The Final Week

It’s unbelievable to think that I’ve only got another five full days left in London. These past eleven weeks have just flown by! So… What’s been going on this week…

On Monday evening, the group headed to the Royal Opera House (where the BAFTAs were held this year), where we watched the ballet, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I can’t recall having seen any ballet before “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, however, I vaguely remember going to see “The Nutcracker” in Chicago many, many years ago. I really, really enjoyed “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. I thought the costumes and sets were absolutely beautiful. The Royal Opera House has a much larger stage than the venues we’ve been at during the past eleven weeks, so the performance could afford grandiose sets, complete with massive stack card towers, screens dozens of feet high, which would display extraordinary visual effects which enhanced the entire performance.

You guys, it was great. The way the actors told the story, and the effects used were incredibly clever and I was thoroughly impressed. Chad, Andy, and I were sitting in front of this older gentleman, who turned out to be there by himself, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, who was just having the time of his life and would giggle and guffaw at the most inappropriate moments. Chad would turn to me and ask, “Am I missing something?”. We had a good time though.

“Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”

It easily made my list of top three favorites out of all the other theatre we’ve experienced during the semester. Which, if I had to compose that list, would look something like this…

1. The Phantom of the Opera

2. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

3. Jersey Boys

Honorable Mention: Moswell Hill or One Man, Two Guv’nors (Too close to rule one out, so why don’t we have both?)

If there wasn’t such a deep-seeded affection for “The Phantom of the Opera”, then “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” might have taken that number one spot.

On Tuesday evening, I met Uncle Archie and Pat at the Royal College of Pathologists, where he works and teaches (and is temporarily living until he can move into his new house), and headed just around the corner to the club where RCP members relax. I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, I’ll find out though. But it was in this magnificent building, with a large lounging area upstairs, complete with libraries full of priceless books you can’t find anywhere else. Archie, Pat, and I shared a drink upstairs in the lounge before the three of us headed to the restaurant downstairs where we ate.

Pat was meeting co-workers, while Archie and I shared a table to ourselves. He’s heading to Cape Town for business on Thursday, and Pat will be in Venice for the remaining days of the week and into the weekend, so Tuesday evening was the last time I was able to see them while in London this semester. I can’t thank Archie and Pat enough for the kindness they’ve shown me since I’ve been in London. I know Pat has a picture of the evening on her phone, so once she sends it my way, I’ll be sure to throw it up here.

On Wednesday, the group was up early and met just outside the Tower of London, where we spent the rest of our morning. Being inside Tower of London during the day was cool. We’ve been inside during the evening for Ceremony of the Keys, but we were able to see more of the castle, including the crown jewels, which were breathtaking. Wednesday was an educational day. Not our last field trip though, for we’ll be at St. Paul’s on April 2nd.

Outside Tower of London

Inside Tower of London, looking down Water Lane.

We finished up at Tower of London, grabbed some lunch, and headed to spend a few hours in Hyde Park, as it was a beautiful day outside. We had spotless skies with temperatures, pushing 80 degrees for the better half of the day. We brought a soccer ball along, Chad brought a his guitar, and the group had a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon before we headed back to the flats.

Cigars & Guitars – A tradition Chad and I will continue back at school next semester.

As of today, I am finished with the classes here at City of Westminster College. We finished up with History of British Pop Music on Tuesday, and finished with Introduction to Theatre and British Life & Culture today. Andy and I performed our final, which consisted of a performance of a short script, which we’ve been practicing for the past week or so. We were able to get a good video recording of it in just one take, so hopefully I’ll be able to get a copy and see how it looks… Before I determine whether or not I should put it online… British Life & Culture ended with a few final grades being returned to students and just some general information about leaving the flats provided by the Ball State instructor here with us, Dr. Pierce. I’m going to try to write one more time before I leave for home on Wednesday morning, because I feel the last few days here will merit a separate post.

As always, thanks for reading, everyone! Can’t wait to see you all in a matter of days!