The Bodleian Library (one of the many buildings).
The hotel we stayed at used to be a prison for Oxford Castle. Here is one of the cell doors. Every three cells was made into a room.
The grad school
Sunday, April 5, 2009
My Night in Prison...I mean...Oxford
I had a complaint (ahem..DAD) that my blog has too much text and not enough photos. So, here are some pics from this weekend that I spent in Oxford with Glenna and Robin for the Lit Festival.
The Bodleian Library (one of the many buildings).
The hotel we stayed at used to be a prison for Oxford Castle. Here is one of the cell doors. Every three cells was made into a room.
The grad school
The Bodleian Library (one of the many buildings).
The hotel we stayed at used to be a prison for Oxford Castle. Here is one of the cell doors. Every three cells was made into a room.
The grad school
Thursday, April 2, 2009
My Reflective Paper
Where is Journalism Going?
A Reflective Paper
By Anna Webster
Internship Tutorial Final Assignment
Being a journalist means being a jack of all trades. The traditional answer of “I like to write” to explain the career no longer works. You have to like to write, edit, take photos, take video, market yourself, make websites, network with PR reps, and stay up into the wee hours of the morning surviving only on coffee.
Don’t find out the hard way that being able to put a few words on a piece of paper is not enough to become a journalist. That’s what I did.
I guess all those A’s in English class in High School seemed to add up to equal a career in journalism in my head. Stumbling through articles and publishing stories for my college newspaper the Daily Free Press in Boston had me thinking that there might be a little more to this.
Climbing the totem pole of journalism is not glamorous. In jeans and flip flops at my first internship in High School I’d scan through a daunting stack of hundreds of pages of dispatch from the police department looking for what would make it into the paper’s weekly log.
“911 call at 19:07, response time, false alarm.”
“Unmarked vehicle on Franklin Ave reported at 22:03.”
…and on and on and on…
Every once in a while I’d find things like “raccoon in chimney reported on Rockaway Ave” or “ducks crossing road on Maple Lane” and have to put it in the write-up for my own amusement. There once was a week that summer where at least 5 people came into the office to alert us that there was a wild turkey roaming Marblehead. You learn very quickly that not much happens in a small town.
Every once in a while I have to pinch myself to remember that I am in London now interning at a new up-and-coming online magazine. And, I’ve upped the wardrobe from sandals and jeans, to boots, blouses and sometimes – black tie.
Last night, I networked at an event called the Plus Awards and in the morning interviewed young business executives about their new officepod project, said to be the new innovation in professional workspace.
Over my career as a journalist, being introduced changed from “Hi meet Anna, she’s a student working here” to “Hi meet Anna, our intern” to “Here’s our journalist for the company, her name is Anna.” How to get from here to there? The answer involves following the trend of journalism.
My family likes to say that it is “disappearing.” I don’t think it’s gone – you just need to know where to look! My communication professors tend to prefer the term “changing” to describe where I hope to base my entire career and future.
I remember the first article I ever published as editor of Spotlight, my weekly page in the Daily Free Press. After staying up until three in the morning laboring over every word, I opened the paper the next morning and found nothing. Turns out it was just put up online instead. Why spend all that time working on it if no one was even going to see it? I guess my editor didn’t think it was worth the space.
That night, the Editor-in-Chief called me over to his desk for…congratulations? Turns out my story had received comments online from people saying it was well-written. Not so bad, I guess how people view the news really is changing. Online is the way to go. But most of the time, people are unaware (like I was) about the resources available in the field of online journalism.
According to an April 2008 survey by the Newspaper Association of America, subjects polled were generally unsure of what is offered by their local newspaper website. While a small majority (59%) are aware that user comments and reviews are offered, less than half of all respondents are aware of any other tested content, with just a quarter aware of podcasts, article saving and social networking, and roughly a third aware of article sharing, RSS feeds and photo/video sharing.
But the trend is still looking like most papers will begin to move online to cut the cost of printing and distribution.
An average daily newspaper reaches 47% of adults who own a personal computer. This means that 75.2 million adults who own a personal computer read a newspaper on an average (Monday – Friday) weekday. Five weekday issues reach 65% of these consumers. An average Sunday newspaper reaches 55% of personal computer owners, and 4 issues of a Sunday newspaper reach 68% of these consumers, according to the NAA’s Business Analysis and Research Department from 2008. The numbers are only expected to increase over time.
Many magazines are opting to go online as well. According to those in the industry, the key to staying afloat is finding an identity.
There is a magazine for almost any interest or any hobby no matter how strange or small. In order to stay alive yours has to be unique and yours has to be GOOD. Newspapers report the news. Magazines do not need to report anything. Magazines can say what they want when they want. The hope is you can find an idea about which people would want to listen.
“Newspapers don’t have that problem,” said my Three’s A Crowd supervisor Melissa Gilmour. “We are in the middle of an identity crisis trying to figure out who we are.”
Working in a newspaper can open your mind up to breaking news, trends, and what issues people are talking about. Working for a magazine has even broadened my horizons to keep an eye out for fashion, celebs, and new exhibits or theater.
I get teased by my friends for keeping a digital voice recorder on me wherever I go. I was the one teasing them when I scored an interview with one of lead singers from my favorite bands, Brad Corrigan from Dispatch, while he was walking around campus last year before his concert.
Keeping one eye out for story ideas is what makes journalism something that will always be essential. No matter what, people are still going to want to know about their favorite interests. They will always want to know where the fire is or who was arrested.
The question is how they find this information out. This is why journalism has not shrunk, but expanded to new mediums.
Twitter…
Email…
Blogs…
Texting…
Video…
All are each new ways people are getting their news and it’s just the beginning. It comes as no surprise that a recent study by Pew Internet & American Life project found that the Internet has become the primary news source on the average day. And the news online is being updated constantly.
Working as a journalist does not happen between the hours of nine and five, but 24/7. As I walk to work in the morning I look to see what is happening around me. When I talk to friends at the pub I try to see what is on people’s minds. A story can be anywhere; the best ones are usually the ones right in front of your face sometimes so obvious that they go unnoticed.
“What’s in the today’s paper is what the editor saw on his way to work,” is what one of my journalism professors used to say everyday in class.
It’s true.
“How do we tweet on our twitter page about how the gig went yesterday?” I overhead my coworker Mark Emms as he talked on the phone in the office.
Discussing tools to use online has become a huge goal for Three’s A Crowd. Their website has a social networking feature where people can become members to comment or friend others. The site also works similar to a blog where people can make a post to the site themselves. The biggest problem Three’s A Crowd has is getting the word out that these features are available.
In a poll by April 2008 NAA study showed 54% of people polled said that they were familiar with blogs and 51% were familiar with photo sharing. The numbers are predicted to grow.
The study found that blogs are most appealing to newspaper website visitors and those with lower incomes, while older people are less likely to find them appealing. Awareness of newspaper blogs was about 50/50.
Three’s A Crowd has hundreds of members and the number grows as the more stories are published and the word gets out.
As trend show that journalism has begun to switch to online, more people will become familiar with the tools they have at their fingertips. Journalism is changing but is still alive and well.
Learning how to write sassy for a magazine has brought me to be introduced as a professional journalist. Uploading video and photos just like at home for my blog is becoming acceptable in the office too. Although I’m no longer sorting through hundreds of pages of dispatch, I still have to sort through hundreds of WebPages looking for something with pop and zazz to publish. While journalism continues to change, the basic idea remains the same –
Keep your eyes and ears open and write what people want to read.
A Reflective Paper
By Anna Webster
Internship Tutorial Final Assignment
Being a journalist means being a jack of all trades. The traditional answer of “I like to write” to explain the career no longer works. You have to like to write, edit, take photos, take video, market yourself, make websites, network with PR reps, and stay up into the wee hours of the morning surviving only on coffee.
Don’t find out the hard way that being able to put a few words on a piece of paper is not enough to become a journalist. That’s what I did.
I guess all those A’s in English class in High School seemed to add up to equal a career in journalism in my head. Stumbling through articles and publishing stories for my college newspaper the Daily Free Press in Boston had me thinking that there might be a little more to this.
Climbing the totem pole of journalism is not glamorous. In jeans and flip flops at my first internship in High School I’d scan through a daunting stack of hundreds of pages of dispatch from the police department looking for what would make it into the paper’s weekly log.
“911 call at 19:07, response time, false alarm.”
“Unmarked vehicle on Franklin Ave reported at 22:03.”
…and on and on and on…
Every once in a while I’d find things like “raccoon in chimney reported on Rockaway Ave” or “ducks crossing road on Maple Lane” and have to put it in the write-up for my own amusement. There once was a week that summer where at least 5 people came into the office to alert us that there was a wild turkey roaming Marblehead. You learn very quickly that not much happens in a small town.
Every once in a while I have to pinch myself to remember that I am in London now interning at a new up-and-coming online magazine. And, I’ve upped the wardrobe from sandals and jeans, to boots, blouses and sometimes – black tie.
Last night, I networked at an event called the Plus Awards and in the morning interviewed young business executives about their new officepod project, said to be the new innovation in professional workspace.
Over my career as a journalist, being introduced changed from “Hi meet Anna, she’s a student working here” to “Hi meet Anna, our intern” to “Here’s our journalist for the company, her name is Anna.” How to get from here to there? The answer involves following the trend of journalism.
My family likes to say that it is “disappearing.” I don’t think it’s gone – you just need to know where to look! My communication professors tend to prefer the term “changing” to describe where I hope to base my entire career and future.
I remember the first article I ever published as editor of Spotlight, my weekly page in the Daily Free Press. After staying up until three in the morning laboring over every word, I opened the paper the next morning and found nothing. Turns out it was just put up online instead. Why spend all that time working on it if no one was even going to see it? I guess my editor didn’t think it was worth the space.
That night, the Editor-in-Chief called me over to his desk for…congratulations? Turns out my story had received comments online from people saying it was well-written. Not so bad, I guess how people view the news really is changing. Online is the way to go. But most of the time, people are unaware (like I was) about the resources available in the field of online journalism.
According to an April 2008 survey by the Newspaper Association of America, subjects polled were generally unsure of what is offered by their local newspaper website. While a small majority (59%) are aware that user comments and reviews are offered, less than half of all respondents are aware of any other tested content, with just a quarter aware of podcasts, article saving and social networking, and roughly a third aware of article sharing, RSS feeds and photo/video sharing.
But the trend is still looking like most papers will begin to move online to cut the cost of printing and distribution.
An average daily newspaper reaches 47% of adults who own a personal computer. This means that 75.2 million adults who own a personal computer read a newspaper on an average (Monday – Friday) weekday. Five weekday issues reach 65% of these consumers. An average Sunday newspaper reaches 55% of personal computer owners, and 4 issues of a Sunday newspaper reach 68% of these consumers, according to the NAA’s Business Analysis and Research Department from 2008. The numbers are only expected to increase over time.
Many magazines are opting to go online as well. According to those in the industry, the key to staying afloat is finding an identity.
There is a magazine for almost any interest or any hobby no matter how strange or small. In order to stay alive yours has to be unique and yours has to be GOOD. Newspapers report the news. Magazines do not need to report anything. Magazines can say what they want when they want. The hope is you can find an idea about which people would want to listen.
“Newspapers don’t have that problem,” said my Three’s A Crowd supervisor Melissa Gilmour. “We are in the middle of an identity crisis trying to figure out who we are.”
Working in a newspaper can open your mind up to breaking news, trends, and what issues people are talking about. Working for a magazine has even broadened my horizons to keep an eye out for fashion, celebs, and new exhibits or theater.
I get teased by my friends for keeping a digital voice recorder on me wherever I go. I was the one teasing them when I scored an interview with one of lead singers from my favorite bands, Brad Corrigan from Dispatch, while he was walking around campus last year before his concert.
Keeping one eye out for story ideas is what makes journalism something that will always be essential. No matter what, people are still going to want to know about their favorite interests. They will always want to know where the fire is or who was arrested.
The question is how they find this information out. This is why journalism has not shrunk, but expanded to new mediums.
Twitter…
Email…
Blogs…
Texting…
Video…
All are each new ways people are getting their news and it’s just the beginning. It comes as no surprise that a recent study by Pew Internet & American Life project found that the Internet has become the primary news source on the average day. And the news online is being updated constantly.
Working as a journalist does not happen between the hours of nine and five, but 24/7. As I walk to work in the morning I look to see what is happening around me. When I talk to friends at the pub I try to see what is on people’s minds. A story can be anywhere; the best ones are usually the ones right in front of your face sometimes so obvious that they go unnoticed.
“What’s in the today’s paper is what the editor saw on his way to work,” is what one of my journalism professors used to say everyday in class.
It’s true.
“How do we tweet on our twitter page about how the gig went yesterday?” I overhead my coworker Mark Emms as he talked on the phone in the office.
Discussing tools to use online has become a huge goal for Three’s A Crowd. Their website has a social networking feature where people can become members to comment or friend others. The site also works similar to a blog where people can make a post to the site themselves. The biggest problem Three’s A Crowd has is getting the word out that these features are available.
In a poll by April 2008 NAA study showed 54% of people polled said that they were familiar with blogs and 51% were familiar with photo sharing. The numbers are predicted to grow.
The study found that blogs are most appealing to newspaper website visitors and those with lower incomes, while older people are less likely to find them appealing. Awareness of newspaper blogs was about 50/50.
Three’s A Crowd has hundreds of members and the number grows as the more stories are published and the word gets out.
As trend show that journalism has begun to switch to online, more people will become familiar with the tools they have at their fingertips. Journalism is changing but is still alive and well.
Learning how to write sassy for a magazine has brought me to be introduced as a professional journalist. Uploading video and photos just like at home for my blog is becoming acceptable in the office too. Although I’m no longer sorting through hundreds of pages of dispatch, I still have to sort through hundreds of WebPages looking for something with pop and zazz to publish. While journalism continues to change, the basic idea remains the same –
Keep your eyes and ears open and write what people want to read.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Life
Hey there,
I’m just chillin in the British Museum right now. Just got done with work and figured I’d pop by because it’s right next door. Saw the Rosetta Stone! Check. It’s amazing, the same description was written in three different languages, one being hyroglyphics and another in Greek. They were able to decipher because of the cartouches signifying names. Amazing.
There is so much here I think I will have to come back sometime. I’m noticing that all the museums I go to are dedicated or opened by “her majesty the queen.” Always says that somewhere in big letters.
TGIF. Though work has been going really well. I’ve been getting plenty of clips lately – easy when I only have to write 300-500 words for each piece. Today I wrote a story on Tony Hadley and a popular British band called Spandau Ballet. Heard of them? Me neither. Apparently they are big here, there was an article about them in the Times the other day.
The other night was the Plus Awards. Along with running the online magazine, Three’s A Crowd also organizes and runs events. This one was for businesses in the area to give out annual awards for things like “best chairman” or “best accountant of the year” and whatnot.
Everything was done to the nines – immaculate table settings, goodie bags, a champagne reception, and celebrity guests like actor Dougray Scott from Mission Impossible. And Tony Hadley performed his hits from the eighties.
I was invited to come along and help. My only concern was finding something that fit the description “black tie” for I left all my ball gowns at home. Lucky I have Glenna here to help me prepare and I managed to pull it off. Here’s a pic…
So I helped preset and when the champagne reception started and all the men in suits and women in beautiful dresses started pouring in I had the job of selling raffle tickets with another girl named Faith.
I wore a white glove and held a tester bottle of the world’s most expensive perfume in one hand and in the other raffle tickets to sell for charity. It was great – nearly everyone I asked bought a ticket regardless of them being kinda expensive at 10 pounds. I guess these people can afford it.
Plus, if you won – you get a set of the world’s most expensive perfume. It’s by Clive Christian and would cost 1,000 pounds! Wowzers. It permeated everything I wore…to be honest I don’t like the smell, way too strong and I had to scrub it off my arm.
People loved talking to me because of my accent. It’s weird to think I’m the one here who has the accent and not the other way around. I met a few people who had been to the Boston area and I got to complain about how no one here is a Sox fan – there are too many people wearing Yankees paraphanelia. Once Alex pointed it out to me, it’s all I see. Thus far, I’ve only seen two Red Sox hats. It makes me smile.
I ended up selling 415 pounds worth of raffle tickets. We raised 1,150 total for Leuka. To celebrate, we each had a glass of champagne after. Then I was just about to relax and watch the award presentation when one of the girls running the event pointed at me and was like, Anna I have a job for you. So she grabs me and head up to the stage. She points to a box filled with the awards they were about to give out and said, “Well, they are going to need these so you can just hand them out when you get the cue. Sorry to just throw this at you!”
Hahaha. So I got to be Vanna White and hand out the awards to the presenter who would hand it to the company or person that won.
When that ended, Tony Hadley came to perform and I grabbed a free seat at the front of the room. I’ll post a pic of him when I can. I did recognize one of his songs, True, so I wasn’t at a total loss. He’s quite the performer and really got into singing along to the background soundtrack cause there was no band. The women at the tables LOVED him. It was fun to watch.
Overall it was a great experience and I got a chance to get to know the people I work with a bit better. Everyone was yawning in the office the next afternoon.
As far as classes go – I’m taking a British Sociology of Education class every Monday with only two other students in the class. On the plus side, it forces me to do work and pay attention. (I should do at least a little work while I’m in London.) On the downside, it has been very tough to get through sometimes because it can be dry and the class is four hours long. It has been getting better lately.
I don’t think I told you but I moved in with Glenna and Robin because they have a spare guest bedroom – it was getting tough to get sleep in the quad. There is just not enough space for four people. I was getting way too run down from being woken up in the bunkbed every night and living in constant filth that comes from four messy girls with no space. Anyway, what I was going say is that now that I’m getting sleep I can actually get through the class without feeling completely exhausted. I’m getting more out of it now and have a lot to contribute to our debates about education. So, that’s good.
Also, there is more news on the job front! I’ve been trying to send at least a few emails a day out to people I know asking about who’s hiring. After a month of doing this – I’ve found a couple openings. I’ve applied for a paid marketing internship at BU and have an interview scheduled for when I get back to Boston!! ☺ I also applied to be Coordinator of the COM Ambassador Program and have a phone interview on Tuesday. I am DETERMINED to find a job for this summer. All this research and emailing is so I can actually find something that pays that is in my field. I know waitressing is always an option but these jobs can actually go on my resume. And they are in Boston at BU.
Now if I can only get Alex to start looking for jobs…
Also, last weekend I went to visit Paris again. There were still more things on my list that I wanted to see. I’m sure you’ve probably already seen the pictures posted on Facebook, but I should probably share my thoughts too. I think I’ll make a separate post for that to fill you in.
So, what’s on the list for the next week or so?
Monday – Theater to see “Enjoy” and have a school field trip to visit a few academies
Tuesday – Job interview with COM
Friday – Oxford for the Lit Festival for a day with Glenna and Robin
Sunday – Register for classes
Monday 4/6 – 9 months together with Alex
Thursday – GREECE
There is much to look forward to. I come back to Boston on April 24th and my weekends are all booked! It’s crazy how little time left there is, I’ve made a list of the stuff I want to do or see.
Oh yeah, I found out where I’m living next year too. 100 Mountfort Street in South Campus with my friend Liza (from 4th floor frosh year) and Vivian (Daily Free Press friend). We each have our own singles in an apartment. I am very pleased.
Sorry, all my posts are so long. It’s just that there is so much going on! I hope you all aren’t missing me too much. Please comment because it makes me happy!
Much love,
A
I’m just chillin in the British Museum right now. Just got done with work and figured I’d pop by because it’s right next door. Saw the Rosetta Stone! Check. It’s amazing, the same description was written in three different languages, one being hyroglyphics and another in Greek. They were able to decipher because of the cartouches signifying names. Amazing.
There is so much here I think I will have to come back sometime. I’m noticing that all the museums I go to are dedicated or opened by “her majesty the queen.” Always says that somewhere in big letters.
TGIF. Though work has been going really well. I’ve been getting plenty of clips lately – easy when I only have to write 300-500 words for each piece. Today I wrote a story on Tony Hadley and a popular British band called Spandau Ballet. Heard of them? Me neither. Apparently they are big here, there was an article about them in the Times the other day.
The other night was the Plus Awards. Along with running the online magazine, Three’s A Crowd also organizes and runs events. This one was for businesses in the area to give out annual awards for things like “best chairman” or “best accountant of the year” and whatnot.
Everything was done to the nines – immaculate table settings, goodie bags, a champagne reception, and celebrity guests like actor Dougray Scott from Mission Impossible. And Tony Hadley performed his hits from the eighties.
I was invited to come along and help. My only concern was finding something that fit the description “black tie” for I left all my ball gowns at home. Lucky I have Glenna here to help me prepare and I managed to pull it off. Here’s a pic…So I helped preset and when the champagne reception started and all the men in suits and women in beautiful dresses started pouring in I had the job of selling raffle tickets with another girl named Faith.
I wore a white glove and held a tester bottle of the world’s most expensive perfume in one hand and in the other raffle tickets to sell for charity. It was great – nearly everyone I asked bought a ticket regardless of them being kinda expensive at 10 pounds. I guess these people can afford it.
Plus, if you won – you get a set of the world’s most expensive perfume. It’s by Clive Christian and would cost 1,000 pounds! Wowzers. It permeated everything I wore…to be honest I don’t like the smell, way too strong and I had to scrub it off my arm.
People loved talking to me because of my accent. It’s weird to think I’m the one here who has the accent and not the other way around. I met a few people who had been to the Boston area and I got to complain about how no one here is a Sox fan – there are too many people wearing Yankees paraphanelia. Once Alex pointed it out to me, it’s all I see. Thus far, I’ve only seen two Red Sox hats. It makes me smile.
I ended up selling 415 pounds worth of raffle tickets. We raised 1,150 total for Leuka. To celebrate, we each had a glass of champagne after. Then I was just about to relax and watch the award presentation when one of the girls running the event pointed at me and was like, Anna I have a job for you. So she grabs me and head up to the stage. She points to a box filled with the awards they were about to give out and said, “Well, they are going to need these so you can just hand them out when you get the cue. Sorry to just throw this at you!”
Hahaha. So I got to be Vanna White and hand out the awards to the presenter who would hand it to the company or person that won.
When that ended, Tony Hadley came to perform and I grabbed a free seat at the front of the room. I’ll post a pic of him when I can. I did recognize one of his songs, True, so I wasn’t at a total loss. He’s quite the performer and really got into singing along to the background soundtrack cause there was no band. The women at the tables LOVED him. It was fun to watch.
Overall it was a great experience and I got a chance to get to know the people I work with a bit better. Everyone was yawning in the office the next afternoon.
As far as classes go – I’m taking a British Sociology of Education class every Monday with only two other students in the class. On the plus side, it forces me to do work and pay attention. (I should do at least a little work while I’m in London.) On the downside, it has been very tough to get through sometimes because it can be dry and the class is four hours long. It has been getting better lately.
I don’t think I told you but I moved in with Glenna and Robin because they have a spare guest bedroom – it was getting tough to get sleep in the quad. There is just not enough space for four people. I was getting way too run down from being woken up in the bunkbed every night and living in constant filth that comes from four messy girls with no space. Anyway, what I was going say is that now that I’m getting sleep I can actually get through the class without feeling completely exhausted. I’m getting more out of it now and have a lot to contribute to our debates about education. So, that’s good.
Also, there is more news on the job front! I’ve been trying to send at least a few emails a day out to people I know asking about who’s hiring. After a month of doing this – I’ve found a couple openings. I’ve applied for a paid marketing internship at BU and have an interview scheduled for when I get back to Boston!! ☺ I also applied to be Coordinator of the COM Ambassador Program and have a phone interview on Tuesday. I am DETERMINED to find a job for this summer. All this research and emailing is so I can actually find something that pays that is in my field. I know waitressing is always an option but these jobs can actually go on my resume. And they are in Boston at BU.
Now if I can only get Alex to start looking for jobs…
Also, last weekend I went to visit Paris again. There were still more things on my list that I wanted to see. I’m sure you’ve probably already seen the pictures posted on Facebook, but I should probably share my thoughts too. I think I’ll make a separate post for that to fill you in.
So, what’s on the list for the next week or so?
Monday – Theater to see “Enjoy” and have a school field trip to visit a few academies
Tuesday – Job interview with COM
Friday – Oxford for the Lit Festival for a day with Glenna and Robin
Sunday – Register for classes
Monday 4/6 – 9 months together with Alex
Thursday – GREECE
There is much to look forward to. I come back to Boston on April 24th and my weekends are all booked! It’s crazy how little time left there is, I’ve made a list of the stuff I want to do or see.
Oh yeah, I found out where I’m living next year too. 100 Mountfort Street in South Campus with my friend Liza (from 4th floor frosh year) and Vivian (Daily Free Press friend). We each have our own singles in an apartment. I am very pleased.
Sorry, all my posts are so long. It’s just that there is so much going on! I hope you all aren’t missing me too much. Please comment because it makes me happy!
Much love,
A
Monday, March 23, 2009
Good deed? Check.
You are never gonna believe this but I helped a little old lady cross the street today. It was so cute!
I was walking down Gloucester Road and it was very windy. She flagged me down and asked for help. Adorable. So we crossed the street and I offered to walk with her the rest of the way to her flat arm-in-arm.
Her name is Bernadette and was very impressed that I was from Boston.
"Ooooo where the Kennedys live! It's like the royal family!"
Good deed is done.
I was walking down Gloucester Road and it was very windy. She flagged me down and asked for help. Adorable. So we crossed the street and I offered to walk with her the rest of the way to her flat arm-in-arm.
Her name is Bernadette and was very impressed that I was from Boston.
"Ooooo where the Kennedys live! It's like the royal family!"
Good deed is done.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Mom's Visit!
I’d been looking forward to this visit for a very long time. After work I caught the tube to meet mom at the airport as she came out of the gate. To get her attention I yelled “MOM” and of course she comes over starting to tear up. Which gets me to tear up. Hahaha, we are both saps.
And so the visit begins. We headed to Glenna’s to unpack and unwind. Got in around 10:30 which wasn’t bad. Had some nosh and went to bed.
The next morning we got together with her friends to have lunch at a pub and go to see Billy Elliot! The back story of these friends is, Mom has a group of women she met on her study abroad in London who she still keeps in touch with. They go on annual trips and this year it was London.
And yes, I will take credit for this trip because I was the inspiration for everyone to go!
Billy Elliot was amazing. I couldn’t believe the dancing from everyone in the cast. Plus the blocking, costumes, and set was just…so fun to look at. Pieces of the set rise and fall coming out of trap doors in the floor. Mom, care to share your thoughts?
The next day was a trip Anne Donohue (on of my COM profs and Mom’s good friend) planned to tour the BBC.So, we met at the pub and then headed over to the studio. We got special badges and passed through security into where they tape the radio World News broadcast. It was not what I expected at all! When listening to the BBC, it sounds seamless and flows perfectly. When we were taken inside the studio they were writing the script as they were on air. The producer was squabbling with the other sound people trying to get everything in place.
At one point Owen (what’s his last name) the broadcaster, just started going off talking on his own and one of the ladies was astonished being like – What is he doing?! And the producer said, oh don’t worry about it he’s so good at filling time he just does his own thing. Hahha. Also, a moroccan journalist was in the studio and they just put him in for a quick two minute interview. Jeez, they just seem to throw it together.
So that is was what being a radio journalist is like. Hmmm. I don’t think I could handle it. With print, you are able to go back and check over your work and it’s not as much improvisation.
We truly did get the VIP treatment on the tour because they showed us the building, chatted with some producers of the program and got to actually view the broadcast. At the end, they gave us a goodie bag of cds, books, and pamphlets.
The destination from there was Greenwich, the old stomping ground of Mom and her friends. It’s small with lots of cozy shops and has a HUGE green park with an observatory at the top of the hill that we walked up. We saw the prime meridian line. Kinda cool
At their old home, the door was locked but the dining hall was next door and a construction worker let us into the house. I was the photographer during the duration of this trip because at every corner there was a landmark or something they had to get photos of. ;)
Afterward, we grabbed a drink at the King’s Arms and got a few little things at the marketplace. I got a couple colorful rings and mom got a card that had a map of Greenwich on it.
On the ride home we decided where to go to dinner, it was a place on High Street Kensington but now I forget the name. Anyway, it was the feast for the gods, with candlelighting a huge woodentable and very english dishes of lamb and breadpudding. I was absolutely stuffed and everyone was in tears laughing by the end of the night.
Since it was Mom’s friends’ last night in town we headed back to their hotel to see the slideshow Anne had made of all their trips over the years. She put it to music, and despite all the disclaimers, it was fabulous! A great end to their visit.
We got home at midnight. I’m glad mom got in such a full day of activity here. That’s what you do – rally!
The next morning I slept in while Mom and Glenna went out for a walk. The mornings here in London are so sunny and beautiful – I’d say it’s when it’s the warmest out. Sometimes I just can’t seem to pull myself out of bed though.
During the afternoon we went to the John Soane museum that is right down the street from where I work. It’s like the Stuart Gardener museum – it is his house and every inch of it is filled with art. There are sculptures everywhere, you can get up close, and it is fun to wander.
The next day we went out walking around town. The first stop was Tower of London. See pics for more. I’ll have to ellaborate on this visit when I have more energy. It was the most fun tour I’ve taken on study abroad thus far, and I want to do it justice in my writing.Afterward we searched for Blackfriars pub without luck, got coffee, and headed to Trafalgar Sq to the National Gallery. Beautfiul Monets, Van Goghs, Reniors…I am going to go back soon. Plus I bought a Renoir print to bring home. ☺
Monday – class. Wah wah. Before hand, Mom and Glenna helped me move my stuff out of the flat at Lexham and into Glenna’s house. I’m making it my homebase just because it’s more comfortable and I can get better sleep there. The cramped quad was starting to get to me a bit.
So now I’m all settled and feel extremely relaxed. It’s a good feeling. We got sushi at this place in South Ken that has a conveyor belt with all the dishes that go around the tables. You pay by the color of the dish. It was fun!
Later that evening we also went out to dinner to celebrate Mom’s last night here in London. Glenna and Robin are members of a country club down the road and we walked there. It was so nice out and very quiet. We crossed a bridge over a brook and went through a winding path up to the facility. They were closed for dinner but we had a drink in the menagerie! So fancy! It’s like greenhouse with chairs.
Then we went to a nice chinese place down the road. It’s getting me hungry just thinking about it.
The next day we spent the morning together. Mom gave me a haircut outside like old times. ☺ Such a relaxing visit. We got to see just enough. I feel refreshed now and like my experience here has changed for the better.
<3 A
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
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