I took three pictures of Orkney for my photo challenge. I am pleased and proud to say that I can now not only identify these three pictures (Old Man of Hoy, Skara Brae and the Ring of Brogdar), BUT, I also have pictures of my own of these three places.
You may be surprised to hear it but I've never been to a British wedding before. Israeli, yes, American, tons, but British, never. So it was with great pleasure and excitement that I trekked out to the Cotswolds for Katie and Dan's wedding. The best part? There was actual croquet playing. Amazing.
I took the train out in the morning to the small town of Stroud. There was a little market, some street singers and for some reason, a table to save the badgers. I didn't even know the badgers needed saving but apparently they do.
I found my was out to France Lynch on a public bus out of Stroud which saved me almost $35 so yay for that. The wedding was in this sweet little parish church where Dan was actually baptised and grew up. It was a little hard to see what was going on up in the front since I was sitting towards the back but what I could catch was very beautiful and sweet. Katie looked incredible and I loved the morning suits that the men were all wearing.
The reception was at the Bear Inn at Rodborough. I rode over with Jay and Tegan and we got a little bit lost (apparently there were several Old Neighbourhood roads and we went down a few wrong ones before finding the right one). There were several large bear statues around the lobby which was a little disconcerting but one of them held a tray with apple so that was kind. I was at a table with the other museum folk and some new people and we had our wedding breakfast (it's called the wedding breakfast because the groom is still supposed to be hung over from his stag night and the bride is supposed to be too nervous to eat before the wedding) and chatted and made new friends. There was some down time afterwards and a bunch of us just wandered around the inn, spending some time outside when it wasn't raining and other times inside in the little pub area. And of course, my favorite part of all weddings is the dancing- the DJ rocked out to some great 80's pop, Pulp, Spice Girls, Five, Lady Gaga, Foreigner and the great dance hits of the 80s, 90s and today. It was so hot inside though I had to make several trips back outside to cool off before heading back in. My other favorite part of the night was reuniting with old friends (like Marsaili and Tegan from the museum) and meeting new friends, like Clare, Ruth, Maebe and Christina.
Congratulations Katie and Dan! Enjoy your East Coast Honeymoon!
With all of the reading I did this summer about the Mitfords, it seemed only natural that I would track down their old digs. I had already been to Chatsworth where Deborah Mitford spent most of her later years but this trip was dedicated to Oxfordshire/the Cotswolds where they grew up.
I wasn't entirely sure about the bus process but I luckily caught a bus at our stop to Worsham Turn. The bus driver wasn't entirely sure where that stop was but we tag-teamed it and with my map and his knowledge of the towns, he dropped me off exactly where I needed to be. He also told me to just wait right there when I needed to head home and that he'd let the afternoon bus driver know I'd be waiting there. I walked through the gorgeous weather down really small lanes until I reached the Swan Inn and a river. The Swan Inn was connected to Mill Cottage where Deborah lived with Muv and Unity during WWII. Muv wanted to take Unity up to Inch Kenneth, the island that they owned in Scotland but because Unity was an enemy of the state at this point, she wasn't allowed up in the Scottish isles.
Mill Cottage and Swan Inn
I walked up and down the paths, looking at the gorgeous houses all made out of Costwold stones. I totally would have lived in a few of them and I loved the gorgeous countryside with the fields and lawns and all the beautiful flowers. I also stopped and had lunch at the church of St. Mary's. This is where the Mitfords all went to church and six of the nine Mitfords are buried here (Tom is buried in Burma where he was killed but he has a plaque dedicated to him in the family pew, Decca is buried in California and Deborah is still alive). The church was beautiful and quaint and the cemetery was quiet. I had lunch on a little bank next to the graves of Nancy, Unity, Diana and Diana's grandson (Pam was on the other side of the cemetery). The sun was bright and warm and I chatted with several people also visiting the church.
Pam's grave
Diana's grave
Unity's grave
Nancy's grave
Memorial to those who died in WWII
plaque for Tom in the Mitford pew
plaque for Muv and Farve
Eventually I popped into the Swan to use the toiler and was shocked to see that the whole place was decorated with pictures of the Mitfords, including my favorite series of the girls by William Acton.
all the Mitford related books
Debo on her horse with two of her sisters
Nancy the Novelist
Pamela the farmer
Diana the Fascist
Unity Valkyrie the Nazi
Decca (Jessica) the Communist
Debo the Duchess
Debo collecting eggs at Swinbrook House
Tom, Pam, Nancy and Diana with the chickens Muv raised for money
I talked to several people in the pub and they told me where exactly Swinbrook House was. It took me awhile to find it but after asking a kind old man in his garden for directions, I found Swinbrook House which was where the Mitfords moved after they left Asthall because it got too expensive. None of the kids except Deborah enjoyed Swinbrook- they found it isolating and dull compared to the beauty and vibrancy of Asthall.
Speaking of Asthall, I was on my way back to where the bus was going to pick me up and I pass Asthall Manor. It was hard to see through the front gates but by going into the cemetery, I was able to see the beautiful back of the large house where the Mitfords spent most of their childhood (after moving from the family own Batsford House).
To then make a long trip home short, I anxiously waited where the bus driver had indicated, sitting on the grass and reading for awhile and then nervously bouncing about praying that the bus would not only show up but also stop. Finally, five minutes late, it arrived and stopped for me. The bus driver was so stylish- She wearing black heels, a snazzy scarf, really cool dangly earrings and rocking black raybans. also dropped me off exactly where I wanted on Woodstock. Both of these bus drivers were great.
I had no idea if I will end up studying the Mitfords for my thesis but they are such an incredible family and I have had such a great time learning about them this summer and seeing precisely where they grew up. Whether or not they become the subject of my research, I will continue to want to read more and more about them.
"You find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." -Samuel Johnson
Sam, no truer words are spoken. I love London, I just do. I love the hustle and bustle. I love the side streets with shops and surprises. I love the mass of curious people that you can spend hours wondering about. I love its history. I love its drama and music and art and museums. I love the winding passageways of the underground. I love getting exercise on the escalators up and down the underground. I even sometimes love getting lost here.
I spent all day yesterday in this glorious city, the city where my obsession of England began, the city where (other than Oxford, of course), I have spent the most of my time in England. My lovely London. I took the train out in the morning and stood on line to get tickets to see Much Ado About Nothing, starring none other than the talented and hysterical David Tennant and Catherine Tate.
From there, I was planning on going over to the Royal College of Surgeons to see their free museum, but I was feet away from the National Portrait Gallery and since I had been doing a lot of reading about the early 20th century, I thought why not stop by and see what they had to offer. There was an interesting exhibit about the 2012 Olympics and Paraolympics, mostly of really crisp and bright photographs that portrayed not only athletes but those who were important in making the 2012 Olympics happen, including of course Lord Coe which made me giggle because of what I had just seen. Please watch, although you may not get all of it... lots of inside British jokes.
I also explored their usual exhibit but stayed away from anything pre-1900. Once you get into the Victoria and pre-Victorian eras, all the portraits look the same and it only helps to know who each individual is. Which I mostly do, but still, didn't want to waste my time. The 20th century portraits are a lot more original, and because of reading about the Mitfords and "Among the Bohemians" and such, I recognized a lot more of not only the subjects of the portraits but also the artists. It was also the 50th anniversary of the death of Augustus John so there was a little section dedicated to his work but also of portraits created of him.
Once I had finished at the NPG, I headed over to the University College of London. I've always known UCL for having the auto-icon of Jeremy Bentham (more on that in a bit), but they also have a ton of free museums. I went to the Petrie Egyptian Collection first. Now, I could have taken a thousand pictures here, so I limited myself only to my favorites. There were just cases and cases of Egyptian artifacts, some over 5000 years old, which just fascinates me. There was also a very interesting exhibit that had to do with Identity and Eugenics and what makes each person an individual and I sat for probably a good half hour looking through articles about different ways that people are born (sperm donors, IVF, etc.) and how each of them copes with their situation. Fascinating.
Before going to meet up with Roni, I had to check out the auto-icon. OK, so let's take a minute to talk about Jeremy Bentham. He was a mover and a shaker in the early 19th century. He was a utilitarian, which emphasized the importance of happiness, as that led to an absence of pain. One of his big ideas was a panopticon, which basically was a circular prison where those in charge could watch the prisoners without knowing if they were being watched. He also is famous for still presiding over meetings at UCL, despite being dead for over 150 years. He specifically wrote in his will that he would be basically embalmed/turned into wax and is now wheeled out during important meetings (although he does not participate in the votes). It is incredibly creepy and fascinating.
From there, I met up with Roni and we went over to the zoological museum at UCL. I thought it would be like the natural history museum but it was mostly a bunch of big room with a lot of skeletons, creatures in jars and skulls. Creepy and sometimes kinda disgusting but again, absolutely fascinating.
Dinner was at our favorite pizza place, eaten in a courtyard at Tottenham Court Road. We got a little turned around but eventually made it to Charing Cross and the theatre. The play was wonderful- David and Catherine were incredible in their roles at Beatrice and Benedict. The play was set in Gibraltar during the 80s so the costumes and the music were wonderful, especially their version of "Hey, Nonny Nonny", which always reminds me of Elvis (Thank you, Reduced Shakespeare Company...). I read (OK, that may be an overstatement... I watched...) Much Ado About Nothing my junior year in high school and so I could easily follow the story and was able to focus on the action of the actors and their nuances. I loved it. After the show, we made it out to the stage door to see David and Catherine. We tag-teamed it and Roni got an autograph from David while I took pictures. It was a good night for all.
I found my was out to France Lynch on a public bus out of Stroud which saved me almost $35 so yay for that. The wedding was in this sweet little parish church where Dan was actually baptised and grew up. It was a little hard to see what was going on up in the front since I was sitting towards the back but what I could catch was very beautiful and sweet. Katie looked incredible and I loved the morning suits that the men were all wearing.
The reception was at the Bear Inn at Rodborough. I rode over with Jay and Tegan and we got a little bit lost (apparently there were several Old Neighbourhood roads and we went down a few wrong ones before finding the right one). There were several large bear statues around the lobby which was a little disconcerting but one of them held a tray with apple so that was kind. I was at a table with the other museum folk and some new people and we had our wedding breakfast (it's called the wedding breakfast because the groom is still supposed to be hung over from his stag night and the bride is supposed to be too nervous to eat before the wedding) and chatted and made new friends. There was some down time afterwards and a bunch of us just wandered around the inn, spending some time outside when it wasn't raining and other times inside in the little pub area. And of course, my favorite part of all weddings is the dancing- the DJ rocked out to some great 80's pop, Pulp, Spice Girls, Five, Lady Gaga, Foreigner and the great dance hits of the 80s, 90s and today. It was so hot inside though I had to make several trips back outside to cool off before heading back in. My other favorite part of the night was reuniting with old friends (like Marsaili and Tegan from the museum) and meeting new friends, like Clare, Ruth, Maebe and Christina. 
