The Masquerade Ball

This post is definitely going to be an interesting one. However, let me start of by giving you some background information about how I found this event. While sitting at work one day I asked my coworker what some local events were that tourists would not know about that would absolutely blow my mind. He proceeded to tell me a number of places but one stuck out to me in particular. This event was a pagan masquerade ball. The pagan religion is almost more of a general spirituality and consists of any native or typically polytheistic religions or non Abrahamic religions. This includes beliefs such as animism, pantheism, shamanism, and polytheism among other beliefs. So in other words the group of people that would be at this event were open to anything and were going to be a very relaxed and open minded group of people. After we obtained our masks we went to the event which was at the Coronet off of Elephant and Castle. We walked in and were immediately blown away by what we saw. There were about six different rooms with various forms of entertainment in each. There were naked dancers and people walking around all over although the majority of people were clothed. Everyone had masks and everybody was in a great mood. There were various forms of artistic expression going on. Whether it was bod painting, classical dance to the orchestra that started the night off or the comedic burlesque show up stairs there was something for everyone. There was also a room with multiple types of reptiles and tarantulas that could be held by anyone. At one point I had a medium sized boa constrictor wrapped around my neck, a chameleon on my head, a large leopard gecko in my hand and was petting a bearded dragon. They were all very nice and I had a great time playing with them. However, due to my arachnophobia I opted out of holding the large tarantula knowing that I might have a heart attack and die on the spot if I did. This was probably one of my favorite nights and I had a blast with my friends. I even learned how to waltz from a professional french dancer that was there! This group only puts on 3 or 4 events a year and they are huge productions so I am very happy that we went. I would recommend going to anyone that ever gets the chance because as long as you have an open mind you will not regret it!

Trouble in the court! Adventures at Hampton Court Palace!

Hampton Court Palace was truly a great sight to behold. While very different looking than London Tower or other old palaces it was not meant for withstanding a siege. This palace was made to be a work of art as was very easy to tell through the immense amount of artistic expression that could be seen while exploring this massive palace. There were extravagant pieces of art hung all throughout the palace and the décor was of the highest class. There were paintings of everyone of any note that had lived there and rooms were extremely over sized in comparison to the number of people living in each room. All of the outfits were of the finest quality and were made to accentuate the desired bodily shapes of each gender. You can tell that people really took pride in the place that they were living in. As we walked in to the dining hall we were greeted by King George the I from Hanover, Germany. He was sitting at an elegant table with an extravagant feast laid out in front of him. He began to speak to us about how proud he was about how large his buffet was and how the people were all starving but found satisfaction and happiness from watching their king eat. He then went on about how fancy his hall was and began to brag about all of the folded napkins and how artsy they were. There was everything from folded flowers to folded napkin animals all over the table and he would not stop talking about how elegant the Hanover people’s art of napkin folding was and how we must be so impressed. Unfortunately, the happiness did not last. The King was having a feud with his son the Prince of Wales and we were later brought in to the thick of it during our ‘tour’. The group was divided at the beginning and as a loyal follower to my king I stood by his side during the argument as the other lowly peasants went with the popular choice and stood beside the Prince of Wales. The argument got very heated and it ended with the prince and his wife being banished from England. There is obviously a huge amount of pride in place here as shown by the extravagant day long stories that unfold at different times throughout the day. The actors never break character and can be found walking around at different times throughout the castle and its grounds having authentic conversations from that era. I will definitely have to come back and follow the stories throughout the whole day so that I can see the entire tale unfold before my eyes and maybe even play a key role in it myself.  

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

What an experience Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre was! I had read so much about this place and read so many different fictional stories from books such as The Shakespeare Stealer that mentioned this place but seeing the recreation of this place was really something else. While the old Globe Theatre burned down, this one is across the river due to the change in size of the Thames river but is an exact replica of what they believe the original Globe Theatre was supposed to have looked like. For this blog entry I will focus on the elements of class and gender. Where an individual sat directly corresponded to their social class. If you were a lowly peasant you would be on the floor which was standing room only. If you were royalty or of upper class you would sit in the various levels of balconies that wrapped around the Globe Theatre. If you were very important you would sit in the Lord’s Room which was located above and behind the stage. While at first glance this might not appear to be the best seat, let me assure you it was! This was because it was the best seat to be noticed in. Only the rich and powerful were able to obtain these seats and therefore they were placed in the spot where you would be seen the best throughout the show. Anyone who was facing the stage would see you up behind it and be in awe that you were able to obtain such an amazing seat. However, I would personally prefer the floor standing room in the very front where you could lean against the stage and interact with the actors. I would much rather have a blast and be part of the show than sit up behind it so that people could simply admire me. As for gender, once you went in to the museum you could see replicas of the clothes worn by actors for shows on various mannequins. However, on closer examination you would notice that all of these mannequins (even those in dresses) were men! For those of you that do not know, women were not allowed to act during Shakespeare’s era. All rolls, including those of female characters, were played by men. While this might seem disturbing to you to think about men playing romantically involved characters with other men, it was perfectly normal back then. While I have no problem with this it was quite entertaining to see the ugly and brutish looking ‘women’ mannequins in their elegant dresses. Overall this was a very exciting trip. The replication of the Globe Theatre was exceptional from the handmade wooden structure with wooden pegs to hold it together to the thatched roof; every detail was definitely on point. I definitely plan on going back to see a play here before I leave!

Graffiti Art

I have to tell you I am very excited about this blog post. I have been off getting lost and I have found some amazing things during my journeys. While Kensington and the surrounding areas are very nice, clean, and respectable they lack a sort of edge. The buildings while ‘artsy’ are very reserved and you don’t get in to the nitty and gritty of London’s working class. I am staying in one of the wealthiest areas of London and therefore I felt that my experience thus far had been a bit sheltered. This is why I decided to go wander the infamous and poverty stricken east end of London. Having read about this place and its crime and poverty I wanted to see the fire that drove the working class to persevere and make a life for themselves. I needed to see the beautiful result that only comes from a life full of struggles and adversity; oh boy did I find what I was looking for! As I emerged from the tube in to the east end I immediately noticed the trash and filth that could be seen scattered throughout the area. The streets and shops were visibly not as kept up and you could see many a local trying to hustle anyone they could. However, even though I come from a middle-upper class household I am no stranger to places like this. Back home and in my travels I have often frequented these places because they are where you find the inspiring stories and the true heart of a city. As I walked I began to notice graffiti all over the sides of buildings, alleys and various walls all around this borough. This was not the typical gang graffiti that one might see back home in Seattle or L.A. but was instead a mass of beautiful images portraying what people held dear to them. The level of artistic expression in this place was unreal. Due to the level of cultural fusion/borrowing there were beautiful and original interpretations of many characters from movies and games that I grew up loving. On one wall I saw an original portrayal of Buzz Lightyear standing next to a very thuggish looking Woody. Further down the wall there was a beautiful image of the old man from up holding some balloons with letters on them spelling out the word “LOVE”. My God was this place amazing! There was everything from political messages to video game characters from Warcraft and Mortal Combat. Nowhere else in London do you find this level of beauty in the street art. Back in Kensington everything is kept very clean and orderly meaning that any graffiti is usually removed if anyone even dares to do it in the first place. These ‘savages’ that I had read so much about in books written by the west enders had instantaneously transformed in to beautiful poets and artists before my very eyes. This was by far one of my favorite areas that I have been to for sightseeing and I would strongly recommend visiting this area to anyone who finds themselves in London. However, one must remember the level of crime in this area because the beauty of this artwork can make you forget about all of this very easily. Having said this, I will definitely be going back to see what else I can find.

Would you like a spot of tea?

Hello loyal readers, today I have a grand story to tell. The story is about my first ever afternoon tea experience in London! Now we all know the typical British stereotype about afternoon tea, but few of us have actually experienced afternoon tea since we do not practice this tradition in the United Sates. This afternoon tea tradition is very deeply ingrained in the British culture and has been in practice since the early 19^th century! After going I can see why. Afternoon tea is a great way to take a break and wind down halfway through a long work day. It serves not only to relax a person but also as a means to socialize and show off one’s class. In the old days, one could tell a lot about somebody’s class by how they drank their tea. If the person put their milk in their cup first and then the tea, it typically meant that the person was of lower class. If a person was of high class they would put their tea in first, followed by their milk. This was because for those that could not afford nice china if they were to put the tea in first, the cheap cups would split in half from the heat and spill their tea everywhere! Therefore, they would put the milk in first so that it would cool the tea down as it was poured in to the cup so that the cup would not split. This was a way that the wealthy could show off because only they were able to afford quality china that could handle the heat of the tea first without the milk to cool it. Now back to my experience. For our trip we went to the Cadogan Hotel which is an extremely nice and fancy establishment. We had our own private room and the dress code was formal. This was fun because it meant that we all got to dress up. We sat down and ordered from the extensive list of teas that were divided up into two sub groups; Partridges Teas and Chelsea Flower Teas. I ordered the Chelsea Flower Blend which smelt and tasted of hints of apple and mango. The tea was delicious but I was bummed out by the fact that you do not add milk to this type of tea. This was really just trivial but I wanted to act like a proper high class Londoner and put my milk in second. While we drank our loose leaf tea we snacked on Chelsea buns and homemade scones with Cornish clotted cream and strawberry vanilla jam. Once we had eaten and drank our fill we reluctantly parted ways with the establishment and went out on the town. This was a great experience and I can say I will definitely be partaking in this tradition again.

Hyde Park Adventures!

For our “Londoner’s on Holiday in City Parks” assignment Steven and I went to Hyde Park. To start things off let me say that Hyde Park is HUGE. You could get lost in this park for hours; it is pretty much the real life Jumanji in the sense that if you did get lost nobody would ever find you. Parks in London are very different from the parks back home. People take great pride in place when it comes to their parks. Everything is very clean and all of the monuments and landscape are well taken care of and maintained. People are not destructive and do not vandalize their property because everyone loves to go and spend time at these parks when the weather allows for it. This is where family comes in to play. The parks are absolutely overrun by families on these sunny days. Everywhere you look there are children of all ages at the park with friends and usually family. However, since we are in the posh Kensington area, most of the couples are the classic mold of one male and one female. I have seen plenty of gay couples in other boroughs but it seems that this area and the immediate surrounding areas are lacking in this demographic. You also see a ton of children with their nanny since a lot of parents work in this area. This makes since because it is a very expensive area to live in. While almost the entire park is safe I must warn families not to go near the big tree that is hollowed out in the middle creating almost a hut of some sorts. While the structure is very impressive there is evidence that couples engage in “extra curricular activities” and there was a spotting of a hobo nested up inside of the higher parts of the inner tree. I would recommend finding this tree but just beware of what you may find once there! Next I will be writing about my afternoon tea experience so stay tuned my friends!

Westminster Abbey was truly something out of a movie. Nowhere in the United States do we have anything that I could compare to it to accurately represent what it was like walking through this ancient structure. The whole place is like one giant piece of art and the level of artistic expression represented even in the walls alone was enough to stop one dead in their tracks in awe of its beauty. Every picture has a story behind it and you can imagine the incredible amount of blood and tears that went in to the craftsmanship of this place. It seemed as though everything we looked at was made out of gold or some precious gem or stone that was handpicked and imported from some foreign land. This also goes to show how much power the church had at this time in London's history. Many of England's kings and queens are buried here as long as any important figures from the church or general history. It was considered a great honor to be buried in this holy place. You can see everyone from the Unknown Warrior to Bloody Mary. As you walk around you don't realize that there are numerous tombs and people buried beneath your feet. A person will often times be standing in one spot only to look down and see the inscription of a grave that they are standing on. The power of the church can also be seen by the immense wealth that I mentioned earlier. I mean really, what church back home can boast this kind of sickening wealth!? I know that I personally thought it was cool when my church got a new sound system; I would have lost it for even one of Westminster Abbey's Waterford crystal chandeliers that were a gift from the Guinness family for the Abbey's 900th anniversary in 1965. This trip was a definite treat and I cannot wait to continue our exploration of this grand city!