45 Days in London: Day 30

The William Morris Gallery

This morning was engulfed by accounting...ugh. But it makes it feel all the more wonderful when you finally escape the flat!

We rode out to Walthamstow to see the William Morris Gallery. The V&A owns his childhood home, a replication of his workshop, his garden, and has opened it all up to the public free of charge.

Oh, how we loved seeing his workspace, his philosophy, his business plan, his design process...and so many beautiful drawings, wallpaper designs and tapestries! I could have stayed there all day, opening drawers and studying color palettes. Jeff bought a beautiful William Morris tie. (The birthday celebration continues!)

"That thing which I understand by real art is the expression by man of his pleasure in labour."

—William Morris

And of course, Morris being the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, it also tugged at our Pasadena heartstrings. Sometimes I still miss our homes in the Historic Highlands, and being part of a community that values great architecture and all things Craftsman (not talking about the tools from Sears!). I also loved seeing the work of his successor, Frank Brangwyn. Gorgeous paintings!

The gardens back up onto Lloyd Park, where we spent some time feeding the ducks, and just sat on a bench in the shade and read our books for a while. (One of the perks of being here long-term.)

We also took a quick peek inside their town library, where they have some first editions of Morris's books, and a display of his stained glass.

Then it was home, to a lovely Waitrose dinner of pork tenderloin and cauliflower gratin with roasted vegetables. Ah, life is good.

45 Days in London: Day 29

Happy Birthday, London Style

What better place to celebrate a birthday than London! Happy Birthday, Jeff! First activity...shopping! We took the tube to Covent Garden and just made our way down Charing Cross Road popping in and out of shops until we'd had our fill and shot our wad. Jeff found some great shirts. And Jeremiah bought a traditional British wool tie for 3 pounds (90% off!).

Bad news: But we had our first bad food in London tonight. We were in a hurry and grabbed something nearby and affordable. But it was very disappointing. Corner Cafe in Leicester Square. Not recommended.

The other celebratory must-do item on our birthday agenda was a play in the West End. We queued up for a sold-out production of Skylight (starring Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy). We stood in line for two and a half hours, and then they offered us a pair of premium seats at a discounted price and we took the plunge. It was an amazing production. The set design was brilliant--an apartment interior, with views of other tenements outside, and an open top revealing the night sky. And in the second act it snowed. The performances were also brilliant. Of course. The story was about a relationship between two very different people, the love and the conflict. It brought to mind similar relationships and conflicts—political, social and societal.

We met some lovely people in the queue. An author of history books who's also very interested in family history. And a couple who ended up sitting next to us, who are both actors. It was a wonderful, memorable evening.

45 Days in London: Day 28

Courtauld Gallery/Somerset House

This reminded me of the Frick Collection in New York -- not overwhelming, but just the right size, because it began as someone's personal collection.

The Courthauld has a huge selection of Rubens, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, plus an amazing roomful of prints and drawings from the 18th century to today.

The building itself is also pretty spectacular. A famous staircase, a widely used film location, a spacious courtyard, and wonderful details.

Across the courtyard was another gallery, where the Courthauld Institute of Art is housed. There was a "Rudeboy" style/attitude photo exhibition. Gorgeous photographs, artfully displayed, and I was introduced to a whole new segment of the culture and their philosophy. There was also an exhibit of gorgeous black-and white lithographs by an artist named John Virtue. Wow! I wanted to purchase one, but they had nothing available for sale.

But wait—there's more! An exhibit on Josef and Anni Albers' famous color studies and textiles...brilliant artists from the Bauhaus school. I love me some great color theory. In all there was so much inspiration—much of it surprising—for my own work, and to share with my students.

Jamie Oliver's Pop-up Diner

Tiny bit of gourmet just above Piccadilly Circus. Gritty decor. Diner food done just right.

And amazingly, about the same price as McDonald's. That's a no-brainer.

Once Upon a Time in China, parts one and two

Six hours of Jet Li's gymnastic kung-fu fighting, in a historical setting. I thought it would be a drag to watch five-plus hours of Chinese cinema, but I enjoyed it. What's not to love about people flying through the air, and furniture flying with them?  :)

45 Days in London: Day 27

Day of Rest

The place where we attended church today was another international experience. We met people from Ghana, Turkey, Finland, and Albania. It was a small, humble little ward with an enormous heart. We immediately felt we belonged.

All of the leadership on the stand were of African descent. I don't think I've ever seen that before. It was refreshing and exciting to see the growth of the church internationally.

At the end of the Relief Society meeting, several women had brought things to share with each other: fresh herbs from their gardens, fruit from their trees, and a favorite Italian cake from a nearby shop. It felt like a beautiful symbol of the kind of friendship, nurturing and support we enjoy as sisters.

At night we held a family home evening in one of the flats. We talked about our Lake District experience, and loved hearing from the students about the spiritual and artistic impact it had on them.

45 Days in London: Day 26

Orrest Head, Windermere

This morning, despite advance booking, we were unable to get into HillTop (Beatrix Potter's Farm) as planned, so we shifted gears, and walked to one of the best viewpoints in the Lake District, called Orrest Head. For some reason we chose the steeper, rockier of the two trails (I'm sure there's a metaphor there), but it was pleasant, regardless. Light intermittent rain, perfect temperature. And the views were incredible.

Partway up we saw the classic Lake District walled pastures with sheep. But the real payoff was at the top—a 360-degree vista over lakes, fields, and farmhouses. Our gift from the heavens was this beautiful cloudy mist sheeting out of the sky, only visible at the top, creating a perfect watercolor backdrop for our journey.

After our hike, we spent an hour in the town of Windermere, eating, shopping and just enjoying the quaint village. Then we boarded our bus and headed south.

Coventry Cathedral

When I heard we were going to Coventry, I fully expected to be wowed by another big gothic cathedral. Instead we were greeted by quite a different site. Coventry Cathedral was bombed by Hitler during World War II—not for any strategic purpose, but in sheer retaliation after the church in Dresden was destroyed by the allies.  that remains of Coventry Cathedral is the outer shell.  Rather than rebuild it after the war, the Coventry community chose to leave it that way as a reminder of the ravages of war. They later built a brand new cathedral next door.

 But the interesting and most inspiring part of the whole story is this: The people in Coventry who lost their place of worship chose to take Jesus's commandment "love thine enemies" literally. Once the war had ended, villagers found huge medieval nails in the rubble, and with three of them formed a large cross and sent it to their former enemies in Dresden as an act of friendship and forgiveness. They made a similar cross of nails that is now mounted in the altar of the apse at Coventry. Inscribed there it says "Father, Forgive." Later they have sent similar crosses to other places who had their churches and cathedrals destroyed, and formed a small society called The Community of the Cross.

There is a plaque near the entrance unveiled by Queen Elizabeth in 1990 that says, "For nation shall not lift sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." (Isaiah 2:4) So what could potentially be a disturbing sight has now become a place of peace, forgiveness, and hope. 

Our Home away from Home

When we pulled into South Kensington that evening and unloaded our bags in our flat, it was amazing to realize how much this little apartment has come to feel like home. As sad as we were to leave the Lake District, it also felt good to be in our own familiar space.

45 Days in London: Day 25

Dove Cottage, Grasmere

Dove Cottage is the place which I remember most from my student travels, 30 years ago. Visiting Wordsworth's home had such an impact on me, envisioning him sitting and writing—or just thinking—at specific spots in the garden. It inspired me to seek out similar places for myself, in harmony with Tolstoy's formula: Toil, Solitude, Prayer. 

Our tour guide was fantastic—gave us lots of great information, great stories. The house itself is quite small. Especially the bedrooms. Yet the Wordsworths often had rooms full of guests, fellow thinkers and writers, visiting and sleeping on the floors. It reminded me of my Grandma and Grandpa Winters, who lived in a little duplex on Capitol Hill, yet always seemed to have plenty of room to entertain. 

They had sheets of poetry in the garden you could sit and read:

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils. 

Wordsworth later moved to Rydal Mount, but always thought of Dove Cottage as "home" and some of his best work was written there. He and his family were buried in the little churchyard right around the corner.
Wordsworth and his family worshipped there, but it seems to me that he had his own conduit to the heavens as well:

Not in entire forgetfulness
and not in utter nakedness
but trailing clouds of glory 
do we come, from God
who is our Home.

We stopped and ate lunch across from the church, on a patio overlooking the river.

Right next to the churchyard is a 19th-century gingerbread shop, which still makes the original recipe. We each tried a piece—you could taste the fresh ginger. Such goodness!

 Brantwood

John Ruskin's house was almost impossible to get to. Imagine our giant bus driving down narrow country lanes where there's only room enough for one car--sometimes the mirrors were literally touching the hedges on both sides. Several times another car would come along and have to back up until there was a place to pull over to let us pass. It was a little dicey. I was glad I wasn't driving!

I knew of Ruskin as an art critic, but I wasn't aware of his other cultural and societal contributions. He was truly a renaissance man. He made contributions in art, architecture, music, science, botany and philosophy. His ideas were responsible for the beginnings of the welfare system in England, the creation of separate smoking and non-smoking areas, and many other forward-thinking programs that changed the face of society.

And, like Wordsworth, he found solace and inspiration in his wonderful gardens.

We wrapped up our day on a refreshing boat ride across Lake Windermere just before sunset, with the wind blowing across the water spraying a faint mist.

Life doesn't get much better than this.