Hi all-
I am trying something a little different for this blog, so bear with me please. You may have noticed that I did not add a million pictures to this post. Well, I have a simple explanation and possibly solution (that I probably should have been using all along). I usually make large albums on Facebook for all of my pictures before/after I upload them on here. The albums contain more pictures since I can upload them all at once instead of having to do only 5 pictures at a time like I do on this blog. I believe Facebook has a semi-new feature now where I can share these whole albums with you all, even if you don't have a Facebook account. This is going to be a trial and error thing to see if you all can see them. There shouldn't be any problem unless you are on a company computer that has sites like Facebook and Myspace blocked on their network. I will provide the links for all of my albums from London thus far. I should warn you that there can be up to 200 pictures in each album and looking through them will be time consuming, however these pictures will be up for a very long time, so look at them at your leisure.
This list runs from most recently updated to oldest:
This list runs from most recently updated to oldest:
I hope this is easier and more efficient for you all. I would appreciate any e-mails in regards to this being successful or not. Also I should warn you that my "Facebook friends" are allowed to (and have) made several comments on my Facebook pictures and I'm not positive, but some may use offensive language or jokes one might consider unsuitable, so please be aware of that and ignore it if you see it.
Today was a pretty exciting day. We went combing the river bed of the Thames River (because of low tide this morning) for treasure. There are a ton of broken pipes, plates, bones, tiles, etc. that surface on the river bed. I found a nearly completed pipe from the Elizabethan era (which was in the time of Shakespeare himself in the 17th century!!!) so it is VERY old. They used to sell tobacco in pre-packed pipes because it was too expensive to buy a pouch or can of it. These pre-made pipes were smoked and discarded and now fragments of them litter the Thames River bed. I found a nearly whole pipe. Yes, this sounds gross to some of you, but it's really cool that it is several centuries old and could have been used by one of Shakespeare actors, or Shakespeare himself. I like to hope so. Haha. There are also tiles from London buildings from the 17th century. Some of the tiles are blackened from the devastating London fires of 1666. Yes, there are tiles that are several hundred years old! It's astonishing. I collected one of those as well as some pretty pieces of broken China plates. After we combed the river bed, the class went via the tube and our professor via his motorcycle to meet outside of the National Gallery and walked to the National Portrait Gallery where we saw famous portraits of everyone from Queen Elizabeth I to Henry the VIII and this portrait of Shakespeare. It was really awesome and our professors knowledge and explination of each picture and it's relevence to Shakespeare was astonishing. I have become so much of a Shakespeare fan after the conclusion of this Shakespeare class, it's unbelievable! My professor took us on a small tour of the Tuder section of the gallery and parted with "I am going to find my rose!" (referring to his wife whom he calls his "English Rose"....everyone together: "awww...") After the National Portrait Gallery, I went to King Cross train station to find Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter movies! I dearly love Harry Potter, so this was a must before I leave London. Mission was successful. I had some nice Asian girls take my picture in front of it and then one of them wanted a picture in front of it with me?! Maybe because I am American? They were really sweet about it. I got home fairly early this afternoon and have been working on my final to turn into class tomorrow. I just have to turn in this final by tomorrow afternoon and then it's pack, pack, pack and leave for Ireland Saturday morning...so I am down to almost my last 24 hours in London!! It hasn't hit me yet that I will soon be leaving this amazing city full of cool weather and kind people. I will probably make my "What I Am Going to Miss About London" list very soon. I absolutely fell in love with it and am sad to leave. I am looking forward to seeing Ireland and, of course, seeing some of my family! I have never been away for so long...ok, I am starting to ramble and I need to finish my final. I love and miss each of you...I will be back in the States in a week and a half! I hope everyone has an amazing evening and a great weekend.
Today was a pretty exciting day. We went combing the river bed of the Thames River (because of low tide this morning) for treasure. There are a ton of broken pipes, plates, bones, tiles, etc. that surface on the river bed. I found a nearly completed pipe from the Elizabethan era (which was in the time of Shakespeare himself in the 17th century!!!) so it is VERY old. They used to sell tobacco in pre-packed pipes because it was too expensive to buy a pouch or can of it. These pre-made pipes were smoked and discarded and now fragments of them litter the Thames River bed. I found a nearly whole pipe. Yes, this sounds gross to some of you, but it's really cool that it is several centuries old and could have been used by one of Shakespeare actors, or Shakespeare himself. I like to hope so. Haha. There are also tiles from London buildings from the 17th century. Some of the tiles are blackened from the devastating London fires of 1666. Yes, there are tiles that are several hundred years old! It's astonishing. I collected one of those as well as some pretty pieces of broken China plates. After we combed the river bed, the class went via the tube and our professor via his motorcycle to meet outside of the National Gallery and walked to the National Portrait Gallery where we saw famous portraits of everyone from Queen Elizabeth I to Henry the VIII and this portrait of Shakespeare. It was really awesome and our professors knowledge and explination of each picture and it's relevence to Shakespeare was astonishing. I have become so much of a Shakespeare fan after the conclusion of this Shakespeare class, it's unbelievable! My professor took us on a small tour of the Tuder section of the gallery and parted with "I am going to find my rose!" (referring to his wife whom he calls his "English Rose"....everyone together: "awww...") After the National Portrait Gallery, I went to King Cross train station to find Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter movies! I dearly love Harry Potter, so this was a must before I leave London. Mission was successful. I had some nice Asian girls take my picture in front of it and then one of them wanted a picture in front of it with me?! Maybe because I am American? They were really sweet about it. I got home fairly early this afternoon and have been working on my final to turn into class tomorrow. I just have to turn in this final by tomorrow afternoon and then it's pack, pack, pack and leave for Ireland Saturday morning...so I am down to almost my last 24 hours in London!! It hasn't hit me yet that I will soon be leaving this amazing city full of cool weather and kind people. I will probably make my "What I Am Going to Miss About London" list very soon. I absolutely fell in love with it and am sad to leave. I am looking forward to seeing Ireland and, of course, seeing some of my family! I have never been away for so long...ok, I am starting to ramble and I need to finish my final. I love and miss each of you...I will be back in the States in a week and a half! I hope everyone has an amazing evening and a great weekend.
Always,
Mattie.
Mattie.
Matlin,
ReplyDeleteProf. Tucker here. Right alongside his English rose on the sofa. She's watching Wimbledon; I'm marking essays and reading blogs! Anyway, enjoyed the blog very much. And the great photos. Alas, I couldn't get the Shaughan video clip (from the Shakespeare's London Walk) to play. If it's fixable drop me a line. I'd love to see it. If you want see him in another stint of guiding shimmer on over to youtube and search for London Walks Ghost Walk. He's simply brilliant in it. We call him the Duke of Darkness when he's a-ghosting!
Anyway, all bestest,
Dr. T.