Two Travel Oopsies

First, from CNN.com, an unruly traveller slaps an undercover air marshall.

Second, also from CNN.com, a German man meant to fly to Sydney, Australia but typed in the wrong thing and landed in Sidney, Montana.

Candles, Candles, Candles

On Sunday, I went to the St. Philip's Service of Nine Lessons and Carols. Actually, I didn't just go, I helped set out a few candles. And by a few, I mean hundreds. Literally. Possibly thousands.

It involved more than six people,

three different ladders, and hours of work.

Each window looked like this.

But, after all the candles were lit, the service began and the music was wonderful!

A Community Carol Service

On Monday night, the University of London Church Choir (my choir) sang at the St. Anne's Community Christmas Carol Service in Soho, London. This year, they decided to move the service out in the community and hold it at Kingly Court on Carnaby Street. (Photo here...you'll notice both the distinct lack of church building as well as the somewhat absent roof. There was a tent-like covering that night, but we were still basically singing outside...in a shopping mall.) In addition to our choir, the choir from Soho Parish School sang as well. The Lord Mayor of Westminster also spoke, as did other community members. Oh, and there was a raffle!

The St. Anne's website says this:

THE CHRISTMAS SERVICES OF ST ANNES
-
11th December at 7.00pm
“Light in Darkness”

The Carol Service of the House of St Barnabas-in-Soho
A traditional carol service in the beautiful surroundings of an Oxford Movement
Chapel

-

Monday 18th December (in Kingly Court at 7.00pm)
“Here we come a wassailing”

A Community Carol Concert for Soho
With Choirs from Soho Parish School and the London University
Church, Readers and performers from the Soho business and residential communities
Soloist Paul Martyn-West.
At this concert there will be a collection and raffle (Santa’s Sack) for the Bryan Burrough Memorial Appeal - a New Hall For Soho Parish School
After the concert mulled wine and mince pies will be served in Kingly Court

(We actually sang at both of these services - the other is mentioned below.)

The Dales

Last Saturday, I took the Blue Pullman train to the Yorkshire Dales. We had a leisurely full English breakfast as the train wound its way from the London area north to Skipton.

Once in Skipton, we took a short coach trip to Grassington for its annual Dickensian Christmas Festival. The small village was filled with stalls selling hot toddies, mince pies, crafts and gifts. Villagers were dressed like Dickensian characters (complete with shoe shine urchins - a huge number of shoe shine urchins). There was a town cryer, carolers, music, stilt walkers, and some Morris dancers.

After a couple hours in Grassington, I returned to Skipton where I climbed about in the castle for a while. The web site says this:

Over 900 years old, Skipton Castle is one of the most complete and best preserved medieval castles in England and is well worth a visit at any season of the year.

In December, the castle is cold, drafty (that's 'draughty') and probably pretty authentic. It's also pretty dark at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Soon, we headed back to our train for the trip back to London...and a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

Notes:
More photos on flickr: Skipton, Grassington, the Blue Pullman.
Hertfordshire Rail Tours

2005 - A Retrospective

Yes, that does say 2005 - A Retrospective. Let nobody accuse me of being too timely with things,

I dug up a bunch of old pictures (well, old as in 2005) and posted them to flickr. But since I know everyone else has a life and nobody really wants to spend hours trolling through my old pictures, here are a few highlights.

A rainbow over Greenwich park -

April 2005.

Visiting the Top Secret

Nuclear Bunker in April 2005.

Cardiff Castle - April 2005.

The SS Great Britain

in Bristol - August 2005.

Salisbury Cathedral -

March 2005.

Stonehenge - March 2005.

Seeing the Queen twodays

after the July bombings in

London - July 2005.

Elderly People sign in

St. Albans - March 2005.

Stained glass colours at

St. Giles Cathedral,

Edinburgh - April 2005.

Trooping the Colour - June 2005.

A small church on a tiny island in

Montenegro - August 2005.

Visiting Mostar Bridge

in Bosnia - August 2005.

A Croatian fish picnic - August 2005.

Inside the Lloyd's Building

in London - September 2005.

I was one of the only people in

Salou, Spain in February 2005.

Visiting La Sagrada Familia

in Barcelona - February 2005.

Visiting the Sinn Fein gift shop -

I had to be buzzed in (that should

have been Clue #1) - and then realizing

I was headed back through the wrong

neighbourhood to be carrying that stuff.

Belfast - August 2005.

Seeing sleeping pipistrelle bats at

Durham Cathedral, September 2005.

Getting rescued from the middle of

the Thames by the RNLI - March 2005.

The Peterborough RailWorld Museum -

August 2005.

Seeing a giant UFO in Docklands - October 2005.

Watching Hare Krishnas dance

at Piccadilly Circus Tube Station -

January 2005.

Visiting the Temple Church -

January 2005.

A marching accordian band

at the Apprentice Boys of Derry

parade - Derry, Northern Ireland -

August 2005

New Years 2005 Fireworks.

Old Town Stevenage on my first
day there (okay, so technically that's
the end of December 2004).

So, what have I been doing since October?

Let's see...there's work. And work. And more work.

But I'd be lying if I said that work was all I've been doing. So, let's begin...

Travel:
Lisbon, Portugal - for an European Union eTwinning Workshop
Amsterdam, Holland
Oslo, Norway
Copenhagen, Denmark
Calais and Lille, France, and Brussels, Belgium - breakfast in England, lunch in France, dinner in Belgium
(pictures here on flickr)

Singing:
Chelmsford Cathedral
Southwark Cathedral
St. James West Hampstead
St Barnabas, Soho Square

Seeing, Going, Doing:
Windsor Castle - several rooms from the residence are now open!
St. George's Chapel
The Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret
The Golden Hinde
The Tate Modern - new slides!
The Lord Mayor's Show in London
The Lord Mayor's Fireworks
(some pictures on flickr)

Reading:
Starter for Ten
Wyrd Sisters
Grantchester Grind
Adrian Mole, the Wilderness Years
Ultraviolet (can't find a link...sorry)
Cold Comfort Farm
Number 10
A Dog Called Demolition
The Last King of Scotland
My Life in Orange
Utterly Monkey
Around the World on Expenses
Romanitas
Merde Actually

plus...the Guardian and London's two new free papers, thelondonpaper and London Lite

Online:
Edited and posted pictures from various trips in the past two years.

Eating:
(a very edited list)
Mexican food from Charley's Horse in Windsor
Mince Pie donut from Krispy Kreme (only one, honest!)
Marks and Spencer Turkey and Trimmings Wrap (turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pork chipolata all in a traditional flour tortilla wrap)

Collecting:
Shoot-Out Cards (ugh...don't ask...it starts with confiscating one card...then grows...)

Avoiding:
Lice (worst case ever EVER on a kid in my tutor group)
Tornadoes - the London Tornadoes missed me

A Slice of England...

Can't get to England any time soon? How about Shanghai?

The city of Shanghai is building nine new towns, each inspired by a town someplace else. Thames Town looks just like some places here - cobbled streets, Tudor houses, pubs, even a church (which creates an interesting socio-religious-political conundrum, when you think about it).

But to be really authentic, you'd need an M&S Mostly Food, a PoundLand and six or seven fried chicken places.

Oh, plus some stumbling drunks on the weekends.

Here's the link from NPR.