Musings, mostly on the Underground
Saturday. I realized that in the last entry I didn’t have any people-watching bits included, so I’ll start off with that this time. The Tube is a great place for it; I’m not taking it regularly on this trip, as (so far at least) my research is at the PRO in Kew which is in easy walking distance from where I’m staying, but on the weekends I’ve been going out and about into the city. The first weekend there was a man sitting across from me, perhaps in his 50s, who gave me the impression of someone who’d perhaps been in the army or in construction - not sure why I thought that, maybe his build, maybe the tattoos he had: a number on his arms, but most interestingly he had T-R-U-E L-O-V-E across the knuckles of his hands. He did not look at all the romantic type, from the outside. This weekend, going into the city, I sat next to some Italians and across from a Spanish couple. I don’t recognize all the languages I’ve heard; I only can tell if I know a bit of the language myself and can pick out a few words to identify it.
Today (Saturday) I was looking at clothing. There were some people about whom I wondered if they’d actually chosen their outfits deliberately, and if so, why, or if they’d simply run out of clean clothes and put on anything available - because there were some very peculiar combinations out there. One I especially noticed was a woman in pink capri-length trousers, with high white boots, a black jacket with a sort of fur fringe around the neck, and a blouse that looked as if it could have come from about 1970: sheer, ruffled, and with a large flowered pattern in pink, yellow, and brown. (Granted I wear pyjamas with a very loud blue floral pattern that looks like nothing so much as kitchen curtains, but I don’t wear them in public.)
There was work being done, as well, so the Circle Line was closed completely and the District Line was partly closed (the latter is the one I have to take from here), so it was slightly more complicated than it might have been to get where I wanted. Tomorrow (Sunday) I’ll probably go back to the Museum of London one more time; my two visits so far have gotten me only up to the Stuart era (17th century) as I can only manage 2 or 3 hours at a go, and I’m the sort who has to read all of the placards as well as looking at the displays, so I’m slow at it all. If I’m feeling very energetic, I might also trot around to Paddington and see if I can get a fares leaflet for points westward, most especially Oxford, where I’ve never been.
A couple last Tube-based observations for this time. With the work closures, the Piccadilly line was especially crowded (it’s always busy, in my experience) but I was lucky enough to get on at the eastern edge of the central area of London, and had a seat. Though today was quite cool, it is hot in the trains when crowded, simply from body heat - as an aside, I must say that I wonder if the crowded conditions of train and bus have helped to encourage personal hygiene? not just here, but in general? - and then I was doubly lucky, because a woman came and stood in front of me who had a bouquet of flowers, and I could smell them the whole trip until I changed lines again at Hammersmith. Incidentally, for those reading who may never have been to London, “the Tube” is a bit of a misnomer; it’s underground in the central city, but as it goes out into the suburbs it’s above ground, and indeed some of the outer stations also have ordinary trains. Which leads me to my last point about it, that when one emerges from the tunnels blinking into the daylight, even a blind person could tell it - not from any particular sensation of rising, nor from a change in pressure out of the tunnels, but from the fact that suddenly mobile phones begin to ring.
Oh, I do hope that my wretched email is working again next time. I’ll probably know by the time I post this, as I generally check email first, LJ later. Highly irritating not to get messages, and even worse since it’s conceivable that they’ve been completely lost. I doubt that - I’ve had problems before with the web mail (and possibly I don’t notice it when I’m using my normal program instead) and everything has always come back again eventually, but one never knows - and I’m not really in a situation where I can easily contact tech support for the host.
Sunday. More Tube people-watching. I haven’t mentioned seeing Americans on it yet, but there are plenty; identified by accent, naturally. I can’t identify by clothing or other appearance, as that is so variable these days for everyone - even brand names don’t help. There was one girl today that I think was American, but she was by herself and so didn’t speak, so I’m not sure. But she had a backpack that was a brand I know from the US, and she was refreshing her makeup in the train; not something I’ve seen all that often. So that’s my guess. Not to imply anything negative about Americans in particular, mind you; when I was at the Museum of London, they have at present a reconstructed Roman water wheel and were doing demonstrations, and the only other person there watching was another American woman who was clearly interested and asked several good questions about the construction.
Was thinking about families, toos. I noticed quite a lot of families - well, weekends, what does one expect? Yesterday coming out in Kew I walked behind a woman pushing a stroller, with another woman - sister or friend, I don’t know - playing at racing the first woman’s daughter who seemed to be no more than 3 years old. Very fun to watch. Today I noticed a couple of families particularly while on the train; one couple with four children, and then on the way back a pregnant woman with twin girls in a stroller who must have been maybe 18 months, and what must have been her elderly parents. So I’ll climb on my very annoying soapbox and say that when I see families of more than two, three at the most, I really do wish I could ask why they decided to keep going and whether they feel they can afford so many kids. Because overpopulation is IMO at the root of an awful lot of contemporary problems. I certainly won’t say people can’t have kids - and realistically I know there’s no way to even assert that there should be limits - but I still think it’s unwise. [/ peeve] A small part may be sour grapes since I would like to have one or two myself before it’s too late, and it has not yet been possible. SO and I have tentatively planned to start trying either next January or, if he has job-changing possibilities at that point, the next fall. But no more than two at most. We’re both from families of two ourselves.
Okay, to shift topics slightly. Besides the people, I enjoy looking at the posters both on the trains and in the stations. Since the DVD of RotK was only released a couple of weeks ago, there are still a fair number of giant posters advertising it in the stations; it’s great to look up and see that image of Aragorn-with-sword facing me. ;-) I’ve seen more of those than Prisoner of Azkhaban film adverts. Have seen only one for Troy; interestingly not with Achilles, but with Paris as the figure shown. Inside the trains car and travel insurance are the most common subjects of the posters, but there are some public-service kinds of ones, Poems on the Underground for instance, which are more enjoyable. I’ve seen a poem by Chaucer and one called “Cut Grass,” which I liked though I can’t recall the author’s name.
Monday. This is getting rather long, I think! I’ve probably bored everyone to death, so I should perhaps leave this entry be for tonight. The chapter of “Passages” progresses apace, although I’m a little worried about how the Dwarf-Elf interactions have worked out; I think there isn’t nearly enough tension/conflict. But I’m pretty sure that I’ll manage to post it here when I post this entry (though separately) so maybe I can ask for some feedback on that point.
Tuesday. A quick note on the staff at the archive. The way that the PRO works is that the documents, of course, are all kept away from the public, and one orders what one wants on a computer, then collects it from the counter after half an hour. There are several staff working at any given time, checking the items in and out. I work on the second floor, which is reserved for maps and other large items, and also medieval documents (presumably because many of the latter are huge and unwieldy, though there are also tiny little slips of things). There are also staff who are on the floor, making sure that people handle the documents properly so as not to damage them, and that no one tries to take anything out (by accident or on purpose.) And also reference staff, who can help one figure out where to look for something - there are thousands of volumes of finding aids, such that just deciding what finding aid will help can be intimidating! The most noticeable member of the staff so far for me is a woman behind the documents counter, who is clearly Indian in background, probably Muslim as she wears a scarf covering her head and neck. Today I noticed that she also has henna designs on her hands. I had a college friend who was half-Indian and she wore those at one point, having had them put on as part of the celebration of a family wedding.
Wednesday. Nothing much to add except that the eating of my old emails seems to have been permanent *sigh* so if you sent me a message in the last 2 weeks and I didn't reply, please send it again, as it's undoubtedly vanished into the interstices of the web and been devoured by spiders...