Rock on, Miss Patti!

Last Friday, we went to Leamington Spa in the Chiltern Hills, to see Patti Smith.  I wasn’t sure what to expect.  The last time I saw Patti Smith was in the 80s and she gave a terrible concert.  She came back on stage after an intermission and was too blasted to perform.  The audience booed and hissed and left.  My friends and I (adamant Patti Smith fans all) called her Ratty Smith and held on to our disappointment for years.  But time passes and before I knew it, I was seeing Patti Smith again, in England!

Here’s a brief description of Leamington Spa from Wikipedia:

Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa and Leamington (pronounced /ˈlɛmɪŋtən/) or “Leam” to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe around 1797.  During the 19th century, the town experienced one of the most rapid expansions in England.

Formerly known as Leamington Priors, Leamington began to develop as a town at the start of the 19th century. It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Lamintone. For 400 years, the settlement was under the control of Kenilworth Priory, from which the older suffix derived. Its name came from Anglo-Saxon Leman-tūn or Lemen-tūn = “farm on the River Leam“. The healing properties of the spa waters had been known in Roman times and their rediscovery in 1784 by William Abbotts and Benjamin Satchwell, led to their commercialisation.

Here’s what I have to say about Leamington Spa:  It is a sweet little town of about 45,000 people.  There are many choices of restaurants – we ate at an Indian restaurant.  We stayed at The Adams, a very nice little hotel with an excellent full English breakfast.  Leamington Spa is a fun place to walk around.  It has a nice park, a pretty river, lots of shops, and quiet streets.  Its history as a spa town gives it a little sparkle.  It reminds me of Saratoga Springs, with its elegant spa buildings and evidence of a time when moneyed people spent their time and riches taking in the waters.  And it has an excellent venue for concerts, The Assembly.

This sculpture marks the site of the first spa waters.  I liked the sculpture and the chairs around it.

The River Leam

The nice park.  Even the trash cans were nice.

This was a monument to the man who gave the land for the park to the town.

Finally – spring has come and there were flowers in the park.

There were also flowers in the big greenhouse in the park.

This was a sort of waterfall sculpture made of stones. I liked the way it looked.

Back to the concert…

The Assembly is a great place to see a concert.  We were so close to the stage and the acoustics were perfect.

Patti Smith is in her sixties now.   She read passages from her new book, Just Kids.  It’s about her life and her friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe.  Even though she is older me, we share some common experiences.  She has enjoyed afternoons in Washington Square Park in New York City just as I have enjoyed them.  And she lost one of her best friends to AIDS.   But it is her music that brought me to Leamington Spa.   She knows how to put on a show.  One of the best songs of the evening was “Mother Rose”.  Unfortunately, listening to the recorded version pales in comparison to the live version we heard.  The song is a beautiful and sentimental ode to motherhood.  Patti is often referred to as “punk” but I have never thought of her as a punk rocker.  She is a rock and roll poet.   Her voice is better than ever today.  So rich.  Patti Smith is still a rock star!

Unfortunately, all good concerts and weekends must come to an end.

For Missi

We went to Lymington last weekend and took a 20 km walk along the ocean.  It was the second time I have seen the ocean since last August and it was very beautiful.  In many ways, it looks like Portsmouth or Seapoint, but the Isle of Wight and the steep cliff down to the sea are distinctively English.

We saw a disturbing scene involving 3 swans. After lazy research, we still don't know if a murder was happening or if future swans were in the making.

Dobry Den!

That’s how you say Good Day or Hello in Czech.  I just had a fantastic vacation in the Czech Republic.  We went to Prague for a couple of days and then we went to the Krkonose Mountains (the “Giant” Mountains) near the Polish border to ski.  I don’t know where all this good fortune is coming from but I am enjoying the ride while it lasts!  Here are some photos I took.

The Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague

On the bridge with the castle in the background.

I have been told that this bridge is almost impossible to cross during the summer because there are so many tourists.

I wonder what the story is behind this monument. I liked the man in the front and the deer with the cross on its head.

I wonder what sins these poor souls committed.

You may want to scroll past the next dozen photos or so. I have indulged my love for John Lennon by including all of the photos I took of the John Lennon wall.

Jimi Lennon?

And now for something completely different. The Infant Jesus of Prague is a famous statue. It is 47 cm tall and was brought to Prague from Spain in 1628. The Infant of Prague is said to have protected the city from the plague and the destruction of the Thirty Years War. It is a tradition to dress the statue in beautiful robes. There is a museum of clothing for the Infant of Prague but we couldn't go to it because mass was being celebrated in the cathedral.

The Church of Our Lady Victorious - where you can find the Infant of Prague.

Walking up to Prague Castle.

This is an indication of how cold it was. It was FREEZING in Prague.

Not sure but it doesn't look positive.

Within the walls of the castle. The Czechs call it 'hrad' (castle) and it is largest ancient castle in the world. It covers an area bigger than seven football fields.

There's something missing from this cathedral.

All of the statues of the saints that were once here were removed by the Communists when they were in control of the country.

This is a mosaic of the Last Judgment. On the right, the godly are raised to heaven by angels. On the left, sinners are cast down to hell by demons.

There were these little sculptures on the gate to the Church. There were scenes of life in the Czech Republic, such as spinning thread and farming, and signs of the zodiac.

Reminds me of Maine.

Flying buttresses.

So many buildings in this castle!

I learned a new, interesting word while in Prague: defenestration. It is the act of throwing someone out of a window. This window is in a part of the Old Royal Palace called the Ludvik wing. There is a window on the other side of the building - you can see it in the background of this photo. On May 23, 1618, Bohemian (Bohemia is a region in the Czech Republic) nobles threw two Catholic councillors from the window after an argument about land. They landed on a pile of dung and escaped serious injury. Some say it was divine intervention!

The hrad has its own toy museum and Barbie was having a birthday party.

Finally, through the castle and out to the castle walls.

Leaving the castle, we came upon a little vineyard covered in snow. I am not sure about Czech wine but I am told that the beer is excellent.

It's hard to see who is playing Santa playing a saxophone. Imagine, Bart Simpson playing Prague.

A memorial to WW II

Crossing back over the bridge to see more of Prague.

I never found out what this was. A giant metronome, maybe?

This was an interesting museum.

I am sorry this photo didn't turn out well. The Museum of Communism is housed in an 18th century aristocrat's palace. On one side of the museum is a casino and McDonald's is on the other side.

Communism developed as a protest against extreme wealth and oppression but in the Czech Republic, as in many other places, communism meant oppression.

Stalin was the Soviet leader who was in power when Russia expanded its borders by annexing the countries in eastern Europe.

Military force ensured the annexation.

Despite the desperate poverty most Czechs suffered through in the aftermath of WW II, Stalin insisted that this monument to him be built.

Communism is supposed to honor the laborer.

This poster says that the laborer is the university student's friend.

Students were taught that Communism was the best way to organize life. "From each according to their ability. To each according to their need." Communism was supposed to create an ideal society where no one was left out and everyone had enough to meet their daily needs.

People were taught that America was to blame for poverty.

According to this poster, American money was used to increase weapons in the world.

Americans were against freedom.

The museum had several posters with images of spider webs and America.

Americans and their bombs were not to be supported.

And so the arms race, the space race and Cold War had begun.

Like our 'duck and cover' drills in school when I was a kid, Czechs were warned to be prepared for war.

The average person was encouraged to see the police as a friend and protector.

Street names in Prague were changed to reflect Communist leadership.

Checkpoints were put in place, to keep the country safe. In reality, many Czechs became prisoners of their country. Travel outside of the country was severely restricted.

The police, with their guns and dogs, were repressive and violent to the Czech people.

People were shot if they tried to escape the country.

People were terrorized.

In addition, Communism didn't turn out to be a very good economic model. Without financial incentives to work hard, people didn't produce enough goods. Empty stores shelves were the norm. A black market for goods developed and it became 'Every man for himself' instead of a workers' paradise.

Many people listened to Radio Free Europe and The Voice of America on radio to find out about life beyond the "Iron Curtain".

In 1968, the Czech people tried to rid their country of the Russians.

It was a time of great change all over, including America. This poster is for a band, the Plastic People of the Universe, that wrote songs condemning the Soviets. The government tried to ban the band. Music can be a very powerful force for change. It just takes a long time sometimes for some people to appreciate lyrics that celebrate freedom.

The Czechs prepared for the Soviets to invade their country militarily. They rubbed the names of the streets off the street signs in an effort to stop the Soviets from finding their way around Prague.

The Soviets responded with tanks and the push for freedom in 1968, known as the Prague Spring, was crushed.

But, like Gandhi said, the way of truth and light always wins. This person is holding up a clock as a way of saying the time had come for Russia to leave the Czech Republic.

November 17, 1989 was the 50th anniversary of the execution of 9 students by the Nazis. 50,000 people took to the streets in protest against the communist government. They were met with baton blows from the police. It took 2 weeks for the government to collapse. This is known as the "Velvet Revolution" because there was relatively little bloodshed.

Vaclav Havel became the first president of the newly freed Czechoslovakia. In 1993, the country split into 2 countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

By the way, there is no longer a monument to Stalin in Prague.

There is a subway in Prague now. I liked the walls of the underground.

I thought of all the Strafford students I know who love paintball when I saw this sticker on the subway. Paintball is everywhere!

A few more images of the city. The sidewalks are made of beautiful, patterned stone mosaics.

This is the Old Town Hall. It has one of the greatest clocks I've ever seen.

It is known as the Astronomical Clock and it was given to the town in 1410.

This is called the calendar wheel and it has 12 seasonal scenes painted on it which celebrate rural life in Bohemia.

I didn't get a good picture of those scenes but I did get another shot of the signs of the zodiac that were so prevalent in Prague.

The clock tells all sorts of time: the hours of sunrise and sunset, traditional Bohemian time, the houses of the zodiac, the phases of the moon and sideral (a new word for me - it means stellar) time. I would need a lot more time in front of that clock to be able to read it.

Can you see the figures on the side of the clock? They represent the deepest fears of 15th century Praguers.

On the left is Vanity, with his mirror. On the right is Greed, which was originally a Jewish moneylender. It was altered after WW II to make it look less like a stereotype of a Jewish moneylender.

On the other side of the clock is Death and Pagan Invasion, represented by a Turk.

The clock is mechanical - every hour on the hour, it does something wonderful.

The little blue windows at the top open up and a parade of saints pass by the open window.

As this is happening, Death rings a bell.

Then the rooster crows and the doors close and the show is over for another hour.

On the walk to the Jewish Quarter of Prague, we stumbled upon another Adam and Eve. It was too cold to contemplate this painting.

I found the Jewish Quarter very moving. Considering how many Czech Jews died in the Holocaust during WW II, it surprised me to see so many synagogues still standing.

This is the Spanish synagogue. I thought it was quite beautiful.

This is a very old synagogue. It was built around 1270. It is Europe's oldest "working" synagogues, according to my Lonely Planet travel guide.

This graffiti that I saw on the way up to the castle captures the idea that it is very hard to forget the pain of the past and present.

For some reason, humans seem to endlessly travel in circles. War and rebuilding. War and rebuilding.

That was the last photo I took in Prague before we headed off to the mountains. That is ice on the seats at the bus station.

We took a three hour bus ride up to the Krkonose mountains, near the Polish border. This was our hotel - the Hotel Praha or Hotel Prague.

This was the view from the front door of the hotel. It was a great place to stay. Fantastic food, a little spa with a pool and 3 types of saunas to choose from. The best one was an herbal sauna. Just what you need after a long day of cross country skiing.

I loved the snow on the river.

We skiied a lot. The rental skis were brand new. Hardly anyone cross country skis in this area. There are lots of downhill skiers though. One day we took the lift up a mountain. We went through the clouds to make it to the top.

The slopes were shared by downhill skiers, cross country skiers, people walking, dogs, and people with sleds. This area was pretty peaceful though. Just a few hardy cross country skiers.

At the very top, there was a restaurant with great food and drinks. Hot cocoa never tasted so good.

On another mountain across the way, there was a hotel. I couldn't see a road leading up to it but it must have been there somewhere.

There were some living creatures besides people up on the mountain. There was a mouse on the trail. It climbed right up the boot of the woman in front of me. It must live in the restaurant - how else can a little mouse survive in the snow? There was also lichen growing on the rock that I liked because it reminded me of Massachusetts.

It was so wonderful to ski after a 3 year hiatus due to my broken ankle. It was also wonderful to not find myself in need of another mountain rescue.

Skiing above the clouds...

it doesn't get better than that!

Despite all these amazing adventures, I still love and miss Strafford School! Cheers for now!

A History of London

I really like this monument to the history of London near the Tower of London.  I am not sure what happened to the photos of the years between 1982 and 1992.  Maybe there weren’t any plaques for those years.  But there was plenty to think about: the Romans and Queen Boudicca, the Tower of London and London Bridge, the plague and cathedrals, Shakespeare and King Charles, steam engines and sewers, fires and fire brigades, treasonous plots and the Stock Exchange, city walls and Westminster, museums and buses, gaslights and policemen, the Underground and the Blitz.  London!

(double click on a photo to enlarge it)

London River Thames C.E. 43 to 1992

First London bridge and Roman conquest

Queen Boudicca destroying London and ousting the Romans

The Globe Theatre

Moo koe (for LHS)

A fun store with bovine art (double click on the photo if you want a better view of each koe)

the magic kingdoms

I had fun in December.   I went to two very different places, both similar in magic.  I went to Disney World – a great adventure!  And I went to Amsterdam.

In Amsterdam, I enjoyed long walks along the beautiful canals.  It is important to mind the bicyclists – they are everywhere.  There are even parking garages for bikes.  Amsterdam has so much to offer:  art, history, theater, music, unique architecture and coffeeshops!  We were there when the city was in the Christmas spirit.  There was a gay memorial as well.  I liked it.

art

theater

music

coffeeshops

AND NOW MAGIC KINGDOM NUMBER TWO

I spent Christmas at Disney World.  It was really great to see my family.  We had a lot of fun, riding rides (favorites: Soaring, Tower of Terror, the Mt Everest rollercoaster, Space Mountain, the African Jungle Safari, Buzz Lightyear and Dumbo), seeing shows (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Finding Nemo which I loved!), dining at Cinderella’s castle, watching fireworks, riding the monorail, swimming (luckily the pool was heated because it was cold in Disney World), eating some more, and watching the parade at Animal Kingdom.  Here are some of the animals in the parade.

And that’s Disney magic.  Thank you, Mom and Dad!

prato

I had a very happy Thanksgiving in Prato, Italy this year.  Prato is a town in Tuscany, not far from Florence.

One of the things I like about Prato is how old it is.  There is a lot of history in this town.  The photos below are of a castle that was built at least 1000 years ago…

…and a place to see movies outside as well.

Inside the castle walls you can see the water cistern, a crucial feature for survival that needed to be protected from the enemy.

And windy, stone staircases…

and windows designed for shooting arrows at the enemy safely.

Luckily for this bird, there are no enemies today.

I like the top of the castle walls.

And I like checking out the surrounding buildings from there.

I also like the new Prato.

can you see what this is made of?

Somewhere in those mountains lived the turkey (tacchino) we ate for Thanksgiving.

We went up into the hills to pick the turkey up and I saw lemons growing.

In the summer, this porch would be shaded by grapevines.  Grapes and olives are grown all over Tuscany.

One of the churches in Prato is called San Stefano and it has some beautiful murals painted on the walls inside by a famous painter from the Renaissance, Filippo Lippi.

The church also has a porch on the side (designed by Donatello) from which a religious relic is displayed several times a year.  The holy item is reported to be the actual belt worn by Mary, mother of Jesus.

And now for a mini Italian vocabulary lesson…

And can you read this graffiti?  It says “I love scuola” – can you guess what that means?

I leave you with Merry Christmas wishes!

Hampstead Heath, London

Art here and there

I like the surprise art you see when riding the tube.  Sometimes you see paintings, sometimes photos, sometimes poems and sometimes art appears out of nowhere.

Napoleon and a democratic take on royalty: A throne is only a bench covered in velvet.

The peeling remnants of an advertisement or modern art?

Yesterday, I went to see a show at the Whitechapel Art Gallery.  I had heard about an exhibit of a French artist, Sophie Calle.  There were 3 pieces that I just loved.  The biggest and most impressive was called, Take Care of Yourself.  Sophie Calle received an email from a man she was seeing in which he told her he was breaking up with her.  She asked 107 women to analyze the letter.  She sought out the opinion of artists, a criminologist, a translator, a judge, musicians, writers, a diplomat, actresses, an editor, academics, dancers, a clown, a psychiatrist, a family mediator – even a rifle markswoman and a young girl.  They each shared their perspective on the letter either in writing or on video or through art.  It was a wonderful piece and very satisfying for anyone who has ever had their heart broken.

Sophie Calle also did a piece where she went to the Bronx and asked random people to take her to their favorite place in the Bronx.  People took her to a park, a school, a neighborhood and other places and she took photos of them at these places.  The night before the opening of her show of these photos, someone broke into the gallery and did graffiti all over the photos.  She was quite pleased by this because it captured the way this rough New York neighborhood looks.

The last piece of Sophie Calle’s that I loved was a series of photos she took of a phone booth in New York.  When she moved to New York City, she asked a friend for advice about living in the city.  He told her to smile at people, give them presents and find a piece of city to take care of.  She decided she would count the number of smiles she exchanged with strangers.  She also brought sandwiches and cigarettes with her when she went out and she offered them to people she met along the way.  The part of the city that she decided to take care of was a phone booth.  She decorated it and put food, candy, cigarettes, flowers, note paper and writing utensils, and things to drink in it.  She also put 2 chairs next to it.  She recorded some of the conversations people had on the phone as well.  It was a very fun idea and it revealed much about life in New York.  I wish I could describe it better!

Of course, a blog post from me wouldn’t be complete without some sort of rant against war.  The Whitechapel also had a room with some somber anti-war pieces.  Three stand out: video footage of Vietnam Veterans giving testimony of the realities of warfare in that country, a sculpture of Colin Powell and a tapestry of the famous painting by Pablo Picasso called Guernica.  This painting was done in response to the bombing of the town, Guernica, during the Spanish Civil War and it truly captures the horror of war.  The tapestry has been hanging in the United Nations and was brought to London to display in this museum.  I learned that it was covered up when Colin Powell gave his speech to the UN in the lead up to the war in Iraq.  It is hard to go to war if you think about what war really means for people.  It’s easier if you hide the truth.

Colin Powell

The sculptor and I share an anger towards Colin Powell for his contribution to starting the war in Iraq.

Guernica, the tapestry, not the painting which is in Spain. The blue carpet is the same color as the carpet in the United Nations.

Again, war and horses...

War, huh, yeah...

Good God!

What is it good for?

Absolutely nothing!

Say it again!

War, huh, yeah, good God, what is it good for? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!

The Tower of London

I have neglected UKMSA for awhile because we have had some friends visit from America (so FUN!)  Also, I have been working a lot more as a substitute teacher than I was before.  It is good to be making money so I can be a busy tourist, but working cuts down on my time to be one!  Still, I manage to get out and about a lot.

A few weeks ago, I took advantage of a free day and went to visit the Tower of London.  Here are some photos from that day.  I could never do the Tower justice by trying to tell you all the interesting bits of information.  Here’s a brief description:

“Founded nearly a millennium ago and expanded upon over the centuries since, the Tower of London has protected, housed, imprisoned and been for many the last sight they saw on Earth.  It has been the seat of British government and the living quarters of monarchs … the site of renowned political intrigue, and the repository of the Crown Jewels … It has housed lions, bears, and (to this day) flightless ravens … not to mention notorious traitors and framed members of court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights.” (sorry – I can’t find the site where I found this – so I am not giving credit where credit is due.)

If you want to learn more, I thought this website offers a good virtual tour: http://www.toweroflondontour.com/album.html

Here is the first view I had of the Tower of London when I came out of the tube station. As you can see, the Tower is actually made up of many towers with names like White, Middle, Beauchamp, Wakefield, Salt, Bell, Martin, Lion, Byward, St Thomas, Garden, Tower Green, and the infamous Bloody Tower.

An ad for an exhibit of armor

See the catapult (trebuchet?  I can never remember the difference despite the many times Strafford students have tried to help me with this)?  I really wish we could take a field trip to the Tower when we study the Middle Ages.  When I was there, a school group was learning about medieval warfare, among other things.

I think we should have targets to shoot at when we do the medieval fair.

Kids learning how to storm the castle. In the background is an office building known as the "gherkin" for obvious reasons!

Where are the swords, shield, battle axes, and armor?!

She's waiting for the attack of the schoolchildren.

Ceremonial guards, guarding the Crown Jewels which are kept at the Tower of London.

Here's a picture of a "Beefeater" on watch. She's the only woman Beefeater on duty at the Tower. You must have served in the military with distinction for a minimum of 20 years to be considered for the job of Beefeater. They live in apartments at the Tower and perform many ceremonial duties, such as Key Ceremony in the evening which is when the Tower is locked up for the night. This tradition has been going on for centuries. Unfortunately, women Beefeaters have not been around for centuries and it is hard for some people to change tradition. Just last week, this woman filed harassment charges against some of her fellow guards.

Hope you enjoyed the tour of the Tower of London!

Radio, horses and shows

I love listening to the radio everywhere I go.  I enjoyed it when I was driving in Arizona some years ago and I heard a Navajo station.  I didn’t understand the language, obviously, but occasionally I would hear “computer” or “secretary day”.  The same sort of thing happened when I was driving in Italy, listening to Radio Slovenia.  I only occasionally understood the names of the bands but it was interesting anyway, trying to tell by the intonations whether it was the news or a commercial and listening to the music.

I have enjoyed listening to the BBC Radio 4 station here.  It is a mix of everything:  news, interviews, stories about people, radio soap operas, and rebroadcasts of old programs.  The other day I heard recordings of people who had been interviewed about their role in the woman’s suffrage movement in the United Kingdom.  It is so great when you can hear the voices and see the photos of people who made history.  They were playing an interview with a man who had supported the women in their quest to get the right to vote.  He took photos of the protest marches.  He hid the camera in his top hat and he would cough when he took a photo to mask the sound of the shutter.  I was only half listening really but the program caught my attention when the man spoke of a “famous” photo of a suffragist being knocked down by a horse.   I decided to look it up and after a bit of searching, I found a story about a suffragette (Emily Davison) who jumped out of the crowd onto a racetrack at the Epsom Derby, and tried to grab the reins of a running horse.  There was footage of it actually.  Of course, my first thought, being the good horse girl that I am, was what happened to the horse (Anmer)!?  The horse survived – no broken anything.  Then I worried about the jockey (Herbert “Diamond” Jones), who also recovered after a concussion.  The woman died.  Poor crazy thing.  But what really moved me was the fact that the jockey never really recovered after that.  He lost 3 brothers in WW I and he drifted and he eventually committed suicide.  And then I read that he had attended Emmeline Pankhurst’s funeral in 1928 – she was one of the most famous of the suffragettes.  He laid a wreath at her grave and it said: “To do honour to the memory of Mrs Pankhurst and Miss Emily Davison.”

If you are so inclined, you can see it all at: www.nikelinthemachine.com/category/epsom/

Speaking of horses – I went to see a play called War Horse on Friday.  It was based on a book for children about a boy and a horse and WW I.  As it seems to happen to me here, it was a coincidence that I saw two plays about WW I in two days.  I had seen a one man show the day before about a man who fought in WW I called My Real War 1914 – ?.  The play was based on letters he had written home when he was in the trenches. The actor and the script were both excellent and I was reminded of some of the basic facts about the “war to end all wars”.  War Horse is the story of a horse, Joey, who is lovingly raised by a boy and then taken away to be used as a cavalry horse in the war.  The boy joins the army to find Joey.  The most amazing thing about this play are the puppets.  The horses are life-size puppets with three puppeteers needed to bring each one to life.  They are big enough for the actors to ride.  It is impossible to describe how incredibly beautiful and real the puppets were.  They made the exact movements and sounds real horses make.  It was breathtaking.  And it had a happy ending unlike My Real War 1914 – ?.

 

On a much lighter note, last night I was lucky enough to go hear a band called Grizzly Bear play with the London Symphony Orchestra.  The melding of the classical and the contemporary was also breathtaking.  Grizzly Bear is a relatively new band, taking off.  Check them out: http://www.myspace.com/grizzlybear

And that is why I love living in London!