OBU in London #28 - August 14 (The Last Supper)

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England 

 

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Tuesday, August 14 – The Wellington Pub

 

So, last class period this morning, wrapping up Biblical Ethics with a great discussion of creation stewardship.  It’s been a great month of class – I’m looking forward to another go-around at this next summer.  After lunch Vanessa and I did some last-minute shopping for the kids at the Harry Potter store and a local cheap souvenir shop. 

Vanessa also tried to get arrested ... London doesn't want you feeding the park pigeons.  Vanessa loves pigeons, and we had a bunch of packages of crackers left over at the hostel.  Easy solution - Vanessa fed her beloved pigeons, who in turn flocked lovingly around her.  Fun times!

We had a “last supper” as a full group tonight – at The Wellington Pub.  They were willing to take all 19 of us at once.  It was a great dinner – I had the traditional Steak, Ale & Mushroom Pie, and a lemon tart for dessert.  Everyone had a fantastic time, visiting and chatting and reminiscing.

OBU in London #27 - August 13 (Buckingham Palace)

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Monday, August 13 – Buckingham Palace!

Up this morning – 2^nd last class period.  After lunch most of the group headed off for a tour of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace – the Queen’s official residence!  It was the walk, and security routine, to get in.  It started to rain a bit during our walk, and then the skies really opened up for about 10 minutes.  We waited out the rainstorm under the shelter of some massive trees, and still made it in plenty of time.

The Buckingham tour itself was very enlightening.  Most of the State Rooms were built or decorated in the past 200 years, and have beautiful carvings and wainscoting.  Very impressive, and also neat to get a glimpse into the reception areas and banquet halls used by the current royal family for state visits and functions.

OBU in London #26 - August 12 (Hillsong London)

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Sunday, August 12 – Hillsong London

First thing this morning, Emma and I walked back to Her Majesty’s Theatre in pursuit of the missing wallet.  We found someone who knows a lot more, and he promised to go check himself and get back to us by phone.  With that promise, we headed to Hillsong Church, just down Tottenham Court Rd.  It was certainly a different worship experience for our group – very much like a YC / Falls Creek worship service.  Very loud, very upbeat, very Pentecostal!  The church meets in the Dominion Theatre, a still-working venue (currently playing, ironically, Bat Out of Hell).  You could feel the bass drums pulsing in your chest – it was a bit much for some of our girls.

OBU in London #25 - August 11 (Phantom of the Opera)

 July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Saturday, August 11 – Phantom of the Opera

Good sleep last night – woke up pretty refreshed this morning.  Class at 10am, then lunch.  It was a free afternoon for our crew.  I spent almost all of the afternoon getting the budget updated.  Had enough time to go shopping with Vanessa.  We went to the corner stall guy and bought matching London zip-up jackets for me and Vanessa, T-shirts for Elaina, Mandy, Emma and Maddie.  I also bought a cool British hat.  I think it looks quite spiffy.

OBU in London #24 - August 10 (Kew Gardens)

Kew Palace

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Friday, August 10 – Kew Gardens

OBU in London #20 - August 6 (High Tea @ Kensington Palace)

Vanessa in the Great Hall @ Kensington Palace

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England 

Throne Room

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Royal Medieval Games!

Monday, August 6 – Kensington Palace!

OBU in London High Tea Table

Slept in a little bit this morning.  Class until an early light lunch.  Then to Kensington Palace to tour and then enjoy High Tea in their Pavilion Tearoom. 

The Palace itself was a pleasant visit.  We heard nice short talks on the State Apartments upstairs, and

Yummy Tea Treats

then there was a very moving display about Queen Victoria on the first floor, focused particularly on her romance with Prince Albert.  That was the highlight of the Palace Tour for me.  I didn’t make it to the exhibit on Princess Diana’s fashion – many of our students loved that! 

High Tea, however, was the REAL prime attraction.  The 18 of us (minus Arsid) were seated in a side room with only a few other guests.  The team menu itself was very delicious – five types of sandwich fingers, scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam, and three desserts – a Victorian sponge, a cheesecake, and a fruit & chocolate mousse.  But the highlight was how much all the students enjoyed the experience.  They all had tea – although Emma ended up drinking a pot of coffee too – and were chatting

Casey House demonstrating proper
tea-drinking form

and laughing quite through the tea.  We stayed for almost two hours, just to enjoy the fellowship and conversation.

After tea, back to Pickwick.  We had Colloquium before supper, as no one was hungry yet.  Another good day filled with blessings.  You are good, Lord. 

Vanessa & I in the Kensington Palace Gardens

OBU in London #16 - August 2 (The Mousetrap)

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

 

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on

the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!  

Thursday, August 2 – The Mousetrap!

Class this morning—one of these days I’ll have to say more about that!  After lunch, the group went to two museums—the Museum of Natural History and the Victoria & Albert Museum.  I have had a lot of OBU responsibilities pile up over the past month, and also needed to get the London budget updated, so I stayed at Pickwick and worked all afternoon—I finished just barely after supper, right before our group left to see “The Mousetrap,” an adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel, and the longest-running play in history.  We went to St. Martin’s Theatre, a 15-minute walk away, in the theatre district.  The play was lots of fun—my deductive conclusion (whodunit) was grossly incorrect!  Good times.  Late night—after returning from the play (about 10PM) we had to pack for our weekend in Scotland, as we head off first thing in the

Vanessa with Allison F & Rachel B

morning! 

 

OBU in London #15 - August 1 (Oxford)

Leaning Building!

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England 

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Wednesday, August 1 – Oxford! 

Early morning – 6AM departure!  As expected our young lady whose sister attempted suicide did not come – she was finally sleeping and getting some much-needed rest.  Vanessa had already planned to stay behind, and offered to do laundry for the team: 4 bags of “gifts” were left outside our door for her to take care of. 

  She let our remaining student sleep until about lunch time.  Then the two of them went to Nando’s for lunch, and to Primark to shop for a bit.  Good company and calm after a tough night.

The rest of us … on to Oxford!  6AM departure to the tube to Marble Arch, where we caught the 6:30AM “Oxford Tube”—a double-decker bus from London to Oxford City Center.  The bus took about 90 minutes altogether.  We got there in plenty of time for our 9AM tours—Lindsey took 4 students on a guided extended tour of the famous & extensive Bodleian Library; the other 13 of us did a walking tour of town.  Our guide was young – a 2^nd-year history major.  She knew her stuff, and was very cheery and pleasant.  We learned some about the town history, including its use as a

temporary castle.  We saw several of the famous colleges, including Balliol (Sir Peter Wimsey’s) and Trinity – the old rivals! 

OBU in London #14 - July 31 (Parliament)

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led Study Abroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Front facade of the Palace of Westminster

Tuesday, July 31 – Parliament! 

Class this morning.  I was able to sleep in a bit.  With the weather turning nicer (about 25 today), sleeping at night comes easier.  BUT, when we leave our windows open, we are besieged by cigarette smoke throughout the night.  Our room faces the front (Bedford Place), and sucks in the smoke from the street level.  Employees at the hotel next door are constantly smoking on their steps during breaks.  We have been unpleasantly surprised by how many people smoke in London (and in the UK in general).  And we pay the price.  My allergies have been suffering. 

But, today our fans came – so we’ll be able to have airflow and cooler air without leaving our windows open.  Yay!

This afternoon we walked to Parliament (The Palace of Westminster) for a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament.  Our guide was a very knowledgeable and well-spoken lady, Pauline.  Starting in the House of Lords, we saw the Royal Procession Rooms, the debating and voting chambers of both Houses, and then the Great Hall at he entrance.  The tour of Parliament included a lot of fascinating history about the development of English democracy.  Re-ignited my love for politics (and history – this whole trip has made me want to study more history!).

OBU in London #13 - July 30 (Windsor Palace)

Windsor Castle - gloomy morning

July 16 – August 14, 2018 – “The London 15” – OBU Student Abroad in London, England

This summer, I had the privilege of spending a month in England with a group of 15 students from Oklahoma Baptist University.  Dr. Lindsey Panxhi (an English faculty colleague) and myself, along with our respective spouses, conducted a faculty-led StudyAbroad that spent four weeks on the ground in London teaching OBU courses to OBU students while being immersed in the culture and history of Great Britain.  These are our stories!

Windsor Castle panorama

Monday, July 30 – Windsor Castle

Well, today we are missing Alethea’s 15^th birthday, and I feel tremendously guilty about it.  I wish we were at home.  I’m having a great time in London, experiencing and learning SO much, but it can’t possibly be worth it to miss our daughter’s birthday.  Worse still, we’ve committed to doing the London trip next summer as well, which will mean missing Alethea’s 16^th birthday too.  What kind of a father misses his girl’s 15^th and 16^th birthdays?  I say I love her, and I surely do, something fierce – but do my actions demonstrate that love adequately?  I wonder. 

 

From where that girl started, with a difficult pregnancy, premature emergency birth, and early surgery, she continues to astound and inspire me.  She is so smart and funny, musical and pleasant – she is the most amazing kid we know!  I worry that missing her birthday conveys the impression that she matters less in our eyes than the other kids, but that is not the case in the least. 

St. George's Chapel

Our day in London … today we took a trip to Windsor Castle, where Prince Harry and Megan Markle were married earlier this year.  The town around Windsor train station was quite touristy and trendy, and a bit on the pricey side.

The Castle itself was huge and beautiful.  There was a very nice tour of the State Apartments that was quite pleasant, and then St. George’s Chapel (wedding site) was amazing.  But overall, Windsor was a let-down.