SAINTS, SHAKESPEARE, AND CONVEYOR BELT SUSHI

Tuesday, June 24^th, was a very full day of terrific touring fun, Aubrey likes our new blog routine and so we begin with her. 

Aubrey’s perspective

Today was great from the famous Westminster Abbey to conveyor belt sushi with an old friend of my dad’s from South Carolina. We started out after a nice breakfast at the hotel and took the tube to Westminster Abbey. It was cool ~ not necessarily fun ~ but interesting and beautiful.  From there we went to see the changing of the guards, which would have been great if we could have seen them better, but that’s OK because we saw a little bit of it and of what we saw it was fantastic! Then we went to a trusty food place [it’s trusty because we went there yesterday and it was good food] called PRET and went on a boat to eat it. We got off the boat and went to Shakespeare’s globe and learned how they did costumes and battles for some of his plays. Finally we hooked up with one of my dad’s friends who lives in London, and we had conveyor belt sushi. For those of you who are wondering what conveyor belt sushi is, it is where there is a little line of sushi and stuff where you grab what you want, eat it, and pay when you’re finished. They really need to get one in Fernandina!

Now it’s Will’s turn:  

Well today was great. We started at Westminster Abbey.  It was cool ~ not fun but very coo. There I learned that the queen is head of the Knights of Bath and has her own chair in the Abbey amongst the nights.  After that we rushed to see some of the changing of the guard.  It was hard to see but what we could see was very cool.  Then we went to a great chain called PRET where you can get almost anything you want [within reason]. After getting our food “to go” we got on a boat and ate on the water. Then we saw the Shakespeare’s globe which was cool.  After that we met up with one of my dad’s friend’s, Josh. With Josh we went to a pub called ye olde Cheshire Cheese and had a great dry ginger ale.  Then we saw some shops and ate at Yo Sushi where a conveyor belt went around the restaurant and if something looked good you took it and ate it.  I personally loved it. Then we went home. Wow what a day.

WILL THE YO SUSHI LOVING BEAST OUT!

Well loved ones and friends it was indeed a very full day, and I have to say that the Westminster Abbey trip was moving beyond words.  In preparation for Scotland I have been reading up on Mary Queen of Scots, and I got to visit where she is buried.  Poet’s corner rendered both Sarah and me speechless, and we were so impressed by what the children noticed and the thoughtful questions they asked of the volunteers there.  Since the Abbey is an active church, once and hour everyone is asked to pause for a moment of prayer where over the PA system one of the priests leads a prayer.  Tues was a time of remembrance for John the Baptist, and to remembering John’s life and work was the substance of the prayer.  During that prayer of remembrance, thanks, and blessing, Sarah, Will, Aubrey, and I huddled together and offered ourselves to God.  It was such a special time for me.  It was also special that we could light candles for people in need of prayer and so we did so for Clay Treska and Bea Griffith who are both dealing with cancer and each doing so with such courage and faith. 

Lunch on the boat as we cruised the river Thames was so relaxing.  The weather was balmy and warm, the bottom level of the boat wasn’t crowded, and so we just enjoyed one another and got recharged.  After lunch, though we missed a show and an official back stage tour of Shakespear’s theatre we did get to see the museum and enjoy a couple of presentations, one of sword fighting and one on costumes. Since Will and Aubrey have recently been in the play Oliver, we thought they would love it and love it they did!  I really enjoyed all the artifacts from the original play house, and I got to see original pages of his First Folio.  It was amazing. 

Later we connected with Josh Mitchell, a wonderful person in my life whose ties go way back to my childhood and his in Batesburg-Leesville, S.C.  His family and our family worshipped together at B-L Presbyterian for years.  The Mitchell’s sat on the third pew and we sat on the fourth.  We had lots of laughs together remembering Tom Engle, and we got caught up because we haven’t seen each other in years.  I lost track of Josh somewhere around my time in seminary or just after ordination.  He went off to Clemson and was in the band and got a degree in Business Development (he has a passion for urban planning).  He showed us all over London and took us to a favorite pub of his, Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese, which ironically just so happens to be one of my all time favorite pubs!  It was a joyful moment of coalescence when he suggested that we should go there!  He also found us the sushi place that Aubrey and Will mentioned, and we did have fun watching the little pods of food go by.  We ate like royalty and laughed, and we just had a grand time. 

The day was so wonderful, but by the time we got back to the hotel we were really wiped out.