Heading Home 7/28

At six in the morning I said goodbye to my room and went down into the courtyard to take the bus to Heathrow. As we crossed Waterloo Bridge, I promised myself I’d come back to London someday. We got to Heathrow with plenty of time, and the early group was still there, because their plane had been delayed. We spent more than an hour hanging out in the main part of Heathrow Terminal, chatting with the classmates we didn’t want to say goodbye to. As a special London goodbye, there was a giant Dalek in the center of the airport, of course. Eventually, we did have to say goodbye and head to our respective flights.

No one likes eight hour flights, even if you’re someone who likes flying, like me. I worked on this blog, read, and watched the in-flight movie. I even tried napping a bit, but it was the middle of the day, so it wasn’t really possible. Unfortunately, I was sitting in front of a three year old, who (when he was awake) had the annoying habit of kicking the back of my seat. Sigh. I told my sister she wasn’t allowed to take my nieces on international flights until they were at least six.

When we reached O’Hare, I said goodbye to fellow Dominican librarians, who, at least, I’ll see in class, still. My parents came to pick me up, and they brought the puppy!

When I got home, I discovered that my best friend had been by and decorated my room with a bunch of Welcome Home decorations. My mom made a fabulous dinner, and my sister brought my nieces over. It was a perfect homecoming.

Since being back, I haven’t really had any trouble readjusting, either in terms of missing Britain or jet lag. A lot of that is that I jumped back into my new full-time job the morning after I came home. I’ve been way too busy for anything but getting my work done and finishing this blog.

I know that in the months to come, however, I’m going to come back, and read this blog, and plan my trip back to London.

The Last Day 7/27

I spent my last day in London doing some last minute shopping. Thanks to some Tube closures, I ended up walking through parts of the city I hadn’t seen before. I accidentally ended up on a street that was entirely made up of used and antique book stores. I browsed a children’s bookstore and saw some really cool old editions of classic children’s books. Everything was way out of my price range, though. I went in another store that only carried first editions and signed copies of books. I was looking for a signed copy of Harry Potter, but considering that a signed copy of a random YA book was £75.00, there was no way I would be able to afford one.

On my way home, I kind of thought that the Tube closures was the City’s way of testing me to prove that I’d learned enough about London’s public transportation to navigate even when thrown a curveball.

That afternoon I had to pack. I feel like I doubled the amount of stuff I had through souvenir shopping, and 90% of those souvenirs were breakable. I had to completely start over three times before I managed to get everything safely and securely packed. Packing all that bubblewrap did have the bonus of keeping the weight of my suitcase down, and I overloaded my carry-on until my suitcase weighed less heading back the states than it did leaving them.

We had planned on one last group trip down to the Thames for chips and cider, but with the heatwave broken, real London weather caught up with us, and it was pouring out. Instead, we went out for dinner, and then splashed our way back to the dorm. After weeks of hearing many of us mention Doctor Who constantly, Liz finally decided to give the show a chance. So it was that on the last night, a few of us crowded around a laptop in our flat kitchen and watched Doctor Who on Netflix. Occasionally, someone else from our dorm would wander past and end up joining us.

At one point, Alison and I ventured out for snacks from the vending machine, and found the change return full of money. Apparently, returning students no longer saw any value in their British currency, so snacks were on those guys. The next morning, we also found a pile of change in the courtyard. Knowing that money is money, several of us gathered it up to spend at the airport or donate to the UNICEF bag on the airplane.

Watching Doctor Who in that kitchen and listening to it rain with my classmates was a lovely end to our stay in London. I’m so glad that Facebook and email will allow me to stay in contact with these fantastic women with whom I’ve become good friends over the last few weeks.

Daleks and Dinosaurs- Cardiff 7/26

Christina and I took two hour train ride to Cardiff, Whales on Friday morning. It seemed crazy that after only two hours by rail we were in Whales, but there you have it. When we got off the train at Cardiff Bay, we had completed the directions to the Doctor Who Experience, but we still weren’t anywhere near the building. We wandered into Road Dahl plaza, or the Torchwood Plaza, as we Doctor Who fans like to refer to it. We found an information center, thankfully, which pointed us in the direction of the DWE. We walked along the coast, and it felt like a trip to some beach town, it was lovely. When we saw the Daleks on the road sign, we knew we were on the right track, and stumbled on the DWE. I don’t know what I was expecting out of the DWE, but it wasn’t what we got. After a brief video of all of the Eleventh Doctor’s most amazing moments set to “Mad Man in a Box,” which was sure to get anyone pumped, the screen opened with a Crack and we walked onto Starship UK. Props from many of the Doctor’s exploits were present, and then Eleven made an appearance on a TV screen and told us he needed help from we “shoppers.” What followed was an interactive DW experience, where we flew the TARDIS, were nearly exterminated by the Daleks, and had to walk through a forest filled with Weeping Angels (I swear I didn’t blink. You can’t put Weeping Angels in with strobe lights and expect me to not freak out). It ended with us saving the Doctor and watching him in 3d reseal the Crack and trap those who had pursued us. Then we entered the DW museum.

 

The Museum had sonic screw drivers, and costumes, and TARDIS’s! We got to see Ten’s TARDIS console, as well as the Junkyard TARDIS, and pose in front of Eleven’s. Then we went upstairs, where representatives of so many of the races and cultures the Doctor has interacted with were on display. I took pictures with Daleks, Cybermen, and Ood. Plus, we got a picture with the Face of Boe! It was fun seeing everything they had on display.

After the DWE, Christina and I got lunch along the beach before walking into the city. Cardiff, especially near the beach, was gorgeous. I could see myself moving there easily. After wandering the city a bit, we decided to check out the Natural History Museum. When we walked in, we were told that they were closing in 20 minutes. I asked Christina what she wanted to see, to which she replied like an excited toddler, “DINOSAURS!” So off we went. We got to see the Dinosaurs, as well as the ice age exhibit and a lot of the ocean exhibit.

We spent the rest of the day meandering through Cardiff, before we caught our train back to London.

Sitting in Nests 7/25

For our last day of class, we took the bus out to Blythe House, which houses collections from the British Museum, the Science Museum, and the Victoria and Albert. About 800 readers a year come to the Blythe House for research, and they’re working on making it more accessible and welcoming to the public. We were there to learn about the Beatrix Potter Archive from the V&A. We learned about the history of the V&A, and got to see one of the original log books, which records a loan of an object from the queen to the museum. 

We learned about the “Words & Things” department, which is responsible for archiving flat art, like the written word. They still can’t archive everything, like many of the emails that are lost each year, but they’re trying. They’re trying to come up with a way to catalogue everything, but right now they’re torn by so many standards.

Alexia taught us about the Archive of Art & Design, which collects archives from British companies, from high end fashion companies to Thomas Smith crackers. Each year, twice a year, they go out and gather advertisements off the street to add to the collection. They don’t collect fine art, which goes to the Tate or architecture, which has its own home. Instead, they focus on the small archives, which are donated at a rate of about 5-15 per year.

She showed us examples from the collection, including designs from the 1920s Lucille Ltd fashion design, and Daily Mail Ideal Home Exhibits, which predicted the houses of the future.

The V&A has a collection of 100,000 children’s books, including the Beatrix Potter Archive. The archive includes over 2000 items, including first editions, water colors, original artwork, and journals. We were able to see a picture letter collection that proved to be a precursor to Peter Rabbit, and a sketchbook from 9 year old Beatrix.

We then got to hear from a prominent business man who has been researching one of the primary researchers of Beatrix Potter, Leslie Linder. Linder broke the code Potter wrote her journals in, opening up that information to researchers. He and his sister also compiled a bequest that helped supplement the Beatrix Potter archive. Andrew grew up near the Linders, and used his personal connection to help illustrate the relationship between Linder and Potter, who lived in the same area and lived quite similar lifestyles. Linder went on to publish Journal of Beatrix Potter and Artwork of the Writings Of Beatrix Potter.

That evening, we had the research symposium, where we got to hear what all of the other classes were up to for the whole month. I think we got the best experience. Then, a bunch of us went out for dinner, and ended up at a Nando’s. This Nando’s had these round tables in these weird giant wicker baskets they called the nests. We of course all piled into one nest and had a fabulous time. After eating, we decided to go to one of our favorite places and walked down to the Thames to drink cider and chat in the warm evening air. When I remember London, I hope that’s what I remember.

Try the Pie, It’s Delicious 7/24

We spent the morning at the Middle Temple Law Library. Lawyers in England need to belong to one of four Inns, and one is Middle Temple. There is a record of a library there from as far back as the Tudor Era, and it now encompasses three floors, two basements, and a loft for rare books. The library was moved into its current quarters after WWII, when the previous location was bombed.

The Inns share libraries, and each has its own specialty. Middle Temple focuses on EU and American law, and has ties with the United States. The American Ambassador to the UK becomes an honorary member of the college. They have exchange students come from American legal universities, and even had four alumni sign the Declaration of Independence. There’s a lithograph of the Declaration with those four names starred in the library.

Because English law is based on precedent, almost nothing is thrown out, which can lead to some storage issues for the librarians. Another difficulty is that there is no classification system for the collection, in part because it was believed to be unseemly to have labels on the spines of the books. Can you imagine the headache in managing that collection?

The Inns are run by a group known as Benchers, who are retired and distinguished members of the Inns. Each Inn is expected to have two honorary Royal Benchers. Middle Temple had had Princess Diana and the Queen Mother. After the loss of Princess Diana, Prince William was eventually made a Bencher for Middle Temple, but they had to wait for him to be old enough, first. There’s hope of Princess Katherine becoming their second Royal Bencher, but she’s a little busy right now.

We heard a lot about the history of the buildings and artwork from Middle Temple. Middle Temple and Inner Temple share responsibility for Temple Church, and the rivalry between the two resulted in a statute of the Knights Templar in the Church courtyard with its derrière pointed at Middle Temple. Both Inns claim to be the one mentioned in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night.

After Middle Temple, we made our way to a pub called the Bank of England. The pub stands between where according to legend, Sweeney Todd ran his barber shop and the place where his victims were baked into pies. The specialty of the Bank of England? You guessed it. I got the chicken and sweet corn pie, which was really good, but the clear pie winner was the beef and venison in a red wine sauce pie. It was heavenly. It was a great lunch, and it felt very British as our trip was winding down.

Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus - 7/23

When we reconvened after minibreak, we visited the British Library Centre for Conservation. Most of the archives we visited in London focused on preservation, keeping items in their original condition, and preventing further damage. The BLCC, however, focuses on conservation, the act of restoring items in the collection. The discrepancy is because the items in the British Library are all available for patron use, so the BLCC is tasked with keeping materials in working condition. It was really cool to see a place set up for conservation, as a contrast to the preservation archives we’d seen. For one, the Centre was built to maximize light in the work room, a sharp contrast to the archives that try to protect documents from light. Another change is the presence of wet rooms, where work with solutions can be done without risking accidentally damaging other items.

The British Library has 150 million items in its collection, and the collection is managed by different divisions. Each division is allotted a certain number of conservation hours for the year, and they choose which items to spend them on. Usually that means that the items being conserved are the ones chosen to go on display. The Centre helps the divisions make decisions about what needs to be done to conserve the item by asking a series of questions about the item’s priority, frequency of use, and whether or not a digital version is available for scholars.

We were shown some of the materials used in conservation, including the mulberry paper/cloth/tissue used to strength and add flexibility to pages. At times a book requires a new set of covers to keep it together for circulation. In that case, the original cover is preserved and kept boxed with the newly bound book. Nothing is destroyed, but changes must be made for scholars to have access. The boxes used to house the books are specially built phase boxes, which are custom sized for the items.

We had the opportunity to learn about gold finishing at the Centre. We learned about the tools for finishing and the techniques, and even got to handle a slip of gold leaf, which is beyond delicate, and very hard to use! Some of the tricks of the trade include using one’s forehead oil to gently lift the leaf. When we were passing the bit of leaf around, part of it actually conformed to my fingerprint, and nothing could get it to transfer without destroying it. I’m very impressed by gold finishers.

That afternoon, we had tickets for the Harry Potter movie set tour, so we set off to catch the train. When we reached the station and went to board our train, we discovered that the tickets we’d been sold wouldn’t work, and we only had 15 minutes to catch our train. We frantically waited in line to get new tickets, but only one window was open, and it had a sign posted that she was a trainee, so to please be patient! With minutes left, another window opened and we were able to buy new tickets. We actually ran to jump on our train. The girls who’d purchased their tickets separately had gotten on the train already, and didn’t even know we’d made it.

The Harry Potter tour was probably my favorite experience in London. It was amazing! From the very beginning, when we watched the video of Emma, Daniel, and Rupert talking about filming, to the doors to the Great Hall opening and walking in, to the very end, it was wonderful. Everything there was actually used in the filming of the movies; it was the original sets, costumes, and props. Walking through the Great Hall, visiting the Gryffindor Common Room, and popping into Dumbledore’s office… it was amazing. We saw the horcruxes and Mad-Eyed Moody’s trunk, the door to the Chamber of Secrets and the Mirror of Erised, And we were all giddy as school girls.

Halfway through the tour, you stop between the buildings in an outdoor courtyard, where you can buy some refreshments, including Butterbeer! I didn’t expect to like Butterbeer, but I did. It tasted like butterscotch and cream soda, with a butterscotch foam topping. Sweet, but refreshing. Also in the courtyard was the Knight Bus, Sirius’s motorbike, the Weasley’s flying car, the Hogwart’s bridge, Privet Drive, and Potter home in Godric’s Hollow. We took tons of pictures, and started taking a lot of funny ones, like a terrified pose outside of the Potter’s.

In the other half of the tour, we started in the creature creation, costume, and make-up displays. There was a life-sized Aragog, which, no thank you. Then, I turned a corner, and it was Diagon Alley! When you walked down Diagon Alley, it was clearly just shop fronts and forced perspective making the Alley look larger, but that first look was such a thrill! It was like you stepped right into the books. After wandering past the shops that are so familiar from the books, we ended up in a design studio, which showed off the various sketches from the creation of the movies. There were also a number of models built to design the sets. And then we walked into the next room.

It was take-you-breath-away magical. A model of Hogwarts that was probably forty or fifty feet across. That room was just extraordinary. I swear I don’t know how we didn’t witness any proposals, because if I lived anywhere in the UK, that’s where I’d demand to have the question popped. No one could say no with the majesty of Hogwarts in front of them. The lights were lowered in the model room, in deference to the awe-inspiring castle. I learned a lot about the construction of Hogwarts from the video displays in that room, information I immediately relayed to those around me.

When we exited through the gift shop, it was nearly as good as the tour. I probably spent more than a half hour there, alone, pouring over all the Harry Potter merchandise they’d put together from the books and movies. I wanted EVERYTHING, from the Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, to the Honeyduke’s sweets, and Quidditch jerseys. I restrained myself and only purchased a wand. I got a replica of my favorite character’s, Luna Lovegood.

I’ve said about this whole trip that all of Britain is Harry Potter, and it was glorious visiting the capital of it all. Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life, and it was so gratifying to get to physically disappear into the world of Harry Potter for a few hours.

Long-Lived, Healthy, and Glorious - 7/22

The whole time we were in London, we were on Royal Baby Watch! We were certain that because Princess Kate was due in the middle of the month, that she’d have the baby while we were in Scotland, or while I was in Ireland, but she held out. When I woke up on the 22^nd, I discovered that Kate had finally gone into labor!

 

I decided to spend the last morning of minibreak touring Westminster Abbey, which was pretty cool. I got the audiotour, which I was surprised to discover was narrated by Jeremy Irons! I was like, wait, is Scar talking to me? I saw the graves of Charles Darwin and Sir Isaac Newton, as well as the grave of Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Mary (did you know that they share a space in death?), and even Mary, Queen of Scots. Photography is forbidden in the Abbey, so I don’t have any pictures, unfortunately. The tomb of the unknown soldier is there, and is gorgeous, surrounded by poppies. There’s also a beautiful stained-glass window dedicated to the British Armed Forces.

After Westminster, I walked up to Buckingham Palace, to see the crowd. There weren’t a lot of people there yet, since it was the middle of the workday, but there was a ton of media camped across the street.

I was supposed to meet up with Alison and Liz, but when we met up, we all agreed it was too hot to do anything. It turned out that this would later be the peak of the heat wave, when we hit 93 degrees. Instead I headed back to the dorm to get some laundry done and camp out in front of the BBC for Royal Baby news. It just so happened that I was watching that evening when the baby announcement was made! A little prince! It was very exciting, though kind of a letdown that they’d changed the law and a prince was born instead of a princess. Still, progress is progress.

The town caller who later announced the Prince’s birth stated, “May he be long-lived, healthy, and glorious, and may he one day reign over us!” That is one heck of a statement. The next baby I know that’s born is getting that on the birth announcement!

I heard that the London Eye was being lit up in the British colors to celebrate the birth, so I walked out to Waterloo Bridge to look. It was lovely. After hearing the Eye was the same color every night, I actually got to see it in two other views, between the Prince and London Pride.

That night, the heat wave broke and for practically the first time since we’d gotten to London, it began to rain. Everyone’s Facebook status commented on how surprised we were. Rain! In England! Shocking! It was lovely to fall asleep to, especially with the cool breeze that accompanied it.