Friday, June 4, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
A (belated) Day 10 post - Tour of London and the Crucible
Heyyy, this is Nicole and Eunice, blogging for day 10!
So in the morning, we had a guided tour around London with a local guide. Setting off from the Travelodge in Southwark, we headed for the bank where the London City Hall is located to have a good unobstructed view of the world-famous Tower Bridge. We also saw some very colourful elephant models which are to be auctioned off in Sotheby's after their display period during the Elephant Parade in different parts of London, according to our guide :)
(Of course, we also saw the rather-egg-shaped City Hall which looked rather like a UFO against the landscape.)
Following that, we crossed the Tower Bridge (which the Americans tried to buy many years ago, pooh!) and passed by the Tower of London. Apparently people still do live there, the brave souls. We arrived at St. Paul's Cathedral in short order and gaped at its sheer size and architecture. It is quite a feat considering that Christopher Wren had no cranes or other modern machinery to help him construct this enormous church.
According to our guide - she is an absolute well of trivia - it was a target for incendiary bombs but volunteers would climb to the dome every night to put out the fires started by those offending things. But the survival of the cathedral proved vital in giving the British confidence to survive the Blitz of Britain in which Britain was constantly battered by German air raids and were close to defeat before the Germans abruptly switched gears and went off to harrass USSR instead. We also crossed Blackfriars Bridge, apparently named after a group of friars who wielded great influence in that area since they could not get Queen Vic (of "we are not amused" fame) to come out of mourning to declare the bridge open.
We also got pictures of Big Ben in the middle of the London Eye, bit like a lollipop on a stick. Then we drove by the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster on our way to Trafalgar Square where the largest square in London is located with a monument Nelson's Column in memory of Admiral Nelson.
While we did not actually stop there, we managed to pass by THE Downing Street, see the monument to Florence Nightingale and watch part of the rehearsal for the parade that is to be held on the Queen's (official) birthday. It was quite impressive to see a band play on horses - the horse spoor the horses in question left behind didn't half stink! Also around this time, London's weather started acting up...
Not bad for a morning's drive around London, eh?
In the afternoon, we watched the Crucible in the Open Air Theatre at Regent's Park. The play began at 3.00 pm and it ended at 5.30 pm. It was drizzling as the play was staged so some of us bought ponchos to wear as we watched the play. Anyway the rain did not prevent us from enjoying the play and we enjoyed it thoroughly. The play is written by Arthur Miller to bring out the idea of tyranny of the majority and that the majority is not always right. Basically the play revolves around suspicion of witchcraft in Salem, where innocent people are convicted of practicing withcraft and hence sent to prison. Some chose to die for their beliefs and not turn themselves in for wrongs they did not commit for their name, and true enough they paid for it with their names.
After the matinee show, we spent some time shopping for souvenirs at a shop next to the Baker Street tube station. Then we took the tube to London Bridge station for dinner at Clink Street. This tube ride was different than the others because the tube actually broke down along the way! When we reached the Bond Street Station (which was one stop away from Baker Street), the tube halted due to 'technical problems faced by the train in the other station before us'. We were asked to wait for a while, but after about fifteen minutes the train master announced that the service was suspended. Hence we had to change tube lines to reach our destination. (Eunice would like to add that some of us were in a carriage full of *apparently* intoxicated football fans and they had very colourful language, especially visible after the first announcement) This experience was not very pleasant, to say the least, but it was interesting to have witnessed this happening because it made us think of the situation of the MRTs in Singapore. Many of us came out thinking that "this wouldn't have happened in Singapore" or saying things like "What if this had happened in Singapore?".
We suspect that this instance would have something to do with the overwhelming number of football fans crowding in the tubes. There was a football match in the afternoon, a League One Championship Playoff game between Millwall Football Club and another football club. Millwall had won the game and their fans were celebrating and being rather rowdy in the underground (i.e. banging on the walls of the train, shouting cheers which reveberated throughout the station, etc.). This exacerbated the unpleasantness of our tube journey, but nonetheless we managed to find some humour in the situation where things did not go our way.
After dinner, we proceeded to walk back to the hotel (in the cold, windy, London rain).
Jet lag be a sad, sad thing.
Jet lag!
Hello!
The jet lag was quite bad D: On the day we came back I couldn't sleep until about 6am, and then I woke up at 4pm and missed an appointment I had at 11!
Anyway just commenting on the idea about gun laws, the other day we watched a documentary in debates 'Bowling for Columbine' regarding gun laws in USA. It's by Michael Moore and explores many ideas with regards to bearing arms, including the right to self-defense (ie. the right to keep a pistol under your pillow every night and to shoot if you feel threaten?), whether or not the prevalence of guns in the USA translates into higher crime rates (compare Canada which has about the same amount of guns or more and yet has an incredibly low crime rate), the effect of growing up in a town where everyone bears arms (the Columbine shooting incident).
It's quite interesting and thought-provoking, so if you've the time do check it out!
Regarding UK's gun laws, they're apparently really, really strict.
The Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988 made registration for shotguns mandatory. Shotguns were required to be kept in secure storage. Stricter laws in 1997 outlawed handguns.
The Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2006 made it an offence to make, import or sell realistic imitation guns, doubled the maximum sentence for carrying an imitation gun and made it a crime to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of any premises. It also increased the age limit for buying or possessing an air weapon from 17 to 18.
And yet in spite of these tough gun laws, nearly 600,000 people legally own shotguns, which fire pellets only, and more than 100,000 own a firearm, usually a rifle or high-powered airgun. Many of these guns, if fact most, are actually used for hunting purposes or for pest control.
However, comparing this to Singapore, the two countries' contexts is completely completely different.
1) Singapore does not have many animals nor land to hunt on. Thus no 'need' for a gun.
2) In Singapore under the 'Arms and Explosives Act', to own a gun you need a license. And seeing the above point, I think showing the need for a gun in Singapore is pretty hard. If you do not obtain a license and still get a gun, you can be charged with a $5000 fine and no less than 3 years jail term.
3) People generally avoid guns. Somehow, I think there's a stigma attached to bearing arms in Singapore. Nobody, and I really mean nobody obtains a gun except soldiers, and just the sight of soldiers holding guns in Changi Airport can strike fear in one's heart.
So well perhaps this is why Singapore rarely, or perhaps has never ever, has a case of a man with guns going wild (Thank God). In light of recent events, knives seem to be the fad.
Focusing on the question of whether or not UK's gun laws are strict enough? For me, I just think that they are strict, but can definitely be improved on. It is not a panacea, and the fact that there are still loopholes and crimes committed means that there is room for improvement. But because of the differences between UK and Singapore, UK will probably always have guns in the hands of citizens, however little.
At least the situation is not as bad as the US.
Cheers!
Joyan
The jet lag was quite bad D: On the day we came back I couldn't sleep until about 6am, and then I woke up at 4pm and missed an appointment I had at 11!
Anyway just commenting on the idea about gun laws, the other day we watched a documentary in debates 'Bowling for Columbine' regarding gun laws in USA. It's by Michael Moore and explores many ideas with regards to bearing arms, including the right to self-defense (ie. the right to keep a pistol under your pillow every night and to shoot if you feel threaten?), whether or not the prevalence of guns in the USA translates into higher crime rates (compare Canada which has about the same amount of guns or more and yet has an incredibly low crime rate), the effect of growing up in a town where everyone bears arms (the Columbine shooting incident).
It's quite interesting and thought-provoking, so if you've the time do check it out!
Regarding UK's gun laws, they're apparently really, really strict.
The Firearms (Amendment) Act of 1988 made registration for shotguns mandatory. Shotguns were required to be kept in secure storage. Stricter laws in 1997 outlawed handguns.
The Violent Crime Reduction Act of 2006 made it an offence to make, import or sell realistic imitation guns, doubled the maximum sentence for carrying an imitation gun and made it a crime to fire an air weapon beyond the boundary of any premises. It also increased the age limit for buying or possessing an air weapon from 17 to 18.
And yet in spite of these tough gun laws, nearly 600,000 people legally own shotguns, which fire pellets only, and more than 100,000 own a firearm, usually a rifle or high-powered airgun. Many of these guns, if fact most, are actually used for hunting purposes or for pest control.
However, comparing this to Singapore, the two countries' contexts is completely completely different.
1) Singapore does not have many animals nor land to hunt on. Thus no 'need' for a gun.
2) In Singapore under the 'Arms and Explosives Act', to own a gun you need a license. And seeing the above point, I think showing the need for a gun in Singapore is pretty hard. If you do not obtain a license and still get a gun, you can be charged with a $5000 fine and no less than 3 years jail term.
3) People generally avoid guns. Somehow, I think there's a stigma attached to bearing arms in Singapore. Nobody, and I really mean nobody obtains a gun except soldiers, and just the sight of soldiers holding guns in Changi Airport can strike fear in one's heart.
So well perhaps this is why Singapore rarely, or perhaps has never ever, has a case of a man with guns going wild (Thank God). In light of recent events, knives seem to be the fad.
Focusing on the question of whether or not UK's gun laws are strict enough? For me, I just think that they are strict, but can definitely be improved on. It is not a panacea, and the fact that there are still loopholes and crimes committed means that there is room for improvement. But because of the differences between UK and Singapore, UK will probably always have guns in the hands of citizens, however little.
At least the situation is not as bad as the US.
Cheers!
Joyan
The Lakes
You may have heard about the recent shootings in Cumbria. Rest-assured it is a very rare occurrence in the UK and hopefully a one-off.
A question for all you budding lawyers:
Do you think the UK's gun laws are strict enough? How do they compare to Singapore's?
Massacres, crackdowns - but still more than a million shotguns - Times Online
A question for all you budding lawyers:
Do you think the UK's gun laws are strict enough? How do they compare to Singapore's?
Massacres, crackdowns - but still more than a million shotguns - Times Online
GenNY - Hui Han and Jesslene
Hi girls,
As discussed last week, would be grateful if you could do a write-up of the trip for GenNY.
Your article should include your reflections, an overview of the programme and the highlights plus a couple of good photos.
Ms Heng's deadline is June 11th, so perhaps you could email your work to me first by the 9th June pls.
As discussed last week, would be grateful if you could do a write-up of the trip for GenNY.
Your article should include your reflections, an overview of the programme and the highlights plus a couple of good photos.
Ms Heng's deadline is June 11th, so perhaps you could email your work to me first by the 9th June pls.
Feedback Forms
Please don't forget about your feedback form when you go to school tomorrow.
PS: How's the jetlag?
PS: How's the jetlag?
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Day 12 - Poetry Session + Hampton Court Palace
Today is our last day here in England - we all woke with this weight on our minds. Still, we were all looking forward to meeting a (living!) poet - Jacob Sam-La Rose 8D
After checking out of our hotel and hopping about in the cold (Ms Teng declared us amazing after we tried - and failed - to persuade her to let us seek warmth in a teensy convenience store) we entered a cosy basement room and met Jacob. He'd kindly set up the chairs in the room in preparation for us. He gave us all a warm welcome and a friendly introduction, telling us more about his work - he's not just a poet 'on the page', but enjoys and frequently does performance poetry. Also, he is an editor (mostly of other budding poets' work), creative director, consultant, mentor and educator! That is a lot of things to be. We were very impressed and interested indeed.
He began the session, aptly, with reading a few of his poems - firstly, on the common theme of an unrequited crush; secondly, Gravity (a poem on basketball and pursuing one's passions, applicable to many of us today), lastly, a touching poem about his father, Never. He quizzed us on the meaning and symbolism of his poems and seemed happy that we were a responsive audience 8D (Apparently, there are harsh audiences who just stare at their watches after his readings - how incredibly discouraging.)
(In case you are wondering about his poems, here is a live reading of Gravity!)
(Also, he is pretty big on social networking and outreach, so you can view his posts, or follow him, on twitter and tumblr. He runs a website as well.)
(And another of his interests is photography.)
He then 'hosted' a 'quiz show' on another of his poems, Jigsaw. It was a powerful poem, a musing of his father - whom he has met only once, as an adult - based on an old photograph. It touched us all. Jacob asked us simple, then challenging questions on Jigsaw, focusing on details and then on the meaning of the poem. In the case of Jigsaw, my group believed he eventually put away his father's photograph, in between old birthday cards and love letters, to find and construct an identity of his own - piecing it together (like the pieces of a jigsaw) from shared moments between friends, family, as well as the families of other friends.
After that he had us write down a list of people and places important to us, and then places and objects which we associated with each person/place in our list. Basically, he pointed out that poetry, or inspiration/raw material for poetry, can be found in places, people and things all around us - just as how one finds beauty all around us. I think many of us were inspired to explore such personal occurrences and find the poetry in each and every one of them.
Following which, we had the ever-useful question and answer session. It was an insightful session, during which we learned that, unlike many poets who prefer to be solely poets 'on the page' or performance poets, Jacob believes in finding equilibrium in being both as he gleans different experiences from performing poetry and putting it down on paper. He finds inspiration all around him, from overheard conversations on buses to more sentimental experiences of his own. Perhaps his work in photography also allows him to recognise the beauty in the world and to try to put that down on paper. Personally, I believe something which struck us all was his ability to take a personal experience and craft a universal message out of it - a message Jacob believes in sending out to as many people as possible, through his performance poetry, anthologies and work in mentoring youths in many, many schools.
Our dialogue allowed us to understand better the creative process involved in writing poems and how Jacob chooses to use poetry as a medium to reach out to others around him, and address important, pivotal issues in life. Jacob writes abstract poems as well as poems which convey a message, or poems which read like a story.
With that, we concluded our session with a group shot! Outside a building. We are not sure which. We all enjoyed it very much indeed, and were in fact honoured to have made the acquaintance of Jacob.
Following which we had lunch, and a bit of last-minute shopping in town. Eugenia, my buddy, will now educate you on Hampton Court Palace, which was magnificent, in my honest opinion 8D Except we did not get to see deer - oh, well.
At about 2pm, we were given slightly longer than 3 hours to explore the Hampton Court Palace on our own. Most closely linked both in history and popular imagination to Henry VIII, this great palace was once home to many royals for over 500 years. Today, half of Henry's Palace survives as the rest was rebuilt by William III as a stunning baroque palace. Both William and his wife wanted to rebuild the palace to satisfy modern aesthetic appeal (which was then the famous baroque-style architecture), but she soon fell ill and the couple ran out of money halfway into the reconstruction of the building. It was particularly interesting to see a building built using two different architectural styles.
The official representative symbol of the palace is Henry VIII's royal coat of arms, which is supported by the Tudor symbols of the red dragon of Wales and a greyhound. Inside the palace, we enjoyed a wide range of activities, from watching costumed live interpretations of Henry VIII's wedding to his 6th wife Kateryn Parr in 1543 (he had 7 wives in total) to knights battling in the joust in a Grand Tournament out on the impressive East Front Gardens. All these live interpretations were extremely entertaining and enjoyable. Not only did we see knights in action, we got to try on parts of their armour too!
Perhaps the most interesting attraction at the palace gardens is the maze, which is the most famous one in the world. My group members and I strolled through the maze and took 10 minutes to reach the centre, while our form teacher Miss Teng and classmate Hui Qi managed to complete it under 5 minutes. (all applaud in awe)
-
We proceeded to Heathrow Airport (voted Busiest Airport in the world!!), ate, and then sat on a plane for 13 hours before reaching where we are now - home.
We have all enjoyed this trip very, very muchly indeed - hope you have followed our travels with the same interest and enjoyment.
I realize that we have not managed to begin our days with 'meaningful quotes' as stated in our little booklet, but I can conclude this trip with one, because it is only the beginning of our very fantastic voyage into the world of literature, humanities (and sciences, if you want), and beyond:
After checking out of our hotel and hopping about in the cold (Ms Teng declared us amazing after we tried - and failed - to persuade her to let us seek warmth in a teensy convenience store) we entered a cosy basement room and met Jacob. He'd kindly set up the chairs in the room in preparation for us. He gave us all a warm welcome and a friendly introduction, telling us more about his work - he's not just a poet 'on the page', but enjoys and frequently does performance poetry. Also, he is an editor (mostly of other budding poets' work), creative director, consultant, mentor and educator! That is a lot of things to be. We were very impressed and interested indeed.
He began the session, aptly, with reading a few of his poems - firstly, on the common theme of an unrequited crush; secondly, Gravity (a poem on basketball and pursuing one's passions, applicable to many of us today), lastly, a touching poem about his father, Never. He quizzed us on the meaning and symbolism of his poems and seemed happy that we were a responsive audience 8D (Apparently, there are harsh audiences who just stare at their watches after his readings - how incredibly discouraging.)
(In case you are wondering about his poems, here is a live reading of Gravity!)
(Also, he is pretty big on social networking and outreach, so you can view his posts, or follow him, on twitter and tumblr. He runs a website as well.)
(And another of his interests is photography.)
He then 'hosted' a 'quiz show' on another of his poems, Jigsaw. It was a powerful poem, a musing of his father - whom he has met only once, as an adult - based on an old photograph. It touched us all. Jacob asked us simple, then challenging questions on Jigsaw, focusing on details and then on the meaning of the poem. In the case of Jigsaw, my group believed he eventually put away his father's photograph, in between old birthday cards and love letters, to find and construct an identity of his own - piecing it together (like the pieces of a jigsaw) from shared moments between friends, family, as well as the families of other friends.
After that he had us write down a list of people and places important to us, and then places and objects which we associated with each person/place in our list. Basically, he pointed out that poetry, or inspiration/raw material for poetry, can be found in places, people and things all around us - just as how one finds beauty all around us. I think many of us were inspired to explore such personal occurrences and find the poetry in each and every one of them.
Following which, we had the ever-useful question and answer session. It was an insightful session, during which we learned that, unlike many poets who prefer to be solely poets 'on the page' or performance poets, Jacob believes in finding equilibrium in being both as he gleans different experiences from performing poetry and putting it down on paper. He finds inspiration all around him, from overheard conversations on buses to more sentimental experiences of his own. Perhaps his work in photography also allows him to recognise the beauty in the world and to try to put that down on paper. Personally, I believe something which struck us all was his ability to take a personal experience and craft a universal message out of it - a message Jacob believes in sending out to as many people as possible, through his performance poetry, anthologies and work in mentoring youths in many, many schools.
Our dialogue allowed us to understand better the creative process involved in writing poems and how Jacob chooses to use poetry as a medium to reach out to others around him, and address important, pivotal issues in life. Jacob writes abstract poems as well as poems which convey a message, or poems which read like a story.
With that, we concluded our session with a group shot! Outside a building. We are not sure which. We all enjoyed it very much indeed, and were in fact honoured to have made the acquaintance of Jacob.
Following which we had lunch, and a bit of last-minute shopping in town. Eugenia, my buddy, will now educate you on Hampton Court Palace, which was magnificent, in my honest opinion 8D Except we did not get to see deer - oh, well.
At about 2pm, we were given slightly longer than 3 hours to explore the Hampton Court Palace on our own. Most closely linked both in history and popular imagination to Henry VIII, this great palace was once home to many royals for over 500 years. Today, half of Henry's Palace survives as the rest was rebuilt by William III as a stunning baroque palace. Both William and his wife wanted to rebuild the palace to satisfy modern aesthetic appeal (which was then the famous baroque-style architecture), but she soon fell ill and the couple ran out of money halfway into the reconstruction of the building. It was particularly interesting to see a building built using two different architectural styles.
The official representative symbol of the palace is Henry VIII's royal coat of arms, which is supported by the Tudor symbols of the red dragon of Wales and a greyhound. Inside the palace, we enjoyed a wide range of activities, from watching costumed live interpretations of Henry VIII's wedding to his 6th wife Kateryn Parr in 1543 (he had 7 wives in total) to knights battling in the joust in a Grand Tournament out on the impressive East Front Gardens. All these live interpretations were extremely entertaining and enjoyable. Not only did we see knights in action, we got to try on parts of their armour too!
Perhaps the most interesting attraction at the palace gardens is the maze, which is the most famous one in the world. My group members and I strolled through the maze and took 10 minutes to reach the centre, while our form teacher Miss Teng and classmate Hui Qi managed to complete it under 5 minutes. (all applaud in awe)
-
We proceeded to Heathrow Airport (voted Busiest Airport in the world!!), ate, and then sat on a plane for 13 hours before reaching where we are now - home.
We have all enjoyed this trip very, very muchly indeed - hope you have followed our travels with the same interest and enjoyment.
I realize that we have not managed to begin our days with 'meaningful quotes' as stated in our little booklet, but I can conclude this trip with one, because it is only the beginning of our very fantastic voyage into the world of literature, humanities (and sciences, if you want), and beyond:
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
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