UK Paques holiday: England

We planned a much anticipated trip to the UK during the boys' 2 week, Paques (passover) break, visiting Carolyn's Aunt Leslie and the cousins, Natty, Max, & Jake. But first London!

Actually, we first scored a ride on the double-decker family train in Lausanne, outfitted with play area. M&J have been eyeing these cars all year - this train, a "boat."

 Then took easyjet - the popular discount carrier - to London. I mean, you can go roundtrip for $29, if you plan it right!  Affirming Carolyn's musical roots, we headed to the Palladium for The Wizard of Oz, noting that the film's Toto was charcoal.

The boys love live performance and we'd love to do more of this back in SoCal. Theater teaches protocol, the ritual of performance, engagement with live actors; the idea of being "on" as a human-centered, as opposed to technology-centered, event - all that "all the world's a stage" sort of thing. If only the contemporary church took their cues from theater - rediscovering the Mass - rather than pop concerts and the comedy network.

 

Early on, I felt a momentary chill, realizing that Judy Garland performed her famous 4 week stand on this very stage 60 years ago; there was a layer of nostalgia to the evening.

Jack's dream came true, as we hopped on a double-decker...

to the incredible Museum of Natural History, which I dubbed, "the dead zoo." 
Everything jammed tight - whales, elephants - as we made it to the investigation center, where children worked a lab,

pulling out drawers of leaves, bones, tortoise shell, etc.

A beautiful space,

with an escalator leading up to a molten core and planetary discovery. The other night, Michael's teacher had her astrophysicist husband bring his lab telescope by the lake, where we saw the moon's craters & the 4 moons of Jupiter. Cities like London are densely outfitted with tremendous resources - museums, parks, fun stores - thus very well-suited as places to take children.

Jack was too tired to take in Afternoon Tea at the Chesterfield Hotel, one of many venues for this English ritual, where 1/3 of the teas were green varieties (Hoji, Sen, but no Genmai, sadly). Tea is making a comeback, apparently, where the pleasures of being pampered with finger sandwiches on multi-tiered, silver stands rules.

 

Strongly identified with England, tea has ancient roots in Asia, where the Dutch discovered the brew in their 18th century trades. This ritual of manners has aristocratic leanings - everyone aspires upward - where the Japanese tea ceremony (at least in theory) levels difference to a shared, equal footing:

"...one of Rikyu's closest confidants..was one of the first Japanese converts to Christianity...He went with his wife to observe a mass in Kyoto, and there saw the Eucharist celebrated, with a cup-Christ's blood-being passed around. This experience affirmed his vision for tea. His tea would be an art form: a form of communication equalizing any two who took part, shogun or farmer, male or female. As a cup of green tea was passed, the teahouse would become a place of Shalom. Five of his seven closest disciples were Christians, later exiled by Shogun Hideyoshi, who at first gave power and prestige to Rikyu but later hardened his heart against him, realizing, quite correctly, that the egalitarian nature of the art of tea would be dangerous to his power."    Makoto Fujimura

As an aside, the English love of sandwiches has produced lots of great, inexpensive and freshly prepared eateries scattered everywhere.  We even took in a curry house!  Lower range meals seemed quite good in London. And I note that even Europe has largely gone casual these days, taking 20 years to catch-up with me!

  We grabbed a bowl of udon noodles at ITSU, along with WAGAMAMA, a highly popular Japan-flavored food option. Not bad. Although the historic Mitsukoshi dept store has been in central London for years, trendy Japanese-themed retail seemed to be taking over the city, adding MUJI, UNIQLO, & SUPERDRY to fashion centers. 

Seems appropriate that 130 years after William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement discovered Japanese design and philosophy, it has become commercially popular.

Rennie Macintosh's Scottish work.William Morris' Strawberry Thief textile pattern. The Victoria and Albert Musuem - next door to the MNH - displayed Japanese obi brocade as a botanical inspiration for these late 19th c artists. Morris designed a dining room space at VAM.

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Worshiped at All Souls, placed on the evangelical map by John Stott, who was rector for 25 years, dying in 2011. Anglican service similar to All Saints Vevey, we appreciated the worship which incorporated modern instruments and hymnody in a respectful way.  Stott was a contemporary of Schaeffer and, with Martin Lloyd Jones, brought evangelical faith to the UK; FAS' memorial service was held at All Souls back in 1984. Chris Wright preached an "end times" sermon out of Revelations, affirming this world, intentionally closing with "Joy to the World," which was thrilling.

 

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Then got on a boat to Greenwich to visit the relatives:

 

Greenwich is the historic maritime center and a summer home for royals & birthplace of Henry VIII. It's being outfitted for the Olympic equestrian events.

The royal history explains the canopy design everywhere in the trees,

save this 300 yr old stray that Michael

and Max

decided to climb.

Greenwich marks the O longitude point, allowing M & J to place their feet in "opposite" sides of the globe at the dividing line; curiously traversing the geographic-cultural "East" and "West."  

 

We were invited to Natty and Jason's (and Max's) apartment for a lovely dinner - best meal of the trip - where we could relax in a home setting. Leslie & Jake live in another apt nearby. Everyone engaged in drawing competitions on a gigantic chalkboard Jason won for coming in first place at Cambridge University's rowing team (oar in corner). A highly educated bunch that seemed to utterly lack the kind of "golden boy" personality American culture produces with its similar family "stars." No ego visible.

Leslie judged each round of drawings; the tree round below, which Michael won.

 

These Soules are the furthest away of Carolyn's family, when Uncle Don (dad's youngest brother) wandered to England. I am always humbled and amazed to be so welcomed by people I hardly know; unmerited acceptance. By gift, not wage or credential.