I Love Rain!!!

The sound of rain and thunderstorms are by far my favorite sounds in the world. Today I woke up extremely early to the sound of a perfect thunderstorm. What can make the stupid state when you're up an hour and a half before the alarm more enjoyable than the sound of rain and wet pavement. We've been extremely lucky the entire trip not to have bad weather, but now it's decided to let loose. AND I LOVE IT!!! We had multi-stake conference with President Uchtdorf this morning and, as always, the rain began to die out on the way there and then completely stopped while we were in the conference. The sun came streaming through the windows and it made for a cozy warm meeting. Once we were all home, the skies let loose again. I was able to peep the window open and enjoy the, though frigid, rain-filled air. When my other rain-comrades complained of the cold I closed it but was content. In conclusion, I LOVE RAIN!!

Theater Overdose...Almost!

We've seen so many plays here and there are still more to come. Most of which are required and paid for by the program. Outside of the required plays I've only seen five and of course they were Musicals...aren't you surprised?!?! There are some people here who have seen a show EVERY DAY!!! That's insane. I love theater but not that much...I need a break now and then. Anything that doesn't say "not required" is something we had to see for class and the tickets were paid for by the program. "Bonus" productions are ones where the program had extra money left over so they bought us tickets to them. They're great because we don't have to worry about a paper or test on them so we can just sit back and relax.

• Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)
  
• Alphabetical Order (comedy)
• Twelfth Night (Shakespeare)
• Time and the Conways (early 1900s)
  
• Lion King (musical) -- not required
• Wuthering Heights (Bollywood)-- not required
  
• Carousel (musical)-- required...I promise
  
• All's Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare)
• Jersey Boys (musical) -- not required
• Cherry Orchard (drama)
  
• Sunset Boulevard (musical) -- not required
• Waiting for Godot (tragicomedy)
  
• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare) -- Bonus
• Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare)
• Winter's Tale (Shakespeare)
  
• As You Like It (Shakespeare)
• Peter Pan -- Bonus
  
• Mamma Mia (musical) --not required

Card Security

Something I love about Europe is that whenever you use your credit or debit cards they verify your signature. (In the US they don't even care.) A signature is a lot better than your ID. Technically, (according to credit card companies) they're legally not supposed to ask for your ID. And what about those lucky kids who get a credit card when they're 12 or 13, before they have an ID?!!? How are they supposed to verify the purchase? Anyways, I just feel more secure when they double check my signature before completing the transaction. Just one more thing that I love about Europe.

Windsor Coolness!

Kadish, Edmunds and I took a trip out to Windsor Castle early this morning despite the threat of rain (honestly, when isn't there a THREAT of rain). We took a beautiful train ride through the country side up to the gates of the castle. This is the largest castle in England that is still being used by the Royal family. The Queen comes here on the weekends to relax away from State functions and business. (If I had such an amazing "weekend home" I wouldn't spend only my weekends there). Since it was the weekend we found out that she was home - the flag containing her crest was flying high above the tower. As we walked up to the entrance we were privileged to see the changing of the guard leave the courtyard in all their official glory. Before touring the State Apartments we visited "Queen Mary's Doll House" which is a doll's house made to scale. Okay, so that's not all that's amazing about this scaled down version of Buckingham Palace in the 50s...it has electricity, working plumbing, actual diamonds in the crown jewels, silver platters and gold silverware on the dining table, actual paintings made by the artists of the large version, miniature books with all of the pages/illustrations, and even the tiniest combs and ribbons on the dressing tables...all smaller than your thumbnail. The next hallway contained two dolls belonging to two princesses (I can't remember which two) and the little accessories. There were actual fur shawls, shoes, diamond bracelets, silk dresses, and even a motorized car all made for these two and a half feet tall dolls. It's mind-blowing! It was built, not for children, but for her love of miniature things. Painters, writers, artists, politicians, etc would give her pieces and furniture to keep her collection growing. (Sad to say they didn't allow photography so I don't have any proof to show). Then we saw the State Apartments which to this day are still being used to welcome Royal and Political guests as well as for royal functions. In St. George's Hall, the walls and ceiling were covered in coats of arms for all of the knights going back to the 14th century. These knights are not the more common kind - Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John - but the more special kind made famous by the tale of King Arthur and the Round Table. These men are specially hand picked by the monarch as the kind who would immediately jump to protect the royalty like knights in shining armor were supposed to. Today there are only 26 at any one time and are called "Knights of the Garter." We spoke with a security guard/guide on duty and asked him for more information and we learned SOO much and it's really fascinating. Before leaving the castle we paused in St. George's chapel and were in awe of its glory and majesty. (Once again no photos). Inside are buried King Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Queen Victoria's youngest son and grandson, Princess Margaret and her parents as well as many saints and other unnamed patrons of the church. I loved this part of the day because I've always been fascinated with Henry VIII's story and the Tudor time period so seeing their graves brought the story to life for me and made me realize that these people were more than stories. I was captivated from beginning to end. The organ that took up most of the building was magnificent and I couldn't help but wish I could touch even one key. The pipes were elaborately decorated with vines and flowers and the music, though they were only tuning it, was beyond description. We left feeling exhausted and happy having seen the most beautiful castle there is...at least in my opinion.

Shakespeare on Wheels

We took a mandatory 3 day trip down to Stratford to see some of the Shakespeare sights and to watch some of his plays. Along the way down we stopped at a couple of other Historic sights including Coventry Cathedral, Kenilworth Castle ruins, and Warwick Castle. Coventry Cathedral is an ancient Cathedral that was bombed during World World War 2. The original building was then left alone without any efforts to restore its former glory. As we walked around the ruins we even saw bits of the original stained glass shards still in their window frames. At the top of the Cathedral two of the beams from the celing fell and formed the Cross and so they too were left just as they fell. Alongside these ruins lies a new, modern Cathedral of the same name. Inside are magnificent stained glass windows and modern religious sculptures that simply take your breath away. The two Cathedrals side by side really give the impression of stately strength and historic value. Inside the ruins is a plaque which sums up the Cathedral's existence perfectly. It reads "The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former." Our second stop was at the Kenilworth Castle ruins. This castle was owned by Robert Dudley and he used it to woo Queen Elizabeth I - which didn't work by building an entire wing just for her to live in when she visited. He went bankrupt after she left and the castle slowly deteriorated. Attached to the ruins is a restored garden that contains many of the patterns that signify courtly love. Before reaching Stratford we made one more stop. This time at Warwick ("Warrick") Castle. This 4 HOUR stop was ridiculous and everybody hated it. What it is is a sort of Renaissance fair, theme park built onto a caslte without all the rides, booths, and attractions. Really pointless. We watched a bird of prey flying as well as a Trebuchet exhibit - the only exciting parts of this adventure - and we couldn't wait to get back on the bus. When we finally made it to Stratford we checked into our B&B
guesthouses and then prepared for the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance of "Winter's Tale." The performance was....interesting. It had a modernistic approach that I didn't understand or appreciate. There were, however, really cool technical effects that blew my mind. Sad to say, I did fall asleep during this performance because it just didn't attract my attention. Our second day in Stratford was more for exploring. We took a tour of the historic Shakespeare sights in the morning visiting the Birthplace, Nash's House, and Hall's Croft as well as the school that Shakespeare attended and his actual grave sight. Many of the sights didn't allow photography and a brave member of our group asked why (now you'll know why many places don't allow photography). There was an instance where someone broke into the house and stole only certain items. The thieves seemed to have a "shopping list" knowing what was most valuable to steal. Anyway, after that we had free time until the optional tour of the Royal Shakespeare Theater. The little group I went with (containing only Kadish, Lang, and myself) had so much fun. We first wandered the historic streets taking in the sights and boutiques then found a little cafe for lunch. Afterwards we wandered some more and then rented a true Shakespeare rowboat (named "Beatrice" for Shakespeare's "Much Ado..") All of the boats were named after Shakespeare's female characters. We had the boat for a half an hour before the tour. We rowed all along the Avon taking turns at the actual rowing and singing true "Rowboat songs" such as "Row Row Row Your Boat" and then advancing to the more elaborate as we floated under a weeping willow singing "Kiss the Girl." Classic! The tour of the theater took us upstage, backstage, and inside all the technical areas of the theater. Really fascinating and intense. That night we saw the performance of "As You Like It" in the RSC theater. It was a lot more entertaining and less sleep-full than the previous night's. Our third and final day in Stratford started off with visits to the Anne Hathaway Cottage and Mary Arden's farm. We also stopped in Oxford where I visited Christ Church Cathedral/College where they filmed much of the Harry Potter movies. There wasn't too much to see in the city of Oxford but, yet again, we had 5 hours to kill. (Definitely a cop out for our instructors so they don't have to plan anything). Ridiculous but I made the best of it by wandering through the streets and visiting the famous "Eagle and the Child" pub where C.S. Lewis and Tolkien frequented with the other "Inklings." Let's just say, I couldn't wait to be back on the bus for 2 hours. The week had its highs and lows but overall I'm glad I'm here!

London North Ward - Till We Meet Again

We went to our last ward meetings this week because next week is Stake Conference with Pres Uchtdorf. I'm sad that I won't get to serve and interact with such amazing members. I've learned a lot about myself as well as the church strength in general that I'm so glad to have had this opportunity. One little old lady taught me the most valuable lesson. Peggy is blind yet so strong. She spoke in church last week and her whole talk was stories of how the church started out and what growth she has witnessed. The most important thing I learned was not in a story, it wasn't a gospel topic, it was her pure light and love. She said that she's always hated being the center of attention especially in public. Now that she's blind her fears are more prominent because she cannot see when people are sleeping or when they're not paying attention or talking. What do I have to compare my fear to hers - nothing. I've started to become more comfortable with being in front of people and my self confidence itself has gotten a little boost. Broadway here I come - okay so I'm just joking, but I'll be more willing to do things without the fear of judgment that has always been a widespread aspect of my life.