A Snowy Day in London Town

I woke up this morning four minutes before my alarm was supposed to go off and suppressed the urge to go back to sleep. I made my bed and drew my curtains as I do every morning. This morning, however, I received a little surprise when I looked out my window. It was snowing! Not just snowing, mind you, but an actual "blizzard" in my eyes. These flakes were so big-- half-dollar size. I laughed out loud and said, "What?!" because I thought it was so funny. It has been snowing now for almost two hours straight. Just before going to bed last night Carolyn and I were talking of spending the afternoon reading in a park if the weather was okay. "I heard it might rain," I said. Little did we know...       London weather is so crazy. I never know how to dress or what shoes to wear. A bright and sunny morning usually means I should make sure that I carry my umbrella when I go out, and the wettest of mornings could be dry by the time I get out of class.

So about yesterday...
I have spent most of my weekend with Carolyn. She's my next door neighbor and a fellow Vols fan from Knoxville. Yesterday morning, we left the house around 9:30 and walked to Kensington High Street and down a side road to "the Muffin Man" where we had breakfast. It was nice, and was a beautifully sunny morning. Just before leaving the Muffin Man, I realized I had forgotten my wallet and Oyster card at the house, so we walked back to the house. Nothing like starting the day with a good mile and a half of walking. Once I had finally gotten my card, we took the tube to Lambeth North where we got off and walked to the Imperial War Museum. Carolyn had been before and loved it, but I hadn't been yet. I had been wanting to go for a while, and our World War II lecture is on Monday, so we decided it was the perfect Saturday to be tourists.

This museum is so well-done. We spent the better part of four hours there and still did not see everything. I went to the World War II exhibit to prepare myself for Monday's class and refresh my memory of the events of the Second World War. It was interesting to get a British perspective on the war, and I'm sure a WWII museum here in Europe would have a greater collection than one in the states. Every case was full of authenic gear and objects from the war. Each model soldier was dressed and adorned with all of the proper equipment. It was really fascinating.

The second exhibit I went to was the "Children's War." This exhibit looked quite playful, but it told a less charming story. I learned about how many of the children in London were evacuated just prior to the war to escape air raids. They were sent into the northern parts of England and Scotland to live with relatives or foster families. Many of these children lived in the fear that they would never see their parents again, and for a few of them, this fear was realized at the close of the war. We got to walk through a "house" that was supposed to resemble one of these retreat homes. One girl's bedroom was decorated with pictures of Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, and Frank Sinatra (similar to my own room!) There was also a quote on the wall from the soldier's return from war from a young child who had never known his father that said, "It's a soldier, Mummy. With a kit bag. I think it's your husband." There were also quotes that were much more depressing, though, and I will refrain from putting them up here; I literally had tears in my eyes.

The third exhibition I went to was the Holocaust. There was so much to see in this exhibit, and I'm sure I didn't so it justice in the short time I was there. It was so emotionally moving. We read books and see pictures of the Holocaust often, and its so difficult to believe that these events actually happened. I left the exhibit with bitter resentment toward the Nazis and a warm appreciation for men such as Oskar Schindler who sacrificed so much just to save the lives of those who were so deeply hated.

I looked around the rest of the museum, too, and saw a new exhibit on genocide, several model planes and submarines, and also a gallery of war posters. It was interesting. There was also a gallery of sheets of stamps; each devoted to one British soldier who was killed in the war with Iraq. This museum was definitely worth the visit, and I know that so much research and updating is invested there.

After the war museum, Carolyn and I took the tube to Trafalgar Square. By this time it was raining. (Got a taste of London weather yet?) We went into the National Gallery because we had some assignments to complete there. She and I both had to research some artists for both our British art lecturer and architecture lecturer. In addition, I had some research to do for my semester art project-- an objective comparison of Gainsborough's Mr. and Mrs. Andrew's and Hogarth's Marriage A-la-Mode I. We finished what we had to do, went to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries, and came back to the house.

Late last night, several of the girls gathered in the TV room to watch For One English Officer. It's a movie that we are supposed to watch before our WWII lecture. It was a documentary about a prisoner of war exchange that was single-handedly organized by a member of the American Red Cross, Andrew Gerow Hodges. Yes, Hodges. As in Samford University's Hodges Chapel Hodges. This man, and former student of Samford (it was Howard College at the time) was responsible for negotiating the safe return of 149 American, British, and French soldiers from a German POW camp. One man in particular was Michael Foot. At the time of the trade, Foot was in a coma, and the Germans didn't want to give him over because he had tried to escape multiple times and had seen too much. Hodges refused to return without him though, and the Germans asked him if he would sacrifice the lives of all those men "for one English officer." Hodges replied, "Yes, or for one French cadet." It was Hodges' efforts and determination that saved the lives of so many of these men. It not only makes me proud to be an American, but proud to be a student of Samford!

Well, sorry this was such a long entry. I had a great weekend, and I felt like it was journal-worthy! Now, for a new week! Carolyn and I are about to leave to go to Bloomsbury Central Baptist Church in Piccadilly. I guess we'll see how this church compares with our Southern Baptist home churches!