My friend Elizabeth arrived here ridiculously early on Sunday morning, and so we grabbed some coffee and caught up on eachother's lives before going on a bit of a tour of central London. I took her down Oxford Street, past all the lovely shops, then to my study centre on Tottenham Court Road, then down to Trafalgar Square, then down Queen's Way to Buckingham Palace, then through the Green Park, where we had lunch. Basically, I've been playing tour guide, which has been a lot of fun. Monday night, we went out to a club called The Roxy, and we just got home from having dinner at a local pub called The Green Man, where we met up with another Grinnell student who is visiting other friends here in London.
Yesterday, I had classes all day, and things are going to be really stressful here for the next week until finals are over! Oh well, I've been looking up day trips out of London, so I'm sure I'll be kept plenty busy over our fall break. I'm actually really glad that I decided not to go abroad for this time, because I get the feeling that many of my fellow American classmates are going to go to all these cities and not really SEE anything. Well, that's not true... what I mean is that they aren't going to get a sense of the cities or the countries they visit. I think I would much rather stay in one country for a longer time, in order to really get a sense of it, than to jump around from city to city, spending only 2 or 3 days in each place. On some level, cities are all really the same, anyway.
Yesterday evening, the Grinnell students were invited out to dinner by two members of Grinnell's international study department. We had dinner at the Royal Court Theatre's bar and restaurant, and it was nice to eat in a classier place than Sainsbury's or Pret a Manger. After dinner, I stayed for the performance of "Enron", which I have decided ought to be called "Enron: The Musical". It was a wickedly funny performance of Enron's rise and fall and the consequences. I enjoyed the play because it was a fresh take on economic crisis. The dialogue was great, and there were hysterical song-and-dance numbers, as well as snippets of Bush speeches on video, and the like. On some level, I'm glad that this was the last play I'll be attending with the program, because I've been to at least 20 plays, and it has gotten a bit overwhelming. I'm looking forward to having more time to do things on my own (and I already do most things on my own) after I get back from fall break. I'll only have one class to focus on, and I'll have free four day weekends every weekend.
Today, I began to write a paper for my Black Atlantic class, and Elizabeth and I went to Portobello Road to browse the antique shops. She found a cute, wooden box from India that she plans to give to her boyfriend for Christmas, and I found these handmade leather satchels that are literally to die for. At 40 or 50 pounds a pop, I know I'll have to give myself some time before I go back to look at them again, but they are incredibly well made, supple, and just really beautiful. Tomorrow, I have class again all day, and afterwards I'll head to Trafalgar Square for the free screening of a few short films that are part of the annual British Film Festival! I'm excited!
I also found a new musician that I really like. If you know who Nick Drake is, the artist I found has a very similar style. He is Swedish-born of Argentine parents, and his name is Jose Gonzalez: finger-picked guitar, moody, autumnal bedroom songs. Perfect.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Capitalism!, Liver'puul, Lib-tron emminent.
This past week was at once busy and non-productive. Finals week is nearly upon us, and as a result the homework load is getting heavier. This is extremely unfortunate, as I have recently joined the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, the only independent cinema in central London. 1.50 for a weekday matinee = disaster for Torrey's academic prowess. Oh well. I've already seen "Mesrine: Killer Instinct", "Public Enemies", and "The Godfather (Part I)". Lots of crime/outlaw drama, though I personally am looking forward to the Halloween weekend horrorfest that starts at 9:30am on Saturday and continues until 10pm on Sunday...
Tuesday night involved a trip to the National Theatre to see a play called "The Power of Yes", which was about the origins and unfolding of the 2008 financial crisis in the UK and US. Very interesting and informative, though pretty depressing. Basically I've been in a funk about money/the Future/JOBS, etc, though talking to my mom and convincing her not to abandon me financially for 2 hours this evening helped immensely. This Tuesday we're going to see another contemporary play called "Enron".
The big event of this week was a 2 day, 1 night trip to Liverpool, from which I've just arrived back at the flat. The trip was for my Black Atlantic course, so the majority of activities focused around Liverpool's role as a port city, and subsequently its involvement in Britain's slave trade. After the 4+ hour drive on Friday morning, we stopped off at the Quarry Bank Mill, just outside of Manchester. The mill was built and operated in the 1700 and 1800s, predominantly by the Greg family. The museum was really interesting, as all the buildings are original. The mill was fully functional up until the post-war era, and so much of the machinery still worked, which made for some pretty amazing demonstrations. The mill mostly dealt with cotton, thread and fabric production, and it was amazing to get a sense of how terrible working-class people's lives were, even at a "progressive" institution like Quarry Bank Mill. After the tour, we loaded into the coach and drove the last stretch to Liverpool.
LIVERPOOL! City of my recent predecessors (kind of)! The approach into the city yielded an impressive view of 7 miles of docks, the imposing Anglican cathedral, and a host of modern, cement-block buildings that comprised Liverpool's new "ONE" complex. According to a city council pamphlet, Liverpool won a European Cultural City award a few years ago, and so they've been trying to re-invent Liverpool as a bustling metropolis filled with all the trappings of a cosmopolitan paradise. Lots of luxury stores, lots of punky kids, lots of Beatles branding. Fun, but not terribly interesting in the historical context. We stayed at a generic youth hostel, which was actually pretty nice compared to the one my art class stayed at in Bruges. Dinner included a cheap burrito stand and a walk around the docks and the ONE complex, then bed, as I had been up until 3am the morning before (see Mom, I DO get out!)
Today, we woke up early to a full breakfast courtesy of the hostel, which included sausages, croissants, yoghurt, scrambled eggs... YUM. Then, we walked as a group down to the Albert Dock area, which houses the International Slavery Museum. There, we met a good friend of my academic advisor's, Mike Boyle. Mike teaches at the University of Liverpool and at NYU, specializing in history and sociology, specifically of Liverpool, I think. He was great, and his lecture was very informative regarding the level of commerce that the slave trade brought to Liverpool. Although not many people worked DIRECTLY within the context of the slave trade, lots of people were indirectly involved, including ship-builders, dock-workers, sewers, merchants, cloth tradesman, etc. My dad had told me all about his side of the family and their move to Liverpool from Dundee in the mid-1800s, and so after the lecture I mentioned this to Mike Boyle, who immediately asked about how this line of my family got to the US. I told him by way of New York/New Jersey, and we found that we had a similar story, as half of his family line settled in Westchester County, NY in the early 1900s. Before I had a chance to really comment on the matter, he asked me what it felt like being in Liverpool, as I wasn't that far removed from it. "You could have just as easily been born here than in the States," he said. I had to laugh, because I'd been hearing similar things from my dad for a long time.
After poking around the exhibits in the slavery museum, the group (along with Mike Boyle) jumped on the coach to see some of the city that was less accessible on foot. We saw many of the Georgian houses that belonged to slave ship captains and venture capitalists that made their money within the slave trade. It was really interesting to see how close the lower-classes lived to the extremely wealthy in Liverpool, as evidenced by the different styles of houses and such on various streets. To some extent, this is still true in Liverpool, which I thought was interesting, as here in London there are definite pockets of wealth and poverty, both historically and in modern times.
After that, we were free to roam the city for a couple of hours before getting back on the bus. Although I couldn't make it up to Everton to see some of the houses and addresses that were inhabited by my ancestors, I tried to get a sense of what life must have been like for them. Mostly, I'm glad they decided to come to America, as my life (and indeed, the lives of my father and grand-father) would have been much different (and much tougher) if that part of my family tree had stayed in the UK.
So, now I'm back at the flat, doing laundry and staying up too late, per usual. My friend Elizabeth is currently on a plane coming here to London to stay with me for a couple of days over Grinnell's fall break. I'm excited to see her and to show her around! Finally, I'll get to feel a bit like a local!
Tuesday night involved a trip to the National Theatre to see a play called "The Power of Yes", which was about the origins and unfolding of the 2008 financial crisis in the UK and US. Very interesting and informative, though pretty depressing. Basically I've been in a funk about money/the Future/JOBS, etc, though talking to my mom and convincing her not to abandon me financially for 2 hours this evening helped immensely. This Tuesday we're going to see another contemporary play called "Enron".
The big event of this week was a 2 day, 1 night trip to Liverpool, from which I've just arrived back at the flat. The trip was for my Black Atlantic course, so the majority of activities focused around Liverpool's role as a port city, and subsequently its involvement in Britain's slave trade. After the 4+ hour drive on Friday morning, we stopped off at the Quarry Bank Mill, just outside of Manchester. The mill was built and operated in the 1700 and 1800s, predominantly by the Greg family. The museum was really interesting, as all the buildings are original. The mill was fully functional up until the post-war era, and so much of the machinery still worked, which made for some pretty amazing demonstrations. The mill mostly dealt with cotton, thread and fabric production, and it was amazing to get a sense of how terrible working-class people's lives were, even at a "progressive" institution like Quarry Bank Mill. After the tour, we loaded into the coach and drove the last stretch to Liverpool.
LIVERPOOL! City of my recent predecessors (kind of)! The approach into the city yielded an impressive view of 7 miles of docks, the imposing Anglican cathedral, and a host of modern, cement-block buildings that comprised Liverpool's new "ONE" complex. According to a city council pamphlet, Liverpool won a European Cultural City award a few years ago, and so they've been trying to re-invent Liverpool as a bustling metropolis filled with all the trappings of a cosmopolitan paradise. Lots of luxury stores, lots of punky kids, lots of Beatles branding. Fun, but not terribly interesting in the historical context. We stayed at a generic youth hostel, which was actually pretty nice compared to the one my art class stayed at in Bruges. Dinner included a cheap burrito stand and a walk around the docks and the ONE complex, then bed, as I had been up until 3am the morning before (see Mom, I DO get out!)
Today, we woke up early to a full breakfast courtesy of the hostel, which included sausages, croissants, yoghurt, scrambled eggs... YUM. Then, we walked as a group down to the Albert Dock area, which houses the International Slavery Museum. There, we met a good friend of my academic advisor's, Mike Boyle. Mike teaches at the University of Liverpool and at NYU, specializing in history and sociology, specifically of Liverpool, I think. He was great, and his lecture was very informative regarding the level of commerce that the slave trade brought to Liverpool. Although not many people worked DIRECTLY within the context of the slave trade, lots of people were indirectly involved, including ship-builders, dock-workers, sewers, merchants, cloth tradesman, etc. My dad had told me all about his side of the family and their move to Liverpool from Dundee in the mid-1800s, and so after the lecture I mentioned this to Mike Boyle, who immediately asked about how this line of my family got to the US. I told him by way of New York/New Jersey, and we found that we had a similar story, as half of his family line settled in Westchester County, NY in the early 1900s. Before I had a chance to really comment on the matter, he asked me what it felt like being in Liverpool, as I wasn't that far removed from it. "You could have just as easily been born here than in the States," he said. I had to laugh, because I'd been hearing similar things from my dad for a long time.
After poking around the exhibits in the slavery museum, the group (along with Mike Boyle) jumped on the coach to see some of the city that was less accessible on foot. We saw many of the Georgian houses that belonged to slave ship captains and venture capitalists that made their money within the slave trade. It was really interesting to see how close the lower-classes lived to the extremely wealthy in Liverpool, as evidenced by the different styles of houses and such on various streets. To some extent, this is still true in Liverpool, which I thought was interesting, as here in London there are definite pockets of wealth and poverty, both historically and in modern times.
After that, we were free to roam the city for a couple of hours before getting back on the bus. Although I couldn't make it up to Everton to see some of the houses and addresses that were inhabited by my ancestors, I tried to get a sense of what life must have been like for them. Mostly, I'm glad they decided to come to America, as my life (and indeed, the lives of my father and grand-father) would have been much different (and much tougher) if that part of my family tree had stayed in the UK.
So, now I'm back at the flat, doing laundry and staying up too late, per usual. My friend Elizabeth is currently on a plane coming here to London to stay with me for a couple of days over Grinnell's fall break. I'm excited to see her and to show her around! Finally, I'll get to feel a bit like a local!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Beckett, Death Disco, A Monumental Purchase, Free Music
This week has been very, very busy.
On Monday evening, we went to see Samuel Beckett's "Endgame", second only to his famous 'Waiting for Godot". In an earlier post, I complained that I didn't like Brecht's "Mother Courage", and I suppose logically I shouldn't be a Beckett fan, but I am. I think Beckett is better because his plays, though absurdist and often annoying, are short. I can take absurdist theatre in small doses. Next up on the theatre front, I'm going to see "The Power of Yes" on Tuesday. I can't say much about it because I haven't read anything about the play, but it's still so amazing to me that I've had the opportunity to see all these incredible plays.
Wednesday night, my "local", James, took me out for a drink and some live music. We met up at four, and decided to check out the National Portrait Gallery, which I hadn't been to. There was a special Bob Dylan exhibition of about ten photographs of Dylan during his European tour in..... I want to say 1966? Anyway, the photographs were great, and my favorite was the one that Dylan used as the cover for "No Direction Home". After the museum, we went across the street to a pub called The Chandos, which felt very old. It was raining buckets, so I decided to get a hot toddy. Not only did only one of the bartenders know what I was talking about, but apparently Brits only drink this concoction when they're sick. It's hot water, whiskey and lemon. It was pretty gross, but it was warm and that's what I needed. After the pub, we went to Notting Hill to check out some local bands playing at Death Disco. We only stayed out until about midnight, and the bands were pretty good. One did an acoustic cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes", which was great, and there was a lot of Kings of Leon-influenced vocals and guitar. It was super fun and FREE!
This morning, I made a decision that I hope will positively impact my life. I bought a standing ticket to see Marilyn Manson perform in December in Brixton. Oh. my. god. I'm going to a Marilyn Manson concert!!! It's just one of those things... like I'm in London and I feel like I should be taking advantage of all these opportunities. The ticket was neither expensive nor inexpensive, I guess. Of course I had to pay a bit more because I want to be right up front near the stage. I don't think I will regret going, but I think I might have regretted not going. Life's too short (or so I keep telling myself).
Tonight, I'm going to another FREE live music gig at Pure Groove Records. An Australian band called Blackchords is playing in a small coffee-shop setting. It's moody, alt rock a la Chris Martin. Sounds good to me!
Also, I'm considering whether or not I ought to get a membership pass to the Prince Charles Cinema. Unfortunately, they only sell 12-month passes for 12 pounds, which isn't bad, but I'm only here for another 3 months. However, with a membership pass, weekday matinees downstairs (the downstairs theatres are more indie) are only 1.50. Which is awesome. I'll have to consider this...
On Monday evening, we went to see Samuel Beckett's "Endgame", second only to his famous 'Waiting for Godot". In an earlier post, I complained that I didn't like Brecht's "Mother Courage", and I suppose logically I shouldn't be a Beckett fan, but I am. I think Beckett is better because his plays, though absurdist and often annoying, are short. I can take absurdist theatre in small doses. Next up on the theatre front, I'm going to see "The Power of Yes" on Tuesday. I can't say much about it because I haven't read anything about the play, but it's still so amazing to me that I've had the opportunity to see all these incredible plays.
Wednesday night, my "local", James, took me out for a drink and some live music. We met up at four, and decided to check out the National Portrait Gallery, which I hadn't been to. There was a special Bob Dylan exhibition of about ten photographs of Dylan during his European tour in..... I want to say 1966? Anyway, the photographs were great, and my favorite was the one that Dylan used as the cover for "No Direction Home". After the museum, we went across the street to a pub called The Chandos, which felt very old. It was raining buckets, so I decided to get a hot toddy. Not only did only one of the bartenders know what I was talking about, but apparently Brits only drink this concoction when they're sick. It's hot water, whiskey and lemon. It was pretty gross, but it was warm and that's what I needed. After the pub, we went to Notting Hill to check out some local bands playing at Death Disco. We only stayed out until about midnight, and the bands were pretty good. One did an acoustic cover of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes", which was great, and there was a lot of Kings of Leon-influenced vocals and guitar. It was super fun and FREE!
This morning, I made a decision that I hope will positively impact my life. I bought a standing ticket to see Marilyn Manson perform in December in Brixton. Oh. my. god. I'm going to a Marilyn Manson concert!!! It's just one of those things... like I'm in London and I feel like I should be taking advantage of all these opportunities. The ticket was neither expensive nor inexpensive, I guess. Of course I had to pay a bit more because I want to be right up front near the stage. I don't think I will regret going, but I think I might have regretted not going. Life's too short (or so I keep telling myself).
Tonight, I'm going to another FREE live music gig at Pure Groove Records. An Australian band called Blackchords is playing in a small coffee-shop setting. It's moody, alt rock a la Chris Martin. Sounds good to me!
Also, I'm considering whether or not I ought to get a membership pass to the Prince Charles Cinema. Unfortunately, they only sell 12-month passes for 12 pounds, which isn't bad, but I'm only here for another 3 months. However, with a membership pass, weekday matinees downstairs (the downstairs theatres are more indie) are only 1.50. Which is awesome. I'll have to consider this...
Monday, October 5, 2009
Afrikaans, Stratford-upon-Avon
Thursday evening, my Black Culture class went to see a South African performace of "The Mysteries", which was originally performed in the Medieval period. It tells the stories of the Bible, both old and new testaments. This production, being South African, incorporated a lot of languages into the performance, including English, Latin, Afrikaans, and a South African tribal language, possibly Zulu. It was an incredible performance. I found myself wishing that more of the plays we went to were like this one; it was loud, fast, interesting and accessible. I thought it did an excellent job of humanizing elements of the Bible and of the stories so that people could understand the larger political and human issues behind biblical events.
Friday morning, I went on a trip with the Shakespeare class to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. Having been there before, I found myself feeling really cynical about the kind of tourist industry that is built up there. I understand that, certainly, it is a great source of income for the community, but there were all sorts of restaurants with hokey names referring to Shakespeare. One of the "recommended activities" was to visit Shakespeare's birthplace, as well as the Nash House and Anne Hathaway's cottage. Having done these things before, I passed, and was glad of it.
I did, however, really enjoy seeing the plays which were included in our itenerary. Friday night, we saw Julius Caesar, which was great, except for the audio-visual elements. The director apparently wanted there to be screens which showed the throngs of Romans cheering. It just wasn't that successful in my opinion. This play always makes me a little uncomfortable, because it shows how easily public opinion can be swayed by rhetoric. The other productions I've seen of Julius Caesar did a better job, in my opinion, of conveying the political power of language.
Saturday, we saw a pretty terrible matinee performance of As You Like It. We had already seen this play at the Globe Theatre, and I wish I hadn't gone to this production in Stratford-upon-Avon, because the acting just wasn't great. It's not my favorite play to begin with, and I ended up leaving at the interval, instead opting for coffee and Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" in the blustery autumn weather. A good choice, I think. However, Saturday night we say a performance of The Winter's Tale, which is a more interesting play to begin with, and it was a much better performance. I'd seen another production before, and had written a mid-term paper on the nature of madness in The Winter's Tale and King Lear, so I was much more invested in the play. I really enjoyed the way the actor playing Leontes showed the ways in which he truly believed his wife was having an affair. It was great.
We got back to London Sunday afternoon, and I spent the evening doing laundry, catching up in some school work and just relaxing. Today is a similar kind of day; it's rainy (lovely) and a bit cold and I have to finish the first part of my art history journal, which focuses on Jan van Eyck's "The Arnolfini Portrait". After I jump in the shower, I'll probably swing down to Starbucks and set up shop.
It's amazing to me how much I like doing things by myself. All day Saturday, my flat-mates were traveling around in little groups. I wish I could enjoy that kind of social atmosphere, but I can't deal with it. We were discussing plans for fall break, and two of my flatmates were talking about traveling in Europe together. They were a little anxious about figuring out train schedules, hostels, different languages, etc. I was surprised, because I will probably end up traveling alone over fall break. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. I wonder what makes people so different when it comes to preferences for social interaction and that sort of thing...
Friday morning, I went on a trip with the Shakespeare class to Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace. Having been there before, I found myself feeling really cynical about the kind of tourist industry that is built up there. I understand that, certainly, it is a great source of income for the community, but there were all sorts of restaurants with hokey names referring to Shakespeare. One of the "recommended activities" was to visit Shakespeare's birthplace, as well as the Nash House and Anne Hathaway's cottage. Having done these things before, I passed, and was glad of it.
I did, however, really enjoy seeing the plays which were included in our itenerary. Friday night, we saw Julius Caesar, which was great, except for the audio-visual elements. The director apparently wanted there to be screens which showed the throngs of Romans cheering. It just wasn't that successful in my opinion. This play always makes me a little uncomfortable, because it shows how easily public opinion can be swayed by rhetoric. The other productions I've seen of Julius Caesar did a better job, in my opinion, of conveying the political power of language.
Saturday, we saw a pretty terrible matinee performance of As You Like It. We had already seen this play at the Globe Theatre, and I wish I hadn't gone to this production in Stratford-upon-Avon, because the acting just wasn't great. It's not my favorite play to begin with, and I ended up leaving at the interval, instead opting for coffee and Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" in the blustery autumn weather. A good choice, I think. However, Saturday night we say a performance of The Winter's Tale, which is a more interesting play to begin with, and it was a much better performance. I'd seen another production before, and had written a mid-term paper on the nature of madness in The Winter's Tale and King Lear, so I was much more invested in the play. I really enjoyed the way the actor playing Leontes showed the ways in which he truly believed his wife was having an affair. It was great.
We got back to London Sunday afternoon, and I spent the evening doing laundry, catching up in some school work and just relaxing. Today is a similar kind of day; it's rainy (lovely) and a bit cold and I have to finish the first part of my art history journal, which focuses on Jan van Eyck's "The Arnolfini Portrait". After I jump in the shower, I'll probably swing down to Starbucks and set up shop.
It's amazing to me how much I like doing things by myself. All day Saturday, my flat-mates were traveling around in little groups. I wish I could enjoy that kind of social atmosphere, but I can't deal with it. We were discussing plans for fall break, and two of my flatmates were talking about traveling in Europe together. They were a little anxious about figuring out train schedules, hostels, different languages, etc. I was surprised, because I will probably end up traveling alone over fall break. In fact, I'm looking forward to it. I wonder what makes people so different when it comes to preferences for social interaction and that sort of thing...
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