Never on Saturday, no matter where you are

Well, today I learned something that appears to be a life lesson. I'm going to share that lesson with you. Here is the lesson – no matter what part of the world you live in, DO NOT, if you can avoid it, go to Wal-Mart on Saturday. Today, we ventured out to ASDA, which is part of the "Wal-Mart family." Now, I know good and well for my own sanity, the value of skipping Wal-Mart on Saturday and going to Publix or anywhere else. Well, the same is true of ASDA. We had to ride the tube to get there; it took us about 20 minutes. No problem, right? We went into the store, barely made it out in one piece, and headed back to the tube stop to come back home. Imagine our surprise when we hear, over the loudspeaker at the tube stop "We apologize for the inconvenience and the delay, but there is a body under the train at Queensway, so the stations from Holborne to White City are closed." In case you don't believe me, here is the exact quote from the Transport for London website at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/livetravelnews/realtime/tube/tube-central-now.html. It says: "CENTRAL LINE: Suspended between White City and Marble Arch due to a person under a train at Queensway. Severe delays are occurring on the rest of the line." They just kept repeating the same message over and over again. It took us about 45 minutes to get back.

Here's what I don't know – did the person fall under the train? Did the person throw his or her self under the train? Were they pushed under the train? I don't know. But I do know that somewhere, someone's family is going to be grieving, and a train driver is probably not feeling so great right now. In perspective, maybe ASDA on Saturday really isn't so bad after all.

A pilgrimage, of sorts. . .

Caution: This is an odd post!!! Read on at your own risk.

On Friday, July 11, Linda and I took a day trip (and wow, we really took the whole day!) to Oxford. We rode the tube, and a train, and buses all in one day. For this post, I'm kind of going to skip over the Oxford part, and get to the other part. We rode a hop on, hop off sightseeing bus, and took part of the route around Oxford. We got off near Magdalen College and wandered in. Magdalen College was originally founded in 1448. It counts among its alumni, Oscar Wilde, Dudley Moore, nine Nobel Prize winners, and most importantly to me, CS Lewis. Again, Magdalen (which is pronounced "maudlin" for some strange reason) will probably be another post, all by itself, but we're moving on to CS Lewis. I need to start by saying this: My faith, and my relationship with God, is a huge part of my life. My father is a pastor, I've gone to church my entire life, I was born on a Wednesday and was taken to church on Sunday and never missed hardly any since then. There are so many parts of the "Chronicles of Narnia" that crystallized and solidified issues of my faith. There are so many specific examples in the books of pictures that illustrate key pieces of what I believe about God, and faith. So, having said all that, yesterday Linda and I went to "The Kilns" which is the house that CS Lewis lived in for years, and most likely, the house where he wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia." This simple house became the home of evacuated children from London during World War II, and one of those children asked him what was behind the wardrobe. It took nine years, but eventually, his wardrobe introduced us to another world. Yesterday, we walked right up to The Kilns, knocked on the door and were invited in. We had made arrangements ahead of time, anybody can't just walk right in, but we sat in a study surrounded by books and pictures and right behind us to the left, a statue of Aslan, across from us, a framed map of Narnia. I can't even tell you how I felt because I'm not sure I know the words to explain it. We were interviewed, sort of, about our interest in CS Lewis, and then given a tour. Every room has its own feelings, and its own feeling. Again, I can't explain it – the whole experience was completely emotional and I was entirely drained when we got back onto the train. We also traipsed over the road, up the hill and down a hill to Holy Trinity Parish Church, where CS Lewis is buried and there is a Narnia window. The church was locked, we couldn't get in, but I saw the window from the outside. We did follow the small, discrete sign to see his grave. I know that this blog kind of rambles on and is not at all what I felt, but I can't say it. Linda worked on her blog all morning, and hers is probably much better than mine but even she was having a hard time saying what she felt.

A Magical Mystery Tour and some Royal Horses

Today was a busy, busy day. We started with the Royal Horse Guards Parade. We went, as a class, down past Trafalgar Square, to the Royal Horse Guards Parade Ground, and watched the Royal Horse Guards parade around. For our photography focus, we were supposed to work on action shots, on showing movement, mine didn't work out so well. Mine either look blurry, or you can't tell anything's supposed to be moving at all. I'll work on that again tomorrow. One thing I thought was funny was the sign that warns that the horses may bite or kick. That made me a little nervous, I must say. The guards don't move and don't talk to you, unless you do something you shouldn't, like walk too far under the arch, and then they can tell you to move where you're supposed to be. Of course, how would I know that???? One poor little guy rolled his eyes as if to say "Tourists" however, whenever Jessica and Julia from my class stood next to him, he didn't roll his eyes. We thought he needed a little treat from the other groups he had just been photographed with; we gave him two attractive young ladies instead. The parade involved a lot of the guards sitting perfectly still, while the horses, of course didn't. The horse closest to me was having some sort of tongue issue, and then I decided he was an ADD horse, if there is such a thing. He was having a very hard time standing still.

After the Horse Guard Parade, and lunch, we went on a Beatles Magical Mystery Tour. We had our own special guide, who is a Beatles expert. Now, what I know about the Beatles could probably fit into a tea cup, with room left over for tea, but it was incredibly informative and I realized I knew more than I thought I did. He showed us the office for McCartney Productions Ltd., which apparently owns the rights to all kinds of music, including songs from Buddy Holly, and some musicals. We also walked past the Palladium Theater, which according to our guide is where "Beatle-Mania" really began. Now, "The Sound of Music" is playing there. We walked past the studio where "Hey Jude" was recorded and the club where Paul McCartney met his wife Linda for the first time. We actually stopped in an exhibit of Linda McCartney's photos, and they were amazing. We went on to Abbey Road, where the Abbey Road recording studio is located. We actually ran across the same crossing zone where the Beatles famous album cover was photographed. We ran across more than one time trying to get some good pictures. I actually knew Abbey Road, because one of my favorite musicians, Steven Curtis Chapman, has some "Abbey Road Sessions" and even his album has a crosswalk on it. Apparently, the crosswalk is one of the most famous places in all of London, and all sort of groups, and people come and pose in the crosswalk. There is even a live web-cam that shows the crosswalk – here's the link: http://www.abbeyroad.co.uk/visit/

If you'd been looking at the right time, you'd have seen us making multiple trips across the crosswalk. Mr. Everhart took a group picture of us sitting on the steps of the Abbey Road Studios. He had a plan, he got us ready, organized, marched us in there and took the pictures and marched us out. All in all, it was a busy day, entertaining, yet informative. I'm attaching a slide show of pictures.

Stratford, July 8

Tuesday was an interesting day. We had to get up early, because the coach for our day trip to Stratford was leaving at 8:30 SHARP! I ate a crumpet for breakfast – I thought it was the real version of what we call an English muffin – not quite! Then, off to the bus, well, coach. We decided to get in the coach with Brian, the Blue Badge guide who did our walking tour of Bloomsbury. He is fantastic! We were off through the London traffic to get to the M40, to go to Stratford. On the way, we saw a poor guy on a bicycle or motorcycle, who'd had a meeting with a taxi – the taxi won! We decided we thought his leg was broken. Yuck! The trip ended up taking about 2 and ½ hours. We stopped once at a "Services" area, and I knew as soon as we stepped it, this was NOT the Okahumpka Service Plaza on the Florida Turnpike. We walked over a bridge, with fountains, and fish swimming around. I wanted to take pictures but it was raining. On the inside it looked more like a typical service plaza, but it was extraordinary outside. We left the big road and took some winding little country roads. It was beautiful outside. We saw sheep lying in the green fields. As we got closer and closer to Stratford, I found myself feeling a little queasy. I haven't been carsick in years, but I was yesterday. By the time we got to Anne Hathaway's cottage, I was not in the best shape. I took the tour through her cottage sort of at a running pace, feeling very nauseous. The gardens outside were lovely, and I had a million questions about the thatched roof, but was afraid to open my mouth too much. We got back on the coach (much to my stomach's discomfort) and went into town. We were running a bit behind, so we all rushed into "The Birthplace. " The people say it like that, like it's all in capital letters. We took the tour through the exhibit, and then into the actual house where Shakespeare apparently was born. The whole experience was a little surreal. It was kind of like Shakespeare meets Disney World. They even have sounds and smells. Maybe it just seemed weird to me, because I felt like I was going to be sick, but as I write this on Wednesday morning, it all still seems rather odd. My wonderful flat mates saved me - Linda, found a Sprite for me, which helped tremendously and Katherine gave me some pretzels, hoping that would help, and it did. It was a rough day. Finally, after walking around off the bus for about an hour, I was feeling MUCH better, so Katherine and I found someplace to eat – it was about 2:30. I just had soup and some bread, but we sat upstairs in this little café and watched people on the street below. Then, this trio of people came up for tea. Eavesdropping a bit on their conversation, we realized they had an appointment somewhere and were just passing the time until their appointment. There were two men and a lady, and I found myself wondering what their story was. I finally got brave enough to ask them if I could take their picture, and they graciously said yes. They asked us where were from in the States, how long we were here, and where we were staying. I would have loved to have asked them a million questions, too, but we had to get back to the bus. On the way back I sat in the inside seat, instead of the window seat, and tried to only look out the front window and not the side window. Dr E gave me a motion sickness pill, so between the seat change and the pill, I made it back without hurling!

Hampton Court

Today Katherine and I traveled to Hampton Court. We rode the tube, and then took a train. I think I took 100 pictures. We both ended up with dead cameras. We saw so many things that were just unbelievable. We wandered through the kitchens, which are made to look like they would have ages ago, including a huge pot of cooking food that actually smells like food cooking. There was a real fire burning in the huge fireplace, big enough to roast half a cow. I really enjoyed the looking at the gardens, even though we didn't see nearly all of them. We made it through the maze; we found our way into the center. I actually most enjoyed looking at the Fountain Court, which has this gorgeous green grass, and a red brick and a fountain in the middle. The flowers were gorgeous, and I can't even imagine the time and energy that goes into keeping them so beautiful. We had lunch in the Tiltyard Café, where in centuries past, knights would have been jousting. There is currently an exhibit on Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon, and Cardinal Wolsey. It's interesting to imagine Henry, younger and apparently more handsome, before he began his obsessive quest for a son. I'm amazed at his resemblance to my friend Mr. Woodard, minus the six wives and the crown, of course. We had a great conversation with Noreen, who is a warder (we would call a guide) who talked to us for a LONG time about the Tudors and the Stuarts and the whole monarchy thing. She was so knowledgeable and so willing to share with us. I'd love to share all my pictures with you, but there are too many. I'm attempting to attach a slide show of some of my favorites, so enjoy!

Sunday at the flat

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday. I got up and ran right down to the road to try another church. I tried one last Sunday and the people were very nice, but it just wasn't a good fit for me. So, I tried another one this Sunday. This one doesn't have a building, so they have church in the Dominion Theater, right at the end of our road, where the musical "We Will Rock You" is playing the rest of the time. That was a little odd, to walk under the giant sized Freddy Mercury to get into church. This church wasn't quite like mine either, but we did actually sing one song I knew, so I felt relatively successful. I went back to our flat after church, and just kind of messed around. I tried to work on our Web 2.0 paper, tried to figure out some stuff for my podcast, did a little research for my digital story –basically got NOTHING accomplished. I went to the grocery store, got some groceries, came back and still got nothing done. I found it funny that at one time, all five of us were sitting around in the flat with our laptops in front of us, all working. It was pretty funny!!!