Ending with Apricots

Today was long--we did so many things I feel like this morning was a week ago! This morning we met for class for the first time. We walked to St. Olave's church on Hart Street--and incredible place to use as a classroom:

It felt so peaceful and timeless in there, even with 40+ students fidgeting in the strait-back benches. Introduction lectures were very good, I'm excited to learn more in each of our subjects--we talked about the value of poetry: “Who says you have to leave poems behind the way you hand in your locker keys?” Poetry is not only for university. “Poetry supplements life’s dullness.” We learned about cathedrals, castles, wheels. We began to uncover what it means to value a primary source and were told bluntly: "If you don't know Patton you might as well go shoot yourself" (Dad, I thought you would appreciate that--suddenly I was very thankful for our movie night). All in this old medieval church tucked between two office buildings. 
 
Afterwards a small group of us went to Covent Garden and got pasties! They were delicious, filling and quite apropos I would say (though we avoided the steak-and-kidney variety). On the Tube platform wall was this advertisement:

It says:
"So what about that Judi Dench, then?

"She's a damn fine actress, isn't she? I think we can all agree on that. Well, most of us can anyway, that's what the research tells me.

I've just been looking at some research that tells me what kind of person is most likely to be looking at this ad. (Not for fun. It's my job. I decide where to put posters to reach the right people.)

And it turns out that most of you looking at this will admire Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, Richard Brady(?) and Judi Dench.

Not all of you, of course. You're not all exactly the same. If you were, my job would be easy-peasy.

In fact my job in Insight is becoming increasingly complex. There are lots of new types of posters (or
"Out-of-Home media"  as we like to call them). And you guys-thanks to your smartphones-can now do all sorts of thing searching online and even buying while you're on the move. So I need to understand haw the medium works, who Out-of-Home media reaches and where, and how it contributes to consumer communications.

Frankly, I need a manager to help me! If you reckon you could do this job, and if you've sound knowledge of how to do research, or advertising, email your CV to teamworldwide@posterscope.com, adding a few sentences telling why you would be the right one.

You can also find more about us at www.posterscope.com"

I thought that was amusing.

Then it was another walking tour, ending at St. Paul's Cathedral. I tried to wear in my new shoes today and I'm fairly sure my feet got worn in more than the shoes did!

We were "famished" by the time the tour ended and it was time for our first group dinner! We took the very hot, stuffy, crowded Tube to a little greek resaurant that put the whole group in a special private room downstairs. They loaded our tables with pita, hummus, and tzatziki (sp?) and we gobbled it up! Then they brought in lamb meatballs, sausages, and prawns, so we ate those too. Then they took away those empty plates and asked us all if we were vegetarian, and our pescatarian raised her hand and they fed us deep-fat-fried fish (whole-with eyes-and I ate it! eek!) By now we're getting full, and they take our plates away, and we lean back and get to know each other while our servers disappear. Twenty minutes later, while we're submitting comfortably to oncoming food comas, the little greek family walks down the stairs. What are they carrying? Salads. Ok, a nice salad to finish up, maybe it's a greek thing. They disappear. Tromp tromp down the stairs they come again and they have HUGE platters of meat: chicken and pork kebabs! They come back with racks of lamb! We stared dumbfounded--We thought the meal was done half an hour ago only to find it had only just begun. So we each had a piece of meat, as much as we could stuff in.

And then they gave us Apricots.

______

Tomorrow I leave with half the group to got to Little Gidding! I don't know what to expect, but it's late and we leave early.

I love you!