This weekend was especially gorgeous in Britain. And now I'm realizing how much I took the sun and warm California weather I grew up with for granted. I used to complain that everyday was the same...it was always sunny and mild (I lived my formative years in Northern California), save for the few rainy days every year. On Christmas, I used to pretend the rain was snow. And although I am still enchanted by the wintery flutters, I do miss the California sunshine.

 

But I digress. 

Firstly, though, since I'm already off topic...let me just share a couple photos of Saturday in the sunshine...

 

My PhD project is on theatre and the Holocaust, specifically Anne Frank and her portrayal in theatres in the UK and United States (with a study on two specific productions in Holland and Canada mixed in).  I had been in touch with an AmDram in London and they had promised they would help me with my data collection. It was incredibly nice of them, but it totally fell through when they forgot in the midst of everything else (really, I can understand not collecting data for a random PhD student!). My adviser had told me I had enough case studies, but since I had a free travel voucher to London, I decided to meet my friend Amy down there and make a day of it. 

First stop was the British Museum, which I had never been to. Amy and I were all set to see the new Viking Exhibit--which, at £16 a pop should logically have a ride in it. And candy. And plenty of actors re-enacting Viking scenes. When we got to the stand, they said the next time we could go in was 2:40, but the play started at 3pm. Disappointed, we decided to see the rest of the museum instead (although to be fair, you could spend a day--or more--in the free portion). We did get to see this cool recreated head piece from a girl in Ur....although the original was totally smashed, so....I feel as though they took some serious creative license with her outfit:

Around 2pm, we headed over to Starbucks, grabbed some drinks and then whisked off to the play. When we got there, the parking lot was totally empty. We wandered around like idiots, until we saw a sign saying the play was YESTERDAY. Call me stupid, but I'm still trying to get the hang of the cultural differences between the US and UK when it comes to theatre. For me, plays (especially AmDrams) always close on Sunday matinees. I've never heard of a play closing on a Saturday matinee. When I discussed with the lady about coming to a matinee, I had never even imagined they would be closing on a Saturday. Apparently, many (but not all) shows in England have Sunday rest days instead of Mondays. Their schedules seem to vary from show to show. Whatever happened to good old fashioned eight shows a week, no show on Monday and two show days on Wednesdays and Saturdays? Come on people! Oh well, at least I didn't need the show for my data.

 

Disappointed, but encouraged, we called the British Museum who then informed me that the Viking Exhibit was sold out for the rest of the day. Later, I came to realize that there was no ride, there was no candy and certainly no live actors. I feel pretty good about saving my £16 on that exhibit.

 

Amy, who is into comic books, then suggested that we go to the British Library to see the comic book exhibit. Although I'm not a huge comic book person, Amy is, so I went anyway and did find some interesting stuff. Afterward, we headed over to the library shop where Amy found a comic book to purchase and I found a treasure trove of...everything. Seriously, if the shop wasn't closing, I'd have to be dragged out.

 

In the interest of saving those £16 I didn't spend on the Vikings,  I decided not to buy everything I wanted. Instead I splurged on a couple of (reasonably priced--yes mom!) items:

 

After our little jaunt, we headed over to a meal at Nando's before heading our separate ways back home. All in all, it was still a lovely little afternoon...even if I am the biggest idiot in the world.

I came home to find Harmony (Luke's mom's dog who had been staying with us for a couple weeks and is now off back home) waving this stick around like it was her samurai sword, ready to challenge man or beast to a duel. 

Despite feeling a bit lupus-like earlier in the week, the warm weather really puts you in a lovely mood, doesn't it?