Lady Sibella the Bloody of Lower Hellswicke

ELLLLIN!???

I'm off to dinner in a little bit but hopefully back by 9. YOu around later?

I'm hungry, and I"m lazy to go out. But I am even MORE lazy to cook.

WHAT TO DO ARGH WHAT TO DO!?

I can't decide! I want to go somewhere on Sunday, and the choices come down to Oxford or Cambridge, as I just really want to wander around somewhere but I have to be back in time to see Merry Wives of Windsor at the Globe.

I had a bad Oxford experience in a coach. I didn't see anything worth seeing and I was clueless. I adored Cambridge, but I'm afraid I'll ruin the memories. Also, Oxford is closer.

Poll #1221819 Sunday
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

View Answers

Oxford
8 (72.7%)

Cambridge
3 (27.3%)

Well, Sunday morning started off with a BANG. I went to Eucharist Mass at St. Pauls, which is the set of the Diocese of London in the Anglican church. It was wonderful. The London synfonica played, and anyway it was lovely.

Then I went to the Museum of London, which is near St. Paul's. Much of the musuem is still under massive reconstruction, which is a real shame. It's one of my favorite London musuems. At any rate, the Roman and Medieval galleries are at least open - http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/000339c1/g26 - so I got a lot of great photos for my earlier period amigas.

Then I went to the Portrait Gallery, and stared at tudors for a couple of hours - nothing I hadn't seen before on the net, so no need to take photos. I don't think they'd let you anyway. ;)

Sunday night and Monday I had class things to address; however, Monday evening it poured rain and I took a group ot students on the Harry Potter walk around London. It was fun, actually - a lot of kind of smart HP stuff, rather than just filming locations.

Tuesday I took the students to the War Cabinet rooms and the Winston Churchill Museum - http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/00034k2f/g26 - and the Imperial War museum. CM was better.

Tuesday evening I saw Grease! IT was odd! It's so different from the movie, which I was somewhat prepared for - but the same songs in very different order. That was odd. And Sandy and Rizzo have a FISTFIGHT. Y'all!!

Wednesday I had class in the morning and in the afternoon I went back to the VnA - I had to get through more of it. http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/00035w1h/g26 I was there about 4 hours and that's the second time - and I had to quit again.

Then we had a great dinner in Chinatown, which was good fun.

Thursday was an odd day. I did some book shopping in the morning along the Charing Cross road, and also at Waterstone's (Deathly Hallows! in PB!), and then I had lunch with Graham- who I discovered was a 33rd level Mason and the Assistant Grand Secretary of the United Mason Lodge of England. He gave me a behind the scenes tour of the place - I even got to see the Grand Master - the Duke of Kent's - LOO! It's a gorgeous 1930 art deco building.

I took it easy last night.

More later!

The Queen's Champion

You are really involved in the SCA. You probably have some really cool garb. You put a lot of work into playing the game and making sure its fun for others too. For a lot of folks an event wouldn't be the same without you. You probably have a tendancy to over do it sometimes. You may need help knowing when to say "No" or when to stop sewing and go to bed.

Right! So, when last we left our heroine, she was boarding the train for Bath. Bath! the Aquae Sulis of the Romans! Centre of social life for Jane Austen! Home of that most enviable of second proposals: Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot!

Ok, so I get a little carried away. But I was really excited. I got my train at 2, and it was late getting to Bath, but I sat down to high tea (WITH champagne. You guys have met me, right?) in the PUMP ROOM at 4:00.

Ooooh, man, was it good. There was a live classical trio, and champagne, and hot tea, and I got chills – I swear I could feel the ghosts of Northanger Abbey’s ladies walking betwixt the tables.

By the by, why is there no regency period SCA-like body? I want to wear those clothes. So much cooler than my SCA period. I want boys in frock coats and tails, not t-tunics. Ah well. Such is life…

Anyway, so I walked around to the taxi stand, and got the next taxi, because let me tell you. Bath is effing steep. It’s built on 7 hills, like Rome. The taxi was to take me to my B&B, on Belgrave Crescent, overlooking the city. My TAXI was a JAGUAR, and not a manky old broken one, but a FOR REAL BRAND NEW JAG with leather interior and all the bells and whistles.

The view was awesome, and the B&B had a HUGE garden jucuzzi tub. I took full advantage, and then I went back down to the Roman Baths, which were having late opening. Wow. It was all I could do not to jump in. Well, I did tip my toes in, even though they said not to. And there were guards. But I didn’t care! Do you guys remember that HP fic, Aquae Sulis? I do.

http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002g78q/g26

Anyway, went to Wagamama for a late dinner then went to bed. The next day I had booked a Mad Max tour. We first went to Stonehenge, where I took literally 100 pictures from every angle. Here’s one I like:

http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002her2/g26

Then we went to Avebury. Avebury is HUGE, and there is a village built in the middle. You can walk right up to the stones and people do. Here’s a part of Avebury:

http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002k5pf/g26

Then we went to Lacock, late medieval/ tudor village where basically there’s been no building in 200 years, and it’s owned by the National Trust, and it’s a major filming location for HARRY POTTER:
http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002pkcp/g26
http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002qew0/g26

And the BBC 1995 P&P was filmed here. Well, the Meryton exterior scenes were.

http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002r1et/g26

And then we went on to the pretty little village of Castle Coomb. Where there is, in fact, no castle. Hee. However! It's a filming location too, and films include (according to Sarka) Stardust.

Again… very long. I’ll post more in a bit.

The Not-So-Much Anticipated and Very Long Overdue Dr. Aicha London Update
By Herself

Well, we’re in London. I know, I know, I mentioned that! But my updates have been pretty scarce and really, I’m writing this for me and because so many of you SHOULD have been with me on so many of these excursions.

So really, last time I updated was about two weeks ago. The Wedesday afterward I did go to a show. In fact, I taught in the morning and then went to see WICKED, which was, in fact, awesome. We went to a matinee, and then out to dinner – Brick Lane for really great Indian food.

That Thursday I ran some errands, and then I went to get theatre tickets, and then I went to the V&A. I got completely fixated on an Italian decorative platter owned by the Medicis, and didn’t even go into the textile galleries yet!... and then we saw Avenue Q! It made me laugh, and it made me cover my eyes, and it made me say OH NO THEY DIDN’T! It was, in short, great.

Friday, I took two students to Hampton Court Palace, which was really great! I love it so much, and we did have a great time. I love the Tudor kitchens. I got a couple of good books – one I know Guillaume might be interested in and maybe Serena, called “A Taste of History: 10,000 Years of Food in Britain”.

Saturday was Drachenwald’s coronation; I went as Meridies Ambassador with a Rivermarch ex-pat who is living in South London. I had a great time – not sure about her. She seemed really shy. Anyway, coronation was great. Here’s a photo:

http://pics.livejournal.com/doctoraicha/pic/0002ff9g/g8

That’s me on the right in my new dress. It’s a 1560-1580 Italian. The chemise is really frou frou and I love it the most! It was broiling hot in there, but you can’t really tell.

racairetook the photo; I hope it’s ok I saved it.

Sunday I went to New Cross to record with some librivox – http://www.librivox.org – chums. We had a good time and it was lovely to meet them.

Monday… Hmmm. I taught a class in the morning; then I worked in the office in the afternoon, then I went to the Salibury pub, and then I went to see 12th Night in Regent’s Park at the open air theatre. It was really, REALLY good. They set it in about 1925, to judge from the costuming, and it was really well done.

Tuesday I took the kids to see Westminster Abbey, then we had lunch at the Red Lion (I know, I know, most popular pub name in England!! but I’m talking about the one nearly across from the entrance to Downing Street just up from Whitehall and Westminster). Then we went to hear debate in the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We had to wait ages to get into the Commons but the Lords was a snap… Go figure! ;-)

Wednesday I taught in the morning, and then I went to Bath in the afternoon. But this entry is getting foolishly long, and so I’m going to post it before I write the rest of the update.

So, I'm in England. My flat is really nice - shared bathrooms with four other professors who all seem polite and well behaved. Other than that I have a fairly large room for centralish London. So far, I've been able to get mostly over the jet lag, which is great. On Saturday we did a bit of touristy stuff, and ran into a parade, accidently. We saw Charles and Camilla pass within not even 15 feet of us! It was pretty cool, I must say.

Sunday we took the kids to Windsor but I was too tired and I didn't enjoy myself much. I wanted to be in my room getting ready for class and whatnot. Sad.

Anyway, Monday was work work work, then a beer at the pub then back here to make some dinner and sleep.

Today we spent about 6 hours in the Tower of London, and saw just about everything they'd let us see. I'm exhausted and a bit sunburned. Hee! I did break down and buy a souvenier - a platinum rimmed crystal champagne goblet. ;)

Tomorrow I have to teach a class, then I'm going to get some train tickets and FINALLY go to the damned Victoria and Albert, which I wanted to go to on Saturday but I got hijacked playing tour guide to some other professors.

And maybe I'll go to a show. Maybe even see WICKED.

Hi all.

I'm off to England today! I'll be gone five weeks, and the costuming highlight of the trip is my study table apppointment at the Bath Fashion Museum.

If anyone needs anything specific photographed or examined, either there or at the V&A, let me know and I'll try.

I'm also going to visit Lacock, where they filmed part of P&P, and I'm going to Cumbria to see a friend of mine.

It's going to be GREAT.

Sibella

HELP HELP HELP.

My laptop has a DVD drive, but I have never used it. (I have a 15 inch laptop and a 55 inch TV. You figure it out!) I put a DVD in it today to make sure it was all working but it DOES NOT WORK. It reads the CD and then it says, basically, "No player, fool! hahahhahah!"

What should I download to make it work effectively ALL the time, and not crash or lag or anything? I mean, I'm not necessarily looking for freeware.

The Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me" or something of an equally pithy nature.
2. I will respond by asking you 5 questions of a very personal nature. Be warned!
3. You will update your LJ with the answers to the questions, or there will be trouble.
4. You will include this and an offer to interview someone else in the post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them 5 questions.

My answers:

1. What draws you so strongly to the Elizabethan era?

Actually, nothing. Elizabethan is only an era in England, and while I love Tutor, I move to Spain and Italy later in period. So, I don't do Elizabethan. I do late period Spanish. But more to your point, I love the huge princess clothes, and the paintings, and all the gold. Shiny, Shiny! Also, I look good in that period clothing. I do like a good corset and a gigantic skirt.

2. What is your field of study, exactly (I've never been sure)?

In real life, I'm a political scientist and my feild of study is the comparative politics of western europe and the European Union. I study policy compliance and EU federalism.

In the SCA, late period Spanish and Italian gowns (post 1560). I am particularly interested in corsetry and underpinnings, especially shirts and camicas.

3. If you won a million dollars tomorrow, what is the first thing you'd buy?

First, I'd pay off all my debt and pay my taxes! And THEN, I'd buy a long list of books from David Brown and Italian silk cut velvet for my next dress.

4. Do you have a dream job?

Yeah. I have a real dream job right now - I love my job. But my other dream job (the one that's really, really a dream) is Queen of the World.

5. The house is on fire, you can save five of your books, what are they?

All books are replaceable. I'd save my photo albums and my computer with all its data.

But if you're asking my five most cherished books, I'd have to say my 1888 A Thousand Miles up the Nile, by Amelia Edwards; my Alcega 1589 Pattern book; my Moda a Firenze; my Henry VIII fashion; and my Janet Arnold. All my professional books are in my office at work (about 75 linear feet of books!).

Apparently, Lance Armstrong is the kind of total asshat who dates his friends' exes. Or maybe, steals them away and makes them exes.

Why you gotta be like dat, Lance?

What were you doing five years ago?
2003. Ummmm. I was going through a really really tough period, and I almost died.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?
Teach a methods class for 3 hours
Plant a tree (or two) in my front yard
Record Volume 2, Chapter 15 of Emma into an MP3 file
Call my insurance guy and the roofer guy
Go to the library and the grocery store

What are five snacks you enjoy?
those tiny donuts from the snak machine
Cheez-its
Pringles (BBQ flavor)
Lindt chocolate with Hazelnuts
Butterfinger bars

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
I'd pay off all my debt and all my family's debt
Buy my uncles and aunts and everyone all new cars (My uncle has never in his life had a new car. Ever. And he totally deserves one).
Travel around the world
build a university in Senegal
Build the coolest Pennsic set-up ever in a permanent site, and for other events, hire a crew with an 18 wheeler to take all my stuff and friends' stuff to events, and set it up and take it down for us, and we could just fly in or helicopter in or whatnot.

What are five of your bad habits?
I fly off the handle and get really angry.
I probably drink more than is good for me.
I curse way too much
I am terrible person at returning phone calls and emails from friends
I drive too fast

What are five places where you have lived?
St. Louis, MO
Tucson, AZ
Chapel Hill, NC
Brussels, Belgium
Batesville, AR

What are five jobs you’ve had?
Professor
Tax assistant
Secretary to the Director of the Steward Observatory Mirror Lab
Newsletter Editor for ISA
Manager of a shipping place (kind of like a mailboxes ETC)

You guys.... We were tornanoed Sunday morning. It was the scariest 30 minutes of my life. It's really overwhelming. 4:15 to 4:45 Sunday morning was the scariest period I've ever spent in my life.

My power is back on (took 40 hours!) and my phone is working at home. We have had workers in starting Sunday night to move debris. We got the shed back on its foundation, and the shop is mostly ok. There are two sets of porch steps, some fencing, and gutters to replace on the house; the roof on the shop and the roof on the house have to be replaced. The front door was pulled back and the actuator was bent all to hell, and pulled out of the wall (the screen door is GLASS, and was hyper extended back against the house hard enough to break the carriage light that it hit, but it didn't break the door! Weird!).

Two trees down in the front yard, one in back, and half my granfather oak across my driveway. Huge branches off two other trees and lots of other smalelr debris.

Insurance company is incredible. I am very thankful there was no loss of life in the county. I should add that insurance is covering pretty much everything - and they are the ones that told me that I needed to replace the roof. I didn't even think it was that bad. I thought a couple of patched shingles...

I've had a crew here since noonish on Monday. So far I have paid about $300 to them and there's lots more to clean up. Thankfully I know some redneck boys with chain saws and don't have to call a tree service!

Heather

The Queen's Champion

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