I've Just Been; and It's Frozen Over!

Good evening, dear readers!

Apologies for going so long between updates (’cause I just know you’ve been waiting with baited breath for the next titillating entry)! But, unfortunately, there just hasn’t been much to say. It’s all been pretty quiet, with me spending most of my time finishing up the massive amount of reading I had for classes last week.

Speaking of my room, I promised I’d post a couple of images this go-round, and I’m a man of my word, so here goes:

What's that on the laptop? Why--it's this very blog! How meta!

The studying couch--which, apparently, the evil cat got to at some point...

Not much to it, really. There’s the bed, a couch (on which I do my studying), a wardrobe, an extra chair, a bookcase that serves as a dressing table of sorts, and a coffee table that acts as a catch-all for everything else. 

I will, however, say that I absolutely ADORE the key—

Finally I can pretend to be Nicole Kidman in "The Others"

—and wish that keys in the states were still cut like this. It makes me feel all Victorian.

Speaking of differences in tools, I discovered something today that I hadn’t noticed before—something that (from my perspective) we do better in the States: laundry. Now, I’ve done laundry a couple of times since I’ve been here already, but I’ve always been busy doing other things, and never noticed the passage of time.

Today was different. I started a tub of laundry around 1:30 PM, assuming it would take about 30-60 minutes to complete, at which point I could hang it up and have it more-or-less dried by tomorrow morning—

(NB: houses that I’ve visited here do not have dryers—you just hang your stuff over radiator vents and whatnot. I don’t know if this is specific to UK homes in general, or if it’s all just been a coincidence.)

—Well, I waited for the washer to complete its job. 

 

And then I waited some more. 

And some more. 

And some more (again).

It didn’t finish until almost 5:00 PM—that’s right, 3 ½ hours to run one tub of laundry through the washing machine. Is that normal, or am I just living in a house with a terribly slow machine?

 

Moving on… There’s another big reason why I haven’t gone out and about much this week: IT’S FREAKIN’ FREEZING!!!! The UK press has been all over this story, reminding me somewhat of all the ‘snowpocalypse’ stuff from last year.

 We did, however, get some of the white stuff (that, strangely, Chicago has avoided this winter) last night. It was really pretty!

The view from my window.

 Now, I have to say that the press has hyped the weather stuff here similar to last year’s events back home. However, they have not exaggerated (much) with the cold—it’s been downright Siberian! It’s probably for that reason that I’m sick now. Yup, I’ve caught my first UK cold, and feel positively crummy as a result. But, I don’t want to dwell on that too much—just acknowledging the fact.

Shuffling on again… Two things of note occurred this week:

First, I procured tickets to and lodging in Paris, with the logistical help of Nic and the financial support of my parents. I leave Saturday, February 18, and return on Tuesday, February 21. Now, I’m not taking a plane or train but, rather, a bus. Partly this was decided upon out of monetary considerations, but the other rationale is that I wanted to see as much of the surrounding area as I can, and thought that 8 hours on a bus might be just the way to do so. Since I haven’t been yet, of course, there’s not too much more to say about it—more to come after the trip.

For some reason, this strikes me as an appropriate image to accompany the above story.

Nic says the cat above reminds him of his arch-nemesis, Estelle Parsons. What do you think?

The other event from this week I want to talk about is a trip I took yesterday alongside the other international students at UEL: we went to Cambridge. A town in its own right, Cambridge is about 50 miles north of London, and is most well-known for its university system, which dates back to the early 1200s.

King's College and Chapel as seen from across 'The Backs.'

Basically, it’s a two-tier system. On the first level, there are independent colleges (e.g., King’s College, Trinity College, St. John’s, & 28 others), which are designed to provide students a place to eat, sleep, and study. However, each of those independent colleges are then linked to a singular, overarching university system, which provides instruction in areas of math, science, and so forth.

To be accepted, one must be accepted at both the college and university levels, possess (the equivalent of) an A- or B-level GPA, and then interview with someone at the university level who will ask in-depth questions in one’s area of expertise (at which point one must demonstrate that they actually know what they’re talking about). Not surprisingly, two-thirds of applicants do not make it through this process.

But, amongst those who HAVE succeeded at getting their foot in the door are:

• Isaac Newton
• Charles Darwin
• Oliver Cromwell
• Jane Goodall
• David Attenborough
• Ian McKellen
• and nigh-countless others.

Trinity College Chapel

Two other quick tidbits about things I saw during my trip to Cambridge:

Rosalind

 This is “Rosalind” (a.k.a. “Hopsy”). Or, at least those are the names some of the students have given the beast seen here. In reality, this piece is called the Corpus Clock (a.k.a. the Grasshopper Clock). It sits outside of the Taylor Library at Corpus Christi College, and was officially unveiled to the public by Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking. And despite the fact that it looks like a grasshopper, it’s not—it’s actually a Chronophage (literally "time eater"), and it moves its mouth—appearing to “eat” the seconds as they pass—and occasionally it "blinks" in seeming satisfaction.

Hopsy's Clock

 The other thing is this:

Darwin's Slides

These are actual slides collected by Charles Darwin while he was aboard the HMS Beagle. The insights Darwin gathered on this journey helped shape his landmark work, On the Origin of Species.

There’s a lot more to say about Cambridge—in fact, there’s almost too much to say about it, so I won’t even try here. If you’re my friend on Facebook, then I encourage you to check out the photos I’ve uploaded, where I write a little bit more about my trip with each of the photos.

For now, however, I think it’s time I close up. In honor of the cold, I think I’ll watch an episode of “Are You Being Served?” that perfectly suits the present situation:

 

Until next time, dear readers, pray that I won't have to update you that I've "just been, and it's frozen over"—and I am unanimous in this!

The (Rambling) Media Edition: Part 1

(NB: I have no idea why the text-formatting is so funky starting with Topic #2. My apologies in advance!)

I’ve finally found my own flat in London, and am all moved in. (I’ll post pictures in a later post—I need to finish unpacking first.) I’m now living in the Borough of Newham, near Forest Gate. It’s very interesting, very ethnically diverse area. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t two KFC’s, a Subway, and a McDonalds within walking distance. Oh, and the new Westfield’s shopping mall is only a ten minute tube-ride away. *smdh*

At any rate, the flat is part of a converted single-family home above two shops, one a vegetable market and the other a “Euro style” (whatever that means) pizza and fried chicken joint. I imagine, in another time, the family that lived here probably ran one of the shops downstairs. There’s one kitchen, one bathroom, and four bedrooms (which serve as the individual ‘apartments’). I live on the middle floor, with the landlords (two Lithuanian brothers), and two other guys live in the apartments upstairs. Fortunately, most of them are out during the day, so it's relatively peaceful.

Oh, and have I mentioned the psychotic cat? Like my parents’ dog he's obsessed with my lower-half, so anytime I'm in the kitchen he bites and/or scratches me around the legs and feet. *Sigh*

This is really what the cat looks like...

Westminster Abbey: A History

So, after a rather lengthy disagreement between my laptop and my camera that started on Monday, they’ve finally patched up their differences and allowed me to upload more recent photos and videos. Meaning I’m back with another update.

I spent Monday morning in my continued pursuit of housing. Alas, I remained unsuccessful. (Are we noticing a trend here?) Frustrated and feeling as if my time in London was being wasted by people who cannot be “bovvered” to respond to my inquiries, I decided to check-off one of the things on my “To Do” list: tour Westminster Abbey.

Now, the first thing I should say is this: you’re not actually allowed to take photos within the abbey; but, as Nic can attest, I tend to work around such signage by taking secret videos when no one’s looking. The way I see it, I’m not using the flash setting, so there’s no risk of damaging anything—plus, for the most part, they’re only shared between me and my pals. No harm, no foul. At any rate, that’s why some of what follows are videos, and the images are fairly grainy (they’re screen caps).

First and foremost, a bit of history on the abbey itself:

“Westminster Abbey is steeped in more than a thousand years of history. Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship which continues to this day.

The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs.

The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart.

A treasure house of paintings, stained glass, pavements, textiles and other artifacts, Westminster Abbey is also the place where some of the most significant people in the nation's history are buried or commemorated. Taken as a whole the tombs and memorials comprise the most significant single collection of monumental sculpture anywhere in the United Kingdom.” ~ Official Site for Westminster Abbey

 

Bein' all touristy...

Pretty neat, huh?

As noted by the quoted section above, there is a “significant” collection of monumental sculpture within the abbey. This is not surprising, considering there are over 3,000 people buried there, including the likes of Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Laurence Olivier, Rudyard Kipling, and Charles Dickens. 

Old Dickens was dead as a door-nail...

It’s practically impossible to be within the abbey walls without seeing and/or standing atop someone’s memorial!

But, for now, let’s look at some of the living, and then I’ll return to the dead people in a moment...

One of the things I was most eager to see was King Edward’s Chair (a.k.a. the Coronation Chair). This is the more well-known of two thrones the monarch occupies during the coronation ceremony. 

King Edward's Chair

The chair itself is has been used during every coronation ceremony since 1308, and once housed the Stone of Scone (the coronation seat for Scottish royalty). The fact that it looks a bit beat-up is not surprising, consider its age and the fact that for a long time it was not placed under lock-and-key as it is now—meaning the abbey’s students were able to carve their names and other sundry graffiti on its ancient surface.

It truly is a site to behold! And, one day—hopefully not for a very long time—Prince Charles will sit here, just as his mother did in 1953.

This image is NOT mine!

 

Another site from the abbey that some of you may recognize is the High Altar.

The High Altar...kind of.

Most recently, this was seen during the wedding ceremony of Prince William and the now-Duchess of Cambridge (nee: Catherine Middleton)

 Now, some interesting things to be pointed out here:

First, notice the two doors on either side of the altar. Near the end of the ceremony, the bride and groom exited through the door on the right, and then returned through the left-hand door a bit later. This was so they could sign the wedding register. What you may not know, however, is that on the other side of those doors is the tomb of Edward the Confessor, the man responsible for starting the abbey’s construction so long ago.

(Yes, that very hurried video is the one I captured of the room behind the High Altar. The structure at the top is the tomb itself, and in the alcoves beneath it visitors can pray.)

 

Secondly, the man seen behind the Duchess' father is the fellow who lead our tour of the abbey!

The guy who looks like he's asleep--yup, that was my tour guide.

Now, as I said earlier, I want to get back to some of the dead people buried at the abbey. (’Cause, let’s be honest, that’s the biggest reason why I went!)

There are slightly less than twenty monarch entombed within the abbey walls (though, most of the recent royals are buried on the grounds of Windsor Castle). Aside from Edward the Confessor, there is also:

·      Henry III (King of England died 1272)

·      Edward I (King of England died 1307)

·      Edward III (King of England died 1377)

·      Richard II (King of England died 1400)

·      Henry V (King of England died 1422)

·      Edward V (King of England died 1483)

·      Henry VII (King of England died 1509)

·      Edward VI (King of England and Ireland died 1553)

·      James I (King of Great Britain and Ireland died 1625)

·      Charles II (King of Great Britain and Ireland died 1685)

·      Mary II (Queen of Great Britain and Ireland died 1694)

·      William of Orange (King of Great Britain and Ireland died 1702)

·      Anne (Queen of Great Britain and Ireland died 1714)

·      George II (King of Great Britain and Ireland died 1760)

Now, as impressive as that list is (at least to geeks like me), there are actually three names that I’ve left off. Three very, very important names—and the main ones I went to see:

·      Mary I (Queen of England and Ireland died 1558)

·      Elizabeth I (Queen of England and Ireland died 1603)

·      Mary, Queen of Scots (Queen of Scotland died 1587)

Let’s start with the first two names: 

Queens Mary I and Elizabeth I were both daughters of the infamous King Henry VIII. And they didn’t see eye-to-eye on much, mostly because Mary was Catholic and the daughter of Henry’s first wife (Catherine of Aragon), whereas Elizabeth was Protestant and the daughter of Henry’s second wife (Anne Boleyn).

When Henry died, followed shortly thereafter by his only recognized son (Edward VI), Mary became queen—and promptly declared Protestantism illegal. And then slaughtered a bunch of non-Catholics, earning her the nickname “Bloody Mary.”

Well, eventually, Mary herself died, succumbing to cancer two or three years into her reign. At which point Elizabeth ascended to the throne. I don’t suppose I have to say too much about Elizabeth I here, as her history is fairly well-known.

What I did not know, and what I imagine others didn’t either, is that, after Elizabeth died, her successor (King James I of England and VI of Scotland) had Elizabeth buried alongside Mary at Westminster Abbey.

 Yes, they share the same grave. King James even affixed an inscription that reads: “Consorts in realm and tomb, here we sleep, Elizabeth and Mary, sisters, in hope of resurrection.”

Since the new King shared Elizabeth’s religious philosophy, the memorial atop the tomb is dedicated solely to Elizabeth I. There are no effigies dedicated to her elder sister.

An acknowledgment of those who lost their lives over their faith.

Morbid? Perhaps. But, I was there!

Across the way from Queens Mary and Elizabeth rests another Mary—Mary, Queen of Scots. While Elizabeth I was still on the throne, she was worried that her cousin, the Queen of Scotland—as next in line for succession—might make a move to usurp the crown. So, it was off with her head!

At first, Mary was not buried in Westminster. However, when her son—yup, you guessed it: King James I of England and VI of Scotland—took over, he had his mother’s body exhumed and brought to the abbey, where she was buried near her cousins, Mary I and Elizabeth I.

Pretty self-explanatory...

Again, I recognize the morbidity--but I was there!

Whew!

Well, that was exhausting to type all out, and I’m sure you’re exhausted from reading it all! I think I’ll close now. I ain’t bovvered, though.

Until next time…

PS: Yes, the King James I mentioned here-and-there is the one the Bible translation is named after.

An American Suburb in London

My apologies to everyone who’s been waiting with baited breath for my next installment—last night I was simply knackered, and couldn’t bring myself to type anything out. So, tonight you get a two-for:

YESTERDAY:

I had the day off yesterday, and spent most of it hunting for housing via the interwebs. No real luck, though, so I decided to sign-up for something called speed-flatmating. It’s like speed-dating, but…well, looking for flatmates. Hopefully that will work (especially after today’s experience—but more on that later)!

Later in the day, I attended a film night sponsored by UEL’s GLBTQ group. The event was...okay. But the film, called "Fit," should have been titled "Meh."

I mean, sure, I'm glad I did it for the experience, but it certainly wasn't worth the money or hours it took me to get there. There were only six other people there, and not a single one of them even introduced themselves to me, let alone did anything to make me feel welcomed. I was pretty disappointed by the whole thing.

We did watch two episodes of "Will & Grace" before the movie (which I find increasingly problematic the older I get, and the more academically minded I am). Nonetheless, it was interesting to see which American-based jokes landed, and which ones went over their heads. As for the movie: imagine "Step Up" (2, 3, or 10, since the first one was at least mildly enjoyable), meets "Fame," meets a high school coming out movie. My gravy, it was sooooo bad. 

I was feeling kind of disgusted after the fact—the group didn't even make an effort to get to know me as I was leaving—and I think that's because I partly assumed it would be kind of a ready-made friend set, you know? Like, they'd wonder what it was like to be gay in America or something. I don't know. But it wasn't what I expected.

So, at any rate, I tried to make myself feel better by swinging by Buckingham Palace on the way home for some more night photos. Wow—unlike Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, it was super sketchy and dark all around. And people were few and far between. I kind of feared for my safety a bit. (Unrelated to that last thought, but it was also the first place I've seen unhoused persons since I've been here, and someone vandalizing property—a young, well-dressed white woman tagging a phone booth). But I pushed through, determined to turn my mood around. I got one or two decent photos out of at least.

Buckingham Palace

I tried to get in, but they wouldn't let me...

...Or did they?

Finally, when I returned home, I watched two episodes of “The Inbetweeners,” which Nic and I typically watch courtesy of BBC America. For once, though, I was able to watch it unedited—and it was a bit overwhelming, actually. I just might prefer the bleeped out version a touch more. (Or, looking back at what I’ve written so far, maybe I’m just in a crabby, I-don’t-care-for-much mood today…)

TODAY:

Today was another non-school day, and another day of searching for housing. And this time I actually got an appointment to check out a place. Everything seemed good—the price, the location, the lack of a deposit—until I actually arrived: a huge portion of the wall against which the headboard was resting was caked in mold. Ugh! Obviously, I won’t be living there…

But, since I was in Stratford already, I decided to check-out one of London’s newest attractions, which has the UEL campus officials positively abuzz…

Ready…?

A Westfield’s mall.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice mall—but, I can honestly say that if when (and if) I ever get homesick for American culture, I can just pop over to the Westfield’s and it’ll be just like I’m home again. Except with a Marks & Spencer’s instead of Target. (Sadly, there was still no sign of Grace Brothers Department Store…)

They're free...mainly because I haven't found them yet. (Or because all but two of them are dead now...)

In short, I’d prefer spending my time in a more interesting London environment than one that I can find in practically any American suburb.

Ah, well, at least I got to watch another batch of episodes from “Come Dine with Me” (the celebrity version this time) when I came home. Oh, and I had dinner at a pub called “The Trout”—it was pretty tasty.

Until next time, remember: you've all done very well!

UEL Orientation (Day 2 of 3)

The second of three orientation days wasn’t terribly eventful. Neither, for that matter, was my day—meaning this will be short. All it consisted of was formally enrolling, having my visa checked by school officials, and getting my new student ID. 

(The ID is kind of interesting, but only because everything—and I mean EVERYTHING—is dependant on this little swipe card! Without it, you can’t even get into the bathroom, let alone your classroom or the building it’s in. Oh, and you even have to swipe it when you come into class, ’cause that’s how they track attendance.)

After that (about three hours total), I came home and did a bunch of UEL-related stuff on the computer (e.g., looking more into the various social groups on campus), spent a while in my quest for housing (no responses yet), ate dinner with KG and MM while watching the news, and then Skyped with the family.

Now, here it is at 10 PM GMT, and I’m ready for bed. Tomorrow should be a bit more interesting, mainly because it’s orientation for my program of study.

Going down…

Keep Skating, Laila!

Another day, another update.

Today was pretty much a jet-lag recovery day (though, by about 8 PM GMT, I was ready for bed)—meaning this will be a pretty boring update, I’m sad to say.

After waking up at 10 AM, I started the process of finding housing for the bulk of my stay here. I think I’m starting to see an uptick in prices (possibly related to the Olympics?), ’cause some of the more reasonable prices I found prior to coming out here are as long gone as John Dean—and the things that do fit my budget frequently have restrictions based on gender, student-status, etc. Blah.

After banging my head against that wall, I joined KG and MM for a nice, long walk—I think we went about 5 or 6 miles total. We walked along the coast of the Thames for a while, and then cut through the village of Barnes. Finally, right before completing the circuit, we had a scrumptious dinner at the Red Lion Pub (where I enjoyed a nice, frothy Guinness—how I’ve missed you, real(er) Guinness)!

When we got home, and shortly before I spoke briefly to Nic and Aki and prepared to conk out for the night, we watched “Dancing on Ice.” Now let me ask you: Do you know who this contestant is?

Laila Morse and Łukasz Różycki

Aside from being on “Eastenders,” a local soap, she’s the sister of friggin’ Gary Oldman! And she was dancing…on ice! Okay, okay—she wasn’t good, and she got kicked off her first time out (probably because I liked her). But she’s a soap star, an older woman, less than petite, and the sister of a fine actor, so I had to give her a special shout-out. (And it didn’t hurt the show's chances, in my eyes, that they also featured the guys on the left and right below—woof!)

Matthew Wolfenden (L), Mark Hanretty (R)...and some others.

Well, that’s enough blathering about nothing for tonight. Tomorrow’s the first of three orientation days I have to attend this week, and I’ll have to get up by 6:30 AM GMT just to make it on time.

Until next time: keep skating!