Every year, Norway gives England a tree as a symbol of its gratitude for their help in WWII. Craig, Kristen, and I thought it would be fun to attend the Lighting-Up Ceremony in Trafalgar Square, where the Lord Mayor of London and the Mayor of Oslo were going to speak. Accompanied by carols, it was a fun experience, especially since it's been taking place every year for the last 60 years.
The last week of the semester before finals was full of studying and last-minute paper writing (not all of the students are English majors..*ahem*). My final paper for my History of London class was on the Christmas Truce of 1914, so I utilized the reading room in the Imperial War Museum. After making an appointment, I was given access to their archives and was able to read about the unofficial truce from first-hand accounts written in diaries and letters. It was pretty incredible to read about this event as if it had just happened. As one of the soldiers wrote, "I shall never forget it, it was one of the highlights of my life." After researching my topic, I wandered through the rest of the WWI exhibit and was struck by the propaganda posters being played on a slideshow. A couple of these are shown below. Guilt was a common technique employed in designing these posters, as can be seen by the little girl saying "Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?"
After finishing our finals (I had three finals and two final essays. In total, I wrote 10 essays for that final week), we wandered around London some more. Below, Craig, Katie and Kaitlin are excited to be finished with exams. We looked in Hemley's, which is a toy store. When we were walking through it, we found a hidden staircase to the side of the building that was decorated with a Chronicles of Narnia theme.
That night, Kristen and I went to Wagamama for dinner. The restaurant is located just outside Leicester Square, where the movie premieres take place. That night, Australia was premiering, so after we finished our curry chicken, we walked over. Just as we got there, Nicole Kidman arrived, so we took pictures. Hugh Jackman was also hovering around, and just as we were about to leave, Sir Elton John made his appearance.
The last few days in London were spent in a flurry of last-minute souvenir shopping and packing, preparing to move onto or go back to great things.
