The Arrow's Path

Here is a picture of King's College, about 5 minutes walk from Westcott House. Also, a plaque telling that Oliver Cromwell's head is buried nearby. He is still so hated, they can't say where. Also of interest, a plaque and coat of arms from the church I went to on Sunday (Little St. Mary's). George Washington's grandfather was vicar there in the 1700s and is buried there as well. Notice the coat of arms of the Washington family...its where the American flag and eagle come from.

So I was signing the initial forms for Westcott House yesterday, and it came to the part about your ethnicity. British forms are a bit different. For us mostly white folk, It read as follows: Mark one: 1. White-British 2. White-Irish 3. White-other I was not quite sure what to put. I don't think 'British' is actually an ethnicity, but I guess its best not to quibble about such things. I do have some Scotch-Irish, but that's not my nationality. I think I finally put white-other, as I don't need the Anglican Inquisition coming and taking me away to Londonamo where they force feed you tea and crumpets. There was also no hispanic or native american option at all. Very strange. But apparently Caribbean is. Go figure...

I finalized my classes at Westcott today. Registration processes at UK colleges are so much easier. You just meet with the registrar, tell her what you want to take, and she works it out and tells you if there is a problem. No forms to sign, no advisors to deal with. I must have made my way into academic Narnia. I am taking a life and worship class, and a Life in Christ class, both introductory C of E classes for ordinands that focus on life, polity, and Anglican liturgy (they use the word "ordinand" a lot here, it's "brilliantly grand.") I am also taking a class in Jewish-Christian relations from a Dutch-born Holocaust Holocaust survivor who was ethnically Jewish but converted to the C of E many years ago. That should be quite interesting. I am also taking a Bible studies class that is broken down into half on Ruth/Jonah and half on Deuteronomy. How exactly they will thread those together will be interesting. Its co-taught by the vice principal of Westcott down

I have arrived safely at Westcott. I have been fairly busy the last week days getting settled in and all. Unfortunately, the network is not turned on yet, so I have to use the library computer on a Windows 95 machine. I think this monitor came over on the ark. I will attempt to upload some photos at some point when I get a descent network connection. Anyway, I have arrived and moved in. I even have a sitting room and a maid. Its wonderfully, if somewhat disgustingly English. (FYI...the London Tube station where you catch the train to Cambridge is out of commission, so you have to hike a bit from the next line over.) I am truly astounded at the number of Anglican churches. It seems there isone on every street corner. I went to a lovely church called St. Mary's the Lesser up on Trumpington street. It was much like the church I attend in Chicago, with about a quarter of the congregation having my last name...Go figure.

The Archer...live from Malahide Castle. You have to love a castle that has a wifi hotspot. Go figure... 

I wanna be a fishmonger when I grow up! 

This is the top of the cliff where the previous picture was taken.  

Cheers for Dublin...or Howth rather (rhymes with 'both'). I took a trip on the Dublin commuter rail to Howth, a little fishing village at the bottom of the cliffs on the far north side of Dublin bay. This picture is a bit crooked because I had to place the camera on a cliff rock that was slanted. 

The Tower where the monks would retreat to during raids. 

The remains of the chapel. 

I just finished my 4th day in Ireland. I took a day tour on a motorcoach to the Wicklow mountains, Glendalough, and to see the Avoca weavers in the town where they filmed the BBC series Ballykissangel. I have to admit I have heard of the show, and might have seen an episode or two. I, however, did not really recognize the village, so the allure of the show was somewhat lost on me. I did buy a jolly nice wool golf had at the weavers. It matched the color of my jacket, and it fit my fat melon large head. I have been impressed with Ireland so far. In fact, I might have to rate Dublin as my favorite European city. This comes as quite a surprise to me, but it is true. Ireland has been in an economic boom in the last 2 decades, as the government was far-sighted enough to lure all the fledgling software companies to Ireland and invest highly in technical computer education for its citizens back in the 1980s. Apparently Ireland is first in the world in software exports, surpassing even the U

The entrance of Newgrange. We got to go in, but could not take pictures. Probably just as well as neolithic man was quite short. I had a time getting into the main chamber. 

Newgrange from a distance. 

Here's a good one of the view.  

Today I went to Newgrange, an archeaological site older than the pyramids and stonehenge. It is a stone and earth structure that lets the light in during the summer and winter solstice.  

The view from the top of the Guinness factory. 

Compliments of Arthur Guinness (notice Shamrock in the foam). 

Ah ha...the mother lode. 

Toucan sitting inside the museum. 

The brewery...and its next to a church. Only in Ireland. 

At the Gates... 

Getting closer... 

The Pilgrimage begins 

Choir Stall of St. Patrick's, Dublin 

The interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral (anglican) 

I am finally back at the hotel after a long day of walking the South side of Dublin. I started out going to St. Stephen's Green and then to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, the illuminated mauscript from circa AD 600. They didn't allow photos, so I won't include any. I discovered a truism today about Dublin. I darted into a pub for lunch because it blew up a hearty rainstorm. It had been perfectly sunny when I left. I was drenched, and the bartender said, "First day in Dublin?" I agreed and asked why. He said, "Only people knew to Dublin forget their umbrella and jacket." There be truth in that. I then moseyed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral, one of the two Anglican cathedrals here in Dublin. I have included a few shots below. I saw Jonathan Swift's grave, inside the church. He was dean there for like 3 decades. He is still the most hilarious satirist I have ever read. I then buzzed over the the Guinness brewery in St. James' Gate. I

The most awesome name for a Pub...ever.  

Its currently 1PM or 8AM depending on how you look at it. I never seem to get any sleep on overnight flights. I mainly manage to get a few dozes in between the screaming baby who feels it necessary to make an appearance on NORAD plane tracking. I have accepted the fact that its my lot in life to never have an airplane ride without a screaming baby within 3 feet. This one was an added bonus. Not only did he scream every 15 minutes, he also had the most irritating MIDI file playing toy I have ever heard. If Pavarotti Jr. wasn't howling ever 15 minutes, the song playing toy picked up the slack. Then we had to make an unscheduled stop in Shannon, Ireland because some guy was apparently having a heard attack. The stewardesses managed to hide the fact until we were in descent so no one panicked. Proves my point...screaming babies on planes are hazardous to your health. And all this fun after my flight to New York from Charlotte got delayed because of maintainence broken plane . Luckily