The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 4, Ed. 1, Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Page: 3 of 6
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FEATURES
Postcards from London: British Museum & Buskers
by Charis M. Ellison
staff writer
Time moves veiy quickly in
London. Since I wrote my last
column I've filled seventy-two
pages of my journal and I hardly
know what to talk about. I've had
my first really bad day called my
parents and cried on the phone
for twenty minutes and washed
my clothes at the local 'laun-
derette' (I ran out of money for
the dryer so for a day our room
was festooned with damp shirts
and socks and other items of a
personal nature). I walk past the
British Museum almost every
day-I even went in this week
when I had some free time to
wander around (we went of
course but as a class rushing
through the major points of inter-
est). I happened to have a block
of cheese because I bought it on
my way and an umbrella
because it had been raining real
London rain. I ended up tailing a
group of Japanese tourists
through Egypt before I left.
I'm also starting to figure out
the London underground system.
Public transportation is essential
in London-you couldn't pay me to
drive here. Crossing the streets is
dangerous enough thanks. I
don't really like to drive anyway
and I love the Tube and the won-
derful red buses even though I
have absolutely no idea how to
read a bus schedule. My new phi-
losophy in life is that when there
is a bus you should take it. And
sit on the 'top deck. You can see
everything-it's probably the
cheapest way to see the most of
London and if you sit in the front
of the top deck it feels like flying
or riding a roller coaster.
The Tube is another wonder-
ful thing. It can be crowded and
hot and funny smelling but we
never really worry about getting
lost because we just have to find a
Tube station and we can get any-
where easily. Then there are the
"buskers". I didn't know that
busker and busking were words
until I got here and Microsoft
Word certainly doesn't seem to
like them but they appear on
signs in the Tube station so they
must mean something. The
buskers are the men and women
who play music in the Tube sta-
tions. They have busking
licenses that allow them
to perform. You hear a lot
of bass guitar on the
underground. One man
performs regularly in a
certain station but the
only thing he seems to
know is the bass line of
Stairway to Heaven. I
saw a man playing the
pan pipe in one station.
Sometimes these buskers
are very good; sometimes
they are very bad. But
they add color just the
same.
Outside of the Tube
stations street perform-
ers are still common
especially in Covent
Garden. On our second day
in London we watched a
man get himself out of
chains and saw an out of
work opera singer per-
form beside an open air
cafe. The ones I really
like though are found
mostly along the bank of
the Thames on the walk-
way between the pedestri-
an bridges and the
London Eye. I call them
the painted people living statues.
These are men and women
dressed in costumes and com-
pletely painted white or gold or
silver who pick a pose and stand
perfectly still. Often if you give
them money they bow very slow-
ly and sometimes they shift to let
you take a picture with them but
I have never heard one speak.
After all how do you go up to
someone who is working veiy
hard not to move and start a con-
versation? These are the sights that
don't usually appear on London
postcards but they give the city
its life. I could talk about
Parliament or Westminster Abbey
or Chartwell or Knole House or
Hampton Court Palace and how
none of them were what I expect-
ed; I could talk about all of the
plays we see every week; I could
talk about how I relate to the peo-
ple here. I could go on for pages
and not cover everything but it's
getting late and I have my first
test in the morning because
classes go on here too.
Cheers
Charis
Special T-Shirts
Still Available
The Brand Layout Staff apologizes for the
many mistakes in Sep. 13 Issue:
Christa Cantu - Harrison was credited as
"editor-in-chief which is obviously the posi-
tion of Brad Bagby. Sorry Brad.
An article written by Brandon McClellan was
credited to Tara Lacey.
Also two articles written by Ashley Abney
were wrongfully credited to Jessi Pike.
Again we apologize for the mistakes.
Show your HSU Pride and Spirit with an
official HSU T-Shirt sponsored by
the Alumni Association.
Available in Purple or Gold
long and short sleeves
Most sizes available
Certain Sizes are sold out so get yours TODAY!
Shirts are on sale in the Office of Alumni Relations
Compere Hall on the Corner of Ambler and Hickory
670-1317
Students Enjoy West Texas and Health Fairs
HHK M ' WKm ii' I! 1H1 BUT PWW1U " ' wM '
Far Iqft: A freshly sheared sheep Top left: Chili
Cheese Aggie Fries a favorite at the fair
Bottom Left: Ferris wheel at the West Texas Fair
and Rodeo (Photos: R. Heard) Above: Marilyn
Simpson RN has her blood pressure tested by
Jason Racca Student Physical Therapist at the
Health Fair. (Photo: Roy Juarez)
mm
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The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 93, No. 4, Ed. 1, Tuesday, September 27, 2005, newspaper, September 27, 2005; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth104713/m1/3/: accessed May 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.