“Les Mis” in a Winter Wonderland…

This is here because it is my very most favorite name for a London Tube Station – and I finally made a trip out there this week! I wish I had named my blog after it…

      This was a crazy week full of highs and lows here in London.  And as I write this, from my beloved Gower Street flat, I can’t believe that this time next week, I will be HOME!  Last weekend, after my Oxford trip, I settled in for a few days filled with working, prepping, Skyping in to meetings at work at home and generally nothing too exciting.  I made it over to Goldsmiths’ for office hours on Tuesday and things are quite busy there (and in my office hours) since we are careening toward the end of the term.  I had lots of frustrating things happen at the beginning of the week, and I’ll spare the details here, but suffice it to say I was having a string of bad days from Sunday to Tuesday.  Once we hit Wednesday, however, things REALLY improved!

   Wednesday was an epic class day.  It started with a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see the Hollywood costume exhibit.  They’ve gathered together costumes from some of the biggest films in history (and recent ones too), and you could visit the special (paid) exhibit and see them.  And a student had to back out last minute, so my friend Charlie was able to join us!  The display was really  well done, and while some of it was a little basic if you’ve ever worked in a job (like mine) that focuses on costumes, the costumes themselves were amazing.  I think it’s the first time they’ve all been gathered together.  Some highlights were Scarlett’s curtain dress from “Gone With the Wind” (Vivienne Leigh was REALLY tall!), the Indiana Jones costume, Darth Vader, Charlie Chaplin’s original little tramp, Dorothy’s Wizard of Oz Dress, Marilyn’s 7-year itch dress, etc, etc. etc.  I just wish they had let us take pictures in there!  Really was an amazing morning.  I had hoped to see a bit more of the V & A that day, but that didn’t happen, so I’m hoping to get back there this week – maybe today (I need to get back to Harrod’s to get some gifts and they’re in same vicinity).  It’s a really great museum, though – such amazing stuff!

“Les Mis” movie premiere in Leicester Square!

     We then headed back for an interesting class about Romany Gypsies and Irish Travelers and the outsider/immigrant experience in London.  Last time for introducing new material, too.  (And one fo the students surprised all of us with Christmas crackers, which were fun!)  After class, several of the students and I raced down to Leicester Square to see the red carpet for the premiere of the new film of “Les Miserables”.  I had never been to a film premiere before, and the funny thing is that they have them a few times a week in Leicester Square (or at the BFI Center) here in London – just two tube stops away!  It was RIDICULOUSLY crowded when we got there and the fenced off areas where fans could be were full.  The cops said that people had been lined up since 6:30a.m.

Hugh Jackman at left, w/ fans & Anne Hathaway, at right, w/ fans

(and this was 5:15p.m.)   And it was REALLY, REALLY cold.  We got moved around to a few locations in the Square as they kept trying for crowd control, and then, through some miracle, space opened up at the very end of the fenced off area.  We split into two groups and were all able to fit in an area where we weren’t constantly told to move along.  And it turned out to be right where the limos were bringing the actors in.  The cars would stop about 50 ft. down from us and the celebs got out and then walked this massive red carpet.  There were MANY cars, so it was hard to tell who the really famous people were from a distance, but when the big stars came, they wound up circulating up the line of the fans near us, so we saw them!  We saw Russell Crowe (from a distance, and ugh – those who know me know he is my LEAST favorite actor), and then we saw Amanda Seyfried pull up – she was in the front seat of a car without tinted windows, so we got a great view of her.  She looked lovely.  Then came Anne Hathaway.  And, oh yeah, WE MET HER!!!!!  She looked gorgeous and

Anne Hathaway, signing an autograph for my student

worked her way down the whole crowd.  She was incredibly gracious and seemed so concerned that

Yep, I got an autograph, too…

everyone was so cold and had been waiting outside for so long.  We didn’t think she’d get all the way down to us, on the end, but she did.  She signed autographs for our little group, and when she heard our American accents – she asked where we were from.   We told her PA, and she mentioned Amanda Seyfried was from there.  She asked why we were there, and I told her that it was Lafayette Study Abroad.  She talked a bit to the students too.  It was amazing and really made me LOVE her as a person.  Hugh Jackman circulated a little, but on the other side of the crowd, so the group that had separated from us got a good view of him.

My best Anne Hathaway picture!

High Jackman picture – borrowed from my student Julia!

After all of the premiere excitement, our great day wasn’t done!  We then headed off to the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park, essentially an outdoor winter carnival with rides, the largest ice skating rink in London and a very large, German style Christmas market.

Hyde Park Winter Wonderland!

I had planned months ago for us to ice skate (well, those who wanted to – and it sells out WAY in advance), and it was a lovely ice skating adventure.  The rink is HUGE – much larger than the other ones in Central London, but also MUCH more crowded.

The ice rink

I used to figure skate a bit when I lived in Michigan, but I hadn’t been on skates in a while and I forgot how much I LOVE it!

A bit dark, but I love this picture!

The students did pretty well, too (one also figure skated and was very good!), and those who struggled wound up off the ice pretty quickly and those that were having fun stayed on for the duration of our slot.

A bright shot, complete with my great rental skates and the new hat I got last week with Stephen!

After ice skating, some of the students and I shopped for a while at the market, but I was exhausted after a VERY full day, and headed home!

On Thursday, I spent the day working and getting ready for the return of my friend, Laura, from the Netherlands.  We grabbed dinner before heading off to see “Loserville the Musical” just off Leicester Square.  Laura was excited to see it, but I wasn’t really – but it turned out that I loved it!  I am even considering directing it at Lafayette.  It’s set in 1971 and is about some high school computer hackers and the development of the first computer network.  It is described as “Glee” meets “The Big Bang Theory”.  It was fun, and had this wonderful set where everything was made out of paper or pencils – props were drawn on paper and used that way.  It sounds strange, but was wonderfully clever.  The music was catchy and the dancing was great.  Too bad the house was almost empty.  It’s closing soon, too.

Friday was a spa day with Laura at a fancy hotel spa in Central London.  I am not really a regular spa goer, but there was a great deal where you got 2 for 1, plus a formal high tea, and that was too good to pass up.  The day was lovely!  The massage was GREAT – LOVED it.  Wish I could get them more often.  (Planning to, in Bali!)  In fact, the only downside of the day was that I discovered that I REALLY don’t like steam rooms!  Felt a little too closed in in there and left early, but the rest of the day (and the tea!) were great!

“American Idiot” tour…

Friday night we headed out to Hammersmith, in West London, to see “American Idiot,” the musical based on songs by the band Green Day.  It was a tour, performed with an American cast (nice to actually hear REAL American accents in a musical set in a America here).  The show was technically excellent.  The dancing was great and tight, and the voices sounded great, even if it was a rock musical.  They did clever things with the set and the staging, and it was all generally VERY well done.  I didn’t like, however, that I found ALL of the characters really unlikable and I generally thought the show was soul-less.  Laura and I disagreed on this point (vigorously), but I really feel that I have to be able to care about a charatcer to get involved in the show, and I just couldn’t in this case.

Saturday was a shopping day, though I got very overwhelmed with the level of crowds around Oxford Street (worse than NYC at Christmas, by far!).  Laura is a master shopper and plowed on ahead, but I struggled with it.  We checked out Liberty Department store (WOW is the service there SLOW!) and a few other shops.  We grabbed dinner near Borough Market (what a great area – they’ve redeveloped extensively along there – just up from the new Globe Theater) and then headed to the Menier Chocolate Factory (an acclaimed London Theater) to see Sondheim’s “Merrily We Roll Along”.   I should say in advance that “Merrily” is NOT

At the Menier…

my favorite Sondheim show, and I thought this one was was poorly directed, with a terrible use of space and poor sightlines, but it was still the best “Merrily” I’ve ever seen.  It’s such a bleak show, though this managed to find at least some hopefulness in the gloom.  The actress playing Gussie (Josefina Gabrielle, who also played Laurey in the National Theater’s Oklahoma opposite Hugh Jackman some years back) really stole the show – and prior to this production, I hadn’t thought too much of that part.  The three leads had great chemistry and it was generally a good production, except for the directing problems.

Sunday, Laura and I headed back to the Menier, but this time to the restaurant, to meet my friends Dominic, Karen and Millie for lunch before they saw the show yesterday.  The restaurant at the Menier was great – and what a wonderful idea to be able to get lunch in the charming old building before a show.  I would definitely go back.  And of course, we all got chocolate desserts!

Laura’s dessert was the best, with its “branding”. My hot chocolate was good, too!

And now it is time for the very last week.  I probably won’t update this again until I’m home!   I’m getting sad to leave London and trying to pack everything in to this last week that I can, but I am excited to see my family & friends and to get home for the Holidays!

Next up: Last hurrahs and coming home!

Another busy week in London!

Tower Bridge – view from London Bridge.

So this has been another great, busy week in London – can’t believe that two weeks from now, I’ll be home in Pennsylvania!  After the wet, cold and disorganized trip to Dover and Canterbury last Saturday, Sunday was a much better day with out London Walks tour of the “Harry Potter” film

Leadenhall Market

locations in London.  Richard, our guide, was really wonderful – the best of all of the guides we’ve had – and as an added bonus, I got to see a good bit of London I really didn’t know.  We checked out Leadenhall Market, which is gorgeous (another Victorian era Arcade), and though it was closed, we walked through Borough Market.  We also walked across London Bridge and got spectacular views of Tower Bridge, and we wound our way through some of the old, narrow Streets of the City of London (the Central square mile, and the oldest part of London).  We saw locations that spanned literature and film, not just “Harry Potter” – i.e. where Scrooge ate his last meal before the ghosts visit was a real place – Simpsons – and it was really fascinating (for those who know the City, we started at the Bank Tube station).  And who knew much of “Bridget Jones’ Diary” filmed in nearly the same locations as “Harry Potter,” but to greatly different effect?  We wound up at St. Paul’s, which I hadn’t been to yet on this visit, and after a rather traumatic time walking across the Millenium Bridge (have I mentioned my fear of heights?), we finished an otherwise wonderful tour!

St. Paul’s & the Millenium Bridge

Monday, I checked out the new film “The Master” with a friend, and continued to work on my essay.  “The Master” was very good, though not particularly my kind of movie.  Joachim Phoenix is EXCELLENT in it (Oscar worthy), and so is Phillip Seymour Hoffman.  Amy Adams is kind of frightening in it, too.   It’s a sort of veiled biography of the founder of Scientology.  Strange, and a bit creepy.

Somerset House

Tuesday was a work day, and after heading over to Goldsmiths, I stopped by Somerset House on the way home (finally!) and grabbed some hot chocolate by the Ice Skating rink set up there, and

Christmas Arcade at Somerset House

checked out the Christmas pop up market – the Christmas Arcade – there.  It was really lovely there, even on a cold, rainy day, and the market was great – with lots of made in Britain stuff.  My favorite place there, by far, was The Monster Shop, a literacy program modeled on writer Dave Eggers’ American versions, which used a quirky, child friendly store as the physical front for an activity center that encourages children to read and write.   This was just a pop up version of the main shop, with info about the writing programs.  The premise of both the main and the pop up shop is that it sells stuff that caters to whatever is in the title (the US has Superhero, Spy and Pirate ones, for instance).  So The Monster Shop sells things that monsters would need – like canisters of supplies (candy) labeled “A Vague Sense of Dread” & “The Heebie Jeebies,” or real human snot (jam of some sort?), etc.  It was hilarious.  I’ll probably go back for a few gifts.

And on Tuesday night – I finally finished and sent off my essay.  Hooray!  Just working on tracking down one image for it and I’m home free.

Wednesday, a few students and I waited to get day of tickets to a preview performance of the new musical version of “The Bodyguard”.  (Yes, that one – the Whitney Houston movie)  We managed to

My students, after “The Bodyguard” – they LOVED it!

snag enough for all of us, and after a productive afternoon back at Goldsmiths for class, we headed back to the theater to see the show that night.  It was good, really, and I had a lot of fun watching it.  The show sits squarely on Heather Headley, the veteran actress carrying the Whitney role and she REALLY delivers.  (She was the original Nala in “The Lion King” on stage.)  She blew the roof off with “I Will Always Love You”.  The rest of the show was just OK (cool set, though), but it’s totally worth seeing just for her performance.  (And Lloyd Owen, in the Kevin Costner role, was really terrible.)

Also, on Wednesday, for what is, I believe, the fifth time since I got here, my credit card has been flagged on a fraud alert.  I guess my travel notices at the credit card company keep expiring.  So, the time in between class and the show was spent trying to contact the company and get it back on again, which would have been a lot easier if I didn’t, in the process, discover that the land line phone was dead.  Calling from the mobile was really a problem.  All fixed, but WHAT a pain!

Hampton Court Palace

Thursday, my old pal Charlie and I headed off to Hampton Court Palace.  There has been a major cold snap here, and while it’s been reasonably clear, it’s also, really, really cold and Thursday was a

Great Hall at Hampton Court

definite chiller.  Hampton Court was Henry the VIII’s palace, and it’s just outside of London – about 30 minutes by train.  Charlie and I had a really great time.  He’s wonderfully fun to hang out with, and while I knew him in college, of course, we’re spending way more time together here than we probably ever did and it’s been a blast!  So, Hampton Court is massive and sprawling and opulent, and surprisingly, wasn’t decorated for Christmas yet (though they were setting things up).  We

Best thing we saw at Hampton Court…

visited Henry’s apartments, including the spectacularly ornate Great Hall.   There were hoards of young school children there and the palace does a really great job with their tours – costumed guides take them all around the palace and the children were wildly excited.   With all of the open doors and stone walls, however, the Palace was terribly cold, even inside.  I wondered how they possibly stayed there (and didn’t freeze!) during Henry’s time.  We got a kick out of a set of Christmas ornaments they sell, which are little cloth dolls of Henry & all six of his wives.  We toured the kitchens, which was really quite interesting (Charlie is a foodie and a great cook!), and probably the highlight was the roaring kitchen fire.  It was so interesting to hear from the food historians about how the 600 people at the palace in Henry’s time would’ve been fed.  We also managed to work our way through the famous maze in the gardens, but we had to stop for some fortifying hot chocolate shortly after!

Charlie, the maze master

Friday was a shopping/laundry/grading/prepping day, and after a long, but productive day of that, I headed over to Charlie & Pip’s, for some of Charlie’s amazing cooking!  We had a wonderful time, and I just loved meeting Charlie’s partner Pip, though they were both a bit too generous on refilling my champagne that night.

Saturday, my friend Stephen, whom I have known for years and years from my professional conferences, made it in to London from Manchester, and introduced my to the goodness of Nando’s (yep, the chicken place).   He also was a wonderful help in my quest for a winter hat that would fit my tiny head.  We had great silliness in Debenhams on Oxford Street where I think I tried every hat in the store – and I wound up with a super warm and only mildly ridiculous hat (with 3 pom poms!).  We walked around the City checking out Christmas lights, grabbing cocoa at John Lewis on Oxford Street and then walking over to Covent Garden (which is one of my favorite places every time I go there).  We really had a lovely time, and I was even productive after I got home – and managed to crank out some work for Goldsmiths.

At Oxford, with my goofy hat (note the sign pointing to Lodge – and it does!)

Today was a big day – my long awaited trip to Oxford.  And what a wonderful day it was, with gorgeous sunshine, though it was definitely the very coldest day we’ve had here (second only to

Beautiful Oxford!

those frigid ones I experienced up in Scotland).  I layered up (currently still wearing several tops AND bottoms!), and grabbed my new hat and headed off with five of the students for an early morning at Paddington and then the train to Oxford, just over an hour away.  Oxford is so beautiful – definitely a town I fell in love with right away.  It’s exactly what you imagine a College should look like.  I didn’t know, before today, that Oxford isn’t one central college, but a series of 38 autonomous colleges linked together under the Oxford name.  We did a walking tour, and got to the Divinity School (the oldest part of the Bodlean Library), and we visited Jesus College and Exeter College.  Later in the day, we checked out Magdalen College (pronounced Maudlin), the one with the deer park (and a large herd).  We were freezing by the end of the walking tour, so we grabbed some comfort food for lunch and then headed off to the shops and to Magdalen.  I had really wanted to tour the Bodlean Library (I had thought we would see more of it on our walking tour, but we didn’t and with scheduling it didn’t quite work out that way), and we didn’t make it to Christchurch as we had planned, either.  Oxford was WAY bigger than I expected, and we needed way more time.  If I do return, those things are on my list to visit as part of a longer trip.

Oxford

Speaking of returning, I heard on Monday that I advanced in to the next round of consideration for a Fulbright Scholar position during my leave next year.  I’d return to London and be a guest lecturer at Roehampton College, in southwest London.  It’s wonderfully exciting and I wasn’t really expecting to advance, given the level of competition for London positions.  My application is now being considered by the UK Fulbright people.

Where I would’ve studied at Oxford…

So, after my very early morning for Oxford, I am exhausted tonight, but excited for the week ahead.  I have a good bit of Goldsmiths’ work to get through (ah, paper drafts!), and tomorrow I need to Skype in to Lafayette for a meeting.  Wednesday is a big day – we go to the Victoria and Albert Museum, have our class (on Gyspsies and Travelers as outsiders in British Culture), go to the red carpet for the World Premiere of the film of “Les Mis”, and top it all off with Ice Skating at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.  Thursday, my pal Laura returns from The Netherlands, and over next weekend, we have a spa day with afternoon tea planned (clearly, Laura was responsible for that, not that I am complaining!) and tickets to see the “American Idiot” tour and the new Menier production of Sondheim’s “Merrily”.  Also, my Portsmouth friends are visiting the city next weekend, so we have lunch reservations for next Sunday.  And then, only one week until I return home!  Excited for that, too!