London Lights

Walking around London in the late summer evenings is absolutely beautiful.

South Bank

This one's for the Deere

Once again, our lawn was in need of maintenance.  I'm the only one who cuts the grass at any point, and it had been a while.  I don't know if the process of getting out the lawn mower really translates, so I decided to revert to pictures once more.  I'll break it down into steps for you :-)

Step One: Put on the Wellies.  Wellington boots.  Wellieboots.  Gummies.  Gumboots. Barnboots.  Sheepboots.  Whatever you call them, they are a very important part of a garden in England.  (Mine are also a fashion statement of a sort!)  They make me feel safe between lawnmowers, snails, slugs, spiders, and all the less pleasant things our neighborhood fox likes to track through the garden.

Step Two: Get the lawnmower out of it's little storage shed.  Seriously, we have a collapsable lawnmower.  It still makes me shake my head.

Step Three: Connect the lawnmower to an electric outlet.  Again, boggles my American/Zimbabwean mind.  It just doesn't seem right to unplug the toaster so I can then plug in the lawnmower to cut the grass.  Those words don't belong in the same sentence.  

Step 4: Unfold the handle and tighten the screws to hold it in place.

Step Five: Attach the basket to collect the grass cuttings. 

And last but not least, pull a lever and push the big orange button and you're off.  However, be very careful not to run over the power cord with the lawnmower.  I've not done it myself, but I can't imagine that would have a nice outcome.  

And to my dear uncle and cousin with the lawncare business, I try.  I really try to stripe the lawn and make it look all pretty, but it's nearly impossible in my tiny yard!  I do think of you every time I try. <3

The Scoop

Friday night, a few friends and I journeyed down to a part of London known as More London.  That always makes me giggle, because I have yet to find "Less London."  There is an outdoor amphitheatre there, called the Scoop, and for the month of September, they have been showing different films for free on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.  Last night's film was the African Queen with Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn.  I couldn't wait to watch it along them Thames.

It made for a very fun evening.  I popped popcorn at home and packed a goody bag for us all.  We grabbed blankets and jackets and made our way to Tower Hill station.  I love exiting the tube at Tower Hill.  As you leave the station, you walk directly towards the Tower of London.  Walking around the Tower of London, you then see Tower Bridge.  As it happens, just as we were arriving, the bridge was being opened to allow a ship through.  I've actually only ever seen that happen in films.  It did mean we had to wait a little bit to cross over to the South Bank.

Once we arrived, we settled into our spots to wait for the film to start.  It was a very festive atmosphere, because most people were with a group and had also brought picnic food.  It was also a perfect evening for something like this.

the building to the left of the screen is London City Hall

Laura and I 

No matter how many photos I take of it, I always am captivated by the beauty of Tower Bridge at night.

On the way home, I insisted on a few pictures with the Bridge.  It's too pretty not to!  All it all, it was a very nice way to spend a Friday night.

Laurent de la Hyre

Today was a very different day for me.  V had a museum tour, and didn't have enough booklets, so to spare her a trip completely out of the way to my house to collect some, I offered to bring them to Central London for her.  Well, that meant I had to be in Central London by 9:30, which meant leaving the house by 8:40, which meant I had to set 4 alarms to get up on time!  I'm so bad at mornings.  I know to most people 7:45 a.m. isn't early, but I've been working some very late nights this week, and last night was no exception.  And I'm a girl who needs a minimum of 8 hours beauty sleep or else!

Because of meeting Val, I figured I would plan to spend the day doing some research for a project at the National Gallery of London (think famous paintings).  After giving the booklets to Val, I made the mandatory trip to Starbucks for my coffee (please, you didn't think I would have made some before I left the house, did you?) and then walked from Tottenham Court to Trafalgar Square to the National Gallery.  Today was a proper London autumn day:  blue sky but cold.  As I walked, a guy about my age with a tee shirt announcing PDSA (which stands for People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, which is a charity that raises funds for animals in the UK) caught my eye and announced, "Thank heavens, there is someone smiling!  Do you have a minute, miss?"  What was I to do?  He started into his speech about donating a pound or so monthly by direct debit to benefit their charity and so on.  I stopped him pretty early and said something to the effect of "Look here, I think your charity is great, but I won't be setting up a direct debit from my bank account, thanks."  He was very gracious and responded with a "That's just fine, it was lovely to talk with you and oh by the way, what's your name?"  Well, I don't think he really needed that, but I said Hope, and shook his hand (He's David, by the way).

And I carried on in the blustery day, walking down Charing Cross Road.  I got a bit further and saw another similarly dressed chap.  I must have smiled.  He commented, "Oh, you look like you know what's coming!  Do you a few minutes to stop and talk, miss?"  I laughed.  "Yes, I do know what's coming, I just spoke with one of your colleagues."  "Oh, did you now?"  "Yes, David."  "Oh, you know his name?"  "Yes, we chatted for a few minutes, but I'm sorry, I'm not going to sign up to support PDSA today."  "Oh, are you just visiting from America?"  "No, I live here."  "Are you a student?"  (MY WORD, IS THIS A SURVEY?) "No, I work here."  "Oh, really?  What do you do?"  "Well, actually, I work with the Church."  Surprised look on 2nd PDSA guy's face.  "Oh, well, that's nice."  "Yes, most people seem surprised when I say that!"  To which he very interestingly responded, "Is it? I think most people have some sort of faith these days."  After a few more comments, I wished him a good day and once again walked on my way to Trafalgar Square.

As I walked, I couldn't help but think how sad it is that I often get comments to the effect that it is so rare to see someone smiling as they walk along in London.  London is a busy, solitary city in a lot of ways.

Shortly after, I reached my destination.  First, I did a quick walk through of the gift shop.  I love museum gift shops.  I suppose that's quite odd.  Then, I found my way to Level -2, where I wound my way through the Devotions by Design exhibit, which was very interesting.  It was all about Italian alterpieces before 1500.   (Yoohoo....don't fall asleep on me now.  I know that isn't everyone's idea of interesting!)  Then I went up to the main level to do my research on different paintings.  After a few hours, I found my way through the galleries to Room 18, for a special talk on a painting by Laurent de la Hyre, whose name I would have not been able to pronounce properly had I not heard it spoken.  The painting discussed is called the Allegory of Grammar.  Pictures are not allowed in the National Gallery, so I cannot share here, but feel free to google it or view it here.  It is a lovely picture of a woman watering two potted plants.  I would have walked right by it.  However, as the staff person began to explain it, I became quite fascinated.

You see, the woman herself is the allegory.  She represents Grammar, hence the title, the Allegory of Grammar.  I know, it all makes sense now!  In the 1600's, Grammar was thought to be the highest of the liberal arts, which were identified as grammar, dialectic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.  Laurent de la Hyre painted a series of seven paintings, one for each of the elements of the liberal arts.  In this painting, the artist is personifying grammar to show the effect she can have on young minds, which are represented by the potted flowers.  I also learned that art was not that highly regarded, because it was considered a mechanic art, and therefore lesser than the liberal arts.  During Hyre's lifetime, artists began to combine art and literature, attempting to prove themselves to be educated with a good grasp of the liberal arts.

I also learned a new word: pentimento.  No, it's not a new kind of Mento candy.  A pentimento is the trace of earlier painting beneath the surface painting. This is usually evidence that the artist changed his/her mind as work progressed, and simply painted over the original detail.  As you might have guessed, the National Gallery is a very nice place to spend a blustery afternoon in London.

Green Street Saree

I went down to Green Street yesterday and got my saree from the tailor.  He was a little more friendly this time.  To be fair, the last time I saw him was during Ramadan, and I would probably be a bit grumpy if I hadn't eaten all day, too.  My saree was finished!

As you can tell, this was a not so successful attempt at a self portrait to show you how pretty it is.  Clearly the picture quality isn't so great but the saree is beautiful.  Now, I need someone to help me wrap the saree properly and then, all that remains to be determined is an occasion to wear it!

 

Bangladesh at the British Museum

Saturday I gave a tour at the Museum and to my surprise, there was a special event taking place!  In celebration of 40 years of independence for Bangladesh, the Museum hosted a Family day.  They had traditional crafts for the kids, special exhibits, and even traditional dancing and singing.  

I'm also including a short video of the dancing and singing, but just a note, if you get my posts via email, you won't be able to see the video, I think you will need to visit my website to actually view it.  The picture quality is awful (I did it on my phone after all!) but the sound is pretty good.  You can hear the bangles around the dancer's angles and the voice of the singer.  It will give you a little 17 second taste of Bangladesh!

Inked.

I decided it was time for a change in  my appearance.

Before I get in too much trouble with my grandmother, I will admit that this is a henna tattoo.  This past week was the Muslim feast of Eid, and many women decorated their hands with henna tattoos for the celebration.  I've gotten henna a few times before.  I think it's really pretty.  Women in Asia, Africa and the Middle East use henna, also known as mehndi, for celebrations like marriages, betrothals and religious feasts.  I decided to celebrate my niece Anna who is 5 months old today!  It seemed quite fitting.  After all, I plan to be her fun, crazy, well travelled auntie, so why not celebrate her birth with something my sister would term "ethnic!"  

We Have Green!

At long last, we have finally gotten some green growth in our garden that isn't a weed!  Our seedlings, which we so carefully planted 30 cm apart as instructed on the packets, have started to sprout!

As soon as Joanne noticed the new little splashes of colour, she revealed how well she knows me.  "Come now, Hope, it's time to update the blog.  Go take some pictures!"  I dutifully followed her instructions! :)

The complexity of the English Language

My friend (the one I visited in Belfast) studied linguistics at uni and I noticed this poem on her wall.  I can't seem to find an author online, but it's marvelous :)  Enjoy!  (I dare you try to read it out loud.  I totally stumbled over my words!)

The English Lesson

We’ll begin with box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn’t the plural of pan be pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet,
But I give a boot… would a pair be beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set is teeth,
Why shouldn’t the plural of booth be beeth?

If the singular is this, and the plural is these,
Why shouldn’t the plural of kiss be kese?
Then one may be that, and three be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.

The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim.
So our English, I think you will agree,
Is the trickiest language you ever did see.

I take it you already know
of tough, and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
on hiccough, through, slough and though.
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead; it’s said like bed, not bead!
For goodness sake, don’t call it deed!

Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt)
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Nor dear and fear for bear and pear,
And then there’s dose and rose and lose –
Just look them up – and goose and choose,
And cork and work and card and ward
And font and front and word and sword.

And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I’ve hardly made a start.
A dreadful language: Why, man alive,
I’d learned to talk when I was five.
And yet to write it, the more I tried,
I hadn’t learned it at fifty-five.

Northern Ireland

Monday was a holiday here in the UK, so for Monday and Tuesday (my day off), I planned a quick trip to Northern Ireland to see some friends.  Av spoiled me and also took Tuesday as her day off so she could play tour guide for me.  It was FANTASTIC.  What a gorgeous country!  Northern Ireland became my 31st country, and wow, what a beauty.

Here a few pictures to share the scenery:

where the Titanic was built!

The White Star line and the Cranes which built the Titanic, named Sampson and Goliath

Carrick a Rede, along the North Coast 

Giant's Causeway 

Giant's Causeway

Dunluce Castle 

We grabbed dinner from a "chippy" and ate our fish and chips by the sea

It was a really great two days off.  The weather was great and the company even better!  I have wanted to see Giant's Causeway for a few years now and it was a real treat.  We had a beautiful day.  Avril said she's never been to the causeway on a sunny day, it's always rained for her.  We could see the islands off the coast and we could also even see Scotland off in the distance.  And in a true testimony of friendship, Avril got up at 4:15 to drive me to the airport for my 6 a.m. flight back to London for a full working day on Wednesday!  What a girl! :-)

We stopped numerous times to take pictures and stare in awe at the beauty around us.  I've been blessed to see a lot of the world, even though this is much more I long to see, but this was incredible.  It isn't that I would say it's the "most" beautiful place I've been.  It just continues to amaze me to see all of the different beauties God has made!  They can't be compared but wow...what a pleasure to see.


The heavens declare the glory of God; 
   the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 
 Day after day they pour forth speech; 
   night after night they reveal knowledge. 
 They have no speech, they use no words; 
   no sound is heard from them. 
 Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 
   their words to the ends of the world. 
Psalm 19:1-4