Platform 9 3/4 and the British Library, Day 76

I love how you can get on the tube here and make it to your destination via so many routes (there are 275 stations!). In many cases you can choose to travel on above ground trains (my favourite) or on the underground (Hampstead station is 192 ft below ground!). I started my journey today at Liverpool Street Station (I love how this station is always busy, even late at night) and handed in my resume to the store Lush. I then went to Kings Cross Station to try and find platform 9 3/4 and after roaming around for a good ten minutes looking incredibly lost, I finally found it tucked away.


Can you imagine if you were a little kid and completely believed in the world of Harry Potter and found this? I’m sure there have been many to try and shove themselves through the wall….

Anyways, I love how this station is always bustling. Before the train leaves the station, a whistle is blown as a warning and you see everyone running with their luggage to catch the train.


I then went to the British Library across from Kings Cross. It is quite a peculiar looking building on the outside, and rather ugly as well. However inside is absolutely stunning! It reminded me of the reference library in Toronto. The British Library has been deemed one of the greatest libraries in the world; perhaps because it houses original manuscripts belonging to some of the world’s greatest authors?


I got to see the original Alice in Wonderland story written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (he published the revised book under the name Lewis Carroll) who originally wrote this fairy tale for a girl named Alice Lidell. It was so amazing to see the original words and illustrations of a story that was to become so well known and celebrated.

I also got to see lyrics scrawled on the back of envelopes, scrap paper and birthday cards by John Lennon. Hard Day’s Night was scrawled on the back of a birthday card for his son Julian who had recently turned one and an untitled verse was written on a lined piece of paper, music notes and a weird doodle of a man surrounding the messy handwriting.

And then there was a draft of Sylvia Plath’s poem Insomniac, scrawled on a plain white piece of paper. For some reason looking at her handwriting was kind of eerie and seemed more “real” to me than Lewis Carroll’s or John Lennon’s. I think that anyone who reads her poems or novels feel as if they know her in some way because her writing is so personal, her voice so distinctive. Seeing her dainty handwriting just increased that personal element to her writing and it was as if I was reading one of her diary entries, not a poem!

I saw one of Jane Austen’s notebooks from 1792, filled with stories and short pieces she wrote between twelve and seventeen, and Sigmund Freud’s handwritten manuscript Creative Writers and Day Dreaming which he delivered in 1907 in Venice.

I left feeling so inspired and very lucky to have seen original work from some of the world’s greatest writers.

A Successful Road Trip, Day 75

So despite our previous fail of a road trip, Samantha and I successfully made it to the countryside today.

There is something so distinctive about the British countryside; everything always just feels so English. You know you’re in a small countryside village when you see a pub called The Grey Fox or The Red Lion or The White Swan (they always seem to be named after a colour and an animal…?) or see couples strolling by in matching wellies. You can almost hear them chatting about going home and making themselves some Yorkshire tea and toast and Marmite and discussing what they’ll watch on the “telly”. I just love British people.

The light was absolutely beautiful today and therefore a perfect day to take pictures!

An Almost Road Trip, Day 74

Samantha and I were all ready to go on a road trip into the country today. We got up early, brought a bunch of cds into the car, stopped to get coffee on the way and had even made lunch to bring with us. We had just made it passed the toll into Kent when a flashing red light appeared on the dashboard and the car was filled with a beeping sound. When we looked up what the symbol meant in the car manual, it said that the coolant level was low. After filling it up with water, we continued on our journey only to hear the annoying beeping sound once again. The manual clearly stated that if the red light returned after we filled it up, we must NOT drive the car and "seek professional help". We began our way home, only to find that the engine was overheating (Samantha filled the coolant container up with five litres of water in just twenty minutes). After running out of water, it was a race against time to get home and I began to have a minor panic attack as smoke began to rise out of the front of the car (I have to say, I was quite proud of Samantha...she didn't freak out at all, though it was deathly silent in the car for a good while). We pulled up into the car garage and I was laughing as everyone looked sceptically at the smoking car, the woman at the front desk going, "what happened?!" It was definitely an adventure to say the least, and I'm happy to say that the car did not burst into flames, it was just simply a leak in the coolant container.

Yesterday I had this weird moment where I really missed sitting outside on my porch in the summertime. I suddenly realized that you can't do that here in England. It is such a different way of life here and although it is very exciting and beautiful, I think that one would could easily feel very trapped. Although London is huge, there are just so many people. You can't just hop onto the subway and go downtown as I did easily and frequently in Toronto and you can't just sit outside on your front porch when you need some fresh air. Although it is so beautiful, and though I will always love Britain with a passion, I am beginning to realize that I could never live here.

I'm feeling rather ill, though with Ava sick all week I was expecting to get it sooner or later!

Finally a New Post, Day 73

I have taken way too long a break from this blog!

It didn't really seem like a proper week as Ava hardly went to school as she was very sick. On Wednesday she stayed home and sucked her fingers (a comfort thing she has done since she was a baby) literally all day. We all laughed so hard when she finally took them out of her mouth to eat dinner only to find they had turned a different colour and were withered like prunes.


I always love talking about Toronto with Londoners who have been there before. Earlier in the week I went for an interview to get my national insurance number (I can finally start applying for jobs, thank goodness) and the lady told me she was so surprised when she went to Toronto because of how empty it was. I realized then how much of a shock it is going to be to come back home. I have gotten so used to the sheer volume of people here, the never ending bustle and the noise; Toronto is going to feel so tiny and empty!

Yesterday when Samantha left the house to bring Ava to school, I told Maude that if she got her coat and shoes on while I was upstairs getting dressed, we could go with Samantha to Stoke Newington when she got back. This resulted in Maude yelling, "come on Andra! Andra! Come on!" up the stairs for a good twenty minutes. And when I came down, I found her all ready to go indeed:


I hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

x

We Love Jonas, Day 67

Samantha and I have both developed a love for Jonas from Big Brother. The other day, I was reading a trashy gossip magazine and found this photo of him inside:
which I then proceeded to stick up on Samantha's wall opposite her bed. The girls didn't say anything about it until this morning.

Maude: "Andra did that" (pointing to the picture).
Ava: "Why did Alexandra put that picture up there?"
Samantha: "Because she thought it would be funny".
Ava: "I like the picture".
Maude: "Me like his body".

First of all Maude is TWO but second of all, not once have Samantha and I commented about liking his body so we really both have no idea where that came from. I guess Jonas just has that affect on everyone, including two year old girls.


Poor Ava is sick and has been in bed all morning. She has been excitedly anticipating her friend's birthday party all week and it's going to be heartbreaking when she walks downstairs only to find that she's missed it.

Maude just always seems to be filled with joy. It's photos like this one that prompt me to stop whatever I am doing, look at her and go, "WHAT am I going to do with you?"