Even though it is the middle of July, and summertime, the temperatures in London have been in the 60s and 70s. I still wear a light jacket or bring along an umbrella when going out because it is usually cloudy and threatening rain. Occasionally there will be sun shining for most of the day -- but that is rare -- most often it is only a half-day of sunshine that we get. For the other part of the day there will be heavy clouds and perhaps rain. Everyone says that last summer was cool and wet, and they are expecting the same this year as well.
There are no screens on the windows, and surprisingly, for the most part they are not needed. We keep windows open in our flat all the time. Every now and then a single fly will appear -- especially in the kitchen if food is cooking. I have seen only one mosquito since I've been here.
In June, we purchased two large standing fans to keep us cool this summer. (Most flats do not have air conditioning.) Those fans are still in their boxes in the spare room.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Burka
When I first arrived here if I saw a woman on the street wearing a burka I was interested and curious. Today when I see a woman wearing a burka, I feel only anger on her behalf.
The men who accompany these women are usually wearing typical western clothing, and they fit in with the crowd. There is nothing about their appearance that would distinguish them from any other man on the street. The woman in the burka, however, stands out from everyone else. At the same time, she is totally anonymous; there is not one feature about her that can be seen. She is covered from top to bottom with this long, heavy, fabric, with only a slit for her eyes to see through. All you know about her is that she is a member of an extremely orthodox muslim group and she cannot show herself to public eyes. She is robbed of her personal individuality and identity. She is more like a symbol than a real live person. She is probably considered to be the possession of some man who no doubt places many more restrictions on her in their home. Meanwhile, that man gets to walk around London like any other person and can interact as he wishes without the stigma of wearing a costume that not only conceals the wearer but also turns most people away.
The men who accompany these women are usually wearing typical western clothing, and they fit in with the crowd. There is nothing about their appearance that would distinguish them from any other man on the street. The woman in the burka, however, stands out from everyone else. At the same time, she is totally anonymous; there is not one feature about her that can be seen. She is covered from top to bottom with this long, heavy, fabric, with only a slit for her eyes to see through. All you know about her is that she is a member of an extremely orthodox muslim group and she cannot show herself to public eyes. She is robbed of her personal individuality and identity. She is more like a symbol than a real live person. She is probably considered to be the possession of some man who no doubt places many more restrictions on her in their home. Meanwhile, that man gets to walk around London like any other person and can interact as he wishes without the stigma of wearing a costume that not only conceals the wearer but also turns most people away.
Knife crimes
While there is no major problem with guns in this country, there have been many recent news reports of stabbings in London and other cities. Teen gang members are knifing each other at the average rate of one per day. Last week, there were five stabbings in one day. As could be expected, many of the victims die. Now more and more teens are arming themselves with knives "for protection."
This weekend there were lawmakers on news talk shows discussing legislation they are proposing to deal with this epidemic. Their primary approach focuses on education, or 'shock techniques' as they call it, to make teens aware of the serious injuries that can be inflicted with a knife. (One dad told his son that the knife wouldn't do serious damage if he only jabbed at the person's arms, legs, or buttocks.) One MP (Member of Parliament) wants to bring slides and pictures of knife injuries to schools and show them to all students. Kids caught with knives would visit the hospitals to see the injuries first-hand, would meet personally with the parents and victims to hear them describing their pain and suffering, and would go to prisons to hear from inmates about serving time for knifings.
They are also considering imposing a curfew for teens in certain neighborhoods.
There is already a law on the books that punishes knife carrying with a four-year jail sentence. Authorities are pushing for more police presence in the affected areas with stricter enforcement of this law.
This approach to the problem I think is intelligent and thoughtful. It immediately makes me aware of what a small country England is. This is the equivalent to a single community taking action in the U.S. How much easier and less complicated it is to solve problems and implement solutions in a country of this size.
This weekend there were lawmakers on news talk shows discussing legislation they are proposing to deal with this epidemic. Their primary approach focuses on education, or 'shock techniques' as they call it, to make teens aware of the serious injuries that can be inflicted with a knife. (One dad told his son that the knife wouldn't do serious damage if he only jabbed at the person's arms, legs, or buttocks.) One MP (Member of Parliament) wants to bring slides and pictures of knife injuries to schools and show them to all students. Kids caught with knives would visit the hospitals to see the injuries first-hand, would meet personally with the parents and victims to hear them describing their pain and suffering, and would go to prisons to hear from inmates about serving time for knifings.
They are also considering imposing a curfew for teens in certain neighborhoods.
There is already a law on the books that punishes knife carrying with a four-year jail sentence. Authorities are pushing for more police presence in the affected areas with stricter enforcement of this law.
This approach to the problem I think is intelligent and thoughtful. It immediately makes me aware of what a small country England is. This is the equivalent to a single community taking action in the U.S. How much easier and less complicated it is to solve problems and implement solutions in a country of this size.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A Fun-filled Friday
On Friday morning I awoke to the sound of the Queen's horses clip-clopping along the street in front of our apartment building. Looking out the window, I saw a line of riderless bare-backed horses, two abreast, trotting along the street under the watchful eye of two or three riders. It is a very nice sight to wake up to.
Later, when entering the St. John's Wood tube stop, I found myself like a salmon swimming upstream among a crowd of enthusiastic Cricket fans emerging from the station. There were hundreds of them -- mostly men, rushing out of the tube stop and down the blocks toward the Lord's Cricket Grounds. They were a well-dressed group for sports fans (nothing like those going to Yankee Stadium) with many wearing sports jackets and some wearing straw hats for the occasion. Most looked like businessmen going on a picnic; some carried coolers or rucksacks with lunch and drinks. There was also a group of young people handing out free beverage bottles to everyone on their way to the match.
This was day two of a five-day match between England and South Africa. The day before, as the 'Cricket Crowd' had left the stadium after the match, they swarmed all over the High Street, crowding the restaurants, depleting the cash in the bank machine, and filling the streets as they looked for a quick dinner. Generally, they were a congenial group just having a good time.
Marcia and I decided to take the bus instead of the tube to Soho and Leicester Square for our London Walk that day. Just outside of Soho, we strolled through the small Chinatown area in London. (It is only about two blocks square.) We came across a massage place and decided to try it out. Marcia got a back massage, while I selected reflexology -- a foot massage. According to the Chinese theory, certain parts of your feet are linked directly with the major organs in your body. So, to have a foot massage like this is to ultimately improve your overall health.
I was taken into a small dimly lit room with relaxing music playing and told to lie down on the narrow table with my feet at the end. Selina, a young Chinese woman, first wiped my feet with a washcloth, then she rubbed them with oil. For the next thirty minutes, she massaged my feet. It was wonderful!
Marcia loved her back massage too, and we both decided we would definitely come back again.
After a delicious lunch of Chinese food, we walked to Leicester Square and saw that Sex and the City was playing at one of the cinemas. Neither of us had seen the movie, and neither of our husbands wanted to see it, so we bought tickets for the 2:20 showing - and saw the matinée. We both liked the movie very much.
When you buy movie tickets here in London, you are shown a seating diagram for the theater and asked to select the seats you want. Then you are issued tickets with those seat numbers on them. As a result, you usually wind up sitting right next to someone else, while the rest of the theater is empty.
When I arrived home, Carl was finishing up a conference call - so we walked over to the High Street to eat at Casalinga, an Italian restaurant that we hadn't tried yet. After we were seated at our table, the Cricket Crowd suddenly reappeared - dodging the pouring rain - and filling the remaining empty tables in the restaurant. The day's match had ended - it was time for dinner.
Back at our flat, we watched British mystery shows before falling off to sleep.
All in all - it was a fun-filled Friday
Later, when entering the St. John's Wood tube stop, I found myself like a salmon swimming upstream among a crowd of enthusiastic Cricket fans emerging from the station. There were hundreds of them -- mostly men, rushing out of the tube stop and down the blocks toward the Lord's Cricket Grounds. They were a well-dressed group for sports fans (nothing like those going to Yankee Stadium) with many wearing sports jackets and some wearing straw hats for the occasion. Most looked like businessmen going on a picnic; some carried coolers or rucksacks with lunch and drinks. There was also a group of young people handing out free beverage bottles to everyone on their way to the match.
This was day two of a five-day match between England and South Africa. The day before, as the 'Cricket Crowd' had left the stadium after the match, they swarmed all over the High Street, crowding the restaurants, depleting the cash in the bank machine, and filling the streets as they looked for a quick dinner. Generally, they were a congenial group just having a good time.
Marcia and I decided to take the bus instead of the tube to Soho and Leicester Square for our London Walk that day. Just outside of Soho, we strolled through the small Chinatown area in London. (It is only about two blocks square.) We came across a massage place and decided to try it out. Marcia got a back massage, while I selected reflexology -- a foot massage. According to the Chinese theory, certain parts of your feet are linked directly with the major organs in your body. So, to have a foot massage like this is to ultimately improve your overall health.
I was taken into a small dimly lit room with relaxing music playing and told to lie down on the narrow table with my feet at the end. Selina, a young Chinese woman, first wiped my feet with a washcloth, then she rubbed them with oil. For the next thirty minutes, she massaged my feet. It was wonderful!
Marcia loved her back massage too, and we both decided we would definitely come back again.
After a delicious lunch of Chinese food, we walked to Leicester Square and saw that Sex and the City was playing at one of the cinemas. Neither of us had seen the movie, and neither of our husbands wanted to see it, so we bought tickets for the 2:20 showing - and saw the matinée. We both liked the movie very much.
When you buy movie tickets here in London, you are shown a seating diagram for the theater and asked to select the seats you want. Then you are issued tickets with those seat numbers on them. As a result, you usually wind up sitting right next to someone else, while the rest of the theater is empty.
When I arrived home, Carl was finishing up a conference call - so we walked over to the High Street to eat at Casalinga, an Italian restaurant that we hadn't tried yet. After we were seated at our table, the Cricket Crowd suddenly reappeared - dodging the pouring rain - and filling the remaining empty tables in the restaurant. The day's match had ended - it was time for dinner.
Back at our flat, we watched British mystery shows before falling off to sleep.
All in all - it was a fun-filled Friday
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Daylight
The days here are very long now. Dawn begins a little after 4:15 am. It starts to feel like dusk around 9:30pm, and the sky is not completely dark until 10:00pm.
A photo journalism day
On Tuesday, Marcia and I met at the St John's Wood tube station, armed with our new cameras, and prepared to take photos as we walked around London. Marcia arrived at the station before I did and witnessed a well-dressed woman having an argument with one of the transport workers there; she was yelling and waving her finger at him. When I arrived, another worker was posting a sign, announcing that the station would be temporarily closed. Apparently, the police had been called to deal with the woman, and they didn't want additional customers on the platform.
It wasn't long before three separate police cars with sirens blasting raced to the scene. Each of the cars was quickly parked and the officers disappeared into the station. Marcia and I waited around outside for a few minutes, thinking we might get a picture of the handcuffed offender being removed.
However, our interest in scandal was soon overrun by our desire to continue our planned explorations for the day. And once they re-opened the station again - we went downstairs.
As we made our way to the southbound platform, though, we peeked onto the opposite northbound area, and saw the policemen standing around a woman who was apparently doing a lot of explaining. Obviously, nothing had been resolved as yet.
Marcia and I both chuckled at the idea of closing the station because an irate customer yelled at a worker. We couldn't imagine that happening in New York. Just think of all the resulting disruptions in service New Yorkers would have to live with.
Later, we were both walking along Edgware Rd, an area with many Middle Eastern restaurants and stores. We stopped briefly at one green grocer, admiring the produce on display and trying to identify one of the vegetables that neither of us recognized. As we walked on along the street we suddenly heard a loud bang and crashing sound from the green grocer area. It was a shocking noise and everyone on the street stopped and turned. One woman started running down the sidewalk toward the crash, as if she were looking for someone. We saw a small cloud of dust and smelled something metallic. Men quickly gathered around the crash site, but were careful not to get too close. Marcia and I slowly started to walk back, commenting to ourselves how we had been standing there less than five minutes ago. Again we heard police sirens and saw the cars careening to the scene.
The pictures below show you what we saw. After a while it was decided that part of the overhanging canopy had collapsed, causing the shelf below to fall and spill out its contents onto the sidewalk.
It was such a small amount of damage, given the loud noise it made.
That night, at home, I looked on the web to see if anything about the incident appeared in the local news. It hadn't. I did discover, though, that it was one day after an anniversary of a bombing that took place on the Edgware Rd tube station in 2005 in which many people were killed. The experience today gave me just a small sense of what it must be like when a bomb goes off in a neighborhood.
I am happy to say that the remainder of the day offered no more incidents. We stopped at a local restaurant and had a delicious lunch of tabbouleh, falafel, and a chicken stew-like dish. We took lots of pictures - and we made it home before the rain started up again.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Tom & Shannon's Visit
A day after we arrived back in London - Tom & Shannon arrived for their previously planned week-long visit. We had a great time with them, and we packed a lot of activities in while they were here.
In the middle of the week, we went to the beautiful Lake District, with its forests and mountains and meadows and, of course, lakes. The four of us got around in a rental car. Carl drove the car, Tom read the map and navigated, and Shannon pointed out signposts, announcing where we should make turns. I looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery and tried not to focus on the fact that we were on the wrong side of the road. We drove around the district to get an overview of the area, and we stopped at a few and took short hikes in the countryside on public footpaths.
One area in the Lake District was once owned by Beatrix Potter, and is home to Herdwick sheep. They are black when young, they turn brown as they age, then finally turn grey-- just like the rest of us. (Cumbria is also the home of Cumberland Sausage.)
In addition to the trip to the Lake District, we saw Shakespeare in the Park (Twelfth Night) and the musical Wicked. We also toured the Royal National Theater - getting a view of the 'behind the scenes' workings backstage. We walked in Regent's Park and Kensington Park and through several neighborhoods: Notting Hill, Chelsea, and Belgravia.
It offered great views of the Thames River and Big Ben.
It was a WONDERFUL visit!
In the middle of the week, we went to the beautiful Lake District, with its forests and mountains and meadows and, of course, lakes. The four of us got around in a rental car. Carl drove the car, Tom read the map and navigated, and Shannon pointed out signposts, announcing where we should make turns. I looked out the window and enjoyed the scenery and tried not to focus on the fact that we were on the wrong side of the road. We drove around the district to get an overview of the area, and we stopped at a few and took short hikes in the countryside on public footpaths.
One area in the Lake District was once owned by Beatrix Potter, and is home to Herdwick sheep. They are black when young, they turn brown as they age, then finally turn grey-- just like the rest of us. (Cumbria is also the home of Cumberland Sausage.)
In addition to the trip to the Lake District, we saw Shakespeare in the Park (Twelfth Night) and the musical Wicked. We also toured the Royal National Theater - getting a view of the 'behind the scenes' workings backstage. We walked in Regent's Park and Kensington Park and through several neighborhoods: Notting Hill, Chelsea, and Belgravia.
We also took a ride on the London Eye - a very large 'Ferris Wheel' that was built for the new millenium.
It offered great views of the Thames River and Big Ben.
We rode in a capsule that held about fifteen people, and that moved continuously and slowly.
It was a WONDERFUL visit!
