Inauguration day in London

I have been awful about posting regularly--I suppose I should have thought that would happen at some point, with all the books I need to read for my master's program. I thought I would start again by telling how I spent yesterday, inauguration day, in London.

Oddly enough, Madame Tussaud's offered free admission to all Americans yesterday in honor of President Obama's inauguration--they were unveiling their new Obama wax figure. I went with Jen, a friend of mine from university. Normally, tickets are £25 per person. Does that seem like a fair price for a few rooms of wax figures, a tiny haunted house, and a short animated film about aliens obsessed with celebrities? One would think that with all the money they make from selling over-priced pictures, candy and souvenirs, the admission price at least could be under 10 pounds. I was glad to get in for free!

Some highlights:

Audrey and I have breakfast at Tiffany's.

One of my favorite Shakespearean actors.

Having a chat with Steven Spielberg.

Being spooky with Alfred Hitchcock.

Practicing my regal pose with Henry VIII.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Albert.

The Bard himself, back from the dead.

Speaking of back from the dead...

And, finally, the man of the hour himself.

After all this excitement, I went home and sat in bed to watch the inauguration over the internet. But yesterday wasn't just inauguration day, it was also a friend's birthday, so as soon as the ceremonies were over and I had watched George W. officially leave Washington, I left too, to head to Covent Garden. We went to a restaurant called Belgo, a Belgian restaurant and bar. It was down in a basement, and the waiters were all dressed like monks. I tried both Belgian beer (raspberry beer? who knew?) and mussels for the first time (so good) and, of course, had a waffle for dessert. What a night.

A picture of the inside of Belgo. The man in the middle wearing all black is one of the waiters, dressed as a monk.

Trip to Oxford with some fellow Shakespeareans

On Saturday, some girls in my Shakespeare course convinced me to travel to Oxford with them for the day. Even though more than one of us was worried about finishing essays on time for this week, I think we enjoyed ourselves...

We ate lunch at a pie restaurant in a covered market in Oxford. I think it will be my goal for the rest of my time here to learn how to make these: in case you can't tell in the picture, that's mashed potatoes with a meat pie on top (mine was cider pork and apple, yum) and minted smashed peas on top of the pie, all drenched in gravy. True British fare. From left to right: Jen, Ashley, Amanda.

This is the largest room in Blackwell, supposed to be the largest bookstore anywhere. Three miles of bookshelves. Three miles! I bought a Shakespeare magazine.

Somewhere near the Bodleian library, Oxford University's famous and ancient copyright library.


A close-up of one of the heads.

The Divinity School, where our tour of the Bodleian started. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the rest, which was a shame.

The outside of the old part of the Bodleian.

St. Mary's church, just opposite the Bodleian.

Me outside the Eagle and Child pub, where the Inklings (including C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien) used to meet every Tuesday morning for over twenty years (from 1939-62) to drink beer and read and discuss the books each were currently writing. They referred to the pub as the Bird and Baby.

The 'Rabbit Room' inside where the Inklings would sit every week. You can see a picture of Lewis on the far right.

Me and Jen in the Rabbit Room with our mulled cider. Worth going back to Oxford for.

Remembrance Sunday in the UK

Today was Remembrance Sunday in the UK, a celebration that goes along with Remembrance Day on Tuesday (Veteran's Day in the US). I've been struck, the past few weeks, by the difference in attitude toward this national holiday here as compared to America.

I started seeing people wearing red paper poppies a few weeks ago and at first couldn't figure out why. In the States, it seemed like we might buy a poppy at a supermarket to support a veteran's group, but no one would wear them around. Here, you see them everywhere: a constant reminder of both the World Wars and the wars happening now. It's almost required that you wear one: I was told that if TV personae don't have them on by the week leading up to Remembrance Day, their station will get hundreds of angry phone calls. The celebration on Remembrance Sunday is also a big deal: there is a parade in Whitehall, with the Royal Family and members of all the Armed Forces coming to lay wreaths at The Cenotaph, a stone tomb erected after WW1 in memory of those soldiers whose remains are elsewhere.

It does make sense that people in the UK would be more conscious of the effects of war: London was completely destroyed by bombs in The Blitz during WW2, as was much of the rest of the country. Compared to that, regular US citizens didn't see much during the war. It's become a part of the public consciousness over here in a way I'm only beginning to fathom.

In America, I've heard it said that there is a public forgetfulness over what has happened in our past--that's why 9/11 was widely termed a "wakeup call." But I think it goes further than that. We aren't even very aware of the war we're in now. On Sundays, George Stephanopoulos on his show This Week lists American soldiers who have died in Iraq that week. But the media are not allowed to cover the repatriation ceremonies of soldiers' bodies, a policy that George W. Bush created so that Americans' sensibilities wouldn't be upset--or to prevent too large of a public outcry against the war, depending on how you look at it. In the UK, live coverage of every repatriation ceremony is shown on multiple television networks. The bodies are given full military honors, with attendance often including bands, high-ranking government officials, and members of the royal family. Citizens line the streets to see the coffins pass, holding minutes of silence in respect.

If I could ask one small favor of the president-elect, it would do would be to change Bush's policy. Men and woman who are willing to fight and to die for our country ought to be afforded every honor possible in gratitude for their service and sacrifice. It's the least they deserve.