The Importance of Being Childlike

“You can be childlike without being childish. A child always wants to have fun. Ask yourself, ‘Am I having fun?’” Christopher Meloni

OH: "These doors smell like
chocolate!" They totally did.

I loved the quotes that were
displayed everywhere!

Sometimes we get caught up in the stress that comes with being an adult. I know for me, I will be graduating soon with a new batch of student loan debt that has me completely freaked out. There are other things on my mind, but I won’t get into them as that is really not the point of this post. The point is that it’s okay to let some of those worries go sometimes and enjoy a little childlike wonder. We visited the Roald Dahl Museum and Study Centre today in the quaint English village of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. This museum has two galleries and an interactive Story Centre. The museum advertises that it is aimed at children ages 6-12, and as I looked into the excited faces of the kids exploring, I couldn’t help but think how much fun my own kids would have had running through the exhibits and trying on the costumes. Even though the museum was aimed at children just a little bit younger than me, I still had a really great time. There is something timeless about Dahl’s stories, and that feeling really radiates throughout the museum. After exploring the galleries, I found myself in the Interactive Story Centre sitting at a small table piled with colored pencils, glue sticks, feathers, scraps of paper, and sequins. I grabbed a coloring sheet featuring the Glow-Worm from James and the Giant Peach and started coloring. I had so much fun sitting with Lauren, Melissa and Kristyn that I forgot about student loans, the London heat, and all the rest of it.



Melissa, Kristyn and Lauren letting their
inner child out.

We are attending the stage production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory this evening and I’m really excited. I am looking forward to seeing how one of my favorite stories translates to the stage.

It's Your Multimedia Choice

If you have been following this blog, there is a good chance that you think I am just running around London taking pictures. Well, this is true, but I also have a variety of assignments to complete while I'm here as requirements for this program. One of those assignments is a multimedia choice project. We were asked to choose a multimedia tool of our choice to create an additional project. I chose to do a project with Glogster because I have never used it before. Have to challenge myself, right? I decided to do a Glog on the Regent's Park, specifically Queen Mary's Gardens. I was able to capture some great photos there and doing a Glog seemed to be the best way to share them. It is my first Glog, so be kind! I'm still figuring it out.

Take Me to the River

London Eye view.

There are many unique viewpoints in London. Climbing the steps at St. Paul’s Cathedral showed me a view that I thought couldn’t be topped. I was wrong. Surprisingly, I topped that view from a much lower vantage point, a vantage point from a boat to be exact. Melissa, one of my classmates, found a company that does kayaking tours on the River Thames and asked if any of us would be interested. I have never kayaked before. There are many areas at home that are perfect for kayaking, but for some reason being on the water has always kind of scared me. I don’t have a problem with boats in general, and I really love being on the water, but being in a small kayak, with a paddle, being completely responsible for where I go was terrifying. This opportunity to kayak on the Thames was one of those once in a lifetime things that I knew I would be kicking myself for if I missed it. I am so SO happy I decided to put my fears aside and take the plunge so to speak. I don’t know that I have ever had so much fun in my life. It was challenging, as Lauren and I were in a kayak together – and neither of us have ever kayaked – but we had a blast. The payoff of our trip was the amazing views of Westminster, the Tower of London, and Big Ben. It was a perspective that you could not get anywhere else. Our guide Harry at Kayaking London was fantastic. He was hilarious, knowledgeable, and encouraging.

Lauren is badass.

The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that even when you are scared, sometimes you can benefit from letting yourself go and getting out of your comfort zone. I also learned that I love kayaking. I really want to go again. Harry took a ton of pictures of us on the water, and Lauren kept saying I had a big stupid grin on my face in all of them. She’s absolutely right.

Beautiful views of London.

These Hot Days

“I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire.
The day is hot; the Capulets, abroad;
And if we meet we shall not ’scape a brawl,
For now, these hot days, is the mad blood stirring.”
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 1

Close up of an exterior angel. The detail is incredible.

Oxford skyline.

I’ve said it before and I’m sure you’re sick of it, but London is hot right now. Hot weather tends to make people uncomfortable and cranky, and I am no exception. Today was one of those days where I think everyone was at the end of their ropes and just fed up with the weather. Couple that with a stuffy early morning train ride and a sweaty walk around Oxford and it adds up to not everyone being on the top of their game. There are bright sides to this post, lest I get too ranty. Oxford is beautiful. I love walking around college campuses in general, and I tend to seek them out when I travel. There is just something about being on a college campus that makes me feel at home. There is a sense of wonder and knowledge that seems to radiate throughout the buildings and all over the grounds. Oxford is no exception to this. There is also a unique magic to Oxford because of the history that accompanies it. We spent a lot of time on the Oxford campus today and even had a chance to tour the amazing Bodleian Library. There is something about being in the same room with all of those aged books that gives me chills. The amount of history on the pages is just staggering to me. I always feel honored to be seeing them.


Antique printing presses. Super cool.

After our tour of the library, we were treated to a tour of the Story Museum. This is a really amazing project. This non-profit company was founded in 2005 and it exists to celebrate children’s stories and to share enjoyable ways for young people to learn through stories as they grow. Any children’s librarians out there should check them out. Even if you’re not a children’s librarian, you should check them out anyway. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they grow in the future. They also had a collection of antique printing presses which I found incredibly interesting.

"Toy Camera Affect," one of my camera's unique features.

I couldn’t end this post without talking a little bit about the photography focus today. We were challenged to explore our camera’s unique features. I took a lot of photos today, but I think my favorite was of this old cemetery. I know nothing about it, but I thought it was beautiful. I’m sorry if that sounds creepy, but I love old cemeteries. My mom has always told me that there is nothing to fear in cemeteries and I completely agree with her. There is a real peace there. This cemetery in particular was in the middle of a convergence of roads with tour buses whizzing by, but there in the middle of the chaos was a peace. This particular photography affect was called “toy camera affect.” I don’t know what “toy camera” really refers to, but I love the vividness of the colors. It really seems to add a spark to the peace of this shot, and really reiterates that cemeteries are not creepy or something that should be feared.

I have to say that this hot day could not have ended better. I was able to bond with a handful of my classmates over pints at a pub close to the rail station. It was a perfect way to cool down and avoid any brawls.

London Contrasts

“Contrast is what makes photography interesting.” Conrad Hall

Let’s talk a little bit about contrast, shall we? Contrast can come in a variety of forms: hot/cold, tall/short, dark/light, good/evil, hard/soft, and so on. While I thought about today’s photography focus challenge on contrasts, I had no idea I was about to step inside of one. I have spent most of my first week in London in the Bloomsbury area around my flat, or just a little outside of that vicinity. I went to Camden today, and to the Camden Lock. Camden Lock has a variety of shops, a market, food vendors, and music. It was a bit of sensory overload. It is definitely a contrast to Bloomsbury. While Bloomsbury is sensory overload in its own way, the busy sidewalks and crazy traffic, Camden is crowded, kind of dark, and just a different kind of culture. It is definitely more “punkish” than Bloomsbury. This is going to sound bizarre, but Camden kind of reminded me of Las Vegas. The volume of people and the market vendors who are competing for your business make it feel very Vegas-like. As Lauren said, “less lights, but I can see it.” I wouldn’t mind going back down to Camden because they definitely have some unique gift offerings. I have to admit, though, I like my little slice of London I’ve carved out this past week. I am proud of myself that it is becoming more normal and familiar to me, when just one week ago, London was the ultimate contrast to home.

I chose this photograph to represent “contrast” to me. If you look at the picture, you will see that there are tree branches and flowers growing directly out of the brick. I thought that the contradiction between the life of the trees and flowers to the stone, that is not alive at all, was very representative of “contrast.” Even through the brick, life is finding a way.

Shades of Silver and Grey

“There are infinite shades of grey. Writing often appears so black and white.” Rebecca Solnit

Over the last two days in London I have managed to receive what I would classify as one of my worst sunburns. Ever. The irony of this is not lost on me. When I was packing for this trip, I included very little of my warm weather attire. I know what you’re thinking: “Bree, did you even CHECK the weather forecast before you went?” Why yes, yes I did. Even though I knew the first week I was here was forecasted to be on the warm end, I did not expect for it to manifest into a near record breaking heat wave in London.

When I visited the British Museum this morning, this warm weather was still on my mind, since it was only 10am and it was already warm. We were challenged to focus on one color for this photography focus, and since I am not getting the grey, dreary London I expected, I decided to focus on greys and silvers. I really like the color grey. Grey is very subjective. It can be shiny, like silver, or have undertones of brown or blue. I think everyone has a different idea of what grey is, and that is what makes it such a fantastic color. I really enjoyed the different shades of grey (at least fifty of them, I’m sure..) and the different textures in the objects I photographed. There is a lot of history in the British Museum, bathed in every color of the rainbow. I hope I can steal a few minutes to go back before this trip is up.

Eye on London

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 "You can observe a lot by just watching." Yogi Berra

The amount of activity in London is staggering. Just when I think I am starting to get used to it, we go and do something like go to the theatre where all of London wants to see the same play on the same night. Well, not really, but it feels that way. The drawback of all of this activity is that it is not something I am used to, because I would definitely consider myself a "small town girl." The upside of this activity is the people watching is fantastic. I've definitely made some observations about what I've been seeing this first week. I'm excited to see what the next two have in store!

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