Recent Events

Well this past week has certainly been a blast for me in London!

One of my classes is British Life and Culture in which we learn about different aspects of the average British life and why certain philosophies and processes in society and government go on till this day. The course is split into a weekly lecture as well as trips to key points of England.

Our first trip was on the first week of school and we went to Brighton, as detailed in my first blog, and I have to say the class started with high hopes. Well this past week I was not disappointed when we took a trip and toured the Houses of Parliament as well as the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.

Parliament had a strict "No Pictures!" warning everywhere, and I'm not for sure why. My latest theory, since the Royal Pavilion did not allow pictures, is that it keeps the tourists coming into town. If everyone knows what Parliament looks like, then less would be willing to travel to England to see it.

Well I have to admit, I did sneak a few pictures and I may be deported because of it but oh well. It was amazing to see all of the art work, sculptures, and architecture inside the Parliament walls. For those who don't know, Parliament is split into two different houses, The House of Commons and The House of Lords. The House of Commons is where elected parliamentary members meet and discuss the processes of the state, they are the governing body of the United Kingdom (well not technically).

The relationship between the Monarchy and the Parliamentary Members is a very interesting one that I have never heard of. Pretty much the setup is, the Queen has all of the power, however, she only does what Parliament tells her to do. If she does anything on her own or passes her own laws, or refuses to sign on of the laws passed by Parliament, then there will be a guaranteed civil war.

The Monarchy in England has faced a lot of troubles in the past hundred years, but it is the British preservation of culture, identity, and history that allows them to coexist and run a stable government with a Monarchy.

The House of Lords in Parliament is currently only occupied by appointed members of staff (from previous Lords) as well as hereditary members. In recent years this house has been under a lot of criticism since the members are not elected by the general public, and for Britain to be a complete Democracy they would have to be.

So as our tour guide said there will be some changes to the House of Lords to come. Which will certainly change some of the customs that they have today. Right now the Queen gives the address to the state of the aspects of the future year. Like before, the Queen doesn't actually write the speech, it is made from the Prime Minister and she merely reads it.

However, there is a tradition that has been passed down year after year, and that is the Monarchy are not allowed into the House of Commons so that there is a separation of the Monarchy and the elected officials. When the Queen is ready to give the speech an official goes over to the House of Commons and knocks three times and the door is slammed in his face, symbolizing the right of the Lower House to debate without interference.

So there are a lot of British Traditions that have been passed down every year so that their culture is still preserved.

Another amazing place that we ventured to is the Globe Theatre. It is an almost exact replica of the Globe Theatre that Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed in. Unfortunately the original Globe was burnt down due to the thatched roof being caught on fire from a cannon firing as one of the props. This event was to for cast the later Great London Fire of 1666 where the majority of the city was burned down due to thatched roofs catching on fire and spreading to near by houses.

One interesting fact is that after the fire of 1666, Parliament made a new law that no building may have a thatched roof. However, the reconstructed Globe Theatre does have one. The tour guide explained that the builders and project managers of the reconstruction worked with Members of Parliament in order to change the law to allow this building.

The seats, to the stage, to the thatched roof, to even the pegs that hold the wood together are all exactly the same. It was truly remarkable to stand in almost the exact same structure as Shakespeare would of seen.

My final visit in Central London was the Westminster Abbey. This is where important events like the burial of Princess Diana and many other important figures. This church was by far the most impressive I have ever been in. The Anglo Catholic mass was terrific and the choir had seven part harmonies.

Despite one's own religious and moral beliefs, when you are in a place where the service has been done for the past 1000 years exactly as it is done now, you feel a strong connection to something. It is truly indescribable.


Well besides my Central London trips, I also have some other news. I applied for a bartending position here at a one of the largest night clubs, and I start this week!

The night club is Oceana and it has roughly 10 bars, 9 dance floors, and is 3 stories tall. I'm really looking forward to working there and experiencing what it is like to be a bartender. Should be a blast.

Well thanks for reading, and I hope everyone is doing great! I am still working on the site and I do apologize for not being faster ;)

Take care!