Arts Make a Mamma Happy!

Last weekend was filled with the arts.  What a joy to be able to see magnificent art and professional theatre without needing to drive for hours to get there!

We began Friday morning by spending a little time at the British Museum looking at some of the ancient Greek and Roman pottery and sculptures.  We are trying to take small bites of the elephant that is the British Museum, because it is enormous and overwhelming as a whole.  Our brief trip Friday included the Nereid Monument, which was a tomb for a ruler of the Lycians in about 380 B.C.  The natives got restless, so we headed on to see some art.

The Nereid Monument and Allison and Zeke posing in front of a Greek sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite.

I had intended to take the kids to the National Portrait Gallery, where they would choose their favorite portrait/person and do some research on who that person what in the history of Great Britain to share.  However, the walk between the British Museum and Trafalgar Square was long and rainy, so we went to the National Gallery instead as it was slightly closer.  I picked up a children's trail of the gallery called "Magnificent Blooms" and we were off to look for seven special paintings in our book.  The boys quickly tired of this search, but they did enjoy seeing the paintings depicting Biblical scenes and scenes from Greek and Roman mythology as they knew the stories.  Allison enjoyed all of it, so I think we will go back, just the two of us.  We saw Vincent Van Gogh's Sunflowers and several Monets, which are stunning in person.

Yesterday, Matt and I were fortunate to have two students come and babysit so that we could go out to the theatre.  Matt went to the TKTS booth on Leicester Square and we got great tickets for Jersey Boys (Row O on the main floor) for a really cheap price.  On our way to the theatre, we stopped at a coffee shop (yes, really) and sat outside people watching and enjoying the day and one another.  It was probably 45 -50 degrees with a bit of a breeze (as usual in London), so Americans would never consider sitting outside, but it was lovely.  Then it was off to Jersey Boys.  The show was excellent but I have never seen a professional actor so obviously managing his energy for a matinee performance as the man who played Frankie Valli did.  He sounded fabulous, but had absolutely no energy or spunk.  Good show otherwise, but kind of a bummer to see a lead, Olivier winning actor on a very off day.
 

Sunday after church, we headed to get lunch before taking the kids to The Lion King.  This was a Christmas gift from Grandma Jeanne and Zeke in particular was very excited.  It was a delightful afternoon!  The kids adored every bit of the Lion King.  Jacob noticed that in the back of the playbill (which in London you buy instead of receiving when you are seated) that they are "always looking for 8-12 year olds to play Simba and Nala."  His dream part, he informed us.  Alas, the child is white as white can be, so probably not the ideal candidate.  I'm sure when we attend Matilda (a new musical based on the Roald Dahl book) in March, he and Allison will be just as enraptured.

One of my favorite things about being here is getting to expose the kids (and ourselves) amazing cultural opportunities.  It is such a delight to introduce them to these great works of art, whether they appreciate them or not.  We are so blessed to have this opportunity.

Update

Thursday:
A tour of Fuller's Brewery.  London's Pride is their biggest beer, but they sell other brands.  I think it was OK, but I preferred the tour I got in the US at Yingling.  Definitely the worst of the tours I've had this term.  That being said, that's more because all the tours have been so outstanding, not that this was bad.


Friday:
We had a quick visit to the National Gallery in the morning, which was quite amazing.  I'm not a huge art buff by any means, but these paintings were pretty cool amazing and the gallery does a good job of describing each painting in a plaque nearby.  As far as the kids interest - Allison loved it.  Jacob and Zeke endured without complaining.  When I say without complaining, I mean only some complaining.  OK, so they complained a lot, but they got over it.

Saturday:
The kids had their drama classes in the morning.  Amanda and I then had a sitter and went to Jersey Boys.  I'll leave the commentary on the show to her, but I thought it was great but I doubt I'll go again.  The kids loved their sitters, which is always good.

Sunday:
The whole family went to the Lion King.  All the kids loved it (parents liked it too). Jacob was interested when he read their looking for kids between 8-12 to play Simba.  After watching the show he was a bit disappointed thinking he might be "too white" for the part.

Monday:
An afternoon walk down Oxford Street, which is (according to Heather D.) the longest street of shops in Europe.  We went into the bookstore, Waterstones, which was really neat for all and also went to Farley's toy store again.

Tuesday:
I worked most of the day - nothing too fun.

Wednesday: 
I worked from home in the morning, but then in the afternoon, my work consisted of having to go to two plays with the program.  Noises Off was the night play and it was funny.  The first one, however, was the best play I've ever seen - One Man, Two Guvnors.  There was a bit of improv and our crowd was a bit rambunctious. This included an upper deck person throwing unwrapped twix bars on stage.  This was not planned, but the main character rolled with it well. (He noted he asked for a sandwich and then noted he was in 1963 and wondering if that was really around then.  The crowd was really into it.)

Thursday:
An Olympics tour - the others have posted about that.

No pictures here - see the other posts.

All for now

Olympics Walking Tour

Today, we had the opportunity to take an Olympic walking tour with the London Program students.  Our tour guide, Stuart, gave us an excellent overview of not only the main sights of Olympic Park, but the story behind hosting the Olympic Games.  Jacob and Allison are helping me to re-create some of the highlights of our tour and things we learned.

·         London was chosen for the Olympics by one vote over Paris in 2005.  London is the first city to host the Olympic Games three times, having hosted them in 1908 and 1948 previously.  The 1908 Olympics were supposed to be in Rome but were moved to London because of damage caused by the eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius.  In 1948 games were referred to as the Austerity Games because of the damage to the city of London lingering from WWII.  Hosting the Olympics has changed a great deal since 1948, mostly due to the number of events and the cost of the Games. 

 Stuart shared many details about the planning process for the London 2012 games that most of us never consider.  To begin with, the location chosen to build the many facilities to house the Olympics is one of the poorest not only in London, but in the whole U.K.  The hope is that with careful planning for re-purposing of these facilities will bring new life to this area.  The United Kingdom is much further invested in "green" living as a whole, so it is not surprising that this Olympics is the greenest of any on record.  Great pains have been taken to re-use construction materials (such as the pipe that lines the Olympic Stadium which was gas pipe in abandoned warehouses in the area) and to carefully clean up the soil and water in the area that had years of pollution from the industry that once thrived in the area. 

 One lesson the London games are attempting to take from previous Olympics is devising a plan for each facility that is needed for the Olympics.  Everything from the Olympic Village housing Olympians to the media building have detailed plans for how they will be re-purposed after the Olympics.  The dream is that twenty years from now, this area will still be a special area of London with a special mark left from the 2012 Olympic games.

The London games are not without controversy.  Issues that may be in the news during the games include the controversy over the London 2012 logo.  Some say it looks like the Nazi swastika, some Muslims think it says Zion, which they find racist (Iran has threatened to boycott the games due to the logo, but have since said they will be participating).  India has also expressed concern over the Olympic partnership of Dow Chemicals, whom they feel has not made proper restitution for the 1984 chemical spill by Union Carbide.  Other concerns include the usual doping and security issues.

Lots of information and learning aside, we saw most of the Olympic facilities in Olympic park from the outside.  The whole park is still under construction and there is significant security in place, so our tour was of the outside perimeter of the park.  Below are photos highlights of what we saw.  Not all fantastic photos, but they will be familliar sights in July.

 Stuart showing the Olympic Stadium.  Notice the white pipes, which are re-purposed from the gas pipes of the warehouses taken down to build the Olympic facilities.  Also note that the upper levels of seating are temporary and will be removed after the Olympics.  At that time, the stadium will be rented to a local soccer club as well as hosting other large athletic events.

 Matt and the kids posting in front of the metal sculpture/viewing tower that will be opened to view the Olympic area AFTER the Olympics.  The walkway to the top is quite narrow and will not accomodate the expected 800,000 people attending the games.

 The Velodome (or Pringle as the locals call it as the roof resembles a Pringles chip)where cycling events will be hosted.  This building will remain as cycling is a very popular sport.  The white fluffy looking building in the background is the basketball arena.  This is a temporary facility and may even be re-used in the 2016 games hosted by Rio de Janiero.

 The Copper Box which will host handball, fencing and goalball.  It will be turned into a community leisure facility (like a YMCA in America) following the Olympics.

 The London Program students seemed to really appreciate the tour and the opportunity to learn about the business of hosting an Olympic Games.

TThe Aquatic Centre which will become a community aquatic facility once the "wings" of extra seating are removed.  This facility will function both for local residents and elite swimming events.

Jacob would also like everyone to know that there will be two Olympic mascots for the 2012 games and they are really adorable (for a one eyed creature).See for yourself!

Jacob's fourth post

On our trip to Greenwich, we went to 2 of the Greenwich museums. The 2 museums we went to were the queen’s house (it’s really the queen’s ex-house. It’s currently a museum) and national maritime museum. But those aren’t the real highlights. We went to a wonderful restaurant called green village, but I ordered the wrong thing, so a warning to everyone who is planning to eat at green village, don’t order a sausage. We also got to stand in both the eastern and western hemispheres at the same time and on the eastern hemisphere, we found a playground for Zeke to play in. On the way back we ran into some train trouble. For future reference to everyone who will ever use oyster cards (that’s a card that holds money so you can get on the trains in London) you have to tap in and out every time you leave for a different station. Anyway, yesterday I read the copy of Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, and I saw J. K. Rowling’s signature on the inner cover. IT WAS AWESOME SEEING THAT SIGNNURATURE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A trip to Greenwich, and other tidbits

The Trip to Greenwich on Monday

We decided to take a trip to Greenwich.  It was recommended as one of the best “day trips from London” in a book we’ve been reading, and sounded interesting.  It is only 13 miles from our flat (according to Google Maps), but does take about 50 minutes to get there by the tube (once you account walking to/from tube stops, transfers, etc.). 

It was a sunny and cold day, but perfect for walking around.  

We wandered through their park area, and went to the National Maritime Museum.  This was a wonderful place, and like most London Museums, free to enter.  They had all sorts of interesting history about expeditions to North America, the Poles, and about trade with China.  They had quite a bit on the monopoly a trading company had that allowed it to control much of India, as well.  The kids really enjoyed this as well …

We didn’t stay there too long (you can’t really stay in any museum too long with children) and it was almost lunchtime, so we left to find food.  We ended up finding a little store that seemed authentic but served food at reasonable prices.  (Dining or drinking out can be very expensive here.)  Everybody enjoyed their meal, and I tried a seafood pie (like a pot pie, but with seafood) that was outstanding.  When I go to pubs I try to choose items I haven’t had before and seem "British" when possible.  So far I haven’t been disappointed. The kids outside the restaurant ...

After lunch, we went to The Queen's House.  This was an old house commissioned by Anne of Denmark in the early 1600s.  It had several paintings, a nice view of the Thames, and the 'tulip stairs' (the first centrally unsupported spiral stair in Britain).  Photo of the kids on the stairs ...

Finally, we went to straddle the Prime Meridian.  That’s the 0 degree longitude line that separates the East and West Hemispheres.  Some photos …

It was a nice way to spend a morning and early afternoon!

Other notes: 

On Friday afternoon the kids and I went to Primrose Hill (again).  They had a park there that was open (it’s open until 4:00 daily) where the kids played.  We also brought our new Chelsea soccer ball and kicked it around a bit (and played catch with it too).  Here are some photos from the top of Primrose Hill and from the Park (Jacob climbed to the top of a climbing structure:

Saturday: I got to meet a friend I knew from my poker days – The Hawk (also known as John).  He and I used to talk poker (and other things) a lot in a chat room back in the days when I played online poker.  We had a pint at a pub before going to a nice Brazilian Restaurant, which had very tasty food.  As with the other ITHers I’ve met over the years– he was a great guy and I had a nice time. 

Sunday: 

We went to the same church again and had another nice service.  The people at this church (St. John's Downshire) are the most welcoming to newcomers any church we've ever attended.  The pastor gives thought provoking sermons and they have lots of kids activities.  It will be a nice church for us while we're here.  We've met some very nice people already through the church, as have the older kids.  We feel blessed to have found someplace to be a temporary home so quickly after arriving.

Wednesday: 

Another play.  This was at the Orange Street Theatre.  It's a theatre in the round ... everybody is in a circle around the stage.  Well, technically it's a theatre in the square, but that doesn't sound as catchy.  

The play was good with outstanding acting.  Like last week, we were just a couple rows away.  (They only had 3 rows in this theatre.)

All for now ...

Week Two According to Amanda

Matt and Jacob summarized the week beautifully, but I had to add my color commentary.  I'll try to add in a few pictures and links as well.

The students have arrived and are a fabulous bunch.  Only one marginally late call, and that was minor.  They have been very kind to our kids as we tag along on the tours.  A few have offered to babysit as well, so Matt and I hope to take advantage of London theatre as much as we can.  

Our discovery of St John'ss was really a God thing.  We had intended to visit HCB, where Nicky Gumble is vicar, but the church is quite a tube trip from the student flats, where we were meeting for the London coach tour that afternoon.  So I did a Google search for churches in our post code & we decided to try out St John's.  It was lovely from beginning to end- welcoming, casual and very inviting to the children.  The worship nerd in me is dying to share lots of details that were interesting, but that will appeal to about 3 of you, so I'll share one and save the rest.  The children go to their "clubs" or Sunday School mid way through worship and finish about 30 minutes after it ends, so when worship concluded, they brought around trays of tea and biscuits (or cookies to us) in the pews/chairs!  How very British and delightful!

The coach tour was great fun.  Our guide, Heather was fabulous and loved our kids, so was extra sweet about sharing stories they would find interesting.  Two stories from the tour:

1. As we walked around Buckingham Palace and into Green Park, Heather pulled out a bag of "monkey nuts" (peanuts in the shell) to feed the squirrels.  These squirrels came right up to you if you called them and fed them.  The kids loved it- even the big college kids!  It was only after I was uploading pictures that I saw this sign.  Oops!

2.  When we stopped at the Westminster Abbey area for photos, Heather recommended we either use the public restrooms for 50 pence each or stop in the Methodist Central Hall's cafe for a drink and use their bathroom for free.  Being good Methodists (and perhaps a bit cheap), we figured stopping at Wesley's Cafe would be the wiser plan. The kids were hungry for a snack, so I grabbed a chocolate muffin as well as Matt's soda & left him to pay while I took the kids to the "free" restroom.  When we returned, Matt informed the kids they had better enjoy every crumb of the muffin, because it cost 4 pounds (or almost $6). So much for a cheaper plan.  

We enjoyed our first trip to the British Museum.  It is enormous, so we must do it in small doses to keep the kids interested, but we've got four months.  We started in the Egyptian galleries, which was amazing.  There were ancient wall sculptures that told the story of Assyrian army battles in Nineveh.  Zeke really liked seeing that, because we read Jonah and the whale quite regularly in his bedtime Bible story.  We had intended to go up to see the mummies on the third floor, but ran into a room of Roman sculptures of their gods and Allison wanted to see that first.  Allison and Jacob have both been reading some of the Greek and Roman myths, so the little god statues were very interesting to them.

 This is statue of Ramses that was outside his tomb, if my memory is correct.  It, like all of the Egyptian relics, was in remarkably good condition.

Our second trip to the Natural History Museum came while Matt was at the BBC.  We did the red zone, which is more geology and earth science, and got very repetitive to me, but the kids loved it.  To get to one of the galleries, we had to walk through a room full of stuffed (as in taxidermy) birds...in other words, what I imagine hell is like.  The kids delighted in pausing and pointing out every nasty and freaky looking bird, trying to drag out my torture as long as they could.  The little rats!  I thought I had taken pictures of this trip, but must have been too traumatized by the birds to photograph the thousands of rocks and crystals we saw.

All three kids had their Perform music/drama classes this morning.  Zeke had a hard time with the class- crying as the class began and not participating at first, but the teachers swore he was involved and having fun for the last part.  We’re still deciding whether to register him or not.  The older kids adore their class and their teacher...Rachel Barry.  And she looks like a British Rachel Berry from Glee, which makes it very hard for me not to laugh every time I talk to her.  

We have more exploring to do this week, and will hopefully have more stories and photos to share.  Matt and Jacob are better at getting this done, because I am spending a lot of time planning and preparing homeschool lessons and by the time I'm done, I'm too exhausted to string sentences together.  I think as we get more established, that will get better.  It is all good and exciting and we are treasuring every bit we can.