jolly old england

My trip to London and the rest of the British Isles/Europe began with a heart attack. I had set my alarm to 6:30am, as we needed to be at the airport at 8am. I remember being woken up by my alarm. Then next thing I know I look at my clock and its 8am. I don’t know if I’ve ever sworn as much as I did in the following moments. Luckily my roommate was able to get me a taxi to the airport, at which I arrived at 8:30. That was one experience I never want to endure again.
With that near catastrophe aside, London was similar to a sports team’s preseason or exhibition games: enjoy it as much as possible, but try and get out with the least amount of damage. With the ghastly conversion rate of nearly 2 US Dollars to the British Pound, the zeitgeist of the group was see and do as much as a shoestring budget would allow. I followed this practical ideology, as I usually do anyway, for the entire week. In addition to the touristy stuff (e.g. Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Piccadilly Circus) I went to two evensong services at St Paul’s Cathedral (although I was unable to sit in the quire both times!); A friend and I were able to haggle the price at the Charles Dickens Museum; I also strolled down Oxford Street (that where the cover photo of Oasis’s What’s the Story Morning Glory was shot…not that I’m a fan or anything) and visited the neighborhoods of Brixton and Camden. I really enjoyed Brixton and its immense diversity of people speaking with Jamaican and West Indies accents, and markets with raw chickens hanging from the windows. This took me aback, as I am used to hung cooked chickens in various Chinatowns, but never raw ones. Camden was fun, but I was partially disappointed and perplexed. With the plethora of “vintage” clothing shops and food stands, I felt it was a fusion between consumerism and alternative subcultures, which is totally illogical and impossible. It would be like if Christiania, or other subculture havens went über-capitalist. Other than those facets, it had a great atmosphere and ambience.
From an educational standpoint (which is why we were there), many activities were provided for us: We explored East London and explored the gentrification that is occurring there; We toured the BBC Headquarters; We viewed the Holocaust exhibit at the National War Museum and had a great discussion about how other genocides are seemingly second fiddle to the former. Lastly we visited Tate Britain, which was one of the few art museums that I enjoyed (I mean museums in general, not specific exhibits).
Academia aside, the highlight of my stay in London was attending the Fulham/Charlton match. Not only was I seeing my favorite team play a crappy opponent (a guaranteed home win is always a good time), but also I was getting out of seeing the silly musical Billy Elliott with my group in the process. I couldn’t have been happier.
Before the match, I went into a pub and ate some pie and chips while downing some fine ale. I know it’s a cliché statement but: when in Rome, do as the Romans do! After the meal I strolled to the stadium, and stumbled upon the team store where I bought a home jersey. I’m not going to disclose the price, but it wasn’t cheap. The stadium, or Cottage as its called, was very old and reminiscent of Fenway Park with its turn on the century construction, wooden seats, and giant poles that restrict the view of many seats. After I got my tickets, I proceeded into the stadium where an usher showed me my seats: 8 ROWS UP! I only paid about $30 US Dollars for the seats, and I was closer than I have been to any professional sporting game in my entire life. My euphoria eventually subsided when I discovered that alcoholic beverages were not permitted in the stands at all. Now I had no intention of getting intoxicated, or even purchasing a drink (remember, I’m on a budget!), but the disallowing of any alcohol beverages within sight of the field (or pitch as the called it) blew my mind. I know that some stadiums have passed this measure at their stadiums or ball parks in order to create/sustain a “Family Atmosphere,” but no drinks anywhere is, from an American perspective, completely unfathomable. No team would even think of banning alcohol possession in the stands (if I’m wrong about this, please correct me). Another interesting measure the stadium took was sanctioning Home/Away/Neutral fan sections. A big placard (next to the no alcohol sign) read that any fan wearing an opponent's colors or jersey would be removed from the stadium. Either I was in an inner city public school, or Fulham took their security seriously. But then again, soccer does have its share of hooligans…
Nevertheless, I befriended the group of Fulham fans next to me and upon revealing it was my first match, they told me it was their 2,635 time attending (I cant quote their exact amount, but it was around there). With the exception of the lively fans and their great cheers/songs, the first half was quite lousy. Charlton, who was last in the Premiership rankings, could have easily scored several times but luckily did not. The second half however had both Brian McBride (an American) and Claus Jensen (a Dane) score within a few minutes of another, thus putting the stadium and I into jubilation. I found these goals both fitting and intriguing, as McBride is probably my favorite player (For those who know me and think I am making this up, I’m not. This past summer consisted of working in a meat department; watching European art house films; beginning to follow soccer. I’m not kidding). Charlton got a (cheap) goal late, but too late to be able equalize the score as Fulham went on to win 2-1.
Overall, it ranked very highly on my sporting viewer ship experiences, be it live or on television. Obviously, the Yankees colossal choke and subsequent Red Sox World Series Championship is #1; and the first Patriot Superbowl victory is #2. This event ranked number three, just ahead of my first ever Ice Cats game in 1994.
So that’s about all I have to say about London except for these random, seemingly arbitrary memories: Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is the best eating and drinking establishment I’ve ever been to, which is somewhat bad because now I think every place sucks in comparison; I asked some older lady for directions once, and before I was finished completing my question she retorted with “NO!”; There are a lot of Chinese students in my group, and one night after going out with them they facetiously dubbed a fellow American “Chairman Geoff.” Personally, I found it absolutely hilarious. But Geoff seemed very wary and not wanting to accept his position.
The trip to London concluded with I witnessing the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace, which was actually quite long and extravagant. Its cavalcade was completely different than the changing of the guard in the States. After which I began my trip to Ireland by trekking out to Stansted Airport (which is an hour away. How can a “London” airport possibly get away with being that far? Could Providence or Hartford ever claim to be a “Boston” Airport? No!). Per usual, go here for photos