I've Moved!

Hey guys. I found that I can upload media files on this website compared to Blogger, so here I am, nothings changed except the address:

schmitthall.wordpress.com

Sorry I haven’t updated in a bit. I have had alot  of work in recent month while this adventure winds to an end. But I have kept a hournal, it’s just the transcribing that needs to get done. It will get done during the holiday season. Look forward to Berlin and Copenhagen as well as my project called “Socialism in the UK” with the interviews of Tony Benn, John Makey, Richard Kirkwood, and Ken Leech.
Cheers!
Seth Thomas

Zurich, the Little-Big City!

27/10/09  07:56  In Switzerland after a great nights sleep in a couchette compartment on the 12 hour train to Zurich.  This has been such a fascinating ride trying to converse with Italian and German.  I have been relying on reading body language.  There was a man who spoke Italian and English but got off a few stops ago.  I think between the 4 men in this compartment, we spoke 3 different languages.  At first, the steward took my passport and my ticket and Eurail pass with him.  I was very confused and a little scared, being in a foreign country without the passport on my immediate person. I’ll have to continue this conversation later my pen ran out of ink, and the man next to me lent me his.  I didn’t want to hold onto it for long, so I’ll finish saying that the steward took all passports so when crossing the border in the middle of the night, we as a compartment were not disturbed.  I got it back when the steward woke us up an hour ago with espresso and a muffin.  I love trains! (New Pen) Aha! A much better pen GIVEN to me by the man across.  I kept rejecting because I didn’t know he was saying “gift” in German.  Also the man next to me fixed my old pen but it was a lesser one than this.  We are about a half hour away from Zurich now.  This is what I was looking for in this adventure.  The exploration of people.  I woke up around 6am to see dawn over the Alps.  Small houses with lights on with the mountains silhouetted in the background.  I have to start thinking in a German mind frame. 

09:50 Oh my! Zurich is beautiful.  Grosse Schoen!  I am presently sitting in the city’s highest part, the Lindenhof, which is a wide terrace of Lime trees overlooking the river.  So, my plan for the 12 hours in Switzerland?  Take the S-bahn 10 for a beautiful hike in the mountains towards a cable car back to Zurich.  Uetliberg-Felsenegg-Adliswil-Zurich.  If there is time, both Grossmuenster and Fraulmuenster along with the Landesmuseum near the rail station, or Bahnhof.  I wish I had another day, it’s just spectacular. 

10:35 On the S-10 towards Uetliberg.  The view is supposed to be amazing.  I first have to see the point “Uto Kulu” which is a good view supposedly.  And then on to a path that is shaped like the planets, strangely enough towards Felsenegg, where I can ride a cable car towards Adliswil where I can take the S-4 back to Zurich.  Except for the cable car, the trains are free with my Eurail pass. 

11:20 I am sitting at the “Top of Zurich.”  And it is a sight beyond words.  I can see the entire city of Zurich from above and all the mountains surrounding.  I can probably see Germany from here but I do not know the borders to be sure.  You can see the snow-capped mountains to the East and South but there are mountains surrounding me.  I went up another 72 meters on the observatory tower to get an even better view.  Truly epic.  I had no idea what to expect in Zurich.  Surely not this.  Switzerland is amazingly beautiful, especially this time of year!  The leaves are changing colors.  It is cool and nice, especially with all the hiking I am doing today.  So sweating is not an issue.   There are wisps of clouds here and there and mist and fog in the distance but other than that, blue skies up above me with the sun beating down.  The sun’s location in the sky would say 10am or so, but it is 11:30 with daylight savings time.  With a unified Europe, their true time in Switzerland must be altered.  Ok, time to walk down the path through the Solar system!

12:30 When booking this trip, I had no IDEA I would be hiking the hill of Switzerland.  I am almost moved to tears on how beautiful it is.  The leaves are a spectrum of color from green and healthy to dull and brown and dry.  Yellow trees are illuminated by the sun.  This is the most beautiful autumn colors I have ever seen.  The path I am on goes right past many farms.  The ringing of cowbells is a familiar sound now as it harmonizes with the wind through the leaves and birds in the trees. All of this is with the epic view of Zurich See or Lake Zurich and the Alps.  The “Little Big City” is as beautiful as ever from up here.  I have past Neptune so far on my walk so getting closer and closer to Pluto, when it was a planet, of course. 

1:00pm  On the cable car down to Adliswil it cost 4 Swiss francs.  A fascinating system.  The door would not open into the boarding area until all of the passengers from the last car got off.  Then it automatically opened for me.  The car leaves at 1:05, so I am just sitting, waiting with a woman and her golden retriever until that time.  There is no one operating at this station.  It is all done electronically.  So, it will never be late.  So far, this has been a life-changing hike in the Swiss hills, but it’s not over yet!

            13:35 You can set your watch on these Swiss trains.  And in fact, I did.  There was a 2 franc store at the bahnhof in Adliswil so I got some nice Swiss sunglasses and a much needed comb.  I haven’t had one in months, just used my hand before.  The cable car was quick and exciting! Took me right into this small town, with kids on scooters and dogs being walked.  A good ol’ suburb of Zurich.  A slice of real life, Swiss life.  I simply love it here.  Everything is so easy going.  Everything just works and works perfectly.  Just breath-takingly amazing. 

14:50 Sitting in the Swiss National Museum watching old Swiss films including Ja-Soo! (1935) and Swiss Tour (1949) which was an American sailor getting all caught up in the Swiss languages and culture.  There is another that looks great that I would love to watch in full called “Tell , zony,Regie: M.K. Eschmann”

16:00 That was an amazing museum.  I didn’t know that Heidi and William Tell were both Swiss. Half of the museum did not have English, but there were many political cartoons about the Swiss and US Politics.  I talked to a man who worked there, and he showed me a real signature of Adolf Hitler, which we are not to take photos of but he said “go ahead, no flash, I didn’t see it.”  I am now sitting outside Kurtz/Schmuck UHREN listening to the bells of the clock and little Swiss figurines circling around.  A lot of Schmucks here. Now to a Mac store to check internet. 

16:53  Just went to the top of Grossmuenster. The cathedral was finished, at least the towers, in 1990.  It is  rather modern with very original and unique stained glass, by Signor Polke.  Amazing pieces of Art.  I got a pamphlet of them.  He also has quite a history and resume behind him.  Simply Amazing!  Zurich continues to amaze me.  So Swiss! I Love it!  I got a Swiss flag shirt all red with the white across the middle very excited to wear it.  I was not able to get to the fraumuenster before 17:00, closing, but it is still magnificent from outside.  Now off to find postcards and stamps! 

18:00 Sitting on the Zurich See facing the Grossmuenster. Looking north, a new city, a new love.  Each city grows in beauty in the night. And Zurich is no exception.  The reflection onto the water of the lights from the Little Big city bring such grace to an already impeccable city.  East Zo Schoen I did get into the Fraumuenster thus completing my checklist for today!  While trying to buy postcards the credit card system shutdown in the store so maybe it will be up and running soon.  I will go back in a half hour to check.  I am running low on cash, which is not good, since I need cash for my Hostel in Berlin.  The Fraumuenster was beautiful, another simple church, rather new and fresh looking, but with amazing stained glass.  I had to buy a picture because there was no photography allowed.  Now off to see if I can get these cards and then to the Mac store for internet.  Then to food and the Train!

            19:44 Tschuss Zurich.  On the train to Germany.  I had a mad dash in these last 45 minutes to write 3 post cards, since I just got them from the shop at 6:30, and a quick fish and chips dinner for 8 Swiss francs that I could carry onto the train.  I am truly in love with Zurich.  I have only felt this way about one other city and we all know that one.  I had the best hike of my life and a stunning day at the museum.  The Conductor made an announcement that my train is going through Prague.  That’s worrisome since my eurail pass is only for Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.  Not the ‘Czech Republic.’ I hope I don’t have to pay extra for it.  I didn’t book it, Rail Europe did.  Only four people here so far in this entire car, the seats are very comfortable.  No compartments this time.  Ooo, I see an IKEA in the distance.  It has supplied all the hostels I have been to so far, lets see what Berlin has in store.  Tonight marks the halfway point.  3 more left.  I am using the German phrase book a lot that Laura gave me to refresh my memory of German, but it is amazing how the Swiss know 4 languages and that is common.  German, Italian, French and English are all National languages of Switzerland.  I love the Swiss.

ROMA!

25/10/09 13:45 Rome.  To start where I left off, the train compartment was very cramped, with only one extra seat, 5 people were fighting for the rights to it.  I claimed it for a good 3 hours after the older man in front of me went to the bathroom.  Arriving at Roma Tiburtini at 6:50, I was disoriented and confused the station with Rome  Termini.  After wandering around the highways of Italy, I turned back and found the Metro.  It is strange how, similar the two lines of Roma are to Philly.  One Orange, one Blue.  One has graffiti on all the cars, one is spick and span and they are never convenient because you still have to walk a half hour after you get off to get to your destination.  I got off line B at Colloseo because it was the only stop that I could find on the map and was “close” to the Vatican.  Wandering through Old Ruins of Rome, find all of this fascinating but not where I wanted to start.  I set off to find out where St. Paul in the wall is.  The only walls I know are the Vaticans, so that was my destination.  There, I found that St. Pauls is no where near the Vatican, but rather south of the Roman Ruins.  So I decided to wait until later to discover what Dad told me to go to.  But on sheer luck, I came to Rome on the ONE day of the month that the Vatican Museum was free!  I had to wait in a line for 1.5 hours, but it saved my wallet a good deal.  And it was as epic as I remembered it in 4^th grade.  Walking through the map room I saw this painting of Italy that I had in my room for many years.  Continuing on, I saw, of course, the Sistine Chapel.  It is amazing that one man painted that over 4 years with such great precision.  Not only is it one of the best paintings in the world, it was painted upside down on a ceiling.  Amazing.  After the Vatican, I decided to find my hostel and check in.  I took the Metro Line A to Termini, where I leave from tomorrow to Line B up to the Bologna stop, where the Youth Station Hostel resides.  A fine Hostel.  I am in a 12 bed dorm with a locker for my bag. Only euro 12.60, much cheaper than Venice.  It has a plug and a light next to my bed that is complete with sheets.  My room is called North America, bed 3.  After a quick post online to say that I am alive to family and Sara, I took off going this time without my

bag on my back and off to St. Pauls within the Walls.

15:50  Ok, so I have no idea where St. Pauls is so I continued onward to the Roman Ruins.  I walked through the Circus Maximus, now only grass and the shape of once an epic stadium.  Walking up the hill, I saw the Coliseum full of old Italian men dressed as gladiators looking for a euro or two to take a picture with you.  I stumbled upon a festival on Via dei Fori Imperiali, with the backdrop of Ancient Roma.  But the festival is “Giornata della sport a Roma!”  A giant event with all these exotic sports and games on the street from Ping Pong to Pole dancing, roller skates to boxing, fencing to mountain climbing.  I saw a Peruvian flute band playing Simon and Garfunkle’s Sound of Silence.  Haha protecting us from the “Furry Death!”  I am currently sitting near Piazza Venezia to the side of the giant monument to V. Emmanuel, the first leader of United Italy.

17:30 Sitting on stairs next to S. Angelo Bridge in front of the Castel S. Angelo, the Tevere’s rather timid compared to the Thames.  It looks like it has dropped a few meters since previous times.  With the large walls on either side to protect from flooding, it diminishes the River making it almost insignificant compared to the epic walls and city around.  I have walked to the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.  I’m sad that I’m not surprised to find a McDonalds in front of the Pantheon.  There were great street performers in Piazza Navona.  Some lame, but funny, and old man with no teeth lip-singing to Pavaratti had gestures and all. 

20:05 Time check, Italy, has now jumped back an hour, and what was 9pm is now 8.  So crazy story.  I walk across the S. Angelo bridge and there is David Ingram with his family right on the River Tibur, taking pictures and hanging out near the Castle.  It was amazing, the whole family.  Melanye, Adam, Elise, and David.  They are spending the week in Rome, making day trips throughout Italy.  Well, not only was it good to talk to somebody, they invited me to dinner. We ate at a place a little north of the Vatican , close to where they are staying.  And it was one of, if not the best meals I have had.  Spaghetti with clams, calamari, mussels and other seafood. Oh, it was delicious, along with some artichoke dish afterwards.  To die for.  All of this was heaven sent from the Ingrams, along with a liter of wine, which has helped my aching feet.  Presently, I am sitting in Piazza Navona.  Oh, the man from the restaurant had opened up early for us and was very jolly.  He kept on pointing to a review of his restaurant from the LA Times.  “America! Si!”  This is a night to remember. It was such a relief to talk to someone body.  I was not looking forward to another day of not speaking. To converse is a powerful art and is needed to be happy.  David also promised when Sara comes to London, a meal maybe the 10^th of December?  Here I am, in a rather beautiful city, a romantic city, at night when the couples come out, while I sit here and write in a journal.

26/10/09  11:01  Sitting at the Metro stop near St. Paul’s Basillica, I must say, after dinner last night , a nice shower where I found some shampoo in the shower, I am much refreshed having slept well and clean.  The Hostel was quite nice, I must say, the best one so far.  I just left St. Paul’s outside the walls, where Paul himself is buried.  Really an extraordinary building.  I am so glad Dad told me about it or else I would have never known.  It is rather outside the main center of Rome, a few stops down on the Metro. 

13:40  Sitting in Piazza del Popolo.  The final marathon is on!  There were a few things I need to see in the next 4 hours. I have passed through S. Ignazio and saw the epic ceiling.  I threw in my coin over the right shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.  I am wandering the streets of Rome, up and down the Great Imperial Street, Via del Corso. Now towards Spanish Steps and the “Bone Church”

16:40 Sitting on the Spanish Steps.  Ok, covered a lot of ground since.  I walked to the top of the hill near the Villa Borghese, where I could see the entirety of Roma.  I walked through the Spanish Steps on my way toward a few churches.  The thing is that churches close for the afternoon, not until 3 or 3:30 did some open. So after walking up the hills of Rome I waited. The first I saw was actually the other St. Pauls WITHIN the wall, not outside.  An American-Episcopalian Church near the Piazza della Republica.  I just wish I found the place on Sunday morning.  They had Hymnals 1982 and BCPs it was a breath of fresh Anglican Air!  I sent Dad a post card from the Basillica S. Pauls outside the walls thinking it was the one he was talking about.  HaHa, It will be funny when he reads it.  But I found it and I’m glad I did.  Onward to Santa Maria della Vittoria, where St. Theresa is being pleasured by an Angel.  And it seemed that the Angel was doing a pretty good job too.  A magnificent sculpture in a glorious Church.  And then to Santa Maria della  Immaculata Concizone.  In particular, the Cappiccini Crypt. This is a Crypt with the walls made of thousands of Monks Skulls and bones.  Arches out of spines. It was creepy, but fascinating.  Inside they had a phrase, “What you are now, we once were, what we are, you will be.”  Chills, I tell ya.  I couldn’t take pictures so look it up online.  Truly amazing and with that, I have completed my checklist of Rome.  I am supposed to meet Amber on the Spanish Steps at 6pm, but there has been day light savings and I’m not sure if Amber knows about it so I’ll be here at 5, just in case.  And at 7:56, I leave for Zurich start thinking in a more Dutch frame of mind.  I hope it’s not too cold, for I only have a hoodie.  Weather is forecasted at 50degrees F, which is bearable with just a sweater.  

Finally, VENICE!

Hey guys, so thanks to a wonderful girlfriend of mine, I have now the first part of my travels, a direct travel log through Europe. I might edit later but here it is. Part I: Venezia!

23/10/09 06:15 I have just boarded the airplane.  I am now on my way towards the floating city of Venice.  Presently I am working off of 1 hour of sleep.  I have packed very light bringing only small socks and underwear and 6 t-shirts.  I only have a hoodie for an extra layer, which will be fine in 70 degrees Fahrenheit Italy, but I will need to purchase an overcoat before I go north of the Alps.  Presently, there is a screaming child next to me very upset because they have to sit next to me, I conclude. Ah, the mother and child moved on to appease the child, Wundebar!  I boarded the airplane from the ground, up the stairs from a fold out door of the plane.  I felt an urge to hold two peace signs before entering the plane, but suppressed it.  Now to get a few hours of shuteye before a wonderful 2 days in Venice!

            07:00 Looking out the window, I see an amazing site.  Almost a model train set of London before sunrise, all the lights illuminating the streets I see tiny trains and tiny cars amidst the map of London and in the horizon, the sky is a spectrum of color, from deep blue to dark red with everything in between.  You can see all the populated areas in comparison to the one light in the middle of darkness.  No street is straight in the UK     and it is brilliant to see the twists and turns from above.  I can now see the outskirts of this island and can vaguely see the shape of England.  Just breath taking. 

            [09:15]  I am over the Alps and it as beautiful or more so than I expected. It is straight from Lord of the Rings, I expect to see the Torch from Gondor up on the top peaks.  I can see small villages on the top of mountains, which seem so close to me from here.  A plateau is passing me now, with maybe six houses on it. What it must be like to live there.  I can see the outline of the continent now and the edge of  the Alps leveling out to flat ground.  I cannot put in words how beautiful it is from up here.  I only hope I can take a picture later in the week.  The whites of the snow end in a perfect line with the atmosphere of the clouds.  I hate to get spiritual but the glory of God is sounding like a trumpet here.  Now to land in this fair country. 

            13:00 Venice, or Venezia is breathtaking.  I first arrive from the coach from Treviso near the rail station Santa Lucia, from there, walked to my hostel, which is in the end of a small street that has no signs.  The man inside seemed friendly enough and gave me my key and told me to come back at or after 2pm.  Now I start to wander.  A beautiful city with streets no wider than 4 feet anywhere.  I wandered through the canals towards Campo Rocco, Compo S. Polo and towards the famous bridge Ponto di Rialto.  Everywhere, anywhere there are Gondolas steered by men in straw hats and striped shirts.   The Gondola itself is quite a luxurious boat, with velvet seats and very detailed designs.  I found my way towards Piazza San Marco, where I first discovered the elevated walkways.  These platforms are everywhere because quite often, most of the streets flood up from the drains.  So platforms are constructed throughout the city.  Around this time, I have not eaten for almost 10 hours and am running on about 2 hours rest interrupted finding my way back across the Ponto di Rialto, I found a “cheap” vendor.  I purchased a Rotolo filled with Prociutto and it was absolutely delicious.  Nice and warm a magnificent texture. I was very sad when it was gone.  I mistakenly bought a coke which cost (euro) 2.50, an exorbitant amount of money but we learn and move on.  It really is amazing how the water level is the same as the street level at some points and for some hotels the only way in is by canal entrance.  A magical city.

15:00 Sitting at the hostel, trying to plan out and figure out this place.  I am developing a list of what I MUST SEE before I head to Roma.  As I contemplate this, I realize that like those first days in London, I will hardly talk this week, but rather write about what I think and share through this medium.  The man who runs the hostel is very nice and has given advice on where to go and what is cheap areas of Venice.  So far, no WiFi or at least, I haven’t figured it out yet.  I am excited to take a Vaparetto down the Canal Grande to see the epic sites. I am rather worried about funds because I only have (euro)74 right now and a credit card.  That will have to last me until Friday. 

            19:00 Back at the hostel, I have now walked for about 6 hours today on only 2 hours rest.  This city is full (of) twists and turns that even I get confused.  For example; I had just walked across the bridge, north to San Marco, and thought I was going across the Canal Grande further upstream and I was excited to use the Gondola Ferry, where they stuff a lot of people, standing in the middle of the gondola.  It was pretty cool, but it took me to where I walked away from a half hour ago.  Very frustrating. Now the restaurants are open again (siesta in afternoon), so I plan to go get that great Italian food somewhere.                         

24/10/09 11:05 Today is a new non-rainy day in Venezia and what I wanted to explore is the water.  I bought a 12 hour pass for the Vaparetto to see all the islands I could get my feet on.  And so, after (euro)16 and a Canal ride through the Canal Grande, I now sit in Lima, a southern island of Venezia that has planned streets and cars even!  Sitting on a bench on the water, I looked up to see the city in all her glory, but whats behind makes the picture.  The Alps in their white snow capped splendor provide the backdrop.  This Island, Lima, is where the real Venetians live.  There are more markets here, you can get around by car, less souvenir shops and more Italians!

            13:10  Well I’ve had 2 meals for under (euro)10.  I decided to sit down and collect my thoughts at GINOS for some Pizza Prociutto with some water to drink.  I have been to Piazza di S. Marco and realized it was a Saturday in Venice and so left for a later time.  Also the post office closed at 1 so I had to jump on the vaparetto and get to the post office on the other side of the city near the train station.  I made it by 2 minutes to 1 and sent 3 postcards.  Presently the restaurant that I am in is very close to the Jewish Ghetto I walked through yesterday.  It is an island of itself and has memoriams and large walls with barbed wire on top.  This is still a highly Jewish community to remind us of those who were tortured and killed in the second World War.  On another note, I need a new pen, a fine point, a ball point is making my writing hard to read.

13:40 Quick note: move to Italy just for the food! Exquisite Pizza made for Kings!

17:00 Venice has very little places to sit on the main island.  I have been hopping on and off the Vaparetto, really trying to milk the (euro)16 it cost me.   I had an interesting encounter with an Italian at the bag check for St. Marks Basillica. When I got my bag, I said, “Gracie” to the man.  He just stared at me, not smiling, and responded, “You’re welcome” as if saying, “don’t pretend to be Italian.  I know you are American, I can hear that accent anywhere, you don’t have the right to use my language.” [There was a bit of contempt in his voice.  I found two friends from Temple London in Piazza di S. Marco, and I planned to have dinner with them.  We are meeting at the Rialto at 6pm, because they stay in Lima and their last ferry is at 8:30.  It will be good to talk to someone for a change.  I took the Vaparetto to Murano, one of the islands north of here where they make glass. The most beautiful sculptures with different colors and shapes.  The entire island seemed to base their economy off of glass.   The boat back was wonderful with the Alps in the background and the blue of the sea. I never think I’d be able to see this sight.  It is a place of the imagination, almost. 

23:27 Well for some reason, I thought in my mind 23:30 meant 12:30, and by LUCK, I arrived on a  Vaparetto from Rialto 10 minutes before the train left.  I was in Piazza di S. Marco at 11, simply strolling along towards the rail station.  There I simply listened to the music of Venezia, while I watched couples dance and vendors sell roses to them.  This was a scene that is from movies.  Some couples just held each other and swayed.  Some had full dance steps.  I was so caught up in this amazing world of stars and love, that my mind just failed to grasp the 24 hour clock.  But here I am. In seat 96, coach 7 on the 771 to Roma in a compartment with 4 others.  A young couple, the girl, falling asleep on his arm while the boy is talking to what seems to be a friend or relative who sits across from them.  In front of me by the window, a man 50-60’s reading a book with untrimmed pages.  I recognize the inside poetry maybe Dante, as the lines are numbered.  For dinner tonight, I dined with Amber and Caitlen  We ate in S. Marco.  I had spaghetti with real clams.  Deliciosa!  We had a bottle of Red wine for drink and planned to meet in Roma at 6pm on Monday to have dinner again.  After dinner, I took them to a site that all need to see, the Jewish Ghetto, and at night it is truly remarkable.  A wall filled with memories of torture and evil, then on the square, children playing hide and seek, soccer and having fun.  Giving new birth to a new meaning of this Piazza.  I have fallen in love with this city at night.  Yesterday it was raining and I fell asleep at 9pm.  But tonight, I saw the stars above Venice.  Now to sleep and wake in Roma!

Remember!

Hey, sorry about the lateness of this post, but this weekend was a fantastic one. Starting off with Guy Fawkes day, we all are retold the rhyme:

Remember, Remember the fifth of November
Gunpowder, treason, and plot
I find no reason
why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot!

The fifth fell on a thursday this year, which means most of the celebrations of blowing up Catholics happens on the coming weekend, but there are a few fireworks going on the actual day.  A few of us went to Brixton to watch an awesome fireworks show...and it was exactly that...awesome. Throughout the night and continuing into the weekend, you hear store bought fireworks going off left and right. I didn't see any effigies being made or burned, but I am told that tradition is dying out. "A penny for guy" is a phrase that was once said by children trying to buy or get reimbursed for the dolls and effigies that they have created to celebrate. I had a pocket full of copper ready to hand out if needed, but alas, no child or even adult asked for a penny.

This weekend has also brought me to a small village called Hinxworth. I joined a program called HostUK which brings international students to live with a nice English family for the weekend. Taking a train from Kings Cross to Biggleswade, I was picked up by Dr. Adrian Lambourne and driven to his home which he shares with his wife in the small village that has a population of about 200. Hinxworth was a beautiful place, being able to see both sides of the town from the main road. There is a pub, a church, and a war memorial there alongside thatched roof cottages and cozy English homes. The Lambournes house was called 'Mole's End' and was highly interesting, with varying ceiling levels and dens that you crawl into at the top of the stairs. It turns out that like myself, they have done quite a bit of traveling and living abroad to Colombia, Jamaica and Oman, just to name a few. While enjoying great conversation about British politics and world society, they offered me drink after drink, leaving my lips never dry. This ranged from tea to coffee to wine to beer to whiskey to tea to coffee to coffee to tea and so on and so forth. I have never been so hydrated in my life!

The Saturday, Adrian took me along to erect a stage for a concert that evening that he was singing in. We went to a school to pick up supplies for an easily built stage. The church was in Stevenage and called "St. George and St. Andrews." A rather new church, the architecture was rather modern with arches on the inside holding up the roof that constantly reminded me of McDonalds. I was invited to sing in the rehearsal that afternoon, and if I held my own there, I might be able to sing in the concert. The program's centerpiece was the Faure's Requiem, which I have sung before and know well. The choir was about 90 persons of the 'older' variety and happy for me to lower the age average. Adrian had given me some spare music, and anything he did not have two of, we shared. We sang Bass I, or Baritone, which is very easy for me and I was invited back for the evening performance. The problem was I had no formal wear with me, only Jeans and some shirts. The Lambournes easily supplied me with a amazing tuxedo which fit me very well. I only had my hiking shoes but no one really saw my feet so it was fine. I think they had accidentally given me Adrian's suit though, so he had on a blue blazer and blue bow-tie instead of the classic black, but he didn't seem to mind. It was so great to sing in a choir again, since it is a rare chance for me to do so nowadays. I am so glad I was given that opportunity.

Sunday was actually quite remarkable. To continue with the Remembrance theme, It was Remembrance Sunday, with everyone wearing a poppy for the armed forces. We went to church at St. Nicholas, Hinxworth, where almost the entire village goes. And if you don't, there are questions on to where you are instead of church! A very old church, in the middle of a green pasture surrounded by a wall, with graves everywhere. It is quite beautiful. Five or six men are ringing the bells inside, you can see them behind the organ pulling away. It is rather fascinating, since they do it for almost a half hour, in a pattern to get the different tones in a scale sort of way. The service was one of the most moving I have ever been to. It was so intimate in a way that I have never felt. Everyone knowing who I was, or wondering who I was, since I was a new face was so refreshing compared to the granger of Westminster Abbey or St. Pauls. In the prayers of the People, The usher who was reading them, i have forgotten his name, but wearing all the medals from his war experiences, he broke down when trying to read of the names of the departed or lost from the war effort. Another man took it over and finished the prayers when we saw him struggle. Deeply moving on such an important Sunday. As a parish, we all walked down to the War Memorial, which was basically the back yard of Mole End, and as the clock struck 11, the names of those lost from the town of Hinxworth were read and a wreath was placed. Suddenly 'God Save the Queen' was sung by all and a prayer was said to conclude the ceremony. This was all followed by coffee at the pub.

A great slice of English life. I really cant thank the Lambournes enough for their hospitality and conversation.

So only a few more weeks left here as the countdown to December ticks away. A fantastic girlfriend of mine is transcribing my travel journal of Europe for me since it seems she can read my handwriting better than I can, so look out for that in coming days. Pictures are up on Picasa of all of Europe if you haven't checked them out!

Tea with Tony Benn

Hey all, so before I get to the long and epic journey through europe, I had to talk about my experience today. My mother's friend Ken Leech gave me the information of Tony Benn, a former MP who retired from parliament in 2001, so he could "pay more attention to politics." I phoned him today around 12:45 asking if he could spare a half an hour to talk about Socialism. He said that I should come by later today. So I did. He lives in Notting Hill Gate, not too far down the road from where I am located with a white picket fence and a red door. Very quaint house. His daughter answered the door, and told me to come right in. She was so kind. Tony had forgotten he had an interview with a journalist from the Guardian this afternoon, so she told me to come and and wait a little bit, offered me some tea. The kitchen was very small, connected to the living room and the dining room, nothing fancy at all about the place, clutter her and there. But on the walls there was William Morris wallpaper, both in the hallway and the kitchen. Already, I like this guy. His daughter was leaving soon, had to "go be a mummy, attend to my children." But she said that he is rather tired and "If he falls asleep, don't worry. Just put your cup in the sink and let yourself out. He probably wont, but just in case he does." She made me a cup of tea while I waited. the Reporter from the guardian was going saying how wonderful his family is, how political they are and how Tony doesn't force his beliefs on them. How they have the ability to disagree and no urge to agree just because of blood relation. Also, how that the whole family was interested in Politics and how hard that is to have younger generations follow careers of their parents.
His daughter and the reporter left. She said her goodbye to her father and Tony and I sat down. I started to talk about why I was talking to him, as an American fascinated by the UK socialist ideals and the power of the people in such a democracy. He is the premier socialist of the UK. He started talking about the origins of socialism, saying that democracy was the best thing so far for it. The most important thing in the word is the vote! He is not and never has been a part of the New Labor party, he is a member of the Labor party, before Tony Blair. Blair changed it by adapting the economical ideals of Thatcher because that was the only way to get elected. he says that the New Labor is not a socialist party, nor a working class party. His party was never in power, because power is always controlled by the rich. "if you're rich, it's easy to get power, and if you have you're powerful, it's easy to get money."
He said that it is about Justice is what it's all about. The right to justice is for all. That word really sums up socialist ideals. The injustice given to the poor based upon their social status needs to be justified. It was hard to ask more questions about his ideals because I had a hard time disagreeing with them. I kept saying things in hope that they were questions but they came across as statements. I just kept asking how is it is possible to have such a government invested highly in health and well being of their people, while the US constitution is a much more democratic, but is bought off by lobbyists and the rich.
Socialism cannot be put together by force, it cannot be forced upon the people, or it becomes a dictatorship. "Socialism comes hand in hand with democracy."
After  a while he asked about my parents being priests, he was intrigued and a large supporter of women priests. His ideas of religion is that he uses the bible to understand society and help democracy. To listen to the prophet before the kings. He has some great lines where I have read elsewhere such as, "When you think of the number of men in the world who hate each other, why, when two men love each other, does the church split?" He said about how Thatcher said her greatest achievement was New Labor. And "The Labor Party is not a socialist party, but it has socialists in it, just as there are some Christians in the church."

This really was a fantastic experience. I felt so at home in this atmosphere, being raised, just as the reporter said, with open minds. The clutter everywhere, William Morris wallpaper, and the ideals of social justice. After I had asked my questions, he wanted to know more about me, about my parents. He has been known to listen, constantly listening, no matter how deaf. He talked about Women priests just got the right about 10 years ago in the UK, and is avid supporter of women's rights. I told him about our family quarrels with Bishops and strong women being suppressed by the church. "The use of religion, listening to the pope, or you have to go to war, is not a democratic idea."

He ended with "Have confidence in yourself, thats the main thing." Great man. If you don't know how he is, look him up, If you have seen Sicko, he was interviewed by Michel Moore in that about the NHS.
He game me the information of a member on the other side of the argument, Lord Norman Tebbitt, and said to say that Tony Benn gave you the number, so i can get the Tory  side of Socialism. Because I agreed too much with Tony, it was hard to question him.

Alison's House and on my way!

Tonight, I saw an amazing show written by Susan Glaspell. For those who don't know her work, start reading! I admit, I had not heard of her either, but She ranks among Eugene O'Neill in importance to American Theater. In fact, it was her and Eugene that wrote for a theater in Provincetown together. The show itself is about the poems of Emily Dickenson. It is set on the the eve of the new century, December 31st, 1899. The Stanhope family (Dickenson) is selling the house that Alison (Emily) lived and wrote in. The play debates whether her works and poems are for all the world to share, or a private matter, kept inside the family. It is about an old generation facing a new one. Very touching and moving. I highly recommend reading more of this playwright, because More Brits know about it than Americans, and thats just not right!

And now...in a few hours time...I am off to my journey to Europe! A few things; I will not have my phone so do not try to call. I will not have my computer either but I will have my iPhone which can pick up wifi when available. So if you need to contact me for any reason. Please the best way is to email me, or Becca Chelton, for I will see her thursday. I fly to Venice in a few hours, where I will stay for 1 night and 2 days. Saturday night/Sunday Morning, I am off to Rome for two days, to sleep in a hostel one night, and a train the next on my way to Zurich. I will not sleep in Zurich, but after a day's exploration, will jump on another train to Berlin. In Berlin, I will stay for one night and leave the next day for Copenhagen. On All Hallows Eve, I will be taking a train to Dusseldorf, where I will fly back to London the following morning, Sunday, November 1st

The Hostels I am staying at are:

Absolut Venice, Santa Cruce 1094
absolut.venice@hotmail.com
+39 334/ 6808059
+39 347/0701833

Youth Station Hostel- Rome via Livorno n 5
+39 06 44292471

Generator Hostel Berlin, Storkowerstrasse 160 d 10407
+49 (0) 304172400
berlin@generatorhostels.com

So see you all back here in November. From London, I'm Seth Thomas. Ciao! Tschuss! Cheers!

Fulham FC

Last night, I went to the Fulham vs. Hull football (soccer) match. It was a great time. Throughout the game, the fans were chanting in great unison their undying love for their club. I was sitting at the Southern Goal to the right, about 15 rows up. The games was actually televised in the US on ESPN2 if anybody caught it. There were two yellow cards given out during the game, but no red cards. A few things that I found odd was that there was an announcement against Racism at Football matches and you could not drink in the stands, you had to drink underneath the seats, where you purchased said beverage. Fulham won 2-0. Lots of screaming. Lots of fun!

Cultures Long dead revisited!

17/10/09 Just left Stonehenge, on a bus towards Bath. It really was quite epic in a way. Some of these stones have been here for over 5,000 years. That's five times as much as any anglo-saxon history on this Island, let alone almost twenty times over American History. We were not allowed to go and walk around the inside of the stone circles, but It was epic enough from afar.
Now the inner circle have smaller 'blue stones', which are about five feet in height and weigh a couple tons. These are from the Preseli Mountains in Wales, over 240 miles away. Now there were waterways to travel these stones over here, but only as close as 20 km away, and there were over 80 blue stones. So still a mystery on how they were transported so far. The larger stones are arsen stones, brought from Marborough Downs, about 19 miles away. There is a circular ditch around the outside of the stones. That is the Henge and it was made in 3050 B.C. They know this because they found deer antlers used as tools which are easy to carbon date to a precise year. The rest was made and arranged over 1,000 years until 1500 B.C., over 3,500-4,500 years ago. What is fascinating is that at the summer and winter solstice, the sun aligns perfectly with the Avenue over the heel stone to hit the alter stone in the center perfectly!

15:20 Our Tour Guide is a bitch. God forbid we Americans spend twenty extra minutes at Stonehenge, a place older than history itself, where most of us will NEVER see again. We are all truly sinners and deserve the sarcastic and rude remarks by a bitter tour guide. We are presently leaving Bath, with a LOOONG 'a' of course. The Ice Queen made us practice getting rid of our terrible American accents. Here we toured the Roman Baths that were built above the only known natural hot springs in the UK. However, the Anglo-saxons didn't bathe as much as the Romans, so when they took power, they just built over it. Not until Medieval times did they realize what was beneath them. After than, the built the Kings' Bath over the Roman ones. The Roman ruins of the Bath house was re-discovered in the 19th century and excavated to learn more about Roman life. Very cool to see three sets of history all in one city block, Roman, Medieval, and Georgian.
In the City of Bath, Jane Austin lived, but supposedly hated it here. The City itself is very commercial and all made in Georgian Architecture with this yellow-brown 'Bath Stone.' Interesting fact: all new buildings have to be made with Bath stone to go along with the look of the entire city by Law. Beautiful city. I would have enjoyed it more if the White Witch didn't threaten to leave us behind if we were not on the bus at 3:20 PM. She even showed us the train station and told us all the possibilities of getting back to London on our own. As someone said about her, "Get this bitch off my back."

Trevor Griffiths' Comedians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yXVHwLOaIg

Tonight I just saw the work of pure genius and had to immediately write about it. A play in three acts about 6 up in coming comedians taking a night class from an old great who has forgotten how to laugh because he is eternally analyzing what is funny and what makes people laugh. The play discusses racist, sexist, and anti-semitic jokes and how they are a cheap way for laughs. That they are not actually funny, but playing towards a git audience. Those jokes do not help the human race. In fact, they degrade and lower us to dumber than what we really are. Also, the comedian that tells those jokes are not talented, nor contributing their talent to the world. This show is about non-conformity. It is about bigotry. It is about selling out and not standing in line to get work.

Almost Chekov-esque, This was an amazing show, and I quickly bought the script. The original production starred some no names such as Jonathan Pryce and Tom Wilkinson in the 1970s and the play has been acclaimed as 'the best play of the 70s!' But in this production, there was a star-studded cast. For those who liked 'Bend it Like Bekham,' the father played Mr. Patel. From such movies like Four Weddings and a Funeral,  Goldeneye, The Parent Trap, Match Point, and City of Ember, Simon Kunz played the Jewish comedian. Matthew Kelly, who I saw at the Globe in Troilus and Cressida played the old comedian. And for those who follow Robin Hood on BBC America, The Sheriff of Nottingham himself played the booking agent, Bert Challoner! He also played Irving Berlin in De-Lovely. I even stayed after to talk to Keith Allen after the show to get his autograph and talk to him about the show and how he looks exactly and acts like Christien Polos from BHS. He was a great guy, and signed my program, 'To Seth, Big <3! Keith Allen.' It was...amazing.

in other news, I have booked my train reservations throughout Europe so I do not have to dread about awesome not having a seat and getting lost in Europe somewhere. i leave a week from tomorrow and I am getting more and more excited as the days draw closer. But until then, more glorious London and more Fantastic theatre!

Make sure you check the link at the top. It is a preview of the fantastic show.

Travel Plans

Hey readers,

This post is not to inform, but rather to ask. I am currently planning my trip through Europe. I will start in Venice. From Venice, I will go to Rome, then Zurich, then Berlin, then Copenhagen. So my question to all of you is what do I NEED to see in these cities. Copenhagen, I have a tour guide, but the other four, I will be on my own to discover the cities. Each city will have 2 days of exploration except Zurich. So, let me hear it! What should I do?

Cheers!

Seth

PS- New Additions:

I have added a new slideshow to your left for more pictures of my travels. One album was just too small for my collections. If you click the link, most of my pictures are connected to a map, so you can see the exact location of where I took that picture!

Also, at the bottom of each post, there is check boxes. Please check one of them if you don't have a comment, but I would like to know people are reading, and I'm not talking to no one.

I wanna be a part of it! York, United Kingdom

11/10/09 09:30 Sitting in the stall of the York Minster. Yesterday was our first day in York. Nick and I made our way from London to the Gateway of the North with the help of a train and bus ride from MegaBus, an old friend of mine. We arrived at 1:30 to find Christina, a new friend of mine from Guam who studies archeology at the University of York. I know her from a mutual friend of ours, Ben Jacobson, a reader of this blog, and former student of York, when he studied there for a trimester last spring. I cannot believe how inexpensive this place is! a single pound for a sandwich at a shop in the shambles, there must be some scheming to get to that price! Tina took us around her 'Snickerway tour' of York, going in and out of the small alleys and tiny streets of this medieval city. It truly is a marvelous city. So far we have walked about half of the tour which we plan on finishing this afternoon. We had tea this afternoon at Little Betty's Tea Room with some scones smeared with clotted cheese and strawberry jam. For dinner, at the pub, the three of us had fish and chips with a glass of mulled cider. When ordering this from the bar, a man swiftly turned around, after hearing my order, and said, "a strong English accent if I ever heard one!" The pub was called "the Punch Bowl"and was all that you think of and more for a pub in England. Later in the evening, Tina took us to multiple pubs, bars, and clubs around town, I believe it tallied up to 6 by the end. A fun, bizarre night. Almost surreal in a way.  A guy from the states going up to York for the weekend to hang out with a gang of Archeological students in a medieval city.
Sitting presently in the Minster, I can see all the glory of this building. Families are here, old couples. Men and women who have probably sat in the same seat for many years and decades. Sadly, the East window is being refurbished for the next ten years, so a large life-size image is hung in front of the scaffolds to show what the window will look like. I am here for two services this morning, starting with Eucharist and then Matins. At the Matins, the choir is singing Stanford's Te Deum as well as Parry's "I was Glad when they said unto me."

14:45 On the bus back to London. So todays Matins was kinda amazing. It was

"Matins and North Eastern Circuit Annual Service:

Attended by Her majesty's Lord Lieutenant High Sheriffs

Her Majesty's Judges, Magistrates and

Members of the Legal Profession"

There were alot of wigs, both the small ones for the Lawyers as well as the large below the shoulder wigs for the Judges. There were many different types of robes; purple, green, blue, and red. Some of them looked very similar to St. Nicholas. Along side were old men in tights carrying swords (which I saw throughout the day on the streets of York) looking very similar to Robin Hood. The Mace as well as an Epic sword were carried in. And all of this was done with a fanfare of Police Trumpeters that had banners hanging from their horns. At the end of the service, we sang "God save the Queen" and it was truly spectacular!

I found my way across town to find Nick and Tina at Clifford Tower where we walked to Evil Eye Lounge to have a Sunday roast. And, as always, It was delicious and filling. we continued a condensed Snickerway tour toward Clifford's Tower stopping at a hardware store, that has a badass gothic entrance, as well as a fudge shop for a free sample. At the top of Clifford's Tower, the Castle of York, We saw an amazing view of the City and of the Minster. It really was a great trip and I hope to get back there if time permits sometime before I leave to the states, but the weekends are already running out!

Eye Spy the National Theatre

08/10/09 Today, after 'working' at my internship, I went towards the London Eye and the South Bank. With FIE, I got a discount ticket to ride the London Eye, and therefore seized the opportunity. It was fun to see a fantastic view of the city, how much the Thames cuts and turns, and a visual layout of this massive Capital. Check out the pictures on Picasa with the link on your left, for there are plenty. Once I hit the top, the ride down was just really waiting to get off. It was fine, glad I did it, but don't recommend it for the full price ticket of 18 pounds.
After the half hour 'flight,' I went to a production of The Power of Yes by David Hare which is described as " A dramatist seeks to understand the financial crisis." David Hare is the main character in this lecture-type show and as he says at the beginning, "This is NOT a play." This is an educational non-biased lecture about the financial hardships in Britain. It was very interesting, but rather dull. 110 minutes with no intermission. I read a review about the show in the Financial Times which based the show, but for the wrong reasons, implying that theater is only theater when there is spectacle. I find it funny because the Financial Times was not looked upon highly in the show, and it was as if they seemed to be covering something up...Hmm, I wonder? The more I think about the show, the more I liked it. But, I admit to snoozing a little at the beginning, but that was a bit due to sleep depravation.

All the Kings Graves and a marvelous Stage

5/10/09 14:00 Today in "World of the Play," we took a tour in the rain of the City of London during the Shakespearean age. We saw many interesting sights while we were drenched by the heavens. At the end, we went inside finally to the Shakespeare Museum, beneath the Globe Theater. And THAT was fascinating! When we first walked in, a demonstration was going on of Tudor Clothing and costumes. They showed all the underlying garments to give a young boy the shape of a woman, adding a corset and a pillow around the hips to allude to curves. And since these clothes could not be washed, and the shows runs for 5 months at a time, they always have to wear linen underneath. The exhibition was really informative about the age that Shakespeare lived in. Talking about how ther took the wood from a theater north of the city to the south bank because their landlord was a greedy bugger. The exhibit covered everything from special effects to costumes to music to even what type of wood they used for the construction of the new Globe. (Green Oak) the reconstruction of the Globe was all done by Elizabethan tools and wooden pegs. The whole creation process of the new Globe was a giant learning experience for carpentry and engineering. Presently I am sitting at the Tate very hungry, but have little money, so I shall wait until I get back to have some rice and curry at home.

6/10/09 14:11 This morning we went on a tour of Westminster Abbey. Very informative. Very Interesting. Saw thousands of graves there, including Newton, Darwin, Elizabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, and Edward the Confessor (or St. Edward if you are Catholic). There will be the celebration for Edward the Confessor on his feast day coming up because his body has now become a relic, and the most holy parts of the Abbey. As for a church, there isn't much that IS holy. Sure, there are plenty of dead brits, but of Kings and Queens stained in a bloody history. I saw maybe 3 pictures of statues of Jesus or Mary. This is more of a shrine to a Tyrannical monarchy than to the Lord Jesus. Amazing. Beautiful. But in the end, a lot of dead rich folk...

21:07 At the intermission of Love's Labor's Lost at the Globe, and it is hilarious! I am standing in the middle front of the yard, in between two thrusts throughout the performance, circling my head around, for the stage is all around me. What really is amazing is since I am in the true center of this wooden "O," when an actor stands center I hear them amplified. or in surround sound, if you will. This is truly the way to see Shakespeare! The show itself is full of innuendos and penis jokes. Full of sex and angst. As bawdy as Shakespeare gets, I think.

00:24 after returning home from the raunchy Globe, I analyze what just happened. A fantastic, gut-wrenching comedy ending in a giant food fight. A strange, peculiar ending not in marrige, but a promise to marry in a years time. The performance was being filmed and since I was just about center stage, I was probably on film alot. I wonder if I can get a copy. My friend, Ted, says he talked to a guy outside before the show who knows where to find it once it comes out, so I shall follow up on that with him.
On the way back from the Globe, a few other students from Temple started talking to a drunk Irishman on the Tube. He was on a 'Grogball' team, a type of league play drinking game. He said he know the capitals of the States, so some tested him, and he got about 70%, which alot better than most Americans. A laugh, a riot. Fun experiences with fun encounters.

ENRON/OTHELLO/A NEW WORLD/MOTHER COURAGE

25/09/09 22:25 Just got out of a production called "ENRON" showing the rise and fall of the corporation. The leading role was Jeff Skilling bringing this whole company up on a belief, on an idea, on credit, on imaginary corporations, on shadow corporations, and when the bubble burst, so did many people's life savings. Skilling was sentenced 24 years in prison, and, at the time, that was the longest jail time any corporate criminal had served, until good ol' Bernie. A FANTASTIC production. Fantastical and witty. Arthur Anderson was played by a man and a muppet. The Lehman Brothers were two brothers in one trench coat with large mustaches. AND the ensemble was amazing, full of song and dance to show trading stock, electricity shortages in California with light-sabers, and the use of boxes/file cabinets to make a very adaptable set. 16 cylindrical lights hung from cables that could fly in or out all the way to the floor or to the ceiling. The back was a scrim that had, when lit from the front, projections from Clinton to the 2000 election. On the other side were two levels, the top level being corporate offices for such people like Ken Lay, the first floor smaller offices and other devices. In the middle, running through the entire show, was a stock ticker. The program had the entire script in it. Really brilliant was to show the crime of the end of the millennium, because no one understood it, they just trusted that some one else did.

26/09/09 17:30 On the bus back from Trafalgar Square. Just saw a production of "Othello" at Trafalgar Studios. A wonderful thing about this governmentally funded arts is that if you are under 26, The government sees a responsibility of theirs is to make sure  you have access to the arts. In other words, I got a FREE TICKET for todays performance. A great show, not the best performance by Othello, but it did not take away from the tragedy. But very enjoyable. Tonight, I am seeing a production at the Globe. Not a Shakespeare, but a play about Thomas Paine.

21:00 "Race St. is rough. Carry a stick!" At the intermission of 'A New World,' standing in a crowd of fellow Americans who go to Rutgers. There are many jokes that only us few understood, or at least, laughed at. The cast is mixed from other shows that I have seen here. Touchstone from 'As You Like It' played George Washington. Brilliant. The show is narrated by Ben Franklin, and the first half took place primarily in Philadelphia. Mr. Rittenhouse was a large part as well. This is the first time I have really missed the States, or rather, the first show I've seen that showed favor to US, showing us the tyrannical Monarchy of the English. Thomas Paine is quite excellent. Now off to England and France for act II.
23:30 A long show, but a good one. The second half dealt with the French Revolution, and how it got too violent and turned on the revolutionaries. Thomas Paine was on death's row for almost a decade, trapped in France. A great show worthy of the Globe Stage.

" I was born a Goose of Southwark

By the Grace of Mary Ovarie,

Whose Bishop gives me licence

To sin within the Liberty.

In Bankside stews and taverns

You can hear me honk right daintily,

As I unlock the hidden door,

Unveil the Secret History.

I will dunk you in the River

And then reveal my Mystery."

29/09/09 20:20 At the Founder's Arms on the Thames. In my 'Travel Writing' class. We ventured tonight into Southwark and Bankside towards the Prostitutes graveyard. It is really only a car park with a gate full of ribbons, but when they excavated, they found thousands of bones. The yard predates the 14th century and was around when Southwark was full of prostitution because it was legal south of the City borders. On this gate, there are piles of ribbons, with things written on them such as "A child found in a gutter, 1756" Creepy, Weird. The WEIRDEST things is that nothing is really here. It is just a car park with a plaque. It could be gone tomorrow because it belongs to Transport for London, and no one would notice or fight it. Over 1500 people were buried here and no one knows and no one cares...

03/10/09 13:40 Saw Mother Courage last night at the National Theater starring Fiona Shaw! It was playing at the Olivier Theater. In this, they showed the true might of that stage, rising from beneath the stage on their circular hydraulic lift. The play was must in regular Brecht style, showing all the stage hand and having back stage always visible. The music was in a rock style and written by the main performer, Duke Special. The show itself is about a war profiteer who goes through the hardships of war, including slowly loosing her children. The set was quite awesome, making buildings out of muslin fly-ins and showing the location of the scene painted on the same material, as it was Brecht's own script. A lot of the others in my group did not like the story, or at least it did not grab them. And I can see that Brecht is an acquired taste, but I really enjoyed the show and wish I can someday work in that EPIC space called the "Olivier Theater."

Breaking and Interning

Sorry for the long wait since last post. Been a busy beaver...or at least doing other things. I have categorized my most recent adventures. This post being about my internship.

24/09/09 18:00 Just left Tottenhan, from my internship. Today was kinda weird and cool. For the first "experiment", they are taking people, with a guide, one by one, through an abandoned and into an abandoned and dilapidated building that is hazardous to go into. They are doing this at night this Saturday. My job for that day was to make a safe passageway through the building, sweeping dirt and laying down old wooden planks on hazardous roots and holes, and pruning the leaves and plants that have been growing everywhere. The one thing that is weird though is that ALL OF THIS IS TRESPASSING! They have no permit, no legal right to be here. I would be worried about heath and law suits but they have National Health Care here. On our way out, after finishing the path, we saw a man also in the abandoned building. Quickly, we hid and ran the other way. But to our surprise, so did he. He had no more of a right to be here than we did, so we just decided to leave, walking right past him. He is still ducking in a corner of the bushes, and I can see his full face and him eyes looking at me, but he just doesn't move, thinking that he is invisible. Very odd. Who would have thought I would be cleaning abandoned buildings in North London?
I also had to build a flap in the fence to get into the abandoned lot, along with a hatch to lock it. The fence is made out of 3/4" plywood and the hole is a 2'x4' rectangle. I added hinges to the cut out piece, and a latch, to keep it shut, with some old screws and a twig that I found. While I am doing this, a man asks me, "Who are you? What are you doing?" I said I was fixing the wall, so no one could get in. He seemed contented with that answer. Weird stuff.

2/10/09 13:00 At my internship at Hornsey Town Hall. We are designing rooms in the Town Hall for 19:29's final production. The concept is based upon the building itself, the inter-war period in Britain, and four greek myths. The myths are Hades and Persephone, Orpheus and Eurydice, Theseus and the Minotaur, and Daedalus and Icarus. Yesterday, we went through each room and brainstormed ideas, then wrote them all down on a large wall covered in paper and blueprints. Today, we are designing rooms if we had limitless funds and no thinking about how to make such ideas into reality, which sometimes can be hard for a TD mind. The two rooms that I took on today were:
1. The Torture Room. A long room, originally used for committee meetings, with all original wood-paneled walls, and a green carpet. We can do little to change the room, because those in charge of the building do not want us to destroy the beauty of the room itself. All we can really do is put things inside of it. The idea I have for this room is to make it almost into a forrest, or the idea of a forrest. Taxidermy surround a centrally located chair. Lions, Tigers, Panthers are in the corners, On plinths, there is a bat, crow, vulture, and owl. In the corners of the room, behind the large animals are speakers to give motivated sound to the Forrest, make the audience member turn their head. Around this centrally located chair is four stands with a bare light bulb on top, similar to a 'ghost light.' There is more to it, but it has an idea of being interrogated in the forest.
2. The Icarus Room. A bright room on the top floor full of windows. Inside this room are three smaller rooms. My idea, without going into full detail is to make this room 'too close to the sun.' The walls covered in red, yellow, and orange paint, wet-blended together. Melted wax everywhere, and in two of the smaller room, thousands of feathers flying around from fans blowing. Right as you walk in, you see the skeleton of giant wings. No feathers, no wax, for they have fallen off. The floor is painted blue to show the sky below.

Now these ideas mean nothing without a script, which we do not get until tomorrow. So they could just be thrown out the window. But, It is very exciting that I will be able to design for this project. I have been given a lot of freedom so far as well as responsibility. For example, I was running the design session yesterday. And this week end sometime, I have to email my ideas for these rooms in a structured way, as well as alternate ideas if we DON'T have any money. We shall see what happens.

All's well that ends in Indian Food

21/9/09 12:00 Just had a tour of the backstage of the National Theater, and let me tell you, I was a kid in a candy store! They have three performance spaces along with countless backstage shops. A metal shop, an ARMORY, a carpentry shop larger that Tomlinson and the shop combined, all with jack lines put on tracks so you can lift anything from a tall flat to a heavy saw anywhere in the shop. They have the largest paint wall in Europe, where instead of the wall coming down, they go up on 3 separate scaffolding lifts able to hold 5 people at a time. A large props department, able to be sealed off if they are doing things of a chemical nature or preserving nature, and one of the most expansive costume departments in the world. In the props department, there was a large puppet horse run by 2 people (making up the 4 legs) that was used in "War Horse" which is playing at the London Theater in the West End presently. Also, they had the Governor's head from Caucasian Chalk Circle. Joe, if you are reading this, it was pretty damn realistic. Since the NT does about six shows at a time, they have tons of rotating storage space, around the theatres as well as in the fly gallery. They sometimes have sets hanging above the actors heads during performances just because there is no where else to put them. The smallest of the performance spaces is called "Cottesloe," which is a black box space, with many different options for seating plans. The second is the "Lyttelton Theater." It is a standard proscenium theater, with 76 fly rails. That is where we will see 'The Pitmen Painters' tomorrow night. The grand and largest theatre is the Olivier, which is a thrust with a crescent fly system, so 3-d sets can be flown such as large houses, chandeliers, or even just a tree that you want on an angle instead of horizontal from left to right. Also, with this type of fly system, it is very easy to fly actors as well, having right above the thrust. There is a rotating stage in the center that lowers to the shops, and where large set pieces and scenery can be raised during a show. The world really is your oyster as a designer in the Olivier Theater. It was named after Lawrence Olivier, who was the Artistic Director of the NT, and was one of the main contributers to the making of this warehouse of Theater.

Tonight, I am seeing a production of 'All's Well That Ends Well' by William Shakespeare in the Olivier space. This production is being filmed live throughout the UK on it's last performance, and then going to Cinemas throughout the world, including the States, so if you would like to see it, which I advise to you, check the website. I believe it is being played at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA and in PA, the Bryn Mahr Film Institute. This will give you a chance to see what I will tonight!

What I didn't write about before was a production of 'Troilus and Cressida' By William Shakespeare that I saw Sunday afternoon, at the Globe Theater. I went to church at Southwark Cathedral down the street, or rather alleyways, where there were SIX baptisms during the service. The play is one of the less well-known shows Shakespeare wrote, about the Trojan war, about seven year into the siege, when a young Troilus falls in love with a fair Cressida right before she is handed to the Greeks in exchange for a trojan soldier. It follows the story of Hector fighting Achillies, and showing the immortal warrior lose to him, only to ambush the great Hector, unarmed, and murder him. From there, he drags the body around the gates of Troy. A great performance, full of blood and swordplay! Lots of fun to watch, but you don't know really who to sympathize with, since at one time, everyone is at fault.
After the show, Ted and I went to the Imperial War Museum. It closed soon after we got there, but I must go back to finish seeing the WWII exhibit and the rest.

23:00 On the Tube back from the first row of the Olivier Theater in the NT after a performance of 'All's Well That Ends Well." Tis a DARL romantic comedy, and not full of jokes, but rather lessons. How wit and trickery can out stand young arrogance. And, of course, how love is all well when it endeth well. This production had a fairy tale theme to it, putting Helena in a Red Riding Hood as she treks into Florence. A great amount of spectacle to arouse the crowd who is looking for laughs and awe. But a grand production, with great performances, of a great classic.

23/09/09 20:45 About to leave for Brick Lane. Last night, Tuesday, I saw a truly moving show. 'The Pitmen Painters' is about a group of Pitmen (Miners) and a Dental Mechanic who live in Ashington and hire a professor from the University in Newcastle to teach them 'Art Appreciation.' They wanted to know 'what art means' and the only way for Lyon (the Professor) to describe this was to paint. It wasn't about form or technique. It was about what what it made them think about. What they experienced as the artists and what it meant to others to looked at it. The Pitmen were soon selling their work and put in prestigious art galleries throughout the UK. This show really explores what is art, and the fact that not everyone can paint, but a painter can be anyone. The plot thickens when George Brown, one of the Pitmen, is offered a stipend to quit his job in the mines and become a full-time artist. This brought out an identity crisis in between the artist, paid to paint, and being a pitman, working-class, where he belongs, and where people know him. The community in which they painted was the source of inspiration. This socialist community of the Miners, working around the rules of the common good. This experience held by the Pitmen was something beyond the night class. The GUARDIAN says about it, "The Play celebrates the very nation of community, and a working class sprit -- that now only flickers and splutters -- which understood that it had as much right to education and culture as those born in the middle and upper classes... This is a play about the importance not just of feeding your stomach and your brain, but about feeding your soul. And it does just that."  This show will be coming to Broadway soon enough, if you wish to see the production, in 2010. I bought the play after the show because i thought it was brilliant. It is also cool that all the stage direction and cast are the same of what I just saw. I could go on and on about this show and what conversations can be provoked. Ted and I had a rousing talk about the different class systems over a pint overlooking the Thames after the show. But ask me in person, for I would much rather talk than write about it.

14:25 Back on the Tube from Brick Lane. We took a tour around the area. Around Toynbee Hall, the old Jewish ghettos, the Jewish Soup kitchen. There was an old settlement house for women around the way from Toynbee and near Spitalfields Market. Mother, the picture of the church and missing organ you were asking about was Christ Church, Spitalfields. Talking to our guide, an FIE faculty member, he had heard about Ken Leech as being quoted in a book about Brick lane and the surrounding area. What I found most fascinating was the Great Mosque. The building has held the religion of the dominant culture of the time throughout the years. Every group of minority has occupied this area from Irish-Catholic to Jewish now to a prominent Bangladeshi neighborhood. For a while, Nationalist White Racists Skinheads were terrorizing the area, breaking store windows, and raising hell. But now, it has really settled down and is almost touristic. We had a delicious meal at a place called Naznul, near the old Truman brewery, which used to be a household name for over 300 years. Deliclous. I had Chicken Tikka Jalfrazie with rice and Nan. For dessert, a quarter of a frozen pineapple filled with pineapple ice cream. MMMMM. I have not been this full in months.