London Shrine

I can't think of anything else to blog about tonight, and I'm sure my dear, devoted readers (all three of you) are getting tired of hearing about how tired I am after being on my feet all day. There are no interesting kid stories to share, and though I had a great workout, even that doesn't seem all that interesting to blog about.

But I want to blog, tonight. I rather enjoy the daily updates of my blog. So I'm pulling out some pictures I took a few weeks ago, of my London Shrine.

When I spent a semester in London (Spring 1999), I brought back quite a few little tea tins and such. My year in England (2004-2005 school year) yielded even more stuff. I display it all on a baker's rack in my living room, where it reminds me of that lovely country--I am, after all, a completely unashamed Anglophile.

Without further ado...my London Shrine.

On the top shelf, there is a framed postcard of a famous Monet painting of the Houses of Parliament, a Big Ben ornament that Summer gave me (though that's just the name of the bell--the tower is St. Stephen's Tower), a Harrod's bank/tea tin that Mom and Dad bought on one of their England trips (for all the time I've spent in London, I've never been to Harrod's) and a big wire Big Ben that I found at Target, of all places.


Below that is a pencil sketch of Big Ben that I bought at some outdoor market in London, a gorgeous tea set that's not actually English, but it goes with the theme, a small Union Jack that I bought at a souvenir shop in 1999, the tiny bus, and the little bus frame with a picture of 20-year-old Yours Truly in Salisbury, England. Circa 1999.


This shelf has four tea tins (a mail box, a phone booth, and two with the famous London people--a bobby, a Yeoman Warder and a Queen's Guard) from some cheap souvenir shop. These are relics of London Semester. The Harrod's bank/tin is another gift from Mom and Dad. In the frame is a semi-good poem I wrote about missing London after coming back to finish my education. The Snoopy figurine was bought at the Snoopy Gallery and Gift Shop here in California, but obviously, that's London's Tower Bridge he's floating in front of. The card is several cats looking at the Houses of Parliament. Big Ben is one of my favorite London landmarks, and I love cats--this made a perfect Christmas card when I was there in 2004. Finally, the Queen's Guard is a bank that I remember having in my bedroom as a child. I had assumed it was long gone, but when we were moving from Washington back to California in 2006, I found it.


Finally, on the bottom shelf--various books, like a book on the making of Pride and Prejudice (the Jennifer Ehle/Colin Firth BBC movie, not that dreadful version with Kiera Knightly), a book of tea recipes, books on the Bloomsbury Group (we studied them in London Semester) and a great little book about cats in the British Museum. There's a framed picture--it might be a Monet print. Mom and Dad found it in their stuff and gave it to me. The Beanie Baby is Brittannia Bear, and she has a long ole story...that's for another time.


Anyway, I love London, and England in general, so my little shrine makes me smile. It also reminds me that I need to work on saving the money to go back as soon as possible, so that I can wander through that amazing city, and take the train to Essex to see my friends and family (for they're as good as!) there. It's been far too long.