January Book of the Month

I don't usually read nonfiction, but this month's books were fascinating. If you like the PBS series Call the Midwife, then you might want to check out the memoirs it is based on, written by Jennifer Worth.

Worth was a midwife and nurse in the 1950s and worked in London's East End. She wrote her memoirs about 50 years later, and the detail in them is amazing. They are written in an interesting way, and provide a lot of detail to how things were done then and how they are done now. There are some amazing stories, and some horrific stories.

In the Call the Midwife series, there are three books:

A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times

This talks about how Worth became a midwife, and introduces you to the nuns she worked with, and the other midwives. Worth breaks up the seriousness of childbirth with amusing stories of her coworkers. There is a story about a young girl who was tricked into prostitution which is pretty graphic.

Shadows of the Workhouse

This volume talks very little about midwifery and instead Worth talks about the nursing she did to the elderly. In Shadows she describes the workhouse conditions and how those who had spent time in the workhouse suffered from the effects of it their entire lives.

Farewell to the East End

More babies being born! This volume does have some rather graphic descriptions of backstreet abortions and what I think they called "medical rape." The descriptions of the abortions did cause me to think some, but did not change my personal opinion on abortion. We find out what happened to all the people Worth knew.

I think that what is so fascinating about these memoirs is that they seem completely unrealistic, but you know that they really happened. They definitely aren't for the feint hearted (even the details of giving birth might turn some people away), but I think there is an importance in knowing history--the good times and the bad times. I feel that a lot of the time we are given history through the middle class glasses, and to hear about the lower class definitely changes the way you view it. I think Worth also did a very good job at pointing out that certain laws or acts that seem horrible to us now (and were horrible) were actually a step in the right direction. She tried to write from the social norms of the time she was writing of and not the time she was writing in.

I think these books are amazing and should be read, but I also send out a caution that they aren't always the easiest or happiest books to read.

New Period Movies/Shows

A couple of weeks ago, I had a desire to watch a romance. Not just any romance, but a period romance. A movie with beautiful dresses, witty women, and handsome men in top hats. I wanted a declaration of love followed by an amazing kiss and a happily ever after. And I knew many movies that fit this description, but I wanted something new. Something that would surprise me. So I asked around and looked at my trusted period channels on YouTube. I came up with some hits, and some misses.

So, for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure), here are the new period movies (and one TV show) I discovered.

Lorna Doone (2000)

I had seen this on one of my YouTube channels, and had heard friends mention it, but I really didn't know anything about it. After two friends told me it was great, I decided to watch it. I was very pleasantly surprised! It was lovely, with just about everything that I wanted. But at the same time, it made me want to eat Lorna Doone cookies. . . . 

The gist is this. The time period is the 17th century. John is intent on avenging the death of his father, who was killed by the Doone clan. Then he meets Lorna, who happens to be the "queen" of the Doones. They fall in love, and must fight for what they most want--marriage to each other--but things keep getting in their way. There is a Doone who wants to marry Lorna and will have her or no one else can. There is the mystery of Lorna's mother. And of course, John's vengeful heart against the Doones. It was described to me as "like a Scottish version of Romeo and Juliet, but without the suicides."

The Buccaneers (1995)
This is not recommended. So, just keep that in mind if you decide to go watch it. The story follows for American girls as they go to England in the mid to late Victorian era to find rich and/or titled husbands. The story focuses mainly on the youngest girl, Nan. This is not a happy way to spend 5 hours. Only one of the girls ends up in a happy marriage, and we barely see her. One ends up unhappy in her marriage and cheats on her husband. One ends up in a loveless marriage with a man who only married her for her money and keeps a mistress. And Nan ends up married to a brute who rapes her, abuses her, and is also a homosexual (keep in mind, homosexuality was illegal at this time). I think the ending was supposed to be happy, but since it involved infidelity, I had a hard time thinking it was. If Nan had chosen love over a title and money, she would have been happy in the second hour and I would have been happier too. (Be aware that there is one scene of non graphic rape, and one scene of attempted rape. Though you shouldn't watch this movie anyway, so this warning is unnecessary.)

Barbara Cartland adaptions:
Barbara Cartland was a writer of historical romances during the 20th century. I have never read her novels, but I have heard that they are better than the movies. Keep in mind, that I am judging these based on the fact that they were made in the late 80s/early 90s, and as such, contain a bit of cheese. (And floppy haircuts for the men, and anachronistic makeup and hair for the women.)
A Hazard of Hearts (1987)
This was the best of the three adaptations I watched. It has a young Helena Bonham Carter as Serena. It's Regency time period. Serena's father is a gambler, and in a game of dice loses not only his money, but his house and his daughter to the evil Lord Wrotham. Lord Justin Vulcan wins back the house and Serena, but not before Sir Giles kills himself. Lord Vulcan then takes Serena to his home, which is rumored to be haunted.

I like that there is romance, as well as a bit of swashbuckling in these movies. The romance in this one is probably the strongest of the three, though the kiss is cut short. (Also, there is an attempted rape, but it's not graphic, just some struggling.)

A Ghost in Monte Carlo (1990)
A young girl and her aunt go to Monte Carlo incognito in the late Victorian era. The aunt seems intent on her niece marrying royalty, though the girl falls in love with English Lord Robert Stanford (played by Marcus Gilbert, who also played Lord Vulcan in A Hazard of Hearts). The beautiful niece has also caught the eye of a Rajah. Again, there's some swash buckling, and men riding to the rescue.

Duel of Hearts (1991)
Probably my least favorite of all the Cartland movies. Possible because Marcus Gilbert wasn't in it. . . .

Anyway, Lady Faye is intent on proving that Lord Brecon did not commit a murder that he is suspected of, so she says she is Miss Frye and gets a job as his mother's companion. This movie is a bit like Jane Eyre, with the mysteries of the house, etc.

"Garrow's Law" (2009-2011)
This was a three season TV show, and I loved it! If you liked Amazing Grace (2006), I think you'll like "Garrow's Law". They are similar not only in time period (late 18th century), but also in that they both tell the story of a man intent on making changes. William Garrow was an English barrister who, among other things, invented the phrase "Innocent until proven Guilty." The TV show isn't very accurate, historically, when is comes to the life and cases of Garrow, but instead, it uses Garrow as a character to show real cases that came to the Old Bailey court at the time Garrow was practicing. I loved seeing someone fight for what he thought was right. And there is a bit of romance, too.

Bert & Dickie (2012)
This is the story of the English skulling team that won gold in the 1948 London Olympics. They were placed together five weeks before the Olympics and had to learn how to be a team, put aside their differences, and learn to trust each other. It's one of those feel good, triumphant, sports movies, and it did have me tearing up a bit in the end. The hard thing about this is that Matt Smith played Bert Bushnell, and I just couldn't get past thinking of this as the Doctor. It's the way he talks! He just talked like the Doctor. I've never had that problem with any of the other actors that have played the Doctor. In fact, at one point he asks some for change so he can use the "phone box" and I kind of giggled a little to myself at that. But it was an interesting story. Even more interesting is that the Olympics used to have art competitions.

So, there you go. Three good movies, one good TV show, two so-so movies, and one movie that is not recommended.

End of the Week Thoughts: On Ghosts, Geekiness, and Procrastination

Ghosts

I'm pretty sure there is a ghost in the Church History Library (being my place of work). "But, Whitney," you might be saying, "how can there be a ghost in a building that's only about 6 years old?" Well, here's my theory. We've got a lot of books and documents, some of which are very old. So, my theory is that the ghost (or even multiple ghosts) came in with these very old documents, a la Tom Riddle and his diary. You're probably wondering why I have been thinking that there is a ghost at my place of work. Let me tell you. Over the past year and a few months that I have worked at the library, strange things have occurred.

One, the bathroom. Now, I'm not saying that Moaning Myrtle lives in the ladies' toilet, but someone does and who else would live in a bathroom? The automatic toilets are a little too enthusiastic about their job of flushing--unnervingly so. Also, there's this one stall that always looks like there is someone in it until you push open the unlocked door and there's no one there! Eerie.

Other evidence of at least one ghost is the strange things happening to my cubicle. I think a new ghost has moved in the past couple of months because twice in the past two months, my monitors have been moved around and generally put into a shambles, and this week my chair had been messed with! You just don't mess with a person's chair! It takes much too long to get everything back where it's supposed to be. The only thing I can think of is that it's a pranking poltergeist. And then there is the curious squeaking noise . . . but I guess that the book carts explain that one. But it's creepy!

Anyway, that's why I think there is at least one ghost in the CHL.

Geekiness

Simon Pegg once said, "Being a geek is all about being honest about what you enjoy and not being afraid to demonstrate that affection. It means never having to play it cool about how much you like something. It's basically a license to proudly emote on a somewhat childish level rather than behave like a supposed adult. Being a geek is extremely liberating."

I realized how much a geek I am about three or four years ago, and I wholeheartedly embraced it. What is geekiness anyway except being passionate about something and sharing that passion? So, in that definition, aren't we all geeks? Sport geeks, math geeks, fashion geeks, food geeks.

When I started thinking about it, I saw that I liked a lot of things considered geeky--"Star Trek," Star Wars (I'm a purist), "Doctor Who," etc. But I'm also really geeky about books, music, movies, Disney, trivia, and education. I'm not the kind of geek who plays video games (I just can't get into them. Or play them. I usually ending either running around aimlessly or killing myself my accidentally throwing myself off a ledge), and I know next to nothing about technology, science, and math. But I'm passionate, and I'm not afraid of sharing my passions--though sometimes I'm a bit more quiet about my passions than others.

Procrastination stuff

Here are some things to keep you busy when you are supposed to be busy doing something else!

The "Stuff You Should Know" Podcast. With my love of knowing random facts, this is an awesome podcast. I've linked to it before, but it's worth linking to again, because it's awesome. Just this week I learned about Barbie, Bigfoot, and Christmas traditions. I've also learned about black holes, lobotomies, the muppets, vampires, why leaves change colors, and Stockholm syndrome. Seriously interesting.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. This is a new web series by Hank Green which updates Pride and Prejudice. My roommate and I love it! There is a new video every Monday and Thursday, and they are about 4 minutes long. There are also a few videos done by Lydia Bennet, and Maria Lu. The really cool thing about this series is not only is it a great exploration of a relatively new form of media, but it also uses other social media to make a complete story! Each character has a twitter account, and a facebook. I went on Darcy's twitter, and his sister's GiGi's, yesterday and it was fun to get a different view of them. Even though I don't get twitter. Seriously, when it comes to twitter I'm like your 80-year-old grandma trying to figure out how to turn on an iPad. Can you really only see one side of a conversation when looking through someone's twitter account? That seems annoying. But I digress. Check out The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.

Vlogbrothers. This is the vlogs of brothers John Green and the aforementioned Hank. John Green is a YA novelist that I discovered last year when I read his amazing book The Fault in Our Stars. Then I read Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines. All are fun, interesting, thought provoking books, with scenes that make you laugh out loud. And that is what these vlogs are like too. There are over a thousand videos going as far back as 2007. At first I just jumped around watching random videos, but then I realized that the videos tell more of a story than anything else, so I started watching at the beginning of 2010. I have as yet to get out of 2010, but I am having loads of fun watching them. Also, John probably has the most ADORABLE baby ever. Oh, and these guys make me feel vastly untalented. Hank writes music, writes and directs LBD, organizes VidCon, rides horses, edits videos, is a biologist, and talks very fast. John writes novels (Printz awards! New York Times bestseller!), also edits videos, knows a lot about conjoined twins, and is a deep thinker. Plus, they have created a community (Nerdfighters) and have been encourage this community to help change lives. That's amazing! I've always said that if I could just change one life for the better, my life would be better for it. So, go on John and Hank!

And . . . I think that's enough to keep you busy for a little while at least.

Halloween Costume

Inspiration:

Execution:

This photo was a happy accident. The flash didn't go off as it was supposed to, so my Dad took another photo with the flash. But when I looked back at it, I realized how great it looked! Sort of like an old poster!

Banned Book Week 2012

Well, it's the last day of September which must mean it's Banned Books Week!! This year marks the thirtieth year since the ALA created banned books week as a means to fight against censorship. Down with censorship!! (haha, I feel like saying that is a weird meta of censoring censorship . . .) Really, the ALA calls it "the Freedom to Read," which is actually a great way of putting it.

Last year I wrote a blog post about how I feel about societal censorship. I say that I personally choose which books I feel comfortable reading or not, and I always feel that that is a personal decision. For example, as I was trying to find a book to read this week, I researched a certain book that is considered quite a classic. After reading about why it was banned, as well as several synopses, I decided that it wasn't the sort of book I wanted to be reading. But I wouldn't stop others from reading it.

Which brings me to what I have decided to read this week. I wanted to read a book that was relatively new to the "challenging/banning" game. I know of two this last year. The first was A Study in Scarlet, the first Sherlock Holmes mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This was banned from the school on the grounds of the negative picture it paints of Mormons. I read this book before the school in Virginia banned it, and, as a Mormon, I found it hilarious in all it's inaccuracies. As, as someone who has studied literature, I knew how Victorians felt about Mormons and was able to use that as a point of reference. I appreciate that someone realized that this was not a good introduction to the religion, but I also feel that it would have been the perfect opportunity to discuss what is a major American religion (and part of the history of this country) in a positive, historical way. In no way did they have to preach the gospel, but talk about historical inaccuracies, and why Conan Doyle would have portrayed Mormons the way he did. That's the amazing thing about literature--it opens up a conversation! How said that the parents and teachers didn't take that opening.

The second book that was challenged in the past year was Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. This actually ended in the suspension of the teacher. This is the book that I will be reading this week. The book was challenged on pornography issues, but no one I know that has read it says there is any such thing. And these are people I trust. Nor does the little I know about the book lend itself to pornography. So I went out (last month before my "no spend month" started) and bought the book.

There are links in last year's post to lists of banned books, or you can go to the ALA website for more information. Please read a banned book and fight for the freedom to read!

These Are Going to Date Me Someday . . .

Here are things that I remember from my childhood, things that someday will show how old I am:

Seeing Vanna White actually turn the letters on Wheel of Fortune, instead of just touching the screen (which she doesn't even need to do).

Watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and seeing how crayons are made during the "Picture Picture" segment.

Coloring with markers that would stain clothes, walls, skin, and carpet if they didn't stay on the paper.

Shining Time Station and the little conductor.

Having to leave town and drive for about 30 minutes to go some place to eat.

Going to Arctic Circle for fast food because it was the only fast food place in town.

Playing with homemade playdough and kitchen utensils.

Listening to "Mmmbop" by Hanson on my sister's Walkman/tapedeck.

Wearing cut off shorts and two shirts with the sleeves rolled up so you can see the color of the shirt underneath.

Being born in the 80s and growing up in the 90s--remembering the Y2K scare.

Having a civilization's textbook that said "East and West Germany will never be one again." (Or maybe that's dating my sixth grade textbook and not me.)

Having a television that was incased in wood and had knobs that you turned instead of buttons.

Going to Disneyland for my seventh birthday the year the Indiana Jones ride opened. There was no California Adventure and the 3-D movie starred Michael Jackson (I thought he was a woman, even back then).

Rolling the car windows down by hand.

Our first DVD was A Bug's Life that we got free with our new iMac. We didn't have a DVD player so we had to watch it on the computer.

Listening to Christmas albums on our record player (again, this actually ages my parents more than me).

Oregon Trail was the best computer game ever!

All we needed to be happy on a summer's day was some chalk, a blank driveway, a popsicle, and the sprinklers.

Riding our bikes to the grocery store and getting Shastas for 25 cents.

We only needed 7 channels, and even then we only watched 3.

The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday.

TGIF on ABC every Friday!

We didn't need toys with batteries, just our imagination.

Speaking of toys: troll dolls, beanie babies, furbies (::shudder::), Barbie before she underwent breast reduction, legos, and care bears.

The first CD I bought myself was 98* Revelation. Man, I loved that CD.

I was just thinking about how different things were when I was little, but it seems to be such a short amount of time. What kinds of things are different from when you all were kids?

California Day 4

Today was the day we spent with the sis.

Since sis has a car, we decided to leave Pacific Grove and Monterey and head out to Carmel. The first place we went is just a little past Carmel called Point Lobos State Park and Reserve. We went to the whaling cabin and museum and learned a little bit about the whaling that went on in the early part of the 20th century. Then we went to China Cove, and climbed on rocks, searched for sea shells, and pretended to be Ariel on a big rock . . . um, I mean, acted really mature and cool. Ahem.

After Point Lobos we headed over to the Carmel Mission. This was the second of like 15 or something Catholic missions along the California coast. It was first built by Junipero Serra in 1770, though he never saw it completed. By the early nineteenth century the mission had fallen into disrepair and squatters occupied the land. Sir Harry Someone-or-other (sorry I'm so bad with last names!) had taken it upon himself to reconstruct the missions, and he did so with the Carmel Mission. It was interesting for me to see the differences between a Catholic mission in the western US to an Anglican church in the UK. Um . . . yeah, I feel like I was headed somewhere with that, but I got nuttin'. It was also funny because we walked into the Basilica and there was holy water! And we saw a confessional! Yeah, never seen one of those before. I also learned what the beads on a rosary are for! I've always wondered.

There is a museum at the mission that details what life was like when the mission was in operation in the 19th century. They had a confessional there that they had built out of shipping crates. When they had things sent to them from the East, they asked for the best shipping crates because they needed the wood to make furniture. There wasn't any wood good enough. Padre Serra slept in a room that had a small desk and a bed that was just a wooden cot, without a mattress or padding. And there he died. I guess that sacrifice is important in being closer to God; I just don't think that he asks us to be uncomfortable our whole lives. While we were there the bells rung noon. The bells are rung by hand every hour.

After the mission we headed into Carmel-by-the-Sea. It's a nice little place with a small town feel. (Fact: high heels are not allowed in the city of Carmel.) No chain stores or restaurants are allowed. We got lunch at Nielson's Market and Deli, then we explored some of the shops. There were clothes shops, toy shops, consignment stores, a Jane Austen shop, garden and decor stores, and a candy shop. Plus tons that we didn't go into because it was chilly and we were getting tired.

Tonight Maddie and I cooked a frozen pizza and watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. We always tire ourselves out everyday, so we didn't feel guilty taking a little break. Afterward we rode the bikes down to a little ice cream shoppe where we split a little bowl or strawberry ice cream.

Tomorrow is our last full day in California. And we're going to just take it like it is.

California Day 3

Since today is Sunday, the day of rest, we did just that--relaxed a bit.

The day started out with a phone call to my daddy, to wish him a happy father's day. Then after we got ready for the day and had breakfast, we walked over to the Arts and Crafts Festival taking place just a few streets over, by the library. They were still setting up when we got there, but there were handmade scarves, paintings, photographs, jewelry, and popcorn. The scarf lady was very . . . enthusiastic.

Then we went back to the house, read a little bit, ate lunch, said goodbye to the cousin and his compadres as they set off for home, and then sis and bro-in-law came to get us for church. The men got a huge thing filled with cookies for Father's Day! Needless to say, we were eyeing them. (Fact: this is the hundredth father's day ever celebrated. It was first celebrated by a small congregation in Washington state June 19, 1910.) After church we went over to sis's house because she was going to make us dinner. We had tandoori chicken, rice, and fruit with cheesecake for dessert. Yum!

Not too bad of a day. Tomorrow it's off to spend the day with sis in Carmel!

Blenheim and Oxford

Happy Father's Day:

Grandpa and Grandpa, Dad, Lloyd, Scott, LaMar, Bryan, Lynn, Adam, Michael, Ken, Cody, Jake, and Patrick. I hope I didn't forget anyone! Happy Father's Day to you all.

This last Wednesday was our last day trip as a group. We went to Blenheim Palace first, which is still the residence of the Duke of Marlborough. It was a beautiful mansion house, with beautiful gardens. It was also the house where Winston Churchill was born, as the Dukes of Marlborough are from the Churchill family. Of course, it was by accident, but he said that it was one of the best decisions he made. We had a really great tour guide for the house, but I would have liked to have more time. We hardly got to see any of the gardens, and the house has a lot of history connected to it--it was used as a boy's school in the War.

After two hours at Blenheim, we headed to Oxford. I loved Oxford! I was able to go into two colleges, Merton which was free, and Christ Church. Christ Church was beautiful and the alma mater of Christopher Wren, and Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll). The main hall was going to be used in the first Harry Potter movie as the Great Hall, but it was too small, so they made an exact replica of the hall and that's what they used. Another cool thing about the Great Hall is if you walk in and count five windows down on the left hand side, you can see a likeness of Alice in Wonderland, as well as the White Rabbit.

Out in the courtyard is Tom's Tower. The tower was built by Christopher Wren to house the bell called Tom. At 9:05 every night Tom rings 109 times. 109 because that was the number of graduates in the first graduating class of Christ Church and at 9:05 because that is what the time is according to Greenwich Meantime. And because it used to b curfew for students of Christ Church. Christ Church also has it's own cathedral which was beautiful.

After Christ Church, I climbed to the top of the University Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin. Oxford is called the "city of spires" and it is! We were able to see almost the whole city from the top of the church. That was fun. Then it was on to Blackwell's! Blackwell's is the largest bookshop in all of England--the basement holds 3 miles of shelving and thousands unpon thousands of books, and that's just the basement! I spent a little too much money there, but it was definitely worth it! I had to get books by both JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis since they both taught there.

After browsing at Blackwell's I went to the Eagle and Child pub which is where every Tuesday morning the Inklings used to meet to discuss their books and the world. The Inklings consisted of Tolkien, Lewis, Lewis's brother, and eventually Tolkien's son Christopher with several others. I probably sat in the very same place they did! How cool is that?!

I went to see Dirty Dancing Thursday night, and on Friday was our country walk with a man in my ward, Bro. Chittock. IF you remember, he was the one who came and talked to us about what it was like being a child during the Blitz. The walk was beautiful! We went to Kent and saw the hops farms, and woods and farmers fields. It was about nine miles and took us in a circuitous route. We spent most of the day doing that.

Yesterday I finally went to Westminster Abbey! It was definitely worth every pound! I loved it and stood among the graves, tombs and memorials of genius. It was amazing. Last night I saw Gone With the Wind the musical in its last night. That was interesting, but I saw the stars and stripes for the first time in 7 weeks! It was an odd feeling, seeing that, here.

Well, I only have about three more days here! Bittersweet feelings. Love you all!

Brother Chittock's Talk

This probably won't be a very long post, but I just wanted to tell you all about a really cool thing that I got to hear about today. We had a member of our stake, and of my ward, Brother Chittock came to talk to us about what it was life to be a child during the Blitz.

He was about three during the evacuation at the beginning of the war. It was amazing to hear from someone who was actually there, to tell about what it was like. He would talk about how he and his brother would like up at the sky during clear nights in the summer and could see the German pilots and the RAF pilots fighting in the air. He thought it looked like a game; like big fun. It was so interesting and so amazing to hear about how people would just go on with life: walking through rubble on their way to work, and just trying to make it.

I have more notes and interesting facts that I wrote down while he was talking to us, but I just wanted to mention a little bit now. On Friday he is taking us for a walk in Kent and is going to talk a little more to us about the war and other sites of interesting historical value.

Love you all

Bath, Stourhead, and Stonehenge

Last weekend we went on an overnight trip to Bath. I absolutely loved Bath, it was so beautiful! I feel like I use the word beautiful to describe everything, but all other words escape me and I just can't think of any other way to describe it. The modern day city of Bath was built completely in the Georgian style, so all the buildings and houses are uniform. The first thing we did was go to the Roman Baths, which have been around for thousands of years since the Romans first came and conquered England. They were a bit expensive and as such I wouldn't go again, but if you ever go to Bath, you have to go to the baths. It's interesting, and they are the whole reason that there is a Bath. There were painted pigs all over the city (and the city surrounding it) so as we walked around we tried to keep an eye out for those. We only got 16, but it gave a whole new meaning to our trip in Bath. I also made a visit to the Jane Austen centre, which I didn't tour, but it was my Austen pilgrimage. We just wandered around and looked at the beautiful city and surrounding countryside.

The next morning we headed off to Stourhead, an very large estate. The gardens were designed by a man called Hoare who loved the Neoclassical style instead of the French style of gardening that was a bit more popular. This means that Hoare's garden is more of a wilderness instead of an ordered garden. It was so...breathtaking. The lake, and the greenness of it all, along with the birds singing and the blue sky made it that much better. We followed that path around the garden (which you have to take counterclockwise because that is how it was designed to be walked) and eventually wound up at the Temple of Apollo which was used for the first proposal scene in the new Pride and Prejudice movie. We were only able to go into the house for a few quick minutes because we needed to get on the bus to head off to our next destination, but the Duke of Marbury still lives in the house and therefore we were unable to go upstairs, but it was a beautiful mansion house.

Our next destination was Stonehenge! If ever you decide to go there, a half hour is probably all you would need, but it was a cool place to see. My mate and I came up with several theories of why Stonehenge existed, all of them ridiculous. Because we were a school tour we weren't able to use the audio tour (which seemed strange...why would students want to be educated anyway?) but really, how much could be said about a bunch of really old rocks that no one knows anything about?

Stonehenge was the end of our trip, but when we got back Jessi (my mate) and I went to see the new musical Never Forget which is based on the music by a 90s British boy band by the name of Take That. We had no idea who they were before we went, and we were surprised by how big they apparently were in England! The whole audience was singing along with every single song, and cheering loudly. At the end everyone got up and danced and sang along with the actors. We did too, but we mostly just laughed. It was crazy! But so much fun, and something really completely British.

Love you all and I'll see you in only 10 more days! Ack!

The Tower, Cambridge, and Cornwall

This last week was a mighty busy one for me, as are the weeks to follow! There's so much to do and I only have two weeks left! Oh no!

So I started off the week on Tuesday by spending the day at the Tower of London. Oh my gosh! Thank you LaMar! It was amazing! We went on the Yeoman tour, and our guide was really great. We had some problems with helicopters though--there was once when there were two helicopters just hovering over the Thames for about 5 minutes! He was going to talk to us outside, but took us into the Chapel instead. Of course, the minute we went into the Chapel the copters left. So the Chapel was really interesting. In Queen Victoria's time they took up the floors because they were in bad disrepair and they found over 1000 bodies! Some of them headless! Out of them they only identified 33. Among the 33 there was Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and Catherine Howard (the one that haunts Hampton Court). They were given a proper burial and now rest under the altar in the chapel. Every week fresh red roses are put on Anne's grave.

After the tour we went off by ourselves and looked at the crown jewels, which were very shiny. I really liked the first room in the jewery. It had a chair for every known monarch of England as well as their crests. After the jewels was the White Tower. The first thing we saw was the place where the bones of the two young princes who were mysteriously kidnapped and murdered were found. Freaky. As we wandered through the White Tower (which is actually a palace) I was thinking how creepy it was that people actually lived there, but then I remembered that back in the day it wasn't creepy because it didn't have the history it does now. Then we went to walk around the walls, and I might have sat in the very window that Lady Elizabeth sat in when she was held prisoner there! You never know! The only thing that we didn't get to see and I wish we could have but I needed to get back for kitchen duty was the Beauchamps Tower. This was the tower that the princes were taken from before they were murdered. But it was a nice day out.

That night we went to see Pygmalion! That was awesome. It's so cool to see things that take place in England and know the places that they are talking about! Or to recognize something in the background.

Wednesday all of us headed out to Cambridge. We went punting on the Cam the very first thing and I think I would have been happy to just sit in the punt and go up and down the river all day! It was so relaxing! We saw a lot of bridges and most of the colleges! We ended up going during one of the worst times because it was exams! We couldn't go into any of the colleges! But we did see King's College Chapel which is the largest open nave in England, meaning that there are no pillars holding the ceiling up. It was a nice day out. That night my friend Jessi and I went to a show in the West End called Into the Hoods. It was AMAZING! It's a hip hop revival of Sondheim's Into the Woods. They told they story using popular hip hop songs (but not just hip hop, other genres as well) and the dancing was so cool. It was very original and the first of it's kind to get into the West End. Next time you're in London, you should try and see it!

The next day was the start of my free weekend. Three of my mates and I decided to head down to Cornwall and stay in Penzance. We went to St. Michael's Mount which is an island that you can walk out to if the tide is low. Unfortunately, the tide wasn't low while we were there, but we were able to walk on the beach, feel the sand beneath our toes, and the water around our ankles. And the castle on the island was fabulous. After that we went to Land's End where there is nothing. I did find out that from that point Provo is 5374 miles away. Sad! It made me a little homesick! But not for too long!

We headed down to Porthcurno beach. It was gorgeous! Nothing could do it justice, it's something you have to see for yourself, but I'll try. Beautiful white sandy beach, water that was a thousand different shades of blue, surrounding by cliffs that were green and red. I swam in the Atlantic Ocean! It was freezing! We ate real Cornish pasties on the beach, then walked up the cliff to see a play at the Minack Theatre. So this theatre was built entirely on a cliff, so as you're watching a play you have the ocean for a background. It was so beautiful.

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end, and on Saturday I returned to London. But I like London, it's almost becoming a sort of home to me now. I know that I will miss it when I return to the states.

Today I went to Samuel Johnson's house. He made the first comprehensive English dictionary! Cool guy, but a little obsessed with his cat...

I also walked the entire perimeter of Kensington Gardens. I saw Peter Pan, which made me happy!

Love you all and wish you could share in my joy! See you in two!

Hampton Court

Yesterday, being Wednesday, was our trip to Hampton Court. The way our professors were talking, we thought we would be there for a couple hours, but we ended up spending the whole day and were even late for dinner!

Hampton Court was built during the reign of Henry VII by Cardinal Wolesy (who fell from the King's favor when he told Henry he couldn't have a divorce). Wolesy told Henry that it was fit for a king, and therefore Henry took it over. We started our audio tour in the Great Hall, which I had always pictured as being bigger, but it wasn't that large at all. There were tapestries on the walls that Henry had bought to show off his money; they were made with real gold and silver thread. IT was hard to tell that fact, because they had become very faded over the years (as compared to the tapestries in the private rooms which were still bright and colorful). We went through all of Henry's rooms, in the Tudor part of the house, ending with the "haunted" passageway. When Henry accused his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, of adultery, the guards came to take her to the Tower of London to be executed. In that passageway it's said that she broke away from the guards and ran down it, begging her husband for mercy. She was eventually executed for treason, but her ghost is said to haunt the hallway. They have a video of it on Youtube, I believe, if you'd like to see her ghost. The ghost of Jane Seymour, who died giving birth to Henry's only son, is also said to haunt the the palace.

The house is built in several different parts. When Willliam and Mary of Orange became the King and Queen after Charles I, they liked Hampton Court so much that they wanted to add to it. So the front is Tudor and part was built by Christopher Wren (who designed St. Paul's Cathedral), and part if Georgian. In on of William's bedrooms (which had beds but weren't used so much as bedrooms as they were for meetings with the highs and mightys) there is a picture of Venus. It seems that she is looking toward the bed when you first walk in the room, but as you move across the room, she "follows" you and by the time you reach the opposite door, she is staring at the fireplace which is opposite the bed. That was pretty darn cool!

The last thing we saw inside the house was the kitchens. Did you know that geese were considered fish? I don't remember the reason, but I thought it was pretty odd. Our director's wife saw us as we were exploring the kitchens, and she told us that she thought cooking for 50 was bad, until she learned that the cooks at Hampton Court regularly cooked for 600 or more! And without the modern conveniences that she enjoys! Craziness.

After the house we went out into the gardens. The is a maze about a third of an acre in area, which is the only remaining part of the garden from William of Orange's time. The object is to get to the centre and back out again. It was a lot of fun, and we did make it to the center! We got stickers on the way out--hooray! We spent a lot of time in the rose garden as well, but then we saw that time and had to head home.

I'm still loving it in London, and I hope that everyone is having a great time back at home. Remember, if you want pictures, ask Mom.