Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Lecture Day 1

(4 of 8 Brad Henry Scholars)

First day of lectures Tuesday. Our instructor is a super spritely British man full of history and facts, and super funny. He walked back and forth on the little stage at the front of the lecture hall, and more than once I was afraid he was going to fall backward off of it, but apparently he knew where the step was without looking.

We learned about currency, and how it is an embodiment of culture. Also, how the newer coins make up a shield! (I am missing the right pound coin)


We learned that the Queen does not have a passport, and that in the House of Commons, there are hooks for the MP's (Members of Parliament) to hang their swords. Very necessary.

I bought some stamps yesterday. I didn't notice it then, but Dr. Bryn made us guess what the small but significant difference is between British postage and the rest of the world's. Can you guess it?


Dr. Bryn talked about the National Health Service, the Prime Minister, the legal system, Churchill, and the British film industry, and we ended the day by watching the old black and white film Passport to Pimplico. 

7 comments:

  1. The lecture sounds fun. I never knew about the coins making a shield. Super cool! Let me guess about the British postage - it doesn't bear the name of the country.

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    1. Good job, Mama! Atari--the British are so secure in their identity that they don't even have to mark the name of their country. :)

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  2. Yay! Sounds like you are just filling your mind with lots of yummy facts! How very educational and nice, getting educated about these topics from the heart of their origins. I think you studying there in Britain is such a good combination for you and your writing- you get to be there where our English originated. And plus, where the English language is much richer than ours. The money making a shield is very cool. I really enjoy your writing Erika! You make it fun, like reading a story. You keep it short and brief, but with many interesting facts and stories within of all types- and some very detailed fun facts too. I can't believe I was just teaching you your ABC's not long ago! You had beyond taken off on those ABC's!

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    1. Yes, tons of yummy facts (and some grittier facts, too, about recession and social/economic trouble).
      I think you're right--my brain is getting more and more fortified by the minute!
      I'm glad you enjoy my writing! Thanks for reading and thinking about it in such detail. :) I try to write my blogs the way I would like to read, and I am quite lazy with the amount of reading I do online.
      Yeah! I'm flying beyond the ABC's!

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    2. Haha! Your already packed brain (especially after Dr. Brad) is getting filled further still! Or perhaps it may push out some Dr. Brad knowledge! Btw, I got a Mayan numeration system Honduras shirt- just like what he taught us. I'll have to wear it when I go see him, though maybe that is too wazatorashi! Oh you like all the detailed ponderings about your writing? Yes, you have risen up against the ABC's!

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  3. Waaa-----! I didn't know about these new coins! Goodness, how cool! Also I never thought about the stamps but how gloriously British. I guess Queenie probably travels on her own plane with her own planeload of servants, and they don't commonly stand in line to go through immigration.

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  4. Yes, the stamps are glorious, aren't they?

    Haha, I can't imagine her doing that!

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