Cultural Events

In the past two days I've had two cultural events. The first was on Wednesday night. My friends and I, along with a larger group of AIFS students, left from Gloucester Road tube station and went all the way to the West End to see Mary Poppins on stage. The play was absolutely amazing! It did not fully follow the movie that we're all familiar with. Instead it was a mixture of the movie, the book, and a bit of original creativity, espcially with the songs.


The sets were wonderful. There was a house that had two levels and a roof. When there were scenes in the childrens bedroom the house pulls back, and out from under the roof the bedroom lowers to the stage floor. In the scenes in which Mary takes Jane and Michael to the park with Bert, the statues come alive.

Out of all of the scenes in the show, the one that I liked the best was the roof top scene where the chimney sweeps sing and dance to "Step In Time." The actor who plays Bert was in a hidden harness and he walked up the side of the stage and went completely upside down at the top and began to dance before he walked down the other side. The second part that I loved was at the end when Mary Poppins flies away with her umbrella. The actress flew right into the audience and straight towards the balconey where Sarah and I were sitting. It was so cool.


The second event that I had signed up for this week was a trip to the Wimbledon tennis courts. Yesterday, we took the tube to Southfield's station and walked all the way to the courts. Once there, we got to enter Court #1 and Center Court. We also took pictures of the green lawn where people can sit and watch the match on a large screen.


Since the Wimbledon tournament is quickly approaching, the strips were being painted on the grass courts (the paint is actually a clay mixture) and everything was getting a fresh coat of paint. Once the tour had ended I visited the gift shop. Everything was expensive, however I did purchase two things, and that is all I'm going to say cause the birthday girl is reading this blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Hee-hee. She'll just have to wait until I come home in July!

Even though I've been on the tube for only two round trips, I'm starting to under how to get to places. I still have to study the maps for a while to make sure I know exactly where I'm going. I don't want to get off on the wrong stop and find myself turned around and confused.

I got out of class early today cause we watched a film called "Withnail and I" instead of discussing the readings. I think I'm going to explore the city a bit with my friends. Tomorrow I plan to see the Trooping of the Colours and catch a glimps of the Queen as she rides by in her carriage. Did you know that she's turned 80 this year?