A Ride Through The Country

Sunday 5/21/16

What a week it has been! Last week at this time we were sitting in the airport wondering if we would ever arrive in England, and today we are rejuvenated after a fantastic weekend of fun. Yesterday the group had a free day at the Abbey. Many of us chose to sleep after arriving home from the Globe theatre in London at 2AM, a couple attended the Catholic Church service up the road and I chose to take a walk on some of the walking trails behind the Abbey.

The Abbey lent bicycles to Meg Murray, Patty Kohn, and Myself (Niall Keane) to bike around the town and explore Wroxton and the neighboring towns. Before we were able to receive the bicycles the receptionist at the abbey was very informative reminding us to ride on the left side of the road and ride with the traffic. Each Bike had its own unique characteristic; my handlebars moved forward and backwards, while Meg’s bike was a firm believer in moving full speed ahead without breaks. Taking a hilly trail, we traveled down small English streets with the sun shining over head and rock walls dividing the road and the fields on each side. We rode our bikes to the neighboring town of Horrely where we rode past what Professor Wry describes as a former More Church. Returning back to the Abbey we all agreed we need to go on another ride while here.

A Trip to Blenheim Palace

Yesterday afternoon after class discussions of both Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet the class ventured over to Blenheim Palace. Everyone was absolutely blown away by the enormous stone castle that stood before us. Getting to tour the inside and learn about Winston Churchill and his ancestors was captivating.

Blenheim Palace was build in the early 1800’s to celebrate the victory over the French in the War of Spanish Succession. The land was given to the first Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, in addition to 24,000 ducets. John Churchill built the house for him and his family and were the first people to live in the palace. It has now become the home for all of the Dukes of Marlborough  and the only palace to be non-royal or non episcopal and hold that title. Winston Churchill grew up in the palace with his grandparents and lived there when he became the Prime Minister of England in 1940 until 1945 and again in 1951 until 1955. Churchill was also known for being a historian, an author and a painter and was granted a Nobel Prize for his literature. He was the first person to also be considered and honorary American Citizen. Getting to see the history in the palace was exciting and helped everyone to get a deeper understanding.

 

 

Taking on The Globe Theatre

This past Saturday, May 21^st, we ventured to Shakespeare’s Globe and witnessed a performance of The Taming of the Shrew. We entered the theater as groundlings, which meant that we stood around the elevated stage, so close that we could lean our arms against it. Never had I been so close to a performance. I could see every emotion darting across the faces of the actors as their characters went through a plethora of emotions throughout the play. It was amazing, the venue was beautiful, and on a night that had been predicted to be rainy and cold, we were fortunate enough to have blue skies. The globe being an outdoor venue, this was a blessing.

The performance itself was incredible. The leading actress, playing the role of Katherine, was unable to perform and so we saw her understudy play the part. The actress who stepped in as Katherine, Genevieve Hulme-Beaman, was outstanding. Her portrayal of Katherine was vibrant, feisty and comical, but also somber and thought provoking during the play’s more serious second half. The performance interwove Irish song and culture as well, alluding to Easter Rising as well as using music to enhance underlying messages of suffering and suppression, but also unity and hope.

The cast was able to make us laugh, but also gave a moving performance with a message about marriage, society, and gender relations. It had us all talking and thinking about Shakespeare’s work long after our applause had faded.

A Day in Oxford

If you haven’t yet checkout the pictures attached to this blog I know it will be worthy your time! You could even check out our latest pictures from Oxford today where we explored the college roots and met an inspirational alumnus! But more importantly our pictures from St. Edmund Hall! The Society of Saint Edmund’s patron saint, St. Edmund the last Archbishop of Canterbury to be canonized studied and taught at Oxford University before the University was officially founded. Walking off the busy streets of Oxford into the Saint Edmund Hall courtyard filled with flowers both growing up out of the ground and down off the side of the buildings the purple, red, and yellow flowers added to the beautiful atmosphere pleasured with the songs of birds. On our left as we walked into the courtyard was a building from the 13th century; the original building Saint Edmund studied and taught.

After the tour our group of 19 was able to individually explore the city. Tim Nagy of the class of 2015 and current master student of Theology at Oxford University privileged myself (Niall Keane) Meg Murray, and Patty Kohn with a tour of the city. Studying Shakespeare in England, I presumed a Tempest, but since our arrival we have been privileged with sunny warm days, allowing us to take advantage fragrant botanical gardens in the south of the city, and The Eagle and Child Pub where C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien held a book club. Immersed in the culture of Shakespeare, today our group was privileged to learn more about their founder Saint Edmund, recognizing his love for knowledge, as well as the University culture of Oxford, first hand from Tim Nagy. Completing our third day in England our class focused on Shakespeare has immersed ourselves in the culture and tradition of England, their politics, academic community, and the roots of Saint Edmund.

A Visit From The House Of Lords!

Today we were honored to have a special visitor from England’s House of Lords, Rt Hon Lord Bryan Davies of Oldham. Lord Davies is a member of the Labour party and joined the Lords in October, 1997. He grew up in Worcestershire and attended the University College London and graduated with a bachelor of arts in history. He later attained a bachelor of science in economics from the London School of Economics. After starting his career he tends to be specifically interested in issues regarding economy, finance, education, employment and transportation. Lord Davies entertained a group of us with riveting conversation this morning at breakfast.

“Brits speak English, you just butcher it”

Today was our first day of classes here at Wroxton. This morning Dr. Nicholas Baldwin gave us a two-part introductory lecture about contemporary Britain. Having finally arrived in England, Dr. Baldwin’s talk was not only incredibly informative and enlightening, but humorous and engaging. “Here in England they tend to drink the tea, however in America we just dump it into the harbor.” He had us all laughing about the complex, quirky differences that separate life in America and Britain.

Today was also the day we saw our first play. It was performed in Stratford upon Avon, which the group had a short period of time to explore before the play began. Stratford upon Avon was a very pretty sight, with swans swimming in the river, numerous little cottage-esque shops, and of course, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Cymbeline, the play we’d arrived to see, began at 7:15pm. As we settled into our seats, we found ourselves admiring the design of the theatre around us. And then, with almost no warning at all, the room hushed, an actress stepped onto the stage, and Cymbeline began to speak.

THANK YOU!

Excited to have arrived in Wroxton we could not be more grateful to our fearless leaders Professor Clary, Professor Wry, and Chris Clary. All three took charge in an unpredictable situation while demonstrating patience, understanding, and humility. Their poise and calm mannerisms set the tone for the rest of the group and allowed for the new plans to become successful.

Due to flight malfunctions the  group was stuck in Boston for an extra day, at first going terminal to terminal seeking a flight that could accommodate our group of nineteen. After a lot of frustration, we successfully created a plan that would allow us to safely make our way to Wroxton. Only arriving this afternoon, we would like to thank first Professor Clary for his strength to overcome physical adversary, and Professor Wry and Chris Clary for leading our group when all seem to be going wrong. Your strength and composure reassured all of us that everything was going to be okay and that we would eventually make it to our destination. Ending our first day at Wroxton, among vibrant flowers of blue and red, a landscape of unending green, although it is rainy England, our future’s looking bright!

The Adventure Begins…

By Patty Kohn, Niall Keane and Kelsey Bode

As we traveled through Logan Airport last night, I think it is safe to say that many of us began to question whether or not we would ever truly make it to England.

Within minutes of checking our bags, our flight was cancelled. A second booked flight turned out not to have enough seats for all of us. We almost had a layover in Dublin, then in Italy. By the end of the night we were in hotel rooms, eager to sleep, perchance to dream… of getting on a plane to England.

However, nothing could get in the way of our perseverance and determination to get abroad. Through all the laughs and stress that developed through this setback, the group immediately bonded and became closer than ever. Inevitably, we all learned a valuable lesson: somehow everything is going to come together.

Our stay at the hotel was pleasant and after a night of rest we are ready to take on the new day. Our flight has been rescheduled to tonight and we will hopefully be flying straight into Heathrow airport, our feet on English land at last.