Uneventful Day 3 and First Day of Classes Day 4

Not much to report about for Day 3. We spent the majority of the day in orientation listening to various rules and safety tips. After orientation we did go out for dinner at a wonderful Indian restaurant near Covent Garden. After we ate we went to a bar/club called Zoo Bar. One of the girls who had been here before recommended it. It was alright, not really my scene but at least it was free because we went early.

Today we got up and walked to a small cafe in Russel Square Park for breakfast. I had fluffy scrambled eggs on toast with a glass of orange juice for a semi-decent price. The cafe is right across from the school, but there were a lot of people so we had to wait longer than expected and ended up making egg sandwiches to eat on the way to class.

The class I had today was Museums and Galleries. We had the typical first day discussion of course expectations, rules, and procedures, etc. and then we went on our first walk. This afternoon we walked just around the corner from the school to go see the first church in Bloomsbury. It was a very unique building, very different from most other churches I've seen. As we walked toward the church we discussed the "acceptable" and rather "traditional" models of architecture, with the bottom floor appearing to be the largest and the higher floors being smaller to establish a sense of balance. The church, however, was built in the opposite way. It is also interesting because it looks more like a governmental building, from the front, than a church. It's architecture was also controversial because it placed the communion area in the north end of the church rather than the east end, and has a statue of George I on the top of the steeple. This happens to be the only statue of George I.

Another reason for the governmental appearance and statue of George I was becuase of the history of the area and the need for a church in Bloomsbury. Back in the 1550s Bloomsburry was still a very rural area lush with orchards and market gardens. By the 1800s, it was no longer as rural and was actually very built up and one of the most poverty-stricken areas. This area was known as a "Rookery", or a slum. There was also the widespread problem of drinking gin. Things got so bad the government felt the only way to help turn it around would be to establish a church there. Hence the construction of St. George's church. All in all, it is a very intersting building with a facinating history. They also, just recently, cleared out the crypt below the church to rent out the space to raise money to maintain the church. Over 900 people were burried there.

After going to St. George's we went to the Cartoon Museum, which is also just around the corner from the school. It was a small, but very interesting museum. All the pieces were British cartoons, my favourites being Pont's the British Character Series. They were amusing little sketches of "typical" british manners and characteristics.

After class we came back to Byng to veg out for awhile and then we took the tube to Oxford Circus. We stopped at Top Shop and H&M and then as the afternoon dragged on we stopped at a Starbucks to grab a coffee. All shopped out, we headed back to Byng to take a nap before heading down for the "Free Food and Drink" in the dining room. When we came down, the food turned out to be terrible so we opted to go out for dinner. We took the tube to South Kensington and ate at a small creperie less than a block from the station. I had an Italian crepe which was delicious. Then we headed back to Byng where half our group went off the pubs while the other half returned to our rooms to do our homework. Speaking of which, I should stop writing all this and get my homework done.

To give you an idea of the workload, for Museums and Galleries on Thursday I need to have written a response about the history of Bloomsbury, a paper about St. George's, a response to the Cartoon Museum and a commentary on a particular cartoon. Then I have to research and write a brief summary of the Foundling Museum and October Gallery, write my expectations for the galleries, visit the galleries, write a response to my experiences there, and then prepare for Thursday's class by researching and summarizing the British Library and Wellcome Collection, followed by my expectations for the two museums. It's a lot and it will certainly keep me busy, but at least they do not have to be too in depth.

Time to get some of that out of the way so I can get a good night's rest for tomorrow's busy day. I have the History of London tomorrow. We are supposed to go for a Southbank walk from London Bridge to Westminster Bridge after a historical introduction. After that I think we're going to try and go to the Foundling Museum and October Gallery.

Time to go write write write.