...The story of a girl in London, England


5.31.2010

Day 34: A Day in The Life

Today I had to buckle down and get things done. With the Stratford trip this week, and homework piling up, and an empty refrigerator,I dedicated the day to being TOTALLY productive.

So, after class, I went straight to metrogate, pulled out my computer and my complete works, and started typing.Apparently I wasn't the only one with this idea, because the pc lab was full of people from the program with The Tempest on their laps. I wrote the paper in an hour flat, printed it, and headed home.

And on the way, I ran into Katie! Lugging her suitcase full of dirty clothes to do some laundry... so I handed her the paper, and kicked up my heals because I was rid of it!

The stretch home from metrogate is very familiar these days. There are towering trees without leaves lining the walk, and many cars parked in rows down the middle of the street. The houses on the left are all white faced, with black doors, some with a little black and white checked tile on the stairs. And the houses on the right are all different--some red, some white, and still others a combination of the two, striped, or trimmed in either color. There are wrought iron gates and fences, all intricate and different, and potted plants and ivy on the steps.And the scaffolding thats covered one house since the beginning of the trip is slowly disappearing.

Once at home I had a quick chat with the girls in the commons, and then dropped off my things. I hopped down the stairs to the second floor, poked my head in, and said hello to Rob and Rach, (who'd just come from Tesco, and were settling down to write their papers), and then I headed down High Street Kensington.

The Park on my right side, the many colored flats on my left, I walked past the first bus station, past the gentleman's club, past the stick and bowl restaurant, past two food, news, and wine shops, past the unisex salon, past the Goat Tavern, and the Giraffe, the Pizza Hut, and the McDonalds, the open air flower shop, and on into the strip of clothing stores... H&M, American Apparel, the Top Shop, TK Maxx, Jigsaw, Monsoon, (where this beautiful red ruffly dress in the window always calls my name), and then of course, Whole Foods, which is smack in the middle of all of them... And then past the High Street Tube station, and finally to Tesco.

Grocery shopping is easier now, partly because I know what I like, and partly because I know where it is. You know that the breads are on the left as you walk into the store, and the dairy is at the back. The fruit and vegetables are immediately to your right, and in the middle are the prebaked meals. Downstairs is tricky, but in the far left corner there's the medical/hygeinic stuff, and in the middle are the cookies, crackers, crisps, biscuits, and candy. You've got cereal along the wall near the lift, and jam or nutella right next to it. And then soup and pasta are in a corner in the back.

You get pretty good at walking in, grabbing a basket, navagating the crowd, getting your food, getting in the queue, and getting out. It's usually a good idea to just be quiet when you're shopping. If you don't say anything, they assume you're English, and they treat you better. But as soon as you open your mouth, well... your social status drops WAY down.

I hopped on the number 10 bus with my bag of groceries, and muched on some crunchies I'd bought on sale. Cadbury chocolate covered toffee and corn flakes... the best thing that ever happened to cereal, I think.

And then I hopped off at the Queen's Gate Bus Stop, and J-Walked across the street to the flats. I pulled out my keys, hanging on my BYU landiard, along with a red jump drive and a 50p London telephone booth souvenier keychain... and trudged up the four flights of stairs, getting slower and slower as I reached the top.

I put my groceries in their proper places, in my fridge in the dining room, and then I settled into a couch, with a computer, snacks, and a lot of blogging to do. The commons room is awfully comfortable... always just the right temperature, huge bay windows at one end, and three comfy couches to choose from. I'll put my feet up, look out the window, and fight the urge to fall asleep.

We had planned to make our weekly trek to My Old Dutch, but these plans were foiled due to exhaustion... and, more importantly, a rather lengthy protest outside our flat. Streams of people with signs and blow horns walked up and down High Street Kensington for a good hour. And the police blockades were rather discouraging... So, we opted out of braving the masses (who were adamantly shouting "Free Free Palestine")... Pancakes weren't quite worth the risk.

Instead I ate crisps and cheese and olives. Mom, can we have steak when I come home?

Around 6:00 we left for the Apollo Theatre, to see All My Sons. The space was amazing- we were in the balcony, and it was so vertical in nature that I could have actually reached out and touched the ceiling, if I'd had a hankering to do it. And you felt as though you could fall onto the stage at any moment... But nobody did. ;)

And the best part was the set. It actually looked like someone's backyard, complete with lawn. The grass grew taller around the edges of the furniture in the yard and the edges of the house and trees... and there were a couple of old apple boxes discarded against the stairs, and an old baseball glove forgotton in the weeds. There were weeping willow branches cascading over the white washed house, and a swinging screen door. The set was perfect. And the lighting!! My goodness... It was perfectly warm, like a summers day... and then again perfectly red and orange, casting long shaddows, like a summers sunset... and then again perfectly green and blue and black, like a summers night.

The artistry of the piece was breathtaking. And, I'll admit it, I cried at the end. But so did everyboy else. So I wasn't alone in that.

We walked to the tube station, and I sat wearily as the train bumped along... watching the people around me.

I walked back down High Street Kensington... past all the restaurants and clothing stores... and then I walked up the four flights of stairs, to the fifth floor, at 37 Hyde Park Gate, in the Borough of Kensington, in London, England.

And so ended another day in the life.

2 comments:

  1. Yes we can have steak! Do you want that Friday night late when you arrive or shall we wait 'til Saturday to have a little BBQ in the early afternoon?

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  2. Well, I would really love some tri-tip. If that's not too much to ask. ;) I don't know how I'm going to feel friday... so maybe saturday afternoon would be better? haha... I would love that. a summer barbeque with the family on a saturday afternoon.... GAH!! I'm so excited.

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