Music and Theatre at Harlaxton

First, in the "It's a Small World After All, Bethany Edition" category, was going into Grantham yesterday on the shuttle and got to talking with a visitor from Winston-Salem State University who had given a couple of guest lectures here this week and is looking to set up the program at his school. Turns out he is the son of Dr. Barry Richardson, former Econ prof and Dean of the Faculty at Bethany College from the late 60s. He lived on Point Breeze Drive when he was a boy, and we had an excellent visit recalling Bethanians from that era. Amazing how so many interesting people have dwelt along the banks of the Old Buffalo over the years and the extraordinary places that you run into them!

Then, in the evening, we had the pleasure of participating in "Death, Damnation, and British Studies, A Performance by the Harlaxton Choir and Players."

Sorry for the quality of the pix of the program, but forgot and folded it up before taking the picture. The evening featured the Harlaxton Choir of some 30 singers, including yours truly in his formal debut in the Bass section--seriously, and led by Visiting Professor James Larner of Marian University. Dr. Larner chose works that were linked to the themes or contexts of the British Studies program which all students take and included Gregorian chant (Dies Irae), early polyphonic music (Sumer is icumen in), and a contemporary arrangement of a traditional English melody (Autumn's Treasure). We also performed a couple of songs written by Dr. Kay Gandy, another Visiting Professor, the Sorting Hat Song, and a wonderful sendup of the British Studies class. We sang in the Great Hall here in the Manor which has acoustics comparable to Commencement Hall, although on a smaller scale.

The evening also featured an abridged version of "The Summoning of Everyman," acted and directed by students. In addition, Dr. Larner and two students presented a lovely flute trio by an English composer from the Hundred Years War era, John Dunstable, and a another student did a wonderful job with Dido's Lament by Purcell, a 17th century English composer. We ensured a standing ovation by ending with God Save the Queen. When in Rome. . . ! The point is that you don't have to give up music or theatre while you are studying here for a semester, so I would encourage students to consider that as well when thinking about coming here.

Finally, a tinge of sadness in the evening though. It was Stephanie's last night here. She was off to Heathrow this morning at 6:30 a.m. Will miss her desperately for the next 8 weeks.

A Splendid Weekend at the Coast

Well, campers, we spent last weekend at the seaside town of Whitstable on the Kent coast about 5 miles from Canterbury. It sits at the entrance of the Thames Estuary and for centuries has played a role in the maritime life of the area, as well as being a center of the oyster trade. In more recent times, it has been a vacation spot for Londoners as it is only about 75 minutes from Victoria Station by train. We arrived late Friday afternoon to deteriorating weather which turned even nastier in the night. However, by morning it was gloriously sunny and remained so for both Saturday and Sunday allowing us to walk along the sea wall and beaches for hours in the most beautiful weather. Our hotel, the Hotel Continental, was a typical 19th century seaside building with a lovely view of the sea. Our room was in the upper left corner.

 

 

Americans sometimes have trouble understanding that "beaches" in England are not like those in the US. For starters, there is little or no sand, instead these are rock beaches with quite substantial tidal flats that reach out into the sea a good way at low tide.

 

 

 

 

Second, this is the North Sea, so the water is about 45 degrees making for very chilly swimming--if you are foolish enough to try it. Instead, a typical day at the beach includes long walks along the sea wall and perhaps renting (or purchasing) a beach shack like this one to pile into in the event of bad weather.

 





A walk down into the harbor of Whitstable itself took us past rows of small artisan shops and the masts of the Whitstable Yacht Club--mostly small sailing boats or catamarans.

High Street had many small shops for art work, antiques, etc., a classic 19th century arcade, and, of course, numerous pubs and fish and chips shops. We had a wonderful example of the last at Ossie's Fish and Chips Shop just off the Marine Parade on our wanderings. A huge slab of fresh cod, battered and deep fried, with proper chips (what Americans call steak fries) on the side.

Again, could not believe our good fortune with the weather. We will long remember our stay.

Burghley House Visit

Yesterday we went to Burghley House, named for William Cecil, the First Lord Burghley and chief minister to Good Queen Bess for the bulk of her reign, a spectacular example of the great country estates that began to dominate the English landscape in the reign of the Tudors. No longer castles or fortresses, these magnificent structures often started out using stone quarried from the local monastery which had been closed during Henry VIII's "reformation." The house is still the residence of the Earls of Exeter, but was converted to a trust in 1981.

Here is a view from the park surrounding the home. The wall in the foreground is called a Ha-Ha, I kid you not. It is invisible from the house and is actually one side of a sloped ditch which keeps the sheep and dear grazing in the park from approaching the house. Here is one of the fallow deer and one of our students in the car park being foolish.

The trip was organized for the Honors course here at Harlaxton by Dr. Edward Bujak, one of the permanent professors in the British Studies program, and faculty were invited to go along, so Steph and I joined in and are we ever glad we did. No photographs are permitted inside the house, so you will have to take my word for it when I say it is a visual delight. Room after room of the most exquisite paintings, tapestries, furniture, carvings and woodworking, etc., culminating in the the "Hell Staircase" that depicts the day of judgment and the descent into the nether regions. Pretty darn scary actually.

Outside, the grounds are immaculate and include several thousand acres of woodland and park. The park was designed by "Capability" Brown in the 18th century when all the rage was to destroy the original landscape around the great houses and completely redo them to look "natural"! So, this is a photo looking back at the house from the Lion Bridge which crosses the artificial lake.

And, of course,  we had to stop at the Orangery for tea and scones.

 

Tomorrow, we are off to Whitstable on the Kentish coast, so we will be probably not be posting again until early next week again.

 



London Trip Part Two

Well, last time we talked about our first day in London at the Eye, the theatre, and the Abbey. Friday we had to make some adjustments in our housing accommodations, but that was relatively easy to do--have to admit I do like computers for that sort of thing--and so we spent the afternoon doing more touristy things including visits to two of London's most famous retail outlets, Harrod's and Fortnum and Mason's. Harrod's is quite a trip, and I would recommend it just for the food stalls on the first floor if nothing else. Fabulous array of sweets, meats, pastries, teas, and what you will. We had to check out the pet shop department for Zoe and Clio but decided that they didn't need a $15 toy that they would just knock under the furniture anyway.

Fortnum and Mason's is a famous caterer going back to the 18th century that became legendary for its picnic hampers and such in the Victorian era. During World War I, they would deliver these directly to the troops (well the officers) in the front lines of France, guaranteed next day delivery with such delicacies as quail eggs, fresh strawberries, and the finest wines. Dr. Bill Young, long time chair of the History Department at Bethany, always talked about those hampers when I was travelling here in the 80s and 90s.

That evening, we took in a new play, "Yes, Prime Minister," written by the same team who produced the television show in the 1990s. The plot is pretty straightforward, a bungling politician who has made good all the while being manipulated by the permanent under secretary (i.e. career civil servant) and his earnest but naive staffer. The issues were updated to the latest political scandals, but the formula is timeless. Saw it at the Trafalgar Studios, a relatively new theatre. Had great seats, second row within three feet of the stage in a severely raked house.

Saturday was a day for museums. First to the Tate Britain, home of an extraordinary collection of JMW Turner paintings.

Unfortunately it doesn't photograph too well. However, the British Museum in Russell Square certainly does.

Free to the public, it houses a stunning collection of artifacts from the ancient world, as well as special exhibits, the current one being Shakespeare: Staging the World which we took in. More about the times than the author himself, it connects the themes of his plays with the political, economic, and cultural trends of Elizabethan England and the reign of the first Stuart, James I. It made a connection between James' treatise on witchcraft and the witches in Macbeth which had never occurred to me before, but then I never got to take Shakespeare with Mr. Taylor.

As you may be able to see, the weather Saturday was stunning for late September here, so we took advantage and just wandered around a bit. London is a great city for walking because 1) it is flat, and 2) there are beautiful little architecural or historical gems tucked away in practically every corner.

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and left our bags there and walked down to Hyde Park. Came into the park at Speaker's Corner, a tradition dating back to the 18th century. The corner is where anyone can get up on his soapbox--literally--and hold forth on the great issues of the day or the little ones depending on your point of view.

The chap on the left side of the fence is a student complaining about the rise in tuiton at university--until about 20 years ago, college was free in the UK-- and beyond him was a fellow preaching the superiority of the Koran. There was also a guy wearing a bloody spiked horn and two little devil's horns on his head, but I decided that was probably not for me.

From there we strolled down to the Serpentine, the lake in the center of the park, and did some  bird watching, including gray swans and white swans, ducks of various types, cormerants, gulls, and a variety of others.

 

A light lunch at the Lido on the south bank of the lake, followed by more ramblings through the park to the Speke memorial

 

Now, who was Speke, and let's not always see the same hands? Sir John Speke, right, noted explorer and first European to reach Lake Victoria in central Africa, as well as finding one of the two sources of the Nile. Got into a terrible row with his erstwhile fellow explorer Richard Burton--no not that Richard Burton--and died under somewhat mysterious circumstances in a hunting accident just before he was scheduled to debate Burton in London.

After that, a trip back to the hotel to get our luggage and off to Kings Cross/St. Pancreas to catch the train back to Harlaxton (well with a stop for a pint and some chips along the way.) All in all a most enjoyable weekend in the greatest city in the world.

London Trip Part One

We arrived in London on Thursday the 27th about 12:30 p.m. after a 80-minute trainride. One of the great things about being here is that you can get about anywhere in a reasonable amount of time either here or on the continent quickly and conveniently--there are a few exceptions. Distance is a completely different concept here than in the US. Everything is relatively close. In the time it would take you to drive to DC or New York, you can go from London to Edinburgh by rail. In the time it takes you to drive to Cleveland, you can be in Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland, you name it, by cheap air fare. It's a great opportunity.

Anyway, we did touristy things the first day, returning to the traditional haunts of Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square. Here we are at the base of Nelson's Column.

Here is a relief of Nelson struck down by a dastardly French musketball at the moment of victory aboard his flagship HMS Victory.

And, of course, the statue of Eros in the center of Piccadilly with the giant electronic billboard behind.

 

 

Then it was on to the London Eye, one of the great abominations of all time, thank you very much Tony Blair--a ferris wheel in the south bank of the Thames, not far from Westminster Bridge. But, someone wanted to check it out, so we did. It is the most visited tourist attraction in Great Britain. 

 



I'll admit that the views were nice, but really, a ferris wheel in the middle of London? You can see the iconic Dome of St. Paul's through the buildings to one side, and the houses of Parliament to the the other, but really, a ferris wheel in the middle of London?

 

After that, a stroll along the Thames to Westminster Bridge and over to the Abbey for Evensong. I try to attend this whenever I'm in London in tribute to my mentor and friend Dr. David Judy whom so many of you knew. David was the man who insisted that I go to England during J-Term of my senior year which triggered my wanderlust that continues to this day. The last time I was here was with some students on our way to The Gambia, including Jack Wheeler, Paul Starcher, and Dex Myers, among others.

Then it was off to the theatre for a performance of Wicked, celebrating its sixth birthday on the stage in London that night. The Half-Price booth in Leicester Square has now morphed into a whole string of half-price (or so they say) outlets in and around that area, so you can still get excellent seats for a decent price, but it is nothing like the good old days--for example back in 1974 I was able to see Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Alec Guinness and a host of other well known actors for about a pound a show, often less than that--but still a bargain compared to New York.

Enough for now. I'll post again soon about our Friday and Saturday, including trips to the Tate, the British Museum, and to another show.

A London Weekend

Loyal followers. Just got back from four days in London and am not going to be able to post today. Got to get ready for the week. Two of the courses I'm teaching I haven't taught for five years, so it requires a bit more prep than in the good old days. Will try to get some new posts up in the next couple of days

A Day in Grantham

Well folks, my sweetie is here. Steph arrived at the manor on Monday after having flown into Heathrow late Sunday night. Today we went into Grantham to see the sights and for her to visit Living Health, a spa which in addition to the normal services associated with that word, also specializes in chiropractic and sports injury treatment. It is located in the birthplace of Grantham's second most famous native son--or in this case daughter--Margaret Thatcher. Her father had a shop there. Someone had gotten Steph a little gift package to celebrate her arrival.

So, while she was enjoying that, I wandered over to St. Wulfram's for a closer look. You may recall from an earlier post that we went by the church but not into it during our Historical Grantham tour with Malcolm (see Sept. 9 post). The spire is in need of 600,000 pounds of repair, but the interior is holding up just fine. Here is a pic of the floor plan.

The church sits on the site of a Saxon church which predated the Conquest. The Normans built a larger structure in the 12th century, but the building depicted in this drawing was completed in the mid-14th century with several minor additions since then--well, come on, it has been 700 years. Think you will have done any remodeling of your place in the next 700 years or so?

The church is named for St. Wulfram from France who never visited England, let alone Grantham, so it is a bit of a mystery why they dedicated their church to him. There is only one other in all England. Here is a pic of the choir.

 

 

 

As usual, one of the most moving aspects of any church in England is the Honor Roll of the fallen from the First World War. In addition to the roll of all those men from Grantham who were killed, and it is depressing to see three and four listed all with the same surname, there is a memorial to the Machine Gun Regiment which suffered more than 60,000 casualties during the war out of a total complement of 160,000.

 

 

However, the most interesting  display of the day was a number of "chained books" from the Trigge Library in the church, set up by Francis Trigge in 1598. Trigge was born in Lincolnshire, exactly where is not known, and served his entire career at the nearby parish of St. Chad's in Welbourn. In addition to the library, he left a substantial sum for the assistance of the poor in the borough upon his death.

 

"Chained books" are just what they sound like, books chained to the carrel. In medieval times, books were so valuable and so rare, they were literally chained to the stand in a library so that no one could steal them. You read them standing up. More than 80 of the 350 plus titles in the Trigge still have their original chains, made by a local black smith, attached. The texts are all printed, but a large number of them are incunabula, i.e. printed before 1500, in the first 50 or so years of movable type, thus making them quite rare.

 

In addition to the religious titles you might expect, including a Polyglot Bible  from Antwerp, a disputation by Cardinal Robetr Bellarmine who tried to talk some sense into Galileo about this sun-centered nonsense in 1616, Duns Scotus musings on the limitation of reason in matter of theology from the 14th century,  and a collection of 15th century sermons that tend to run about 3 1/2 hours apiece, there are also titles on cosmology, natural history (including one of the first texts of zoology ever published and which has a number of woodcuts by Albrecht Durer), Tudor legal writs, and a medical text which includes some pretty whacked out remedies for problems, such as dried magpie brain in white wine to cure the inability to urinate and "gelding" for manic behavior which cured that but led to intense melancholia, d'uh

 

After that, a wander around the town and then back to the Living Health to pick up Steph for lunch at the Cafe Leo and home.