Well, it has been another hectic week for us. And , unfortunately, Jackie is still fighting a nasty cough and some congestion.
Last Saturday, our big outing to Oxford turned into a quick afternoon as it took us until noon to get out of the house. We did eventually catch a very slow train from Paddington station (which took over 2 hours instead of the 1 it normally takes) and got into Oxford at a little after 2 pm. Our first stop was Carfax tower, a medievel tower that you can climb-- 99 steps on a twisting spiral staircase-- to get a view of the town. And the view was spectacular. Not only could you see the spires and domes of all the colleges in the village but you could see the edge of the town, the river and much of the surrounding country side as well. Next, we spent an hour touring Christ Church College, one of the grandest colleges in Oxford. We got to see the old and very ornate cathedral (with memorial plaques to philosophers John Locke and Bishop Berkeley and even poet W.H. Auden) and to walk around the quad. Sadly, the Great Hall-- where some of the scenes in the first two Harry Potter films were shot- was closed and our daughter Aleeza, Potter-head that she is, had a fit. Fortunately, it was possible to walk up the stairs leading up to Hall-- stairs that are also shown in the movies-- and peer into the room itself. After that Aleeza calmed down a bit. We spent the rest of time in Oxford sauntering around the streets taking in the sights (the Radcliff Camera, the 17th Century Sheldonian Theater ( designed by Christopher Wren)) and so on. I did get to duck into the massive Blackwell bookstore for a few minutes before closing time but amazingly restrained myself from making any impulse purchases. I missed the Oxford University Press bookstore.
On Sunday, Aleeza had a Birthday party to attend (at the Design Museum where the girls all made their own funky, turquoise blue, leather handbags). Jackie, as usual, got stuck helping out. While Jackie and Aleeza were off making accessories, Sebastian and I kicked the soccer ball in the park and stopped to listen to some very cool steel drum music being played by a trio of Jamacan musicians.
This week I actually had my first batch of papers to grade and quite a bit of class-related reading to do so Monday and Tuesday went by in a blur. Tuesday night we sat through a fairly excruciating and disorganized BLC lecture on the British theater (given by a very nice fellow who teaches theater in some area colleges). Then, on Wednesday we got the payoff for having to endure the Tuesday night talk: a trip to Warwick castle and Stratford-on-Avon, complete with tickets to an evening performance of Twelfth Night by the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The castle was, I have to say, fairly impressive, with imposing ramparts, towers, a barbican (double gate) and a dungeon. The place is now owned by Madame Tussaud's and so many of the rooms are outfitted with wax figures depicting the Duke of Warwick and his men getting ready to go off to fight in the war of the Roses. That stuff was all fairly cheesy (as was the demonstration of 15th century archery going on outside). Much better were the state rooms brimming over with fancy armor and weapons of every description. The paintings and tapestries were worthwhile as well.
From Warwich, our bus wisked us to Anne Hathaway's (that is, Shakespeare's wife's) house in Stratford. It was a typical half-timbered, thatched roof middle class 16th century English house but it was interesting seeing the various furnishings and the Shakespeare memorabilia. Ditto for the Bard's birthplace in town (although that half-timbered, thatched-roof house was attached to a gift shop that seemed to be three times its size). After the tour of Shakespeare's birthplace we were on our own a four of us faculty stopped for coffee and scones with clotted cream before visiting Shakespeare's grave (in Trinty Church).
That night-- after a dinner of pub grub-- we attended the RCP's somewhat experiemental production of Twelfth Night. TV and film star John Lithgow played Malvolio and the male (comic) characters of Sir Toby, Sir Andrew and Fabian were all played by women in drag. Even more unusual, James Clyde as the clown Feste adopted a sort of chain-smoking, hep cat, lounge-lizard persona and sang many of his lines while accompanying himself on a baby grand piano. He had a great voice. Clyde and Lithgow were the best thing about the show but some of the other actors seemed to be having off nights (particularly the woman playing Sir Andrew). Ah well, I'm going to try to get to get the entire family tickets to the reconstructed Globe Theater next week to see Merchant of Venice before its over.
That's all for now...
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
Since I last posted...
A recent e-mail exchange with my friend Mara reminded me that it has been a full week since I last posted to the blog.
Since I last wrote on this blog, Sebi and I at least have recovered from our colds ( but unfortunately Jackie still has a nagging, nasty sounding cough and nasal congestion).
This past weekend was the Architectural Open House and we returned (for the Nth time) to the East End to see the inside of Toynbee Hall and 19 Princelet Street (a 17th Century Huguenot house later converted into a synagogue that is now a museum of immigration). We had a bit of excitment while we were sitting in a greasy spoon for a late lunch. Some (possibly drunk) young British guys who'd just come in were accosted by a well dressed Bangaladeshi guy with a heavy East End accent swearing about one of the Brits "giving my brother a dirty look". Later another Bangaladeshi man came in and profanity laced insults were exchanged between the two groups. I was certain they were going to come to blows but a third Bangaladeshi man arrived to diffuse the tensions. Scary.
On Sunday we met up with Brian and Stephanie Shaw -- the couple from Columbia College in Chicago who are here for a sybbatical -- and their kids for an afternoon in Holland Park (which is very close to our house). We spent a few hours at this very cool adventure playground -- which has rope swings and amazing climbing walls. Later we sauntered over to the Cricket Ground where a "Peace in the Park" fair was taking place. There was music, and jugglers, and Aleeza and Sebi got to play a pick up game of football (soccer) run by two teenagers from Chelsea's developmental youth team. That's right: Chelsea, the most expensive football club in the world, the New York Yankees of professional soccer!
The week was busy as well. On Monday, I took my film class to a screening of some newly restored 1930s British documentaries at the British Film Institute. In the 30s, these government-sponsored documentaries were really the only interesting development in British cinema and we got to see works directed by Greirson, Jennings and Cavalcanti. My favorites were Night Mail-- which I'd seen before-- and Way to the Sea. Night Mail was produced by the post office to celebrate the overnight mail train that ran from London to Glasgow and features, amazingly, the voice of W. H. Auden declaiming a poem he'd written specially for the film over a montage of shots of a train coursing through the highland landscape. It begins: "This is the Night Mail crossing the border, carrying the cheque and the postal order." The Way to the Sea-- also about trains, this one the line from London to Portsmith-- features another voiceover from Auden, shouting "They seek the sea!" The students didn't really know what to make of these films but they are a vital part of Britain's cinematic heritage, especially as they helped to make "social realism" such a central value for British filmmakers for years to come.
Our BLC lecture this week was about British art and art museums by an art historian who works as a docent at the Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a very informative overview of how these various collections were formed and did a nice job of setting up Wednesday's field trip, a guided tour of the Tate Britain. My group of students was scheduled to take the tour at around noon, which meant Jackie could come along. The tour and the museum itself gave us a nice sense of the course of British art from the Tudor period to the present day. I expecially liked the room devoted to the Pre-Raphelites (which includes the lovely and hilariously hyper-moralistic The Awakened Conscience by William Holman Hunt).
On Thursdays, I don't teach until 2:30 (the scheduling of these London term classes does leave something to be desired). So, Jackie and I took the morning to visit the British Library and its display of old books and important historical documents. They had a manuscript page from Joyce's Finnegan's Wake and you could use headphones to listen to a recording of the man himself reading from it. Hearing it made me realize that that work really should be read aloud rather than consumed in silence. [Aside: Some of the readers may know that I once was involved with a group of avant-garde performance artists who had a child they named "Liazon Wakist". The name Wakist was of course a homage to Joyce's great sound poem novel.]
The library also had Lenin's application for a Reading Room ticket and a whole display full of the Beatle's handwritten lyrics. Oh yeah, they also had two copies of the Magna Carta on exhibit, a Guttenburg Bible and a copy of Galileo's Starry Messenger. Fascinating stuff.
Today is once again a free day for me. I have some grading to do and then Jackie and I are finally going to walk through the Portobello antique market before picking up the kids. Tomorrow we are going to make a day trip to Oxford. Till later...
Since I last wrote on this blog, Sebi and I at least have recovered from our colds ( but unfortunately Jackie still has a nagging, nasty sounding cough and nasal congestion).
This past weekend was the Architectural Open House and we returned (for the Nth time) to the East End to see the inside of Toynbee Hall and 19 Princelet Street (a 17th Century Huguenot house later converted into a synagogue that is now a museum of immigration). We had a bit of excitment while we were sitting in a greasy spoon for a late lunch. Some (possibly drunk) young British guys who'd just come in were accosted by a well dressed Bangaladeshi guy with a heavy East End accent swearing about one of the Brits "giving my brother a dirty look". Later another Bangaladeshi man came in and profanity laced insults were exchanged between the two groups. I was certain they were going to come to blows but a third Bangaladeshi man arrived to diffuse the tensions. Scary.
On Sunday we met up with Brian and Stephanie Shaw -- the couple from Columbia College in Chicago who are here for a sybbatical -- and their kids for an afternoon in Holland Park (which is very close to our house). We spent a few hours at this very cool adventure playground -- which has rope swings and amazing climbing walls. Later we sauntered over to the Cricket Ground where a "Peace in the Park" fair was taking place. There was music, and jugglers, and Aleeza and Sebi got to play a pick up game of football (soccer) run by two teenagers from Chelsea's developmental youth team. That's right: Chelsea, the most expensive football club in the world, the New York Yankees of professional soccer!
The week was busy as well. On Monday, I took my film class to a screening of some newly restored 1930s British documentaries at the British Film Institute. In the 30s, these government-sponsored documentaries were really the only interesting development in British cinema and we got to see works directed by Greirson, Jennings and Cavalcanti. My favorites were Night Mail-- which I'd seen before-- and Way to the Sea. Night Mail was produced by the post office to celebrate the overnight mail train that ran from London to Glasgow and features, amazingly, the voice of W. H. Auden declaiming a poem he'd written specially for the film over a montage of shots of a train coursing through the highland landscape. It begins: "This is the Night Mail crossing the border, carrying the cheque and the postal order." The Way to the Sea-- also about trains, this one the line from London to Portsmith-- features another voiceover from Auden, shouting "They seek the sea!" The students didn't really know what to make of these films but they are a vital part of Britain's cinematic heritage, especially as they helped to make "social realism" such a central value for British filmmakers for years to come.
Our BLC lecture this week was about British art and art museums by an art historian who works as a docent at the Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum. It was a very informative overview of how these various collections were formed and did a nice job of setting up Wednesday's field trip, a guided tour of the Tate Britain. My group of students was scheduled to take the tour at around noon, which meant Jackie could come along. The tour and the museum itself gave us a nice sense of the course of British art from the Tudor period to the present day. I expecially liked the room devoted to the Pre-Raphelites (which includes the lovely and hilariously hyper-moralistic The Awakened Conscience by William Holman Hunt).
On Thursdays, I don't teach until 2:30 (the scheduling of these London term classes does leave something to be desired). So, Jackie and I took the morning to visit the British Library and its display of old books and important historical documents. They had a manuscript page from Joyce's Finnegan's Wake and you could use headphones to listen to a recording of the man himself reading from it. Hearing it made me realize that that work really should be read aloud rather than consumed in silence. [Aside: Some of the readers may know that I once was involved with a group of avant-garde performance artists who had a child they named "Liazon Wakist". The name Wakist was of course a homage to Joyce's great sound poem novel.]
The library also had Lenin's application for a Reading Room ticket and a whole display full of the Beatle's handwritten lyrics. Oh yeah, they also had two copies of the Magna Carta on exhibit, a Guttenburg Bible and a copy of Galileo's Starry Messenger. Fascinating stuff.
Today is once again a free day for me. I have some grading to do and then Jackie and I are finally going to walk through the Portobello antique market before picking up the kids. Tomorrow we are going to make a day trip to Oxford. Till later...
Friday, September 14, 2007
This Week
Three of us-- Jackie, Sebi and I-- have been sick with generic cold symptoms (cough, runny nose, itchy eyes) this week. As a consequence, we haven't done all that much.
I had to attend my first "British Life and Culture" lecture Tuesday night; it was an amusing overview of some of the differences between Britian and the US (combined with a painfully long discussion of the history of monarchy that -- in my view-- glossed over some very important issues about the social origins of the Civil War). The fellow who gave it was plainly some sort of conservative academic and apparently a former lawyer but a decent enough speaker.
The following day we had our BLC field trip-- to the Museum of London. Jackie and I enjoyed our visit there last year and I was looking forward to going again. Unfortunately, the lower floors were closed for renovations (designed to upgrade the place in time for the 2012 Olympics). So, the students were exposed to displays about the history of London that took them up to the Great Fire of 1666 but couldn't see anything at all about London when it was quite literally the political, economic and intellectual capital of the world (mid-to-late 19th Century). Among other things, they missed out on the imposing gates of the notorious Newgate Prison, a detailed display about the building of the tube and a section of Charles Booth's famous poverty map. Sigh.
Before I headed over to the Museum, Jackie and I visited Old Bailey (the main criminal court for greater London) and sat in the public galleries to listen to a couple cases. It was fascinating, especially for Jackie who noticed some serious differences between the way criminal trials are run in the U.S. and the way they are run here. I liked the fact that all the lawyers and judges had to wear powdered 18th Century wigs and flowing black robes. We heard some extended testimony from , and a cross examination of, a forensic pathologist discussing the case of a young man who died after a street skirmish; the man had been very drunk at the time of the "scrap" and it was unclear whether his brain injuries were caused by the blows he sustained or by his repeated falls to the ground afterward. Interesting stuff.
Yesterday I took my film class to our first public film screening, a series of shorts by young black UK directors that was part of the Black Filmmakers Festival. The shorts themselves were OK -- one documentary piece about the unsolved murder of a 15 year old in south London was particularly powerful-- but it was great hearing each of the directors afterwards talk about the filmmaking process and their future plans. The point all of them made was that it is easy enough to make films now with a camcorder and laptop but that getting distribution (much less marketing) is still very difficult. This fits with what I know about the challenges facing young filmmakers in the U.S. as well. I wanted to ask if any of them made regular use of YouTube or GoogleVideo to reach an audience but the Q&A period ended before I could ask my question.
Today is my "free day" but since Jackie and I are both under the weather we may just stay home and take it easy. That's it for now.
I had to attend my first "British Life and Culture" lecture Tuesday night; it was an amusing overview of some of the differences between Britian and the US (combined with a painfully long discussion of the history of monarchy that -- in my view-- glossed over some very important issues about the social origins of the Civil War). The fellow who gave it was plainly some sort of conservative academic and apparently a former lawyer but a decent enough speaker.
The following day we had our BLC field trip-- to the Museum of London. Jackie and I enjoyed our visit there last year and I was looking forward to going again. Unfortunately, the lower floors were closed for renovations (designed to upgrade the place in time for the 2012 Olympics). So, the students were exposed to displays about the history of London that took them up to the Great Fire of 1666 but couldn't see anything at all about London when it was quite literally the political, economic and intellectual capital of the world (mid-to-late 19th Century). Among other things, they missed out on the imposing gates of the notorious Newgate Prison, a detailed display about the building of the tube and a section of Charles Booth's famous poverty map. Sigh.
Before I headed over to the Museum, Jackie and I visited Old Bailey (the main criminal court for greater London) and sat in the public galleries to listen to a couple cases. It was fascinating, especially for Jackie who noticed some serious differences between the way criminal trials are run in the U.S. and the way they are run here. I liked the fact that all the lawyers and judges had to wear powdered 18th Century wigs and flowing black robes. We heard some extended testimony from , and a cross examination of, a forensic pathologist discussing the case of a young man who died after a street skirmish; the man had been very drunk at the time of the "scrap" and it was unclear whether his brain injuries were caused by the blows he sustained or by his repeated falls to the ground afterward. Interesting stuff.
Yesterday I took my film class to our first public film screening, a series of shorts by young black UK directors that was part of the Black Filmmakers Festival. The shorts themselves were OK -- one documentary piece about the unsolved murder of a 15 year old in south London was particularly powerful-- but it was great hearing each of the directors afterwards talk about the filmmaking process and their future plans. The point all of them made was that it is easy enough to make films now with a camcorder and laptop but that getting distribution (much less marketing) is still very difficult. This fits with what I know about the challenges facing young filmmakers in the U.S. as well. I wanted to ask if any of them made regular use of YouTube or GoogleVideo to reach an audience but the Q&A period ended before I could ask my question.
Today is my "free day" but since Jackie and I are both under the weather we may just stay home and take it easy. That's it for now.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Brick Lane, Dover and Fox Primary School
So, it has now been two whole weeks since we moved into our flat here in London.
Jackie's still organizing and unpacking but now knows where the local supermarkets are and is getting into a daily routine.
The kids started school last Wednesday and so far both of them seem to be enjoying it. Apparently, Sebi was a bit distraught on the first day but one of the local kids, Benjamin, took him under his wing. Aleeza has found a group of girls to hang out with and is studying Romeo and Juliet in one of her classes.
I've probably been the busiest person in the family. Last week we had a series of "opening week" events, including a dinner with the International Enrichment students, a guided bus tour of the city ( Jackie and the kids got to come along) and various faculty meetings. I also had to put in some time prepping for classes, producing handouts and putting the finishing touches on the various field trips and walking tours the students and will be taking . Thursday we had our first real day of class and I had a 2-hour long class on "British Cinema" to teach. After a short introductory lecture, I took the students down to the British Film Institute on the South Bank to watch some very early British films (accessed via BFI's Mediatheque, a collection of viewing stations which allows groups and individuals to view digitized hundered of films from the holdings of the National Film Archive).
Friday is a free day for me so Jackie and I dropped the kids at school in the morning and headed to Brick Lane on the East End for the day. It's the historic heart of London's Jewish community and has been the entry point into England for successive waves of immigrants (Irish, Indian, Polish) for over a hunderd years. At the moment, the dominant ethnic group is Bangaladeshi and the street is lined with curry houses, Halal butchers and Muslim gift shops. Mixed with this are outposts of "ultra-hip" club culture, including a very large branch of Rough Records (the great London record store that did so much to bring punk rock music to the world.) Yet there are still remnants of the Jewish presence in the neighborhood as well, including a pair of "beigel" bakeries. It's an interesting mix and Jackie and I had a wonderful (and dirt cheap) 3-course lunch at one of the Balti (Bangaldeshi) restaurants while we were there.
Over the weekend the entire family took a two hour train ride to Dover, mainly to see the exquisite Dover castle (which played an important role in defending England from French aggression in the 13th Century and also served as the HQ for the Dunkirk evacuation during WWII). The kids enjoyed the castle, but I think they enjoyed the guided tour of the "secret Second World War tunnels" beneath the castle even more. And seeing the white chalk cliffs of the Dover coast up close was impressive. After traipsing around the castle all day, we stopped for a few pints at a pub called the "Funky Monkey" so that Jackie and I could watch part of the England vs. Israel soccer match. (England won 3-0, saving the manager's job for yet another game; on Wednesday they play Russia in what is a crucial match for both teams.)
The following day the entire family returned to Brick lane for the Brick Lane Festival. It was a complete mob scene, thousands of people wandering up and down the street eating samosas and drinking beer and fresh coconut milk (sipped straight from the coconut). We couldn't get in to see the music at the Vibe Club but it was loud enough we could hear it fine from blocks away. But, as Jackie said, it was an interesting place to do some people watching.
Jackie's still organizing and unpacking but now knows where the local supermarkets are and is getting into a daily routine.
The kids started school last Wednesday and so far both of them seem to be enjoying it. Apparently, Sebi was a bit distraught on the first day but one of the local kids, Benjamin, took him under his wing. Aleeza has found a group of girls to hang out with and is studying Romeo and Juliet in one of her classes.
I've probably been the busiest person in the family. Last week we had a series of "opening week" events, including a dinner with the International Enrichment students, a guided bus tour of the city ( Jackie and the kids got to come along) and various faculty meetings. I also had to put in some time prepping for classes, producing handouts and putting the finishing touches on the various field trips and walking tours the students and will be taking . Thursday we had our first real day of class and I had a 2-hour long class on "British Cinema" to teach. After a short introductory lecture, I took the students down to the British Film Institute on the South Bank to watch some very early British films (accessed via BFI's Mediatheque, a collection of viewing stations which allows groups and individuals to view digitized hundered of films from the holdings of the National Film Archive).
Friday is a free day for me so Jackie and I dropped the kids at school in the morning and headed to Brick Lane on the East End for the day. It's the historic heart of London's Jewish community and has been the entry point into England for successive waves of immigrants (Irish, Indian, Polish) for over a hunderd years. At the moment, the dominant ethnic group is Bangaladeshi and the street is lined with curry houses, Halal butchers and Muslim gift shops. Mixed with this are outposts of "ultra-hip" club culture, including a very large branch of Rough Records (the great London record store that did so much to bring punk rock music to the world.) Yet there are still remnants of the Jewish presence in the neighborhood as well, including a pair of "beigel" bakeries. It's an interesting mix and Jackie and I had a wonderful (and dirt cheap) 3-course lunch at one of the Balti (Bangaldeshi) restaurants while we were there.
Over the weekend the entire family took a two hour train ride to Dover, mainly to see the exquisite Dover castle (which played an important role in defending England from French aggression in the 13th Century and also served as the HQ for the Dunkirk evacuation during WWII). The kids enjoyed the castle, but I think they enjoyed the guided tour of the "secret Second World War tunnels" beneath the castle even more. And seeing the white chalk cliffs of the Dover coast up close was impressive. After traipsing around the castle all day, we stopped for a few pints at a pub called the "Funky Monkey" so that Jackie and I could watch part of the England vs. Israel soccer match. (England won 3-0, saving the manager's job for yet another game; on Wednesday they play Russia in what is a crucial match for both teams.)
The following day the entire family returned to Brick lane for the Brick Lane Festival. It was a complete mob scene, thousands of people wandering up and down the street eating samosas and drinking beer and fresh coconut milk (sipped straight from the coconut). We couldn't get in to see the music at the Vibe Club but it was loud enough we could hear it fine from blocks away. But, as Jackie said, it was an interesting place to do some people watching.
Well, the kids need to go to bed so I've got to shut down the computer. More later.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
LONDON! (Part 3)
Ok, this is the last retrospective post I'll do. From here on in I'll be blogging "in real time" about what's happening in London.
So, after leaving Dublin, we flew to Heathrow and stayed overnight in a budget hotel near the airport. It was a grungy, dive-y sort of place. There was no hot water for the shower, for instance,and we had to hunt high and low to find a roll of toilet paper.
The following morning we dragged ourselves into London proper and found our way to Euston station where we caught a train for Lancaster where my old pals from graduate school, Jonathan Munby and Karen Jurs-Munby live. We arrived ( a bit late)around dinner time.
It had been 12 years since we last saw Jonathan and Karen and in many ways they haven't changed a bit. Now they have two kids (Alex, 15, and Hannah, 10) and both teach at the University of Lancaster (Jonathan in American Studies and Karen in Theater). Jonathan is still as sharp and witty as ever and is still a bit of a "kitchen fascist" (and his film noir collection is of course even bigger than before). Karen is still as sweet and ethusiastic and
creative as I remember. We had loads to talk about and we spent a lot of time just drinking (and/or eating) and chatting during our stay with them.
The kids also hit it off. It turns out Hannah and Aleeza were born only a week apart and they immediately bonded. Within a few hours they were running off to the corner store together. And by the time we left they were doing song and dance routines. While there was a substantial age gap between Alex and Sebi, they did bond over-- what else? -- video and computer games and would disappear for hours to play some Roman war game or another.
Our first full day in Lancaster Jonathan took us on a quick tour of the city and we saw mideaval Lancaster castle and an impressive old cathedral, among other things.The following day we all took a trip up to the Lake District where we hiked around the picturesque Lake Grasmere and walked past Wordsworth's famous Dove Cottage (which is where Wordsworth lived and wrote during his most productive period). It is easy to see why the Lake District landscape was such an inspiration for the romantic poets; around every turn in the trail and over every hill, one is greeted by yet another breathtakingly beautiful view.
We spent the follwing day relaxing, drinking beer and watching football on the telly, which allowed us to re-charge our batteries for the trip back to London. All in all it was a wonderful visit.
Now we're in London, have settled in to our flat and I've already started teaching. The kids had their first day of school today and I'm anxious to hear how it went. I'll write more, much more, tomorrow.
So, after leaving Dublin, we flew to Heathrow and stayed overnight in a budget hotel near the airport. It was a grungy, dive-y sort of place. There was no hot water for the shower, for instance,and we had to hunt high and low to find a roll of toilet paper.
The following morning we dragged ourselves into London proper and found our way to Euston station where we caught a train for Lancaster where my old pals from graduate school, Jonathan Munby and Karen Jurs-Munby live. We arrived ( a bit late)around dinner time.
It had been 12 years since we last saw Jonathan and Karen and in many ways they haven't changed a bit. Now they have two kids (Alex, 15, and Hannah, 10) and both teach at the University of Lancaster (Jonathan in American Studies and Karen in Theater). Jonathan is still as sharp and witty as ever and is still a bit of a "kitchen fascist" (and his film noir collection is of course even bigger than before). Karen is still as sweet and ethusiastic and
creative as I remember. We had loads to talk about and we spent a lot of time just drinking (and/or eating) and chatting during our stay with them.
The kids also hit it off. It turns out Hannah and Aleeza were born only a week apart and they immediately bonded. Within a few hours they were running off to the corner store together. And by the time we left they were doing song and dance routines. While there was a substantial age gap between Alex and Sebi, they did bond over-- what else? -- video and computer games and would disappear for hours to play some Roman war game or another.
Our first full day in Lancaster Jonathan took us on a quick tour of the city and we saw mideaval Lancaster castle and an impressive old cathedral, among other things.The following day we all took a trip up to the Lake District where we hiked around the picturesque Lake Grasmere and walked past Wordsworth's famous Dove Cottage (which is where Wordsworth lived and wrote during his most productive period). It is easy to see why the Lake District landscape was such an inspiration for the romantic poets; around every turn in the trail and over every hill, one is greeted by yet another breathtakingly beautiful view.
We spent the follwing day relaxing, drinking beer and watching football on the telly, which allowed us to re-charge our batteries for the trip back to London. All in all it was a wonderful visit.
Now we're in London, have settled in to our flat and I've already started teaching. The kids had their first day of school today and I'm anxious to hear how it went. I'll write more, much more, tomorrow.
Monday, September 3, 2007
LONDON (pt. 2)!
Yet more highlights from our European vacation:
1.After leaving Budapest we flew (via Munich and London) to Dublin where we met up with our good friend Andrew Kincaid. We had a wonderful stay with him at his mother Constance's house and I finally got to see some of his old stomping grounds.
The first day there we toured the barren, beautiful, heather bog-covered Wicklow mountains south of the city. Andrew showed us some of the peaks he used to hike and drove us along winding roads that provided breathtaking views of valleys, waterfalls and-- of course -- sheep. We ended up at Glendalough monastary which dates from the 9th century and has an impressive round stone tower (for defense against Viking raiders) and an equally impressive old graveyard.
The next day Andrew-- author of a fine book on "Postcolonial Dublin"-- gave us a walking tour of the city itself, including showing us a number of the pomo finincial office towers that have helped make Ireland into the "Celtic Tiger" economic powerhouse all the neoliberals are raving about. I liked seeing Trinity, where Andrew and our friend Peter McAuley both went to school.
We also got a chance to spend some time at Dun Laoghaire, the main port town in the Dublin area. We walked along the harbor, lingering near the Sandycove swimming area and Martello tower which is the starting point for James Joyces's Ulysses.
While we were in Dublin we got to tip a few pints with Andrew's friend Conner and to spend some time with his mother Constance, who seemed especially happy to see the children (who she inexplicably believed were "well behaved"). We also got to see some of the ultra-kitchy "Rose of Tralee competition on TV; it's a sort of Irish-only beauty and talent show. (Apparently it is one of Andrew's favorite TV events of the year...)
1.After leaving Budapest we flew (via Munich and London) to Dublin where we met up with our good friend Andrew Kincaid. We had a wonderful stay with him at his mother Constance's house and I finally got to see some of his old stomping grounds.
The first day there we toured the barren, beautiful, heather bog-covered Wicklow mountains south of the city. Andrew showed us some of the peaks he used to hike and drove us along winding roads that provided breathtaking views of valleys, waterfalls and-- of course -- sheep. We ended up at Glendalough monastary which dates from the 9th century and has an impressive round stone tower (for defense against Viking raiders) and an equally impressive old graveyard.
The next day Andrew-- author of a fine book on "Postcolonial Dublin"-- gave us a walking tour of the city itself, including showing us a number of the pomo finincial office towers that have helped make Ireland into the "Celtic Tiger" economic powerhouse all the neoliberals are raving about. I liked seeing Trinity, where Andrew and our friend Peter McAuley both went to school.
We also got a chance to spend some time at Dun Laoghaire, the main port town in the Dublin area. We walked along the harbor, lingering near the Sandycove swimming area and Martello tower which is the starting point for James Joyces's Ulysses.
While we were in Dublin we got to tip a few pints with Andrew's friend Conner and to spend some time with his mother Constance, who seemed especially happy to see the children (who she inexplicably believed were "well behaved"). We also got to see some of the ultra-kitchy "Rose of Tralee competition on TV; it's a sort of Irish-only beauty and talent show. (Apparently it is one of Andrew's favorite TV events of the year...)
LONDON!
OK, so it has been quite a while since my last post to this blog. In that time, Jackie, Sebi, Aleeza and I have been on a whirlwind tour of Europe and the UK. We visited Athens, Budapest, Dublin and Lancaster (in the north of the UK). Last Monday we arrived here in London and have been settling in to our flat and exploring the city ever since. The London-term International Enrichment students arrive today in the afternoon and we'll all be meeting up for a group luncheon/supper as soon as they've dropped their bags at their apartments.
I can only hint at the various adventures we've had over the past month. So, here are some of the highlights:
1. The ferry from Chenia, Crete to Piraeus (the post of Athens). We had cabins and were able to sleep but got up in time to stand on deck and watch the sunrise over Piraeus.
2.In Athens, the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the Plaka and Old Olympic (Panathenic) stadium were all highlights. The Museum of Archeology was impressive, full of ancient Grecian (and Hellenic) pottery, statues and jewels. It was blazing hot and dusty while we were in Athens and we took a siesta every day in the afternoon. Luckily we missed the fires.
3. In Budapest, we stayed with Jackie's dear old freind Janos and his wife Gabi. He's a sociologist turned economic consultant and she is an art historian. Together they run a foundation devoted to the preservation of Roma (Gypsy) art. When we arrived they were preparing to move to Estonia where Janos has some sort of economics-related job with the Hungarian embassy so we had the place to ourselves for the last couple of days.
They overwhelmed us with hospitality, including fixing us a meal of traditional Hungarian sour cherry soup and Janos' special noddles with paprika and onions.
Besides seeing our friends, we also explored the city. We climbed up to the castle and wandered around the banks of the Danube near the exquisite Parliment building.
The kids, though, really enjoyed our outing to the City Park (which features a castle of its own) and especially to the grand Szechenyi Bath. The Bath is housed in an enormous late 19th century, Neo-Baroque complex and features three pools: a warm one which has a whirlpool and a jacuzzi in the center and fountains emptying into it; a hot one for soaking where old men play chess on water-proof boards; and an ice-cold one for swimming laps. We stayed for the entire afternoon.
Well, I have to run. I will post later about Dublin, Lancaster and our first week in London. Chow...
I can only hint at the various adventures we've had over the past month. So, here are some of the highlights:
1. The ferry from Chenia, Crete to Piraeus (the post of Athens). We had cabins and were able to sleep but got up in time to stand on deck and watch the sunrise over Piraeus.
2.In Athens, the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, the Plaka and Old Olympic (Panathenic) stadium were all highlights. The Museum of Archeology was impressive, full of ancient Grecian (and Hellenic) pottery, statues and jewels. It was blazing hot and dusty while we were in Athens and we took a siesta every day in the afternoon. Luckily we missed the fires.
3. In Budapest, we stayed with Jackie's dear old freind Janos and his wife Gabi. He's a sociologist turned economic consultant and she is an art historian. Together they run a foundation devoted to the preservation of Roma (Gypsy) art. When we arrived they were preparing to move to Estonia where Janos has some sort of economics-related job with the Hungarian embassy so we had the place to ourselves for the last couple of days.
They overwhelmed us with hospitality, including fixing us a meal of traditional Hungarian sour cherry soup and Janos' special noddles with paprika and onions.
Besides seeing our friends, we also explored the city. We climbed up to the castle and wandered around the banks of the Danube near the exquisite Parliment building.
The kids, though, really enjoyed our outing to the City Park (which features a castle of its own) and especially to the grand Szechenyi Bath. The Bath is housed in an enormous late 19th century, Neo-Baroque complex and features three pools: a warm one which has a whirlpool and a jacuzzi in the center and fountains emptying into it; a hot one for soaking where old men play chess on water-proof boards; and an ice-cold one for swimming laps. We stayed for the entire afternoon.
Well, I have to run. I will post later about Dublin, Lancaster and our first week in London. Chow...
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