Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

The new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, premiered in London last Wednesday. So, after my Shakespeare class ended, some friends and I stopped by Leicester Square to witness the excitement and possibly spy a few famous people. People lined up to get inside the red carpet all night, and since we had arrived only a couple hours before the movie was scheduled to start, we weren't able to enter. We did, however, find good standing spots outside where we were able to see the stars for a second after they exited their cars and before they entered the red carpet. Then, we were able to see them again after they were interviewed by the MC and before they started to walk down a flight of stairs before entering the Odeon Cinema. Neither opportunity allowed us to take pictures, however, since we only saw the stars for a few seconds total. We spent three hours standing and freezing our toes off, but we were able to see Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, and both Prince William and Prince Harry.



In the photo below, the screens where we were able to watch trailers for the movie and interviews with the stars. We also saw the stars stand next to the screens and pose for a few seconds before descending a staircase behind the partitions.



For Halloween, IES organized a Haunted London Walk, where we spent a couple of hours walking around the city after dark and listening to our guide tell us ghost stories (including one about the real Sweeney Todd of Fleet Street). Afterward, some friends and I watched Hocus Pocus. On Saturday, we planned out the whole day, starting with a trip to the Harry Potter sites, including Platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross. In the afternoon, we watched Casino Royale in preparation for Sunday, when we watched Quantum of Solace at the local cinema(two weeks before it premieres in the US).





Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Guy Fawkes Day, and all week different parks in London are having fireworks in honor of it. Saturday, we went to a bonfire at Battersea Park and watched the fireworks. Note on the pictures: it was raining, and muddy, and cold. And I don't own an umbrella. Still, it was a blast!