Second Star to the Right: St. Dustan-in-the-East

Saturdays in London are difficult because though we are often given free reign on these days, it's hard to decide what to do because everyone else in England also has a day off, so things are incredibly busy. Though I would have liked to go to places like The London Eye or Westminster Abbey, I knew that they would be very busy, and not something that I would really want to deal with. So instead, Saturdays have become days for trips to Wales, or days for visiting some of the more obscure places to be seen. Fortunately, in London, even the obscure places can be quite fantastic.

Tracy invited some of us from the group to go and visit St. Dunstan-in-the-East, an old church that was mostly destroyed during the Blitz. The Anglican Church decided not to rebuild the church, and for a while it just sat there in a broken form. In 1967 the city decided to turn the ruins into a public garden! It was an incredibly gorgeous place to visit, and we were lucky because it had been raining all morning, so when we arrived it looked fresh and green. The roof had completely collapsed along with most of the walls. The remaining parts of the structure are covered with vines and plants and it looks like something from a fairy tale. While riding on the tube to our destination I sat next to a woman who was visiting from the United States. She was talking with her British friends and said to them that she felt like her time in London has been like walking in a fairytale. I smiled and was inclined to agree, and walking through that beautiful garden only reaffirmed this belief. I wanted to sit down and read a book on the spot, but instead we settled with sitting and taking it all in. There was a bird with black, blue, and white feathers that kept landing to scare away the pigeons. We decided it must be the guardian of St. Dunstan's.

After exploring the gardens, our small group made our way over to the Monument to the Great Fire of London. The fire that raged in 1666 destroyed a huge portion of London, and this structure was erected to celebrate the rebuilding of the city. Like many of the structures in London, it was designed by Christopher Wren. You'll see his handiwork all over this place, like at St. Paul's Cathedral. The monument is 202 feet high, apparently the exact distance from where the statue stands to where the fire initially started on Pudding Lane in 1666. They now let you climb the monument's 311 steps to the top to overlook London. Dallin had already climbed St. Paul's this week, so he opted to remain at the bottom while Tracy, Justyne, Emily, and I climbed to the top. The structure is a large pillar, so the climb was up a spiral staircase that sat in the interior. It was quite a tight fit so we frequently had to stop as we had to squeeze past those that were on their way down. (It reminded me of the building that we climbed while in Boston). We reached the top much faster than I had anticipated! The view was incredible and the rain decided to stop for a little while once we reached the top. The whole lookout point was covered with a cage mesh, so pictures were a little interesting. Fortunately we were still able to enjoy a beautiful view. We grudgingly descended the tower and as we were exiting, they gave us each certificates stating that we had successfully climbed the Monument. It's a fun little token to take home! I eat up stuff like that.

In the afternoon Dallin and I met up with Ben so that we could go and see The Amazing Spider-man 2 at the cinema in Piccadilly Circus. Some thought it was strange that we saw one movie this week, so I can only imagine what others would say when I tell them I actually saw two! I have been wanting to see this Spider-man for a while, and I especially felt inclined to see it here because I actually saw the first one the last time I was in London! I thought that it was very fitting that I should see the second one here as well! I guess when the third one comes out in 2016 I may have to make a trip! The movie was excellent. I won't say anything specific in case people have not seen it yet, except "THAT ENDING!" Ahem. Moving on. I also noticed that it placed a strong emphasis on hope. During the graduation speech at the beginning of the movie, Gwen said something that really stuck out to me:

"It's easy to feel hopeful on a beautiful day like today, but there will be dark days ahead of us too, and they'll be days where you feel all alone, and that's when hope is needed most, no matter how buried it gets, or how lost you feel, you must promise me, that you will hold on to hope. Keep it alive, we have to be greater than what we suffer. My wish for you, is to become hope, people need that, and even if we fail, what better way is there to live?"

I feel that this idea of hope has come up frequently on this trip, and it has really touched me to see so many different examples of hope. In this particular film, the hope that Gwen was talking about was for her classmates, but also applied to Spider-man as a symbol of hope to the people there. Now you may scoff at the idea of an action movie like this inspiring, but I definitely feel like these words can be applied to our own lives. I wept in this movie, like a wee baby. But it's because I felt it spoke to me. The days here in London have been spectacularly beautiful, but I know that there are still dark days waiting for me. They might happen here. They may happen when I get home. But I will hold on to hope and strive to be the hope that others can cling to as well. As mentioned in our lecture yesterday, there is an opposition to all things, but I can strive to be the goodness that will help others as they face the darkness.

The rest of the afternoon was much lazier. Ben, Dallin, and I wandered around Leicester Square to try and find some food. I was starving, but we were all pretty passive about what to eat. We went to a store known as Forbidden Planet, which is essentially a super store for all thinks geek. There was everything from Star Wars to Superman. I was surprised at how packed it was! The store is huge, but we found ourselves pressed up against people just trying to shuffled from isle to isle! It was insane and it made me more than a little claustrophobic. We finally made our way over to China Town and tracked down a nice little noodle place. For desert we went to Costa where we purchased lemonades to drink at the square. It was a wonderful Guy's Night Out, and I was glad that were were able to relax while still enjoying the offerings of London.

Homework reading for tonight: Blithe Spirit and Antony and Cleopatra Act IV

At the entrance to St. Dunstan's