Frankenstein, Harrods and Family

Last night we saw Frankenstein. Strike two for my Theatre class, I was not a fan. The play was a very loose adaptation of the book coupled with as many edgy artistic elements as possible. The story was lost in the attempt to shock the audience (for example the first scene of the play depicts the monster's birth through 12 minutes of a solitary completely nude man rolling around on stage). In addition, the themes and messages of the play were spoon fed to the viewers. Frankenstein and the Monster would constantly be talking about 'messing with nature', 'the corrupting influence of society', etc. Overall, I was very displeased. The night was salvaged, however, by a group viewing of my favorite Frankenstein adaptation, The Young Frankenstein (That's Fronk-en-steen). The genius of Mel Brooks and Gene Wilder saved the night.

Today we had our novel class, which was exceptionally boring because most of the class has yet to get the book, and therefore most of us have yet to read it. This makes for very little discussion in class. Professor Coyle was left to lead the class through material we have yet to read (which he is aware of). I felt especially bad for him because he is currently ill and is losing his voice. That couldn't have been comfortable. The slow morning was turned around when Liz, Dan and I went to lunch at the cafe Liz and I visit every tuesday and the man behind the counter remembered us both! We are both very excited by the prospect of becoming regulars somewhere, it makes you feel like you truly belong here. Our Museum theory class after lunch was the complete opposite of the morning class. Professor Coyle was able to take a break from talking as we all got into good discussions about the essays we had to read for today.

Class ended at 1, so Liz and I took advantage of our afternoon off by heading over to Knightsbridge to see Harrods. As much as I have heard about Harrods, I was still not ready for how massive the store actually is. When I thought Liz and I had circled the entire ground floor, I checked a map and realized we had only hit about 40% of it! It was amazing. I finally purchased a bag to use for my books, so I can stop asking Liz to carry my computer in hers for our walks to class. We attempted to walk through the entire store. Looking at all of the beautiful clothing gave us major shopping envy, as neither of us were about to drop 500 pounds on a new designer dress. We distracted ourselves on the kids floor by looking at the puppies (ADORABLE) and all of the toys. Some of the doll houses they have are seriously impressive.

Harrods Entrance

Harrods Plaque

Wall of Tea and Jam! So British

After wandering around for literally hours wanting everything in the store, we decided to leave and head home.. but not until after hitting the considerably cheaper H&M that was on the way to the tube. I picked up some much needed items, like a belt and some socks, in order to satisfy my Harrods inspired urge to shop without spending up all of my money.

Giant Harrods Bear!

Gigantic Stuffed Animals

Thomas the Tank Engine and I!

As amazing as Harrods was, the best part of the day was yet to come. Tonight my cousin Randall, who currently lives in the North of Britain but is from the Flacks of Northern Ireland, took me out to dinner. He was in London for some business. We went to a wonderful Belgian place in Covent Gardens. It was really great getting to see him and spend some time talking to him. When Randall, his wife Willis and their children Shannon and Aaron all visited the US back in October I didn't get to speak to Randall very much. He had some amazing stories and some really great suggestions about visiting the Flack Farm back in Ireland (where he grew up and the family still lives). I really hope I can figure out a way to make this happen! So much of my interest in the history of Great Britain and Ireland is a product of my family roots here, so going to visit the family homestead would be the ultimate experience for me. I will definitely be working to find a way to make a visit fit into my schedule.

Tomorrow we will be discussing Frankenstein in my theatre class. I hope my professor doesn't hate me too much after I offer up my opinion on it...