There's No Place Like Home

Wembley Church of Christ

   Have any of you ever been guilty of church hopping? I know personally how it goes: you go from church to church and nothing ever fits what you’re searching for because there is no church exactly like your home church. That is a really bad mindset; I had become the critic of all churches while at Harding, and nothing was ever good enough for me.

                Luckily, while I lived in London, I was fortunate enough to discover a church that welcomed me with open arms. The first Sunday I visited Wembley Church of Christ. So many people approached me so they could introduce themselves and get to know me better. Everyone was so excited to meet me, and there were some that came up to me multiple times just to give me a hug. I can honestly say that when I went to Wembley, that was the first time I felt truly at home.

                The following week when I didn’t return to Wembley, I immediately regretted it and wished I had. I felt a longing for it that I didn’t realize I had for Wembley. Each time I go there, the people are all very eager to talk to me. Before worship begins, they always have tea ready for anyone who wants some. One thing I love about Wembley that really stands out is their singing. I actually know most of the songs, and they sing a lot!

             The people at Wembley are genuine and impossible not to love; they show the true meaning of what a church family is, and it is the members of the church that makes Wembley so great. Through the week, I always looked forward to when Sunday would come back around. Even the beautiful gothic chapels with the stunning stained glass windows that I visited do not compare to this humble church. Although Wembley Church of Christ is small and not much to look at, it is very cheerful and welcoming.

 Wembley has become my home away from home. 

 Megan Neill

Oh the Places You Will Go... On the Tube!

One of the best things about London is its location.  In the city, you are so close to hundreds of interesting and historical places.  And thanks to the tube system, you have an easy and affordable method of getting to these places. However, it can be a bit confusing.

First of all, it can be very easy to get on the wrong train, or to get on a train going in the wrong direction.  Sometimes you miss your stop, and sometimes you get off in the wrong place.  It is all a learning experience, and it gets easier with time.

Secondly, there are some unwritten rules about etiquette on the tube.  Although they aren't incredibly hard to figure out, I can lay them out for you so that you can be prepared for your first experience.

Most importantly, remember to be courteous.  The tube is known for its efficiency and timeliness, so you should not do anything to jeopardize that.  For example, you should always let the people on the train get off of it before you try to get on.  Also, you should never stop the doors so that you can make it on a train. When you do this, you’re causing delays for everyone using the line!  It is much better for your safety and for the sanity of others just to wait for the next train.

The next most important thing is to be reserved.  You are in a confined place with a ton of people, so it is just common courtesy to not draw attention to yourself.  Just use your travel time as a great time to listen to some music on your iPod or catch up on your reading!

The third and final thing I have to say to you is be smart! Watch out for yourself – keep an eye on your belongings, don’t step in front of trains, and use your common sense.  With this in mind, the tube is a great and convenient method of transportation!

This is a very general overview of the tube.  Here I have included a link with some very specific rules, such as which side of the escalator to walk on, what to do with our trash, etc.  Read up and enjoy!

Rachel Stone

High Tea at Fortnum and Mason

High tea at Fortnum and Mason was such a fun experience. It was possibly one of the classiest meals that I have had in my life.

The lobster omelette that they served was amazing, and so were all the scones and cookies. The tea was definitely the best tea that I've had in England. I would highly suggest going to high tea while in London!

Here's a video with some information on how to have proper etiquette at Tea.

Pre-Raphaelites Exhibit

For a limited time, the Tate is featuring the first British art Avant-Garde movement; the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition.

The Pre-Raphaelites formed in the late 1800 as a rebellion art movement against the present day boring art and stiff postures. The Pre-Raph's wanted to restore art to the old conventions used before Raphael redefined how people looked at art. The Pre-Raph's combined vivid colors, odd postures, and complex scenery to create artwork like the world had never seen.

At the Tate, I was fortunate enough to see almost all the most famous paintings by all the big names in the movement. The collection included works by Hunt, Millais, and Rossetti.

A computer screen cannot to justice to the vivid colors and amazing scenery in all the paintings.

My favorite piece was this one entitled "The Scapegoat" by William Hunt. The plaque by the painting said that Hunt actually used a dying goat as his model for this painting. It symbolizes Jesus's forty days of fasting in the wilderness. In person, the goat looked real, and the pain in it's eyes was so real I couldn't stop looking at it.

These are some more of my favorite paintings also featured in the exhibit. Since I obviously wasn't allowed to take pictures in the actual exhibit, here's a picture of me holding the information booklet I received.

And here's a dramatic video on the Pre-Raphaelites!

Tori Sheets



London Shopping

Over the past few weeks, I've done a lot of shopping throughout London. I've been to Camden Town, Portabello Road, Oxford Circus, and Rachel and I even took a traumatizing trip to Harrods. I've bought the most at Camden Town and Primark though honestly. Shopping here is a bit more aggressive than what I'm used to, though not unpleasant.

here is a picture of Rachel and me in Camden. We bought sweaters that day. I like my sweater.

and here's a video of the street view.

-Autumn Dudney

The Natural History Museum: A Whale of a Time!

I recently visited the Natural History Museum of London. It has over 70 million specimens from all over the natural world, from dinosaurs and mammals, to human anatomy, even a history of the geological earth! Occupying the central hall is a 26 meter long Diplodocus model, affectionately called Dippy by the museum staff:

 There are five zones to visit, each with a different focus of specimen. The Orange Zone has The Wildlife Garden and the Darwin Centre, which allows you to see science in action. The Blue Zone is the home of the dinosaur exhibit, for which you have to queue (it's that popular!), as well as human anatomy, mammals, and marine life. This zone houses a life size model of the Blue Whale, one of the largest animals in the world. There are also models of other whales, as well as elephants, rhinos, and even a bison. This section of the Blue Zone was one of my favorites to see and explore, as it had many hands on activities, letting you see and hear what a dolphin sees and hears. All the skeletons and models were pretty exciting too:

This is me in the Blue Zone, with the rhino and whale skeleton models behind me. They were huge!

The Central Hall is the next zone, which houses a spectacular painted ceiling, as well as a coelacanth, or living fossil fish, Dippy, and other large fossils. The Green Zone Has a cross section of a giant sequoia, the world's largest tree. There's also a large wall filled with the fossils of Ichtheosaurs and Plesiosaurs, ancient marine reptiles, much like marine dinosaurs, found by Mary Anning. Here's a few pictures of those fossils- the first is an Ichthiosaur, the second is a Plesiosaur:

Pretty cool, huh? They were oceanic giants! The next zone is the Red Zone, which holds the history of the earth, and various other geological artifacts.

Being interested in the sciences, especially animal science, I loved being able to visit this museum! The Blue Zone was by far my favorite, and the one I spent the most time in. I just loved looking at all the animals the earth holds, or has held in the past, especially the marine invertebrates and mammals. There were a lot of funny looking fish models, like this guy:

He's a trench fish, basically blind from living in the dark depths of the ocean. His shape is so interesting, I just had to get a picture of it!

If you're visiting London, I definitely recommend taking some time out to visit the Natural History Museum. It has something interesting for everyone, and it's also free! With so many cool exhibits to explore, and at no cost, how could anyone pass up a chance to look around one of London's best museums?

Here’s a video with some information about the museum and some of the things you can find there:

Rachel Talaber

Victoria & Albert

The V&A is one among many wonderful museums in London, full of interesting artifacts. This particular museum houses a lot of sculpture. Inside, there are several rooms dedicated to ancient artifacts from very specific regions, such as Iran or Renaissance Europe. There is a two-room that holds only jewelry, from ancient Egypt to the Victorian Era to modern creations. However, my favorite part of the museum was of course the fashion exhibit. This room held dresses, coats, shoes, suits, and accessories from the 1600's all the way up to runway silhouettes from the current year, two-thousand-and-twelve. 

I am such a girl. I love clothes! This exhibit happened to be exactly what I wanted to see on the particular day I ventured into the V&A, whether I knew it before hand or not. The dresses were so beautiful, and some of them so elaborate. The exhibit included an 18th century wedding dress and a veil that I just swooned over. Another highlight was a navy, sequined pants suit with a ruffled white collar, designed by who other than the famous Coco Chanel! These more modern cases also held retro swimsuits and 1950's Hollywood ballgowns.
I learned that to keep up their huge sleeves as women's fashion grew more elaborate, the girls wore these sort-of bags, full of fluff, tied around their upper arms- sort of like a shoulder pad but for a puffy sleeve.

^^  This is the Chanel suit! ^^

After visiting the British museum, with its' rooms upon rooms full of cuneiform tablets, sarcophagi, and sculpted goddesses nearly every day for my Bible class, this exhibit was a fresh concept, and it presented itself not a moment too late! 

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a long history of involvement with the fashion industry in London.

The British Library

As an English major, I was pretty excited about going to one of the world's largest and most historical libraries. So, on a nice sunny day we set out for the British Library.

Sadly, taking pictures of the most interesting documents in the library wasn't allowed.

Some of the documents we were able to view included:

The Magna Carta

Two Gutenberg Bibles

The only surviving manuscript copy of Beowulf

Leonardo da Vinci's notebook

Original copies of Beatles lyrics

and many first edition copies of some of my favorite authors

I was able to take one very blurred photo of myself looking at a first edition copy of Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray

Thankfully we were able to take the illegal picture and escape the British Library unnoticed.

 

Tori Sheets

HUF-Art 2012- Welcome to London!

During the school year, 

London is the base point for the HUE program.

However, once summer arrives-

there are many programs moving in & out of the UK.

It's a happening place to be...

at least- that's what the recent HUF-Art group thought

when they arrived to finish their program

in this hotspot of culture, design & food!

From the British Museum, shows, high tea & shopping,

this group got to see the best London had to offer.

Check out some of the fun that we had...

If you could come to London during the summer,

what site/event/food would you make sure not to miss?

What Sleeps At Westminster

Westminster Abbey is one of the most "must see" sites by tourist when visiting London. 

Not only is it popular due to its grand structure and beautiful architecture

 it is now the place of the recent wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

Westminster Abbey is a church that is a part of the Anglican denomination

 that studies and learns from the Bible just like other Christians from all over the world. 

One of the neat things about going to a service at this particular church

 is the fact that they will never turn you away. 

They are willing to open their doors to any and everyone at no charge, of course. 

My personal favorite thing about experiencing a service at this particular church 

is that you really get to experience a piece of British culture. 

Another neat thing about Westminster is all of the people buried and remembered inside the church. 

There are at this moment in time, 3,300 people buried inside the church building. 

Many of those whom are buried here are royals, artists and many others 

who have shaped the country into what it is today. 

This is also the place where funeral services such as the one for Princess Diana took place. 

There are so many secrets and stories to unfold within this magnificent building. 

One thing that is important to know about this historic landmark

 is don't let the fact that it is a church keep you from exploring its glory. 

I cannot explain how exciting it was to walk through and unlock its history. 

For some it is a symbol of hope to find a better life. 

For those hopeless romantics, it is now even a place where a real life fairy tale came true 

and that happily ever afters can still be found. 

Then for some it is just a great history lesson. 

The only question left unanswered is,

 what will you discover or find on your trip?

http://www.westminster-abbey.org/

~Candice Meadows~

Castle of History, Castle of Power, Come See Lodon Tower, Which Has Stood Forever and Ever!

(Tower of London with Tower Bridge in the back)

             I once went to the Tower of London on a class field trip 

and learned some basic facts about the castle. 

They are as follow:

The Tower of London is one of the oldest castles in England 

and was built by William the Conqueror; it originally consisted of only the White Tower. 

Like most castles in Britain, the Tower is built over an old Roman fort. 

The White  Tower has four towers and was once a royal palace. 

(The White Tower)

             The Tower of London has a total of twenty towers. 

The Tower currently hold the Royal Jewels of England, 

and was once home to the Royal Beast, 

but they were removed and placed in Regent’s Park Zoo 

because they once escaped from the castle and were running wild! 

The old Norman Tower/White Tower is beautiful with its white walls 

and grand open interior on all of its three floors. 

Across the lawn from the White Tower 

is the Queen’s House which is a beautiful preserved Tudor style building, 

which was originally built for Queen Ann from Henry VIII. 

Sadly she died before she saw it completed.  

(The Queen's House)

             The Tower of London is spectacular 

with its architecture and ingenuity in how to protect it from being attacked. 

The moat that once surrounded the Tower was one of the foulest smells in the city 

and best protection for the castle because it was basically a giant toilet.

 But these little facts are not what I remember best 

from my day spent at the Tower of London. 

The thing that is most memorable to me is the tour I went on 

and a very special Beefeater named Peter who led it.

             When I went to the Tower of London 

it was a blustery Tuesday afternoon in October. 

The sun was shining but the air was cold and damp. 

Bundled up in three layers of clothes 

I went on a guided tour of the castle given by a Beefeater. 

A Beefeater is one of the Queen’s guards who lives and works in the Tower of London. 

The Beefeater that led my tour was a sweet old man roughly in his fifties, 

and he took great pride in what he was telling everyone about the castle. 

He made the whole experience one hundred times better 

with his jokes about the prisoners who were held in the Tower. 

For example he took great pity on Sir Walter Raleigh 

who was once locked in the Queen’s House with his wife for several years! 

Saying that that was one of the most horrible fates for a man, 

luckily he and his wife were released but in the mean time they had had a child.

(Traitors Gate where traitors of the crown, such as Ann Boleyn would have been brought through)

             Throughout the whole tour little stories like that one were interjected

 to give life and character to the place that you were seeing.

 It made the past almost feel like a wonderful area for exploration 

and made me want to know more about the Tower and its past and the people 

who once lived there, 

and to forget about the fact that the tips of my fingers had gone numb.

(all the girls in the group with Peter the Beefeater)

              I am very grateful to Peter the Beefeater who made my visit fun and memorable. 

I recommend that if you are going to the Tower of London anytime soon

that you go on a guided tour. It is not that difficult.

In fact if you go to the website below 

you can see all the different things that you can see and do at the Tower of London. 

Enjoy!

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/