Street Haunting, Short story

They had to kick me out. So maybe I was being a little crazy, and maybe I was being a little loud, but I was just having fun. And if that’s a crime throw me in jail. My mind switched from defending myself to trying to find my way home. This is much easier when the street signs aren’t spinning. A cool breeze blew by me and I tightened up my jacket. The only thin on my mind was getting home and getting warm. I walked down the street to the intersection and looked at the street sign. I wasn’t far from home, but still this city gives me the creeps at night. I’ve heard people say it’s beautiful at night, but how can a city be beautiful when it housed a notorious murder, which struck only at night. I know these murders took place over 100 years ago and he murdered prostitutes, but c’mon it’s scary stuff.

            I move down the street quickly, with brick houses on either side of me rushing by. I hear a noise come from behind me and turn. Nothing. All right that was a little freaky. I keep moving down the street. I chuckle at myself as I continue. How could I think someone was following me? I’m just being paranoid. As I round a corner I take another glance behind me. I see a figure about 20 meters behind me. Okay where did that guy come from? Whatever I’m sure it’s not that bad. I’ll be fine. Still for safety I might want to walk a little quicker. I turn to look behind me to see the figure behind me getting closer. This is not good. Should I make a run for it? I look back and see the figure even closer. Yes…yes I should. I begin to sprint down the street. I sprint so fast I can barely tell what I’m running past. All I know is I’m on an empty street. Why did I have to pick the emptiest street in London? I keep sprinting until I get to my door. I begin to fumble through my pockets looking for my keys. I keep looking but can’t find them. Shit I might have left them at the bar. I look to my left to see the figure coming towards me. I let out a scream. “Please don’t hurt me,” I yell.

            “I won’t” I look to see the bartender who just kicked me out. “You forgot these.” I look at his outstretched hand, and see my keys in his palm. “Thank you.” I say.

            “Don’t mention it” he replied. “By the way you shouldn’t run home. You’ll miss the city. It is beautiful at night.”

October 24th, Departure

Our last day was a bittersweet day. The bitterness of leaving was overshadowed by the British Library. The treasures exhibit was a very interesting thing. I like how they mixed up the old fashioned such as the Shakespeare Books and a Guttenburg Bible with the new such as original copies of Beatles songs. Seeing the Magna Carta was another aspect of the trip I was not expecting to happen. It was amazing seeing something like that a major document, which I've seen in books and other sources with my own eyes. 

October 23rd, War Museum

This afternoon we went to the War Museum, which I thought was extremely interesting. I really enjoyed the Cecil Beaton exhibit. I thought a lot of his photos were extremely powerful and that his work on films was interesting coming from my background. I agree with what Emily said in her blog when she talked about how he showed the horrors of war, but was still able to show the optimism in war when he took pictures of the recovery. The secret agent exhibit was also something I enjoyed. I thought it was funny how they compared it to the actual secret service in Britain.  After that we went to Daunt books, which was an amazing bookstore. I really loved just walking around, it wasn't like any bookstore I've ever been in. After that we went to the Union Cafe, which was a great restaurant to end the travel with.
I thought the poems we read were very powerful. I find it amazing how some soldiers liked to romanticize the idea of war, when others liked to write about the horrors of war. I can see both points of view here. I agree that film and other media can romanticize war, and it can actually be a very beautiful idea, but also there are many horrors of war the average person does not see. I think these were all powerful but I especially enjoyed. Does it Matter? by Siegfried Sassoon. I thought this one was powerful because he does a good job of painting a soldier who is beaten up, but the public will treat him as a hero for a limited time. After all of the popularity he is lost and when he fought, did it matter?

DOES it matter?--losing your legs?... For people will always be kind, And you need not show that you mind When the others come in after hunting To gobble their muffins and eggs.

October 22nd, Transportation

Today we went to the transportation museum and I thought this was extremely interesting. Since London was the first city to have an underground it was cool to see how that thought process became reality and became the basis for all undergrounds around the world. I thought the way the museum was set up was also cool, and I'm glad we went there because this isn't a place I would have thought of going to. After that it was the scavenger hunt, which my team may have not done well, but it was fun walking through the town with a purpose like that. After we went to Selfridges we went to see a film at a extremely nice movie theatre. Here we saw Looper, which was an amazing film. I'm so happy I got a chance to see it. Looper was much more like a movie I'd be willing to watch many times. It had a simple plot brought to the viewer in an extravagant way and did not disappoint. It is the type of film that regains your faith in the films, which are being produced today.

Why did London start the underground system? I'm surprised no other city ever thought of the idea. It seems so simple yet London was the only city brave enough to try it. I mean in order to get across the city fast, why wouldn't you think to just travel underground. But the technology wasn't there and London took matters into their own hands. They may of had to destroy the streets of their city, but with good reason because they changed history and transportation forever.

October 21st, Free day

Today was my day to get all of the touristy things out of the way. This meant going to Buckingham Palace and of course Big Ben. It's amazing how giant Big Ben is when you stand below it. I could almost see Peter Pan and Wendy landing on the clock. After that we went to the Film Museum right next to the London Eye. This museum was heaven for me. There were so many things there, which were amazing ranging from the Batman costume, Han Solo frozen in carbonate, the Alien from aliens, and Charlie Chaplin's clothes. This was an awesome experience going to this museum. After a full day of touring I was tired and returned home for a long night of sleep.

The most interesting thing I found about this area was walking across the bridge and feeling like you are in a time machine. On one side of the bridge there is Big Ben and Parliament then when you cross the bridge you get to the London Eye and a newer part of the city. I find it interesting they put the Eye right there next to one monument everyone wants to see. I feel as if you would want to keep the Eye away from this area if only to let people look for it when they get to the top.  

October 20th, Oxford

Today we went to Oxford, and enjoyed this area of England. The day started here with us walking around Oxford, and enjoying the beautiful scenery around us. I enjoyed walking through the college stores and looking at the posters and books. It was like no other college town I've ever been to. After that we had a lengthy but delicious lunch at a pub. We then went to the Library at Oxford and enjoyed this beautiful library with its many old books. It was very interesting to see how libraries have developed over the years, and of course seeing where they filmed the forbidden section during the Harry Potter films. After this we enjoyed Oxford a little longer then returned back to London.

October 19th, Immigration

Today for our morning free I was part of a group, which went to see the National Gallery. There were many amazing paintings here, but the one, which stood out to me, was the painting in which you had to look at it from a certain angle to see the skull. If you just looked at it from the front it just looked like a giant blob. After our free time we went to a lecture at the College of London where we talked about immigration. Although the topic had little to do with Bloomsbury but it was extremely interesting learning about the Jewish immigrants in London. That night we had a delicious dinner at an Indian restaurant, which also didn't have much to do with Bloomsbury, but was enjoyable. This day had the least to do with Bloomsbury, but it was an enjoyable day none the less.

The National Gallery was beautiful. Not only because of all of the beautiful paintings on the inside, but the building itself was a work of art. I could definitely see some inspiration from the Romans with the columns, which in front of the building. I know I'm impartial because I'm from there, but I think this gallery looks very similar to the Museum of Art in Philadelphia. The talk on immigration was also very interesting because I never really thought of London being a place Jewish people migrated to. I always knew about the Indian population, and found it interesting that the Indian's to the Jewish spot in London.

October 18th, Strolling the Streets of London

Today we walked around the Bloomsbury area and I thought this was amazing. I couldn't believe how many influential people lived in the area, even he people who weren't in the Bloomsbury Group. It was amazing seeing all of the blue plaques on the buildings all around there. There were so many more of these plaques in this area compared to the rest of London. Every single walk you went on you would walk in the footsteps of many great writers, painters, and thinkers. After the walk the British museum was also pretty cool. I enjoyed seeing everything there, but especially the pills telling the life story, and coffins from Ghana. I think there is something magical about being buried in your interest. When we saw War Horse that night it was also interesting. I thought the horse puppets were something amazing, it felt as i there was a real horse on stage. It was also interesting comparing it to the movie and seeing what they added in the film, which wasn't in the play.
I thought this walk in the morning was very important because it showed us the area, which inspired so many. I can definitely see how it inspired so many people as well. It isn't often where you can find a nice quaint and relaxed area in a major city, and this is exactly what Bloomsbury is. There is so much beauty cramped into it's squares that it is hard to not feel inspired.

October 17th, Houses

Today we went to the houses of Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. Both of these houses were beautiful. I really enjoyed Charleston because every room in that house is a work of art. Every single wall is painted beautifully and there were many paintings by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, which I could look at all day. I really enjoyed seeing Monk's house as well. I enjoyed just walking through the garden here, and also I thought it was amazing seeing Virginia Woolf's writing room, and seeing the river where she committed suicide was extremely eerie. Then I really enjoyed getting to London and having our free time. Walking around these streets really reminded me of all the movies set in London. It is something I've always thought of doing and I enjoyed actually doing it. I also had the most delicious fish and chips of the trip at my first London pub

I found it interesting that the Bloomsbury group decided to have a place outside of London. In my opinion the group was set up in the hustle and bustle of London for a reason. And in my opinion this reason was to create a difference where a huge difference could be made. The vacation homes just seemed as an escape to me for the group.

October 16th, Cinema Day

Today was the day, which really concentrated on film. We started the day by going to a museum, which housed old toys and an exhibition on the early days of film. This had many old cameras and other items which came from the early days of cinema. There was also a room which should a few short films from really early on, and these films we amazing in their simplicity, and just the fact people made film because of the fact they wanted to. That afternoon I finished my quest in receiving tickets by playing deal or no deal on the pier again and enjoying the brisk afternoon. Then that night we went to the Duke of York Theatre and this did nothing but make me envious. There are no theaters like that in the States or at least they are very rare and it is just so beautiful. The architecture and the size it's all just too perfect. This place is where movies are meant to be seen. After that we enjoyed On The Road which was an interesting movie. I enjoyed it, but I can't say it was my favorite by any means. It was definitely a good movie to watch at this theatre however. On The Road was the type of movie, which I was happy I saw, but it is also the type of movie I don't need to watch multiple times. I appreciated it being very raw and I like the overall story arc and what it was trying to say, but like I said earlier it's not the type of movie I need to see.

October 15th, Arrival

Waiting in the rain in Lugano, felt sort of like a film. The rain pouring down as a group of students, excited about the travel ahead. The bus came and the students piled on the bus. This bus then took them to Malpensa to fly to London. These students then get to drive to Brighton through a land not many people on the trip knew very well. As we drove through Brighton we passed by many pubs and typical British sights. We then drove by the Duke of York Theatre, which looked much more like the theaters you see in films. It was a beautiful small theater unlike the typical multiplexes.

When we got to Brighton we were able to have free time and went to the pier. There we played a few games of epic Deal or no deal and won many tickets. After the victorious games of Deal or No Deal, we met back with the group to have delicious burgers at Bill's. After Bill's we enjoyed a pub and went to bed.

Brighton is the type of place I could see many movies taking place. It has that setting which would be perfect for any type of movie. I could see a romantic comedy taking place there on the pier during the summer, and a the same time a bitter drama taking place there during the offseason. This was a good introduction to the trip because it really gave the group a feel for the type of country England is outside of London.

First post

For my travel blog to Bloomsbury Britain, I'm going to concentrate on cinema. Cinema was a fairly new invention during this time, and it made great strides during this time. I find this topic very interesting, and I feel that I will learn a lot about this topic on the travel.