The Word

In the beginning was the Word, 
and the Word was with God and was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through him all things were made; 
without him no creation was made.
 In him was life which was the light of all mankind.
The light shines in the darkness. 
The darkness has not overcome it. 
John was a man sent from God. 
He came as a witness to testify 
concerning that light, so that all might believe.
 He himself was not the light; 
he came only as a witness to the light.
The true light that gives light 
to everyone was coming.  
 He was in the world. 
Though the world was made through him,
the world did not recognize him.
 He came to that which was his own,
 but his own did not receive him. 
Yet to all who did receive him,
to those who believed in his name, 
he gave the right to become children of God.  
Children born not of natural descent, 
nor of human decision or a husband’s will.
The Word became flesh and lived among us. 
We have seen his glory, 
the glory of the one and only Son, 
who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Out of his fullness we have all received grace.
 For the law was given through Moses; 
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
 No one has ever seen God, 
but the one and only Son, who is God 
and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1 Read and Response

Leader: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Congregation: He was with God in the beginning. 
Leader: Through him all things were made; 
Congregation: without him nothing was made that has been made. 
Leader: In him was life, 
Congregation: and that life was the light of all mankind.  
Leader: The light shines in the darkness,
Congregation: and the darkness has not overcome it.
Leader: There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, 
Congregation: so that through him all might believe.
Leader: He himself was not the light;
Congregation: he came only as a witness to the light.
Leader: The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,
Congregation: the world did not recognize him. 
Leader:He came to that which was his own,
Congregation: but his own did not receive him.  
Leader: Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name,
Congregation: he gave the right to become children of God—  
Leader: children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will,
Congregation: but born of God.
Leader: The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,
Congregation: the glory of the one and only Son,
Leader: who came from the Father,
Congregation: full of grace and truth.
Leader: (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, 
Congregation: ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)
Leader:  Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses;
Congregation: grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  
Leader: No one has ever seen God,
Congregation: but the one and only Son,
Leader: who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Getting Ready

This week has been spent primarily on paper writing, packing, and other last minute things before we go home.  Wednesday, D'Layna and I went back to the Victoria and Albert Museum because it was just such a wonderful place to look around and it really was fascinating.  We went in different section than before though.  One of the things that we saw were old altar pieces from churches.

They really were some intricate and gorgeous pieces there.  In a back room there were also these really old ornate pieces from churches.

I can't even imagine using such a thing regularly anywhere.  We also went to a few oriental sections to see things.  One was a pagoda.

Another thing we saw from colonialism in India was Tapu's Tiger.

Which was actually a mechanical toy basically made for Tipu Sultan that even did sound effects as the tiger ravished the Englishman.  If you can't tell, he didn't like the English all that much.  Along with many other items, we also saw an oak staircase from Morlaix which is exactly what it sounds like.  And oak staircase moved to the museum.

It was moved there probably when it was too structurally unsound to have people climbing it anymore.

Next we went to get chocolate and hazelnut crepes because they were just so delicious last time.  Only this time, we had one each because it was too good and messy to try to share.  Then I took my walking test after dinner before we watched All Quiet on the Western Front for class.

Today, I went to take the V02 Max test for walking again right class.  We went to this old church with its wild cemetery.

Despite its rundown and wild appearance, it fits.  The church is old and the cemetery is noticeably old.  It is also evident that it is taken care of at least a bit by the fact that you can still see anything.  It really was a gorgeous sight.

After working on our papers for a while after getting back D'Layna and I headed off to King's Cross Station to see Platform 9 3/4.  It is nowhere even near the platforms really but it was good to see.  They actually had a man there with Gryffindor scarves to put on as they posed next to it.

The line though was too long for D'Layna and I to be willing to wait.  We then went to a British store for British tea, biscuits, and chocolate.  Then back to Highbury to finish our papers and pack.  Leaving for the airport first thing in the morning. 

I'm going to miss being in London, but I am really excited to go home.  And I am just so worn out!  We really did try to do as much as we could in the time that we had left and know we are all just so tired!  Pray for safe travels and no delays!

Not much

As we come to the end of our time in London, we are doing less and less things.  Not so much because there isn't still plenty to do but more because we are all so tired.  Not to mention that D'Layna hurt her foot.  I've reached the point also that I am no longer taking over a hundred pictures each day. 

For today, Dr. Airhart wanted us to visit the two Tates with well over 50 paintings and sculptures between them.  While I don't mind it, D'Layna and I would neither be able to handle that.  Me, because there is only so many paintings that I can stand and stare at while taking notes on the possible meaning in them before I want to start catching them on fire and D'Layna because she gets overwhelmed with too much stimulation.

So with nothing to do on our schedule in the afternoon due to the Imperial War Museum being closed in preparation for the 100th anniversary of the Great War, we went to the Tate website and looked at the paintings, took notes on the ones we could access, and prepare for our visit today.  Then, after dinner, we went on the "Writer's Walk".   http://www.londonforfree.net/walks/writers/writers.php . 

I can't explain what we did fully because it would take too long but if you are really curious, here is the outline of the walk above along with all sort of interesting information.  We didn't quite make it to the church where they held the suffragette's funeral because we took a wrong turn and it was starting to get dark but it really was a good walk.  And just so you know, sunset is about 9 here right now with sunrise is at 4:50 so we have never really been out when it is legit dark. 

I did take some pictures though we only walked mainly for enjoyment.  One was of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (GOSH). 

It was one the first children's hospital in Europe where the hospitals often wouldn't admit or treat children.  Charles Dickens wrote about it and fund-raised for it.  Also, it has the rights of Peter Pan and is funded by the proceeds from it.  JM Barrie left the writes to GOSH upon his death.

Another place that I took a picture of was of Gordon Square Garden.

Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Group of which she was a part of often met here.  The Bloomsbury was a group of painters and writers.  They had a lot of little squares or even circles of gardens where we were walking.  There was stone, metal, brick, etc. and then there would be these little patches of peace before it continued into more buildings and roads and traffic. 

Today though was really rainy and wet.  We were rained on the whole way to and from Tate Britain.  But it really was much easier to go through the paintings and look at the items when we weren't thinking so much of what to get out of them but more of what we missed on our little computer screens.

One was The Resurrection, Cookham by Stanley Spencer.

The painting is huge and to see all of the little details that he put in is really difficult.  For example, in the back middle, a fat Jesus is cradling three babies with God behind him and to the right of that is Moses holding the ten commandments along with countless other pieces that are hard to pick out.  Can you see the two WWI soldiers?  I didn't realize who they were until I saw it in person.  I'll give you a hint though, they have no headstone like the countless soldiers who have an unknown grave.  And the headstones, there are pictures on them. 

Another painting that we looked at closer was Mark Gertler's Merry-Go-Round.

While I could see the almost terror on their faces from the computer screen, I missed the cruelty that is in the horses faces as they go around.  This one is really a commentary of the meaninglessness of the war and how they are out of control.

Now tonight is devoted to paper writing and studying for me Walking test tomorrow.  Shouldn't be too hard but it is a good idea to actually read the book before I take the test!  Lol.  Have a good night!

Rest

No pictures today!  D'Layna and I went to the Tower of London for church.  Not many people were there but it was still nice to be there.  It was a beautiful little chapel though we had to stop and ask for directions twice. 

D'Layna hurt her ankle at one point so we tried to rest that for the rest of the day since we are going to the two Tates again tomorrow.  We read a lot of Freud today for class which stinks but we need to get it done.  And I ordered some pizza for lunch down the road and went to get it.  It was good, but I've had better.  Still, today was a nice relaxing today with no noticeable perving going on.  Not looking forward to Tate Modern tomorrow though.

Dodgy

Today, D'Layna and I spent the morning relaxing before heading off to the British Museum to look around.  Primarily, as English majors, we went there to see the Rosetta Stone.

It was super crowded around it but that didn't stop us from being super excited to see it!  After that, we just wandered around the museum for a bit, not really looking at everything but seeing a few things.  They had so much old pottery there! 

I mean, I know that there would be pottery from the ancient times, but I truly didn't expect to see so much in one place.

They also had a lot of ancient Egyptian items on top of everything else.

With a really nice pillar from something Greek or Roman.

There was a lot of ancient jewelry in there.

With a lot of it wonderfully intricate and delicate.  They had quite a few sarcophagus'.

Along with a surprising amount of mummies.  This one may be Cleopatra.

And we saw so many other things that I'm not going to go on about them all because then I would never stop talking.

After that, D'Layna and I walked to Piccadilly Circus to try to do some shopping.  When we got there, we were surprised about how many people were there in football/soccer jersies with a soccer ball bouncing about.  We tried to avoid the crowd and stepped on many beer cans while walking out.  While we were buying some stuff we bought, it literally sounded like a riot was going on outside.  People were blowing whistles and yelling and calling out.  I think that they were only trying to celebrate but it sounded a bit scary and disconcerted the both of us.  It was later that we remembered that there was the English football equivalent of the Superbowl going on that night.  We decided to go back to Highbury shortly out of that and passed more people drinking and singing and celebrating. 

We took the bus again on the way back and got back to our rooms.  I have been having difficulty with the wi-fi all night though D'Layna's is working fine and now, I am sitting up in the blue room where was the only place it worked.  Right now, I only hope to publish this before it goes again!  Have a nice night all!

Cold!

Yesterday, Ally really wanted to go see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace so D'Layna and I agreed to go with her.  But Ally decided that there was time for her to go to the Dr. Who museum first.  She didn't plan it out and never showed. 

D'Layna and I weren't too keen on going since we wanted to do other things more than that and were kind of ticked off at Ally when she never showed.  So D'Layna and I spent a half hour outside in the cold and wet.  I wore two hoodies yesterday and still got chilly and by the time that it was over, my hands burned for the next hour from the cold. 

But in all honesty, it was really interesting to see how much of a show they made of it thought we couldn't see it all because of the crowds.

The first group of the guards all held large weapons while the second group was the band.

I can't imagine though being in the Buckingham Palace band.  "What do you do for a living?"  "I'm a Buckingham Palace Guard."  "Oh, really?  So you guard the Queen?"  "No, I just come out playing the trombone once a day while they change the guard."  "....."  Seriously, they probably do more than that but it still makes me laugh!

We didn't stay the whole time because we were getting bored.  But after that, D'Layna and I went to see the Sherlock Holmes Museum!  So excited.  There was a long line and we weren't sure if we had to pay to go in so we didn't but it was awesome to be there!  Though you can't see it in this picture, there was a constable in the doorway to control when people went in.  I'm not sure if he was supposed to represent Lestrange or something but that was what I was thinking of!

 They even had a restaurant next door to commemorate Mrs. Hudson! 

  

Still worn out from our two days of rushing around like our heads were cut off, D'Layna and I were done after that.  We were freezing cold and we had done what we wanted to do and we still had Saturday and Sunday to do more.