Is this the real life? Is it just fantasy?

(photos: the photo exhibit at the theatre contained the most fantastic photo of Freddie ever taken, this one's for you Scott Molski; large statue outside the theatre; church where Chaucer collected classes, and oddly enough, the same church the Jack the Ripper tour guide told us was the "prostitute's church"; a statue of the emporer Trajen in front of some of the old Roman wall)

It pays off to wear musician t-shirts. Especially good ones. Like Bowie.
At breakfast today one of the cooks stopped asked me if i'd been to seen Bowie in New York, and i unfortunately had to say no. So then we talked about Bowie for a bit and now i think i am getting a free burned copy of a Ray Lamontagne cd, since i have never listened to him. Well, only if i find the guy at lunch... So yeah, wear good t-shirts, you can get free stuff and make British friends.

On the way to class, the Central line of the tubes shut down because of a "trespassor on the tracks", so we switched, and eventually that line was shut down as well. I'm not sure if it was for security reasons or if "trespassor" was a bit of a euphemism, since not all tube stations have anything preventing people from going on the tracks.

Civ of London class today consisted of a walk dedicated to the original Roman Wall which used to surround the square mile of "The City" of London. You can see a few bits of old wall around the area, but only the 20th century parts, as the Roman bits are now underground. The Britons kept knocking down areas and rebuliding on top of the rubble, so that the level of this area is much different now then it was in Roman times. You can see the levels of red clay brick separating layers of the English stone for extra support. This wall was the main line of defense for London in Roman times, it had only 3 sides, as the River Thames provided the fourth. The two main gates, located at Aldgate and Bishopsgate, were the only ways of entering the city and it was heavily guarded. In order to intimidate people coming into the city since they had no real police force at the time, and hooligans or ruffians who upset someone would have their head cut off, dipped in tar, put on a spike, and mounted on the top of the gate. They won't stand for any of your sass.

The wall was not only for defense, but also a way of collecting money through tariffs, as you may have surmised. What was especially interesting, though, was the fact that the tax collecter at the one of the churches we passed was Geoffrey Chaucer, of Canterbury Tales fame.

My theatre class was cancelled today so i wasted that time pretty well, until a friend came up and said a few people were trying to see "We Will Rock You" , the Queen musical, later that night. So despite the fact that i had to finish a book, i said "Of course i'll go, i have no other obligations to school or anything." So i went, and i am glad i did. It was quite good, though not the best i have seen. The music was pretty impressive, as it is not that easy to successfully perform Queen songs unless you are Freddie Mercury. They changes the lyrics to some songs, which i wasn't so sure about, and a couple of the characters didn't sing quite like i hoped they would. But overall it was a fantastic time, and now i have to listen to Queen for at least a week straight.

Well, i have class at the National Gallery in a bit, then my class is going to the reconstructed Globe Theatre to see Comedy of Errors. I plan on walking since i am cheap, and luckily, enjoy walking. This means i should go eat lunch now and try to procure the aforementioned cd. If only i had a ..."BICYCLE! BICYCLE! BICYCLE! I want to ride my... bicycle! bicycle! bicycle! I want to ride my bicycle. i want to ride my bike. i want to ride my bicycle. i want to ride it where i like..."
Oh Queen, you, fantastic rock band, you

Architecture class/ tour of Westminster

(photos are faily poor today seeing as the professor walks at a quick clip, and does not do much stopping for... photos: west end of westminster abbey ( i just found out that "minster" means "church". i would call that a fun fact, but that seems like a thing people may know..) ; banqueting house; building that may or mat not be part of the horse guards, but is connected to it; my college to the left of trees ; and the gate to Regent's Park directly to the right of those trees; big ben, houses of parliament, london eye..none of which was focused on today.)

So my classroom for the day was a number of exciting architectural places, beginning with Westminster Abbey. We did a rather quick run through of the building, but i have been there before and will go back with another class, so no worries. Designed and executed by Charles Barry and ...surname goes here..Pugin, the abbey is pretty much the quintessential Gothic style, with the pointed archways, ribbed vaults, large windows to let in lots of heavenly light, supported by carved flying butresses. It also apparently has the highest vaulted ceiling in cathedral in Western Europe, or some equally impressive fact. The security clergyman told us that, so i hadn't been taking notes at that point. Anyway, it's great. How can anything not be great if it has flying butresses? Lots of famous people are buried there (Poet's Corner), and those who aren't have had monuments erected in their name.

I could give you all the information i learned, but i doubt any of you are quite as interested in architecture as i am, so this is going to be one of those e-mail me if you are actually interested type posts. (if you don't have my e-mail, its either 08_smolski@stagweb.fairfield.edu or molskis@regents.ac.uk, pick your poison).

We then walked down whitehall street, past # 10 and # 11 Downing Street where the Prime Minister resides. The heavily guarded gates made much more sense once i read the street sign. There were about four men posted outside, including one with a machine gun. If a Brit has a large scary black gun, you know they mean business. Poor Tony is in a bit of trouble as you all may have heard. I didn't realize people here disliked him so much, but politics is almost interesting when you hearing from the British point of view. Almost. They want him out, and apparently he doesn't want out. This causes general unhappiness which is overtly displayed by most Britons I encounter.

Right, so hope you like stream of consciousness, rambling writing or you are out of luck. There's no time for planning or revision here, friends, just straight up Molski thoughts.

... yes, well, I made it past the street unscathed, and walked down where we stopped at the Banqueting House, the only remaining part of Whitehall Palace. The lower portion was apparently used as a "drinking den" for James I; whereas the upper level is quite a lovely spatious room, complete with painted ceilings by Peter Paul Reubens and his minions. While we were in this room, apparently one of the stars of the popular British tv show " Little Britain" walked by us. Most likely he is looking to rent out the hall for a party,which one can do for a mere 10,000 pounds. Which I have done. So. Hope you can all attend on Friday, the cover charge will about about 1,000 pounds each. No worries. I'll bring some Jaffa cakes and tea.

We then passed through the Horse Guards, which are apparently the offices of the british army, though they have no standing army. Usually there are guards with great feathery helmets astride horses at the gate, but today there were none. Pretty sure i could have broken in if i wanted to. I chose not to. We saw some more buildings, walked more, (you've probably stopped reading now) and everyone else ran to the tubes. I decided to walk back, since it seemed like a good idea at the time. And in essence, it was; i had just forgotten to wear sneakers today.

I did, however, wander into more bookstores on the way back (found out Rupert
Everett and Michael Palin of Monty Python fame are both partaking in some sort of talk that one can attend for 5 pounds), as well as the Spamalot box office. There will most likely not be student discounts for a few months, so i have to get on that. Let's ignore the fact that i've already seen it, as that means nothing right now. I ambled back through the park where i saw something being filmed, though it didn't seem to involve anyone familiar. I guess I'll just have to make sure to pay attention to people i pass on the street... who knows who i may meet? end of song.

i would bathe ten times a day in Bath

(pictures: roommate and i by the roman baths; the abbey at bath; a view of the baths with the abbey in the background; a street performer right outside the roman baths; me being a statue...i used to hold a spear, but what with erosion and vandalism and all, now there is just an extended arm)

At 9 am sharp Saturday morning, two busloads of americans departed from Regent's College on a very quiet coach bus for the three hour journey to Bath. The views on the ride there were very nice, seeing as we could see fields and sheep for miles. It was fun trying to take pictures out of the bus window while people all around you are trying to sleep. When we did finally arrive, my roommate Andria, Joao (who is from Brazil), and Chrys (who is from France) went on the audio tour of Bath, with the rest of the first group of 30 or so students.

We walked around listening to the facts about Bath while we stared in awe at the structure that has been functional since the Roman rule over Britain. Some of it has been restored, but for the most part, the area is original stone and the water still flows in from local hot springs. The baths were used a bit like present day golf courses: for recreation, as well as socialization, business, politics, etc. It is amazing to look at the steps to the temple that are so worn they are curved, and think about the sheer amount of people that must have come in and out of this complex. The water now is green, whereas it would have been clear back in the day, due to algae from constant exposure to the sun. The roof would have been covered in Roman times but it is now open, with a balcony area that provides fantastic views. Another reason it is so nice to have an open roof is because you have a great view of the abbey that is right next to the Roman Bath complex.

The complex also housed a temple to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, and they had fragments of curses that romans had inscribed onto metal and tossed into a pool in hopes that Minerva could help them find people who had offended them. The curses were rather petty, but humorous.Such as, "Some hooligan stole my working gloves, and due to the delicate nature of my hands, i can no longer work. my lace gloves just won't do in the field. I think Tiberius did it. Therfore, he shall have his left eye poked out, his nostrils stolen, and a general plague upon his soul." Well. ..they weren't quite like that, but one was about stolen gloves and odd punishments. You'll just have to go see for yourself. We took some photos standing on rocks, posing as statues, that we probably shouldn't have taken , but hey, when am i going to go back to Bath?

Whenever i was near the bath, or the chutes that run water into the baths, i could feel the hot air rising off of the water. i very much wanted to jump in, despite the fact that it would have been very unsanitary and i would have most certianly come down with the plague. or the avian flu. Yes, they tell you not to touch the water in the roman bath, but as you exit the tour and go to the pump room, they offer you warm spring water for 50 p. I assume the water is fresh from the spring and has not been sitting in a pool collecting microorganisms. We tried it, and it tasted a bit of sulfur. But it was genuine, and that's what matters.

I've decided i am not very good at relaying the historical information, so i shall try to get better and retain more information. If you ask specific questions..i may or may not know the answer.
After seeing the baths themselves we took a peek in the Abbey, but did not go in, because people were praying and i always feel a bit intrusive in that situation for some reason. We did not have much time to see other things, so we got ice cream ( i saw many people with ice cream this day), passed the horse driven coach where the driver was allowing a small girl to feed the horse carrots, and walked towards the bridge over the River Avon. We watched a bit of a rugby match from afar, looked at the landscape, walked back, and got on the bus for the drive back.

Friday was a walk in the park

(pictured: prince albert memorial, photo of the serpentine lake and lovely clouds, me sitting on a bench next to a statue of Jenner, who apparently helped develop the smallpox vaccine, swan..yeah, i like birds)

Ok, i need to catch up , because i seem to be falling more and more behind. And i have yet to figure out a good way to publish photos, so unless anyone has any ideas, you will just have to deal with the unartistic placement.Seeing as i had no class Friday (do you have any idea how glorious that is?) a friend and i walked to Hyde Park, which is maybe 20 minutes away? i have no idea... but i like to walk everywhere, much to the dismay of my comrades. I have been to Hyde Park before, last time i was here with jenna and scott, but it is a wonderful place and worth seeing multiple times. This is also where Kensington Palace and The Orangery ( a fabulous place for afternoon tea) are located, though we did not get a chance to go to that portion of the park. We walked through the Marble Arch, and a number of pedestrian subways before emerging on the correct side of the park. The Proms, a series of outdoor concerts ranging from classical performances to Lionel Richie, are currently taking place in the park, so as we walked down the tree-lined path we overheard some pleasant music. The parks in London are quite big on statues and fountains, which is convenient, because i am as well. I wanted an ice cream cone for the entirety of our walk along the Serpentine lake ( named for its winding shape), because whenever i see anyone with either an ice cream cone or a hot dog i physically must have one. It's odd, i know, but i finally purchased a single cone with a flake. This flake is some sort chocolately stick that they shove into a cone of ice cream that tastes more like frozen whipped cream with a touch of ice cream than anything. It was delicious. We took photos of the Prince Albert Memorial, which is a massive golden statue seated many feet in the air and surrounded by sculptures. My friend an i approached it from the back, so when she went to take a photo, a british man walking by said "no, you ought to get him to turn around first" and went on his way. Reason number 5673 i love British people: random, funny comments kindly mocking our touristy ways.

So...Jack's pretty frightening after all...

(photos: sundial and tower of london, where the tour began. spraypainted jack the ripper type character on a dark alleyway during the tour)

(Just an intro to this post- i was writing this on microsoft word because the internet was dead at the time, and i must admit, i starting really freaking myself out, quickly turning around to see if half man/ half phantoms were there with a knife...great, i've scared myself again. this is why i don't go to scary movies.)
Jack the Ripper was quite an interesting, bloke. Very messed up. You may know more about him than I do, but I found out a lot on the tour as we followed in his footsteps. For those of you who don’t know, Jack the Ripper was one of the earliest well-known serial killers who brutally murdered 5 “ladies of the night” in the city of London (the square mile) during autumn of 1888. Each murder consisted of some sort of struggle before Jack strangled his victim and proceeded to then slash her throat or other parts that he deemed necessary. The gory details are a bit nauseating, but the murders do get more and more horrific each time he finds a new victim; he left the last one nigh unrecognizable. Each time, however, he slashed their throat and abdomen, pulling out some intestines over the right shoulder… like a continental soldier..right, well, just trying to lighten the mood. He was never caught, since he struck swiftly and silently, so that the people in the surrounding area had no idea that anything out of the ordinary had happened. There are a slew of conspiracy theories and possible suspects, but the one that struck me as the most interesting I will attempt to summarize: Some people feel that Jack never got caught, not because the police couldn’t find him, but because they didn’t want to. It is semi-possible that it may have been a large conspiracy led by the freemasons - whom I find terribly interesting, what with the secret handshakes and all . Many details line up, such as the way he killed them and mutilated their bodies, the slashing of the throat, pulling out of the intestines, and how on one victim Jack slashed two upside down “v”s on each cheek of the last victim. Also, one morning after one of the murders, there was a message scrawled in chalk over a doorway which mentioned “Juwes”, which referenced something Masonic though I cannot recall what it meant. It was eerie though, believe me. Anyway, the plan was something along the line of the masons needing to get rid of these certain women for some reason or another and therefore did not try to stop jack until these women were dead. The murders did stop after this. Apparently there was some sort of significant flaw in this theory, but I’m afraid I don’t remember. Sorry, I was not taking notes, if you want to know more, go to a website. It’s pretty interesting, creepy stuff. Oh, one thing I found quite amusing was that apparently I and a drunk prostitute have something in common. On the night she was killed, one of the women had been arrested (and later released) on charges of disorderly conduct, because it appears she was enjoying the drink too much and decided to run up and down the street pretending to be a fire engine, sirens and all. This is something I have done while entirely sober, though the story will not make sense on paper. BAAOOOOOO BOOOOOAAAH. Farm people will understand. Ask me about it next time you see me in person. Apparently Jack must have found it rude, because he killed her two hours later. Bad luck old mum. It was a bit wierd, because the anniversay of one of the deaths was the 8th, and we were there on the 7th, which was a lovely clear night just like those when Jack the Ripper prowled. Hey, when you're good, who needs fog?

technology can bugger off

So London technology hates me just as much the technology back in the states. It appears as though I will never have wireless in my room, and I will only be able to access the internet from the lobby, when my computer is in the mood. This makes keeping this up to date quite difficult, but since I don't have too much work yet, i will continue to write, despite the trouble i must go through. On Wednesday I had my renaissance art class, which has to be great seeing as my classroom from now on is the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square, check? Around 7:15, after some consideration, i finally agreed to go to the Queen's Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park to see "The Boyfriend" for 10 pounds. (I keep looking for the pound key on my computer and i get really confused, on the computers here it is where the @ symbol is over the two). We sat on the side on the lawn, as in grass and dirt, which was not good for the bum, but was quite close and cheap. The show was fun, not a favorite, but fun; and the venue was quite nice. I only went because that particular theatre closes on Saturday and i very much wanted to see it. The main thing i got out of the play was that i want to learn to charleston and do it everywhere whilst singing and wearing silly bright clothing. Today was the last day of classes for the week, which i will love geting used to, and i had planned on walking to a bargain book store, but i don't think that's going to happen now. The school is still offering some fun activities. A group of us are leaving for the Jack the Ripper tour at 6, though it doesn't start til 7:30...perhaps we are having a pre-tour of some slightly less exciting serial killer, such as the lesser- known- but- almost- equally- lethal Dave the Poker, in order to make Jack comparitively scarier. It should be quite fun since i don't know much about Jack, and the man giving the tour is supposedly the Jack the Ripper expert who has written the definitive book on the subject. I don't quite see how definitive it can be considering...but hey, i'll give him the benefit of the doubt, won't i? It only cost "3 pounds and possibly [my] life", but i think i'll be safe seeing as i am not a woman of the night....

Classes? Wot's all this then?

The photo to the right is of the courtyard on campus surrounded by the buildings classes are held in. Monday was that fateful day when school officially began. This time was different though, seeing as every class is something i am highly interested in. First class is modernism and the novel, with a teacher who seems to be a british version of Mr. Strauss, for those of you acquainted with Strauss, you know this is good news. Yeah, so the brit lit teachers seems a nice, funny, random old man, and he is also my advisor, which is good news if i ever seek advice. We shall be reading some good books, but seeing as i have fallen asleep almost immdiately every time i have tried to read, it may not go well. Then i had english architecture with another funny british man who walks quite speedily. We will be visiting a number of wonderful buildings, so i will keep you posted on that. Today i had civilisation of london, which is a history course starting with the romans and going up til present day, which also will include a number of trips around london. Intro to theatre includes 8 FREE plays, and perhaps one FREE musical, as well as a behind the scenes tour of Shakespeare's Globe and the National Theatre. The only class i haven't had yet is my renaissance art class, so lets hope that's good. What is wonderful is that 4 out of my 5 courses are 50% class trips, all paid for by the school; though i do have to pay the tube fare which should add up. Everything here is so expensive i cannot even comprehend it. Imagine New York prices, multiplied by two due to the weak dollar. Yeah, can't go for long on that. But with a combination of walking, not eating, and not buying textbooks for school, it may just be doable.

weekend synopsis

Alright friends, well apparently i have wireless now. Though i do not get reception in my room yet. Convenient. Anyway, i am currently in the lobby semi-watching Reservoir Dogs, and attempting to relive the past 5 days for you. I arrived on Thursday morning after a lovely flight on Virgin Atlantic (best airline ever), where i sat next to a lovely old lady who frequently called me "love", as well as a nice young, recently engaged British man. We commented on things together in a humorous British fashion because we had to taxi on the runway for about an hour before lifting off, and had to circle for about a half hour before landing. The man then pointed me to the right line for immigrations, which was quite helpful, and i went through that rather smoothly. After paying a cab driver an exorbinant amount of cash, i got out at Regents and trucked up three flights of stairs to get to my room on the third floor. The room is surprisingly..roomy...considering we are in London. We have a nice picteresque bay window with no screens, which makes me a bit nervous considering my insect fear, though, so far, there have been no infiltrations. Went to some orientation stuff, which mainly discussed the importance of locking doors, keeping belongings close to you, not drinking too much, going to class, and the local nightlife, which mainly seems to be clubbing. Friday, we had some more orientation activities, and i attempted to be social and go the club entitled Umbaba. Say it with me- Umbaba. Well, turns out, despite the fact that 50 students had tickets to go and had student ids, you also need a license to get in. I, of course, did not have it on me at that moment so my friend and i just went back after standing around for a while, which was perfectly fine with me seeing as i can do without crowds of sweaty drunk people trying to dance. Saturday, i went to the Natural History Museum and looked at some nice old dinosaur bones. It is a fabulous, free museum, as most here are. I then went to dinner with some friends before taking a quick look in fancy, famed, obviously expensive, Harrods and heading back to the tubes. Since i have arrived, every day has consisted of wandering about Regents Park which surrounds my college, and is therefore , pretty much my campus. It is such a fantastic place and i have been there every day since i arrived. Lovely rose gardens, ponds, fountains, waterfowl, benches, cafes, the london zoo, sports pitches, cyclists, dogs, british people galore. Sunday, I joined the school-led trek to the Camden Market, in none other than, Camden. Camden also is where the boats on the go through a series of locks on the Regent's Canal (as pictured). Unlike the Camden of New Jersey, this Camden is flourishing with a slew of vendors selling everything from incense to sportscoats. I gave in and bought a Smiths t-shirt for 6 pounds, which i suppose i should have haggled for, though i wanted it, so i didn't mind. If you even so much as look at an item, or heaven forbid, make eye contact with a vendor, it's the end. They sprint over to you straight away, knocking down everything in their paths, only to hold it up, say "nice,eh? try it on, will you?" I was forced many times to ever so politely decline,saying things like: " no, sir, i am afraid i just recently purchased some fishnet stockings and and a shirt referencing the recreational use of marijuana, which puts me over my quota for the month. But i'll be back for the body piercing next week, i assure you. cheers, thanks". So that was fun. The punk scene in London is actually very impressive. There are some awesome looking people with rainbow colored mohawks, crazy clothing, tattoos, piercings. I want to be thier friends. I then walked around a bit more, seeing as the weather has been absolutely spledind every day, without a drop of rain. I take this as a sign that i should move here straight away. That and the fact that every thing here just makes me happy when i am out in London away from the slew of americans in my school that give americans a bad name. So yes. that was the weekend. hope all's well with you. cheers

I have arrived

Just a quick note to let you know i am alive and here in London. I can't write much now because i have not yet recieved access to my login account, though the campus is set up with wireless.... so i am using someone else's account. Not even time to write interesting things, though not too many interesting things have happened yet. Maybe monday or tuesday will be new things. cheers.

Post

8 days to go. Extremely unprepared. It is very important i finish Pride and Prejudice, some Oscar Wilde books, and some Dickens, or i am fairly certain i will be denied admittance to the small island. And if i am stopped at the gate for another cause, it will probably be because of my apparent battle against allergies and constant illness. woohoo prescription drugs! The reason for this post is to remind those of you who want a postcard to inform me of your address in a timely fashion. i would like to have the majority of them written in my little black book before i depart. So if you could leave them here in a comment, email me, write me, telegram me, smoke signal me, or employ the use of semaphore flags, that would be super. Semaphore, of course, is preferred, but the other methods are acceptable. Thanks very much.

Technology, eh?

This is my feeble attempt at harnessing technology and using it for good. If it turns out like any of my other electronic encounters, something will probably be in flames soon. But let's hope for the best, shall we?
I am not in London just yet, as you may have surmised; however, I wanted to work out how to use this in hopes that i will continue to do so in the United Kingdom. In other words, nothing interesting yet.