Top 10.

Here it is. The top 10 things about being in London:

10. We've stopped moving-for all intents and purposes, we're done moving every few nights, and it's been nice to be actually settled in one place for more than 5 seconds.

9. The city-it's a little dirty, but it's safe, comfortable, and full of variety. I feel like everyday I find something new to appreciate in London, and that's always exciting.

8. The quiet-you wouldn't think this would be on here, but it can be VERY quiet in London. I've had all of my best quiet moments on the trip in London, in parks with headphones and a good book, or in my room. After all the moving and shaking of the tour and Stratford (although i MUCH MUCH MUCH prefer Stratford to London), it's nice to have some alone time.

7. Wandering-London is GREAT for wandering. I'll get on the Tube and go to a random stop and slowly work my way back, which leaves me finding all sorts of new and exciting things. Which should become clear in a minute.

6. The People-if I had to sum up this trip in one word, it would be drama. Almost nonstop drama, which is draining after more than 5 minutes. But outside of all the drama are some great people. People with big hearts and bigger souls, which make this whole experience a little easier.

5. Disturbed-so the 3rd day in London, Ned and I were wandering when we found the Astoria, a music venue...and who was playing but Disturbed. Needless to say we were giddy to get tickets for the second night, and it was AWESOME. The space, the heat, the energy, and the vibe were just totally on target. Hopefully the other shows I see will be as good.

4. Mulholland Drive-Jeff Heinzl and I went to see Mulholland Drive at the independent cinema in town...on the big screen, David Lynch films are at times terrifying and sublime and beautiful and gruesome...we were shaking after it was all over. And it was only 3 pounds for a ticket.

3. The Zoo-Meredith, Murdock, and I went to the zoo last weekend, and IT WAS AMAZING. We saw animals I've never seen before-Kangaroos, penguins from 2 feet away, and LOTS of fish and birds. And then there were the monkies. We could've touched them-no fence, no nothing, just a sign saying not to touch them. You'll see the pictures. I have to go back there was so much.

2. The arcade-Yes friends, there is a 3 story arcade in London. It has fighting games. It has shooter games. It has a bowling alley and a movie theatre. It's ridiculous. I love it.

1. Learning, growing, all that jazz-God has shown me how much more growing I have to do, and how much there is to learn about life and our planet while I've been here. It's hard to verbalize, and you might not be able to tell the difference when I get back, but it's there baby.
Anyway.

Pictures to come (I know that means "In a few years" at this point, but I still want to say it.)

God bless,
kmf 10/06

In London!

Sorry to those of you waiting with baited breath for posts about the rest of Stratford and my time in London...it's been up and down, that much is for sure. I'll be doing some MAD posting/picture posting tonight after the performance of Moon for the Misbegotten with Kevin Spacey, which should be good. Sorry to keep you waiting, and I miss all of you more than you know.
kmf 10/06

Not now, but soon.

I have a lot of things to write about, but sadly I'm tired and not particularly in the mood :-P
But I will tell you that I'll be in London on Saturday, and I'll post a lot of stuff then. Until then know that I am well and that I hope the same befalls you :-)
kmf 10/06

Some more pictures.

Here's another batch of pictures. More later. I hope you enjoy.

Jesus.

Titanic featuring Maryanne and Whitney.

Meredith with Harrison in a facial expression competition.

What a view. King's College Chapel.

Trippy 60's stained glass.

Something's wrong with this epitaph.

Stained glass.

I'm walking away. It's pretty emo.

Some folks doing Charlie's Angels at Hadrian's Wall.

Whitney and I at Hadrian's Wall.

Meg attempted to jump into my picture.

I LOVE these ladies. They're very awesome.

If you can guess the focus of this picture, you win a prize.

Meredith and I posed at the location of my presentation.

Sarah and Maryanne were coloring at Avebury.

This was our televised greeting in Bath.

Words. About Stratford.

Well I've been in Stratford for exactly one week. Here's a brief breakdown of what I've seen:
Lots of houses that maybe-sorta-kinda-almost-mightaswellhavebeen Shakespeare's house. It seems that some folks are fascinated even by the almost. Unfortunately we've done most of them, with the exception of Anne Hathaway's cottage (she was his wife), at the end of our long discussion and lecture days, so interest is usually not enough to sustain the group. Although seeing Charles I's copy of the 2nd folio was really sweet-that and the "elephant folio" that was as the name implies quite large.
Lectures. Lots of lectures. Dang we have a lot. BUT-they are some of the world's foremost experts on the plays, so it's totally cool. I'm contemplating studying in Stratford after I graduate, and to that end I'll be meeting one of the lecturers next week, which is very exciting to me. I don't know if scholarship is the direction my life's really taking, but I can't be here and ignore the possibility.
Voice class. A member of the RSC came and lectured on and led a voice workshop, a lot of which I've heard, but it never hurts to hear it again...that and I got to deliver some of Talbot's lines...heck yes.
Plays. We've seen 5 shows so far, not counting seeing Waiting for Godot in Oxford, which was quite awesome. Romeo and Juliet was a great production of a play I don't particularly care for, which was refreshing. The replacement of fighting with elaborate dance was a good choice, and the performers were on target. The version of The Tempest we saw with Patrick Stewart was both intriguing and highly frustrating. The director made a lot of choices that I took issue with, and it felt like I was watching an interesting essay about Prospero's relationship with Ariel, and not The Tempest. Still, Ariel's performance was a work of brilliance, both chilling and perfect for the world they created. The highlight for me was by far the productin of Cymbeline that we saw. It was a very loose adaptation of the script, but it didn't bother me like I thought it would, as the show was funny, high energy, clever, and ultimately honest. Allison and I went and saw it again out of adoration-and the music was quite good...I have a cd of it that I'll be bringing back. Then it was Julius Caesar, which was acted VERY well, but overall it didn't leave the impression I was expecting. The other highlight was to see Henry VI part i, directed by Michael Boyd, who directed an award winning production of the same plays in 2001. The staging was inventive and fresh, and the acting was compelling and appropriate-easily the most balanced of the shows that we saw. We're now halfway done with Stratford, and almost halfway through the trip...it's kind of harrowing to imagine that we're already halfway done. The whole thing is just speeding past me. Anyway, I'll post some pictures in a minute.
:-)
kmf 10/06