A Day in Parliament with Elder Oaks

Two weeks ago, I had a really neat opportunity to listen to Elder Dallin H. Oaks (a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) address an All-Party Parliamentary Group in the House of Lords. He spoke about the importance of international religious freedom and of the need for religious voices to be part of the public square.

I had this surreal moment in the House of Lords--it was standing room only in the room, but there were two extra seats at the round table (where the speakers were sitting alongside other dignitaries). The chair mentioned that there were two seats available and that someone should take the seat. My friends (who were standing with me) said that I should take it, but I hesitated. Finally, one of my friends said, "If you go, I'll go." So we went to sit at the front.

I just sat there--sitting with world leaders in government, religion, and law--and I thought for a moment: "Is this really reality? This can't be my life." But there you go. For a moment, that was my life. And it was such a surreal moment.

[This is the best picture I have of us with Elder Oaks at Parliament.]

[Some of the Oxford Crew at Parliament.]

[Dani and Meg Go to Parliament.]

 On Thursday, Elder Oaks came to Oxford to participate in a symposium on religious freedom. I was asked to be Sister Oaks's "go-to" woman, so I spent a good part of the day getting to know her. I really like her; she's an incredibly kind, insightful, and accomplished woman.

[With Elder and Sister Oaks.]

Anyway, it was a very busy two days, but also a very full two days. It was my first time ever meeting an LDS apostle, so it was also a special experience for me. I know that they are not perfect, but I really do believe that these men are called of God to represent the Savior and to do His work on the earth today.

Of stones, phone booths, and magic

A photo collage. 

[In front of the British Museum. The lady taking our picture was so sweet--she made sure that it was aligned perfectly and that there were no other random tourists too near by.]

[I love the roof of the British Museum.]

[The Rosetta Stone. I actually really like this picture. I was able to get a shot without a lot of people, The random woman in the khaki coat who is studying the stone is my favorite part.]

[The Assyrian exhibit. I thought this one was really cool. I know that a lot of people go to the British Museum to see things like the Rosetta Stone and Elgin Marbles, but on this trip the Assyrian exhibit was my favorite.]

[Victoria and Albert Museum.]

[V&A Museum, take two. This was a sculpture representing modern London. It was called "The Tower of Babel."]

[So touristy. But I had to do it. I just love the red phone booths.]

["Mind the gap between the train and the platform."]

["Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." I absolutely had to get this picture. And yes, I am a Ravenclaw. Very much so. Also, they didn't have this setup the last time I was at King's Cross. I had to go and actually find Platform 9 and 3/4. But it's fun to have had both experiences/photo ops.]

[Going to see Wicked.]

[So excited to see Wicked! Did you know that I had never seen it before Wednesday? I've had the music memorized since I was 13, but this was my first time seeing it. It did not disappoint.]

I'm glad that I was able to spend a couple of days in London with my mom. Of course there was only so much we could see in the little time we were there, but honestly, you could spend a year in London and not see or do everything that's available there.

"When [one] is tired of London, [one] is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." --Samuel Johnson

Woke up in London yesterday . . .

It has been a very, very, very long day. Overnight transatlantic flights are draining, and when you've been running around Heathrow and London from 6:30 in the morning to now, you're pretty tired. Especially since you're trying to stave off sleep so that your circadian rhythm will somewhat adjust to the new time zone. Which is one reason I am writing a blog post right now. To keep myself awake.

That's not to say that it has been a bad day. Just a busy and tiring one.

But there is always wonder in the air in London. It is a beautiful city, rich in history and tradition.

Also, this is what I woke up to outside of my airplane window this morning:

If you ever wondered what London looks like from the air at 6:15 in the morning, now you know. It is a stunning collection of lights, with the black Thames cutting under the brilliance.

London greeted us (my mom and I--she's traveling with me) in her typical manner: with rain. It was a soggy, shiny September morning, afternoon, and evening.

She's just telling us how it is. What it means to live in England. You'd better get used to rain. Learn to like it, even when it makes your hair incredibly frizzy.

But she makes up for her occasional grumpiness by reminding you of her class, sophistication, and sheer beauty.

 [just a charming London street.]

 [now in black and white.]

 [Kensington Gardens.]

 [Iconic.]

 ["Flower Corner" with post.]

 [Trafalgar Square. The monument was under construction, so this was the best I could do under the circumstances.]

 [Westminster Abbey. Just extraordinary.]

[Hello, Big Ben.]

There is still so much ahead. But for tonight, I am grateful for the beginning of the journey. And that it begins in London. 

London Calling

Sorry it’s been awhile. My computer was sick. But now, through a myriad of tender mercies and an amazing friend who has an amazing, incredibly smart younger brother who can fix my computer while I'm in England they're in Utah (that experience deserves a blog post too . . . but no time right now), I am back online. Which has its pros and cons. But mostly pros.

Anyhoo. As promised, my trips to London:

I was in London the past two weekends, and I had a marvelous time. My first trip was with PKP, and this past weekend I was with my Nana. Both times reinforced my decision that I’m going to come back here someday.

Highlights of my London trips:

7/31-

Houses of Parliament Tour=AWESOME! We got to see both the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords was very ornate, grandiose, and everything was maroon. The House of Commons was a lot simpler, and everything was green. It was neat to hear the history behind some of the pomp and circumstance of a few of the ceremonies, particularly when the Queen opens Parliament. I also thought it was so cool to be in the same chambers where women finally got the right to vote in Britain, and where the Stamp Act and Sugar Act were passed. The history in the Houses of Parliament was almost tangible in some places. No pictures of the tour itself (they're not allowed), but here's one of us waiting to start the tour:

We're all really excited because Jeff was able to score a ticket.

Seeing Big Ben. I’ve always wanted to see it, and now I finally got my chance! I don’t know how many photos I snapped of it. There were a lot. I know it's very much a cliche, but that doesn't matter to me. It's beautiful, and so quintessentially London. I love it.

Peek-a-boo!

n Eating lunch at Trafalgar Square. I love Trafalgar Square. I think it’s my favorite place in London that I’ve been to so far. I loved being able to sit up on Nelson’s Column and watch the city go by. I also was forced to climb on one of the lions for a group photo. I don’t do very well with heights/balancing, and when you put those two fears together, you’ve got a frightened Megan. But Jen forced me to get on, and the boys pushed me up there, so I had no choice. And I was glad that I was forced to forget about my fear. It was definitely worth it. (So thanks, Jen. :))

Trafalgar Square

Seeing the Peter Pan statue. I’ve always loved the story of Peter Pan. In fact, he was my first crush. I know that he’s a ladies’ man (or a ladies’ boy, I guess . . . as much as you can be for a twelve-year-old—but now that I think of it, I’ve known a few in my time). Wendy, the mermaids, and faeries all love him—as evidenced by this statue—but I couldn’t help myself. I always wished that he’d fly me away to Neverland. Anyway, enough reminiscing. I really enjoyed seeing the statue. And singing “You Can Fly” to myself . . . and out loud. Ahhhh, nostalgia.
Peter's Admirers

n Seeing Henry VIII at the Globe Theatre! I had a “nerd moment” at the Globe. Being an English major, it’s expected to happen. I mean, Shakespeare’s plays were performed at the Globe! I was basking in the light of great literature. I didn’t necessarily like being a groundling and standing for three hours (next time I go, I’m paying the extra money for a seat), and the play itself was okay—the performance was great, play was just okay, in my opinion—but I was in the Globe, people! That, I believe, qualifies for a nerd moment.

Sarah Shumway and I having a nerd moment.

8/06—8/08

Last weekend, I got to explore London with my Nana. I had a really great time with her. It was really special getting to spend that time with Nana in a city that I’m beginning to love more and more.

Highlights:

British Museum and National Gallery: I got my culture fix. I know this is cliché, but I really did enjoy seeing the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. So, so cool. I also liked seeing the mummies. The National Gallery was incredible, too. So many beautiful paintings.

Imperial War Museum: This museum is very cool. Nana and I were very impressed by the the quality of the exhibitions. There was a "Secret World" exhibition that I really enjoyed, especially because I'm taking a "Spooks and Spies" class at Cambridge.

War Horse: This is a fairly new play on the West End. And it was incredible. Very moving, extremely professional, really good soundtrack. Go see it if you get the chance.

Sleeping in a nice bed: This one doesn't need any explanation.

Spending time with Nana: I am so grateful that I was able to spend this time with Nana. I had a great time seeing the sights with her and talking with her. I'm so grateful for her generosity.

Pictures of Nana and I:

(They're out-of-order because Blogger is dumb. End of story.)

The "Parting of the Ways"-- right before I went back up to Cambridge

In front of the National Gallery

Matching in blue at the British Museum

Coming Soon . . .

. . . will be my blog post about my Saturday trip to London.

Too many papers to write, too many essays to read at the moment.

But for the moment, let me just say that I absolutely loved it. I love London.











Also, do you want to hear a dirty little secret? I bought a jar of Nutella yesterday--for stressful days, you know? And I ate the entire jar. Yesterday. All by myself.

Lost in London

This will be a long post. Just thought I'd warn you.

I flew out of Salt Lake on Friday, with stops in Chicago O'Hare and Newark. I was traveling with another BYU student, Jared Holloway. The layovers weren't supposed to be long at all (about one hour max for each--just enough time to get to the next gate and take a short rest), but something happened to our plane in Newark, and so we had an unexpected delay of 3 hours to deal with plane maintenance. The layover augumented the correlation I make between the Newark Airport and layovers. The last time I was there, we had a layover for 7 hours. Not fun. But Jared and I decided that we need to think of something to do for the 6-hour layover we'll have in Houston on the way back. I wholeheartedly agree.

We were supposed to fly out of Newark around 8 pm, but we didn't end up leaving until about 11:30 pm. So, we got into London-Heathrow about 11:00 am. I really enjoyed looking out of the window at the English countryside below. Beautiful.

We went through Customs quite easily in Heathrow, but when we went to get baggage, Jared's suitcase wasn't there. We're all hoping that he'll be able to get it really soon. I had my first experience on the tube (the London Underground), so that was exciting. Jared got the directions to the Youth Hostel, but the Jubilee Line that we needed to take to get to the Canada Water station was down for the weekend.

We were lost (I was REALLY lost . . . Jared at least could figure out directions a lot better than I could), but we did eventually (after a lot of walking, sweating, taking a lot of buses, and calling the Youth Hostel for directions when we were lost again), we finally made it to the Youth Hostel. Hurray!

A picture that I took on the bus of the Tower of London

A residential area of London (in which the Youth Hostel was located, and which we got to know quite well from walking about so much. :)

Me, after almost 17 hours of flying, tube-riding, bus-riding, and walking. Anywho, the rest of the day was quite nice after getting to the hostel. We walked along the Thames, which was nice. I also got to see Platform 9 and 3/4, which was awesome. I was so excited that I got to do that. I'm Harry Potter geek, so it made me all happy inside. :) We also saw Hyde's Park (which is a lot bigger than I expected), and watched the ending of the USA-Ghana game in a pub.

Well, I need to get ready for my first Cambridge class. (!) I'll post more about getting to Cambridge and Cambridge itself later. By the way, it's absolutely beautiful here.

Along the Thames

Platform 9 and 3/4! :)

The funny "Please Litter" sign at King's Cross. There are no garbage cans at King's Cross.

Hyde Park

The Youth Hostel