London Trip Experiences: The Weird, The Witty, and The Wonderful (May 5th

Hello! Falling a little bit more behind again but thankfully I have a fairly good memory of things that have happened.

--- Thursday May 5th ---

So we spent a good amount of time at the British Film Institute learning about their Mediatheque, which is a free library of about 2,500 different texts such as feature films, TV shows, films made for TV, cartoons, avant garde stuff and more. One of the things I saw that stood out to me was a cartoon I found called "Billy the Fish" because it might just be the weirdest thing I have ever seen. Billy is half man half fish (He's pretty much a fish with a human face and a mullet) and wants to become a professional football goalie. He gets signed onto Manchester United. Quickly after being signed on to the Manchester he is kidnapped by the evil team manager of the rival team right before his first game. The rival team creates a decoy of Billy using a balloon and a sharpie which somehow fools everyone. This is only 2 minutes into the cartoon and it just gets worse and worse.

Billy The Fish (1990)
You can smell the weirdness wafting off this picture

That night watched a movie called His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940) which was really good. It's a bit of a screwball comedy. It was witty, quick, and didn't have a dull moment. The only problem I, and many others, had with it was the ending. I wouldn't say what it is for those who might be interested in watching it but you'll see it when it comes. For the time, however, the film was extremely empowering for woman. Its a film that shows a strong female newspaper reporter who is smart, respected, and able to keep up with the best of them all. I highly recommend this film.

His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)
Starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant

Unfortunately the term "Girl Friday" is considered a bit sexist and condescending nowadays. Back before this film was made, the term "Friday" or "Man Friday" was used to denote a male assistant. The name 'Friday' comes from the so-named character from Robinson Crusoe, who became the faithful companion to Robinson. Around the time the film was released, the term 'Girl Friday' came into use for a female assistant or office worker.

--- Friday May 6th ---

We went out of the city today and became acquainted with the English countryside. If you were to go where we went, you would understand why so many writers and poets lived in the English countryside. It's so inspiring, beautiful, and peaceful out there.

We went to the little town of Elysford for the start of our 10 mile hike. We were guided by Bishop Chittock who is 80 years old and has served as Bishop 5 times throughout his life. The town of Eynsford is one of those picturesque small towns one fantasizes about. A lovely little community with cute little homes, fresh air, and a feeling of tranquility everywhere you go.

Eynsford

Bishop Chittock first led us to the remains of a castle where we had lunch.

The Castle Remains

We were then led across a ford, up peaceful rivers and creek, around beautiful hills, through a fields and farms, and to the next town to catch the train back to London. One of stops we made was to a farm that made lavender ice cream. It's not one of the things that I'd deliberately have again but it was n't bad and it was an interesting experience nonetheless. I enjoyed their Honeycomb ice cream much more.