Recap continued...
Monday Sept 22 was our London Study day and we went and toured The Globe, as in Shakespeare's Globe! Well I guess that it was not exactly Shakespeare's Globe because it was burned down but it is the one that was rebuilt in 1997 in the way that they think the Globe looked. We had the chance to walk around inside and hear about how plays would have been done in Shakespeare's time. The stage is interesting and different because it is a thrust stage instead of a proscenium stage and there is not a backdrop or really any stage setting. It was really interesting to hear what they had to say about Shakespeare and about theater in the 16 and 17th centuries. Also there was an Exhibition that told about theaters, plays, life and London during the time of Shakespeare. I love The Globe!!! and of course Shakespeare's work!
On Sept 24th as a program we went to a matinee of A Midsummer Night's Dream! This is one of my favorite plays and is a very entertaining comedy with some very witty wordplay. We were what they call groundlings... those that stood in the yard around the stage. It was a great place to be because you were really a part of what was happening on the stage but it was really exhausting to stand the whole time but luckily the weather was really nice with just a little cloudburst and it wasn't too cold. The stage had extensions to it so that the actors could move around more then just on the square stage. The stage was empty except for some flowers that were set up to symbolize the woods but the costumes and words that Shakespeare wrote are really what set the scene and made the play. The actors and actresses were spectacular! My favorite had to be Helena and how the actress that was playing her did it so well... it didn't seem that she was as pathetic as she is usually shown to be and that was almost refreshing. Anyone that has a chance should go to The Globe and be a groundling for a show!
On Sept 25th there was a annual mystery conference in which one of the lectures was on Victorian thrillers. We attended because we have a class that is based on British mystery novels and one of the authors that we are reading, Anne Perry, was speaking on why she chose the time period that she did and why she wrote mysteries. It was an interesting lecture and it made me almost want to write... mysteries or historical... either would be fascinating to research and put together.
Saturday Sept 27th was one of the highlights of the program so far... The country walk with Brother Chittock! Brother Chittock is a member of my ward that I am attending and is also the one that is in charge of placing the BYU students in their wards within London.... and by providence he happens to know Bishop Connell because his son was taught and baptized by the Bishop when he was a missionary! Our walk in the country started with a train ride into Kent where we meet with Brother Chittock, his brothers, son and grandson who were going to be our guides for the day. The area that we walked was beautiful! We went through towns, fields, and country roads... along which there were blackberries that were ripe and ready to eat! We stopped at a Norman castle that had be built in the 1000's for lunch. It wasn't very big for the amount of people that would have lived there but the walls were really thick and tall and were about the only part of the castle that survived. After lunch we walked along a stream and through lavender and hops fields. We went about 9 miles so by the time we had made it back to the train station we were all really tired and I must admit that I fell fast asleep during the ride back to London.
Our second day trip occurred on October 1st and was to the great college town of Blenheim Palace and OXFORD! Blenheim Place is not really a palace in that it is not a royal residence but is what they call a "country house." Blenheim was built for the hero of the Battle of Blenheim, the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Blenheim was also the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The grounds were beautiful but quite confusing... instead of going to the Secret Garden Danielle and I ended up on the opposite side of the property at the Rose Garden.
The next stop was Oxford... we were dropped off at Christ's Church and walked around town until we stumbled upon the tower for Magdalen college. Magdalen college was founded in 1448 and about then the construction on the tower was begun and ever since the tower has been an important part of the sky scape of Oxford. After touring Magdalen college we, Me, Danielle, Jenny, Natalie, Dasily, Ashley, Lindsey and Rebbecca, went down to the river and hired a punting boat and a boy to punt it for us. His name was Humphrey, in the classic English fashion, and he was born and raised in Oxford and was getting ready to attend college. This was his first time punting and he wasn't very good but he was really nice and it was an enjoyable time... I love punting!!! After punting we looked at some of the other colleges, the library and The Eagle and The Child (were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis went when they went to Oxford). The last thing that we did was go to Evensong at Christ Church College, an Anglican service. It was an wonderful experience to have but half the time I really didn't know what was going on but it was really pretty singing by the choir.
Monday Sept 22 was our London Study day and we went and toured The Globe, as in Shakespeare's Globe! Well I guess that it was not exactly Shakespeare's Globe because it was burned down but it is the one that was rebuilt in 1997 in the way that they think the Globe looked. We had the chance to walk around inside and hear about how plays would have been done in Shakespeare's time. The stage is interesting and different because it is a thrust stage instead of a proscenium stage and there is not a backdrop or really any stage setting. It was really interesting to hear what they had to say about Shakespeare and about theater in the 16 and 17th centuries. Also there was an Exhibition that told about theaters, plays, life and London during the time of Shakespeare. I love The Globe!!! and of course Shakespeare's work!
On Sept 24th as a program we went to a matinee of A Midsummer Night's Dream! This is one of my favorite plays and is a very entertaining comedy with some very witty wordplay. We were what they call groundlings... those that stood in the yard around the stage. It was a great place to be because you were really a part of what was happening on the stage but it was really exhausting to stand the whole time but luckily the weather was really nice with just a little cloudburst and it wasn't too cold. The stage had extensions to it so that the actors could move around more then just on the square stage. The stage was empty except for some flowers that were set up to symbolize the woods but the costumes and words that Shakespeare wrote are really what set the scene and made the play. The actors and actresses were spectacular! My favorite had to be Helena and how the actress that was playing her did it so well... it didn't seem that she was as pathetic as she is usually shown to be and that was almost refreshing. Anyone that has a chance should go to The Globe and be a groundling for a show!
On Sept 25th there was a annual mystery conference in which one of the lectures was on Victorian thrillers. We attended because we have a class that is based on British mystery novels and one of the authors that we are reading, Anne Perry, was speaking on why she chose the time period that she did and why she wrote mysteries. It was an interesting lecture and it made me almost want to write... mysteries or historical... either would be fascinating to research and put together.
Saturday Sept 27th was one of the highlights of the program so far... The country walk with Brother Chittock! Brother Chittock is a member of my ward that I am attending and is also the one that is in charge of placing the BYU students in their wards within London.... and by providence he happens to know Bishop Connell because his son was taught and baptized by the Bishop when he was a missionary! Our walk in the country started with a train ride into Kent where we meet with Brother Chittock, his brothers, son and grandson who were going to be our guides for the day. The area that we walked was beautiful! We went through towns, fields, and country roads... along which there were blackberries that were ripe and ready to eat! We stopped at a Norman castle that had be built in the 1000's for lunch. It wasn't very big for the amount of people that would have lived there but the walls were really thick and tall and were about the only part of the castle that survived. After lunch we walked along a stream and through lavender and hops fields. We went about 9 miles so by the time we had made it back to the train station we were all really tired and I must admit that I fell fast asleep during the ride back to London.
Our second day trip occurred on October 1st and was to the great college town of Blenheim Palace and OXFORD! Blenheim Place is not really a palace in that it is not a royal residence but is what they call a "country house." Blenheim was built for the hero of the Battle of Blenheim, the 1st Duke of Marlborough. Blenheim was also the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The grounds were beautiful but quite confusing... instead of going to the Secret Garden Danielle and I ended up on the opposite side of the property at the Rose Garden.
The next stop was Oxford... we were dropped off at Christ's Church and walked around town until we stumbled upon the tower for Magdalen college. Magdalen college was founded in 1448 and about then the construction on the tower was begun and ever since the tower has been an important part of the sky scape of Oxford. After touring Magdalen college we, Me, Danielle, Jenny, Natalie, Dasily, Ashley, Lindsey and Rebbecca, went down to the river and hired a punting boat and a boy to punt it for us. His name was Humphrey, in the classic English fashion, and he was born and raised in Oxford and was getting ready to attend college. This was his first time punting and he wasn't very good but he was really nice and it was an enjoyable time... I love punting!!! After punting we looked at some of the other colleges, the library and The Eagle and The Child (were J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis went when they went to Oxford). The last thing that we did was go to Evensong at Christ Church College, an Anglican service. It was an wonderful experience to have but half the time I really didn't know what was going on but it was really pretty singing by the choir.
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