Churchill War Rooms

The Villanova gang and I took the tube to the Churchill War Rooms early on a Tuesday morning to avoid the crush of tourists that typically flock to the popular museum.  We stepped down into the bunker and were immersed in the world of wartime Britain.  Helpful audio guides led us through the maze of cramped, suffocating rooms while explaining what happened in each spot during World War II.  Specific rooms stood out to each of us: I liked the Map Room, Rowan and Marisa liked Winston Churchill’s bedroom, and Phil liked the disguised room which housed the direct line from the United Kingdom to the United States.  

Lisa was particularly enthralled by the Churchill War Rooms, as she is interested in history and politics, and Winston Churchill is one of her personal heroes.  “If I could pick anyone from history, living or dead, and have dinner with them,” Lisa remarked, “Winston Churchill is definitely in my top three.”

Walking through the War Rooms, it was nearly impossible to imagine the large number of people who lived in such a dark, confined place for so long.  Often, we learn only about the important wartime heroes and not the everyday people who did so much to help the war effort.  One of the best parts of the museum was listening to and watching interviews with the regular people who lived and worked in the bunker in various capacities.  To me, they are the true war heroes.

When we finished touring the museum and went to the gift shop, we were amused by pictures of Churchill seemingly throwing up the Villanova ‘V’ and by World War II propaganda pieces and quotations reminiscent of the Villanova fight song.  After a few quick edits, we were able to combine the two.

In all, our visit to the Churchill War Rooms was especially fun and informative, and everyone had a good time while learning a lot about World War II-era Britain.

Rowan Yeni ‘20 and Marisa Sully ‘20 repping Villanova at the Churchill War Rooms

(photo: Felicity Petruzzi)

William Morris Gallery

           We were a bit skeptical of the William Morris Gallery once we realized what a trek it would be to get there. We hopped on our usual tube stop, Queensway, and rode the central line to Oxford Circus. We then switched to the perpetually crowded Victoria line and rode it to Blackhorse Road. Very ominous, indeed. From there, we hopped on a bus which delivered us right to the gallery’s entrance. Upon arrival we were pleasantly surprised. The building and surrounding gardens were gorgeous, and spring had sprung in the form of yellow and pink tulips. Quite honestly, entering the museum and gallery we knew very literally of William Morris. We knew he was an early artisan and socialist and an important designer in 19^th century England, but that was about it. By the time we left, coincidentally around the same time news of the Westminster attacks were surfacing, we were all experts on William Morris.

          Morris was a man of various talents. He was, again, a designer but also a poet, a craftsman, and a social activist. His ultimate goal was to transform and beautify the Victorian age. He loathed the effects of industrialization and saw the pollution, disease, and dilapidation that came with it as an assault to the potential beauty of his world. He also used his arts and crafts to further his dreams of socialism. He was, indeed, a socialist in the most traditional sense of the word. The house that now acts as a museum about him was his teenage home and now features some of his designs, and several of his most poignant quotes (my favorite part). I’ve included a few below.

          For the most part, these quotes encapsulate William Morris. Beauty was his first priority and ensuring that beauty as well as education, freedom, and health were accessible to all was a close second. A system which allowed the property-owning of society to benefit from the labor of working-class people infuriated Morris. He wanted revolution, not a gradual, pain-staking process, in order to transform the system and to ensure the distribution of goods and services did not lie solely in the hands of the powerful. He also cared about the environment. His dislike of industrialization extended to this end as well. He really had an opinion about every issue, but he’s known today most for his craftsmanship, his poetry, and his unrelenting love and fight for beauty. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WILLIAM MORRIS:

https://www.william-morris.co.uk/

A site still selling the crafts of the original Morris & Co. and educating the masses on Morris’s legacy.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/w/william-morris/

The Victoria and Albert Museum’s exploration of William Morris

http://www.morrissociety.org/

The William Morris Society’s base in the United States advertising opportunities for involvement. Also representative of the man’s reach and influence.

Royal Ballet

On Tuesday March 21, 2017, we went to the Royal Opera House to watch the Royal Ballet perform. We were lucky to see a program of three different dances: The Human Seasons / After the Rain / the world premiere of Flight Pattern by Crystal Pite, and works by Christopher Wheeldon and David Dawson. The Human Seasons was a fascinating performance inspired by Keat's poem, The Human Seasons. It was interesting to put a powerful visual with the performance after having discussed the poem earlier in class. The performance showed the vitality and movement of humans and how they grow and shake during their life. After the Rain showed the beauty when normally people are fearful of getting wet. The dancers were strong through the entire performance and at the end one the rain had gone there was brightness and beauty left. Flight Pattern was the most literal one visually. The way the dancers moved and presented themselves made them easily become birds without much imagination needed. Their arms flew smoothly and they danced around the stage as a whole, having the flock fly smoothly. One Villanova student commented at the end that, "The ballet was more interesting than I thought it would be. So much emotion evoked through movement. The costumes really helped set the scene and I loved the group movement. I am really glad I got to experience this art form, it has definitely opened my eyes to another side of art."

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Rigoletto

RIGOLETTO

The version of Rigoletto put on by ENO (English National Opera) moves the original setting of Manua, Italy to our home country in the city of Little Italy New York. Although we were at first skeptical about this move, this play did an excellent job in adapting Rigoletto to an entirely new setting. The sets constructed by the stage crew, especially the Bar/Club scenes, evoked 1950’s New York so convincingly it felt as though we were there. Honestly, I now cannot picture Rigoletto being set anywhere else. I think I speak for everyone in the group when I say that I was not originally looking forward to seeing a three hour long opera; however, there is something about live orchestra music that never fails to send shivers down the listeners’ spines.

A downside though: hearing every single line sung did get a bit excessive. But at the same time certain dramatics were amplified by the booming voices. In Gilda's death scene at the end of the opera, for example, the powerful singing voices of Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda tapped into a raw emotion that would have been hard to stage otherwise. In all fairness, I don’t think the final scene could have been pulled off in a spoken play, at least not nearly as powerfully as in opera .

At least for me, this was my first introduction to opera. I didn’t expect to like it in any way, shape, or form, but I honestly thoroughly enjoyed my experience watching ENO’s Rigoletto. I encourage anyone who has the opportunity to visit the opera to do so. I believe you will not regret it.