massive things give me the feeling of being dropped back into Biblical history. One Egyptian room had more fragile objects like shoes made of woven reeds and artists' tools, including a palette with some dried paint still in it! That makes the past seem so real. 

Assyrian gates... It's like Biblical history coming to life before my eyes!

Ancient Egyptian artist's tools.

We'd had enough of creepy mummies, so we turned into the temporary exhibit of propoganda prints from the war with Napoleon. The large bust of the Corsican general at the start of the exhibit is just arresting - I could hardly stop looking at it, there was something so romantic about it - yet at the same time it simply looked like a young man. It brought Bonaparte to life. Which brings me to my favorite moment of the exhibit: two young Frenchmen walking around a corner into the exhibit, realizing who it was about, and grandly saying, "Ah, Bonaparte!" It sounds so much more impressive in a French accent. :)

Dinner at Wagamama's.

The prints were typically Georgian, full of lampooning and often grotesque, but it brought Jane Austen's world more to life. The mugs with the prints on them were interesting - we both thought that was a more modern phenomena - especially the giant seven-inch mug in the collection! We ended the exhibit with some jewelry containing tiny piece of Napoleon's hair... Always gives me a strange feeling, that. Then we had just enough time to find and enjoy Wagamama's! We're getting much better at estimating how much time we need.

(6:25 PM) Now we're at Wagamama's - I should say back at Wagamama's, since that's what it feels like. This was the first place we ate in London in 2009, so it feels a bit like stepping back there. It was delicious! We chose to get yaki soba, a chow mein-type noodle with sprouts, peppers, onions, prawns and chicken, and tori kara age, which is chicken in teriyaki spices.

And now we're off to see (and especially hear) The High Kings! I'm a bit worried my expectations will be too high, so I'm trying to keep them low - but I can't really see us not at least overall enjoying ourselves. :)

(11:20 PM) And we did! I'll get the cons over so I can simply enjoy the memory. My fears of the surrounding were more or less realized by the noise being loud, the room being small and crowded, and us having no seats. But they sang all of my favorites - well, nearly all, for I have so many - starting with 'Rocky Road to Dublin,' then, in no particular order, 'The Fields of Athenry,' 'Marie's Wedding,' 'Rare Auld Times,' 'Joe Hill,' 'Step it Out Mary,' 'Leaving of Liverpool,' 'Star of the County Down,' 'Irish Pub Song,' and the first ending was 'Whiskey in the Jar,' but after some deafening chants of "One more song!" they re-emerged to sing 'Finnegan's Wake'! Definitely my highlight of the evening, for it was definitely more fun than listening to the recording.

The High Kings in concert! Possibly my favorite artists, ever.

I didn't enjoy listening to the others live more than I do on the CD because everyone in the audience was singing along very loudly, and not always exactly on key... But despite that the guys themselves seemed to enjoy it quite a lot. :) They said that after being on tour in Europe they enjoyed being one step closer to home and in a place where everyone could sing along. It all really, truly ended with 'The Irish Rover,' and then the entire audience rushed over to the other side of the room where they were to sign CDs. We made it with almost no difficulty, and there they were!

Finbarr still shook my hand, even though I didn't have a CD that I'd just bought. :) Then I went

Meeting the lads!

 around to the others to attempt getting a picture, but I couldn't make myself just go behind them, it felt too intrusive... Thankfully, Mom is rather more fearless when it comes to celebrities, so she asked Darren and Martin to make me come back there. Of course they very obligingly did so in a very friendly manner. :) Darren even put his arm around my shoulder! I can't wait to tell Hannah and Julie - being as great of fans as I am. Oh, I must add that as we finished getting a photo and I was about to walk away Darren said "Nice to meet you!" I know it's not much, but it was special enough to me to be worth remembering. :)

Darren Holden and Martin Furey, people. Oh, and me. :)

I loved watching them, especially Brian, who seems to just thrive on the performance. He was quite the ham of the group. :) Boy, could Darren play that accordion! As the night went on he seemed to play more and more enthusiastically. Finbarr had the greatest smile on his face as they were all gathered around the microphone singing 'The Auld Triangle.' He and Brian were even posing for the camera during the first song for someone right next to the stage. :) What a night! It was so special to sing along to the High Kings with the High Kings.

© 2015 Anna Morton

Allowing myself to love 'Pride and Prejudice'

 It is a truth universally acknowledged that Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's most popular novel. I, however, am inclined to resent this apparent fact on behalf of her other five novels, and I sometimes wonder if I am the only one who does. Yet I think I have at last gotten past my resentment by reexamining what I love about this most popular of books.

This post could also be titled: "Realizing that I have kept myself from loving 'Pride and Prejudice' as much as I otherwise would because I've resented it being so wildly popular while Jane Austen's other novels seem ignored."

I feel that I sound a bit irritable in admitting this, but I'm afraid this is what has happened.

Almost ever since I discovered the brilliance of Jane Austen I have gravitated toward her other novels because in my opinion it has always seemed that Pride and Prejudice has received a far larger amount of attention and popularity. Of course there is a reason that this has happened. It is just as timeless and unique as every novel of Jane Austen's, and therefore appeals to all successive generations since it's publication. There is just something about the uniqueness of Pride and Prejudice that seems to have made it especially popular in the last twenty years. And no, I don't just mean Colin Firth and the BBC miniseries. It is a quick, energetic, humorous love story, with a lovely, witty heroine taking center stage and a proud, unpleasant, albeit handsome, hero who is humbled by her, making him practically perfect. When you top that all off with sharp, elegant writing of a Jane Austen, it is sure to be a classic.

What has irritated me most is that so many people seem to love the story because they see Elizabeth Bennet as "a modern woman," and cheer on what they see as her irreverence and disrespect of the stuffy, established traditions that are mindlessly or stubbornly clung to by her elders or snobbish social superiors. But to me the appeal of Jane Austen rests on her support of traditions, especially morals, that should be respected because they are for the good of others and not merely because "that's just what people do." Her heroines and heroes are appealing because they correctly and genuinely uphold these traditions and morals, believing them to be right, not simply required to appear respectable. Even Elizabeth does not flout convention merely to be different and to step on peoples' toes. Of course she certainly does not let conventions control her. She chooses when she will follow them and when it is better to reject or improve them, such as when she goes to visit Jane at Netherfield, which was very unconventional. She will not be kept from caring for her sister merely from a fear of "what people will say."

"There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me."

- Pride and Prejudice

But now back to my realization and loving Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Prejudice is as brilliant a novel as all of Jane Austen's novels are. Of course it is - she wrote it! Just as when I read Emma, Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park and Persuasion, when I read Pride and Prejudice I am so happy to be immersed in the story. I love entering the world of Longbourn and traveling down to Rosings and up to Pemberley. I am attached to all the characters, and enjoy hearing and seeing their faults, their wit, their laughing, their dancing, their relationships, and everything about them. Jane and Lizzy's real love and care for each other as sisters is such a beautiful thing to read about. Every time I read the novel I am struck by it! They both value each other so much, and never pass up an opportunity to communicate with each other so they can ask advice or make the other laugh. There is an openness and unreserve between them that I love to read about.

Austen's style of writing is unlike any other!

The structure of the novel is a beautifully, tightly woven plot, and is indeed "light, bright and sparkling," as Jane Austen herself describes it. Emma and Mansfield Park are more minute and intricate. They are more complete as novels, if you like. But Pride and Prejudice is equally complete as a story, with the plot chocked full of action, dialogue and unforgettable characters. The writing often reminds me of the painting technique of Van Dyck or of the Impressionists, where with a few seemingly careless, effortless strokes, the artist creates a stunningly realistic, believable, vibrant picture. We seem to see Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as real people with personality and a history in their first conversation on the first page, just as a few deft brush strokes bring the silk on Van Dyck's ladies to life.

There is also so much to learn from Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen teaches important lessons in the pleasantest ways! She shows, rather than tells, making what she teaches unforgettable by letting readers live through the experiences of the characters. Lizzy is possibly the most delightful example in fiction of learning how to not to be prejudiced. She can be "partial, prejudiced, absurd" in her evaluations of Wickham and Mr. Darcy, but because she expresses her prejudice in her usual witty and mirthful way, we are never put off by her. We get caught up in her infectious laughter until she, like us, has the truth burst upon her in Mr. Darcy's letter, causing her to reevaluate all her judgments and be excessively unhappy with herself. But Lizzy is no feeble character. She accepts the truth and learns to be just as aware of her own shortcomings as she is of everyone else's, and learns to laugh at herself more wisely, too. She carries us with her through the process, teaching us the same lessons that she has learned herself.

Pride and Prejudice is special, I must admit. Not any more special than Jane Austen's other novels, but special because it is an example of how Austen could breathe such vibrant life into a familiar story and into characters who seem to lead such ordinary lives, making them unforgettable. 


© 2015 Anna Morton 

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