The walk was fine-- saw the street where it is thought the Dalloways might have lived. And walked the start of her walk, until we got to Piccadilly… so we walked along St. James Park, along Green Park… Didn't hear a car backfire-- but lots of 21st century sounds like horns and sirens. I asked the class about the fact that people hear Big Ben so clearly in the novel…and we agreed it's just so much noisier now.
And I told them to get a bit dolled up for the tea-- if Clarissa gets to have a party--then so do we. Have I mentioned that afternoon High Tea is frigging expensive?! Well it is, but I tried my hardest to find as reasonable of one as possible. And we weren't AT the Ritz, but we were in fact next door… (not to shabby). This was MY chance to do a proper tea, as well… and it was definitely something I wanted to do at least once while I was here…
It's all about the tiered plate, I think… that and the tiny crustless sandwiches… and the SUPER tiny desserts. Yes, it is about those things! ;) I was explaining to the class about the culture of tea in the 19th and early 20th century… Young women would show off their grace and skill at serving tea just right. No dripping, no clattering or anything like that. Marriageable men would then judge the women based on their beauty and poise during these scenes… We were all pretty horrified about this--and went to unintentional great lengths to prove that we wouldn't have been much sought after back in those days!! I clattered my plate at one point (who didn't see that coming?). Another student did, too. A student actually burned herself a little on the hot teapot… We were a bit of a mess. ;) But there were no real casualties, and it was a lot of fun!! A box that most of us had wanted to do at some point and can now check off.
AND it totally counts as class!
Ridiculousness continued… We had a little more class time--not enough to do the tour I'd been thinking around Bloomsbury/Woolf territory. But we just kept walking Clarissa's walk, instead. (Tea took a bit longer than I'd planned--which I should have known.) At one point, I read a bit from Mrs Dalloway as she writes about the street we were on and looks at the shops we were looking at. And that was fun to do! (Of course, the Londoners rolled their eyes a little, I think…) And then we ended at Hatchard's, London's oldest bookstore AND mentioned in the novel. It was the end of class, so I told the students they were free to go and that I would hang out there longer. That is not the ridiculous thing. Rather, it's nuts that I let class out at 5:30, and I didn't get home until something like 8:30. Half of the class, as well. We just played around in the bookstore for HOURS! At some point, other US exchange students overheard us and came to chat, as well… It was a lot of fun… :) And I talked myself hoarse!
Thursday's class didn't get to have high tea… they're not a food class…so it would be REALLY hard to sell that to a curriculum committee. :) But we did have a walking tour of our own. This week's was themed: US authors in London. Twain and his friends, and those who came before and after. There are LOTS of US authors who lived in London during some point… but a lot were scattered around, or not memorialized with these fantastic blue plaques that I've become obsessed with. So the ones we did check out were Pound, Eliot (conveniently another Missourian), and James… then we took a bit of a flaneur jaunt through Jamesian London… then finished up with Melville (OMG how did I not know he lived in London just before writing Moby Dick??) and Ben Franklin. In the middle, we went to the archives at the National Portrait Gallery, where they had a solid collection of US portraits. Poe lived in the suburbs of London as a child-- we couldn't get out there, but we COULD see a portrait of him at the archive. Lots of pictures of Twain tooling around London and Oxford… An engraving of the signing of the Declaration of Independence… Franklin with his ridiculous coonskin hat. One of my students is interested in Library work, so I like to fit in archival elements where I can in class.
Ben Franklin's house is also a museum… we couldn't make it work to visit it today, but I might try to get us reservations for another week. :)
Thursday's class was also supposed to be "dull and dreary," weather-wise. But it was a lovely sunny day. Just a little hazy, but perfectly pleasant walking weather. I only wore a sweater--no coat. It is so great that London is turning into spring. AND that I found a way to take both classes on walks through some of the prettiest parks in the city when all the daffodils and other early bulbs are coming out!
We end class with lunch, too. That way we're sitting and able to talk about the book and assignments and such… and we've got to eat sometime… and I had been obsessing about where to take them (nothing would compare to the extravagant day Wednesday). Then it occurred to me to just eat in a little cafe in a park. Nothing special…but just the opportunity to sit out in the sun and actually long for sunglasses for once! It was great!! AND we weren't the only ones to feel this way!!
Last thoughts: a couple of students took pics of the tea spread. I asked them to forward--and when they do I'll post here. C:
Friday is class--and maybe/hopefully a play or something fun and Friday the 13th-esque! Crazy busy weekend coming, too. Stratford Upon Avon Saturday and Harry Potter World Sunday. SQUEE says me!!
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