Day 7 Stratford-Upon-Avon to London

As usual, the whole lot of us woke up at varying timing and stumbled through the Travel Lodge that we were staying at. The breakfast was the usual hot breakfast comprising of scrambled eggs, bacon, beans and pork sausages.

After breakfast, we all went back to our respective rooms and lugged our heavy luggages that we the day before had bought up the stairs, not noticing the lift available. This time however, we wisened up and used the lift. We then brought all of these luggages over to the coach and started with the trip to St Benedict's High School.

Once in the school grounds, we had a little chit-chat session with the principal until the Year 10s came to fetch us. My "tour group" consisted of me, Joanne, Denise and the 3 Year 10s- Max, James and Becky. We toured the school slowly with Max being the funny guy and James being the gentleman. Max was really funny and he cracked funny jokes making all of the group laugh. James is the gentleman as he held the door open without fail everytime. After the tour we went for some break and followed into their science class where they learnt things which we vastly different from us. We then bade the Year 10s farewell and good luck for their Biology GCSE paper the followed the Year 9s for lunch.

After lunch we bade farewell to the school and headed to Hammersmith, London. We then checked into the Premier Inn there and boarded the coach again to head to the theatre to watch the Lion King.

I personally think that the musical Lion King is like the best musical I ever watched. The lighting created the atmosphere of joy, sadness or fear very effectively. This, coupled with the loud moving music captured the audiences attention and allowed us to feel what the characters were suppose to feel. The props were also very well designed and the made functions of the stage amazed me.


By,
The One And Only
Qi Yuan!!

Day Six: Stratford-upon-Avon

On 8 June 2010 we left Birmingham for Stratford-upon-Avon. It was drizzling heavily in the morning and as usual, we were armed with our umbrellas and thick sweaters and jackets to fend off the cold. Although the weather was not very pleasant, the day started well with the first activity, a walking tour around Stratford-upon-Avon.

Geoff, our walking tour guide, showed us the significant places in Stratford-upon-Avon, such as the grammar school that Shakespeare went to when he was young. I thought that the walking tour was very informative as we received a deeper understanding on Tudor England. It was such a pity that Shakespeare has no descendants after his grandchildren, as we can only retrieve information on Shakespeare through artifacts found and form interpretations and assumptions about his life through such artifacts.

Our tour guide was extremely engaging as he entertained us with stories from Shakespeare's time and jokes about Shakespeare.

Shakespeare probably studied at this grammar school

Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon

Where Shakespeare was laid to rest in the Holy Trinity Church

Next up, we attended a literature workshop on one of Shakespeare's famous plays, Macbeth. Written by Shakespeare after he became a famous playwright, Macbeth is an intriguing play that captured the hearts and minds of the audiences in Tudor times and continues to captivate us in modern times. The workshop gave us a better idea of how the play would have been presented in Tudor times and there was lively interaction between the lecturer and us. Hence, I would say that this workshop was very enriching and thought-provoking. The presenter discussed various key scenes in Macbeth and showed clips and photographs of various productions of Macbeth. We found that each production of the play is different in the ways it interprets the scene and the characters. Now everyone in our group is able to visualise various scenes in Macbeth, such as the Macbeths plotting to kill King Duncan in their castle, Macbeth's inner conflict regarding the murder and how both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth suffered from immense guilt after the act.

After lunch we walked to Shakespeare's birthplace, where we learned more about William Shakespeare's life and his family. There were films and displays to engage us, while facilitators dressed in Tudor costumes explained the uses of the various rooms and the items that filled them such as beddings and drawers. The gardens outside were lovely with a plethora of flowers blooming! Luckily, it wasn't raining at that time and we were able to appreciate the beauty of the garden.

Finally as we walked to have dinner, we finally had some sunshine although it was short-lived. After a scrumptious dinner of mushroom and leek soup with breaded fish, we were making our way to our travel lodge when it started to rain once again!

Waiting for dinner!

Leek and mushroom soup

Tomorrow we will be visiting St Benedict's High School and we are all looking forward to meeting our peers here in England.

Written by: Claudia

Day Five: Lake District

On 7th June 2010, we woke up to a dreary and gloomy morning in Ambleside; it was drizzling lightly, and the ominous dark clouds spoke of more rain throughout the day, but we managed to lift our spirits to enjoy the trip fully. After breakfast, we had a hard and torturous time dragging our luggage down the 3 levels of stairs of Ambleside Youth Hostel as there weren't any lifts. However, since the hostel was situated right by the lake it had a certain poignant ambience.

Ambleside Youth Hostel

The pier in front of the hostel

After a short ride on the coach with our new yet friendly driver, Mark, we reached the Dove Cottage which was William Wordsworth's first house. We attended a short workshop, where we were introduced to Romanticism in poetry, the different themes that dominated the poetry written by the Romantic poets such as the importance of personal experience, the influences of nature on man and vice versa and understanding the way a person's mind works. We were also introduced to famous Romantic poets such as Percy Shelley, John Keats and William Blake. The class was livened up by the game Bingo we played. It was not only fun, it was also a challenge that helped us gain knowledge at the same time on Romanticism.

At the Romantic Poets workshop at Dove Cottage

We were then brought around the house by our guide, Kristy. There, we learnt the habits of William Wordsworth and other people in the past, like why they did not wash up as often as we do now. This is because they believed the layer of grease accumulated on their skin helped to protect their body from germs and bacteria, and thus reduced their chances of getting infected by diseases. We also learnt a lot of facts about the Wordsworth family like how they lived, who they lived with, the ways they solved problems so differently from how we do in the present.

After touring the house, we went for a walk in the large, scenic garden. It had many different species of flowers and plants, which were extremely colourful and beautiful. The daffodils were especially beautiful! Climbing up the stone steps, we could view the house and nearby ones clearly. We were awestruck at the fantastic view and stopped for quite a while to snap some pictures. We saw a replica of a small pavilion that William Wordsworth had built at the highest point of his garden, where he got his inspiration for his poems.

Walking up the trail to the top of the hill

Wordsworth would have sat in a similar pavilion

This is the view Wordsworth would have seen, except the house in the background hadn't been built then and he would have had a clear view of the lake.

After having some Cornish Pasties for lunch we drove back to the jetty where our hostel was and took a cruise on Lake Windemere to Bowness. The ride was relaxed and breezy although the stormy clouds were a constant fixture in the sky.

All ready for the ferry ride!

The clouds were dark and ominous but luckily we only encountered a drizzle and could stay dry under our umbrellas.

It was a long coach ride to our new travel lodge, with a break in between to stock up on water and some snacks. We were allowed to settle our own dinner with a refund of 10 pounds and then all of us went to the nearby Tesco where we did a little grocery shopping for fruit and 'retail therapy'. Finally, we went back to our rooms at the Travel Lodge for a good night's rest in order to charge up energy for the next day of fun.

Written by: Si Ying

Day Four: Bronte Parsonage and Rydal Mount

The weather was rather gloomy and wet on 6th June 2010. We had a pretty long bus ride to the Bronte Parsonage in Haworth and the long, winding, narrow lanes just made the trip more mysterious and kept us in suspense.

It was drizzling throughout the morning - certainly enhancing the Bronte country experience - and the more uphill we went the more misty it was.

We sat through a lecture on the history of the three sisters and learnt many facts about the lives of the Brontes we didn't know before. One astonishing fact we found out was that Charlotte Bronte actually dried her clothes on the tombstones in the nearby cemetery much to the dismay of her husband!

The workshop on the Brontes was engaging, giving us snippets

of the lives the Bronte siblings led.

The sisters' house was rather small but well organized and space efficient. Back in those days, paper was expensive. The sisters made use of any single scraps of paper they could find to write on. To save as much paper as possible, they had to write in very tiny hand-writing, and it was so small to the extend that we had to use a magnifying glass to view what was written on it in the exhibition. The exhibition contained works and portraits, including items they used back in those days. It was amazing how they could draw so well!

After that, we took a short walk in the graveyard that was filled with old tombstones. These tombstones were what the Bronte children would have seen as they gazed out their windows.

After leaving Haworth, we drove further up north to Lake District. Once we arrived our first stop was Rydal Mount, home to William Wordsworth. We enjoyed a guided tour through the house and the garden. Although, it was still drizzling, it was amazing how contrasting this place was compared to the Bronte Parsonage! For example, the house was bigger and better furnished, compared to the small, cramped house that the Brontes lived in. Also, the garden in Rydal Mount was huge and lively with flowers blooming. We had a lot of fun taking photos there.

The daffodils in the garden at Rydal Mount were just one type of flowers that were blooming!

All in all, it was a marvellous day, and we learnt much about the Brontes' and William Wordsworth's lives. (:

Written by: Shichan

Day Three : Oxford

Our next stop on 5 June 2010 was Oxford.

The famous Oxford University is actually made up of 39 different colleges, with each college having its own unique culture. Some of the colleges we visited are , Christchurch and St. Hildas. The College council consists of the Warden and 55 Fellows and about 550 juniors members, most of whom live in the College Buildings or College houses nearby. Women were admitted as junior members for the first time in 1979.

At nine in the morning, Mick drove us by coach to our next destination of the trip where we were guided through the college grounds by the lovely Nuala Young. As we explored the grounds, she told wonderful stories about writers such as Lewis Carroll and Jonathan Swift whose works were influenced by their experiences at Oxford and the people they met there. For instance, Lewis Carroll's Alice was based on a real 10-year-old Alice whom he met when he took the photograph of Alice and her two sisters - the children of Oxford's Headmaster at that time. His stories started when he had to entertain the three children as they posed for their photographs. How wonderful to learn about the inspirations and influences Oxford had on such talented writers!

We were also told about the students who studied at Oxford who come not just from UK but from Germany, France and Singapore as well. In fact, there are about 140 Singaporeans who currently study at Oxford. The courses of study cover a full range of subjects but what is special about Oxford and makes it one of the top universities in the world is its individual tutorial system. This system ensures that students are independent learners who work closely with their tutors each week to enrich their learning.

During the walking tour, we were in awe at the sight of the historic buildings, such as the Radcliffe Camera. There was also an underground library, where a copy of each book published in England had to be submitted. Imagine the plethora of books housed there!

Radcliff Camera

Entering the campus, we noticed that the Dining Hall was closed and there weren't many students moving around as everyone was sleeping in on the Saturday morning.

We then entered the Chapel, which was a small church that students had to visit to say their prayers as early as 5:30am in the morning in the past. However, it is not compulsory now for students of the colleges to be Christians and it is no longer compulsory for all to attend services.

Next up, we headed towards the city centre and entered a market where we saw a cute and unique cake shop. The designs of each cake was extremely eye catching and attention grabbing. Our guide narrated the story of the owner of the business who was discouraged by her family in her ambition of decorating cakes as a career, but she persevered and worked towards her dream. Many customers appreciated her works and thus bought cakes from her. Eventually her shop became too small for the amount of orders she received. As a result, she opened one with more space and employed helpers to manage it with more ease. Her story was inspirational and encourages one to pursue one's dream with determination.

We were allowed an hour of free time to venture around the city centre, where we could buy our lunch. Most of us had our 'retail therapy' at the shops there and finally, the group met up to return to the coach. We travelled up North towards Manchester on a 2h 15mins ride. We had our dinner at the Hungry Horse Pub which was nicely decorated and had a great time chatting and savoring our delicious meal. The size of the desserts were jaw dropping as they seemed larger than the main course itself!

After dinner, we headed to Burnley where we are spending the night :)

Written by: Priscilla

Day Two - Bath

Today is the 4th of June, 2010, and also our second day in the United Kingdom. We spent most of our day in Bath, a major tourist attraction site.

Many buildings in Bath are built in a very "ancient" fashion, and mostly Roman architecture is observed in the crowded little town. They are all constructed of similar material, sandstone - the locals call it 'Bathstone' - which gives the buildings a very uniform, yet characteristic pale yellow color.

Like the building above, most structures in Bath

are made from sandstone.

First, we went on a guided tour in the Pump Room. It was a beautiful sight, and the various rooms were furnished lavishly. Each room had a unique function, but the Pump Room was the main social center back in the 1800s where people who arrived in Bath would announce their arrival by writing their address and date of arrival in a book. It would have been a bustling area as everyone would have gathered to see which of their friends where in town. It certainly makes one appreciate sms-es and facebook!

The pump room used to be a vast open space; now

it is filled with tables and chairs where visitors can

have tea and listen to some live music.

After leaving, we walked along the streets of Bath, taking in the unique sights and sounds of the town. How fortunate we were, to be able to appreciate the immense culture and history of England.

Our tour guide, Dicken, walked us through Bath, explaining its history and significance.

In the heart of the Roman Baths lies the King's Bath, the source of the natural hot springs. Being the only natural source of warm water in the U.K., Bath developed into a recreational centre that attracted many tourists starting from the 1700s. We then experienced an audio tour of the Roman Baths, and got to understand the history behind these magnificent springs.

The Roman baths

Other than the baths, we also toured round the town, visiting many sites related to Jane Austen, a British novelist, such as the Royal Crescent, The Grand Circle, Bath Abbey as well as the Jane Austen Centre. Jane led a humble life, using her novels and writings to express her emotions and feelings toward society, as we had learnt from the tour in the centre. Jane's works were mostly inspired from her experiences in Bath, especially those based on the place, such as "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion".

The author of 6 novels, Jane Austen lived in Bath for 5 years and 2 of her novels feature this town.

The Royal Crescent - built for the rich members of the Queen's court centuries ago,

today each of these townhouses cost around 10 million Singapore dollars.

On a whole, the trip to Bath has definitely widened our views toward Jane Austen and her works, as well as providing us with a priceless and unique experience in Bath that will last a lifetime.

Written by: Leighton

Day One

We have arrived safely in England! The flight was long but it was definitely worth the trip. Stay tuned for more tomorrow as we explore Bath.