A Thought and a Half | Southern Food & Lifestyle Blog

4/16: Seven Years Past

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Every year I find it more and more difficult to find proper words for this day. But today, I’m going to try. 
Seven years ago today, 32 innocent lives were taken in the deadliest school shooting in American history. I was a freshman in high school on April 16, 2007. I came home to my mom sitting on our couch with the news on. I sat and watched with her and wondered why anyone would ever do something like that. I still ask myself that today.
Nearly three years later, I received my acceptance email from Virginia Tech, and the next day–February 19, 2010–I decided to be a Hokie. It was the best decision I ever made.

In the spring of my freshman year at Tech, I attended the candlelight vigil on the drill field with a group of my friends. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know how many people would cry. I didn’t know how many people who were here on that day in 2007 were still here as students. I didn’t know if any of my friends would cry. I definitely did not expect the chills I got when the a capella group sang “Fields of Gold” as the candle-lighting part of the vigil happened. And I most definitely did not expect to almost cry myself when the ceremony ended with 32 rounds of, “Let go…Hokies!” Sure, we do that at football games and it’s an experience like no other, but that one was different in a way that I can’t properly express in words. 
And I definitely did not expect to accidentally light my friend Sara’s hair on fire with a candle. But no damage was done; she still had a full head of curly black hair. 
On Dec. 10, 2011, Officer Deriek Crouse was killed in the line of duty during a routine traffic stop that went awry. The next day, Tech students and the Blacksburg community held a vigil in honor of Officer Crouse and in support of his family. We also started a charity called Hokies for Crouse that raised over $100,000 for the Crouse family. Hokie strong? Absolutely. 
April 16, 2012–my sophomore year–marked five years. My junior year (2013), the vigils stopped. At first I didn’t understand why they would discontinue such an event that drew thousands of students and community members. We came together in that time to remind one another of the love and support of Hokie Nation and that we will always be one family. If I remember correctly, a news release stated that it was time to move on, and so there would be no more organized vigils unless students did one themselves. 
Now comes the part where I start to fumble. I always fear that my words are insufficient and I’m not saying what needs to be said, or what should be said, or if I’m even the right person to be saying this.
I had seen and heard “Live for 32” and “Never Forget” when I’d visited Tech before becoming a student, but I did not fully understand the gravity of those statements until I became a Hokie myself. I did not understand until someone at home made a snide comment to me about how I should “be careful there, and don’t get shot.” In that moment, as angry as I was, I had never been prouder to go to such a wonderful school, to be part of such a strong, loving family, and to be a Hokie. 
I was just chatting with my mom a bit ago. I told her I was writing this post, and I said I’m afraid I don’t have the right words for it. She said, “We were always so impressed by how friendly everyone at Tech is, and their willingness to help anyone and everyone. I bet those 32 were the same way.”
My response? “I’m sure they were. They were Hokies, after all.” 
So today and every day forward, I live for those 32. Last weekend, I ran for them. I live for Brotherhood, Honor, Leadership, Sacrifice, Service, Loyalty, Duty, and Ut Prosim. I will continue to live for those 32 and those eight values next year at Elon and wherever life takes me after that. I will neVer forgeT and I will always live to be a Hokie. 
“We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech.”

13 Things We Can Learn from Julie Andrews

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Feeling down and discouraged? Need some inspiration for finals? I know I need it after part one of my comm law final almost murdered me yesterday. Well, who better to turn to for that than the wonderful Julie Andrews. She’s my hero, and is far and away one of the most amazing women to ever grace the earth. I probably watch The Sound of Music at least once a week, just because it’s such a phenomenal and inspiring movie.
Not only is Julie Andrews an amazing actress, singer, performer and all-around wonderful person. She has perfect advice and words of wisdom to share with us, from all of her famous roles and beyond.

Here are 13 very important life lessons we can learn from the lady herself, Julie Andrews.

Always have confidence in yourself.

Be graceful and poised, and people will try to be just like you.

Even though things may seem down, they will get better.

Some people are just impossible to understand.

Punctuality is key.

 In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun.  You find the fun, and then…
Some things should just be left alone.

Sugar may, in fact, be good for you every now and then.

Proper posture is of utmost importance.

Some people just need to be told the truth.

Sometimes, you just need to belt one out and feel better.

Learn something new whenever you have a chance.

And most importantly…the craziest things turn out to be the best things.  

So when you need a dose of inspiration, encouragement or just want to hear something nice, you know Julie Andrews will always have the right thing to say, for any situation.

London: Looking Back

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My final London post?  Don’t let me tear up…too much…

The last few days in London were super hectic.  To catch up Glee-style: we went to Bath and saw the old Roman Baths, which was neat.  I spent our last full free day revisiting all of my favorite London sites: St. Paul’s Cathedral, Covent Garden, Leicester Square/Soho, and the River Thames (or at least my favorite stretch of the River).  And Saturday, a group of us visited Hyde Park before seeing a fantastic production of Macbeth at the Globe.  And then Sunday, everyone flew home.

And for some reason, the tube ride to Heathrow felt so much shorter than the tube ride from Heathrow when I first arrived in May.  Maybe it’s because I knew where I was going and wasn’t nervous or anxious about anything, except how long the lines would be at check-in and security.

I’ve been thinking about what to write on this for the past week.  It’s kind of difficult to sum up an entire month’s experiences in one post, in one place.  There are a hundred different angles I could take in this, but I don’t think I’m going to follow a specific angle.  Instead, I’m just going to write whatever comes to mind, whatever idea pops into my head as I’m sitting here drinking coffee from my Mind the Gap mug and watching my cat chase a piece of string across the kitchen. 

My mom asked me the other day if it’s different not being in London. In some respects, yes, it was different, even weird, even after being home for a couple days. It was strange waking up and not looking at a printed schedule and thinking, “where do I have to be at what time today?” I kind of don’t mind it; I was so exhausted when I got home that I needed the freedom to sleep and get back on a normal routine. But I hate being bored, and I was never bored in London, so now that I’m rested and caught up, it’s time to find things to keep me occupied until August. But, as I mentioned in my last post, that shouldn’t be too difficult.

Drinking coffee at home is weird now (bet you never thought I’d ever say that). I miss my espresso-loaded mochas with fluffy white foam, but I don’t miss having to go out and pay for coffee whenever I wanted it (I didn’t keep any sort of coffee or tea in my flat…ew, instant coffee).  I miss the cafes, though; as much as I like going to Starbucks here (except the price tag), the English cafe scene is so different. I found it to be a lot more relaxing, especially at the smaller, non-chain cafes.  People over there go to cafes for a true coffee break, to slow down their days for an hour or three.  As fast-paced as city living can be, and often is, it was amazing to see how they could just stop and rest; I think that’s something we can take from them and make an effort to do ourselves.  Everyone needs to take a break and relax every once in a while.  I know I do, especially at school.

And if you take a notebook and sit in the back corner of a café and just listen and write, chances are you’ll get some of the best writing you’ve ever had.  I did.  And all it took was sitting, opening my ears and keeping a quick hand equipped with a pen.

I’m still not entirely sure what clotted cream is.  Every time I had afternoon tea, I got this little white dish with what looked like extremely thick butter in it.  It didn’t look like any kind of cream I’d ever seen before, but I knew I was supposed to eat it on something.  I do know that it’s similar to butter, but I highly advise against eating it on its own.  I tried that once, before I knew what I was supposed to do with it.  Turns out you, to quote a professor of mine, “slather” it onto your scones and top it with some jam.  It’s delicious in small quantities, so it goes to say I didn’t exactly slather my scones with the cream. 

So it’s kind of like butter, but not exactly. 

One of my biggest adjustments–getting there and after coming home–was public transport, namely the underground tube system.  When you first look at a map of the system, it looks like nothing short of a tiedyed spider web.  And yeah, it’s totally intimidating.  But it only takes a few rides before you figure it all out, and the tube routine quickly becomes second nature (or third or fourth, depending on what your second nature already is).  Bus maps aren’t much better.  They’re color-coded, too, and numbered, but it’s still overwhelming, at least to some degree.  I knew which bus got me from my flat to St. Paul’s, and back to my flat, but most of the other bus stuff was over my head. 

I discovered that I have a love/hate relationship with public transport.  It’s not the process or the fees or the time or anything like that.  It’s the crowds.  Especially on the tube.  Especially during the morning rush hour and from about 10:30 pm until last run at midnight.  Especially that night run.  There is nothing pleasant about being Panini-pressed among hundreds of people in a filled-past-capacity tube train because we’re all trying to avoid the night buses.  But in all honesty, the tube is faster than buses, and when you’re on a time constraint, nine out of ten times, you’re going to choose the tube over a bus. 

This is a Central line train to West Ruislip.  The next station is Holborn.  Please mind the gap between the train and the platform.  Change here for the Circle, District, Northern, and Waterloo & City lines, and the DLR.

English town names are really peculiar.  Interesting, intriguing, and peculiar.  “Cockfosters” will always be funny to me (and Matt and Josh, too, I’m sure).  That was the first English town name I ever heard on my first ever tube ride: “This is a Piccadilly line service to Cockfosters.”  Matt, Josh and I had just met up at Heathrow and were starting the journey to our flats in Bethnal Green.  Almost all trains from Heathrow are eastbound, so we hopped the first Piccadilly line train we saw.

“Wait, this is going to Cockfosters.”

Scattered snickers among three highly mature college kids.

And every time the system announced, “This is a Piccadilly line service to Cockfosters,” the three of us laughed.  We couldn’t help it.

“Wapping” is another one.  Even the professors laughed at this one.  Professors.  So I didn’t feel too bad laughing about it myself.  “Biggleswade,” although it has less of an ‘immature college kids will think this is funny’ factor, is no less peculiar.  You sit in your seat on the train and you can’t help but wonder where these names came from.  Then you think it has to go back a hundred or five hundred years, so you continue to giggle and let it go. 

Pronunciation is a head-scratcher in certain cases, too.  “Holborn” is not spoken the way you’d think.  The L completely disappears.  I didn’t understand the funny looks I got from the locals on the tube the first time I asked Matt, “We get off at Hol-born, right?”  I was so confused when I heard “Ho-burn”; I actually wondered if it was a separate town.  It isn’t.  “Leicester” Square is another one.  It’s two syllables, not the three you might think at first glance.  Indeed, it is “Les-ter,” not “Lie-ces-ter,” as it kind of looks.  Confusing, I know.  I’m still not entirely sure how to pronounce “Marylebone,” either.  I think the Y disappears, but I’m not positive.  Something like that.

But more than anything…more than the public transport and uncertainty about clotted cream and funny town names and extra strong coffee…all these things blend together to make London the city it is.  And as much as I loved being there and wandering and embracing everything, a month was enough. 

But didn’t you grow up in Atlanta?  That’s a city.

Yeah, I did.  Well, kind of.  I grew up in metro-Atlanta, just northwest of the actual city.  But comparing London and Atlanta is essentially comparing apples and oranges.  Living in a city is a completely different experience, and after a month in London, I’m positive I could never live in a city.  I like the fast-paced lifestyle and the abundance of coffee shops and fashion and style and theatre and even the train systems (when I’m not stuffed in a train at 11:00 at night), but day in and day out?  It takes a special breed of person to do that, and I am not of that breed.  I suppose Blacksburg has rubbed off on me; I need my small town and country and mountains mixed in to some degree.

Would I still call myself a “city girl”?  Not to the same extent I once considered myself, no.  Heavens no.  Suburb girl, or metro girl might be more accurate.  If I could find the perfect balance of city and countryside…but that’s in a perfect world.

I miss London, I really do, and I would go back in a heartbeat.  But for now, I’m happy to slow down, drink my coffee from my super touristy Mind the Gap mug and watch the birds in my backyard while my cat nudges my leg for some attention.

5 on Friday, ep. 2

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All right, so that was a fun little thing to do last week.  Here’s to keeping 5 on Fridays going!


1. Cambridge: Last weekend, as I mentioned, I was reunited with my dear friend Josh and his family!  It was lovely to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a couple of days, and to catch up with Josh.  When we only get to see each other once every few years, we take every chance to see each other we can get.  I’m so glad our friendship has kept going for the seven years since we moved from Atlanta!

2. Hampton Court & Wimbledon: We had Monday off from scheduled activities, too, so I used the day to explore a little farther outside the city.  One of my professors recommended I visit Hampton Court Palace, and specifically its rose garden, so that was my planned outing for the day.  I must have walked around the rose garden five times.  There were roses upon roses upon roses, and they smelled divine.  The British sure know how to do roses the right way!

All the roses!

On my train ride out to Hampton Court, I noticed one of the stops was Wimbledon.  I’m a huge tennis fan and had wanted to see the All England Lawn Tennis Club, but no one else on the trip is as big a fan as me, so I had no company.  Since I was already out, I decided to stop at Wimbledon on my way back from Hampton Court and find the tennis center.  Little did I know that the tennis center is actually about a 25-minute walk from the underground station…but it was an easy walk and there were plenty of signs and maps to keep me on course.  I didn’t get to walk around the grounds because they were cleaning and prepping for the tournament to start, but I walked through the museum and got to see Centre Court from afar.  And that was plenty for me, for now.  One day in my life, I’ll go back and actually get to walk around.  But for now, I can be happy.

As close as I could get…this time…

3. Met a Hokie (who wasn’t a student) in the middle of London: I always joke that I meet a Hokie everywhere I go.  Wednesday afternoon, I was out and about before our play.  As I strolled down High Holborn Street to get back to the tube station, I noticed an older gent wearing a bright orange shirt that could have only been a VT shirt.  He walked closer and I noticed a faded VT logo.  I stopped him and said, “Excuse me sir, but I noticed your shirt and I just wanted to say, ‘Go Hokies!'”  His face brightened and he smiled, and before I knew it, I was having a conversation with a Hokie in London!  It was really nice to run into someone from America who I could connect with on a level a little deeper than, “you’re from America, too?”

4. Finally had a burger: I love burgers.  I love beef in any form, really, but especially burgers.  I had not had a burger since before I left America, so at this point in the trip, my craving for beef had kicked in.  Eating on a budget here is really difficult, but if you look hard enough, you can find a good deal somewhere.  There’s a chain called Gourmet Burger Kitchen, and I’d been contemplating giving it a try, but it seemed too much like “fast food,” and I wanted something different.  After being out in Leicester Square for a little while, I passed by The Porcupine, where I’ve been for breakfast a few times, and decided to give their “real food” a try.  A quick skim of the menu led me to a “classic burger,” with chips included, for about 9.50 pounds.  Not exactly cheap, but a better price than many other places I’d seen around the city.  Eating healthy here has also been difficult; I’ve missed my salads a lot, too, so I was also happy to see that I could “go skinny” and switch my chips for a salad.  My burger was juicy and delicious, and the salad was a great complement.  I’m glad I didn’t have to wait the entire month to satisfy my soft spot for burgers.

5. The Daniel Radcliffe Experience: It’s pretty much exactly what it sounds like.  Wednesday night, we saw a play called The Cripple of Inishman, in which Radcliffe plays the lead role.  After the show, someone in my group said we could go around to the stage door and see if he would come out to sign autographs and such.  After a 40-minute wait (which felt much longer), he came out and people went nuts.  Some people in my group pushed forward and managed to get autographs on their tickets or show programs, but four of us–myself included–missed it.  I got a few decent pictures, so I figured that’d be enough to satisfy me.  It didn’t take but about 10 minutes before I decided no, it wasn’t enough.  Another girl who barely missed him said she was going to Google more show times when we got back to the flat, and maybe the four of us could go back and try again.  So we did.  Kelli, Jill, Mai and I got back to the theatre around 9:30, knowing the play would end around 10, which gave us plenty of time to get in line and hope for a good spot.  After another long wait, Daniel came out around 10:45.  This time, we were successful!  Kelli even got a picture with him!  What impressed me more about the entire experience was just how cool and “real” he was.  He didn’t act like a celebrity at all; he actually said hello to each person he signed for, and responded to comments from people in the crowd.  I got the impression that he really cares about his fans.  The whole night was just a really cool experience, and definitely worth testing my claustrophobia…twice.  The tube ride back to the flats wasn’t exactly the highlight of my week.  But getting Daniel Radcliffe’s autograph?  Worth it.

Attempt #1 on Wednesday night

Note the hat…apparently he’s a big American football fan!

He was cool and took pics with a few fans.  I didn’t get that close, but Kelli did!

P.S. a couple of us did slip in a “Go Giants!” when he walked by and signed for us.

something different, for a change

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I’ve been writing a whole lot about what I do here in London…all the places I’ve been, sights I’ve witnessed, plays I’ve seen, cafes and pubs I’ve eaten at.  But I haven’t talked a lot about my reaction to those events in terms of how they’re contributing to my London experience as a whole.  Well, maybe I’ve touched on it, but not to a large extent quite yet.

As my program here nears its end–I can’t believe there’s only one week left–I have to start thinking about my portfolio and how I’ll present “my London” to my professors.  In class today, we did a few exercises to get our brains churning and maybe spark some inspiration.  I’ve had a pretty solid idea for my portfolio since week 1–actually since well before arriving in London–but these exercises were fun and helpful nonetheless.

So I thought I’d share them here, instead of just telling y’all what I did this weekend.  I’m sure I’ll tell those stories eventually, but I wanted to do something different, for now.

Our first exercise was to write a six-word narrative.  Yes, you read that correctly: a six-word narrative.  Ernest Hemingway did it once: “For sale: baby shoes.  Never worn.”  That’s a whole story in six short words.  It’s about as difficult as it sounds, but it’s a good kind of difficult.  It forces you to think critically about your experience(s), to think about what is so special or memorable about said experience(s), and to shorten it down to six critical words.  Here are my attempts at six-word narratives.  They are by no means polished.

Keep on keeping on in London.


Fast-paced lifestyle is not for me.


Past centuries juxtaposed upon one another.


Day two: what is white coffee?


Service suspended indefinitely.  I can’t breathe.


Panic attack in foreign country: check.

Next, we got a little more flexibility with our word count: 100 words to tell a story.  Complete sentences optional (thank God).

My computer died.  Of course.  Quickly, desperately look up nearest Apple Store.  Does my warranty apply overseas?  Guess I’ll find out.  Prayer after prayer on the overstuffed tube train.  Watching people’s hands to make sure they don’t touch my backpack.  Paranoia is hypersensitive today.  Get off the tube at Covent Garden.  I’m shaking, trying to stop panicking.  Approach nearest employee.  Try to explain my predicament without sounding pathetic.  No use.  Break down.  I’m worried about money and my warranty.  Calm down, sweetheart.  Your warranty applies.  Everything will be okay.  My next question is, where can I find a good breakfast?

(Yes, that’s 100 words.  I counted.)

Our next “exercise” wasn’t so much an “exercise” as it was a response to a question: what changed during your time in London?  It’s a nicer, cleaner way of asking what I’ve learned while I’ve been here, I guess.  Here’s my honest response, word for word, from my notebook…no word count on this one.

At one time, I considered myself a city girl because I grew up in Atlanta.  It didn’t take but about a week in London for me to reevaluate that characterization of myself.  Perhaps there are different types or levels of city girls.  If that’s the case, I am most definitely not the city girl I once imagined or thought myself to be.  A quasi city girl, maybe: I can handle it for a couple weeks at a time, but not full time.  Maybe Blacksburg has had that effect on me.  I’ve gotten too used to the mountains and slower pace of life, even during semester crunch times.  I tell people I want to return to Atlanta someday.  Maybe I still do, but I should probably reconsider the whole “city girl” notion before I move on after life at VT.

Those are all raw, unedited writings from today’s class.  Well, the 100-word story had to be edited a tiny bit, but nothing substantial.  I’ll probably turn one of those into something for my final portfolio.

One last exercise we did in class…we did this in our second week, after seeing A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Globe.  There’s a type of poetry called “exquisite corpse”–at least I think that’s what it’s called–in which each person in the room contributes one word to a running list, thus creating a “poem” as a group.  We did a poem like this about A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with an added challenge: we had to co it a la Twitter and keep it within 140 characters.  I think we went over, but not by too much.  Here’s our “exquisite corpse” tweet:

Wilderness whimsical faeries long dreamlike schemes lust mistakenly lost flowers blooming infatuated harrowingly destroy chthonic bodies.

I added my own line breaks (and a few extra words to help the flow) to put it in more of a “poem format”…

wilderness
whimsical faeries long
[for] dreamlike schemes
lust [is] mistakenly lost
flowers bloom[ing]
infatuated [and]
harrowingly destroy
chthonic bodies

…and that’s what we do in class, when we’re not touring historic sites or venturing through museums or boating up the River to Greenwich or watching incredible plays.  Super excited to visit Bath on Thursday, and to see Daniel Radcliffe in The Cripple of Inishman tomorrow!

A quick note on Othello

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“Beware the green-eyed monster…”

But seriously, it does bad things to you, as seen in Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello.  Last night, we saw a wonderful production of this play at the National Theatre.  All I have to say after is…holy oh my Lord.

This production was set in a modern-day military environment in what looked like a Middle-Eastern country (after leaving Venice, of course).  Like I mentioned before, I’m usually wary of modern-day settings for Shakespeare productions because of the almost inevitable clash between the setting and language.  A prime example is the infamous 1996 Romeo & Juliet starring Leo DiCaprio.  Even though we all know what a terrible production that was–seriously, if you have never seen it, don’t waste your time–once I’ve seen that, it’s difficult for me to be optimistic about Shakespeare in “newer” environments.

(Side note: ever notice how Leo ends up in water in quite a few of his films?  And either dies or comes close to death in said water?)



In short, this production blew my mind.  It even got me to like Desdemona for a few short minutes, and if you know me and how I usually feel about her character, you know that’s a pretty huge accomplishment.  The actor in Iago’s role (Rory Kinnear) was absolutely on point, as was Othello (Adrian Lester).  You could just see the evil in Iago’s eyes when he gave his long speeches.

(Side note: I read in a pamphlet at the theatre that Kinnear had also appeared in a National Theatre production of ‘Hamlet.’  I could totally see him as Polonius.  He’d have that down pat.)


Strangely enough, the character I found myself disliking the most last night was Roderigo.  I didn’t have much of an opinion on him when I read the play in class, except that he seemed kind of stupid and gullible for going along with Iago’s plans.  But in last night’s show, he had one scene in act 1 in which he fell to the floor and cried like a teenage girl about Desdemona marrying Othello.

“I will incontinently drown myself. … It is silliness to live when to live is torment, and then we have a prescription to die when death is our physician. … I confess it is my shame to be so fond, but it is not in my virtue to amend it.” (Roderigo, act 1, scene 3)

Those lines don’t seem too melodramatic when you just read them to yourself, but when the actor melts down and falls to the stage floor crying and talking of drowning himself…I actually kind of laughed.  I think I was supposed to feel sorry for him in this scene, but I can’t say I really did.  And I didn’t really have any pity for him when he met his death in the end, either.

Speaking of death (what a transition)…the main death scene in Othello is quite different from many other Shakespearean death scenes.  Othello smothers Desdemona with a pillow instead of killing her by other, bloodier means, as per Shakespeare’s usual death routine.  The fight between the couple before the murder was heart-wrenching and perfectly done.  I actually could not bear to watch the entire scene; I covered my eyes until I heard Othello say that she was dead.  And I have no shame in admitting that I shed a tear or two (or five or ten) during that scene.  Just…wow.  So well done.

None of the plays we’ve seen so far got standing ovations at the end…not even War Horse.  Othello got a standing ovation, and an extremely well-deserved one, at that.  It’s the morning after, and I’m still trying to process the play in its entirety.  That might take a while…

But for now, that wraps up this week’s theatre review.  In a couple hours, I will be catching a train to Cambridge to visit with Josh and Seb and their family.  See y’all soon!

And before I do that, two shout-outs to two very special people in my life…

Happy 21st Birthdays to two of my best friends who I cannot go a day without, even when I’m abroad: Kevin (today) and Jordan (Sunday)!  Thank you for being the wonderful people you are, and celebration is in order when we return to Blacksburg, for sure.

#ourlives

But seriously, this photo actually defines our friendship.

Her first photo with the Hokie Bird!

Happy Birthday!!!  And until next week…cheers!

Good life decisions for only 5 pounds

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I kinda fell off the “blog every day” thing.  Sorry about that…

Monday was Shakespeare overload.  We started the day with a lovely tour of the Globe theatre.  It’s not actually the original Globe…that one burned down in 1613, and then was rebuilt, and then burned again in the Great Fire of 1666.  The current Globe wasn’t rebuilt until the 90s.

During our tour, the stage crew was disassembling from the previous production of The Tempest so they could build the set for the next show.  Our guide then said the next show was a special production of The Taming of the Shrew by an out-of-town theatre company, and their production would be done by an all-female cast.

Um, yes please.

I read Taming of the Shrew in high school for a term paper assignment and loved it.  The humor in it was fantastic and well-timed, as per usual Shakespeare.  The all-female cast sounded pretty intriguing, as well, considering the play generally evokes discussions of female empowerment.  I asked the guide where I could buy a ticket, and he said to check out the box office after our tour.  A few of us went down and tried to buy tickets, but the man at the desk said it was sold out.  We hung our heads in disappointment for a moment, but then the man said we could come back around 6:00 and queue up for returns or anything that might have opened up.  I thought it would be a long shot, but a shot worth taking, so I made plans to come back later that evening and see what I could get.

I arrived back at the Globe around 5:45, and people were already lining up for returns.  I wasn’t exactly sure where I should go, so I stood around and waited for someone to direct me elsewhere.  After a couple minutes, a receptionist poked his head out and called for anyone who wanted groundling tickets to come inside.

Guess who got a groundling ticket for The Taming of the Shrew for only 5 pounds?

This girl!

The show was nothing short of fantastic.  The actress who played Katherine was spot-on.  She had fiery and brash yet beautiful and irresistible down to a science.  Her last soliloquy was delivered with the perfect combination of passion, tears and “I’m over it” toward Petruchio’s wildly unnecessary behaviors.  This production also featured musical interludes between acts and important scenes, which gave us a nice break from the drama.  But what was most interesting about this production was its setting.  It was set in the 20th century with more modern costumes and instruments for the musical interludes.  I’m not always a fan of modern or contemporary adaptions of plays, because sometimes it seems like too much of a juxtaposition with the language.  But this one worked, and I loved it.

This is a bit of a shorter post, but I wanted to get it done so I could share the experience with y’all.  I promise I’ve got more to tell from this week, but that will have to come tomorrow.

Until then, I’m off to a “Baroque Extravaganza” concert at St. Martins in the Fields at Trafalgar Square.  Cheers!

For more information on the show I saw and what else is happening at the Globe this season, click here!

A little London catch-up

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Okay, so it’s been a few days–actually more than a few–since I’ve posted.  London never ceases to keep me on my toes, that’s for sure.  Let’s play a little catch-up.

Before I begin, let me say just how ecstatic I am that I found strawberries for two pounds.  Everywhere I’d looked before, the berries hadn’t looked too ripe and were priced a little too high for my preference.  But I made a trip to Covent Garden this morning and found these berries at a street vendor for two pounds, and they look delicious.  I just hope I don’t eat them all today and can make them last for at least a few days.

This Nutella cupcake from The Cupcake Bakehouse also looks delicious.  I think I hit the jackpot today.  Covent Garden visits always bring me something good.

As I’ve mentioned before, the theatre here is superb.  I’ve seen lots of stage shows in the States, and one production of King Lear at a small theatre company near Philly.  I know comparing plays to musicals is kind of like comparing apples and oranges, but I can’t help it.  I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy a non-musical, non-Shakespearean play, but we’ve seen Public Enemy and War Horse, and I loved each.


War Horse, originally a book and now a film, took superb to a whole new level.  The horses (and a random farm goose) were acted as life-size puppets a la The Lion King, and they were just brilliant.  Presenting the horses this way really made them seem like characters themselves, especially the main horse, Joey.  The story itself is heart-wrenching: a young boy Albert creates a special bond with his horse, which is then shattered when the horse is taken away to serve as a “war horse” in World War I.  The final scene nearly broke my heart, and I almost cried.  I would love to see a stage production of this again.  But maybe not the film…I don’t want to tarnish my dramatic stage experience.

I’m standing in the Globe, like a true groundling.

After seeing a smaller production of King Lear in high school, I was super excited to see his plays performed in their home, the Globe Theatre.  Last week’s show was The Tempest, which I just read at the end of last semester.  I’m never sure what to expect with any production, but this showing of The Tempest blew my mind.  The air nymph Ariel seemed like such a vague character in terms of physical description; I wasn’t even sure if he was supposed to be male or female.  This Ariel was extremely acrobatic and agile…he climbed all over the stage, swinging from platform to platform, all while supposedly hidden from the others.  The other character that particularly impressed me was Miranda.  When I read the play in class, she came across as weak and passive, letting her father Prospero control her life, and I didn’t like her all that much.  Any and all of those notions were completely shattered after seeing this play.  She was portrayed as a lot more assertive and dynamic, and her mannerisms alluded to more confidence in herself and her decisions.  In act 4, when Prospero speaks to Ferdinand about marrying Miranda and references them consummating their marriage quite crudely, this Miranda reacted  with astounded facial expressions, like she couldn’t believe her father was speaking like that in front of her.  Props to her!  I feel like, after seeing that production, I could reread the play and see Miranda in a totally different light.

I could go on about Caliban and Prospero, too, but that would make this post twice as long as it’s already going to be, so I’ll save that for another time.  Moving on now…

But real quick, I “hugged” the Globe, kind of

Last week, we visited the Museum of London.  It’s smaller than the British Museum that we visited in our first week, but I liked that better.  There was still plenty to see, but I didn’t feel like I had to traverse a huge museum to see everything.

The Museum of London specifically covers London’s history, from its Roman beginnings to the modern city.  It’s really interesting to see the city’s timeline laid out before you.  And since it’s concentrated just on London and not Europe as a whole, it’s a lot easier to take in.  My professor says there are three kinds of museum visitors: the “streakers,” “strollers,” and “studiers.”  I’d like to think I’m more of a “studier” than the other two, but sometimes I just like to see everything and be done, unless I catch something that really interests me.  Maybe I’ll work on that when we visit the National Archives this coming week.

We do so much during the week that it’s hard to cover everything in one post without writing a novel.  So you can move on with your day, here’s a Glee-style wrap-up of everything else:

We rode the London Eye.  It was cool to go up and around and to see the city from that angle and view, but I don’t think I’d ever do it again.  Once is enough.

Looking toward the north end of the River Thames from the Eye

A smaller group of us found Hamley’s, London’s largest toy store, on Regent Street.  Imagine FAO Schwartz, only about ten times bigger, and almost everything you can imagine.  There was even a sweets shop on the top (sixth) floor.

We visited the East Village, where the Olympics were held last summer.  It’s currently under construction and being turned into a residential neighborhood with apartment buildings.  A couple of the stadiums are staying there, but most things have been taken down.  Cool site to see, and would be cool to see a couple years from now once it’s completely changed.

And as usual, I spend all my free time either blogging from my flat or writing and/or drinking coffee in the presence of St. Paul’s or Trafalgar Square.  Or trying to draw myself away from all the scarves at Covent Garden.  But it’s such a struggle because they’re so cute and so affordable…