Stonehenge

We went to Stonehenge this weekend. Stonehenge is a place where there are tons of stones that are harder than ground. The largest sarsen at Stonehenge is about 45 tons! It was created about 5,000 years ago. Around the edge of Stonehenge researchers would dig and try to find clues of why it was built. It is some kind of temple. In between what the researchers thought were outlines of old houses, they found bones and bits of pig and cow. Nowadays Stonehenge sits on a triangle land that is surrounded by busy roads. We had to go under a tunnel on one side of the road where we parked to get to the other side where Stonehenge was. Researchers are still studying and trying to find things that the ancient people would have used to move the giant stones. We walked around and took pictures. Right as we were leaving it started to pour down rain.

Boston U.S. or Boston U.K.?

We went to Boston. It was not the one in the United States but actually in the U.K.! We went to the oldest windmill in England that is still making something. The windmill can make 3 tons of flour in a week! The windmill is called the Maud Foster Mill. It got its name off a lady named Maud Foster. She was a rich lady that died in 1581. The windmill has five branches on it. On the branches there are shades. If the day was as windy as when we were there the shades would be open. To get to the top of the windmill we climbed on really old wooden ladders. On one of the flights we saw grain getting sucked up to the top of the mill by wind power. When we were on the Balcony Floor (the third floor) we were just above the rooftops. This is the floor that starts and stops the mill. There is a chain that works the brake. In Boston we also saw the tallest church tower in England. It had beautiful stained glass on its high windows that had huge round tops. The door to go inside of the church was giant but the door we used was about 2/6 of the full door.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Today I went to my mummy’s class. She talked about M.L.K. Jr. In America we celebrate him on every third Monday of January, his real birthday is on the fifteenth though. When he was born on the fifteenth his name was Michael Luther King Jr. (not Martin). Sometimes people would blow water hoses or hang black people from ropes just because they were black. It was not good at all. Martin Luther King Jr. made a great difference in the world and for all the people in it. He even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. You can win the Nobel Prize in different categories like medicine. M.L.K. Jr. won the one for peace because he was full of peace and worked to make the U.S. have equal rights. In the earlier years Martin Luther King Jr. married a lady that worked for a music studio. They had children a little while after that. During this time black people would get treated not as nice because they were the color they were. Sometimes they would get arrested for saying what they believed. Even Martin Luther King Jr. got arrested. I’m glad the world has changed.

Nottingham

 
This weekend I went to Nottingham. In the middle of Nottingham is the market square. We (my mum, brother and I) decided to go to the Gallery of Justice Museum. It used to be a prison. We got to go into a cell called the Night Cell. I didn't like the look of it. I did think it was cool though. It was super dark. We passed a box with a crank. The prisoners would have to turn the crank 10,000 times a day just to keep them busy. The box with the crank did not do anything to help the prison's power or anything like that. In another area of the prison we saw rings and chains they would put around the prisoners. When we made our way out we walked onto some "footpaths." Footpaths are sidewalks in England. They call a few things different names than we do. Soccer is football, buses are coaches, a flashlight is a torch, a soccer field is a pitch, fries are chips and chips are crispies. I get our chips and their chips mixed up, you might too.

Sewing Fun

I got to go into Grantham with a Professor’s wife. Her name is Poem. She is a very kind lady. Grantham is a market town in Lincolnshire and Harlaxton is also in Lincolnshire. Many of the districts in England end with shire. Poem and I are going to meet up each week to make a small quilt for Ginger Leigh. Ginger is my doll. She has traveled all over Europe with me. I am excited to make the quilt. It is just like me making Skills and Projects at Montessori! We got some string and cloth for the quilt. The picture on the left is of Poem and me talking about what we are going to make and getting ready to go on the shuttlebus to Grantham. The driver’s name of the shuttlebus is Ziggy.

Brownies

Last night I went to Brownies. It was super fun. I thought about Maya, Hannah, Alisha, Emma, Irene, Sinclair, Sloane, Naina, Maddy and Lucy who are in my Troop 41 back home. Whenever I met the Guide, I thought about Ms. Rosen. The girls here were really nice and we made elephants out of yarn and paper. The yarn is the tail of the elephant. Whenever we do a good deed we put a knot in the tail. My Troop 41 has a Brownie pledge but it is a little different here. In the UK it goes like this. I promise that I will do my best to love my God, to serve the Queen and my country, to help other people and to keep the Brownie guide law.

Matilda and Chalk Countries

Yesterday we went to London to see “Matilda” the musical. The headmistress’s name is Miss Trunchbull. She is like a bull in the crazy way. Miss Trunchbull is head of a spooky school that tortures students. During the part where they (the children) had to do front flips during P.E., Miss Trunchbull decided to do one too! The musical came from the book “Matilda” by Roald Dahl. I really like both the book and the musical. Matilda is a girl that learned how to read and spell quickly when she was very young. Her family are people that just care about their telly. Telly is what the UK calls television. Her parents cheat to get money. Matilda is much smarter than her family and much, much nicer. Whenever we went out on our way to “Matilda” we saw a guy at Trafalgar Square drawing flags with chalk of all the different countries. You put a coin on the one you were from. So I put one on the U.S.A.

The Opening Ceremony

This morning I went to the Opening Ceremony in the Long Gallery of Harlaxton Manor. The Opening Ceremony is the day all the students have arrived and we celebrate the start of the semester. They call the Opening Ceremony the Convocation Exordium. I got to hold one of the flags (for the 1st battalion of the British Airborne Division who once helped protect Harlaxton) as people walked into the Gallery. Brock played the guitar for The Garden Song. It goes like this: Inch by inch and row by row, we're gonna make this garden grow. All it takes is a rake and hoe and a piece of fertile ground. Inch by inch and row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow, someone warm them from below till the rain comes tumbling down. It was nice to sing. Whenever I said we I mean all of the more than 180 students! My mum got to walk down the aisle in a beautiful robe that was black all around with three maroon stripes on the arms. The person leading the faculty played the bagpipes. We sang "The Star Spangled Banner" and "God Saves the Queen" which is the National Anthem of the United Kingdom.

It's Great to be 8

This video is Dr. Kingsley and all the faculty and their families singing to me Happy Birthday. They sang the original Harlaxton special Happy Birthday song and they sang the Happy Birthday song that we sing to each other. The Harlaxton song is silly.

Harlaxton

I arrived at Harlaxton! It is like a castle. I am living in a carriage house built next to it. It was built about 1837 by Gregory Gregory. That’s like Alisha’s name being Alisha Alisha or Mr. R's name being Mr. R Mr. R! I wish you guys were here with me. My Cottage is amazing. My Cottage is a five roomed place with a entry area you can play in. Brock and my room has a bulletin board so if you send me a picture I will put it up. The carriage house and the Manor are surrounded by paths, gardens, and beautiful old trees. There is a basketball court 30 seconds away from my Cottage. It is a big gym with soccer balls, ping pong table, treadmills, volleyballs, and footballs. The Manor is fun to run around in. Whenever I was in the State Dining Room we found out (from Dr. Kingsley) that there was a secret passageway close by. We found it pretty fast. Dr. Kingsley is the president of Harlaxton College. He is a really nice and fun man. This is a picture of he and I in front of one of the secret passageways.

Liverpool and Les Mis

Today I went to the Old Trafford. The Old Trafford is Manchester United’s Stadium. They are in 2nd place in the English Premier League. The Stadium was huge. They had a shop full of stuff. They even named it the Mega Gift Shop! We got to see the dressing room where the professional soccer players change and their lounge. What was funny was that they had a foosball table. After that we went to Liverpool. The Beatles were from there. Some of their songs are The Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude, and All You Need is Love. Later that night we had arrived in London. We settled down at an Indian restaurant (I had fried rice with vegetables, mango juice, and naan). After that we took a cab to the Queens Theatre. We watched Les Mis! Long before we watched the show, we listened to music from the show and we read the book to make sure we could understand what was going to happen on the stage. The show will be a big memory for me. The Thenardiers are the Masters of the House and they were hysterical. Here is a photo of them.

Twin Towns

We went to Newburgh. Don't be thinking it's Newburgh the town back at home. I mean the Newburgh in Europe. It's the Newburgh that is a small village in the UK. There are so many old and pretty buildings in this little village. They pronounce Newburgh different than we do. They pronounce Newburgh with a silent g and you sortof roll your r. We went to the Newburgh post office. The post office was built in the 17th century. Before the post office was what it is now it was a alehouse, a tailors which is where your clothes get fixed and made to fit you, and a bakery. It is a teahouse and post office now.

Crags and The Witchery

On New Years Day I went to the crags. The crags are rocks that used to be a volcano. The volcano is extinct. We could see miles away from high up on the crags. We could see Edinburgh Castle and the rook shaped part of it. The crags are much higher than the buildings we would think are very tall. There were some really neat rocks as we climbed. One had a very pointy tip with other rocks growing right in front of it. We also went to The Witchery. It is by the Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile. The Witchery is a very fancy restaurant. It has wood walls and ceilings with carving on them. There are two parts to the restaurant. One part is called the Secret Garden that I went to three years go. The part I went to this time is called The Witchery. I had scallops, mashed potatoes, bread, carrots and broccoli and for dessert I had chocolate torte and pistachio ice cream. Now don’t think The Witchery has witches but I will say that whenever I went three years ago I wondered if I would see them! The picture I chose with this post is one we took of the crags with our camera when I was here the last time. It is one of my favorite pictures.