22 Mar

The last day of 1^st WW Lit and Sociolinguistics. Tear. Well, at least a tear for the second class, certainly not the first. Was I ever glad to leave that lecture room this morning! Socio was fun as we discussed various topics in bilingualism. It was also a very useful class for me as I will be writing my final paper for that class on bilingualism. Sharma did bring us juice and biscuits which were a tasty treat. This was also the last class I’ll have with Qamer, but I’ll make sure to keep in touch with her even after leaving King’s. She’s a neat kid.

Tomorrow we’ll be discussing portraits of Queen Elizabeth for my Court Cultures class so I made it a plan to visit the National Portrait Gallery this afternoon before class tomorrow. This gallery has a beautiful collection and the Tudor pieces within it, though small, are magnificent.

Before I entered the Gallery I bought a sandwich to eat it in Trafalgar Square (which is right next to both the National Gallery and the NPG). Seconds after I sat down on one of the stone benches on the east side, a swarm (and I mean a swarm) of little British schoolchildren alighted on the ground and benches around me. Within moments, I was completely surrounded. I really wish I could have had someone take my picture like that. It was hilarious. I did take a shot of them after I left. They were still young enough to be cute and old enough not to be annoying. In the gallery, I admired several paintings of Lizzie and some of her courtiers before heading downstairs to look at some paintings and photographs of the current Queen Elizabeth II. There’s one of the Royal Family with the Queen Mother (who passed away in 2002) that I really like. Prince William looks especially dashing in it and is rather surprisingly at the forefront and much taller than his father Charles. Strange, yet not unpleasant, choice.

After the NPG I wandered down Regent Street in search of a Waterford and Wedgwood store for some gifts for home. I finally found one, but it didn’t have the patterns I was looking for. I also walked through an amazing toy store called Hamley’s on this street which would rival FAO Schwartz for the variety and quality of toys. It looked like a really fun place to work.

From Regent Street I caught a bus back to Aldwych and then another one back to the dorm. My parents arrive tomorrow so I really need to finish as much of these papers before they come. Eek! Cheers!