London Myths and Famous Graves

Another weekend excursion I did was visiting the St. Pancras Church.

This is one of the oldest churches in London, and is still the local parish for many people in that area. But while the church itself was great, one of the nicest things about the church is its gardens. Yes, when you walk through the gardens you're walking in between peoples' graves, but the gardens are maintained beautifully so it's not so obvious that you're walking through a graveyard. 

But while I was walking through, I found a very nice surprise! Nestled in the middle of the garden is a tree that has been dubbed The Hardy Tree. This tree reminded me of Emrys's lecture our first week here, where he talked about London myths. For me, this tree represented one of them. According to legend, when Hardy was a young man he worked for a man at the church and when the railroad was being built it ran right through St. Pancras church. Apparently, Hardy was given the task of removing the headstones and setting them around the tree, as the bodies were exhumed for reburial. 

The Hardy Tree

Headstones stacked around the base of the tree

It's an interesting story, and whether it's true or not, it definitely adds something to London's history! 

But the main thing I came to see at St. Pancras were the graves of William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, the parents of Mary Shelley. It's surprising, because the location of their graves is not very obvious but after much searching, I finally found them! 

The Godwin family plot

Grave of Mary Wollstonecraft

Grave of William Godwin

Rumor has it that it was over her parents' graves where Mary Shelley professed her love for Percy Bysshe Shelley. 

My last myth of London comes from this famous crypt: 

This is actually the family crypt of Sir John Soane, and legend has it that it was his crypt that inspired the design for the red phone booths that have become iconic images of London! 

Whether it's true or not, it still makes for an interesting story!

Charles Dickens's House!

At 48 Doughty Street lived one of the greatest writers that ever lived: Charles Dickens! His house has since been turned into a museum, and since Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors, I decided to visit his house over the weekend. 

What I really liked about the museum is that you first have to ring the bell and are then let into the foyer. This makes you feel like you're really a guest in Dickens's house. 

The foyer of Dickens's house

The walls of the foyer are lined with various letters written by Dickens, and immediately to your left is the first room of the museum. 

This first room of the museum has several pieces of information on Dickens, including some letters he wrote to George Cruikshank, the illustrator of his novels. 

Bust of Cruikshank along with a letter written to him from Dickens 

When you venture upstairs, you will find that there are several other rooms, including a replica of Charles Dickens's study. 

Dickens's Study

But one of the coolest things I saw at the museum was Dickens's red leather armchair, where he wrote Oliver Twist, Nicolas Nickleby, and The Pickwick Papers. I would have sat in that chair, but I fear if I had I would have been asked to leave the premises. I just stood there for a while and tried to imagine Dickens there writing some of his greatest novels. 

Dickens's red leather armchair

Some of the other really cool things I saw there were one of the earliest known portraits of Dickens as a young man, a copy of his family Bible, and his marriage certificate.

Portrait of Dickens as a young man

The Dickens family Bible

Dickens's marriage certificate

I would definitely say that the Charles Dickens Museum was one of my favorite things here in London. It was really nice too because it's tucked away on a little suburban street so it's not a very big tourist attraction, which means it's not very crowded! Just getting to see the house and some of the writings and personal belongings of one of my favorite authors was just amazing, and I definitely recommend it if you're a Dickens fan. 

So...Cheers, from Dickens! 

A Night With Shakespeare

Memorial to Shakespeare at Southwark Cathedral

I must say that attending a production of As You Like It at the Globe Theater was by far one of my favorite things that we've done so far. Reading one of Shakespeare's plays is one thing, but I think that actually being able to see it performed live adds a whole other layer to it. 

What I found really interesting about seeing the play live was really getting to fully understand the whole masculine vs. feminine tension that runs throughout the whole of the play. By seeing it live, you get a kind of understanding of what Shakespeare's audience must have felt like while viewing this play. For instance, Rosalinde would have certainly been played by a boy back in Shakespeare's time, so seeing a boy playing a girl disguised as a boy would certainly have been something very unusual for Shakespeare's audience. 

I also found it interesting how much Rosalinde's personality changes when she takes on the persona of Gannymede. When we first meet her as a woman, she's a scared and slightly weak young woman who's afraid for her life and has no idea where she's to go after she's banished by her uncle. In reality, it's her more feminine and delicate cousin Celia who comes up with their master plan to leave in disguise. 

But after Rosalinde's disguised as Gannymede, she changes into the worst kind of man imaginable. She turns into a harsh and misogynistic character who looks down on women and bullies them. This can be seen in her treatment of both Celia and Phoebe. It's almost like donning a man's clothes gives her a feeling of having more power and freedom to do as she pleases. 

But after she takes off Gannymede's disguise, she turns back into the stereotypical woman of the time. She gives up all her freedom to her father and her husband, pledging herself in obligation to them. 

What bothers me about this play is it seems to be sending the message that as a woman you can only have power while "wearing mens' clothing". But I also think it's important to remember that we're looking at this play through a modern lens, and that that paradigm makes no sense to us now, but to Shakespeare's audience it would have made perfect sense. In Shakespeare's time it was the man who was in charge, and it was the woman's duty to do as he commanded. 

A Wonderful Day in Kent

Up until our journey to Kent, all we'd seen of England had been London, but we'd never seen the English country side. But seeing Kent in all its glory changed all that.

I found the countryside of Kent to be simply breathtaking; the mountains and slopes of green seemed to go on forever, and sometimes there were bits of purple among all the green due to the lavender that grows there.

Kent's beautiful lavender fields

Being there in Kent, I was able to see why artists such as William Blake and Samuel Palmer found such inspiration in nature. Feeling like you're truly one with nature leaves you feeling calm and at peace; a perfect medium for inspiration! I also think that in nature, there's sometimes more to "marvel" at than in the city. I know that the city is wonderful too, but to a Christian in London's earlier years seeing something that you believe was made completely by a divine being is just miraculous. And feeling like you're one with nature also leaves you with the feeling that you're closer to God, yet another medium for inspiration!   

Something that I "marveled" at during out trip to Kent was all the flowers. I know that's such a cliche response for a girl but I just loved all the colors! I especially loved the red poppies, because I really liked how bright and vibrant the colors were. 

I think that all in all, I was very inspired by nature this weekend!

Poppies in Kent!

Mirror Teeth: Absurdity at its finest!

After seeing Mirror Teeth ( which I adored!), I found some of it reminding me of the lectures that Dr. Baillie has been giving the past few days. Dr. Baillie has mentioned often that Post-Colonial literature often deals with ethnic characters not feeling "at home" in the place that they live, even when they were born there. This is a common theme that Salman Rushdie also touches on in his essay Imaginary Homelands.  


Rushdie discusses how there's always a sense of feeling like a stranger in a homeland where you don't really understand the culture. He also discusses how you always feel like your true homeland is the place where you culture is, even when you aren't even born in that country. I found that the character of Kwesi in Mirror Teeth fit this model perfectly.

When we are first introduced to Kwesi, he is a bit of a shy and timid young man who really doesn't have his own opinions on things; he'd rather listen to what other people tell him. But when we see Kwesi after he has moved to the Middle East with the Jones family we suddenly see a different side of him. We see Kwesi dressed in a suit and making powerful speeches about his thoughts on business and economics.  Even though he was born in London we can clearly see that he's more comfortable in his native country, or a country that's at least a bit more similar to the one his family would have been from.

But in the end, Kwesi dies. This leads into another point made by Dr. Baillie and by Rushdie; that ethnic people born in a different country often don't really fit in anywhere, and are often forced to straddle two cultures. Kwesi's death could symbolize how he's not really accepted into either London or Middle-Eastern society. We see hope in him that he's finally found a place where he belongs, but in the end it's not meant to be.

This is a tangent that has nothing to do with Post-Colonialism, but this play reminded me a lot of the play La Leçon written by French playwright Eugène Ionesco in 1951. La Leçon is a lot like Mirror Teeth in that it's an absurd play that uses both dark humor and sexual references as a source of social commentary. But instead of the lives of ethnics, La Leçon focuses on the state of the education system in 1950s France. And, like Mirror Teeth, it's very effective about getting that message across and showing us how inept and corrupt a social institution might actually be. 

My Day in Hackney

I spent a wonderful day on Saturday exploring Hackney with Aisling Conboy and her flat mate Rina. Hackney itself is much different than London; it's not as busy and has a more hip, "urban" feel to it. It's very New York, almost like Greenwich Village is how I would describe it.

There's a canal that runs through the center of town with distressed and abandoned warehouses on either side that harken back to the town's factory days. Nowadays those warehouses have become hip studios which artists and musicians choose to call home.

You get a good view of the canal as well as some of the old warehouses!

Walking along the canal was very cool, but it's also a popular spot for cyclists. Cyclists, people walking, a narrow sidewalk, and water is not a good combination. We kept looking behind us every two seconds hoping someone wasn't going to knock us in the canal!

There was also a local organization that was hosting an exhibition that shows the history of Hackney. Aisling was explaining to me that not a lot of people tended to come down to Hackney in the past, so there's been groups of people lately who are really trying to build up the area. 

Hackney actually has a very rich history, apparently there used to be a long Roman road that ran through the area and remains of the road can still be found in Hackney today. 

A part of the exhibition which shows what the old Roman road would have looked like

There was also a replica of an apartment building from the 70s which was sort of like a dollhouse for adults! 

The model was mainly constructed out of photographs, including the bricks on the outside. If you looked closely, you could see that each photo was different; similar to what the actual outside of a building would look like. There were also photos of actual families who were living in the building in the 70s; it was almost like you were getting to take a glance into their life! 

Hackney was definitely a great place to visit, it's the perfect place to go if you want to get away from the more "tourist-y" parts of London.  It's also got really great Turkish and Indian restaurants, which is definitely a plus! I will definitely be paying another visit to Hackney before I leave, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to find a great place full of excitement and hip. trendy locals!

The Imperial War Museum and the Value of Human Life

For today's excursion we went to the Imperial War Museum. Seeing WWII through the eyes of a Brit was really cool, but the exhibit that hit me the hardest was the Holocaust Exhibit. 

Several times while walking through, I found myself with tears in my eyes and I found myself asking: How could the Nazis have had no respect at all for human life? They would round up Jews and shoot them just for the fun of it and beat them until they couldn't walk or stand.  They'd kill a man's friends and then make him pray over the bodies just for a laugh. People wouldn't treat animals like that, so why were they treating people that way? 

One of the hardest things for me was seeing a glass case full of shoes and seeing the shoes of a little child sitting there. Knowing that a young child lost their life, when they'd barely experienced life, just for being Jewish was really sad for me. 

But apart from being sad, it also makes me angry. Why weren't more people standing up and saying, this is wrong? How could they just stand by and let it happen? Worse yet, how can some people even say the Holocaust never happened? Look around, look at the tragic images of people so weak and sick that they couldn't even show happiness when the Allied Powers freed them. Look at the pictures of bodies of stick thin, emaciated people piled on top of each other as if they didn't even matter, as if they didn't have names, or friends, or family.  

After seeing this exhibit, I feel like I've changed a bit; my mindset has changed. No matter how bad my life may seem at any given moment, it can't be worse than having no value as a person and being treated like garbage. Having one bad day among a million good ones is better than having to endure years of pain, violence, and torture from others just for being different. 

We all worry about such frivolous things, isn't it time we start worrying about things that matter?

A Friday Jaunt to the Tower of London

I went to the Tower of London on Friday and I must say it was one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced! You come in on the DLR and the first thing you see is the top of the White Tower and it just leaves you breathless. The Tower of London is one of the places I've most been dying to visit and being able to see it, actually see it was just spectacular! 

I decided to go on one of the Yeomen tours because the tower is massive, and I didn't want to miss anything. Our tour guide for the day was the lovely Moira!

Moira was absolutely hilarious, and hearing her personal take on things was great.

One of the first things Moira showed us was the Bell Tower, where St. Thomas More was imprisoned while awaiting execution. I really admire Thomas More, and seeing the place where he was held was just amazing. 

Next was the infamous Traitor's Gate, where "high-profile" prisoners were often brought. Some famous people to pass through these gates include Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I. 

I also saw the Bloody Tower, where the two princes in the tower were murdered, and the scaffold site, where Anne Boleyn, Jane Grey, and Katherine Howard all lost their heads.
















I could include a lot more here, but for the sake of length and making sure I don't bore anyone, I'm going to continue! I visited the White Tower, built in 1076 by William the Conqueror to be his royal stronghold, which now houses the armories museum. I saw everything from the sword of Oliver Cromwell to the armor of King Henry VIII. It would be terribly boring if I included all the pictures I took here, so I'm going to include one, which was an impressive suit of armor worn by Henry VIII while he was either in his late teens or early twenties.

One of my favorite things I saw was the Crown Jewels but, unfortunately, photos aren't allowed there :( If there were, you can be sure I'd have lots of impressive photos here!

Well, there you have it, my Friday jaunt to the Tower! In honor of Jennie's horror movie lecture; sleep tight, avoid the ghosts, and don't let the executioner get you!

London in the Dark

Today in our London in film unit, we studied London in horror. As a great lover of horror movies, I found this unit to be quite interesting.

London lends itself very well to the horror genre because there's so much history here, with lots of creepy material to work with. For example, the Tower of London, which has experienced torture, death, and pain throughout the years; Whitechapel, where Jack the Ripper made his nightly "runs"; and numerous castles and palaces which are said to be haunted by restless spirits.

But there are other things that make London a great setting for horror as well. During one of our class discussions we discussed this issue. One thing I think is that the modern London we know today was built up around an ancient city, which leads to lots of winding roads and an "un-organized" design. When contrasted to a city like New York with it's very structured grid-like pattern, the difference is evident. Imagine being chased, in the dark, in a place where none of the roads have any logical pattern and you never quite know what's coming around the next turn. Pretty scary, right?

I also think London weather is great for horror; what could be better than fog, gray skies, and cold winds for a horror movie?

Sure, London can be a scary place. But if it wasn't, where would the fun be?

A Journey to Portobello Road

Because the theme of the upcoming week's lesson is London in Film, which included viewing Notting Hill before arriving, I decided to pay a visit to the real  Notting Hill to visit the famous Portobello Road Market. It was an amazing experience! There were various street vendors selling everything from crepes, to pocket watches, to silver wares. I even saw a pair of black cats sleeping in a storefront window! 

 

One of the best things I saw all day though, was a group of Jewish men playing folk songs on the street. People were clapping along and laughing as the men played; the fiddle player had some of the fastest fingers I've ever seen! 

In general, I would recommend Notting Hill to everyone, and I will definitely be going back!

Thoughts on Living Life as a Londoner

I've only been here about a week so far, and already I can see and feel how different life is here than in the States. For example, it's amazing how much people walk here! There's not a vast amount of cars on the road, and most everything is within walking distance. I actually prefer this mode of transportation to taking a car everywhere.

I've also noticed that Londoners in general tend to talk much more quietly. I've noticed in particular that Londoners' voices tend to go down at the end of sentences, whereas in America ours go up. I've heard some people from London say that they can hear American from a mile away because they tend to me much louder!

Ancient Wonders of London: From The Stone of Brutus to the Old Roman Wall

One of the things that most amazes me about London, and England in general, is the vast amount of history that can be found here. It's interesting to see how the ancient remains of old Britannia have blended and meshed with the modernities of modern England; you can find an ancient pagan temple next to a mile high sky scraper. Of some of our many excursions, we have had the opportunity to view some of these amazing ancient wonders.
The Stone of Brutus

It was very interesting to me to see this old remain of mythical England stored on the side of a now busy and cosmopolitan street. As I was looking at it, it awed me to think of all those ancient Britons who once held this stone in the highest regard and even made it the center of their city from which the distance of everything would be measured from. Even in our modern and industrial world, you can still feel the power of this stone.







The Temple of Mithras

Seeing the remains of this ancient pagan temple was an amazing thing to see. While we were looking at it, some of my friends and I tried to imagine what this temple would have looked like while it was in use. Would their have been rituals? Candles? Maybe even a statue or two? That's one of the most amazing things about history, trying to think about what it must have really been like.

The Old Roman Wall

Seeing this remain of the once powerful Roman Empire was absolutely amazing! You can see how advanced they were and how well their things were made by the mere fact that some of them are still standing. The remains of the old wall is one of those things.