Radio Silence, Rugby World Cup and Dulwich

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October 21st 2007

Published: October 21st 2007

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Chrisby

The Icebar

Matt and me in our sexy capes.

RADIO SILENCE
I was appalled when I logged onto my blog and realised I had not posted since the 6th of September. Where have I been and what have I been up to? Well, the month of September is always a horrible time for me. I spend my Saturdays working and my Sundays prone in front of the TV, mostly sound asleep. For those of you who have forgotten, I work in an industry where we renew over 2,500 polices all on one day. As you can imagine, it gets a bit crazy the closer to the date we get.

This September was not all bad, however. On Saturday the 15th, I managed to leave work at a relatively decent hour and went over to do the Houses of Parliament tour. Once a year, while Parliament is not in session, they open up the building so that we humble folk can have a look inside. It was a fascinating tour and I got to stand in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It was also a very good lesson on how British government works.

That evening, Matt was in town so he and I spent

The Houses of Parliament

This is where they are -- and their very famous clock tower.

the evening together. We met in Mayfair at the Icebar. For those of you who do not know what this is, it is a bar made entirely of ice - and I mean entirely. The walls, the bar, the glasses - everything. It is sponsored by Absolut vodka, so the only drinks one may consume are very girly, coloured drinks made from vodka. I do not do girly drinks, so I drank straight vodka on the rocks - more ice! We were given furry ponchos with thick gloves to wear which really helped to keep us warm. We were only allowed in for forty minutes, so after our allotted time, we came back to civilisation. After a few drinks at a cocktail bar, we moved along to dinner. We tried a new French restaurant where the highlight was roast chicken that may be the best chicken I have ever eaten. Ignoring the fact that we could feel our arteries hardening as we ate it, we tucked in and had the time of our lives. I hadn’t seen Matt in ages, so it was great to spend some real time doing three of our favourite things - eating, drinking and telling

The Icebar

The bar itself.

each other every little detail of our lives.

The following two weekends were spent working, but it all came to an end on the 30th. Around 1.00 in the afternoon, we took over our work “local” and drank and ate until we were all dizzy. Trust me, when one is that exhausted, it doesn’t take much! The next weekend I recovered by watching the entire second series of “Bones” on DVD. Last weekend, I spent the entire weekend driving getting ready to take my English driving test. No, of course I didn’t pass the bloody thing, but this time it was entirely my fault so I have to take it again in a couple of weeks time. Grrrrr

RUGBY WORLD CUP
One of the great things about living in England is international sport. For the past six weeks, we have all been held enthralled by the Rugby World Cup. England won four years ago, so the pressure was on - especially as no one expected them to do anything as they now have a relatively weak side. It all started with the pools back in September. The first match was England v. the US. Talk about divided loyalties!

The Icebar

The glasses the drinks came in. Notice the colourful girly drinks. Mine is the clear one.

I solved the problem by wearing my England jersey (that three of “the boys” from work had bought me so I “would be correctly kitted out”) and wrapping my huge American flag around my shoulders. The US lost, but they put on a good show. England went on to be second in its pool, so they got to the knock-out stage. No one expected them to go beyond the quarterfinals. In fact, the first game was against Australia who are a much better and younger side. We won and then, to make things even more exciting, France beat New Zealand thereby knocking out two of the contenders for the title. All nail biting stuff - believe me.

Then, again against all odds, England beat France to get into the finals. The whole country was beside itself. For those of you who live in the States, it is hard to explain what happens during the matches. The entire country stops. There is no traffic and no people on the streets. Everyone is inside (usually at a pub) watching the match and cheering like mad. It is patriotism on a scale I never experienced before living here.

So - yesterday

Harlequins v. Wasps

The winning try -- the same thing as a touchdown in football.

was the final. Long before we even thought about England being in the final, we had decided that we would do something different during the event. We decided to watch it at a local rugby club. So, twelve of us rocked up to the Twickenham Stoop, which is home to the Harlequins. We had a full roast lunch and then watched the Quins beat the London Wasps. The weather was a perfect fall day - cool and crisp with bright sunshine. It was fun to watch a match on a smaller pitch with guys who are not up to international standard - not unlike watching a minor league baseball game. Great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We then hung around the clubhouse waiting for the big event. Alas - England lost 15 - 6 to South Africa. It wasn’t all bad. We played South Africa in the pool stage and were beaten 36 - 0, so it was a much better attempt. I’m not sure what the next big international event is, but I can tell you that I can’t wait.

DULWICH
One of the best things I have discovered recently is a company called The Teaching Company.

Blew House

Ned's former home.

It is simply amazing. They sell university level courses on DVD taught by some of the most interesting speakers I have ever heard. Right now, I am making my way through two of their courses. The first is (wait for it!) Basic Math. Now, those of you who know me best I am sure are falling off your chairs. I have spent my entire life thinking that I am too stupid to do math and being absolutely terrified of anything to do with numbers. I resolved, however, to beat the fear and to learn how to do it. This course goes through all the basics. It quite literally begins with addition and subtraction, and then goes on. I have learned, for the first time, how to work with long division, fractions, decimals, percentages, positive and negative numbers and even exponents. The sense of accomplishment I get from working the problems in the workbook - and getting them right! - I can’t even begin to tell you.

The second course I am working my way through is European History from 1750 to 2000. It begins with the Enlightenment, something about which I knew absolutely nothing. I have become fascinated by

Dulwich College

it, probably because so much of its thought mirrors what I have always believed. I have learned about Hobbs and Rousseau and their theories of childhood which were quite radical at the time. By sheer chance, a small gallery in London, the Dulwich Picture Gallery, is doing an exhibit right now called “The Changing Face of Childhood”. It is a series of portraits of children, painted between 1700 and 1850 and the premise is how the Enlightenment thinkers changed everything - including art. As one walks through the exhibit, one sees how the portraits change from depictions of children as small adults to portraits of children at play. It was fascinating. The gallery is in a suburb south of London called Dulwich. I had never been there, so as today was another glorious fall day, I decided to walk around the town as well as visit the gallery.

Dulwich used to be the holdings of one man - Edward Alleyn. Mr. Alleyn, or Ned as I like to call him, was a mate of Shakespeare’s and, in fact, was the lead actor in many of his plays. For those of you who have seen “Shakespeare in Love”, Ned was

The Tollgate

With the various prices for going through.

the character played by Ben Affleck. Ned never married or produced an heir, so once he retired from the stage, he spent the rest of his life and his fortune taking care of those less fortunate than himself. As soon as one gets off from the train, one feels the man’s influence. Dulwich College was originally set up to educate the poor; it has since evolved into one of the most prestigious public schools (private to you Americans) in the country. His house still stands and is still in private hands. The Old College is now a home for the poor - 16 families are housed in a gorgeous old building surrounded by gardens.

Dulwich has the only surviving toll road in London. To drive through the toll, one must pay £1. Back in the day, different charges were made for different vehicles. A motorcar cost more than a horse or donkey, but if a horse or donkey were pulling a cart, it cost more again. Fabulous! I walked up this mother of a hill as the view back to London was meant to be spectacular. I’m sure it would be if it weren’t obstructed by trees….. Oh well,

The Nature Reserve

An ancient Lebonese cedar.

the stiff climb was good for me.

There is a wonderful nature reserve on the outskirts of the town. It is an ancient woodland that has been there forever. Another thing I love about London is that one doesn’t have to travel too far to be in the woods. This reserve was wonderful. Huge old trees, old stone buildings that were almost gone and an old railway cutting that one could cross on an old wooden bridge. It was gorgeous - and I’m not alone in thinking this. Mr. Pissarro also thought so and there is now an iron easel on approximately the spot where he set up his and painted. It was filled with families and dogs and I spent a very happy ten minutes watching a little girl in her pink wellies kick leaves into the air and scream with joy.

I stopped for a cranberry juice at a pub called The Grove. In 1704, the well for the pub was discovered to have medicinal properties, so it was turned into a spa. It was then taken over as a school and Lord Byron attended for two years while the doctors at the spa attended to

The Nature Reserve

The bridge across the railway cutting.

his club foot. I wonder what his lordship would think of the place now. It sits on a very busy intersection with a Tile and Stone Magic (I kid you not) store on one side and a Hire Shop on the other.

Just past the pub is Dulwich Park, maybe the best park I have ever been in. A great playground, a pond filled with waterfowl and beautiful gardens throughout. I was simply amazed by it.

It was at this point that I went to the gallery. Ned died leaving some paintings, but not enough to warrant a gallery. Then, in 1811, a painter called Sir Francis Bourgeois died and left the town his paintings. The college fellows realised they now had enough for a gallery, commissioned one and it became the first public picture gallery in England.

After my brush with great art (oh why wasn’t I born when Rubens was painting - I would have fit right in!), I walked into Dulwich Village for lunch. I found a tiny little place called Piaf where I could sit outside, have a nice glass of wine and some grilled sardines and salad while I read my magazine.