Podcast Powered By Podbean
Music: Lament for the Death of Rev. Archie Beaton by Adam Sweet (Attribution License)
Sunday, July 14, 2013
UK Podcast
I hope you enjoy my podcast describing my search for my UK roots.
Podcast Powered By Podbean
Music: Lament for the Death of Rev. Archie Beaton by Adam Sweet (Attribution License)
Podcast Powered By Podbean
Music: Lament for the Death of Rev. Archie Beaton by Adam Sweet (Attribution License)
Saturday, July 13, 2013
The British Museum was high on my list of places to visit in London, and I was thrilled to discover it is only half a block from our campus. I have already visited twice and will go many more times while I am here. My grandfather did research there, when the British Library was in the basement, each time he came to England on sabbatical. The museum is full of treasures, a few of which are shown below. (Our class was challenged to choose one color and create a mosaic.)
Admission to the museum is free and I can walk there in mere minutes! Those of you who know me well can imagine what a joy this is. A flatmate and I discovered a used bookstore today, of the out-of-print and disorganized variety, so this has been a perfect day. I could exist happily in this neighborhood for a long time.
Doing things that family members did before makes me feel closer to people who are no longer here. I still have a postcard that my grandparents sent me from the Queen Mary on their way to England for one sabbatical. (I was four years old.) That Queen is now a hotel in Long Beach, CA so our family went and spent the night there a few years ago.
Taking a Cunard ship across the ocean is another one of my dreams. Did you know they hire librarians? Unfortunately you need to speak at least two languages fluently. I will have to go as a passenger. Actually my real Cunard dream is to take their round-the-world cruise.
We all have dreams, but there is no reason they can't come true. Someone at work has a great quote about a goal being a dream with a plan. What is your plan today? Check back soon to find out about my trip to Highgate Cemetery tomorrow. Oh...and the British Museum is hosting a special exhibit about Pompeii and Herculaneum. There is a charge for that, but I'll get a discount with my student i.d.! Just one of the many benefits of life-long learning...
Admission to the museum is free and I can walk there in mere minutes! Those of you who know me well can imagine what a joy this is. A flatmate and I discovered a used bookstore today, of the out-of-print and disorganized variety, so this has been a perfect day. I could exist happily in this neighborhood for a long time.
Doing things that family members did before makes me feel closer to people who are no longer here. I still have a postcard that my grandparents sent me from the Queen Mary on their way to England for one sabbatical. (I was four years old.) That Queen is now a hotel in Long Beach, CA so our family went and spent the night there a few years ago.
Taking a Cunard ship across the ocean is another one of my dreams. Did you know they hire librarians? Unfortunately you need to speak at least two languages fluently. I will have to go as a passenger. Actually my real Cunard dream is to take their round-the-world cruise.
We all have dreams, but there is no reason they can't come true. Someone at work has a great quote about a goal being a dream with a plan. What is your plan today? Check back soon to find out about my trip to Highgate Cemetery tomorrow. Oh...and the British Museum is hosting a special exhibit about Pompeii and Herculaneum. There is a charge for that, but I'll get a discount with my student i.d.! Just one of the many benefits of life-long learning...
Friday, July 12, 2013
Thursday, July 11, 2013
"Thinking differently" was the photographic theme today as the Incredible/Incredulous Librarians explored London, and some things I saw at one destination got me thinking about things I haven't thought of in ages. We went to the British Library and I got a Reader's Pass that is good for a whole year! If you aren't familiar with this library, you could compare it to the Library of Congress. As in that library, the books cannot be checked out but are brought to you and read in reading rooms, but only if you have the pass. I felt the way I did when I got my first library card, but this even has my picture on it.
The British Library owns a number of book and manuscript treasures that are so rare and awe-inspiring that I find it difficult even to describe them. I saw a sketch done by Da Vinci, notes jotted by John Milton, and a letter written by Elizabeth I when she was still a princess, just to name a few. There was one item that particularly touched me and evoked a memory. I was drawn to it and could not move away from the case for a long time. It was a small prayer book that belonged to Lady Jane Grey. She inscribed it and gave it to her jailer in the Tower of London as she was being taken to her execution. She was only 16.
I got a sudden emotional memory of when I first read about Lady Jane. I was in second grade and I had a teacher who realized that I needed something a bit more challenging for a book report assignment. She lent me her own book, a biography of the girl who was queen for nine days, after warning me it had a sad ending. The book touched me, even while it horrified me that someone who did not even want to be queen had to die so that someone else could be. Jane met her death bravely, and the inscription she wrote to her jailer showed that she appreciated his kindness. She even wrote that she didn't feel worthy to write in a prayer book, but was doing so out of respect for his request that she sign it.
I also had a sudden vivid memory of this teacher and appreciated that she had realized I had been reading for more than a couple of years. Literary London just keeps getting better for me,,,
The British Library owns a number of book and manuscript treasures that are so rare and awe-inspiring that I find it difficult even to describe them. I saw a sketch done by Da Vinci, notes jotted by John Milton, and a letter written by Elizabeth I when she was still a princess, just to name a few. There was one item that particularly touched me and evoked a memory. I was drawn to it and could not move away from the case for a long time. It was a small prayer book that belonged to Lady Jane Grey. She inscribed it and gave it to her jailer in the Tower of London as she was being taken to her execution. She was only 16.
I got a sudden emotional memory of when I first read about Lady Jane. I was in second grade and I had a teacher who realized that I needed something a bit more challenging for a book report assignment. She lent me her own book, a biography of the girl who was queen for nine days, after warning me it had a sad ending. The book touched me, even while it horrified me that someone who did not even want to be queen had to die so that someone else could be. Jane met her death bravely, and the inscription she wrote to her jailer showed that she appreciated his kindness. She even wrote that she didn't feel worthy to write in a prayer book, but was doing so out of respect for his request that she sign it.
I also had a sudden vivid memory of this teacher and appreciated that she had realized I had been reading for more than a couple of years. Literary London just keeps getting better for me,,,
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Museums are one of my passions, and naturally books are another. Today those worlds collided at the Museum of London. I am currently reading Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge: A Novel of 2000 BC. The Museum of London shows the history of the city in chronological order, and I spent much of my time there today viewing artifacts from that era. When I saw the skeletons of the people and animals and touched replicas of pots they made (the originals were there under glass), the book came more to life for me.
The remains of a wall outside the museum mark the boundary of the roughly one square mile that once comprised the whole of this city. I could probably spend the entire three weeks I will be here just exploring that small area.
At St. Paul's cathedral I learned much from a superb tour guide who was also quite friendly. I was able to share some details from my visit to the Crimea with her. The Crimea holds special significance for the British because of their military sacrifices there, and is a tourist destination for them. These past few days have reinforced my belief that education and travel are two of the best uses of time and money.
The remains of a wall outside the museum mark the boundary of the roughly one square mile that once comprised the whole of this city. I could probably spend the entire three weeks I will be here just exploring that small area.
At St. Paul's cathedral I learned much from a superb tour guide who was also quite friendly. I was able to share some details from my visit to the Crimea with her. The Crimea holds special significance for the British because of their military sacrifices there, and is a tourist destination for them. These past few days have reinforced my belief that education and travel are two of the best uses of time and money.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
There's the culprit! Well, I actually did get that suitcase to close, and when I got to Logan and put it on the scale it only weighed 22.8. Little did I know that was kilograms, not pounds. Oh well, it was easy to manage until I was tired and maneuvering it on the underground from one terminal to another at Heathrow, after an overnight flight. Unpacking it was not my favorite activity either. Now I am more settled and enjoying the historic aspects of the city,
Monday, July 8, 2013
I have the most perfect roommates in our London flat! It was so much fun to meet everyone today, and we had no idea who we would be living with. I have four roommates and we all have things in common, but also have differences that really complement each other. What a fun three weeks this will be. We are living right in the heart of London in a historic building.
Flying overnight made the trip seem short, but my brain feels vacuous tonight. After an orientation meeting, a quick walking tour of the neighborhood and then dinner, I was not successful in connecting my laptop to the wireless internet. I wanted to share my picture of my mascot helping me pack, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. You may remember that my mascot is a flying dragon and he is crying out for a name. Does anyone have a suggestion? Perhaps he will remain unnamed until I go to Wales, Land of Legends, at the end of the month. He helped me pack so much that it is now spread all over my bed and I need to go organize it so my new roommates don't regret living with me!
I suppose I'll get used to the people driving on the other side of the road. There really are lots of double decker busses. Tomorrow we start classes and I will see if I can get help with my laptop.
Flying overnight made the trip seem short, but my brain feels vacuous tonight. After an orientation meeting, a quick walking tour of the neighborhood and then dinner, I was not successful in connecting my laptop to the wireless internet. I wanted to share my picture of my mascot helping me pack, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. You may remember that my mascot is a flying dragon and he is crying out for a name. Does anyone have a suggestion? Perhaps he will remain unnamed until I go to Wales, Land of Legends, at the end of the month. He helped me pack so much that it is now spread all over my bed and I need to go organize it so my new roommates don't regret living with me!
I suppose I'll get used to the people driving on the other side of the road. There really are lots of double decker busses. Tomorrow we start classes and I will see if I can get help with my laptop.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)