tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53108599773284821272024-03-13T11:42:38.138-07:00London Calling... a Carter-Johnson year abroadinsights, outtakes and observations from our sabbatical year in EnglandRebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.comBlogger159125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-91232014274242359582013-03-31T17:42:00.003-07:002013-03-31T17:42:40.545-07:00The End of the Sabbatical Year<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Th1ew50AfJg/UVjXui2weZI/AAAAAAAADwA/46CWnprpl3w/s1600/Saanich-20130315-00039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Th1ew50AfJg/UVjXui2weZI/AAAAAAAADwA/46CWnprpl3w/s320/Saanich-20130315-00039.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spring time blossoms in Victoria</td></tr>
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Here it is, the Easter long weekend, and I am only now starting to feel that the sabbatical year is well and truly over, and that we are settled back into life on the island. Thus, time for a new year of blogging. If you feel like following the adventures of the Carter-Johnsons (including Kiwi the wonderdog) back on Vancouver Island, you can find us here!<br />
<a href="http://carter-johnson2.blogspot.ca/">http://carter-johnson2.blogspot.ca/</a>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-46114343754284735492012-08-29T06:22:00.000-07:002012-08-29T06:22:37.883-07:00Wandering further down the beach at Noosa<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kZhraNrdQWA/UD4U7pRLzrI/AAAAAAAADpc/66kfmrCdoyw/s1600/P1020668(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kZhraNrdQWA/UD4U7pRLzrI/AAAAAAAADpc/66kfmrCdoyw/s320/P1020668(2).JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">I don't know that I have much more to add to the post above, other than to say Noosa is hard on someone with a camera... you just keep wanting to take pictures!
(or at least I kept snapping away... i think i have 50 pictures of waves, and i can't pick a favourite)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LxHCF-0fAWE/UD4UMD5qZzI/AAAAAAAADo0/zpoIuXM36h8/s1600/P1020712(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LxHCF-0fAWE/UD4UMD5qZzI/AAAAAAAADo0/zpoIuXM36h8/s400/P1020712(1).JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">kite surfers riding the waves</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I just wasn't sure where to be pointing, or when: it was all quite beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At one point, i thought I was looking at birds in the sky, til the penny dropped and i realized i was looking at a bunch of kite-surfers out in the water. I coudn't figure out how they managed to ride the waves in a big clump without having their kite strings tangle with eachother.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWglhKrtVMk/UD4UfLwpOgI/AAAAAAAADpM/0hf1vAC3wSk/s1600/P1020717(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wWglhKrtVMk/UD4UfLwpOgI/AAAAAAAADpM/0hf1vAC3wSk/s320/P1020717(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">path along the cliff edge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I wandered the other direction too... and headed into the Noosa park, where a boardwalk led you through the trees, and around the point to a series of beaches and bays the kept drawing your eyes forward to the distance.</span>
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<br />Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-45567810464406306822012-08-29T06:03:00.000-07:002012-08-29T06:03:18.884-07:00On the Noosa beach (in Australia)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waves on the beach at Noosa</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Never thought I would get to Australia. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was tempted there by the prospect of a most fabulous workshop/symposium on "Representational Legality" (aka cultural legal studies). </span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">a gentle breeze in the palm trees</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The workshoop was held on the Sunshine Coast at Noosa. That is to say, a double-whammy of sorts: a feast for the brain, and a feast for the eyes. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While i am not known to be a morning girl, it was worth getting up early to take a walk down by the beach before the intellectual work of the day started.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some sea-foam for the feet</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a boardwalk you could stick to if you wanted a 'sand-free walking experience', or you could kick off the sandals and plunge your toes into the warm white sand. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Luscious! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">shadows from behind</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even though it was 'winter' there, temperatures in the 25degree range left me appreciative of the gentle breeze blowing off the water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The only way you could 'really' tell it was winter was by watching the light: the days were short, and by 6pm, it was dark out. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There was a moment there, before the sun plunged into the water, that it cast long shadows down the beach.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Catching the sun in the waves...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since it is usually too hard to take a picture of ones own self, i was pleased to catch my shadow (proving to myself that I was actually there!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Those short days did feel a bit wierd. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The Canadian in me had a hard time coming to terms with the notion that a day could be both short and warm (rather than my own assumption that a winter day must be short and cold).</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trying to take my own picture?! :-)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I could get used to this! </span><br />
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Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-57137308522475832312012-07-22T10:49:00.002-07:002012-07-22T10:49:08.917-07:00Duncan's "Top 5" from a year of theatreDuncan's grandmother asked him to say what his favourite 5 theatre experiences were this year.<br />
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After some reflection, he said that for 'musicals, it was <a href="http://www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/">Rock of Ages</a> (followed by <a href="http://www.wickedthemusical.co.uk/">Wicked</a> and <a href="http://www.legallyblondethemusical.co.uk/tour/">Legally Blonde</a>). For 'plays', his favourite wewas <a href="http://www.onemantwoguvnors.com/">One Man Two Guvnors</a> (followed by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/apr/04/noises-off-review" target="_blank">Noises Off</a>)<br />
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It was a bit tricky coming up with a top 5 list.<br />
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First, we needed to figure out how many things he has seen altogether. The list was large, not only because him mother dragged him to so many things, but also because his grandmother and aunt wyona came to visit so frequently during the year, and the two of them are west end junkies.
They, determined to expand his horizons, and expose him to the best that live theatre has to offer, took him along with them on their excursions.<br />
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Thus, in addition to his top 5, this year duncan saw the following:<br />
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Matilda, Billy Elliot, Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Sunshine Boys, Betty Blue Eyes, The Railway Children, Britain's Got Bhangra, Cool Hand Luke - The Musical, Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka (in Russian with surtitles!?), Slave - A Question of Freedom, Comedy of Errors, Shrek, The Lion King, Chicago, Crazy for You, Masterclass, Soul Sister....<br />
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Hmmm..... when i type it out, even i have to admit that the list is long... hahahaRebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-43563804857834698512012-07-22T09:50:00.000-07:002012-07-22T09:50:00.531-07:00Family Cruise<span style="font-size: large;">June was a month of travel for our family. Along with Arta, we headed off to Southhampton to board the Independence of the Seas for a 14 day cruise through the mediterranean. If there were only time, each of us would be doing 14 different posts, capturing 5 different experiences of each day. The days were full, full, full! Hard to even know WHERE to start with the reports, since there was so much to see.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1s4xL7DM1c/UAwmQG5_NKI/AAAAAAAADjw/JgsqZflLfmE/s1600/botticelli.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="125" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-u1s4xL7DM1c/UAwmQG5_NKI/AAAAAAAADjw/JgsqZflLfmE/s200/botticelli.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Botticelli's Birth of Venus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For one thing,the ship had an $8.5 million budget for art, and so arta and i spent tons of time wandering the stairwells exploring the (exceptionally well curated) collection. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cenZFFd8niI/UAwd-X8DBII/AAAAAAAADiY/C9L4hmBvnQE/s1600/PF+11+-+Silvers+-+birth+of+venus.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cenZFFd8niI/UAwd-X8DBII/AAAAAAAADiY/C9L4hmBvnQE/s320/PF+11+-+Silvers+-+birth+of+venus.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Robert Silvers' Birth of Venus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the landing of the stairwell between each floor, you would find a smallish photo of a piece of 'classic' art. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Occupying the rest of the space was a much larger piece of modern art 'in dialogue' with that classic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus was set along side a work of the same name by <a href="http://www.photomosaic.com/bio.html" target="_blank">Robert Silvers</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: center;">Silvers - close up detail</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">From a distance, it looks like it is just a close up of the botticelli original.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">But when you look a closer look at Silvers' version, you could see that the piece was completely made up of smaller famous images of art...almost like 'pointilism', but with small computer generated images. (he is the inventor of photomosaic process). Stunning. Anyways, there was something interesting to look at on each of the 12 levels in all 4 of the main staircases... like hanging out in an edgy art gallery with a good tour guide.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duncan on the Flowrider</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Duncan, meanwhile, was off learning how to master the flowrider. Here is a photo, but it is tricky to describe. Basically, water is rushing back UP hill at you, making a kind of thin layer of artificial wave you can surf on top of.</span><br />
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Steve signed Duncan up for lessons twice. It is WAY harder than it looks (and if you head out to youtube, you will see a ton of homevideos of people wiping out on it.Duncan reports that, while fun, you feel pretty much like you have been beat up after it is all over! :-)</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">towel bunny lying in wait...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Steve and Alex spent lots of time in the Fitness Club on the top deck, with its astonishing views of the ocean. They also spent time wondering how the cleaning staff could manage to turn seemingly innocuous towels into the most bizarre forms of animal art (ie., as the Wizard named Tim says in Monty Python's "Holy Grail", a creature "with sharp pointy teeth")</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">More posts on the cruise to follow.</span><br />
<br />Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-49886738442581715312012-07-16T22:22:00.000-07:002012-07-16T22:22:52.721-07:00Jungle in Gibralter (Duncan Reports on the Cruise)<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">up close and personal</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sorry for the delay. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We went on a cruise for 2 weeks, but there was no time to report. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">so, here are some reports from the cruise.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the first few days of the cruise, we were at sea. The first stop was Gibralter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We took a cable car to the top of the rock to see the monkeys that live up there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They warned us not to bring plastic bags, because monkeys think there is food in plastic bags, and will try to steal them from you. </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Someone wasn't listening to the guide very well. They went into the cafeteria on top, but tried to bring a bag of chips out with them.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">A monkey who had been sitting quietly watching everyone suddenly took off after the person and ripped the bag of chips out of their hand. The monkey screamed at the woman and the woman screamed back. it was hard not to laugh (but i don't think the woman was laughing too hard)</span></div>
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</div>Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249315117421840028noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-70352677815150737872012-06-27T10:02:00.000-07:002012-06-27T10:02:13.022-07:00Yellowknife: walking around Frame Lake<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My colleague Marie-Claire and I spent a week in Yellowknife for an </span><span style="font-size: large;">amazing workshop called "</span><a href="http://www.trudeaufoundation.ca/calendar/activating-the-heart-storytelling-knowledge-sharin" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Activating the Heart: Storytelling, Knowledge Sharing and Relationship</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">"). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">(More later on the workshop, which was held at Detta in Chief Drygeese Territory). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got to town a day before the workshop started, and so took some time to explore Frame Lake, which is just a couple of minutes from the Explorer Hotel where we were staying.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8iNvMCfbCM/T-sgqbY0MfI/AAAAAAAADgY/hWkoM14cmXg/s1600/P1010986(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W8iNvMCfbCM/T-sgqbY0MfI/AAAAAAAADgY/hWkoM14cmXg/s320/P1010986(1).JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">There is a great path around the edge of the lake...perfect for strolling or biking. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is perhaps 9 kilometers around the perimetre, and gives you a whole variety of views</span>.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Conversations for the birds...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were also a plethora of birds around. You could see them sitting in the trees, having conversations with eachother, splashing in the water (one bird seemingly 'on guard' out on a little rock).</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEkGgT6OK0I/T-shV0k5vMI/AAAAAAAADhI/obOgjkU0Q3Q/s1600/P1010994(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LEkGgT6OK0I/T-shV0k5vMI/AAAAAAAADhI/obOgjkU0Q3Q/s200/P1010994(1).JPG" vca="true" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, there was plenty of bird food around too (by bird food i mean 'mosquitos'). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everytime I stopped to take a photo, (particularly in shady areas) the little bloodsuckers caught up and tried to hitch a ride on a piece of exposed skin, so i took fewer photos than i otherwise might have! :-)</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X8r8tZkuIHE/T-sgvS3B38I/AAAAAAAADgg/YY6HctzCnRc/s1600/P1010997(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X8r8tZkuIHE/T-sgvS3B38I/AAAAAAAADgg/YY6HctzCnRc/s320/P1010997(1).JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Still, it was fun following the path around, and exploring the view from the different angles. </span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P2y_VMFL7ZQ/T-sg5Jwx_jI/AAAAAAAADg4/_HWrdOQzXjA/s1600/P1020001(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-P2y_VMFL7ZQ/T-sg5Jwx_jI/AAAAAAAADg4/_HWrdOQzXjA/s320/P1020001(1).JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The water was wonderfully reflective, suggesting a landscape below the surface.</span></div>
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Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-36378376283271782112012-06-27T07:57:00.000-07:002012-06-27T07:57:22.515-07:00Yellowknife summer skyline: sunsets and sunrises<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s6okGE4XCyU/T-sPi3uIROI/AAAAAAAADfk/YOXsrsaeZ2U/s1600/P1010966(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s6okGE4XCyU/T-sPi3uIROI/AAAAAAAADfk/YOXsrsaeZ2U/s320/P1010966(1).JPG" vca="true" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">What a highlight of the year to finally visit the Northwest Territories, and spend a week in Yellowknife!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The plane from London to Yellowknife landed sometime between midnight and 1am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But from the amount of light in the sky, i would have thought it something like 8 or 9 in the evening.</span> </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u46eaRIehZY/T-sNuJIvR2I/AAAAAAAADe8/4mlxcqPMLjA/s1600/P1020010%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u46eaRIehZY/T-sNuJIvR2I/AAAAAAAADe8/4mlxcqPMLjA/s320/P1020010%25281%2529.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">It is hard to know what to make of those long summer days in Yellowknife. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Summer solstice indeed! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It simply is too light out to want to go to sleep. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It would have been impossible to sleep had the hotel not had the heaviest of curtains sheilding the room from the outside. </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBJHy5Qv8oo/T-sNu0sOHNI/AAAAAAAADfI/nooI4FDWh_E/s1600/P1020011%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yBJHy5Qv8oo/T-sNu0sOHNI/AAAAAAAADfI/nooI4FDWh_E/s320/P1020011%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Throughout the week, I felt this </span><span style="font-size: large;">strange sense of fatigue as the evening would wear on, and the light would continue. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is like part of your mind 'knows' that it is late, but your body is confused by the contradictory signals (the amount of light in the sky). </span></div>
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<span style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gbNiZZuWTlo/T-sNvKqknYI/AAAAAAAADfU/kNrRvB9hg2I/s320/P1020009%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></span><span style="font-size: large;">You end up with this wierd feeling of being both exhausted and energized.</span><span style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is also hard to know if the colours in the sky are 'sunset' or 'sunrise', since the two moments bleed into eachother in a way that makes it unclear which state you are actually in. </span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAq2Ld7rBPU/T-sP8KPtebI/AAAAAAAADfs/nb4QWl4n8vI/s1600/P1020008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AAq2Ld7rBPU/T-sP8KPtebI/AAAAAAAADfs/nb4QWl4n8vI/s200/P1020008.JPG" vca="true" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">In any event, the colours were glorious. I just couldn't decide if my 'favourite' was the palette of pink and mauve... </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Certainly, along the edge of the horizon where the sun was touching land and sky, it looked like molten lava spread across the clouds....amazing.</span></div>
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Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-50472045328448589662012-06-17T15:00:00.000-07:002012-06-17T15:16:02.156-07:00Annabelle's Funeral - living with dying...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dusk or Daybreak? The Yellowknife Sky, 2am on June 17</td></tr>
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What great news it had been, months back, to discover that my sister Mary was pregnant, and expecting to have a baby in August. And then a shock to have the routine ultrasound reveal that the baby's heart was growing outside of the body. Though Annabell (as Mary named her) was continuing to grow and wiggle around, the defect was a fatal one. Very few children with this condition live beyond a few days, and most are unable to survive the process of being born. <br />
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And so, we have all been preparing ourselves for the funeral which would most likely follow on the heels of the birth. My aunt Moiya sewed a little dress for Annabelle to be buried in, and my brother-in-law Leo had time to build a small coffin for this little child. While Mary had hoped that Annabelle would survive to term, and that they would have some moments together, that was not to be: her little heart stopped beating. The funeral was yesterday (June 16th). <br />
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That is two funerals for our family in less than a month: Verlaine after living for 90 years; Annabelle before taking her first breath. But in both cases, I have been struck by the reminder of how precious life is, both its beginnings and its ending, and by the ways we are always living with dying. It is something of a challenge in figuring out how to honour the kinds of emotions involved in that reality, and to be present for the strange mix of joy and pain that comes with the reality of leaving. <br />
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I wanted to share some of the words that were spoken at the funeral. First, the words my mother Arta wrote to my sister Mary when we all finally knew that this little life would not come to fruition. Second, the words spoken by my sister Mary, speaking about what she learned and experienced from the short time she carried Annabelle with her. Both my mom and my sister have helped me to think more deeply about the many different ways that we live with the realities of dying. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Words from Arta to Mary </strong></span><br />
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Mary, I am not going to grieve for you, but find joy in what Annabelle has given you, what she has helped you to discover about yourself and your family. Your deep respect for life. Your joy in her short life. Shorter than you would wish, but you have loved her every minute of it. That will have to be enough. She has helped you remember the real fragility that surrounds birthing, how it can go wrong, how deep the grief is that you will now share with other women who lose their daughters in some way. </blockquote>
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A baby girl. I have imagined for her a laundry list of life’s events: her first words, the first tree she would climb, her first bank account she would have, her first tube of lipstick, her first high heels (borrowed from her own mother’s closet at the age of 5), her first kiss, and later her own joy in giving birth, even her own deep grief when the realities of what goes wrong in the world might touch her. It is easy for me to imagine all of this, for I am watching your other two girls in whose lives I will see all of this. Even in the beginning there was never more than a slim hope for any of the former as being a place we could go with Annabelle. In some way, I accepted that too. But she has been fully present. I have enjoyed watching you name her, watching you bring her into the lives of her extended family with phone calls and emails, seeing you treasuring her tiniest movements, witnessing that she would have existed fully had her tiny body allowed it. Your love has been a lovely gift to her. And a lovely gift to us. Thank you Mary. And yes, bawl away. Don’t think my cheeks have been dry as I have been writing this. Love, Arta </blockquote>
<i></i><b><span style="font-size: large;">Mary's Reflections on a Journey with Annabelle: Thoughts on Miracles, Love, Peace, Hope, Mercy and Joy </span></b><br />
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My journey with Annabelle has been one full of moments that have deepened my understanding of six important things: miracles, love, peace, hope, mercy and joy. </blockquote>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Miracles </span>- </strong>It is easy to look at the world around us and see miracles, big and small, in our natural environment. We may not do so often enough, but it is not a struggle to find and appreciate the beauty around us. Annabelle has helped me to remember to turn my eye inward, to see the tiniest cell in my own body, and to remember what I have been given. Each of us is a miracle. And each breath we take is a gift. Less obvious perhaps are the miracles to be found in imperfection. From the first day that we found out that our Annabelle had fatal imperfections I knew in my heart that I could not ask for a miracle – I could not ask for her to be cured, to be born whole and healthy. But as the weeks turned to months, and Annabelle kept growing, I knew without a doubt that she was already a miracle. Not only was her heart growing outside her body, her heart itself had serious defects. And yet, she continued to grow, to wiggle, and to share her short time here on earth with me. Not to be forgotten, the miracle of the doctors and medical technologies that enhanced our time with Annabelle and helped us to prepare for her arrival. What a miracle to see her through ultrasounds, to know her body, her hands and feet, even to see her tiny little heart beating. How lucky we were to journey with the doctors to find out all we could about her condition, and prepare ourselves a much as possible for her arrival. This was truly a gift to us. </blockquote>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Love </span></strong>- Love has been watching my sweet three monkeys --- Xavier, Naomi and Rhiannon on their journey with Annabelle. The sweet words to their sister Annabelle delivered with lips to my tummy. The hugs and snuggles, arms tight around my expanding waist, or heads laid gently on my belly. The sadness, tears and questions that could not be answered. Love has been poured upon us from all directions. And this love has made our own hearts turn outward. Instead of turning inward, of focusing on our own grief, we have been reminded of the importance of loving those around us and of helping others in need. Love is Rogers House, the palliative care centre where we were given the opportunity to spend a day together as a family after Annabelle was born. That gift is priceless. Our time together there let us celebrate, grieve, and love each other in a most amazing and special way. </blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Peace</span> </b>I have been in constant awe of the blessing I have received -- that I would have peace and comfort in my heart. Grief and heartache could have torn me apart, but instead I have been blessed to find joy within my grief. I have felt overwhelming peace and comfort that things were as they were meant to be. Comfort that my family would come out of this journey stronger. Peace even when Annabelle arrived far earlier than we had hoped. </blockquote>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hope - </span></b>Which brings me to hope. From the beginning, there was never much of a chance that we would get to see Annabelle take her first breath, to watch her grow and learn. We never knew how long she would survive. We knew she might leave this world at any moment. But Annabelle taught me about the joy that can come from setting aside what is practical and realistic and letting myself hope for something that is almost impossible. Hoping for one moment with Annabelle alive in my arms. I finally understood the importance of letting myself want something I could not have. </blockquote>
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Mercy</span> - </strong>Mercy was Annabelle arriving on June 7th. I wanted so much to carry her to the very end. To hope beyond reason that she would make it to August, to keep growing, that I would meet her and we would look into each others eyes. I believe a higher power knew the time would come when I would not have the strength to wait any longer, to hope anymore. I did not want Annabelle to come this month -- I desperately did not want her to come. But when I knew her heart had stopped, despite the grief, I was somehow at peace and knew in my heart the time was right. </blockquote>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Joy</strong> </span> - After days of waiting in the hospital for my body to cooperate and deliver Annabelle, she finally arrived. I just held her and held her, trying to remember to let Leo and others have a turn. I just couldn’t stop holding her little hand on my finger and looking at her tiny feet. She was so limp, but so warm and soft and beautiful. So beautiful and perfect, despite all her imperfections. With her little eyes closed, she just looked like she was sleeping. The thing I never want to forget about those first few hours with her was my joy -- how happy and at peace I was. So, so happy to finally get to meet her, to see her little broken body and hold it close to me. </blockquote>
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(Mary ended with a few words about gratitude...those at the funeral, and those who were not, but who had shared in the journey with Annabelle.) </blockquote>
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And so, today is another day.<br />
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I am in Yellowknife this week. I arrived on the plane well after midnight, astonished by the light in the sky, and the range of colours swept along the horizon. This week, the nights are so short, and the days are so long that it is next to impossible to distinguish the sunrise from the sunset. Is the day ending or being reborn? I will keep that thought with me for the rest of the week. </div>
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Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-28225462358463865062012-05-22T21:12:00.000-07:002012-05-22T21:18:28.947-07:00A day thinking of Verlaine<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the view from Verlaine's balcony</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Steve and I have spent the day sorting through papers, and packing up boxes, as we get ready to close down Verlaine's apartment.<br /><br />The funeral is tomorrow.<br /><br />Saying goodbye is never easy. </span><span style="font-size: large;">. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">crabapple blossoms blowing across the grass</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I found myself thinking partly about the way that 'activity' (you know, packing, organizing, sorting) provides one avenue for grieving: a way of both distracting you from the reality of parting, and of connecting you to it at the same time by allowing memories to surface as you sort through objects that you know and that attach you to the person.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was thinking about that as I took a pause this morning to enjoy the view from the second floor balcony of the apartment that Verlaine moved into during the last year of her life. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">clouds and blossoms white against the blue sky</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The grass was green, and the trees were in flower. I enjoyed sitting there,the feel of the wind, the sight of the white clouds rolling across the sky, and the fragrance of the trees that are in bloom all along the street.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I took my camera with me downstairs to get a photo of the trees from closer by. </span><span style="font-size: large;"> The fragrance was amazing. </span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I loved the way the blossoms and the clouds held their white outlines against the blue of the sky. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some rain clouds moving in</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of course, I did notice that some of those clouds were tinged with dark grey on the bottom. Maybe we would have a fall of rain later in the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I asked one woman walking by if she knew the names of the trees outside. </span><span style="font-size: large;">She told me the larger white blossomed tree just out the door was a Crabapple, and that the smaller blossomed trees along the street were Mayday trees. </span><span style="font-size: large;">I am sure Verlaine could have also identified the tree names for me. I am also sure that she too would have enjoyed walking out under the trees.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">She was a woman who enjoyed flowers, and who loved to garden. </span><span style="font-size: large;">It takes no work at all to pull up the image of her 'puttering around' (to use her phrase) in the backyard, trimming back the roses, or planting a few rows of lobelia or some of the more showy annuals. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">the rain beating down</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Certainly, my own backyard in Victoria has been the beneficiary of her work with a garden fork (and her eye for picking out nice plants at the nursery). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The rain did indeed come by later in the afternoon... complete with thunder and lightening. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Nourishment for garden. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Verlaine would have approved.</span></div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-49714728753496125402012-05-21T11:41:00.002-07:002012-05-21T11:42:00.354-07:00Saying goodbye to my mother-in-law (Verlaine Carter, 1922-2012) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Len and Verlaine Carter</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Steve and I got the call on Friday that his mother had died of a heart attack late that night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was not totally unexpected, but knowing something is on the horizon does not make it that much easier. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We are back in Calgary, arranging things for the funeral, sorting through papers and photographs, and thinking of all the fabulous memories of a life well and truly lived. </span><span style="font-size: large;">She was truly a grand dame!</span>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-8726670565048322152012-05-09T17:32:00.000-07:002012-05-09T17:32:13.019-07:00Rain and Sunshine (Boys) <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sunshine Boys</td></tr>
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Even though London was rainy today, we still got a dose of sunshine (boys)! <br />
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Yes, Neil Simon's play <a href="http://www.sunshineboystheplay.com/" target="_blank">"The Sunshine Boys". </a><br />
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I saw it a million years ago (the movie version) with Geoge Burns and Walter Matthau. <br />
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This time, it was in the Savoy Theatre starring Danny Devito and Richard Griffiths (aka Vernon Dursley). Perfect comedic timing!Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-31716384462173632572012-05-07T13:15:00.000-07:002012-05-07T13:15:18.222-07:00Sophie and Rebecca Day 2 (V&A and Chicago)<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7YmV9qbOMdE/T6ft6_zc7hI/AAAAAAAADW4/8Fg6EG2s9ec/s1600/medren-gallery_610x344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7YmV9qbOMdE/T6ft6_zc7hI/AAAAAAAADW4/8Fg6EG2s9ec/s320/medren-gallery_610x344.jpg" width="320" /></a>So.... even though she has long since gone home, here is the report on Day 2 with Sophie visiting! (from back in April)</div>
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Day 2 started at the V&A museum. Once again, we arrived just in time for the tour. <br />
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This time the tour was of the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries... the ones they just spent 30 million renovating. I have to say, it is well worth the visit!<br />
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We started with a stroll through Room 50, "The Renaissance City" . It is too cool! it is exactly what it says it is... designed to give you the sense of a renaissance city, with statues and fountain, and balconies along the walls looking into the streets. (the picture above is off the V&A website... check it out here) (<a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/renaissance-city-room-50/">http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/r/renaissance-city-room-50/</a><br />
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We headed from there down the stairs to the medieval area, to see what we could see. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Symmachi Panel</td></tr>
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Our first stop was the carved ivory <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-symmachi-panel/" target="_blank">Symmachi Panel</a> (400 AD) <br />
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The carvings are beautiful, and you can see pagan elements present even though europe was beginning to be christianized at the time.<br />
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I had not known that gifts of ivory were 'restricted', and that by law ivory could only be given to high roman officials (this one was probably given to commemorate a marriage). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjr9eDdIz1w/T6gLDD9NK2I/AAAAAAAADXc/hdN33qmsfII/s1600/candlestick.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mjr9eDdIz1w/T6gLDD9NK2I/AAAAAAAADXc/hdN33qmsfII/s1600/candlestick.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gloucester Candlestick</td></tr>
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Then it was off to see the <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/gloucester-candlestick/" target="_blank">Gloucester Candle Stick</a> (made in 1107). </div>
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If you click on the picture on the link above, the picture will expand so you can get a closeup look at it.</div>
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You can see 4 apostles represented by their traditional signs: Angel (Matthew), Lion (Mark), Ox (Luke), and Eagle (John). You can aslo see apes and humans attempting to crawl up from the inferno towards the heavens.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmmjeqMJ-tE/T6gKtP0zIpI/AAAAAAAADXU/H9MixdR8-UI/s1600/imagesCAYB2MCZ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PmmjeqMJ-tE/T6gKtP0zIpI/AAAAAAAADXU/H9MixdR8-UI/s1600/imagesCAYB2MCZ.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Syon Cope</td></tr>
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Next was the <a href="http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93171/syon-cope-the-syon-cope/" target="_blank">Syon Cope</a> (which is a kind of cape worn during religious services) It is old, but in pristine condition. It would have been destroyed during the reformation, but a bunch of nuns moved it off to Portugal, so it survived intact. </div>
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Again, you can click on the link to see it, though the picture does not do justice to it up close. The colours have faded somewhat with time...all the parts that look brown would have been a vibrant red! </div>
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I stood there looking at it, thinking about the small embroidery stitches my mother had Melanie Phillips and I practice on the corner of tea towels when we were little. The skill here was astonishing. The guide told us that after the tour, we should go check out the golder spider silk cloak also in the gallery. huh? spiders? yep. I will come to that later.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FxHZrCe-_CQ/T6gMbcMw97I/AAAAAAAADXs/qeWq5DQ2Kec/s1600/2007BM3757_jpg_ds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FxHZrCe-_CQ/T6gMbcMw97I/AAAAAAAADXs/qeWq5DQ2Kec/s320/2007BM3757_jpg_ds.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pisano's 'Christ Crucified'</td></tr>
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From there we went to take a closer look at Pisano's "Christ Crucified". </div>
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Hard to believe that it is ivory. It was also interesting looking at how, over the years, the styles of representing religious figures had changed so significantly. </div>
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Rather than focusing on monsters and demons, the religious objects begin focusing attention on emotional impacts of people who look 'like us'.</div>
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It is certainly an object of compelling beauty</div>
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While we couldn't get close to it (some reno work in the room), we also had a peek at the <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/devonshire-hunting-tapestries/" target="_blank">Devonshire Tapestry,</a> which gives you a great sense of what nobel life was supposedly like: tournaments, hunts, and showing off your wealth in every way imaginable.</div>
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And, on the topic of wealth, we walked past the facade of <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/s/sir-paul-pindars-house/" target="_blank">Sir Paul Pindar's house.</a> He was a wealthy merchant, who loaned money to Charles I, and put thousands of pounds into the building of St. Paul's Cathedral. The king was unable to repay him, so he ended up in poverty. But... the house survived the great fire of London. It was taken down to build the Liverpool Street Station, so you can now see the facade in the musuem... installed just as if it was a building. It is pretty cool! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0ux7LFt_ZA/T4YVUg8bUAI/AAAAAAAADIc/xUe0uGOjkHk/s1600/Kensington+and+Chelsea-20120407-00356.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0ux7LFt_ZA/T4YVUg8bUAI/AAAAAAAADIc/xUe0uGOjkHk/s320/Kensington+and+Chelsea-20120407-00356.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Da Vinci's notebook...</td></tr>
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Another highlight was seeing one of da Vinci's notebooks! <br />
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Part of the renovation includes interactive computer stations. <br />
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The one right beside the da vinci notebook has all of the pages scanned in, so you can flip through the pages, looking at both the original text, and at the translations for each page.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MRysCGvqRr0/T6gnoBHDsFI/AAAAAAAADYI/D6oDI0C_j8g/s1600/P1000453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MRysCGvqRr0/T6gnoBHDsFI/AAAAAAAADYI/D6oDI0C_j8g/s200/P1000453.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Da Johnson's notebook...</td></tr>
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Now what could be more fun than THAT?! I have resolved to treat my own notebooks with a bit more respect (who KNOWS where they might end up?) :-)<br />
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As an aside, there had been only 10 or so of us on the tour, which is luck beyond belief: no problems seeing or hearing stuff! Oddly enough, one of the people in our group had also been in our tour group at the National Gallery the day before.... in a city of millions, that was a bit unusual. As Sophie will attest (if you ask her for more of the story), our fellow-traveller was 'memorable' (to say the least).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c5FxC-cEOJ4/T6gp-FU33yI/AAAAAAAADYg/j_T6yTU9Dhk/s1600/P1040532.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c5FxC-cEOJ4/T6gp-FU33yI/AAAAAAAADYg/j_T6yTU9Dhk/s320/P1040532.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the individual threads at the edge of the cloth</td></tr>
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Before leaving, we headed off to the other side of the museum to take a look at the famous <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9677000/9677046.stm" target="_blank">golden spider silk cloak.</a> </div>
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Seriously. </div>
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Spiders <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9674000/9674949.stm" target="_blank">(click here)</a>. </div>
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Online, you can see a video of people catching the spiders, and then pulling the silk out of them, keeping them for only a while, then letting them go. </div>
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I suspect the spiders don't love it, but they let each one go after 20 minutes of 'work' (ie. having the thread pulled out of you). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9U2CRTvGnmE/T6go0xa1X8I/AAAAAAAADYQ/9BfZQc8A5gg/s1600/P1040528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9U2CRTvGnmE/T6go0xa1X8I/AAAAAAAADYQ/9BfZQc8A5gg/s400/P1040528.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cloak woven from spider silk</td></tr>
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You then get to watch the strands being woven together, and finally, woven into the cloak itself. </div>
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The golden yellow colour is the natural colour of the spider silk.</div>
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Wow! Hard to believe something so creepy can produce something so amazingly beautiful! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjjHyh6kV1E/T6gpC6l0o2I/AAAAAAAADYY/df1Dxd_6QVI/s1600/P1040531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zjjHyh6kV1E/T6gpC6l0o2I/AAAAAAAADYY/df1Dxd_6QVI/s320/P1040531.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">spider design on the cloak</td></tr>
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From there, we headed back to the world of bodies! We managed to get day tickets for Chicago: the Musical, so we sat on the very front row for a couple of hours of adultery, mayhem, music and murder, all set to music. The only question we were left with was "if you had a choice, would you be Roxie or Velma?" Hard call!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6y8IDyC239I/T4YSV-XwhMI/AAAAAAAADIM/7kxLPsBG53M/s1600/Westminster-20120407-00363.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6y8IDyC239I/T4YSV-XwhMI/AAAAAAAADIM/7kxLPsBG53M/s320/Westminster-20120407-00363.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebecca strikes a pose....</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7iUJvZgL1Y/T4YSYX1cxBI/AAAAAAAADIU/OivPunVT4fE/s1600/Westminster-20120407-00364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7iUJvZgL1Y/T4YSYX1cxBI/AAAAAAAADIU/OivPunVT4fE/s320/Westminster-20120407-00364.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie strikes a pose...</td></tr>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-22777759040892596542012-05-07T02:50:00.000-07:002012-05-07T06:09:50.932-07:00Hanging out with judges at the Guild Hall <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3h9Jn3XDDQ4/T6eIU6DLchI/AAAAAAAADTQ/eF4BDprevJE/s1600/P1000429.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3h9Jn3XDDQ4/T6eIU6DLchI/AAAAAAAADTQ/eF4BDprevJE/s320/P1000429.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retired Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dube and Lady Brenda Hale</td></tr>
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This weekend was the annual meeting for the IAWJ (International Association of Women Judges). <br />
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I went to hang out and listen to some of the sessions (and spend some time sitting beside 'my' judge, the most fabulous retired Madame Justice Claire L'Heureux-Dube).<br />
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The event was oversubscribed (i should have taken care of registration MONTHS in advance), but I got on the waitlist, and I was able register on the day, though I was told that the tickets for the Gala Dinner at the end were totally gone.<br />
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Fine! No problem! I was just so happy to be able to sit in the sessions and listen and watch. You can check out the program <a href="http://www.iawj2012london.com/" target="_blank">on-line </a> (click on the left-hand links to "Conference Program" and "Social Program"). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d0bypARA3NI/T6fAecEVr3I/AAAAAAAADWc/zK8qUMqbRTc/s1600/P1000427.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d0bypARA3NI/T6fAecEVr3I/AAAAAAAADWc/zK8qUMqbRTc/s320/P1000427.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Three Graces" (Connie Backhouse joins the judges)</td></tr>
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Frankly, it was amazing: something like 600 judges from 103 nations. It was like a mini-United Nations of Justice!</div>
There were close to no academics there (less than a handful of us)...but what a richness of women judges! <br />
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The world is not the place it was when I first started law school.<br />
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It was completely inspiring for me to be there to see such diversity. <br />
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It was also quite a thing to be able to sit there to see the ways that judges share their experiences and insights with other judges.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w2seFchnpAM/T6eTO02ySOI/AAAAAAAADUU/UNw0FcAUdjQ/s1600/P1000426.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-w2seFchnpAM/T6eTO02ySOI/AAAAAAAADUU/UNw0FcAUdjQ/s320/P1000426.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three more graces with a theme colour?</td></tr>
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One of the really enjoyable parts of the event were the 'having coffee in the halls' part of the conference.<br />
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I have been taught by, mentored by, or watched from afar or in court MANY of the women judges from the Canadian delegation, and it was great fun to chat in the halls with them between sessions. <br />
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At one point, a group had said they would see me the next evening at the Gala dinner. I told them that they would NOT see me, since the tickets were all gone. Ten minutes later, Lucie-Anne LaVigne returned with a ticket in hand! Another judge had to leave early (Shiranee Tilakawardane from the Sri Lankan Supreme Court...whom deseves a huge thank you for me!), and had given her the ticket to pass along to some needy person. SCORE!!!!! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my mom's choice of necklace</td></tr>
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All the way home on the tube that evening, I found myself humming the song "I've Got a Golden Ticket" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.<br />
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Well.... i will confess to a moment of trauma when I got home and started thinking about the words "formal attire or traditional dress" which were inscribed on the ticket. </div>
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For a year of sabbatical in London, I came with only one piece of checked baggage and one piece of carry-on. </div>
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I remember standing in front of the closet at home wondering what I should bring in case I needed to go to any chichi events during the year. </div>
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I had decided that the odds of that happening were low, so closed the suitcase without anything in the way of elegant evening wear... I figured a black skirt and black boots could carry me. ouch. ah well! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">List of important trials held in the Guild Hall</td></tr>
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As usual, my mom (who is visiting from Calgary) stepped into the gap, sending me out the door with an over-the-top necklace and a beautiful embroidered scarf to camoflage the less impressive bits! So, (after one last quick check of the emails!) off I went.</div>
What can I say? The<a href="http://www.guildhall.cityoflondon.gov.uk/the_rooms.htm" target="_blank"> Guildhall</a> is quite something. <br />
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Built in the 1440s, the Guild Hall is, apparently, the only non-Church building in London to have survived the Great Fire of 1666.<br />
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It has also been the site of many famous trials, including that of Lady Jane Grey! <br />
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To say the building (and its contents!) was amazing would be an understatement. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Napoleon on the walls</td></tr>
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There was an impressive collection of paintings on the walls, but not enough time to study them all! <br />
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As it was, the people watching was taking up lots of my time. Such a gift to see the range of colour and vibrancy of attire in those who wore traditional dress! A feast for the eyes!</div>
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We moved from the champagne reception into the banquetting hall for the main event. <br />
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Some lovely (and perfectly timed) welcoming remarks, along with the granting of the IAWJ Award for work in support of Human Rights. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Banqueting Hall</td></tr>
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This year it went to my former boss, Claire L'Heureux-Dube! <br />
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Perfect recipient, and I was so delighted to be there to witness it! <br />
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What a treat for me to be there to stand on my feet and see her recognized for the years of work and passion.... and such an amazing location to have it happen in! <br />
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I am only sad that I didn't have my picture ready to take a picture of her getting the award. </div>
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Indeed, I was too shy to bring out my camera until half way through the night when I had watched the judges themself turn into unstoppable camera-philes. If they could do it, so could I!<br />
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That is when I quickly snuck back to the cloakroom to recover my camera from my coat pocket! </div>
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The banqueting hall was like an amazing cathedral. <br />
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The walls were covered with statues and memorials. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duke Wellington on the wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Memorial to Admiral Nelson</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gog or Magog? the view from my seat at dinner</td></tr>
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I was seated at one end of the hall, just below the statue of (either) Gog, or Magog, two giants who were supposedly defeated by Brutus, and then chained to the gates of his palace (which was at the site of the Guildhall). While it was a bit wierd sitting at an angle that made me worry I was looking up his skirt/kilt, it was an impressive view!<br />
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I was sitting with the judges from Taiwan, who were absolutely delightful dinner companions! <br />
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I came home with a CD of beautiful Susie Chien songs, and they all signed the liner notes for me with their names in chinese characters.<br />
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Again, it would be an understatement to say that the meal was lovely. It was perfect. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">trumpet fanfares</td></tr>
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But it was not just the food, but the presentation...in the broadest sense of the word: There were fanfares before each course... not your everyday trumpets, but the long ones with banners hanging from them. <br />
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They were on the balcony just above us, so I couldn't get a great shot, but you can see the end of the trumpets if you look closely (between the stained glass and the clock). I am not sure, but suspect they were the state trumpeters of the Band of the Life Guards. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mwTlAxIpfc/T6cBphxWeXI/AAAAAAAADSg/tZ01J6L1Qkg/s1600/P1000439.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mwTlAxIpfc/T6cBphxWeXI/AAAAAAAADSg/tZ01J6L1Qkg/s320/P1000439.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">opera singers on the balcony</td></tr>
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The sound was amazing! There is simply NOTHING better than music delivered in a space that amplifies the sounds... notes that echo and reverberate, or just seem to hover in the air.</div>
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And then,.. to push it over the top, there was a musical program between courses: a mezzo and a soprano, singing gems of music (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxy4qrnKwVo" target="_blank">''O mio babbino caro',</a> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JzrqVkyRbM" target="_blank">'the flower duet'</a>, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6yneu-bcXU" target="_blank">nessun dorma</a>, etc) from a balcony half way down the room. <br />
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Talk about feeding the soul alongside the belly!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QXWFv0YCng/T6e980GwyXI/AAAAAAAADV4/_Q7F5HsgTYA/s1600/Barnet-20120507-00524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" mea="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QXWFv0YCng/T6e980GwyXI/AAAAAAAADV4/_Q7F5HsgTYA/s320/Barnet-20120507-00524.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">still beautiful the next morning</td></tr>
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Because I live here in London and could give them a good home, I was told I could take some of the flowers (which covered the tables) home with me. <br />
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Funnily enough, this was no problem, because I had stuffed a plastic carrying sac in my purse on the way to the event. This was because, on the tube on the way home the previous night, the person sitting beside me on the tube had thrown up, splashing my shoes (this is one of the risks of riding the tube at night when people are coming home from the pub, having tossed back a few too many pints!). <br />
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Ick. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Da2pkdufEdA/T6e-AH8mj4I/AAAAAAAADWA/1-3VNEWVyIk/s1600/Barnet-20120507-00525.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Da2pkdufEdA/T6e-AH8mj4I/AAAAAAAADWA/1-3VNEWVyIk/s320/Barnet-20120507-00525.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiwi checking out the blooms on the glass table</td></tr>
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Before leaving home to head to the tube (to get to the Gala), I decided to follow the advice of a fellow traveller I had seen hand a bag to someone in order to throw up into (better they should throw up in a bag than on the floor on or my shoes). Smart, thought I! </div>
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In this case, the bag got put to an even better use, and gave me the pefect way to safely transport all the blooms home. <br />
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So... three bunches of flowers are have been sitting on my kitchen table, filling the room with the delicate scents of rose and peoney. Sweet! </div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-70186771424768075742012-04-21T16:10:00.000-07:002012-04-21T16:10:06.778-07:00Camdentown with Orit, Dan and Petra <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Those of you who know me well, know that I am not a very good shopper. Indeed, I am really bad at it. That is, too many minutes in a store and I become positively claustrophic. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Orit, on the other hand, really loves to shop. So does Petra. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">strolling the streets in Camdentown</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well... there was really only one way to take care of that: Camdentown! I could follow Orit and Petra into the shops, and then retreat to the sidewalks after a few minutes in a shop, and could entertain myself outside watching the crowds and people. Dan seemed to share the same orientation as me, so things were ideal.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">It was a nice day, and the street were not yet uncomfortably full of people. Perfect!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">almost like a museum!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Early on, we made a shocking discovery: it is not just that Orit and Petra both like shopping, they like shopping for shoes. That made things easy, since we saw some of the funkiest shoes and shoe shops around. Even I was lured into some of the stores to gaze with wonder at the shoes!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And to go with shoes, a woman needs a hat, doesn't she?</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">doesn't every woman need a hat?</td></tr>
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Well.... maybe not. But there were so many things to see Scarves, silversmiths, hemp clothes, earrings made from pressed flower petals, amazing leather bags, rings, felt coats.... and much more.<br />
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I will say the wierdest consumer commodity of the day (for me) was something i think of as the "Doggie Bag".... it was a purse in the shape of a dog... but it was made of hair. Or rather, of hair extensions. Human hair extensions. OK. So... one could do a whole analysis there, but i guess it is enough for me to say that I admire the ingenuity of creative artistic spirit. I don't really wonder why someone would MAKE such an object, but I wonder who would want to buy one. On the other hand, i am sure some friends out there will remind me of the rabbit fur sweater I bought at the second hand store, the one with rabbit all around the top, and some wierd armpit jewellry attached. I couldn't help myself: it was so wierd I had to have it. somehow, I didn't feel the same about the doggie bag. :-)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">will it be the ring or the beads?</td></tr>
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We finally broke for lunch, giving us time to restore our spirits before heading back into the market for round 2 (and letting Dan sneak back to the hotel for a quick nap, and to get his bags packed for the trip hom the next morning). <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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Round 2 was also a great success, with everyone (including ME?!) coming away with some object-d'art (or was it rather 'object-de-desire'?). I can't believe I managed to spend that long shopping! I must be growing up!</div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-77704878951460901572012-04-21T15:32:00.000-07:002012-04-21T15:32:12.358-07:00Soul Sister (spending the day with Tina Turner!) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cj2pf9B1hg4/T5MjrOGK5uI/AAAAAAAADQM/Z3deO3vxPFE/s1600/tina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" qda="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cj2pf9B1hg4/T5MjrOGK5uI/AAAAAAAADQM/Z3deO3vxPFE/s200/tina.jpg" width="75" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tina as "Aunty"</td></tr>
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So, I got three tickets for a new musical, <strong>"Soul Sister"</strong></div>
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Last night, I told Duncan we would going to a musical biopic, inspired by the life of Ike andTina Turner. He seemed less than pleased, and he told me it would be boring, since he had never heard of them.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tina as the Acid-Queen</td></tr>
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"WHAT?!" said I, singing a few measures of "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1FPK5-Rm38" target="_blank">We Don't Need Another Hero",</a> and then chanting <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmRAiUPdRjk" target="_blank">"two men enter, one man leaves!"</a> to remind him that Tina Turner played Auntie in Mad Max: Thunderdome, <br />
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He looked at me blankly. <br />
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Nor did it help when I told him she was the <a href="http://www.myspace.com/video/audiophil/the-who-acid-queen/5891871" target="_blank">Acid-Queen</a> in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073812/" target="_blank">"Tommy: The Rock Opera".</a> <br />
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He gave me the same blank look.<br />
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Well... I guess 1975 was a bit before his time, and i guess the song does belong to the genre of 'psychedelic rock', and I guess some might say it is a bit age-inappropriate,..... but come off it! I mean, my dad took ME to go see it when I was 12 years old, and there was no lasting damage! (well... hmmm... lets change the topic) ...<br />
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Since anxioust to win the "Mother-of-the-year" award, I told him that, boring or not, he had to come anyways. It would be educational. After all, it would deal with racism, segregation, pre-marital sex, marriage, drug use, domestic violence, abortion, suicide attempts, ... oh yes... and it would have Bhuddism and end happily! :-) <br />
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I also let him watch a couple of youtube clips of the Ike and Tina Turner Revue doing <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uifuzx9TDVY" target="_blank">"Proud Mary" </a>back in 1971. Thought he might as well know a few lines of her signature song before heading off to the show! Tina and the Ikettes do their things was amazing (especially after about 3 minutes, when they break out of 'easy' and into 'rough'). Just for fun, check out <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=EmH4YlNdWAg" target="_blank">this link</a> to watch her doing the song in 2009 (when she was 70 years old).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iEQWT_p6AEE/T5MeFj8_mII/AAAAAAAADP4/e_NTGNb1RQg/s1600/IMG-20120421-00433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iEQWT_p6AEE/T5MeFj8_mII/AAAAAAAADP4/e_NTGNb1RQg/s320/IMG-20120421-00433.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">waiting for the train to Hackney...again</td></tr>
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"Soul Sister" was playing at the Hackney Empire (where we went to see <a href="http://carter-johnson.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/bhangra-in-hackney.html" target="_blank">"Britain's Got Bhangra"</a> months and months ago). We remembered the way there, so headed off to Camdentown to catch the Overground to Hackney, wondering if we could get photos at the same places we took them last time. It seemed pretty much like last time, but Duncan's hair was longer.<br />
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Again we agreed that overground is WAY quieter than the underground... a pleasure to ride on it! We also saw the funniest ad for Otrivin. I took a photo but it turned out blurry. Ged Carrol <a href="http://www.ruderfinn.co.uk/blogs/dotcom/2011/02/otrivine-tube-train-advert/" target="_blank">(check out the link here</a>) got a great shot of it up on the web.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SRFO1fzaCe0/T5Mo8wQRySI/AAAAAAAADQo/cBhNzY9PLCY/s1600/otrivin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SRFO1fzaCe0/T5Mo8wQRySI/AAAAAAAADQo/cBhNzY9PLCY/s640/otrivin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
It took us a while to get that it was an ad, since the tube and bus stop names here in london are so weird anyways! I mean, seriously: East Ham, Barking, Cockfosters, Nagshead, Tooting Bec, Clitterhouse Road...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-njbMusPVkT8/T5MdNuOSRWI/AAAAAAAADPo/_buvnt61HyQ/s1600/Hackney-20120421-00442.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-njbMusPVkT8/T5MdNuOSRWI/AAAAAAAADPo/_buvnt61HyQ/s320/Hackney-20120421-00442.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sqaure in front of the Hackney Town Hall</td></tr>
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Well... the ad kept us entertained all the way to Hackney Central.<br />
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It was a lovely day here in London. The sky was still covered with clouds, but bit patches of blue were beginning to break through.<br />
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That palm tree (or, as Duncan called it, the giant pineapple) was casting a distinct shadow!<br />
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And the side of the Theatre was fun.... though looking up at the sign below, I kept having the image of the words moving away from me, with the words "Strikes Back" at the bottom (just looked too much like the intro to the Star Wars movies)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9MdAT5dnOU/T5MdNPOguMI/AAAAAAAADPc/fzO0iX9AbA4/s1600/Hackney-20120421-00441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9MdAT5dnOU/T5MdNPOguMI/AAAAAAAADPc/fzO0iX9AbA4/s320/Hackney-20120421-00441.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Marquee at the Hackney Empire</td></tr>
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And the show itself? Fun. As ever, it is interesting to she how the biopic part of it gets set up, which songs they work in, and how it gets staged. <br />
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They had projected what looked like pages from a graphic novel (aka 'comicbook') on the back screen, and the various boxes often contained video clips of various events, so you were tracking the political and social climate of the time, as you were listening to the music (ie. rosa parks, martin luther king, JFK, vietnam, malcolm X, etc.). <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mHWi7wEW5U/T5MxPFfqgJI/AAAAAAAADQ8/r4VhCilmMmU/s1600/Hackney-20120421-00456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5mHWi7wEW5U/T5MxPFfqgJI/AAAAAAAADQ8/r4VhCilmMmU/s320/Hackney-20120421-00456.jpg" width="320" /></a>We got to hear music (and see the clothes) from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. And when they sang "Proud Mary", Duncan reached over to poke me in the ribs (since it was the same intro to the version we saw on youtube). </div>
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I gotta say, the woman who played Tina had a killer voice, and had the "Tina-ism" (the moves) nailed. </div>
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She must have watched the videos a billion times. It was great fun to watch. ... and to listen! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B9xq0Ao5gmY/T5MxOi3Or6I/AAAAAAAADQ0/1X1PibUcCPY/s1600/Camden-20120421-00462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-B9xq0Ao5gmY/T5MxOi3Or6I/AAAAAAAADQ0/1X1PibUcCPY/s320/Camden-20120421-00462.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">whose milkshake is it?</td></tr>
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After it was over, we took the bus down to Oxford Circus, and headed off to Duncan's restaurant of choice (Byron's... the only restaurant he has found that carries A&W rootbeer) for a "proper burger" and a milkshake... the old fashioned kind. <br />
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We managed to get a game of "Big 2" in while waiting for our food (I have taken to travelling with a deck of playing cards, just in case). Duncan whipped our butts! The two of the boys finshed their own delicious milkshakes off in now time, and then were struggling to see who would be able to finish off mine. Guess who won?<br />
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-13603041357719669512012-04-17T09:39:00.001-07:002012-04-19T01:46:19.411-07:00The Finchley U14s Rugby Tournament at Bournemouth<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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Over the holiday break, the Finchley Rugby Club were to be playing in a seriously big Rugby Tournament: 132 teams of U14 players!</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmOTAXmtGfI/T4_OnYDO5vI/AAAAAAAADPI/4Sn7-8bpK7g/s1600/P1000372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RmOTAXmtGfI/T4_OnYDO5vI/AAAAAAAADPI/4Sn7-8bpK7g/s400/P1000372.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Steve went along as one of the parent/supervisors. They loaded the boys and parents onto the bus, and headed off on their roadtrip to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bournemouth" target="_blank">Bournemouth</a> (England's largest coastal resort towns)</div>
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Resort town!? For rugby? </div>
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I was suspicious that it was going to be no work and all play! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jtz3wZA1Ois/T42a62tk9WI/AAAAAAAADNE/oFMskFRvFbI/s1600/chalet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" qda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Jtz3wZA1Ois/T42a62tk9WI/AAAAAAAADNE/oFMskFRvFbI/s1600/chalet.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">steve's idea of a chalet...</td></tr>
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My suspicions were heightened when Steve told me they were staying in a chalet! </div>
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Now... for those of us who grew up in the rockies, the word chalet evokes a particular kind of structure... one with a fireplace and maybe a loft. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The British idea of a chalet</td></tr>
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In british terms, 'chalet' has a slightly different meaning.</div>
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It appears to be another name for 'caravan' or maybe 'mobile housing structure'...hundreds of them in a row.</div>
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Uh... not quite like staying in the chalets at Lake Louise or Jasper, sitting around a warm fireplace roasting marshmallows. </div>
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Still, he reports, a good time was had by all! (at least by all the parents who got beds, rather than being relegated to the mini couch or floor!)</div>
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I did ask for details, but he said "What happens in Bournemouth, stays in Bournemouth!" :-)</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-9r2L1OdCk/T4_MXp7EX-I/AAAAAAAADOk/StM4jCRZPQ8/s1600/P1000354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k-9r2L1OdCk/T4_MXp7EX-I/AAAAAAAADOk/StM4jCRZPQ8/s200/P1000354.JPG" width="200" /></a>I was a bit worried that they had been living the 'fast life', but he told me such a life would have been impossible: there were distinct speed limits imposed. He showed me this photo as proof! </div>
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How do you come up with this kind of speed limit?! Not "10", not "9", but something somewhere in between? Or did the planners (mis)spend too many weekends mis-spent watching Mickey Rourke and Kim Bassigner in their 1980s classic film, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091635/">"Nine 1/2 Weeks?" </a> <br />
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Certainly there was rain, and I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the poor bedraggled looking parents/coaches on the side of the field. <br />
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... and yet... they boys just kept on playing!<br />
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In spite of arriving home with a cold (steve) and a pulled hamstring (alex), all went well. <br />
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Alex also came home with the Finchley plaque for the "man of the tour" and a rubgy ball signed by all the players on his team. Nice!<br />
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Below is the report on the match posted to the Teamer site by the coach, Aiden.<br />
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://teamer.net/teams/33192-finchley-rfc-u14/updates/849873-tour-report-bournemouth-2012?m=3045023"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Tour Report Bournemouth 2012</span></span></a></span></div>
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<span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-size: large;">posted Tue 17-Apr-2012 11:05 PM BST by Aiden Norris</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Firstly I’d like to thank the tour players whose behaviour on the tour was impeccable, which is a credit to both them and their parents. Secondly I’d like to thank everyone involved in the tour from the work Ali did arranging it, to the parents who came on the tour and inherited various roles and responsibilities from ‘chalet leads’ to parents who gave up ‘drinking rights’ to stay dry in case of emergencies. It was the help and assistance of everyone involved that made the tour a fun time for the lads.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Bournemouth Festival:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we had to register at 08:30 and it was over an hour from the park, the lads got at early call at 06:30 to get ready for the day ahead. At 07:15 we were ready to leave the lads all looking very smart dressed up all wearing white shirts/Finchley ties etc. The weather was showing signs of being really nice with a blue sky.......how wrong we were.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We arrived got registered and the black skies started to show signs of what was in store. The first game kicked off v Oadby Wyggestonian. Al scored an early individual try but we soon started to realise the standard of rugby at the tournament was probably some of best we had experienced. We ended up losing the 1st game 5-20.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At this stage the heavens opened and the coaches/players/kit and everything outside was drenched. We lost the next game v Old Northamptonians 0-20 with one player for them scoring all 4 tries.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We then had a long break before our next game v Cowbridge - the reigning champions. No matter how much the coaches were trying to keep the lads warm, with wet kit and a cold wind they were beginning to freeze. We Lost 5-35. Highlight of the game was Saxton's champagne moment, with a grubber kick through the backs following up with a great take to go over for a fantastic try.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our last game of the day was versus the hosts Bournemouth. We realised very early on in the game that they weren’t the most gracious of hosts with a few late tackles and off the ball incidents which led to our tour manager giving their number 10 ‘a jolly good telling off’. We only just lost 5-10 with a great performance from some very tired weary players and a great try from Jack. Some well earned showers, dry clothes and burgers and chips at this stage put some smiles back on their faces (photo’s are on teamer of them all dressed smartly in Bournemouth clubhouse) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That evening we went out for a great meal at the Sunray and the coaches presented the following tour trophies: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Players player – Saxton Stout</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Coaches player ‘runner up’ – George Beckman</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Coaches Player – Eytan Merkier</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tour Player – Alex Carter (Also awarded a signed Rugby Ball from all the tour players as a parting gift), <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Burleigh Travel Tourist Trophy at Weymouth RFC </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The next day wasn’t such an early start and we were all packed up and ready to go at 09:30 for a 10:00 start at Weymouth Rugby Club. The weather was glorious and when we got there by the looks of the ground, Weymouth had completely missed the rains of yesterday. This didn’t bode well with the team as unfortunately every member appeared to be suffering from some sort of injury. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">With the amount of injuries being declared we were just able to get a bare 15 on to the pitch against Cheshunt. You could see every step taken on the hard ground a painful one. We Lost 0-15 and the lads were already hurting and weary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It took Matt to take the bull by the horns and give the lads a ‘Churchill-like’ talking to after the match. “I don’t care if you only play 5 mins......just get on and do one thing during the game and do it well, be it a tackle, catch, run whatever”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We then played Oadby Wyggestonian and lost 5-32. The score not reflecting the hard fought match brought on by Matts rousing speech and another great try by Jack. We now had players removing tracksuit tops/bottoms forgetting their injuries and asking the coach to go on to the pitch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our last match v Weymouth kicked off and Finchley had now regained their fighting spirit. It was a very close game only losing in the last couple of minutes 15-17. We earned a bonus point with Jack scoring one try and Al coming on and scoring two and we nearly clinched the game with a determined drive from George at the end dragging half the Weymouth team down the pitch towards to the try line with the referee blowing for full time with Finchley 10 yards short of it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We were awarded a win v Chepstow as they had pulled out of the tournament after the previous days Rugby. Obviously they don’t have a coach that can inspire a very weary set of players or they don’t have a team of players that will play their hearts out even when the chips are down. The coaches couldn’t have been more proud of their players who gave their hearts all weekend. Well done lads!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For we are Finchley</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">and we will beat you ... nearly</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">for nearly is as close as we can get</span></i><span style="font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-86201350901454980092012-04-17T02:49:00.000-07:002012-04-17T02:49:53.650-07:00At the Tate Britain with Petra<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Dome in the Tate Britain</td></tr>
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This weekend, Petra and I took a trip to the Tate Britain: 9 months in London, and I had still not been there! Yet another beautiful building to explore!<br />
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We had an hour before the "Highlights Tour" was to begin, so we decided to swing around to take a look at the "Focus" areas. It was a bit of a surprise... each 'focus' was just one room. Each room was exactly what it said: a "focus".... a collection of perhaps a dozen or two dozen paintings, with a theme linking them. <br />
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First, we checked out a room of Don McCullin photographs. He was a war photographer, working in mostly black and white. I wasn't familiar with the guy, but can say that some of his photos (particularly the ones in the book on him that was in the museum shop) were just painfully haunting to look at. For this room, they chose NOT to display the war photographs, but produced groupings from different parts of his work: berlin after the war, fields, miners, streetpeople. The photos were really striking. nbsp; Here is a <a href="http://www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/don-mccullin-tate-britain" target="_blank">review of the exhibit.</a><br />
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From there, it was off to <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/display/atlantic-britain" target="_blank">"Atlantic Britain",</a> for a series of paintings that looked 'simple', but which all had some relationship to tales of Empire and Colonialism. So, for example, who would have thought that the painting of a woman plucking a turkey was a commentary on the US/Britain revolutionary war?! (you can click <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/?sid=3461" target="_blank">here</a> to see the 14 paintings that were in the room).<br />
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And then, another step backwards in time to spend some time with <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/about/press-office/press-releases/bp-british-art-displays-rubens-and-britain" target="_blank">Reubens and Britain</a> - 14 works related to the Banqueting House ceiling at Whitehall. I didn't know anything about the <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/display/rubens-and-britain" target="_blank">Banqueting House ceiling</a>, but now feel like I want to spend time with it!<br />
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We finally wandered back to the meeting point for the "highlights tour". For the first time ever, Petra and I grabbed one of those folding chairs to carry around with us. HEAVEN!!!! Given the fact that I am very tall, i am generally torn between my desire to see the paintings up close, and my awareness of the fact that people can't see over me... with the chair, i could scramble right close, and people could still see over me (and my feet and back were happier!)<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v9G-1RrIPCk/T4x63qrcF2I/AAAAAAAADLQ/Q4MvSyEMGws/s1600/P1040559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v9G-1RrIPCk/T4x63qrcF2I/AAAAAAAADLQ/Q4MvSyEMGws/s200/P1040559.JPG" width="150" /></a>We had a fabulous guide, and fell in love with the paintings she showed us. We saw <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hilliard-queen-elizabeth-i-l00128" target="_blank">Queen Elizabeth by Nicholard Hilliard</a>, getting a lesson on sumptuary laws (who was allowed to where what kinds of jewels and colours) as well as on how to read the codes in the painting, including the many leves of meaning in the rose she is holding and the phoenix she is wearing. </div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UJE_6VG6aJY/T4x64COAbNI/AAAAAAAADLg/YesGR6e9thQ/s1600/P1040558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UJE_6VG6aJY/T4x64COAbNI/AAAAAAAADLg/YesGR6e9thQ/s200/P1040558.JPG" width="150" /></a>It was fun comparing the queen with the painting just two to the right, <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gheeraerts-portrait-of-an-unknown-lady-t07699/text-summary" target="_blank">Gheeraerts "Portrait of an Unknown Lady".</a> We learned that the unknown woman was pregnant and covered in pearls, that pearls were the sign of St Margaret of Antioch, patron saint of pregnant women, and that people generally were painted WITHOUT smiling. That the unknown woman is smiling marks this as belonging to a genre of pregancy painting: images captured before nobel women gave birth, so that the family could remember the woman if she died giving birth (thus the smile...yikes). </div>
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We then hung out with William Powell Frith's painting, <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/frith-the-derby-day-n00615/text-illustrated-companion" target="_blank">Derby Day</a>. The painting is a riot... full of hundreds of people wandering around at the Derby. Of course, you can see almost not a single horse: it is a study in people, and people organized by physiognomy (the science of studying people by their skulls). The people are grouped into 'criminal life', 'entertainers and the impoverished' and 'artistocrats'.<br />
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<a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/frith-the-derby-day-n00615" target="_blank">Check out the link</a> to get a close up look at parts of this painting (which was a sensation when it was first displayed).<br />
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In particular, look at the foreheads! I learned that 'high brow' and 'low brow' indeed were linked to the notion that artistocratic folks actually did have higher brows, and criminal had the reverse. I feel so validated! I also suspected that our monstrously high family foerheads were the sign of our greatness!!!! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ophelia... drifting past the willows</td></tr>
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We then headed off to the pre-Raphaelites, to check out Mallais's "Ophelia". It was fun listening to the story of the model (Lizzie Siddlell) posing for the painting by laying fully clothed in a tub of water. I can imagine better ways to earn my living. The guide told us that this was the first Ophelia shown in the process of drowning... the previous practice had been to show Hamlet's girlfriend walking towards the water. The challenge was that a drowned woman was code for fallen woman (the option left to you if you were pregnant or disowned by your family). Mallais was, the guide told us, perhaps making some additional commentary in this painting.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Echo Lake (as opposed to Echo Beach?)</td></tr>
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I am not sure what the commentary was in Peter Doig's "Echo Lake", but I am sure there is one in there! The painting is based on a still shot from the movie "Friday the 13th"....and given a childhood steeped in the genre of the B-grade Horror Flick, this only made it more compelling for me! :-)<br />
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We spent a few moments with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Craig-Martin" target="_blank">Michael Craig-Martin's</a> <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/craig-martin-an-oak-tree-l02262" target="_blank">"An Oak Tree"</a> (which looks not at all like an oak tree, but rather like a clear glass of water sitting on a clear glass shelf of water attached to a wall way above your head). The <a href="http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/craig-martin--an-oak-tree.html" target="_blank">text</a> that accompanies the water is actually pretty funny to read. ... and maybe it also raises questions about faith and belief. Certainly, the piece is a pretty clear instance of 'conceptual art'. :-) </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out with "No Woman, No Cry" (Chris Ofili)</td></tr>
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But Petra and I agree that our favourite piece was "<a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/ofili-no-woman-no-cry-t07502" target="_blank">No Woman, No Cry</a>" by Chris Ofili. It is a tribute to murdered London teenager Stephen Lawerence, whose picture can be seen in the tear drops. </div>
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The title is a reference to a Bob Marley song of the same name (<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGqrvn3q1oo" target="_blank">click here</a> if you want to hear Marley live in 1979). </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_OnZdj8bgDg/T402u5sZReI/AAAAAAAADMk/bmJ8zJ1VVTU/s1600/P1040541.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_OnZdj8bgDg/T402u5sZReI/AAAAAAAADMk/bmJ8zJ1VVTU/s200/P1040541.JPG" width="200" /></a>It is a mixed media piece, and the closer you get, the more layered (and beautiful it is: drawing, ink, paint, glitter, photos, etc). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WGG2f-b27D4/T4sVc99KyDI/AAAAAAAADK4/JgD873w1Ayk/s1600/P1040546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WGG2f-b27D4/T4sVc99KyDI/AAAAAAAADK4/JgD873w1Ayk/s320/P1040546.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">us caught in an 'artful' moment of contemplation</td></tr>
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After the tour was over, we spent some time contemplating a piece of contemporary art in the corner, making good use of the stools we had carried with us. After all, if a glass of water on a shelf can be art worthy of contemplation, then why not a concave mirror that flips the image of gazer back upside down? </div>
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From there, we spent some time browsing the bookshelves in the gallery store. We were in no hurry to leave, as we could hear the rain absolutely pounding down on the glass roof above us. It was a good excuse to linger, but I had to keep reminding myself that I arrived in London with only 2 suitcases full to sustain me for a year, and that I would be going home with the same 2 suitcases.... so touch the books, and look at them, but don't buy!!!! (that was a hard one). </div>
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And so, we headed back out of the museum, and onto the streets of London, where the storm had finally broken, leaving us with the promise of a dry (and maybe even warmer?) evening in London. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oBWlOj9biL0/T403atwPPwI/AAAAAAAADMw/kBIdmYHce9k/s1600/P1040567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oBWlOj9biL0/T403atwPPwI/AAAAAAAADMw/kBIdmYHce9k/s320/P1040567.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the sky after the rainfall</td></tr>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-64093614809098356942012-04-13T11:24:00.000-07:002012-04-13T11:24:54.333-07:00Green Onions?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jX1PSQ5R30/T4hsHqL2dOI/AAAAAAAADKE/pW737d6Luuk/s1600/Barnet-20120413-00394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5jX1PSQ5R30/T4hsHqL2dOI/AAAAAAAADKE/pW737d6Luuk/s320/Barnet-20120413-00394.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">one little green onion, ready for chopping?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A few days ago, at the end of a day of exploring the town, Dan and Orit came over to the house bearing gifts! ... A chocolate coconut cake (kosher for passover!) and a big bunch of green onions.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was a bit surprised at the onions, since Orit really hates them.</span> <span style="font-size: large;">Well... maybe it goes beyond hatred... i always thought she was exaggerating about her dislike of onions until that one fateful evening in Battlecreek, Michigan, when I invited her over for dinner, and served my very favourite soup in the world, "West African Peanut Soup" (you can find it in the </span><a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/west-african-peanut-soup-134219" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">Sundays at Moosewood vegetarian cookbook</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">). It does take a full two cups of chopped onion... but the soup is blended, so you cannot find the smallest piece of onion to let you know they are there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sure enough, I was right! She loved the soup (as I knew she would), even asking for a second bowl. It was only an hour later, when she was crippled with inexplicable stomach pains, that I confessed my sin. Ah well....a bit of time bent over the toilet, and she was right as rain. (and has subsequently forgiven me). On the positive side of things, she no longer has to tell people she doesn't like onions; now she can truthfully say "Onions make me sick"</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So... i was surprised at the big bunch of green onions. .... until Dan told me they were daffodils. Ah! OK.... though they seemed a bit disappointing as far as blooms go. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Still, I followed his instructions to snip off the bottoms and put them in some water.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan's happy dance at the daffodils</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Apparently Dan shared a few of my concerns about the thin blooms, and so you can only imagine his delight when he arrived back at our house the following night to find the onions had begun to transform themselves. I only caught the tail end of Dan's happy dance of delight. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the miracle just kept going. By this morning, the onions had been transformed into a glorious burst of springtime. The whole kitchen is fragrant with the scent. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wWojYK_ZYtI/T4hsaFJq7qI/AAAAAAAADKU/wd_NtAqN8RQ/s1600/Barnet-20120413-00395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" qda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wWojYK_ZYtI/T4hsaFJq7qI/AAAAAAAADKU/wd_NtAqN8RQ/s320/Barnet-20120413-00395.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the onions, two days later...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Lovely! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I am going to pick up another bunch of 'onions' once this bunch fades....</span></div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-1922137704439932562012-04-12T02:40:00.001-07:002012-04-12T02:40:44.296-07:00Tate Modern and Southwark Theatre with Orit and Dan<span style="font-size: large;">Orit and Dan are in town this week! (he via Ann Arbor, she via Israel). Yesterday, I spent the morning at home working while they explored St. Paul's, and then went to join them in the Tate Modern. When I finally got there, it looked like they were getting close to 'the end' of a happy time with modern art. :-) </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I do agree that there are only so many hours one can spend in a museum before one hits the space of overload. My own goal is generally to come away with 2 (or maximum 3) things that I find interesting. So, here are my picks from the time spent on the 5th floor of the Tate, in the "Arte Povera and Anti-Form" section (all about art where artists from the 60s were exploring the idea of energy, and the process of making things).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8VcZyTUSmo/T4aaB0G-VYI/AAAAAAAADJA/PB7EYf5VhWc/s1600/Southwark-20120411-00374.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z8VcZyTUSmo/T4aaB0G-VYI/AAAAAAAADJA/PB7EYf5VhWc/s320/Southwark-20120411-00374.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peone, "Tree of 12 feet"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">First, I loved </span><a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/penone-tree-of-12-metres-t05557" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">"Tree of 12 meters"</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> by Giuseppe Peone. I know they just look like two dead trees, but you have to get up closer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He has taken two industrial pieces of timber, and then he had taken a chisel, and followed the knots in the wood, carving away the various rings to reveal 'the tree' that is actually still in the centre of the log. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G9SjvbC-UpQ/T4aaCNb3c9I/AAAAAAAADJM/4Ra-dRL3mT8/s1600/Southwark-20120411-00375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G9SjvbC-UpQ/T4aaCNb3c9I/AAAAAAAADJM/4Ra-dRL3mT8/s320/Southwark-20120411-00375.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">closeup view of the 12 foot tree...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">You can get a better view of it in the close up shot. Indeed, close up, you really can tell that he has carved anything away. it just looks like a tree that has been stripped of its bark.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I liked it when Dan pointed out that one of the two trees seems to be 'upside down' (that is, the artist left the uncarved portion of the log near the upper branches rather than near the base of the trunk).</span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hd8iRuRz0wY/T4afnY4mcgI/AAAAAAAADJ8/8fKdEQFgQmg/s1600/Southwark-20120411-00378.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hd8iRuRz0wY/T4afnY4mcgI/AAAAAAAADJ8/8fKdEQFgQmg/s320/Southwark-20120411-00378.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">me, altering my relation to the art...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My second pick was Carl Andre's </span><a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/andre-steel-zinc-plain-t07148" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">"Steel Zinc Plain".</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> Basically, it is a set of silver and black squares laid in a checker board pattern in the middle of the gallery. </span><span style="font-size: large;">According to the artist notes, it "represents a territory or a space as much as an object. By placing it on the floor rather than on a plinth and allowing it to be walked across, Andre alters the viewer's relations to the work of art." </span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was quite fun standing beside it, watching people walk around it, and then sticking my foot on and off the metal plates as people passed: you know... seeing which people are or are not quite ready to be altered by the art (and am still trying to sort out whether the experience has left me transformed, or was merely a transitory bump!) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJEX8j-rA7o/T4aaqrJ2hdI/AAAAAAAADJw/htRlxak212k/s1600/Southwark-20120411-00382.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iJEX8j-rA7o/T4aaqrJ2hdI/AAAAAAAADJw/htRlxak212k/s320/Southwark-20120411-00382.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Orit pretending to be a piece of modern art...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was about this time that I realized Orit was ready to go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I got the hint when I saw her sitting against the wall, posing as her very own work of art.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">That was a signal that it was time to head to the coffee shop up on the 7th floor! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We spent some time up there chatting, looking across towards St. Paul's, and watching people stroll to and from the south bank along the Millenium Bridge, and the clouds similarly wanders across the horizon.</span> </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Thames from the Tate Modern</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rh4xTMlMegs/T4aZbJ4_wPI/AAAAAAAADI0/kvRpuGou3y8/s1600/Southwark-20120411-00386.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rh4xTMlMegs/T4aZbJ4_wPI/AAAAAAAADI0/kvRpuGou3y8/s320/Southwark-20120411-00386.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">sitting in the 'foyer' of the vaults before the show</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After that, it was off for an early dinner, and then to the theatre! We all know my weakness for musical theatre, but Orit is made of sterner stuff. There was no convincing her to try for some moments of levity and song: things with happy endings seem to bore her. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So instead, we went to see </span><a href="http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/the-vault/black-battles-with-dogs/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">"Black Battles with Dogs"</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> at the Southwark Theatre. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the vaults at the Southwark Playhouse</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I really do love this theatre. (Alex and I went there last month to see their production of "Shivered".)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The theatre operates in the vaults below platform 1 of the London Bridge Railstation. So you are not only in these arches brick vault spaces, you can also hear a rumble as trains go by from time to time. It is totally atmospheric, and really contributes to the sense of being in some other space.</span><span style="font-size: large;"></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">And the play? It was perfect! (no happy endings!) :-) You can click </span><a href="http://vimeo.com/38978844"><span style="font-size: large;">here</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> for a short interview with the director, and a glance at the cast and the space. All in all, a perfect day....</span></div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-6125565482814918102012-04-11T03:46:00.000-07:002012-04-11T03:46:44.692-07:00Day one of London with Sophie<span style="font-size: large;">It has been easter break here in London, but has so far been an easter holiday of separate travels: Steve and Duncan headed off on a 3 day trip to Alton Towers </span><a href="http://www.altontowers.com/theme-park/"><span style="font-size: large;">Theme Park</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> and </span><a href="http://www.altontowers.com/waterpark/"><span style="font-size: large;">Water Park</span></a><span style="font-size: large;">. I am hanging out here with my Michigan friends! Sophie (who arrived earlier this week), and with Orit and Dan (who arrive tomorrow) and Petra (who arrives Friday). Alex has the gift of hanging out around the house, working out at the club, and hanging out online with his friends at night. a perfect world.</span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As for Sophie and I? While waiting for Orit, Dan and Petra? Two days of adventure on our own.</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-size: large;">The first day we went to the National Gallery for the 11:30 taster tour: 6 fabulous paintings! (Jacopo di Cione's "The Coronoation of the Virgin with Adoring Saints"; Leonardo da Vinci's "Virgin of the Rocks"; Titan's "The Death of Acteon"; Reuben's painting of his own estate in the morning light; Hogarth's "Marriage a la Mode"; and Degas, "Combing the Hair"). It is always interesting to see what they choose to show on that taster tour... i have been on it several times, but have never been shown the same painting twice! Hmmm.... maybe the fact that they have 2300 paintings makes that less than surprising. :-) [he did tell us that the queen has 'more' paintings than the national gallery, but that the ones she has are 'not as good'. hahaha]</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gentileschi, "Finding of Moses"</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the taster tour, we ran down the hall to get a seat for the 1pm "Draw and Learn" class. Arta and I did this once before and it is just so much fun! </span><span style="font-size: large;">There are comfortable (director style) folding chairs for the first 40 to get there. </span><span style="font-size: large;">You have a short lesson on a particular painting, and then are given a drawing task. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This time, the painting was Gentileschi's</span><a href="http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/orazio-gentileschi-the-finding-of-moses"><span style="font-size: large;"> "Finding of Moses".</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> (you can click on the link to read more about the painting, or to take a virtual tour... which would give you a sense of how very large this painting actually is!</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my contribution to the world of beauty...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The artist-guide gave us papers and pencils, along with old slide frames... only with no photos in the centre</span>. <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The goal was for us to hold the frame out like a little window, and find a small part of the painting (hands, feet, heads). </span> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie's elegant artistic interpretation</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We were to then use the frame to first draw a small window shaped box, and then to try and draw the small part of the painting that would fit in the frame (when our arms were fully extended). She told us we could connect the boxes later, if we wanted...</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie's work of art!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, neither Sophie nor I claim to be great artists, but we had a great time sitting there trying to draw.... and laughing at hand that ended up looking like ducks, and things like that! You know... realizing that we drew the same parts of the painting, but that neither resembled the other (nor the painting itself for that matter!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">However,... we were both happy, and may end up getting our works of art framed... as a way of marking our brief excursion to the world of the artist! :-)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">so... we left the world of art, and headed off to Marylebone Street to spend an hour or so browsing in Sophie's favourite bookstore, then had a relaxing meal at le Pain Quotidien, and then rushed back to the Southbank to spend a couple of hours with two standup comedians named Shave and Dave ("The Umbilical Brothers") doing an insanely funny "mime" show (which reminded me of the Arete Mime Troup guys that I used to go to with my siblings.... anyone remember "The Apology... by Gainsborough!").... check out the first 3.5 minutes of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwXbGgotsto&feature=related">this link</a> to see a bit of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There you go.... day one of London with Sophie!</span></div>
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-9104155877172797812012-04-11T01:21:00.000-07:002012-04-11T01:21:16.055-07:00Duncan and Steve take a trip to Alton Towers<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi49kbH9NIQ/T4U4Pm24EPI/AAAAAAAAAN8/QNWuDa6OwaI/s1600/P1000310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pi49kbH9NIQ/T4U4Pm24EPI/AAAAAAAAAN8/QNWuDa6OwaI/s320/P1000310.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Next weekend, Dad and Alex get to go to Bournemouth for a big rugby tournament (140 teams in the same age group). So... this weekend, dad and me took a trip to <a href="http://www.altontowers.com/theme-park/">Alton Towers. </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The worst part of the whole weekend was having to get up at 5 in the morning to make it to the train. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">it looks like a castle, but...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Alton Towers is supposed to be the biggest theme park in England, but when we got there, this is what it looked like. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What? </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A stupid castle?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But then you get to the other side....and it huge! </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">view from the mono-rail</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is a real mansion or something, and they turned it into a theme park. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So you have all the old buildings, and old trees, and lots of grounds to walk around. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">how is THIS for a roller coaster?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">But there are also amazing rides, and rollercoasters, and waterparks for indoors and outdoors (in case it is cold or rainy) and videogame arcades and restaurants and other stuff. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">going UP the waterslide</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For example, there is a tube slide in the indoor waterpark that shoots you UP the slide instead of just letting you slip down. it is also covered by a net so you don't go flying right out of the slide! You can also go two at a time with the tubes, so that is fun!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting a pint of slurpee in a tube cup</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My mom will make me tell more stories about it later, but for now, here are some of the pictures dad took.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hang on!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">who did they build this for?!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">going up the flume....</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and coming down!</td></tr>
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</div>Duncanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03249315117421840028noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-75445036571459366872012-03-29T03:48:00.000-07:002012-03-29T05:59:53.831-07:0034 things to do in London with Kids (when school is on strike) - Part 2<span style="font-size: large;">.... (cont'd) I think we left of at #23 on our list of things seen on the strike day, so, lets pick up there. We left off as we were leaving the Enlightenment Room in the British Museum... </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vaaqWhdXqLU/T3QoViYN8_I/AAAAAAAADFI/GmS8xyhDBwg/s1600/P1000282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vaaqWhdXqLU/T3QoViYN8_I/AAAAAAAADFI/GmS8xyhDBwg/s320/P1000282.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Investigating the Totem Pole</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">24. We headed out to the atrium, and headed up the stairs so the boys could get a closer look at the top of the Nu'chal'nuth totem pole (where you can see the Chief at the pinnacle, holding a talking stick).</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It was fun looking at the glass roof, and the shadows it was sending onto the wall alongside it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">25. We found the Egyptian Room, and looked at a page from the Book of the Dead. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;">You can read the page just like a comic book: from left to right. You see Anubis bringing a guy into the hall of judgement, then weighing his heart against the feather of Maat, then Toth proclaiming the man worthy, and then introducing him to Osiris. Again,... right out of the <a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/kane-chronicles/books/red-pyramid.aspx">Rick Riordan</a> books!</span></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cXcVsumap9s/T3Q0x9l7BII/AAAAAAAADHM/9Rd78dITRIE/s1600/P1000239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cXcVsumap9s/T3Q0x9l7BII/AAAAAAAADHM/9Rd78dITRIE/s400/P1000239.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Book of the Dead</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Duncan was certain that his friend Felix from home would be dying to be there too! of course... since we were surrounded by mummies, maybe "dying" is not quite the right word?...</span> </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ymXDaZlVJtc/T3QquKRXesI/AAAAAAAADFU/0TaEloNERV8/s1600/P1000285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ymXDaZlVJtc/T3QquKRXesI/AAAAAAAADFU/0TaEloNERV8/s320/P1000285.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">26. There were tons of mummies to see there, as well as bones. The boys admired the dental hygiene of the egyptians, since many of the skulls had shining white teeth still intact! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We then took a few detours so Kaseem could see some of the parts of the museum that Duncan thinks very cool, like,</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">27. The horse fragment from the top of the Massauleum at Halikarnasos...</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oL5Dc7besyg/T3QsZmLCqjI/AAAAAAAADFs/V3C99SSS5Jw/s1600/P1000286.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oL5Dc7besyg/T3QsZmLCqjI/AAAAAAAADFs/V3C99SSS5Jw/s400/P1000286.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">28. ... and the the Nereid Monument...it is just too cool!</span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8J3hUP7JUk/T3QsSLWyZLI/AAAAAAAADFg/jNLSfYDnIzI/s1600/P1000287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U8J3hUP7JUk/T3QsSLWyZLI/AAAAAAAADFg/jNLSfYDnIzI/s400/P1000287.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">lounging by the Nereid Monument</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">crossing Hungerford Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">28. We headed back to the tube line, and off to Embankment, where we walked across the Hungerford Bridge to the other side of the river. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We had a great view of the Gerkin, the Shard, and the silty waters of the Thames. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">29. We wandered down the Southbank, past the many buskers out performing their acts in the heat of the sun. The 'blue statue girl' here did a pretty solid job!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYVH4YakXis/T3QuHYQnmOI/AAAAAAAADGQ/L_Gsvj02R3c/s1600/P1000294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYVH4YakXis/T3QuHYQnmOI/AAAAAAAADGQ/L_Gsvj02R3c/s320/P1000294.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">hanging out with the buskers...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">We finally arrived at the Nameco Station Arcade (where I had a groupon for a ridiculous number of tokens). </span><span style="font-size: large;">I don't even know how to summarize the next couple of hours, other than to continue with the list: </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T2PAkLpNuA0/T3Qu_89UYHI/AAAAAAAADGc/MBn4lOoRZSY/s1600/P1000302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T2PAkLpNuA0/T3Qu_89UYHI/AAAAAAAADGc/MBn4lOoRZSY/s320/P1000302.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">getting ready for yet another ride...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">30. Bumper cars. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This was the real hit of the day...</span><span style="font-size: large;"> I have never seen two kids go on the bumper cars so many times in a row! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">They were maniacs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was starting to worry about soft tissue brain injury! (but i wasn't sure if that was them bashing the heck out of eachother, or from me WATCHING them)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jZuONvV9KE/T3QvAk1zIcI/AAAAAAAADGo/T4AF8jq0dhU/s1600/P1000297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0jZuONvV9KE/T3QvAk1zIcI/AAAAAAAADGo/T4AF8jq0dhU/s200/P1000297.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">what i felt like watching it all!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This second photo (while they might not be visible) kind of captures something of their frenetic insane energy!</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCY2cctrXvE/T3Q6iGjUACI/AAAAAAAADHY/WuO4XdJIeB0/s1600/Lambeth-20120328-00332.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xCY2cctrXvE/T3Q6iGjUACI/AAAAAAAADHY/WuO4XdJIeB0/s200/Lambeth-20120328-00332.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">31. Video games of all sorts (mostly involving weapons of mass destruction, of course!)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iQPPsq7lNPQ/T3Q6ptYfw6I/AAAAAAAADHk/CqMYZM81_gg/s1600/Lambeth-20120328-00338.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iQPPsq7lNPQ/T3Q6ptYfw6I/AAAAAAAADHk/CqMYZM81_gg/s320/Lambeth-20120328-00338.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">ready to try it again?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">32. The 'flight simulator' ride. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Basically, it makes you 'feel' that you are either on a rollercoaster, or shooting through space, etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Duncan was delighted to be trying it out with Kaseem. Last time we were here, Steve went with him, and had to hit the 'panic' button to stop the thing before he lost the contents of his stomach. But these two boys were far less queezy. Again... my task was to just keep pumping in the tokens, while they tried every option on the game. They concluded that #3 of the choices was the best one.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDHuIgZ8xRM/T3QyEHPRRKI/AAAAAAAADG0/-P1_OHe5z9E/s1600/P1000303.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bDHuIgZ8xRM/T3QyEHPRRKI/AAAAAAAADG0/-P1_OHe5z9E/s320/P1000303.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">33. When the coins were finally done, it was time to head back out into the last light of day. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">We grabbed a Belgian Waffle, and stopped for a gaze across the Thames at Big Ben. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">34. We decided to take a different route home, so we walked back across Westminster Bridge, so we could get a shot of the Thames with the London Eye in the background.</span> <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiArELw3i2M/T3QyldFRIwI/AAAAAAAADHA/eCb-6PA6EDA/s1600/P1000306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wiArELw3i2M/T3QyldFRIwI/AAAAAAAADHA/eCb-6PA6EDA/s320/P1000306.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And there you have it.... 34 things to do or see when your school is on strike! Go teachers, Go!!!!!</span> <br />
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<br />Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-59521299053309834502012-03-29T02:03:00.000-07:002012-03-29T07:24:02.329-07:0034 things to do in London with Kids (when school is on strike!) - Part 1<span style="font-size: large;">Well, since the school was on strike today, I agreed to take Duncan and Kaseem from Finchley into central London for a day of 'educational activities' (actually, we were going off to the arcade to play video games and bumper cars.... but that is pretty educational, right?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">There were of course other adventures on the way there! (to make sure my own brain got fed)...and on the tube coming home (8 hours later), Kaseem counted something like 30 things we did today. Let's see if I can remember them all.</span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZmtvIkT2Kg/T3QWaKXFJLI/AAAAAAAADDc/HNXwf-nK-nk/s1600/P1000258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZmtvIkT2Kg/T3QWaKXFJLI/AAAAAAAADDc/HNXwf-nK-nk/s320/P1000258.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">eating treats beside the post office</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">1. We took a stroll down the High Road from our place to Mr. Simm's Sweetshop for a bit of nutritional sustenance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Duncan went for the Rocky Road Chocolate Bar, Kaseem got a monstrous lollypop that ended up in most of our photos for the day (keep looking for it!).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2. Then we headed off to the post office to mail some letters using the groovy automated machine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That was followed by adventures in public transport:</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhFWrEGlARg/T3NxXQzwmeI/AAAAAAAADCU/axJ6YRkpItY/s1600/P1000259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhFWrEGlARg/T3NxXQzwmeI/AAAAAAAADCU/axJ6YRkpItY/s320/P1000259.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Sitting at the front of the bus</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">3. We caught the 125 bus at Tallyho Corner (what a great name!) and got seats at the top of the front deck ......</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">4. ......then we picked up the Northern Line at Central Finchley......</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ClwPzvyJE-c/T3NxYCpb5fI/AAAAAAAADCg/L1jyiieiRPw/s1600/P1000261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ClwPzvyJE-c/T3NxYCpb5fI/AAAAAAAADCg/L1jyiieiRPw/s320/P1000261.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">waiting for the tube in the sun</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span> </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yjgf4FV7_s/T3NxZbY3M4I/AAAAAAAADCs/Jh3ABplq1mk/s1600/P1000266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5yjgf4FV7_s/T3NxZbY3M4I/AAAAAAAADCs/Jh3ABplq1mk/s320/P1000266.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">blow dry, anyone?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="font-size: large;">5.then transfered to the Central Line, which meant wandering through a maze of tunnels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The </span><span style="font-size: large;">boys discovered that parts of some of those tunnels are so windy that you could blowdry your hair just standing there! It made us think about people hiding out in the tube stations during the war.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tSO3f-kBVk4/T3QZSWpyy-I/AAAAAAAADD0/G0UgwREturo/s1600/P1000269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tSO3f-kBVk4/T3QZSWpyy-I/AAAAAAAADD0/G0UgwREturo/s320/P1000269.JPG" width="240" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-iTsfCiIi0/T3QZR0q1ViI/AAAAAAAADDo/dnDUFzA7Gd0/s1600/P1000268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6-iTsfCiIi0/T3QZR0q1ViI/AAAAAAAADDo/dnDUFzA7Gd0/s200/P1000268.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">6. We exited the underworld at Holborn Station, and spent some time looking at miniature guitars replicas in a shop window. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here the question was whether the best guitar was from Kiss, Slayer, or the Red Hot Chili Peppers.</span><br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikLMG6JVaCE/T3QNZYW06II/AAAAAAAADDE/w9idL9z4DkM/s1600/P1000271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ikLMG6JVaCE/T3QNZYW06II/AAAAAAAADDE/w9idL9z4DkM/s320/P1000271.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">7. Investigated some public art. We saw the "Chain of Events" by Peter Randall-Page... which is the thing that looks like painting on the wall behind the boys. It is two kinds of stone, inlaid! ...Portland Stone and Black African Granite. They are sitting on another piece of art: I thought it looked like some kind of larvae, but the boys nickenamed it "The Dumpling".... one block away we walked past a restaurant with the same name. how wierd was that?! (later, i found out it is by the same artist and called "Beneath the Skin")</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">8. Saw a lot of nude scultpures in a shop window across from the museum, and discovered that greek athletes did their sports while naked. Duncan and Kaseem think it would be safer to do wrestling with your clothes on! </span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wqT-OCTDxRk/T3Qcf1kfekI/AAAAAAAADEA/NjJsou-k77g/s1600/P1000273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wqT-OCTDxRk/T3Qcf1kfekI/AAAAAAAADEA/NjJsou-k77g/s320/P1000273.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">9. Admired the front of the British Museum, and noticed all the gold leaf at the top</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AR4FWyqZotw/T3Qj0PnYFoI/AAAAAAAADE8/m5V41ZBVna4/s1600/P1000180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AR4FWyqZotw/T3Qj0PnYFoI/AAAAAAAADE8/m5V41ZBVna4/s320/P1000180.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">drinking horn, anyone?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">10. We looked at the giant drinking horns from the Sutton Hoo exhibit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">11. We went to a 'Hands On' exhibit, where the boys got to touch objects that were over 800 years old! </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBRnIoExfcw/T3Qcw7tyflI/AAAAAAAADEM/t3hxEuxIpKA/s1600/P1000275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fBRnIoExfcw/T3Qcw7tyflI/AAAAAAAADEM/t3hxEuxIpKA/s320/P1000275.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">touching 800 year old objects</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">They saw part of an old purse, a floor tile with a fleur-de-lys on it, and got to hold the front part of an enameled chalice Reliquary (for putting parts of old dead saints in). It was a flat piece of metal decorated with vivid colours and gold. We learned that to get the gold parts, they mixed gold flakes with mercury, then fired it in a kiln. The mercury evaporated leaving the gold (and poison to breath for the people doing the job). Because the job was so dangerous, and people doing it were likely to die, the curator told us that they gave the job to women. Yikes! The boys said they were glad they were boys (even though they also remembered that the boys sometimes had to go to war). I said patriarchy was replicating itself before my eyes! :-) </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0pYNi-Ea1E/T3QfCLryAUI/AAAAAAAADEk/OHfsPyDI_AI/s1600/P1000278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L0pYNi-Ea1E/T3QfCLryAUI/AAAAAAAADEk/OHfsPyDI_AI/s320/P1000278.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kaseem loves the dragon statue</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">12. (well really #12 to #22, because we saw so much stuff next!). The boys noticed the portrait of King George overhead, so we headed over to his library (the Enlightenment Room) to see the kinds of things a King looks at when he 'goes to school'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The boys made a big list of things the cool things they they saw. It included a marble head of Hercules (found at the base of Mount Vesuvius), stuffed animals (even a platypus!), the jaw of a mastadon, shark teeth, an elephant's foot, a huge amonite, crystals, egyptian statues, and more.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kzYaXjTsuw/T3QfBlU8rMI/AAAAAAAADEY/rBdW64BfHGQ/s1600/P1000276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5kzYaXjTsuw/T3QfBlU8rMI/AAAAAAAADEY/rBdW64BfHGQ/s320/P1000276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duncan loves the bowl</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I told them each to pick one thing in the room to get a photo with: here are two of their choices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will say I had fun watching the boys run through the room trying to identify (or guess) the names of the Greek Statues. I was impressed with their knowledge of Greek mythology... i don't remember knowing the stories as well when I was a kid! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">23. The Enlightenment room also has a replica the copy of the rosetta stone, the one you can put your hands on. Even if it is not 'the real thing', the copy was made in 1801, so it is still pretty cool to get your hand on it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">....more from our Strike Day in the next post.... [click <a href="http://carter-johnson.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/what-to-do-when-school-is-on-strike_29.html">here</a>]</span><br />
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</div>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5310859977328482127.post-24588598164741865262012-03-27T01:39:00.002-07:002012-03-27T01:39:45.070-07:00Every daughter loves her mommy (or was that 'mummy'?)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mummy of Artemidorus</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a bit of a 'mothers day' treat to myself, I met steve for lunch downtown, and then headed off to the </span><span style="font-size: large;">British Museum for a few stolen hours [i am on a quest to learn something from everyone of the rooms there before we return to Victoria].</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Keeping with the mother's day theme, i headed off to the Egyptian room to check out some mummy's. Imagine my surprise when I ran across this beauty of relic! check out the name! Artedimorus!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFEJHm8wVC8/T3Fz2QXAzqI/AAAAAAAADBM/hMdFAMBBZOM/s1600/P1000238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cFEJHm8wVC8/T3Fz2QXAzqI/AAAAAAAADBM/hMdFAMBBZOM/s320/P1000238.JPG" width="240" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">'are you my mother'?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Get it? "ARTE"dimorous? Not everyone has a mother named ARTA. and not many daughters face such a challenge in trying to find their mother's names in the traces of history! I face a similar challenge with my wonderful mother in law, since VERLAINE is also a bit uncommon, but at least I can find her name in the poems of Paul Verlaine (when my french is up to the task)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so, standing in the middle of the British Museum, my mind flipped back to one of the much loved books of my childhood, "Are You My Mother?" (does anyone else remember that one? where the little bird falls out of the nest and goes in search of its mother, asking cows, cats, dogs and construction equipment if any of them are its mother?) So... i felt the same way here: like a daughter who expectedly got to spend some time with her mummy! </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inscription from the Palace of Darius...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Having had that small piece of sharing time, imagine my surprise when I headed off to the Ancient Iran room, and wandered past their reconstructed version of the facade by the stairs leading up to the Palace of Darius.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes! ARTAxerxes!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The inscription is written in honour of King Artaxerxes III. </span><span style="font-size: large;">Seriously?! ARTA-xerxes? </span><span style="font-size: large;">Twice in one day?</span>Rebecca Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07835541074766008269noreply@blogger.com2