Just another thing Canada does better

On Saturday the girls and I bundled up and headed into the city for the Santa Claus parade. We got coffee, bought fresh donuts (YUM) and got to the perfect viewing point nice and early. There were TONS of people, we had to fight to keep our spot...personal space does not exist here, I think that people truly believe that if they shove hard enough that extra 1 cm that they gain will improve them view tenfold, and shove they do! The woman who stood behind me was holding a toddler who she shoved into my back so that the child, who had a horrible cold, could cough right into my face making sure that I was able to enjoy each and every sneeze. But we figured that the Santa Claus parade, especially in a city as large as this, would be epic enough to completely overshadow the shoving crowds and sneezing children. Oh how wrong were we!!

The parade kicked off with some REAL reindeer, at first this seemed pretty cool but upon closer observation you could see the total and complete fear in the eyes of the clearly tortured reindeer so that kinda killed that excitement. Santa walked by (not in a sleigh?!?!) with who else by the mayor who was oddly carrying a basket with a blanket in it (don’t ask). Then came some pretty cool costumes: christmas puddings and crackers, christmas decorations on roller-skates, a snowman which was zipping around on some type of cart and an oddly placed leprechaun which was completely lit up (beard included) by mini lights! The leprechaun should have been the clue that something was off...but yet we were still grasping onto the hopes that the parade would put us in the Christmas spirits. We started to question the integrity of the parade when Chinese dragons and carnival dancers on stilts walked by. A couple of women went by on a float (note: this ended up to be the ONLY float in the parade and it wasn’t even decorated) signing.....they only sang one song. Over and over. There was then a lag in the parade, we thought, like at home, there was a holdup somewhere and more floats/oddly costumed people would be coming by shortly. We waited patiently until a street cleaner drove down the street and we then realized that the parade was over....words can not even begin to describe our disappointment. If Blessington (the blink-and-you-miss-it gathering of houses in the middle of the country that my parents live in) had a Christmas parade it would be better!!!!  

While the city of Birmingham completely failed at treating the public to an enjoyable Christmas parade their lights do help to redeem this tragic experience. They have lights everywhere, ones with falling stars which are pretty cool. I will try to take some decent photos to post in the near future!

I can’t help but be jealous knowing that my Canadian family and friends are able to experience a Christmas parade worthy of true Christmas festive spirit and excitement! 

Remember, Remember the fifth of November.

Remember, remember the fifth of November.
Gunpowder, Treason and Plot.
I see no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot."

While Halloween was not a big deal here, Guy Fawkes (5 November) was a very different story! This evening originates in 1605, Guy Fawkes was one of thirteen who conspired to blow up the (Protestant) King James I and VI of Scotland his Lords in order to cause turmoil and raise a new monarch to hopefully return England to its Catholic past. The plot was discovered and he was arrested. The surviving conspirators were executed. In January of 1606 the ‘Thanksgiving Act’ was passed which stated that for at least 250 years the 5th of November was to be kept free as a day of thanksgiving. The actual celebration has greatly changed over the years but I think that it is pretty cool that the tradition is still kept alive!

My experience of Bonfire Night started with me busing home in the pouring rain, trying to decide what to do. After a long day at school a night watching movies sounded perfect but in the end I decided to pull up my socks, literally and quickly change for our new adventure!

We took the bus back into town and jumped on the train just as it was leaving the station. We took the train to the right spot, got off and then realized that none of us knew where we were actually going...so we randomly turned left and started walking, thankfully the right direction! 

As soon as we got off the train you could already smell the fire! It instantly reminded me of the fire at Moms and Dads back home, a perfect country smell! As we walked there were more and more people joining in the schlep to the Pride Park. I was wearing my winter coat, a million layers of clothes, my winter coat mittens and scarves, after walking at a brisk pace for what seemed like forever I wished that I had worn a few less layers of clothing! I felt like it was the 5 of July, not the 5th of November!

As we entered the park we could see the bonfire almost immediately, it was huge! 

We found our Canadian teacher friends, ate their delicious donuts and enjoyed the heat from the fire. We missed the lighting of the fire but when we got there it was still HUGE and because it was raining and everything was pretty much soaked you could see it all evaporating off the ground and the peoples coats, pretty cool. 

In Canada, the rain and general miserableness of the weather would have cancelled the event all together, not in jolly-ol England! They rise to the occasion! There were TONS of people, dressed in everything from the typical heels and short skirts found on many Birmingham women to rubber boots and rain coats. Umbrellas were everywhere, at one point I had to literally dive out of the way to avoid losing my right eye to the worlds largest umbrella being carried by the worlds shortest man. And they were all having a blast!

Along with the monstrous fire there was also a huge midway with tons of rides and games typical of all Canadian fairs and tons of little food ‘huts’. The lines for these were insane, some 50 people long! We found one with a short line and ended up having them put cheese and gravy on our fries, delicious!  While eating our fries the fireworks started, they were truly amazing! They went on forever, a great show! The fireworks made the long journey worth it! 

On the way back the train was delayed 4 times and we missed our bus back to our house by 2 minutes so it took about 2 hours to get home....2 hours too long haha. But this typically British experience was well worth it. 

London: Day 1

London Day 1: Dedicated to Cailey

To start off our epic adventure the three of us girls got up SUPER early (5:45 ish), packed (obviously that was left to the last possible second), called a cab and met Pendray at the train station. The cab ride there was super entertaining; the driver spent the entire time telling us about different steaks he has eaten over his life time while traveling in London, the side dishes which came with his steak and how his ‘misses was gobsmacked’ due to the high prices of said steak. To fully appreciate the conversation you really had to be there. 

On the train we lucked out with optimal seating, 4 seats together next to the first class section so it was nice and private. This was Caileys first train ride EVER and she got stuck with a backwards facing seat... judging by her facial expressions throughout the trip she may not have fully enjoyed it.  

We successfully made it to Clapham Junction (taking a train AND the tube with complete success!!), met Laura, Thom and Meagan and walked to our apartment share. The apartment was right on the Thames, really clean and had everything we needed. It slept up to 8 people so only having 6 there made it very comfortable. There was one bedroom upstairs with a king sized bed, a bedroom downstairs with a double bed and two pull-out couches in the main area as well as one full bath and one half. When we arrived at the apartment we dropped off our stuff and walked back to the overground station (lingo lesson for the Canadians: pretty much an above ground subway/tube station). We then spent the afternoon at the British Museum (free), amazing!

Highlights of the British Museum: the Rosetta Stone (the key for our current understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphics....a pretty big deal), the Egyptian exhibit (mummies, skeletons and sarcophagi, OH MY!)...I thought at one point that I was looking at the legit Cleopatra mummy. Turns out the name is quite common and I was quite excited for no reason, embarrassing. I also loved the Greek artifacts from the parthenon and the room FULL of jewelry, especially the pastoral themed items that focused on connecting man kind with nature etc made of coral, pearl and gold. I appreciated how the original cases for the jewelry were made with such care and attention to detail, specifically made for each piece. This exhibit basically made my desire for material possessions even stronger than it already was. 

We then bought groceries for supper, took the train home and a fantastic evening playing cards and planning our travels! 

Lessons learned today:

- Be aggressive! If you want a decent seat or standing spot then you best shove your way onto the tube or you will be stuck with the worst spot ever, if you get one at all.

-Don't stop or block the path of any true londoners. This is especially so if you are stopping to gawk at something which is relatively common place, such as a street sign, which somehow relates to a place or person at home and you obviously must immediately stop and take multiple pictures with at least 2 different cameras, 12 poses and 3 props.