Two Weekends in London - Friends, Literature, and Food.

I've fallen horribly behind on keeping this up to date, but I intend to remedy the situation. Life has been BUSY and will only be getting more busy from here on out, so apologies for future failures in posting in a timely fashion.

I'll begin with two weekends ago (21 October).

Friday - Afternoon spent at the Imperial War Musuem, which is HUGE. There's so much to see in this musuem; I was there about 3 hours and barely saw half of it, I think. There's a wing on WWI, a wing on WWII, an exhibit on the Holocaust, a gallery on London for Children during the Blitz, an exhibit on General Montgomery, and a special exhibit on Intelligence Agencies in Britain (MI5, MI6, etc.). Each exhibit had displays full of photographs, uniforms, weapons, documents of various sorts, medals, and lengthy descriptions of the artifacts. It was overwhelming to try to take in everything. Luckily, the IWM is free, so I'll definitely head back there at some future date - hopefully when Dad and Eric are here to visit!

In front of the IWM

The Lobby of the IWM - A boy's paradise.

The weekend of 21-23 October was also the Bloomsbury Festival, which is a literary festival held in the Bloomsbury area of London (Russell Square to be precise). There were events all weekend long, but I only made it to a handful. On Friday night, my friend Shana and I went down to Russell Square for the opening of the festival - the Lantern Parade.

Russell Square

Lanterns in the Square

Drums at the Lantern Parade

Shana Graff and I at the Lantern Parade

Hundreds of schoolchildren from the area make the lanterns and then parade around the Square. It wasn't quite the epic event I had imagined, but it was a neat atmosphere and I had a cup of very delicious (but very strong) mulled wine. Overall, a nice night out.

On Saturday, 22 October, I headed to Greenwich Market and Park with a group of friends from Tower Hamlets Community Church. I got a bit lost on the way there, which was interesting. To cross the Thames, I took the foot tunnel under the river - quite a scary experience. It did give me some idea of just how wide the Thames is, though I hated to think about walking under it...

The foot tunnel under the Thames

Two things. 1. So many stairs. Counting the landings for me = not helpful or encouraging. 2. 'Blasting'?!!!! WHAT?! Very terrifying.

Anyways, after the ordeal of the tunnel, I finally met up with the group. We grabbed some lunch from Greenwich market, which is a really nice market held in a lovely area of London. The food was DELICIOUS. I went for a Mediterranean wrap with lamb and spices and veggies. Yum. We had a little picnic in the grassy area near the Royal Naval Academy in Greenwich before heading to the gorgeous Greenwich Park. At the top of the hill in the park, I got to straddle the Meridian line (wooo whoo, big moment) and take the cheesiest tourist photo ever. The group of us then spent some time at the Tea Pavilion, drinking coffee and tea and playing silly games. It was nice to just hang out with friends and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.

Straddling the Meridian line. Two time zones at once.

View of London from the hill at Greenwich Park

Lovely fall day in Greenwich Park

I left the group a bit early to head to an evening event for the Bloomsbury Festival. I saw "The Bloomsbury Foursome" - a group of four poets who did readings from their works. The performance was free and was enjoyable. One of the poets (Bob Goody) was particularly amusing, though the subject matter of his poems was... special... inappropriate... anatomical... yeah. The musician who played a set as part of the reading was my favorite part though. Be sure to look out for L.A. Salami in the future - he's got quite a voice and a real talent for songwriting. His song "She Ran" was perfect.

On Sunday, 23 October, I went to church - twice. First to THCC in the morning, then to Hillsong London in the evening. Hillsong had AMAZING worship - obviously, they're HILLSONG. It was wonderful to see so many people come together to worship with such energy and excitement.

Last week Monday, I continued in the literary vein and attended a talk by writer Sebastian Faulks, the author of novels such as Birdsong and Devil May Care (the latest James Bond novel). Faulks talked about writing - his process, how he forms characters, what he thinks is important for inventors of tales, research, etc. It was fascinating and inspiring. The event was hosted by the Royal Society of Literature and held at King's Place near King's Cross. After the event, I met up with friends to celebrate a birthday. We had some  fish and chips and drinks at the Glassblower Pub on Oxford Street to end the evening.

Fish and chips! And a gin and tonic! Yummm.

The rest of the week was pretty quiet - Tuesday night dinner and study with THCC small group, Wednesday student bible study and a nice Skype date with the grandparents.

And then Thursday, I left for a weekend holiday in Swansea, Wales. But that's for another post.

A Taste of Life

This past week or so has been a taste of life will be like the next couple of months. My days are full, and even those that I don't spend exploring someplace new are exciting. Just the pace of living here is refreshing and the people I've met are lovely.


Last Tuesday, I embarked on another bookshop hunt in the Charing Cross area. I walked from Hatchard's on Piccadilly Road on down to Charing Cross, where I spent the afternoon browsing through some great used bookshops. My favorite was Henry Pordes Booksellers, which is lined floor to ceiling on two floors with used books of all genres. The older man working there was just what a bookseller should be: he was sitting at the counter chatting about Tolstoy when I came in and looked somewhat disgruntled when I interrupted his reading when I approached the counter to pay. He then lovingly wrapped the book I purchased in brown paper, folding the edges perfectly without crinkling the paper. Just the look of the brown paper package in my arms the rest of the day made me smile. I ended my little jaunt with coffee and chocolate cake at the Foyles cafe (I'm so weak, I know. I couldn't resist the cafe or the cake).


Tuesday nights I attend a small group from Tower Hamlets Community Church with some amazing people who love God. The older members have pretty much adopted us QM students as younger siblings, which is really neat. We gather for a couple of hours each week to eat dessert, drink coffee and tea, and study the book of Mark.


Wednesday afternoons, another bible study - this time with just fellow Christians at QM and only meeting for an hour to pray and learn together.


Gosh, this really was a quiet week compared to the others I've had. I did go out to eat last Thursday night after Christian Union. A group of us went to Nando's, "home of the legendary, Portuguese flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken." Nando's is THE place to go out to eat here in East London, and apparently it's big all over the UK. The food is delicious.


Friday afternoon, I went to the cinema to see "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." I had read the book shortly after arriving in London as was excited to see the film version that just recently came out. Gary Oldman and Colin Firth were absolutely perfect for the parts they played.


Saturday morning I attended a training session with members of 7 different churches in the Tower Hamlets area for a night shelter that the churches collectively run from December through February. The project, called growTH, is really special and very much needed in this area - homelessness is a problem, and for Christians to show hospitality to those without a place to go is so important. I've been praying for the shelter as everything gets organized and I hope to be a part of it. After the meeting, my friend Shana and I headed to Kensington to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V and A is HUGE and has some really unique exhibits on jewelry, glass, architecture, and silver. The furniture exhibit - what I think the V and A is famous for - is unfortunately closed for another year, so we didn't get to see it.

The V and A - Reproduction of the Trojan Column

The glass fixture over the lobby of the V and A

The V and A courtyard

We then headed to the Natural History Museum just to see the main lobby of the building. We were pretty museum-ed out by this point, so we just stepped inside.

Museum of Natural History

We then, I'm afraid to say, did the typical tourist-y thing of going to Harrod's. I thought I've been in big stores before - I've even been to the Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly - but even that could not compare to  the size of this place. We made it through the food section before we just had to give up. It was sensory overload - so many delicious smells and beautiful decorations and so many people! We walked past the bakery, the cheese counter, the florist, the vegetable and fruit counters, the coffee and tea area, and.... the CHOCOLATE. We managed to get a free sample of Harrod's chocolate and I think my life is pretty much complete now (well at least it felt like it for those two glorious minutes).

One of the food departments at Harrod's. Stunning.

After deciding we could not afford to eat at Harrod's, Shana and I headed to Chinatown for some Chinese food (duh!). We ate at a small cafe there, splitting dishes of vegetable lo mein, sweet and sour chicken, egg-fried rice, cooked veggies, and wan ton soup. The area was pretty crowded that night because the London Film Festival is taking place in nearby Leicester Square.

Chinatown

Sunday morning I helped set up at THCC for service, then spent the afternoon catching up on reading and actually doing some homework. Monday was an errand day, which included a trip to Barclays Bank to sort out my account, opening a membership at the Idea Store (aka the library) near by in order to get 1GBP tickets to the Tower of London, and a major shopping run to Sainsbury's. At night I attended a screening of 'Jane Eyre' in the chapel on campus.

Since then, it's been a pretty quiet week - seminars, small groups, yogalates, some laundry, some homework. It's been quite nice to be just a student for a few days instead of a world traveler.

Speaking of being a student, I thought I'd share this - I've been eating pretty well, making meals for myself and all that. This was one of my dinners last week, however, and it's pretty creative (if I do say so myself):

Scrambled eggs with chopped up turkey slices, gouda cheese, and cucumbers.

I have discovered that anything can be tossed into scrambled eggs and still taste good, haha. I do not eat like this all the time, just so you know: this was just before I got a chance to go shopping and I needed to use up some of the lunch meat and veggies in my fridge.

Anyways, that's all for now. This weekend's a busy one so there'll be more to tell next time.

A Weekend in Hardy Country - and a Blessing.

'It is safer to accept any chance that offers itself, and extemporize a procedure to fit it, than to get a good plan matured, and wait for a chance of using it.' - Far From the Madding Crowd


Every once in a while, God sends an opportunity our way that is so unexpected and so wonderful that our whole vision of the future is instantly brightened. It rarely happens that I wake up smiling with no emotional or mental weight on my chest. This past weekend, I experienced the overwhelming happiness that comes from a once-in-a-lifetime experience being presented to me.

I'll start from the beginning. This past Friday, I headed to Dorchester (a small town in the south of England, in the county of Dorset). Dorchester's claim to fame is being the home of the novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, whose works I absolutely love for their love and tragedy and natural landscape. Hardy was very much inspired by the rural surroundings of Dorset and set most of his novels in the area he knew best (he re-named Dorset "Wessex" in his works). I decided to head to Hardy's country for the Thomas Hardy Harvest Weekend, which was organized by the Thomas Hardy Society.

My train left Waterloo Station in London at 10:30am on Friday. On the three-hour journey, I passed some of England's most beautiful countryside. I also got to see my first glimpse of the English Channel - I was fortunate to see it on a sunny fall day.

The Channel

On the train.

From the Dorchester South station, I had about a 15-minute walk to the little bed and breakfast I booked a room at. Heading away from the town centre, I passed the loveliest churchyard I have ever seen. During my three days there, I failed to catch the name of this church, but I took a bunch of pictures of it. Just imagine this: A quiet walk on a fall day. There are green leaves on the trees still, though the sidewalk is covered with a carpet of yellow and red and brown shades. A young woman walks, suitcase in tow, along a road. On her left appears a small church and cemetery. The wind softly blows her hair off of her face and rustles the branches of the trees. The church, a small stone structure with a miniature turret on the north face stands in the middle of hundreds of stone crosses. The rolling hills of farmland are just visible in the background. The scene is dominated by a sense of peace, standing in stark contrast to the girl's recent days in the hustle and bustle of London.

I stopped for a moment near the stone wall enclosing the churchyard and marveled at its quaintness. This is the church where I want to get married, to have my children christened, and to be buried outside of. It's hard to explain how perfect this little area was - you'll just have to take my word for it. This was my first vision of Dorchester and proved to be the opening of one of the best weekends of my life.

After having my heart's fill of the church, I continued on my way. I spent the weekend at the Aquila Heights Guest House, which is a bed and breakfast off of Maiden Castle Road. The house is quite large (7 rooms, I believe) and has a wonderful little garden in the back. Guests come and go as they please and, unlike the hotels we have in America, there is personal attention paid to everyone who stays there. The proprietor, an elderly lady named Joan, was exceptionally sweet to me. I told her of the Poetry Evening I was going to attend that night at Max Gate (Hardy's home) and she immediately offered me a ride there. I depended a lot on the generosity of others this weekend and it seemed like everyone I met was willing to help me in any way they could. It was wonderful to receive such kindness from complete strangers.

Aquila Heights Guest House

In the few hours I had to kill before heading to Max Gate, I walked down to the Dorchester Town Centre to see the Hardy memorial and visit the Dorset County Museum, where Hardy's final study (including his desk, pens, books, and violin) has been preserved and is on display. The town of Dorchester is small - approximately five square blocks - and is made up of little cafes, shops, travel agencies, and hotels. There are a number of museums and churches, which I found strangely overlapped (there was a King Tut exhibit in one of the Anglican churches - I guess when you've limited space in town, you have to be creative). I spent an hour or so in the Dorset Country Museum, which in addition to Hardy's study has a collection of fossils from the Jurassic Coast (the southern coast of England) and an exhibit dedicated to the various writers from Dorset or who were inspired by Dorset.

Thomas Hardy Statue in Dorchester

The Dorset County Museum on the left and the Corn Exchange further down the street (converted into a theater where the Hardy players performed his works)

During my meanderings around the town, I also saw a number of buildings directly mentioned by Hardy in his novels. It's quite unique to see the exact places that a writer immortalizes in his work and I admire Dorchester for conserving these 19th century buildings for literary pilgrims like myself to see. Here's a few examples:

The Mayor of Casterbridge House - now a branch of Barclays bank

Saturday's sites: Maumbury Rings - a Neolithic grass fortress which Hardy sets the meetings between Henchard and his wife at in The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Kings Arms hotel - mentioned in several Hardy works

Friday night, I attended the Poetry Evening at Hardy's home, Max Gate. Members of the Hardy Society gathered to celebrate National Poetry Day by reading some of Hardy's poems in the parlor of his house. I met some really lovely people at the event, including a professor from St. Andrew's University in Scotland who offered to open his home and office to me when I visit Edinburgh in November; the couple who lived at Max Gate for the past 17 years; three post-grad students from Exeter University who gave me a ride back to Aquila Heights; and the doctoral student who is currently working and living at Max Gate (she's originally from Arkansas and is doing a Ph.D through St. Andrew's Uni). All of us Hardy admirers sat around and read some of his most famous poems and the poems of other writers inspired by Hardy. It was such a nice evening - good poetry, good people, good Dorset cider (it's delicious).

The next morning I woke up early to have a full English breakfast prepared by Joan. It was remarkable - eggs, English bacon, hash browns, Dorset mushrooms, fresh fruit, toast, and coffee. I loved it. And I later was extremely grateful for having such a substantial meal in the morning...

Here's where the adventure begins. I, in all my wisdom, decided to do a walk out to Thomas Hardy's cottage, where he lived until his marriage at the age of 34. I had gotten my hands on a little brochure that guided the walk to the church where Hardy's heart is buried, along one of his favorite walking paths, and then out to his cottage. The brochure said the walk to the cottage would be about 4 miles and I, figuring I'm young and in good shape, thought it'd be no problem. HA.

The walk started out lovely enough - rural countryside, sunny fall day, all that.

I walked through two fields for about, oh, 40 minutes and reached Stinsford Church, a building Hardy worked with his father to restore and in whose churchyard his heart is buried.

Hardy's heart is buried with the remains of his wives (Emma and Florence). His ashes are at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey.

Stinsford was lovely and I sat on an old bench in the cemetery to write and to rest for a little bit. I then headed back down to the path to continue on my way. The next stretch followed a 'river' (more like a creek - I should have known the brochure was not credible by this point). The path was really lovely, though I wish I had been smart and been on horseback like the other people I passed.

At the end of the path, I was routed through the village of Lower B-something, through a farmer's field and on to another grazing field. By this point, I've crossed five fields, opened multiple heavy, rusty old gates, and passed numerous farm animals (chickens, sheep, cows, etc.) and I've been walking for almost two hours. Then I come to this:

See that gate on the left? I have to exit the field through that. See those cows? They, too, want to exit through that (though they are held back by some wire fencing). As I approach said gate, said big black cow approaches. As I wiggle through the gate, the cow nudges me quite vigorously with her nose. Having never been so close to a cow before, I am quite shaken by this. It was an ordeal.


After walking another mile or so UPHILL, I finally come to a Tea House out in the middle of nowhere. I'm exhausted, my feet ache from walking through fields and across gravel roads. Then I see them - my saviors. Two ladies from Bath are in the parking lot, discussing how they're heading to Hardy's cottage. So I did what any tired college student would do: I hitchhiked. They happily gave me a ride the rest of the way to cottage, sparing me quite a hike through the woods.

The cottage was very pretty and, while I was upset at the writers of the brochure, I was glad I made the effort to come out to see it. The size of the rooms was shocking - a family of 6 or 7 squeezed into that little house! The cottage is preserved by the National Trust, along with the gardens and orchards.

Finally made it to the cottage!

Hardy's bedroom.

The family orchard.

The kind ladies from Bath (Sally and Jane) were then kind enough after our visit to the cottage to take me to lunch with them at a local restaurant and then on to Max Gate, Hardy's home where I had visited the night before. I again met the doctoral student staying at Max Gate as well as the woman who organizes the events and tenancy at the house. They were extremely nice to me, sending me upstairs to Hardy's study with a cup of coffee to spend a couple hours reading before my jaunt back to the bed and breakfast.

Max Gate

When I came back downstairs, I again had a little chat with them and the subject of the tenancy of Max Gate came up. Then it happened - the glorious chance that God sent my way. The doctoral student has to return to the States in May and there'll be an open position to live and work at Max Gate. The coordinator, Caroline, then inquired whether I'd be interested in staying there for a time. Um, YES!!! So this May, for a month or more, I will most likely be LIVING in THOMAS HARDY'S HOUSE - working, doing research, etc. HOW AMAZING IS THAT?! I'll be able to read and write in the study of one of the greatest English writers ever. I was blown away at having such an opportunity offered to me and I am now so excited about the spring! This also pretty much sets in stone my thesis topic - looking at Thomas Hardy's tragic heroines and investigating how their fates are a reflection of the laws and social expectations of late Victorian England. And I'll be doing the research for this in Dorchester, in Hardy's house, surrounded by members of the Hardy Society. Can you say "perfect"?!

Sunday morning, I woke up with a huge smile on my face. I was exhausted from Saturday's hike, but filled to the brim with excitement for the year ahead. Coming to London has been wonderful, but I never expected anything like this to happen. I am so truly blessed.

Before heading to the station to catch my train back to London, I walked out to Maiden Castle - a huge grass fortress just outside of Dorchester. The views were stunning, and though I didn't have time to walk up Maiden Castle, I could sit and marvel at the countryside for a few minutes.

My big Dorchester smile. So happy.

Maiden Castle - also appears in Hardy's novels (Far From the Madding Crowd)

The road to Maiden Castle. Like the road ahead of me, it's sunny and green and a vision of hope.

Nice Weather in England - Time to Go Out!

The exhilaration of living in London has yet to subside and this past week certainly reflects how much I've been driven to travel and explore. I woken up every day full of expectation, my head whirling with ideas of what to do and see. Plus the weather has been SO nice - the residents of England have been shocked by the little heat-wave and we all just want to enjoy these last days of warmth and blue skies.


On Friday, 30 September, I took a lovely bus tour to Bath, Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. Seeing the English countryside was wonderful. London really is very different from the rest of the country: its huge buildings, lack of green, and crowds are quite opposite to the landscape of the typical English village. 

A country house.

Bath was a delight - truly, it was - and I got to see it on a rare, Indian-summer day in England. The Bath-stone, Georgian architecture gives the city a character all its own. The history of Bath causes one to think of it as a three-tiered cake: the first layer being Roman, the second Medieval, and the third Georgian. Remains of each layer are clearly visible to the city's visitors today. For example, our little tour group saw the Roman Baths, Bath Abbey, and the Parade Gardens of Jane Austen's time.

The Colosseum-like Residences

Bath Abbey

The arcade outside of the Roman Baths

The Roman Baths

 The Baths themselves are something to see. The museum is built around the ruins of the baths, temples, and other Roman buildings. The springs of healing mineral water still fill the ancient tubs, though those hoping to have access to the water's powers must go to a hospital in Bath instead of the public baths. Having tasted a sample of the water, I can attest to the water's warmth and cleanliness (though of its healing properties I remain ignorant). I enjoyed the little time we had to explore the baths and the surrounding area. Bath Abbey, next door to the baths, is stunning - it was, however, unimpressive compared to the church we headed to next.

Last view of Bath - Poultney Bridge.

The ride from Bath across Salisbury plain, across hilly English countryside, passed too quickly. Suddenly, from afar, a tall spire (the tallest in England) became visible. We entered the quaint little town of Salisbury and were dropped off near Salisbury Cathedral.

Christa, Emma, and I

Salisbury Cathedral is one of the world's most famous Gothic Cathedrals. It is an imposing structure, dominating the small village of Salisbury. The cathedral houses the country's oldest working clock, gorgeous stained glass (original and post-WWII), gorgeous chapels, and - in the chapter house - one of the last surviving original copies of the Magna Carta (which, for as old as it is, is in much better shape than our Founding documents).

We then headed to Stonehenge. It is a bunch of rocks, truth be told, and isn't as epic to see a second time. It was, however, a nice way to end our day of travel by coach across the countryside.

Happy tourists!

After Friday's adventures, I was quite tired. Saturday left me exhausted. I volunteered for the Fulbright Commission at College Day USA, an event where UK students can come learn about studying in the US. I had to leave campus at 6:30am on a Saturday morning, be at Kensington Town Hall at 7:30am, and worked until 6:00pm. It was a long day of showing exhibitors around, passing out information packets to over 4,000 students, collecting tickets, and cleaning up. Meeting other Gilman scholars, Fulbright scholars, and Fulbright staff was pleasant, but I was completely wiped out by the end of the event.

On Sunday, I attended the increasingly-beloved Tower Hamlets Community Church, caught up on "The Office," and then went to an afternoon service at Christ Church London. Christ Church is quite hopping - many young people attend and the church sponsors many projects in the city - but THCC still feels more like home and I think I'll stick with it as my church while I'm here.

After a day of class, reading, and yogalates (taught by the most enthusiastic Scottish lady) on Monday, I again ventured out into London on Tuesday afternoon after my seminar. I made a trip to the Poetry Cafe to have a cup of coffee and read for a bit. I was surprised to find myself the only customer in the place, but was told that it can get quite crowded in the evenings when the venue hosts readings and workshops. The Cafe - which is pretty much a little hole-in-the-wall off of Drury Lane - is a home base for the National Poetry Society in the UK, which sponsors events and competitions throughout the year.

Next stop was Covent Garden. I popped into the Royal Opera House to purchase a ticket for the Royal Ballet's production of "Manon" on November 3 (the kind guy at the Box Office found me a super good price for a great seat!) then just meandered around the area. I caught the end of a street performance by a Charlie Chaplin impersonator. He was terrorizing a poor kid from the audience who was forced to don a Chaplin mustache, coat, and derby.

"A day without laughter is a day wasted." How true. I certainly laughed that day though. :)

To top off this London excursion, I met some friends at St. Paul's Cathedral for Evensong. The service was beautiful - the cathedral, the choir, and message were moving and the experience is one I'll remember. After Evensong, we stuck around for a debate between two theologians about Eve and how interpretations of the Genesis story have influenced the historical treatment of women. It was interesting and thought-provoking, though nothing mind-blowing.

St. Paul's Cathedral

Wednesday was Laundry Day - aka Wash-only-necessary-items-in-your-bathroom-sink-and-hang-them-on-a-line-to-dry Day. Laundry is a ridiculously expensive and complicated process at QMUL so I'm being creative and frugal by hand-washing my things.

That brings us to today. After class, I headed to the Royal Academy of Arts to see a special exhibition on Degas and the Dance. Degas is one of my favorites, so it was very cool to see a vast collection of his paintings, sketches, sculptures, and photographs. I then meandered down Piccadilly Road, stopping at Hatchard's booksellers and Waterstone's (where I had a delicious cup of coffee and triple-chocolate muffin - it was time for a little treat). Tonight, a meeting for Christian Union and a chat with Christa about co-leading a bible study for fresher girls this year. All in all, just another good day in London. :)

Tomorrow morning I take a train to Dorchester for the Thomas Hardy Harvest Weekend.

Other events coming up:

Oct. 21 - HOST visit to Leighton Buzzard?

Oct. 27 - Swansea, Wales for the Dylan Thomas Festival

Nov. 3 - "Manon" at the Royal Opera House

Nov. 4-13 - No classes, so possibly a trip to Oxford or Manchester and then on to Edinburgh

Nov. 25-26 - Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Royal Shakespeare Company in a new production called "The Heart of Robin Hood"