What a week it has been! Middle Eastern Film festivals and garden parties and bears oh my! As part of our class, we took a field trip to hear some Cambridge students present their dissertations in environmental science. One chap proposed the idea to cut down on power usage in sub-Saharan African countries in order to shave off power consumption during peak hours and thus present the cost as lower and more favorable to investors. Then multiple off-grid power plants could be created to help reach the rural areas which don’t currently have power. “Hmmm…let’s reevaluate this,” I thought. So after the presentations, I went up to said student and told him what I had picked up in Sierra Leone last summer. A more favorable solution, especially considering the already minimal power usage in sub-Saharan Africa, would be to work to build the aforementioned off-grid power plants and extend cell phone connectivity in rural areas. Couple this with government incentives to incite the younger generations to move back into the rural areas where they now have phone reception and power, and they can boost the economy by revitalizing the dying agriculture sector. This would also help to alleviate overpopulation, homelessness and joblessness in metropolitan areas. And to boot, it would drive down power consumption in the cities. Therefore, there would be no need for having rolling blackouts, or other restrictions on power usage. This student then gave me his email address. Didn’t know that SL would come in handy at Cambridge, but I guess so!
On Thursday I went to a formal hall at Trinity college. For a small sum of 9 pounds I received a three course meal with wine, port, apple juice and coffee. The table was set with four knives, three forks, three spoons, three glasses, a mug, and four plates. I was not sure what to do with some utensils so I just used them all even if not needed. This way when the servers picked them off the table I at least appeared to know what I was doing with the silverware. Also on Thursday, my sister and I went to Anglesey Abbey. For those who don’t know what Anglesey Abbey is, it is basically a museum that the 1st Baron Fairhaven lived in. A country house just outside of Cambridge, the homestead sits amidst a lovely grounds with rose gardens, scattered statues, and other such luxuries. Inside the house there are about 40 some odd clocks. Unlike me, the Baron liked to keep track of time. Apparently the Baron’s father was in business with Rockefeller in the States and married rich, leaving his son a sum of 28 million pounds. I think with that sum in mind, we should move on. Friday night I saw the last installment of the Harry Potter saga, which was quite good. I dressed up as Harry and my sister went as Dobby. In an act of kindness, I gave her a sock and she became a free elf! Then tragically she was stabbed by Bellatrix and died. Alas, I was clean out of dittany potion, and Madame Pomfrey was nowhere to be found as technically we were on the run and proclaimed fugitives.
Saturday my sister and I attended an all-day Middle Eastern film festival in London. They were short films made by Middle Eastern directors which ranged in subject matter from a movie about a former Italian futbol player who becomes a philosopher to an artsy piece about a woman who craves chocolate (I think it was a euphemism for some drug based on the context) to a film based on a true story about a group of boys who were killed playing futbol, thus prompting a three hour battle among the neighbors although the killers were never caught and not from the neighborhood. The headliners were “My Name is Osama,” and “Grandma, 1000 Times.” The first film was about several individuals in Canada named Osama right after the 9/11 attacks, following their daily lives and how people reacted to their being named Osama. The latter movie was about the director’s grandma living in Beirut and her life story. There were some wonderful scenes such as grandma buying potatoes in a bucket from her apartment balcony, grandma smoking shisha daily, and an impromptu scene of her grandson director reenacting her wedding march through the street. If you can procure copies of the films at all, or if they are playing near you (wherever you may be), definitely do so.
Sunday was an Alice in Wonderland themed garden party. My sister went as Alice, and I was Wonderland. The party featured free food, drinks and games such as badminton and croquet. Quite a classy affair. Then on Monday, continuing the classiness theme, my sister and I attended a performance of Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale.” I had heard that it was Shakespeare’s most bizarre work, and after seeing it I agree. I will not give any plot details away, as you should see it if you haven’t had the pleasure, but one stage direction is “exit stage left followed by a bear.” And yes, this actually happens. This weekend I will be seeing Kevin Spacey’s Richard III in London on Friday and then going to Stratford upon Avon on Saturday to attend more Shakespeare plays. Tune in next week for more antics and adventures!
