Today was a fairly slow day to report on. I ate breakfast at Ramsay Hall this morning (croissant and a banana) then hung around a bit until the field trip to the BBC. I heard that apparently every breakfast we eat at Ramsay Hall costs 5 pounds. I heard that dinners cost between 6 and 8 pounds. That is absolutely ridiculous. A box of four delicious, buttery croissants from Tesco cost me about 1 pound 50 pence, and an entire bunch of six bananas cost about the same. Throw in a jug of orange juice and for less than 5 pounds I have breakfast for a week. But, I digress.
We went out to the BBC and our tour guides, Elle and Louisa, showed us around. First though, Dr. Martin accidentally hit her head on the bizarre sliding glass door at the BBC Center. It was hysterical. She took it like a trooper and laughed with the rest of us. The tour of the BBC itself was fantastic. I've been through the CNN tour in Atlanta twice and it has absolutely nothing on the BBC tour. The guides were more entertaining, you got to see more of the operations, not to mention we got to catch a glimpse of the richest woman in the U.K.: Mrs. J.K. Rowling herself. She was going on a show called Blue Peter and she was preparing for the show. We were up in an observation room and were about thirty feet away from her. Her microphone was on so we got to listen in on a conversation she was having with the producer. Too bad they wouldn't let us take just one photograph. Nonetheless it was pretty cool.
Anyhow, the BBC tour lasted a pretty good while and like I said, it was pretty darn entertaining. After we finished up there we made our way to Notting Hill Gate and ate lunch at a pub called the Old Swan. For the first time since I've gotten here I ate fish and chips. It was mighty tasty. The malt vinegar they have over here is not as intense and just all around better tasting than the stuff back home. On a side note: the Brits seems to deep fry everything. It really amazes me. I come from the South and we eat a lot of fried foods, but I have the feeling these people would deep fry their salads if you gave them the opportunity. But, lunch was tasty. We then made our way back to the BBC to sit down and learn from some of the staff just how the BBC functions.
We sat through a two hour presentation that was, for lack of a better word, extensive. We met with people from the BBC's marketing department, legal, fair-trade, as well as their brand recognition folks, and all I can say is these people were serious. Interestingly, most of them were wearing jeans and t-shirts, but they sure presented to us like they were speaking to the board of executives. We learned a great deal about how the BBC functions and the sort of intense work they do to preserve their image and operate within the law (keep in mind the BBC is funded by the British people who have to pay a TV license fee every year).
Once we had finished up there we headed back to the dorms. I went and got Anjelica and the two of us went to Euston Square station to certify our BritRail passes. We also picked up our tickets to York for Saturday morning and we are now set for our day trip. And on the subject of day trips, tomorrow I will be going to Oxford (again) except this time I'm sure I'll get a better chance to see around the city. I loved Oxford when I was there last time and I am really looking forward to checking it out again.
I didn't take many photographs today, but the ones I did take can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8494714@N03/
P.S. On another note, I wish to retell a story about our train ride back to the dorms. At one stop a guy of Middle Eastern origin got on the train right next to me with a bag. I immediately thought to myself: what if? He seemed like a perfectly nice guy (he smiled at me), but I still couldn't help but wonder. With all the goings-on in the world, I would really like to reiterate my request for whoever is reading this to please be in serious prayer about the whole state of affairs in regards to terrorism. I ask that you pray not only for our safety, but especially for those out there who have to live in a manner where people are automatically suspicious of them just because of the color of their skin. I know I wouldn't want people looking at me like that. I would also like you ask that we be in prayer for those who desire to commit these acts of violence. Please pray that God would remove the sort of anger and hatred that is in their hearts and help them to realize that violence is not the answer. Please pray they turn to the one, true God and seek to live in peace with all people, even those they see as evil or as a threat to them. I sure would appreciate it, and I know that God is the only solution to this problem. Thank you.
