The Voice of London Episode III
Good evening Canada. This week's Voice of London is actually appropriately titled as I am sending this from the city of London itself, rather than Norwich. In the interest of completeness I will say that nothing really happened on Thursday. Moving on to Friday... It's time for another movie review. Brian should be particularly interested in this review as it will be on the new Martin Scorcese film The Departed. They say if a director is doing his job well you shouldn't really see his influence on the film. You should be drawn into the film so that you don't notice the director's touch. I think The Departed succeeds in this regard, with the exception of one scene. In it the shot moves into a room and pulls back down the length of a conference table in a camera move that is purely Scorcese. This scene occurs early in the film which is probably why I was able to catch it. When I did it made me smile. After that the story dares you not to be compelled. There is a line that has been fairly prominent in the trailers where Jack Nicholson says, in reference to cops and criminals, "If you're looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, what's the difference?" Beyond the fact that the story is about one of each infiltrating the other's group, the movie goes to even greater lengths to demonstrate that the differences are few, if any. Cops and criminals are just people who kill each other. Danny said to me afterwards that it was the first movie he'd seen in a while that he didn't want to end. Watching the movie I couldn't predict how it would end and was quite shocked at how it did. The final scene only invites more questions but not in a way that is unsatisfying. After all that has happened they don't need to be answered. It's almost like a Zen koan. Does a gun have Buddha nature? Bang. ****1/2 out of *****.
On Saturday the market was open again and we went down to outfit ourselves with a few items we would need for our coming trip to London. I needed to replace the battery in my watch so I would have an alarm to wake me early enough to catch the train. We both needed to get luggage locks to safeguard our belongings in the storage lockers of the hostel at which we were to stay. After a bit of easily surmountable difficulty both missions were accomplished. Our requisite tasks completed we continued browsing the shops of Norwich, focusing most of our attention on those located on St. Benedict's Street. Unable to help myself I broke down and purchased the second volume of Y: the Last Man (as well as the first volume of 100 Bullets). Fortunately the end of this book inspires less compulsion to continue reading than the last, so I think I can keep myself from dropping another eight pounds on the next book. 100 Bullets is structured more episodically and thus there is, again, less reason to continue reading. It is based on an interesting premise, though. A rather mysterious character known as Agent Graves contacts people whose lives have been ruined in some way and gives them an attache case containing the identity of the person responsible for their hardship along with irrefutable proof that this is the case, a pistol, one hundred untraceable rounds of ammunition, and the assurance that law enforcement will do nothing to stop them. They are then free to do as they will. It allows for some morally ambiguous examinations of more or less extraordinary circumstances. As I said, interesting premise.
Sunday saw our early rising as we made our final preparations and headed to the station to board the 12:00 train into London. The two hour ride was fitfully restful and not entirely uncomfortable. We arrived at Liverpool Street Station at the scheduled time of two o'clock. Our first task was to purchase Oyster cards (as they're known) to permit our transit on London's famous Underground. These we acquired for the price of £22. Danny seemed skeptical as to their value, but I am convinced that with the efficiency of the tube system for travel around the city they are worth every penny. We took the Central line from Liverpool Street to Bond where we transferred to the Jubilee line and proceeded to Swiss Cottage station, our final destination. We found our hostel fairly easily. It's called Palmers Lodge and is constructed from a restored Victorian manor. I have the top bunk (above Danny) in a fourteen bed dorm. We each have a footlocker that slides under the bed. There is a cafeteria style restaurant and a bar downstairs (along with laundry services). On the main floor are our rooms, bathrooms, showers, and a spacious TV lounge. Free internet is available in the lobby, as well as in the lounge. I am quite comfortable here and the rates (10-12 pounds per night), given the setting, are without peer. I would definitely recommend this hostel for anyone needing affordable accommodations while traveling in London. After checking in and stowing our excess belongings we found a Thai restaurant at which to have lunch. We then returned to the hostel so Danny could shower and I took a few minutes to check my email. With Danny sufficiently cleansed and refreshed we embarked on an exploration of the area. Skipping extraneous details we find ourselves at a bar called 3one7 which we went to for billiards, but as it turns out, happened to have karaoke on Sunday nights as well. Unfortunately the few people in attendance did not seem too keen on actually participating. Danny and I could basically have sung continuously, but with the limited selection of songs there was little reason to do so. Later in the evening they held a karaoke competition with a £2 entry fee giving a chance at a £50 prize. This got a couple more people singing (though if I'm not mistaken they were all from the same group). All told there were five entrants in the competition including me and Danny. On my recommendation Danny performed Cover Me (in my opinion his strongest song). I went with Champagne Supernova but had to settle for second place to some girl who sang Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. I was invited back to the finals on November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day (remember? remember?). Hopefully we'll have a residence in the city by then. If not, I'll still want to come in to see the Like and Gnarls Barkley anyway, so we'll see how that goes.
Besides some initial trouble getting to sleep (caused in part by previous late nights, carryover from jetlag, and the sheets being tucked in at the foot of the bed) I had a restful night and awoke around 9:30. Breakfast was not particularly tasty or all that filling, but it was free so I can't complain. The shower stall was small with little shelf space to keep clothing off the wet floor, but after two weeks of only baths it was heaven. I tried to think of another sentence that would follow the structure of something something but something, but I couldn't. Hey, that works. Today was the British Library and Tate Modern. The Library was first and we spent about two hours there. We found a place down the street called the Rocket and had a pretty decent lunch. We were at the Tate Gallery for about four or five hours. They've got some really great pieces right now, including a film of a six year old girls reading the entire text of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Remarks on Colour aloud. Another video piece has four screens that cut together clips of music and sound from films to create a kind of symphonic audiovisual collage. There was also a really brilliant photograph that I liked a lot but I can't recall the title or photographer. I guess I should have written it down. I'll go back and check before the end of the week. One title I do remember was Incidental Music. It takes the text of tabloid stories of murder and other tragedies and aligns them on large sheets in horizontal lines that form musical staffs. The gaps between each story determines the pitch and temporal location of each note. The resulting music is then played over headphones you can wear while viewing the "sheet music" as it were. Even if I don't get back there this week, I'm sure I'll be visiting Tate Modern again so maybe I'll get into more detail on art another time. Skip more boring parts and we're having dinner at a Turkish restaurant called Topkapi. I had the mousaka. It was alright; more expensive than it should have been though. That pretty much ends the day.
We got a later start today. Danny was out buying a postcard. When he got back we took the tube to Charing Cross station and ascended to Trafalgar Square. In my opinion the stairs of to the Square from Charing Cross are the best exit from the Underground in all of London. After riding one of the most efficient metropolitan transit systems in the world, you come out from the tunnels into one of the most famous landmarks in England. We walked around behind the National Gallery and had lunch at an Italian restaurant. A little pricey, but better than the mousaka last night. The next stop was the Portrait Gallery where they had a Beatles exhibit that held Danny's attention for a while. When he was finished we proceeded to the National Gallery where I was disappointed not to be able to find Salvatore Rosa's self portrait. I did find his Witches at Their Incantations, which is another of my favourites at the National Gallery. Other paintings in this category include Hans Holbein the Younger's The Ambassadors, and Sassoferrato's The Virgin in Prayer. Finishing our perusal there we stopped off at the Canadian High Commission where I registered as a Canadian citizen living abroad and got some advice on jobs and housing. Then we took a nice walk through St. James park to Buckingham Palace. I got some pretty good pictures throughout the day, which I will send when I get the ability to do so. I don't know when this will be though.
Normally I wouldn't send this until tomorrow but it's getting a little lengthy and I don't want to overwhelm you to an excessive degree. I prefer my readers to be only mildly overwhelmed.
Charitably yours,
Matthew Hawkins
On Saturday the market was open again and we went down to outfit ourselves with a few items we would need for our coming trip to London. I needed to replace the battery in my watch so I would have an alarm to wake me early enough to catch the train. We both needed to get luggage locks to safeguard our belongings in the storage lockers of the hostel at which we were to stay. After a bit of easily surmountable difficulty both missions were accomplished. Our requisite tasks completed we continued browsing the shops of Norwich, focusing most of our attention on those located on St. Benedict's Street. Unable to help myself I broke down and purchased the second volume of Y: the Last Man (as well as the first volume of 100 Bullets). Fortunately the end of this book inspires less compulsion to continue reading than the last, so I think I can keep myself from dropping another eight pounds on the next book. 100 Bullets is structured more episodically and thus there is, again, less reason to continue reading. It is based on an interesting premise, though. A rather mysterious character known as Agent Graves contacts people whose lives have been ruined in some way and gives them an attache case containing the identity of the person responsible for their hardship along with irrefutable proof that this is the case, a pistol, one hundred untraceable rounds of ammunition, and the assurance that law enforcement will do nothing to stop them. They are then free to do as they will. It allows for some morally ambiguous examinations of more or less extraordinary circumstances. As I said, interesting premise.
Sunday saw our early rising as we made our final preparations and headed to the station to board the 12:00 train into London. The two hour ride was fitfully restful and not entirely uncomfortable. We arrived at Liverpool Street Station at the scheduled time of two o'clock. Our first task was to purchase Oyster cards (as they're known) to permit our transit on London's famous Underground. These we acquired for the price of £22. Danny seemed skeptical as to their value, but I am convinced that with the efficiency of the tube system for travel around the city they are worth every penny. We took the Central line from Liverpool Street to Bond where we transferred to the Jubilee line and proceeded to Swiss Cottage station, our final destination. We found our hostel fairly easily. It's called Palmers Lodge and is constructed from a restored Victorian manor. I have the top bunk (above Danny) in a fourteen bed dorm. We each have a footlocker that slides under the bed. There is a cafeteria style restaurant and a bar downstairs (along with laundry services). On the main floor are our rooms, bathrooms, showers, and a spacious TV lounge. Free internet is available in the lobby, as well as in the lounge. I am quite comfortable here and the rates (10-12 pounds per night), given the setting, are without peer. I would definitely recommend this hostel for anyone needing affordable accommodations while traveling in London. After checking in and stowing our excess belongings we found a Thai restaurant at which to have lunch. We then returned to the hostel so Danny could shower and I took a few minutes to check my email. With Danny sufficiently cleansed and refreshed we embarked on an exploration of the area. Skipping extraneous details we find ourselves at a bar called 3one7 which we went to for billiards, but as it turns out, happened to have karaoke on Sunday nights as well. Unfortunately the few people in attendance did not seem too keen on actually participating. Danny and I could basically have sung continuously, but with the limited selection of songs there was little reason to do so. Later in the evening they held a karaoke competition with a £2 entry fee giving a chance at a £50 prize. This got a couple more people singing (though if I'm not mistaken they were all from the same group). All told there were five entrants in the competition including me and Danny. On my recommendation Danny performed Cover Me (in my opinion his strongest song). I went with Champagne Supernova but had to settle for second place to some girl who sang Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. I was invited back to the finals on November 5th, Guy Fawkes Day (remember? remember?). Hopefully we'll have a residence in the city by then. If not, I'll still want to come in to see the Like and Gnarls Barkley anyway, so we'll see how that goes.
Besides some initial trouble getting to sleep (caused in part by previous late nights, carryover from jetlag, and the sheets being tucked in at the foot of the bed) I had a restful night and awoke around 9:30. Breakfast was not particularly tasty or all that filling, but it was free so I can't complain. The shower stall was small with little shelf space to keep clothing off the wet floor, but after two weeks of only baths it was heaven. I tried to think of another sentence that would follow the structure of something something but something, but I couldn't. Hey, that works. Today was the British Library and Tate Modern. The Library was first and we spent about two hours there. We found a place down the street called the Rocket and had a pretty decent lunch. We were at the Tate Gallery for about four or five hours. They've got some really great pieces right now, including a film of a six year old girls reading the entire text of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Remarks on Colour aloud. Another video piece has four screens that cut together clips of music and sound from films to create a kind of symphonic audiovisual collage. There was also a really brilliant photograph that I liked a lot but I can't recall the title or photographer. I guess I should have written it down. I'll go back and check before the end of the week. One title I do remember was Incidental Music. It takes the text of tabloid stories of murder and other tragedies and aligns them on large sheets in horizontal lines that form musical staffs. The gaps between each story determines the pitch and temporal location of each note. The resulting music is then played over headphones you can wear while viewing the "sheet music" as it were. Even if I don't get back there this week, I'm sure I'll be visiting Tate Modern again so maybe I'll get into more detail on art another time. Skip more boring parts and we're having dinner at a Turkish restaurant called Topkapi. I had the mousaka. It was alright; more expensive than it should have been though. That pretty much ends the day.
We got a later start today. Danny was out buying a postcard. When he got back we took the tube to Charing Cross station and ascended to Trafalgar Square. In my opinion the stairs of to the Square from Charing Cross are the best exit from the Underground in all of London. After riding one of the most efficient metropolitan transit systems in the world, you come out from the tunnels into one of the most famous landmarks in England. We walked around behind the National Gallery and had lunch at an Italian restaurant. A little pricey, but better than the mousaka last night. The next stop was the Portrait Gallery where they had a Beatles exhibit that held Danny's attention for a while. When he was finished we proceeded to the National Gallery where I was disappointed not to be able to find Salvatore Rosa's self portrait. I did find his Witches at Their Incantations, which is another of my favourites at the National Gallery. Other paintings in this category include Hans Holbein the Younger's The Ambassadors, and Sassoferrato's The Virgin in Prayer. Finishing our perusal there we stopped off at the Canadian High Commission where I registered as a Canadian citizen living abroad and got some advice on jobs and housing. Then we took a nice walk through St. James park to Buckingham Palace. I got some pretty good pictures throughout the day, which I will send when I get the ability to do so. I don't know when this will be though.
Normally I wouldn't send this until tomorrow but it's getting a little lengthy and I don't want to overwhelm you to an excessive degree. I prefer my readers to be only mildly overwhelmed.
Charitably yours,
Matthew Hawkins
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