OXFORD

Hello, loved ones and visitors! Kaela here. Yes, I just got the nod that I am allowed to post on Christian’s precious blog. You see, I wrote an entry when we were in Zimbabwe that didn’t make the cut. Christian, as diligent readers will know, is somewhat . . . well . . . he likes to embellish and decorate. My entry was a little too bland for his taste. I have not yet written the entry for Oxford, but it’s going on the blog come hell or high water. Here goes . . .

On the 8th of January Christian and I made our way Paddington station. Disclaimer: Paddington Bear was one of my favourites as a child. Everytime I wore Wellington boots I quite fancied that I was the bear himself. When I visited England as a child, my family was rushing one day to get to Paddington and catch a train. I was convinced that we were about to meet the actual Paddington bear. What a disappointment it was when I learned that Paddington was a stinkin’ station!

Back to the story. We were utterly exhausted that day because we were hungover. No, actually it is because we were completely jet lagged. We had just returned from California (Heidi’s wedding) 4 or 5 days before and had become temporarily nocturnal. We rushed to the station and caught the train with seconds to spare because life wouldn’t be exciting if we didn’t catch a train just as it tugs away from the platform.

The train ride to Oxford was gorgeous. The morning light was opening through the sky, and the countryside was, as it always is, Englishy and emerald.

When we arrived at Oxford, we took some pictures with a very masculine bronze ox (for Oxford) right out side the station. We then went on to have a fantastic adventure.


It was always my dream as a youngster to go to Oxford University. That dream became rekindled as we entered the town. Walking through the streets you can almost hear the buildings whisper. It felt as if we were going back through time as we wandered over the ancient cobbled roads.

The first thing we did was visit the church of St. Mary the Virgin. This church totally would have appealed to my brother Kean as it as covered in loads of tiny little skulls. I was fascinated! I couldn’t stop taking pictures of them. They were kind of cute. There was a magnificent stained glass window through which the sun flooded and made the cute little skulls glow.


The reason we visited the church was to climb the 14th century bell tower and get a 360 degree panoramic view of the town. But the climb came at a price. In fact, climb doesn’t quite cut it. We HEAVED our way up 124 stairs. Now, it’s not the number of stairs that almost put me in my grave, it was the fact that the stairs were tightly spiraling up a narrow pipe. Wait, it gets better—each step was about 3 inches deep by about ¾ of a foot wide. So, if you didn’t plant your little toes firmly down, you’d lose your footing. But, were this to have happened, I didn’t run the risk of falling far due to how narrow the pipe was. Indeed, had I fallen, I would have become firmly wedged bottom up! And consequently, would have been suffocated by my blue cloud (the blue cloud is my sleeping bag/coat that features quite prominently in this blog—it’s not pretty, it makes me look like I weigh 5 tons, but it sure is toasty!). However, I didn’t fall and ridicule myself. Luckily, this probably happened to someone else, and as a result, thick ropes have been attached to the central pillar to help us curvier customers pull ourselves through the claustrophobic, bat-poop portal!

Well, I have to say that the battle was worth it! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more astonishingly beautiful view. Spires of all centuries, shapes and sizes shot up amongst chimneys and black rooftops and stood against a backdrop of rich green rolling hills and a quintessentially grey sky.







We then went and signed up for an Oxford walking tour. Our tour guide was a tiny lady who looked as if she was made of glass. Her raven hair was interspersed with a few grey hairs and her skin was almost transparent. Her voice was equally as fragile, but still, she was pleasant enough and oh! so proper!

Here are a few pictures from our tour:
ENJOYING SUNSHINE




OH, JUST A CRUMMY STUDENT DORM


One of the colleges the tour guide spoke of most was Christchurch. Christchurch and Magdalene (pronounced "Maudlin") are the most famous colleges.

CHRISTCHURCH


Lewis Carroll studied at Christchurch College. The tour guide informed us that characters in Alice in Wonderland were based on characters that he encountered at Christchurch. For example, Alice was the daughter of the director of the college at the time. The director himself was fashioned on the rabbit. Apparently the director was ALWAYS late and rushing around looking at his pocket watch. I thought that was a cool little factoid. Similarly, C.S. Lewis based many of his characters from Narnia on statues of fawns, etc., in Christchurch College.

After our tour we were hungry, so we ate a few Thumpers:



(Click here for Christian's debue as a newscaster)

Actually, we went to the Turf Tavern, the oldest pub in Oxford.

CHRISTIAN'S MEAL OF CHOICE: STEAK AND ALE PIE



OUTSIDE THE TURF TAVERN




Oh yeah, guess what's in Oxford? See the chalkboard in the picture below? Albert Einstein gave 3 lectures here on his Theory of Relativity. Someone had the good sense not to rub out one of the chalkboards he wrote on. This is the original, framed!



We ended the day with a visit to the Sheldonian:




The Sheldonian was Christopher Wren’s first major work of Architecture. It is in the Sheldonian that concerts are held, including most of the graduation ceremonies. Here is a little clip I took inside the Sheldonian. Note Christian’s enthusiasm!:

Click here for the video.

Pictures from Catering Events

The past couple of weekends I have had the chance to work at some pretty neat venues as part of a catering company. Each one has been completely different, but check out these pictures to get an idea of the scale.

In between Whitehall and the Mall leading to Buckingham Palace, is a large open gravel space called the Horse Guards Parade. Since the time of Henry VIII the large open field has been an events center of London, featuring jousting tournaments and national celebrations. It is also home to Her Majesty’s Household Cavalry.

The event I worked at was a charity event for a major urban development organization, and some of the big names of London were there. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, spoke, as well as other leaders of major companies. The money they threw around that night was staggering- raising well over £150,000. To give you any idea of the donations people made, two front row seats to a Wimbledon game (can’t remember if it was the finals or not) went for £25,000 (over US $40,000). For two spots on a day excursion riding a WWII era Spitfire fighter plane, each person paid over £20,000 (over US $32,000). They had trips to the Monaco Grand Prix, paid holidays in exotic locations, and more. Insane.

Here is what the event set up looked like:

The outside


The inside (over 80 tables decorated like this!)


The hanging arrangement of flowers in the background was about 3-4 meters in diameter, thats how large it was-


A few of the desserts ready to roll out:



This event was a Bat Mitzvah staged in a renovated 19th century church of all places (http://www.onemarylebone.com/). I was pretty impressed with what they were able to do with the place, but I had to stand for over an hour, motionless, holding a loaded drink tray. My arms were in pain for several days!




This next event was a fundraiser for a major Children’s Education foundation. It was staged in the old iconic Battersea power station. Located on the south side of the Thames, the power station has been derelict and completely gutted for years. The building is roofless, and the middle is a rusted construction site. So what do they do with it? Put a giant marquee in the middle of it, and rent out the space for events.

I was assigned to wait on the table of one of the CEO’s of the Royal Bank of Scotland and his family. Several of the staff said afterwards that Elizabeth Hurley was there, and I watched Elton John call via video to the event from LA encouraging people to donate. That was pretty cool to see.

Powerstation from the outside:

Marquee from the inside:




Anyways, I thought you all would enjoy seeing a snapshot of some of the high-end events that go on in London.

Covert Operations in the Royal Albert Hall

After last night's incredible experience, when I went back to work tonight, I had to see it again. This time however, I came prepared. Walking in a few minutes into the performance, I stood on some stairs with the attendant to my right. Ever so discreetly, I held my jacket bunched up in my right arm, and held my smuggled video camera with my left hand. The jacket successfully hid the camera from view and I caught 10 minutes of the program.

I had to end the film as soon as the song ended because the attendant was standing right next to me, but I think it is still pretty neat.

Take a look here

Or put this in your browser:
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/0792ac48e78352bba2e6e45a53f5915d/video/74873611

Go to about 7 minutes in for the good stuff if your short on time.

I'd be interested to know what you think!

Rule Brittannia and the 1812 Overture at the Royal Albert Hall

I wasn’t planning on having THE musical experience of a lifetime today, nor was I expecting to. When I got called to go work a last-minute shift at the Elgar restaurant tonight, little did I know the memories that would be made.

I was asked to cover a 5-9:30 shift at the Elgar restaurant in the Royal Albert Hall. Tonight (I had forgotten) was a “Classic Spectacular” concert featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with the Royal Choral Society performing some of the most moving and beloved classics of all time: Saint-Saens Finale Organ Symphony; Holst’s Mars from The Planets; Bizet’s Toreador's Song Carmen; Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, and many more.

As my shift ended at the restaurant, there was about 20 minutes or so left in the concert and I stepped inside the hall to watch from the upper balcony section. I spoke to the attendant that I was part of the staff, and he let me sit right on the edge. I literally was looking over the balcony to a sheer drop into the music of the bass section. The hall was packed with people filling the many boxes, and the ground floor area. The Orchestra was spread across the stage and the chorus was split and seated around the massive organ. There was impressive laser/light show apparatuses suspended from the domed ceiling which twisted and turned with the music for added effect. It was clearly towards the end of the concert, but they had saved their best numbers for last.

The conductor first led the orchestra in a rousing rendition of “Rule Brittania”. Kevin Greenlaw, baritone, strutted out onto the stage draped with the Union Jack and sang as he took the giant flag and waved it. The audience loved it, and he came back out and sang an encore. The hall rippled with the hundreds of flags being waved throughout the song, and especially during the chorus. They were delighted when the orchestra and singer performed the encore with even more gusto than before.

For an idea of what it looked like, go here

The orchestra then followed with Nessum Dorma sung by Welsh Singer Wynne Evans. I didn’t care for his clipped abrupt style, but the audience did!

Then they played the 1812 Overture- and that was the best part of the whole night. What we didn’t know at the onset of the song was that above where we were sitting, in nearly the rafters, there were actors in French and Russian military dress on opposite sides of the hall facing each other. With cannons. As the song progressed, the lighting display augmented the experience as it flowed and moved and filled the hall.

And then the French and Russians began to fight.

Gun shots rang through the hall, and the cannons boomed in response. Crisscrossing the hall were tracing wires and rockets shooting across them, momentarily filling the hall with white lines of blinding, showering sparks. As the orchestra and chorus continued towards the climax, the hall was a commotion of sound, smoke, dazzling pulsating lights, and fire. Fireworks went off in tempo behind the orchestra. Shifting lights accentuated the hall in reds, blues and greens. The tall organ pipes were illuminated as it joined in the fury. Cannon and gunfire continued to fill the hall. And finally, the audience was enveloped in the chaos as brilliant blasts of sparks raced around the rim of the hall coming to a full circle.

It was pretty spectacular.

For only a shadow of what it looked like go here and watch from the 3 minute mark.

The audience went wild, and the orchestra played 2 encores of Offenbach’s famous “Can Can” , and another round of “Rule Brittania” as the conductor’s podium raised up several feet revealing Union Jacks on all sides. With more fireworks going off around the hall, hundreds of red, white and blue balloons were dropped from the domed ceiling, and streamers exploded from the sides of the hall.



If anything, the British know how to put on a show.

I quickly went backstage before the crowd began to leave and got my stuff. But before I left the hall I went to the stage floor and just soaked in the view. Looking up on all sides, it felt pretty cool to stand alone in the middle of the Royal Albert Hall. To get an idea, go to this link and take a look from the ground floor.

I felt pretty lucky today- its not that often you get to hear the 1812 Overture in the Royal Albert Hall for free.

The Book of the Dead Exhibit

Just down the street from us is one of the most famous places in London: The British Museum. Home to the Rosetta stone, and a host of other pieces that range from Egyptian relics to famous works from the Tang dynasty, it is truly a must see for anyone visiting London.

The things they have there are just remarkable. A family friend of ours who studied at the LSE in the early 80’s told me that he would often go to the central study room and request to see old maps “because I dig old maps”. As he was a Master’s student, he was granted access to handle maps from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries and would spend hours just studying them.

For the past few months the museum has had a special exhibition of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Mikaela was really keen to go, so we got tickets and finally went a few days before it closed.

The Book of the Dead isn’t a specific book per say, but rather a collection of books, that had a special purpose. When the Egyptians died, they believed that the spirit of the deceased began a dangerous journey and would pass through several levels of tests, or portals, with minor gods acting as guards barring passage. Only by giving specific “spells” or oaths to each of the guards could they pass through to the next level. After passing these different degrees or stages would they be allowed to go into their concept of heaven, which wasn’t all that different from their own world. There they would wait and work in their prosperous fields and wait for their family members to join them.

The Book of the Dead was a written account of this process, with accompanying illustrations, that people wealthy enough would have commissioned and had buried with them. It was essentially a map; one that reminded the spirit of the oaths and spells they needed, and the paths they had to take after dying. Rolled up, and bound by leather, they were then placed in the sarcophagus with the body. When the first scrolls were initially discovered, they were unrolled (one of the scrolls was over 37 meters long!) and deciphered. Several scrolls on display remain unopened.

While the name “Book of the Dead” sounds a bit morbid, almost like an exhaustive list of faceless deceased people, it is actually the opposite. In fact, the true translation for the name of the book is actually “Book of Coming Forth by New Day” or even “Book of Emerging Forth Into the Light”. With this understanding, the mummies, and images of old dusty crypts that I have always associated with ancient Egypt took on a new dimension for me. I saw instead humanity and life infused into these seemingly dead, silent objects encased behind glass.

One of the outer mummy sarcophogi they had on display was open, standing vertically, allowing you to see the inside of the sarcophagus. The inside was covered with thousands of tiny little characters detailing the Book of the Dead. Meticulously hand painted, I couldn’t help but imagine the devotion and artistry that went into this object by someone who must have worked hours skillfully writing along the inner recesses and dips of the wood. What once would have been just another object to me was now a masterful work of art. It was remarkable.

Some interesting tidbits that I saw and scribbled down throughout the exhibit:

• Before the mummy was buried, the priests attending the burial performed a ritual in which they anointed and blessed parts of the body (in particular the head) with oil which was kept in special jars.

• One of the dialogues between the spirit and a god guarding the passage way was spoken by a priest before the mummy was buried. The spirit declared itself “cleansed from sin” from itself and others. This was followed by a priest asking the spirit, “What does that mean?” Another answer was given, followed by another question. Notice in the picture below, the black and red ink. The characters in red ink are the words the priest speaks, and the words in black are the responses.



• A spirit was ultimately judged by his heart. Not by his acts, not by his words at the time of judgment, but by the quality of his heart. It was weighed opposite a feather of truth (Below).


• When a spirit had passed all the levels guarded by minor gods, and after he was declared clean in judgment, he was introduced into the presence of Osiris by a minor god who declared the spirit’s cleanliness before Osiris. It was then welcomed by Osiris after declaring “make a way for me for I know you. I know your name.”

• The heaven they entered was a glorified version of the Nile where they continued to work in a “fertile land” where they were later joined by their family members.

• To quote one curator in the blog link below: “The worst thing that can happen [along the journey to the afterlife] is what is called the second death. This meant you were killed and your spirit couldn’t come back and so you would have no afterlife at all.

Overall the Book of the Dead was an enlightening experience because we saw how people thousands of years ago interpreted and experienced death in a way that brought out the humanity in themselves and their loved ones. Walking away from the museum, I thought of the many things in life we pass by or ignore simply because we don’t understand them. Mummies and stuff never really interested me, but since I knew what to look for, they gained new meaning.

How much more could I gain if I searched for different ways to interpret many of the things around me?

Food for thought.

Here's the curator's blog for more info:

http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2010/09/22/what-is-a-book-of-the-dead/

Fresh Winkles for Sale

Here are some of the more interesting things we've seen whilst traipsing about recently:

I've never seen an American baby pull this one off... have you?



Taken at the market in Winchester: Fresh what?!!??


You can buy anything in England!


Look at the lower plaque: A very unfortunate name... why would a parent do that?


This cake shop in Oxford is prepared for every occasion:


I didnt know grooms on cakes with dents in their faces gave thumbs up...


Watch out for those tempting British Blondes:


Yes, they truly are beautiful. (It's what's on the inside that counts)

Valentines Day and the London Eye

After a few years of officially biffing it on Valentines Day, I knew that during our time in London, this was a now or never chance to salvage my limping reputation as a romantic. Screw this one up, and it was to the dog-house for me.

Forever.

So, departing from my usual male-techniques of logically thinking through ideas, weighing options, and coming to the best conclusion, I walked outside to seek inspiration.

Any inspiration. . . please. . . anything!

Luckily the gods, knowing my impending doom and knowing I was desperate, alerted my Neanderthal brain to a popular place to visit in London. The fact that it also just happens to be colorful, constantly moving, really really big, and visible from most anywhere along the Thames. . . probably helped.

The London Eye is a massive ferris wheel that rotates large capsules holding up to 30 people at a time. The rotations, or “flights”, take 30 minutes and provide spectacular views of London and the Thames. Given that we were going at dusk, we got to see the city transform from twilight to night and watched the city lights illuminate the increasingly dark forms filling the horizon.

The wheel is right across the river from Parliament, and Big Ben, and up river from the City of London. Take a look at the pictures we took:











Thankfully, the gods smiled upon me and I live to write another day.

Damn, Ohno and Notagain

I don’t know if I wrote this when we were living in Zimbabwe, but the Shona people have an interesting way of naming their children: the mother names the child based on what she experienced during her pregnancy.

So a few examples of some classic names we know: NoRest, Mistake, Blessing, Gift, and Misery.

And Morris.

Nevermind that last one, but I asked Mikaela what she would name our kids if she followed Shona custom. Her reply?

“Damn, Ohno, and Notagain!”