Funday Sunday

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Jennifer and I decided that Sunday was our favorite day in England. It consisted of actually getting into London, me seeing Big Ben, Parliament, and the London Eye for the first time, Hyde Park with Speakers Corner, Trafalgar Square, Hillsong Church, and Piccadilly Square. It was a jammed-packed day and soooo much fun.

The more I think about it, the crazier I think it is that we experienced Speaker’s Corner and Hillsong in the same day, actually within hours.

So Speaker’s Corner is an area in Hyde Park in London where public speaking is allowed. Basically, it’s just a bunch of people standing on ladders yelling and screaming their opinions on topics like religion, language, politics, or even how everyone (including men) should wear stilettos. The fun, or intense, thing is that the crowd interacts with the speakers: argue, yell at, cheer, debate, etc.

We heard all kinds of new ideas like one lady who said,

America is made of all the losers of the other countries.

We were not a fan of her. One speaker demanded from one member of the crowd (they actually seemed to know each other well) to try and name the

features of the creatures

that proved evolution.

Although the several hours we spent there was entertaining and interesting, we left feeling sad and had to leave because we really just couldn’t take listening to it anymore. I think it was the crowds arguing with the Christian speakers, where we spent most of our time, that made us feel this way. I don't really have another word to describe how we felt, just sad. Often crowd members would look at us and ask what we thought of the Christian speakers and we responded in some positive way and they would look at us like we were absolutely out of our minds.

So we left Speaker's Corner and soon entered Dominion Theatre in London where the mega-church Hillsong meets. I’ve always loved the worship music they release and right when the worship began, an awesome and exciting atmosphere was created. Every single person in the crowd was worshipping individually and freely. It was encouraging to be there and to see others (especially neat since they were from a different country) worshipping the same powerful God I do.

I think I find it funny that we did both things on the same day because they represent two extremes. I don’t know. I think it’s hard for me to grasp the idea that they both exist so closely to one another. And I know for sure that London is not the only place where this happens. I’ve just yet to encounter it in America.

New Sights of Old Things

Thursday, March 26, 2009

So it's been awhile and I’ve been asked a few times when I’ll start blogging about my trip to London, or at least post some excerpts from the journal I kept while I was traveling. So I guess I’ll start now.

It’s difficult for me to pick what I want to write about first. I experienced/saw/met so many things and people that had some sort of impact on a thought I had before going to London or gave me insight into a new one.

So let’s see….I’ll start with our day at Windsor. A little excerpt from the journal:

We came out of the train station looking at Windsor Castle in the distance. The flag was up which apparently meant the Queen was there. Jennifer and I tried to pick what room she might be in – Possibly just 25 feet away.

It was fun walking around Windsor and then we decided to explore new territory with our wonderful host/tour-guide/guy that always kept us laughing, Neil. So over the bridge we went and soon after found Eton College, an all-boys school famous for those who come through and then onto Oxford. They’ve also had several Prime Ministers go there.

Now this may sound terribly silly and perhaps dumb, but this is the thought that sunk into my head when walking back to Windsor from Eton:

Everything is so old here.

Now, I meant this in all seriousness and was just comparing my surroundings in that moment to what I am normally surrounded by back in South Carolina or in Charlotte. Now don’t get me wrong, if you know me, you know I’ve always had a fascination and love for skyscrapers and all types of modern architecture. But there was something different about these buildings and landmarks. And even my hometown Beaufort, which has quite an historical background, is like a baby when compared to landmarks in England.

Listen up, after a little research, I found that Eton College was founded in 1440 and Windsor Castle is like 900 years old.

I love the fact that I had the opportunity to be around something so old and historical. Thinking about what people were like when the building was new and how many different types of people have passed through and seen this same building is something that definitely keeps me thinking.

And I think I’ve decided why this is so interesting to me: Because seeing these landmarks is so new to me, yet they have been there for so long. It was like I was discovering something for the first time that’s been there for several centuries. That’s something that makes me smile- discovering something new. I’ve always had this mindset within music, now it’s just in a 900-year-old building too.

So what do you think? Do you prefer to be in a modern city like Charlotte that has history to make now? Or somewhere like Windsor where you are surrounded by history? Maybe a mix?

I thought I had this figured out prior to London, but now I’m not sure. I might just have to move every few months to satisfy this little “I need to see something new” bug I’ve gained from London.

I'll post some pictures of that day soon!