'Ello Guvnah

Today was quite a long day...Tracey and I woke up at 0800 and got ready, knocked on Austin and Alex's door and left at 0830. We walked for about ten minutes, got on the Tube, went to Waterloo Train Station and were standing at the meeting point by 0905. I got some breakfast and we hung out until 0935-ish when everyone else showed up. We took a train at 1006 to Hampton Court Palace. We were introduced to the palace at 1130 and toured the Clock Tower area, Henry VIII's State Apartments, King's Apartments of William III, Queen's Apartments, the Garden, the Georgian Rooms, the Tudor Kitchens and played in a Maze. We didn't start back for the train station until after 1600.

This palace is unbelievable large...Every door, window, bed, room, etc, etc, were so oversized that we figured Henry the VIII was making up for something he lacked elsewhere...catch my drift?? I wish I could have taken pictures of the inside of the palace, but I suppose the outdoor pictures will have to suffice...(if you want to see a scandalous picture, and I don't mean a perverted one, email me and I'll send it to you).

As for the Tudor Kitchens, there were originally about 50 of them, with 800 workers preparing the required two meals a day. Can you imagine?? They only have a few of the kitchens open for public viewing, but they had pretty sweet fake food and whatnot lying around...but the weirdest part...was that they actually had something producing the smells that would have risen from the kitchen. It made me gag- and it could have been because it smelled like cat food mixed with malodorous raw beef, some anchovies and topped off with rotten eggs- but I could be wrong. Good idea in theory, not so good for people with weak stomachs. When we first started walking through the Tudor Kitchens there was a little area to the right of us where they implied a butcher would have worked...they had a fake bloody, skinless animal hanging on the wall, blood all over the walls, hunks of meat lying on the counter and best of all...sound effects...of heads being chopped off...Delightful!! Once again, good idea in theory, not so good for people with weak stomachs...truth be told, I was a little disturbed and horrified...and by a little, I mean a lot…I can only imagine the disgusted look on my face...and if you know me, you know exactly which "disgusted looked" I'm referring to...

The garden tour was not so exciting...probably because my back was acting up a little and by this point we had been there quite a while and were starting to get tired...I was disappointed to hear that the gardens were redone in 1974...because that makes them so new compared to the palace, and in turn, that makes them so uncool. They're just not old enough for me to be interested in them. Plus, I have a black thumb- keeping plants/flowers alive just isn’t my cup of tea…

Ever wondered where the term "mind your Ps and Qs" came from? When printing presses became available, they had to set the type backwards so that when they rolled the ink on and pressed the paper against the letters, it would come out correctly. Since this was done backwards, oftentimes people confused their Ps with their Qs. And as you all know, the British are infamous for saying "Mind (insert anything here)." Mind your step. Mind the Gap. MIND THE GAP. Mind that Child. (and so on and so forth) So, there's your adagial history of the day.

I was thinking today...people destroy things all the time, as did people “way back when.” The people “way back when” probably never thought that anyone would be interested in these items, but we are…Nowadays, we collect artefacts and antiques and this and that, but we still get rid of everything. Will the people in the future be like us? Will people in the future have the things from now studied and classified and critiqued? I would like to say yes, but what do we produce now that would even be worth something in the future? We mass produce so much crap, and it is all usually very cheaply made, that it probably won't last for 600 years and if it does, there will be so much of it still around that there will be no uniqueness left to anything. What will that say about us? Will the people of the future be even worse?

If we compare even two decades from the early and late 20th century, look how different the people are...the "corset-wearing, ride-in-a-horse-drawn-carriage, marry-a-man-five-times-my-age-and-pay-him-to-do-so" days are long gone. We've traded in our bonnets for pink hair dye, celibacy for children at age 13 and horse-drawn carriages for cars that have 1000 Horsies (Horsepower). Isn't it strange?

Some say we've proudly become more advanced and are becoming technological masterminds...but what is that going to get us? It always has to be bigger and better and somebody has to outdo someone else and get more money. Isn't anyone else scared of these sorts of events? I'm of the opinion that by mass production (thank you Renaissance) and new and ever-changing technology we are going to destroy ourselves. What happened to modesty and just happy to live another day because you managed to avoid the Plague? Most people look at historical figures and their time periods (or even the 80s) and gasp in shock and awe about how these poor, pathetic people even lived without a (portable) phone or computer or the Internet- it just baffles them! While I thoroughly appreciate my cell phone, Internet and computer, I am able to look back at historical time periods and wonder what happened...what went wrong...and then I'm back to the hope of simplicity.

I do like having modern things, but there comes a point when it becomes a vicious cycle of outsmarting the next guy and doing whatever it takes. I am aware that it has seemingly always been like that, but once again I pose this question, when does it stop?? A lot of the things that we invent and create today are completely unnecessary. What good would it be to transport a molecule across the room do? What good would a vacuum without a cord do? etc. etc. If we can't reach our Coke and hamburger, we could teleport ourselves across the room to get it...right?? And seriously, a vacuum without a cord...was it really that big of a hassle in the first place?

I'm not entirely sure where that came from, (ab intra obviously) but it makes me really angry that a lot of stuff from our lifetime will be thrown away and no one will care what we did, except to learn from our mistakes...it's my hope that future generations are able to put that "special touch" back into things and perhaps create a product of quality (instead of focusing on quantity). Who am I to say these things? I'm just some over-opinionated, naive, confused, cranky, 22-year-old female college student. But I know I'm right...

On that note, though, I'm afraid I must retire for the night. My eyes are drooping, my head nodding and my stomach growling -a lethal combination...So, I will bid you adieu, hope I offended at least someone, and I wish you all a great day...

Hampton Court- building began with the quadrangle in 1427 under the ownership of Sir Rowland Lenthall

Clock Court

Clock tower

Astronomical clock- built probably in 1528 when King Henry VIII siezed the palace from Thomas Wolsey (Bishop of London)

Taurus of course

Ceiling that I didn't know I wasn't supposed to take a picture of...

Tudor Kitchen

Tudor Kitchen- around 800 people worked in the kitchen to make the feasts twice a day

Pond in the 20th Century Garden- originally a horse paddock, but was transformed in the 70s for training gardening apprentices

Pond

White miniature flamingo? Nah, herron.

Mushroom trees in the garden...if you eat one of them, you get an extra life.

Privy Gardens as seen from the King's apartments- King William III's apartments are furnished with tapestries and works of art from the 1700s

written by

flaminko on June 8, 2007 from London, United Kingdom

from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah

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Since Saturday, I've been a tad bit busy. Mostly trying not to be busy because I want my time here to never end. But, alas, it must. I only have nine more days here, which is incredibly disappointing to me and I can imagine once I get home all I will long for is to be here again.

Sunday we went to a place called Red House. William Morris lived there for about five years. I'm not sure that William Morris has a very good fashion sense or taste. His houses have motley artwork from very different architectural and historical time periods. For example, a medieval room with white cabinets, pious murals on the wall, red brick and white panels with Asian pictures in bright blue on them. Uh, no. I'm not claiming to have the best taste when it comes to that sort of thing, but I like to think I know that some things are distasteful. It becomes gaudy when you mix so many elements together- too busy.

Today is obviously Monday; we have started reading Children of the Ghetto. It's a decent book, just long and we need to read the 500 pages or so in about three days. In addition to this, by the time we leave, I need to have eight- two page posts written on places I've visited that tie in with our literature and posts actually about what we've read in this class. But that's not all!! Bob, tell them what they've won!! A research paper!!! Yeah...that involves trekking it back to the British Library and ordering books. Oh, plus we have to read one more book and some more poetry. All in eight days...stressed? A tad.

Tomorrow we are going to a Jewish Museum, plus class; Wednesday, I am going with my professor to the SPAB headquarters to research my paper (Society for the Preservation of Ancient Buildings) and then class; Thursday, we have class, then I believe Tracey and I are going to the Museum of London; Friday we are spending all day at Cambridge; Saturday and Sunday are reserved for the library and reading and writing; Monday, class, plus all of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and discuss our papers; Tuesday, probably nothing, but supper with Florence that night; Wednesday we go home. Boo. I don't want to!!!!!!! *Throws temper tantrum*

What I wanted to write the other night but was far too tired to do:

On the tour of Dover Castle's Secret Wartime Tunnels, they did a skit type thing. During that we saw an injured Airman and he needed to get surgery, which they called 'going to the theatre.' Before they could take him there, they talked a little bit about the medicinal aspects while in the tunnels. They said that they really needed penicillin but had a hard time getting it because the American company, Pfizer, took over patent and production rights saying they could produce it more efficiently and effectively. Because of that, the people in England had a hard time getting a hold of it. We also learned that if someone needed stitches and there wasn't anything to stitch them up with, women were asked for their silk stockings. Obviously they didn't use the whole stocking...they just used a strand of silk..duh...Also, if no one had silk stockings, they could also use red hair because it's strong and thing. Interesting, huh?

More about the rest of the day...we got to the castle about 1330 and walked around until 1600, went on the tunnels tour, left about 1650, headed towards the exit of the castle, walked down the mountain, got to McD's about 1745...back at the bus stop at 1805. The bus was supposed to come at 1815, but didn't show up until 1835...as we were getting on the bus Jordan realized that Tracey and I lied to him. HAHAHAHA. We told him that we would be leaving Dover about 1600 and be home by 1800. Yeah, we flat out lied to him because we knew he wanted to come but was far too concerned about getting other work done...=) It was actually really funny that it took him the whole day to figure out we didn't tell him the truth. In our defence though, we both said that 'we thought' we'd be home by 1800...he didn't actually ask us to look for sure. Oh, details and details.

Anyway...the bus driver was really polite and respectful. He just had this really nice look in his eyes that has been somewhat hard to come by in England...When we were on the bus going to Dover, there was this couple sitting behind Tracey and I that were giggling and kissing and I'm pretty sure other things...They were lying all over each other and it was downright disgusting. I put on my headphones and blasted them because this couple (especially the girl's voice) were the last thing I wanted to hear. Her voice sounded something like a high-pitched, frog-in-her-throat, mauled by a British accent. UGH. She kept kicking Tracey's seat and Jordan didn't have headphones to block it all out. Poor thing. I thought if it was any other day that I would turn around and tell them to get a room, but I was too excited to get to Dover to let them bother me.

Once we actually got into Dover, some guy in an SUV screamed at the driver. In England, it's my opinion that everyone cuts everyone off and no one really cares because if you don't push your car into traffic, no one will let you in. It’s sad that everyone is so wrapped up in their own lives and so selfish that they won't let you in the flow of traffic, or smile at you. Mind you, Dover was a complete 180- except for the guy in the SUV. So anyway, this guy thought that it was wrong for this bus to cut him off and started honking and got right up beside the bus and screamed obscenities, which included dropping the F bomb (or some variant) every other word. After the light turned green, we got to the next traffic light and got stuck next to him again. This time, he started throwing things at the bus, still yelling...when the light turned green he just sat there continuing his rage, and then bus drove off. The bus driver just smiled and shook his head yes and kept the door shut. It was quite amusing. I suppose though, that this disproves my theory that Brits don't have road rage! Damn.

When we got off the bus and looked at a map, we originally thought that we wouldn't get to see the White Cliffs of Dover because the map showed them a mile or so away from the actual castle. This was a little disheartening because I was really excited about them! Even when we got to the castle and could see the English Channel we figured it would take us a long time to get there and we probably wouldn't have enough time. But, once we got to the other side of the castle, we noticed that we were only like a fourth of a mile off!! In the Secret Wartime Tunnels, one of them ended with a window facing out towards the English Channel. This was where Ramsey's lookout was during the Dunkirk rescue. They have since close the window off, but that's how close we were...It was so great...

The whole WWII aspect made me think of hanging out with the WWII vets at work. I couldn't help but think of a story that Charles Dixon told me. He said that his unit was preparing to invade Malay, and during preparations, they were told to prepare for 9:1 casualties: nine dead to every one person living. That was just on the American side. They obviously didn't make it that far to invade Malay, but my God, could you imagine? Could you imagine even living in those tunnels for months upon end? Could you imagine looking at nine other people around you and know that only one of you would survive? That would scare me white. Yet, here I am, waiting to join the military- ready to volunteer to fight or die for my country at the drop of a hat. I'm so interested in history and the soldiers and the military that I feel I have a good grasp on their trials and tribulations, so wouldn’t a normal person be scared and not want to join the military? Seemingly so…but of course I'm scared...I don't want to die...However, if I did...my parents would never have to worry about money again, my student loans would be long paid off, I would die with honour and maybe post mortem, someone would publish everything I'd ever written. Lord knows I have enough of it...Maybe I want to join to commemorate those who have fought in the past, because I'm thankful for what they've done, for the rights, country, people they've defended, because they are my heroes, because I'm just too curious and want to be there too, because I feel I owe something to my country. Whatever the reasoning behind it is, I'm sure it wouldn't make sense to anybody, I’m not even sure it makes sense to me.

I feel like I've been a part of a lot of first time things this year. I was part of a group of the first people to do the internship in Des Moines, the first people to take that class, the first people to go on this trip to London, etc. This was also the first time I'd lived alone in my own apartment, the first time I auditioned to sing the National Anthem at a baseball game, the first time I started to care about school and put effort into it, the first time I've been so determined, the first time I've been with somebody I would consider my equal- the first time for so many things and not just new experiences. The first day that we arrived, our taxi driver told us that we would learn a lot about ourselves on this trip. I think I’ve learned a few things, but more or less realized a lot of others: I can actually get along with other people, I was entrusted to lead others and didn’t fail, I do actually have strong morals, my expectations aren't too high, I am outspoken, I stick to my guns and I do catch on to things a lot quicker than previously thought. I thought I knew a lot about myself, but perhaps I underestimated myself to such a degree that I had gotten lost. I've always been the aforementioned things, but with all the other problems and blah blah of this game of life, they had been forgotten. It’s a game of pure chance, but I should always remember the final goal: to get to the end knowing I tried my best.

So, I suppose this is where I blow and roll the dice and prepare myself for next move.

Good night world, pleasant dreams..til morrow

Kelsi

***a few stanzas of my new favourite poem***

Yet each man kills the thing he loves
By each let this be heard,
Some do it with a bitter look,
Some with a flattering word,
The coward does it with a kiss,
The brave man with a sword!

Some kill their love when they are young,
And some when they are old;
Some strangle with the hands of Lust,
Some with the hands of Gold:
The kindest use a knife, because
The dead so soon grow cold.

Some love too little, some too long,
Some sell, and others buy;
Some do the deed with many tears,
And some without a sigh:
For each man kills the thing he loves,
Yet each man does not die.

- Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol

written by

flaminko on June 11, 2007 from Dover, United Kingdom

from the travel blog: 'Ello Guvnah

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a travel blog by flaminko

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