Day 97: Queens, giant spiders, and socks.

(This is for Wednesday 3 December)

Behind again... sorry! I'll catch up though because I should be studying for finals, so we all know I'll be needing some study breaks.

Wednesday after class I heard from someone it was the opening of Parliament, so I headed over towards Parliament to see if I could see the Queen. Thankfully I had my camera with me that day, so I was able to get some shots. It was pretty cool to see all of the guards lined up and all of the horsemen coming through - something special you don't really get to see too often.

From Queens, giant spiders, and socks

I stayed long enough to see the Queen go into Parliament and come back out, then headed over to the Tate Modern , my original plan for the day. I walked through the Southbank Christmas market on the way, which was cute.





Though I wouldn't say I'm necessarily a modern art-lover, I really do enjoy a good amount of it. Even if you don't like Jackson Pollock (though I do), there's something different about standing two feet away from those paint streaks and splatters than looking at a slide of it.

One of the main exhibitions a lot of the ND kids have been talking about is Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's "TH.2058". There's a large, warehouse-type room with empty metal bunk beds, a giant spider,  a giant apple core, a dinosaur skeleton, and other random things.



Can't really say whether I really liked or didn't like the exhibition, but it was pretty neat to walk through it since it was just a giant room. After going through pretty much all of the free rooms, I went to this little quiz/game thing where there were about six adults playing a touch screen game. Apparently, I dominated the game, and at the end all of the arrows pointed towards my screen, and this sweet old Irish couple were just absolutely amazed and thought I must be a genius for winning the Tate Modern quiz game. I chatted with them for a bit, and the husband had been involved in the integration of education in Northern Ireland, meeting and working with Bill Clinton in the 1980s. Pretty cool to randomly meet someone involved with something like that.

Heading back to the flats, I took Millenium Bridge over the Thames and headed past St. Paul's Cathedral, which now has a Christmas tree up in front of it!




I'm not sure if it's because I'm a December baby, but Christmastime is one of the best times of year.

Later that night I headed out to the Borderline in Soho to see the band Department of Eagles. The show was just great, and we managed to get up to the front and centre, right in front of the stage. It was a small venue anyway, but it was great being right there. I only took a few pictures, but I'm glad with how they turned out. The concert made me appreciate the band's music a lot more, and it doesn't hurt that they were really down-to-earth guys. I got my ticket signed afterwards, and when I was talking with one of the guys, I said I'd seen his sock during the show and it looked like he had guitar socks that matched his sweater -- turns out they were actually squirrel socks. And that he was wearing two different socks. I'm not awkward when I talk to people in bands at all...

Day 96: British humour

In an optional extra Honours Seminar class today we watched our professor's favorite comedy, which was very British but also hilarious. Made me realize there aren't too many good comedies from the US, though. I actually cannot think off the top of my head what my favorite comedy is... but I guess I'm not too much of a movie person anyway.

Day 95: The Holly and the Ivy

Wow. What a concert... we went to St. John's in Smith Square today for a Christmas concert - "The Glory of Christmas" - which was a benefit for the Head & Neck Cancer Research Trust. It was spectacular.

Here's the program:

Christmas Oratorio | JS Bach

Jauchzet, frohlocket | BWV 248

Winter from "The Seasons" | A Vivaldi

Fantasia on Christmas Carols | Ralph Vaughan Williams

Messiah | Worthy is the Lamb | GF Handel

____

Messiah | Hallelujah Chorus | GF Handel

Choir and audience | The First Nowell

Choir

In Dulci Jubilo | arr Pearsall (Carols for choirs)

The Holly and the Ivy | arr Jacques (Carols for choirs)

Lully Lulla | Kenneth Leighton

Choir and audience | O Little Town of Bethlehem

Choir and audience | See Amid the Winter's Snow

Choir and orchestra

Il est né le divin enfant

Myn Lyking

Masters in this Hall

Choir and audience | Hark the Herald Angels Sing

Organ Voluntary

In Dulce Jubilo | JS Bach

There were readings in between most pieces done by (I think) those who have been treated for neck or head cancer or are somehow involved with the organization. It was really nice and helped to break everything up.

It was performed by the Thames Chamber Orchestra under director Keith Marshall with the Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge under director David Rowland.

Oh, and did I mention that [HRH] Princess Alexandra was there, too? We did the whole stand until she sat down thing, although I never saw her.

The performance was beautiful, and the lead violinist was stunning. I don't know if this is normal at all, but for the Vivaldi piece he stood up and led the orchestra instead of the conductor directing everyone. It was incredible to hear and see it performed from the second row in a beautiful old church; we could even hear the violinist (David Juritz) breathe.

Anyway, time to study some more for an econ test. I can't believe it's December and that I've been to a Christmas concert already! This makes me wish I could go to the Christmas concert at Wooddale this month, but I'm missing it by I think four days, sadly.

Day 94: Blog updating

(This is for today!!)

Wow, finally caught up!

For something fun, watch this video. It will make you happy – or at least, that's my wish.

Day 93: Barn Dance

(This is for Saturday 29 November)

Saturday night I headed to a barn dance up the road as part of my recent folk endeavors. I wasn't really sure what the dance would entail, but I was able to get my name and my friends' names on the concessionary ticket list since we are local, so why not check it out?

It was at the Finsbury Town Hall in a large ball room that was beautiful.

When we arrived, the band hadn't started yet and people were kind of just standing around. I immediately felt underdressed, but soon realized we were also the youngest people there. There were a lot of late 20-somethings, but there was a strong representation of 30-somethings and 50+ people as well.

The first dance, we initially decided to wait it out and just see what things were like, but a friend and I decided we might as well just go for it. There was a lady up front announcing the moves and teaching everyone what the dance was like. We missed the first bit though, so we ended up not really having any idea what was going on. This dance required switching partners each time, which was so much fun. You'd end up with someone else who had no idea what was going on, and you'd both just give each other a shrug saying, "I have no idea what to do, but oh well!" and attempt to follow along with the dance.

This is basically what happened for the rest of the dances... so much fun. Some of them my friends and I actually understood, so we'd spend the dance trying to help other people figure out what was going on while not stepping on anyone's feet. I was definitely laughing most of the time. I love folk music. It really was quite the experience and is one of my favorite things I've done in London that I definitely would not have been able to do on campus.

Day 92: Cambridge

(This is for Friday 28 November)

Friday after class most of the Honours Seminar headed out to Cambridge for class. Our professor went to Cambridge, so he was the perfect tour guide for our day there. We stopped for a pub lunch overlooking the river and then walked around a lot of the colleges. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm glad we were able to see Cambridge at night. One word that really comes to mind is 'romantic'.

I'll hopefully get some pictures up soon, but I'm trying to find my card reader right now... it's got to be around the flat somewhere.

I think I liked Cambridge better than Oxford, but that's probably mainly because I learned so much about the University I wouldn't have learned if I'd gone on my own. I also feel like I have a much better understanding of what students are like there and what college life means. I think I would really like that style of learning, where intellectual and personal are so much more intertwined. The learning process isn't something confined as much to the classroom as it is in America.

After walking around, we headed to a historical pub where there were (I think) 12th century vernacular paintings on some of the walls. Also, the US Air Force was stationed near there during WWII, and before going out on their flight missions, they would stand on the tables and use candles to write on the ceiling messages to loved ones, their names, or short notes. You could still see the messages on the ceiling, though they were fading. Our professor said that as a student, it wasn't unusual for him to be sitting reading in the pub and then to see older men come in and just weep.

This was probably the best day trip I've made since being here, and it was a great experience to go as a class. It definitely helped me to learn more about the history of Cambridge and about my own intellectual pursuits and growth.

Day 91: Thanksgiving

(This is for Thursday 27 November, obviously!)

Thursday at work the departments where there are interns decided to have a potluck-style Thanksgiving lunch for the interns since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here in the UK. It was so cute; no one really knew what was Thanksgiving-y, so we had everything from empanadas to quiche, and a great selection of desserts. It was really sweet of them to do this for us in an attempt to help us feel more at home. I was already stuffed by 2:00 on Thanksgiving day, so I guess you could say this was pretty normal.

Thursday night the rectors had organized buying food for flats that wanted to participate in floor dinners, so we went next door for Thanksgiving dinner, complete with a turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It was really fun, and we even went around the table saying what we were thankful for.

After pie we watched some football (soccer) since there wasn't American football on, but other than that it felt like your regular American Thanksgiving.

A very thanking-filled Thanksgiving spent in London, even though I missed being with family. Sounds like you all had a great time :)