I had no Internet while in England due to laptop wifi configuration issues so bear with me -- the next several days are recollections. Monday's itinerary was the first of several VERY long days! We began our day bright and early at 8:30 a.m. I had decided the best plan of action was to partake of the full English breakfast provided at the Travelodge for a very reasonable price of £7.95 per day. Several other Fulbrighters were already eating when I arrived at 7:15 so I joined them for a bountiful selection of eggs, rash bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomatos, and baked beans. There was also a generous variety of cereals and breads from which to choose. I drank lots of tea, as well!
The Fulbright group met in front of the hotel where we were joined by Fulbright staff. We traveled as a group to the Stratford area by tube (after signing out an Oyster card) and walked the two blocks to the Southwark station. The Jubilee line (tube path we took) was extremely crowded due to a "passenger incident" further up the line. What that incident involved, we never knew but suffice it to say, the incident created quite a backup for London commuters trying to get to work. I have never been so smashed by so many bodies in such a small space. Good thing I'm only mildly claustrophobic! Due to the "incident", we were a bit behind schedule and arrived around 9:30 instead of the 9:15 prearranged time. But arrive we did -- and we met the London-based scholars at Stratford Town Hall situated at 29 Broadway Stratford. Our fearless Fulbright staff leaders Michael Scott-Kline and Elizaeth Hizer welcomed the group, and outlined the events in the week as well as introducing recetnly-arrived scholars. Thankfully, tea (and coffee) was made available -- love that English tradition!
By 9:45 we split into two groups to visit the Olympic Park Viewing Gallery where the London 2012 Olympics are to be held. What a sight to see! Before our tour, we were waiting in the lobby and the fire alarms went off. So, we had to wait for the firemen to "all-clear" the building to determine it's safety. I was in the second group thankfully. Those in the first group had to descend the 21 flights of stairs due to the fire alarm. While this was occurring, we in the second group meandered into the garden area -- a much nicer alternative! It provided us with a bit of time to catch up with some of our fellow scholars and to read the speakers bios. The sight of the Olympics is quite magnificent in itself but more importantly, it's situated in the poorest section of London. The influx of monies to create housing for athletes (that will be made available for Londoners in the depressed area after the Olympics) and structures for athletics and shopping, etc... supports their whole idea of "legacy" which will allow those living in the area to take full advantage of structures, etc...once the Olympics is over.
By 11:30 we returned to the Stratford Town Hall to listen to a panel discussion on the London Olympics entitled "Regeneration and Legacy" Those on the panel included: Tessa Jowell, MP of Labour, Dulwich and West Norwood; Nick Falk, Director of URBED (Urbanism, Environment and Design -- an urban design and consultancy practice based in Manchester who performed a sustainability exchange on the whole idea of "Legacy" in the area the Olympics would be held; and Liz McMahon, managing Director of Madison-Muir and former Head of the International Marketing for the London 2012 Games bid. It was very interesting to hear the diverse perspectives of each speaker as it related to the factors behind creating a regeneration project and legacy theme to the most depressed area of London through the Olympics.
After lunch, we were provided with another panel discussion at 2:00 that dealt with "Coalition Politics and Post-CSR Britain" which included: Lord Stewart Wood, advisor to Ed Milliband (and a Fulbright Alum; and James Crabtree, Financial Times journalist (also a Fulbright Alum). The playfully antagonistic exchange between a Lord and the journalist made for a very delightful afternoon panel -- and a very informative one, as well.
By 4:00 p.m. the group departed for the Wimbledon area, traveling by tube to the Central Line to Mile End where we changed onto the District Line to Wimbledon. The stark contrast between Stratford and Wimbledon as it related to socio-economic housing, etc.. was sobering. I certainly hope that the regeneration and legacy ideal behind the Olympics is a successful one! The ride to Wimbledon took about an hour which afforded another opportunity to catch up with fellow Fulbrighters on their studies or research endeavors. By 5:30, we were all seated at the Pizza Express for a light dinner before Panto - which was to begin at 7:00 p.m.
The walk from dinner to the New Wimbeldon Theatre took about 20 minutes. The evening performance was Peter Pan. We were treated to an outstanding pantomime (big thing in the UK) with an outstanding cast to celebrate the theatre's 100th birthday. David Hasselhoff played Captain Hook alongside Louie Spence (star of Pineapple Studio) who played the cabin boy, Roger. Louie Spence's performance was magnificent -- my personal favorite! The performance was wonderfully hilarious with a very talented cast.
We made our way home back around 9:30 p.m. to the hotel from Wimbledon station by taking the District Line to Westminster and changing onto the Jubilee Line to go to Southwark. All day, I had been toting my umbrella and there was not a drop of precipitation. However, after the performance, the rain was nearly torrential! Boy was I glad I had the umbrella. Some of the more young and adventurous decided to hit the pubs after the performance -- I was not one of them. By the time I fell into bed around 11:00 p.m., I could barely move from the days events! And I knew that the following day would start even earlier and be jam packed with even more events/venues.
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